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Stormlight Recap Series: Main Characters | Other Notable Characters | Groups and Mysteries Welcome, welcome! One of the most common questions I saw around the time of the Oathbringer release was requests for a good recap of the previous books. Not everybody has time for rereads of the full series, of course. If you want to read Rhythm of War this November and the last Stormlight book you cracked open was three years ago... you might be in for a bumpy ride! Over on the Coppermind you can find detailed chapter summaries for each book. And I mean detailed! If you don't have the time for a full reread, I'd highly encourage you to go through those! If you want something much more concise to read, I would recommend taking a look at the book summaries on the Coppermind. This should give you a quick overview of what each book has covered so far. But if you want something right in the middle of those options? Well, you've found the right place! This series of four articles will serve as a brief but thorough overview of the previous Stormlight Archive books. Rather than just giving a detailed book summary, I'm going to break things down by topic. Over these four articles we will cover: (1) the world and its historical background, (2) the three primary flashback characters and the upcoming flashback characters of Rhythm of War, Eshonai and Venli, (3) other notable characters, and (4) significant groups on Roshar and some outstanding mysteries to keep an eye on! I'll try to link Coppermind articles, so if you find yourself itching for more details on some topic it will only be a click away. I certainly don't intend to cover EVERY notable detail, but if you feel like something major is missing let me know in the comments. This article will have spoilers for the Stormlight Archive, but there will NOT be spoilers for other Cosmere books. Let's do this! ROSHAR Let's begin with a quick overview of the world itself. Roshar is a harsh, rocky world with colossal "highstorms" sweeping across the continent on a regular basis, but the planet is teeming with alien life that has adapted to this extreme environment. Trees brace for storms, grass retracts into the ground, and native animals have hardened shells. Also native to Roshar is a sapient, humanoid species, called the singers (called parshmen, Parshendi, or listeners in the early books). The flora and fauna aren't the only alien aspect of Roshar however. Forces of nature and ideas come to life in the form of magical "spren", spirit-like creatures which can appear out of nowhere drawn by human emotions or acts of nature. These spren are but a glimpse into an entirely separate, overlapping realm called the Cognitive Realm, or simply Shadesmar, where the spren have more fully realized form. The various sapient species of spren even have cities, culture, and a civilization of their own. Spren aren't entirely detached from the Physical Realm however, as they play an important role on several levels. They have formed bonds with animal life, enabling the development of creatures with remarkable size or magical abilities. The native singers have also learned to bond with spren in their own way by taking the spren into a natural gemstone within their bodies (gemhearts), which causes dramatic changes in their psychology and physiology depending on the type of spren. Spren have even developed a special sort of bond with some humans, allowing those humans to access the powers of Surgebinding--manipulation of the Surges, the fundamental forces, like gravity or friction, that drive the world. Behind the magic of Roshar are beings of godlike power, called Shards. There are three Shards of note where Roshar is concerned, each named after an ideal which governs the nature of that power. The first two, Honor and Cultivation, arrived long in the past. The third, Odium, arrived shortly after the original human migration to Roshar. The conflict between these three beings is, at its grandest scale, the story of the Stormlight Archive. HISTORY Now we can talk history, and we'll begin with one of the big reveals at the end of Oathbringer: the humans are the Voidbringers! Well, from a certain point of view. You know how most life on Roshar seems to have lizard-crab-things somewhere in their evolutionary tree? Yeah, it should come as no surprise that the singers (called Parshendi/parshmen by humans) called Roshar home even before Honor and Cultivation came into town. Apparently under the influence of Odium in some way, the humans showed up on Roshar's doorstep after destroying their own previous homeworld with magic. Honor and Cultivation encouraged the singers to welcome these refugees, but it didn't take long before things went terribly wrong and war broke out. Odium lent some of his power to create the Fused--singer souls who, upon death, could take over the body of another. These beings, effectively immortal and with access to the Surges, were joined by the Regals (singers granted magical "forms of power" by one of Odium's voidspren in their gemhearts), Thunderclasts, and the Unmade. To counter Odium's forces, Honor empowered his Heralds--ten immortal humans with ten powerful Honorblades. The Oathpact was established as a means to limit Odium's forces. Thus began the Desolations. With each Desolation, Odium's forces would return to Roshar and the war would begin anew. Though the humans were always ultimately victorious the cycle wore down the resolve of the Heralds as they returned to Damnation after each Desolation along with the Fused, where they would be tortured until the point of breaking again. During this time, humans began to ally and bond with intelligent spren. This Nahel bond granted the humans access to Shardblades, Shardplate, and various forms of Surebinding. These Surgebinders organized and became known as the Knights Radiant. With their headquarters in the tower city of Urithiru and their philosophies inspired by Nohadon, author of The Way of Kings, they afforded some stability amid the Desolations. But even they could only do so much. After a series of particularly challenging Desolations, nine of the Heralds abandoned the Oathpact, leaving the tenth--Taln--to bear Damnation on his own. Under Taln's resolve alone the cycle of Desolations nearly halted. After the "Last Desolation", Odium's forces did not gather again for thousands of years. When they did, during the so-called "False Desolation" it was without the support of the Fused, still bound by Taln. The humans were victorious again in that war, but only amid great cost. Honor himself was slowly dying, for reasons not entirely known to us, and the integrity of the Knights Radiant was collapsing with him. Upon the defeat of the singers, an event which left most living singers magically lobotomized as servile parshmen, most of the Knights Radiant abandoned their oaths--leaving behind their Shardplate and bonded spren dead in the form of Shardblades. This event would become known as the Recreance. Time passed, and power was re-consolidated. The Silver Kingdoms of the past warped into the nations of modern Roshar. New religions developed to explain the past and the place of humans on Roshar. In eastern Roshar, the Vorin church developed significant political influence and encouraged extensive revisionist history before Sadees, the Sunmaker, ended their "Heirocracy". And so it was, until the Alethi king Gavilar discovered a rogue band of intelligent singers and the Herald Taln's resolve began to waver… The novels open with the assassination of Gavilar, Dalinar's elder brother, at the hand of Szeth, "the Assassin in White"--who was hired by the Parshendi on the very night they planned to sign a peace treaty. We learned from Eshonai (in Oathbringer) that Gavilar planned to bring back the Fused--something that the Parshendi wanted no part in. While Gavilar's own dealings and motives were surrounded in mystery, the result of his assassination was simple for Dalinar and the Alethi, who swore vengeance upon the Parshendi. Thus began the War of Reckoning--with the Alethi laying siege to the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains. Over the course of the novels, we saw Dalinar discover (through visions granted by the Stormfather) that their God, Honor, was dead and that a new Desolation would soon arrive. Dalinar united as many of the Alethi highprinces as he could and assaulted the Parshendi at the center of the Shattered Plains. Though they technically won that battle, the listeners succeeded in mustering the Everstorm, and as the Everstorm swept across Roshar, it restored the minds of the parshmen worldwide. With the Everstorm also came the Voidspren, Fused, and a stronger presence from Odium himself, who organized these former slaves and ignited a global war with the humans. The humans rediscovered the ancient city of Urithiru, with Oathgates allowing for fast travel, and allied together into a loose coalition against Odium's forces. The two sides ultimately clashed at the Battle of Thaylen Field, where Dalinar seized fragments of Honor's power and temporarily repelled the Shard of Odium. What's next? Much of the past is still a big mystery to us! How did the first Desolation begin? What have the Heralds been up to? Is there more story behind the Recreance that we don't know? What schemes was Gavilar involved in and what was he ultimately trying to do? That will be all for this time. In the next article we will begin exploring characters! If you found this helpful, make sure to tag your friends or share it around. If you feel like something important was left out, or if you have a question, let us know in the comments. If you haven't visited our forums and Discord server, consider this your welcome! We'd love to hear your voice in the conversation. Until next time, Life before Death! Check out our other Stormlight Recaps: Main Characters | Other Notable Characters | Groups and Mysteries Special thanks to the artists whose work was used in this article! Kaladin and the highstorm by Howard Lyon Shallan painting by Michael Whelan Honorblades by Antti Hakosari on behalf of Brotherwise Games Map of Roshar by Isaac Stewart

It's that time of week again! Tor has posted the latest Rhythm of War sample chapters, and you can find them here. After you've read this week's chapters, we invite you to join the latest discussion in the forums and on our Discord server! In case you haven't heard, Tor.com will be posting a chapter-by-chapter serialization of Brandon Sanderson's latest Stormlight Archive book, Rhythm of War. Check back every Tuesday at 9 AM EDT for the newest installment. This will continue until the book's release on November 17th. We will be picking these chapters apart together, and we hope you will join in on the discussion! If you missed previous chapters or discussion threads, you can find both linked in our Sample Chapter and Discussion Thread Index. If it's been a while since you cracked open a Stormlight Archive novel and you need a refresher, keep an eye out for a series of recap articles that we will be kicking off this Wednesday. If you want something more in-depth and a full reread is too tall an order, you can also find chapter summaries of the published books on the Coppermind wiki. Speaking of Coppermind, we would love to have your help preparing the wiki for Rhythm of War's release. Please note that RoW spoilers are not permitted on the wiki until the book is out. However, we are working together in our Coppermind Discord server to make the update as seamless as possible. If these sample chapters leave you with a lot of excitement, we invite you to join us and channel that energy! No experience or expertise is necessary! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter so that you don't miss the latest updates!

So, you've read some of Brandon Sanderson's books, and you liked them enough that you want to talk about it with other fans online.... But it doesn't take you long to realize that you have no idea what everyone's talking about. Shards of Adonalsium? Realmatic theory? Worldhoppers? "I don't remember any of this in the books I read!" Fear not! This article is for you! What is the Cosmere? The cosmere is the fictional universe in which many of Brandon Sanderson's novels take place. Stories set in the cosmere share an underlying theorem of magic, a creation myth, a cosmology, and a few other key concepts. Characters and cultures can (and do) cross over between worlds. The connections in Brandon's earlier publications merely consist of a few scattered Easter eggs, but these become more obvious and meaningful with each book. Seeing and understanding these connections can add an extra layer to your experience with his books -- there's a reason we can't stop talking about it! We've designed this page to point out all of the main things you may have missed, or that Brandon has said in interviews with fans, so that you can discover the secret world hidden in Brandon's books and be ready to participate in some of the more complicated discussions as quickly and as effortlessly as possible. For a more in-depth answer to this question, keep reading. For Brandon's own short answer to this question, see the FAQ on his website. For the complete list of works set in the cosmere, see here. A note on spoilers: This article contains minor spoilers for some cosmere books--particularly Mistborn and Stormlight Archive. Links to the Coppermind wiki often contain many spoilers. If you haven't read all the books, we would encourage you not to read beyond the Reading Order recommendations section! Does it matter? Knowledge of the cosmere is generally non-essential to understand and enjoy Sanderson's work as each story/series stands on its own. That said, understanding the cosmere can enhance your experience and give you something extra to chew on if you'd like to dive deeper into Sanderson's universe. So if you start looking into the cosmere and find all of this to be overwhelming or uninteresting, that's totally okay. Take your time, or just don't even worry about it! Maybe this will help: You can think of the cosmere like Marvel's Cinematic Universe, but without the Avengers movies overtly tying everything together. You can watch all of the Thor movies without watching Guardians of the Galaxy, but Thor: Ragnarok is certainly a bit more fun with that extra interstellar context. And you can totally watch Guardians of the Galaxy without caring why a talking duck showed up after the credits, but if you want to be like one of the amazing nerds who gets a chuckle out of scenes like that… this article is your starting point! Sanderson ultimately has plans for some books that will involve the overarching story of the cosmere more directly. At this time, experiencing the cosmere primarily involves connecting the universe's basic concepts and identifying characters who show up in unexpected places and seem to know more than they let on. Reading Order Before we get into the weeds, let's talk reading. There is no “right order” to read the cosmere in. Publication order is a common suggestion, which allows you to experience the books as if reading them from the start, but you should read the cosmere in whichever order you most enjoy. If you want to try something new, branch off to a different world or series. If you really like the series/world you've been reading, then keep going down that road. Most reading orders will point out a few books that can be considered “starter” books. From these you can dive deeper into a particular series or branch off to something new. Some commonly recommended starting points include: Elantris — If you like the idea of reading in publication order, this is where you should begin. This is the first book Brandon published. Mistborn: The Final Empire — The original Mistborn trilogy (Era 1) is the most frequently recommended place to start. Warbreaker — This is a standalone book that's available for free on Brandon's website. The Emperor's Soul — This Hugo Award-winning novella is a great way to experience Sanderson's strengths with very minimal commitment. The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) — This epic is far from complete and requires the reader to place a lot of trust in Sanderson--it opens with a lot of worldbuilding and a slow start. But if truly epic fantasy is your thing and incomplete series don't give you pause, this is perhaps Brandon's finest work. For an interactive reading guide, see this page. Brandon's own recommendations can be found on his website. Two final notes on reading order: We highly encourage reading Warbreaker sometime before Words of Radiance. We highly encourage reading Mistborn: Secret History after The Bands of Mourning. Adonalsium, Shards, and Investiture Adonalsium and the Cosmere A long time ago, there existed an entity called Adonalsium. Very little is known about who or what Adonalsium truly was. Adonalsium's touch suffused the cosmere, and many worlds, such as Roshar, were grown by it and bear its design. It was the source of all of the cosmere's magic and was said to control the powers of creation. One day, Adonalsium broke into sixteen fragments in an event that became known as the Shattering of Adonalsium. Why or how Adonalsium was shattered remains a mystery. The Shards of Adonalsium Sixteen of those who were present at the Shattering took up these fragments, or Shards, and became godlike themselves. They went their separate ways, (well, some did) creating worlds and seeding the cosmere with more life. The magic of the cosmere continues to stem from these Shards. Each Shard has an "intent" that it strives to fulfill, which gradually molds and warps the holder of the Shard, the Vessel, until they are absolutely incapable of acting against it. This nature is so dominating that both the Shards and the Vessels are usually referred to simply by the Shard's intent. Note, however, that the intent of a Shard cannot be precisely conveyed in a single word, and there is some room for interpretation as to what each Shard's intent incorporates. Some Shards include Ambition, Autonomy, Honor, Ruin, and Devotion. Though these demigods may appear godlike to mortals, they are neither all-powerful nor all-knowing. Shards may be Splintered--a process which leaves the Vessel dead and the power of the Shard dispersed. Shards are also able to subdivide themselves into avatars, each with a distinct identity, though the exact nature of these entities and how they relate to the Shard and its Vessel is unclear. Investiture, Splinters, and Slivers Investiture is the catch-all term for magical energy in the cosmere. Investiture, which comes from the Shards, is the power source for all of the cosmere's magic systems. Most beings in the cosmere have some innate Investiture, which makes up their soul. Magical powers are sometimes obtained when one's spirit (sometimes called a spirit web) becomes suffused with a larger amount Investiture. A Splinter is a portion of a Shard's Investiture that has been severed from it, either willingly or unwillingly. Sometimes, these Splinters will develop sentience and sapience, and they can become highly intelligent beings. (Note that non-Splintered Shards can still have Splinters.) A Sliver, on the other hand, is a person who once held a significant portion of a Shard's power. Holding that much power stretched and expanded their soul. The Worlds There was an original world named Yolen. Yolen was home to three intelligent species (human, dragon, and Sho Del), and is the planet that the original sixteen Vessels came from. All human life in the cosmere either came from Yolen or was modeled after it. After the Shattering, the Shards spread and settled down on many different worlds throughout the cosmere. These include: World Stories First of the Sun Sixth of the Dusk Nalthis Warbreaker Roshar The Stormlight Archive Scadrial Mistborn Sel Elantris, The Emperor's Soul Taldain White Sand Threnody Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell Worldhoppers and Notable Characters A small number of enterprising individuals in the cosmere have learned how to travel between these worlds. These worldhoppers have a huge variety of backgrounds and motivations. Some worldhoppers are acting individually while others are part of an organization, like the Seventeenth Shard. Hoid Among the cosmere's worldhoppers, there is none so prominent as the ever-mysterious Hoid, originally of Yolen. Hoid, which isn't even his real name, is thousands of years old, having been present at the Shattering of Adonalsium. Whatever happened to Hoid in his past, he's no longer exactly human, at least in the traditional sense. He has a way of knowing where he needs to be at the right time, and he uses this to subtly influence events behind the scenes. Hoid's true motives and goals are as hidden as his real name. Hoid has appeared in nearly every cosmere novel so far, though he is often in disguise and will occasionally use pseudonyms, such as Dust, Topaz, Cephandrius, and Wit. Trying to spot him in every book is part of the fun of the cosmere. He seems to prefer disguising himself as a beggar, an informant, a storyteller, or a jester, so look for him to be playing one of these roles. He is also often, though not always, described as having white hair and an angular, hawklike or arrowlike face. Among many other things, Hoid has the ability to Lightweave (create illusions), he can heal from extreme injuries, he doesn't age, and he has a way to dilate time so that he doesn't have to wait as long for important moments. The planned series Dragonsteel will tell the story of Hoid's origin and the Shattering of Adonalsium, and Hoid is planned to be a main character in the final Mistborn trilogy. Khriss and Nazh Khriss, from Taldain, is the worldhopper who writes the Ars Arcanum at the end of each book, and she's the most knowledgeable of anyone—including Hoid—about the cosmere as a whole. Khriss has been described as dark-skinned, with her hair woven into tight braids. Nazh is her assistant, a worldhopper from Threnody, tasked with collecting various maps and drawings from throughout the cosmere. They are often included in the books with his personal notes to Khriss in his distinctive handwriting. One of his most identifying characteristics is his tendency to use Threnodite swears, such as "shadows". He has also been described as lanky, with a narrow face and sand-colored hair. Organizations Famous individuals aren't the only ones to keep track of, however, as there are several notable organizations at play in the greater cosmere. We know of at least one entire city that exists "between" worlds, called Silverlight, and it harbors the university that Khriss is associated with. Also headquartered in Silverlight is the Seventeenth Shard, a mysterious organization with an aggressive non-intervention policy where the Shards are concerned. Not every group shares these same opinions about not interfering with the rest of the cosmere, however. Significant among these are the Ire, an ancient order of Elantrians, and the shadowy Ghostbloods, who currently seek to use the True Desolation on Roshar to their own benefit. While their goals may be a mystery, their influence on the cosmere cannot be underestimated. The Three Realms Almost everything in the cosmere has a body, a mind, and a soul, and each exists in one of three Realms. The Physical Realm is world of the body, where physical objects exist. This Realm is the only one that normal human beings consciously perceive. The Cognitive Realm, also known as Shadesmar, is the world of the mind. The Cognitive Realm is strange and alien: Water is solid, land is fluid, and shadows point backwards. Thoughts and ideas take on real form in this Realm. After a person dies, a leftover impression of their mind, their Cognitive Shadow, will linger shortly in the Cognitive Realm before passing on. The Cognitive Shadow can sometimes persist for longer periods of time, however, by various magical means. The Spiritual Realm is the world of the soul. Once you reach the Spiritual Realm, there's no such thing as space or distance anymore, just Connection between people and places. Those who peer into the Spiritual Realm can see all the branching possibilities of the future. The power of the Shards resides mostly (usually) in the Spiritual Realm. Large amounts of Investiture can pull the three realms close enough together that perpendicularities form—junctions which allow worldhoppers to cross between the Physical and Cognitive Realms. Often, these perpendicularities can be found where the power of a Shard is concentrated into a pool of liquid. The Cognitive Realm is of particular interest to worldhoppers because distances are compressed there in places where there is little or no mental activity (such as outer space), meaning worldhoppers can use the Cognitive Realm to actually walk from one planet to another. Depending on the Shardworld, the Cognitive Realm can be an extremely dangerous place. Chronology While in most cases we don't know how many years take place between books in different series, we do know the chronological order of most of them. In order, they are: White Sand Elantris The Emperor's Soul Mistborn Era 1 Warbreaker Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell Stormlight 1-5 Mistborn Era 2 Stormlight 6-10 Mistborn Era 3 Sixth of Dusk Mistborn Era 4 For more information, see this post. More Resources The best way to dive into the cosmere is to find a fan community to interact with. While you may see a lot of confusing conversations going on, just ask questions and you'll be caught up before you know it. The 17th Shard offers both forums and a Discord chat server to this end. The other two important resources to be aware of are the Coppermind wiki and Arcanum, both operated by the 17th Shard. But beware that BOTH of these resources include heavy spoilers for all of Brandon's books! The Coppermind is a wiki covering all of Brandon Sanderson's works, with an emphasis on the cosmere. Just dive right in by searching for pages that interest you, or by browsing through the page categories. Arcanum is an archive of everything Brandon has said publicly about his stories, drawing from interviews, social media, book signings, and more. There's a LOT to learn about the cosmere just by hearing directly from the man himself! Search for specific terms or browse entries by tags. We could always use help adding more information to the Coppermind or transcribing audio on Arcanum, and you don't need to be an expert to help. Stop by the #coppermind and #arcanum channels in our Discord server to help out. There's no better way to learn more about the cosmere than by helping improve these resources! So that's it for now! We hope this has been both informative and helpful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here!