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{{magical entities
|image=Windspren.png
|magic=[[Surgebinding]], [[Fabrial|Fabrials]], [[
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{quote
|Spren appear when something changes—when fear appears, or when it begins to rain. They are the heart of change, and therefore the heart of all things.
}}
'''Spren''' are fragments of the [[Adonalsium|powers of creation]] that have
Spren are far more extensive and numerous than the closest comparable entities, [[seon]]s and [[skaze]], Splinters of [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]] respectively. This is one of the reasons Roshar does not have the same problem with travelling to the Cognitive Realm as [[Sel]]
Some spren predate the arrival of Honor and Cultivation to Roshar, and perhaps even the [[Shattering]]. These are [[Splinter]]s of [[Adonalsium]] itself that it left behind intentionally and that have attained sentience on their own since then.{{wob ref|10563}} All spren dwell mostly in the [[Cognitive Realm]], as it is there that the powers of creation come alive, shaped and given cognizance by the ideas and concepts of the collective experience of sentient creatures. Over time, those ideas and concepts become personified as an external entity, becoming spren.▼
▲Spren are far more extensive and numerous than the closest comparable entities, [[seon]]s and [[skaze]], Splinters of [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]] respectively. This is one of the reasons Roshar does not have the same problem with travelling to the Cognitive Realm as [[Sel]], even though Honor is [[Splintering|Splintered]] just like the other two Shards. On Roshar, spren act as a "release valve" for the uncontrolled power of Honor.{{wob ref|4129}}
<div style="float: right; padding-left: 1em">__TOC__</div>▼
== Characteristics ==
}}
▲<div style="float: right; padding-left: 1em">__TOC__</div>
=== Definition ===
For Rosharans, the term "spren" has broad application. Entities such as [[Shard]]s, [[Cognitive Shadow]]s and other beings from beyond the [[Physical Realm]] would be considered spren by the Rosharans.{{book ref|sa3|4}}{{book ref|sa3|38}} Among those are Cognitive aspects of objects. Those Cognitive aspects are based on how they are viewed by the surrounding entities and how long they've been the way they currently are.{{book ref|sa1|37}} These "spren" can be spoken to in the Cognitive Realm and bribed with [[Stormlight]], which forms the basis of [[Soulcasting]].{{book ref|sa1|48}} In [[Shadesmar]], they usually take the form of small beads, akin to [[sphere]]s that serve as Roshar's currency. A skilled person can "manifest" a bead, making it take the form of its Physical counterpart.{{book ref|sa3|99}}
In the strictest sense, however, spren are [[splinter]]s of one of more Shards, with a single spren being composed of one or more types of [[Investiture]]. Most spren are [[splinter]]s of [[Honor]] and [[Cultivation]], or a mixture of both that leans towards either one [[Shard]] or the other.{{wob ref|11949}} There are said to be thousands of different kinds of spren, each named for a different type of phenomenon.{{book ref|sa1|49}} They vary vastly in size, with the smallest being the size of a thumbnail, while the largest can dwarf buildings.{{file ref|Rosharan Wines.jpg|Rosharan Wines}}{{book ref|sa1|i|5}}
=== Creation ===
Larger spren have the ability to shape-shift, often mimicking faces, as well as being able to mimic voices.{{book ref|sa1|i|5}} They also have the ability to pick up small objects and give small pinches of energy.{{book ref|sa1|6}} They will often appear to a singular person, who they will taunt and play with.{{book ref|sa1|2}} Some humans, such as [[Rock]], have the ability to see these spren, even if the spren in question does not explicitly reveal itself to the viewer. These people are called ''alaii'iku'' by the [[Unkalaki]].{{book ref|sa1|21}}▼
Spren are generally personification of certain cognitive ideals and concepts;{{wob ref|4135}} as such, they come into being in the realm of thought, the [[Cognitive Realm]]. There, loose [[Investiture]] left behind by the [[Shard]]s comes alive, shaped and given cognizance by the ideas and concepts of the collective experience of sentient creatures. Over time, those ideas and concepts, imprinted upon scraps of Investiture, become personified as an external entity, becoming spren.
▲Some spren predate the arrival of Honor and Cultivation to Roshar, and perhaps even the [[Shattering]]. These are [[Splinter]]s of [[Adonalsium]] itself that it left behind intentionally and that have attained sentience on their own since then.{{wob ref|10563}}
The cognitive ideals that create spren are similar to those that determine the appearances of the [[Returned]] on [[Nalthis]] and the plausibility of [[Forgery| Forgeries]] on Sel, and are based off of human perception.{{wob ref|4110}}{{wob ref|4048}}
=== Functioning ===
[[File:Shadesmar Spren.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Several types of lesser spren, as seen in Shadesmar]]▼
[[File:Maya.jpg|thumb|left|200px|<center><small>by {{a|LittleGreyDragon}}</small></center> [[Mayalaran]], a [[deadeye]] spren]]
{{for|Deadeye|more information about spren death}}
Spren do not need to sleep,{{book ref|sa1|14}} but they can die.{{wob ref|96}} Spren with a [[Nahel Bond]] can die if their bonded [[Surgebinder]] breaks their Oaths to an untenable degree. However, there are stages to spren death, and it's not necessarily one-way. If the Radiant who broke their Oaths is not yet at the point where they would acquire a [[Shardblade]], the spren simply seems to disappear.{{book ref|sa2|69}} Such a spren can be brought back to life if the Radiant returns to abiding by the Oaths, and re-swears them. It's possible that swearing the next level of the Ideals is a necessary part of the process.{{book ref|sa2|84}}
By contrast, a spren that has been killed after the Thid Oath leaves behind a dead [[Shardblade]], while in the Shadesmar, they take the form of a [[deadeye]].{{book ref|sa2|87}}{{book ref|sa3|101}} A deadeye is a zombie-like figure with scratched-out eyes, constantly striving to mindlessly reach the location of its Blade.{{book ref|sa3|101}} Whether it can be brought back to life is uncertain, although it has neven happened before.{{book ref|sa3|28}}
In Shadesmar, spren appear to feed off [[Stormlight]], growing more lively and energetic when one passes over them.{{book ref|sa3|101}} They are attracted to the particular phenomena they are named after, popping up around the affected area or person -- for example, someone who is scared will attract fearspren.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} However, the causal link between spren and their namesake is not fully understood on Roshar, as some spren, like rotspren, are believed to cause their namesake rather than being attracted by it.{{book ref|sa1|57}}
▲Larger spren have the ability to shape-shift, often mimicking faces, as well as being able to mimic voices.{{book ref|sa1|i|5}} They also have the ability to pick up small objects and give small pinches of energy.{{book ref|sa1|6}} They will often appear to a singular person, who they will taunt and play with.{{book ref|sa1|2}} Some humans
Spren are also related to the physical phenomena of [[wikipedia:wave-function collapse|wave-function collapse]] -- one can fix a spren's dimensions simply by the act of measuring it.{{book ref|sa1|i|8}}
== Classification of spren ==
▲[[File:Shadesmar Spren.jpg|thumb|left|
While their variety is near-infinite, all spren can be classified into several groups.
=== Lesser Spren ===
Vast majority of all spren is non-sapient; those are called the lesser spren, or subspren.{{book ref|sa3|4}} Although some can speak, talking with them is generally an exercise in futility, which leads to people ignoring them a lot of the time.{{book ref|sa1|2}} Spren of the same sub-type are essentially the same individual, with no differences between any two entities.{{book ref|sa1|17}} They are capable of forming a bond with humans, though it is different from the Nahel bond of true spren.{{wob ref|4783}} As creatures of nature, spren are not particularly concerned with good and evil.{{wob ref|9780}}
Lesser spren vary in how much they appear in the [[Physical Realm]]. Some, like windspren, exist almost entirely in the Physical, having next to no imprint on Shadesmar. By contrast, others exist mostly in Shadesmar, with only parts of them, like tongues or drool, visible in the Physical.{{book ref|sa3|95}} There are also spren like [[mandra]]s (luckspren), who will often and easily switch between existing in the Cognitive and the Physical. In Shadesmar, this phenomenon is called "dropping", as the spren appears to drop out of existence, and then drop back in.{{book ref|sa3|99}}
=== True Spren ===
{{quote
| There are no foolish oaths. All are the mark of men and true spren over beasts and subspren. The mark of intelligence, free will, and choice.
| [[Stormfather]] on what separates sapient from sentient beings{{book ref|sa3|4}}
}}
Spren that do possess sapience are referred to as true spren.{{book ref|sa3|4}} They seem to all represent higher concepts, such as honor for [[honorspren]] and truth and lies for [[Cryptic]]s. Nine types of true spren bond with humans to grant them [[Nahel Bond]]s and thus, the power of [[Surgebinding]]; however, more types of sapient spren exist.{{wob ref|9539}}
In [[Shadesmar]], true spren have their own culture, politics and nations; though the Cognitive Realm was created by creatures of the Physical, it is spren who shape and rule it.{{book ref|sa2|1}} Some spren, like Cryptics or [[highspren]], have nation-states, composed wholly of spren of their own kind;{{book ref|sa2|epilogue}}{{book ref|sa3|47}} others, like honorspren, seem to rule a nation of their own, but also allow other types of true spren to live with them.{{book ref|sa3|108}} There are also city-states such as [[Celebrant]], where various spren live together.{{book ref|sa3|102}}
[[File:Glys Bonnie Johnson.JPG|thumb|
==== Odium's influence ====
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