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.

Millennia later, the remaining singers fought against humans 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 couple millennia.{{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 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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