Khriss - How?

[John Flamesinger]

So Khriss… We know that she is native to Taildan, and that she is a major worldhopper. But Who Is She? What happens after the cliff hanger in White Sand 2? What is her position in Silverlight? And which systems has she been to? For that matter, who is Nazh?

[+Invocation]

Nazh is Khriss's assistant/employee, who gains a fair amount of knowledge on Roshar for her. He was referenced within the text and you get to see some of his writing in one section as well, and in some other books besides Stormlight, I think.

She's been just about everywhere, popping into Scadrial, Roshar, native to Taldain, been to Nalthis, has somehow figured out all sixteen Shardic Intents

Spoiler

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Does Khriss know the intents of the sixteen Shards at the time of the essays?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

At the time of the essays, Khriss would... Yes, Khriss would know all sixteen intents.

Skyward Seattle signing (Nov. 10, 2018)

She also writes the Ars Acanums in the end of the books, and knows a lot about what's happening at any given time, helped found Silverlight, can change her appearance via an unexplained method, will give information to anyone who asks, and knows more than even Hoid*, and she'd get along well with Jasnah.

Tl;dr: Basically she's just obliteratingly smart and has used her lifespan to gain an excess of knowledge.

*Explanation in this spoiler box here

Spoiler

Questioner (paraphrased)

Is Hoid the most knowledgeable about what's going on in the cosmere?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

No, Khriss is the most aware by a long shot. Nazh knows a lot as well. Hoid might know more than Nazh but he is pretty in the know as well so it's close.

Words of Radiance Houston signing (March 11, 2014)

 

[RShara]

We don't have any of those answers, other than Nazh is from Threnody and is basically her research assistant/errand boy.

[Scion of the Mists]

We don't have a ton of information about her (or Nazh).  Most of what we have is on her Coppermind page.  

You could also check out the prose version of White Sand, which is available by signing up for Brandon's newsletter.  

[+robardin]

On 4/25/2019 at 11:13 PM, RShara said:

We don't have any of those answers, other than Nazh is from Threnody and is basically her research assistant/errand boy.

I always wonder what she pays him with. I suppose they could be in a relationship together, the bonds of love and all that, but it doesn't quite feel that way when we see them together in MB: Secret History... And I assume the prosaic answer is that they're both operating out of Silverlight these days, which is in the Cognitive Realm, where spheres of Stormlight and other portable forms of Investiture are the coin of the realm. And that's what she uses to pay him.

But I like to think she pays him in knowledge, like the circus leader in "Big Fish". "Every month you work for me, I'll tell you one thing you really want to know."

Edited May 1, 2019 by robardin