Worldbringers
| Worldbringers | |
|---|---|
| Era | Classical Scadrial |
| World of Origin | Scadrial |
| Universe | Cosmere |
The Worldbringers are a group in the cosmere best known as spiritual leaders, philosophers, and storytellers during Scadrial's Classical era. They were historically members of the Terris people.
Mission[edit]
Worldbringers are typically individuals who collect tales of history and folk traditions from any source, seeking out the most interesting stories that they can find.[1] They served as historians and also performed their own research into various subjects;[2] they even had some knowledge of Realmatic Theory.[3][4] In Classical Scadrial, they were considered holy men, and would sometimes preach certain courses of action regarding religion or politics.[5] During this era, nonreligious Worldbringers who inquired into other subjects (such as nature) were sometimes met with criticism.[6][2]
History[edit]
The origin of Worldbringers is unknown; they are first seen in ancient Scadrial prior to the Final Empire.
Scadrial[edit]
In Classical Scadrial, Worldbringers were typically Terris Feruchemists who used copperminds to assist them in their goals.[7][8] They had some sort of organizational structure, including a formal gathering known as the Conclave of Worldbringers.[9] Over time, the organization developed an interest in studying philosophy and religion. The Worldbringers began to keep records of Terris Prophecies and sought out the Hero of Ages. One Worldbringer, Kwaan discovered that Alendi fit all of the prophecies and proclaimed him to be the Hero.[10] He was met with scorn, but eventually convinced his colleagues that he was correct.[10] However, he realized that he had been deceived by an unknown force and recanted in front of the Conclave, but it was too late to stop the events that he had put into motion.[9] His nephew, Rashek, Ascended and became Lord Ruler; as part of his efforts to control the use of the Metallic Arts, he turned all living Feruchemists into mistwraiths except Kwaan, who he soon executed.[11][12] This effectively wiped out the Worldbringers on Scadrial.
Years later, as Feruchemy re-emerged due to its latent existence in Terris DNA,[11] the Worldbringer legacy was carried on by the Order of the Keepers, who were inspired by their memory.[13] Older kandra referred to Keepers as Worldbringers.[14] The Keepers continued the work of the Worldbringers by preserving pre-Ascension knowledge of religion and other studies.[15]
Lumar[edit]
Hoid claims to be a Worldbringer while relaying the story of Tress.[1] Hoid was alive when the Worldbringers were active on Scadrial, but it is unclear how or why he joined their ranks. Additionally, it is not known if Hoid is a Feruchemist,[16] although he does have access to unkeyed metalminds.[17]
Cosmere Connections[edit]
There is a connection between the Worldbringers and the Rosharan Worldsingers.[18][19][20] The names of the groups have similar linguistic origins.[21][19] It is known that Hoid founded the Worldsingers[22] and that he claims to be a Worldbringer, but his role in the relationship between the two groups is unclear.
Known Worldbringers[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ a b c Tress of the Emerald Sea chapter 24#
- ↑ a b The Well of Ascension chapter 32 epigraph#
- ↑ 17th Shard Forum Q&A
— Arcanum - 2012-09-28# - ↑ General Reddit 2016
— Arcanum - 2016-11-06# - ↑ The Final Empire chapter 15 epigraph#
- ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 20 epigraph#
- ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 42 epigraph#
- ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 45 epigraph#
- ↑ a b The Final Empire chapter 29#
- ↑ a b The Well of Ascension chapter 13 epigraph#
- ↑ a b The Hero of Ages chapter 68 epigraph#
- ↑ Hero of Ages Q&A - Time Waster's Guide
— Arcanum - 2008-10-15# - ↑ The Well of Ascension Ars Arcanum#
- ↑ The Hero of Ages chapter 75#
- ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 4#
- ↑ Teen Author Boot Camp
— Arcanum - 2015-04-11# - ↑ Boskone 54
— Arcanum - 2017-02-17# - ↑ Dawnshard Annotations Reddit Q&A
— Arcanum - 2020-11-06# - ↑ a b Firefight San Francisco signing
— Arcanum - 2015-01-17# - ↑ /r/books AMA 2015
— Arcanum - 2015-08-13# - ↑ JordanCon 2018
— Arcanum - 2018-04-21# - ↑ Dragonsteel 2022
— Arcanum - 2022-11-14# - ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 30 epigraph#
- ↑ The Well of Ascension chapter 33 epigraph#