Difference between revisions of "Voidbringer"

|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]

}}{{exemplary|date=2018-06-16}}

The '''Voidbringers''' are historically considered to be a group of creatures that attacked the humans of [[Roshar]] in a series of wars known as [[Desolation]]s.{{book ref|twok|45}} In the four and a half millennia since [[Aharietiam]],{{book ref|sa3|38}} much of the factual evidence on the Voidbringers has faded into myth and legend, as well as [[Vorin]] doctrine.{{book ref|sa1|45}} Voidbringers were said to have cast humanity out of the Tranquiline Halls and fought the [[Herald|Heralds of the Almighty]] and [[Knights Radiant]] on Roshar.

 

| They came from another world, using powers that we have been forbidden to touch. Dangerous powers, of spren and Surges. They destroyed their lands and have come to us begging.

| [[Eila Stele]]{{book ref|sa3|111}}

The very earliest people called the Voidbringers were actually the first humans on Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|111}} They came to Roshar fleeing their former homeworld{{book ref|sa3|111}} of [[Ashyn]]{{wob ref|9464}} which they had destroyed with the [[Dawnshard]]s,{{book ref|sa3|113}} bringing with them their god, the [[Shard]] [[Odium]].{{book ref|sa3|121}} Initially confined to [[Shinovar]], the place they had been given that was sheltered from the [[highstorm]]s, they eventually moved to conquer all of Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|113}} The original inhabitants of Roshar, the [[singers]], named them Voidbringers,{{book ref|sa3|111}} for they had brought the void, Odium.{{book ref|sa3|121}} At some point in this conflict, humankind instead became aligned with the Shard Honor,{{book ref|sa3|121}} whereas the singers took the aid of Odium, who granted them powers.{{book ref|sa3|38}} When those he had granted power died, they refused to move on to the [[Beyond]], instead reincarnating themselves by possessing the bodies of other singers. These were the very first [[Fused]]. Humankind began to lose, unable to defeat enemies that were continually reborn. Ten humans asked Honor for the ability to seal away the spirits of the Fused on [[Braize]], much as Odium was trapped by Honor. Honor made them into his [[Herald]]s, granting them this ability as well as the [[Honorblade]]s.

 

 

{{sidequote

| The Diagram, Book of the 2nd Ceiling Rotation: pattern 1{{epigraph ref|sa2|83}}

 

Millennia later, the remaining singers fought against humanity in the [[False Desolation]],{{book ref|sa3|56}} led by the Unmade [[Ba-Ado-Mishram]].{{epigraph ref|sa3|80}} The [[Bondsmith]] [[Melishi]] used his abilities{{epigraph ref|sa3|79}} to imprisoned the Unmade,{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} but inadvertently{{epigraph ref|sa3|81}} also damaged the minds of all the singers who had been Connected to her.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} This rendered the singers into the servile parshmen who were repurposed to form the backbone of human labor for the next several centuries.{{book ref|sa1|72}} Memory of the Voidbringers faded over the centuries, as they became considered to be myths and legends.{{book ref|sa1|19}} Even several generations after the departure of the Heralds, memory of the Voidbringers was already becoming confused.{{book ref|sa1|28}} Information from the shadowdays was fragmented{{book ref|sa1|45}} and what little knowledge that remained of the Voidbringers was heavily revised and edited by the Vorin church during the days of the [[Hierocracy]].{{book ref|sa2|6}} Eventually after four thousand and five hundred years, Taln finally broke under torture in Damnation,{{book ref|sa1|epilogue}}{{book ref|sa3|38}} releasing the Voidspren and the spirits of the Fused.{{book ref|sa3|38}} Voidspren began carving out an empire in Shadesmar,{{book ref|sa3|108}} and as a result some true spren returned to the Physical Realm bond with humankind to try to prevent the Desolation.{{book ref|sa2|13}}

In 1173, a [[Listener|group of singers]] that had avoided losing their Connection and Identity by abandoning their gods and chosing dullform{{book ref|sa2|i|4}} fought the [[Alethi]] in the [[War of Reckoning]]{{book ref|sa1|43}} on the [[Shattered Plains]].{{book ref|sa1|12}} A single Voidspren guided one singer, [[Venli]], to the discovery of stormform, a form of power.{{book ref|sa3|i|3}} Fearful of being driven to extinction by the Alethi,{{book ref|sa2|i|11}} the singers took stormform and in a final [[Battle of Narak|battle with the Alethi]] summoned the [[Everstorm]].{{book ref|sa2|84}} As this storm passed over Roshar in early 1174, it restored Identity and Connection to the parshmen, returning their minds and personalities to them.{{book ref|sa3|17}} The Fused also returned, taking the bodies of unwittingly willing singers.{{book ref|sa3|i|6}} The Voidspren guided the newly-awakened singers to several different locations, conquering their way through [[Emul]]{{book ref|sa3|96}} and concentrating their forces in [[Alethkar]],{{book ref|sa3|96}} [[Marat]],{{book ref|sa3|27}} and [[Iri]], where humankind had agreed to help the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa3|16}} The Voidbringers in Iri have also moved to capture the Oathgates in [[Rall Elorim]], [[Kurth]], and [[Panatham]], securing most of the territory around the [[Purelake]].{{book ref|sa3|122}}

{{sidequote

 

The Voidbringer forces in Alethkar [[Siege of Kholinar|laid siege]] to the capital of [[Kholinar]].{{book ref|sa3|51}} With the help of several Unmade sowing chaos in the city,{{book ref|sa3|77}} the Voidbringers managed to take the city and its Oathgate, despite the best efforts of the returning Knights Radiant.{{book ref|sa3|85}} Several weeks later, Odium directed the Voidbringers to make another push to capture an Oathgate, this time located in [[Thaylen City]],{{book ref|sa3|115}} as well as force the Bondsmith [[Dalinar Kholin]] to submit to Odium and become his champion.{{book ref|sa3|117}} With the help of [[Nergaoul]], the Voidbringers successfully managed to bond with the men of the [[Sadeas princedom|Sadeas]] army.{{book ref|sa3|115}} These corrupted humans, along with [[Yelig-nar]],{{book ref|sa3|118}} the Fused, and two thunderclasts, formed the major Voidbringer forces for the battle.{{book ref|sa3|115}} Fortunately Dalinar managed to shake off this temptation and swear his next [[Immortal Words|Ideal]], opening [[Honor's Perpendicularity]] to provide Stormlight for the fight and allow some of his Radiants in Shadesmar to aid in the fight.{{book ref|sa3|119}} The Radiants and humankind managed to defend the city by capturing [[Nergaoul]] within a [[perfect gemstone]] and freeing the Sadeas soldiers from Odium's influence.{{book ref|sa3|120}} The Voidbringers themselves remain a dangerous enemy with control over vast swathes of Roshar. They have not yet decided what will become of humanity should they achieve total victory, but some among the Fused desire to drive them to extinction to ensure that they are safe from humans and Honor forever.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}

=== Fused ===

{{quote

}}

 

{{quote

| Qualify yourselves for greater service, and you will be elevated to the place of a Regal, given a form of power.

}}

{{for|Regal}}

{{for|Singers}}

{{sidequote

The singers themselves are merely the race of people that are native to Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|111}} However, they have been heavily influenced by their ancestors, the Fused, and typically are supportive of Odium. After the capture of [[Ba-Ado-Mishram]] in the [[False Desolation]],{{epigraph ref|sa3|80}} most of the singers were damaged by this action, and were robbed of their consciousness.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}} With the arrival of the Everstorm, their Connection and Identity were restored and they awoke again.{{book ref|sa3|17}} The singers who awoke in a certain kingdom feel like citizens of that nation, they adopt similar customs{{book ref|sa3|65}} and consider those lands their homes.{{book ref|sa3|109}} The singers are angry about the slavery{{book ref|sa3|20}} and wish to build their own lasting empires and reclaim their ancestral homelands.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} Even still, some wish that they could avoid this conflict and simply find their own place to live.{{book ref|sa3|115}} They feel as though they lack an identity as a people and are struggling to find their path forward as a people.{{book ref|sa3|121}}

 

 

=== Myth & Folklore ===

 

In rural areas, Voidbringers played a wide variety of roles in the culture. Oftentimes the Voidbringers were seen as mischievous, rather than evil, punishing foolish people and causing bad luck.{{book ref|sa1|45}} They were are often blamed for small misfortunes, such as a blighted crop{{book ref|sa1|10}} or laundry going missing.{{book ref|sa1|45}} In more urban areas, stories of the Voidbringers are slightly different. They are said to be a type evil spren that walk the night and enter the hearts of good men{{book ref|sa1|45}} and make them do terrible things.{{book ref|sa1|61}} The poorly educated often confuse mental illness for possession by a Voidbringer.{{book ref|sa2|63}} Voidbringers are almost seen as being synonymous with monsters and other superstitions, hiding in corners or under the bed.{{book ref|sa1|42}} The term Voidbringer is even sometimes used as an affectionate nickname for troublemakers,{{book ref|sa2|39}} or a metaphor for difficult past events.{{book ref|sa2|41}}

 

=== Theology ===

 

According to Vorin theology, the Voidbringers are real creatures,{{book ref|sa1|45}} incarnations of destruction{{book ref|sa3|51}} or death given form.{{book ref|sa2|35}} They were created in Damnation forged from pure hatred.{{book ref|sa1|45}} They are viewed as counterparts to the Almighty,{{book ref|sa1|45}} as well as his mythological enemies.{{book ref|sa1|42}} They are said to have come into existence to oppose the Almighty, as the cosmere needed to balance his ultimate goodness.{{book ref|sa1|45}} They dwell in the hearts of mankind, just as the Almighty once did. The Voidbringers were said to have red eyes{{book ref|sa2|78}} and stand dozens of feet tall with bodies of flame{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} and stone,{{book ref|sa1|3}} which required [[Shardblade]]s to be defeated.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} In other tales, the Voidbringers had horrific faces and spindly arms of bone.{{book ref|sa3|81}} Other Voidbringers lacked a form, spectral spirits of the dead or spren from Damnation.{{book ref|sa3|2}}

| A scourge and a plague. A hundred times they came upon mankind. First casting us from the Tranquiline Halls, then trying to destroy us here on Roshar. They weren't just spren that hid under rocks, then came out to steal someone’s laundry. They were creatures of terrible destructive power, forged in Damnation, created from hate.

| [[Kabsal]] on the Voidbringers{{book ref|sa1|45}}

 

The Voidbringers are said to have attacked humanity in the [[Tranquiline Halls]], capturing it and forcing humanity into [[Roshar]].{{book ref|sa1|45}} The Voidbringers then tried to force humanity into Damnation itself.{{book ref|sa1|61}} Humankind fought against the Voidbringers, led by the [[Herald|Heralds of the Almighty]]{{book ref|sa1|15}}{{book ref|sa1|45}} and their chosen [[Knights Radiant]].{{book ref|sa1|42}} The two groups clashed ninety-nine times,{{book ref|sa1|45}} each time the Voidbringers tried to destroy everything in their path{{book ref|sa3|51}} annihilate humankind{{book ref|sa3|2}} but the humans successfully held Roshar.{{book ref|sa1|42}} Finally in Aharietiam, the Final Desolations, humankind succeeded in throwing back the Voidbringers to the Tranquiline Halls.{{book ref|sa1|45}} The Heralds themselves followed them, intending to reclaim the Tranquiline Halls once and for all. It is believed that the best of humankind will join in the [[War for Heaven]]{{book ref|sa1|59}} and leading men{{book ref|sa3|105}} or fighting against the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa1|15}} The Unmade were said to be the princes of the Voidbringers,{{book ref|sa3|32}} able to blind the eyes of men and mislead them.{{book ref|sa3|16}} The Voidbringers are also said to flay souls in Damnation, torturing people for eternity.{{book ref|sa3|41}}

In modern Vorinism, the Voidbringers have been relegated to a less prominent place in the theology, as they are associated with the Lost Radiants and the failings of Vorinism.{{book ref|sa1|45}} The Vorin church rejects the tales of the [[False Desolation]], claiming that no Voidbringers survived on Roshar following the Aharietiam.{{book ref|sa3|56}} Even still, precognition or fortune-telling is still considered to be related to the [[Voidbringers]]{{book ref|sa2|8}}{{epigraph ref|sa2|5}} and [[Voidbinding]],{{book ref|sa1|18}} and forbidden in Vorin society.{{book ref|sa1|i|6}} In fact, the return of the Voidbringers has made the church suspicious of all Radiants and Surgebinding, fearful that their powers come from the Voidbringer.{{book ref|sa3|50}}

 

 

Little is known about the beliefs of the Shamanate on the Voidbringers. They say that the Voidbringers could hold Stormlight in perfectly, unlike humankind.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} The Stone Shaman hold that the Voidbringers do not exist anymore. Szeth's claims that the Voidbringers had returned were apparently serious enough to lead to his banishment from Shin society.{{book ref|sa2|i|10}}

| The Voidbringers had a natural, real-world correlate, I'm certain of it. Something caused the legends.

| [[Jasnah Kholin]] to [[Shallan]]{{book ref|sa3|72}}

The well educated don't believe in the Voidbringers oftentimes.{{book ref|sa1|10}} They are considered to be little more than myths to most scholars, similar to the [[deathspren]].{{book ref|sa1|45}} Many consider all the tales and folklore to be nonsensical and what few serious histories exist are often self-contradictory and vague, as the Desolations occurred during prehistory.{{book ref|sa1|45}} Some fringe scholars might believe in the Voidbringers, but most respected scholars believe them fabrications{{book ref|sa1|72}} constructed by the Lost Radiants as a justification for their power.{{book ref|sa1|42}} Folklorists are the only ones who make a serious study of the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa1|61}} [[Jasnah Kholin]] began a study into the Voidbringers,{{book ref|sa1|45}} traveling to various libraries across Roshar searching for information on them.{{book ref|sa1|28}} She developed a hypothesis that the Voidbringers and the parshmen were one and the same before the arrival of the Everstorm.{{book ref|sa1|72}} While Jasnah was trapped in Shadesmar and presumed dead, her ward, [[Shallan Davar]], managed to convince at least some of the Alethi on the Shattered Plains of Jasnah's beliefs.{{book ref|sa2|77}}{{book ref|sa2|78}} Jasnah was ultimately proved at least partially correct,{{book ref|sa2|87}} although she had not anticipated the existence of the Fused.

 

 

== Trivia ==

*While humans are not technically considered to be Voidbringers by the modern day definition, they have fought on the side of the Voidbringers in both the past Desolations{{book ref|sa3|38}} and the current Desolation.{{book ref|sa3|16}}

 

== Notes ==

{{complete|[[User:Chaos2651|Chaos2651]] ([[User talk:Chaos2651|talk]]) 17:54, 16 June 2018 (MST)}}

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