The Stormlight Archive's magic system is broken down into ten orders of the Knights Radiant, each with their own abilities and ideals. As part of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere book universe, magic in The Stormlight Archive works with a similar foundational idea to that in Mistborn or Elantris. Investiture is a source of energy in the Cosmere that takes different forms in different systems. In the Mistborn series, characters have access to the Metallic Arts, while on Roshar, magic takes the form of Surgebinding.

On Roshar, there are ten forces known as Surges, which grant different powers. Every Surgebinder has access to two Surges, coming in set combinations that can overlap. These combinations make up the Radiant orders. For example, the Surge ability Transformation is possessed by Lightweavers and Elsecallers, meaning Shallan Davar and Jasnah Kholin are both capable of Soulcasting without a fabrial device. Their orders have an overlapping Surge,...