Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, we reviewed the letter comprising the epigraphs of Part Four, with one old friend urging another to stop interfering in things above his pay grade. This week, we examine Interludes 12 and 13, taking place in Kholinar and Narak respectively.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Interlude I-12: Lhan

Point of View: Lhan, an ardent
Setting: Kholinar
Symbology: Double Eye of the Almighty, Palah, Ishar

IN WHICH an ardent takes on a new protégé; she is less than amenable to the guidance he attempts to give her; the character and conduct of the queen are called into question; wasted food is contemplated; the character and conduct of the Alethi elite are called into question; the Almighty and the Heralds are called into question; a choice is made; the queen is condemned as all the ten fools; a protégé is executed; riots begin.

Quote of the Interlude

“Don’t you even wonder?” she asked, staring at those piles of refuse, rain pattering just beyond. “Don’t you stop to think about the cost of your gluttony?”

“Cost?” he asked. “I told you nobody starves because we—”

“I don’t mean the monetary cost,” she whispered. “I mean the spiritual cost. To you, to those around you. Everything’s wrong.”

“Oh, it’s not that bad,” he said, settling down.

“It is. Lhan, it’s bigger than the queen, and her wasteful feasts. It wasn’t much better before that, with King Gavilar’s hunts and the wars, princedom against princedom. The people hear of the glory of the battle on the Shattered Plains, of the riches there, but none of it ever materializes here.

“Does anyone among the Alethi elite care about the Almighty anymore? Sure, they curse by his name. Sure, they talk about the Heralds, burn glyphwards. But what do they do? Do they change their lives? Do they listen to the Arguments? Do they transform, recasting their souls into something greater, something better?”

“They have Callings,” Lhan said, fidgeting with his fingers. Digiting, then? “The devotaries help.”

She shook her head. “Why don’t we hear from Him, Lhan? The Heralds said we defeated the Voidbringers, that Aharietiam was the great victory for mankind. But shouldn’t He have sent them to speak with us, to counsel us? Why didn’t they come during the Hierocracy and denounce us? If what the Church had been doing was so evil, where was the word of the Almighty against it?”

Pai is, apparently, the only thoughtful person in Kholinar. She’s asking a lot of the right questions, but no one in the palace or the monastery wants questions. They just want to be comfortable luxurious, to enjoy their privileges without any more effort than necessary.

I’ll refrain from drawing real-world parallels…

Commentary

For such a short chapter, there are a lot of little things I can’t help noticing. The first one is Lhan’s suave contempt for his monarch.

“Queen Aesudan likes to feel that those around her are refined. It makes her feel refined by association.”

I can’t read that as anything other than an implication that the queen is not refined, whether it’s in her speech, or her tastes, or… what. But it reeks of condescension. Then there’s this bit:

“…The queen figures that if she treats her ardents well, it will buy her favor with the One who makes the storms, so to speak. Nice food. Nice robes. Fantastic quarters. Lots of free time to do whatever we want. We get these things as long as she thinks she’s on the right path.”

The cynicism behind this attitude drops my jaw—mostly because the opening paragraphs made me want to like Lhan, but this makes me want to flog him out of the monastery, and all the rest of the sycophants with him. (It reminds me of the quip, “When you ask yourself, ‘What would Jesus do?’ don’t forget that upending tables and chasing people with whips are real possibilities.”) These ardents are that kind of people: they take advantage of the queen’s bad behavior, uneasy conscience, and lame theology to make sure they have an easy, luxurious life. They certainly can’t be bothered to consider how their wastefulness might actually affect other people, nor how it must look to the people of the city. I’d say it’s hard to believe they think they can get away with it indefinitely, but you can look around IRL and see it happen.

What really blows my mind about it, though, is that Navani left Kholinar completely in Aesudan’s hands, with the claim that “the queen is sufficiently endowed with the requisite skills to hold Alethkar.” Did she really think Aesudan was doing a fine job? Did Navani not care about this kind of behavior? Pai certainly seems to indicate that it’s not a new thing, so Navani must have seen it. Did she simply lack the authority as the “dowager queen” to do anything about it? Or did she decide that what little she could do in Kholinar was insignificant compared to what was happening out on the Shattered Plains?

I don’t have any good answers for this. Perhaps, compared with an approaching Desolation, a greedy and debauched queen in Kholinar is insignificant—but the stability of the kingdom isn’t, and that’s what’s about to go up in flames. It will be very interesting to see what condition things are in by the time Our Heroes are able to check in on Kholinar. Between the riots and the Everstorm, I expect it will be a right mess.

One other unrelated comment: I don’t know that this is surprising, really, but it occurs to me that the people of Roshar don’t know that Honor has been Splintered. I mean, they probably don’t know about Adonalsium and Shards and all that anyway, but they did know about Honor and Cultivation to some extent. And they don’t know that he’s gone.

Stormwatch

This Interlude takes place sometime during the Weeping, but obviously before the arrival of the Everstorm. So, somewhere between Day 2 and Day 14 of the expedition; in terms of countdown, somewhere between 7 and -5. In fact, this could be happening at the same time as the Epilogue.

Ars Mechanica

There’s a lovely section describing the art, architecture, and geological features of the monastery, palace and city. Shallan’s lesson on cymatics with Kabsal comes irresistibly to mind, as he demonstrated for her the way Kholinar’s layout—including the windblades—were created by vibration. (Methinks this may also apply to the Shattered Plains, from a different angle… but I don’t think I want to explore the possible physics just now.)

Anyway, Brandon innocently opens this descriptive passage with the Circle of Memories, then proceeds to the city, and (after some conversation) to the palace’s grand eastern hall. It’s all nice and world-build-y, and that’s about it… until you remember it when you’ve finished the book.

They passed into the Circle of Memories, a round room with ten lamps on the walls, one for each of the ancient Epoch Kingdoms. An eleventh lamp represented the Tranquiline Halls, and a large ceremonial keyhole set into the wall represented the need for ardents to ignore borders, and look only at the hearts of men… or something like that. He wasn’t sure, honestly.

It’s the storming Kholinar OATHGATE!! All the nice details about the lamps, the ten kingdoms, the eleventh lamp, the keyhole… GAAAAHHHHHH!

On a quieter note, there are a couple of interesting connections to be made.

One, the Circle of Memories is part of the monastery—meaning that in all probability, the ardents live in facilities originally built for the local contingent of Knights Radiant. How ironic, that those who preach the betrayal of the Knights Radiant should live in their home and betray all that Vorinism originally stood for.

Two, Lhan identifies the eleventh lamp as representing the Tranquiline Halls, but we know it takes you to Urithiru. Is this merely misinterpretation, or is it forgotten history? I know we’ve speculated that the Tranquiline Halls might be Ashyn, and that for some reason humans had to leave that planet and so migrated to Roshar. It might even be that the Tranquiline Halls story has its origin in the Splintering of Adonalsium and the withdrawal of Honor and Cultivation (with some humans for seed??) from Yolen to Roshar. But… could it be that at some point, Urithiru itself was overthrown by the forces of Odium, who destroyed the Oathgate links, and shattered the Plains in an attempt to destroy the last access? Or that perhaps the Radiants had to flee Urithiru, and themselves locked the Oathgates and shattered the Plains in their attempt to destroy the last one behind themselves, locking the destroyers in Urithiru? Either of those could be a plausible origin for the story of the Tranquiline Halls that are inaccessible in the flesh, but must someday be recovered. Just sayin’…

I’m sure y’all will have plenty of darts to throw at that theory, but it really had to be said.

You Have to Break a Lot of Rockbuds

Food. There is lots of food in this chapter, most of it rotting. But why is it that the best-sounding food is always Herdazian?

Heraldic Symbolism

Palah, the Scholar, may be here to supervise Pai’s evaluation of the queen’s conduct and her careful explanations thereof. I like that idea, anyway. Ishar… well, Ishar the Priest could be here for the ardentia in general. Or he could be here mockingly, as what the ardentia are only pretending to be. Or he could be here for Pai’s concern for theological truth. Looks like he’s got lots of reasons to be here!

Interlude I-13: A Part to Play

Point of View: Eshonai
Setting: Narak
Symbology: Listener, Battar

IN WHICH a voice still screams; one sister has changed, and one has not; battle plans are discussed; Venli knows too much, and is hiding the source of her knowledge; Eshonai is discomforted, but moves on with her work.

Quote of the Interlude

“The Alethi will come,” Venli said, strolling at Eshonai’s side and absently bringing energy to her fingers and letting it play between two of them. Venli smiled often while wearing this new form. Otherwise, it didn’t seem to have changed her at all.

Eshonai knew that she herself had changed. But Venli… Venli acted the same.

Something felt wrong about that.

It’s a weird combination of heart-breaking and comforting to read the places where Eshonai’s instinct remembers what her mind can’t. Some part of her, when it’s not screaming in terror, seems able to recognize the inconsistencies in what she observes. I don’t know whether or not I should hold onto the hope that someday the old Eshonai will win out.

Commentary

Preparations.

Eshonai is sorting out her new stormforms, getting ready for the upcoming confrontation. We didn’t know it the first time through, of course, but the part the noobs have to play will be to sing. I suppose the odds are no worse for them than for the ones doing the fighting, but it still seems a bit cold, looking ahead. Those who are new to a fighting form will stand, sing, and get slaughtered without even attempting to fight back. Except that, of course, the singing will be their form of attack. So there’s that, I guess.

This Interlude is just sad and disturbing. And creepy. What is with Venli? The only options I can see are that she’s worn stormform before, but no one saw it; or that she’s been wearing a form of the old gods that no one else recognized as such (perhaps the outward appearance was exactly like nimbleform?); or that she’s been in direct contact with one of the old gods. I’m going with those as being in order of least to most likely. She just knows things she shouldn’t, and she’s way, way too comfortable with stormform.

That whole thing about how the new form hasn’t changed her at all? Yeah, that’s not eerie or anything. The only question is, how long has this—whatever it is—been going on? I can’t help thinking that it’s been years in the process.

Stormwatch

This chapter takes place on the same day as Chapter 75, when Kaladin & Shallan climbed out of the chasms to find Dalinar staging his army. This is, for what it’s worth, the last day before the Weeping begins.

Sprenspotting

No spren are actually mentioned, but there’s the scene where Venli is walking along, letting “energy” play between her fingers. Is that a spren, or is it just energy? Both? Something more? Bah. I have a feeling that most of my questions about the Listener “old gods” spren will not be answered. Maybe I’ll be wrong; it’s happened before.

Heraldic Symbolism

Only one Herald guards this chapter: Battar, the Counselor, wise & careful. Is this because Venli is acting as Counselor to Eshonai? Or is this one of those mockeries, where Battar is watching while Venli plays a deceitful and manipulative Counselor instead of a wise one?

There. Two very short Interludes with Implications this week; next week, we’ll dive into a very looooong Interlude, as we rejoin King Taravangian on his “mission of mercy” to Jah Keved.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and is eagerly looking forward to JordanCon next month with some of the good folks here.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, we saw riots in Kholinar and suspicion in Narak. This week, war has devastated Jah Keved, and we join Taravangian there for the continuance of his strategy.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Interlude 14: Taravangian

Point of View: Taravangian
Setting: Vedenar
Symbology: Double Eye of the Almighty, Palah, Jezrien

IN WHICH an aging king awakens and is tested; Vedenar is a heap of rubble and ash; exhausted soldiers cheer the man who engineered the ruin of their nation; an assassin is waiting; soothing lies and reiterated commands send him on his way; speculation and searching ensue; a dying king is visited; a relationship is identified, and an heir designated; a son must kill his father; grief and guilt accumulate.

Quote of the Week

By the light of spheres, Taravangian picked through the tome, poring over translations of his own words written in a language he had invented and then forgotten. Answers. He needed answers.

“Did ever I tell you, Adro, what I asked for?” he whispered as he read.

“Yes.”

He was barely listening. “Capacity,” he whispered, turning a page. “Capacity to stop what was coming. The capacity to save humankind.”

I don’t even know what to say about this. It makes me sad. It makes me angry—though whether at the Nightwatcher or at Taravangian, I’m not sure.

Commentary

This is a long, long chapter, and it is chock-full of information. Not all of it is very nice.

Some trivial notes to start with:

Mrall, Taravangian’s advisor, is a Thaylen with shaved head and eyebrows. The similarity of names and non-traditional hair-styling make me wonder if he is associated with Mraize in ways other than country of origin. Clearly, we’re supposed to make the connection, but we’re left wondering if it’s just world-building, or if there’s something Significant about it.

More to the point, though, what is it about Mrall that gives him the right to demand that Taravangian undergo his morning testing before breakfast? I can see where it’s his duty, but why the phrasing of “It is his right to demand this”? I suppose it could be as simple as “I gave him the job of deciding what I’m qualified to do, so he has a right to demand that I test as soon as I wake.” And that would probably be reasonable… but this is Sanderson, and I don’t trust the simple and reasonable explanation for anything about a character as mysterious as Taravangian.

Speaking of which, there sure seem to be a lot of people who know all about the diagram, his varying intelligence, and his restrictions. Advisors, stormwardens, sailors, soldiers…

We got a lot of answers in this Interlude—more than we had reason to expect, for only the second book of the series. We know where Taravangian is getting his plans and marching orders on a daily basis: from the Diagram he wrote on his most brilliant day, as a “gift” from the Nightwatcher. We know that he’s fully aware of the return of the Radiants, and that Jasnah was a Surgebinder. We know that a great deal of his reputation for compassion is based on a façade; although we learned of that to some extent in TWoK, it’s made eminently clear that “being seen as compassionate” is part of his directive. And we now know that he’s maneuvering to unite all of Roshar under his own direction. One thing we don’t know, though, is how long this has been going on, or whether he confided in Gavilar as much as Gavilar in him. I suppose it’s possible that Gavilar’s revelations and assassination were what sent Taravangian to seek the Nightwatcher… I sure would like to know.

The whole thing is disturbing, though. Emotion without intellect, genius without empathy. Either one is a recipe for disaster in the ruler of a nation. The saving grace would be that on most days, he’s relatively balanced. The counter, which makes it less “saving” than it could be, is that no matter what, he’s unequivocally dedicated to carrying out the plan he made when he was super-duper brilliant… and had absolutely no compassion. This worries me.

Human intelligence is all well and good, but what’s going on here reminds me, first, of Asimov’s Foundation series—the entire course of the human race could be determined mathematically… until one odd, unpredictable mutation threw everything out of alignment. I don’t know where this is going, but all the red flags are waving. Taravangian flat-out admits that the only thing he “worships,” the only object of faith for him, is his own super-brilliant self and the things he wrote on that one day. The concern is, of course, compounded by stuff like this:

Hopefully, Moelach hadn’t decided to slumber again. The Death Rattles had, so far, offered them the best way that they’d found to augment the Diagram.

If Moelach is indeed another of the Unmade (and we have no other category he fits), am I the only one who finds it worrisome that Taravangian’s hope to “save humankind” is being guided by a Splinter of Odium?

Stormwatch

This Interlude takes place sometime prior to the last highstorm before the Weeping, though the exact date is not clear.

Sprenspotting

There don’t seem to be any of the normal spren bobbling around here—or rather, no one bothers to note them—but there is one abnormal one mentioned. Or maybe two.

In reference to Nergaoul, whom they (correctly, per WoB) assume to be responsible for the Thrill, Taravangian instructs Adrotagia not to spend too much effort trying to find him/it:

“I’m not sure what we would even do if we found the thing.” An ancient, evil spren was not something he had the resources to tackle. Not yet at least.

Nergaoul is an Unmade, and Taravangian calls it “an ancient, evil spren.” My researches tell me that Brandon has confirmed that the Unmade are Splinters of Odium; I guess if they go back to the time of the Desolations, that would easily be old enough to qualify as “ancient.”

The next question is whether Moelach fits the same description. Brandon has not confirmed this to the best of my knowledge, but as working theories go, I think it’s reasonably strong. Moelach is referenced several times, being the instigator of the “death rattles” Taravangian uses to correct his Diagram-directed course. ::shudder:: See above discussion…

Heraldic Symbolism

At first I was surprised that Vedel wasn’t on this chapter’s arch, with all the healers out doing their thing, and Taravangian as their king. After rereading the chapter, I decided that Palah and Jezrien make more sense, though. One angle would be to say Jezrien represents the King, while Palah is his wise advisor Adrotagia. Another would be to say that both are for Taravangian, with Palah representing his raw intellect and Jezrien his kingship.

Just Sayin’

“Mrall could loom over a mountain and intimidate the wind itself.” That makes me giggle a bit. I also like “favored of the winds” for someone extraordinarily lucky. Both are so very Rosharan.

There is, of course, much more that could be said about this chapter, but I’ll leave it for y’all to bring out in the comments. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when we start into Part Five.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. She’s currently hip-deep in planning for her first JordanCon, and is looking forward to seeing some of you there. StormCellar meet-up on Friday night!

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Taravangian saw the fruition of his plans in Jah Keved, and got a surprise visit from his favorite (!) assassin. This week, Part Five launches with unanticipated alliances, unexpected revelations—and a discarded cloak.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 76: The Hidden Blade

Point of View: Kaladin, Dalinar, Sadeas
Setting: the Warcamps
Symbology: Spears, Talenel, Shalash

IN WHICH Kaladin rejects his own surgical advice; his boyhood fantasy is fulfilled; Sebarial unexpectedly joins the expedition—and brings Palona with him; all are flabbergasted by the arrival of Aladar; Sadeas and Ialai explore and scheme; Dalinar finally understands Aladar; Kaladin watches Adolin and Shallan ride by, then salutes Dalinar; an apology is due; Dalinar has a new Shardblade; the erstwhile head of the Knights Radiant is dismissed from his position; Sadeas writes off his former ally and begins planning for new associates.

Quote of the Week

Aladar met his eyes. “I think the things you say about Alethkar are naive at best, and undoubtedly impossible. Those delusions of yours aren’t a sign of madness, as Sadeas wants us to think— they’re just the dreams of a man who wants desperately to believe in something, something foolish. ‘Honor’ is a word applied to the actions of men from the past who have had their lives scrubbed clean by historians.” He hesitated. “But… storm me for a fool, Dalinar, I wish they could be true. I came for myself, not Sadeas. I won’t betray you. Even if Alethkar can’t ever be what you want, we can at least crush the Parshendi and avenge old Gavilar. It’s just the right thing to do.”

Aladar is more honorable than he thinks he is, and this entire conversation proves it. This was one of the moments on my preliminary list of “Reflections” back when I was doing pre-WoR-release teaser posts, because it shocked me. Just a few paragraphs before this, Dalinar suddenly realized that, all the time Aladar was arguing against him, he was only trying to convince himself that Dalinar was wrong. Because this is what he wanted all along, but couldn’t quite believe in it. He’d spent the last six years (or whatever) torn between idealism and realism, and allowed himself to be pulled closer to the pragmatic side of his nature. Now, when it comes right down to a decisive action, he throws his cynicism to the wind and chooses his longed-for ideals. And I love him for it. It’s just the right thing to do.

Off the Wall

This is, observably, a new unit, specially constructed for the Part Five epigraphs: excerpts from the Diagram.

They will come you cannot stop their oaths look for those who survive when they should not that pattern will be your clue.

—From the Diagram, Coda of the Northwest Bottom Corner: paragraph 3

This chapter’s epigraph is the same passage as was quoted in Interlude 14, which Taravangian now understands to be a reference to the Knights Radiant. While I suppose it does provide another bit of confirmation of the accuracy of the Diagram, it seems like a very clear-in-hindsight-only piece of information. It’s difficult to say without the context, but should he have figured this out sooner? Or did he, and just thought that having identified Jasnah and (perhaps) Shallan, he had it covered? Ah, well. As they say, it’s a mistake any deranged halfwit could have made.

This selection also gives us an early hint as to the structure—or lack thereof—in the original writing: punctuation is entirely missing, because obviously any intelligent person can figure it out, right? Except when they can’t… which may come into play later.

Commentary

Welcome to Part Five: Winds Alight. And it is indeed going to get windy up in here, in more ways than one! Between the out-of-pattern highstorm, the Everstorm, Kaladin regaining and leveling-up in his ability to ride the wind, and the final battle cresting the stormfront, there’s a whole lot of wind coming.

This chapter hops POVs repeatedly, as it juxtaposes Kaladin struggling, Dalinar coordinating, and Sadeas scheming. The last, being the shortest, is easiest to take first.

Sadeas and Ialai, wretched snakes that they are, display their contempt for Dalinar’s summons by going for a ride in the opposite direction, which not coincidentally takes them out through the area where Sebarial has begun his farming operations. Ialai, frustrated by the failure of her assassin, is proposing a coup to take down Elhokar while Dalinar is gone. Sadeas, however, surprised by Dalinar’s actual commitment to the expedition, is confident that, with him dead on the Plains, no coup will actually be needed. Angered by Aladar’s decision to join Dalinar, he dismisses them all, and begins a new round of scheming. Irony must be served, however:

“I was merely thinking,” she said, seeming distant. “About the future. And what it is going to bring. For us.”

A word in your shell-like, Ialai: you aren’t going to like it.

Dalinar is on the giving and receiving end of multiple surprises. It was looking like just the Kholin and Roion armies going out to confront the Parshendi, and then Sebarial turns up, with a fashionably-garbed Palona, in a carriage, looking for all the world like they’re going on a picnic excursion. With an entire army. But the bit that gives me the shivers is this:

“I’ve got a feeling about you, Dalinar old man. I think it’s wise to stay close to you. Something’s going to happen out there on the Plains, and opportunity rises like the dawn.”

I suppose it could be just a good business sense… but this is Sanderson. I can’t help thinking there’s more to Sebarial and his “feeling” than rising opportunity. I do think it would be marvelous fun if he turned out to become a Radiant. I know we’ve had this discussion before, but this speech gives me a feeling of further surprises to come.

Dalinar’s other surprise, Aladar, I already addressed in the QOTW. But I’m going to insert one other exchange, just because it’s so good:

Aladar extended his hand, but hesitated. “You realize that I’m stained through and through. I’ve got blood on these hands, Dalinar. I’m not some perfect, honorable knight as you seem to want to pretend.”

“I know you’re not,” Dalinar said, taking the hand. “I’m not either. We will have to do.”

As we’ll see in the next book, Dalinar certainly has blood on his own hands. Neither of them is clean and perfect… but they’ll have to do. There’s no one else.

Moving on to Kaladin, he seems to be having a “do as I say, not as I do” day. Knowing full well that he should stay off his injured leg, he drags himself off to the parade ground to watch the armies march. His men give him fetch for doing it, but they are glad to see him. There’s an uncomfortable moment when he registers one decision that was made without him:

“Brightlord Dalinar asked me leave our best man behind with a team of his own selection. They’ll watch the king.”

Their best man…

Coldness. Moash. Moash had been left in charge of the king’s safety, and had a team of his own choosing.

Storms.

That’s all he does with it for now, though. There’s not much more that’s particularly noteworthy about Kaladin’s POV (except the bits in Sprenspotting and Shipping Wars below), until we get to… THAT… PART. Where the Dalinar-arc and the Kaladin-arc overlap for a few minutes of pure excellence, as Dalinar forces Amaram to meet Kaladin face to face.

“Brightlord,” Amaram said, taking Dalinar by the arm, “I don’t know if the lad is touched in the head or merely starved for attention. Perhaps he served in my army, as he claims— he certainly bears the correct slave brand. But his allegations regarding me are obviously preposterous.”

Dalinar nodded to himself, as if this were all expected. “I believe an apology is due.”

Kaladin struggled to remain upright, his leg feeling weak. So this would be his final punishment. Apologizing to Amaram in public. A humiliation above all others.

“I—” Kaladin began.

“Not you, son,” Dalinar said softly.

The first time I read this, I literally came right out of my chair—laptop and all. I was all, “No, Dalinar, nonononono… uh… Oh! OH YEAH!” And there was fist-pumping, I’m pretty sure. Despite not wanting to believe such a thing of Amaram, Dalinar set up his test. Whether that’s because Sadeas destroyed his trust, or whether he’d have done it anyway, I don’t know, but he played the long game here, and it paid off. Amaram proved himself to be a liar and a thief, and he remains completely unrepentant. Some “son of honor” he is.

There are two additional points I must make about this scene. One is the Blade Dalinar summons:

Wider than most, it was almost cleaverlike in appearance.

We’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating: this is not the same Blade from the epilogue to TWoK. That was described as:

…long, narrow, and straight, shaped like an enormous spike.

Unfortunately, we’re no closer to an explanation for the discrepancy now than we were last time we debated it. Someday.

The final point is Amaram’s attitude. I find it bewildering, but at the same time, it fits. It reminds me of a JordanCon panel I was watching earlier today, where Seanan McGuire was saying that “your main villain has to see himself as the good guy; if he doesn’t, you’ve failed.” (Or words to that effect. I didn’t memorize it.) Amaram totally sees himself as the hero of the piece, bizarre as that seems.

Amaram looked Kaladin in the eyes. “I am sorry for what I did to you and yours. Sometimes, good men must die so that greater goals may be accomplished.”

Kaladin felt a gathering chill, a numbness that spread from his heart outward.

He’s telling the truth, he thought. He… honestly believes that he did the right thing.

Sadeas is a jerk, and he knows it, and he doesn’t care; for him, the highest standard is his own power and wealth. Amaram, though—he really thinks he’s doing the hard things that need to be done, because they’re the right thing… in his mind. Taken completely out of context, I could agree with his words: sometimes, good men must die so that greater goals may be accomplished. IMO, the defense of one’s homeland or the freedom and safety of the innocent is a high enough goal that those who die to defend the rest of us are heroes, not fools. I have nothing but the highest respect for those who volunteer to put their lives on the line so that we can be free. The problem here, at least for me, is that Amaram figures he’s qualified to make that determination on his own, and the men who die shouldn’t need any explanation or rationale from him. Those who joined for the sake of “punishing the people who killed our king!” deserved better than to be sacrificed for the dubious goals of the “Sons of Honor.”

Stormwatch

This scene takes place on the same day as Chapter 75—which is to say, day 61 of the book, day T-8 of the countdown, or day 1 of the expedition. We’re sneaking up on the climax.

Sprenspotting

No actual spren were observed in the reading of this chapter, but there’s something I’m going to quote anyway, because it’s worth quoting.

“I’ve lost the ability, Lopen,” he said softly. “Syl has left me.”

The lean Herdazian fell unusually silent. “Well,” he finally said, “maybe you should buy her something nice.”

“Buy something nice? For a spren?”

“Yeah. Like… I don’t know. A nice plant, maybe, or a new hat. Yes, a hat. Might be cheap. She’s small. If a tailor tries to charge you full price for a hat that small, you thump him real good.”

“That’s the most ridiculous piece of advice I’ve ever been given.”

“You should rub yourself with curry and go prancing through the camp singing Horneater lullabies.”

Kaladin looked at Lopen, incredulous. “What?”

“See? Now the bit about the hat is only the second most ridiculous piece of advice you’ve ever been given, so you should try it. Women like hats. I have this cousin who makes them. I can ask her. You might not even need the actual hat. Just the spren of the hat. That’ll make it even cheaper.”

Just the spren of the hat. Oh, Lopen. You’re awesome.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

I realize this is totally insignificant. So? The visual of Dalinar haring off on his Ryshadium with everyone else trying to keep up on their horses, only to arrive just in time for him to take off back the way they came from… this gives me fits of the giggles. I want a Ryshadium of my very own, and I’ll bet I wouldn’t be allergic to him, either. So there.

(I’m deathly allergic to horses; can’t breathe within 10 feet of one, even outdoors. It’s very sad.)

Haven’t We Met Somewhere Before?

Well, he’s not a world-hopper in the usual sense, but… hey, look! There’s Isaac Stewart! A.k.a. Isasik, the royal cartographer, who is seen here in a snit because everyone is praising Shallan’s map. Or because everyone says she drew it when he drew everything she draws. Or … this is getting too metaphysical and fourth-wally. Hi, Isaac.

Heraldic Symbolism

I’m not 100% sure of the rationale on this pair. Talenel, the Soldier, is easy enough, especially when you add “dependable/resourceful;” those are well-represented in this chapter. I don’t get Shalash, though; what does “the Artist” have to do with it all? Shallan is only barely seen. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

Shipping Wars

Kaladin found himself standing up amid the bridgemen, despite the pain of his leg, as he noticed Adolin and Shallan riding past. He followed the pair with his eyes. Adolin, astride his thick-hooved Ryshadium, and Shallan on a more modestly sized brown animal.

She looked gorgeous. Kaladin was willing to admit it, if only to himself. Brilliant red hair, ready smile. She said something clever; Kaladin could almost hear the words. He waited, hoping that she’d look toward him, meet his eyes across the short distance.

She didn’t. She rode on, and Kaladin felt like an utter fool. A part of him wanted to hate Adolin for holding her attention, but he found that he couldn’t. The truth was, he liked Adolin. And those two were good for one another. They fit.

Perhaps Kaladin could hate that.

Awww. Poor Kaladin. I don’t think I’d call it “love,” but there is a certain interest displayed here. Of course, we don’t know yet where Sanderson is going to take this, but this was one of several passages that really make me hope that Shallan and Adolin stay together. I believe Kaladin is correct when he observes that “those two were good for one another. They fit.” I also believe that he will leave it at that, though it’s a bit sad-making to see that he feels a need to hate something when he doesn’t get the girl.

Just Sayin’

“Well said, you old turtle!”

Heh. In context, maybe it’s not a terribly Roshar-specific wording, but I love it anyway.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when the armies begin their long trek across the Plains, while Kaladin returns to the barracks for an uncomfortable conversation.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and is excited to be attending her first JordanCon next week. Wheee!

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, we launched into Part Five with unexpected alliances and revelations.  This week, Shallan passes the time with a new/old book and shares scholarship with Navani, while Kaladin begins to take small steps back toward Honor.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 77: Trust

Point of View: Shallan, Kaladin
Setting: Shattered Plains, Bridge Four barracks
Symbology: Pattern; Palah, Chana

IN WHICH the armies set off; slow can be majestic; a book arrives; the march turns out to be rather boring, but the book certainly isn’t; the Weeping begins, and Shallan finds it comforting; Navani joins Shallan in her carriage; their collaboration begins; the existence of living Knights Radiant is finally revealed to someone who is not a Surgebinder; the Weeping begins, and Kaladin finds it miserable; he continues to grieve for Sylphrena; Moash comes for a visit; the assassination plan is revealed – and it will be so easy; Kaladin begins to show a deeper understanding, and expresses doubt; Moash is concerned, but Kaladin cannot stop it.

Quote of the Week

Kaladin looked up at his friend. “I think she left because of the plot to kill the king, Moash. I don’t think a Radiant could be involved in something like this.”

“Shouldn’t a Radiant care about doing what is right? Even if it means a difficult decision?”

“Sometimes lives must be spent for the greater good,” Kaladin said.

“Yes, exactly!”

“That’s what Amaram said. In regards to my friends, whom he murdered to cover up his secrets.”

“Well, that’s different, obviously. He’s a lighteyes.”

Kaladin looked to Moash, whose eyes had turned as light a tan as those of any Brightlord. Same color as Amaram’s, actually. “So are you.”

I see this as the beginning of Kaladin’s conscious return to his Ideals, as he connects the attitudes of Amaram and Moash to one another and to the effect his support of Moash had on Sylphrena. He’s beginning to get past the mourning stage and is starting to take responsibility.

Oh, Kaladin. You were always so ready to take the blame for things you couldn’t control; now you’re beginning to get back to being accountable for your own decisions. It is a beautiful thing.

Off the Wall

One danger in deploying such a potent weapon will be the potential encouragement of those exploring the Nahel bond. Care must be taken to avoid placing these subjects in situations of powerful stress unless you accept the consequences of their potential Investiture.

–From the Diagram, Floorboard 27: paragraph 6

And… what weapon would this be? Something to do with Surgebinding, apparently… but what? I’m wondering if this is related Gavilar’s black sphere. At one point, Szeth thought of it as being safely hidden in Jah Keved, but might he have passed it – or its location – to his master Taravangian? It seems like there ought to be other alternatives, but this is the only object I can think of that could, potentially anyway, be “deployed.” Speculation, please!

Commentary

And so it begins. (There is a hole in your mind…) (…Also, heh. Yes, there really IS a hole in Dalinar’s mind, come to think of it. Of a somewhat different nature than Jeffrey Sinclair’s, but there it is.)

Anyway. The expedition finally sets off in its motley but majestic array. Ryshadium, horses, carriages, bridges, scholars, scribes, mistresses, Soulcasters… oh, and four armies’ worth of soldiers. Let’s not forget them!

I love the tidbit at the beginning, with Shallan wondering why Gaz wasn’t there, and wondering if, just maybe, she should have looked more closely into his debt issues. (Ya think? Not that I expect it to actually become an issue, but the principle would have been sound… as I believe we’ve discussed once or twice.) The follow-up makes it splendid – when he runs to catch up to her, carrying her very own worn, faded, well-used, but real copy of Words of Radiance. Aw, Gaz. Well done. (Also: I really want to know where Brandon is going with Gaz.)

Also also: when do we get to learn what really is that “wicked thing of eminence”??

To me, the best part of this chapter is when Navani joins Shallan, and really joins forces with her. It clearly takes effort on both sides; Navani has to consciously avoid taking over, and Shallan has to be willing to share her notes and what she retrieved of Jasnah’s. I do appreciate Navani’s straightforwardness in assuring Shallan that she’s not going to steal the project, because really, it’s the obvious thing to do. She’s fifty, and Shallan is seventeen; who is likely to be the better scholar? But Navani places herself in the position of advisor and facilitator: arranging for copies to be made, connecting with archeologists for landmark identification, tapping surveyors to measure and scholars to research quotations.

I know that’s all important stuff, and it’s critical to the mission at hand, but this…

 “You’re still human,” Shallan said, reaching across, putting her hand on Navani’s knee. “We can’t all be emotionless chunks of rock like Jasnah.”

Navani smiled. “She sometimes had the empathy of a corpse, didn’t she?”

“Comes from being too brilliant,” Shallan said. “You grow accustomed to everyone else being something of an idiot, trying to keep up with you.”

“Chana knows, I wondered sometimes how I raised that child without strangling her. By age six, she was pointing out my logical fallacies as I tried to get her to go to bed on time.”

Shallan grinned. “I always just assumed she was born in her thirties.”

“Oh, she was. It just took thirty-some years for her body to catch up.” Navani smiled.

The near echo of Gavilar’s words to Jasnah in the Prologue is worth noting, but there are other things as well. One, the “cold and emotionless” aspect of Jasnah’s character is not in itself the result of some trauma; it’s just who she’s always been. Brilliant and logical from an early age, and never a terribly affectionate child, she grew into a woman who was brilliant, logical, and completely impatient of the perceived folly of many around her. I wonder if she’d have had to temper that attitude if she hadn’t been the king’s daughter.

She wasn’t actually emotionless, of course, but her ability to relate to other people was definitely affected by her lack of empathy for them. Her father was different; I’m beginning to wonder if the trauma Shallan suspected (back in TWoK Chapter 36) had to do more with Gavilar’s assassination than something that was done to her directly.

The insight into Navani’s character also gives us a different angle than we’ve seen before. As Elhokar’s mother, she has come across as loving but pragmatic; she knows he’s not very good at being king and makes no bones about saying so, at least within the family. As Dalinar’s old/new love interest, she’s attractive and – for their society – quite aggressive in going after what she wants. As a scholar and artifabrian, she’s clever and insightful, even while mostly accepting her socially-acceptable role of sponsor rather than engineer. Here, though, we see the mother of a strong-willed daughter, who loved deeply but still felt disconnected from her firstborn. (As the mother of a strong-willed daughter, I can sort of relate…)

On a slight rabbit trail, it’s amusing to note the differences between Shallan’s and Kaladin’s reactions to the Weeping. To Shallan, it’s soft and pleasing; to Kaladin, it’s miserable and gloomy.

Stormwatch

This chapter takes place on days 1 and 2 of the expedition, with the opening section on day 1 and the remainder on day 2. This corresponds to days T-8 and T-7 of the countdown. Not long now…

Sprenspotting

Syl, once again, is noticeable by her absence, but her influence is working. It’s good to see.

Pattern, on the other hand, is busy! Now that Shallan has her hands on a copy of the in-world Words of Radiance, and some time to read, his assistance is invaluable.

Pattern had offered some few insights, but mostly he had been of use telling her what sounded likely to have been real, and what from the book was a mistake based on hearsay. His memory was spotty, but growing much better, and hearing what the book said often made him remember more.

I find this unutterably cool. The fact that Pattern (and Syl) actually can’t remember very much keeps them from being a system cheat, and I’m glad it’s set up that way. At the same time, access to something like this that can help Pattern remember, however sporadically, is an excellent find. And, of course, the fact that it only kind of helps, because it’s not exactly accurate… Help, but not too much help. Me likey.

So, anyway, lots of good info here on how the Knights Radiant used to function, according to memory and hearsay from a couple hundred years later. At the moment, I can’t remember how much of it was actually new to us when we read this, and how much was just new to Shallan, but it’s good stuff.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

Roshar sure does breed some nasty specimens. The whitespine, and Shallan’s observations on it, remind me a little of the wild boars of old English stories… except nastier, if possible. Yikes. Seriously, looking at this thing, the stories don’t seem at all exaggerated. It could take on several men at once and destroy them all, if it wanted to.

It’s also a nice little side view into Shallan-the-natural-history-buff; it’s sometimes easy to forget that she’s been studying the flora and fauna for most of her life.

Heraldic Symbolism

The Heralds seem relatively straightforward this time (for once!). Shallan, poring over her new book and her maps, coordinating efforts with Navani and her scribes, is definitely in the role of Scholar for the entire chapter; Palah is clearly indicated. Kaladin, however imperfectly, is returning to his role as Guard, and even beginning to inch toward becoming a true bodyguard for his king, as he begins to recognize the inappropriateness of his approval of – much less participation in – Moash’s assassination plot; hence, Chana.

I’m not entirely sure what the title of the chapter refers to, since the word itself is only used twice in the text, but here are three possibilities:

• The first usage of the word, where Adolin tells Shallan to trust him about the gentle horse he chose for her; this could be extended to trusting his recommendation to avoid overdoing it, and make use of the carriage. I actually like this, because later she thinks about being closed up in the carriage and reminds herself that not everyone who tries to take care of her will be like her father.
• The second usage, when Moash tries to confirm that he can still trust Kaladin with the assassination plot information. (Turns out he can’t – and it’s a good thing, but that’s for later.) In reverse, there’s also the question of Kaladin trusting Moash.
• Shallan taking the plunge to tell Navani that Jasnah could Soulcast, and was actually one of the Knights Radiant. Okay, it’s not as much of a plunge as admitting that she herself can also Surgebind would have been… but it’s a start, and it did require a measure of trust.

Shipping Wars

He grinned, Shardplate helm hanging from his saddle so as to not mess up his hair. She waited for him to add a quip to hers, but he didn’t.

That was all right. She liked Adolin as he was. He was kind, noble, and genuine. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t brilliant or… or whatever else Kaladin was. She couldn’t even define it. So there.

Passionate, with an intense, smoldering resolve. A leashed anger that he used, because he had dominated it. And a certain tempting arrogance. Not the haughty pride of a highlord. Instead, the secure, stable sense of determination that whispered that no matter who you were— or what you did— you could not hurt him. Could not change him.

He was. Like the wind and rocks were.

Well. For all the attraction of the “dangerous unknown,” that’s a stark reminder that Kaladin is definitely “unknown” to Shallan. At this point in time, those last three sentences are incredibly ironic – Kaladin is anything but secure, stable, determined, unchangeable. Appearances to the contrary, Kaladin is hurt, broken, damaged almost beyond recovery, and she doesn’t have a clue to that side of him.

In recent weeks, there’s been a lot of talk about how much Shallan and Kaladin opened up to each other during the highstorm, and what a marvy basis for a relationship that is… but when you look at it more closely, they really didn’t. They didn’t go anywhere near the whole truth. They just cracked the door open an inch or so.

Kaladin didn’t mention Syl, the issues surrounding her departure, Moash and Elhokar, anything to do with fighting Szeth, or becoming a Windrunner. He didn’t talk about Tien, or Hearthstone, or Roshone, or his bitterness against being caught in the middle –  too high for the other darkeyes and too low for the lighteyes. He only talked about the part where he was a slave – betrayal by Amaram (not the whole truth) up through the Tower. He didn’t even talk about being bought back by Dalinar, though one could perhaps assume that she would have heard that story already.

For her part, Shallan didn’t tell of killing her mother, of blanking out everything that had happened that night; nor did she mention Pattern or Surgebinding in any way. She talked of her abusive father, of her wretched home life between the time of her mother’s death and her father’s, of trying to keep her brothers from giving up or getting themselves killed, and finally of going to Jasnah to steal the Soulcaster, being accepted as a ward, and being causally betrothed to Adolin. She didn’t talk about Tyn, the Ghostbloods, or spying on Amaram – which was obviously relevant to Kaladin’s story, but since she couldn’t talk about how she got in, she didn’t talk about it at all.

Both of them left out vast, significant parts of who they are and how they got there. Before it was over, Kaladin figured out that Shallan was a proto-Radiant, but not because she wanted him to know. Kaladin didn’t actually tell her much that she couldn’t have learned from his men; she didn’t tell him much beyond what she’d already told Jasnah – and certainly her brothers knew it all. Neither one let the other into the deepest, darkest, most closely-held secrets. It was new information for them, in terms of getting to know one another, but when it comes right down to it, they spoke of very little that’s not already known to multiple other people.

All things considered, I’m beginning to realize it may not be quite as significant as we’d assumed. It was awesome in terms of them realizing that the other was less shallow and annoying than they’d thought, and in developing some kind of functional working relationship and perhaps actual friendship, but there are a lot of secrets left.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when a secret is revealed and Parshendi are encountered.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and she is extraordinarily excited about the upcoming JordanCon. Anyone who is going to be there needs to connect with the StormCellar gathering on Friday night, 9:00-ish, location tbd. There’s a rumor that she’s offered to buy the first round…

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Shallan and Navani began their scholarly collaboration, while Kaladin began to take small steps back toward Honor. This week, Shallan gives Dalinar some truth and some defiance, and Parshendi are encountered.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 78: Contradictions

Point of View: Shallan
Setting: The Shattered Plains
Symbology: Pattern, Ishar, Shalash

IN WHICH Shallan watches the rain while her soldiers watch her; she and Pattern consider and discuss creationspren, art, and lies; Dalinar enters and speaks with her about Jasnah; the time has come to reveal her Surgebinding; Dalinar is awed and encouraged; they are interrupted by news of a Parshendi sighting; Shallan refuses to be told what to do; the dead Parshendi is a new form… and has red eyes; another Parshendi arrives; he is recognized by Bridge Four as their former parshman Shen, and he is here to surrender.

Quote of the Week

“Brightlord Dalinar?” Shallan said. “What if your task wasn’t to refound the Knights Radiant?”

“That is what I just said,” Dalinar replied.

“What if instead, your task was to gather them?”

He looked back to her, waiting. Shallan felt a cold sweat. What was she doing?

I have to tell someone sometime, she thought. I can’t do as Jasnah did, holding it all. This is too important. Was Dalinar Kholin the right person? Well, she certainly couldn’t think of anyone better.

Shallan held out her palm, then breathed in, draining one of her spheres. Then she breathed back out, sending a cloud of shimmering Stormlight into the air between herself and Dalinar. She formed it into a small image of Jasnah, the one she’d just drawn, on top of her palm.

“Almighty above,” Dalinar whispered. A single awespren, like a ring of blue smoke, burst out above him, spreading like the ripple from a stone dropped in a pond. Shallan had seen such a spren only a handful of times in her life.

As much as I love the moment of revelation for itself, the best thing for me is the effect on Dalinar. He’s just had to realize that Amaram was totally not a Knight Radiant, and had his tiny hopes in Kaladin crushed. Then he got word that Jasnah might actually have been one, but she’s dead. Blow after blow, when he’s all too aware of how the Radiants are needed now. Then Shallan gives him a tiny Illusion of Jasnah.

The rekindling of hope is a beautiful thing to see.

Off the Wall

AhbuttheywereleftbehindItisobviousfromthenatureofthebond
ButwherewherewherewhereSetoffObviousRealizationlikeapricity
TheyarewiththeShinWemustfindoneCanwemaketouseaTruthless
Canwecraftaweapon

—From the Diagram, Floorboard 17: paragraph 2,
every second letter starting with the first

This epigraph most certainly gives credence to the theory of Szeth + the Honorblade as “the weapon” from last week. “They were left behind,” and “they are with the Shin” pretty much has to mean the Honorblades; in context, it seems rather like Truthless are the only ones required to use them. (Weird.)

This all makes me question: just when did the Diagram come into being? I know the common assumption is that it was after Gavilar’s death, but I’m beginning to doubt that. This almost sounds like Taravangian’s minions were actively influencing Szeth to make him Truthless so that he’d get the Honorblade.

Also: “apricity” is a term for warm sunlight in winter that makes you think it’s almost spring. Literally, it’s a longing for April; this seems relevant to JordanCon folks.

Commentary

Well, that’s a wide-ranging chapter if ever I saw one!

There are some further interesting notes regarding Shallan’s soldiers at the beginning. Last chapter, she wondered if she should have looked more closely into Gaz’s debts when she was worrying that he might have disappeared. This week, she admits to herself that she had “honestly expected them to run off after gaining their clemency.” So… a little less idealistic than she appeared, and a lot more pragmatic. She was essentially buying a temporary security force with future money, and expected them to take their reward and go. Instead, they are proud to be hers. They probably each have their own reasons for it, but it’s rather fun to watch.

One of my favorite moments is the one shortly after the QOTW, when Dalinar really lets it all sink in:

“It’s amazing,” Dalinar said, his voice so soft she could barely hear it over the pattering rain. “It is wonderful.” He looked up at her, and there were—shockingly—tears in his eyes. “You’re one of them.”

“Maybe, kind of?” Shallan said, feeling awkward. This man, so commanding, so much larger than life, should not be crying in front of her.

“I’m not mad,” he said, more to himself, it seemed. “I had decided that I wasn’t, but that’s not the same as knowing. It’s all true. They’re returning.”

Partly I love the awkwardness for Shallan, just because it’s funny. Mostly, I love the validation it gives Dalinar and the realization of how much he needed the confirmation of something outside his own head.

One of the key events in this chapter is Shallan’s conscious emulation of Jasnah wrt: her autonomy. I personally think her objection to his telling Navani is specious, but the rest of it is an exquisite combination of her innate stubbornness, commitment to her task, practicality, and imitation of Jasnah. Finding Urithiru is not only her personal goal; she’s really the only one who has a prayer of actually finding it, much less making it work. All that, she knows—but she has to stand up for it, against a man 30-some years her senior, the man in charge of the whole operation… really, the one man who might be considered to have the authority to permit or deny her plans.

Well, there are several other things I wanted to talk about, but my brain seems to be losing cohesion. We’ll just have to catch it in the comments!

Stormwatch

There are 6… 5… 4 days left in the countdown. We’re now on Day 5 of the expedition; up to now, it’s been pretty uneventful. That’s about to change, perhaps.

Sprenspotting

Creationspren are odd little beasties, in that they continually change shapes and form images of objects around them. I sure would love to know how they appear in the Cognitive realm. Pattern’s reaction to the ones which had gathered around Shallan while she was drawing is both “funny-haha and funny-peculiar” as my aunt used to say.

He sniffed. “Useless things.”

“The creationspren?”

“They don’t do anything. They flit around and watch, admire. Most spren have a purpose. These are merely attracted by someone else’s purpose.”

I’ve always assumed (lightly) that creationspren are to Cryptics as windspren are to Honorspren, but Pattern seems so contemptuous of them, while Syl constantly referred to windspren as her cousins. I guess the two aren’t mutually exclusive; Pattern could be disdainful of his analog, right?

As for Dalinar’s awespren… it gives me goosebumps. That is all.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

I never really intended to use this unit for the Parshendi, but it seems appropriate this week. Mostly, it’s rather amusing to hear the humans speculate about the different Parshendi forms, and mostly get it wrong. “I’ll take ‘Cosmere Looney Theories’ for 1000, Alex.”

Heraldic Symbolism

The most straightforward answer seems the most likely, this week: Ishar and Shalash represent their Knights-to-be. Not that we knew Dalinar would become a Bondsmith yet, of course, but it still makes sense. That, and Dalinar is following in his footsteps as the one to reorganize the Knights Radiant that Ishar first organized.

Shipping Wars

There’s been discussion recently, regarding Shallan’s motivation for maintaining her betrothal to Adolin. It seems appropriate, then, to note that Shallan freely acknowledges that Jasnah set up the causal as a means of binding Shallan to the Kholin family. It’s also worth noting that she blushes when she admits it.

(While we’re on the subject, just a comment: Yes, I do prefer the Shallan-Adolin ship to Shallan-Kaladin, and I’ve never pretended otherwise. It doesn’t mean I can’t see where people get their support for the S/K ship, or why they might prefer that pairing. It does, however, mean that I think the S/A ship is more plausible, better supported, more viable, and far more appealing. I’m not blind to the possibilities, but I certainly like one better than the other.)

Just Sayin’

“Almighty above,” says Dalinar, even though he knows the “Almighty,” at least in the form of Honor, has been killed. Old habits die hard?

Then there’s Bashin: “Shakiest thing I’ve ever seen…” I’m not entirely sure how this fits the world, but it’s a good line. I like it.

My favorite is Skar’s “but storm me for a fool if I’m wrong…”

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when Dalinar interviews Rlain about the status of the Parshendi.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and now a JordanCon SanderTrack panelist. Wooot!

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Dalinar received a surprise or two that he badly needed. This week, he has his first actual conversation with a Listener since his brother was killed, and learns more surprising new notions.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 79: Toward the Center

Point of View: Dalinar
Setting: The Shattered Plains
Symbology: Kholin Glyphpair, Chach

IN WHICH Dalinar muses on recent revelations; Rlain is interviewed by his commanding officer; mysteries of the Listeners are uncovered; Rlain’s fears for his people are honored; he agrees to help Dalinar for their sake.

Quote of the Week

“You answer me when I ask,” Dalinar said. “But not the others. Why?”

“You’re my commanding officer,” Rlain said.

“You’re Parshendi.”

“I…” The man looked down at the ground, shoulders bowing. He raised a hand to his head, feeling at the ridge of skin just where his skullplate ended. “Something is very wrong, sir. Eshonai’s voice… on the plateau that day, when she came to meet with Prince Adolin…”

“Eshonai,” Dalinar prompted. “The Parshendi Shardbearer?” Nearby, Navani scribbled on a pad of paper, writing down each word spoken.

“Yes. She was my commander. But now…” He looked up, and despite the alien skin and the strange way of speaking, Dalinar recognized grief in this man’s face. Terrible grief. “Sir, I have reason to believe that everyone I know… everyone I loved… has been destroyed, monsters left in their place. The listeners, the Parshendi, may be no more. I have nothing left….”

“Yes you do,” Skar said from outside the ring of guards. “You’re Bridge Four.”

Rlain looked at him. “I’m a traitor.”

“Ha!” Rock said. “Is little problem. Can be fixed.”

Unhappy Rlain. He went in good faith to do a hard task, in service to the survival of his people—and now it seems to have all been in vain. The people of his birth are no more; they have become what they had for centuries sacrificed their heritage to avoid. He feels a traitor to the people of his new loyalty, those who accepted him and gave him fellowship.

Fortunately, his new people refuse to abandon him, and his new commander vows to help save what may be left of his race. Still, it’s a hard place to be. I do hope he becomes a Windrunner squire, at least!

Off the Wall

Q: For what essential must we strive? A: The essential of preservation, to shelter a seed of humanity through the coming storm. Q: What cost must we bear? A: The cost is irrelevant. Mankind must survive. Our burden is that of the species, and all other considerations are but dust by comparison.

—From the Diagram, Catechism of the Back of the Flowered Painting: paragraph 1

I may be jumping to conclusions, but this would seem to imply that either Taravangian was not, at the time of this writing, aware of humanity on other worlds, or that his understanding of the conflict assumed Roshar as the last defense of the Cosmere. I lean toward the former; it seems possible that seven-or-so years ago (whenever he had That Brilliant Day) he may not yet have been aware of the worldhoppers. There is one hint that he may have become aware of something odd about either Hoid or Mraize, but it’s not solid.

Also? Totally EJM approach. The end, according to the Diagram, justifies any and every means.

In the for-what-it’s-worth department, Taravangian noted in TWoK that the Death Rattles first came to notice well before Gavilar’s assassination—in fact, at about the time he first made contact with the Parshendi. It is a commonly-held assumption that Taravangian went to the Nightwatcher after Gavilar’s death, but we also know that he uses the Death Rattles to update, interpret, or guide the use of the Diagram. It doesn’t prove Taravangian had already written the Diagram when the Death Rattles began, but there may, perhaps, be a correlation.

Commentary

Repeating the cut text for emphasis,

Dalinar felt as if he were trying to stop a dam from breaking, all the while not knowing where the leaks were actually coming from.

This chapter gives a deep sense of teetering on the brink of something, with Dalinar the one responsible for the next step that may save them all, or plunge them all into chaos. He’s received startling information about the Radiants actually re-forming, plus Jasnah’s belief of the Voidbringers returning, and he’s fitting both of those into the visions he’s been receiving. With the discovery of red-eyed Parshendi, his own observation confirms the return of terrible foes who had been thought to be mere legend and folk tale. The world is shifting around him, and he has to try to hold it all together as best he can.

Into this mess walks Rlain: thought to be a parshman, revealed to have been a spy, and now returned as a warrior whose former leaders have betrayed him. He brings further evidence that the legends are, in fact, all too real.

“You spoke of the Parshendi,” Dalinar said. “This has to do with the red eyes?”

Rlain nodded.

“What does it mean, soldier?” Dalinar asked.

“It means our gods have returned,” Rlain whispered.

“Who are your gods?”

“They are the souls of those ancient. Those who gave of themselves to destroy.” A different rhythm to his words this time, slow and reverent. He looked up at Dalinar. “They hate you and your kind, sir. This new form they have given my people… it is something terrible. It will bring something terrible.”

Yeah, that’s not ominous or anything. We still don’t know for sure who/what their gods are, though it’s reasonable to assume the Unmade are part of it somehow. This seems to imply that perhaps the Unmade were once people (of whatever race) who chose to join Odium.

Speculation: Some group of people, perhaps a part of the Listeners of 5 or more millennia ago, chose to join with Odium against Honor and Cultivation—and, by extension, against humanity. Even, perhaps, because of the “invasion” of humanity onto Roshar. They gave themselves over to his purposes, with the result that some of them lost all but meager scraps of their cognitive selves, while others were Unmade from their physical forms as they became vessels for Odium’s Splinters.

Feel free to maul that around; there will be further discussion of the subject when we hit Chapter 81 in a couple of weeks.

In any case, it’s clear now—to Dalinar as well as to the reader—that the new stormform, purpose-driven by the old gods, does not bode well for his army and his prior hopes for a peaceful solution. Rlain’s words here make it eminently clear that they are The Enemy in a new and dreadful way.

The tensions in this chapter are starting to run high; clearly, we’re approaching the Avalanche. At the beginning, it’s noted that they’re all restless, partly due to discovering the red-eyed Parshendi, and partly due to the anticipation of an attack at any time. Rlain’s information obviously adds to that, but he also brings in a separate note of tension: the parshmen. While the slaveforms themselves may not care much, a dullform notices and remembers far more—and a warform, remembering, is very much not pleased at the Alethi treatment of his race.

Despite such displeasure, he has returned to Dalinar’s army with information about the stormforms, and it serves to emphasize the depth of his apprehension for his people. He’s willing to accept as necessary the destruction of all those who have taken stormform, but he’s clearly troubled by the thought of what they may have done to the elderly and the children, and any others who chose not to take the stormform.

Dalinar, honorable man that he (now) is, simply accepts another burden in his struggle to protect the innocent and save the world from the coming Desolation.

Bridge Four does the same thing, but in a different way: they very forthrightly insist that Rlain is Bridge Four, his load is their load.

Rlain looked at him. “I’m a traitor.”

“Ha!” Rock said. “Is little problem. Can be fixed.”

Have I ever mentioned that I adore Rock?

By the way, it’s worth noting that General Khal, Renarin, Aladar, and Roion are the ones off in another tent going over tactics, while Dalinar focuses on Rlain. It seems an odd mix of planners. The question—not that it really matters—is whether Renarin is part of that meeting because he has something to contribute, or because Dalinar wants him listening and learning. Most readers will probably lean toward the latter, but I’m developing a suspicion that people in-book may have overlooked Renarin’s tactical and strategic understanding due to his reluctance to speak out.

Stormwatch

Dalinar leaned forward, clasping his hands before him. “The countdown?” he asked.

“Three days away,” Navani said. “Three days before Lightday.”

So little time. “We hasten our pace,” he said.

Inward. Toward the center.

And destiny.

Ars Arcanum/Ars Mechanica

It’s interesting to note that Rlain doesn’t actually explain how his people change forms—merely that they do. It’s also interesting to note this exchange from the JordanCon RAFOlympics:

Q: When a Parshendi changes forms, are they taking different spren into their gemhearts?

A: When a Parshendi changes forms, they are….[carefully] entering into a symbiotic relationship with a new spren. [laughter] That’s the answer you’re going to get. That’s a RAFO.

So he wouldn’t deny the gemheart suggestion, but also refused to confirm it. Nice try, though.

Heraldic Symbolism

Chach stands alone over this chapter, and it’s a poignant statement. The Guard, brave and obedient. If that doesn’t describe Rlain in this scene, I don’t know what does! It also describes Adolin, standing on guard very nearby in case his father is in any danger; Teleb, guarding the erstwhile prisoner; Skar and Rock, guarding their fellow bridgeman; Dalinar, facing the challenge of guarding his world from the coming Desolation—including the innocent members of the race that has turned back to serving the Desolation. Definitely teetering.

Shipping Wars

Adolin was betrothed to a member of the Knights Radiant.

Two interesting little notes in this section. One is that Dalinar has apparently stopped thinking of it as merely a causal betrothal, even though we haven’t seen them go through any further formalities. It’s just “betrothed.” Two, it doesn’t appear to cross his mind that Shallan’s impending Radiantness might affect the situation. Given that he learned at the same time that said Radiantness was a large part of Jasnah’s rationale in putting the betrothal forward, I suppose that makes sense. Maybe?

It might also be worth noting that we haven’t seen Dalinar wonder how Adolin might react when he learns that his betrothed is a Lightweaver-in-training. Then again, there are a few other things going on just now, which some might say have a legitimate ability to draw his attention away from his son’s romantic entanglements…

Just Sayin’

The tent flaps parted and Adolin ducked in, escorting Navani. She hung her stormcoat on the rack beside the flap, and Adolin grabbed a towel and began drying his hair and face.

Heh. In our world, we have raincoats. On Roshar, they have stormcoats.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when more Parshendi and a king will be encountered.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and is still recovering from her first JordanCon. Also, a head cold. Oh well.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Rlain spoke with Dalinar about the changes which had come to his people, and his fears for them. This week, the highprinces decide to press on toward Narak, while Kaladin answers Elhokar’s questions with merciless honestly.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 80: To Fight the Rain

Point of View: Shallan, Kaladin
Setting: The Shattered Plains, the Kholin Warcamp
Symbology: Spears, Jezrien

IN WHICH Shallan climbs a hill and sees a city; the highprinces discuss their options; Shallan contributes her opinion; the decision to push on is agreed; Dalinar grills Shallan on the Oathgate; Kaladin walks the camp, hating the rain and regretting his choices; Elhokar awaits him at the barrack; the king speaks frankly, seeking Kaladin’s advice on being heroic; Kaladin cannot help him, but also speaks frankly; Elhokar apologizes for his treatment of Kaladin after the duel, and admits his fault in ruining the plan; he leaves.

Quote of the Week

“It’s here,” she said.

Gaz scratched at the socket beneath his eye patch. “Rocks?”

“Yes, guardsman Gaz,” Shallan said. “Rocks. Beautiful, wonderful rocks.”

In the distance, she saw shadows draped in a veil of misty rain. Seen together in a group like this, it was unmistakable. This was a city. A city covered over with centuries’ worth of crem, like children’s blocks dribbled with many coats of melted wax. To the innocent eye, it undoubtedly looked much like the rest of the Shattered Plains. But it was oh so much more.

It was proof. Even this formation Shallan stood upon had probably once been a building. Weathered on the stormward side, dribbled with crem down the leeward side to create the bulbous, uneven slope they had climbed.

I can’t even begin to explain why I love this passage so much. It has something to do with the moment of proof, of vindication that Jasnah’s (and now Shallan’s) theories and extrapolation were correct. From the reader’s perspective, their correctness was inevitable, of course. Still, this moment when Shallan sees the confirmation, is totally gratifying after all the mixture of conviction, skepticism, and anxiety over the probable location of Stormseat. She still has to find the Oathgate, of course, but this is pretty strong evidence that she’s close.

(It also reminds me irresistibly of the scene in C. S. Lewis’s The Silver Chair, when Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum look out the window of the castle and realize that they had walked right through the city they were seeking without recognizing it. Fortunately, unlike Jill, Shallan recognizes it before she gets there.)

Off the Wall

You must become king. Of Everything.

—From the Diagram, Tenets of Instruction, Back of the Footboard: paragraph 1

Heh. After last week’s discussion, now I can’t help reading that in poetic rhythm. It’s iambic, though not pentameter, and I’ve not studied poetry enough to tell you what it is (I’ll leave that to our resident experts) but it does have a rhythm if you read it that way.

Anyway… Before I considered the implications of the inverse relationship of intelligence and compassion in Taravangian’s make-up, this didn’t sound so bad. Now, it gives me the heebie-jeebies. A man this unstable, with these wild swings of competence, set up as king of the whole world? This does not seem wise.

Commentary

Well, this is our last deep-breath chapter. This is the one where the last of the planning and maneuvering takes place; next week things begin to get noisy. On that note, I found this an interesting insertion:

These winds were unusual for the Weeping, which was supposed to be a period of placid rainfall, a time for contemplating the Almighty, a respite from highstorms.

Contrasted to Kaladin’s feelings, it once again shows up the marked dissimilarity in their attitudes toward the Weeping and the highstorms, only part of which can be attributed to their upbringing. Kaladin hates the Weeping as being a gloomy time with no highstorms; Shallan sees it as a respite from them. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but the difference seems to reflect the contrast in their Radiant Orders as well as their personalities.

Moving right along… Things really are starting to get tense. The highprinces are meeting in one of several identical tents, to make it difficult for an enemy strike team to take them out. The armies have been skirmishing for the last couple of days, with the Parshendi apparently attempting to steer them away from the center. Soldiers are nervous, as the familiar enemy has been replaced by red-eyed nightmares from ancient legends. It’s now necessary to decide whether to prepare a defensive entrenchment, or continue to advance on the Parshendi’s home plateaus. And it’s reached the point where, though no one will quite say it out loud, it’s too late to attempt to retreat back to the warcamps. They are committed, one way or the other. They have to fight… and either win, or find Shallan’s anticipated escape route through the Oathgate.

“Tomorrow is the last day of the countdown,” Dalinar said. “Scribbled on the walls during highstorms. Whatever it is, whatever it was, we meet it tomorrow— and you are my backup plan, Shallan Davar. You will find this portal, and you will make it work. If the evil overwhelms us, your pathway will be our escape. You may be the only chance that our armies— and indeed, Alethkar itself— have for survival.”

No pressure, though.

Speaking of escape routes, Nazh seems to have acquired a copy of Shallan’s map. I have to wonder if he’s tagging along with the expedition, making like a cartographer. He was disguised as an ardent near the beginning of the book, chased out by Rock for trying to get a good look at the Bridge Four tattoos; perhaps he’s still hanging around.

It’s also worth mentioning that the final comment on this map was the clue that identified Nazh’s home planet for us: he’s from Threnody, the world of Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. Also, there are limits to his attention to detail. Heh.

Meanwhile, back at the warcamp, Kaladin continues to be stubborn. As much as I like to rag on him for being a grump (as well as for some very poor decision-making!), I’m really proud of him here. While it would probably be better for his leg if he stayed off it longer, it’s definitely better for his mind to fight—the rain, the depression, the pain, the wound, his grief… He’s got a lot to fight, and if he took the easy way and gave in on just one facet, I think the rest would follow and he’d collapse completely. Continuing to fight is keeping him sane, and in my opinion, all of those individual battles work together to keep his mind functioning so that he’s able to reason through to his eventual epiphany.

One near-term effect is that he’s beginning to be more honest with himself, as he considers the people who are out on the Plains without him. In this moment, he muses on what might have happened had he been willing to be a Windrunner openly.

He had been so close to revealing what he could do…

You’d been thinking that for weeks, he thought to himself. You’d never have done it. You were too scared.

He hated admitting it, but it was true.

Yes, it was true, and it’s part of what damaged his bond with Syl so badly. For a Windrunner, it seems, acting based on irrational fear is not a tenable option.

The flip side does, however, have one potential for disaster: being more honest than diplomatic can be dangerous when dealing with kings. It turns out relatively well for Kaladin, despite his lack of tact; Elhokar was apparently already in a self-flagellating mood, and didn’t get as angry as he could have. (Not that I’m faulting Kaladin’s response, mind you; even kings shouldn’t ask questions if they aren’t willing to hear truthful answers.) For Elhokar’s sake, I’m not sure what the wiser approach would have been. He’s willing, for the first time, to admit that the dueling fiasco was his own fault, brought on by his envy and resentment, so that’s good. However, Kaladin’s bluntness may also be, at least in part, to blame for the drunken state in which he finds the Elhokar later.

I think this scene may be the first time I began to hope Elhokar does form a Nahel bond; while he doesn’t handle it with grace, he does admit to his (serial) failures and is willing to seek advice, even from a darkeyes. It’s just a flash, but a flash of humility could be a wonderful thing for him.

Stormwatch

Two days after Chapter 79, this is the last day before Zero Hour.

Sprenspotting

The only direct mention of spren is the rainspren, which Kaladin dislikes and considers creepy—but both reactions are probably associated with his dislike of the rain.

Something I find more interesting, though, is something we’ve discussed before; now is the time to dig into it.

“When you came, the shadows went away.”

“The… shadows?”

“I saw them in mirrors, in the corners of my eyes. I could swear I even heard them whispering, but you frightened them. I haven’t seen them since. There’s something about you. Don’t try to deny it.”

The obvious connection of Elhokar’s “shadows” is to Shallan’s earlier views of the Cryptics. This has led many of us to assume that Elhokar is a Lightweaver candidate; it has also led many to push back against that idea because they can’t conceive of Elhokar as a viable candidate for any Radiant Order, and there’s no observable connection to Lightweaving.

In defense of the Cryptics theory, I have to point out two things. One is his description of them (TWoK Chapter 58): “I see their faces in mirrors. Symbols, twisted, inhuman.” That sounds very, very like Shallan’s early glimpses of Pattern & Co. It’s hard not to find this a compelling argument. The second is that while we don’t see Elhokar being artistic or creative in the usual ways—those are feminine roles in Vorinism, anyway—we do see a noteworthy ability to lie to himself, as well as a reasonably well-developed ability to play a role when it’s demanded of him. Specifically, he does his best to play the role of King, even though he himself knows he’s not really doing a very good job of it. These aspects may be enough to attract the attention of the Cryptics, though they have clearly not done much to create a Nahel bond with him.

On the other hand, as we’ve learned more about spren and how Realmatics functions on Roshar, it’s also worth noting that there are a great many spren on this planet, and of varying levels of sapience. Next week’s Diagram quotation, which is the next thing you see when you turn the page after reading Elhokar’s departure from Kaladin’s quarters, is about the Unmade. It declares that “many are mindless. Like the spren of human emotions, only much more nasty.” Could there be another variety of spren, a lesser-Unmade variety, which might be described in terms similar to the Cryptics? In other words, have there been Odium-spren hanging around Elhokar, which were driven away by the presence of a Windrunner?

The Windrunner repellent effect is certainly not conclusive, since we know that honorspren and Cryptics are somewhat at odds. If Elhokar had ever seen Pattern, or if Shallan had ever seen the creatures hanging around Elhokar, we’d have gotten immediate clarification. For now, it remains an open question—but one very worth consideration.

Ars Mechanica

Clearly Navani needs to invent a spyglass with a built-in drying fabrial. Foggy lenses are a drag.

Heraldic Symbolism

Jezrien stands alone on this chapter. My best guess is that in the first half, Dalinar is displaying the leadership of a general and a king; in the second half, Kaladin the Windrunner faces Elhokar the King. Jezrien-symbols everywhere!

Shipping Wars

I’ve made no secret (duh!) of the fact that I vastly prefer the Adolin-Shallan ship to the Kaladin-Shallan version. However, there are some interesting mentions in this chapter that I’d like to examine in more detail, and consider the motivations for the trio’s relationships.

Shallan’s interest in Adolin has several aspects. First, he’s simply a much higher-status match than she could ever have hoped for, prior to her father’s death. However you might feel about it IRL, in this society, that matters for most people. Previously, she would have expected to marry for the sake of her family—either someone slightly above her station, in hopes of elevating the family with her, or someone below her station, as a reward or bribe to keep creditors from being obnoxious. To then find herself betrothed to the most eligible bachelor in Alethkar, near in line to the throne? It’s like a fairytale.

Second, she finds him physically attractive. While this tends to be somewhat lower on the scale of importance for women than for men, it certainly adds to the fairytale sensation.

He pushed up his faceplate. Storms… he looked so good, even when you could see only half his face. She smiled.

Third, he finds her interesting. This, my friends, is a powerful draw. For a girl who has been isolated most of her life, essentially brought out for display and then locked away again, with little chance to develop friendships beyond her own family, this has to be amazing: the handsome prince likes being with her. She elicits candid reactions from someone very practiced in the social game that is courtship, and he enjoys it. She has a lot of reason to stick with this betrothal.

Adolin’s interest in Shallan also has multiple aspects. The first thing we heard from him about it was that it was kind of a relief to have someone else arrange his betrothal. IMO, he hasn’t really cared all that much about any of the individual women he’s courted, but at the same time he feels like the constantly failing courtships are a bad thing, and it must be his fault. (Well, it is his fault—but I don’t think he’s entirely made the connection that he’s not going to do a very good job of courting someone if he doesn’t actually care about her as a person.)

Second, she’s so different from all the other girls he’s courted that she actually gets his full attention. She looks different—she’s shorter than the Alethi women; she has fiery red hair and fair skin instead of black hair and tan skin. She acts different, too; she doesn’t exactly know how the whole courtship thing is supposed to work, she hasn’t practiced it, and she’s just too spontaneous to color within the lines anyway. For someone who’s jaded by an endless parade of women who follow all the same social formulas of appearance, fashion, and behavior, she’s a breath of fresh air. She makes him smile just by being there.

He saw her, and gave her a quick smile before clinking up to the table.

She also doesn’t demand his attention whenever they’re in the same vicinity; she seems to think they both have things to do besides courting, and sometimes those things are more important. She’s perfectly happy to share a quick smile and then get on with the task; from what little we saw of his other relationships, I have a feeling that’s rare. For the first time ever, he’s courting a woman who expects to work alongside him and who can function just fine without obsequious attention.

Kaladin’s interest in Shallan is, I think primarily focused on two things. One, she has something he strongly associates with Tien: she can smile, and make him smile, even in the midst of trying circumstances. Tien could always cheer him up just by being his cheerful, smiling self; now that he’s gotten to know her, he sees something of that same character in Shallan. And like Tien, she can make him smile just by thinking about her.

He splashed through puddles of water, and found himself smiling because he wore the boots Shallan had stolen from him.

I never did believe she was a Horneater, he thought. I need to make sure she knows that.

He never had a sister, but this is so sibling-esque it kills me. The other thing I’m seeing that attracts him is her sense of word-gaming. While it may not exactly match his own, it’s close enough to the word-play he had with his mother to feel familiar and nostalgic.

In other words, much of her appeal for him is rooted in things that make him feel the way he used to feel at home, before Roshone’s bitterness tore his life apart.

And… she’s beautiful. Oh, yes. That is not insignificant.

So… what about Shallan’s interest in Kaladin? This is the one we have the least to go on, but there are certainly a few clues. One is, of course, that he’s got the quick-witted repartee she enjoys but so rarely gets to share. She’s accustomed to being the clever one, and hasn’t had many opportunities for verbal sparring with anyone up to her standard. Wikim used to keep up with her, sometimes; I suspect that her father used to, long before that—but that’s only guessing. Kabsal was clever and quick-witted, and she certainly enjoyed that aspect of their relationship. Beyond that, she hasn’t had many others who could keep up with her. Jasnah, of course, could have completely outdone her, but she was too focused and intense.

The other observation Shallan has made about Kaladin, and which I’m not convinced was justified at the time, was the sense of stability and confidence he projected. This is not something she’s had a lot of in the past seven years, though she probably did before that. Once upon a time, her father gave her all the security and assurance she needed… but with her mother’s death, that eroded, leaving only the longing for something permanent.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Kaladin and Adolin have a firm respect for one another, and are developing a strong liking as well, whether they’ll admit it to anyone else or not. This will probably play into the shipping as it proceeds; Kaladin has already rejected the idea of swiping Adolin’s girlfriend once, based on his liking for Adolin and the way they seem to be good for each other.

Where all this will go in the next book, I don’t know. Some things will change for the better—like maybe Kaladin becoming as stable and confident as he appeared—while others may deteriorate. Having done all this analysis, I find myself thinking that as Radiants working together, I’d really prefer to see Shallan and Kaladin develop a sibling-like relationship, and leave the romance to Shallan and Adolin. I prefer it, and the way things are set up, it could go that way. Or… it could go several other ways. I guess I’ll wait and see…

Okay, y’all can rip that apart in the comments for a while, and next week the battle of Stormseat begins. It’s a long chapter, so come prepared!

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader; today, she leaves you with these words of wisdom: “Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with ketchup.”

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, the four highprinces agreed to push on toward the center of the Shattered Plains, while Kaladin had an uncomfortable conversation with Elhokar.  This week, Shallan’s map is completed and battle is joined, while Kaladin is again uncomfortable.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here. Click on through to join the discussion.

 Chapter 81: The Last Day

Point of View: Dalinar, Kaladin, Adolin, Shallan, Dalinar
Setting: the center of the Shattered Plains; the Kholin warcamp
Symbology: Kholin Glyphpair, Ishar, Chanarach

IN WHICH the Alethi are surrounded by Parshendi with glowing red eyes; Dalinar issues challenges & marching orders to the highprinces; Navani refuses her orders; the Parshendi begin to sing; the battle plan changes in response.

Kaladin searches out Zahel; he receives an unwanted explanation; he asks about choosing between distasteful options; Zahel gives advice he wishes he’d followed; Kaladin attempts spear practice in the rain; he’s clumsy, and nothing works; he yells at the sky, but his words echo other conversations; he realizes that may be too strong a consequence for failed expectation; the king is Dalinar’s Tien.

Adolin prepares for the initial attack; he charges, and lightning strikes; Sureblood is down, the world stops; Adolin leaps back into battle, leading his men to rally against the Voidbringer Parshendi.

Shallan draws, mapping the entire Plains according to the pattern; a beta reader scout enters with information on the center plateau; Pattern does not like the distant crashing; Inadara does not like Pattern; the sentiment is returned; Renarin is fascinated by Pattern; Pattern is insulting; he worries about the Voidspren; another scout points out  an error on the map; Shallan objects and then realizes that a detail which does not match the pattern is Significant.

Renarin is assigned to watch over and help Shallan; he’s uncertain, but goes as ordered; the battle goes poorly against the new Parshendi form; Dalinar adjusts tactics to stop the singing; Shallan and company depart to search for the Oathgate; the Almighty speaks.

Quote of the Week

Out of this chapter, I’m supposed to pick one outstanding quotation??

“That song!” Rlain said. “That song.”

“What is it, man?”

“It is death,” Rlain whispered. “Brightlord, I have never heard it before, but the rhythm is one of destruction. Of power.”

Across the chasm, the Parshendi started to glow. Tiny lines of red sparked around their arms, blinking and shaking, like lightning.

…

“You have to stop it,” Rlain said. “Please. Even if you have to kill them. Do not let them finish that song.”

Between Rlain’s reaction and the Parshendi glowing with little red lightnings, you know it’s going to get hazardous. Well, okay, you know that anyway, but I still like the sense of dread this conversation evokes.

Also: It’s fascinating that even without access to the new Rhythms, Rlain recognizes the danger inherent in the singing.

Off the Wall

The Unmade are a deviation, a flair, a conundrum that may not be worth your time. You cannot help but think of them. They are fascinating. Many are mindless. Like the spren of human emotions, only much more nasty. I do believe a few can think, however.

—From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 14

I wonder how reliable Taravangian’s information is. I’d had the impression that there were just a handful of Unmade, but this sounds like he’s including everything we thought of as Voidspren in his definition of Unmade. I suppose that could be valid… If the original spren on Roshar were little splinters of Adonalsium, and the sapient Nahel-bonding spren (and probably many others) are splinters of Honor and Cultivation, it makes sense that the nastier variety which bring about the Listener “forms of the old gods” are splinters of Odium just like the higher-level splinters I’m used to thinking of as Unmade. I still suspect there’s a difference between the levels, though, because I think there’s sufficient evidence that there were a handful of beings (what race/species I won’t guess!) who chose to join with Odium and became the named entities we’ve thought of as Unmade.

Commentary

If the increased number of POV shifts in a chapter tells you you’re getting close to the climax of the book, you know you’re there now. Four different POV characters in one chapter? We’ve reached the point where everything is happening at once, and the reader needs to be aware that these events are concurrent.

It makes for a very long chapter—and a very long reread post.

The feeling of pending disaster created by those glowing red eyes is worth it solely for the effect on the other highprinces. Roion and Aladar nearly come unglued when they realize Dalinar expected something of this nature. Sebarial, on the other hand, seems as unfazed by the glowing eyes as he is by anything else, despite his open acknowledgement that he’s completely useless in a battle. Everyone recognizes this as validation of Dalinar’s visions.

Navani, of course, refuses to be ordered around, telling Dalinar that he’ll just have to pretend she’s somewhere safe; she’s got work to do. Heh. I love Navani. I wonder if she’s wearing a glove instead of a long sleeve for this work?

Meanwhile, Kaladin grumbles around the camp. He’s so grumpy it even makes him mad when his food tastes good.  I do have to wonder just why Zahel makes such a point of explaining the sand washing to him; is this a metaphor, or just world-building? It is notable that, unlike the rain from a highstorm, Weeping-time rain has no crem in it. Why?

One of the best sections of this chapter is the advice Zahel gives Kaladin:

“Have you ever had to choose between two equally distasteful choices?”

“Every day I choose to keep breathing.”

“I worry something awful is going to happen,” Kaladin said. “I can prevent it, but the awful thing… it might be best for everyone if it does happen.”

“Huh,” Zahel said.

“No advice?” Kaladin asked.

“Choose the option,” Zahel said, rearranging his pillow, “that makes it easiest for you to sleep at night.” The old ardent closed his eyes and settled back. “That’s what I wish I’d done.”

Not only does it give us another glimpse into Zahel’s mind, it sets Kaladin up for something he needs to realize: Killing someone because they don’t live up to your expectations is not justifiable. Not only that, but the person whose failure bothers you so much just might be of vital importance to someone else. He’s finally got to the point of recognizing that he has neither the authority nor the wisdom to determine whether the king should live or die—but that it’s his job to prevent murder.

Adolin’s section is full of small noteworthy items: bridgemen who fight though it’s not required, because those aren’t Parshendi anymore; leadership, taking the point position because he’s the best able to survive as well as to inspire; the loss of his Ryshadium (see below); the lightning used by the Parshendi—and the discovery that they can’t actually control it very well. One that I hope becomes a Thing later on is his Shardplate: when he is directly struck by the lightning, not only is he unharmed, his armor is purring and his helm blocks the lightning exactly without dimming the rest of his field of vision. As he notes, this Plate was created expressly for the purpose of fighting Voidbringers, and it still works. I do hope this is explained eventually… and that it keeps working in the meantime!

Most of the interesting parts of Shallan’s POV are covered in units below, but I do need to note this: her ability to see the pattern in the Plains is critical to her effort to get to the center, but the final key is recognizing a break in the pattern.

“That’s wrong,” he said.

Wrong? Her art? Of course it wasn’t wrong. “Where?” she asked, exhausted.

“That plateau there,” the man said, pointing. “It’s not long and thin, as you drew it. It’s a perfect circle, with big gaps between it and the plateaus on its east and west.”

“That’s unlikely,” Shallan said. “If it were that way—” She blinked.

If it were that way, it wouldn’t match the pattern.

And her exhaustion almost made her miss it.

Renarin is also in this chapter.

Actually, there are a couple of things to point out. One is his fascination with Pattern, which in retrospect is likely related to his questions about Glys and his own sanity. The other is his extreme discomfort with the task he’s given: as a full Shardbearer, he’s expected to accompany and protect Shallan. His lack of training makes him unsuitable for the actual battle, but he definitely sees better than Dalinar how his lack of training also makes him an unsuitable guard. I feel sorry for him, but I’m really conflicted about his assigned role. Dalinar meant well in giving him Blade and Plate, and Renarin desperately wants to be a soldier, but he’s just not suited to the task. On the other hand, as a plot device, it has the advantage of putting him in the right place at the right time to set up a domino sequence of revelations. Even as I get irritated at both Dalinar and Renarin for “wasting” the Blade and Plate on someone who can’t fight instead of giving the army another active Shardbearer, I have to admire the realism of the characters, and the way their weaknesses play into the plot that’s being laid out.

Dalinar, meanwhile, keeps busy directing his armies… until the Stormfather starts talking to him.

“I am sorry that you have to die this way.”

Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile.

Stormwatch

It was the day of the countdown he had scribbled on the walls without knowing. The last day.

Boom.

(Note that at this point, Dalinar still thinks he was the one who unknowingly wrote the countdown on the walls.)

Sprenspotting

Three quotes:

He looked across a sea of hopeful eyes. Storms. Were those gloryspren about his head, spinning like golden spheres in the rain?

It’s odd to think of gloryspren in this context; Dalinar doesn’t seem to have any particular sense of achievement, just an impassioned speech to his men to embolden them for the fight ahead. Could this be a case where gloryspren are drawn by the honor others bestow on him?

Though these Parshendi soldiers were sleeker and more ferocious-looking than the ones he’d previously fought, their eyes burned just as easily. Then they dropped dead and something wiggled out of their chests— small red spren, like tiny lightning, that zipped into the air and vanished.

I’m sure y’all picked this up by now, but the subject of the spren bonded to the Parshendi was brought up in the JordanCon Q&A session with Brandon. He refused to address the notion of Parshendi gemhearts; though the question was cleverly phrased to attempt to get him to confirm or deny the idea, he managed to not answer. In answer to another question, he also said that the spren which bond to Parshendi are unaffected by the death of their host, so what we see here is normal—when they die, the spren leave.

The pops continued outside. “What is that?” she asked softly, finishing another plateau.

“Stormspren,” Pattern said. “They are a variety of Voidspren. It is not good. I feel something very dangerous brewing. Draw more quickly.”

Pattern’s clever insult to Inadara, when she insisted on considering him a Voidbringer, was amusing, but only briefly. Somehow, Voidspren just don’t make good joke material.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

He finally blinked his eyes clear enough to get a good look. The whiteness was a horse, fallen to the ground.

Adolin screamed something raw, a sound that echoed in his helm. He ignored the shouts of soldiers, the sound of rain, the sudden and unnatural crack behind him. He ran to the body on the ground. Sureblood.

“No, no, no,” Adolin said, skidding to his knees beside the horse. The animal bore a strange, branching burn all down the side of his white coat. Wide, jagged. Sureblood’s dark eyes, open to the rain, did not blink.

Adolin raised his hands, suddenly hesitant to touch the animal.

A youth on an unfamiliar field.

Sureblood wasn’t moving.

More nervous that day than during the duel that won his Blade.

Shouts. Another crack in the air, sharp, immediate.

They pick their rider, son. We fixate on Shards, but any man—courageous or coward—can bond a Blade. Not so here, on this ground. Only the worthy win here…

Move.

Grieve later.

Move!

Once more, this is a scene I simply cannot read without tears. Some readers say they never felt invested enough in the Ryshadium, or in Adolin’s bond with Sureblood, for this to be deeply emotional. Perhaps I have a weakness for magically bonded animals in fantasy, like the dragons of Pern, who also choose their rider. In any case, the death of Sureblood is a punch in the gut for me.

In Oathbringer, I hope for two things related to this scene: to see Adolin grieve this loss, and to learn more about the Ryshadium. They seem to be one of the “imports” among the various Rosharan fauna, but one which has developed a magical component as well.

You Have to Break a Lot of Rockbuds

He hadn’t found the man, though he had broken down and bought some chouta from a lonely street vendor.

It had tasted good. That hadn’t helped his mood.

A small moment of levity in an otherwise intense chapter.

Haven’t We Met Somewhere Before?

Zahel reveals once again that he’s not from around here:

“It’s ridiculously shallow,” Zahel said. “Like an endless bay, mere feet deep. Warm water. Calm breezes. Reminds me of home. Not like this cold, damp, godsforsaken place.”

“So why aren’t you there instead of here?”

“Because I can’t stand being reminded of home, idiot.”

“Home,” of course, we know to be Nalthis—and perhaps particularly the area around T’Telir, which is very like this description of the Purelake climate. One wonders, though… why does he hate being reminded of home? I can think of some possibilities…

He also refers oddly to Hoid, when Kaladin asks if he knows where the King’s Wit is:

“That fool, Dust? Not here, blessedly. Why?”

I have to wonder if the name “Dust” comes as a result of a peculiar method of storytelling he used in Warbreaker, involving colorful dust, sand, etc.

One Worldhopper who has only recently been recognized shows up here, as well:

“Shim and Felt are scouting those,” Lyn said. “Felt should be back soon.”

Again, in the Q&A at JordanCon, someone asked if the Felt in this scene was the same Felt as the man Elend Venture employed in the Mistborn Era 1 books. Brandon confirmed this, leaving us to wonder who recruited him as a worldhopper, and just why he’s serving as a Kholin scout.

There’s always another secret.

Oh, one more… sort of. The scout, Lyn, is based on one of Brandon’s beta readers; the real-life person is something of a cartographer herself, as well as a writer and a fire artist and several other cool things. She’s awesome, and I’m proud to call her a friend.

Heraldic Symbolism

Ishar: Pious, Guiding; Priest; Bondsmiths; Herald of Luck

There are multiple possibilities, not least that Dalinar is guiding the battle against the Voidbringers, and needs all the luck he can get. My best guess, though, is that Ishar represents the order of Bondsmiths, of which Dalinar is becoming a member. (According to my pet theory, it’s also possible that Ishar is in this chapter in person, as Zahel… but that’s just a theory. We can debate it in the comments, if you wish.)

Chana: Brave, Obedient; Guard; Dustbringers; Fire

Hey, new theory!! Lyn is Chana in disguise! Okay, not really, but it would be fun, and I need a moment of lightness here. In reality, I have no idea why Chana is here, unless her impending Dustbringer is here too. She’s often shown on Adolin’s POV chapters, but here he’s much more soldier than guard. Kaladin isn’t doing any guarding today, except for the chouta. Rlain and the bridgemen? Seems odd to choose a Herald based on such limited screen time. Renarin? He’s doing guard duty over Shallan & Co., but it seems more likely we’d see his “patron Herald” Palah. The only other thing I’ve got is the courage shown by the highprinces in spite of themselves, or the fire the Listeners are using in the form of Lightning.

The way this usually works, now, is that y’all point out the obvious connection I missed. Okay?

Just Sayin’

“Oh, Almighty!” Roion whispered, looking at those red eyes. “Oh, by the names of God himself. What have you brought us to, Dalinar?”

Very, very Vorin. I really don’t have anything more to say about it, but it was profoundly fitting, in context.

“Excellent deduction,” Zahel said. “Like fresh blue paint on a wall.”

Again with the  “colorful metaphors,” Zahel. This would be a Nalthian saying, not a Rosharan one, of course.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when Kaladin returns to his duty and Adolin remembers how to slay rocks.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. Today she leaves you with these words of wisdom: “It’s like I’ve always said, you can get more with a kind word and a 2×4 than you can with just a kind word.”

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Dalinar’s forces finally joined battle against the red-eyed Parshendi at the center of the Shattered Plains. This week, Kaladin reaches a difficult decision back at the warcamp, while Dalinar and Adolin continue to press the battle.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 82: For Glory Lit

Point of View: Kaladin, Adolin, Dalinar, Kaladin
Setting: the warcamp palace, the center of the Shattered Plains
Symbology: Spears, Chanarach, Nalan

IN WHICH Kaladin hobbles toward the palace, hoping he’s not too late; at the king’s door, he finds two strangers in Bridge Four uniforms; he disables them and enters the king’s chambers, to find Elhokar unmoving on the couch.

… Adolin fights Parshendi by the light of Navani’s fabrials; they are trying to keep him distracted and out of the main battle; he considers the singers and their position against a rock formation; An Idea occurs.

…Dalinar shouts at the Stormfather; the Stormfather answers; the battle goes badly for Roion’s forces; Dalinar calls upon Navani and her fabrials for help; their desperation maneuver succeeds in providing an opening; he hopes it’s not too late.

…Kaladin rouses a drunken Elhokar and attempts to escape; one of the guards has recovered and stabs the king; Kaladin kills him and leads the king away, both bleeding profusely; Moash and Graves catch up with them.

Quote of the Week

“Fleet kept running,” Kaladin growled, getting back under Elhokar’s arm.

“What?”

“He couldn’t win, but he kept running. And when the storm caught him, it didn’t matter that he’d died, because he’d run for all he had.”

“Sure. All right.” The king sounded groggy, though Kaladin couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or the blood loss.

“We all die in the end, you see,” Kaladin said. The two of them walked down the corridor, Kaladin leaning on his spear to keep them upright. “So I guess what truly matters is just how well you’ve run. And Elhokar, you’ve kept running since your father was killed, even if you screw up all the storming time.”

“Thank you?” the king said, drowsy.

You made it, Kaladin. You woke up. Thank you.

Off the Wall

There is one you will watch. Though all of them have some relevance to precognition, Moelach is one of the most powerful in this regard. His touch seeps into a soul as it breaks apart from the body, creating manifestations powered by the spark of death itself. But no, this is a distraction. Deviation. Kingship. We must discuss the nature of kingship.

—From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 15

It’s almost like genius Taravangian was giving himself a hint about where to get updates, but if so… it make me even less inclined to trust the Diagram. I just can’t get past the feeling that any information gained through a splinter of Odium might be a bad thing.

One thing I need to note: I don’t (at this point) see Taravangian as “evil” per se; I do question the validity and benevolence of the Diagram.

Commentary

Dalinar, Navani, and Adolin, for all the vital work they’re doing in this chapter, are almost placeholders: they remind us that the battle is still happening out there somewhere, and things are pretty desperate. And for some reason Dalinar can now have waking conversations with the Stormfather.

Okay, that’s not quite all, but it really is the bulk of their sections. Adolin fights like a one-man army, but it becomes apparent that they’re mostly trying to keep him busy, out of the main battle. Being Adolin, once he figures out that they’re trying to divert him from the singers, he immediately sets to work to figure out how to get there. I love me some stubborn, I do.

Meanwhile, Dalinar has a few arguments with the Stormfather, but a messenger brings bad news from the front lines, and he has to get back to being a general. He turns to Navani for a miracle to rescue a large chunk of his army, and… she gives him two. Go, Navani! (See the Ars Mechanica section for more on this subject.)

Now, the main focus of the chapter: Kaladin. The previous chapter gave him the revelation he needed to finally understand what he needed to do about the “Patriots” and their plans. This chapter, he puts it into action, though the wisdom of the path he chooses is… questionable.

Kaladin stumbled into the entryway. No guards at the doors. Bad sign. Should he have raised the alarm? There weren’t any soldiers in camp to help, and if he’d come in force, Graves and his men would know something was wrong. Alone, Kaladin might be able to see the king. His best hope was to get Elhokar to safety quietly.

I can’t help thinking that this was… well, stupid. Obviously it makes for a more satisfying resolution to have Kaladin up here alone, but it really would have made more sense for him to either ask the ardents for help, or send a messenger to the Bridge Four barracks asking for the few left in camp to join him. On the other hand, this is Kaladin we’re talking about. Between his normal stubbornness, his pain, and the effect of his new understanding, he’s not thinking as clearly as could be wished.

Speaking of “satisfying resolutions” though,

But storm it… the king tried. He actually tried. The man was arrogant, perhaps incapable, but he tried. He was sincere.

While I freely acknowledge that sincerity and effort don’t somehow make a bad king into a good one, this piles weight on the side of “You don’t get to kill a man just because he isn’t what you think he should be.” Imperfection—even downright foolishness and incompetence—isn’t adequate justification for murder. Having faced that, he continues to work through the implications of his choice.

Which leads to the QOTW, and two further realizations. One, there is something in Elhokar for Kaladin to respect: perseverance. Even though he constantly failed to live up to his father’s standard of charisma and leadership, or his uncle’s standard of military skills and integrity… even while knowing he was failing to live up to the high bar set by his predecessors, he still kept trying to do better. That’s not nothing.

Two, there’s a little more he needs to grasp. He’s now figured out that disliking someone is not adequate reason to let them be murdered, but he knows there’s something more, something missing. He still doesn’t entirely know why he needs to help Elhokar in particular. Fortunately, he’s reached the point where he can act on what he has while trying to figure out the rest, and so when Moash comes to finish the job, Kaladin is actively trying to save the king’s life. That final recognition will have to wait for next week, but he’s only a hair away from everything slipping into place.

Stormwatch

Day Zero continues.

Sprenspotting

One has to assume that the connection Dalinar has with the Stormfather really is his impending Bondsmith-hood; he can now hear the Stormfather while awake and functioning, even though no one else can.

“I am the one left behind,” the voice said. It wasn’t exactly as he’d heard it in the visions; this voice had a depth to it. A density. “I am the sliver of Him that remains. I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him. And I… I fled. To continue as I always have. The piece of God left in this world, the winds that men must feel.”

While I keep getting mad at him for being so unhelpful, this does rather evoke pity.

Question: is his use of the term “sliver” deliberate and correct? If so, that means he was “a human intelligence who has held all or a very large portion of the power of a Shard and has since released it.” (He doesn’t appear to have entirely released it, but since the Shard has been splintered, maybe that doesn’t matter.) But if he’s now a Sliver, who was he before? Jezrien? Ishar? Someone else?

(By the way, has Brandon confirmed any Herald identities in the books yet?)

It’s also worth noting that Adolin remarks on the absence of the Thrill during this battle. Based on Taravangian’s information, this may be an indication that Nergaoul (presumably the Unmade responsible for the Thrill) has left the Shattered Plains for more interesting conflicts. I don’t recall all the theories floated during the TWOK reread regarding the origin of the Thrill, but according to Taravangian’s Interlude, it is attributable to “an ancient, evil spren.” This does not sound like a positive enhancement.

Ars Mechanica

This chapter sure was Navani’s turn to shine.

Fortunately, the darkness had been pushed back somewhat, as Navani had sent fabrials to bathe the battlefield in an extraordinarily even white light.

They have to be burning through Stormlight at a ferocious pace, but it’s better than fighting in the dark, I expect.

With Roion’s forces in deep trouble, Dalinar demands a miracle from Navani, and she produces one:

He was too distant to see her glare, but he felt it. Fortunately, she waved workers away from her current tarp and began shouting orders to her engineers. The women ran up to the chasm, where a line of rocks was arrayed. They were attached to ropes, Dalinar thought, though he wasn’t sure how this process worked. Navani shouted instructions. …

The engineers backed up at a barked order from Navani, and the workers shoved the line of some forty rocks into the chasm. As the rocks fell, tarps jumped fifty feet into the air, pulled at the front corners and centers. In an instant, a long line of improvised pavilions flanked the chasm.

I love that this is exactly the fabrial we saw her working on way back in Chapter 35, but in a much more practical application—not to mention less energy-intensive—as she raises a bunch of rain shelters, rather than a fighting tower. But this is merely the set-up for the third critical fabrial: the dehumidifier.

“We really should have had more time to test this,” she warned to Dalinar, folding her arms. “Attractors are new inventions. I’m still half afraid this thing will suck the blood out of anyone who touches it.”

It didn’t. Instead, water quickly started to pool around the thing. Storms, it worked! The fabrial was pulling moisture from the air. Roion’s archers removed bowstrings from protected pockets, bending bows and stringing them at the orders of their lieutenants.

Honestly, here in the wetlands there are times I’d sure like to have a dehumidifier that actually worked this quickly and effectively!

Heraldic Symbolism

Chana: Brave, Obedient, Guard

Nalan: Just, Confident, Judge

I think those are both scattered throughout the chapter, but I would suggest that both are primarily reflecting Kaladin’s arc. Chana is his choice to protect Elhokar, to guard him against the Shardbearing assassins no matter how hopeless it looks. Nalan, for all that he’s currently a mess, still represents justice—and Kaladin has finally realized that “I think you’re a bad king” doesn’t justify murder.

Shipping Wars

Okay, this isn’t really part of the wars, but this little line looks both forward and back:

What had Shallan said about these inner plateaus? And the rock formations on them?

Looking back, this reflects the conversation just before the attempted assassination back in Chapter 68—the last conversation Adolin had with Shallan before the bridge collapsed and dropped her into the chasms. Looking forward… Well, we’ll get there soon. I’ll leave it for next week.

Just Sayin’

I think there must have been a good one in here somewhere, but I can’t find it now. Y’all will have to put it in the comments.

That’s it for now; next week, we’ll continue the two battles, as rocks are slain and arguments are… argued.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. She is, unfortunately, fresh out of clever quips and words of wisdom.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Navani’s fabrials aided in the battle for the Plains, while Kaladin made a difficult choice back in the warcamp. This week, Shallan searches for the Oathgate while the battle rages, and Kaladin stands firm.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 83: Time’s Illusion

Point of View: Shallan, Adolin, Dalinar, Kaladin
Setting: Narak, the Pinnacle
Symbology: the Duelist, Talenel, Shalash

IN WHICH Shallan arrives on the circular plateau; she and Renarin reason out why it must be the Oathgate and must have been preserved in this way; Pattern realizes that the Voidspren are raising a storm; Renarin recognizes that the wind is blowing the wrong way, and that it is the Everstorm; his comments give Shallan the creeps; her team searches for anything strange; at the center, she finds a large mound; she asks Renarin to slay it.

… Adolin looks around a dark chamber in the mound he just slew; it is an enormous building with many rooms; they find the far wall of the building, which the Parshendi are using for protection; he outlines the assault plan, then carves an exit; he and his troops emerge behind the singing Parshendi; he leads the charge, and it’s far too easy; with almost no resistance, and with no Thrill to help him block it out he is disgusted by the slaughter; he is attacked by the Shardbearer Eshonai; he turns eagerly to an honest fight.

… a wounded Dalinar returns from battle to the command tents; though about half of Roion’s army is saved, they have lost the northern plateau; Dalinar’s surgeon is stunned by the scarring, but Dalinar focuses on the battle; Navani is upset but understanding; Adolin has won his plateau, and Aladar is holding steady; an even match is a loss with the Everstorm coming; Roion gets hysterical, but Dalinar’s reprimand is interrupted by the Stormfather; an actual conversation ensues, but is unhelpful; the Stormfather promises only a cleansing storm to wash away their corpses; they are abandoned.

… a wounded Kaladin stands between the unconscious king and Moash; Moash tries the “we’re Bridge Four” argument and Kaladin turns it around on him; Kaladin argues for going after the right people instead; Graves and Moash claim that it’s too late; Moash prepares for a fight.

Quote of the Week

He looked up at Navani grimly, expecting to be dressed down like a recruit who had forgotten his whetstone. Instead, she took him by his good side, then pulled him close.

“No reprimand?” Dalinar asked.

“We’re at war,” she whispered. “And we’re losing, aren’t we?”

Dalinar glanced at the archers, who were running low on arrows. He didn’t speak too loudly, lest they hear. “Yes.” The surgeon glanced at him, then lowered her head and kept sewing.

“You rode to battle when someone needed you,” Navani said. “You saved the lives of a highprince and his soldiers. Why would you expect anger from me?”

I don’t have anything profound to say about this. I just… think it’s beautiful.

Off the Wall

Obviously they are fools The Desolation needs no usher It can and will sit where it wishes and the signs are obvious that the spren anticipate it doing so soon The Ancient of Stones must finally begin to crack It is a wonder that upon his will rested the prosperity and peace of a world for over four millennia

—From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Ceiling Rotation: pattern 1

This is where we get confirmation that the occurrence of the Desolations was determined by the strength of will of the Heralds under the Oathpact. I always find this particularly poignant: In the distant past, Roshar depended on the willingness of the Heralds to voluntarily remain under torture; they could leave at any time… whenever the pain outweighed the lives of the Rosharan people. (I wonder if we’ll ever find out who usually left first?) It is indeed a wonder that 4500 years have passed, with only one man’s tenacity holding Odium at bay.

In that context, it’s difficult to choose between amusement and anger at the various groups who thought that they could bring about the return of the Radiants, or the Heralds, through their own machinations. Had they only understood …

Commentary

We’re well and truly caught in the avalanche now. This is the third chapter in a row with at least four viewpoint sections; everything is happening at once.

So we’ve got Shallan and Renarin working together, sorta… at least when they’re united against Inadara’s pedantry. Inadara thinks in terms of current culture: how would the current Alethi highprinces think of something like the Oathgate? It’s all about control and tactical advantage. Shallan’s studies, however, have given her a different perspective about the Silver Kingdoms. (Also, I think Inadara and Shallan just grate on each other, and if Shallan says up, Inadara will say down just on principle.) So Shallan looks for the Oathgate in the most prominent place, and she’ll be right.

So: that’s what’s happening on that circular plateau in the lower right of the map.

In the lower left, we have Adolin slaying his own rocks, and finding an enormous building; there seems to be plenty of room for his thousand soldiers to have to work their way through it to find the other side. Who knows what it was originally; it is at least two stories high, and contains scattered remains of bones and what might once have been furniture. Once they’re on the other side, he can actually hear the Parshendi song resonating through the walls, so… out they go, right on target. And here’s where we see that bit that came up in the discussion last week:

… Often they’d come to just before he killed them— blinking to consciousness, shaking themselves awake, only to find themselves face-to-face with a full Shardbearer in the rain, murdering their friends. Those looks of horror haunted Adolin as he sent corpse after corpse to the ground.

Where was the Thrill that usually propelled him through this kind of butchery? He needed it. Instead, he felt only nausea. Standing amid a field of the newly dead— the acrid smoke of burned-out eyes curling up through the rain— he trembled and dropped his Blade in disgust. It vanished to mist.

For whatever reason, he didn’t get the Thrill at all this time – whether from the lack of actual battle, or because he is moving closer to Honor and away from Odium, or some other reason, I don’t believe we can say with certainty. Yet.

And then Eshonai shows up.

At the upper edge of the map, you can see the plateau from which Roion’s army has been extracted. It is lost to the Parshendi, but thanks to Navani’s interventions, the archers were able to engage the Parshendi enough to save the highprince and Captain Khal (General Khal’s son), along with about half of the army. They also retrieved Teleb’s Blade, though they had to leave his body and his Plate. I’m rather sad about that; we hardly knew him, but I had a soft spot for Teleb. Perhaps we’ll get to know the younger Teleb in Dalinar’s flashbacks.

Just right of center is Aladar’s plateau, which doesn’t really enter into the chapter other than as a path for Shallan’s team to get to the Oathgate, and a comment that he’s holding steady. To the far right is Narak, but there’s probably no one there any more. We don’t know for sure.

In the center, of course, is the command plateau, where Sebarial is busy staying out of the way. This is also where Dalinar has the extremely frustrating conversation with the Stormfather, which is confirmed as an actual conversation but is extraordinarily unhelpful. It ends thus:

I AM CALLED. I MUST GO. A DAUGHTER DISOBEYS. YOU WILL SEE NO FURTHER VISIONS, CHILD OF HONOR. THIS IS THE END.

FAREWELL.

“Stormfather!” Dalinar yelled. “There has to be a way! I will not die here!”

Silence. Not even thunder. People had gathered around Dalinar: soldiers, scribes, messengers, Roion and Navani. Frightened people.

“Don’t abandon us,” Dalinar said, voice trailing off. “Please…”

And then we jump to Kaladin in the Pinnacle, thinking that

This would be a sad place to die. A place away from the wind.

Interesting parallel. Dalinar, out there in the wind, refusing to die there; Kaladin in a palace corridor, thinking how sad it would be to die here away from the wind.

Turns out to be the same corridor where he’d fought a different assassin a while back, where the hole Szeth had made – and they’d fallen out – has been boarded up. Another parallel.

Moash challenges Kaladin for being willing to attack a member of Bridge Four, though Kaladin contends that going against Bridge Four’s duty means you aren’t a member any more. Moash keeps advancing, and Kaladin challenges him for being willing to attack his own captain and friend. Another parallel.

The case he makes to Moash is a good one, and comes from a good source:

“We have to be better than this, you and I. It’s… I can’t explain it, not perfectly. You have to trust me. Back down. The king hasn’t yet seen you or Graves. We’ll go to Dalinar, and I’ll see that you get justice against the right man, Roshone, the one truly behind your grandparents’ deaths.

“But Moash, we’re not going to be this kind of men. Murders in dark corridors, killing a drunk man because we find him distasteful, telling ourselves it’s for the good of the kingdom. If I kill a man, I’m going to do it in the sunlight, and I’m going to do it only because there is no other way.”

Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination. Another parallel.

Kaladin is starting over, and this time he’s taking the parallel paths the right directions.

Stormwatch

Day Zero continues

Sprenspotting

We see four spren – or their effects – in this chapter. First is Pattern, talking with Shallan, about the second:

“Mmmm,” Pattern said softly. “They are raising a storm.”

“The Voidspren?” Shallan whispered.

“The bonded ones. They craft a storm.”

Interesting little note: it’s only the bonded Voidspren who are involved in making the storm, though there are plenty of unbonded ones in it. Also: I could be wrong on this, but without spending a lot more time than it’s worth… I think this is the first time one of “our team” realizes that the singing Parshendi are actually creating the storm. Obviously Eshonai & Co. knew, but even though Rlain knew the song had to be stopped, he didn’t know what its effect was. Pattern can see it now; presumably the Stormfather already knew, but he wasn’t exactly “our team” at this point. I wonder if Glys knows.

Speaking of Glys, we keep seeing his effects, which we recognize quite clearly in hindsight. Renarin is no longer wearing his spectacles (and in this rain, that’s got to be a blessing!); we don’t see here the difficulty he has with his Blade, but we’ve seen him grimace when he summoned it in the past, and in the next chapter he’ll let out a relieved sigh when he dismisses it. What we do see here is that only he is aware of certain nuances: the direction of the wind, the significance of the direction, and the terrible things it’s bringing. Shallan merely thinks of him as being “creepy and whiny,” which is probably understandable, all things considered. I can’t help sympathizing with Renarin, though I’ll deal with more of that when it becomes relevant in a couple of weeks.

Anyway… The last one, obviously, is the Stormfather. Once again, I find myself peeved at him. “Sorry not sorry, can’t won’t help, sending storm to destroy what’s left of you, gotta go stop a spren from helping anyone, bye.”

*headdesk*

However… Dalinar is healing too well. He’s obviously not healing perfectly; there is a lot of scar tissue, but according to the surgeon, he shouldn’t even be able to use his arm after that many wounds. So, just how long has he been using Stormlight, however imperfectly, to heal his wounds? Since he took on Gavilar’s mantle, following the Codes, maybe? It occurs to me to wonder… could his Shardplate have been somehow feeding him Stormlight, to help him heal? I know, that’s kinda out of nowhere, but these thoughts have to be thunk.

Ars Mechanica

There’s not a lot to say about the fabrials this week, other than to note that Navani’s dehumidifiers are still working nicely. Unfortunately, since the archers just ran out of arrows, they aren’t doing much good any more. Also, Adolin & Co. have some large-gem lanterns, which is a good thing if you’re trying to make your way through what sounds like a multi-level shopping mall that’s been crusted over with crem for four thousand years. Also unfortunately, they’re starting to go dim from lack of Stormlight during the Weeping.

Heraldic Symbolism

This city hid beneath time’s own illusion.

And there you have the title. Singularly appropriate, as both Shallan and Adolin are making use of their knowledge of the buried and broken city.

Shalash graces the chapter arch, presumably due to the importance of Shallan’s effort and insight in finding the Oathgate.

Talenel… well, just about everything associated with Talenel comes into play in this chapter: Dependable, Resourceful; Stonewards; Rock and Stone; Soldier; Herald of War. First of all, he’s noted in the epigraph as “The Ancient of Stones” a.k.a. the Herald of War. Shallan and Adolin are both resourceful in accessing the ancient city to meet their objectives. Everyone is dependable – Shallan, Renarin, Adolin & his soldiers, Dalinar, Navani, Kaladin. (Well, not everyone. Roion is hysterical instead, and the Stormfather is downright fickle.) Shallan, Adolin, and Renarin all deal with rock and stone in significant ways. And of course, all the soldiers are fighting. The only thing missing is the Stoneward… but there may well be a Stoneward out here that we don’t know of yet.

I think it would be hilarious if Rock became a Stoneward.

Shipping Wars

This isn’t really shipping, it’s just an enjoyable parallel between Shallan and Adolin with their slaying of rocks. In the last sentence of Shallan’s PoV, she asks Renarin to kindly slay the rock/mound she suspects of being the Oathgate building; in the next sentence, Adolin raises a sphere to look around the chamber he’d just carved his way into. Adolin, of course, gives the credit where it’s due:

“How did you know, sir?” asked Skar, the bridgeman. “How’d you guess that this rock mound would be hollow?”

“Because a clever woman,” Adolin said, “once asked me to attack a boulder for her.”

I did have to go back and check, because my memory told me that Adolin had wandered off before Shallan and Kaladin had the conversation about the rock back in Chapter 68. Turns out I was right, but there was another conversation, somewhat later in the chapter. Adolin and Shallan are strolling across the bridge, having given up on their horse and palanquin respectively, and she’s explaining to him about the “hidden remnants of a structure she’d found inside that rock earlier.” Then the carpenter pulls the lever and everything goes pear-shaped. Clearly Adolin remembered that conversation quite well.

Just Sayin’

This is a total misuse of this unit, but I’m putting it here anyway, so it stands out by itself:

“I had to make the choice that would let me sleep at night, Moash,” Kaladin said wearily…

Thank you, Zahel.

There. That ought to keep us busy for a bit. Next week, Shallan will inspect the Oathgate, Adolin will fight Eshonai, and Kaladin… ah, Kaladin will finally shine.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. Her latest endeavor in that regard was the just-completed alpha read of a certain novella coming out this fall in the Cosmere collection Arcanum Unbounded. As a result, she highly recommends that y’all start saving your pennies… you are going to want this book! Lift. Is. Awesome.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Shallan located the Oathgate, Adolin made good use of a slain rock, and Kaladin struggled to stand between Elhokar and Moash. This week, Shallan begins to figure out the Oathgate, Adolin proves his dueling prowess, and Kaladin… Kaladin stands.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 84: The One Who Saves

Point of View: Shallan, Adolin, Kaladin
Setting: The Oathgate, the Central Plateau, the Pinnacle
Symbology: Spears, Jezrien

IN WHICH … Shallan’s team is stunned by ancient beauty; Renarin behaves strangely; Pattern warns of clashing storms; they gain a clue to activating the Oathgate; messengers are sent to bring the armies to the Gate.

… Adolin dances a duel with Eshonai; a storm approaches from the west; he sacrifices parts of his armor to maneuver her to the edge, then knocks her into the chasm, and is barely saved from following; he seeks his father and information; he finds Assassin in White.

… Kaladin is drained, but tries to defend Elhokar; Moash punches Kaladin, breaking bones and organs; Kaladin collapses, but hears a distant, familiar voice; he finally realizes why he must protect Elhokar; he stands again, though he cannot fight; he hears voices, arguing; he speaks Words; at Syl’s command, he stretches out his hand and she becomes a living Shardblade; all his powers return and he heals in an instant; Moash and Graves flee, but Graves drops an ominous hint from the Diagram on the way out.

Quote of the Week

May I please just copy half the chapter in here? Please?

The Words, Kaladin. That was Syl’s voice. You have to speak the Words!

I FORBID THIS.

YOUR WILL MATTERS NOT! Syl shouted. YOU CANNOT HOLD ME BACK IF HE SPEAKS THE WORDS! THE WORDS, KALADIN! SAY THEM!

“I will protect even those I hate,” Kaladin whispered through bloody lips. “So long as it is right.”

A Shardblade appeared in Moash’s hands.

A distant rumbling. Thunder.

THE WORDS ARE ACCEPTED, the Stormfather said reluctantly.

“Kaladin!” Syl’s voice. “Stretch forth thy hand!” She zipped around him, suddenly visible as a ribbon of light.

“I can’t…” Kaladin said, drained.

“Stretch forth thy hand!”

He reached out a trembling hand. Moash hesitated.

Wind blew in the opening in the wall, and Syl’s ribbon of light became mist, a form she often took. Silver mist, which grew larger, coalesced before Kaladin, extending into his hand.

Glowing, brilliant, a Shardblade emerged from the mist, vivid blue light shining from swirling patterns along its length.

Kaladin gasped a deep breath as if coming fully awake for the first time. The entire hallway went black as the Stormlight in every lamp down the length of the hall winked out.

For a moment, they stood in darkness.

Then Kaladin exploded with Light.

It erupted from his body, making him shine like a blazing white sun in the darkness. Moash backed away, face pale in the white brilliance, throwing up a hand to shade his eyes.

Pain evaporated like mist on a hot day. Kaladin’s grip firmed upon the glowing Shardblade, a weapon beside which those of Graves and Moash looked dull. One after another, shutters burst open up and down the hallway, wind screaming into the corridor. Behind Kaladin, frost crystalized on the ground, growing backward away from him. A glyph formed in the frost, almost in the shape of wings.

Graves screamed, falling in his haste to get away. Moash backed up, staring at Kaladin.

“The Knights Radiant,” Kaladin said softly, “have returned.”

Ahhhhhhh. This is another scene that never fails to elicit tears… because it’s so fulfilling after all the egocentric rationalization of the past umpteen chapters.

Also, yes. Yes, I did copy and paste that entire thing, even if it’s almost a quarter of my target word count. (Which, never fear, I shall completely ignore and go way over. Again.)

Off the Wall

111 825 101 112 712 491 512 101 011 141 021 511 711 210 111 217 134 483 111 071 514 254 143 410 916 149 149 341 212 254 101 012 512 710 151 910 111 234 125 511 525 121 575 511 123 410 111 291 512 106 153 4

—From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Ceiling Rotation: pattern 15

Translation*: “Hold the secret that broke the Knights Radiant. You may need it to destroy the new orders when they return.”

“Hold the secret…” implies that Taravangian knows that secret, right? Presumably, with the Palanaeum being the analog of the Library of Alexandria, Taravangian’s researches have given him the information he needed to work that out. (I can’t identify the right person to credit, but don’t I remember someone pointing that out recently?) It occurs to me that while genius-Taravangian understood the secret, there’s no guarantee that normal-Taravangian does, although he certainly might. Also, does anyone else think this secret seems likely to be “that wicked thing of eminence” which was discovered way back when?

“… broke the Knights Radiant” implies that the discovery which caused so much consternation was a single element of sufficient import to make all but one Order of Radiants abandon their oaths back then. I think.

“… to destroy the new orders when they return” has a couple of aspects to consider. One, it seems that the secret which caused such mass abandonment “back then” could be expected to have the same effect now—or at least genius-Taravangian thought it would. Two, he apparently thought it might be necessary to destroy the returning Radiants in order to save humanity. Why?

Looney half-baked not-even-thought-out theory: Is it possible that the “wicked thing of eminence” was the Splintering of Honor? Tell me why—or why not.

*Note: Needless to say, a whole lot of folks went nuts over this epigraph, trying to break the code. Sadly, it didn’t take the hive mind quite as long as Brandon had hoped… The key was the previous epigraph (Book of the 2^nd Ceiling Rotation: pattern 1); each letter in pattern 15 is identified by the numerical position in which it first occurred in pattern 1. But I have no idea why genius Taravangian thought it was necessary to encrypt this bit. (Oh, and the groups of three digits are not in the text; it’s an artifact of copying from Kindle, and I left it that way so line breaks are less awkward.)

Commentary

Okay, I have to say, I feel really bad about this. Shallan and Adolin each have very cool stuff going on, but I just want to get their bits out of the way so we can talk about Kaladin. Sorry…

So we’ll take them in order. Shallan, artist that she is, has to forcibly remind herself that she’s not here to admire the ancient art. Perfectly preserved inside a building sealed for millennia with layers of crem, everything is still as beautiful as the day it was abandoned. Well, except the lamps, because of course the gemstones in them are dun. Nice for Shallan—a little study of the artwork is needed to figure out where to start.

Combining her various skills and her instincts, she identifies what looks like a large keyhole; with a little judicious testing by Renarin, she concludes that it’s made of the same stuff as a Shardblade. Unfortunately, nothing happens when Renarin inserts his Blade—beyond the keyhole reshaping itself to match the sword. Little details… You know.

In any case, she’s clearly found the Oathgate, so she sends soldiers off to fetch Dalinar & the armies, while she and the scholars try to figure out how to make the thing function. And there we leave her until next week.

Adolin, meanwhile, has found a fight much more to his liking than slaughtering semi-oblivious, singing Parshendi. He still feels no Thrill (!), but can sense it in Eshonai; whether that sensing is solely due to her observable eagerness for the kill, or if there’s another way he can recognize it, I don’t know. In any case, lack of Thrill doesn’t diminish his skill: using Windstance, he finesses Eshonai, shifting toward where he had originally crossed to this plateau. He thinks of her being “difficult to maneuver,” and yet he does so, isolating her from her army, his own soldiers keeping hers back from them and too busy to interfere.

Granted that she’s caught in the Thrill and perhaps not as clear-headed as she could be, Adolin’s dueling expertise shines in this scene. He transitions from Windstance to Flamestance, for the head game as much as for the physical fight… and it works. Sacrificing some critical parts of his Plate, he backs her right to the edge of the chasm—and knocks her in with a prime rugby tackle.

She’s probably not dead, though.

Fortunately for our handsome prince, he has fantastically dedicated guards—if they hadn’t been right there to grab him, he’d have followed her down… and he assuredly would not have survived the fall. But he does, and they were, and he didn’t. Whew.

By now, of course, the battle is total chaos, there’s a nasty-looking storm coming in from the west, and another from the east, so Adolin goes searching for Dalinar. Instead, he finds Szeth… and there we leave him. Until next week.

Back to the Pinnacle—in more ways than one! (And yes, I’m going to quote some more…)

Kaladin, bleeding, exhausted, barely able to stand on his wounded leg, attempts to use his spear as a weapon instead of a crutch; it’s not much against a Shardbearer. Moash, aside from being far too pigheaded for his own good, makes some foolish decisions along in here. I’m glad he does, of course, but objectively speaking, it really is stupid of him to yak for a while, punch Kaladin, and yak some more. Doesn’t he know he’s in a story, and you should never ever take time to yak when you’re confronting the protagonist? It always comes back to bite you.

So Moash and Graves waste their advantage, while Kaladin hears a familiar voice, very distant, yelling at someone. Syl? His thoughts return again to Fleet, and to the First Ideal:

“I ran until… until I couldn’t any longer,” Kaladin whispered. “End of… the race.”

Life before death.

He looks at the king, unconscious but alive, and he finally understands where he went wrong. He had thought that he could decide who to protect and who not to, based on whether or not he considered them worth protecting. His personal preferences had become his ultimate standards.

I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.

It made sense, now, why he’d had to make this choice. Kaladin rolled to his knees. Graves and Moash were arguing.

“I have to protect him,” Kaladin whispered.

Why?

“If I protect…” He coughed. “If I protect… only the people I like, it means that I don’t care about doing what is right.” If he did that, he only cared about what was convenient for himself.

That wasn’t protecting. That was selfishness.

That’s not the way of Windrunners; they don’t use their gifts to serve their own ends. So, powerless and shattered, he stands anyway, to defend what is right with his last breath.

It made sense now.

That was why he’d come back. It was about Tien, it was about Dalinar, and it was about what was right— but most of all, it was about protecting people.

This was the man he wanted to be.

Kaladin moved one foot back, touching his heel to the king, forming a battle stance. Then raised his hand before him, knife out. His hand shook like a roof rattling from thunder. He met Moash’s eyes.

Strength before weakness.

“You. Will. Not. Have. Him.”

…

Kaladin felt exhausted. At least he’d stood up.

It was the end. The journey had come and gone.

And here, at the destination, his journey finally turns back onto the path he’d abandoned. Before him, Moash and Graves argue about who’s doing what, and how to make it look like Szeth was responsible. But in his head, Kaladin hears another conversation, shouting, arguing, two familiar voices, a determined honorspren defying the Stormfather himself. Moash takes another moment to apologize for not killing Kaladin quickly in the first place—like he would have if he were a competent antagonist, but he’s not—and summons his Shardblade.

Now… go back to the QOTW and read it again, because it is so storming brilliant.

Meanwhile, I’ll sit over here and consider what this whole thing looked like from Moash’s perspective. My former leader/ally has now turned against me; he has no magic left, he’s badly injured—and I’ve just done him further injury, with that punch that was harder than intended; I’m reluctant to kill him, but know it needs to be done to protect my new allies; I’m torn between that knowledge and respect for a man who should be dying but won’t stop getting in the way. I hesitate again, because Kaladin is trying to speak… and all of a sudden, mist becomes a whole new kind of Shardblade that makes my shiny Blade look like a dull mockery, everything goes dark, and then Kaladin is too bright to look at, too strong to stand against… and clearly no longer injured.

I could almost feel sorry for Moash. And I probably will, later. But for now, this is a moment of brilliance—literally! I love the frost-formed glyph behind Kaladin; dead Blades are always dripping with condensation when they are first summoned, but a live Blade brings frost. It’s like… a live Blade takes everything we knew about Shardblades and makes it more so.

Graves, the weasel, screams like a little girl and falls over his own feet trying to get away. In true dastardly-villain style, he then starts cackling over how he’s outmaneuvered Kaladin despite everything—and in the process, gives Kaladin vital information which will enable him to defeat another of Graves’s own purposes. It always makes me roll my eyes a little in movies: all villains must go to the same training academy, where they are taught the necessity of telling the protagonist all their cunning plans before killing him… but I love it here. I don’t even care if it’s the most standard trope in all of fiction—I love it.

It reveals that we know something they got wrong in interpreting the Diagram… and Graves doesn’t know that Kaladin can fly. In the immortal words: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”

Stormwatch

Day Zero, continued.

Sprenspotting

Sylphrena. Has. Returned.

Also, Pattern is aware of both the Everstorm and the highstorm, and that they will meet in a grand chaotic smash-up right here on this spot. And it will be very, very bad.

Ars Arcanum

Renarin dismissed his Blade, and oddly, as he did so, he let out a relieved sigh and relaxed against the outer wall of the building.

…

“It’s coming,” Renarin announced from the other side of the room, his quiet voice echoing across the domed chamber.

…

“Summon your Shardblade.”

He did so, wincing as it appeared.

Personally, I take the above as evidence, if not proof, that Renarin is indeed a valid Truthwatcher.

One, he hears the screaming of the dead spren, which we have thus far only seen happen to emerging Knights Radiant. Granted, the only person we know who is bonded to a Voidspren is Eshonai, and we don’t know whether the Parshendi would have the same reactions, but she doesn’t seem to have any trouble with her Blade. (Also: the quotations about Renarin & his Blade are blatant foreshadowing, in hindsight, but I’m pretty sure not many people picked up on it the first time through.)

Two, (and this is the Arcanum part) he really does see the future, which—despite Vorin tradition—is a known attribute of Cultivation. If the Honor-Cultivation-spectrum theory of sapient spren is correct, Truthwatchers would be most fully the spren of Cultivation, as the Stormfather is most fully the spren of Honor. In that light, I think it makes sense to accept that Renarin really is a Truthwatcher.

Your mileage may, of course, vary. I know many readers are still skeptical about Renarin’s claim to be a Truthwatcher, and I’m sure all the evidence could reflect a Voidspren bond instead of a whatever-Truthwatcher-spren-call-themselves bond. (We really need to pry more names out of Brandon someday.) Perhaps Oathbringer will give us more information.

Ars Mechanica

“See if you can find a chunk of my helm or forearm piece. Regrowing the armor will go faster if we’ve got a seed…”

We already knew this, to some extent, but this is the only time pieces of the broken Plate are referred to as seeds. This very much makes me wonder all over again just exactly how Shardplate works. It’s certainly not a normal fabrial; there are no spren trapped in gemstones making it work. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t spren involved, though…

Heraldic Symbolism

Jezrien: King; Protecting/Leading; Windrunners. All present here, although Elhokar is a pretty poor representation of a king. Kaladin makes up for it, protecting even the one he hates—and leveling up as a Windrunner in the process. I also find it mildly amusing that the “Body Focus” associated with Jezrien is “Inhalation”…

Kaladin gasped a deep breath as if coming fully awake for the first time. The entire hallway went black as the Stormlight in every lamp down the length of the hall winked out.

It’s hardly unique to Windrunners, but it’s still funny.

Wow. That is all. Tune in again next week, when the fighting takes another turn and the Avalanche continues.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and for once she’s run out of things to say.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Shallan probed, Adolin fought, and Kaladin stood. This week, the probing and the fighting escalate, and Kaladin lands. Like meteors do.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 85: Swallowed by the Sky

Point of View: Dalinar, Shallan, Dalinar, Adolin, Dalinar, Adolin
Setting: the Central Plateau
Symbology: Kholin Glyphpair, Nalan, Palah

IN WHICH Dalinar receives Shallan’s message in the increasing storms; Aladar won his plateau; Dalinar orders everyone to Shallan’s plateau; a tent collapses as Adolin crashes through on his back, severely damaged Plate leaking Stormlight; the Assassin follows.

… Shallan searches frantically for clues to the Oathgate mechanism; Renarin writes zeroes; “It’s come. We’re dead.”

… Dalinar holds his bleeding son, speaking farewell words of love and guidance; he stands to confront the assassin, seeking answers; the Assassin is more mad than calm; Dalinar’s Blade forms just in time to block Szeth’s.

… Adolin attempts to rise; with the help of Skar and Drehy, he begins to remove his battered Plate so that he can help Dalinar; he freezes, watching his father fight.

… Dalinar fights for Gavilar, as he wished he had seven years ago; his instincts lead him well, but it’s not enough; he finally realizes that Gavilar’s death was not his fault; Roion attacks the Assassin.

… Adolin, unarmored, runs toward his father; Roion is hurled into the sky; Adolin vainly fights the Assassin, as Roion descends and dies; Adolin and Dalinar, with accompanying bridgemen, charge and hope for luck; hope is unfulfilled, and the Assassin touches Dalinar; he, too, hurtles into the sky, and Adolin attacks again; as the Assassin turns to finish him, Dalinar descends slowly from the sky, streaming white Light; Kaladin crashes in like a comet to claim the sky, the winds, and Szeth’s life.

Quote of the Week

Dalinar did not fight for his life. His life hadn’t been his own for years.

He fought for Gavilar. He fought as he wished he had all those years ago, for the chance he had missed. In that moment between storms—when the rain stilled and the winds drew in their breaths to blow—he danced with the slayer of kings, and somehow held his own.

…

He survived.

But he did not win.

Finally, Dalinar twisted away from a strike but was unable to move quickly enough. The assassin rounded on him and thrust a fist into his side.

Dalinar’s ribs cracked. He grunted, stumbling, almost falling. He swung his Blade toward Szeth, warding the man back, but it didn’t matter. The damage was done. He sank to his knees, barely able to remain upright for the pain.

In that instant he knew a truth he should always have known.

If I’d been there, on that night, awake instead of drunk and asleep… Gavilar would still have died.

I couldn’t have beaten this creature. I can’t do it now, and I couldn’t have done it then.

I couldn’t have saved him.

It brought peace, and Dalinar finally set down that boulder, the one he’d been carrying for over six years.

I’ll… just leave that there.

Off the Wall

But who is the wanderer, the wild piece, the one who makes no sense? I glimpse at his implications, and the world opens to me. I shy back. Impossible. Is it?

—From the Diagram, West Wall Psalm of Wonders: paragraph 8
(Note by Adrotagia: Could this refer to Mraize?)

The logical first reaction is that of course this refers to Hoid, which probably means it doesn’t. There are other possibilities: Taln (or the person who calls himself Taln), Iyatil, Zahel… and, of course, Mraize. There’s just not enough information to be confident; the only real question is whether Brandon is dangling a truth in front of our noses, or whether this is another misdirection.

In looney-theory territory, I think it would be fun if this referred to Zahel-who-is-actually-one-of-the-Heralds-Returned, but I rather doubt it.

Commentary

You could just about get whiplash, trying to recap this chapter. The trademark Avalanche is reaching its peak, and the frenetic pacing of the text really reflects that. The chapter isn’t even all that long (9 pages in the HB), but there are six separate POV sections—mostly shifting perspectives between Adolin and Dalinar as they try to stop Szeth. It’s perfect, because all this action builds and builds and builds to a moment of hopeless anguish, transformed to breathless bewilderment, shattered by Kaladin’s meteoric arrival.

Shallan has one short section; let’s look at that first. Aside from Renarin’s revelation as the one who sees the future (see Ars Arcanum below), mostly this consists of Shallan getting frustrated by the lack of information: all available writing is in the Dawnchant, and they failed to bring an expert along. (Well, they did, but Navani is still on the other plateau with Dalinar.) Pattern urges her to look for a pattern, but until she finds that, all she’s got is that The Knights Radiant are the key. So for now we leave her standing puzzled in the center of the Oathgate. She’s almost there…

Back to the battle. Along with the aforementioned frenetic pacing, I was stunned by the poetry of this chapter. Once again, I shall have to quote a lot, because Brandon writes Climax superbly.

“Aladar has won his plateau! Apara was just composing you a message.”

“Really?” Almighty bless that man. He’d done it.

It’s a magnificent echo of the stirring speech Dalinar gave Aladar a couple of chapters ago: “If you survive this day, you’ll be known as one of the greatest men of our generation. Go to your men, Aladar. Lead them. Be a champion.” If you recall, Aladar gaped at Dalinar for a moment, then saluted like he meant it… and he did. This made me happy. Something went perfectly right. Thank you, Aladar.

Dalinar sends word that they are all to make for Shallan’s plateau, but in the middle of it, Cael points behind Dalinar:

“Sir, have you seen that?”

He turned, looking back toward the west. Red light flashed, lightning coursing down in repeated blasts. The sky itself seemed to spasm as something built there, swirling in an enormous storm cell that was rapidly expanding outward.

“Almighty above…” Navani whispered.

Amid flying tents and battle reports, the Everstorm builds. The rain gets heavier, then lighter, then heavier; the wind gusts; more tents shake. Dalinar sends Navani to help Shallan, and orders Roion to lead his men to that same plateau, and then…

Adolin crashed through the tent’s fabric and skidded along the stones on his back, his armor leaking Light.

“Adolin!” Dalinar shouted, dashing to his son.

The young man was missing several segments of his armor. He looked up with gritted teeth, blood streaming from his nose. He said something, but it was lost to the wind. No helm, no left vambrace, the breastplate cracked just short of shattering, his right leg exposed. Who could have done such a thing to a Shardbearer?

Not so much poetic as fearfully descriptive. Last time we saw Adolin, he was missing his helm as well as his left vambrace and gauntlet, and his breastplate was heavily damaged from his battle with Eshonai, but he’d won that when he sent her tumbling into the chasm—but then he met up with Szeth. Now it’s worse.

The scene cuts to Shallan, then back to this:

Dalinar knelt beneath a fracturing sky, holding his son.

Ahhh… I’m sorry, but I have to stop and wipe my eyes again. That has to be one of the most stunning lines in this book. And that’s saying something.

“When you take the princedom, son,” Dalinar said, “don’t let them corrupt you. Don’t play their games. Lead. Don’t follow.”

…

“You’ve been taught well, Adolin,” Dalinar said, eyes on that assassin. “You’re a better man than I am. I was always a tyrant who had to learn to be something else. But you, you’ve been a good man from the start. Lead them, Adolin. Unite them.”

This is nearly perfect in the way it shows (to my way of thinking) the relationship between Dalinar and Adolin from Dalinar’s perspective. There’s the deep, abiding love of a father for his son, and a certain amount of instinctive protectiveness when his son is injured. But there’s also the strong, confident respect and trust of one man for another: this son of his is a grown man, and a good one. For years now, he’s been entrusted with military leadership, and has been actively involved in planning sessions. He’s proven himself. At the core, Dalinar has no fear of trusting Adolin with the princedom and all it entails. He stands up to face what amounts to certain death, rock-solid in the knowledge that his son is fully capable of taking his place as highprince.

(Whether he’s correct or not… remains to be seen.)

Oddly, or not really, the first thing Dalinar does when he faces the small, overly calm Assassin is to ask questions. He wants to know… why did they kill Gavilar? Why?

“I am Szeth-son-son-Vallano,” the man said. Harshly. “Truthless of Shinovar. I do as my masters demand, and I do not ask for explanations.”

Dalinar revised his assessment. This man was not calm. He seemed that way, but when he spoke, he did it through clenched teeth, his eyes open too wide.

He’s mad, Dalinar thought. Storms.

Well, clearly Dalinar’s not going down without a fight, and he’s been in the process of summoning his Blade, so when Szeth strikes, the blow is deflected.

The assassin spared a glance for Dalinar’s weapon, then smiled, lips drawn thin, showing only a hint of teeth. That eager smile matched with haunted eyes was one of the most evil things Dalinar had ever seen.

Ouch. That’s… painful. Shifting to Adolin’s POV:

Father was fighting Szeth. Bless the man for listening to reason and bonding that madman’s Blade.

A moment of humor! In the midst of all the love of a son for his father, there’s another flash of friendship and respect: apparently Adolin had to do some vigorous persuading to get Dalinar to bond that Blade before hiding it for Amaram to find. But Dalinar is fighting the assassin, and Adolin does not want to rule the princedom just yet. He just needs to get out of the remaining bits of Shardplate so he can go help, and those bridgemen are always there when he needs them. “You two,” Adolin said, “are getting a storming raise.” I love Adolin.

And then it gets serious again:

He spared a glance for what Dalinar was doing, and froze, hands on the straps for his breastplate.

His father… his father moved beautifully.

That always gives me shivers.

Now, reread the QOTW, which may be one of the most gorgeous battle scenes ever written. Not only does Dalinar move beautifully, he moves by instinct, holding his own against a Surgebinder despite his earlier injuries. In the end, though, it’s just not enough, and (in a twist I absolutely did not anticipate) that’s a good thing. While I agree that there’s a certain amount of blameworthiness in lying drunk on a table while your brother is assassinated, there’s also certain amount of honest and commendable humility in realizing that some things are beyond your ability to control.

I couldn’t have saved him.

It brought peace, and Dalinar finally set down that boulder, the one he’d been carrying for over six years.

Pretty sure I cried when I read that.

Going on, an unexpected figure distracts the Assassin from Dalinar for a moment:

Dalinar expected it to be Adolin, perhaps one of the bridgemen.

Instead, it was Roion.

That blew me away. The careful one, the cautious one, the one who felt a bit defensive about being called a coward… He rushed the Assassin with nothing but a side sword and a handful of soldiers. Against a Surgebinder with an Honorblade. Roion, you’ll always be a hero in my book. You gave it all.

And again, the juxtaposition of words, events, repetitions, contrasts, contradictions, POV shifts… it’s such superb wordsmithy. The scene goes crazy. Roion hurtles up, screaming; Szeth kills a dozen soldiers; Roion still screams from above; Adolin jumps in with dueling moves; Szeth bats his attack away like a child’s; Roion screams until he hits the ground; Szeth starts Lashing objects around; Adolin fights by instinct; he can’t beat this thing; he’s surrounded by bridgemen; Dalinar is, too; they’re going to try to mob the Assassin; Lead them, Adolin. Unite them; Szeth Lashes himself up, then down, knocking Adolin over like a toy, killing a pair of bridgemen, healing his few wounds in moments; they’ve never had a chance against this thing; they’re going to go down fighting…

“Father…” Adolin whispered.

The assassin parried the thrust, then placed his hand against Dalinar’s chest.

The highprince, suddenly glowing, lurched up into the dark sky. He didn’t scream.

NOOOOOOOOO!!! Dalinar!!

The assassin lowered his Blade, then started to walk away.

“Bastard!” Adolin spat, dashing after him. “Bastard!” He could barely see for the tears.

The assassin stopped, then leveled his weapon toward Adolin.

Adolin stumbled to a halt. Storms, his head hurt.

“It is finished,” the assassin whispered. “I am done.” He turned from Adolin and continued to walk away.

Like Damnation itself, you are! Adolin raised his Shardblade overhead.

The assassin spun and slapped the weapon so hard with his own Blade that Adolin distinctly heard something snap in his wrist. His Blade tumbled from his fingers, vanishing. The assassin’s hand slapped out, knuckles striking Adolin in the chest, and he gasped, his breath suddenly gone from his throat.

Stunned, he sank to his knees.

At this point, you just know it’s over, it’s hopeless. Adolin and Dalinar are both going to die right here, and you’re too stunned to cry, and… and…

He blinked as he made out something glowing in the air, drifting down, like a leaf. A figure. A man.

Dalinar.

The highprince fell slowly, as if he were no more weighty than a cloud. White Light streamed from his body in glowing wisps. Nearby bridgemen murmured, soldiers shouted, pointing.

Adolin blinked, certain he was delusional. But no, that was Dalinar. Like… one of the Heralds themselves, coming down from the Tranquiline Halls.

Before we continue, let me just say that for a moment, I hoped that this was Dalinar’s own power—that he really was like one of the Heralds—or at least a Radiant. Turns out, of course, that I was wrong, but also right. Huh.

Into this silent, frozen moment:

And then, like a falling star, a blazing fireball of light and motion shot down in front of Dalinar. It crashed into the ground, sending out a ring of Stormlight like white smoke. At the center, a figure in blue crouched with one hand on the stones, the other clutching a glowing Shardblade.

His eyes afire with a light that somehow made the assassin’s seem dull by comparison, he wore the uniform of a bridgeman, and bore the glyphs of slavery on his forehead.

The expanding ring of smoky light faded, save for a large glyph—a swordlike shape—which remained for a brief moment before puffing away.

“You sent him to the sky to die, assassin,” Kaladin said, Stormlight puffing from his lips, “but the sky and the winds are mine. I claim them, as I now claim your life.”

Oh, glory!

Stormwatch

Still going: Day Zero.

Ars Arcanum

“I can see it,” Renarin answered feverishly, his voice echoing in the chamber. Ardents who had been studying part of the murals looked up at him. “I can see the future itself. Why? Why, Almighty? Why have you cursed me so?” He screamed a pleading cry, then stood and cracked something against the wall. A rock? Where had he gotten it? He gripped the thing in a gauntleted hand and began to write.

Shocked, Shallan took a step toward him. A sequence of numbers?

All zeros.

“It’s come,” Renarin whispered. “It’s come, it’s come, it’s come. We’re dead. We’re dead. We’re dead…”

I don’t know about y’all, but this was the moment I realized that Dalinar hadn’t written the countdown –Renarin had. So he’s been bonding Glys ever since … well, since sometime before Chapter 4. And this (plus recent discussions) has made me think about Renarin again.

All his life, he’s been the odd duck chicken, the one everyone thinks is just a little creepy, because his social interactions aren’t “normal” for Alethi. Hey, he probably thinks of himself as slightly weird, because he can’t be like everyone else. He finally has a set of Shards, though the Blade screams every time he summons it—but since he’s always been the weird one, he assumes that’s just his own personal problem, too. On top of that, he’s seeing the future—which is supposed to be a thing of evil, so he really doesn’t dare tell anyone: his family has enough stress, the rest of Alethkar already thinks he’s “icky” and he doesn’t need to add “anathema.” So, as usual, he bore it alone and tried not to be a burden… but now it’s all getting to be Too Much. Poor kid.

I think the reason I most Renarin to really be a Truthwatcher is that I want something to be right for the guy, finally. I want something good that’s uniquely his contribution, you know?

Ars Mechanica

This is the third chapter (I think) with Navani’s fabrial floodlights, but it’s the first time I’ve wondered: If this is a fabrial which uses spren trapped in gemstones, powered by Stormlight, does it somehow give more light than mere Stormlight-infused gemstone lanterns? From the descriptions, I’d have to say it does, but… How does that work?

Also, the mysterious Oathgate is mysterious.

Heraldic Symbolism

I can readily see Palah here foreshadowing the revelation of Renarin as a Truthwatcher, since this is the first time we find out that he’s seeing the future, and has been the one writing the countdown on the walls. So is Nalan here to foreshadow his appointment of Szeth as a Skybreaker? ‘Cause that’s all I’ve got for Mr. Just-Confident-Judge-Skybreaker-Herald of Justice. That, and maybe Szeth’s confidence. Got any other suggestions?

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when plot arcs briefly join before splitting again between sky and plateau.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, if you count seven years as “long.” Hard to believe it’s only seven years.

Tor Books has revealed the cover to Brandon Sanderson’s Arcanum Unbounded, a new story collection featuring stories from the author’s Cosmere universe, including tales from Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, Elantris, and more!

Arcanum Unbounded will release on November 8 and feature “Edgedancer,” a brand new novella set in the Stormlight Archive world. The full table of contents is as follows:

• “The Hope of Elantris” (Elantris)
• “The Eleventh Metal” (Mistborn)
• “The Emperor’s Soul” (Elantris)
• “Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes 28 through 30” (Mistborn)
• “Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell” (Threnody)
• “Sixth of Dusk” (First of the Sun)
• “Mistborn: Secret History” (Mistborn)
• “Edgedancer” (Stormlight Archive)

Check out the full cover below:

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Shallan continued to try to decipher the Oathgate while Adolin and Dalinar took on the Assassin; it culminated in Kaladin arriving comet-like to save the day. This week, events escalate further as Shallan figures out the Oathgate, while Kaladin and Szeth battle above and through the clashing highstorm and Everstorm.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 86: Patterns of Light

Point of View: Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, Kaladin, Shallan,
Kaladin, Shallan, Kaladin, Shallan, Kaladin
Setting: the Oathgate, the Central Plateaus, the sky
Symbology: Pattern, Nalan, Jezrien

IN WHICH Kaladin finally admits he’s a Radiant; Kaladin and Szeth begin their battle.

… Shallan seeks the pattern of the Oathgate; she finally sees that it’s a fabrial.

… Dalinar turns his attention to the retreat; Adolin is pleased; Sebarial and Palona are unexpected; the evacuation continues.

… Kaladin chases Szeth, delighting in Syl’s presence; they meet above the storms; Kaladin hasn’t practiced sword-fighting; Syl becomes a Shardspear; Szeth holds desperately to his pseudo-facts.

… Shallan finally admits she’s a Radiant; she infuses the Oathgate lamps until she runs out of Stormlight; Shallan finds Adolin, and inhales Stormlight; he recognizes her action and is pleased.

… Kaladin fights for his life; Syl anticipates Kaladin’s needs, but he still can’t quite win; Szeth turns to pursue his original target: Dalinar.

… Shallan finishes charging the lamps; Adolin’s blade cannot unlock the Oathgate; she finally admits that Pattern is her Blade; she activates the Oathgate.

… Kaladin chases Szeth; Syl cautions him about the clashing storms; both men replenish their Investiture from the highstorm as they go; in a flash of lightning, they see armies and disaster on the target plateau; the next flash reveals Szeth baffled and the army gone.

… Shallan has saved a few, but fears what they will find in the silence outside; through a new doorway in the outer wall they find sunshine, four armies, and Urithiru.

… Kaladin hears screams above the storm; Szeth hurls himself westward toward the Oathgate’s destination; Kaladin follows, with difficulty; the fight continues, falling westward before the stormwall; Syl changes forms as needed; Szeth begins to panic; windspren seem to enwrap Kaladin; Szeth faces Kaladin and submits to truth; Kaladin severs Szeth’s sword hand; assassin and Blade fall, no longer bonded; as Kaladin soars above the storm with the recovered Blade, his collection of windspren zip away; Syl approves his actions and teases him; he smiles.

Quote of the Week

Okay, I’m cheating. Double-dipping. Or, well, triple-dipping. Sorry.

“Kaladin?”

Kaladin turned, glancing at the highprince, who stood tall, despite cradling one arm against his chest. Dalinar met his eyes. “You are what I’ve been looking for.”

“Yes. Finally.”

…

“Damnation,” Adolin said. “That bridgeboy is really one of them? The Knights Radiant?”

“Yes.”

Oddly, Adolin smiled, seeming satisfied. “Ha! I knew there was something wrong with that man.”

…

Shallan breathed in sharply, and Stormlight entered her, bringing her to life. Adolin had a gemstone or two on him, apparently. He pulled back, looking her over.

“You too?” he said.

“Um…” She bit her lip. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Sorry? Storms, woman! Can you fly like he does?”

“Fly?”

Thunder cracked. Impending doom. Right.

I just get a charge out of that sequence. It’s so much fun. For now, at least, Adolin doesn’t have the slightest problem with Kaladin and Shallan being Radiants. He’s quite pleased, in fact.

In case you’re wondering how Shallan knew about Kaladin, to make sense out of “You too?”… I’ll toss in my best analysis. A few days ago (Ch. 77-78), Shallan told Navani about Jasnah; Navani told Dalinar, who then spoke with Shallan about it. While Shallan made him promise not to tell anyone about her own status, nothing prevented Dalinar from telling Adolin about Jasnah. So while “You, too?” from Adolin’s perspective meant Kaladin—hence the “Can you fly?”—Shallan knows nothing of Kaladin and assumes he meant Jasnah—hence the “Fly?” puzzlement.

Off the Wall

One is almost certainly a traitor to the others.

–From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 27

One might assume the 2^nd Desk Drawer is all about the Unmade, given the epigraphs of Chapters 81 and 82. If so, how and why would one Unmade betray the others? Or perhaps the inscription concerns the Heralds; in that case, perhaps Nalan might be the traitor. But… I don’t know. I’m not sure how either of them fits what little context we have. Frankly, “context” is overstating the situation: we have two other quotations from the 2^nd Desk Drawer, labeled as paragraphs 14 and 15, but 15 ended with an effort to change the subject completely. Without knowing what’s in paragraphs 16-26, we really don’t have context.

Well. That wasn’t very helpful.

Commentary

Another firestorm of a chapter! I deliberately listed all the POV changes, just so you could have a visual. Avalanche FTW! There’s so much in this chapter, and so many details I want to touch on. I’m afraid the commentary will be a little disjointed; I can only hope it doesn’t sound completely schizophrenic.

For starters, I have to point out the bridgemen—as always, doing their job, being exactly where they’re needed. They’ve become quite a team. Having promptly regrouped, they need only one quick command from Teft to provide Kaladin with a replenishment of Stormlight. Then, as their commander flies away, they move on to the next thing—two follow Dalinar, the rest go with Adolin (some carrying Adolin’s battered Shardplate) to help where they’re needed next. I love these guys.

Sebarial and Palona… oh, help! They are hilarious! Fruit, wine, and a novel in the middle of a hurricane. (I assume she’s only pretending to read, though.) Naturally, for all he’s having fun looking nonchalant, Sebarial has organized not only his own army, but also Roion’s, and has them nearly across to the Oathgate plateau. He also knows the status of Adolin’s and Aladar’s armies, and has heard the news of Roion. The guy is an organizing genius.

He is also, somehow, still dry. Hmmmm. I really do wonder if he’s a Radiant… or if Palona is. Or both—that would be priceless.

Aladar has done his job well, as noted last week. He won his plateau, in an unquestionable victory.

The Vengeance Pact is fulfilled! Gavilar is avenged, and the war is over!”

So proud. Dalinar had difficulty finding the words to deflate him, so he just stared at the other man. Feeling numb.

Can’t afford that, Dalinar thought, sagging in his saddle. Have to lead.

“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Aladar asked more softly. “That we won?”

I do feel badly for Aladar. For the first time in years, he’s stepped up and done something significant, something to truly be proud of… and it almost doesn’t matter. The Vengeance Pact is fulfilled, but the world has moved on, the Desolation is upon them, and vengeance, even for an assassinated king, is all but meaningless at this point.

The rest of the chapter switches back and forth to keep a real-time connection between Shallan’s work in the Oathgate room and Kaladin’s battle with Szeth. So… let’s start with Shallan. Her subconscious mind finally puts together the clues she’s been seeing, and she realizes that the whole thing is an enormous fabrial (see below for further discussion).

So much for keeping her nature as a Surgebinder hidden.

Hah! This cracks me up. Just a few chapters ago, she made Dalinar promise not to tell anyone, but the secret’s out now. I could almost feel sorry for Inadara, who is quietly wigging out about Shallan sucking in Stormlight and moving it from one gem to another. Even funnier is the scholars sketching prayers, and Shallan wondering whether they were praying for protection from the storm or from her.

Then the storms collide. We’re never told just how many people are lost in these final moments, as the stormwalls hit from opposite sides while Shallan desperately tries and finally succeeds in activating the Oathgate. From Kaladin’s observation, apparently there were losses during this time.

But here’s where the flickering perspectives really pay off. Kaladin is seeing a cataclysm, which looks like the army will be totally wiped out in minutes, and then suddenly, in the next flash of lightning, the whole army is just… gone.

The sound of the storm vanishes, and Shallan knows the Oathgate worked, but there are so few people in the building. What about the army? Adolin once again slays a rock—cutting a doorway in the new position—to find that the army has come with them to Urithiru. Boom.

Finally, Kaladin and Szeth. Most of this is cool epic-battle-in-the-sky, very cinematic stuff. The bits with Syl-the-shifting-Shardweapon are discussed below; here, I want to focus on just a few of the more plot-significant issues.

At long last, we see Kaladin’s joy in Syl’s return, and she gets in a series of great jabs at him—which he loves, of course. She also warns him that the Stormfather hates him, and them, and wants to wash it all away. This is not encouraging.

Szeth is, naturally, disconcerted by Kaladin. He repeatedly tries to make Taravangian’s explanations cover the situation, but he’s seeing things that are impossible, and he knows it. His progress through this chapter is agonizing; as the evidence builds up that Kaladin is a true Windrunner, he is forced to acknowledge that everything he’s acted on for the past seven years and more has been false. He was right in the first place, when he claimed that the Voidbringers were returning, and his leaders were wrong when they named him Truthless and laid on him the burden of unquestioning obedience to the holder of his Oathstone.

This, of course, is where we find the major change to the ending of Word of Radiance, which Brandon felt was important enough to implement even after publication. In the original ending, as Szeth confronts the truth, he draws Kaladin to attack and deliberately doesn’t parry: it really is intentional suicide-by-duel. Kaladin follows through on the attack he started, and kills Szeth as Szeth had killed so many others. The Blade goes through the spine, the soul is severed, the eyes burn out, and his bond to the Honorblade is severed.

In the new ending, it all goes the same until Szeth doesn’t parry; now Kaladin diverts the stroke and sends his Blade through Szeth’s wrist, severing only the hand and forcing him to drop his Blade. Because he’s not dead, Syl has to tell Kaladin that Szeth has released the bond, and now the Blade is far more important than the assassin.

It’s nice in that Kaladin doesn’t kill a person who has made himself defenseless, and he can make the happy discovery that he really didn’t want to kill someone merely for revenge. It may also be nice in that Nalan will have less healing to do to make Szeth functional again. Mostly, it’s important for Kaladin to not enjoy killing, I think.

If I were Szeth, though, I think I’d prefer the first ending, if only to avoid this:

Nearby, the assassin dropped past him into the storm and was swallowed up, leaving Kaladin with the haunting image of Szeth’s limp silhouette being driven into a plateau below with all the tempest’s force.

For that matter, if I were Kaladin, I think I’d feel a lot better about the first-ending sword-thrust death than I would about the second-ending get-slammed-into-a-plateau death. Remember Roion’s screams?

Stormwatch

Day zero zero zero…

Sprenspotting

Kaladin was sure he heard terrible screams over the winds, as red spren he’d never seen before— like small meteors, trailing light behind them— zipped around him.

Are these the same red spren—stormspren—that Adolin observed in Chapter 81, wiggling out of the Parshendi when they were killed? There they were described as “small red spren, like tiny lightning, that zipped into the air and vanished.” Tiny lightning and small meteors trailing light don’t sound quite the same, so there are two likely solutions. One is that they looked like lightning when they left the Parshendi bonding, but here they’re free in the storm, so they look a little different. The other, which I suspect, is that they are yet another kind of Voidspren.

::shudder::

And now (drumroll please)… Kaladin’s windspren:

Syl spun into the air in front of him. But he was still carrying the spear. What?

Another one, then another. Ribbons of light, occasionally taking the shapes of young women or men, laughing. Windspren. A dozen or more spun around him, leaving trails of light, their laughter somehow strong over the sounds of the storm.

There! Kaladin thought.

Query: Do they actually help Kaladin find Szeth in the storm? It’s implied.

Windspren formed a halo around Kaladin, zipping in and out, spiraling, spinning around his arms and legs.

This makes it almost impossible not to assume that the windspren will eventually form Shardplate for Windrunners. Somehow. We’ve had this theory for a couple of years now, so it no longer has the stun factor it once did, but the first time I encountered it, my eyes sure popped wide open. O.O

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

One Ryshadium awaits his rider. This makes me sad about Sureblood all over again… but it also makes me happy that Dalinar still has Gallant.

Ars Arcanum

There’s a whole lot of arcaning going on up in here! Kaladin & Szeth spend the bulk of the chapter Windrunning, of course. I still haven’t quite decided how I feel about this kind of thing:

“You’re wrong,” Kaladin said. “About me. I’m not new to this.”

“You only just acquired your abilities.”

“No. The wind is mine. The sky is mine. They have been mine since childhood. You are the trespasser here. Not me.”

They broke apart, Kaladin throwing the assassin backward. He stopped thinking so much about his Lashings, about what he should be doing.

Instead, he let himself be.

On the one hand, it’s such a thrill to read. On the other, I have problems: How have the wind and sky been his since childhood? And after all the work he had to do earlier just to get off the ground, should it now be this instinctive? For the latter, the case can be made that he learned all the basics earlier, and now his intensified bond makes it possible to do all the things without thinking. I still don’t get the childhood thing. Maybe when he returns to Hearthstone, we’ll get some new hints?

But enough of that. Syl the shifting Shardweapon!

Oh. That’s right. You probably want me to be a spear, don’t you?

The weapon fuzzed to mist, then elongated and grew into the shape of a silvery spear, with glowing, swirling glyphs along the sharpened sides of the spearhead.

Did anyone not shriek aloud at this? It was so, so perfect. So suitable, too, that despite his failure to really work at learning sword-fighting, the years he spent perfecting spear-fighting are just as useful. It just keeps getting better, too, as she shifts from spear to shield to halberd to hammer to knife, back and forth , forming the weapon he needs just as he needs it. Sweeeet.

This also needs to be mentioned here:

The area around him lightened. Was that the assassin? Kaladin extended his hand to the side, and Syl formed into the Blade immediately.

“Not ten heartbeats?” he asked.

Not when I’m here with you, ready. The delay is primarily something of the dead. They need to be revived each time.

This will be addressed more fully in the next chapter, I believe, but it’s dropped in here, almost as an aside. There are, of course, Reasons. It explains why Syl can shift forms so quickly, and why she can dissipate to mist and then be instantly back in useful form when he needs her. It also helps make sense out of this one last quotation…

“It’s not working,” Adolin shouted.

Only one answer.

Shallan grabbed the hilt of his sword and whipped it out— ignoring the scream in her mind that came from touching it— then tossed it aside. Adolin’s sword vanished to mist.

A deep truth.

“There is something wrong with your Blade, and with all Blades.” She hesitated for just a second. “All but mine. Pattern!”

He formed in her hands, the Blade she’d used to kill. The hidden soul. Shallan rammed it into the slot, and the weapon vibrated in her hands and glowed. Something deep within the plateau unlocked.

It’s not blatant, but this is the first moment when Shallan acknowledges even to herself that Pattern is her Shardblade. We saw it evidenced in the chasms, when she couldn’t make her illusions move because Kaladin had her Shardblade, but even then, her mind skirted around the reason for it. (Well, and we weren’t supposed to know yet, of course.) This is a deep truth that she’s been hiding from for the last six years. On the rare occasions when she used her Blade, we’ve seen her consciously take the ten heartbeats to summon him, because that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Now, when she accepts the deeper truth, he can form instantly, and now we know why.

Ars Mechanica

Why is it that whenever I start talking about fabrials, I just end up asking questions? Shallan recognizes the Oathgate as a fabrial, but is she correct? Or, to ask the question another way, does the Oathgate fit the definition of “fabrial” as we learned it from Navani? We know that modern Rosharans can reliably design and manufacture fabrials, to the point that it’s basically magic-powered technology; they do it by trapping specific spren in specific gemstones, combining them and directing the resulting surges by means of a machine. Is the Oathgate just a bigger and more sophisticated version of the same thing? Or is it something… more, somehow?

What we know of the Oathgate’s intended function is that it uses the Surge of Transportation to move the user between the point of origin and any of the other ten Oathgates. It requires a living, sapient spren to operate it, though the spren doesn’t appear to be taking any deliberate action; the Knight Radiant merely uses the spren in Blade-form as both key and lever to select the destination. It is powered by Stormlight-infused gems held in metal latticework; one of the gems is a ruby. (My guess is that the ten lamps hold the ten key gemstones, but we aren’t told. Otherwise, I don’t know why a ruby would be here; it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Transportation.) The “keyhole” is some mysterious substance which appears to be the same as a Shardblade; does that mean the keyhole itself is a spren? (Mighty patient spren, if it’s been waiting here for a few thousand years…)

More questions must be asked: is there more to the working of this place? Is there an underground component of machinery? Is there anything underground? Is there any way the Listeners who rejected stormform could have been hiding within the range of the Oathgate? And no less important: when you have one functioning Oathgate, can you force access to one that (as far as you know) is not functioning? Can they use the Oathgate to get to Kholinar? Presumably we’ll get the answer to that in SA3.

Heraldic Symbolism

I have the usual questions about Nalan’s representation in this chapter. As always, there’s the question of whether this is foreshadowing for later events. Other than that, Szeth is agonizing about whether he was rightly keeping the law of his people, or whether he was wrongly judged and condemned, and all his resulting actions have also been wrong. That’s as good a reason for Nalan’s presence as any, being all concerned with law-keeping.

As for Jezrien, Kaladin is rightly pursuing the one who wants to kill those he is sworn to protect, to keep him from doing so. However, when Szeth simply gives up, Kaladin no longer wishes to take his life. I’m a bit conflicted about just how honorable it is to incapacitate someone and let him fall a few hundred feet to his death, though.

Just Sayin’

What in Kelek’s tongue is going on out here?

Someone recently pointed out that “Kelek’s breath” is a frequently used exclamation, and might perhaps be related to a certain someone from Nalthis, where Breath is magic. Here, it’s “Kelek’s tongue,” but that might actually be just as relevant, since a Command is also required to Awaken. It’s… open for theorizing, until the background of the Heralds is resolved.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when the characters begin to examine the fallout from these events. Also, the Lopen.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, and is exceedingly thrilled about the new Arcanum Unbounded which is coming out in November. The artwork is fantastic, Khriss’s introductions to each system are mind-blowing, and Brandon’s notes on each story are, as always, fascinating glimpses behind the scenes. You’re going to want this.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, Shallan evacuated the armies through the Oathgate while Kaladin battled Szeth through and above the clashing storms. This week, in the aftermath, they face rearrangement of the world as they knew it. Also, Lopen is glow-y and Moash is gloomy.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 87: The Riddens

Point of View: Kaladin, Shallan, Lopen, Moash
Setting: Central Shattered Plains, Urithiru, the Warcamps
Symbology: Double Eye of the Almighty, Jezrien, Shalash

IN WHICH Kaladin crosses the twice-Shattered Plains with Syl; they discuss storms, armies, Shardblades, death, Honorblades, and the Nahel bond; Kaladin reunites with Bridge Four, and grieves the losses; bridgemen glowed with Stormlight during the battle, and Kaladin’s eyes are pale blue.

… Shallan considers Urithiru and identity; Dalinar and Navani send and receive messages about storms, riots, and disappearing kings; the Oathgate brings Kaladin and Bridge Four; Kaladin reassures them that the assassin is dead and Elhokar is safe.

… The Lopen practices with a sphere as his mother scolds the king; Uncle Chilinko brings news of the pending evacuation; Lopen sucks in Stormlight; he glows, and his arm begins to regrow.

… Moash sits gloomily on the back of a cart on the way out of the warcamps; the exodus begins, though not undisputed; Graves plans to rejoin the Diagram, with Moash as his consolation prize; Moash knows he’s been played for a fool, though he’s not sure how.

Quote of the Week

“I don’t feel so hungry, nanha,” Elhokar said. His voice was weak, but he’d awoken from his drunken stupor, which was a good sign.

“You’ll eat anyway!” Mother said. “I know what to do when I see a man that pale in the face, and pardon, Your Majesty, but you are pale as a sheet hung out for the sun to bleach! And that’s the truth of it. You’re going to eat. No complaints.”

“I’m the king. I don’t take orders from—”

“You’re in my home now!” she said, and Lopen mouthed along with the words. “In a Herdazian woman’s home, nobody’s station means nothing beside her own. I’m not going to have them come and get you and find you not properly fed! I’ll not have people saying that, Your Brightship, no I won’t! Eat up. I’ve got soup cooking.”

I love this woman. Maybe Navani should have spent some time with the Herdazians while she was raising her kids.

Off the Wall

Chaos in Alethkar is, of course, inevitable. Watch carefully, and do not let power in the kingdom solidify. The Blackthorn could become an ally or our greatest foe, depending on whether he takes the path of the warlord or not. If he seems likely to sue for peace, assassinate him expeditiously. The risk of competition is too great.

—From the Diagram, Writings upon the Bedstand Lamp: paragraph 4
(Adrotagia’s 3rd translation from the original hieroglyphics)

It’s impossible to completely recall first epiphanies, once you’ve read the whole book a dozen times or so, and I haven’t really tried with the Diagram excerpts. I think it’s safe to say, though, that this one was a real eye-opener. Naturally, we haven’t exactly been convinced that Taravangian is “good”—not since we learned he was the one behind Szeth’s serial assassination spree. We’ve had reasons to question the Diagram, but at this point, it’s obvious: if Dalinar tries to unite Alethkar, he must be assassinated for the Diagram to work. This, naturally and intentionally, strikes a very sour chord with the reader who believes Dalinar is doing the right thing… which is pretty much everyone, I assume.

This brings me to a quotation from one of the links someone gave us recently (I’m sorry, I don’t want to go searching for which link and who shared it—please identify yourself!). Although this wasn’t the subject of the discussion at the time, I noticed it:

Q – Taravangian: On his “Special Day” where he created the Diagram, was he actually as smart as he thinks he was, or was something else going on? It seems suspicious that any level of raw intelligence would let him deduce all of that…

A – That sure IS suspicious, eh? Let’s just say that HE believes it was rational deduction. But other theories are valid.

I’ll just leave that there for you to discuss.

Commentary

First off, I have to apologize to everyone for my lack of research last week. I assumed my memory was adequate to recall what Brandon had said about the textual changes, and clearly, it wasn’t!! I’ll try to fix that.

Next, a tiny bit of housekeeping: I’m going on vacation for a couple of weeks, soon. I’m planning to work ahead, because this is just a stupid place in the book to take a two-week break; however, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. If it’s not going to work, I’ll let you know; I might have to take a week off. Either way, we’ll finish at the end of July or beginning of August. I’d also like to include a quick review of the Prelude, just to see what we know now that we didn’t know then. Further plans are pending.

Onward, ho!

Well, the majority of the Avalanche is past; now we’re in the final-rumbling-and-stabilizing stage, as the world settles into a brief, uneasy quiet. The battles are fought, the storms have moved on, the new Radiants are revealed, and the Climax is over. In the aftermath, we’re presented with a number of smaller, but significant, facts and implications.

The Everstorm will hit New Natanatan, and after that they can only guess. The untimely highstorm is on its way across the continent, which will be bad enough by being a surprise. It remains to be seen what will happen if the two storms do follow opposite paths around the world, to crash again over some yet-unknown locale. (We the almost-omniscient readers, of course, can be quite sure that they will, of course do exactly that!)

It’s worth pointing out that Syl doesn’t know what will happen, because it’s never happened before. The Everstorm is not a normal part of a Desolation—if “normal” even means anything in this context. There’s certainly a sense of foreboding, though; everything on Roshar is set up to be protected from westward-moving storms, and you just know people won’t take seriously a warning that there’s a really bad blow coming from the west…

My second-favorite part of this chapter is when Kaladin finds Bridge Four waiting for him at the Oathgate. It’s such a good moment. The joy is marred by the death of three of their number, and the injuries suffered by others; at the same time, there’s a delight in being alive, and in being together, and in Kaladin’s return to his powers. I really like the way Rlain is presented: Kaladin is momentarily freaked out by this strange Parshendi saluting him, because this is his first exposure to the concept of the different forms. At the same time, he seems to jump immediately to Rlain’s defense when Sigzil says he’s been “pardoned”—he shouldn’t need to be pardoned for his race!—until Rlain himself explains that the pardon is for being a spy. Teft, ever the observant and blunt sergeant Kaladin needs, is the one with the best lines:

“You can’t protect us all, son,” Teft said. “You can’t stop people from feeling pain, can’t stop men from dying.”

Naturally, Kaladin can’t quite accept that—but he needed to hear it anyway. He will always want to protect his own, but sometimes he won’t be able to. Speaking of which… I really like Jeremy’s suggestion a couple weeks ago about the Ideals relating to the divine attributes. Just in case anyone hasn’t been following the comments, I’ll quickly recap here: The theory is that, while all Orders share the first Ideal, the remaining four are split, two and two, between the two divine attributes associated with the Herald of the Order. As an example, we’ve seen that the Windrunners’ 2^nd and 3^rd Ideals have to do with Protecting: I will protect those who cannot protect themselves and I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right. According to the theory, then, Kaladin’s 4^th and 5^th Ideals would have to do with Leading.

Unfortunately, I don’t know more than the third Ideal for any Order yet, so I have no way to check this out. Yet. But looking through the 2^nd and 3^rd Ideals I have… so far, I think it fits. The proof will, hopefully, come in SA3, with one or more 4^th Ideals revealed.

Back to the matters at hand, Kaladin doesn’t know—and doesn’t figure out—what to tell Bridge Four about Moash. There’s no pressing need, at the moment, but it will come, eventually. He’s going to have to deal with that. The end of the chapter finally makes me feel sorry for Moash, though; at long last, he realizes that he’s been a complete tool, and to seal the matter, he’s being dragged along as a consolation prize. He himself doesn’t mean a thing to Graves; he’s just a trophy to make up for Graves failing the assigned mission. Worse, he has two useful aspects in Graves’s eyes: he has Shards, and he knows Kaladin. Miserable as he is, he doesn’t know what to do but go along. This actually gives me hope—maybe, sometime in the next three books, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself and make us all glad Kaladin didn’t kill him.

Meanwhile, Shallan has found Urithiru and revealed her biggest secret to all of Alethkar, and now she has to figure out what that means. Aside from how hilarious it is watching people try to figure out what to do with a Knight Radiant, when they’ve “always known” that the KR were terrible, but now one has just saved the entire army… Shallan is having some difficulty dealing with it. It made me just a little nervous to read

Well, let them see Shallan the Radiant. She could always find freedom later, wearing another face.

I can understand it, sort of, but it worries me that her reaction to everyone watching her is that she can always use her Surges to hide when it gets to be too much pressure. Last week (and I failed to note this) Shallan acknowledged what she called “a deep truth”—that her spren was her living Shardblade. I don’t know if this is part of the self-awareness of a Lightweaver or not; it didn’t give her any noticeable power-ups, though it certainly gave her an instant means to save the armies.

Still, for now she’s willing to be “Brightness Radiant” to everyone, and to freely talk with Pattern about the situation. Oddly, though, she doesn’t respond—and mentally changes the subject—when he says that Lightweavers must speak truths.

In and among all this, we learn that there is very little available by way of natural resources up here. There’s no apparent place for crops, and precious little to burn for firewood. Those at Urithiru will be utterly dependent on Soulcasters for food, and on Shallan & Kaladin for transportation.

No pressure, though.

Stormwatch

Day Zero is nearly complete.

Ars Arcanum

Every time I think I’ve got a handle on the magic system, something gets slippery again.

“So they’re all spren,” he said. “Shardblades.”

Syl grew solemn.

“Dead spren,” Kaladin added.

“Dead,” Syl agreed. “Then they live again a little when someone summons them, syncing a heartbeat to their essence.”

“How can something be ‘a little’ alive?”

“We’re spren,” Syl said. “We’re forces. You can’t kill us completely. Just… sort of.”

“That’s perfectly clear.”

“It’s perfectly clear to us,” Syl said. “You’re the strange ones. Break a rock, and it’s still there. Break a spren, and she’s still there. Sort of. Break a person, and something leaves. Something changes. What’s left is just meat. You’re weird.”

Slippery. I don’t have a clear understanding of the Spiritual aspects of spren and rocks. In the Cosmere, do only humanoids have a Spiritual aspect that actually leaves and goes Beyond? All sapient beings? What about sentient beings, horses and chickens and chulls? And what about spren, who originate on the Cognitive realm and then manifest in the Physical? Do they have a Spiritual aspect too? I can see how a rock (or a stick) has a Physical aspect, and a Cognitive aspect of self-perception (I believe that’s how pairing fabrials work—by a split gem which still sees itself as a single gem). But I honestly don’t know whether a rock or a stick has a Spiritual aspect, or how it works if it does. Too much we don’t know yet. Syl gives me a headache, some days…

Then there are the Honorblades:

“The Honorblades are what we are based on, Kaladin. Honor gave these to men, and those men gained powers from them. Spren figured out what He’d done, and we imitated it. We’re bits of His power, after all, like this sword. Be careful with it. It is a treasure.”

“So the assassin wasn’t a Radiant.”

“No. But Kaladin, you have to understand. With this sword, someone can do what you can, but without the… checks a spren requires.” She touched it, then shivered visibly, her form blurring for a second. “This sword gave the assassin power to use Lashings, but it also fed upon his Stormlight. A person who uses this will need far, far more Light than you will. Dangerous levels of it.”

We’ve discussed this before, and I don’t think we have any clear answers; just opinions. Does “imitation” mean that spren always and only match the Surge pairings Honor gifted to the Heralds? Did they first figure out how to grant a single Surge? Could they grant several Surges to one person, before the rules were established? Is there a WoB on this subject?

Also, what does Syl mean by a person needing “dangerous levels” of Stormlight? Is there a danger in holding too much Stormlight, or for too long? Is the danger tempered by a Nahel bond? Or is it that if you run out of Stormlight, the Honorblade will drain your life, or something? This, too, is something I don’t think I understand properly, yet.

But now… another of my favorite parts of the book, and my absolute favorite of this chapter: The. Lopen. Shines.

The Lopen sucked in Light.

It happened in an eyeblink, and then there he sat, Stormlight streaming from his skin.

“Ha!” he shouted, leaping to his feet. “Ha! Hey, Chilinko, come back here. I need to stick you to the wall!”

The Light winked out. The Lopen stopped, frowning, and held his hand up in front of him. Gone so fast? What had happened? He hesitated. That tingling…

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.

“Oh, storms yes! Everybody, give the Lopen your spheres! I have glowing that needs to be done.”

This is so much fun. It comes not long after Teft’s statement that he saw some of the lads glowing with Stormlight just before Kaladin himself showed up at the battle. It’s not much guesswork to surmise that neither event could happen while Kaladin’s oaths were non-functioning. The question, though, is whether he needed to speak his third Ideal before it could happen. In other words, if Kaladin had maintained his bond, could this have happened earlier? Or is it always a third-Ideal-gets-a-live-Shardblade-plus-squires deal?

Note, also, the way Lopen’s arm immediately starts growing, even though he’s not consciously pursuing that. By way of contrast, Kaladin still has his scars.

Ars Mechanica

Quick note on the Oathgate: someone wondered earlier how the Bridge Four members got back to the Plains. Seems that they wanted to return, and as part of experimenting with the Oathgate, Shallan took them back. Once there, the bridgemen had to leave the plateau in order for her to return alone to Urithiru.

Something else to… notice, because there’s not much to say about it except “there it is.”

One of the pillarlike plateaus nearby flashed. It happened with a wall of light revolving around its perimeter, leaving streaks of blurred afterimage to fade. Someone had activated the Oathgate.

Compare this to the scene in the Epilogue (yes, I’m jumping ahead), when Jasnah arrives:

The air in front of him blurred, as if heated in a ring near the ground. A streak of light spun about the ring, forming a wall five or six feet high. It faded immediately— really, it was just an afterimage, as if something glowing had spun in the circle very quickly.

It’s not like we really needed further evidence that the Oathgate uses the Transportation Surge, but if anyone wondered… I’d say that’s it.

Heraldic Symbolism

We actually have to deal with the character symbol as well as the Heralds, this week. Most of the times we’ve seen the Double Eye, it’s been on Interlude chapters—specifically: Ym, Rysn, Lhan, and Taravangian. The only other times it’s used are Chapter 29, which is a Sadeas POV, and the Epilogue. Perhaps this is a way to acknowledge the importance of the POV of someone who doesn’t have an icon of their own.

If that’s the case, then the other two POV characters are well-represented by the Heralds of their Orders: Jezrien for the Windrunners, and Shalash for the Lightweavers.

Shipping Wars

There are two items of interest this week in the Shipping department. First, Shallan and Adolin:

Several scribes passed by, bringing paper to draw out maps of Adolin’s exploration. They bobbed quick, uncomfortable bows to Shallan and called her “Brightness Radiant.” She still hadn’t talked at length with Adolin about what had happened to her.

This implies that they haven’t had—or taken—opportunity for much private conversation; it’s quite possible they really haven’t talked about it at all beyond the “You too?” “Yeah, sorry” exchange from last chapter. I’d say the delay was unhealthy… except then I realize that it’s still the same afternoon they arrived at Urithiru, and there are Things To Do. The army is something less than the original 30,000 soldiers, now, but when you add in scribes, scholars, ardents, mistresses, and whatnot… there are a lot of people to look after. Personal angst over Shallan’s Radianticity™ has to wait.

The other item that at least warrants notice is this, which someone pointed out recently:

Dalinar stepped up beside her and they waited tensely, until a group of figures in blue appeared at the plateau edge and started down the steps. Bridge Four.

“Oh, thank the Almighty,” Shallan whispered. It was him, not the assassin.

One of the figures pointed down toward where Dalinar and the rest of them stood. Kaladin separated from his men, dropping off the steps and floating over the army. He landed on the stones in stride, carrying a Shardblade on his shoulder, his long officer’s coat unbuttoned and coming down to his knees.

He still has the slave brands, she thought, though his long hair obscured them. His eyes had become a pale blue. They glowed softly.

There it is, in context. Some will say that the level of detail indicates that she’s harboring a deeper interest, while others will say that she’s simply being observant, like artists often are. In any case, I expect everyone was relieved that it was Kaladin and not Szeth.

There. That ought to keep us busy until next week, when Shallan has multiple uncomfortable confrontations, Amaram makes new plans, and Szeth meets some strange characters.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. She hopes you have all had a chance to enjoy the new graphic novel White Sand, because it is totally canon and is also awesome. If you haven’t, you should.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last time, our friends began to cope with a changed world in the aftermath of the great clash. This week, secrets come creeping out: the Ghostbloods, the Sons of Honor, the Skybreakers, and Shallan’s past.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 88: The Man Who Owned the Winds

Point of View: Shallan, Amaram, Szeth
Setting: Urithiru, Kholin Warcamp, an unknown location
Symbology: Pattern, Shalash, Nalan

 IN WHICH Shallan finds the Ghostbloods waiting for her; though she confronts them defiantly, Mraize still wants her to be part of them; she finds Adolin waiting for her, which is much more pleasant; Pattern insists that it is time to face her past; she finally acknowledges the whole truth.

… Amaram prepares a message for Restares; he cuts his way into Talnenel’s cell; Iyatil fires poison darts at Amaram, but Talenel catches them with superhuman speed; Amaram escorts Talenel to his coach.

… Szeth realizes to his dismay that he’s alive; Nalan implies that Szeth will become a Skybreaker and will confront his people; Szeth wonders how he is to face those who bear the other Honorblades; Nalan gives him a black sword in a metal sheath; the blade whispers in his mind.

Quote of the Week

 “Why did she try to kill me, Pattern?” Shallan whispered.

“Mmm…”

“It started when she found out what I could do.”

She remembered it now. Her mother’s arrival, with a friend Shallan didn’t recognize, to confront her father. Her mother’s shouts, arguing with her father.

Mother calling Shallan one of them.

Her father barging in. Mother’s friend with a knife, the two struggling, the friend getting cut in the arm. Blood spilled on the carpet. The friend had won that fight, eventually holding Father down, pinned on the ground. Mother took the knife and came for Shallan.

And then…

And then a sword in Shallan’s hands.

“He let everyone believe that he’d killed her,” Shallan whispered. “That he’d murdered his wife and her lover in a rage, when I was the one who had actually killed them. He lied to protect me.”

“I know.”

“That secret destroyed him. It destroyed our entire family.”

“I know.”

This makes me sad all over again. After all these years, Shallan has to confront three things: her mother tried to kill her, her father sacrificed his reputation (and eventually his sanity) to protect her, and she killed them both: one defending herself, and the other defending what was left of the family.

The thing we still don’t know is why Lady Davar tried to kill her developing-Radiant daughter. Come to think of it, we also don’t know whether or not her father believed that Shallan was becoming a Radiant, or how he felt about the idea. We just know  that he didn’t want his daughter murdered.

Also, this was the same timeframe in which Jasnah first made contact with Ivory, and Gavilar was assassinated.

Off the Wall

1173090605  1173090801  1173090901  1173091001  1173091004  1173100105  1173100205  1173100401  1173100603  1173100804

—From the Diagram, North Wall Coda, Windowsill region: paragraph 2
(This appears to be a sequence of dates, but their relevance is as yet unknown.)

This turns out, on careful examination, to be the dates of the last ten highstorms prior to the Weeping. Or prior to the Everstorm, depending on how you look at it.

Commentary

One of the things that amazes me about this book is the way the climax blows you away, and then in the aftermath you get blown away in a different kind of storm. There is so much revealed in these last few chapters, even though it seems like there’s not much happening.

For starters, of course, there’s the fact that they’re moving into the tower because there’s really nothing else to be done. While the Everstorm still has to wrap around the planet, the out-of-sequence highstorm will be arriving soon; with no way of knowing what it will be like this high in the mountains, they have to assume it will be bad. Staying out on an open field would just be stupid when there’s an empty tower to be used for shelter.

So Shallan walks the halls, to find a note addressed to her stuck on the wall where she can’t help but see it, next to a room where Mraize waits for her. (How did he know she’d come that way?) Their whole interaction is unsettling on multiple levels. He implies that her Veil disguise is somehow more true than her identity as Shallan Davar – and that he has some right, and some special insight, to know better than she does.

At that point, it’s good to remember that he doesn’t know everything; it seems he assumes that no one else knows about her Lightweaving, but only that she has a Blade that is different than the others. While it’s true that Dalinar is the only one she’s deliberately shown an Illusion, and Kaladin saw some of her Illusions in the chasms, it’s a little presumptuous of him to assume that no one knows, and that she intends to keep it that way.

I guess I just don’t trust Mraize, because I don’t know what his purposes are. He claims that Shallan is a member of the Ghostbloods, and he will help her because they look out for their own people… but he also admits the enmity between them and Jasnah, tells Shallan he has her brothers, reminds her that the Davars still owe him a Soulcaster, and implies that he knows far more about her family than she does.

Ironically, he concludes by saying, “Let Shallan Davar be a Radiant, conformist and noble. Let Veil come to us. And let her find truth.” As a bunch of worldhoppers, I’m sure they know a lot of things she doesn’t, and it might be worth learning what they know. But Radiant=conformist just kills me, given that Vorin teaching has claimed the Radiants to be traitors for hundreds of years, and people aren’t sure whether to be grateful to her for rescue, or kill her as a traitor.

So much for the Ghostbloods: they are still secretive, and have admitted only that they killed Jasnah and are holding her brothers. Let’s move on to the Sons of Honor.

Amaram gives us a whole bunch of info: First, Restares is indeed connected with, and the probable leader of, the Sons of Honor. Second, they consider themselves responsible for the return of the Voidbringers, a goal which they have been pursuing rigorously. (Whether they are actually responsible or not, I find it revolting that they are perfectly happy with being the cause of so much acknowledged suffering, as long as they can achieve their purpose of dominance.) Third, they are confident that the Heralds will necessarily return, now that the Voidbringers have shown themselves. (Considering the current mental state of the Heralds, I question the wisdom of this desire as well as the assumed success.)  Finally, we learn that Amaram is planning to go to Urithiru among the armies. And that’s just what we learn from his letter.

He goes on to retrieve “the person who calls himself Talenel” by cutting his way into the back of Dalinar’s monastery and sneaking him out. (Interestingly, he considers the loss of Dalinar’s friendship to be one of the highest prices he must pay for the return of the Heralds. Not sure what to make of that.) In the process of abducting Talenel, though, Iyatil takes a couple of potshots at Amaram, which has a few remarkable implications. One, Amaram recognizes Iyatil as one of the Ghostbloods. Two, the Ghostbloods are trying to kill Amaram, though whether that’s personal or because of his involvement with the SoH we don’t know. Three, Amaram is surprised to find himself a target of the Ghostbloods, though he’s not surprised that the Herald might be.

Lastly, the Skybreakers. When Nalan restores Szeth to life, he makes some very interesting suggestions. One is that Szeth is qualified to be a Skybreaker; another is that Nalan has the capacity to make that happen at will. He assumes that Szeth will want to join them, and states that training begins immediately. This all falls into the category of “unreliable narrator info-dump,” so I don’t know just how much we can rely on any of it. We’ve never before seen an indication that the Heralds were ever directly involved in selecting their Knights, nor that they could command the spren to form a bond. Even if those things were true, though, why would someone in training as a Skybreaker (which Mraize also indicated was the case with Helaran) need or even want a Shardblade other than their spren? Why did Nalan give Szeth this particular blade?

Stormwatch

Day Zero… for the last time.

Sprenspotting

Other than Pattern, there aren’t really any spren to be observed in this chapter. In lieu of that, I’d like to point out a snippet of the conversation between Nalan and Szeth:

“My gods are the spirits of the stones,” Szeth whispered. “The sun and the stars. Not men.”

“Nonsense. Your people revere the spren of stone, but you do not worship them.”

This appears to indicate that the Shin (and/or the Stone Shamanate) worship the spren of stone, and the spren of the sun and the stars. Or, I suppose, it could be read to mean that they think the sun and stars are the spren of the stone.

Is it significant, that they don’t worship stone itself, but the spren of the stone? My mind is going in circles, wondering how that works. Does a Shaman have the power to observe or communicate with the actual spren of stone(s) in the Cognitive realm? As I recall, what we’ve seen so far indicates that objects appear as beads in the Cognitive realm, and the moving/active residents of that realm are the spren of emotions and processes. Does that matter? Shallan was able to communicate with the stick-bead – was that the spren of the stick? I’m so confused…

Ars Arcanum

This chapter holds the culmination of Shallan’s flashback sequence, and the deepest Lightweaving she’s ever done. After a superficial Illusion, she creates “a better lie” – a fully interactive Illusion of the room we saw in her first flashback: red carpet, once white, with a strongbox that opens and bodies that can be rolled over. Finally, we know for sure what happened, and so does Shallan.

To continue from the QOTW,

“I hate you,” she whispered, staring into her mother’s dead eyes.

“I know.” Pattern buzzed softly. “Eventually, you will kill me, and you will have your revenge.”

“I don’t want revenge. I want my family.”

I’m not quite clear, and I suspect maybe Shallan isn’t either, whether the “I hate you” is directed at Mother or Pattern. But it’s not too surprising that Pattern assumes she’s addressing him; combining that with what they know of the Recreance, it’s also not surprising that he assumes she will eventually kill him.

It’s worth noting that two chapters ago, Shallan acknowledged “A deeper truth” – that her Shardblade was different than all the rest. She admits it again earlier in this chapter, thinking that her Blade not only could appear in less than the requisite ten heartbeats, he had done so before. In this scene, she finally says it right out loud: the Shardblade her father had put in the strongbox was actually Pattern.

That leads into the acknowledgement that her mother had tried to kill her, and that she had defended herself with Pattern-as-a-Shardblade. This is the deepest of the truths she’s been hiding from herself for six years.

Does this make her a full-fledged Radiant? Has she reached the level of self-awareness, now that she’s not hiding things from herself, that completes her development? I don’t know that we can be 100% sure, but I do have to wonder. Last chapter, she asked Pattern if she was really “one of them,” and he said that she almost was, but she still had a few Words to say – truths, rather than oaths. This is, if my flaky memory is serving me at all, the fourth time she’s stated something specifically identified as “a truth.”

I’m terrified.
I’m a murderer. I killed my father.
My Shardblade is different from all the others.
My mother tried to kill me, and instead I killed her (and her friend).

Is this significant? What do you think?

Ars Mechanica

There’s a glaring question here, an artifact of The Changes. Szeth observes the man who healed him tucking something into his pocket:

“A fabrial of some sort? Glowing brightly?”

In the original version, Nalan says that Szeth could be restored “with the right fabrial,” but in the revised version, he says “with the right Surgebinding.” So did he use a fabrial, or not? Does he refuse to use the term “fabrial” because he knows it’s more accurate to say he’s using Surgebinding, or does he not want Szeth to know he has to use fabrials? Or is it a “super-fabrial” like maybe Oathgates and live-Shardblades? Or… what? Speculate, or bring WoBs to bear on the question.

Haven’t We Met Somewhere Before?

This week, we finally meet an old friend. Now we know where Nightblood got to without Vasher – but not why or how! Some would say that with this evidence that Zahel is Vasher, it’s proof that he’s not a Herald. Others would say that it makes more sense that a Herald would have given or loaned it to another Herald. As I seem to say a lot these days – we just don’t know enough yet. I wants more, I does.

More questions: what is the reaction of Szeth’s stomach to the proximity of Nightblood? Someone who wouldn’t want to use Nightblood for evil purposes is supposed to feel sick, while someone with ill intent is supposed to be irresistibly drawn to it. Which is Szeth?

Heraldic Symbolism

The obvious connections in the chapter artwork are for Pattern, insisting on and assisting in Shallan’s growth; Shalash, reflecting Shallan’s progress toward becoming a true Radiant by letting go of the lies she’s told herself; and Nalan as himself. There may be more, but the obvious is… pretty obvious.

Shipping Wars

He had his wrist wrapped, and the bruises on his face were starting to purple. They made him look slightly less intoxicatingly handsome, though there was a rugged “I punched a lot of people today” quality to that, which was fetching in its own right.

This just cracked me up. It’s followed, of course, by a far more significant conversation, involving kisses and refusals to let things be awkward due to her Radianticity. The thing I love most about it is that, besides being all adorable and stuff, they display signs of actual respect for the other individual, instead of mere infatuation. Oddly enough, there may be a bit less overt respect on Shallan’s part, because she’s so very determined not to be treated like fine china. I’m amused that neither of them seem to notice – or make a big deal of – Adolin’s way of effectively caring for her without using cotton wool. He had a conversation with her spren, found the necessary room, and made sure she wouldn’t be disturbed. He also made sure she had a Stormlight lantern (because he knew she might need Stormlight??) and blankets. She sort of notes his quiet competence without quite… noting it. She appreciates it, without feeling like he’s being overprotective. I really, really do hope these two make a go of it.

Housekeeping: I’m not quite sure whether or not there will be a post next week. I’d really like to, because I want to keep going, but I’m on vacation with my family and not sure I’ll have the time to focus properly. This week has been a bit dodgy, what with only sporadic internet access and lots happening, and next week is more of the same. I’ll let you know as soon as I know, okay? Sorry…

Also, we are moving forward with the plan to do a Warbreaker reread! I’ll spend some time in August sketching it out, and will begin sometime in September. So there’s that.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. She can currently be found on the prairies between Montana and Minnesota, wandering around national parks and monuments, and generally going unplugged. Except for this, because she misses this bunch of folks.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last time, the secret societies began to reveal their purposes in aftershocks from the climax. This week, Adolin gets angry and the new Radiants gather in conference.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Chapter 89: The Four

Point of View: Dalinar, Adolin, Dalinar
Setting: Urithiru
Symbology: Duelist, Jezrien, Shalash, Ishar, Palah

IN WHICH Dalinar has a vision of light and warmth; he awakes in his rooms in Urithiru; people are arriving from the warcamps.

… Adolin walks the halls of Urithiru pondering life; he encounters Sadeas, who intends to undermine Dalinar and take leadership from him; Adolin attacks and kills Sadeas; shocked, he drops Oathbringer out a window and removes the traces of his presence.

… Dalinar ascends to the roof of the tower; he shouts at the Stormfather, who finally responds; their conversation is depressing; Dalinar demands to be made a Knight Radiant; defying the Stormfather’s anger, he states the First Ideal of the Radiants, and the Second Ideal of the Bondsmiths; the words are accepted, with conditions; the Stormfather denies having sent the morning’s vision; Dalinar descends to meet Shallan and Kaladin; they identify their three Orders, and Renarin joins them as a fourth; Dalinar shares the bad news confirmed by the Stormfather; Kaladin prepares for a trip to Hearthstone while Renarin goes to requisition spheres for him; Dalinar and Shallan consider the situation and pledge to do what they can.

Quote of the Week

Warm light bathed him. A deep, enveloping, piercing warmth. A warmth that soaked down deep through his skin, into his very self. He stared at that light, and was not blinded. The source was distant, but he knew it. Knew it well.

He smiled.

Then he awoke.

I really don’t know the significance of this vision, and neither does Dalinar, but it’s profoundly beautiful. The first part of the vision places it in his childhood home, with his brother laughing in the next room and his just-outgrown collection of wooden swords carved like Shardblades still on display. It’s fairly clear that this is not a memory—or at least, the part about the light isn’t—but… what is it?

WoB says that the last chapter of the SA has already been seen in one of these two books (thank you, zad-man, for finding that for me!!). Does this seem a likely candidate? I’d suggest that it may be a preview of Dalinar moving from the Cognitive realm to Beyond. On the other hand, last week STBLST suggested the Fleet scene or Taln arriving at Kholinar. Of those, I think the former is more likely. Do you have other suggestions?

Off the Wall

There has to be an answer What is the answer Stop The Parshendi One of them Yes they are the missing piece Push for the Alethi to destroy them outright before this one obtains their power It will form a bridge

—From the Diagram, Floorboard 17: paragraph 2,
every second letter starting with the second

This seems fairly clear, once you separate the words. Apparently genius-Taravangian realized that if one of the Parshendi made the connection with the Odium spren, it would set up… well, exactly what it set up. Unfortunately for genius-T’s credibility, his solution—“destroy them outright”—is also what pushed them to the desperation that resulted in Eshonai’s bonding with the stormspren. Two questions arise, though:

1) Did the Diagram actually have any influence on the Alethi trying to destroy the Parshendi, or was that normal Alethi hawkishness?

2) Was Eshonai “the one” who formed the bridge, or was it Venli? I’m becoming convinced that Venli had already bonded a Voidspren before she trapped the first stormspren, so my answer is leaning toward “Venli.” What’s yours?

Commentary

This is another chapter with several major events and a plethora of minor ones. Warning: overuse of parenthetical remarks may be encountered.

Aside from the content of the vision/dream Dalinar experienced, the timing is weird and the source is unknown. There’s no highstorm, and the Stormfather denies sending it. So where did it come from? Maybe we’ll find out at the end of book ten?

There are other complications in Dalinar’s life for now, though. He’s got a zillion or so people arriving from the warcamps, for one thing. The new arrivals were able to make the trip much faster than the four armies, partly due to the map he sent and partly because they needn’t watch for Parshendi. It’s a good thing, too. Those already in Urithiru need the supplies and Stormlight from the camps, and those who had stayed behind need to get off the Plains before either the Everstorm or the highstorm wraps around the planet to strike again.

Speaking of new arrivals, Sadeas arrived—more’s the pity. It doesn’t take much conversation to explain his coming in spite of continuing opposition to Dalinar; in fact, it’s because of that opposition. His sole purpose in “obeying” the order is to continue his efforts to weaken Dalinar’s authority. He’s too short-sighted to drop his petty quarrel for the sake of all Roshar, the vindictive old fool.

“…You can’t have an army with two generals, son. Your father and I, we’re two old whitespines who both want a kingdom. It’s him or me. We’ve been pointed that way since Gavilar died.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.”

“It does. Your father will never trust me again, Adolin, and you know it.” Sadeas’s face darkened. “I will take this from him. This city, these discoveries. It’s just a setback.”

Honestly, when I read that again, I can’t blame Adolin at all for his reaction. Sadeas just said outright that he intends to destroy Dalinar by any means available; though he knows Dalinar is right, he simply doesn’t care. Nothing matters but his own ambition. What I can’t quite understand is why Sadeas was so willing to reveal all this to Adolin, and why he so deliberately needles Adolin with it. I can only conclude that he thought the Alethi traditions and customs, the game of political and social manipulation, would keep Adolin from taking direct action against him.

He was wrong.

It’s worth wondering, though we can’t answer it, how much of Adolin’s violent response to Sadeas is triggered by the disruption to his view of life caused by the return of the Radiants. He’s been through a lot lately: the loss and restoration of his fiancée, the march to the center of the Plains, the battle, the fight with Eshonai, his thrashing by Szeth, his father’s seeming destruction and rescue by Kaladin, Kaladin going all Radiant and flying off to fight Szeth, Shallan going all Radiant and bringing the armies to Urithiru just before they all died in the Stormclash—it’s a wonder anyone is functional anymore. Humans are resilient as a whole, though, and survival is a strong motivator. All that said, however, the fact is that the author chose to open this section with Adolin feeling overwhelmed specifically by Shallan’s change in status, and the reversal of their relative positions. (More on this below.) So… is that partly to blame for his eruption?

A major question for Oathbringer is how successfully Adolin managed to destroy the evidence. At first I thought that he’d done a good job, but… Did anyone see him in that part of the tower, someone he didn’t see? What did he do with his bloodstained cuffs? How is he going to explain cutting them off, if someone notices before he can destroy the shirt entirely? Also, why toss Oathbringer out the window? Granted it takes the Blade (theoretically) out of the control of Team Sadeas, but eventually someone’s going to wonder where it got to. Then what? Maybe he should have tossed Sadeas out the window, too.

As a side note, this is one of the rare cases where Sanderson puts in a bit of graphic violence… and I think it’s more disturbing for being the exception. It sets the scene apart, in a sort of bizarre I-fell-into-the-wrong-book way… which is, I think, pretty much how Adolin is feeling the whole time. Effective, no?

Back to Dalinar. On top of the mass migration of the Alethi, he’s got to figure out what to do about storms, Oathgates, Voidbringers, and Radiants. And he’s got a Stormfather to confront. (In the nitpicking-detail category, he recognizes what the Oathgate in Kholinar must be, and considers Shallan’s intent to unlock them all. Which reminds me… Given that only the Oathgate to the Shattered Plains had been left unlocked, might there be a connection between the unlocked Oathgate and the Plains being shattered? Some sort of backlash from whatever locked the other nine Oathgates? Or something like that? Not quite sure what I’m suggesting, but there might be something to consider. Theories in the comments, please!)

I have to say, this place is huge. A hundred stories, each successively smaller than the lower by the depth of a gardening terrace… that bottom floor by itself has to be enormous. It’s also worth noticing, as Dalinar does, that the top is so high there is very little crem on it.

But there’s a bigger reason for Dalinar to be at the top of the tower beyond appreciating the scale. It seems to be the best place for confronting the Stormfather—and if no one answers, well, at least Dalinar is alone this time! Fortunately, he answers—and we finally begin to learn more of what’s behind the visions. They were sent by Honor/Tanavast, and as his personification, the Stormfather literally had no choice about sending them. (We don’t know, still, whether he’d ever sent them to anyone before Gavilar.)

Stormfather is downright hostile here, though, and it’s a little intimidating. “Yes, I have to bond with you, but I want you to know that I hate you and I hope you die. Also, you don’t get to have a Shardblade or Plate. Thhbbbt.” Bizarre.

Still, the scene yields a lot of information, most of which I won’t take time to discuss in detail. (Please do so in the comments, though!) World rulers ignore warnings of the Everstorm; most think Dalinar is mad; Taravangian is pretending to be a friend; parshmen who come in contact with the Everstorm will assuredly become Voidbringers; there’s rioting in Kholinar; there’s a plague in the Purelake. I wonder if there’s an Iriali curse about living in interesting times.

Also, we learn the second Ideal of the Bondsmiths:

I will unite instead of divide, Stormfather. I will bring men together.

Once the Stormfather gets done with his rumbling and grumbling, we get to the title scene: The Four. Shallan and Kaladin are waiting for Dalinar in the very top room of the tower, with its ten pillars mirroring the ten Oathgates and the central pillar like Urithiru. (I can’t help wondering… are these remote controls for the Oathgates? Or just artwork?) Apparently this meeting was planned, and Renarin heard them talking about it, or something. As Dalinar demonstrates what Kaladin & Shallan have told him about sucking in Stormlight, he finishes healing, and knows he’s done it before, though he doesn’t seem to know for sure when. (Will we find out in Oathbringer?) Anyway, Shallan identifies the three Orders to which they belong, from her studies and all, and then Renarin pops in.

We all know this is a matter of some debate. We have only Renarin’s word that his spren, Glys, has made him a Truthwatcher. To support his side of the argument, we know (and Shallan knows) that Truthwatchers are one of the Orders; we also know from WoB that Renarin does see a spren no one else sees. His eyesight has healed from holding Stormlight, and he certainly hears the screaming of the dead spren when he summons his Shardblade, which only happens when a bonded (proto-) Radiant touches it. If he is a Truthwatcher, his Surges would be Progression and Illumination—a combination eminently suited to creating an Order’s “quirk” of looking into the future. It’s worth pointing out that Honor claimed Cultivation was better at seeing the future than he was; with Palah/the Truthwatchers directly opposite Ishar/the Bondsmiths on the KR diagram, it seems reasonable that they would be the ones most closely tied to her abilities. Also: why put Palah in the chapter arch, which most readers don’t really notice, unless she’s there in the same capacity as the other three?

The arguments against are, IMO, mostly a matter of people trying hard not to fall for an unreliable narrator. The readers have neither seen nor heard Renarin’s spren, probably because Brandon wanting this scene to be a surprise. Renarin seems to use his unique ability very reluctantly and perhaps involuntarily, which is different than the experiences of Kaladin, Shallan, and Lift… although I’d suggest that Shallan has come pretty close to “involuntary” a couple of times. The only other argument I can recall—and I’m mostly drawing on the Coppermind, since whoever wrote Renarin’s entry seems to be on the skeptic side—is that he and Shallan should share the Surge of Illumination, but we haven’t seen them do any of the same stuff. He hasn’t created any Illusions (that we know of) and she doesn’t use Illumination to see the future, so they must not be using the same Surge. As noted, though, every Order has something unique—it’s “quirk”—in the way the Surges combine, so that two Orders which share a Surge won’t necessarily be limited to using that Surge the same way. We’ll have to wait and see if Renarin (perhaps with Shallan’s teaching) can learn to create Illusions. I don’t recall anyone suggesting it, but perhaps the best argument “against” is Renarin’s apparent fear in claiming to be one of them. With Kaladin and Shallan being heroes, and his father demonstrating his own Radiant development, why would Renarin be so nervous about admitting it to these three? ::RAFO-sigh::

Anyway. Dalinar’s confirmation from the Stormfather that all the parshmen will go Voidbringer on them when the Everstorm comes gives Kaladin a sudden fit of filial duty. Not that I’m objecting to him finally deciding to go back and see his parents, really; I’m just feeling momentarily cynical. He hasn’t bothered to write to them and let them know he’s okay, but now suddenly he has to fall all the way there, using increasingly valuable Stormlight. Well, I guess. I’m kind of glad he’s going—for the sake of seeing what’s happened since he left, if nothing else—and glad Dalinar approved it. It’s just a little unfair that he’s the only person in the world who has the privilege of rushing off to protect his family; everyone else just has to take their chances.

So Kaladin heads off to pack, Renarin goes to requisition emerald broams from Elhokar, Lopen has been claiming he’s an Alethi king? and in the quiet of the top room, Shallan and Dalinar face the enormous task that lies ahead of them, with only their Ideal to guide them:

Life before death, Radiant.

Stormwatch

These events take place one week after the climactic battle and the Stormclash.

Sprenspotting

There are three mentions of spren in this chapter, and while this was not the original intent of the “Sprenspotting” unit, I’m going to address them here because it’s easier. And I can.

THE EVERSTORM IS HERE, AND THE SPREN OF THE ENEMY COME TO INHABIT THE ANCIENT ONES.

It’s clear, but worth noting, that the Stormfather speaks of the connection between the Voidspren and the Parshendi, who he calls “the ancient ones.” (FWIW, I don’t believe he could mean the Unmade instead, primarily because Honor & Cultivation were on Roshar long before Odium showed up and started dropping spren. Also, because the Unmade are more or less spren themselves.) When Brandon was asked (in separate questions) whether the Parshendi were of Odium, or of Cultivation, or of Honor, the first two were answered with “Not originally,” while the later just got a “No.” My theory is that the Parshendi, along with many of the shelled life forms, are native to Roshar and were there prior to the arrival of Honor and Cultivation; they may even have been direct creations of Adonalsium. Also, I assume that humans arrived with Honor & Cultivation from another place, or possibly that they created humans here like Ruin & Preservation did on Scadrial. Incidentally, I think the extension of the theory would imply that the non-Void forms of the Listeners result from a bond with spren either natural to the planet, or Adonalsium-spren… and the two may be the same thing.

Moving on:

I AM HIS… SPREN, YOU MIGHT SAY. NOT HIS SOUL. I AM THE MEMORY MEN CREATE FOR HIM, NOW THAT HE IS GONE. THE PERSONIFICATION OF STORMS AND OF THE DIVINE. I AM NO GOD. I AM BUT A SHADOW OF ONE.

The Stormfather’s description of himself confuses me no end—but almost everything about Splinters, Slivers, fragments, and shadows confuses me if I think about it too hard. This makes me love Dalinar’s response all the more: “I’ll take what I can get.” Another WoB from JordanCon this year expanded my previous understanding of the term spren, when Brandon indicated that Rosharans will call anything a spren, if it seems to be a sapient form of Investiture. Nightwatcher, Honor, Nightblood, Adonalsium… to a Rosharan, all of them would be “spren.” Which might apply to the Stormfather’s words here.

Third instance:

“The other orders must be returning as well. We need to find those whom the spren have chosen. Quickly, for the Everstorm is upon us, and it is worse than we feared.”

I love this casually-tossed-in implication that Dalinar is thinking the same things as the reader: if some Orders are returning, they probably all are, and we should expect to see them soon. Unlike Dalinar, we’ve had the advantage of meeting Ym and Lift already, and we know that Jasnah is still alive, so (assuming you believe Renarin) we already know representatives of six out of ten Orders. Seven, if you count Szeth as a Skybreaker. That leaves only the Dustbringers, the Willshapers, and the Stonewards to show themselves.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

A fanciful picture, with animals from mythology. He recognized a few from children’s stories, like the enormous, minklike creature with the mane of hair that burst out around and behind its head. What was it called again?

It sounds like a lion to me. It also sounds like something that wouldn’t do well on Roshar. Interesting, though, that such creatures were still a part of the fairy tales and myths. This could be another indication that the humans of Roshar originally came from another world. When they emigrated, they brought only animals that would be useful enough to be worth the effort; the rest they brought in stories.

Ars Mechanica

Storms, this place was high. His ears had popped several times while riding to the top, using the fabrial lift that Navani had discovered. She spoke of counterweights and conjoined gemstones, sounding awed by the technology of the ancients. All he knew was that her discovery had let him avoid climbing up some hundred flights of steps.

I’m going to assume that this really is a fabrial, since Navani was able to identify things like counterweights and conjoined gemstones, which we already know she understands quite thoroughly. It seems to be a relatively straightforward mechanical device, powered by Invested gemstones. (I’m still not convinced that the Oathgate is really a fabrial in the same sense.)

Have I mentioned that Navani makes my little engineer’s heart happy?

Heraldic Symbolism

The symbols in the chapter arch are too direct to need further clarification.

The Duelist: Adolin

Jezrien: Kaladin, the Windrunner

Shalash: Shallan, the Lightweaver

Ishar: Dalinar, the Bondsmith

Paliah: Renarin, the Truthwatcher

Shipping Wars

As Adolin walked the dark halls of Urithiru, he tried not to show how overwhelmed he felt. The world had just shifted, like a door on its hinges. A few days ago, his causal betrothal had been that of a powerful man to a relatively minor scion of a distant house. Now, Shallan might be the most important person in the world, and he was…

What was he?

We’ve been discussing this aspect of their relationship for several months now…

The initial revelation was pretty clearly not a problem for Adolin. He was delighted that Kaladin saved his father, and equally delighted that Shallan saved the army. The discovery of a couple of powerful magic-users during these terrifying events, and on his side this time, was all for the good, even if he felt a little awkward when he saw Shallan a couple hours later. (Considering how reserved Adolin normally is with regard to public displays of affection, I don’t find his apparent discomfort all that significant anyway.)

Five days later, though, it’s clearly been on his mind throughout the work of exploration and resettlement. I don’t think he ever felt patronizing toward her, despite his awareness of the difference in their social status; if anything, he deliberately ignored the difference because he found her so fascinating. It’s not so easy to ignore the reversal, though: his entire nation is now dependent on her, and her presence is very much in demand. Even his cousin, the king of Alethkar, isn’t as indispensable as Shallan is. Where does that leave him?

I still stand by this ship; I still think Shallan and Adolin are a far better match than Shallan and Kaladin ever could be. (Your mileage may vary, of course!) But… Brandon says he’s fond of conflict in relationships, and these two definitely have some conflicts to resolve! Whether or not Kaladin will be part of the conflict remains to be seen.

Just Sayin’

Silently, Adolin cursed the wind that had persuaded Sadeas—of all people—to heed the call to come to Urithiru.

This was the only Rosharan wind-idiom I caught this week, but I do like that wording.

And so we complete the final chapter. Next week, the Epilogue; the following week, in theory, the ketek and the Ars Arcanum, and then we’ll be finished. This almost makes me sad… but we’ll move on to other things.

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader. Rumor has it that Oathbringer will start beta sometime in September, so if she goes into hiding, you’ll know why.

Welcome back to the Words of Radiance Reread on Tor.com! Last week, a highprince died and four Radiants gathered. This week, Wit expounds and Jasnah Elsecalls, as we conclude our discussions of this magnificent behemoth.

This reread will contain spoilers for The Way of Kings, Words of Radiance, and any other Cosmere book that becomes relevant to the discussion. The index for this reread can be found here, and more Stormlight Archive goodies are indexed here.

Click on through to join the discussion!

Epilogue: Art and Expectation

Point of View: Hoid
Setting: a week away from civilization
Symbology: Double Eye of the Almighty, Joker, Battar

IN WHICH Wit waits at the back of beyond, entertaining the local fauna with esoteric discussions of art; a ring of light spins before him, and Jasnah appears at the center of it; she points an instantly-summoned Blade at Wit, who is profoundly unconcerned by it; after a bit of verbal fencing, Jasnah begins to list the things that will, or will need to, happen; Wit crosses off each item on her list as she goes; they begin walking toward the nearest town; further information is exchanged; Jasnah realizes that most of what she has learned may be irrelevant; with a brief philosophical discussion of the nature of God, they proceed on their way back to what’s left of civilization.

Quote of the Week

“Expectation. That is the true soul of art. If you can give a man more than he expects, then he will laud you his entire life. If you can create an air of anticipation and feed it properly, you will succeed.

“Conversely, if you gain a reputation for being too good, too skilled… beware. The better art will be in their heads, and if you give them an ounce less than they imagined, suddenly you have failed. Suddenly you are useless. A man will find a single coin in the mud and talk about it for days, but when his inheritance comes and is accounted one percent less than he expected, then he will declare himself cheated.”

I won’t go so far as to say that Brandon was directing this at any particular personal experience, but… have you ever read all the comments (twitter or facebook) when he announces anything? Every time he mentions an uptick in the Stormlight 3 progress bar, someone complains about not having the Rithmatist sequel yet. When he announces a new Stormlight novella for the forthcoming Arcanum Unbounded, someone complains that they don’t have SA3 yet.

(And of course there was the response to his work on The Wheel of Time—which ranged from, “Wow! That’s the story I’ve been waiting to read, and excellently done!” to “This jerk thinks he can write, but he screwed up my beloved story by not being Robert Jordan!” But… we won’t dig into that.)

On the other hand, there are those who have some understanding of just how much work it is to write a really excellent book—not only the story idea, but the story-crafting, the word-smithing, the revisions, the cross-checking—and those are the folks who make it worthwhile to read the comments. The people who say things like, “Take whatever time you need to make it what you want it to be! We can wait.”

Commentary

Jasnah lives! Oh frabjous day!

I’m really glad I had to write things down the first time I read this book, or I’d be tempted (like everyone else!) to say that I knew all along that she wasn’t dead. But going back to old notes, I can see that I was shocked and dismayed, then disbelieving, then cautiously accepting of her death. I wasn’t 100% sure she was dead—that missing body, you know—but at the same time I could accept that Brandon might actually have killed her, if that’s what he needed to do for the overall plot. And I’d have been okay with that. Not happy, but okay.

I also recall that, while I was delighted to learn that she wasn’t dead, I couldn’t help feeling like the dead-not-dead card was being overplayed. Looking at it now, though, my guess is that we’re going to get a similar type of death in one of the next three books, and just when we’re all looking smugly around and saying, “Nah, he’s not really dead,” the thoroughly dead body will show up and we’ll be gaping like fish, wondering how that happened. (Just guessing, though. I haven’t seen anything yet, honest!)

Ah, well. So what, precisely, has Jasnah been doing over there in Shadesmar? Where did she get a backpack and a bandolier, and what does the bandolier hold? (Wit doesn’t see fit to mention that for us, now does he?) Perhaps she met someone—maybe Khriss?—in Shadesmar, and was able to obtain some useful items. Presumably, she was also able to find some source of food, since she’s been there physically this entire time. (At least, I assume a physical body gets hungry, even when it’s wandering around in the Cognitive realm.) But there are a whole bunch of minor details included that raise a whole bunch of major questions. How did she get burned? That wasn’t part of the assassination. What did she do in Shadesmar to get so tattered? It’s quite possible she had a belt knife, which she could use to cut her dress to a practical length, but did she always carry needles and thread in her pocket? Somehow, she’d sewed herself a glove. Or maybe she just got Ivory to turn himself into a Shardneedle?

There are a few things we do know, however. She was able to learn some things from the highspren regarding previous Desolations, even if the account is incomplete. Unfortunately, she learned enough to know that things are happening differently this time… which means that the information she sought at Urithiru, if it even exists there, may not be as useful as she had anticipated.

We also know that she now has a fully functional Shardblade-level bond. When she spoke the Oaths to bring her up to that level, we don’t know. Considering she’s been working on it for six years, it’s quite possible that she’s been a full-fledged Radiant for a while, and we just didn’t know. But I want to know!

After reading the epilogue again, I can certainly see how Jasnah and Wit wouldn’t get along very well. His particular brand of humor, especially in context of a dire threat to her world, would be really grating. While Jasnah clearly has a sense of humor, Wit’s overt snark wouldn’t be the sort of thing she’d find all that funny. Perhaps, in a time of less urgency, she’d be mildly amused by him mocking Amaram, but… well, this is not that day.

Finally, there is the brief interchange on the subject of God. I really don’t know what to make of it. I enjoyed the specific acknowledgement that Tanavast, so-called “Almighty,” is definitely not God, though for practical purposes on Roshar he was a god. What I don’t quite know is whether Hoid considers Adonalsium to be God, or whether he’s doing some hand-wavey “God is whoever we think he is” schtick. If it’s the latter, there’s not much more to be said. If it’s the former… then I have to wonder about the implications!

Also, how did he know where and when to find her?

The scene leaves us with more questions than answers, despite Jasnah’s return and her identification as an Elsecaller. But… that’s part of the mark of a good epilogue, isn’t it? It leaves you wanting more.

Stormwatch

The timing is currently unknown. Wit believes that the storm should hit Shinovar this night, but whether that’s because he knows when it will hit, or if it’s an estimate based on the speed of highstorms, he doesn’t say. In any case, it should be sometime during the gap between Chapter 88 and Chapter 89.

Sprenspotting

No actual spren were observed in the rereading of this chapter.

That said, Wit’s comment must be quoted:

“You’ve been making quite a disturbance on the other side,” Wit said. “It’s been a long time since the spren had to deal with someone alive, particularly someone so demanding as yourself.”

This makes me laugh, imagining the poor spren trying to figure out what to do with Jasnah, stomping around in Shadesmar demanding answers. Still, it’s pretty cool that she was able to do some research with them.

All Creatures Shelled and Feathered

We have an “ugly lizard-crab thing,” which I assume must be some sort of cremling? And songlings, which always sound to me like they must be related to cicadas or something like that. The best part is how both critters seem to respond to Wit’s conversation. Does he actually manage to a) communicate with them or b) manipulate their responses? I don’t know that it actually matters, but it’s funny.

Ars Arcanum

The air in front of him blurred, as if heated in a ring near the ground. A streak of light spun about the ring, forming a wall five or six feet high. It faded immediately—really, it was just an afterimage, as if something glowing had spun in the circle very quickly.

In the center of it appeared Jasnah Kholin, standing tall.

I’ve already noted this, of course, but I’ll point it out again anyway: this is exactly the same imagery described by Shallan in Chapter 87, when the Oathgate was activated by Kaladin. At some point, I really need to work out a more detailed theory about fabrials that do straight-up mechanical stuff, and “fabrials” that truly replicate Surgebinding.

Or I could just wait for Oathbringer. That might have answers on the subject.

“You realize we’re at least a week away from civilization. Did you need to Elsecall this far out in the middle of nowhere?”

“I was somewhat pressed at the time of my escape. I’m lucky to be here at all.”

It sure will be fun to learn more about Elsecalling. Presumably, with practice it can be used in a more precise manner than this, or it wouldn’t be much good. But at the moment, I want to know what Jasnah was escaping from when she was so pressed for time. She clearly spent a hefty chunk of time in Shadesmar; even if time doesn’t seem to pass in the same way, she was there long enough to get information from the highspren. So it doesn’t make sense that she’s referring to her escape from the ship. More of those “grinders” (painspren) from the non-canon Jasnah scene? I want to know!!

Heraldic Symbolism

The symbolism in the chapter icon is fairly clear, once again. The Joker represents Wit, who is also the POV character for the scene. Battar represents the Elsecallers, of which Jasnah is a (the?) member.

End Materials

I just have to mention, in case anyone missed it before, that (as in TWoK) the phrases of the ketek also form the titles for the five Parts of the book. If you want a little more on the structure of the ketek, look up chiasm, which is the same sort of thing; the ketek, though, has more demanding limitations in that it has to form a comprehensible statement along with the symmetry.

I think it would be difficult to write a good ketek. It would for me, anyway.

While I won’t dig deeply into the Ars Arcanum, there is some very juicy info included. First and foremost, this version includes our first authoritative list of the Surges and a very brief summary of what they involve. It also mentions something that we easily forget: the chart of the Ten Essences, etc., is based on traditional Vorin symbolism, not necessarily hard factual relationships.

Khriss speculates on the relationship between Surgebinding, Voidbinding, and the Old Magic, but what she says is mostly enough to convince us that we know essentially nothing of the latter two. I daresay that’s coming, soon enough!

The information on Fabrials and Windrunner Lashings is much like that contained in TWOK, though I didn’t do a strict comparison. The notes on Lightweaving, which are new, drop tantalizing hints of similar use of magic elsewhere in the Cosmere. I’m always curious when there’s a hint of Yolen involved, since that seems to be as close as we get to an “original world” in the Cosmere.

Well, here we are, at the end of the book. We did it, y’all. We reread, in great detail, Words of Radiance. I’m … rather sad that it’s done, though I’m definitely ready for a break. Thank you all so very, very much for making this such a rewarding experience! Despite occasional friction, I’m proud to be a part of this community; you people are magnificent, and I’m honored to consider you friends.

What comes next? I don’t want to lose momentum, but there’s just no more Stormlight to be had until Arcanum Unbounded comes out in November. You will definitely want to join in on the discussion of the Lift novella Edgedancer when it’s released, though, because we need to talk about it! (Brandon thought it was going to be a 17,000-word novelette, but it ended up right around 40,000 words, because he used it to let us observe some things that needed to happen before the events of the next book take place. Trust me, we need to talk about it.) After that, though, we just have to wait for the release of Oathbringer, and that’s going to be a while. There’s some indication that the beta will begin early this fall, and the beta-readers are currently doing a group reread discussion of WoR in preparation, but… we’ll have to wait and see. Team Sanderson is working on ways to streamline the process without compromising the quality of the work, so it might not be as long a wait as we would currently expect. Dunno.

In lieu of Stormlight, then, we’re going to go explore BioChroma. Yes, I’ve gotten the go-ahead for a Warbreaker reread. I’m looking forward to digging into Vasher’s character, knowing that he was written as a sort of prequel to Zahel. It should also be fun to do a reread where we’ve got direct commentary by the author; I’ll be looking at not only the text, but also the annotations. No idea how it will work or what the structure will be, but we’ll have fun with it anyway! It will start sometime in September; the exact schedule is still TBD.

With that, let me thank you again for being such a superb group. Keep in touch, my friends!

Alice Arneson is a long-time Tor.com commenter and Sanderson beta-reader, who is still somewhat shocked—and definitely humbled—to find herself in this position. Her heartfelt thanks go to the wonderful team at Tor, who make it so easy to be here. You ROCK!

Tor Books is offering readers and Brandon Sanderson fans a free download of The Stormlight Archive Pocket Companion!

This limited-edition hardcover book of trivia from the first two books in the series, The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, is a compilation of interesting details, character profiles, in-depth descriptions of landscapes, maps, illustrations, and unanswered questions. It was originally only available in hardcover form at 400 specific retail bookstores earlier this year.

Tor Books is offering the free download through the Tor/Forge blog. Head there for more details!

Are you due for a nostalgic reread of your favorite fantasy series? Or maybe there’s an epic fantasy saga you’ve been wanting to pick up but have been too intimidated to get started. Either way, the Tor/Forge blog has got your back! This week they announced Fantasy Firsts, a celebratory read-along of the first book from fantasy series taking place over the next twelve months.

We are pleased to announce Fantasy Firsts, a yearlong celebration of the first book in a fantasy series. Throughout the year we’ll be talking about old favorites and introducing new fantasy firsts. We’ll feature guest posts from authors, special offers on ebooks, extended excerpts, exciting sweepstakes, and more. You can follow along on our blog, as well as across social media using the hashtag #fantasyfirsts.

Whether you want to gush with us about your favorites or are looking to discover your next great read, we hope you’ll join us in this celebration.

Each month, Tor/Forge will post extended excerpts from the month’s titles and rerun guest posts from the authors. You can read the first five chapters of Royal Street, the first installment in Suzanne Johnson’s urban fantasy Sentinels of New Orleans series. And next week’s spotlight title will be Alyx Dellamonica’s Child of a Hidden Sea, the first of the Hidden Sea Tales; you can read that excerpt on Tuesday, October 18.

What’s more, Tor/Forge is hosting giveaways Goodreads for four of the featured titles: Royal Street, Child of a Hidden Sea, Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World, and Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings.

And if you decide to write a blog post about #fantasyfirsts or take a bookstagram pic, make sure to use that hashtag. Happy reading!