Fans of Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive fantasy series can now view ALL of the mesmerizing illustrated endpapers from Oathbringer, the forthcoming third volume of The Stormlight Archive!
(Note: The names of the characters depicted have also been revealed! Scroll onward to see.)
The endpapers consist of four character portraits, with the two behind the front cover painted by artist Dan Dos Santos.
The portraits depict some of the Heralds of Roshar. Important figures within the Vorinist mythology, the Heralds are bound by the Oathpact to emerge when it is time to combat a Desolation on the planet. They are the founders of the Order of the Knights Radiant; the same Order that many of the Stormlight Archive’s main characters now find themselves within!
Dan Dos Santos’ illustrations depict two Heralds, Ishi’Elin and Shalash’Elin, respectively.
The endpapers inside the back cover of Oathbringer are by artist Howard Lyon, and depict two more Heralds: Jezerezeh’Elin and Vedeledev’Elin! (Prints can be purchased through the links!)
Oathbringer arrives on shelves on November 14, 2017.
Note: The comments on this article may contain spoilers from the chapters of Oathbringer currently available to read on Tor.com. Tread as thou wilt.
Love them, and love the diversity!
Beautiful and stunning.
Loving that they are also – in book world art pieces.
And that they are showing the diversity of the people of Roshar.
I just realized Shalash’s gown is see through *blushes*
Gorgeous. Also, just sayin’: I’m still waiting for the Oathbringer wallpapers. Shallan needs a break from being my desktop image.
I don’t know if I’m remembering this correctly, but Jezrien is Shalash’s father, right? If so, I’m assuming that means she gets her appearance from her mother.
@3: Well it’s a crystal dress.
Graendal and the Domani would love to have such a dress. ;-)
I’m wondering how that’s going to be cosplayed by someone. I know the type of shimmery fabric that could work, but creating a faceted dress? Wow, so many seams… Tricky to have it look clean.
@5: Correct. We have not meet her mother yet.
So beautiful!!! Are these windspren and lifespren around Jezerezeh and Vedeledev?
*hey, I just recently bought a pair of shoes reminding those Vedeledev is wearing!*
The last 2 Heralds look very realistic. Did the artist have models stand in for the drawing?
Gorgeous! These are some good looking heralds.
Jezrien has a bottle opener on his sword. That’s why he’s the king.
These are all so amazing! I continue to be impressed by Brandon and all the new and different things he is doing with his epic fantasy novels. I can’t wait to own this book!
I really hope we get to meet some of these characters at some point. One would think so but ya never really know.
Nice!!! Now we know what they look like. Heh.
But I do wonder how those 4 were picked.
WOW. The artist did a great job! I’m also loving the diversity!
Oh wow, those are beautiful! I’m definitely getting the prints.
I think I have a clue on how they were picked. In order of appearance, Bondsmith, Lightweaver, Windrunner, Edgedancer. Who else shares not only the order, but also the gender of these Heralds?
Okay, I am trying to think this through. Heralds were once ordinary men and women, who had agreed in the Oathpact to help regular folks fight the Desolations. They were given blades, which contain bits of Honor (their God/shard) in their makings. Included in each of the blades were two surges or super abilities.
Is that correct??
@12 I believe that we have and just didn’t realize it. In There Way of Kings, Szeth sees Nale and Kalak, but we don’t know it’s them at the time. We see them again I’m WoR, in Jasnah’s POV The scene. The drunk guy he sees who slurs, “Have you seen me?” might be Jezrien (I think that’s the currently theory, anyhow). The Baxil interlude in TWoK definitely includes Shalash. It is suspected that this god-king we keep hearing mentions of is Ishar. Also, there are suspicions that the assassin Jasnah meets with at the beginning of WoR is one of the Heralds (Chanarach, maybe? can’t remember).
@13, Ways:
The Hearlds are for 4 of our main Radiants.
Bondsmith, Lightweaver, Windrunner, Edgedancer.
Why does Shallash hold a compass and keys? I can’t figure out the relation to adhesion and growth….
@TIm L on 16.
Bondsmith
Lightweaver
Edgedancer
Windrunner
Take the first alphabet, and it becomes B.L.E.W.
#mindblown #hiddenmeaning
Tommy @20. Vedel is the Herald holding the keys and compass. Shalash is the woman in the translucent dress holding the mask. Unfortunately, I do not have a guess as to what the keys and compass represent and/or signify.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
aka the musespren
Yaaaas! I love that Roshar is so diverse!! Thanks Brandon!! I cannot wait for Oathbringer to come out. I’ve already pre-ordered the e-book but may have to get these prints as well!
#22 AndrewHB:. Note in addition to the compass and the keys, Vedel also has prism earrings. In Lift’s first appearance at the end when Darkness has her, he compares her clumsiness with the Edgedancers of the past.
Then he says ”Yes. It is unfortunate they were always so concerned with small-minded things, while ignoring those of greater import. It appears you share their temperament. You have become one of them.” Words of Radiance, p705
I absolutely love those pictures, but one has to wonder about why Brandon chose Vedel as opposed to Nale, Kalak or even Chana. Still, despite my questioning, Vedel is my favorite drawing, followed by Jezrien. There is a Roman vibe to them and I really like that.
Does Vedel’s face remind anyone else of Rose McGowan?
Is Vedel holding compass? It looked like tweezers to me at first – I mean she is said to have been training surgeons and since she’s holding it in gloved hand I concluded it was a pair of fancy tweezers. But that was just my first association before reading the comments. It does look like compass too, now that you mention it :)
All in all very beautiful art – can’t wait for the book! I’ve been waiting impatiently for it for the past year, I can’t believe it’s actually coming out in matter of weeks! :)
I’m also still waiting for the wallpaper for Oathbringer. My wallpaper has been set to Words of Radiance since it came out. It was The Way of Kings before that since it came out.
Jeffery @26, yes! I thought there was somwthing familiar-ish there, but I suppose it just wasn’t strong enough that I could have placed it. But now that you mention it …
So far no discussion of the diagram on the wall behind Vedel?
What I can see is glyphs for the ten orders of surgebinders, and it looks like in the middle is a representation of the three moons of Roshar (Violet Salas; large, pale blue Nomon; small, green Mishim).
Is it possible to glean anything else from this?
@30. i think it’s a symbol for the KR. Jezrein’s belt is the same symbol…
I’m glad these are posted here, since they won’t be in the UK editions. It’s nice to see what we’re missing.
Amazing art! <3 Now I want to know how different/close to their actual appearance they are. Hmm, they seem to not be lighteyes. Interesting! Does this mean that the in-world artists are not following Vorinism but other Herald related religions? When Amaram saw Taln’s dark eyes he thought that it was a trick.
Living in Europe but I will be buying the US hardback edition because of the art.
Austin @3: Yes! One can see her Safehand!!
@6 you could make the facet look using white 12 gauge solid strand wire, it would hold the shapes well enough, while the white would help blend in with the fabric. You’d have to hand sew the fabric to the wire using if possible thread similar to the fabric. I don’t sew much and don’t know if any of that is possible, but it’s where I’d start. The waist area would be just sewn to make it look like the facets so you can still sit without bending wires.
The Jezrien one is really reminding me of something like St. Michael the Archangel (without the wings) or Constantine in the Raphael Rooms in the Vatican Museum. Really both of them by that artist have a very Renaissance quality. I like them :)
mendosi @@@@@30 – Nice thoughts. I wonder if the three spheres above Ishar are also portrayals of the moons.
Gepeto @@@@@ 25 – Presumably, he chose Vedel because we have an active Edgedancer. So far we haven’t had any Willshapers or Dustbringers (yes, except for the brief introduction of one who claims to be one, in the Oathbringer early releases), and very limited development of Skybreakers.
@37: Thanks for the explanation.
I was figuring, even if we do not have an active Skybreaker, Nale was one of the most prominent Heralds we have met so far. Arguably I understand why Brandon wouldn’t choose Taln because of the “Is Taln really Taln” mystery which I think he might not want to unravel onto a book picture.
I also forgot to the Herald for the Truthwatchers, I can’t remember the name. We do have an active one and he does “sort of” merge into the main narrative.
Thus I wondered about the choice of Vedel as I am certainly not expecting little Lift to get a very large chunk of the book, being an interlude character and having had her own novel.
Ah well those consideration aside, I really love the art. I wasn’t a fan of the Jasnah cover page, I find the Vedel drawing much more to my liking, so whichever reason why Brandon choose her, I’m glad he did.
Vedel. Yes you are right. It looked like a drafting tool to me but I suppose it could be some sort of medical implement. Either way a connection to the order she led is escaping me.
The artist did a good job showing family relations… The nose looks identical.
i’ve been wondering about the whole ‘mystery’ of whether taln is taln, and i guess the question is: how do (did) the heralds return to roshar for the desolations before? did they return in their own bodies? or did they return by essentially possessing the bodies of people gone insane or with severe mental handicaps? if so, their appearance and names could dramtically change from desolation to desolation. and that would possibly explain why taln is a ‘mystery’..
Will we be able to get prints of the ones by dos san tos? I really love the one of Shalash!
Kate_master @27. Vedel is holding a mathematical compass; not a navigational compass.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
aka the musespren
#32 Crane:. I wondered about that. When I was first starting to read The Way of Kings someone loaned me a copy from Britain. I live in the US. I noticed, no colored illustrations. Why is that true? If the author is going to make beautiful books, why not enjoy them. When I received Words of Radiance, it was so beautiful compared to the English version of TWOK.
Re: Vedel: according to Taln, she’s the one who trains doctors for the coming Desolations. So I’m pretty sure that’s some sort of medical implement. Maybe she’s got a glove instead of a safehand because it’s pretty difficult to do surgery with one hand covered? (I mean, not that wearing a nondisposable glove is much better, but at least it lets you move your figers).
As for the keys, the Coppermind wiki cites “by Vedelev’s golden keys!” as an oath. I’m sure there’s a story behind there.
RE Vedel holding a compass. I know the edgedancers healed others but I don’t see the reason for her to be holding a retractor. The heralds didn’t do meatball surgery, the used stormlight right?
Not to mention it only faintly resembles a retractor. It does look like exactly a drafting compass.
So what about edgedancers relates to compass? Were they somehow able to square a circle?
I like how gems associated with specific Heralds/KR Orders seem to be unobtrusively included into the artwork as pieces of jewelry that the Heralds are wearing. Though, shouldn’t Shallash’s garnets to be darker red in color?
They each have spren surrounding them, except for Shalash. Jezrien’s are obviously windspren. Vedel’s are lifespren. Ishar’s are, interestingly, gloryspren, because Dos San Tos saw him as a king.
Also, who drew the last two? They don’t have Dos San Tos’ signature
jcoope91 @47. I would assume the author is Howard Lyon. His name is on the bottom right of Jezrien and Vedel’s pictures.
Thanks for reading my musings.
AndrewHB
aka the musespren
The endpapers inside the back cover of Oathbringer are by artist Howard Lyon, as noted just prior to the pictures above. :)
PLEASE HELP! I’ve ordered the hardcover from Amazon, but i’m now freaking out, because i have no idea if it’s the US edition, or if it’s a UK edition. Does anyone know how i can check? ( I live in Norway btw) I can’t seem to find it in the description. I really want this beautiful art work, so i hope someone can help. I did order it from amazone.com, and not amazon.uk, does this mean that i will receive the US Edition?
#50 INeedMoreBooks:. When you pull up a picture of the cover is it Black/white/red? Or does the front cover look like the central pic in the End pages. It should have a full size young lady with a huge sword. She is dark haired, up against a yellow Stone wall, with a purple cape.
The black and white version is the UK version and the full color is the US. Yes, it is likely ordering from Amazon.com that you get the us version.
If anyone is interested – Howard Lyon has a post up about this at Muddy Colors (a collaborative, “fantasy arts community”, and pretty neat blog if you like art and fantasy/sci fi). He discusses in a little more detail the two paintings he did, but the real interest for us (Stormies? Cosmerites? Investiturists? RAFOs = really annoyingly fanatic opportunists? what do we call ourselves? Sandersonites? Sanderfans? “Samsonite…I was way off!”) may be him teasing more info in another upcoming post including a video about how they were done.
see http://muddycolors.blogspot.com/2017/10/oathbringer-endpapers-part-1.html
As teaser he says this –
So, confirmation that it is a compass, but the only thing that comes to mind for me is that her pose is reminiscent of ancient Egyptian iconography with the Pharaoh holding his foes by the hair about to bash their heads in with a mace lifted above his head. Somehow, I don’t think that is going to be on point.
Any guesses on importance and symbolism related to the poses and gestures?
I’ll try to post again when part 2 is up, but knowing all y’alls, someone will probably swoop in and do it for me before I can get to it… :)
tommy @20 I also do not know the meaning of her keyes however I know that in WoK chapter 7 (I dont know the PG# as im on mobile atm) Kabsal says to Shallan,while meeting her and seeing her art for the first time,
“By Vedeledev’s golden keys, Brightness!” Brother Kabsal said, seating himself. “Did Jasnah Kholin teach you this skill with the pencil?”
Excerpt From
The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
This material may be protected by copyright.
@6 yessss I thought of the Domani as well!
On amazon.de (and other German booksellers) there are two editions: the UK is hardback and comes out on 16. November, the international edition strangely is paperback and comes out 14 November. Why is it paperback? Can that be right?
#51. AlerieCorbray Thank you! That means i’ve got the US edition! (WOHO!)
#55 I ordered the US edition from amazon.com and it’s Hardcover, maybe you should try to order it from there?
Tommy @@@@@ 45 – The Heralds and Knights Radiant used Stormlight for healing, but not everyone can do that – and there may be times when not every wound is worth spending Stormlight on. In WoR, Taln’s mutterings included a statement that “Vedel can train your surgeons.” Since it’s doubtful that she can train them all into Knights Radiant, I would assume that she will teach more advanced field medicine than they would (presumably) have going into a Desolation.
Which still doesn’t tell us anything about why her symbology includes a compass and a bunch of keys…
#56 INeedMoreBooks:. I just placed my order for Oathbringer, US hard copy of course. I love that Amazon will get it here on the release day. I also ordered a copy of Warbreaker. I have loved the ebook for a bunch of years, but with all the Cosmere talk, I want a paper version.
I’m tired of us ladies getting put in see-through dresses while the dudes get the cool armor and swords and stuff. And I’d like to see the other female herald with the medical talents perform surgery without that outfit getting in the way. I get that each Herald had different powers but they were ALL on the battlefield but only some of them look battlefield-ready,,,,and again there’s no reason why her dress has to be completely see through! Ugh.
These pictures are amazing. I’m sad at all the posts commenting on the diversity of the characters. They are people..just people. Please stop pointing out what makes everyone different.
@59 I agree with you. I get that the purpose of the painting was to show how she was using lightweaving to make a disguise for herself, but I don’t get why it had to be so revealing. Don’t get me wrong all of the paintings are beautiful, but that was something that didn’t sit well with me. I mean, the entire thing didn’t have to be transparent for me to get that she was lightweaving. I don’t know…if anyone has any info on why the artist decided to go with this it would be much appreciated!