Difference between revisions of "Voidbringer"

| 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]]{{bookepigraph ref|sa3|111115}}

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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}} [[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 of emotions, Odium.{{book ref|sa3|121}}{{epigraph ref|sa3|117}} At some point in this conflict, mankind 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 whom Odium 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]]. Mankind 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.

While this Oathpact worked for a time, the Heralds could be tortured into betraying their oaths and allowing the spirits to return to Roshar in an event known as a [[Desolation]].{{book ref|sa3|38}} Over time the singers and the rest of Odium's forces became known as the Voidbringers by mankind. They fought against mankind to reclaim their homelands on Roshar and occupy them,{{book ref|sa3|83}} destroying human civilization{{book ref|sa3|14}} and killing a huge portion of the population.{{book ref|sa1|60}} In joining with Odium, the singers had given over absolute authority to him, directing the overarching strategy of the Voidbringer attacks and creating plans independently of the Fused.{{book ref|sa3|115}} Mankind repelled them each time, with the help of Honor, the Heralds and the [[Knights Radiant]]. The cycle of torture and Desolations exhausted the Heralds, causing them to one day abandon the Oathpact after a few thousand years, leaving behind only [[TalenelTalenelat]], who had been forced to return to Braize when he was killed. Taln had never broken before, and, by the strength of his will alone, held back the next Desolation.

Millennia later, the remaining singers fought against humanityhumans 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 imprisonedimprison 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 severalcouple centuriesmillennia.{{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, Talnthe Voidspren finallyand brokethe underspirits tortureof inthe Fused Damnationwere somehow released,{{book ref|sa1|epilogue}}even without Taln breaking.{{book ref|sa3|38}} releasing the Voidspren and the spirits of the Fused.{{bookwob ref|sa3|3814869}} 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 humans 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 chosingchoosing 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 humans 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}}

The group most easily called the Voidbringers, the Fused are [[Cognitive Shadow]]s of ancient singers that were granted access to the [[Surge]]s by Odium long ago.{{book ref|sa3|38}} Making use of [[Voidlight]], the Fused are often also referred to as spren instead of Cognitive Shadows,{{book ref|sa3|38}} although either term is applicable. The Fused are among the most dangerous enemy of mankind, as their repeated deaths and resurrections have given them ample opportunity to hone their skills in the art of war against mankind.{{book ref|sa3|i|3}} With the weakening of the [[Oathpact]] and the arrival of the [[Everstorm]], the Fused are no longer sent to Damnation upon their death, they are instead reincarnated upon the next Everstorm.{{book ref|sa3|38}} With repeated rebirth, the Fused's minds of the Fused gradually degrade, resulting in eventual insanity. The Fused are also responsible for the [[thunderclast]]s, enormous skeletal monsters with bodies of stone, inhabiting rock as they would a singer.{{book ref|sa3|115}}

While the Fused may technically be considered to be Voidspren, there are several other varieties of Voidspren that exist as well. There are several varieties of more intelligent Voidspren,{{book ref|sa3|102}} such as [[Ulim]]{{book ref|sa3|i|3}} and [[Yixli]]{{book ref|sa3|23}} that seem capable of sapience in the Physical Realm without a spren bond. Some of these spren are made of golden light, while others appear as red shadows.{{book ref|sa3|102}} Those in the Physical Realm have been guiding groups of the singers to staging points{{book ref|sa3|23}} and administering the singers.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} They have also began to carve outincreased antheir empirecontrol within [[Shadesmar]],{{book ref|sa3|108}} sailing warships and capturing cities as well as [[Cultivation's Perpendicularity]].{{book ref|sa3|102}} There are also lesser Voidspren which are mindless,{{book ref|sa3|i|11}} much like the other subspren common on Roshar. These spren are capable of bonding with regular singers to grant them forms of power, turning them into Regals.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}}

Regals are singers that have bonded one of the various types of lesser Voidspren.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} This grants them one of the forms of power, such as stormform{{book ref|sa3|i|11}} or envoyform,{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} which each have various abilities. Common singers that have proven themselves to be particularly effective or loyal to the Fused are granted the privilege of become a FusedRegal.{{book ref|sa3|115}} Regals remain subservient to the Fused,{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} but they command the respect of the regular singers.{{book ref|sa3|115}} Their relationship to the more intelligent Voidspren remains uncertain.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} It is the highest known rank that a non-Fused singer can attain.

The singers themselves are merely thea race of people that arespecies native to Roshar.{{book ref|sa3|111}} However, they have been heavily influenced by their ancestors, the Fused, and typically are supportive of Odium. AfterMost of the singers were damaged by 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 consciousnessConnection, Identity, and forms.{{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 whothat awoke in a certain kingdom feel like citizens of thattheir nation,kingdoms of birth; they adoptpractice similarthe same customs and attitudes{{book ref|sa3|65}} and consider those lands their homes.{{book ref|sa3|109}} TheMany singers are angry about the slavery{{book ref|sa3|20}} and wish to build their own lasting empiresempire and reclaimsubjugate their ancestralthe homelandshumans.{{book ref|sa3|i|7}} Even stillHowever, 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}}

In rural areas, Voidbringers played a wide variety of cultural 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 of 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 oftenSome confuse mental illness for possession by a Voidbringer.{{book ref|sa2|63}} Voidbringers are almost seen as beingoften 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}}

There are darker rumors of the Voidbringers as well. They are also said to haunt the most violent highstorms{{book ref|sa1|4}} along with the shades of the Lost Radiants, causing the damage left by the storm{{book ref|sa1|16}} and feasting on human flesh{{book ref|sa1|4}} and stealing their hearts.{{book ref|sa1|43}} Other groups claim that the Voidbringers steal souls.{{book ref|sa2|i|9}} Some peoples, such as the [[Unkalaki]], totally deny that the Voidbringers ever existingexisted, believing them to be campfire tales.{{book ref|sa1|43}} Any sort of oddity, like the powers associated with [[Surgebinding]], may be considered to be related to the Voidbringers by darkeyes{{book ref|sa1|73}} and lighteyes alike.{{book ref|sa1|72}} In fact, any oddity such as a talking animal,{{book ref|sa2|45}} a shadow that points the wrong way,{{book ref|sa2|i|3}} or a spren that speaks{{book ref|sa2|81}} may be associated with the Voidbringers. Even only a few generations after Aharietiam, the specifics of what the they looked like were forgotten, with ancient artists drawing pictures of [[chasmfiend]]s and labeling them Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa1|28}} They are often associated with the Lost Radiants, who are said to have betrayed mankind to the Voidbringers,{{book ref|sa1|43}} although in Vorin theology this is not believed to be the case. For instance, [[Dalinar Kholin]] suspected that [[Dalinar's visions|his visions]] might come from the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa1|65}}

Tales of the Voidbringers are common among the darkeyes, and are occasionally collected into volumes, such as ''[[Shadows Remembered]]''.{{book ref|sa1|33}} In these, the Voidbringers are often associated with stories of ghosts and spirits;{{book ref|sa1|33}} in fact in some tales, the dead become Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa2|5}} In one such tale, a boy who left his home at night was chased to a cavern near a lake by the Voidbringers.{{book ref|sa1|33}} He escaped by floating a piece of wood carved in a human shape out onto the lake and tricking the Voidbringers into devouring that instead of him. In another story, a wayward traveler shown kindness slaughtered a whole family, drinkdrank their blood, and writewrote voidish symbols on the walls.{{book ref|sa1|45}} There are other tales of evil men made immortal and tortured over and over again, like the story of [[Extes]].{{book ref|sa1|49}} They also often exist on the periphery of other tales. For instance, Derethil sailed west to discover where the Voidbringers spawned and destroy them there{{book ref|sa1|57}} and [[Parasaphi]]'s people had been slaughtered by the Voidbringers in the Desolation.{{book ref|sa1|61}}

Little is known about the beliefs of the Shamanate on the Voidbringers. They say that the Voidbringers could hold Stormlight in perfectly, unlike humans.{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} The Stone ShamanShamans 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}}

| [[Jasnah Kholin]] to [[Shallan]]{{book ref|sa3sa1|72}}

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