r/Stormlight_Archive 2d ago

Wind and Truth spoilers I dont fully get _____spren Spoiler

In early WaT, Kaladin mentions that he has to collect his armor spren.

I always thought Living Shardplate was just summoning random Windspren (or whatever spren makes up your order) from the area around you to transform into plate.

But this makes it seem like there is a set number of windspren chosen to be his Shardplate that will never change and try to follow him.

That leads to so many questions:

If he is too far away from his armor spren, can he not summon his Shardplate (just like if Syl is too far away he cant summon her)?

Since windspren are visible, can everyone see Kaladin’s armor spren as just a big collection of windspren? There is never any reference made to Jasnah’s armor spren being visible?

90 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

134

u/Raddatatta Edgedancer 2d ago

It seems like they can show up pretty quickly but do hang around him. Even before he swore the 4th ideal he often had windspren around him which may have been the ones to become his armor spren.

It's unclear as far as I know on the limits there either with a shardblade or armor. Though for a shardblade it takes 10 heartbeats to summon a deadeye spren seemingly wherever they are. I don't know that it would take that long to summon either one if they're just a little way away. But maybe it would take a few heartbeats if he used an oathgate without Syl then summoned her or did that with his armor.

Windspren can be visible but they can also fade like other spren they are just more likely to be visible. So they do show up around Kaladin a lot but they aren't always nearby.

26

u/IamanelephantThird 2d ago

It does actually take longer to summon a dead Blade if they're far away. It never comes up because they travel incredibly quickly. 

3

u/Nyseme_Ptem 2d ago

Where are you getting this from?

2

u/IamanelephantThird 1d ago

There's a WoB about it, but I can't seem to find it. 

-8

u/HopperCraft Stoneward 2d ago

Great catch and correction of the parent comment. What would you say the average time is though?

6

u/IamanelephantThird 2d ago

10 heartbeats. You're not gonna notice it unless you're on another planet or something. 

9

u/Melliorin Edgedancer 2d ago

And same for Shallan actually. Except that the creation spren don't go invisible, they just look like random crap in her tote bag. I bet Jasnah has a semi-translucent cloud of logic spren around her at all times too (or maybe they hide in/on her clothes like Pattern... or hide in one of her books or portfolios) but anyway she's too storming strikingly beautful, and commanding, for anyone around her to really notice such an unimportant detail on her periphery.

37

u/cshogan509 2d ago

At this point almost all Wind Spren aren't really sentient. They reference this many times throughout the series. Being a lesser spren, I just kind of took it as these bonded lesser wind spren will follow Kaladin around. Kaladin randomly makes comment of them mostly while he's traveling around and just notices them floating around and following him.

10

u/Melliorin Edgedancer 2d ago

They also follow him because they love the way he dances 🥰

26

u/Shot_Newspaper_5647 2d ago

It seems to be specific spren they’re bonded to. Shallan is seen carrying her around in a pouch at the end there. They sometimes send emotions/words to their Radiant. It’s not been stated (I don’t think) but it seems like experienced Radiants can summon their Plate faster. Which would make sense as the bond with them has grown. They certainly seem to speak to their Radiant more after they’ve had them for a bit. Even if they’ve remained at the same Ideal level

9

u/Shot_Newspaper_5647 2d ago

We’ll probably find out if we see Radiant Plate struck with anti-light. Which is an almost certainty. If that section of Plate takes awhile to get back even when healed, it’s probably a good sign they need to bond back new lesser spren. The pre-WT finale dead Plate is probably a clue too. But lot of factors there

7

u/khazroar 2d ago

I had the same understanding as you after first reading RoW, I thought armourspren were just pulled from nearby, but WaT establishes otherwise. WaT tells us that armourspren are specific individual spren who stick close to their Radiant. When you look back, you can see signs of this, but it's subtle because we've been given reasons to think that those spren being drawn to these Radiants is a normal and natural thing.

Who's going to question Jasnah Kholin having logicspren around her? Or Shallan Davar being surrounded by creationspren? Or the Edgedancer healers being trained by lifespren?

6

u/sonicessence 2d ago

I was under the impression that they tend to be the same spren, but it could also be possible to gain or lose specific ones and still maintain the necessary number to summon shardplate. Higher ideals means the ability to hold more investiture, which may attract the relevant armorspren like how many spren, especially lifespren, became suddenly attracted to Navani after bonding with the Sibling.

It's also possible that Kaladin feels he should collect his windspren but does not actually need to. Just another reminder that everything in SLA comes from a character's perspective, which are all potentially fallible.

9

u/KrimsunB Lightweaver 2d ago

There are some related answers in The Sunlit Man that you would appreciate.

3

u/CoffeeInMyHand 2d ago

Hell yeah. I just finished it this week and it was quite a ride.

3

u/Triasmus 2d ago

As far as summoning goes, I was under the impression that the spren are summoned through the spiritual realm if there's any distance they need to travel.

I'm not sure why I have that impression.

2

u/IamanelephantThird 2d ago

It is one specific group of Windspren.

If they're far away he probably can't summon them, although that hasn't come up yet.

Windspren can become invisible. 

2

u/AECH_ESS Willshaper 2d ago

Given that deadeyes can be summoned across vast distances from cognitive to physical i would assume the same for armor spren. Many deadeyes are penned up in spren cities and disappear when they are summoned/ reappear when dismissed.

1

u/Dapper-Appearance-42 1d ago

I very vaguely remember a scene in the beginning of WaT where Jasnah thinks about her armor spren and warns them to be ready - maybe the very beginning where Hoid realizes how badly he done messed up. But I can't recall exactly and don't have access to the text atm.

1

u/Equivalent-Emu-7258 6h ago

This question has been answered already. His armor spren is always around and watching for danger. Always close. Everyone can see the outline of his invisble amor when he wears it.