Why do the Radiants have 5 oaths?

[Deception He/Him]

Somewhere in the books (I'm too lazy to go find it), it lists all of the powerful numbers as 1, 10, 16, etc. It specifically mentions 5 as weak. So why do radiants have 5 oaths??

[Treamayne]

4 hours ago, Deception said:

Somewhere in the books (I'm too lazy to go find it), it lists all of the powerful numbers as 1, 10, 16, etc. It specifically mentions 5 as weak. So why do radiants have 5 oaths??

The thing to keep in mind is that while Honor (Tanavast) was associated with 10, and considered 5 to be a weak number - Honor was not behind the Knights Radiant and the Oaths - that was Ishar''s doing. So, while we do not yet know why Ishar used a five Oath model - we at least know it's not ten because it was not driven by Tanavast or his prejudices.

Hope that helps. 

[Cephandrious Maxtori Fae/Faer]

I'm sorry, I don't have an answer myself, but I think the section you're thinking of is in WaT 77

Spoiler

Quote

“Five?” Honor said. “No, impossible. Five is a number of weakness. No symmetry, no power. Perhaps four would work. The number of Adonalsium’s four aspects. Or ten, sixteen … one.”

 

 

[Verdance he/him]

Or perhaps as there are five books in SA as we know it, Brandon limited oaths to 5 until he starts writing Voidlight Archive

(is that semi canon i forgot)

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

1 minute ago, Verdance said:

Or perhaps as there are five books in SA as we know it, Brandon limited oaths to 5 until he starts writing Voidlight Archive

(is that semi canon i forgot)

Wouldn't it be Warlight Archive?

4 hours ago, Deception said:

Somewhere in the books (I'm too lazy to go find it), it lists all of the powerful numbers as 1, 10, 16, etc. It specifically mentions 5 as weak. So why do radiants have 5 oaths??

It might be because the human makes 5 oaths and the spren makes another 5 at the same time.

[Deception He/Him]

1 minute ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

It might be because the human makes 5 oaths and the spren makes another 5 at the same time

No, I don't think so. Only Skybreaker spren swear oaths themselves.

4 minutes ago, Verdance said:

Or perhaps as there are five books in SA as we know it, Brandon limited oaths to 5 until he starts writing Voidlight Archive

(is that semi canon i forgot)

That's interesting idk

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

16 minutes ago, Deception said:

No, I don't think so. Only Skybreaker spren swear oaths themselves.

Citation?

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

Citation?

That would be in RoW, I believe it to be interlude 7, but don't quote me on that.

[Deception He/Him]

12 minutes ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

Citation?

It was revealed during Szeth and Kaladin's quest to cleanse Shinovar at least. Maybe it was another time too idk.

[PanLin they/he]

13 hours ago, Deception said:

It specifically mentions 5 as weak.

Minor correction—Honor (or maybe Tanavast) considers 5 to be weak. That passage isn't saying that 5 is an inherently weak number in the Cosmere, it's just a reflection of a Shard's personal preference; Endowment seems to love the number 5 (and, interestingly, there are 10 defined Heightenings).

 

13 hours ago, Deception said:

So why do radiants have 5 oaths??

9 hours ago, Treamayne said:

that was Ishar''s doing

I was under the impression that Honor, Ishar and Cultivation all sort of worked together to define the oaths. From the wiki:

Spoiler

The spren formed bonds with the mankind to give them Surgebinding abilities.^[22] Honor was surprised by their coming, because he hadn't taught it to his Heralds.^[22] While he did not consciously choose his Knights, with them being chosen by spren, he did, alongside Cultivation and the advice of Ishar, formulate their system of oaths.^[38]

 

Still, we don't know exactly why there are 5. It's possible there isn't any significance to this number at all, and it's just the number of 'lessons' the three of them agreed Radiants need to learn before earning their full abilities as a Knight Radiant.

It genuinely could just be that Sanderson thought 10 Oaths would be unwieldy and make each one less distinct, but I know that isn't a very satisfying in-universe answer.

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

14 hours ago, Deception said:

It was revealed during Szeth and Kaladin's quest to cleanse Shinovar at least. Maybe it was another time too idk.

That's where it says that Skybreaker spren also swear oaths, but where does it say the others don't?

[Deception He/Him]

13 hours ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

That's where it says that Skybreaker spren also swear oaths, but where does it say the others don't?

I think it says there that the Skybreaker spren are the only spren to also swear oaths. Idk the exact quote, you can go find it if you want.

[Treamayne]

18 hours ago, Through the Living Hopper said:

That's where it says that Skybreaker spren also swear oaths, but where does it say the others don't?

4 hours ago, Deception said:

I think it says there that the Skybreaker spren are the only spren to also swear oaths. Idk the exact quote, you can go find it if you want.

12124 says that only Highspren swear oaths, but he's young and new and unreliable narrator applies. Elsewhere it is implied that pre-recreance all Spren swore oaths:

Spoiler

WaT Ch 86:

Quote

Kaladin and Syl shared a look.

“I know how it’s supposed to go,” the figure continued. “The others showed me. Speak like this! Commanding voice! Get the human to do what you say! But it feels so wrong. I see him hurting … and it feels wrong.”

“Is this your first time as a bonded spren?” Kaladin asked. Syl was glaring. She had a thing about highspren.

“Yeah,” the spren said. “We’re supposed to take the oaths, you know? We’re the only order where the spren take the oaths too. But I feel like I’m ruining everything for everyone. I don’t feel like I’m helping, but I’m also making them all disappointed!”

“Them?” Kaladin asked.

“The other highspren. Particularly 121.”

WaT Ch 86:

Quote

“These numbers are … perplexing, Shallan. Strangely irrational, in a sequence I do not understand. I mean … I mean that we are walking on unfamiliar ground. A better metaphor for you. Yes. Unfamiliar ground. In the deep past, deadeyes did not exist.”

It was what they’d learned, in part, from the honorspren and from Maya. The deadeyes—all of them except Testament—had been bonded to ancient Radiants before the Recreance. Together they’d rejected their oaths, humans and spren alike. They’d thought it would cause a painful, but survivable split. Instead, something had gone terribly wrong.

 

 

On 6/4/2026 at 6:35 AM, PanLin said:

I was under the impression that Honor, Ishar and Cultivation all sort of worked together to define the oaths. From the wiki:

  Hide contents

The spren formed bonds with the mankind to give them Surgebinding abilities.^[22] Honor was surprised by their coming, because he hadn't taught it to his Heralds.^[22] While he did not consciously choose his Knights, with them being chosen by spren, he did, alongside Cultivation and the advice of Ishar, formulate their system of oaths.^[38]

 

Still, we don't know exactly why there are 5.

That section of the wiki seems to be poorly worded based on the source it claims.

Spoiler

WaT Ch 120:

Quote

FIRST HIS FUSED, THEN MY HERALDS, THEN HIS UNMADE, THEN MY RADIANTS—WHICH WERE NOT MY CONSCIOUS CREATION, BUT FORMED BY PIECES OF ME WORKING INDEPENDENTLY. I CRAFTED THEIR OATHS TO MAXIMIZE THEIR ABILITIES, PER KOR’S CONTRACT AND ISHAR’S ADVICE. THAT ONE UNDERSTOOD THE WAYS OF GODS AS FEW MORTALS EVER HAD.

WoR Epigraph to Ch 42:

Quote

"But as for Ishi’Elin, his was the part most important at their inception; he readily understood the implications of Surges being granted to men, and caused organization to be thrust upon them; as having too great power, he let it be known that he would destroy each and every one, unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws."

 

So, it seems Cultivation wasn't involved so much as the process was crafted to abide by the Contract she made in WaT Ch 113. It's less clear, but seems implied to me that Tanner didn't so much create the Oath system and "ratify" what Ishar proposed. But, then, the actual nature of Kor's Contract and much of the Oath system is still unexplained; likely to prepare for more reveals in the second Arc of Roshar.