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|released=June 9, 2009
|publisher=Tor
|setting=[[Nalthis]], [[Cosmere]]
|ISBN=0-7653-1177-1
|ISBN=0-7653-2030-4
}}{{attention}}
|page-count=592
'''''Warbreaker''''' is a stand-alone fantasy novel by [[Brandon Sanderson]], which is available for purchase in bookstores or for free download from his website.{{bws ref|books/Warbreaker|''Warbreaker'' Portal}}
|word-count=[[/Statistical_analysis|196,014]]
}}
{{for|Vasher|Warbreaker the character| Warbreaker}}
'''''Warbreaker''''' is a [[cosmere]] novel by [[Brandon Sanderson]], which is available for purchase in bookstores or for free download from his website.{{bws ref|warbreaker-introduction|Warbreaker Introduction|date=January 2008}}
 
== Summary ==
{{for|/Summary|a complete chapter by chapter summary}}
Warbreaker tells the story of two sister princesses, [[Vivenna]] and [[Siri]], of the country of [[Idris]]. Vivenna hadhas been raised her entire life to marry the [[Susebron|God- King]] of the rival nation of [[Hallandren]], in the hopes that this marriage will forestall HallendrenHallandren's frominvasion taking overof Idris, aswhich they have done with manybeen otherthreatening neighboringfor countriesyears. For reasons of political expediency, as well as the personal preferences of the kingKing of Idris, Siri is sent, unprepared, in Vivenna's stead. Vivenna, feeling her life to be devoid of purpose withafter herSiri sisteris marriedsent in her place, follows her to HallendrenHallandren in hopes of saving Siri fromrescuing her fate. Both sistersSiri and Vivenna then become involved in intrigues relatingintended to an imminentcause war between their home nation of Idris and HallendrenHallandren, and attempt to divertprevent the war from happening in their own waysseparately: Siri from the inside ofwithin the government and Vivenna by cooperation with the underground.
 
At the same time, the novel tells the story of one of the [[Returned]] members of the royal court, [[Lightsong]], and his search for the truth behind the Hallandren religion, as well as that of his own identity,. andThe thefourth story that the book follows is that of [[Vasher]], a mysterious character with a talking sword named [[Nightblood]] and aan largeimpressive numbermastery of [[BioChromatic Breaths.Breath]]s.
 
The book is set in the [[Cosmerecosmere]] on the world[[Cosmere#Planets|planet]] of [[Nalthis]], home to the [[Shard]] [[Endowment]]. It is told from Vasher's, Siri's, Vivenna's, and Lightsong's points of view.
 
== MagicMain SystemCharacters ==
{{for|:Category: Nalthians|a full list of characters}}
The book uses a system of magic which is heavily reliant on art. Magic users are known as Awakeners and their power comes from the number of BioChromatic [[Breath]]s they have stored. A Breath can be thought of as a soul, or as the manifestation of the 'sixth sense'. Once robbed of the breath, a person is called a Drab. Drabs find it difficult to perceive color and do not experience the 'sixth sense' or the odd sensation resulting from someone watching you unobserved. The more Breaths a person obtains, the more dramatic their abilities become. There are ten levels or 'Heightenings' of this magic.
;[[Siri]]: Siri is the main character of the book. She is the youngest princess of the small country Idris, and is known for being rebellious and colorful, rather than attempting to detract attention from herself as the Idrian doctrine of [[Austrism]] requires. On the day of Vivenna's twenty-second birthday, when Vivenna is required to be sent to Hallandren, their father decides to send Siri in her place. Siri's ability to adapt and love for bright colors allows her to learn to enjoy Hallandren in a way that Vivenna would never have been able to. This, in turn, allows her to befriend the God King and Lightsong, as well as help defeat a plot to cause a war between Hallandren and Idris.
 
;[[Vivenna]]: Vivenna is Siri's sister, and the eldest child of the king of Idris. She is the perfect daughter: responsible, caring, and completely devoted to Austre. There is a contract with Hallandren that requires her to be sent to marry the God King and bear him a child(which will be still-born and become the next God King) on her twenty-second birthday. However, when the time comes for her to go, the king is unable to relinquish her, and takes advantage of the loose wording of the contract(it states only that "the Princess must be sent on Vivenna's twenty-second birthday") to send Siri in her place. Due to this, Vivenna goes through a brief depression, in which she feels like her only reason for living has been taken by Siri. She soon decides to go rescue Siri, however, and falls in with the mercenaries [[Denth]] and [[Tonk Fah]], whom she hires to help rescue her sister.
Any amount of Breath allows Awakening: the ability to, through specific commands, call inanimate objects to life by investing Breath in them and draining the color from another object (Awakeners usually carry a few pieces of cloth for this purpose). The closer the object's resemblance to a human (anthropomorphic shape), the easier it is to awaken. Objects of a greater size require more Breath, as do objects directed to carry out complicated commands. Breath can be regained from objects by the person who invested them with the command "Your Breath to mine."
 
;[[Lightsong]]: Lightsong is the Returned god of bravery in the Hallandren court of gods. He has no memory of his life before being Returned, and his only connection to his past life is through [[Llarimar]], his high priest, who is forbidden from speaking of it. Because he is skeptical of the idea that he is a god and he wishes to stop the people of Hallandren from putting their faith in him, he acts outwardly foolish. This, however, does not seem to have an effect on how people view him, as they claim he must have died incredibly bravely to be returned. He is good friends with the goddess [[Blushweaver]], and eventually they end up working together.
The following is mostly from the Ars Arcanum of Warbreaker:
 
;[[Vasher]]: Vasher's past and motivations are largely shrouded in mystery until the end of the book, when he reveals that he is one of the [[Five Scholars]] of Nalthis. He is presented as the villain until the middle of the book, when it is revealed that he is working against a war between Idris and Hallandren. He is quiet and unwilling to talk about his past, but there is something about him which makes Vivenna trust him. He is in possession of the sword [[Nightblood]], as well as large amounts of BioChromatic Breath.
*First - 50 Breaths - Aura Recognition (The ability to determine how many breaths another person has)
*Second - 200 Breaths - Perfect Pitch (The ability to determine musical notes)
*Third - 600 Breaths - Perfect Color Recognition (Similar to Perfect Pitch, but with the ability to determine the hues of colors)
*Fourth - 1,000 Breaths - Perfect Life Sense
*Fifth - 2,000 Breaths - Agelessness (Also, immunity to toxins and most physical ailments though death is still possible from physical violence)
*Sixth - 3,500 Breaths - Instinctive Awakening (Ability to use basic awakening commands without training or practice. Difficult commands become easier to practice and discover)
*Seventh - 5,000 Breaths - Breath Recognition (Similar to Aura recognition, but for objects that have been invested with breath)
*Eighth - 10,000 Breaths - Command Breaking (Ability to override commands of another awakener's awakened object)
*Ninth - 20,000 Breaths - Greater Awakening (Ability to Awaken stone and steel, though it takes large amounts of breath and specialized commands)
*Tenth - 50,000 Breaths - Audible Command (Ability to awaken objects the awakener is not physically touching) , Color Distortion (Creates colors from a white object by bending the light around it), Perfect Invocation (Awakener is able to draw more color when awakening leaving objects white rather than grey)
 
== Setting ==
Specialized forms of this magic that are pertinent to Warbreaker include the Lifeless and the Returned. The Lifeless are reanimated human bodies that require only one Breath to Awaken. They are sustained with a specialized liquid called ichor alcohol. Lifeless feel little or no pain and are able to follow simple commands.
Warbreaker is set in the [[cosmere]] on the planet of [[Nalthis]].
 
=== Magic System ===
The Returned are the gods of the Halladren religion. They are people who are said to have died in such a heroic manner as to be given the chance to return to this world from the afterlife. They lose their memories during the return trip but are guided by their own inherent prophetic powers. The Returned must consume one Breath every two weeks or else they die. They each contain a single powerful Breath that alone allows them to reach Fifth Heightening; granting them, among other things, agelessness. The Returned also may spend this one Breath once in their lives to perform a miracle and upon doing so, they die.
{{for|BioChromatic Breath}}
 
All individuals are born with a single [[Breath]], which can be willingly transferred or given away to another individual. A Breath can be thought of as a soul, or as the manifestation of the 'sixth sense'. A person with no Breaths is called a [[Drab]]. Drabs find it difficult to perceive color and do not experience the 'sixth sense' or the odd sensation resulting from someone watching one unobserved. The prominent use of magic on [[Nalthis]] is called Awakening, and is reliant on the presence of color and verbal Commands given by the magic user, as well as the use of Breath.
* [[Awakening]], [[BioChroma]], [[Returned]], [[Breath]].
 
There are several manifestations of BioChromatic magic:
==Publication==
;[[Heightening]]: A person that holds multiple Breaths gains certain innate abilities, such as perfect pitch, the ability to sense life, and a resistance to disease. The various amounts of Breath required to obtain these abilities are referred to as Heightenings.
*WARBREAKER (Tor, Summer 2009)
;[[Awakening]]: The use of Breaths to bring inanimate objects to life, draining color from nearby objects. The actions of the Awakened object are dependent on the [[Awakening#Awakening Commands|Command]] used at the time of Awakening. Breaths used to Awaken an object can usually be recovered by the Awakener, returning the object to normal.
;[[Lifeless]]: Corpses (usually human) that have been Awakened. A technique discovered during the [[Manywar]] allowed for the creation of Lifeless with only a single Breath. Since then, Lifeless have been used extensively as laborers and soldiers.
;[[Returned]]: Individuals that return to life after dying, but without any memories of their previous life. Returned have a single [[Divine Breath]], which grants them all the innate powers of the Fifth Heightening, as well as other unique powers such as the ability to change their form. A Returned must consume one of their held Breaths every week. If they are forced to consume or give away their Divine Breath, they will die. In [[Hallandren]], Returned are worshipped as gods.
 
It is important to note that all use or transfer of Breath is considered heresy in [[Idris]].
 
== Development ==
 
''Warbreaker'' was partially inspired by Brandon wanting to explore what a story with actual living gods would be like, as this was one of the premises of ''[[Elantris (book)|Elantris]]'', but, in that story, the [[Elantrian|gods]] had lost their powers. To distinguish ''Warbreaker'' from ''Elantris'', he made the [[Returned]] lack any real power—instead focusing their role in the story on politics, prophecy, and providing wisdom—and also made the Returned forget their past life.{{wob ref|6034}} ''Warbreaker'' was also inspired by some scenes Brandon had been imagining from the beginning, like [[Vasher]] finally drawing [[Nightblood]] in [[Summary:Warbreaker#Chapter 56|Chapter 56]] and [[Lightsong]] healing [[Susebron]] in [[Summary:Warbreaker#Chapter 57|Chapter 57]].{{wob ref|7464}}{{wob ref|7468}}
 
''Warbreaker'' was also released for free online as it was written, allowing readers to see the rough drafts and deleted scenes years before it was published. Brandon did this despite discouragement from his teams and agent at Tor.{{bws ref|warbreaker-introduction|Warbreaker Introduction|date=January 2008}}
 
== Publication History ==
Rights:{{url ref|url=https://www.awfulagent.com/jabclients/brandon-sanderson/|text=Brandon's Awful Agent page|site=JABberwocky}}
{{columns|
*United States rights to Tor
*Audio rights (unabridged) to Recorded Books
*Audio rights (dramatic abridgment) to Graphic Audio
*UK rights to Gollancz
*French rights to Calmann-Levy
*Bulgarian rights to Bard<refStudio name=aa>[http://awfulagent.com/jabclients/sandersonof Awful Agent page]</ref>A
*Iranian rights to Houpaa
}}
 
==Awards Cover Gallery ==
{{for|/Covers|a cover gallery of Warbreaker}}
 
== Interior Art ==
{{for|/Interior art|a gallery of the book's interior art}}
 
== Trivia ==
* Warbreaker was inspired by [[Dadradah]], one of the religions that [[Sazed]] preached about, which focused on worshipping art.{{wob ref|5429}}
 
* Brandon's editor told him that his next story after Elantris and Mistborn had to have some color to it, since those stories were both dark, so he replied that he would then write about a color based magic system.{{wob ref|997}}
 
== Awards ==
{{columns|
*Chosen by Library Journal as one of the 5 best SF&F novels of 2009
*Chosen by Barnes & Noble as one of the 5 best SF&F novels of 2009
*Nominated for 2009 Romantic Times Award, Best Epic Fantasy
*An ALA Top Five Fantasy of 2009
*24 on NY Times hardcover list{{url ref|url=https://www.awfulagent.com/jabclients/brandon-sanderson/#awards|text=Brandon's Awful Agent awards list|site=JABberwocky}}
*24 on NY Times hardcover list<ref name=aa />
}}
 
== Statistical Analysis ==
{{for|/Statistical analysis|a full statistical analysis}}
''Warbreaker'' consists of one prologue, fifty-eight chapters, and one epilogue, reaching a total 196,014 word count. There are six different unique point-of-view characters in a total of 110 POVs.
 
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Word Count
| style="text-align:center" | 196,014
|
|-
! Page Count
| style="text-align:center" | 592
| Tor hardback
|-
! Chapter Count
| style="text-align:center" | 60
| Including prologue and epilogue
|-
! PoV Characters
| style="text-align:center" | 6
|
|-
! PoV Count
| style="text-align:center" | 110
|
|}
 
== Notes ==
<references />
{{goodmeta/partial}}
{{Warbreaker}}
{{books}}
[[Category: Warbreaker| ]]
[[category: list articles]]
Marcus
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