Szeth-son-Neturo, formerly Szeth-son-son-Vallano — or just Szeth — is a key character in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series. Even in a series full of characters with long, complex arcs, Szeth’s character development is noteworthy in how much he changes over the course of the five books. Well, he mostly changes over the course of one book (Wind and Truth), but still. It’s impressive writing that allows Szeth to go from a notorious assassin to a character you really want to root for.
In this article, we’ll cover all of the key events in Szeth’s life, discuss his Radiant powers and his sword Nightblood. We’ll also examine his personality and his strengths and weaknesses, and go over his most important relationships.
Bonded Spren: None (wields Nightblood and previously Jezrien’s Honorblade)
Titles: Truthless, Assassin in White
Occupation: Former Sect member of Shinovar, Assassin, Knight Radiant, Dalinar’s bodyguard
Appears in: The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, Edgedancer, Oathbringer, Rhythm of War
Biography
This section will seek to briefly cover all of the most important events of Szeth’s life. Minor events, except those that are directly relevant to the character or the broader narrative.
This biography contains major spoilers for all of the Stormlight Archive books.
Early Life
Born in Shinovar to Neturo and Zeenid, and had a sister Elid. Grew up as a shepherd, and spent most of his time in the mountains grazing sheep.
Szeth was a skilled dancer, performing as a form of worship by dancing around their village’s sacred stone.
During a raid by stonewalkers (non-Shin), Szeth — still a young boy — encounters Shin soldiers drinking his father’s wine and eating meat — Szeth realizes the meat is his favorite sheep, who he had been looking for. A confrontation occurs, and Szeth kills a Shin soldier in self-defense. After killing the man, Szeth hears a Voice in his head.
Due to having “subtracted” (by killing), Szeth is sent to the monastery to train as a soldier; his family accompanies him. Became a skilled fighter and was recommended for officer training.
Led a mission to defend the Shin coast from raiders (that the Voice in his head approves). He allows himself and his men to be captured — they use hidden weapons to break free, then set fire to the raiders’ ships. Szeth is mortally wounded during the fighting, but the Voice heals him with Stormlight, and guides Szeth in threatening the raiders so that they won’t return.
Punished for excessive aggression during the mission, until the Honorbearers learn the Voice spoke to Szeth — then he is recruited and trained to defeat the current bearer of the Windrunner blade.
Defeats Tuko-son-Tuko, the Honorbearer of Wind, and becomes the leader of the Windrunner monastery.
After becoming an honorbearer, Szeth is sent to meet the Voice — discovers that the Voice is torturing spren and that it seems made of shadows. Szeth believes it is one of the Unmade, and flees.
Starts a rebellion, attempting to rally the various monastery forces to his cause and spread the truth of the return of the Voidbringers. Szeth then discovers Neturo now has the Bondsmith Honorblade, and Szeth surrenders to his father. He is ultimately declared Truthless for claiming that the Voidbringers and Knights Radiant would return.
Given an Oathstone, marking him as a slave who must obey his master. He is first sold to the Thaylen trader Vstim, and from there is passed from master to master, eventually being purchased by Klade, one of the singers visiting Kholinar.
Assassin in White (Way of Kings)
Kills the Alethi King Gavilar with his Honorblade, under orders from the singer who holds his Oathstone — this action initiates the War of Reckoning.
Thrown away by the Parshendi, forcing him to wait for a new master. He once again passes through many hands before falling under the control of Taravangian.
Used by Taravangian to assassinate world leaders, including the king of Jah Keved and two Azish Primes.
Ordered to kill Dalinar Kholin, and attempts to assassinate him, but fails due to Kaladin’s intervention and the skills of Dalinar and Adolin.
Realizes that if Kaladin was a Surgebinder, he he’d been falsely condemned as Truthless. Asks Taravangian about this, who convinces Szeth Kaladin has a stolen Honorblade (not a spren bond).
Szeth returns to assassinate Dalinar a second time, but is once again stopped by Kaladin. While fighting in the highstorm, Szeth realizes Kaladin is certainly a Radiant, unbonds his Honorblade, and falls to his death.
Is revived by the Herald Nale via a fabrial, who gifts him an Awakened Shardblade named Nightblood.
Skybreaker Trainee (Edgedancer/Oathbringer)
Recruited into the Skybreakers by Nale after his resurrection.
Trains under the Skybreakers, quickly swearing the First and Second Ideals and performing well in the competitions between the Skybreaker trainees.
At the Purelake with the other Skybreaker trainees (Marie Seeberger)
Realizes Nale was siding with the Voidbringers, and chooses to follow Dalinar instead, swearing his Third Ideal in the process.
Joins Dalinar during the Battle of Thaylen Field, and helps Lift retrieve the King’s Drop (thereby aiding in the imprisonment of Nergaoul, AKA The Thrill).
Bodyguard & Assassin (Rhythm of War)
Briefly becomes Dalinar’s bodyguard, but Navani and others mistrusted him and were concerned about his mental state, so he is imprisoned in Urithiru.
Accompanied Dalinar to Emul, serving as his bodyguard once more.
Confronts and attempts to kill the captive Taravangian. As he is stabbing Taravangian with a knife, Odium appears. Taravangian pulls Nightblood out of the sheath Szeth carries, then uses it to kill the Shard and allowing Taravangian to take up the Shard of Odium.
Swears the Fourth Ideal, which requires a personal quest — Szeth vows to cleanse his homeland, Shinovar, of the evil there.
Returns to Shinovar, accompanied by Kaladin, to cleanse his land of the Unmade he believes has corrupted the Honorbearers.
Visited the Shin monasteries, discovering that the people there are under the control of some strange power — killing the Honorbearer of a monastery frees the nearby people from whatever was controlling them.
With Kaladin’s help, learns to deal with his negative emotions, and slowly begins to accept his past actions.
Szeth and Kaladin are joined by Nale, who accompanies them to the subsequent monasteries. Szeth defeats every Honorbearer except for the Bondsmith.
Is confronted by Ishar at the final monestary, who waits with all of the Honorbearers — they were resurrected by their Connection to Ishar, who is controlling them like puppets.
During the confrontation with Ishar and the Honorbearers, Szeth swears the Fifth Ideal of the Skybreakers, then immediately renounces his oaths (as he did not feel the Skybreakers or his spren were doing what was right).
Is almost defeated by Ishar when he uses Connection to share his suffering with everyone present, but Kaladin protects Szeth and the others, allowing him to rise and fight Ishar’s puppets.
Uses Nightblood (who grants him the Surges thanks to what it learned from the Honorblades) to release his father and other captives from Ishar’s control (by killing them with the sword).
Decides to stop killing, rejecting his role as an assassin. Resolves to seek a new purpose beyond vengeance and servitude. Ishar wants Szeth to be a Herald, but Kaladin takes his place in reforging the Oathpact.
Kaladin and Szeth in Shinovar
Physical Appearance
Szeth is a Shin man with pale skin, a short frame, and large round eyes (unlike many Rosharans, his eyes do not have an epicanthic fold). His eyes are naturally dark green but turn pale sapphire when summoning Jezrien’s Honorblade; they glow light gray when infused with Stormlight as a Skybreaker. He wears white, originally the outfit the listeners had him wear for his role as an assassin — Taravangian has him continue to do so as a symbol. In between those two owners of his Oathstone, he sometimes wore other colors, such as when a criminal owner of his commanded he wear black.
He often keeps his head shaved, though his hair is brown when it grows out. Following his resurrection, his soul was improperly reattached to his body, leaving him with a ghostly afterimage visible to those with sufficient Investiture.
Personality
Szeth is deeply bound to his personal principles of honor, but struggles with his this sense of morality. As a child, he desperately sought answers, clear truths, rights and wrongs — and found none.
He adhered strictly to the commands of his masters, refusing to question their authority, even when ordered to commit atrocities. When he was banished from Shinovar, he was given an Oathstone — whoever held it became Szeth’s master, and he was to follow them unquestioningly. Szeth threw himself into this servitude, glad to finally be free from the burden of decision-making. However, the murders he commits under orders from his masters left him wracked with guilt, to the point of self-loathing and near madness. He hears the voices of those he has killed, a torment that lingers even after his resurrection.
While he was once driven purely by obedience, the Oaths he swears as a member of the Skybreakers, and then his time with Dalinar Kholin and Kaladin, has led him to question authority and think for himself. Despite his past as a ruthless assassin, he despises killing and seeks a purpose beyond bringing death. With Kaladin’s help, he is able to leave his life of violence behind and seek a different path.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Szeth is a formidable warrior, highly skilled with Shardblades and in hand-to-hand combat. His training in Surgebinding was varied, as he trained with all of the Honorblades the Shin held (every blade besides the blade of Taln, the Stoneward). Szeth held the Windrunner blade for many years, and is therefore particularly talented at using the surges of Gravitation and Adhesion. While Szeth has trained with and against all of the Surges, he struggled with Lightweaving, saying he was “never very good at it”. He is resourceful, analytical, and precise in his movements, able to outmaneuver most opponents. Indeed, he is surprised when he faces Kaladin in combat, as Szeth so rarely had his skills as a warrior tested.
His willingness to obey orders could be considered a strength. However, his rigid adherence to obedience is what leads to him committing murder time and time again; his struggle with guilt and past actions haunts him and affects his judgement. His mental state, worsened by his isolation and suffering, makes him unpredictable.
Shardbearer Powers
Szeth has wielded Jezrien’s Honorblade, which granted him the Surges of Gravitation and Adhesion while he was bonded to it. After being brought back to life by Nale and becoming a Skybreaker, he gained access to Gravitation and Division through his Nahel bond with a Highspren. He also carried Nightblood, a sentient sword that consumes Investiture and can destroy souls. Nightblood made him even more dangerous, but he had to be careful when wielding it, as it drained Stormlight rapidly.
Szeth eventually breaks his bond with his highspren, but before doing so, he attains the Fifth Ideal of the Skybreakers, becoming the Law. Here are the Oaths as Szeth swears them:
First Ideal – “Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.”
Does not grant any abilities, but Skybreakers who swear this ideal are pardoned for any past crimes — Szeth swears this to the voices in his head while training as a Skybreaker
Second Ideal – “I swear to seek justice, to let it guide me, until I find a more perfect Ideal.”
Grants access to Stormlight and the Surge of Gravitation — Szeth swears this oath after completing a Skybreaker test at the Purelake
Third Ideal – “I swear to follow the will of Dalinar Kholin. This is my oath.”
May allow the Knight to summon their spren as a Shardblade — Szeth swears this Oath at the Battle of Thaylen Field.
Fourth Ideal – “I will cleanse the Shin of their false leaders, so long as Dalinar Kholin agrees.”
Grants the Knight access to Shardplate, in this case via gravitationspren — Szeth swears this Oath after the Battle of Thaylen Field as well (Nale accepts both Oaths after the battle)
Fifth Ideal – “I am my own agent. I make my own choices. I. Am. THE LAW!”
Allows the Radiant to ignore the Third Oath they swore, and likely grants efficiency in holding Stormlight.
Nightblood
After the events of Wind and Truth, Szeth no longer has a spren bond, but he still bears Nightblood. The Awakened sword, which mimics a Shardblade in many ways, claims to have learned how to Connect its bearer to the Surges (apparently learning how to do so from the Honorblades). Therefore, it would seem Szeth now has access to all of the Surges — it is confirmed that he has access to Lashings through Nightblood.
Like a Shardblade, Nightblood can cut through anything. Unlike a Shardblade, Nightblood destroys things in all three realms when it strikes them, able to permanently kill Fused and Thunderclasts — the sword has also killed a Shard (Odium) and collapsed a perpendicularity.
Nightblood consumes Investiture rapidly when drawn, and must be continuously supplied with Stormlight or other Investiture — if it is not, it consumes the Investiture in its wielder. However, Nightblood is learning how to draw Investiture from sources besides its wielder, and it also seems that the sword may be able to stop absorbing Investiture when it wants to (this occurs once at the end of Wind and Truth).
Relationships
Although Szeth is initially uninterested in forming a relationship with Kaladin, the Windrunner plays a major role in Szeth’s personal growth. During their mission in Shinovar, Kaladin teaches Szeth that he doesn’t have to punish himself for his past actions, and that he has the power to choose his own path in life. Kaladin also saves Szeth from Ishar’s pain, and then takes the place meant for Szeth among the Heralds — it’s safe to say that without Kaladin, Szeth’s life would be very very different.
Despite being a sentient sword, Nightblood is perhaps Szeth’s closest friend besides Kaladin. The sword has been with him since his revival by Nale, and often speaks in Szeth’s mind. Nightblood has expressed that it likes Szeth.
Taravangian was merciless in how he used Szeth once he held his Oathstone. While their relationship is purely one of master and servent, it’s a very important one for Szeth as the murders he commits under Taravangian’s orders are numerous and brutal (they also have narrative significance, as it is Szeth’s assassinations that allow Taravangian to claim the throne of Jah Kaved). Much of the trauma Szeth experiences due to his following the Oathstone comes because of Taravangian.
Nale brought Szeth back to life after he fell from the sky (after he released his bond with the Windrunner blade during his fight with Kaladin). The Herald also inducted Szeth into his order of Skybreakers. While Szeth was initially unhappy with Nale for bringing him back to life, he respects Nale as both a god-like figure and as a man who follows a strict code — something Szeth has longed for all his life.
Kaladin and Salinar fighting Szeth (before he swore an oath to follow Dalinar, obviously) Arist: Marie Seeberger
Szeth swears to follow Dalinar with his Third Oath, as he saw Dalinar as someone who lived up to his reputation as an honorable man. While their relationship is basically nonexistent — Szeth interacts with Dalinar mostly in a professional manner — the relationship is still important as it marks Szeth’s departure from Nale’s path for him.
Szeth’s family meant a lot to him, particularly his father, but also his sister — while they argued regularly, they also cared for each other. He felt guilty for how his father and sister followed him when he was sent to train as a soldier, but they were both happy to go with him. His mother not following suggests that they were never as close as Szeth and his father.
Fun Facts
Szeth’s fight with Kaladin was altered in the paperback edition of Words of Radiance, with Szeth dying from the storm rather than Kaladin stabbing him (as he does in the original version of the published text) — as per Sanderson’s blog.
“Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king” is probably the most oft-quoted line Brandon Sanderson has ever written. An introduction to Szeth and what he’s about to do, it’s the very first line of The Way of Kings (not counting the Prelude — it’s in the Prologue). Every Szeth point-of-view chapter starts with Szeth’s name and title, which changes throughout the book: “Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar”, then “of Shinovar” then “of the Skybreakers”, then “Szeth-son-Honor”. In first Szeth flashback of Wind and Truth, it’s “Szeth-son-Neturo”, but after the first two Szeth chapters, his chapters stop starting with his name and title.
Brandon Sanderson mostly listened to Daft Punk while writing Szeth’s scenes in The Way of Kings.
We hope this bio of Szeth was as illuminating as a goblet of freshly infused spheres! Questions, suggestions, and opinions on Szeth’s difficult life welcome in the comments below.
A huge fan of sci-fi and fantasy (really anything with tons of weird proper nouns), music, and video games. Enjoys the outdoors, but has plenty to do on a rainy day.
ByDanielD
