The Dustbringers are the Knights Radiant order that bonds ashspren and controls the Surges of Division and Abrasion, the power to make things burn, decay or crumble and to remove friction. Their Ideals are built around self-control, and the order itself prefers the name Releasers. Malata of the Diagram is the most famous Dustbringer in the books. Spoilers through Wind and Truth follow.
Who are the Dustbringers in the Stormlight Archive?
The Dustbringers are one of the ten orders of Knights Radiant in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive, Surgebinders who form a Nahel bond with ashspren and gain the Surges of Division and Abrasion. Coppermind associates the order with the ruby polestone, and its patron Herald is Chanarach. The Dustbringers have the most openly destructive power set of any order, which is why the rest of Roshar has always been nervous around them. Coppermind describes most members as tinkerers who take things apart to learn how they work, plus a share of brave soldiers who try to control the destruction of war so that innocents survive. The order also has more variety among its members than any other. Our guide to all ten Radiant orders shows where the Dustbringers sit in the full system.
What powers do the Dustbringers have?
Division is the signature Dustbringer Surge, and Coppermind defines it as the ability to make objects burn, degrade or turn to dust. Dustbringers can control Division with real precision. In Oathbringer, Malata engraves an intricate design into a wooden table with nothing but a bare hand and controlled burning, a demonstration meant to impress the coalition leaders sitting around it. Division also works on living flesh, which is exactly why the order makes other Radiants uneasy. A detail that surprises many readers is that Dustbringers cannot use Division from the start. Coppermind cites Words of Brandon saying the Surge stays locked until a Dustbringer swears later Ideals. Only one other order is known to gate a Surge this way, and it is the Skybreakers, who also hold back Division while giving early access to Gravitation.
Abrasion is the second Dustbringer Surge, and it controls the friction between two surfaces. In Words of Radiance, one of Dalinar’s visions shows a Dustbringer reducing the friction between herself and the water of the Purelake so she can glide across it unimpeded, with about a dozen squires following her. Abrasion can lower friction between a Radiant’s body and the ground for quick movement, make an object slippery to everyone except the Dustbringer, or raise friction so that something grips instead of sliding. Abrasion is the same Surge the Edgedancers use, which is why Lift spends so much of the series skating across floors. Coppermind adds that many Dustbringer strategies rely on intimidation rather than raw damage. Our Edgedancers guide covers the other order that shares Abrasion.
What are the Dustbringer Ideals?
The Dustbringer Ideals all focus on responsibility and on controlling a power that could easily destroy. Every Radiant shares the First Ideal, “Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination,” and the remaining four are unique to each order. The novels have not printed the Dustbringer Ideals in full, so the wording Coppermind lists comes from the Stormlight Handbook for the Cosmere roleplaying game. According to that handbook, the Second Ideal is about self-mastery and is the minimum oath before Division can be used. The Third Ideal is about understanding what power is in every form, from Surgebinding to wealth and social rank, and unlocks the ashspren as a Shardblade. The Fourth Ideal is personal to each Dustbringer, centered on the obligation that comes with power, and grants Shardplate formed of flamespren. Our Cosmere RPG guide explains where that handbook fits.
“To control my power, I will control myself.”
The Second Ideal of the Dustbringers, Stormlight Handbook
Why do the Dustbringers call themselves Releasers?
The Dustbringers call themselves Releasers because the common name sounds too close to Voidbringer, the word Rosharans use for the enemy of humanity. An epigraph in Words of Radiance records that the ancient order claimed to be misjudged because of the dreadful nature of its power and insisted that Dustbringer was an unacceptable substitute for its real name. Coppermind cites Words of Brandon confirming that most people kept saying Dustbringers anyway. The prejudice went beyond ordinary people. Coppermind notes that some fellow Radiants felt the order stood on the edge of evil, and the Skybreakers, who watched for Radiants abusing their power, were particularly worried about them, even though the two orders had a lot in common. In Oathbringer, Malata uses the name Releaser for herself because her spren taught it to her.
What are ashspren?
Ashspren are the spren that bond Dustbringers, and they are among the strangest spren in the Stormlight Archive. In the Physical Realm, Coppermind describes ashspren as cracks that grow on surfaces or branch through the air, burning through the inside of objects in tree-like patterns. In the Cognitive Realm they look like humanoids with ashen white skin that blows away when it stretches, exposing white bone that quickly grows back. Ashspren can stay unseen and unheard when they choose, which makes them excellent spies. Their defining trait is curiosity expressed as breakage, because ashspren want to know what is inside things. Hundreds of ashspren died in the Recreance, and Coppermind notes that, unlike many other spren, they never forgave humanity and blame its organized worship of Honor for those deaths. Our Spren Match game pairs every spren with its order.
Who is Malata, the Dustbringer of the Diagram?
Malata is the first Dustbringer readers meet in the Stormlight Archive, a middle-aged lighteyed woman from Jah Keved with short black hair who serves in King Taravangian’s Diagram. Coppermind records that her ashspren Spark was the first known ashspren to start a Nahel bond since the Recreance. Taravangian ran a project to have Diagram members bond spren, though Malata claims she approached him only because Spark suggested it, which implies she was already bonded. In Oathbringer, Malata uses Spark as a Shardblade to unlock the Veden Oathgate with guidance from Navani, carrying Taravangian’s contingent to Urithiru. Because she holds a Radiant Shardblade, the coalition makes her responsible for operating the Oathgates. Malata is confident around royalty, bares her safehand to show off Division, and seems far more interested in enjoying her work than in the ethics of it.
What did Malata do at the Battle of Thaylen Field?
Malata’s control of the Oathgates turns her into one of the most damaging agents of the Diagram in Oathbringer. Coppermind records that the Diagram had her spy on Dalinar through Spark, and the visions they learned about, in which Dalinar spoke with Odium, helped Taravangian undermine the coalition’s trust in him. During the Battle of Thaylen Field, Malata opened the Kholinar Oathgate on the Diagram’s orders and let a strike force of Odium’s singers into Urithiru, where they fought Alethi soldiers. In the same attack, an agent disguised as a Bridge Four member stole the Honorblade of Jezrien from Eth, killing him and injuring Rock and Bisig. The whole plan was Taravangian’s attempt to bargain with Odium for part of humanity. Spark’s thirst for vengeance against the Radiants appears to be part of why Malata accepted it. Our Oathbringer ending explained covers the full battle.
Who is Ral-na, the Reshi Dustbringer?
Ral-na is the second named Dustbringer in the novels, the king of Relu-na, a greatshell island that moves slowly through the Reshi Sea. Readers first meet him in a The Way of Kings interlude, when Vstim brings Rysn to Relu-na to negotiate a trade deal. According to Coppermind, Ral-na later bonded an ashspren by speaking the First Ideal, and the bond healed his body to match his gender identity, which his subjects first took for a divine gift. In Dawnshard, Ral-na travels with a Reshi delegation to Urithiru to learn about his bond, and Lopen advises his son Talik that Ral-na should speak only to Dalinar about his powers and avoid the other Dustbringers. Coppermind quotes Words of Brandon explaining that Ral-na represents the many transgender Knights Radiant the self-discovery of the oaths would produce. Our Dawnshard explained covers that voyage.
Which Herald leads the Dustbringers?
Chanarach, known as Chana, is the patron Herald of the Dustbringers, and her Honorblade granted the Surges of Division and Abrasion. Coppermind describes her as a capable fighter with the disposition of a soldier in the early years on Roshar, and as Jezrien’s bodyguard, part of his inner circle along with Ishar. Chana was famous for her speed, possibly thanks to Abrasion, and Vorin art shows her in blue armor with her safehand uncovered. Like the other Heralds, she abandoned her Honorblade at Aharietiam. Wind and Truth adds the most shocking reveal about her, because Chana later married Lin Davar and was the mother of Shallan. Coppermind records that, believing her daughter could inherit her place in the Oathpact, Chana tried to kill Shallan the night of Gavilar’s assassination. Our Heralds guide covers all ten.
What role did the Dustbringers play among the ancient Radiants?
The ancient Dustbringers worked as sappers, engineers and strategists for the Knights Radiant, according to Words of Brandon cited on Coppermind, though the roleplaying handbook adds that they were most often used for widespread destruction. The very first scene of The Way of Kings shows their work. In the prelude at the end of the Last Desolation, Kalak walks across a battlefield of smoldering rock and burning corpses and reflects that the Dustbringers did their job well. Dalinar’s Purelake vision in Words of Radiance shows a gentler side, with a Dustbringer and her squires hunting a spren corrupted by Sja-anat before fighting a thunderclast. Brandon Sanderson has said the Dustbringers were the hardest order for him to create, which fits an order whose power is destruction and whose whole philosophy is restraint. Our Skybreakers guide covers the order that watched them most closely.
Are the Dustbringers villains?
The Dustbringers are not villains as an order, but the only Dustbringer the coalition knows well spends Oathbringer working against it, and that colors how everyone sees the rest. Coppermind points out that Spark’s goals of revenge and breaking things are a clear departure from the traditional attitude of the order, whose Ideals are about controlling power rather than unleashing it. The suspicion still grows. By Dawnshard, Lopen is keeping Ral-na away from the other Dustbringers for political reasons, and in Rhythm of War Jasnah suspects the order of rebellion. The Diagram believed Dustbringers were the Radiants most likely to accept its cause, and the open question for the back five books is whether the new ashspren bonds follow Spark or follow the old Releasers. The Dustbringers are the order where the oaths matter most, because without them the power is just ruin.
Frequently asked questions
What Surges do the Dustbringers use?
The Dustbringers use the Surges of Division and Abrasion. Division lets a Dustbringer make objects burn, degrade or crumble to dust, and it works on living flesh too. Abrasion changes the friction between two surfaces, so a Dustbringer can glide across the ground or water with almost no resistance, or make an object slippery to everyone else. Coppermind notes that Division stays locked until a Dustbringer swears later Ideals.
What spren do Dustbringers bond?
Dustbringers bond ashspren. In the Physical Realm ashspren look like cracks that grow across surfaces or branch through the air, and in the Cognitive Realm they appear as humanoids with ashen white skin that blows away when it stretches, showing bone underneath. Ashspren like to break things to see what is inside. The best known ashspren in the books is Spark, who is bonded to Malata.
Who is the Herald of the Dustbringers?
The patron Herald of the Dustbringers is Chanarach, called Chana, whose Honorblade granted Division and Abrasion. Coppermind describes her as a soldier in the early years on Roshar and as Jezrien’s bodyguard. Wind and Truth reveals that Chana later married Lin Davar and was the mother of Shallan, which makes the Dustbringer patron one of the most personal Herald reveals in the series.
Why do Dustbringers prefer to be called Releasers?
Dustbringers prefer the name Releasers because Dustbringer sounds too close to Voidbringer. An epigraph in Words of Radiance records that the ancient order claimed to be misjudged because of the dreadful nature of its power and rejected the common name as an unacceptable substitute. Spark passes the same preference to Malata in Oathbringer, and Malata calls herself a Releaser even though nobody around her does.
Is Malata a villain in the Stormlight Archive?
Malata works against Dalinar’s coalition in Oathbringer, so she functions as an antagonist even though she never joins the Fused. As a member of Taravangian’s Diagram, she spies on Dalinar through Spark and opens the Kholinar Oathgate during the Battle of Thaylen Field to let a singer strike force into Urithiru. Coppermind adds that Malata seems to care less about the ethics of the Diagram than about enjoying her work.
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