The Origin and Nature of the Stormfather and Nightwatcher

[Confused]

There have been all sorts of theories regarding the origin and nature of the Stormfather and Nightwatcher. Mine is that Honor and Cultivation each invested the current incarnation of the Stormfather; and that Cultivation and either Adonalsium (though the “Old Magic”) or Odium each invested the current incarnation of the Nightwatcher.

 

The Stormfather

 

Both the Highstorms and the Stormfather pre-exist the arrival of Honor, Cultivation and humans on Roshar. Originally, the Highstorms were merely meteorological events. WoB states that at some point the Highstorms also became magical events. Our fearless WoB compiler RShara says she understands Brandon to mean “the stormlight part of the storm was added later, I'm assuming by a Shard.”

 

Eshonai says the Stormfather is a traitor who was once a friend. This description suggests the Stormfather was the spren who personified the Highstorms to the Listeners. Eshonai also says the Highstorms and the Stormfather are involved in Listener form changes. Subsequent WoR events confirm that statement.

 

The Stormfather now identifies himself as a sliver, a splinter and the spren of Honor. Humans personified Honor (the “Almighty”) as the Stormfather, by which the Stormfather became Honor’s spren. Though the Listeners claim the Stormfather betrayed them, it is unclear whether the Stormfather could have simultaneously remained a Listener’s spren. Eshonai’s comments suggest that the Stormfather may no longer be serving his function of overseeing Listener form changes, but we have no evidence of this. To the contrary, the Listeners continued to undergo their pre-stormspren form changes during Highstorms.

 

The Stormfather’s failure to help Eshonai when she was being bound by the stormspren does not provide proof one way or the other. Throughout WoR, we see that the Stormfather has no autonomy regarding the bonding process. He accepts all KR oaths, and Syl says he has no power to stop the tightening of the Nahel bond if the KR “says the words.” This is no different than how he behaves towards Eshonai.

 

The Stormfather states he is also a sliver of Honor. He claims he was present when Odium “murdered” Honor and fled. The following WoB provides guidance on how the Stormfather became Honor’s sliver:

 

“Q: If Endowment were killed, would the Returned still come?”

“A: Somebody needs to hold the magic. If no one holds the magic, the magic will gain sentience. Interesting and bizarre things happen then…”

 

Odium (or rather Rayse) did not acquire any part of Honor’s splinters because other WoB says Rayse did not want to dilute his essence, his “hatefulness.” The only other sentient being in the neighborhood was the Stormfather. I believe the Stormfather absorbed Honor’s splinters and “fled.” Some indefinite time afterwards (immediately?), the Stormfather released Honor’s splinters, which greatly increased the number of Roshar’s spren (emphasis added):

 

“Q:  Were there spren bonds before Aharietiam?”
“A: …The spren were around back then but they're not nearly what they are now. They've changed over the course of the book obviously…They are much more prevalent following Honor and what happened to him, but there were some spren on the planet before even that happened.”

 

And, of course, the Stormfather retained a splinter of Honor as well. The Stormfather is thus simultaneously a spren, a sliver and a splinter of Honor, as he claims.

 

But Cultivation has also invested the Stormfather. At a recent WoR signing, a fan asked Brandon to write something in his copy (emphasis added):

 

“Q: For Words of Radiance, could you put a comment about something in the upcoming books, nothing specific, just something I can think about? Something like "Renarin has a spren" you wrote for somebody else in The Way of Kings?
“A:  [brandon wrote] ‘Stormlight makes plants grow.’"

 

I believe the power of growth – Progression – belongs to Cultivation, not Honor. Cultivation is apparently the Shard responsible for stormlight, making plants grow and facilitating surgebinder healing. Thus, the Stormfather is a splinter of BOTH Cultivation and Honor. He may bring the Highstorms, but the stormlight the Highstorms contain come from Cultivation.

 

The Nightwatcher

 

We have not yet met the Nightwatcher and have much less information about her than we do the Stormfather. All we know is the following:

• Humans come to her for boons, which she dispenses together with a curse.
• Humans believe the Nightwatcher controls the “Old Magic.” Brandon has not explained what the “Old Magic” is.
• We believe the Nightwatcher selected Lift for Wyndle to bond with. This belief is based on Wyndle describing her as “Mother.” Since Syl and other spren call the Stormfather (and not Honor) “Father,” Wyndle’s designation suggests “Mother” means the Nightwatcher and not Cultivation.
• The Nightwatcher resides in the “The Valley,” which is located in the mountains between Emul and Greater Hexi.

It is generally accepted in these Forums that the Nightwatcher is a rough analog to the Stormfather: Cultivation’s spren in the same way the Stormfather is Honor’s spren. This seems confirmed by Lift’s Nahel bond with Wyndle: the two surges granted Lift are Progression and Abrasion. Based on the surgebinding table and the concept of “cultivation,” these surges appear to stem from Cultivation.

 

WoB states the analogy with the Stormfather is “on the right track” but not precisely correct. That statement suggests something else is part of the Nightwatcher. That may be why the Nightwatcher curses as well as grants boons.

 

There are two other potential sources of Investiture in her: the “Old Magic” and Odium. According to the Coppermind Wiki, the “Old Magic” was the dominant religion on Roshar before the rise of Vorinism. Since Brandon has said that all Cosmere magic ultimately derives from Adonalsium, and we know Adonalsium has invested on Roshar, then the “Old Magic” may be derived from Adonalsium. If so, then the Nightwatcher is a spren of both Cultivation and Adonalsium.

 

Alternatively, because the Nightwatcher curses her beneficiaries, Odium may have invested in the Nightwatcher. Both her name and behavior imply a darkness or meanness to her character. Human consciousness may have personified the uncertainties of growth and development in both beneficial and hateful terms, thus producing a spren comprised of both Shards. I find it interesting that the Nightwatcher’s curses seem unrelated to her boons: that would imply an almost schizophrenic or multiple personality spren whose two components don’t coordinate.

 

We may not learn a lot more about the Nightwatcher until the second five SA books. That’s a long time to wait…

Edited April 8, 2014 by Confused

[Ren]

I like where your theory went about Stormlight being of Honor and Cultivation. That made me think though, in Highstorms there is also voidspren with which the Listener's transformed. How are they lurking there if Stormlight is only of Honor and Cultivation? It doesn't make sense to me. I'd go as far as to say that when Honor and Odium went on war, Honor made it so that it would be fair. Honor is all about fairness, no backstabbing. What if all three shards agreed to invest in Stormlight. One part Honor, one part Odium and one part of neutral Cultivation. (idk if she's neutral or not, but I don't think she's the loving mother she seems to be) That seems fair to me.

I like how your theory goes on overall though. 

[Shaggai]

The Nightwatcher is also apparently associated with death. Someone, I think Dalinar, says at one point "Everyone must dine with the Nightwatcher." I wonder how that might fit in.

[hoser]

{wild speculation}

• If the Nightwatcher does the "old magic", then there must be "newer magic".
• Barring modern fabrials,  I am not aware of any magic newer than the Nightwatcher other than surgebinding.  Modern fabrials are not considered magic and the "old magic" designation seems to predate their development. 
• If the Nightwatcher was set up by Cultivation soon after Honor and Cultivation came to Roshar, then Radiant surgebinding is the "new magic."

{/wild speculation}

I assume that the Heralds' surgebinding is as old as the "old magic," but I can't prove it offhand.