Editors, Keepers
8,240
edits
Difference between revisions of "Sylphrena"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
m
I shall use this quote later
Reinhartmax (talk | contribs) |
m (I shall use this quote later) |
||
| (36 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown) | |||
|
{{character
|image=
|abilities=[[Nahel bond]], [[Windrunner]] magic, {{tag+|Splinter}} of [[Honor]]
|bonded=[[Kaladin]]
|species=Honorspren
|world=Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}
{{quote
| I bind things, Kaladin. I am honorspren. Spirit of oaths. Of promises. And of nobility.
| Sylphrena speaks to [[Kaladin]] about her nature{{book ref|sa1|67}}
}}
'''Sylphrena''' (<small>Alethi pronunciation:</small> [[Wikipedia:Help:IPA|[sɪlˈfɹɛ·nə]]] [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key|''sil-'''<small>FREN</small>'''-na'']]), or '''Syl''', is
== Appearance and Personality ==▼
[[File:Kaladin and Syl by Audrey Hotte.jpeg|thumb|left|300px|<center><small>by {{a|Audrey Hotte}}</small></center> ]]
=== Appearance ===
{{for|/Gallery|more images}}
In the [[Physical Realm]], Syl can take on a variety of appearances, including a ribbon of light,{{book ref|sa3|5}} a flurry of leaves,{{book ref|sa1|23}} flame,{{book ref|sa1|40}} or a small cloud.{{book ref|sa1|27}} However, she prefers the form of a young woman about a handspan tall, with an angular face and flowing hair that fade into mist behind her head.{{book ref|sa1|2}} She usually wears a long, flowing dress, of a girlish cut.{{book ref|sa1|9}} She will often augment it with various other articles of clothing, like a cap, a jacket or an umbrella, or swap it out for similar attire, like a [[havah]] with a [[safehand]].{{book ref|sa3|46}}{{book ref|sa3|5}} Regardless of her clothing, however, she always goes barefoot.{{book ref|sa3|91}} In any form she takes, her entire form has a uniform, blue-white color, and glows with faint blue light. While [[Kaladin]] and [[Lunamor]] can always see her, to others, she's invisible unless she wills herself to be seen.{{book ref|sa1|21}}
In [[Shadesmar]], Syl is incapable of changing forms, or becoming invisible.{{book ref|sa3|97}} There, she is human-sized, looking like a pretty girl with blue-white skin.{{book ref|sa3|90}} She wears a dress but, like with her Physical Realm form, she is barefoot.{{book ref|sa3|91}} This being said, while she is humanoid, she does not share human biology -- her eyes are decorative rather than functional, and she sees the world in the same way spren without human features, like the [[Cryptic]]s, do.{{book ref|sa3|97}}
▲== Appearance and Personality ==
=== Personality ===
{{quote
| I know this because I am intelligent and articulate. You should compliment me now.
| Syl{{book ref|sa2|9}}
}}
Syl is generally cheerful and mischevious, often making jokes and playing pranks on those around her. She's highly irreverent, and can be forgetful at times.{{book ref|sa3|10}} She's unflinchingly optimistic, always trying to see the best in people, and always believing that there's something good waiting in the future.{{book ref|sa1|11}} She does have a bit of a prideful streak, although she often plays it for laughs, calling herself a "tiny piece of god" and trying to trick [[Lunamor]] into building a shrine for her.{{book ref|sa2|9}} She's constantly curious about the world around her, and particularly people and how they look and act, often using her invisibility to spy on them at an uncomfortably close distance.{{book ref|sa1|17}} She has little sense of propriety in this regard -- at some point, she even snuck in to observe people being intimate with each other.{{book ref|sa3|10}}
She has a very strict code of ethics, despising deception and lies, although she eventually becomes more willing to be cunning.{{book ref|sa1|34}}{{book ref|sa3|17}} She believes that being a [[Windrunner]] is not about finding justice, and that the use of their power is only justified when protecting others.{{book ref|sa2|22}}{{book ref|sa2|18}} She can be very assertive and even angry when she perceive someone as acting in a wrong manner.{{book ref|sa2|18}}{{book ref|sa2|16}} However, she also believes in the "us versus them" duality in the war against [[Odium]], and becomes uneasy and confused when the lines grow blurry.{{book ref|sa3|31}} She can be rather forceful in her attempts to do what she thinks is right, even when it could hurt the emotions of others. She despises [[Shardbearer]]s.{{book ref|sa3|10}}
Syl is particularly focused on keeping [[Kaladin]] in a healthy mental state. She always tries to push him to keep going even when he's at his worst, and encourages him to let himself be happy.{{book ref|sa1|11}}{{book ref|sa2|86}} When he's in the depths of depression, she looks after him and tries to comfort him, often acting like his sounding board when he's unwilling to speak to others.{{book ref|sa3|91}} However, while her efforts are always well-meaning, she can sometimes try and force him to act her way, even when he's perfectly capable of disagreeing.{{book ref|sa3|10}}
== History ==
=== Creation & Early Life ===
Sometime before the [[Day of Recreance]], [[Honor]] passed on the responsibility of creating [[honorspren]] to the [[Stormfather]], who only created a handful of spren at first, among
=== Meeting Kaladin & Bridge Four ===
[[File:Honor is Dead by ThomasW.jpg|thumb|right|250px|<center><small>by {{a|ThomasW}}</small></center> Syl speaking with Kaladin for the first time]]
Leaving [[Shadesmar]] made Sylphrena lose most of her cognitive ability, becoming a mostly mindless spren and acting like most [[windspren]], which are considered a sort of cousin to honorspren.{{qa ref|979|29|Are all wind spren really just unbonded honor spren?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} During this time, Syl closely followed Kaladin from his time at Amaram's army, during his battle with [[Helaran Davar]] and during his eight months as a slave. Syl especially took note of the time when Kal found the leaves of [[blackbane]] and kept them. At first, she just played pranks on him, as a regular windspren would, like sticking things to his hand, however, proximity to Kaladin slowly returned her memory and intelligence. Kaladin started to notice her presence while he was enslaved, thinking of her as a common windspren, but finding it strange that she had followed him for so long. Right before Kal was sold to Sadeas' warcamp, Syl was able to talk to him, at first just calling his name, but later being able to carry a conversation. At the start, Kaladin was unwilling to talk to her and thought he was going insane, but eventually gave in.{{book ref|sa1|4}}{{book ref|sa1|43}}▼
▲Leaving [[Shadesmar]] made Sylphrena lose most of her cognitive ability, becoming a mostly mindless spren and acting like most [[windspren]], which are considered a sort of cousin to honorspren.{{
When Kal was sold as a slave to Amaram's army he was sent to [[Bridge Four]] to be a bridgeman under [[Gaz]] due to his ''shash'' brand. He was then immediatelly sent to his first bridge run, without any preparation or equipment and forced to assault the [[Parshendi]] while carrying a bridge. When the run is over Kaladin tried to help the other bridgemen but was too tired and just collapsed unconscious, when the other bridgemen left, he was almost left behind, but Syl called his name and urged him to get up and move.{{book ref|sa1|6}} During his time in Bridge Four Sylphrena becomes increasingly more aware and intelligent and recovers some of her memory from her life in Shadesmar. Kaladin, however, got more and more depressed at his situation and eventually, Syl was unable to bear seeing Kal in this state and told him she would leave, but would come back soon. Sylphrena, reminded of how Kaladin had felt hope when he kept the blackbane, went to look for more of the plant. However, her absence made Kal get even more depressed and drove him to go take his life at the [[Honor Chasm]], where Syl finally came back, carrying a leave of blackbane and explained to him that she thought it would make him feel better. This innocent gesture ironically gives Kaladin the will to live again and he leaves the chasm resolved to become bridge leader and save all the other men of Bridge Four.{{expand}}▼
▲When Kal was sold as a slave to
=== Death and Rebirth ===
When Kaladin began to break his oaths
When Kaladin tried to save Elhokar from the assassination attempt, he thought the words of the First Ideal, and began to hear shouting. It resolved into Syl arguing with the Stormfather and being forbidden to return to Kaladin. Syl then told Kaladin to speak the words, and he spoke the Third Ideal of the Windrunners. Syl then reappeared and spun around Kaladin, telling him to hold out his hand. He did so, blocking Moash's Shardblade as Syl formed into a Shardblade in his hand. His Surgebinding abilities came back, and Syl was able to speak in his mind and tell him that she was "only as dead as his oaths".{{expand}}
== Abilities and Attributes ==
Like other larger spren, Syl
=== Nahel Bond ===
{{quote
| I'm behind what is happening to you. I'm doing it. It's both of us. But without me, nothing would be changing in you. I'm . . . taking something from you. And giving something in return
| Syl to [[Kaladin]]
}}
As an honorspren, Syl has the capacity to bond with people, gaining higher sentience in the [[Physical Realm]] in exchange for granting her partner -- currently, [[Kaladin]] -- [[Windrunner]] abilities, including the [[Surge]]s of Adhesion and [[Gravitation]].{{book ref|sa1|57}} Beyond that, once her Surgebinder reaches the Third Oath, she is able to transform into a living, shape-shifting [[Shardblade]]. In this form, she's capable of communicating with [[Kaladin]] telepathically.{{book ref|sa2|86}}
However, there is a downside to this bond. When Kaladin strays from his Oaths and break them, Syl begins to lose her higher mental functions, to the point where she essentially dies.{{book ref|sa2|64}}{{book ref|sa2|69}} However, she is brought back once Kaladin returns to the path of the Windrunner and swears the Third Oath.{{book ref|sa2|84}}
▲When Kaladin began to break his oaths during Words of Radiance, Syl started losing sentience, reverting back to a mindless windspren. She became more childlike, easily distracted, and lost her bond with Kaladin to the point where he could no longer draw upon Stormlight to Surgebind. When Kaladin fell into the chasm, he was able to draw one breath of Stormlight to save himself, though he heard Syl scream in his head. She did not reappear after that, and during the next highstorm, Kaladin received a vision from the Stormfather, saying that he had killed her. He was no longer able to use any Surgebinding powers, and Syl vanished. When Kaladin tried to save Elhokar from the assassination attempt, he thought the words of the First Ideal, and began to hear shouting. It resolved into Syl arguing with the Stormfather and being forbidden to return to Kaladin. Syl then told Kaladin to speak the words, and he spoke the Third Ideal of the Windrunners. Syl then reappeared and spun around Kaladin, telling him to hold out his hand. He did so, blocking Moash's Shardblade as Syl formed into a Shardblade in his hand. His Surgebinding abilities came back, and Syl was able to speak in his mind and tell him that she ''was only as dead as his oaths''.
== Quotes ==
{{quote
| You'd better catch me before I scamper away! Wow! I’m feeling capricious today. I might just vanish again, off to where nobody can find me!
| Talking to the crew of ''[[Honor's Path]]''{{book ref|sa3|102}}
}}
== Trivia ==
* In an earlier version of The Way of Kings, Syl was named "The East Wind."{{wob ref|2251}}
* Sylphrena originally came from an unpublished Cosmere work called ''Climb the Sky''.{{wob ref
* Sylphrena's name is inspired by the word "sylph", or air spirit, and "sylphlike" can be used to describe a slender young woman, both of which fit Syl to a certain degree.{{wob ref
== Notes ==
<references>
</references>
{{partial}}
| |||