From windrunners to bondsmiths and everything in between.
In the Stormlight Archive, the Knights Radiant are individuals that have bonded with radiant spren. There are 10 types of radiant spren, and depending on the spren a person bonds, they will gain different powers. These powers will grow as these individuals find the words and personal development to express more powerful ideals.
The 10 orders of the Knights Radiant are:
- Windrunners
- Skybreakers
- Dustbringers
- Edgedancers
- Truthwatchers
- Lightweavers
- Elsecallers
- Willshapers
- Stonewards
- Bondsmiths
In this article, I’m going to explain each of these orders so you know everything you need to about the Knights Radiant ahead of the release of the Cosmere RPG.
About the 10 orders of the Knights Radiant
Windrunners
Values: Protection, especially of those that can’t protect themselves
Spren: Honorspren
Herald: Jezrian
Powers: Adhesion and gravitation
Notable members: Kaladin, Sigzil and most of the Bridge 4 crew
Known ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.
- 3rd ideal: I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.
- 4th ideal: I accept that there will be those I cannot protect!
- 5th ideal: I will protect myself, so that I may continue to protect others.
With the ability to essentially fly and an oath to protect, windrunners tend to suit the role of soldiers, scouts and transportation for specialist troops. For this reason, they also tend to excel in combat and mastery of weapons. They often form one of the larger orders of knights radiant with many squires within their ranks.
Skybreakers
Values: Justice and morality
Spren: Highspren
Herald: Nale
Powers: Gravitation and division
Notable members: Szeth
Known Ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: Ideal of justice
- 3rd ideal: Ideal of dedication.
- 4th ideal: Ideal of crusade.
- 5th ideal: Ideal of law.
Skybreakers have tended to be entrusted with upholding the law and ensuring justice and morality are kept. Because of the powers the knights radiant possess, it was in part the role of the Skybreakers to ensure that this power didn’t result in abuse or oppression. However, the Skybreakers were often at conflict with more free thinking orders due to their rigid legal views. This is especially the case in more recent times when, led by Nale in his madness, the Skybreakers turned the law into something devoid of compassion and even morality.
Dustbringers
Values: Responsibility, precision and control
Spren: Ashspren
Herald: Chanarach
Powers: Division and abrasion
Notable members: Malata
Known ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will obtain self-mastery.
Specialists at destructive forces, dustbringers are often used for destroying or burning land. However, they often resent the sentiment that their powers are all about destruction. Instead, they see themselves more as engineers and builders or even containers of destructive forces, but both powers work hand in hand for a dustbringer. Dustbringers are unique as they are the only order that does not possess all their powers from the start. Instead, these are granted to them as they progress through the ideals.
Edgedancers
Values: Remembering the ordinary people around them
Spren: Cultivationspren
Herald: Vedel
Powers: Abrasion and progression
Notable members: Lift
Known ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will remember those who have been forgotten.
- 3rd ideal: I will listen to those who have been ignored.
Edgedancers have the capabilities to maneuver through combat even more capably than a windrunner or a skybreaker. However, their order tends to eschew combat in favour of aiding common folk. This often means healing the wounded or pulling them to safety during conflict.
Outside of combat, they would often dwell in towns to support the local people (often through healing). This propensity towards caregiving means that many religiously inclined individuals are drawn towards making the oaths of an edgedancer.
Truthwatchers
Values: Finding the truth and sharing it
Spren: Mistspren
Herald: Pralla
Powers: Progression and illumination
Notable members: Renarin, Rlain
Known Ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will seek the truth.
Truthwatchers tend to be more scholarly and academic in nature than other orders. They seek to uncover the truth whether that’s through knowledge, science, technology, or by uncovering secrets, especially those associated with abuses of leadership.
Lightweavers
Values: Understanding and knowing the truths about themselves
Spren: Cryptics
Herald: Shalash
Powers: Illumination and transformation as well as the ability to soulcast
Notable members: Shallan
Known Ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd – 5th ideal: These are truths spoken by the individual about themself.
Lightweavers are the spies and artists of the radiant orders. Their ability to weave illusions enables them to walk unnoticed in the places they shouldn’t be. Because lightweavers are often engaged in deception, drawing the distinction between their real self and those falsehoods they may at times present can be of crucial importance. This means that when they speak new ideals, they are less based on set ideals and more on acknowledging truths about themselves.
Elsecallers
Values: Reaching their potential
Spren: Inkspren
Herald: Battar
Powers: Transformation and transportation as well as the ability to soulcast
Notable members: Jasnah
Known ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will reach my potential.
Focused on self-mastery and achieving their potential, elsecallers tend to be wise individuals that often make strong leaders and tacticians. Their ability to soulcast makes them a great logistical resource for armies that require considerable food and water to be created. They also possess the ability to move in and out of Shadesmar.
Willshapers
Values: Freedom
Spren: Reachers (lightspren)
Herald: Kalak
Powers: Transportation and cohesion
Notable members: Eshonai, Venli
Known Ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will seek freedom for those in bondage.
The freedom of the willshapers can manifest in various ways. Some are crafters like builders and artists, using free expression to create what they want. Others are more radical thinkers that like to operate outside of the norms of society. Still others believe strongly in freedom from captivity and operate as soldiers to rescue those that have been taken captive. In combat, they are often used to reinforce buildings and structures. Outside of war, they often train people in craftsmanship. Willshapers are particularly opposed to tyranny and oppression.
Stonewards
Values: Being there for others when they need them.
Spren: Peakspren
Herald: Talenel
Powers: Cohesion and tension
Notable members: Zu
Known ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: Being there when needed.
Known for their capabilities as highly capable foot soldiers and team players. Stonewards tend to be highly dependable, enthusiastic and have a propensity for taking on more than they can chew.
Bondsmiths
Values: Bringing about unity
Spren: The Stormfather, The Sibling and The Nightwatcher
Herald: Ishar
Powers: Tension and adhesion
Notable members: Dalinar and Navani
Known Ideals
- 1st ideal: Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.
- 2nd ideal: I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together.
- 3rd ideal: I will take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.
Bondsmiths are unique in that only 3 spren can bond to make bondsmiths. This also means that the way their uniting efforts manifest can be very different.
Because there are only 3 spren that can bond a bondsmith, there are only ever 3 true bondsmiths at a time. However, sometimes members of the retinue of a bondsmith would be made bondsmith squires and even make oaths without bonding a spren.
Bondsmiths are often leaders among the radiants and are also considered of great value due to their scarcity.
That’s all the context you need about each order of radiants ahead of the Cosmere RPG’s digital release this month. Which order do you intend to play? Let me know about it in the comments below.
