Highspren [minor spoilers]

[cris34b]

So, this post will contain references to both WoR and WoK, though only one major spoiler, and that will be in spoiler brackets, so don't look at that if you haven't read THE ENTIRE WOR BOOK. Literally, this spoiler is from the very end and I will -not- have it ruined for someone. The rest will be tiny minor spoilers that aren't consequential to your reading.

_________________________________________________________________

 

Now, on to the post.

During the series, several spren have been encountered or mentioned that are extraordinary. I shall list them thusly.

1. Cusicesh the Protector- This spren is an enormous one that rises out of the waters in a city whose name I have forgotten every day at the same time. It then looks at the Origin and changes appearance rapidly, making those around it tired. This spren appears to be bound to this area somehow, likely due to the way it is viewed by people as being the protector of the city.

 

2. The Nightwatcher- This strange spren gives out boons to those that request them of her, giving out curses in return as well. Not too much is known about her except that she is responsible for the Old Magic, which is likely not magic at all, but just a strong spren's manipulation of the cognitive aspect of the world. She is likely a spren of Cultivation, as I'm sure I heard Lift's spren talking about her at some point... Reference needed. She seems to be bound to some sort of valley in the same way that Cusicesh is bound to the city, by the way she is viewed by humans. Perhaps, if they viewed her as not giving curses, then she would only give boons? This must indeed be researched eventually.

 

3. The Stormfather- This immensely powerful spren is a spren that appears every time a Highstorm passes. He is responsible in some way for the release of Stormlight into gemstones during this time.

He is also capable of controlling the Highstorm, and yes, there is only one, as demonstrated when he summons it mid Weeping to wipe away the battle field's bodies. This makes him an EXTREMELY powerful Spren. He is     -also- confirmed to be the Spren of the Allmighty, a large Splinter of Tanavast. Bonding with him makes a Bondsmith, the rarest kind of Knight Radiant that has no Shardblade.

This spren seems somehow trapped by the thoughts of man as being confined to the Highstorm.

 

4. Moelach- This spren, mentioned briefly by Tanavast on page 906 of the hardback version,is apparently responsible for the Death Rattle. When nearby (range unknown) This spren causes dying people to glimpse at something, powered by their life energy, past present or future. Unlike the other spren above, this one is cable of moving about, as it is so unknown by mankind that it is not bound by their perception of it.

 

5. Nergaoul- This spren, also mentioned by Tanavast, is responsible for the Thrill. It is considered an ancient evil spren that Tanavast does not yet have the resources to tackle. Aka, this thing is too strong for a kingdom that leads one of the most powerful cults in the world. This makes me believe it is an Unmade or Voidspren, a spren of Odium. He, like Moelach, is not bound by man's perception of him, and can move about, as he is so unknown.

 

6. Lunu'anaki- This spren appeared before rock from the depths of the Horneater Peak's "Oceans". Not much is known of him, save that he is considered to be a very very powerful god. He is the god of travel and mischief, looks like a lighter skinned Alethi with white hair. Possibly not a spren at all, but it is unknown.

[Edit] This is most likely Hoid.

 

When Jasnah Elsecalls in front of Wit, she mentions the highspren, spren that are likely very powerful in the cognitive realm, and so would likely have a stronger presence in the physical as well. The highspren, however, seem to remember the past, and so have been around strong enough to have sentience for a long time.

Edited March 8, 2014 by cris34b

[happyman]

6. Lunu'anaki- This spren appeared before rock from the depths of the Horneater Peak's "Oceans". Not much is known of him, save that he is considered to be a very very powerful god. He is the god of travel and mischief, looks like a lighter skinned Alethi with white hair. Possibly not a spren at all, but it is unknown.

 

Pretty sure this one isn't a Spren at all.  It's pretty clearly Hoid/Wit.

 

The rest of the things you list are likely Spren, though, although I'm still not sure on the Nightwatcher.

[HydrogenAlpha]

I agree with happyman, the 17sharders at the purelake said that Hoid could be white-haired ( but I'm no too sure on this ) and Rock said this "god" made fun of his beard .. sounds like Hoid.

[cris34b]

You know, I was actually just about to edit this and add that in, I realized this after posting about the Horneater peaks experience.

[happyman]

I'm afraid, though, that the last entry is overshadowing the rest of them, which seem pretty good.  As I said, I'm not sure about the Nightwatcher, although if I had to guess, I would say that the Nightwatcher is to Cultivation as the Stormfather is to Honor.  With Cultivation still active, though, I'm not entirely certain what that would imply. 

Edited March 8, 2014 by happyman

[Seerow]

I'm pretty sure that Highspren is actually the name of the spren that Skybreakers bond, not the name of the really big powerful spren in the world.

[Moogle]

I'm afraid, though, that the last entry is overshadowing the rest of them, which seem pretty good.  As I said, I'm not sure about the Nightwatcher, although if I had to guess, I would say that the Nightwatcher is to Cultivation as the Stormfather is to Honor.  With Cultivation still active, though, I'm not entirely certain what that would imply. 

 

I believe that Nightwatcher is Cultivation.

 

 

Wyndle moved along beside Lift. “Mother has given up on your kind. I can feel it. She doesn’t care any longer. Now that He’s gone  .  .  .”

 

I am not confident, but why would a Stormfather-like version of Cultivation care about Him (Honor)?

[happyman]

I believe that Nightwatcher is Cultivation.

 

 

I am not confident, but why would a Stormfather-like version of Cultivation care about Him (Honor)?

 

Because She is an aspect of Cultivation, just like the Stormfather was an aspect of Honor, even before he (Tanavast) was killed?  Shards aren't simple in the Cosmere.

[Moogle]

Because She is an aspect of Cultivation, just like the Stormfather was an aspect of Honor, even before he (Tanavast) was killed?  Shards aren't simple in the Cosmere.

 

By this train of thought, the Stormfather should hold romantic feelings towards Cultivation. I don't think that a piece of Cultivation would hold the same feelings she did towards everyone. Particularly not to the point where the piece of Cultivation would become despondent because Honor was dead. We know that holders of a Shard have no permanent effect on it.

[treblkickd]

By this train of thought, the Stormfather should hold romantic feelings towards Cultivation. I don't think that a piece of Cultivation would hold the same feelings she did towards everyone. Particularly not to the point where the piece of Cultivation would become despondent because Honor was dead. We know that holders of a Shard have no permanent effect on it.

 

 

For one thing, we don't know what the Stormfather's feelings toward Cultivation (or more precisely, the person who holds the Cultivation shard) - it just doesn't come up - and after learning what we do about the Stormfather in WoR, I think it makes a lot of sense to hypothesize that the Nightwatcher is a large splinter of Cultivation, similar to the Stormfather/Honor. 

[Argent]

Aye.

 

Highspren are spren that deal with law, order, and justice - though I suspect it's more than that. Jasnah says that we would dub the Cryptics liespren, but they dislike the term, probably because it's very limited and limiting; yes, they like lies, but their love for lies is not enough to describe their complexity. Honorspren are in similar position, I think. From what we see from Wyndle, he is also pretty complex. So the way I see it, all of the Nahel spren have a... focus of some sorts (lies for Cryptics, honor (or wind? or bonds?) for honorspren, something related to plant life for Wyndle and his kind), but they are not completely defined by it. Highspren would be similar, I believe - order and justice will be the core of their personality / character, but they will be all unique.

 

So we kind of know what highspren are. Furthermore, we don't know if the Unmade are actually spren - Tarangian's Diagram says they are like spren. It could be a false negative, yes, but it could very well be a true negative.

[Balefire]

Moelach and Nergaoul are unmade, not spren.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Balefire

[cris34b]

I know Nergaoul is an Unmade, which, in my oh so uninformed opinion, is an Odium spren, but where does it say Moelach is an Unmade? I know Mr. T. calls Nergy a big bad evil dark spirit, but never mentions Moelach in that same tone. Just says he is moving.

[Satsuoni]

Given my knowledge of Skybreakers and their patron Herald's temperaments, it would seem to me that highspren is short for "high-horse spren" Maybe with some high-judge spren in the mix.

[11thorderknight]

Where was the line that ties highspren to the Skybreakers? the only mention of highspren I remember is that Jasnah tells Hoid she's been talking to them when on the other side.

[Windrunner]

Syl mentions them, claiming that they care about laws and rules.

[skaa]

From Awesomeness' Houston signing report, it looks like the Nightwatcher isn't Cultivation. Well then, that sounds like a confirmation that she is just a very powerful spren, similar to the Stormfather.

 

Moogle's issue about why a spren of Cultivation would care so much about Honor is a valid one, though. My theory is that the Nightwatcher contains both Cultivation and Honor's Investiture. She is, in other words, a spren of both Shards. If this is the case, her sadness due to Honor's death would make sense: she is grieving for her father.

[kaos]

Isn't Tavanast the Honor shards former owner?

 

I think you mean Taravangian. (In regards to Moelach and Nergaoul in to OP)

Edited March 14, 2014 by kaos

[Moogle]

From Awesomeness' Houston signing report, it looks like the Nightwatcher isn't Cultivation. Well then, that sounds like a confirmation that she is just a very powerful spren, similar to the Stormfather.

 

Moogle's issue about why a spren of Cultivation would care so much about Honor is a valid one, though. My theory is that the Nightwatcher contains both Cultivation and Honor's Investiture. She is, in other words, a spren of both Shards. If this is the case, her sadness due to Honor's death would make sense: she is grieving for her father.

 

I'd like to point out that it isn't confirmed she's just a very powerful spren at all. Cultivation refers to the Shard, not necessarily the Shardholder, and it's very possible that the Shardholder Splintered the Shard or something and took on a small portion of its power.

[skaa]

I'd like to point out that it isn't confirmed she's just a very powerful spren at all. Cultivation refers to the Shard, not necessarily the Shardholder, and it's very possible that the Shardholder Splintered the Shard or something and took on a small portion of its power.

 

Pardon my moment of Assuredness there. There is no confirmation yet that the Nightwatcher, who isn't Cultivation, is a spren. For all we know, she could be some totally different thing that we've never ever encountered in the Cosmere before, like she could be a female Irish leprechaun who got sucked into a wormhole and ended up in the Cosmere, becoming the mischievous little prankster that all Rosharan kids know and love. Or something. Hell, Occam's Razor doesn't necessarily apply in fiction, after all, so let's all feel free to make the wildest speculations we possibly can.

 

But Moogle, may I ask why you think the holder of Cultivation would do such a thing as you described? It is for sure a very interesting theory. The last time we saw a Shard do something even remotely similar, it was to imprison an enemy Shard. I don't think Tanavast would've approved of letting his Shardwife's Investiture become the prison of the Shard of Hatred (remember that the Nightwatcher was already a thing when Tanavast was still alive), but it does have a poetic feel to it given what Odium has done to Cultivation's pets, the Listeners.

 

Alas, Laras was still known as Preservation when he used up most of his power to imprison Ati/Ruin, so I think Cultivation's holder would still be properly referred to as "Cultivation" no matter how small her power remains. Hence, since WoB says that the Nightwatcher is not Cultivation, I will have to say that she is also not "Cultivation's holder". No, she is probably a leprechaun. I mean spren. Probably a spren.

Edited March 15, 2014 by skaa

[Moogle]

But Moogle, may I ask why you think the holder of Cultivation would do such a thing as you described? It is for sure a very interesting theory. The last time we saw a Shard do something even remotely similar, it was to imprison an enemy Shard. I don't think Tanavast would've approved of letting his Shardwife's Investiture become the prison of the Shard of Hatred (remember that the Nightwatcher was already a thing when Tanavast was still alive), but it does have a poetic feel to it given what Odium has done to Cultivation's pets, the Listeners.

 

Odium's planned to Splinter all the Shards, a process which strikes me as being fatal to any resisting Shardholders. (I think we have WoB on it even?) Honor was killed by Odium, so why wasn't Cultivation? This line of reasoning makes me think that Cultivation-the-Shard might already have been defeated, since I see no reason for Odium to wait. Of course, Splintering a Shard is really hard, so he could offer Cultivation a deal: I kill you and Splinter you now that your boyfriend is gone, or else you Splinter yourself.

 

Given Cultivation's current motivations are "be really apathetic and do nothing", I could see her self-Splintering from a request by Odium. Or for any number of reasons, really. Once she's Splintered, Odium has no reason to fight her anymore. He just has to get his Oathpact problem dealt with and then he can continue on to Scadrial.

 

Hugely, wildly speculative, but it's not immediately ridiculous as far as theories go so I'm keeping it in the back of my mind. I have a hard time believing Cultivation would do nothing whatsoever for so long during this series and that Odium wouldn't fight her.

[happyman]

My theory with respect to Cultivation is twofold:

 

Firstly, she has gone into a serious bout of godly depression after Honor died.  I imagine that like everything else, the shard's power magnifies and directs that as well.  We even have a bit of confirmation from Windle on that.  She doesn't care any more.

 

Secondly, I believe that the Nightwatcher is to Cultivation as the Stormfather is to Honor, except Cultivation isn't dead.  So you can't identify the Nightwatcher with Cultivation, but she is an aspect of Cultivation.  A subtle difference, but almost certainly relevant to Brandon and his readership.

[Cromptj]

But her Shard's intent would drive her to continue cultivating, even if she was depressed. Even when Preservation did not have a mind, it still tried to snap people.

[MitchSpren2014]

4. Moelach- This spren, mentioned briefly by Tanavast on page 906 of the hardback version,is apparently responsible for the Death Rattle. When nearby (range unknown) This spren causes dying people to glimpse at something, powered by their life energy, past present or future. Unlike the other spren above, this one is cable of moving about, as it is so unknown by mankind that it is not bound by their perception of it.

 

5. Nergaoul- This spren, also mentioned by Tanavast, is responsible for the Thrill. It is considered an ancient evil spren that Tanavast does not yet have the resources to tackle. Aka, this thing is too strong for a kingdom that leads one of the most powerful cults in the world. This makes me believe it is an Unmade or Voidspren, a spren of Odium. He, like Moelach, is not bound by man's perception of him, and can move about, as he is so unknown.

 

You mean Taravangian, right? Anyway, about Dalinar bonding the Stormfather? does that mean he's a lot powerful than the other Knights Radiant?