Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere
A storm-battered world of ancient magic, fallen gods, and warriors bonded to sentient spirits of power. Eye of the Storm is set here — and understanding Roshar enriches everything.
The Stormlight Archive is an epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson, set in the Cosmere — a shared universe of worlds, magic, and gods. The series follows the inhabitants of Roshar, a planet scoured by massive, magical storms called Highstorms that sweep across the land every few days.
Life on Roshar evolved around these storms. Plants retract into stone-like shells. Cities are built against cliffs and windward walls. The storms deposit Stormlight — a luminous magical energy harvested in gemstones — which powers the world's greatest abilities: the surgebinding of the Knights Radiant.
The series currently includes The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War, and Wind and Truth, with more planned.
Massive, continent-spanning storms that travel west to east across Roshar. They carry Stormlight within their stormwall. Shelter is critical during a highstorm — most living things cannot survive in the open. In Eye of the Storm, highstorms shape area weather and some mechanics.
Raw magical energy deposited by Highstorms into gemstones. Surgebinders (Radiants) inhale Stormlight to fuel their powers — healing injuries, lashing objects against gravity, and more. It leaks from the body constantly, requiring ongoing replenishment.
Sentient (or semi-sentient) spirits of emotion, nature, and concept that manifest visibly on Roshar. Painspren, fearspren, joyspren — they reflect the world's feeling. Sapient spren bond with humans to form the Knights Radiant, granting surgebinding abilities.
Ancient order of warriors and scholars bonded to sapient spren. They wielded Shardblades and Shardplate, and commanded the ten Surges — fundamental forces of nature. The Radiants abandoned their oaths millennia ago, and their return drives the modern story.
Massive, magical weapons and armor left behind by dead Radiant spren. Shardblades can slice through stone and sever a person's soul — killing without drawing blood. Shardplate enhances strength and protects against tremendous damage. Both are rarer than gold and world-changingly powerful.
A vast plateau field in eastern Roshar, cracked into thousands of islands by some ancient cataclysm. The site of a years-long war between the Alethi highprinces and the Parshendi. Traversed by bridges carried by slave crews — bridgemen — across the chasms. Central setting of The Way of Kings.
The ancient tower-city of the Knights Radiant, lost for millennia. A massive, self-contained fortress atop the peaks of the Shattered Plains, powered by a Sibling — a unique, ancient spren. Rediscovered in Words of Radiance, it becomes the headquarters of the reborn Radiants.
Ancient apocalyptic invasions by the Fused — Parshendi warriors reborn endlessly — led by Odium, a Shard of Adonalsium. Ten Heralds held them back for millennia, returning from Braize (Damnation) to lead humanity each time. Their pact broke, leading to the current era.
Kaladin Stormblessed, a bridgeman and former soldier, discovers powers he cannot explain. Dalinar Kholin hears the Almighty's voice in visions. Shallan Davar schemes to steal a Shard. The world wakes to old dangers.
Shallan travels to the Shattered Plains. Kaladin struggles with his oaths. Urithiru is rediscovered. The Knights Radiant begin to return as the True Desolation approaches.
Dalinar must unite all of Roshar against Odium. The Everstorm reshapes the world. Ancient oaths are remembered — and broken. The Cognitive Realm (Shadesmar) opens to the story.
Urithiru falls. Navani discovers the nature of the Sibling and anti-Stormlight. Eshonai's past is revealed. Kaladin faces his deepest darkness.
The conclusion of the first arc. Dalinar faces Odium's champion. Szeth seeks truth about his past. The contest of champions will decide Roshar's fate.
The definitive wiki for all Cosmere lore. Deep dives into every character, location, magic system, and event in the Stormlight Archive.
coppermind.net/wiki/Roshar →
Hub page for the entire Stormlight series — books, novellas, characters, magic, and more.
coppermind.net/wiki/Stormlight_Archive →
The ten orders, their spren bonds, their Surges, and their Oaths. Essential reading for understanding Stormlight's magic.
coppermind.net/wiki/Knights_Radiant →
The magic system of Roshar. Ten Surges, ten orders. Gravitation, Transformation, Division, Illumination — and more.
coppermind.net/wiki/Surgebinding →
News, annotations, blog posts, and the author's own commentary on the Stormlight series.
brandonsanderson.com →
Active community for discussing the books, sharing fan art, and theorizing about the Cosmere. Spoilers are tagged by book.
reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive →
Roshar is one of many worlds in Sanderson's shared universe. Learn how Mistborn, Warbreaker, Elantris, and more all connect.
coppermind.net/wiki/Cosmere →
High-resolution maps of the continent, with all major cities, the Shattered Plains, Urithiru, and more labeled.
coppermind.net/wiki/Map_of_Roshar →
📖 Spoiler Note
Eye of the Storm draws from across all five Stormlight books. If you're new to the series, be aware that some in-game content, mob names, and area descriptions may contain spoilers. We recommend reading at least The Way of Kings before diving in for the full experience.