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Hoid was involved in the events taking place before any of the cosmere's published books begin and is the second oldest character seen so far.{{qa ref|1084|24}} He was originally human, but has changed enough that when asked, Brandon only says "It's complicated."{{qa ref|1088|4}} Hoid is not a [[Shard]], nor is he a [[Herald]], but something else entirely.{{qa ref|697|21}} He is very skilled with disguises, and the overtness of his involvement varies from book to book. In some, he is named outright and makes references to other events and places in the cosmere, while in others he is seen only deep in disguise, almost unrecognizable. Brandon has confirmed that all of these appearances are the same individual,{{qa ref|690|39}} but that he [[worldhopping|worldhops]] between planets. Hoid's motives are unknown, and most of his actions occur behind the scenes.
His particular style of storytelling in which he manipulates sand or smoke to illustrate his stories, as in [[Warbreaker]] and [[The Way of Kings]], does not originate from [[White Sand]], but from another unpublished story, [[The Liar of Partinel]].{{qa ref|590|40}} In Warbreaker, Siri asked Hoid where he learned his style of story telling. Hoid answered,
Hoid is neither the author of the [[Ars Arcanum|Ars Arcana]], nor of the back-of-book blurb for [[Words of Radiance]].{{qa ref|1080|5}} He occasionally will show up somewhere, stand around for a while, realize there isn't a novel-worthy plot going on, and leave.{{17s ref|post|104720}}
=== Early Life ===
{{quote
|I had thought that when he rejected the rest of us, he would stop interfering. I should know better than to trust an implication from him. Half the time you
|Fuzz on Hoid{{msh ref|2|1}}
}}
Very little of Hoid's origin is known beyond the fact that he was present at the [[Shattering]] of [[Adonalsium]] on [[Yolen]].{{twg ref|7302|0}} He knew at least some of the original [[Vessel]]s personally, was friends with [[Rayse]],{{qa ref|1105|1}} and [[Tanavast]] once bought him a drink.{{book ref|sa2|epilogue}} Hoid was once offered a Shard at the time of the Shattering, but refused to take it.{{wob ref
At some point following the Shattering, Hoid traveled to Roshar. He met the singers there and even shared a dance with one of them, [[Vatwha]], a member of the [[Fused]]. He also at some point interacted with the [[Unkalaki]] culture, where they came to worship him as Lunu'anaki, the god of travel and mischief. They learned of his inability to hurt others, and details of this affliction and his appearance entered the Unkalaki mythology.
=== The Restoration of Elantris (Sel) ===
{{quote
| There is beauty in every disaster, friend, if you are clever enough to find it.
| Hoid to a skaze
}}
=== The Collapse of the Final Empire and Catacendre (Scadrial) ===
Hoid arrived on Scadrial, likely through Ruin's Perpendicularity in the Pits of Hathsin. He took up the guise of an informant, pretending to have bad eyesight in order to make himself less threatening to people seeking information from him.{{book ref|mb1|19}} At some point he became known to both [[Dockson]] and [[Ashweather Cett]]. Kelsier, pretending to be a nobleman contacted Hoid, requesting information on House Renoux. Hoid (closed shop, smoking tobacco) met with Kelsier on the streets of Luthadel and told him that House Renoux was buying large amounts of weapons and armor from various noble houses and that Lord Renoux was considering a marriage between Valette and Elend Venture. He also claimed that Renoux was rumored to have some sort of leverage on Venture and that he knew [[Shan Elariel]] to be a [[Soother]]. At some point following this, he left Scadrial to attend to other business, again likely via the Pits.{{wob ref|1552
[[File:Drifter.png|thumb|right|250px|[[Kelsier]] and Hoid's meeting at the [[Well of Ascension]] by [[Coppermind:Artist/LittleGreyDragon|LittleGreyDragon]]]]
== Appearance & Personality ==
Hoid's appearance varies dramatically from book to book. He's often in disguise, which makes his true appearance difficult to ascertain. Couple this with the fact that he can most likely Lightweave his appearance in order to look however he wants, it makes it nearly impossible to know for sure what he looks like. To the best of our knowledge, his face is lined,{{book ref|twok|54}} hawk-like and arrow shaped. Hoid is tall and thin{{book ref|twok|12}} and also has a sharp nose and jaw with delicate eyebrows.{{book ref|twok|54}} He tends to cock his head to one side{{book ref|twok|57}} and has keen blue eyes.{{book ref|twok|12}} Hoid's hair is white, although he occasionally dyes it.{{book ref|twok|i|1}} There is a particular reason for his hair being white, which will be revealed in the future.{{wob ref
Hoid's true personality, while also usually disguised, is more easily seen as he occasionally drops whatever part he is playing. One of his overall most noticeable traits is his sharp wit and intelligence. The characters he plays often have a penchant for jokes and mockery but when he removes the facade his personality often seems mysterious and grave.{{book ref|twok|epilogue}}{{book ref|twok|57}} If he was asked about whether he called himself a good man personality-wise, Hoid would reply with a "No".{{wob ref
Hoid cannot easily kill people "because of certain things in his past."{{qa ref|1044|9}} Rock says he cannot hurt man because it is forbidden by other gods.{{book ref|sa2|46}} He also tells a young Shallan, "You needn't fear me. I'm terribly ineffective at hurting people. I blame my upbringing."{{book ref|sa2|45}} Hoid apologizes to Kelsier after beating him in a fight, stating he doesn't have the inclination to do real harm to him.{{msh ref|2|1}} This aversion causes him to be nauseous when thinking about physically harming someone, and is sometimes bad enough to incapacitate him. However, this only extends to physical trauma- Hoid has no issues with mentally hurting someone or through inaction.{{wob ref
On Roshar as [[Elhokar|King Elhokar]]'s Wit he appears to be in his mid-30's{{wob ref
{{quote
| Tall and thin, the
| {{book ref|sa1|12}}
}}
The blade is not magically invested but has personal value to Hoid.{{qa ref|1181|6|Brandon on Hoid|date=2016-12-03}} It is a symbol of office for the King's Wit, though Hoid "isn't even that good with a sword".{{wob ref
<gallery caption="Images of Hoid">
== Abilities ==
{{theory}}
Hoid does not yet have the abilities of every planet he's visited.{{qa ref|1110|5}} Some of his powers predate the [[Shattering]], but none of them are gained through [[Hemalurgy]].{{qa ref|1115|44}} Hoid is concerned about opening himself up to the influence of Shards, so he only gains access to manifestations of Investiture through *** ways.{{wob ref
=== Worldhopping ===
Hoid travels between various planets within the cosmere by making use of perpendicularities,{{wob ref|1472
=== Extremely long life and time dilation ===
|Hoid to Jasnah on her Shardblade
}}
Hoid has access to some sort of healing factor that is capable of repairing both the body and the [[Spiritweb|soul]].{{qa ref|1071|2}} He is able to regenerate any damaged body parts at will, including his head. Hoid is able to repress his healing factor in some way, preventing instantaneous healing, an ability that he makes use of in some of his disguises.{{book ref|sa3|epilogue}} This healing factor makes it very difficult to kill Hoid,{{qa ref|1044|9}} although he is still at least somewhat vulnerable.{{book ref|sa3|epilogue}} The name of the manifestation of Investiture responsible for Hoid's healing is unknown, but it is ancient,{{wob ref
=== Fortune ===
{{sidequote
|I have discovered a place that I must be, though to be honest I'm not exactly sure why I need to be there. This
|Hoid to Dalinar{{book ref|sa2|67}}
|right|300px;}}
Hoid has access to an ability that allows him to make use of the Spiritual attribute of [[Fortune]],{{wob ref|2567
=== Connection ===
Hoid has access to some manifestation of Investiture that allows him to manipulate the Spiritual attribute of [[Connection]]. The full extent of this ability is unknown, but its primary known use is to help Hoid speak the various languages of the worlds of the cosmere that he visits. The ability allows him to Connect to whatever land he is in, temporarily altering his Spiritual aspect to believe that he was raised in that place, allowing him to speak as a native.{{wob ref|3759
=== Metallic Arts ===
Hoid has also gained access to Allomancy,{{wob ref|4877
=== Awakening ===
|Hoid to Kaladin on making music{{book ref|sa2|59}}
}}
As a Yolish man, Hoid was not himself born with any Biochromatic Breath.{{wob ref|3212
=== Surgebinder ===
{{quote
|
|Hoid to a Cryptic{{book ref|sa3|epilogue}}
}}
* Topaz{{17s ref|post|337201|}}
* Drifter{{msh ref|2|1}}
*
* Cephandrius Maxtori{{17s ref|post|337235}}{{wob ref
=== Suspected Pseudonyms ===
* Midius{{book ref|sa3|121}} Midius is a name Hoid uses in an unpublished work; it is probable that Ash is referring to Hoid.
{{quote
| What you saw belongs to you. A story
"What does the story mean, then?"<br>
"It means what you want it to mean. The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.
* Hoid loves bacon.{{wob ref|3098}}
* Hoid's parents were married, or at least he is not illegitimate.{{msh ref|2|1}}
* His favorite type of spren is a [[Cryptic]].{{wob ref
* He has a good opinion of [[Khriss]], and they have met at least once.{{wob ref
* Hoid has had a romantic interest in the past.{{wob ref
* He is the happiest when "getting away with something". When asked in what published book that was, Brandon responded with ''[[The Bands of Mourning]]''.{{wob ref
* Prior to the events ''Words of Radiance'', Hoid has not been hugged in "a long time".{{wob ref
== Notes ==
{{qa ref|689|5|When will we hear Hoid's story?|date=Nov 8, 2011}}
{{qa ref|690|39|This is, indeed, the very same person|date=Jul, 2009|asker=@feifner}}
{{qa ref|690|43|
{{qa ref|697|21|Is Hoid a Herald?|date=2010-12}}
{{qa ref|727|24|Is Slowswift Hoid?|date=2008-10-15}}
{{qa ref|1115|44|Hoid has no Hemalurgy|date=Jan 17, 2015}}
{{qa ref|1115|50|Is there a Hoid cameo in Shadows for Silence?|date=2015-1-17}}
{{twg ref|date=2009-12-19|7302|0|Hoid was at the Shattering}}
|