Naming The Unmade (spoilers)

[banestar]

I've been thinking a lot about the Unmade and their nature, given at how consistently they've been hinted at. They're assumed to have quite the connection with Odium / Rayse, and that makes me think they'll be a major factor in the lead up and eventual conflict between the Knights Radiant and the Voidbringers ... in some fashion or another.

 

With that having been said, I wanted to document a few of the facts we have about the Unmade, as well as some theories or logical assumptions about each of the presumed Unmade.

 

Oh, I'm also of the opinion that each of the Unmade either corresponds to one of the orders of Knights Radiant, or one of the Heralds, as symmetry is WAY TOO IMPORTANT on Roshar. As such, for many of the Unmade, I've got an educated guess as to where they might fall on the old double-eye diagram. I'd say this is pure theory at this point, so feel free to disregard as you see fit.

 

General Unmade Knowledge

 

We have some record / reference from Taravingian (an awesome source of Unmade factoids) that one of the Unmade is an "ancient, evil spren", I believe. A current theory that I subscribe to is that the Unmade are, for lack of a better term, powerful Odiumspren. I'm not sure if these spren need to bond to a person (listener or human) to be a "fully powered" Unmade, but it stands to reason that they may.

 

I also believe that we have some recent Word of Brandon that there aren't necessarily ten Unmade. That would throw a monkeywrench into my Unmade-tie-to-KR-orders theory, but hey, that's okay.

 

Yelig-nar (aka Blightwind)

 

Yelig-nar is the only absolutely, positively, confirmed Unmade at this time. I mean if you can't trust Nohadon, who can you trust?

 

Abilities: Yelig-nar apparently has the ability to kill, somewhat directly. It is the Unmade that is most personified, having broken into Nohadon's chancery (sounds like personification) and killed his wordsmen. Yelig-nar is also reportedly able to speak, though he "consumed" people and their wails accompanied him. Yikes.

 

Association: As we'll discuss in some of the later sections of Unmade, Yelig-nar appears to be the most personified of the Unmade we currently know of, as well as one of them with the most direction and personal agency. So, given that and his nickname of "Blightwind", I'd say he's a good candidate to correspond to the Windrunners or Jezerien. Yelig-nar may not necessarily be the leader of the Unmade (if they have one), but it appears to be one of the more combat-focused Unmade at this time. Given what little we know about the Radiants still, this certainly could allow it to match up with the Radiants we know the most about.

 

Moelach

 

Thanks to Taravingian and his Diagram, we can say with almost complete certainty that Moelach is also an Unmade. Epigraphs 81 and 82 in Words of Radiance are two back-to-back paragraphs. While 81 talks about the nature of the Unmade, 82 talks specifically about one of them: Moelach. It's fair to say he's an Unmade.

 

Abilities: Given what Taravingian has said, it appears that Moelach is responsible for the Death Rattles, which appear to be both precognitive and past-cognitive (wordsmith!) visions that take place at the moment before death. Interestingly, this doesn't necessarily appear to be a *bad* thing for the Radiants, etc. Where the abilities of many of the other Unmade (or projected Unmade) seem to be "evil" or "harmful" ... this one, not so much. It leads me to think that there's something else going on here that we're not aware of yet, or an additional ability.

 

Also, Moelach is referred to as one of the Unmade with the most powerful precognitive abilities, which are shared by nearly all Unmade / Voidbringers. Interesting.

 

Association: Welp, the precognition / visions aspect of this pretty clearly draws a line between Moelach and the Truthwatchers or Pailiah. We don't know much about the Truthwatchers (or anyone, really), but this seems to be a pretty seamless fit. Both focus very, very strongly on visions of the future.

 

Nergaoul

 

Again, due to Taravingian's meddling exposition, we learn of a potential Unmade. Nergaoul is referred to in the context of the Alethi Thrill, and that finding where the Thrill is strongest might help pinpoint Nergaoul. With that in mind, the way the Thrill can be seen as similar to the Death Rattles, and even the similarities in name composition between Nergaoul and Moelach (compounded vowels), we're not crazy to consider this another of the Unmade.

 

Abilities: Nergaoul appears be responsible for, or at least have some connection to, the Thrill. The Thrill appears to be a feeling of battle-lust, or a drive to kill. WHAT A JERK. That pretty heavily smacks of Odium, and those whom we most closely align to Honor (Dalinar, Kaladin, etc.) seem to reject the Thrill, while Eshonai seems to embrace it with her stormform.

 

Association: The first thing that came to me is how the Thrill seems to be the innate opposite of the dispassionate judgement of "Darkness". I'm inclined to place Nergaoul as linked to the Skybreakers or Nalan. Where the killing / judgement handed out by the Skybreakers appears to be logical, lawful, and in the best cases, just ... the Thrill's killing is wanton, indiscriminate, and furious. No thanks.

 

Re-Shephir (aka the Midnight Mother)

 

Watch, as we move from the realm of informed speculation to the realm of slightly-less-informed speculation. Re-Shephir is mentioned briefly in Epigraph 58 of WoK as the Midnight Mother ... but the Death Rattles have shared information (we think) about the Unmade in the past. Between that and the naming similarities between Yelig-nar, I think we have another Unmade here.

 

Abilities: Re-Shephir's abilities are an open question still. The epigraph mentions giving birth to abominations, using her "essence", so it seems fairly logical to assume that Re-Shephir is responsible for creating the Midnight Essence. These strange, monstrous creatures are some that Dalinar fought during his visions of the past, and appear to be core enemies of the earlier Knights Radiant.

 

Association: My first inclination is that the Midnight Mother's ability to create, albeit in a relatively non-creative fashion (the Midnight Essence appear to be roughly all the same), and create something totally black (as in, without light), makes me think of the Lightweavers or Shallash. Though, to be fair, a void-spun Progression surge might make sense here too. Again, knowing precious little about the Unmade, the Radiants, basically everything, this is only an informed guess.

 

Dai-gonarthis (aka the Black Fisher)

 

Again, we're using hints to assume that Dai-gonarthis is an Unmade, nothing more. It's name sounds like that of Yelig-nar and Re-Shephir. It is referred to in the Death Rattles, much like Re-Shephir. And that's all we've really got.

 

Abilities: Oh, we know so very little. Something about holding sorrow and consuming it. Someone asking to "let me hurt, let me weep". Dai-gonarthis may do something to the emotions of a person, suppressing them, feeding off of them, something. It's all wild speculation, really.

 

Association: Seriously, I've got nothing here. We simply don't know enough. I'm not convinced it holds any association with a few of the orders we seem to know the most about ... I'd be surprised if it's associated with the Windrunners, Lightweavers, Truthwatchers, or Edgedancers. But who really knows. If I had to hazard a rough guess, it may be associated with the Willshapers or Kalak. And that's mostly because the Willshapers order name seems to indicate something to do with an emotion / thought. Also, I don't know a thing about them either. So that matches up nice.

 

Sja-anat

 

Sja-anat is referenced in another of Dalinar's visions, mentioned by a soldier and a Radiant prior to the Thunderclast battle at the Purelake. Like Dai-gonarthis and Re-Shephir, this name has the unique dashes, and appears to be involved with Odium. Hence, it's a reasonable guess that we've got another of the Unmade here.

 

Abilities: We don't know much about Sja-anat, Here's what we know: "Once Sja-anat touches a spren, it acts strange." The spren spotted by Dalinar had red eyes, and was referred to as "Sja-anat's spy". Ostensibly, this means that Sja-anat has the ability to change a spren by "touch", perhaps corrupting it. On a side note, the Thunderclast that appeared didn't have any direct reference to Sja-anat, it was more of a guardian, so I'm not taking it to mean anything directly associated to Sja-anat ... yet.

 

Association: When we talk about changing things by touch, we're talking about Soulcasting, right? So perhaps Sja-anat associates to the Elsecallers or Battar. This actually makes a lot of sense ... the Elsecallers were the foremost intermediaries between man and spren, so changing spren through touch sounds very, very close to something a voidish relation to an Elsecaller might do.

 

So that leaves us with, at this time, five six presumed Unmade. There are hints at others that may be possible, but not mentioned yet by name. For example, is Venli influenced by one of the Unmade? Are Thunderclasts associated with the Unmade? How about Gavilar's sphere? Is the "black piper" an Unmade as well? But as for right now, I think this is about all that we know about the specific Unmade.

 

(Edited to add Sja-anat.) (Later edited to add general info.)

Edited March 25, 2014 by banestar

[Shardlet]

Sja-anat should be added as a contender.  Spoken of in chapter 4 (the Purelake vision), a likely unmade who can corrupt spren and the result being the seed of Thunderclasts and perhaps other beastly horrors.

[Argent]

I support this.

[Oudeis]

precognitive and past-cognitive (wordsmith!) visions

 

er... the word is "retrocognitive".

 

I like the way you think and my personal RAMPANT SPECULATION is fairly off from yours. I humbly posit my own thoughts, taking care to note that I'm basing it on even less information than you are.

 

First, as Shardlet says, Sja-anat. I'm going with Stonewards/Taln, for literally no reason than the Thunderclasts. (thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder, clasts! You get 80's points if you get the reference, and yes the theme song goes through my head every time I see the word mentioned)

 

Re-Shephir, for similar reasons, if she's associated with the Midnight Essences (which actually seems like a huge stretch, but it's the best we've got) I'm giving her Skybreakers/Nalan, the smoke essence.

 

Dai-gonarthis... no clue. Let's stick with your idea of the Willshapers.

 

Nergaoul. Here's where my speculation kicks up to 11. It seems that Knights Radiant all have some secondary ability that isn't expressly Surgebinding. Shallan creates a spiritual link to things she sees which allows (in fact, compels) her to draw them perfectly from memory. But Kaladin; he fights. The first time he picked up a spear, the time he demonstrated for Bridge 4 in the chasms, the duel. When he gets in combat, he simply knows what to do. I think The Thrill is a deliberate perversion, a corruption of that. So I put Nergaoul with the Windrunners/Jezrien.

 

Moelach. Death Rattles. Seeing the future. If we assume that Renarin's ability to see the future is his "added bonus" for being a Truthwatcher, the Death Rattles might be a corruption of that. I'm still not certain; Syl was pretty clear that foresight is of the Void, though Honor admitted that he did it and that Cultivation was even better, so who knows.

[banestar]

Sja-anat should be added as a contender.  Spoken of in chapter 4 (the Purelake vision), a likely unmade who can corrupt spren and the result being the seed of Thunderclasts and perhaps other beastly horrors.

Yep, you're totally right. Added, especially considering how well Sja-anat may fit with Elsecallers.

[PorridgeBrick]

These are my own groupings.

Yelig-Nar=Jezerezeh/Windrunners. No-brainer, really.

Moelach= Pali/Truthwatchers. Again, pretty obvious.

Nergaoul=Talenel/Stonewards. Herald of War and Unmade of War. They match more than Nin, IMO.

Re-Shephir=Vedel/Edgedancers. With the attributes Loving and Healing, Vedel sounds very Mother-y, so RS makes sense as an evil counterpart to that. Also, Growth corrupted seems like it could be capable of making monsters.

Dai-Gonarthis=IDK. Anyone have the quote for where he's mentioned?

Sja-Anat=Battar/Elsecallers. Same reasons as you have.

[adbf]

The Midnight Mother reminds too much of the Midnight form of the listeners. Even if Deadrattle is foretelling, it doesn't mean it will be the only voidish foretelling-related entity. Especially if the Unmade would have two anti-surges each like the Radiants. The Deadrattle seems to appear only in a specific situation, most likely brought by the infamous deathspren. While Odium would certainly need for his minions another way of prophecy, not necessarily once in a life, but on demand.

[name_here]

I'm of the opinion that Yelig-nar might have the portfolio of plague, since Blightwind seems an appropriate name for that role and Jasnah remarks that the Unmade seemed to be regarded as personifications of certain types of destruction. Plus there's been a plague outbreak in the Purelake that Dalinar heard of after the Everstorm began, and I for one am not inclined to attribute that to coincidence.

 

I'm also not entirely sure Nergaoul and Moelach are distinct Unmade, since they lack the dashes. Specifically, I think Moelach might be another name for Yelig-nar, because the Death Rattles seem to fit the bill for the wails of those he's consumed.

[ccstat]

Suddenly the name strikes me as ambiguous. I have been thinking of "unmade" in the sense of retrograde development, i.e. something was made but you just took it apart, un-making it. However, it occurs to me that something could also be "unmade" in the sense of arising spontaneously, i.e. not created because it was already there.

 

How have the rest of you been interpreting the title?

[Eejit]

Suddenly the name strikes me as ambiguous. I have been thinking of "unmade" in the sense of retrograde development, i.e. something was made but you just took it apart, un-making it. However, it occurs to me that something could also be "unmade" in the sense of arising spontaneously, i.e. not created because it was already there.

 

How have the rest of you been interpreting the title?

 

Well I suspect that they were the Parshendi Gods. Made (by Cultivation), then Unmade by Odium.

Originators of the "native" and, later, Voidbringer Parsh forms. 

[adbf]

Or "unmade" closer to the meaning of how spren go dead. After all the Unmade are suposed to be kind of Odium's spren. Very hihg-ranking but still. It would correspond to Shen's words abotu Parshendi's gods. And in this case the Unmade are not simply dead but "undead", eh?

[Moogle]

Suddenly the name strikes me as ambiguous. I have been thinking of "unmade" in the sense of retrograde development, i.e. something was made but you just took it apart, un-making it. However, it occurs to me that something could also be "unmade" in the sense of arising spontaneously, i.e. not created because it was already there.

 

How have the rest of you been interpreting the title?

 

My current favorite theory is that they were listeners, but they gave themselves up to Odium and he cracked and shattered their souls and filled the cracks with his power. What was left over wasn't anything like what went in. The listeners were unmade, but they got power in exchange. The spren betraying them must have really been a big deal...

[name_here]

Suddenly the name strikes me as ambiguous. I have been thinking of "unmade" in the sense of retrograde development, i.e. something was made but you just took it apart, un-making it. However, it occurs to me that something could also be "unmade" in the sense of arising spontaneously, i.e. not created because it was already there.

I took it as being a Vorin term; The Almighty created everything but he didn't create the Unmade.

Edited March 19, 2014 by name_here

[Sphinx]

I'm of the opinion that Yelig-nar might have the portfolio of plague, since Blightwind seems an appropriate name for that role and Jasnah remarks that the Unmade seemed to be regarded as personifications of certain types of destruction. Plus there's been a plague outbreak in the Purelake that Dalinar heard of after the Everstorm began, and I for one am not inclined to attribute that to coincidence.

 

I'm also not entirely sure Nergaoul and Moelach are distinct Unmade, since they lack the dashes. Specifically, I think Moelach might be another name for Yelig-nar, because the Death Rattles seem to fit the bill for the wails of those he's consumed.

 

I also interpreted Yelig-nar as being a bringer of disease, and that Nohadon's wordsmith's were wiped out by plague. That interpretation might suggest that he's Vedeledev's counterpart, rather than Jezerien's. I also picked up on the plage in the Purelake, and assumed that that was there as a hint to Yelig-nar's location.

 

I'd be surprised if Yelig-nar is Moelach, however. Articulate descriptions of omens doesn't seem equivalent to wails to me, and they come from people dying in all sorts of different ways, mostly violent ones.

[Isomere]

I love what you have done linking these guys up to orders of KR. Its also just nice to have a compendium of what we know about them.

As mentioned in the OP, we have very little concrete data so, theories can blossom unrestrained. We know Blightwind is able to consume souls, perhaps they all consume souls? I have been playing with the idea that the Unmade are not individuals, but rather a patchwork Frankenstein made out of the dead Souls that Odium shreds. As such, they would be more like a battalion of undead with shared consciousness. They clearly have access to Voidspren which may be similar to the Nahel bond, though I'd guess they need to bond a physical vessel to make the surges work. Thunderclasts would fit that bill, and we have also heard references that Voidbringers can possess people and force them to do evil acts. Perhaps the Unmade can create Voidbringers by taking over a susceptible human, consuming his soul and occupying the now vacant body. Sounds... Terrifying.

[banestar]

Thanks!

 

I've also added a little general info about the Unmade, given the new reports that there may not be ten of them, and that there's been some reference to them being spren or a spren/listener or spren/human combination.

[Lerson]

One thing I've been pondering as I've been reading is that I feel that the Unmade we know to be active at present (Moelach and Nergaoul) seem a tad... innocuous? Don't get me wrong, I get how Nergaoul is bad with the The Thrill and all, but Moelach- as already stated- seems a bit 'whatever'. Even if Moelach was, I dunno, say, causing people who would otherwise live from near-fatal wounds to simply die instead, it all seems a bit odd when compared to what we know of Yelig-Nar, and, I would argue, Re-Shephir.

 

We know Yelig-Nar apparently consumes souls, has killed specifically on his own, and uses the souls of the dead to wail in some capacity. Re-Shephir, it stands to reason, makes Midnight Essence which we've seen to be some sort of soldier for Odium. Seems incomparable to Moelach and Nergaoul.

 

I'm of the opinion that perhaps we're seeing the Unmade in somewhat of a dormant state, malevolent but not at full capacity. Perhaps once a desolation starts in earnest, Nergaoul would whip people into a frenzy and cause them to turn on each other? No idea what Moelach would do. Perhaps drive people insane.

 

Just a thought.

[kaellok]

Lerson, I think that we're seeing the Unmade in the 'dormant state' you speak of because they haven't Bonded with anyone.  (I can't find the WoB saying that they could be Bonded, but I'd swear I've read it before.)

 

It sure seemed to me like Sadeas was being groomed to Bond with Nergaoul, up until some inconsiderate jerk stabbed him in the eye.  We saw POV from Sadeas for the first time, and each time he mentions the Thrill, how fleeting it is now, and how seeking to be filled with it is a large part of what is driving him to be his nasty self.    

 

Also, while I was searching for specific Sadeas chapters to quote (and getting distracted and forgetting that's what I was after), there's a place besides the Unmade where we see names like Tai-na (the greatshell gods of the Reshi Isles) and Relu-na (the name of the greatshell Rysn visits).  The suffix in both cases is obviously -na, which is awfully close to -nar.  I'm not saying that the Unmade are greatshells, but I think that there's probably a clue in the naming conventions.  

 

The gods of the Purelake are Nu Ralik and Vun Makak.  The sounds that these names make are also very close to most of the names of the Unmade we know/think exist.  I'm thinking that maybe the Unmade were tied more to a country or people, rather than the Radiant Orders or Heralds.  

 

Nergaoul seems custom-made to target the Alethi, both now and in the past.  I'm not sure if the Thrill that affects Dalinar in one of his visions (Way of Kings, Chapter 19: Starfall) is due to him being in the past, or the present, but he specifically says that "...everything seemed to become clearer, crisper.  His muscles moved easily; he breathed more deeply.  He came alive."  At the end of that vision, when he is talking to woman Radiant, he asks if she's from Alethela.  She responds by saying, "One kingdom to study the arts of war so that the others might have peace.  We die so that you may live.  It has ever been our place."  The Thrill seems to be a drug that addicts those who fight, and the Alethi have always been those who fight.  Also, the Alethi prize names that are nearly symmetrical, as being holy--Nergaoul is about as close to the opposite of that as you can get.

 

I, well, I've got nothing for how they might relate to anything else.  I just think that the Unmade are fascinating--partially because we know so little, and yet the hints make them seem so huge.  

[PorridgeBrick]

Lerson, I think that we're seeing the Unmade in the 'dormant state' you speak of because they haven't Bonded with anyone.  (I can't find the WoB saying that they could be Bonded, but I'd swear I've read it before.)

 

It sure seemed to me like Sadeas was being groomed to Bond with Nergaoul, up until some inconsiderate jerk stabbed him in the eye.  We saw POV from Sadeas for the first time, and each time he mentions the Thrill, how fleeting it is now, and how seeking to be filled with it is a large part of what is driving him to be his nasty self.    

 

Also, while I was searching for specific Sadeas chapters to quote (and getting distracted and forgetting that's what I was after), there's a place besides the Unmade where we see names like Tai-na (the greatshell gods of the Reshi Isles) and Relu-na (the name of the greatshell Rysn visits).  The suffix in both cases is obviously -na, which is awfully close to -nar.  I'm not saying that the Unmade are greatshells, but I think that there's probably a clue in the naming conventions.  

 

The gods of the Purelake are Nu Ralik and Vun Makak.  The sounds that these names make are also very close to most of the names of the Unmade we know/think exist.  I'm thinking that maybe the Unmade were tied more to a country or people, rather than the Radiant Orders or Heralds.  

 

Nergaoul seems custom-made to target the Alethi, both now and in the past.  I'm not sure if the Thrill that affects Dalinar in one of his visions (Way of Kings, Chapter 19: Starfall) is due to him being in the past, or the present, but he specifically says that "...everything seemed to become clearer, crisper.  His muscles moved easily; he breathed more deeply.  He came alive."  At the end of that vision, when he is talking to woman Radiant, he asks if she's from Alethela.  She responds by saying, "One kingdom to study the arts of war so that the others might have peace.  We die so that you may live.  It has ever been our place."  The Thrill seems to be a drug that addicts those who fight, and the Alethi have always been those who fight.  Also, the Alethi prize names that are nearly symmetrical, as being holy--Nergaoul is about as close to the opposite of that as you can get.

 

I, well, I've got nothing for how they might relate to anything else.  I just think that the Unmade are fascinating--partially because we know so little, and yet the hints make them seem so huge.

 

I don't think the Unmade are country-tied. After all, there were ten Silver Kingdoms, and we know there weren't ten Unmade. Besides, I think that if they were meant to combat a specific country, they'd have more of a tendency to stay put.

Interesting connection with -na and -nar. It might be just a coincidence, or it could be some sort of spren naming convention. After all, the spren in the islands must be pretty big and important, so they might qualify for the same kind of big, powerful name as one of the Unmade.

[kaellok]

 

I don't think the Unmade are country-tied. After all, there were ten Silver Kingdoms, and we know there weren't ten Unmade. Besides, I think that if they were meant to combat a specific country, they'd have more of a tendency to stay put.

Interesting connection with -na and -nar. It might be just a coincidence, or it could be some sort of spren naming convention. After all, the spren in the islands must be pretty big and important, so they might qualify for the same kind of big, powerful name as one of the Unmade.

 

Drat...I forgot that there were ten Silver Kingdoms.  Oh well.

[Lerson]

 

I don't think the Unmade are country-tied. After all, there were ten Silver Kingdoms, and we know there weren't ten Unmade. Besides, I think that if they were meant to combat a specific country, they'd have more of a tendency to stay put.

Interesting connection with -na and -nar. It might be just a coincidence, or it could be some sort of spren naming convention. After all, the spren in the islands must be pretty big and important, so they might qualify for the same kind of big, powerful name as one of the Unmade.

It doesn't seem impossible to me that the Unmade are matched to specific societies even though there's less (or more) than 10 Unmade, and 10 Silver Kingdoms. Seems that each Unmade could be placed in an area capable of exploiting heavily the prevailing social mores of said areas- ergo, Nergaoul gets placed in Alethkar and sort of meanders about in it to exploit their war-based society.

 

I think the idea of Unmade having weaker effects until they are bonded is interesting. It seems likely to me that they're at least capable of being bonded purely because it would be awesome for a reader to experience that. Since there's no precedent against it until he makes it, I imagine Brandon would want to jump on that. Now, having every one be bonded? Hard to say.

[Chlehrma]

If diagonarthis feeds on emotion, then I wonder if Nalan is an emotional void because he has an unmade following him around and leeching his emotions. If this is the case, then I further wonder if each one has attached itself to a former herald...like maybe the Honorblades they bore granted them immunity from the unmade messing with their heads. Just a thought.

[name_here]

The Thrill seemed to cut out rather suddenly for Adolin. I think they were dormant and projecting an aura related to their primary power, but the Everstorm woke them up and they drew their power back in under their active control. Eshonai still felt the Thrill, but that could be from Nergaoul projecting it over the Parshendi mental link instead of in an aura.

Moelach was projecting a far more helpful effect, but it did require the death of humans to use, so it's definitely not entirely a good thing even if the messages are helpful.