Difference between revisions of "Spren"

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Keenspren already covered under True Spren section
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{{lifeform
{{magical entities
|image=Spren by Marie Seeberger.jpg
|type={{tag+|Splinter}}
|magicabilities=[[SurgebindingNahel bond]]s, [[Fabrial]]s, [[Singer]] forms
|sapient=Some
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
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 their Radiant acquires a [[Shardblade]] leaves behind a dead Shardblade, and while in 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}} Deadeye spren can be at least partially revived.{{book ref|sa4|94}} [[Mayalaran]], [[Adolin]]'s deadeye shardbladeShardblade, regains consciousness during Adolin's trial by witness in [[Lasting Integrity]] while under extreme emotional stress.{{book ref|sa4|94}}
 
Similar to a [[Cognitive Shadow]], a spren can be permanently killed by the use of a [[raysium]] dagger embedded with a gem of anti-Stormlight (though a spren in Shardblade form would be more resilient to this).{{book ref|sa4|104}}{{wob ref|15334}} Through unknown methods, a spren can have their cognitive form pulled into the physical realm, where the new body will spontaneously form organs and muscles, but the spren will die within minutes. The [[Stormfather]] calls this act an abomination, and claims that it should not be possible. Cryptics and Ashspren cannot be brought over properly, because the process of creating bodies for them results in a physical form that collapses upon itself immediately. [[Ishar]] speculates that their physiology does not conform to the natural laws of the Physical Realm.{{book ref|sa4|111}} These bodies can be made into [[Lifeless]] and affected by [[Forgery]].{{wob ref|14989}}
 
Spren can be cut and will feel pain.{{book ref|sa4|35}} They can be "killed" by hurting them enough that their minds break, making them something similar to a deadeye. They can also be cut by a Shardblade, but it won't kill them and they will reform in the Cognitive Realm after some time.{{book ref|sa4|2}} Stormlight will help spren heal faster.{{book ref|sa4|87}}{{book ref|sa4|90}} The only way to keep a spren divided is to store them in separate halves in gemstones.{{book ref|sa4|44}}
 
In Shadesmar, spren appear to feed off [[Highstorm]]s, 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 humansof the [[Unkalaki]] 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 ''[[Sighted|alaii'iku]]'' byin the [[Unkalaki]] language.{{book ref|sa1|21}}
 
Spren can be combined, similar to Shards.{{wob ref|215}}
 
Some spren are also related to the physical phenomena of [[wikipedia:wave-function collapse|wave-function collapse]] -- one can fix certain spren's dimensions simply by the act of measuring it.{{book ref|sa1|i|8}}
 
Spren can be combined, similar to Shards.{{wob ref|215}} Some spren are also related to the physical phenomena of [[wikipedia:wave-function collapse|wave-function collapse]] -- one can fix certain spren's dimensions simply by the act of measuring it.{{book ref|sa1|i|8}} Spren notice when they are being watched and will change based on direct individual perception.{{book ref|sa4 |34}}
 
== Classification of Spren ==
Large animals, most notably the [[greatshell]]s, utilize spren bonds to grow to enormous sizes that would not be otherwise possible. There seem to be two types of spren facilitating this -- an unknown type living in their gemhearts, and [[mandras]], which decrease the pull of gravity on their bodies.{{wob ref|1227}}{{book ref|sa3|99}} [[Skyeels]] also form bonds with mandras, which allow them to outright fly despite not having wings.{{book ref|sa3|99}}
 
Non-crustacean creatures forming spren bonds include the [[Ryshadium]], a breed of horses which have evolved to attract some type of spren -- most likely musicspren.{{book ref|sa3|26}} This bond is the possible reason for the Ryshadium's unusually high intelligence, as well as their prodigious strength and other adaptations to Rosharan environment.{{book ref|sa3|10}}{{au ref|Rosharan}} The "magic fish" of the [[Purelake]] are another example of Rosharan fauna forming symbiotic bonds with spren.{{wob ref|2109}} Eating the fish grants numerous benefits, ranging from medicinal, like curing aches, to outright supernatural, like predicting when someone will come to visit or locating missing persons.{{book ref|sa1|i|5}} Whether or not the RyshadiumsRyshadium and the fish have gemhearts is unknown.
 
=== Singer Forms ===
* [[Glys]]: Enlightened mistspren of [[Renarin]]{{book ref|sa2|89}}
* [[Timbre]]: Reacher of [[Venli]]{{book ref|sa3|120}}
* [[Winnow (Roshar)|Winnow]]: Highspren of [[Ki]]
* [[Mayalaran]]: [[Deadeye]] cultivationspren of [[Adolin]]'s Shardblade{{book ref|sa3|120}}
}}
A type of spren that appear around people when they experience pride in their accomplishments. In the Physical, they look like as golden orbs of translucent light,{{book ref|sa1|12}} while in the Cognitive, they take the form of avian-like creatures with bulbous bodies, long wings, and flowing tails, with a golden ball for a head.{{book ref|sa3|91}}
 
A large number of gloryspren appeared around [[Dalinar]] right before he summoned [[Honor's Perpendicularity]] at the [[Battle of Thaylen Field]] however when he summons it later on, they do not appear.
 
==== Gravitationspren ====
==== Gravityspren ====
A type of spren mentioned in [[Navani's notebook]]. They can be captured in gems of a certain cut and used in fabrial machines.{{file ref|Navani1.jpg|First page of Navani's notebook}} They are possibly another name for groundspren, luckspren, or gravitationspren.
 
==== Greatshell Spren ====
A type of spren that has a symbiotic relationship with [[greatshell]]s, enabling them to grow to such large sizes.{{wob ref|1227}} They look like tiny tongues of smoke, such as those from snuffed candles, but can only be seen when they leave a greatshell's corpse after it has been killed.{{book ref|sa1|15}}
 
The [[Tai-na]] of the [[Reshi Sea]] have an extraordinary variant of spren, referred to as the "soul" of the greatshell by the [[Reshi]]. It allows them to grow to far more gargantuan sizes. These "souls" will sometimes show themselves to people. They seem to have some measure of control over the [[Surge]] of Gravitation, letting them slow a person's fall.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}}
 
==== Groundspren ====
{{for|Mandras}}
 
A type of spren that flies around [[skyeel]]s and some [[greatshell]]s. In the Physical, luckspren have the appearance of tiny, blue, arrowhead-like fish that dart around the skyeel in the general direction of its travel. It is commonly believed by Rosharans that they allow the skyeel to fly in some manner, but the accuracy of this belief is not known.<ref name=luckspren />{{file ref|Skyeel.jpg|Shallan's Sketchbook: Skyeels}} [[Larkin]] and other greatshells bond to mandrasluckspren as they grow.,{{book ref|sa3.5|19}} allowing them to reach much larger sizes without being crushed than would otherwise be physiologically possible.{{wob ref|1227}}{{wob ref|183}} Occasionally, one around a chasmfiend will drift away from the rest and disappear, briefly puffing into a plume of smoke,{{book ref|sa2|70}} and when a chasmfiend dies, its remaining luckspren leave in a similar way.{{book ref|sa2|72}}{{book ref|sa1|15}} This does not seem to happen around other creatures, however, and the knowledge these spren are luckspren does not appear to be widespread.{{book ref|sa1|15}}
 
In Shadesmar, luckspren are known as mandras. There, they are far larger, with long, sinuous bodies and arrow-shaped heads. They are often harnessed by various spren to pull ships through the seas of beads, as there is no wind to sail on. They have a habit of "dropping out", vanishing temporarily into the Physical Realm, and then reappearing in Shadesmar, necessitingnecessitating any single ship to have several mandras hitched to it.{{book ref|sa3|99}}
 
They are known as chasmspren to the listeners.{{book ref|sa4|45}}
==== ''Stormstriders'' ====
''Stormstriders'' are large spren{{wob ref|10906}} on glowing legs that are seen during highstorms. Kaladin and Shallan see one when they are in a chasm during a highstorm.{{book ref|sa2|74}} Dalinar also sees one while he is out in a highstorm traveling between [[stormshelter]]s.{{book ref|sa3|19}} The name "Stormstriders" is a fan-given name that has not been canonized.
 
==== GreatshellTai-na Spren ====
{{for|Tai-na#Spren_bond}}
 
The [[Tai-na]] of the [[Reshi Sea]] bond an unknown spren, referred to as their "soul" by their [[Reshi|inhabitants]], that allow these greatshells to grow to gargantuan sizes.{{wob ref|1499}} These "souls" will sometimes show themselves to people, and seem to be able to interact with the world and magic in some ways, such as slowing a person's fall.{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} It is uncertain whether these are the [[luckspren|same spren]] bonded by other greatshells or not, but [[Axies the Collector]] believes the "souls" must be more "spectacular" than the others.
 
==== Wavespren ====
A common type of spren that appear in the presence of wind. As one of the larger types of spren, windspren are able to change their appearance at will, though they often appear as ribbons of light.{{book ref|sa1|2}} The leading edge of a highstorm is home to thousands of them.{{book ref|sa1|34}} They are also common at the tail of a highstorm, as if chasing after it.{{book ref|sa1|4}} They are a rare sight in Shadesmar, as they spend almost all their time in the Physical Realm. A windspren in Shadesmar is described as a pinprick of light trailing a long luminescense behind it, moving much like it would in the Physical Realm.{{book ref|sa3|108}} Windspren also seem attracted to Radiants moving particularly fast, such as Windrunners and Edgedancers utilizing Gravitation and Abrasion.{{book ref|sa2|52}}{{book ref|sa2.5|1}}
 
Windspren are closely related to [[honorspren]], such as Sylphrena.{{wob ref|4071}} This is evidenced by their ability to stick things together,{{book ref|sa1|2}} making use of a rudimentary version of the [[Surge]] of Adhesion.{{wob ref|3260}} They generally use this ability to play pranks on people, doing things like sticking shoes to stone or sticking shoelaces together to cause someone to trip.{{book ref|sa3|77}} Additionally, windspren form Windrunner [[Shardplate|Plate]].{{book ref|sa4|110}} Kaladin Stormblessed occasionally attracts windspren, and has been able to control them-and by extension, the wind itself-on at least one occasion; it is unclear if this is unique to him or if any Windrunner can do it.{{book ref|sa3|31}}
 
Singers bond windspren to use nimbleform.{{book ref|sa4|74}}
 
==== Keenspren ====
A"Keenspren" typeis a nickname for one of the types of Radiant spren, mentionedalthough bywhich one has not been clarified.{{wob ref|15692}} [[Wyndle]], who considers '"growing a garden for keenspren'" to be a comparison point for the weirdness of a conversation.{{book ref|sa2.5|6}}
 
==== Lightspren ====
* '''Painspren''': sickly green as compared to their normal orange, as well as deformed or distorted, no longer resembling human hands.{{book ref|sa3|62}}
* '''Shamespren''': resemble pieces of broken glass instead of petals.{{book ref|sa3|62}}
* '''Windspren''': the corrupted windspren arelook onlya describeddifferent color, being difficult to see as "...trailingthey are transparent, and also trail red light."{{book ref|sa3|78}}{{book Whether this means thatref|sa4|113}}{{book the ribbons of light themselves were red is unclear.ref|sa4|epilogue}}
* '''[[Mistspren]]''': rather than looking like a reflected light, Glys appears as a crystalline structure dripping red glow upwards.{{book ref|sa3|115}} While the [[Progression]] [[Surge]] he grants appears to remain unaltered, [[Renarin]] seems unable to use [[Illumination]] and has visions of the future.{{book ref|sa3|10}}
 
{{for|Stormfather}}
 
The Stormfather is one of the oldest entities on Roshar, having existed in some form prior to the [[Shattering]].{{wob ref|9266}} He is the Cognitive manifestation of peoples' impression of the [[highstorm]].{{book ref|sa3|31}} He exists mostly in the Physical Realm, with only a minor presence in Shadesmar.{{book ref|sa3|107}} He commands the highstorms that circle the planet, with the ability to choose when to send one.{{book ref|sa2|83}} While he generally accompanies storms, his level of power allows him to be much more omnipresent.{{wob ref|4268}} He's one of the three main [[Bondsmith]] spren, granting the [[Surge]]s of [[Adhesion]] and [[Tension]].{{book ref|sa2|89}}
 
To the [[singer]]s, the Stormfather is known as the Rider of Storms. At some point, he has switched sides to humans, leading to [[listener]]s feeling betrayed by him.{{book ref|sa2|i|5}} He was also changed by [[Honor]] shortly before the latter's death, providing him with more awareness, and partly merging him with [[Tanavast]]'s [[Cognitive Shadow]].{{book ref|sa3|113}} [[Dalinar]]'s ability to open [[Honor's Perpendicularity]] might have something to do with it.{{book ref|sa3|119}}
{{Stormlight}}
[[category: magic]]
[[category: sapient beings]]
[[category: Spren| ]]
[[Category: Splinters]]

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