Lift
| House / Order | Edgedancers |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Reshi (Rosharan human) |
| Status | Alive |
| Origin | Azir; Roshar |
| Born | Roshar |
| Died | |
| Weapon | Wyndle (living Shardblade) |
| Fate | Edgedancer of the new Knights Radiant |
| Portrayed by |
Lift is a character in The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson, featured prominently in the novella Edgedancer and in the later novels. A young street urchin and thief, Lift is an Edgedancer of the Knights Radiant, bonded to the Cultivationspren Wyndle. She is irreverent, sticky-fingered, and far wiser and more compassionate than her constant joking suggests.
Lift's defining wish -- granted by the Nightwatcher -- is to never grow up, which has slowed her aging. Beneath her chaotic humor lies an Edgedancer's calling to "listen to those who are ignored," to care for the overlooked and forgotten.
Background
Lift grew up on the streets of cities across Roshar, surviving by theft and cunning. At some point she sought a boon from the Nightwatcher (or, as later revealed, Cultivation herself) and asked not to change -- to stay the same. As a result she ages slowly and gained an unusual relationship with Investiture: she can metabolize ordinary food into Stormlight (she calls it "awesomeness"), rather than needing to breathe in Stormlight from spheres.
Biography
Edgedancer
The novella follows Lift in the Azish city of Yeddaw, where she crosses paths with the Herald Nale, who is hunting and killing nascent Knights Radiant (Surgebinders) in the name of law. Lift, with her spren Wyndle, protects another newly-emerging Surgebinder and confronts Nale, ultimately convincing him -- at least briefly -- to spare the budding Radiants. The story cements Lift's role as a protector of the ignored and powerless.
Oathbringer onward
Lift joins the broader cast at Urithiru and the war effort, often providing comic relief while quietly performing acts of profound kindness and bravery. Her unique abilities -- moving frictionlessly, healing, and her odd Stormlight metabolism -- make her surprisingly effective, and she develops a fierce loyalty to those she adopts as family, including Dalinar Kholin, whom she affectionately calls names of her own invention.
Character
Lift is mischievous, loud, and deflective, hiding deep insecurities and a generous heart behind jokes and theft. She fears change and abandonment, which fueled her wish never to grow up. Despite her crude humor, she embodies the Edgedancer ideal of remembering and caring for those whom the world overlooks -- and she repeatedly chooses compassion at personal cost.
Powers and abilities
- Main article: Edgedancers
As an Edgedancer, Lift wields the Surges of Abrasion and Progression. Abrasion lets her make her body or surfaces nearly frictionless, sliding across the ground at speed; Progression accelerates growth and healing. Uniquely, Lift converts ingested food directly into Stormlight. Her bond with the Cultivationspren Wyndle grants her a living Shardblade (which Wyndle prefers to manifest as a vine).
Relationships
- Wyndle -- her Cultivationspren, a fretful, gardening-obsessed companion and her living Shardblade.
- Nale -- the Herald and Skybreaker whom she confronts to protect young Radiants.
- Dalinar Kholin -- a father-figure of sorts whom she trusts and teases.
- Gawx (Gawamesh) -- an Azish boy she saves who becomes Prime of Azir.
Quotes
I'm going to climb up high, way up high, and I'm going to pee off the side.
You will remember those who have been forgotten.