Voices of the dead

[Terrisman]

Still on my stormlight reread trying to get to WaT and was just wondering Szeth hears the voices of people he killed. I’d assumed it was just madness but Dalinar also hears voices after burning the Rift. Is there something about killing hundreds of people that makes you hear voices?

[Quantus he/him]

Yes, it's a supernatural effect.  It's not associated with any specific magic system, it's more of a supernatural symptom of severe trauma in a universe with the Three Realms.

 

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Blightsong

Is anything magical going on with the screams Szeth hears?

Brandon Sanderson

Uhhh, Szeth's screams. Uhhm, I'm trying to decide how to answer this. It is not, see here's the thing. What we would call magical may not be considered magical in the Cosmere, but it depends on your definition of magic. Would Szeth if he were on our planet and have done those things would he hear those screams, probably not, but would someone else in the Cosmere who had gone through what he had gone through hear those screams, yes.

Blightsong

So it has to do with the spiritual realm?

Brandon Sanderson

Yea, mhmm, yea.

OdysseyCon 2016 (April 8, 2016)

 

 

[Argenti he/him]

On 3/5/2025 at 12:55 PM, Terrisman said:

Still on my stormlight reread trying to get to WaT and was just wondering Szeth hears the voices of people he killed. I’d assumed it was just madness but Dalinar also hears voices after burning the Rift. Is there something about killing hundreds of people that makes you hear voices?

As Quantus said, It's something magical; not really active magic, but more like magical thermodynamics.

I think it's something to do with torn connections, spiritual echoes, and some sort of backlash to spiritual trauma?