Radiantspren

[Stormgate he/him]

So, I have this thought every time I see this quote:

QUESTION

Is it the power of the bond between humans and spren, the Nahel bond, or from the swords—the existing Shardblades—that causes the eyes to turn light?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Uh ... yes.

QUESTION

Does each specific order have their own spren that they would bond?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yes. Each order has a spren that is distinctive. All Windrunners come from wind— from honorspren.

(Emphasis added)

It was definitely a slip on Sanderson's part, but was it simply a slip of the tongue or was he accidentally hinting about something important? I propose that the spren the Radiants bond with are simply common spren with more Investiture in them. Windrunners can stick two things together, which apparently has something to do with air pressure, and they can literally ride the winds, so they bond Invested windspren. Lightweavers create illusions and can change objects from one to another, creating something else. Thus, Lightweavers bond Invested creationspren. I don't know enough about Bondsmiths, Elsecallers, or Truthseers to determine their common spren. Thoughts?

Edited November 18, 2015 by Stormgate

[Yata he/him]

There were some speculations about that every kind of Radiant Spren had a lesser Spren associated. For now the sure are:
HonorSpren---->WindSpren

Probably:

Cryptic------->CreationSpren

Wylde (we don't know his species) ----> LifeSpren

 

Possibly:
GodSpren ----->BondSpren

Dustbringer's Spren ---> FlameSpren

 

I had no other ideas beyond the pure speculation.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Yata

[Charononus]

 

GodSpren ----->BondSpren

I don't think this works exactly.   I think Bondsmiths are going to be an odd one to classify.  By bondspren I assume you mean the spren that are seen when a windrunner sticks stuff together.  The adhesion spren for lack of a better word.  I don't think the stormfather is one of these with more investiture.  I think he is a unique being that didn't come from just adding more juice to another spren.

[Yata he/him]

I used just "possible" ;-)

 

Anyway the Stormfather is the Spren that in some way that is hard to understand (now) had to approve the Oath of a KR and his bonding (or at least is what that seems). The Other (probably) Godspren is the Nightwatcher that put Wylde in a bond with Lift.

And (but this is really pure speculation) the Unique Spren of the Collector's POV (I don't remember the name sorry) that to me is the "Third Godspren" seems to bond with the near people for some seconds to drain them of the energy.

 

But for as I see the Radiant Spren, they aren't "above the average lesser spren" but powerfull spren that are formed using the Lesser Spren as Template.

[Moogle]

This WoB is relevant:

THEFINISHER4EVER
Are all wind spren really just unbonded honor spren?

BRANDON SANDERSON
No, they are cousins to one another, but not exactly the same thing.
Source

 

Certainly it's a common theory that every order is going to have a "lesser" spren cousin, but I don't think it's just a matter of them having more Investiture.

 

Syl is fundamentally not a windspren - she's an honorspren, and binds things. Windspren don't bind things.

 

There's the association with wind, but that may come from Syl being composed of the Surges of Pressure and Gravity, which through some Realmatic interactions might mean she's associated Cognitively with wind, tying her to the windspren.

[polkinghornbd he/him]

Are you sure windspren don't bind things? Kaladin relates that they would stick feet to floors to make you trip and other such things. Unless Syl had been following him his entire life, there would have to be many honorspren around tricking people constantly.

[Moogle]

Are you sure windspren don't bind things? Kaladin relates that they would stick feet to floors to make you trip and other such things. Unless Syl had been following him his entire life, there would have to be many honorspren around tricking people constantly.

 

Windspren definitely are capable of playing pranks, but I'm not sure if they involve sticking shoes to floors and the like. According to Kaladin, larger spren can do a few things:

 

Kaladin’s windspren flitted through the air above him, moving anxiously. He rubbed his jaw where she’d struck him. Large spren like her could move small objects and give little pinches of energy. That made them all the more annoying.

...

He hesitated, thinking back. No, the first few times she’d come, she’d acted like any other windspren. Playing pranks on him, sticking his shoe to the floor, then hiding. Even when she’d persisted with him during the months of his slavery, she’d acted mostly like any other spren. Losing interest in things quickly, flitting around.

 

It would make sense to me for a windspren to be capable of manifesting gusts of air and the like (which would let them move small objects). Not sure if they can outright stick things together like Syl. Her pranks (like sticking his shoe to the floor) are like other spren, but that's not a confirmation they're the exact same.

 

Something to keep an eye out for in future novels, I suppose.

[DSC01 he/him]

You know what seems odd to me? Syl is the only spren that we've ever seen playing pranks. It's possible that the whole idea of larger spren doing that is just folklore, based on proto-Radiant type experiences various Rosharans have had. So Kaladin had a "windspren" start pranking him, and he figures that that's what is going on, even though the idea is based only on accepted superstition (which, to be fair, is rooted in fact). I could be off on that, though. I'd have to go through TWoK again and see if it says that windspren, in particular, are known for such antics.

[Stormgate he/him]

Not to highstorm on your parade (forgive me for my puns) but perhaps Syl is the only spren we see playing pranks on people is because only Syl gets enough screen time to show her pranks.

[DSC01 he/him]

Yeah, it's just an idea.

However, there are spren around all the time. The narrative takes the time to draw our attention to angerspren, fearspren, etc, wriggling out of the rock. Why does it never do so with an occasional prank-ish spren interference into daily life?

Maybe the whole reason that Rosharans believe that they do such things is because the higher spren (not to be confused with highspren) occasionally reach out towards the creation of new Radiants.

Again, just an idea. It's really not that important, all things considered.

[TwelfthOfSnackTime he/him]

Yeah, it's just an idea.

However, there are spren around all the time. The narrative takes the time to draw our attention to angerspren, fearspren, etc, wriggling out of the rock. Why does it never do so with an occasional prank-ish spren interference into daily life?

Maybe the whole reason that Rosharans believe that they do such things is because the higher spren (not to be confused with highspren) occasionally reach out towards the creation of new Radiants.

Again, just an idea. It's really not that important, all things considered.

 

 

Although she plays pranks on other soldiers in Sadeas' camp as well and it doesn't seem to be more than annoying to them. It must be a relatively common experience to have prankster windspren or we would have heard something from those soldiers I would think. I can understand Kaladin just rolling with it if it was a unique experience but not them.

[DSC01 he/him]

Ah, I forgot about that. I wasn't basing any major theories on the notion of anything.

[Yata he/him]

To me only the Radiant Spren may influence the Physical Realm. The other Spren's Pranks may be just to surprise/spook the people with a surprise's manifestation. 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Yata