The Magic of "The Stormlight Archive" Quiz

Answer: Highstorms

Highstorms are a extremely powerful storms that travels only from East to West, purportedly from a mythical 'Origin' on the planet. Every highstorm is vast, sweeping across the globe, and lasting for hours of furious wind, rain, hail, and debris. The regular effect of these storms has shaped the land and creatures to adapt, and has forced the inhabitants (not all human) to build structures to withstand or hide from the full impact of a highstorm.

Every time a highstorm passes, any gemstones left out in the storm (if dun) will become newly infused with stormlight. Over time, the stormlight in a gem sphere will dissipate, and will need to be exposed to a highstorm to be re-infused. Gems are used not only as currency, but also as a source of lighting indoors.

Answer: Shadesmar

In Brandon Sanderson's "Cosmere", there are three different realms - the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm. They are all connected, but on Roshar the connection between the Physical and Cognitive Realms is a little more apparent because of the spren.

That said, most people (in-universe) are not aware of the existence of Shadesmar, and it is mostly just an understanding of 'Realmatic Theory' and the world of the scholarly. As "The Stormlight Archive" progresses, however, both the reader and the characters learn more of the Cognitive Realm and the different types of spren.

Answer: Fabrials

Those who study and create fabrials are called artifabrians, and the science (and art) of creating fabrials is largely a closely-held secret. Just like in our world, technological advancement is not always shared between nations, or even within the same country (think businesses seeking profit).

The reader does learn that the basic concept behind fabrials is to trap a spren inside a gemstone. That gemstone is typically encased in a wire frame of different types of metal. The type of spren, the type and size of gemstone, and the type of metal all combine to produce an effect that can be harnessed through the use of stormlight.

Answer: Heralds

In the prelude to the first book of "The Stormlight Archive", we see nine of the Heralds abandon their pledge to the Oathpact, leaving only one of the Heralds to fulfill their eternal mission... and you as the reader don't learn more than that in the moment.

Essentially, upon defeating the enemy in the Desolation, cognitive shadows of the Heralds are transported to the nearby planet Braize (in the same solar system) where they keep the enemy immortals locked away for centuries... until the enemy breaks free to do it all over again. How they manage to break free is another story.

The ten heralds were (and are) Jezrien, Nale, Chanarach, Vedel, Pailiah, Shalash, Battar, Kalak, Talenel and Ishar.

Answer: Honorblades

The sixteen different Shards were taken up and held by different 'people' (who were involved in the shattering of Adonalsium). The Shard referred to in this question was 'Honor', who splintered pieces of his own investiture to create the Honorblades. In "The Stormlight Archive" at the beginning of the series, Honor (unknown to nearly everyone) has died, killed by a different Shard.

The Honorblades give powers to their wielders called 'Surges', each one connecting to two different types of Surges. The different Surges are: Adhesion, Gravitation, Division, Abrasion, Progression, Illumination, Transformation, Transportation, Cohesion and Tension.

Answer: Nahel bond

As readers, we are first introduced to the power of an Honorblade in the hands of the Assassin in White, while the concept of the Nahel bond is revealed bit by bit as one of the primary characters (Kaladin Stormblessed) forms a relationship with an Honorspren named Sylphrena. We eventually learn that the speaking of 'Ideals' (an oath) by the human sets the basis for the Nahel bond with the spren, and that there are different levels of Ideal that grant further powers. The powers granted depend on the type of spren and the Ideal spoken - they then relate to the same paired Surges that the Honorblades accessed.

The Nahel bond is intimate; a linking of spirits. This is why strong, spoken Ideals are associated with the forming of the bond. If the bond (and the Ideals) are abandoned, it is not good for the spren.

Answer: Knights Radiant

The bonded spren would itself turn into a Shardblade (or any other weapon as needed), and the Shardplate was essentially a living armor also created through the bond.

Unfortunately, that same history told of the 'Day of Recreance', when the Knights Radiant chose to abandon their bonds, leaving Shardblades (killing their spren and leaving them frozen in that form) and Shardplate behind as relics of power that the commoners proceeded to fight and kill each other to own. In the 'present' time that that the books describe, the few Shardblades and Shardplate to be had are held by those in power, and are sought after and fought over, with kingdoms in the balance. Those who own Plate or Blade are called 'Shardbearers'.

Answer: Adhesion and Gravitation

All of the powers used by Radiants is by virtue of the expenditure of Stormlight. They can draw stormlight from spheres and other infused gems and then use it like a battery to power their abilities.

Kaladin's powers of Adhesion and Gravitation give him the power to fly and to cause things to 'lash' together. This combination allows for some pretty creative abilities. Add into that the versatility of a spren who can become any weapon, and the power of Stormlight to heal, and you've got a pretty powerful character.

Answer: Listeners

The Listeners are just actually just one tribe or group within the greater population that are called Singers. The history of the Singers (and Listeners) is very complex, but suffice it to say that they are a species native to Roshar, where humans are not. The group that humans knew as Parshendi were all of the tribe of Listeners.

Singers have the ability to change their form, making such specialty forms as workform, warform, nimbleform, mateform, and more. Like some of the animal species native to Roshar, they have a gemheart, with which they can bond with spren (which gives the ability to change form). Singers can also feel the rhythm of Roshar, and much of how they communicate involves rhythm and song.

Before they met the 'Parshendi', humans had a slave race they called 'Parshmen'. What they didn't know is that the Parshmen were actually a 'slaveform' of the Singers (no spren or connection to the world around them).

Answer: Odium

Odium as a Shard of Adonalsium is a manifestation of 'divine hatred', although he prefers to think of it as 'passion', instead. Where stormlight is associated with Honor's investiture, Odium has voidlight. He corrupted the Singers' connection with Honor and now largely controls them in the expanded war with humanity and the Radiants.

But Odium, now imprisoned on Braize, is fighting a proxy war through his 'Fused' (the immortals imprisoned with him on Braize and held their by the Heralds between Desolations). Voidspren allow the opportunity for Singers to create 'Voidbindings', providing powers analagous to those of the 'Surgebinding' Radiants.