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artimeanatheart · 15 days ago

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This post is for me and me only but that's the point of Tumblr so here we go: putting Unwanteds characters in their Knights Radiant Orders.

(spoiler warning for both Unwanteds series and Stormlight Archive, including Wind and Truth)

I feel like most of my Unwanteds peeps probably haven't read Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (it's great, would recommend), and that most people who are into Stormlight Archive haven't read The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann (also great, would recommend).

And so The Unwanteds people can understand what I'm talking about, here's a quick overview of how Knights Radiant Orders work: mentally ill and/or traumatized person (yes, that's a canon requirement) bonds with a spirit-like creature called a spren and swears themed oaths to level-up in specific powers called 'surges'. There are ten Orders of Knights Radiant, and each has a different type of spren they bond with, different values/ideals/oaths they make, and different powersets (there's actually quite a bit more than that but it took several thousand pages to explain in the series and I'm not writing that much).

Truthwatcher

Theme: I will seek truth

Surges: Illumination (make illusions) and Progression (heal others/make things grow)

Aaron: Of course I'm starting with Aaron. I actually did the quiz for a couple of characters that I understand really well, and Aaron was one of them. And he got Truthwatcher, which absolutely makes sense. Even pre-redemption arc, he was always trying to make sense of the world and had to convince himself that Justine had good reasons for lying to them. Aaron values transparency and openness, even though he struggles with them at times. He wants to make sure that he and others are seeing the situation as it actually is. He also fits the general demeanor of the Order: he's reserved, thoughtful, and intelligent. Truthwatchers are also known for understanding their world's magic system on a deeper level and for discovering advances in technology. Which is very Aaron. It also makes me happy that Aaron's in this Order because I happen to be a Truthwatcher :)

Lani: While most Truthwatchers tend to be more reserved, like Aaron, some can be outspoken. And that's where Lani fits in. She always makes sure her opinions are heard, especially when they go against the more common opinions of those in power. She very much believes in getting the truth across, like through the books she wrote, and figuring out the truth about her world, like when she insisted on figuring out what the big chunk of land on the map was. Truthwatchers also tend to be writers and that's very fitting for Lani.

Ishibashi (and Ito and Sato I guess): I mean, Ishibashi is all about observing things and figuring out the truth behind them before he takes action. It's also very fitting for him and Aaron to be in the same Order. Also, he's a scientist and Truthwatchers are very much the scholars and learners of the Orders. Ito and Sato can go here too because the three of them are kind of treated like a set.

Willshaper

Theme: I will seek freedom

Surges: Transportation (interdimensional travel) and Cohesion (shape rocks)

Alex: Willshapers believe in the right of every person to be able to express themselves and they tend to be freedom fighters. If that doesn't describe Alex, I don't know what does. Alex literally spends an entire seven book series fighting for the freedom of the people in the Seven Islands. He refuses to hide Artime and makes a place for freedom of expression in the world. Willshapers are often the Order who fight directly against tyranny and oppression. Again, that's a perfect description of Alex. Willshapers are known as builders, often in a physical sense of building things, but they can also be builders of society. And one of Alex's most significant accomplishments is the community he builds in Artime. Willshapers are also the ones who prepare places for oncoming invasions in a time of war, which is something that Alex does constantly. Alex is the other character that I did the quiz for, and he did get Willshaper. But what was really interesting about his result was that the Order he least matched up with (the quiz gives a ranking) was the Truthwatchers. And the order that Aaron least matched up with was the Willshapers. I love my narrative foil boys.

Mr. Appleblossom: I probably could have put 90% of Artime in this Order, but I held myself back. I really do feel like Mr. Appleblossom fits this order best out of any of them. He expresses himself like no other person and in the most quirky ways. I also think of the scene in Island of Dragons where Alex is debating just giving up before the battle and Mr. Appleblossom convinces him that fighting for their freedom, even at the cost of lives, is worth it. Very Willshaper of him.

Copper: We don't get to see a lot of Copper, but we do know that she was an escaped slave who fought for the freedom of the people she left behind. She's also a ship builder, so she can go here.

Kaylee: Kaylee was hard for me to place, because a lot of the Orders are about self-improvement and healing and Kaylee's a pretty stable person. But I still feel like Willshaper fits her. She's someone who made her own way in life, sailing around the world as a teenager even though most people probably told her not to. She will do what she wants to do with her life and won't let anyone's 'shoulds' stop her.

Seth: Again, a hard one to place, because Quests didn't do anywhere near as much with him as it could have. But he is an Artimean so this makes sense for him. He's also very willing to fight for the freedom of the people in Grimere, a country far from his home that he doesn't have much of a stake in. So, Willshaper it is.

Panther: So, this is a bit of a weird one, but hear me out. Panther is a character who refuses to conform to what is expected of her. She can talk, but she won't. She could choose to be more tame and amenable and safe, but she won't. She'll be herself and everyone else will have to put up with her.

Dustbringer

Theme: I will seek self-mastery

Surges: Division (destroy/decay/burn things) and Abrasion (make things sticky or slidy)

Thisbe: I debated sticking Thisbe here for a while because it just felt too easy. Sure, put the person with exploding magic in the Order that makes things explode. But it does fit her and the evolution of how she views her powers. Throughout the series, Thisbe comes to understand that her magic is not evil and that it's a useful tool that she can use better the more she practices. Like Dustbringers, she understands the responsibility that comes with having a destructive ability and the importance of there being a balance between creation and destruction. Dustbringers are also described as being foolhardy, which is very Thisbe.

Sky: I was tempted to put Sky in one of the more scholarly orders, like Elsecallers or Truthwatchers, but I feel like Dustbringer fits her better. Dustbringers like to break things to figure out how they work. Think about Sky trying to stop the volcano from rising and falling and coming to understand how it works. Very Dustbringer of her. Sky is also a person who really values self-control. She knows how to channel her wills and desires in a way that will benefit her.

Gondoleery: Again, maybe a little obvious because her whole thing is making fireballs, but it fits her personality, too. It's in her goal to master the magic that was taken from her. It's in her fury at Marcus and Artime for stealing her memories. Those were hers and he had no right to them. Dustbringers also tend to be the artillery equivalent in armies, burning and destroying swaths of land. Which is what Gondoleery does.

Drock: He's maybe a less obvious one for Dustbringers, but I feel like his ability to resist the Revinir's mind control speaks to his value of having control over himself. Orders aren't just about who a character is but also who they want to be. And Drock definitely wants to have more control over his own actions and not be driven by fear and anxiety all the time. I also like the idea of him and Thisbe being Dustbringer rulers of Grimere together, eventually.

Elsecaller

Theme: I will reach my potential

Surges: Transportation (interdimensional travel) and Transformation (make things change into other things)

Fifer: Elsecaller is a bit of an unconventional choice for Fifer, because Elsecallers tend to be reserved and Fifer certainly is not. However, the ideal of reaching her potential is very fitting for Fifer. Elsecallers are people who go after what they want and will find ways to get it. Fifer decided that she wanted to be a leader in Artime, so she did. She also just strikes me as someone who wants to be the best she can be. Elsecallers are a very open and welcoming Order, which fits with Fifer, too. Fifer also comes up with some great tactical plans, which is another strength of Elsecallers.

Maiven: This one's more on vibes than any textual evidence. Maiven reminds me a bit of the literal only Elsecaller we see in Stormlight, Jasnah, and she's also shown to be a great tactician. Elsecallers also tend to know their own flaws well, which I think is why Maiven was able to survive decades in a prison and come out of it mentally stable.

Pan: Another one that's off of vibes, which I feel like Elsecallers would hate. Elsecallers and Truthwatchers are the two orders that are thought of as the more scholarly orders, but where Truthwatchers like to share what they find out even if no one else understands it, Elsecallers keep things private. Keeping things private is Pan's MO.

Thatcher: We don't get to see anywhere near as much of Thatcher as I would like, but we do see that he's very driven. He's willing to go without water for days to reach Grimere. He gets tossed ashore on Artime and promptly decides that he's going to get as good at magic as he can. He wants to find his limits and perform at the top of them, which is very Elsecaller of him.

Windrunner

Theme: I will protect

Surges: Adhesion (bind things together) and Gravitation (flight)

Samheed: Sam is a fighter and a protector. It's what he does. And it's also what Windrunners do. Windrunners protect those who cannot protect themselves, often by fighting so that others don't have to, and that's what Samheed is all about. He wants the people he cares about to be safe. Also, the Windrunners we see in Stormlight get along well with the main Truthwatchers we see. So I like that Samheed is a Windrunner while Lani's a Truthwatcher. Also the whole similarities/conflict with Aaron thing. It just fits.

Florence: Again, Florence's whole thing is protecting people. She's going to be on the front lines of battle and making sure that the people she's fighting for are taking as little damage as possible, whether by shooting arrows at any threats or by putting herself in harms way so the squishy humans don't die. Windrunners also put a lot of focus on becoming masters of weapons, and Florence as the magical warrior trainer really fits that.

Liam: Okay, I know Windrunners aren't normally the pathetic wet cats of the group (that's Truthwathers and Lightweavers), but hear me out on this one. Remember that time Liam brought Fifer and Thisbe to Artime because they were just babies and it was wrong to bring them to the Ancients Sector even though it was a big risk to himself? Or how he died by throwing himself in front of Claire because she wasn't in a position where she could protect herself? Self-sacrifice is like one of the main requirements to be a Windrunner. Also him realizing that Quill is terrible and the law isn't always right is a very Windrunner-esque growth for him, considering that Windrunners tend not to care one bit about what the law says.

Carina: Similar reasoning to Samheed with her. Also, Windrunners tend to be the special forces groups and Carina is a special force unto herself whose pretty much always chosen for specialized missions. But it also makes me happy to put her here because the current generation of Windrunners are all battlefield medics, and that's very much Carina.

Girrinos: Pretty much all the statues of Artime could be Windrunners, but the Girrinos literal job is to be the first line of defense to protect Artime from attackers. So Windrunners.

Skybreaker

Theme: I will seek justice

Surges: Gravitation (flight) and Division (destroy/decay/burn things)

Justine: It's feels right to segue from Windrunners to Skybreakers, because they have same goal but opposite ways of reaching it (protecting with the law vs protecting outside of the law). I actually debated putting Justine with the Windrunners at first, because I do think that some of her motivations for making Quill Quill were protecting people, and that it got corrupted over time as she realized how much she likes power. But I just couldn't. Because Windrunners tend to disregard rules and expectations and Justine is all about them. Also, her name is Justine. You know, like, justice. It was too perfect of an opportunity to pass up.

Gunnar: So, Skybreakers were a hard Order for me to fill, because they tend to be obsessed with the law and following rules, which is not something that describes many characters in Unwanteds. But I refused to just put Justine, an antagonist, in this Order, because there aren't really 'good' and 'bad' Orders in Stormlight. The Skybreakers as we see them in modern Stormlight, with their insanely strict adherence to the law to the point of harm, aren't representative of what the Order used to be. The Order used to be more focused on using legal structures to protect the vulnerable and understood that the law is flawed. Which is where Gunnar comes in. For this, I'm mostly going off of the way that he slowly used the structures in Quill to make change. Instead of openly railing against the government, he worked his way up in the ranks to change it from within. And once he was high priest of Quill, he slowly made changes within the framework that was already there. Those feel very Skybreaker to me.

Sean: Maybe a bit unconventional to put the dude whose major contribution to the plot was spying in the Order that is very much Not Spies (tm). But I feel like Sean has a very strong moral code that he will stick to, which is a trait of Skybreakers. Also, he's someone who believes that nobody is above being questioned (like that time he asked Mr. Today about whether it was a good idea to keep the gate to Artime open), which is another Skybreaker thing.

Squirrelicorns: They like order and hierarchy. Enough said.

Stoneward

Theme: I will be there when I'm needed

Surges: Cohesion (shape rocks) and Tension (make things stiff or flexible)

Simber: I didn't just put Simber here because he's made out of stone (well, technically sand), but that is what was the tiebreaker for me between Stoneward and Windrunner for him. Stonewards' defining trait is that they are dependable, which perfectly fits Simber. He's always going to be there for the Head Mage of Artime. He hates that there are places that he literally cannot fit into. He wants to be useful. He also will not bend his ideals, another Stoneward trait. He's a bit gruffer than a typical Stoneward might be, but he's no less caring than them. Stonewards are also some of the best warriors of the Knights Radiant, and Simber is one of the most formidable forces on Artime's side, so it fits.

Rohan: He was a little hard for me to place, but I landed on Stoneward mostly because of the time he ran all the way back to the catacombs without sleep to knock on Thisbe's wall so that she would know he was there. Rohan, like Stonewards, will push himself to take on more than he can handle in order to help someone. Stonewards are also known for making the best of difficult situations, which is very fitting for Rohan, our resident sunshine character. Also, Stonewards and Dustbringers get along. Or at least, the two major characters that we've seen that are/will be a Stoneward (Taln) and a Dustbringer (Ash) get along, so it makes sense that he and Thisbe would be in those two Orders, respectively.

Talon: He's immortal. He will literally always be there. Enough said.

Karkinos: See Talon.

The Rock: He wants to be there for people. He's so happy to be needed and to have people to talk to. He's happy to live in the Jungle with the dangerous ones because he's the one they can't hurt, even though it means that he'll be lonely most of the time. Stonewards are really not good at self-care (no Knight Radiant is).

Ol' Tater: He doesn't do much, but the people of Artime always know what he will do: stomp on people. When they need someone stomped on, they know who to call.

Lightweaver:

Theme: I will speak my truth

Surges: Illumination (make illusions) and Transformation (make things change into other things)

Marcus: Lightweavers are the eccentric creators of the Knights Radiant, so there really wasn't any other Order I could put the literal creator of Artime into. Also, he's just so morally ambiguous, which fits with Lightweavers, who love subterfuge and don't have the same moral requirements as other orders. There's also the way that one of the Lightweavers powers is the ability to create illusions and that's something that Marcus excelled at. Not just in the way that Artime itself is sort of an illusion, but also in the way that he's crafted the image of himself, as a kindly old man with nothing to hide when he really has everything to hide. Lightweaver's truths are also personal and about themselves, and are not necessarily things that they share with the world at large, which is definitely Marcus. There's also the fact that Marcus' Artime is very much into the subterfuge thing and Lightweavers tend to be spies. I don't feel like I'm explaining this one super well, but just take my word for it. Marcus Today is definitely a Lightweaver. Oh, and I also love my Marcus and Aaron parallels, and Lightweavers and Truthwatchers are nice inversions of each other (general truth versus personal truth).

Claire: To me, Claire tends to embody what Marcus envisioned when he created Artime, so where else could I put her? But beyond that, Lightweavers tend to believe in the importance of beauty and art in someone's life, and that feels like something Claire would get behind. She also knows her own truths and knows what she does and doesn't want from life.

Eva: It's mostly the spy thing that led me to putting her here, but it's also her determination to be herself once her memories are restored. She sorts out for herself what of her life and the world is a truth and what is a lie, and bases her actions around that.

Lhasa: It's the theatrics for her. And the fact that she's constantly doing something that seems like it should be impossible (floating), which Lightweavers excel at. Blending the boundaries between truth and lie.

Will: I don't feel like I have as good an understanding of Will as I do most of the other characters in the series, but I feel like he fits here, for oddly similar reasons as Lhasa. He's an actor, yes, but to the point where it can be hard for himself and for others to distinguish what's an act and what's real.

Edgedancer

Theme: I will remember

Surges: Progression (heal others/make things grow) and Abrasion (make things sticky or slidy)

Dev: Edgedancers are the ones who pay attention to the members of society who don't get a lot of attention The broken ones, the homeless ones, the struggling ones. The people who have no voice. And Dev, being someone who has had no voice, and who knows what it's like to be forgotten, would like that. I think that, by the end of the series, he'd want to make sure that no one else is forgotten like he was. He strikes me as someone who can, and will, be the voice for the common people of Grimere. We also see this in some of his actions in the earlier books, like with him taking the time to chat with the prisoners in the palace, at least enough to know who's a decent person and who should be avoided, while the other guards were content to leave the prisoners to rot. Dev also couldn't bring himself to let Fifer, an outsider in the land, bleed out, even though his only friend in the world was telling him to leave her. He helps her, and he doesn't forget about her or Artime. He remembers.

Henry: I couldn't not put Henry in one of the Orders with healing powers, and Edgedancer fits him better than Truthwatcher. Edgedancers tend to be healers rather than fighters, hanging back to make sure that people survive. That's definitely Henry. He'd much rather be treating patients than out on the battlefield. Although, much like some Edgedancers, he's a formidable force on the battlefield as well.

Crow: He's here because he takes on a role that isn't very popular in Artime but that is very important: taking care of the children. I feel like that role can be overlooked, maybe because Artime was originally a country made up primarily of teenagers without any reason to seek out childcare. But there are children in Artime. And children definitely lack a voice. Not in that they're easily forgotten, but in that they don't have a seat at the table where the decisions are being made. Crow is a voice for them, like an Edgedancer would be.

Issie: She spends thousands of years searching for her lost baby, after most people who knew the baby have died and/or forgotten about her. That's the epitome of remembering.

Scarlet: She really doesn't get a lot of time to shine, so this is based off of that one scene in Quests (maybe book four?) where she's one of the only people who notices that Aaron is struggling as head mage and asks him if he's okay. She sees an issue that's been ignored and addresses it. So she can be an Edgedancer.

Bondsmith

Theme: I will unite

Surges: Tension (make things stiff or flexible) and Adhesion (bind things together)

Spike: Bondsmiths are the weird ones out of the Knights Radiant. They're kind of the leaders of all the Orders, and there can only be three of them at a time, each bonded to a special super powerful spren. So, I'm sticking to the three-Bondsmith limit and assigning each of them to a spren. I mostly have Spike as a Bondsmith because of her ability to speak every language, unifying people and creatures through that. Bondsmiths can use one of their surges to do something similar, so Spike fits. And I feel like Spike would bond the Sibling. I partially chose Spike for the Sibling because the Sibling doesn't like humans much and Spike isn't human. I also think that the Sibling would find her earnestness and lack of ulterior motives endearing. And much like Spike acts as a character that many other characters can gather around, the Sibling is a place (they're a sentient tower) that serves as a hub for all the Orders. Also, the Sibling is a sort of chimera, a mixing between the powers of Honor and Cultivation. Similarly, Spike is a chimera, a mix of once-living material (whale bones) and artificial material (everything else). They also both continued on after their creator(s) died and/or abandoned them.

Eagala/Emma/the Revinir: Another probably unconventional choice, but Bondsmith really fits her. She wants the people of Grimere and the Seven Islands to unite under her rule. She wants everyone she's ruling over to all think the same things and follow the same rules: hers. She brings Warbler together under silence. She brings Grimere together under mind control. She really does think she's uniting people. And you know, Bondsmiths can absolutely be conquerors (looking at you, Dalinar). And I would pair her with the Nightwatcher. The Nightwatcher is a spren we know very little about, and we haven't actually seen her Bondsmith, yet. But she's a bit eclectic, a bit mysterious, and an outsider. Much like Eagala is. The Nightwatcher is also known for granting visitors their desired boon alongside a curse of her choosing. And that very much feels like how Eagala operates. She'll give someone what they ask for/what she thinks they want, but it will come at a cost. I think they'd get along quite well, and, if anything, make each other better. Which is a little weird to think about.

Meghan: Bondsmiths are the heart and soul of the Radiants, and Meghan is the heart and soul of her friend group. She's always the one who's smoothing things over as Alex, Lani, and Samheed clash. She unites them, brings them together, ensures that their teasing doesn't go too far. She also acts as a sort of bridge between their different experiences. She's one of the only Artimeans who was subjected both to Warbler and the Death Farm, making her an important intermediary between Alex and Lani/Samheed's experiences. She understands what it's like to be separated from her brother but also what it's like to find that brother again, giving her connections to both Lani and Alex. She knows what it's like to try to reconnect with her family but fail while another family member is accepted, giving connections to Alex and Samheed. Meghan also acts as a sort of bridge with Quill, in that she gives Liam a chance to help Artime. And for her spren, I don't think there's any other character who could bully the Stormfather into bonding with them. The Stormfather is a stubborn, grumpy old guy whose view of the world is incredibly jaded, but I feel like Meghan's persistence and just general goodness would wear him down eventually. The Stormfather is also the central Bondsmith spren for much of the series (at least, the first half). And Meghan is incredibly important to the story as a whole, although in a subtle way. And one way we see their importance is through their deaths. After the Stormfather dies, the world of Roshar is irrevocably changed. And after Meghan dies, the dynamic within Alex's friend group is changed. They lost their mediator and the heart of their group. They may figure out how to function without her eventually, but there are certainly growing pains (see the fallout from the Gondoleery debacle in Graves). Meghan was the one who brought them together.

#the unwanteds #unwanteds quests #unwanteds meta #alex stowe #aaron stowe #meghan ranger #lani haluki #samheed burkesh #marcus today #I'm not tagging all the characters because there's a lot of them #brandon sanderson #wind and truth spoilers #just to be safe

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