Squires

A squire is someone who, after following a member of the Knights Radiant, develops Stormlight abilities of their own over time.^{[citation needed]}

“

There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, ...

”

Squires are also Radiants who've not yet sworn the First Ideal.^{[citation needed]}

Powers and Abilities

A squire is able to hold Stormlight, although much less efficiently than a true Knight Radiant; it is unclear if they remain less effective than a Knight Radiant, or if, over time, they are able to become nearly as powerful as a Knight Radiant. This Stormlight ability likely grants them only the powers of the Knight Radiant they follow.^{[citation needed]}

This ability has been made manifest in a few of the members of Bridge Four; it is detailed in Lopen's viewpoint, as his arm slowly begins to grow back.

“

The Lopen sucked in Light ... . He felt at his shoulder, the one where he'd lost his arm so long ago. There, his fingers prodded a new nub of flesh that had begun sprouting from his scar.

”

Further, the effect occurs to multiple unnamed members of Bridge Four during the Battle of Narak.

“	"At the end there, right before you arrived . . . Storms, son, I swear I saw a couple of the lads glowing. Faintly, with Stormlight."	”
–Teft

In the first place, Lopen mentions constant practice, earnestly willing himself to take in Stormlight; on the other hand, those fighting on the Shattered Plains seemed to spontaneously manifest their abilities. In both instances, it seems to grant them abilities similar to those of Kaladin: enhanced speed, strength, and healing. Neither of these, however, are recorded until after Kaladin has spoken the Third Ideal of the Windrunners, suggesting there may be a link to the strength and honor of their Knight Radiant.*^{[citation needed]}

“	"I've been listening to readings of those visions Brightlord Dalinar sees, ... From what I can guess, it seems that the orders of the Knights Radiant were made up of more than just the Knights themselves."	”
–Teft

Squires are able attract a different type of spren from that of each their Knight's respective order.

Ranks

According to Brandon, CP4 (or Commission Placement) is a rank, like E6 or the like in the American military. Only the Windrunners use these, as they decided on ranks that one could earn while advancing as a squire. The old stories say that some squires never advanced to full Windrunners, and felt it would be good to continue to promote these individuals to different ranks within squirehood.

Variation Between Orders

There seems to be a fair bit of variation between squires of different orders. According to suggestions within the text, ...

“

Also, some orders were individualistic, while others - like the Windrunners - functioned in teams, with a specific hierarchy.

”

This is further supported as well by Q&As with Brandon. Certain orders of Knights (like the Windrunners), tend to generate a great number of squires, while other orders (the Bondsmiths, perhaps) generate very few. Also, the power available to squires seems to vary according to the order to which they each subscribe; whether this means that some can access limited Surgebinding, that they utilize Stormlight more efficiently, or that they can grow in strength more rapidly than the squires of other orders, is currently unknown.

Veil thinks that most orders had squires.

Known Squires

• Drehy
• Huio
• Lopen
• Rock
• Sigzil
• Skar
• Teft

Notes

Despite that he was patron of the Windrunners, Jezrien had no squires, as no Herald did.

Speculation

*Becoming a Windrunner squire seems to arise from having a strong Connection with a Windrunner of the Third Ideal or higher.

Q&A with Brandon

Q. Do squires always bond the spren of their Knight's order? Or can they attract a different type of spren?

A. They can attract a different spren.

Q. Also, was it normal for someone to serve their whole life as a squire?

A. It was indeed normal, depending on the order and the person.

Q. In the original Knights Radiant, when they had squires, were all of the squires destined for bonding spren?

A. No. Many stayed squires forever and that was okay.