Desolation
A Desolation is one of a series of cataclysmic invasions that repeatedly devastated Roshar in the deep past of Brandon Sanderson's The Stormlight Archive. Each Desolation was an assault by the forces of Odium, the Voidbringers, intended to break humanity and reduce civilization to ruin.
Nature
During a Desolation, the spirits of the enemy returned to wage war against humankind, often inhabiting bodies and bringing destruction on a scale that set human civilization back by generations. The Desolations were so devastating that, after each one, survivors had to rebuild knowledge, technology, and society nearly from scratch. The Heralds taught humanity skills and warfare to prepare them to survive the next assault.
The Heralds and the Oathpact
- Main article: Desolations
The recurring Desolations were held back by the Oathpact, a binding undertaken by the ten Heralds. When the Heralds died in battle, they returned to Damnation, where they were tortured by Odium until their collective will broke and they returned to Roshar, signaling that a new Desolation could begin. The cycle continued for thousands of years until the Heralds abandoned the Oathpact, in what became known as the Last Desolation or Aharietiam.
Legacy
The threat of a returning Desolation looms over the events of The Stormlight Archive, as the signs of Odium's renewed assault appear and the long-vanished enemy returns to Roshar.