The Mark of the Iriali: The Midas Touch

The Iriali: In the Stormlight Archive, we meet a people who are both mysterious and mundane among the residents of Roshar.

Those well invested in the Cosmere will know that one of the most striking parts of the Iriali's culture is their religion, commonly known as "The Long Trail." A significant part of the religion focuses on a pilgrimage (hence the name) wherein the Iriali people travel from land to land, eventually returning to a single entity known as "The One."

"Eventually, all will be gathered back in—when the Seventh Land is attained—and we will once again become One." - Words of Radiance, Interlude 2.

So what are these lands, and what do we know of them? Have the Iriali made much progress on their pilgrimage, and when might we see their story unfold within the works of the Cosmere? 

Can all be revealed by a single detail planted within the worlds in which they inhabit? A mark left on the people they meet and interact with on their quest for knowledge and completeness?

Time will tell, and I have theories.

A History On Roshar

We meet the Iriali infrequently throughout the Stormlight Archive. They are typically individuals in the background or passers-by in cities or war camps, with the occasional appearance in interludes. The Iriali being commonplace among the people of Roshar cannot be understated as odd. From our descriptions, the Iriali have several striking features that separate them from the other humans on Roshar, most notably metallic gold hair, and skin.

"Yis was a yellow-eyed Iriali with stark golden hair. Not blond, golden. There was even a metallic sheen to it." - The Way of Kings, Chapter 18

The general acceptance of the Iriali relates to two key factors: longevity and a commonly uncommon ancestry. 

The Kingdom of Iri dates back to the Silver Kingdoms, a time in the history of Roshar steeped in lore and legend. As the centuries changed and the Iriali people dispersed throughout the land, encountering one of their kind became less and less of a rarity. For the other kingdoms, this general acceptance of other cultures goes deeper than just physical appearance, however. The humans on Roshar know (or at least strongly believe) that even they are not from Roshar. The Rosharen humans we meet throughout the Stormlight Archive believe, as a core of their several religions, that they were cast from their original home and ended up in exile on Roshar. Sanderson discusses this point in particular on one of his spoiler streams.

To place yourself in the context, you can say, "I'm from the stars," and they'll be like, "Yeah, so are we! We came from the Tranquilline Halls! You see all these Iriali over there? They came from another land as well." To them it's mystical. - Spoiler Stream 3, YouTube

The Iriali people also believe that Roshar is not their true home. They are pretty clear on the topic, understanding Roshar to be the fourth of seven lands they must "attain" before gathering in and becoming one again.

We are Iriali, and part of the Long Trail, of which this is the Fourth Land" - Words of Radiance, Interlude 2

So if Roshar is the fourth land, what are the three prior they visited? Where are the following three? 

Lands Upon Lands

Among the places in the Cosmere that we have explored, we only have valid in-fiction confirmation of one other place where Iriali has traveled: Lumar.

In Tress of the Emerald Sea, we observe a playful conversation between Tress and Charlie as Charlie spins a tale of a teacup Tress has brought to show him. While the thrust of the story is intentionally fictional, it is here that we gain our second reference to the Iriali.

"It's old Iriali, he said. "The vanished, you know. The entire people: poof. There one day, gone the next, their entire island left uninhabited. Now, that was three hundred years ago so no one alive has ever met one of them, but they supposedly had golden hair." - Tress of the Emerald Sea, Chapter 2.

Not only do we get a mention of the Iriali by name, but a corroborating physical description.

While we still need an official timeline of events mapped to each book, we know that the plotlines we read in the Stormlight Archive occur long before the setting of Tress of the Emerald Sea. Due to the uncertain timing, it is curious if the Iriali of Roshar and those on Lumar are the same people, traveling from world to world, or if they are separate offshoots of the same core people.

We can, however, make an enormous leap in commonality between Roshar and Lumar. If this detail holds, it will unlock a significant chunk of The Long Trail and its target locations and give us a glance at plotlines yet to unfold in the greater workings of the Cosmere.

Can the simple existence of blonde hair unravel the greatest mystery of the Iriali? Let us dig in.

The Midas Touch

Adolin Kholin. Son of one of the most influential humans on Roshar, a celebrated shard-bearer and dualist, House Lord and Alethi to his core... except for his mostly blonde hair.

The Alethi people are strongly biased toward dark and black hair, so Adolin's blonde, peppered black hair marks his mixed heritage. While Adolin's father, Dalinar, is as Alethi as they come, his mother, Evi, hails from Rira, a former part of the kingdom of Iri. 

“He was a tall man, his few black Alethi hairs overwhelmed by quite a bit of golden blond. His father did not have that. Adolin’s mother had been from Rira, perhaps?” - Words of Radiance, Chapter 16

Through years of cultural (and physical) intermingling, some of the traits of the Iriali, such as language and other physical traits, have bled into the surrounding regions. Hence, golden blonde hair in an otherwise predominantly dark-haired people.

This detail may be the key to understanding where the Iriali have been. 

Similar to their impact on Roshar, we know from Charlie that the Iriali were significant people on Lumar, despite their mysterious disappearance. Physical artifacts are commonly available to travelers, and their language is still taught to nobility. These traits speak to a culture that significantly impacted the world they inhabited.

If the Iriali people spread their physical traits to the people of Roshar, they may have also done so on the other planets where they had a similar prominence and cultural impact. 

Tress is described as having blonde hair, though she will downplay its luminance. This detail could be explainable by the 300-year gap of any Iriali being present (more on that tasty bit in another article). Therefore, the strength of the physical signs may have begun to wain. 

So, if blonde hair is a critical sign of the Iriali's presence, where else could have they been?

Lands Beyond

Canonically, there are a few blonde characters we know of today, notably among them are:

• Kelseir of Scadrial
• Kenton of Taldain
• Sarane of Cel
• Nazh of Threnody

All planets we have visited in past books, and certainly ones with a solid ties to the going-ons of the Cosmere at large.

With these planets added in, it brings the total count of potential lands to 6 of 7: Roshar, Scadrial, Taldain, Cel, Threnody, and Lumar.

In several questions throughout his Q&As, Sanderson has spread a few tidbits denying or deflecting specific locations:

• Scadrial and Taldain were RAFO'd
• Braize was confirmed not to be on the long trail
• Ashyn was not the source of the Iriali coming to Roshar, but technically is not ruled out as a stop on the Long Trail
• When connected to Evi and Roshar, Viveiena and Siri (and by extension, Nalthis) were RAFO'd. Nalthis would be the seventh planet, meaning we have the complete set of Long Trail planets.

Despite having most, if not all, of the planets identified, we need more information to determine order, other than that Roshar is the fourth land.

But What Does It All Mean?

Even if we knew where all seven lands were, and what order the Iriali are supposed to "attain" them in, what does it all matter? What are the Iriali looking for on their pilgrimage? What is their goal?

That is a topic for another article altogether. 

Understanding their ultimate goal comes one step at a time, and uncovering the travels of the Iriali people may give us the next clue to unravel the mystery.

The Most Important Step Is Always The Next One

I hope you enjoyed this fanciful journey into the histories and mysteries of the Iriali. The inspiration for this article was a comment my wife made about the connection between Tress' blonde hair and Adolin's while I was (painfully) walking her through a video concept that was a more comprehensive look at the Iriali people. That video will likely become several smaller articles (including this one), while I focus on growing my voice and approach within the Cosmere. 

If you found the article interesting, I would love it if you signed up for my newsletter. I am not a big poster on social media, and so I hope to foster a small community of readers interested in the occasional deep and moderately researched dive into the Cosmere. I want to make the kind of content that I would invest my time reading, and I hope that there are others out there always looking for more of the Cosmere to explore.