Hoja de Honor
The Honorblades are the magical swords carried by the Heralds to fight the Voidbringers during the Desolations.
There are ten Honorblades total, one for each Herald. Every Honorblade is unique, covered in various glyphs and patterns.[1] The respective hilts of each of the Heralds's Honorblades appear to be the same as the glyph that represents the order of Knights Radiant that that same Herald leads. Honorblades are technically a type of Shardblade[2][3] but are likely more powerful. Honorblades can also be summoned and dismissed like a Shardblade.[1] However, if the Herald holding the blade dies, the weapon itself vanishes too. It also doesn't automatically vanish when the holder accidentally lets go of it.[4] One does not need to be a Herald in order to use an Honorblade either.[5]
It seems apparent that the Honorblades are related to the Oathpact somehow. The Heralds all left them behind when the broke the Oathpact, so it is possible that they may have been what bound the Heralds to the Oathpact in the first place. Nine of the Honorblades were left stabbed into the rock at the location where the final battle of Aharietiam occured.[1] The Shin have seven of the Honorblades (Szeth is in possession of a eighth).[6] Talenel's Blade, which is shaped like a spike, is still with him when he returns to Roshar for the True Desolation.[4] The location (and identity) of the tenth Honorblade are still unknown.
Honorblades are not the same thing as the Dawnshards: Shallan refers to them as distinct things.[7]
Surgebinding
Honorblades inherently grant the ability to Surgebind[8][9]. Presumably, each Herald's Honorblade grants access to the same two Surges with which the order of Knights Radiant he or she is associated had access to. Using an Honorblade, Szeth-son-son-Vallano is able to use the powers of a Windrunner, even though he does not have a spren bonded to him in the same way Kaladin does.
Syl is the first to explicitly state this power of Honorblades, mentioning that "...[the blade Szeth had wielded would] turn anyone into a Windrunner..." She also states an Honorblade consumes the Stormlight of its user as well, thus surgbinding granted by one requires "a dangerous amount" of stormlight.
Notes
- ↑ a b c Preludio al Archivo de las Tormentas#
- ↑ Three types of shardblade
— Foros de 17th Shard - 26 September 2012# - ↑ Honorblades are shardblades
— Foros de 17th Shard - 31 October 2012# - ↑ a b El camino de los reyes epílogo#
- ↑ Can a Heralds blade be adopted by a non-Herald?
— Theoryland - Dec, 2010# - ↑ Palabras radiantes capítulo 88#
- ↑ El camino de los reyes capítulo 29#
- ↑ Feb 16th, 2013 Interview with Brandon Sanderson
— Theoryland - Feb 16th, 2013# - ↑ Palabras radiantes interludio I-1#