A Review of the Listener's Songs

[VirtuousTraveller]

So I've been reading through Words of Radiance and the Listener's songs really jumped out at me in this process.  I wanted to do an analysis of them to see what clues we could comb from them as we enter the year of waiting for Oathbringer.

First, some background on who the Parshendi are, from the words of Eshonai's mother:

Quote

“Long are the days since we knew the dark home,” Mother sang softly to one of the Rhythms of Remembrance. “The Last Legion, that was our name then. Warriors who had been set to fight in the farthest plains, this place that had once been a nation and was now rubble. Dead was the freedom of most people. The forms, unknown, were forced upon us. Forms of power, yes, but also forms of obedience. The gods commanded, and we did obey, always. Always.”

For some reason, the Listeners in the days of the Last Legion were slaves, forced into forms of power, but also forms that forced them to abandon their autonomy (not a reference to Autonomy).

Quote

“Except for that day,” Eshonai said along with her mother, in rhythm. “The day of the storm when the Last Legion fled,” Mother continued in song. “Difficult was the path chosen. Warriors, touched by the gods, our only choice to seek dullness of mind. A crippling that brought freedom.”

“Daring was the challenge made,” Mother sang, “when the Last Legion abandoned thought and power in exchange for freedom. They risked forgetting all. And so songs they composed, a hundred stories to tell, to remember. I tell them to you, and you will tell them to your children, until the forms are again discovered.”

On one day of extreme courage, the Listeners decided to accept Dullform, abandoning their ability to think as individuals with power in exchange for freedom.  To prevent a loss of their culture and history, they composed songs to remember.  Here are the stanzas recorded in Words of Radiance (as chapter epigraphs):

"They blame our people for the loss of that land.  The city that once covered it did range the eastern strand.  The power made known in the tomes of our clan our gods were not who shattered these plains."

 

Possible Interpretation:  The Knights Radiant blamed the Listeners for the destruction of the great city of Stormseat (now the Shattered Plains), but the Unmade did not shatter the Shattered Plains.  So, if it wasn’t the Parshendi or Odium that messed up Natanatan, what did?  Per a WoB, the Natan people were descendants of the Aimian people – what is Aimia really?

 

Stormseat/the Shattered Plains is also listed as the place where the Parshendi became separated from their gods (i.e. the Unmade).  While Eshonai's mother makes this sound like a choice the Last Legion made on their own, I wonder if perhaps they had some help in selecting a new form (i.e. moving to dullform) or if they abandoned a form entirely, submiting to slaveform, which is a lack of spren and not considered to be a form at all.

"The betrayal of spren has brought us here.  They gave their Surges to human heirs, but not to those who know them most dear, before us.  ’Tis no surprise we turned away unto the gods we spent our days and to become their molding clay, they changed us."

 

Possible Interpretation:  The Rider of Storms was a powerful spren (maybe even an Unmade), and was responsible for bonding spren to the Listeners, but betrayed Odium/The Listeners by giving the Nahel bond (and surgebinding powers) to humans instead. 

Quote

This one, the soul of the storm, was the one the humans called Stormfather— and he was not one of her people’s gods. In fact, the songs named him a traitor— a spren who had chosen to protect humans instead of the listeners. (WoR - Interlude 5)

This great spren’s betrayal was even worse with the eventually merging with the Cognitive Shadow of Tanavast.

Spren were known to certain humans before they were known to the Listeners.  Perhaps this refers to pre Honor/Cultivation humans on Roshar OR maybe even to the Heralds?  The Heralds would have been very familiar with surges.

"The spren betrayed us, it’s often felt.   Our minds are too close to their realm that gives us our forms, but more is then demanded by the smartest spren, we can’t provide what the humans lend, though broth are we, their meat is men."

 

Possible Interpretation:  The realm that gives forms is the Cognitive Realm.  The Listeners exist halfway in the Cognitive Realm and the Physical Realm, similar to how Lift’s half-way in, half-way out status grants her certain odd things (like the ability to physically touch her spren).  As the Listeners have a song-based hive mind (very loose description), they Listeners seem similar to The Sleepless (Dysian Aimians)?  As Aimians are an ancient race on Roshar, perhaps they and the Listeners share a common ancestor in their evolution?

Who are “The smartest spren?”  The Listeners cannot give something that humans give spren, so in return the Listeners sacrifice their autonomy in return for the powers they offer (which isn’t required of humans).  Perhaps these spren are the Unmade again who demand more, which is the full submission of the Listeners.  That the Unmade want the meat of men, it seems that the poor Listeners are caught in the middle as a tool to be used rather than the object of divine desire.

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IT DOES NOT MATTER. YOU WERE TOO SLOW. YOU FAILED. THE EVERSTORM IS HERE, AND THE SPREN OF THE ENEMY COME TO INHABIT THE ANCIENT ONES. IT IS OVER. YOU HAVE LOST. (WoR, Chapter 89)

"But it is not impossible to blend their Surges to ours in the end.  It has been promised and it can come.  Or do we understand the sum?  We questioned not if they can have us then, but if we dare to have them again."

 

The Listener’s surges can be blended with the surges of human surgebinders?  It seems that human surgebinders aren’t the problem – it isn’t a question if they’ll accept the blending of the Listener’s surges (whatever this means) – but rather, will the Listeners desire to blend with the humans?        

Who promised that this blending can and will come?

"Our gods were born splinters of a soul, of one who seeks to take control, destroys all lands that he beholds, with spite.  They are his spren, his gift, his price.  But the nightforms speak of future life, a challenged champion. A strife even he must requite."

Possible Interpretation:  We know that the Unmade are splinters of Odium and are therefore the gods of the Listeners.  The Unmade are also the spren of Odium, but also are referred to as a gift – a gift with a price.  Perhaps Odium through the Unmade gave the Listeners power (the gift), but it came at the price of their personal autonomy (the price).

The strife even Odium must requite (i.e. respond to) is the challenge of a champion.  Consider the Stormfather’s admonition to Dalinar:

Quote

“You might be able to get him to choose a champion.  He is bound by some rules.  All of us are.  A champion could work well for you, but it is not certain.” (TWoK, Chapter 75)

“Vex Odium.  Convince him that he can lose, and appoint a champion.  He will take that chance instead of risking defeat again, as he has suffered so often.” (WoR, Chapter 4)

Therefore, Odium will either be defeated or find victory in this battle of champions, which will be shown (I assume) by the end of Stormlight 5.

 

Whew!  It's a lot to chew on, but what do we think?  Do these interpretations sound reasonable?  It makes me feel even more empathy for the Parshendi - if Gavilar was planning to bring back powers that could return the eyes of the Unmade to Listeners (which he may not have understood), I understand why they felt compelled to kill him.  Slavery in a war that isn't really their beef (i.e. Odium using them as a tool, not because they're willing participants) is a horrible existence.

Edited December 16, 2016 by VirtuousTraveller

[Jame Starmade]

This makes sense to me. It explains most of the reactions they had to stormform. Rlain was able to retain control of himself after taking this form, perhaps because of his bond with Kaladin.

[Who Sharded?]

I was hoping that you would actually be reviewing these song as a critic.

[VirtuousTraveller]

50 minutes ago, Who Sharded? said:

I was hoping that you would actually be reviewing these song as a critic.

LOL.

Another timeless set of classics out of Narak, the music capital of the ancient world, the Listener's Songs can be yours for only ten easy payments of ten skymarks!

Who could forget the uncanny rhythm of the Song of Listing, or the number one holiday hit for the last ten weepings, the Song of Secrets? :-P

Cuddle up to your favorite cremling and sing that romantic refrain time and time again!

Quote

Decayform destroys the souls of dreams.
A form of gods, to avoid it seems.
Seek not its touch, nor beckon its screams, deny it.

Use a spanreed and order yours today before the Everstorm takes this opportunity away forever!

Edited December 16, 2016 by VirtuousTraveller

[Rasarr she/her]

1 hour ago, Jame Starmade said:

This makes sense to me. It explains most of the reactions they had to stormform. Rlain was able to retain control of himself after taking this form, perhaps because of his bond with Kaladin.

Rlain was in warform, though, wasn't he? He didn't actually take on stormform, because he was afraid of what Eshonai had become.

4 hours ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

As Aimians are an ancient race on Roshar, perhaps they and the Listeners share a common ancestor in their evolution?

The Aimians and the Listeners being related is an interesting idea; they exist currently on two opposite ends of the world, though I'd presume this wasn't always the case. Perhaps Aimia is like Australia, in that it's a separate land where everything evolved on a path slightly different from the "mainline" evolution. Maybe Aimians are the Neanderthals to Listeners' Homo Sapiens (though with less murdering) . 

4 hours ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

Who promised that this blending can and will come?

There are two types of beings which we know are capable of seing the future in fairly decent quality - Cultivation and Truthwatchers (though I know some people say that futuresight is something unique to Renarin, but let's assume for a moment that all TW can do it). Considering the song obviously comes from after the Knights Radiant became a thing, some Truthwatcher prophesizing to Listeners is a viable possibility. This being said, I think Cultivation is more likely, because I don't really see the situation where a person whose powers are a sore point for the Listeners comes to them and says "Yo! One day, you'll be able to do all that cool stuff too!" and is believed enough to be included in what's pretty much their national epic.

[VirtuousTraveller]

37 minutes ago, Rasarr said:

There are two types of beings which we know are capable of seing the future in fairly decent quality - Cultivation and Truthwatchers (though I know some people say that futuresight is something unique to Renarin, but let's assume for a moment that all TW can do it). Considering the song obviously comes from after the Knights Radiant became a thing, some Truthwatcher prophesizing to Listeners is a viable possibility. This being said, I think Cultivation is more likely, because I don't really see the situation where a person whose powers are a sore point for the Listeners comes to them and says "Yo! One day, you'll be able to do all that cool stuff too!" and is believed enough to be included in what's pretty much their national epic.

Nightform, a Listener form, also seems capable of future-sight, but in the description, it sounds like this form came after their gods (the Unmade) left, so it really makes me wonder if this form came from another divine spren bond.  Nightform sounds a lot the Nightwatcher, so maybe Cultivation, at the end of the last desolation when the Unmade were banished back to Damnation/Braize, bonded spren with some of the Listeners to encourage them that hope was coming?

[Spoolofwhool]

1 hour ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

Nightform, a Listener form, also seems capable of future-sight, but in the description, it sounds like this form came after their gods (the Unmade) left, so it really makes me wonder if this form came from another divine spren bond.  Nightform sounds a lot the Nightwatcher, so maybe Cultivation, at the end of the last desolation when the Unmade were banished back to Damnation/Braize, bonded spren with some of the Listeners to encourage them that hope was coming?

Really? It sounds more like the Nightform saw the eventual coming of the Everstorm right before the forms were abandoned, not that it came about after the gods left.

Quote

 

Nightform predicting what will be,
The form of shadows, mind to forsee.
As the gods did leave, the nightform whispered.
A new storm will come, someday to break.
A new storm a new world to make.
A new storm a new path to take, the nightform listens.

- Words of Radiance, Chapter 23 Epigraph

"As the gods did leave, the nightform whispered" seems to be saying that they said something as they left, not that they existed afterwards. The last line does seem to imply they were, but the out-of-place verb tense really throws things off.

Edited December 17, 2016 by Spoolofwhool

[VirtuousTraveller]

39 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said:

Really? It sounds more like the Nightform saw the eventual coming of the Nightform right before the forms were abandoned, not that it came about after the gods left.

Do you mean they saw the Everstorm?  That also makes sense, but where have these nightforms been hiding in the days/months/years leading up to it?

39 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said:

"As the gods did leave, the nightform whispered" seems to be saying that they said something as they left, not that they existed afterwards. The last line does seem to imply they were, but the out-of-place verb tense really throws things off.

That which they whispered, that a new storm would come, sounds a lot like the Everstorm...if that's how we interpret "a new world to make."

But what of the phrase "a new path to take?"  What new path does the Everstorm offer the Listeners/Parshendi?  They've already been slaves/tools of the Unmade/voidspren/Odium.  What new path could these potential future seers see, unless influenced by something other than Odium and crew?  Perhaps that this will be the last desolation, so Odium (and his tools) will have a new path forward that wasn't there formerly?  Honor isn't around anymore, so I suppose that's possible too.

Edited December 17, 2016 by VirtuousTraveller

[Spoolofwhool]

37 minutes ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

Do you mean they saw the Everstorm?  That also makes sense, but where have these nightforms been hiding in the days/months/years leading up to it?

Yes, Everstorm. And as I said, I don't think they are still around. Nightform was abandoned along with the other forms of powers. 

[Fallen_Ash]

From what I understand, there were spren on Roshar prior to Honor and Cultivation arriving but then the spren kind of adapted and grew to be more like the Shards, gaining sentience (Syl says she is a god, a little tiny piece of one). So then the spren that bond with humans to create Surgebinders are probably of Honor and Cultivation (Syl is of Honor, Wyndle is of Cultivation, for example). 

I don't know if Brandon has said whether or not there were people on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation came. We know Ruin and Preservation created humans on Scadrial, so it's possible the same thing happened on Roshar. The spren might have chosen to bond with the humans and grant them powers because humans are the "sons of Honor." Cultivation may have created the bodies, and Honor the minds. 

I'm completely speculating here, but stick with me. What if, when Odium came to Roshar, he wanted to create life too, so he created the Parshendi? But "Odium" doesn't seem like a power that would be good for creating life. (This would explain why the Parshendi consider him their god, or at least the Unmade their gods.)

The Listeners describe the parshmen as not having a spren, while the Parshendi bond with a spren to create workform, mateform, etc. Unlike humans who can think independently, Parshendi need a spren bond in order to have autonomy (possibly why the spren chose to make humans Surgebinders instead of Parshendi). So I think the spren they bond with to create the basic, free forms we see in the book are of Honor, giving the Parshendi free thought. That's why the Parshendi say "The betrayal of spren has brought us here. / They gave their Surges to human heirs, / But not to those who know them most dear." Parshendi cannot exist without some kind of spren bond. 

However, Odium has spren of his own. And they aren't nice honorspren or Cryptics. When they bond with the Parshendi, the Parshendi get incredible power, at the cost of their free will. Eshonai has no control over herself after accepting stormform. So some forms are "of the gods" (Odium) and therefore lead to enslavement, while the newer forms use different spren (Honor) and allow them to be free, if not as powerful. 

There might be details I'm ignoring that contradict my theories. I just think about the Stormlight Archives a lot and wanted to share my thoughts. 

[VirtuousTraveller]

8 hours ago, Fallen_Ash said:

Parshendi cannot exist without some kind of spren bond. 

Interesting!  So without a spren-bond, the Listeners are just slaveform/parshmen - unable to think, unable to exercise free will.  As the Listeners are native to Roshar, I wonder if they originally bonded with the spren of Adonalsium.  When Honor/Cultivation arrived with humans, the spren fused with their influence perhaps?  In doing so, the spren chose instead (or were bonded by Honor's influence) to bond with humans, leaving the Listeners without spren to bond, leaving them without the ability to think or act freely.

Odium arrives and offers them spren bonds again, however the cost of said bonds is his ability to influence them.  The Unmade and other spren of Odium bond with them and give them great powers, but at great cost.  They regain some of their original forms, some of which seem unimportant to the Unmade/Odium:

• Workform
• Mateform
• Dullform
• Scholarform:  "Beware its ambitions innate" - perhaps it was the scholarforms that came up with the plan to partner with Odium?
• Artform*

Artform is mentioned twice in WoR and I'm curious as to why:

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Artform applied for beauty and hue.

One yearns for the songs it creates.

Most misunderstood by the artist it’s true,

Come the spren to foundation’s fates.

-Song of Listing

This seems like a pretty straightforward description of what such a form would give to a Listener who bonded with it.  However, we receive a second look at this stanza:

Quote

Artform for colors beyond our ken;

For its grand songs we yearn.

We must attract creationspren;

These songs suffice ’til we learn."

-Song of Revision

Why does Brandon show us the "revised" stanza for artform specifically?  Perhaps when the Listeners revised this verse, they realized that creationspren were something particularly important.  Perhaps these spren are ancient and not mixed with Honor/Cultivation/Odium, but rather are of Adonalsium itself, which could return the Listeners to their original songs before they'd been used by Odium?

Three forms specifically are said to have been used/claimed by the Unmade:

• Warform: "Claimed by the gods, given to kill"
• Nimbleform:  "Gave the gods this form to many; tho' once defied, by the gods they were crushed"
• Mediationform:  "when used by the gods it became instead forms of lies and desolation")

Some of the forms seem to have been crafted by Odium, forms that the Listeners did not really want at all:

• Stormform:  "Though its coming brings the gods their night, it obliges a bloodred spren; beware its end, beware its end"
• Nightform*:  "As the gods did leave, the nightform whispered; a new storm will come"
• Decayform:  "Destroys the souls of dreams; a form of gods to avoid it seems; seek not its touch, nor beckon its screams; deny it"
• Smokeform*:  "Do we dare wear this form again?  It spies; crafted of gods, this form we fear; by Unmade touch its curse to bear; formed from shadow - and death is near; It lies"

Interestingly, both nightform and stormform are mentioned as being "formed from shadow," indicating some kind of link to their origin perhaps?  Also, Smokeform is listed twice in WoR:

Quote

Smokeform for hiding and slipping between men.

A form of power, like human Surges.

Bring it ’round again.

Though crafted of gods,

It was by Unmade hand.

Leaves its force to be but one of foe or friend.

-Song of Listing

And again:

Quote

Smokeform for hiding and slipping ’tween men.

A form of power—like Surges of spren.

Do we dare to wear this form again? It spies.

Crafted of gods, this form we fear.

By Unmade touch its curse to bear,

Formed from shadow—and death is near.

It lies.

-Song of Secrets

What was it about smokeform that required a second look, especially a look from the Song of Secrets?  Perhaps at the time of the Song of Listing, the Listeners were welcoming the powers that Odium promised them, but later on when the Song of Secrets was written, they realize the curse this power brought with it.

[Fallen_Ash]

Quote

As the Listeners are native to Roshar, I wonder if they originally bonded with the spren of Adonalsium.  When Honor/Cultivation arrived with humans, the spren fused with their influence perhaps?  In doing so, the spren chose instead (or were bonded by Honor's influence) to bond with humans, leaving the Listeners without spren to bond, leaving them without the ability to think or act freely.

I can definitely see this being the case. Under this theory, the Listeners didn't just want the power of the Surgebinders, they wanted to be elevated again to basic sentience. I would imagine that Odium promised them more, however, leading to stormform, smokeform, etc., which give the Listeners powers but also put them in Odium's control. Assuming this is true, ould the spren they bond with to create warform, workform, mateform, and nimbleform be of Odium, or did he somehow allow them to re-bond with the original spren? (And as you pointed out, there were spren on Roshar pre-Shards, so these likely gave the Listeners the basic forms.) 

[VirtuousTraveller]

Quote

BRANDON SANDERSON

There were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there. Those were already Splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own. So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense? You have seen other splinters.

From this WoB, I believe that Adonalsium created the Listeners WAY back when and as part of the symbiotic life that permeates Roshar, Adonalsium intentionally splitnered off some of his power (i.e. "where he had left power") to bond with the various lifeforms there.  After Adonalsium was splitnered into the 16 shards we know so well, the introduction of other shardic influences on Roshar messed up this natural Adonalsium-spren bond with the various life forms on the planet.

If Odium's voidspren are viewed in this light, the Voidbringers (parshmen hijacked by unnatural spren) and things like Thunderclasts (maybe creatures like greatshells hijacked by unnatural spren?) are just a hijacking of the natural order of things on the planet.  The spren-creature bond is a natural part of the Rosharian ecosystem, but when humans arrived with Honor/Cultivation/Odium, everything changed.

[Fallen_Ash]

On 12/20/2016 at 8:34 AM, VirtuousTraveller said:

If Odium's voidspren are viewed in this light, the Voidbringers (parshmen hijacked by unnatural spren) 

So voidspren turn the Listeners into Voidbringers, but are ordinary Parshendi bonding with original Adolnasium spren, Honor/Cultivation influence spren, or non-malignant Odium spren to achieve their "free-will" forms?

[VirtuousTraveller]

10 hours ago, Fallen_Ash said:

So voidspren turn the Listeners into Voidbringers, but are ordinary Parshendi bonding with original Adolnasium spren, Honor/Cultivation influence spren, or non-malignant Odium spren to achieve their "free-will" forms?

My thinking is original Adonalisum spren, but I'm not sure how these original spren changed when Honor/Cultivation arrived.  Odium seems pretty clear - red/black/smokey voidspren appeared that were not formerly there (or he corrupted original spren).  Whether Honor/Cultivation have their own special spren makes sense (i.e. Syl is an Honorspren and Wyndle is a Cultivationspren).

Interestingly, we seem to see something unique about honorspren and cultivationspren (Edgedancer Spoilers):

Spoiler

Cultivationspren don't have cities in the Cognitive Realm like other spren and they're ruled by a council known as The Ring.  It also seems that they refer to the Nightwatcher as "mother."  This info comes from Lift's Interlude in WoR and from Edgedancer.  I infer from this that they are splinters of Cultivation, but intentional splitners created by the Vessel (and not because it has been splintered by Odium).

Honorspren are referred to as "cousins to windspren" by Brandon and we know they are splinters, though if they are entirely of Honor is uncertain.  Mostly this info comes from WoBs, as we aren't too certain about what Honorspren are all about.  Syl has a relationship with the Stormfather, though I'm not sure if this is because of Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow or because the Rider of Winds (original spren) was responsible for bonding spren to men in the past.

@Argent probed Brandon a few years back about the Vessel of Cultivation, but I think the real meat of the WoB he got in return was Brandon's praise to his observation about spren:

Quote

Argent: Is Cultivation's Shardholder still alive.

Brandon: Good question, what do you think?

Argent: I want to say, but that's based on my knowledge before I read Lift's interlude from Words of Radiance. Now I am leaning towards no. Based on that interlude, it looks like spren have essence from both Honor and Cultivation. It's almost like they exist in a spectrum, on one end of which is Honor, and on the other - Cultivation; so there are spren that are, for the lack of better example, 90% Honor and 10% Cultivation, and there are spren that are 15% Honor and 85% Cultivation.

Brandon: That's a very astute observation!

So, based on this, I think that the splinters of Honor (which likely came after he was killed) and the splinters of Cultivation (which came intentionally at some point at the direction of Cultivation's Vessel) are fusing together somehow to where both of their influence exists in a single spren.  Now, are these spren also melting into the Roshar-Original Adonalsium spren?  That I'm not sure.

We do have these WoB from a few years ago:

Quote

QUESTION

Are the Parshendi of Odium?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Not originally.

QUESTION

Are the Parshendi of Cultivation?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Not originally.

QUESTION

Are the Parshendi of Honor?

BRANDON SANDERSON

No.

So I'm thinking that originally, the Parshendi/Listeners were of Adonalsium, but then sold out to Odium when Honor modeled how spren could bond with humans, causing these Adonalsium spren to leave the Parshendi.  I think that they may have regained their current forms via Cultivation, whose intent would line up with a progression from parshmen (no form) to the more cultured Parshendi.  Perhaps it was Cultivation's influence that convinced them to kill Gavilar in the first place, to prevent the return of Odium's influence?

[Landis963 he/him]

15 hours ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

My thinking is original Adonalisum spren, but I'm not sure how these original spren changed when Honor/Cultivation arrived.  Odium seems pretty clear - red/black/smokey voidspren appeared that were not formerly there (or he corrupted original spren).  Whether Honor/Cultivation have their own special spren makes sense (i.e. Syl is an Honorspren and Wyndle is a Cultivationspren).

Interestingly, we seem to see something unique about honorspren and cultivationspren (Edgedancer Spoilers):

  Hide contents

Cultivationspren don't have cities in the Cognitive Realm like other spren and they're ruled by a council known as The Ring.  It also seems that they refer to the Nightwatcher as "mother."  This info comes from Lift's Interlude in WoR and from Edgedancer.  I infer from this that they are splinters of Cultivation, but intentional splitners created by the Vessel (and not because it has been splintered by Odium).

Honorspren are referred to as "cousins to windspren" by Brandon and we know they are splinters, though if they are entirely of Honor is uncertain.  Mostly this info comes from WoBs, as we aren't too certain about what Honorspren are all about.  Syl has a relationship with the Stormfather, though I'm not sure if this is because of Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow or because the Rider of Winds (original spren) was responsible for bonding spren to men in the past.

@Argent probed Brandon a few years back about the Vessel of Cultivation, but I think the real meat of the WoB he got in return was Brandon's praise to his observation about spren:

So, based on this, I think that the splinters of Honor (which likely came after he was killed) and the splinters of Cultivation (which came intentionally at some point at the direction of Cultivation's Vessel) are fusing together somehow to where both of their influence exists in a single spren.  Now, are these spren also melting into the Roshar-Original Adonalsium spren?  That I'm not sure.

We do have these WoB from a few years ago:

So I'm thinking that originally, the Parshendi/Listeners were of Adonalsium, but then sold out to Odium when Honor modeled how spren could bond with humans, causing these Adonalsium spren to leave the Parshendi.  I think that they may have regained their current forms via Cultivation, whose intent would line up with a progression from parshmen (no form) to the more cultured Parshendi.  Perhaps it was Cultivation's influence that convinced them to kill Gavilar in the first place, to prevent the return of Odium's influence?

Or alternatively, once the Shards arrived, the Parshendi were of Cultivation until they were suborned by the hatespren.