spoilers All Ten Orders: My Take on the Ideals (Feedback Welcome)

[Saelith]

These are my personal takes on the Knights Radiant Ideals across all ten Orders. 
Canon lines are untouched, and anything with an asterisk (*) is something I adapted 
to fit how I understand that Order.

Brandon has said the higher Ideals, especially the fourth and fifth, are different 
for each person who says them so I treated these as personal interpretations, 
not definitive versions.

I’m sharing them because I’d love people to push back, challenge them, or rewrite 
them in ways that match your own view. Feel free to change anything. I’m curious 
how others see the Ideals.

# DISCLOSURE
Asterisks mark fan-crafted lines. Unmarked lines are canon.

=== WINDRUNNERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2. I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.
3. I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.
4.* I will guard what I can and accept the limits that keep my protection true.
5.* I will act in ways that carry no harm forward.

=== SKYBREAKERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2. I will seek justice.
3. I will follow the law.
4.* I will submit myself to a higher law.
5.* I will become the law only when none else remains.

=== DUSTBRINGERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2.* I will learn the nature of my power.
3.* I will take responsibility for what I break.
4.* I will master the destruction within me.
5.* I will unleash my power only with full understanding.

=== EDGEDANCERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2. I will remember those who are forgotten.
3.* I will listen before I act.
4.* I will lift others with what strength I have.
5.* I will carry the overlooked forward.

=== TRUTHWATCHERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2.* I will seek truth where it hides.
3.* I will speak truth with care.
4.* I will guard understanding.
5.* I will witness with open eyes.

=== LIGHTWEAVERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2. I will speak the truth of who I am.
3. I will speak the truth of what I fear.
4.* I will speak the truth of the wounds I hide.
5.* I will speak the truth of who I choose to become.

=== ELSECALLERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2.* I will seek truth without flinching.
3.* I will confront my assumptions.
4.* I will refine my mind as a blade.
5.* I will shape my becoming through honest inquiry.

=== WILLSHAPERS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2.* I will claim my freedom.
3.* I will defend the freedom of others.
4.* I will break the chains that bind.
5.* I will walk roads others avoid.

=== STONEWARDS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2.* I will stand when others cannot.
3.* I will endure for those who rely on me.
4.* I will face trial without yielding.
5.* I will be a refuge in the storm.

=== BONDSMITHS ===
1. Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
2. I will unite instead of divide.
3. I will take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall, I will rise a better man.
4.* I will draw the sundered toward wholeness.
5.* I will set my will upon what outlasts the turning of days.

Edited December 8, 2025 by Saelith
formatting edit

[First of the Tide He/him]

For the willshapers, i'm pretty sure venli says at least one in RoW or WaT. Is there a reason those aren't included

 

[Saelith]

18 minutes ago, First of the Tide said:

For the willshapers, i'm pretty sure venli says at least one in RoW or WaT. Is there a reason those aren't included

 

I was in a hurry to get to an appointment lol, I'll update it. 

Edited December 8, 2025 by Saelith

[+asmodeus]

My take on this stuff is that a lot of the easy, "Here are the words" stuff we see from the early books is a bit of a trap.

Instead, as we go higher in ideals, the words start becoming less and less important, and you kind of have a little bit of a, "less a Command, more an Intent" thing come into the picture, where hitting the soul of the Oath becomes more important, and the personal words you use change based on your context.

So something as simple as, "I am the law" doesn't really describe how complex it is to get to that Oath, but it is describing that soul you need to hit, as part of your realisations and assertions. In that particular case, then, the idea is to recognize that laws are imperfect, and while they're important to have and stick to, that context is important also and that you have the ability, capacity, and experience to be able to judge and arbitrate on your own over external, immutable law. It's recognizing that sometimes, you must reach beyond the confines of systems of rules and law, and that doing so is different from subverting and going beneath them.

Szeth's personal realization about him having his own agency then works not because that is the objective fifth oath, but because that his fifth oath, and in his personal context, he is reaching this very soul, in his Intent.

Edited December 9, 2025 by asmodeus

[NerdSandwich she/her]

Missing some ideals. Have you read WaT?