Bondsmiths

The Bondsmiths are one of the ten orders of Knights Radiant, the rarest and in some ways the most powerful, devoted to unity and the binding of people and forces together, wielding the Surges of Tension and Adhesion. They are associated with the Herald Ishar. Unlike other orders, the Bondsmiths are limited to only three at a time, each bonded to one of three great spren. In The Stormlight Archive, Dalinar Kholin is the foremost Bondsmith.

Surges

Bondsmiths command the Surges of Tension and Adhesion. Tension, shared with the Stonewards, grants control over the rigidity of objects. Adhesion, shared with the Windrunners, grants the power to bind things together. Beyond their Surges, however, the Bondsmiths possess unique abilities tied to unity, connection, and the binding of bonds themselves, including powers that exceed the ordinary application of their two Surges.

The Three Bondsmiths

Where other orders may have many members, only three Bondsmiths can exist at once, each bonded to one of the three mightiest Spren of Roshar: the Stormfather (the spren of the highstorm and a sliver of Honor); the Nightwatcher (tied to Cultivation); and the Sibling (tied to Urithiru itself). This makes the order extraordinarily rare and its members exceptionally significant.

Ideals

After the shared First Ideal, the Bondsmiths swear oaths centered on unity. Dalinar Kholin's defining oath -- I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together. -- captures the order's calling to bind the fractured peoples of Roshar against Odium.

Notable Members

Dalinar Kholin, highprince of Alethkar and bonded to the Stormfather, is the foremost Bondsmith of the Archive and the architect of the coalition against Odium.

Significance

The Bondsmiths, through their unique spren bonds and their power of unity, are pivotal to gathering the nations and orders of Roshar into a single front, making them perhaps the most strategically vital of all the Knights Radiant.