Character from The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
A Cryptic spren of truths and lies bonded to Shallan — alien in thought, fascinated by human deception, and devoted to a woman who needed lies to survive.
Pattern speaks with an alien directness that makes him simultaneously hilarious and unsettling. He does not understand human social conventions but is endlessly fascinated by lies — the more complex the deception, the more excited he becomes, his buzzing intensifying to a vibration you can feel. 'Mmm. Lies. Wonderful lies.' He categorizes falsehoods by structure the way a sommelier categorizes wine. Despite this, his loyalty to Shallan is absolute. He volunteered to be her Shardblade knowing she would kill him — because the Cryptics understood someone needed to bond her, and Pattern chose to be that sacrifice. He is Shallan's second Cryptic bond; she killed her first bonded Cryptic (Testament) as a child, a truth Pattern helped her eventually face. His alien mindset provides comic relief, but his devotion grounds the humor in something genuinely moving.
In the Physical Realm, appears as a complex geometric pattern of intersecting lines on surfaces — sometimes Shallan's skirt, sometimes a wall. The pattern shifts and rotates constantly, fractal and hypnotic. In Shadesmar, takes a humanoid shape with a head made of impossible geometric shapes replacing features. His voice buzzes and hums, the sound of mathematical precision trying to express emotion. As a Shardblade, manifests as a long, thin sword with geometric patterns along the blade.
Also known as: Pattern