The Desolations

Lore & Background

For millennia, Roshar endured a repeating nightmare governed by the Oathpact: a solemn, bloody agreement between the ten Heralds and Odium. Upon each victory, the Heralds would surrender their souls to eternal torture in Damnation, binding the Voidbringers away for centuries of peace known as "Eras." But the pact was fragile; eventually, one or more Heralds would break under the weight of infinite agony, flee back to Roshar, and signal the start of a new Desolation. The era preceding the current timeline lasted over four thousand years—a false dawn where humanity forgot the old threats and disbanded the Knights Radiant following their betrayal in the Last Desolation. Now, the Everstorm has arrived not as a herald of the Heralds' return from torment, but as a sign that they remain trapped or dead. The cycle is broken; the enemy can no longer be contained by ancient agreements, leaving humanity vulnerable to an invasion that offers no reset.

In Their Own Story

The sky above Kholinar did not darken with the familiar grey of a highstorm; it bruised into a violent, churning purple. The air tasted of ash and old blood. In the streets, screams were swallowed by a suffocating silence, broken only by the wet, heavy thud of something inhuman landing on stone. A soldier, his armor cracked and glowing with a dying Shardblade light, looked up to see figures emerging from the storm clouds—Voidbringers whose eyes burned with a void-like blackness that seemed to drink the light around them. The cycle had turned again, but this time, there were no Heralds waiting to lead the charge. There was only the Everstorm, and the terrifying realization that the world's guardians had finally abandoned their post.

Reader's Guide

The history of Roshar is defined by the Desolations, a series of devastating wars that have occurred repeatedly over thousands of years. These conflicts arise when Odium, the god of hatred, releases his forces, the Voidbringers, upon the world. The defense against these invasions has historically rested on the shoulders of the Knights Radiant, an order of warriors bonded to Spren and wielding magical powers known as Surgebinding.

Central to this cycle is the Oathpact, a divine agreement established by the Heralds. After each victory over the Voidbringers, the ten Heralds would return to Damnation to endure eternal torment, ensuring Odium's forces remained imprisoned. This arrangement provided humanity with eras of peace, but it was fragile. The pact relies on the Heralds' endurance; if they break their oath and flee back to Roshar, the Desolation begins anew.

The current timeline in the series marks a critical deviation from this pattern. After four thousand years of relative peace, known as the Era of Peace, the Oathpact has been broken. The Heralds have returned prematurely, indicating that the cycle is failing and the final Desolation may be beginning without the traditional containment measures. This shift forces humanity to confront an ancient evil without their legendary protectors, relying instead on a new generation of potential Radiants to forge a different path forward.

Did You Know?

• The term 'Desolation' refers not just to the war itself, but to the total devastation and depopulation that follows the conflict.
• The Heralds were cursed by the Almighty to be unable to die permanently, forcing them to relive their deaths in Damnation until they broke the Oathpact.
• The current Desolation is unique because it began while the Heralds were still trapped, rather than after they returned from Damnation.
• The Everstorm moves across Roshar at a different speed and with different properties than normal highstorms, carrying the corruption of Odium.