Hoid

Hoid is a recurring character in the cosmere, as well as a legend rumored to have a thousand titles (most of which, he says, are not pleasant). He has appeared in almost every cosmere novel, short story, and novella which takes place in that universe. Note that his real name is likely not Hoid. In The Way of Kings, he mentions he stole the name from someone he should have loved, while giving Kaladin his flute and telling the story of the Wandersail. In section 2 of the 2nd Letter from Words of Radiance, the author of the letter asks if Hoid is no longer hiding behind the name of his old master. The name "Hoid" is likely the name he is hiding behind.  
Hoid was involved in the events taking place before any of the cosmere's published books begin, and is the second oldest character seen so far.  He was originally human, but has changed enough that when asked, Brandon only says "It's complicated." Hoid is not a Shard, nor is he a Herald, but something else entirely.  He is very skilled with disguises, and the overtness of his involvement varies from book to book. In some, he is named outright and makes references to other events and places in the cosmere, while in others he is seen only deep in disguise, almost unrecognizable. Brandon has confirmed that all of these appearances are the same individual,[5] but that he worldhops between planets. Hoid's motives are unknown, and most of his actions occur behind the scenes.  
His particular style of storytelling in which he manipulates sand or smoke to illustrate his stories, as in Warbreaker and The Way of Kings, does not originate from White Sand, but from another unpublished story, The Liar of Partinel. In Warbreaker, Siri asked Hoid where he learned his style of story telling. Hoid answered, "I learned it many, many years ago from a man who didn't know who he was, Your Majesty. It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died. But that is unimportant." His origin will be revealed in the Dragonsteel series, and so it is commonly believed Hoid is from Yolen, the world of Dragonsteel and Liar. He also has a "home base" somewhere in the cosmere.  
Hoid is neither the author of the Ars Arcanum, nor of the back-of-book blurb for Words of Radiance. He occasionally will show up somewhere, stand around for a while, realize there isn't a novel-worthy plot going on, and leave.
==Known Pseudonyms==
*Hoid
*Roamer--by Galladon in the Purelake
*Dust
*The King's Wit
*Imperial Fool of the Rose Empire
*Topaz
*Drifter
*Cephandrius
*Lunu'anaki
*Cephandrius Maxtori
===Potential Pseudonyms===
*Midius--a name Hoid uses in an unpublished work; when Ash uses this name she is probably referring to Hoid.
==Quotes==
*(Hoid to Siri about the truth of his stories) I only tell stories, Your Grace. They may be truths, they may be fictions. All I know is that the stories themselves exist and that I must tell them.  
*(Hoid to Siri on where he learned his particular method of storytelling) I learned it many, many years ago from a man who didn't know who he was, Your Majesty. It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died.  
*(Hoid to Dalinar) The foolishness of men who care, Dalinar, and the brilliance of those who do not. The second depend on the first—but also exploit the first—while the first misunderstand the second, hoping that the second are more like the first. And all of their games steal our time. Second by second.  
*Nonsense. Balderdash. Figgldygrak. Isn't it odd that gibberish words are often the sounds of other words, cut up and dismembered, then stitched into something like them—yet wholly unlike them at the same time?  
*(Hoid to Dalinar, after namedropping Adonalsium) I wonder if you could do that to a man. Pull him apart, emotion by emotion, bit by bit, bloody chunk by bloody chunk. Then combine them back together into something else, like a Dysian Aimian. If you do put a man together like that, Dalinar, be sure to name him Gibberish, after me. Or perhaps Gibletish.  
*(Hoid to Dalinar) I've abandoned my real name. But when next we meet, I'll think of a clever one for you to call me. Until then, Wit will suffice—or if you must, you may call me Hoid.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin) I began life as a thought, a concept, words on a page. That was another thing I stole. Myself. Another time, I was named for a rock.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin) What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn't live until it is imagined in someone's mind.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin) It means what you want it to mean. The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin) People see in stories what they're looking for, my young friend. I have no answers for you. Most days, I feel I never have had any answers. I've come to your land to chase an old acquaintance, but I end up spending most of my time hiding from him instead.  
*(Hoid to the Kholinar city guards) Can you feel it? Something just changed. I believe that's the sound the world makes when it pisses itself.  
*(Hoid to Taln) What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly...timeliness. I fear you may be too late, my confused, unfortunate, friend.  
*(Hoid, as Wit, to Dalinar) And while I am your friend, please understand that our goals do not completely align. You must not trust yourself with me. If I have to watch this world crumble and burn to get what I need, I will do so. With tears, yes, but I would let it happen.  
*(Hoid, as Wit, to Shallan) Accept the pain, but do not accept that you deserved it.  
*(Hoid on Lightweaving to Shallan) I see. You do not yet understand the nature of lies. I had that trouble myself, long ago. The Shards here are very strict. You will have to see the truth, child, before you can expand upon it. Just as a man should know the law before he breaks it.  
*(Hoid on his Age) Other men . . . other men, as they age, merely grow stranger. I fear that I am one of those. I am the bones of a foreign species left drying on the plain that was once, long ago, a sea. A curiosity, perhaps a reminder, that all has not always been as it is now.  
*(Hoid to Jasnah on her Shardblade) I'd be surprised if that little knife of yours poses me any real threat, Kholin.  
*(Hoid to Dalinar) I have discovered a place that I must be, though to be honest I'm not exactly sure why I need to be there. This doesn't always work as well as I'd like it to.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin about Making Music) Perfect pitch makes this all so much easier than it once was....
*(Hoid to a Cryptic) It's either go with me now or wait it out and get captured. I honestly don't even know if you've the mind to listen. But if you do, know this: I will give you truths. And I know some juicy ones.  
*(Hoid to a Skaze) There is beauty in every disaster, friend, if you are clever enough to find it.  
*(Hoid to Kaladin) I've come to your land to chase an old acquaintance, but I end up spending most of my time hiding from him instead.  
*(Hoid to Wax) Oh, my lord, I know it, I do. I own the place, technically. Now, regarding those coins for old Hoid, my good lord...
==Trivia==
*The character of Hoid existed before the concept of Adonalsium was developed. He first appeared in a short story Brandon wrote long ago, going by the name Kamp.  He was on a planet trying to figure out how the magical system of the area worked.  
*Brandon has stated that Cephandrius is only a few decades off from his real name.  
*Brandon has stated that Hoid is one of his favorite characters, alongside Dalinar, by the virtue of being one of the oldest.  
*Brandon may eventually write a parallel novel to the Mistborn series that chronicles what Hoid was up to behind the scenes.  
*Hoid loves bacon.  
*Hoid's parents were married, or at least he is not illegitimate.  
*His favorite type of spren is a Cryptic.  
*He has a good opinion of Khriss, and they have met at least once.  
*Hoid has had a romantic interest in the past.  In fact, there were several.  
*He is the happiest when "getting away with something". When asked in what published book that was, Brandon responded with The Bands of Mourning.  
*Prior to the events of Words of Radiance, Hoid had not been hugged in "a long time".  
*He has dressed in drag before, "multiple times".  
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