The Heralds are ten immortal figures who served as humanity's champions during the Desolations - devastating cyclical wars fought against the forces of the Shard Odium on Roshar. Bound by the Oathpact, the Heralds would die in battle and be sent to Braize, a place of torment, where their endurance held back the next Desolation. When one of them finally broke under the torture, the cycle would begin again. After thousands of years, nine of the ten Heralds abandoned the Oathpact, leaving only Taln to bear the burden alone - which he did for over four thousand years. By the time of The Stormlight Archive, the Heralds walk among humanity again, but most are broken by millennia of death and torment, their minds fractured beyond recognition.