There’s a complaint I’ve come across several times in the last year on The Stormlight Archive subreddit: there are, some readers lament, too many Knights Radiant, which are akin to superheroes on the planet Roshar. Radiants can heal themselves, manipulate gravity, change one object into another, see the future, play with pressure, create visual and auditory illusions, among other powers. There are ten Orders of the Radiants and each Order possesses two powers, which are fueled by stormlight—a form of investiture delivered by the highstorms and stored in gems of several varieties.
[Contains spoilers for all books of The Stormlight Archive]
For these readers, it was fun to see Kaladin overcome his inner wretch and become a Radiant in The Way of Kings, followed closely by Shallan in Words of Radiance (though with Shallan things are not as simple, given that she had bonded Testament the Cryptic at a very young age, which was not known to readers until Rhythm of War). Then, as the series progressed, almost all of the main cast (and some sidekicks) bonded spren and became Radiants or Squires: Jasnah, Dalinar, Renarin, Navani, Teft, Bridge Four, Gaz, Vathah…even Wit, our beloved worldhopper. Elhokar and Tien had also initiated their bonds but didn’t finish speaking the First Ideal. As of Rhythm of War, there are hundreds of Windrunners and dozens of Edgedancers, with the other Orders recruiting as well.
Everyone having superpowers, these readers felt, made the concept of the Knight Radiant less impactful. It took away the awe and admiration inspired by heroes who are exceptional and different from the rest of us who look up to them. They also felt that these other characters became Radiants too easily; they didn’t earn Radiance the way Kaladin did by not giving up when his life couldn’t seem to get any worse, didn’t suffer as Shallan did in confronting the truth of having killed her parents and her spren.
As long as it was just these two special people getting singled out, the argument goes, things were great. But everyone around them becoming Radiants as well? What kind of a superhero story is that?
A reassuring and hopeful one, I say.
I’ve never been a lover of superhero narratives, either as a kid or an adult—the violence, yelling, and widespread infrastructure damage that characterize most of these stories in comics and movies was just never my cup of tea. In terms of my reading, The Stormlight Archive novels are the only books I’ve read where the main characters can be called superheroes. Even then, that wasn’t the reason I picked the series up—I initially read them because my book club was doing a read-along and I wanted to join. Over the year that’s passed since discovering the series, I’ve talked a lot about it with friends as well as fellow fans on Reddit, read fan-fiction, shared memes, envied the skills of fan artists, and written a meta essay of my own about the scholarship in the books. I love the series for its representation of mental illnesses and for how diverse the characters—especially the women—are in terms of personality and strengths. Shallan, Jasnah, Navani, Lift, Rushu, and Rysn are some of the best female characters I’ve ever read.
It was only when I came across these online discussions based around some readers’ disappointment at the fact that (almost) all the main characters were becoming superheroes that I realized that yes, this series is different from other kinds of stories with knights and superpowers—that there aren’t just one or two very special characters with very special powers—and that yes, I love it. To explain why, we’ll have to go back a little in time.
I took a gap year before starting college in 2019. I was at home most of the time, with no social circle, wondering what to do with my life. I spent that year experiencing a mix of climate anxiety and death anxiety and going through an existential crisis all at once. I could see so many problems in the world—sexism, racism, casteism, homophobia, climate change, lack of mental health awareness—and it was too much to take in. I read a lot about possible solutions to these problems. And then I started believing that I had to do something to fix those things. That I shouldn’t just be a writer but also a journalist and a lawyer and a social worker and a politician, because those positions would let me change things. That I had to do it all, or my life was worthless. The world was ending, millions of people were at risk of losing their homes and lives due to rising sea levels, fires were consuming entire forests, and living till my 50th birthday was looking like an impossibility. Someone had to do something. I had to do something.
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The Witness for the Dead
The worries and anxiety dragged me down until all I could do was just sit and think over and over about how hopeless things were. I cried. I felt helpless and frustrated and angry because the people who held the most powerful offices in the world and led the world’s largest democracies weren’t doing anything.
What finally pulled me out of that space and still keeps me going is this truth was this realization: saving the world is a lie.
In stories, the superheroes perform all the world-changing heroics. They are usually mysterious and almost always set apart in some way from the other people in their lives—by a secret identity, perhaps, or simply because they are so different, so powerful. Not in The Stormlight Archive though… In these books, superpowers aren’t limited to a chosen one. Or even a few chosen ones. What I love about this magic system is that your powers don’t come from an external source—no special creature/weapon/serum/prophecy/heredity, etc. People who care about others and hold themselves and their behavior to certain moral standards become Radiants. You don’t need noble blood, or (any) education, or special favors, or any privilege whatsoever. You just need to give a shit about other people, and give enough of it. You have to be the kind of person who keeps their promises. And that is anything but easy, given the kind of problems life throws at people.
Anyone in the world of Roshar (and even those outside it, like Wit/Hoid) can become a hero. Granted, the Nahel bond which gives the Knights Radiant their powers is initiated by a spren who follows a person around and encourages them to speak the Immortal Words. But spren don’t discriminate in their choices the way the real world does in choosing the people it grants power to (or allows to steal power). Tien was an ordinary (yet precocious) village boy when a Cryptic started following him. Ym was an urchin-turned-shoemaker in the process of bonding a Mistspren. Gaz, Vathah, and Red were deserters before Shallan took them in. Lift was (and still is) a little thief; the Stump just an old woman feeding orphans. Godeke the Edgedancer is an ardent, who are usually owned by royals and lighteyes. Beryl the Lightweaver was a sex worker at the warcamps. I’m guessing that the majority of budding Radiants that the Herald Nale killed over thousands of years were ordinary people too.
Despite their name, not all Knights go out into battle to fight—not during the current timeline, or in the past, as Jasnah pointed out to Shallan:
The archetype of Radiants on the battlefield is an exaggeration. From what I’ve read—though records are, unfortunately, untrustworthy—for every Radiant dedicated to battle, there were another three who spent their time on diplomacy, scholarship, or other ways to aid society. (Words of Radiance, p. 81)
And I like that because it feels more real: A lot of us want to help but can’t because we don’t know where to begin or are struggling with our own problems. The thing with Radiants is that they run into these barriers too, but because they’re willing to change and grow, they acquire this power and are able to help others.
Over the last year, having followed the protests around the world, and closer home in India, I have learned a lot about how people can take little actions—signing petitions, sharing information, initiating conversations, making little donations, taking courses to learn more, addressing their own biases—to help a cause. You do not have to sit in the Oval Office. You don’t need billions of dollars. You don’t need to be an expert, a scientist, a doctor, a lawyer. You can still create change even if you aren’t any of those things.
Because the real world has never been saved by a few superheroes. It has always saved itself on its own, each person doing their own little bit. In the real world, although many people feel—and sometimes are—helpless because they’re not the “right” gender or race or caste or class, there are many, many more people who have made their own little impacts on the lives of others, be it buying groceries for elderly neighbors during the lockdown, running a lemonade stand to raise funds for cancer treatment, offering free therapy, teaching kids in slums, or distributing food to protesters. Our world is humanity’s collective effort, one big project that we always keep working on.
The problems all of us are fighting are too big to change individually—they are too massive in scope, with too many variables. But collectively we have changed some things for the better, and we’ve done it by being whoever we are and doing what we can, while also learning and taking tiny steps forward, just like the Radiants do with their skills and their Oaths. And although we all have heroes like Kaladin—people we can look up to and admire for being extraordinary—we know that the world isn’t dependent on a select few and that all of us can grow and change things and be a hero in our own ways.
And that is anything but disappointing.
Ratika Deshpande’s (she/her) work has appeared in Flash Fiction Magazine and Every Day Fiction. She has also written for Submittable’s blog, Discover. She’s good at summarizing long conversations, better at finishing work before the deadline, and best at making bad jokes. She lives in New Delhi, India, and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s in Applied Psychology.
Well written.
Thank you for this. These days I am so over the average Chosen One narrative, for the reasons, among others, so well articulated here. And even Kaladin — he’s so far from being perfect, some flawless paladin whose struggles with himself just go away when he accepts his power and responsibility. My breath was taken away by the realistic, respectful, nuanced portrayal of mental illness in the most recent book in the series particularly; epic fantasy never does this, or if it does, it’s never quite so central, so focused, so much the point of it all. It was masterful, and it was masterful because it’s not a Chosen One narrative.
@Andrew I’m glad you liked the essay.
@missfinch I agree. It’s why Rhythm of War is my favorite book of the series. (I wish we could get more of Kal almost inventing therapy on Roshar!) I am so glad that Sanderson puts so much effort into writing these narratives. We sorely need more stories where mental illness aren’t treated as some obstacle to overcome.
And thanks so much for the comment!
Very nice article :) I have seen some of the same complaints (and a fervent wish a certain wonderful character will NOT become a Knight Radiant for that reason), but I think this casts a new light on the multitudes of KRs. I like how positive and hopeful it is especially considering the craziness of the world around us. We really can all help with the change, even if by babysteps. Beautifully said.
Life before death, Radiant!
Very well said! This is definitely one of the things I love about this series.
Also, I knew Godeke in real life. He was someone who certainly embraced the ideals of the Radiants and being remembered in Brandon’s books as an Edgedancer is completely fitting to who he was. I loved seeing him there.
Thank you for this well written and sorely needed comment. My personal position is that the people complaining of “too many Radiants” are very much missing the point of the whole series. Radiants are meant to shine so that others may see and be inspired. Radiants are meant to lead only so that others may follow.
In the words of Lirin, “Somebody has to start. Somebody has to step forward and do what is right, because it is right. If nobody starts, then others cannot follow.”
The very fact that Radiance is open to so many, to anyone willing and ready really, is possibly THE message. These books changed my life and saw me through hardship at a time when I had figuratively taken the plunge into the Honor Chasm myself and didn’t survive by much. They have inspired me to share them with everyone I know because their message is not just one of hope for a select few, or an elite hero. Nor does it provide only one path of virtue. These books take into account the diversity of traits that lead people to their own path of virtue in their own time and their own way.
The fact that “power-ups” are brought about by levels of understanding and personal epiphany regarding progress along their individual path of virtue, is so important. They’re not anime characters achieving new heights because of anger, or sheer grit and determination. They’re achieving a deeper understanding of what it means to be a better person, what it means to them. Because understanding that provides true strength, true resilience.
Thank you for your words. You may count me as a friend and ally.
@Celebrinnen @Danyelle @grim Aeonian Thank you so much for your comments. I agree with everything and have nothing to add except a thank you for giving my article your time. :)
Very well said. Thank you
I can understand some readers’ desire for some major characters to remain “Badass Normal,” doing their heroic best (or villainous worst) without magical advantages that don’t exist in our world. But The Stormlight Archive is extraordinary for (among other things) having many characters who remain intensely relatable to many readers, even after they acquire superpowers. A major factor is the limit to magical healing of oneself and sometimes others — many Radiants and people-among-Radiants retain some of their disabilities, often but not exclusively mental illness. I resent the reasoning behind this, because its implications clash with my relationship to my own disabilities, as I’ve described in comments elsewhere on Tor. But it’s undeniably powerful.
It’s kind of spelled out in the books that there are SUPPOSED to be a lot of Knights Radiant, to the point that Bondsmiths are extremely unique due to the fact that there are only ever three of them at a time.
Complaints about it being too widespread seem a bit disingenuous just because of that.
And personally, I’d love to see Adolin become a Radiant the “wrong” way. There’s this constant in the Cosmere where people capable of Investiture almost always have some kind of trauma. The “snapping” in Mistborn, where people have to experience trauma to open themselves up to magic, for instance. What if on Roshar, with magic coming from the Nahel Bond between Spren and Radiant, it doesn’t have to be the Human or Parshendi in the equation that’s got the problems?
Thanks for writing this. Living in India in these times has been harrowing, and RoW took me through some of the last year. There is still hope and change will happen – and from all of us.
Minor nitpick: Spren do have biases of their own, as we find out with Rlain in Rhythm of War opening chapters.
Great article!
I also take from the Stormlight books that nobody is beyond redemption. That only the desire to do better is required, not to have always done good.
Thanks for all the comments!
@Jasin Yes, the books do mention how there were hundreds, if not thousands of Radiants in the past. I particularly wanted to address the idea that that was somehow a bad thing, that too many superheroes is disapponting, or that the other characters didn’t “earn” Radiance the way Kaladin and Shallan did.
The idea of being broken keeps cropping up and I was aware of it when writing the article, but Brandon has said in a WOB that it’s an in-world idea that being broken is a requirement to be a Radiant. Which is why I specifically mentioned that you don’t need anything but to live up to your Oaths (and a spren) to be a Radiant.
Also, this may not be the best term to use (English isn’t my native language), but I think that making “being broken” a requirement is a sort of gatekeeping. Anyone should be able to grow. And as Sanderson mentioned in the WOB, people get to define for themselves if they are broken or not.
@nemo spren do have biases, but as I mentioned, not like the real world, which favours certain classes, races, genders, etc.
@nemo I was thinking of something else entirely (had just woken up so it might be that). Yeah. Spren do have biases and what happened with Rlain was quite similar to what happens in the real world. I guess what I was trying to emphasize the point that the books having hundreds of Radiants as opposed to only a select few is a sort of reminder for the readers that they can grow and help too.
I don’t entirely agree, although I wish I did.Two points below:
The magic system SEEMS to be open to everyone, but as of now, only 2 orders have ever welcomed singers into their ranks, and of those 2 orders, the truthwatchers kinda need an asterix due to the corruption of Sja Anat and it’s relationship to the order being unclear. So there are clearly racial biases to the ability to become radiant.
And on a more meta-narrative level, while it is true that anyone can be a hero in that they can join the radiants, nearly all major heroic characters in the series at this point are either Kholin by blood, marriage, or similar relationships. Even Wit is dating Jasnah, Kaladin is being alluded to a familial relationship through Aesudan, and Rlain and Renarin are speculated by the fandom to be either a couple already or heading in that direction. So heroism certainly seems to be strongly related to membership in the Kholin family as well.
@robo I agree about the racial bias; I realize that was an oversight on my part.
And yes, all “major” Radiants are related to the Kholins in some way. But the point I wanted to emphasise was that Radiance isn’t limited to just them (one family/Royal blood). Malata, Beryl, Godeke, Ym, Zu, Lift, the Stump… these are all ordinary people who became Radiants. And Lift is a major character. Szeth too.
Thank you for this essay.
As somebody with my own issues with existential horror, the themes of always just taking ‘the next step’ and trying to be a better person are what resonate. I also really appreciate Kaladin’s treatment and how is problems don’t just magically go away (and I did shed a few tears at his scene in RoW with Tien).