Stormlight Archive 2
Brandon Sanderson
PROLOGUE
Jasnah, leaves a party where her brother, Elhokar, is trying to keep wraps on their drunken uncle, Dalinar. In the hallway, she sees her father, King Galivar scolding Amamram, a man he hoped she was going to marry. Amaranth runs off on an errand reguarding the treaty. She can tell he is hiding something. Jasnah starts walking down the hall to get to a meeting, but the shadows overwhelm her. She ends up sinking into a world of beads. She starts drowning in them until she focuses on one and concentrates to make it the hallway floor below her. A dark figure looms over her. She focuses on making a statue of Talenelar’Elin move to protect her with its portrayed Shardblade. The dark figure raises two fingers to its forehead and bows and the world of beads is gone. She sees something for a minute and she thinks it is the mythical kingdom of the spren. She gets to her meeting with Liss late, but her servant, Talak, is still outside the door. Jasnah’s original plan was to pay Liss for an assassination. When she arrives, she decides it is too soon to decide if that is needed and pays for Liss to watch her brother’s wife. Jasnah gives her an envelope and tells her she will fire a handmaiden so Liss can take her place next week. Jasnah asks about Liss’ servant that she had wanted to show off, but Liss explains he was a Shin and too good of a servant, so she sold him into slavery. Jasnah reminds Liss of their previous agreement: if anyone tries to put a hit in a member of the royal family, Jasnah will pay them the same wage for the information. When Jasnah leaves the room, she remembers the Parsgendinhad a Shin man with them. She decides to go back to the party to have a look. When she gets up the stairs, she sees many people are in a panic over something they has happened. She finds her father’s body and the shardblade next to it. Someone orders that Elhokar be taken to safety. The Parshendinare there with Jasnah and they admit they are behind the assassination of her father because he was about to do something very dangerous. She tells them their actions will result in war and they understand. Three of their leaders are kept and executed, but the rest are able to get away. The men Dalinar sends after them all die. Jasnah spends her time researching to keep her sanity.
PART ONE: ALIGHT
1. Shallan is the same boat that took her to … with Jasnah to get to their next destination. A giant shelled creature called a santhid starts swimming next to the boat. Shallan asks to be lowered into the water so she can get a better look at the creature that no one has ever really gotten a look at. The captain says it is too dangerous and refuses it. Jasnah comes on deck and is surprised to find Shallan there instead of reading. Shallan admits she got distracted and shows Jasnah her drawings. Jasnah finds one of …, the spren realm and is concerned Shallan may have tried to go back there herself. She decides it is better for Shallan to have more information so she does not put herself in unnecessary danger. She explains the spren are ideas and their realm is where those ideas form. It is not really a place but a space of the mind. Shallan feels guilty for being with Jasnah and not being able to bring her brothers back the money they sent her away to get. Jasnah says she believes her mother can fix Shallan’s soulcaster and that is where they are headed. She brings up the topic that she has also started putting down the idea for Shallan to marry Adolin, son of Dalinar. Shallan is very happy with this idea, which surprises Jasnah. Shallan knows what that connection could mean for her family and she admits she had planned on her father marrying her to someone far worse. She is a bit nervous about how she will be treated at court and Jasnah promises to teach her how to act. Jasnah gives her the rest of the day to work in her drawings. Shallan orders the captain to stop the ship, string her up, and lower her into the water. She sees the santhid and takes a mental picture to be able to draw it later.
2. Kaladin brings together Scar, …, and …. He explains how he is planning to take the more ambitious men and make them squad leaders in the army they are forming of the previous slave bridge men. Kaladin himself was named Captain by Dalinar. He wants one of them personally watching Dalinar at all times. He believes their continued freedom is linked to Dalinar’s survival. The men start to have their slave mark tattoos covered up with the sigils for freedom including the date Dalinar gave it to them. One of them asks to have Bridge 4 added to his tattoo because that is what really saved him. The others follow suit. Moash, who doesn’t have a slave mark in his forehead opts to get the tattoo on his arm instead. Kaladin goes last, but the ink won’t take. He realizes he still has stormlight left in him, which has gotten better at holding in. He lets it go and she tries again. It still doesn’t take and Kaladin decides they will try again later. They go to Rind for clothing as Dalinar ordered. The men are hesitant at first, but once they see the nice clothes, they are excited to have them. Rind explains they will also have breastplates and steel helms, but Kaladin says they clothes will be fine for now. Teft thinks he should show Dalinar he is a light eyes, but Kaladin doesn’t want the higher ups to take anything away from him. The men tear their patches off signaling them as Dalinar’s saying they will need Bridge four patches. Rind agrees to it and points Kaladin to his own uniform. He is surprised a dark eyes is a captain. Kaladin rips off the Cobalt Guard insignia from his uniform as well.
3. Shallan is surprised to find a doodle of the symbol-head creature on her page. She switches from oencil to ink to really be able to define it. Jasnah come a to her room and the symbol is dancing around the room. Jasnah explains they are both able to do what they do because they are like the Knights Radiant (though that title is king gone). Each one has a specific spren they would bond with. Jasnah’s is named … and he doesn’t like to be spoken of because of his distrust of humans from their betrayal. Jasnah says this one dancing around the room is Shallan’s. Since they are binding with different types of spren, they are from different orders. Jasnah was hoping they’d be in the same order to simplify teaching Shallan, but suspected they would not be. The symbol-head spren call them selves c… spren. No one has been able to communicate with them for thousands of years.
4. In Dalinar’s vision, he wades through water as a soldier with an army. Each squad gathers around a knight and his seems to be wearing Adolin’s Shareplate. He realizes it is a woman. He tries to say relevant things so Navini can possibly hear him while he is semingly asleep. The Knights Radiant tells the soldiers they are retreating because there is something awful up ahead. They start running. A spren animates a rock and it becomes a monster. The Knight fights it off. The Almighty speaks to Dalinar and tells him he must seek out …. When he wakes up, Navini is there and tells him he was speaking in multiple near extinct languages. She has him recount the dream and records what he says. Dalinar thinks he probably should have left out the part about the Almighty dying. He says he has to reform the Knights Radiant. Navini asks to live in his quarters, be he tells her no. She kisses him passionately and tells him she is not patient and is used to getting what she wants. He has Kaladin escort her home. Dalinar falls asleep thinking about the proclamation he is about to make public. When he wakes up there are scratches on the wall that make glyphs. He thinks they say 62 days follows death. Navini has an ardent that specializes in handwriting and glyphs come look at them and she says they are sloppy and unclear. Kaladin comes in and there is obvious tension between him and Adolin. Kaladin is embarrassed anyone got passed his guard. Dalinar says it doesn’t matter but to do better in the future. Kaladin is dismissed. Dalinar tells Navini they don’t have much time and must put out his proclamation immediately.
5. Kaladin has the cryer read Dalinar’s proclamation several times. As High Prince of War, he is ordering the High Princes to work together to collect gemheart, which will be turned over to the king. The king will then decide who has earned what. Sadeas has put Dalinar’s Shardblade through the table. His wife comes into the room and lounges on the couch. He is frustrated with all that is going on and what Dalinar is doing. His wife promises to get more spies into Dalinar’s camp. He isn’t sure if he should have let the kingdom fall apart or not. If the High Princes end up uniting under Dalinar, he plans to have him assassinated. Kaladin and Moash walk up to the king’s lodgings with a few of their men. They are huffing and puffing by the time he reaches the top unwinded because of the stormlight. He enters the King’s meeting room where only he and Dalinar are present. He asks to see all the possible entrances including any hidden ones. The king is reluctant at first, but Kaladin convinces him it is the first place an assassin would look to use. Adolin and Renarin enter the meeting room. Dalinar tells Kaladin to guard the main door from inside the room so he can hear what is being discussed so he can prepare his men. When the meeting starts, most of the attendants think Dalinar’s proclamation will unite the High Princes against them. If they retract it, it will make the king look weak. Kaladin suggests they take away the High Princes’ weapons since they can’t take away their armies. Dalinar likes the idea and decides he will allow dueling so Adolin can win all their Shardblades. As they discuss, Kaladin is surprised at how whiney the king is. He says so to Sil who flutters about unseen. When the meeting is over, Dalinar talks to Kaladin alone. He tells him he knows his family is going to be in danger and he is going to need guards on his sons and Navini as well. Kaladin says he currently only has about a dozen men trained that he trusts. He intends to get more trained as quickly as possible, but he reminds the brightlord he is starting out with bridgemen. Dalinar says Kaladin will also take over the king’s guard. He will start moving Kaladin’s men in immediately and move the current guards to his own army. He confides in Kaladin that there might have been an attempt on the king’s life when they were on the plains. He reminds Kaladin they are working within the time frame scratched into his walls: 60 days. Kaladin says he can handle it, but he isn’t quite sure how yet.
6. Shallan’s spren, Pattern, flutters about while she makes notes in her notebook. He doesn’t like to stay hidden from the crew and Shallan doesn’t like to stay cooped up in her room. After she explains to him why she does writes things down to remember, she asks what the first thing he remembers is. He tells her being with her in a green space. Shallan realizes he means her father’s gardens. The ship fades away and she starts to see them. She quickly stops it. Y’all comes over to Shallan to settle a debate between him and the newest crew-mate. After proving he is right about being with Shallan when she met the king, he sends the new guy off to galley duty. He asks Shallan about the green he saw around her for a second and the spren that stays around her. She says she is just studying the spren for academic purposes. Pattern notices Yalb’s lies. Pattern says he likes good lies, true lies. The first time Shallan had soulcasted, she was required to give a truth. She doesn’t think it was Pattern that required it. She goes to her room and Pattern follows. She researches the Nightwatcher (a woman despite popular legends) who also talked to spren. She feels content now that everything seems to be coming together in her ideal way: sketching during the day, studying at night, engaged to a prince, and not having to worry about her brothers. She reaches into her pocket to pull out more spheres to provide more light, but the ones in her pocket are completely dun. Shallan goes to Jasnah’s room to ask for spheres she can use for light. The door is open and Shallan is shocked to see Jasnah is looking at the page in horror. Shallan tries to sneak away, but Pattern calls out truth. Shallan requests spheres and Jasnah asks if she has been soul casting. Shallan says she hasn’t and Jasnah says it is the second ability. Shallan admits she appeared to make color appear when she thought about plants. She shows Shallan the 10 Esscenses: spheres connected by lines in the shape of a hourglass on its side. She says the spren have decided to return the oaths to them. Jasnah thought she was an anomaly. Now she thinks the Cryptic sent Shallan to her for training. Jasnah admits she is confused by a lot it as well. She gives Shallan a bag of spheres and tells her to always keep some in her for her surge-bonding. Jasnah asks her not to keep away from soulcasting because it is dangerous. Shallan realizes Jasnah is terrified. When Jasnah tries to send her to bed, Shallan reminds her she agrees to include her. Jasnah tells her about the Voidbringers that trained the Knights Radiants. The Voidbringers were enslaved. Jasnah believes they are coming back to get revenge and they have no way to learn what they need to know. Jasnah shows her an account from a plateu battle showing the Parshendi can sing to each other no matter the distance. Jasnah says she has tried to tell people, but she has been dismissed. She says they are going to her brother and Uncle because they might believe her. Shallan asks about the ancient city Eutheru that is said to be off limits to Voidbringers. Only a Knight Radiant could open the way. Neither of them have their traditions and knowledge, only some of their powers. Each time this has happened, it takes centuries to rebuild civilization. Most accounts of the city have been scrubbed from history. They are really going to the Shattered Plains to get more information. The Alethe people are so reliant on Parshman, all they would need to do is walk away to cause a huge upset in their society. Jasnah says they must find the city at all costs. She gives Shallan a book, the Words of Radiance, about the Lightbringers, the knights order that they had the most information about. Shallan goes back to her own room and decides to start the book in the morning. She wakes up to screams and smoke.
7. Shallan opens her door and finds three men with torches in the hallway. One of them is the new guy that was with Yalb earlier. She can see Jasnah is bloody and they out a sword through her chest. Shallan accidentally lets out a scream and they turn to see her she goes back into her room and bolts the door shut. The men bang against the door to get in. Pattern tells Shallan to use her surgebinding to create a lie out of the truth. When the men make their way in, Shaman panics. She uses the starlight to create a figure of light running out of the room. The men chase it. Shallan goes to Jasnah’s room and finds her trunk of books are gone. She can hear the men killing the crew one by one. She grabs the spheres and decides she will have to sink the ship to give the crew a chance to survive. Pattern takes her into Shadesmar and she can see the boat has a life if its own. It diesnmt want to change, only to serve. She points out its masters are dying. It transforms and Shallan is back in the ship and then suddenly under the water something grabs her by the waist and drags her further into the depths.
8. Dalinar goes out to the next plateau race without his Shardplate on. He meets up with Highprince Aladar in his command tent. His men join Aladar’s on the platuea and keep the Alethi from loosing the battle. Aladar is not happy about the proclamation that pairs him with Dalinar for this raid. He thinks working together will lower his earnings making it harder to feed his army. Dalinar notices the Parshendi are about to withdraw from the battle and points it out to Aladar. Aladar doesn’t want to listen to him and reminds Dalinar that he is in charge of this particular raid. Dalinar tells him he was only giving a suggestion. Aladar follows his advice and the Parshendi back off. They leave a few to watch what happens next. Both Dalinar and Aladar find this odd as they have never done that before. Dalinar asks Aladar to trust that he knows what is best for the kingdom. Aladar admits that he could trust Dalinar, but he could never trust the other high princeses not to do to him what Sade’s did to Dalinar. Dalinar is frustrated. He goes back to his own camp and sends his report to the king. He finds an unexpected letter in his tent and sends for Navini to read it. He is down to 60 days. He believes he might have been the one to write the message on his wall.
9. Kaladin goes down into the chasms with Teft, Rock, and some of the new men for training. They were not taking to Teft’s training and Kaladin thinks they need an invitation to be one of them by training the way they had initially trained. They start searching around the chasms and split up a bit. Kaladin wonders off with Syl. He is still upset about someone getting into Dalinar’s quarters. He wonders if what left the message on the wall isn’t human. He asks Syl if there are other like him. She has been expecting the question and it makes him wonder if she is going to tell him the truth. She is insulted by him saying she would lie like a Cryptic. When he asks what that is, she explains that she doesn’t know. She knows they are something, but she doesn’t have the memory of what they really are. Before she was with him, she was with other spren. She left to find him even though she was told she was not allowed to. She was just a wind spren until she formed the bond with him. Now she considers herself an honor spren. She tells him he is one of the people Dalinar is looking for. He is afraid if he reveals that, they will take everything from him again, including her. Rock comes over to tell Kaladin that Teft has started working with the men in the area he marked for them. Syl likes to tease Rock, who bows to her and says he will build her an shrine. She becomes excited at the idea. Rock then says Sigzil sent him to get Kaladin so he can start practicing his abilities. Kaladin decides they can do it there and Rock goes to get him.
10. Shallan dreams of her father telling her it wasn’t her fault as he wipes blood from her face. He carries her over the body of her facedown mother — the eyeshot horrible to look at — as he sings her a lullaby.
11. Waking up on a rocky beach, Shallan realizes the santhid saved her. She gets up and starts looking for any other survivors from the ship. She finds Jasnah’s trunk and opens it to find her journals have survived. She takes a sphere from it and decides she will need to make a small fire to keep warm. She has no idea how to do this. Pattern warns her to be careful when going to Shadesmar. What is land here is water there and vice versa. She goes in slowly and then tries to convince the stick to become fire. She is unable to convince it before she runs out of stormlight and is sent back to her own world. It is night and she is freezing. She decides she will not die there helplessly. She gets up and starts looking for help. She is exhausted by the time she finds a fire and people around it. She stumbles up to the fire, lays down, and goes to sleep. When she wakes up in the morning, she finds the fire belonged to slavers. She decides to act like Jasnah would and demands they take her to the Shattered Plains. They are reluctant at first, but she promises they will be compensated. She goes to the cart and tells one of the men to help her up. He does. They go to fetch her trunk and start heading north.
12. Kaladin stick rocks to the wall and then has Rock hang from them until they fall. Lopen watches to make sure none of the new recruits stumble onto what they are doing. They are unsure how long the rocks will stay. Sigzil has Kaladin start with a baseline from a diamond chip, the smallest denomination, and stick a rock to the wall using only that. Rock notices other spren holding the rock Kaladin had put on the wall and Sigzil is curious as to why Kaladin and Rock can see them, but not him. The rock falls after over a minute. Open asks if Kaladin has any other abilities like flying. They decide they don’t know enough about how much or well each type of sphere holds stormlight. Lopen asks if Kaladin can stick him to the wall. Kaladin tries it and Lopen does stay where Kaladin puts him. They decide to experiment more. It doesn’t take long for Kaladin to incorporate the use of his abilities into his fighting techniques. They all realize he is going to need a better matched opponent to spar with. Teft comes by and sees the end. He says I’m he will have ti send down more of the trusted men. Kaladin says he needs to find someone like himself. Teft thinks Rick should take over training the men. He admits he is not good at communicating with people. He thinks back on his own time and how he ended up loosing everyone. Kaladin admits he is worried about how the men will see him if he comes out as one of the new Knights Radiants. Teft agrees it could make the men turn on him because the people still think the Knights Radiant abandoned the people. As they make their way back to camp, someone yells out that a new hero has arrived at Dalinar’s camp. When Kaladin hears the name of the man that stole his Shardblade and put him into slavery, he runs to Dalinar’s tent to see the two Brightlords embracing fondly.
INTERLUDES
I-1. ESHONAI
General Eshonai is the last Shardbearer of the Parshendi. She encourages her warriors to take part in creating art in the hope that spren will appear, but none do. She goes to see her sister, who has been studying their different forms. Currently, they have five different forms: war, mate, work, nimble, and dull. Dullform is what they use to spy on the humans because the humans think they are harmless. Their old songs spoke of hundreds of different forms, but they are not sure what they are or how to access them. Eshonai is baffled at how the humans have only one form and are always ready to mate. She goes into Narak to visit her sister, Venli, who has been in nimbleform since it was discovered three years prior. Venli uses paper for her scholarly research (they don’t know the proper form for this yet) which is a rare and precious resource. She promises her work will be worth it. Venli believes she has discovered the stormform which with enough people in the form would allow them to control or maybe even create highstorms. She justifies this by pointing out the humans have surgebinders that wounded Eshonai’s leg in battle. This stormform could be what they need to destroy the Alethi and win their freedom. Eshonai wants to negotiate with the humans, but Venli points out how the humans only see them as slaves. Without the humans, Eshonai could travel as she wishes. Eshonai doesn’t care about her own wants. Venli says they will take the work to the five and she wants Eshonai on her side. Eshonai says she will consider.
I-2. YM
A young boy limps into Ym’s shoe shop because he has heard the old man gives kids shoes for free. My tells him it will only cost him his story. The bit agrees and Ym has him sit down. He cleans up the boys feet and takes the bandage off the hurt one. It is infected and there are already rot spren around it. He tells his spren that he might need his help with this one. He goes past the diamond chips and pulls out a broam as well as some medication for the wound. He takes in the stormlight and applies the medication to the boy’s wound. He guesses the boy got the jagged wound crawling over a fence. He tells Ym he is the son of a whore and was kicked out a few years ago when he started to be able to fend for himself. Usually, he tries to make shoes specifically for each person, but usually the urchin children don’t come back for them. He grabs a pair of premade shoes, powders the boys foot, and put them on him. He has the boy walk around to make sure the fit is right and make any adjustments. He puts some temporary padding in the bottom of the one for the injured foot. The boy asks why he does it. Ym explains they are all part of the same thing. Making the boy’s life better makes his own better. The boy doesn’t understand, but thanks him and takes off. A man comes looking for Ym. Ym tells him he only has the five diamond clips and nothing else to give him. The man says that he is there to make Ym pay for his discretions. He tells Ym he gave her the wine that killed her and he must pay for his part I the murder. The man pulls out a Shardblade and kills him.
I-3. RYSN
Rysn is in a boat with her guards. They did not warn her that the moving islands moved because they were made in top of giant shelled creatures. Her Babsk is in the boat behind her, but he is too sick to go ashore and make the necessary trade for her pot of grass. He tells her not to make assumptions about the king based on how primitive the people appear. He tells her she will have to argue and be bold in order to earn the trade. Her Babsk’s credentials are enough to get her a meeting with the Reshi king, who happens to be a women. She says the king should trust her enough to make the trade since he trusts her Babsk. The king only trusted enough to give her the meeting. He says she can come back in the following years with her Babsk when he is better. He earned their trust by hunting with them. She realizes she will have to do something bold to seal the deal. She tells the king she will have to go above her authority. She grabs a rope and hangs off the edge of the island asking the creature. The Reski try to get her to come down, but she doesn’t. She ends up falling into the water. When she wakes up, she finds her Babsk was faking his sickness for the sake of training her. She asks if she will ever walk again. He tells her she only survived because the spren cushioned her fall and she shattered both of her legs. They will be staying in the island a long time for her to recover. He believes her stunt will mean all the islands will trade with them.
I-4. ESHONAI
Eshonai and Thude examine a gem that has a storm spren captured inside it. Their ritual to change forms include these gems and singing certain songs to be reborn into their newly chosen form. Venli has captured a storm spren and thinks she will be able to transform herself into stormform. Venli intends to try this out herself. Eshonai still has some time before she has her meeting with the Five and decides to go see her mother. Her mother is working in the garden outside of her house on the edge of town. She says she is getting the place ready for the owners not realizing she is the owner. She talks to Eshonai as if she were Venli and tells her not to be irresponsible like her sister. Next she goes to the meeting with the Five, each member is in a different form. Venli presents her finding and Eshonai gives her reasons for concerns of trying to use one of the forms of power. When the five side with Venli on the importance of this discovery, Eshonai says she will not get in the way if they allow her to be the one to rest the form. Venli is too important to their research effort to lose. She promises to give her Shardblade to Thude if something goes wrong. Venli says they will have to chose the right storm and Eshonai will need to be trained on what to do.
PART TWO: WINDS’ APPROACH
13. Shallan thinks about the delicate flowers on the side of the road and wonders how they survive high storms. Bluth thinks she uses too many big words. Shallan explains she thinks that all people are stupid in different areas. For example, Bluth doesn’t understand the big words, but she didn’t know how to make a fire after the shipwreck. When they stop to eat, he helps her down. She wants to get into Jasnah’s trunk, but she is afraid of Tvlakv seeing inside. She notices one of the slave carts is empty. She requests the sides be put on so she can use it as a travel wagon. This is done for her and the trunk is put inside. She looks in and is surprised to find the drawing of Jasnah she gave to her mentor when she agreed to take Shallan on as a student. She starts looking through Jasnah’s journal and cleaning her injured feet with a clean cloth they were wrapped in. Shallan tells pattern they are in danger. Pattern says that is why he came to her. He was chosen. Shallan was chosen because of the lies. He starts to show her the white hallway covered in blood where her father sang her the lullaby, but she makes him stop. Shallan realizes all of her sketchbooks are at the bottom of the ocean. She doesn’t feel like drawing anymore, but Pattern says she will draw again. She asks who killed Jasnah, but Pattern doesn’t know. He says the Voidbringers are coming, spren of “him.”
14. Adolin has Navani write and burn a prayer for him and he follows all of his old traditions with his brother Renarin to prepare for his first official duel in a long time. He has wagered both his Shardblade and Shadplare against Salinor’s blade to entice him into the fight. He goes through several stances trying to figure out which form was the best for the duel. He goes into the arena and starts fighting with Salinor. He sees an opening and kicks his opponent to the ground. He uses his foot to break two pieces of his Shardplate before the judge yells for him to stop. Adolin asks if he has broken any rules and the judge admits he has not, but has to break a third piece of plate to win. Adolin rips off a third piece and breaks it between his hands. He takes the Shardblade from Salinor as his prize and is announced the winner. He goes back to his Aunt Navani and brother. She says she can use his unusual tactic as a sign that he is not an experienced fighter ti draw more people into dueling him. Adolin feel guilty about how he won. He gives the new Shardblade to Renarin.
15. Shallan has been travling with the slavers for weeks. She takes the sap from knobweeds to help with the wounds in her feet, but she realizes she needs shoes. She tries to talk to Tvlakv about trading her a pair of his extra shoes, but he insists he only has the one pair. She suspects he doesn’t want her to have shoes because it will keep her close. She has Pattern listen in on a conversation between Tvlakv and Tag . Tag thinks they would be better off without her and to go about their business. Tvlakv is convinced she is worth something to someone and will be able to get them enough money to get out from under their debt. Shallan approaches Tvlakv and dismisses Tag. She starts out telling him he will be paid handsomely for getting her to the Shattered Plains. When he doesn’t seem to take her bait, she gets more pointed with him. She tells him that his debts will be cancelled if she gets where she needs to be. Tvlakv is shocked at how much she seems to know and wonders what else she has picked up on. Bluth runs back saying there are war deserters nearby. They put out the fire as quickly as they can. Tvlakv explains deserters are worse than regular bandits. They cannot be bought off because they have already lost everything. The hook up the chills as quickly and quietly as they can and take off under the cover of night.
16. Kaladin watches over the training ground that has been set aside in Dalinar’s camp specifically for light eyes where the king lends his shardblade for people to practice with. Every light eyes warrior is expected to know how to fight with one in case their alley falls in battle and they need to take up the weapon. Kaladin thinks they are all using the blade wrong. He was not impressed with Adolin’s duel either. Norah asks him about Amamram. He tells him he was in his army and is the one how put the slave mark on him. Sly tries to tell Kaladin that Dalinar is not like Amamram. When she asks him to tell her the truth, Kaladin admits he does not think Dalinar is like Amamram, but is being tricked by him. Kaladin sees a man standing in the shadows watching Adolin and Renarin intently. Kaladin approaches the man. When he hears Kaladin, he spins to face him. The man spins around to face him. Kaladin asks who he is. The man recognizes Kaladinnas the bridge man. Kaladin sees he is a former soldier. He says they call him Zile. Adolin and Renarin sit in the sand. Zile explains Renarin needs to be chosen by a master to train. Usually this starts around 10 years old, but Renarin had too many health issues. He says none of the masters are brave enough to say no. Adolin calls Zile over to join the others. Kaladin thinks he is odd. Sky thinks they are all off except Rock. Kaladin says Rock thinks she is a god. She says she is a little piece of one. He goes to check on his soldiers.
17. Shallan has started drawing again and decides to start with Bluth. The wagons have been moving as quick as they can, but the deserters seem to be catching up slowly like they aren’t in a hurry. They notice another plume of smoke ahead of them. Tvlakv wants to head east to avoid both groups, but Shallan tells them they can’t just abandon people who might need their help ahead. She moves to the back of the wagon. She pulls out some sphere and decides she needs to start practicing lightweaving. She sucks in air to draw in the stormlight. She sees it leave from her mouth when she talks and coming out of her skin. She tries to make her dress appear less raggedy like she did the other night at the fire. It doesn’t work and she becomes frustrated. She decides to save the spheres’ stormlight thinking they might be her only weapon. She puts them in her safepouch. She had Bluth stop the wagon again si she can join him up front. She sees the smoke has gotten larger and Bluth says he thinks something big like a wagon is on fire.
18. Lopez comes to tell Kaladin that the new men are coming along and there will be a high storm that night about two hours after sunset. Kaladin is determined to make sure no one gets near Dalinar’s room again. He is starting to wonder if Dalinar himself is writing the glyphs on the walls during his fits. Zahel sends Renarin off to jump off the building so he can start to trust his Shardplate will protect him. Zahel catches Kaladin scoffing at Renarin in his Shardplate. When Zahel asks about it, Kaladin admits he thinks the Shards could be of better use on someone else. Zahel asks if he means himself, but Kaladin is very much against the idea. There is a gem added to Sahel’s Shardblade so that it won’t cut anything and he uses it to spar against Kaladin to show him how difficult it will be for him to protect Dalinar against Shardbearers. Kaladin is able to get a spear into his leg that would prevent him from going after his target and says that means although he would have died, he would have achieved his goal. Adeline comes up to ask what would happen if the assassin had a partner. He goads Kaladin into attacking him. Kaladin doesn’t use starlight and hits him with everything he has. He is able to take Adeline to the ground, but the princeling sends him flying several feet after. Kaladin uses starlight to heal the worst of his wounds from the fight. Kaladin realizes that having fought Shardbearers a few times doesn’t make him an expert. Zahel says he won’t force him to learn. Kaladin reminds him of Adolin, who also refused to learn from him at first. Kaladin resents being compared to Adolin.
19. Five months after the horrible event, Shallan hears the maids talking about how her father killed her mother and her lover. Shallan hadn’t talked since. Halaran tells her she is going to have to be strong. He gave her brother a hound, but he wasn’t nice to it. Shallan just continues to draw. He tells her he is going to have to leave for long periods at a time. When he sees she is drawing dead bodies face down, he crumpled up the paper and tells her to draw nice things like plants. Her father bursts in to yell at Halaran for leaving. Halaran tells him he has other things to do besides stay there to protect a murderer. Their father threatens to throw him in jail. Halaran pulls out a Shardblade and calls his father a corruption in their house. Their father says he doesn’t understand, but Halaran doesn’t want to listen to his lies. Shallan an says “no.” Their father is impressed with the Shardblade and how much his son’s new friends would trust him to give it to him. Halaran says he will come back periodically to check that his father is behaving. Her father smashed furniture in front of Shallan. He looks at her and is ashamed. He leaves the room.
20. The wagons stop so Bluth can check on what is going on ahead. He calls them to him up a hill. Shallan and Tvlakv join him to see three wagons on fire with the survivors around them. They had been attacked, but survived. Tvlakv shoos them back before they are seen. The deserters are gaining, they can see them now through Tvlakv spyglass. Shallan wants to ask the caravan for help and join the caravan to combine forces. The caravan’s scout, a light eyed woman, finds them. Shallan tells her they are being followed by bandits. A second scout pops out of nowhere. He foreign man with light hair. They talk in a foreign language and then start to head back to their caravan since they have two packs of bandits to fight off. Shallan offer them her protection. She says she will protect them if they take her people into their camp. The scout laughs saying they can join, but they will die with the rest of them. Arrows start falling over the caravan from the second set of bandits. Shallan sees a solution. She tells Tvlakv to take Tag to help the other caravan fight. She walks to her wagon and tells Bluth to turn it around. She finds him looking at a piece of paper which he puts it away. They go down the hillside and back up another where she can see the deserters. They are shocked to see Shallan has come to them. She calls out that they are happy they are, and she needs their help to fight off the bandits attacking their friends. She makes her appear as a quaffed lady. The leader says they are not what she thinks they are. She asks for his name: Vathah. He threatens her. She asks what he would do to erase the past. She says she can change their future and offers the chance to be soldiers again if they save instead of kill. She tells them to listen to the screams of the people from the caravan. She promise their crimes will be erased and they can start over as heroes. She feels the storm calming in her. He orders for her to taken captive and she sees the other men who are considering her offer. A few of them take off to help the caravan and most of the others start to follow. Bluth jumps down to join them. Shallan is left with Vathah and two other men. He asks who she is. She tells him before he takes off with the others to help and get their second chance. She is exhausted. She goes back to the wagon and crawls up into the seat. She sketched out the glyphs for a prayer. Pattern says she is lies and truth. He says she has the power of transformation/soulcasting. She said she did not do any soulcasting. Pattern points out that the men had changed. As she tears out the prayer, she notices another piece of paper was already torn from the book.
21. Bluth dies in the assault and Vathah loses seven men. She finds the picture she drew of Bluth as a soldier in his pocket. She takes it back. Macab the caravan owner comes to thank her and introduce her to Tyn. He reminds her of the offer she gave to Tyn on the hillside. He doesn’t think she will need them since she now has the soldiers. She says she still needs to get to the Shattered Plains, but she would prefer to do so in comfort. She agrees to let them join her caravan. Macab agrees and they shake on it. Shallan starts to go back to the wagon, but Vathah stops her. He notices she looks different now than she did when she gave his men her speech. He thinks they will all be killed if they go to the Shattered Plains with her. He tells her his men have done much worse than what happened ti the caravan. When she tries to pull away from him, he won’t let go of her arm. Pattern tells him to let her go from behind, but he cannot see the spren. He lets her go and she smiles at him. Shallan goes to Tvlakv next. He thinks she plotted with Bluth to have the slavers get them, but he quickly realizes his theory doesn’t make any sense. He admits they should all be dead. She goes to the back of his wagon and tells him his slaves now belong to her as payment for his life. She demands writs of ownership. Tvlakv declares he will start heading south now that she is with another caravan and has soldiers. She buys his third wagon off him noting he only has two drivers left. He sells it to her and she plans to borrow a chill from Macab to pull it. She unlocks the door to the slaves and tells them they can earn 5 firemarks a week if they out 4 of them towards purchasing their freedom, otherwise they will only be paid one. They are confused, but Shallan promises it makes sense to her. She sees the children among the caravan workers. The former deserters burn a prayer of thanks.
22. Kaladin watches over the royal family in Elhokar’s palace while the high storm rages. Towards the end, he notices Adolin reading, but scoffs at him when he sees it is just sketches of the latest fashions. Kaladin is confused because he has only ever seen the two brothers in uniform. Adolin asks if Kaladin is really needed there. Kaladin points out the high storm would be the best time for an assassination attempt because the storm would cover up any commotion. King Elhokar is upset no one has thought of that before. Adolin and Renarin leave and a few guards go with them. Kaladin tells Moash and another man to get some rest as they are already doing double shifts. When Dalinar decides to go back to his own camp, Kaladin goes with him. He tells him what Amamram did to him, but there isn’t anything Dalinar can do about it without proof. Kaladin describes one of Amaram’s men that was there when it happened. Dalinar stops and says he is going back up to the palace to think it over with Navani. Kaladin is furious thinking Dalinar didn’t listen to him at all. Syl is worried about Kaladin. She thought when he was freed, he would go back to being the soldier he was before Amamram’s betrayal. She is worried that he is still so angry and starting to think about exacting his own revenge. He gets to the camp and Rock is handing out stew. Some of the men are talking about how they miss their old bridge. Lopen’s cousin has come to join their camp. He says when he goes home and comes back, no Jen ever recognized him. So Lopen’s mother sent him there because Lopen’s told her they needed more men. Kaladin tells him to pretend he has been with them the whole time. One of the men come running down the hill to tell them there was an assassination attempt.
23. Kaladin rushes back and finds everyone is still alive. Elhokar has a gash on his forehead. He scolds his captain for not being as motivated as Kaladin. Moash is there. He was getting ready to leave, but heard the yell and rushed back. The king went on the balcony to think. Kaladin looks up at the cliff and wonders if he could take that fall. The railing was pulled free and one of the guards saw it fall when the king had leaned in it. The king held in to one sturdy rail until he was pulled back up. Kaladin looks at the joints they were sheared clearly. Dalinar comes out on the balcony and sends everyone in to talk to Kaladin alone. He says he doesn’t expect guards to inspect architecture. Kaladin thinks it was chipped and cut. He thinks this attempt was sloppy because it could have happened to anyone and now they are exposed. Dalinar explains the king has a certain spot he likes to stand on the balcony. Dalinar thinks it could be the same person who out in the fake gemstones in the armor. They want the death to look like accident. Kaladin points out the cut is clearly made by a Shardblade, which narrows down their suspects. Elhokar wants Kaladin to be head of his guard. Kaladin says his men are spread too thin. Dalinar points out it was an inside job. Kaladin promises Dalinar can trust him. Dalinar wants the king only guarded by bridgemen Kaladin can trust. Dalinar agrees with Kaladin that the attempt was not well thought out. He knows if a real assassin were to come, there might be a different outcome. Kaladin understands Elhokar’s reaction, but thinks a king should be handling the situation better.
24. Gaz and Red help make Shallan’s slaver wagon into more of a carriage. Gas adds a window. Vathah asks why Gas never made himself so useful for him and says Shallan will never be able to pay all of his debts. Shallan asks Gaz how much he owes and he tells her. She asks what he did to acquire that much debt, but he would rather be handed back over to those he owes than tell her. He prefers any option to staying out there wondering when he would be found. Shallan goes back to Jasnah’s journals and reads about the high princeses. She knows she will need to make her betrothal to Adolin work to be able to continue Jasnah’s work. She wonders if any of them would be scholarly enough to fund a trip to find Eutheru, said to be in the mountains somewhere. Suna comes by and tells Shallan that Tyn wants her to visit her tent. Shallan goes and sees Tyn has set up a proper feminine meal for Shallan, but eats a masculine meal herself. She says she grew up away from Alethkar because her parents were scholars and didn’t know meals were designated between genders until she returned. She now eats what she wants. As they eat, Tyn tells Shallan that she can see that she is not who she pretends to be. She thinks Shallan is trying out a con, but as a con woman herself, she can see Shallan is in over her head. She offers to help Shallan get to know the right people to be able to successfully complete the con. Shallan agrees it would be good for her to learn some things from Tyn.
25. Dalinar tells Kaladin he wants him and a few of his other men to learn how to ride horses. Kaladin admits it took him 45 minutes to run back to the castle when he had heard about the king’s accident. They go to the stable and meet Jenet, the stable master. She gives them detailed instructions about riding and then has them saddle their horses and start riding. He talks to Natam about what happened in the king’s palace after he left and asks him to think over whether or not he remembers anything strange before the storm. While talking to Syl, he realizes the railing must have been compromised after the storm rather than before it (or else the storm would have destroyed it). Adolin on his on mount and makes fun of Kaladin riding the old horse named Spray. He suggests Kaladin take on Dreamstorm, a mare penned up by herself. Kaladin gets off Spray and starts heading for Dreamstorm. When Jenet asks what he is doing, he says Spray isn’t any faster than he is and he will need to learn how to ride a fast horse. She tries to warn him that Dreamstorm isn’t ready for riders. Kaladin tries anyway and is thrown. He uses a bit of his stored stormlight to heal himself. Dalinar sees the spectacle and tells Kaladin to start out training on the slower horses like how they start training soldiers with blunt weapons. He says he is approving Kaladin’s plan to patrol the war camp and suggests his men take some horses with them to practice. After, Kaladin goes to talk to Natam again about who was out on the balcony after the storm. Natam tells him there were only guards out there, including Moash. Kaladin is thinking this over when he turns to see Dalinar and Amaram having a friendly talk. Kaladin walks away surprised at how angry he still is about the situation.
26. Adolin joins a plateau fight that Dalinar’s army was not assigned to. Renarin goes as well. He is not there to fight, but to get used to what it feels like to be in battle. He has guards protecting him. Adolin sees the Parshendi up on a cliff above them and yells over to his friend Jakamav. They climb the cliff together in their Shardplate and get to the top. Adolin gets to the top first to give Jakamav time to pull out his Warhammer and join him. The Parshendi are able to get the gemheart and get away. Their Shardbearer comes up to Adolin and says she wants to have talks with Dalinar. She plans to send a representative to him. Adolin agrees to this knowing his father will want to hear what they have to say. After the battle, they start heading back. Adolin checks on his younger brother. Renarin tried to run into battle with his blade to help the others, but he froze. Adolin tells him he did well and will get used to battle eventually. Adolin goes to talk to Jakamav and see if he will join him for a drink at the winehouse to discuss his betrothal. Jakamav tells him Sadeas’ men are bribing people not to duel with Adolin. Dalinar and the king have a declining reputation among the men and Jakamav doesn’t want to be seen socializing with Adolin and risk his own. Adolin walks away and is furious. Renarin is embarrassed at his reaction to battle and Adolin tries to reassure him. Renarin believes something is coming like the messages have been saying and he needs to be ready.
27. Five Years Ago. Shallan wants to stay outside where it is peaceful and she can draw. She is called inside, but stops on the stairs. Her fourth brother Van Jushu, catches her staring at the wall. She sees a light behind a painting that she thinks is her mother’s soul. Jushu thinks everyone in the family has gone crazy and their father only cares about the oldest, Helaran.
28. Tyn teaches Shallan how to use accents of some of the lower classes. She explains that there are certain places you can’t go as a light eyes. Shallan points out that she cannot change the color of her bright blue eyes. Tyn shows her drops that can be used to make the eyes appear darker for a few hours. The caravan stops because there are guards up ahead. Shallan and Tyn go to the front to confront the four guards and wait for them to come meet their caravan. Kaladin and three of his men ride up to them on horses. Tyn talks in a Rockeater accent and introduces Shallan as the Rockeater princess. Shallan is furious at her, but does what she can to speak like a rock eater. He asks if they have seen any bandits and Tyn gives the detail of their being attacked. Kaladin notices she is wearing Vorean clothing and thinks she is too spindly to be a Rockeater. Shallan demands his boots as an apology for the insult to her size. Kaladin refuses at first, but Shallan says she will tell everyone Dalinar Kholin’s insults women. Kaladin reluctantly hands over his boots without leaving his horse. As they walk back to their wagon, Shallan admits she had fun, but is furious with Tyn. She says Shallan needs to work in her accent as well as her confidence while trying to con people that might try to call her out.
29. Sadeas has Oathbringer out on a raid he was not assigned to. He sends archers out to drive off the remaining Parshendi that are watching them. Amaram comes to warn him it looks like he might be trying to take the gemheart for himself. When Hatham comes up to ask what he is doing there, Sadeas says he got bored and throws the gemheart at his feet. Later, Sadeas is in his seat at the arena and his wife Ialai takes her seat next to him. He scratches her back in the way she likes. They are both surprised someone took Adolin’s challenge for a duel. She tells him what she has found out about the attempt on the king’s life and how Dalinar should have informed him as High Prince of Information. Dalinar is preaching for a united front, but has trouble turning over responsibility to others because he doesn’t trust anyone. He tells his wife to exploit that weakness to tear apart Dalinar. As they watch, Sadeas notices that Adolin is holding back his skills. He sees he is trying to trick more people into accepting his challenges because they will think he is not as good as he really is. When Ialai tells him she will make sure no one else accepts Adolin’s challenges, Sadeas tell her to just let it lay as it is so he can see what happens.
30. Shallan stops the caravan to sketch some plants. Gaz comes ups to her and asks for a sketch like she has done for some of the other men where they look like real soldiers. When Gaz leaves, Tyn comes to tell Shallan they are stoping for the day. She mentions the drawings won’t do much good in cons, but she should work on her forgery. She asks Shallan if she is certain she wants to go through with her con. Shallan lies and says she is. When Tyn asks what she is planning, Shallan says she is going to pose as the woman that is supposed to be betrothed to Adolin and have Dalinar put her up. Tyn tells her to first get set up in a hotel in a different camp and then approach Dalinar. Shallan needs to seem self-sufficient and a little unattainable to peak interest. Shallan doesn’t really want to con Dalinar, but she doesn’t tell Tyn that.
31. A bridgeman named Pit comes up to Kaladin to apologize for wanting him to fail when they were all bridgemen and he was on Bridge 19. Kaladin is surprised at Teft’s success in turning the men into soldiers in just a few days. He goes looks around, but cannot find Teft. Sigzil warns him to get some stew before the highstorm predicted for that night. Tyn tells Shallan they should stop for the night so they don’t arrive at the Shattered Plains at night and have to set up camp anyway. Shallan sends word to ask Macob his opinion on stopping. Tyn wants to find a use for Shallan’s drawing skill. She suggests that as a con woman, Shallan may end up in an area of the world where she would need to expose her hidden hand to be able to fit in. Shallan is not comfortable with the idea. Tyn then tells her the king in Shallan’s home land, Jah Kavead, has been killed as well as six of the high princes. The one ruling the princedom she is from is currently fighting for succession. It is believed the Assassin in White is who killed them all. Word comes back that Macob approves stopping for the night.
32. During the highstorm, Kaladin dreams that he is flying. He gains a sense of awareness and turns around to see a giant face in the sky. The Stromfather says that he will kill Syl. He swears that he won’t, but the Stormfather says people change. Kaladin wakes up and is embarrassed that he fell asleep while guarding the royal family. Adolin pokes fun at him. Kaladin opens up the balcony door and goes out into the storm, but it is not as strong as it was at its peak. Shallan tries to comfort her slaves during the storm. Pattern makes an odd buzzing sound, but she cannot quiet him. She is thinking about her homeland and hoping Tyn will have more information for her. Syl turns and tells Kaladin something is wrong. He can feel it too. She says the one who hates is coming. Kaladin rushes back inside and goes directly to Dalinar’s room. Navini is appaulled. He tells her to wake him up because they need to move to a safer place. Dalinar hears this and asks what he is basing it on. Kaladin says it is his intuition and Dalinar tells everyone to get moving. Kaladin decides they need to get down to the camp and takes the king by the arm to lead him. He looks in his bag, but his spears are already dun. Suddenly, they come to a hole in the palace wall and the Assassin in White (Szeth) is there. Kaladin sends the others away with the king telling Renarin to protect the king. Renarin says he can help fight, but Dalinar tells him to protect the king at all costs. Adolin and Kaladin stay with Dalinar to face off against Szeth. Dalinar goes to fight the assassin straight on while Adolin and Kaladin each attach from opposite sides. They are able to land some blows, but Szeth heals his injuries. Kaladin realizes he is a surge binder and wonders what kind of spren he has paired with for such powers. Syl tells him no spren would bond with him. Kaladin fights, but ends up getting his arm cut by Szeth’s Shardblade. His arm drops to his side and turns gray. Kaladin is in excruciating pain, but still tries to go to protect Dalinar. Szeth goes to kill Dalinar, but Dalinar catches the blade between his palms. Kaladin throws himself at Szeth and they both tumble out the whole in the wall.
33. As they fall, Kaladin tries to keep a hold on Szeth with his one good arm. Kaladin sees that Szeth has a pouch of spheres with Stormlight in them. Bye breaths in to draw in the stormlight. He uses it to heal his arm, which he did my know was possible. He the. Lands roughly on the ground. Szeth is surprised he survived. He thought he lashed him down, but thinks he must have accidentally lashed Kaladin down. He realizes what Kaladin is. He is furious saying they told him he was truthless and Kaladin’s kind no longer existed. Szeth asks if they are all back. Kaladin says yes and Szeth takes off into the night. Kaladin makes his way back up to the palace to see if anyone survived. Everyone is surprised to see him alive, especially Adolin who saw him fall. Dalinar is shocked that the stories of how so many were killed when his brother was assassinated are true. Elhokar is impressed with Kaladin’s foresight that something was coming. Dalinar doesn’t correct the king that the assassin was actually after Dalinar and not the king. Kaladin goes to check on his dead men down the hallway. On their way, Syl says the assassin’s Shardblade was different, but she doesn’t know how. He finds Beld dead, but Hobber is still alive. His legs were cut by Szeth’s Shardblade and are now useless. Paladin says he’ll have to learn how to cook as he carries him back to the others.
34. Tyn brings Shallan to her tent while she is getting a spanreed message updating her in several things. Shallan is shocked to learn that Tyn requested the bounties for the deserter soldiers. Tyn warns her that Sadeas is not forgiving. Shallan is furious that Tyn wants her to go back on her word, but Tyn reminds her that a con person must never believe their own lies. There is then word that Jasnah’s ship was sunk and she is presumed dead. Shallan is shocked as she reads it realizing Tyn was the one that organized the assassination of Jasnah. More information comes in from the spanreed that Jasnah took on a student named Shallan with her same description. Tyn realizes Shallan really is who she said she was and tries to kill her. In her desperation, Shallan sucks in the Stormlight from her spheres and draws out her Shardblade. She kills Tyn and her eyes are burned out. She cuts through the side of the tent and a few of her deserted soldiers look from her to Tyn. She tells them to keep what happened between them as she lets the blade dissolve and to search Tyns tent for anything with writing on it. She resets the spanreed to continue the message. Tyn’s benefactors, the Ghost Bloods, have information about a city and want to meet with her. The person asks if she wants them to set up a meeting and Shallan writes “yes.”
INTERLUDES
I-5. ESHONAI
Thude tells Eshonai he has made the arrangements for a meeting with Dalinar on a neutral platuea in seven days. Eshonai goes out into the storm with her shield, but it doesn’t last long before the wind takes it. Many of her people wait in huts for the worst of the storm to be over before going out into it to make their transformations. Eshonai wasn’t positive when the right timing would be, so she continues on until she sees the face in the storm the human’s call the Stormfather. Her people see him as a spren that betrayed them and chose to protect humans instead. They still respect it. Eshonai does what her sister trained her to do. The face asks if this is really what she wants. She breaks the gem with the spren captured inside. It is red and flies around her and Eshonai realizes something is wrong. The face apologizes that it cannot save her.
I-6. ZAHEL
Zahel is woken up by Kaladin asking him if the offer to teach him how to fight a Shardbearer is still good. Zhale says no and closes the door in his face. When Kaladin comes in the door (there is no lock) Zhale warns him that he is a different person when he tries to sleep and Kaladin would have better luck asking him in the day. He tells Kaladin to show up without an attitude.
I-7 TALN
A man brings a man, Talenel’Elin, Herald of War, to the king who keeps speaking words and has an unaccounted Shardblade. Elhokar asks about Wit. The man said Wit hit himself in the head with a stone and then took off. Taln keeps speaking. Elhokar thinks he is a mad man. Taln tells them their steel weapons will not be useful in what is to come and the other Heralds are coming. Taln has dark eyes, which the king finds surprising. Dalinar will listen to anything that might help them. He plans to send him to the ardents. He also has an idea of what to do with his unbonded Shardblade.
I-8 ESHONAI
Many Parshendi have come out to see Eshonai’s new form. She has lost her armor plates, but her new skin is very durable. Lightning forms when she makes fists. She leaps the chasm easily without a running start and lands. Thude points out that she has red eyes, which their stories say something about. Venli comes over her to see it has worked. Eshonai can control the winds. She tells them she has seen the Stormfather’s betrayal and how he intends to help the humans once again. She says they can win by using this form.
PART THREE: DEADLY
35. Adolin practices with his Shardblade, but is having trouble keeping the blade solid when it is not in his hand. He thinks about how useless the bridge men are as soldiers after seeing what the assassin can do. He knows they can’t help it. But it makes him think of how useless he was stuck to the hallway ceiling. He thinks there is something off about Kaladin because he was surprisingly useful even without shards. He sees the approaching ardent and Soulcasters (ardents in red robes). He watches them create a stone wall like a wedge as a wind block. Adolin asks why they are now doing this during the day. Arden Kadash says they are trying to train more Soulcasters because that is how they have been surviving this war. They are now sharing fibrils to be able to accomplish the work. Adolin asks Kadash about what the Radiants could do. Kadash isn’t sure, but says he will look into it. Navini overseas an experiment where they use gems linked together to raise a platform into the air. Adolin sees this and asks if it could be used in battle. Navani tells him she hopes they will be able to in the future. Adolin asks if she is encouraging Dalinar advances. She admits that she was the first one to make the advances. Adolin points out the hypocrisy of it, but she admits she doesn’t care about silly old traditions that don’t work for her. She tells him they had better get to the meeting the high princess requested from Elhokar.
36. Shallan wants Tyn’s body disposed of, but some of her guards point out leaving a body (even a burnt one) behind could raise some questions. She has them put the bones in a bag. She then has Macob get her a palaquin to carry her into the city. He agrees to do this with his own money as she has given his caravan their lives. She draws a picture of herself how she wants to be seen by Dalinar as they go into the war camp. They are told the king is meeting with all the high princes, so she takes Vathah and Gaz with her. She tells Vathah how to introduce her as Jasnah’s ward and Adolin’s betrothed when they are asked. He does this and they are given access all the way up to Kaladin. He stops her and is still upset about the boots she took from him. Some of Kaladin’s men recognize Gaz as he tied to get away and stop him. Kaladin explains Gaz tried to kill him several times. He has no intention of letting her in, but she lets her anger get the better of her and they exchange insults. He suspects she is a con artist trying to take advantage of the family’s loss. Kaladin storms off to tell Dalinar she is there and when he returns, he begrudgingly tells her to enter.
37. Adolin is relieved to finally have a break in the meeting after two hours. Adolin goes up to Ruthar’s son, Relis, and tells him it was brave of him to offer to go up against the assassin himself. He goes on to say he doesn’t think he could win and uses his lack of impressive duels as an indicator. Adolin wages every shard his family owns in a challenge against Relis. Relis does not except, but Elit does. He wants to duel in seven days on Chachel. Relis is not happy that Adolin challenged his cousin. Sadeas comes over to say his betrayal against Dalinar was supposed to be a favor to put an old warrior out of his misery on the battlefield. Adolin lets Sadeas get to him and threatens him. Sadeas warns him to not to say such things in a room full of people where the spoken offense is taken much worse than Sadeas’ attempt on Dalinar’s life on the battlefield. Amaram walks Adolin away from Sadeas. Adolin can’t understand why Amaram would stay under Sadeas’ princedom when he could move to Dalinars. Amaram explains it is to keep the two high princes from causing a divide. He sees both points and tries to get the two to work together for the better of the whole. Adolin sees Shallan talking to his father and is taken aback. Amaram scolds him for being distracted by women. Adolin walks up to Shallan just in time to hear her say Jasnah went down with the ship.
38. Navani is skeptical. Despite Dalinar’s attempt to get her to see the truth, Navani insists Shallan describe exactly what happened on the ship right then. Shallan tell her that she saw Jasnah stabbed through the heart. She then hid in her barricaded room and set the ship on fire to give the others a chance to escape. At first, Navani is furious that Shallan left Jasnah there, but Dalinar points out how Shallan was resourceful and did all that she could. Navani walks away. Dalinar asks Shallan about her trip. She admits it was hard and they were attacked by bandits. She tells him about the deserters that came to the rescue of her and the caravan she was with. She tells them how she told them the king would give them clemency for their acts of heroism. He tells her he will have the king give the pardons once she gives him a list of names. She points out they have another matter to settle and they both look at Adolin. She finds him attractive and he asks to get to know her by going on a walk. Dalinar sends him away for some wine. He asks Shallan about herself. She admits she is a foreigner from a desolate family, but she believes the match could still be beneficial to them both. He offers her to stay in his camp and take a lower clerical position. Before she can decline, the other high princes start getting restless and want to get on with the meeting. Dalinar tells them a representative came to him from the Parshendi to discuss peace. He points out both times the Parshendi have talked piece, the assassin has come right after. He thinks it may be a coincidence now that leaders all over the world are dying. Shallan is noticed and some of the princes start asking what she is doing there and if she has word from Jah Kevead. She admits she hasn’t been in her home country since the war started and that her business there is personal. A few of the princes ask her to their camp wanting information about her engagement with Adolin. Dalinar tries to silence them by saying she will stay in his camp, but she stops him. She tells him she has an offer from High Prince Sebarial because he is the least interested in the political factions formed around them. He agrees and says she is a distant relative. She goes over to him and he is upset about how much she said he would pay her. She promises it will benefit him, though she isn’t sure how yet. Dalinar says he plans to end the war either by making peace or attacking the Parshendi if their talks fall through. The other high princes are curious how he intends to do that. He tells them he plans to train more Shardbearers by having Adolin take theirs. After the meeting lets out, Shallan gives the writ of pardon to Vathah and warn him it only works for past crimes.
39. Five years ago. Shallan sits at one of the feast her father throws to make things seem normal; her three brothers sit at a different table from her. Her father shows her off. There are guests, but they seem like they don’t want to be there. The guests’ daughter seems to be interested in Shallan’s brother, Balat. Everyone is in shock when her father announces he will be marrying a neighboring brightlord’s youngest daughter. He gives his children gifts to celebrate the occasion, but all of them do not have the reaction he was expecting. He makes a distasteful toast and sits down. When the king’s bastard son (one light eye, one dark eye) comes in to ask questions about Shallan’s mother’s death, her father sends everyone away except his children. Shallan joins her brothers at their table. The boys wish they could hear what their father is saying. Shallan pretends she can hear them and makes a joke about them talking about plants. Her brothers all laugh and enjoy her wit. The king’s bastard asks if anyone witnessed the murder. Balat considers saying something, but he knows his father will kill him if he speaks against him and he was not there. They ask Shallan what happened, but she cannot remember.
40. Shallan rides in Sebarial’s carriage with him back to his war camp. He wakes up for a nap and notices she seems less regal and younger than she appeared in the meeting. He likes her wit, but warns her against insulting the wrong people. When they arrive, she sees Sabrial’s territory is like a permanent city. He has been avoiding war to make goods to sell to the other camps. He knew supplies would run low eventually and took advantage of it to build an economy. When they arrive at his house, she meets his mistress, a dark eyed woman named Palona. She is surprised he brought home a random girl to annoy Dalinar. They have a bickering, insulting relationship they seem to enjoy. She gets Shallan settled In her room and tells her a lot of strays come there and tend to stay. Shallan is excited about the idea of running water. Palona says she will get Shallan a lady’s maid to help her and find places and things for her soldiers and slaves to do. Shallan’s trunks are brought to her room. She finds herself able to relax for the first time in a long time and falls asleep on the bed.
41. Kaladin and his men gather in the chasm to train another set of bridgemen that just seem to be taking like the others. He tells them the chasms are his and he is welcoming them down there. He takes Sigzil, Rock, and Lopen with him to practice with the Stormlight. They try to figure out how the railing was cut and Sigzil suggests an accomplice could have easily snuck a rope out onto the balcony. Kaladin gets distracted by thinking about how Szeth could do the things he did when he attacked. He starts to concentrate and the world seems to turn on its side so that the chasm wall becomes the floor for him. It is disorienting, but he has an understanding how Szeth made Adolin fall to the ceiling. Sigzil has him use the stormlight from the spheres they are using for light to experiment with the new technique more. When they come out of the chasms, Kaladin catches a glimps of Amaram. Moash notices and asks what Kaladin is going to do about him. Kaladin tries to tell him it is his own problem to deal with, but Moash reminds him they are all Bridge 4. He says Kaladin won’t be able to let go of his anger until he hears him in a duel. Kaladin takes the opportunity to ask Moash what he was doing before the storm. Moash says he was out shopping and Kaladin becomes more suspicious. He realizes his men haven’t been allowed to live this lives for a long time and he shouldn’t be worried about them having some freedom. Moash invites Kaladin out to go to a tavern with him and a few other men, but Kaladin turns him down, but promising to go another time. He wonders what the King did to Moash as he approaches the strew. Renarin comes out of the shadows and begs Kaladin to let him join the Bridge 4 squad. Kaladin asks about his medical condition. Renarin explains he has epilepsy, but the seizures are usually small and under control. He explains Dalinar made Adolin train with the spearman when he first started battles. He has no experience, but is desperate to learn how to fight. Kaladin is very apprehensive about it, but ultimately, Renarin convinces him. Kaladin tells him to go scrub stew bowls.
42. Shallan wakes up in the night to find Palona has left her food. Shallan eats and then goes to her trunk and finds the spanreed is blinking red. There is a message. Pattern says there is a pattern on the page as well as on the others. Shallan sees that the words are in fives and it is a code. She will have to figure out how to answer correctly as well as how to speak to them to not lose her connections to the group that calls themselves the Ghostbloods. Shallan wants to find a way to communicate with her brothers. She decides she will have to use a communication center to do it. She takes out her sketchbook and starts drawing herself as a dark eyed woman. She takes in stormlingt and then notices her hair on her shoulder is black instead of red. She looks at her reflection and notices a mistake on the nose of the drawing that reflects on herself. She thinks most people would think it was a scar, but she thinks it is too blatant a mistake. Her fingers can go through the image, but it goes back in place when she removes her finger. Pattern tells her it runs off stormlight, but her spheres are all dun. The spanreed starts to write again. She answers and is told they want to meet that night or it might sever ties. She tells the person she is sending an apprentice because Tyn was betrayed by Jasnah’s ward and is not well. The messsge says they will meet in Sebarial’s war camp because the gates are open all night. They will draw a map to meet at moonlight. She has 25 minutes to get ready to get there. She gets dressed in clothes from Tyn’s trunk and puts infused sphere’s in her pouch. She finishes off the look with Bluth’s hat and takes off.
43. Shallan is surprised that people in the streets seem to ignore her in her dark eyed disguise. She tells Pattern to watch and make sure no one is following her. When she goes to buy herself a treat, she uses much too large a denomination and the vendor isn’t able to give her change for it. Shallan tells the woman it is also for her help in finding where she needs to go. The woman warns her the tavern she seeks isn’t a place she should be going as a “citizen” (title for a wealthy dark eyes). Shallan makes her way there anyway and knocks on the door. She is taken down to the basement where there is a trapdoor leading to another basement. On the walls are various trophies and Shallan wishes they had placards to tell her what the items are. The man she is there to meet with is blowing darts at the wall and one almost hits Shallan as she enters. He is not happy that Tyn didn’t have the courage to show up herself. He says she completed the job she had to his satisfaction. Shallan sees he has the same tattoo as Kabsal. His new mark is Amaram and he wants Tyn to investigate his manor near Sadeas’ palace without anyone knowing or being killed. He says she knows what type of information he’ll want. He tells her to call him Mraize and she says her name is Veil. When she leaves, Pattern tells Shallan she is being followed. Shallan tries to lightweave another disguise over the one she already has, but it doesn’t work. She realizes both times she has done this, she has drawn out the disguise before hand. She draws a wall and goes down an alley. She creates the illusion of the wall and hides behind it until Pattern tells her the woman that was following her was gone. She makes it back to Sebarial’s mansion and slips back in through the window.
44. Kaladin takes Moash, Teft, and Yake with him to train with Zahel. He goes to set Renarin to eating his lunch in Shardplate to get him used to how to control the armor. When he comes back, Zahel isn’t sure about them at first and sends them to run 40 laps. When they start to go to it without question or complaint, he calls them back realizing he doesn’t need to toughen them up. He has one of the king’s Shardblades brought to them and they each get a chance to hold it. Kaladin declines. Shallan comes onto the practice field and Adolin anticipates it is to see him. When she walks right past him to the ardent, Nall, he is surprised. He finds himself next to Kaladin talking about how they have to shoo women away that come to watch him spar all the time. Adolin is surprised Kaladin doesn’t have his own dark eyed groupies. Shallan asks to draw the existing Shardplate and Shardblades for the records as the current ones are not very detailed. The ardent approves of this project. She offers to draw Adolin’s armor though there is already a decent sketch of it that his mother did. She decides to start with Renarin. Zahel goes to have the guards put on the blade, but Kaladin tells him not to because he needs the fear to be real. Kaladin is able to dodge the blade until he comes face to face with Adolin. Adolin just nods and walks away. They both know they were bested by the assassin and need to work on their skills. Zahel goes to work more with Renarin and has an female ardent, Ivis, shows them the different sword positions so they can anticipate their opponent’s next move. When Kaladin is dismissed, he goes to get some water. Moash joins him shortly after and tells him that his parents died when he was young and he was raised by his grandparents. When the war started and Gavilar went off to war, Elhokar was in charge of the city. Moash was away working on a caravan when his grandparents were thrown in jail by Elhokar because their light eyed competitor had a shop across the road from them. He admits he is the one that left the rope for the assassination attempt. He points out to Kaladin that they promised to protect Dalinar, who would be a much better ruler. The idea wasn’t his and he asks Kaladin to meet with the people whose idea it was. Kaladin agrees and Moash agrees to leave it until then. Kaladin stews over what is right and wrong. He asks Syl what is right and wrong about killing people. She tells him he is supposed to protect, not kill. When Zahel returns, Kaladin asks him to teach him how to stop a shardbalde between his hands like Dalinar did. Zahel tell him there are better things for him to learn and Kaladin doesn’t argue because his logic makes sense. He goes back to practicing.
45. Three and a half years ago. Shallan is at the Middlefest Fair when she sees a chicken in a cages. The owner tells her it can talk and then shows her. She wants to draw, but her father, Lin Davlar, drags her to the dueling matches. Her father says she needs to start acting like a lady so he can find someone to marry her. Shallan’s stepmother … is only 10 years older than her. Brightlord Revalar (an older man whose land borders Shallan’s fathers) comes to their box to visit even though Kin’s reputation for brutality has started to spread. He puts down a stack of paper with a deal on it. Lin stops reading seeing the deal would lose him money. The High Prince has taken notice of Revalar and his family. Another man comes to Lin with news from Helaran. Lin announces that Helaran is dead to him and yells at Shallan to leave him. Shallan takes off to meet Eylita Tavinar. She has a letter for Shallan to deliver to Balat. Shallan goes to the gambling tent where Balat is watching the dog fights (he has been obsessed with death since their mother died). He perks up and reads the letter asking him to go for a walk. Shallan asks where Jushu is, but Balat says he hasn’t seen him. She goes to her father’s carriage where Wikim is. She gives him the formulas for predicting high storms she has translated so he can read and enjoy the calculations. He sees that she is trying to fix each one of her brothers. He tells her it won’t work and she leaves the carriage crying. The man who had news from Helaran comes up to talk to her. He tells her Helaran asked him to deliver a message while he was in town that he has eyes watching Lin. The man thinks he might have another reason for being there and asks Shallan if spren ever talk to her. When she doesn’t give the answer she wants, he tells her story about two blind men contemplating beauty. He asks her to describe the most beautiful thing to her. She describes how she feels her family should be in great detail. She starts to actually see the scene before her and the stormlight between her and the stranger. She asks him to teach her, but he says she isn’t ready. He tells her Helaran is in Alethkar because that is where he feels he is needed most.
46. Kaladin inspects the group from Bridge 17. He lies and tells them they are the best group of spearmen he has ever seen because it is what they need to hear to unify them. The next group, Bridge 18, is having trouble. If he can’t get them to become a unit, he will have to divide the group among the other Bridge crew groups. He goes to the shed where Shen is and hands him a spear. He apologizes for being afraid of him before and says he trust him. There are no slaves on Bridge 4. Shen has something he wants to say to Kaladin, but Moash interrupts and Shen says he will tell him later. Moash insists Kaladin comes out with them drinking. Kaladin realizes they need to see him as human, so he agrees to it. On the way, the men stop for Herdazian food. Kaladin finds it disgusting because it is all made from soulcasted ingredients. They get to the tavern that Moash chooses. One of the men, …, has his eye on the bar maid. She has a table set aside for them and brings them their drinks. … helps her clear tables. Rock tells the story of how his people went into the mountains and became protected by the mountain gods. He went into their sacred lake (which Sigzil insists is a hot spring) and saw the water god that lived there. Kaladin asks if that is why he can see spren. Moash takes Kaladin into the back room to meet the people he was helping with assassination attempts. There is a light eyed man named Graves, a light eyed woman, Danlan, who is one of Dalinar’s clerks, and a dark eyed man that is clearly a mercenary. Graves explains Elhokar is a terrible king that is ruining Alethkar. If the king were out of the way, Dalinar would take over the throne until Elhokar’s son was old enough to rule and they would all be much better off. While Kaladin has a hard time disagreeing with these points, he is not willing to kill Elhokar. Kaladin considers that the world would also be better off without Sadeas in it. He tells them he will think about it, but he tells Moash not to see them anymore.
47. Shallan takes the maps out of Jasnah’s trunk and starts hanging them on the wall. She notices each map has its country of origin larger than it should be. All of them have Urithiru as a place near their own country, but not in in. She starts to wonder if they are all connected by the roads. Pattern points out a pattern between the maps. One has writing in the Dawnchant (a dead language) and he is able to translate a few words. Other words he does not know the meaning of. Shallan reads a passage in Jasnah’s notes about instantaneous travel. She wonders if the path to Urithiru is in the chasms of the Shattered Plains. She had sent word to her brothers to leave their home and come to the Shattered Plains, but she has not heard anything back. Messages are hard to pass in Jah Kavead since their war started. She looks at the clock and realizes she needs to get ready. Once she is dressed, she takes the carriage to go meet Adolin. On the way, she tries to change her appearance. She isn’t able to do it without sketching it first and she wonders why. Pattern tells her the drawing isn’t necessary, but it helps her focus. She draws Sebarial from memory and makes the image sit across from her in the carriage. It is very detailed, but not as life like as she wants it to be and doesn’t move at all. She is surprised at how busy she has been. She knows she needs the alliance with house Kholin, but isn’t sure exactly how to achieve it. She knows she will need to impress Adolin somehow.
48. Three years ago. Balat looks through Shallan’s sketchbook and is impressed. He has been doing much better since forming a relationship with Eylite. Wikim sees through her plan to help her brothers, but he now appreciates it as the ardents have been pressing their father to allow him to study. When the debt collectors bring Jushu to Lin to collect payment for his debts, Lin refuses to pay. Shallan goes to her father to beg for her brother’s life and sees the records showing their house has a lot of debt. When she questions it, he grabs her until her arm hurts. He tells her to go to her room and not leave it until he comes to get her. Shallan runs out and goes to Balat to ask him for his dagger to trade for Jushu. Balat refuses at first, but once Shallan says he sounds like their father, he hands it over. Wikim hands his over willingly. Shallan chases down the chull pulled cart with Jushu tied to the back. She offers up the two daggers and her own necklace. The man values them at half of Jushu’s debt and says it will be better for him to use it as an example. Shallan points out that is not a sure way for him to save money, but these items are a sure way for him to have some money. He asks why she wants him. She explains that he held her while she cried when their mother was murdered. The man agrees to her deal and cuts Jushu free. He gives her back her necklace. Jushu was beaten and didn’t hear the exchange. Shallan tells him Balat traded his dagger to save him. Balat comes out to help Jushu back inside and Shallan goes to her room and closes the door before the high storm. When the storm is over, she hears screaming from outside her room. Her father drags Minara, the serving maid, to her door. He has beat her. He tells Shallan he has learned to control himself, but he has to let out the anger. He warns Shallan that he doesn’t want to hurt anyone else because of her actions.
49. Shallan enters a wine bar and thinks it is odd the balcony looks over the east where the high storms come from. She sits with Adolin and he orders their wine. He admits it is Renarin that knows about wine and he just guesses. Adolin tells her they are at a specialty Winehouse to watch the high storms come in and he has been wanting to come there for weeks. Shallan is afraid of the storm. She tries to steer the conversation so he talks about himself, so she asks about the plateaus runs. He tells her how he and Dalinar jump the chasms to fight off the Parshendi because they are Shardbearers and it is how they keep their men from dying. She interrupts to ask what happens when he has to deficate. He answers honestly that the shard plate is hard to remove. When their are breaks in battle, there are men to help him and wipe him after. During battle, he has to discharge the waste in his armor. Shallan is fascinated by the intricate details of battle that most scholars do not bother to record. She then asks about the Chrysalises and Chasm fiends. She pulls out her sketchbook to ask him if they resemble any of the creatures she has sketched. He points one out and she tells him the Chasmfiends may be going extinct because they keep killing off their young population. She doesn’t think they live in the chasms, but only come there to pupate. She wonders where they might come from. Without them the ability to simulcast their supplies would go away. Shallan suggests there might be a way to breed the chasmfiends like they do chulls. She asks to be able to go out on the plateaus to study them and he says he’ll see what he can do. She says she is confident he can protect her. He says she should talk to his Aunt Navani about the study of the chasmfiends. She has been trying to talk to her, but Navini declines her requests to meet. Adolin says he will talk to her about it. He thinks it is because she doesn’t want to admit Jasnah is really gone. Shallan mentions Jasnah’s work and asks Adolin if they could all stop using Parshmen. Adolin thinks it would be political suicide for Dalinar and/or the king to make that request of everyone. The storm starts to roll in and they go to the balcony railing to watch it come in. Shallan can see something living in the storm and is obsessed with the fact that no one has drawn it before. Adolin has to drag her into the safe room before the door is bolted shut. He is surprised by her changed attitude about the storm. He says he will talk to Navini about meeting with her and his father about getting her out on the plateaus. They go to separate rooms to wait out the storms among their own genders. She likes Adolin and has a bit of a crush on him. She is surprised that he seems to like her too even though she knows both Jasnah and Tyn would not have approved of the conversation she just had with Adolin. She reminds herself of Absole and that she needs to be careful about her emotions.
50. In the safe room, Adolin sees Elit and asks if he is ready for their duel in two days. Elit says he is savoring the time until he beats Adolin and takes all his family’s shards. He goes over to a different group and Adolin realizes Sadeas is in the room as well. Sadeas comes over to ask him about the cut of his new coat that has emerald broom buttons and a matching ring from a raid he went on though he was not assigned and claimed the gemheart for himself. He thinks once Adolin is high prince, they will be able to come to an agreement after a civil war between their princedoms. Adolin threatens to kill Sadeas before that happens. Adolin waits for the rain to stop before he leaves. Shallan and her carriage are already gone. He walks around the market and looks at some jewelry for Shallan. He tries to focus on how well that is going. When he get back to the war camp, there are eight bridge men outside his father’s quarters. There is more writing on the walls and Adolin sends for Navani who has been learning how to translate the Dawnchant. Dalinar, Navani, and Adolin are alone studying the marks. It says 32 days and to seek the center. They decide it is Dalinar that is making them. Adolin points out telling the future is a thing the Voidbringers do. They try to determine what might be at the center. Dalinar thinks peace with the Parshendi will make it easier for them to find. Adolin asks about the Parshman in Kaladin’s crew. Dalinar is interested what will happen. Navani tells them 32 days will be during the weeping, but not quite the end of the year. Dalinar tells them to let the guards back in and swear them to secrecy.
51. Since the assassination attempt was actually intended for Dalinar, Adolin insists on going to meet the Parshendi in his place. He wears what is now Renarin’s shardplate and rides Dalinar’s Rashadium. Adolin takes Navani for advice and Danlan with a spanreed to record the conversation. He meets with Eshonai and asks if they are prepare to surrender. Eshonai seems much more confident than their last meeting. She tells them they are not nearly as desperate as the Alethi think they are. There have been new developments since the last time she spoke with Adolin. He asks her for peace and says he is willing to give anything for it. She says they will have to defeat them to get it. She says Dalinar is looking into the same things that got his brother killed. They don’t want the return of the KNights Radiant. Adolin’s party returns to the war camp and Dalinar confirms there is nothing else they can do but go to all out war. They decide they will go when they have an opening from high storms. This puts them within days of the number scribbled on the wall. Dalinar tells Adolin to duel more. Adolin says he has a plan. Dalinar will go to the neutral high princes and remind them of their oaths.
52. In the evening, Kaladin sneaks down into the chasms and takes off running and practicing turning his perspective with stormlight. At first, he gets frustrated. When he lets go of the fear, he finds it much easier and starts flying through the air with the wind spren. He gos back to camp through the chasms hoping no one spotted him flying over the plains. He finds himself subconciously heading towards Sadeas’ camp instead of Dalinars. He contemplates how much better it would be for everyone if he killed Sadeas. Syl talks him out of it and he goes back to Dalinar’s camp. Dinner is done by the time he gets there. Shen comes up to him and tells Kaladin he has to leave and that his real name is Rlain. Kaladin tells him he is a free man and wishes him well. Shallan has been sneaking into Sadeas’ war camp for three nights using different disguises. This time, she starts out as a delivery boy. When she gets inside Amaram’s place, she changes to one of the dark eyed women she had seen. The cook asks her why she isn’t out like she said she was going to be and sends her off to do some other work. Shallan goes to Amaram’s office and sees writing in glyphs he uses to be able to read. There are maps with more details than any of the others she has seen. She uses her sketchbook to right things down. He is a starmwarden, a secret that could ruin his reputation. Shallan makes herself look like Amaram and has Pattern talk for her telling the cook she isn’t to mention what she has seen that night. Shallan then goes to leave and changes back into the delivery boy disguise. When Amaram himself comes up to her, she says she has a message from Shallan Davlar requesting to draw his shards. Amaram agrees and pulls out his shard blade. Shallan is shocked to see it is the one her brother Helaran had. She asks about the history of the blade and he says he isn’t sure as the previous owner was stabbed through the face. He mentions he had red hair, and she realizes he is the one that killed her brother. She leaves with tears in her eyes and is grateful no one else notices her.
53. Adolin has his duel against Elit. The fight lasts about an hour and the crowd is not happy when Adolin wins. Navani and Renarin are in there when he goes back to his dressing room. He tries to tell his aunt that Shallan’s work is important and she should give her a chance. Navani is burning a prayer of thanks. Shallan comes in and tells him the duel was amazing. He said he didn’t see her in the seat he reserved for her when the fight started. She tells him she had to burn a prayer for him and came a bit late. Navini tells Shallan that she has heard good things about her before she leaves. He invites her to dinner, but she says she already has plans that night. Shallan tells Adolin he will have to do something spectacular to get the crowd on his side and says she will tell him more about it when he takes her to dinner the next night. Relis comes in furious at Adolin’s trickery in winning. Adolin challenges him, but Relis says he won’t be goaded into dueling him. Adolin puts up his family’s six shards and says Relis can bring a partner with him to take on Adolin. Relis accepts this invitation. Shallan asks if he can actually win the duel and he is not positive. He asks about her plan. She asks him what he knows about High Prince Yenev.
54. Shallan rents a carriage to take out to her meeting with the Ghostbloods outside the war camps. She leaves the carriage a bit away and walks to the temporary structure set up. Mraize asks her why Tyn has failed at another mission. Shallan gives him the drawings she did if Amaram’s study and the maps in the wall. She made the text as scribbles as would be normal for a sketch like this. When he asks about the writing, she said she wrote down what she could. He asks why she would draw more of the room and less if the writings. She says she drew the pictures from memory but doesn’t have the same skill with writing. He guesses that she killed Tyn and she admits that she only did it because Tyn turned in her. Mraize says there could be a place for her among them, but they generally don’t kill their own. He dismisses her and she walks towards the carriage. She stops and makes a boulder nearby and hides inside it. She has Pattern tell the carriage drive to go and not look back at her when he drops her off. The carriage leaves and Shallan waits. She hears Mraize talking to someone about their plan, but cannot hear the other side of the conversation. It is near dark when she comes out of her hiding place. The temporary structure is gone and she starts walking back to the war camps. In the way, she finds the carriage burned and the driver murdered and feels guilty because he had no idea what he was getting himself into. She wonders if there was any way she could have done this without getting someone killed.
55. Kaladin goes with Adolin to pick up Shallan in a carriage. When he gets up into the seat with the driver, he sees it is Wit driving. Wit asks him about the flute he gave him, but Kaladin admits he lost it. He had a bundle of personal items as a bridgemen, but in the excitement of moving to Dalinar’s camp, he forgot all about it. When they arrive to pick up Shallan, Adolin notices Wit is there driver. Shallan sees him too and rushes up to hug him and thank him. Kaladin decides Shallan could have a murder weapon on her anywhere and decides to ride in the carriage with them. He is annoyed at their flirting and thinks light eyes only care about frivolous things. Shallan tells Adolin how a while back, Sadeas impressed the high princeses with a spectacular duel. He would pause the fight several times to raise the stakes. When the king gave him a boon, Sadeas said he wanted Yenev’s cowardly heart on the end of his sword. Sedaes then dueled Yenev and killed him to make way for Adalar as the new high prince. Adolin likes the idea and thinks it is a way to use the game Sadeas is willing to play against him. Shallan gives Adolin her notes to pass on to Navaini so she and Dalinar can better instruct him. He decides she may be after his money and power, but she doesn’t seem like she wants to kill Adolin Dr. . Adolin wants to take her to a wine house that serves food. She asks instead to go to the menagerie. When they arrive, they have a new driver and Wit is gone. Kaladin follows them in and watches them as they look at all the different animals kept in captivity. Shallan sketches some. The last one they come to is a whitespine that they keep from maturing because they don’t do well in captivity. They are very dangerous creatures. Dalinar and Amaram show up at the menagerie together. The menagerie owner asks if the rumors around camp are true. Dalinar confirms that he has reformed the Knights Radiant and Amamaram is his first to take the oaths and be the groups leader.
56. Kaladin is upset about Dalinar choosing Amaram to lead the new Knights Radiant. Sigzil reminds him that Amaram doesn’t have any abilities. Kaladin isn’t so sure since Syl promised him there were others like him. Sigzil still doesnmt think Amaram would have them and not show them off. Kaladin sends men out to their positions. Kaladin tells Moash he will be on patrol duty starting the next day. Kaladin plans to have him far away when they go after Graves. Moash says they will talk about it later. Adolin doesn’t have his mother’s necklace as he gets ready for the duel. He shakes it off and goes out into the arena to face four shardbearers. Dalinar is furious, but Sadeas tells him Adolin agrees to it when he told Relis he would fight anyone he could bring with him. The fighting starts and Adolin hears Zahel calling out advice. He finds Eliot, Abrobadar, and his friend Jakamav are the other three men. Adolin moves quickly and is able to get in a few blows before the others are on him and beating him. He tries to call out his surrender, it the judge ignore him. The men keep him from raising his hand to signal. Adolin is allowed to have two men join him and Dalinar asks to borrow the king’s blade. Elhokar refuses pointing out it is obviously part of Sadeas’ plan to get Dalinar out there. Renarin goes into the field with his shardblade, but didn’t have time to put in his plate. Abrobadar goes over to Renarin to keep him busy which gives Adolin a chance to fight the other three. Relis tells him he promised the crowd a fight and to surrender would be a disappointment. Dalinar is furious at the lack of honor. Kaladin tells him honor is dead and says he will go out to fight with Adolin. He jumps down into the sands.
57. Shallan knows she can’t interfere with Adolin’s duels, but she sends Pattern down into the arena to help Renarin knowing she cannot go herself. Kaladin fights Elit who ends up yielding. Kaladin takes his helm and attaches it to his hand and uses it to help Adolin who has leaked so much stormlight, he is having trouble moving. When Relis goes after Renarin, Kaladin chases him. All his stormlight has been used up, so he takes the last of it from the helm. Renarin lets his blade vanish and Relis turns to attack Kaladin at the last second. Kaladin catches his shardblade between his palm and there is a loud screaming. Relis runs out of the arena. Adolin has Jakamav in a hold and his shardplate is out of stormlight so it is difficult to move. Kaladin threatens to kill Jakamav and he yields as well. Adolin gets up and tells Kaladin to help him get his shard plate off so he can face Sadeas. Kaladin begrudgingly does it. Elhokar announces he is giving Adolin a boon. Adolin announces his challenge to duel Sadeas righ then. Kaladin announces his own request to fight the murderer Amaram for enslaving him and killing his men. Elhokar has Kaladin arrested.
58. Elhokar and Dalinar are furious with Kaladin who is chained to a chair. Because of his stunt, Sadeas was able to set the duel for one year from then. Elhokar wants Jaladin executed, but Dalinar tells him that will me him an enemy of his own uncle if he even tries. Elhokar says he must be put in prison until he says. Dalinar agrees to this and Elhokar leaves. Dalinar tells Kaladin that he looked into Amaram’s records of his shardblade. There are 17 witnesses that say he got the blade four months after Kaladin was sold into slavery. He thanks Kaladin for saving his sons before he leaves. The guards come to take Kaladin to the prison in Dalinar’s war camp. One of them salutes Kaladin with a raised fist. Kaladin is locked in a stone cell. Syl comes to him and he tells her he will never trust a light eyes again.
INTERLUDES
I-9 LIFT
Lift is a 13 year old Reshi girl that grew up in Rall Elorim (the City of Shadows). She is sneaking into the Azish Bronze Palace with a group of thieves: Huqin (leader), Maxin, Tigzikk (learned one), Gawx (Huqin’s nephew). They picked this night because the last Prime Aqasix was murdered and they are in the process of picking a new one. There is a man, Darkness, following lift and she thought she lost him, but as she is on the palace wall, she sees him walking down he street towards the palace. She drops onto the palace grounds and her spren, Wyndle, appears. She thinks he is a Voidbringer. Their bond gives Lift two abilities: Friction and growth. He says she isn’t ready for regrowth. When the older thieves take off to steal things like clothes, Lift wanders off to find food. Gawx goes with her. She acts like a servant while Gawx is nervous they will get caught. He knows the palace layout and thinks they should go to the viziers rooms because they will most likely be empty while they debate on the new Prime (he wrote an essay to apply for the position). She leaves him to head to the kitchens. Lift doesn’t make it to the kitchen, but she does find the room where they are deliberating on who should be the next Prime. The people know there is a good chance they will be killed in the role and have made blatant mistakes in their essays to prevent themselves from being named. Darkness finds her in the room and starts coming after her. She is out of “awesomeness,” but grabs a roll so her body can make more from it. It takes a while for it to kick in once she has eaten it, but when she does, she starts running. Darkness and his minion end up on either side of her in a hallway. The minion has Gawx and threatens to kill him if she doesn’t give herself up. Seeing that he is a lawman, she figures that it is a bluff and starts to move and Darkness grabs her. The minion slits Gawx’s throat. Darkness lets her go to reprimand the minion for killing the boy without having filled out the countries proper paperwork. The minion thought they were above any countries rules. Darkness says they still must follow the rules. Lift is able to get away from them an eats another roll to give her more awesomeness. She sees Huqin and the others escaping over the wall and ready and willing to leave Gawx behind. She asks Wyndle what he meant by the regrowth skill and whether or not it could help Gawx. He doesn’t think it can or even know if the boy is still alive. Lift goes back and finds Gawx on the ground surrounded in blood. He is still warm and she uses the rest of her energy to heal him. He lives, but Darkness grabs her. He tells her she is an Edgedancer and they don’t allow them to live because her abilities could bring about Desolation. Lift doesn’t have anything left to get away from him. The Viziers come out and declare the boy that healed himself their new Prime because he healed himself and they are taking it as a sign. He immediately pardons Lift. Darkness still doesn’t show any emotion as he lets her go. Lift asks the new prime if she can eat his dinner.
I-10 SZETH
On top of the highest mountain, Szeth is in the city of Urithiru keeping from looking directly upon the God of Gods who holds his Oathstone. This holy place is the only one where he can walk among the stones. He is filled with hatred and thinks the screamers below deserve what is happening to them. He was told it wasn’t possible for men to use stormlight the way he does. The Knights Radiant had fallen and the Truthless was all that remained. His stormlight doesn’t last very long. The Knights Radiant were said to be better with it than he was. If they exist, he believes his oath is meaningless. He has enough spheres to get him off the mountain and to a nearby village. He intends to get answers or kill someone of his own choosing.
I-11 ESHONAI
Eshonai goes before the Five to tell them she needs everyone they can get to change into Stormform. Venli and 200 soldiers already have. While most of them consider it, the dullform among them disagrees. They decide they will think it over and meet again later that day. Venli thinks Eshonai was too aggressive with them. Rather than waiting, Eshonai goes to where many have gathered in the city. Before the Five can make their announcement on what they have discussed so far, Eshonai tells them they need to take Stormform to be able to survive the humans. She then goes back to her soldiers. She has her new soldiers go around asking each person if they are willing to change to Stormform in the last two storms they have left before the lull (what the humans call the weeping). Those that do not agree are rounded up. Venli can see that they will have to kill those that refused to make the transformation. Eshonai doesn’t want to do it right then because she knows it could change other people’s minds about making the change. Thood comes up to her and is concerned about her plans. She didn’t even realize her mother was among those that refused to transform. She can tell he isn’t convinced of her plan and realizes most of her previous squad would probably have to be killed. She thinks her new red eyes may play a part in them having trouble following her. She tells him he can guard those that did not want to transform. Venli tries to tell her what to do, but Eshonai grabs her by the throat. She is upset Venli knew what this form was before Eshonai took it and didn’t tell her. A few minutes later, a solider comes to tell her the group that didn’t want to take Stormform have fled into the chasms with the guards. She thinks they will be dead as soon as a high storm comes and is not too concerned about it. She is unsettled by her growing need to control everything.
PART FOUR: THE APPROACH
59. Kaladin sits in jail for several days. He considers an escape attempt and asks if Syl would help him. She asks if he really wants to. He admits he doesn’t and that Dalinar isn’t like all the other lighters. Wit comes to visit him and plays him a song. Kaladin sees a man, Fleet, running and then going through the storm and into the mountains, to the tallest mountain. He gets through the storm, but it eventually catches up and kills him. Kaladin gets annoyed with the song and says the hero dies. Wit tells him that is exactly how it goes and sings about how Fleet dies but his soul lives on in the storm. When Wit goes to leave, Kaladin asks him what it means. Wit says he doesn’t know; it is Kaladin’s story.
60. Shallan looks at the different maps and compares them to the ones she drew from her visit to Amaram’s room. She sees a pattern and thinks Urithiru is in the mountains. Pattern has trouble seeing this because many of the maps are inaccurate. She had written to Navani again, bust still hasn’t gotten a response. She thinks her not catching Adolin’s mistake in issuing the challenge might have hurt her chances at getting Navani to help her. She makes a joke and Pattern tells one he heard from one of Vashah’s men. He points out she has been able to use stormlight to make sound before and she needs to learn how to do it again. She tells him she cannot think about when her mother died or else she will become a shell of a girl always crying and scared. Instead, she uses humor to keep going. Pattern says he has come here to learn and she must learn this skill. She makes the image of Veil in her room and tries to keep it solid when she walks away from it. After several attempts, she has Pattern touch it to keep it going. She points out he can hold stormlight and their bond means he can keep her image solid. He is able to move it, but it glides across the floor. She will have to find a way to make it move more naturally.
61. One and a half years ago. Shallan mostly hides in her room and only lets her mask drop when she is alone with her brothers. Her father tells Balat he cannot marry Eylite because she is below his station. He is furious because he loves her. He mentions that Helaran is in town and Lin has Balat’s axhound puppies killed by one of their new, mean guards. Lin is furious and threatens to put Wikim as the heir to the house. Balat goes to find his puppies dead. Shallan finds them there. He is considering running away with Eylite and asks Shallan if she will go with them. She tells him she can’t because there is something dark taking over their father and she cannot just abandon him to it. She asks if he would take Jushu and Wikim. He says he would not be able to afford it especially with Jushu’s gambling still being a problem. Shallan overhears her father giving the orders to have Helaran killed. His wife, Malise yells at him for trying to have his own son killed. Lin whispers something to his guard, Rin, who goes to shut the door. Shallan hides in her room and the shouting starts.
62. Kaladin is bored in his cell. He wishes he had some way to work out to keep up his training. He asks Syl about the Cryptic spren she saw during the fight. She doesn’t know much of it. Dalinar comes to see him and says he will be freed in a few days and restored to his position. Kaladin tells him he is concerned the king has a history of leaving people in prison until they die. Dalinar asks how he knows about it. Kaladin says one of his men knew the people. Dalinar says they try not to talk about the Roshone incident. Kaladin says he must know about it for his own piece of mind. His entire life fell apart when Roshone came to his town. Dalinar says Roshone had the ear of the crowned prince and once this was found out, he was banished. Kaladin expresses his concern about Roshone being set free. Dalinar says he was one of Sadeas’ high lords. Dalinar was convinced to give him mercy and send him away. Kaladin is disgruntled and Dalinar can see it. He tells Kaladin he needs him to respect the king. He admits he put Kaladin in the position he did because he felt it was right. He thinks Kaladin can change the kingdom and inspire others. He reminds Kaladin he has to be more tactful in how to prove to the world that a dark eyes can lead. Dalinar leaves. Kaladin knows that Moash is right and Elhokar needs to die for the good of the kingdom.
63. Shallan received a message that her next assignment from the Ghostbloods will be put into a tree. She watches from a nearby building waiting to watch the message be out into place. While waiting, she talks to Adolin via spanreed. He tells her he has arranged for her to come out onto the plains with him and his father’s army to look at a dead chrysalis. She has pattern check to see if anyone else is watching the tree. He comes back to tell her the masked woman is one floor below her in the same building. Shallan makes her image of Veil and has Pattern move with it towards the tree. She goes down one floor and hides in an alcove knowing which door the other woman will come out of. When she comes out, Shallan shows herself and asks her name. Iyatil tells her she plans to follow her on the mission to investigate the new arrival at Dalinar’s camp. They take a palanquin into camp. On the way Iyatil tells her they are going to see a madman. Shallan thinks Mraize knows more than he has said. Iyatil says Mraize is her student. Shallan asks about the mask and she says she wears it to be more versatile. Shallan sticks her head out of the window and removes the image of Veil to get them into the camp. She has Pattern make a noise on the other side of the carrier to distract Iyatil so she can get her disguise back in place without her seeing. Shallan gets them into the building they need by saying her sister has been inhabited by a Voidbringer. Iyatil is not pleased, but plays along. When the ardent are focused on Iyatil, Shallan slips off to see the madman. Once alone, she uses stormlight to make herself look like an ardent. Pattern finds the man and leads Shallan to him. He is kept in a dark room and talks about the Return and Desolation. Shallan asks who he is and he says Talenel’Elin, the one called Stonesinew, one of the Heralds. She writes down his words. She then starts to use stormlight to change her appearance, but he starts screaming. She pulls out her shardblade, but the madman backs up to his bed and she dismisses it. She doesn’t have time to change her appearance again because men are heading her way and one of them is Amaram.
64. Kaladin grows uneasy in his cell. Syl can see there is a darkness coming over Kaladin. He prays for the first time in a long time not to go back to what he was. He sucks in stormlight from the sphere lighting his room. Shallan makes herself into darkness and hides in the corner. Amaram calls the madman “Great Prince” and asks him to tell him where the honor blades are. The nervous guard says the madman repeats himself mostly and only mentioned the honor blades once. He tells him they could wait days and still not hear anything about them. Amaram agrees to leave. Shallan makes herself into Veil again and goes back to Iyatil. She hugs her fake sister and quietly asks if she can get out. Iyatil scoffs at her question. Shallan gives her the paper that she wrote down the madman’s ramblings on and says she will send a full report by spanreed later that night. She leaves. After sending her report that night, Mraize sends back that Veil is now a member of the Ghostbloods and it is required for her to get the tattoo. She is proud of herself, but she isn’t sure why considering she has the approval of murderers.
65. One and a half years ago. A little while after hearing her father’s order to kill Helaran, Shallan tells Balat he needs to leave and take Malise with him. He is afraid their father will hunt him down if he does. Shallan suggests he join Helaran, who has a shardblade. She says he can leave while Lin is out on one of his trips. He agrees and Shallan goes to talk to Malise. She is afraid of entering the room for the first time since her mother’s murder. She goes in anyway and starts taking care of her step-mother’s wounds. She tells her she is going to get away with Balat. Malise asks who Lin will hate with them gone. She wonders if he will beat Shallan and says she is the one who actually deserves it. She asks why Lin doesn’t hate her, but Shallan doesn’t have an answer.
66. Kaladin is let out of jail after three weeks. He is surprised to find Adolin put himself in jail as well because he didn’t feel right about Kaladin being there. Kaladin apologizes for ruining his chances at dueling Sadeas. Adolin admits it wasn’t Kaladin’s fault. If the king hadn’t had a tantrum about being embarrassed about Kaladin’ challenge, he could have ignored it and let Adolin set the terms of his duel with Sadeas. Adolin asks if what Kaladin said about Amaram was true. When Kaladin says yes, Adolin believes him. He has always been suspicious of Amaram’s perfect reputation and wondered what he was hiding. They walk out together and are greeted by a swarm of bridgemen saluting and then cheering for their captain. Adolin announces that he won several shards during their duel and one full set is to go to Kaladin. Kaladin is nervous and says he wants to give the shards to Moash. Adolin pulls him aside and tells him he will be giving up becoming a light eyes that will have the right to challenge Amaram. Kaladin points out he was able to fight off shard bearers without plate or blade before. He is not concerned for himself. However, if they have another person to fight the assassin, they stand a better chance. Adolin agrees and gives the blades to Moash and tells him to pick a family name. Moash has the armorers help him get the plate on as the rest of the bridgement go to celebrate Kaladin’s freedom with the stew Rock has been cooking since his imprisonment started. Kaladin asks Teft how they handled it. Teft was able to calm them down and tell them almost all soldiers spend some time in jail. Kaladin tells him he will join the celebration shortly, but has to talk to Moash first. Kaladin dismisses the armorers and helps Moash get the rest of the plate on. He tells Moash he approves of his conspirators’ plan. He warns him that he only approves because he thinks it is what is best for the kingdom and not because of Moash’s need for revenge. Moash goes to the sparing area to get used to his new plate while Kaladin goes to join his party.
67. Navani sees she cannot keep Dalinar’s attention. She tells him they have found out Shardblades didn’t originally have the gems attached to them. This changes how they are studying them. They arrive at the feast and go to separate tables. Dalinar goes to high prince … because he had seemed the most receptive of his idea to fight the Parshendi in an all out attack. When the man keeps laughing rather than answering, he realizes people are snickering all around them. He approaches Sadeas and Amaram and asks Sadeas what he has done now. Sadeas feins innocence. Sadeas leaves and Wit is there to make fun of Amaram’s horribleness. Once alone with Dalinar, Amaram gives Dalinar the copy of Navani’s altered notes that have been passed around. Amaram says he thinks Dalinar’s visions truly are from the Almighty. Navani approaches them and is furious with what has been done to her private notes to try to embarrass Dalinar. Dalinar makes a speech confessing that he has visions. He says he will not run from them trying to make a mockery of him and instead will stay and speak to each of them. At the end of the night, Adolin escorts Shallan back to her own camp. Wit comes to tell Dalinar he did well with what he was given; turning a joke into a promise. The people came to him. Wit does not insult Dalinar like he does the others. He admits he has his own agenda and he is willing to watch Roshar burn to make sure it happens. He tells Dalinar he will help him when he can, but he should not trust him.
68. Kaladinis out on the plans with Dalinar’s group to take Shallan to sketch the chrysalis. He tries to take in stormlight, but is unable to. He wonders if it is because Syl is too far away floating around with the windspren or if she is trying to punish him for agreeing to help Moash. He overhears a conversation between Dalinar and one of the men. He and a group of guards saw someone flying through the air in the night. They think it was Szeth and have been extra cautious. Kaladin thinks Syl is starting to act the way she did when they first met. She says he is making bad choices. He realizes he has given his word on two things and he cannot possible keep both promises. She tells him he has to find the words. Refusing to help Moash is not enough. Moash, now with light tan eyes and only a day away from bonding with his blade, comes up to him and says they are nearly there. They just need Kaladin to give them an opening and Graves himself will shoot the king with an arrow. They both agree Dalinar must be away during the attempt. The discussion makes Kaladin feel sick. Adolin comes up to Kaladin to discuss what their plan should be if Szeth should attack them on the plains. They agree that Kaladin should attack while Adolin strikes. Kaladin tells him he saw Szeth heal on their way down in the fall and says Adolin should go for a killing blow. Adolin says he trusts him. Shallan stops her palanquin and runs up to the mechanical bridge to sketch how it works. Adolin asks Kaladin if he knows anything about women because he wants to keep Shallan. Kaladin suggests he tell her that. Shallan next goes to sketch some moss and after asks Adolin to cut the rocks the moss is on. When Adolin takes off to get a drink, Kaladin asks about her using the rock cross section for dating. She points out the inaccuracy of it in that particular area. He sees the white in the middle and realizes there was a structure there a long time ago. Shallan scolds Kaladin for making jokes at Adolin’s expense when he is trying hard to help Kaladin. She thinks he hates everyone. Kaladin is taken back by this and goes to join his men of Bridge Four to take his turn at carrying the bridge. He tries to suck in stormlight, but isn’t able. When they cross a few plateaus and reach the chysalis, Kaladin goes to get water. Dalinar sends his vaulters out to scout nearby plateaus. He tells Dalinar the mechanical bridges will be too slow for his assault. He will been the speed of the bridgemen and explains it can be done much better than how Sadeas was using them. A carpenter calls Dalinar back across the bridge. Adolin and Shallan are crossing the bridge. It takes Kaladin a few minutes to recognize he is a carpenter from Sadeas’ lumber yards. He runs and Adolin heads runs after Kaladin looking for the threat and leaves Shallan in the center of the bridge. Kaladin yells for Adolin to stop the carpenter. Dalinar is distracted by the sound of horns signaling the enemy is nearby. The man pulls a lever and the bridge collapses.
69. Kaladin, Shallan, and guards in blue go down into the chasm. He reaches for stormlight, but it doesn’t come to him. Syl screams like when he touch the shardblade in the arena and Kaladin gets stormlight just before he crashes to the bottom. Kaladin wakes up and hears a voice asking what he has done. Kaladin feels for wounds, but the stormlight saved him. Shallan rounds the corner with a sphere and she backs away with a scream. She tells him someone threw the emergency lever on the bridge to throw the bridge into the chasm. The others around them didn’t survive. He doesn’t know if Dalinar survived, but hopes Adolin got to him in time in his shardplate to save him. There is also a Parshendi body in the chasm with them and he thinks their must have been a fight they missed while they were passed out. He thinks he must have infused her with stormlight just before they landed. Shallan wonders how she saved Kaladin along with herself. They decide they need to start moving as the y have a king walk check to the camp through the chasms and not much time before the next height storm. As they walk, Shallan tries to keep up with Kaladin. She calls him out in his anger and he says all light eyes use those lower than them for their own gain. She tries to deny it, but he reminds her of the incident of when she took his boots. They get into a screaming match about it and then they hear a scratching in the wall. They start to run away from the chasmfiend.
70. They run and is glad to see Shallan is keeping up better than they expecting. He takes her satchel in addition to the pack he is already carrying and looks to see they are being followed. The creature screams like a horn. He isn’t sure if it is following their scent or sound. Shallan takes the lead and tells him to follow. They end up back where they started so it would feed on the dead bodies. Shallan tells him to stay there as she goes to see it. He sees Shallan looking at the giant creature. He is surprised at how quick and intelligent it is. The spren dancing around the beast she has seen around sky eels. She wonders why it is still around after pupating. She thinks they are only eating men because they don’t have their natural prey. Kaladin grabs her to go and they take a different direction than previously. He hasn’t seen Syl since they fell. All of Shallan’s spheres are dunn from their fall. She starts to become weary and he says they need to stop for the night. Shallan pulls out some rations from the pack she took off a dead soldier and they eat. Shallan pulls out her sketchbook and starts making a map. Kaladin thinks they have been heading south instead of east like they need to. She starts sketching the chasmfiend. She falls asleep and Kaladin wakes her up while it is still dark. He seems to be in a good mood, but it fades as the start traveling. She promises she is too tired to make fun of him. He tells her he thinks she is like all light eyes and has grown up without any hardships. He thinks she might be who she says she is, because if she were going to pretend to be someone, she could have picked someone more notable. She recaps he thinks she is devious enough to try to take advantage of Adolin and yet sheltered enough that nothing bad has happened to her. She thinks about it for a while. She looks him in the eye and tells him she has no intentions of harming Adolin. She has come to the Shattered Plains to continue Jasnah’s work because she believes something bad is coming and her work could help them all. He believes her. They finally get a look at the sun as it rises and realize they are going the wrong direction.
71. Teft and Sigzil stand watch over the chasm. Sigzil asks Teft about what he went through growing up. Teft tells him his parents were part of a group that thought their abilities would come if they were near death. His mother jumped off a cliff and died. His father and other in the group were hung for trying to commit suicide. Dalinar comes up to the men to make sure they are taking care of themselves. Dalinar believes Kaladin is dead, but his men know different. Kaladin calls out for Syl, but there is no answer. Kaladin looks at her map and she admits she remembers all the plateaus. They keep going and stop every now and then for Shallan to update her map. She realizes there are two sets of plateaus that mirror each other. Kaladin says they are symmetrical. Shallan realizes she knows where the Parshendi are and will be able to figure out where the center is. She can find the oathgate. They continue on and Kaladin yells for the scouts while Shallan updates the map. Kaladin doesn’t think they are going to make it back before the high storm and blames himself for leading them in the wrong direction. Shallan is determined to make it. She tells him she understands the anger, emptiness and helplessness felt from watching the ones you love being hurt. He sees she has been through enough to break her too. He thinks it is beautiful she smiles anyway. They decide to stay positive and start making jokes about why they are happy to be in the chasm. When they stop again, Shallan goes to draw while Kaladin yells, but a chasmfiend appears. He grabs her and they run until they find a fissure to hide in. It tries to get them, but isn’t able to and waits for them. He tells her they will have to separate to save her and get her information to Dalinar.
72. Shallan summons her shardblade and gives it to Kaladin. She asks him to lead it away from her satchel so she can get her sketches to Dalinar to help him. She asks him not to die. Kaladin faces the chasmfiend and Shallan runs. He thinks he’ll have to get under it to get to the heart. He cuts a piece of the arm, but it only annoys it. He gets thrown and the shardblade goes flying Shallan yells to give Kaladin an advantage. He gets the weapon and stabs it through the chest, but it doesn’t do anything. Kaladin grabs a sphere and tries to draw in stormlight. He sees an image of himself above him. The chasmfiend hits it and it disappears. He gets close and the chasmfiend rears up. Kaladin lifts the blade into it. Shallan dismisses the blackness that had hidden her. She isn’t sure how to help Kaladin. She summons her blade to cut away the mandibles to free him from the beast. He tells her how to help with his wounds. She suggests they climb up the chasmfiend to get out. He tells her she’ll have to climb up the wall to use the shardblade to cut out a cubby for them to stay in. She uses it to make handholds up the wall. It shrinks down to a knife at her command. She is exhausted when she gets enough of the hole cut for them. Kaladin isn’t sure he’ll be able to make it up the wall. She cuts a vine to use as a rope to help him up the chasmfiend. She goes up the rock and Kaladin follows as quickly as he can with only one leg. He reaches her just as the storm walk hits.
73. One year ago. The Davar house is in good standing now that mineral deposits have been found in their land. Shallan talks to Balat about him leaving as soon as possible with Eylite. He plans to leave when he is supposed to be scouting that night. He is nervous about Helaran not answering their attempts to reaching him. Eylite is arriving with her hand maiden and they realize they have been found out. Lin refuses to let them go. He killed his wife. Balat attacks him, but Lin stops him easily. Shallan offer Lin wine and he takes it. Balat tries ti attack again and Lin barely bleeds. He beats Balat with a hot poker. Shallan falls and hits her head. She gets up and tells Eylite to bind his wounds. Lin falls over. Shallan used the poison Wikim gave him a long time ago. Jushu pulls the soul aster out of Lin’s pocket. Shallan takes the device, but she can’t think. Lin’s body twitches and Shallan goes to him. Jushu and Wikim back away. She puts the necklace he gave her around his neck and uses a fork to strangle him to death. She sings the lullaby he used to sing to her as a child.
74. Shallan is able to get Kaladin into the alcove she carved. The water rises and they watch the bodies drift past them. He thinks he sees inhuman bodies above them, but isn’t sure. She asks him to tell his story to distract her. She stays quiet through the entire time. She tells him about how she killed her father because he was a murderous monster. She tells him about the terrors she faced. He realizes he is the one that killed her brother. He realizes she is stronger than he was. She goes on telling him about trying to rob Jasnah. Suddenly, Shallan is gone and the Stormfather is there to talk to him. He realizes she is a Knights Radiant. He asks what he did to Syl. The face says he has killed her and is like those that came before. Kaladin tells him he will not ride the winds again. Suddenly he is back in the alcove with Shallan. She saw it as well and wants to draw it. The storm slowly passes. He goes to climb down, but realizes Shallan is asleep. He goes to sleep as well.
75. Dalinar checks on who is supposed to be on plateau runs and decides to cancel it knowing neither high prince is likely to go. Amaram tells him Sadeas will go after it and he needs to reign in his insubordinates. He goes on to tell him there is more they need to worry about than squabbles between them. A messenger comes to tell him Kaladin has come out of the chasm. Dalinar is shocked to find Kaladin standing and saluting him. He said he had to deliver Shallan. He also gives him the gem heart. Navani goes to Shallan to help her. Kaladin tells Dalinar that Shallan found something and he needs to talk ti her before they go. Dalinar thinks Kaladin is what he has been searching for, but Kaladin tells him he can’t be anymore. Dalinar tells his people to give Kaladin anything he needs. He goes off to find Shallan and notices Amaram is nowhere to be found. Shallan is happy to have had a bath and in clean clothes and a blanket. She has Pattern recreate the conversation between Dalinar and Navani. He need her to draw the rest of the map. Shallan needs to go with them to find the oathgate. She wonders if she would be able to open it. Pattern thinks there is more for her to do to become a Knights Radiant. He cannot remember because he was in a different state then. He diesnmt think any spren like him have ever bonded with a human before. She intends to become a Radiant. He says she said the words long ago. She lacks truth. She must understand truth and lie both to become more. Adolin comes to see her and embraces her. He kisses him. He apologizes to her for rescuing his father instead of her. She tells him he did the right thing. He goes to make sure she is never in that position again. He says he’ll protect her. She tells him she doesn’t need to be protected. She says she won’t be kicked away again, but she appreciates the concerns. Dalinar goes to his study with Navani and Shallan. Shallan asks to accompany him in his expedition because the ruins of an scientific city are hidden and she intends to find them. Navani suggests she stay sheltered. Shallan says she has a duty and Dalinar allows it. He holds up her map and asks if she can expand it. She asks him to leave the Parshmen behind in the war camp. Jasnah felt it was important. Navani says once they are packed, they won’t be needed. Adolin backs her up. Dalinar says they are leaving within the hour.
INTERLUDES
I-12 LHAN
In Kholinar, Lhan is a bit drunk and has been sent an ardent, Pai, who has been studying for the past year. She has been very eager to join the queens retinue and has finally been accepted. He explains that the queen feels that the Almighty is upset with her and she can correct that by treating her ardent well. He starts listing off the perks of being one of the queens assigned ardents. When he sees this makes only makes his new student angry, he decides to take a different approach. He leads her to a pile of unused food. He says the ardent that used to distribute it to the poor died years ago and they usually just throw it out in the square for beggars to dig through once it starts to rot. Pai says she will take on the duty and do what she can to inspire the other ardents to behave like the are expected to. The next morning, Lhan is woken up to the rumors of Pai’s artwork. He goes to see it and sees she has pointed the People’s Halls with the glyphs of the ten foolish attributes along with paragraphs in women’s script about how the queen meets each attribute. Pai is executed the the next morning and then the riots start
1-13 ESHONAI
Eshonai is still having trouble adjusting to the new form. Venli hasn’t changed at all and that worries Eshonai. Venli wants to create a storm right then. Eshonai says they must draw out the Alethi first. Venli agrees, but Eshonai thinks she isn’t telling her something. Venli says the songs tell them the storms have been blowing the wrong way. Eshonai says they will have to wait until the Alethi are almost on top of them. Venli says she will tell the others the plan. Eshonai thinks her sister seems too comfortable in that form. She didn’t want to be a general and thinks it will be ironic she will go down in history as the war leader that defeat the Alethi.
1-14 TARAVANGIAN
Taravangian, King of Kharbranth, is sore as he wakes up on a ship that has arrived in Jah Kaved. Mrall is the one that decides whether Taravangian is to be king or a prisoner. He is given a set of math problems to fill out. After about an hour, he gives over the paper and finds out he has an average level of intelligence. This is done each morning to find out what level of intellect he will have each day. This day, he is allowed to make decisions, but he cannot change the diagram. He looks at a diagram he drew with a key on one of his more brilliant days. As they travel though Jah Kavead following the succession wars, they stop to help those in need through the country side. Szeth makes an unexpected appearance and startles Taravangian. He checks to make sure he still has Szeth’s oathstone before asking why he is there. Szeth tells him that Dalinar has a surgebinder, a man in his guard. Taravangian looks at the diagram and decides it is one of the bridgemen Dalinar saved from Sadeas. He tells Szeth to go kill Dalinar, but to stay away from the surgebinder no matter what. Szeth leaves and the rest of the party continues to the king’s palace. They find the king, Valam, on his death bed and all of the high princes have been slain in the succession war. The king says Taravangian has a claim to the throne through his mothers side a few generations back and names him his successor. He asks his bastard son, Redin, to kill him. He does and Redin leaves the room. Taravangian is surprised by Valam’s Death Rattle. He had followed the instructions diagram that said he would be able to take Jah Keved. He is doing everything he can to unite the nations so they can survive.
PART FIVE: WINDS ALIGHT
76. Kaladin tells his men he isn’t healing himself quickly to not alert the surgeon. When the army is leaving, Lopen asks why he doesn’t heal himself and go with them. He tells him Syl has left him and his abilities are gone. Dalinar only has one high prince, Roion, who has agreed to join him. He and Amaram are shocked that Sebarial is the first high prince to join them in the expedition to take on the Parshendi. He has brought his mistress and a carriage. Dalinar thinks maybe he should also prepare a carriage for Navani. Sadeas and Ilalai watch the armies gather from a higher vantage point. Ilalai suggests they take the crown for themselves while Dalinar is gone, but Sadeas thinks he will be king soon enough without the plot. A message is brought to him. Dalinar is surprised again when Aladar (a loyal follower of Sadeas) gets his army ready to join Dalinar. Aladar tells him he couldn’t let the two cowardly high princes (Roion and Sebarial) fill their vengeance pledge and not him. Dalinar asks if he is there to betray him, but Aladar points out he wouldn’t tell him if he was. Dalinar makes him give his word he is there with good intentions. He tells Aladar he must leave all Parshmen behind. He spots Kaladin among his men to see them off. He sees Shallan and can’t help noticing how beautiful she is. He thinks he could be jealous, but he likes Adolin and thinks the two are good for each other. He takes Amaram over to him saying an apology is in order. Kaladin starts to say something, but Dalinar stops him and tells him he means from Amaram. He had planted a shardblade and when Amaram tried to steal it, he knew Kaladin was telling the truth. He takes the Knights Radiant cloak from Amaram who storms away. Kaladin wants to go after him, but Salinar says they will try him when they get back. Kaladin is relieved to see Dalinar carrying a shardblade again, but Dalinar says it doesn’t feel right anymore. Ialai is distracted by something while Sadeas gripes over Aladar joining Dalinar. He expects the Oarsheni will kill them all.
77. Shallan starts out on a slow horse. Adolin admits this was on purpose because she doesn’t have a lot of riding experience. He tells her she will need to switch over to a carriage after a while to prevent saddle soreness. Gaz has been missing, but runs up to her now to deliver a beat up copy of Words of Radiance she has had him looking for. The next day, she is in a carriage alone reading to allow Pattern some freedom. Navani comes to join her and look over her research as Shallan has been begging her to. She apologizes for her behavior. She asks Shallan if she believes Jasnah’s findings about the portal to Urithiru. Shallan does and Navani promises not to take the project from her, but offers to help her. Shallan tells her she is going to need a team of researchers for the quotes and men to survey the plateaus so she can make her map accurate. Navani sets off with some of Jasnah’s and Shallan’s notes to have copies made. Before she leaves, Shallan tells Navani that she believes Jasnah was one of the Knights Radiant. She saw her do things without a fibrial. Navani wonders if Jasnah and Dalinar are trying to summon things that should stay dead. She leaves the carriage. Kaladin stays at the camp and Moash, left behind to guard the king, comes to see him. He tells him the plan is to wait until Dalinar is too far out to return. They will pretend Szeth has returned and once everyone goes into hiding, they will kill the king. Kaladin wonders if this is the right thing do to and Moash tells him it is necessary for the greater good. Kaladin reminds him that is exactly what Amaram said to him when he killed his men. Moash thinks this is different, but Kaladin reminds him he is a light eyes now. Kaladin knows there isn’t anything he can do about it now that he is hurt and Syl is gone. Moash asks about the rumors of Kaladin loosing his power and Kaladin confirms it.
78. Shallan sits at the edge of a tent watching the rain as Vathah and her soldiers watch her from nearby. She draws using spheres that give off purple light wondering how it will change her drawing. She draws Jasnah from her own imagination trying to learn how to create rather than just copy. Dalinar has everyone clear out of the tent so he can talk to Shallan alone. He is surprised how she has taken command of his scholars. She explains that was Navain’s doing rather than hers. She tells him she believes in what Jasnah was studying. He thinks he might be a fool for trying to start a new Knights Radiant, especially with Amaram. She tells him he might not be meant to create them, but to gather them. She shows him an image and he puts his hand through it. He wants to put her in the Knights Radiant cloak, but she tells him her abilities are best kept secret. She swears him to secrecy and tells him to not even tell Navani. Some men come to get Dalinar and tell him they have found a Parshendi that is unlike any other they have seen. Shallan goes with them out to the rock the Parshendi man is sitting on. Skar and some of the Bridge 4 crew recognize him as Shen, but say he is very different looking than when he was with them. Shallan screams when she sees his red eyes. Shen wants to surrender to Dalinar.
79. Shen tells Dalinar he left because his people are different now. Eshoani has (his Parshendi commanding officer) has changed and he thinks the Parshendi may be fine and replaced with something else. When Dalinar agrees to leave his remaining people alone and only attack those fighting, Shen agrees to help Shallan so she can draw a map to where they need to go.
80. Shallan is close to where she needs to be. She thinks where she is standing used to be a building. stands on a plateau ahead of the army when a man from Bridge 4 comes to bring her back. When says they are close to the Parshendi’s home plateau. Shallan joins the high princes as they discuss the best way to attack. Roion says the Parshendi could just wait them off. Shallan says they need to live to the center of the plains. Adolin comes in to say they only have 10,000 Parshendi, which they should be able to defeat. There is some debate about strategy. Dalinar decides heading into the city is the best option. Once everyone else is gone besides Dalinar, Navani, Adolin, and Shallan, Dalinar asks about the portal. She is confident JAsnah was right. Dalinar says he is depending on her finding the portal and making it work in case they need an alternate route for retreat. Kaladin walks outside to try to keep his despair away. When he gets back to his own quarters, he finds Moash standing outside. He goes in to find Elhokar waiting for him. He wants to know how Kaladin knows how ti be a hero. Kaladin doesn’t have an explanation for him. When he asks if Kaladin thinks he is a bad king, Kaladin is honest. Elhokar wants to do better and be respected and loved like his father. Kaladin thinks it might be too late. He tells him the best thing he could do is step down. Elhokar is offended and storms out.
81. The parshendi’s red eyes glow as the Alethi get closer. Aladar is afraid of them. Dalinar tells him to get it together because they are facing the Voidbringers. He tells him he will return a hero and sends him off to lead his army. We Sebarial says he and Roion will be useless, Dalinar argues that Roion is just careful, which will be useful in this battle. He sends Sebarial off to stay out of the battle and a few shardbearers with him to lead his army. He tells the Bridge 4 men to get Shen to ask why they are just standing there. He tells the army they are about to face the Voidbringers. He tells them he has been sent by the Almighty to prevent another Desolation. He tells them that if the Voidbringers are back, the way to defeat them will also return. He has the speech copied and sent out to the other armies. Dalinar waits, hoping the Parshendi will attack rather than defend. The Parshendi start to sing a song Dalinar has never heard before. The rain starts to pick up. Shen tells him he has never heard the song before, but it is destruction and power. The Parshendi start to glow. The wind picks up. Shen tells them they cannot let him finish the song. It is the last day from the number he scribbled on the wall. He has word spread that they are changing strategies to attack right away. Kaladin takes off his shoes and socks and steps into a sandy puddle. He finds ardents gathering around the sparing grounds. He looks for Zahel, but he isn’t in his room. An ardent tells him to go up. Kaladin finds him in a rooftop hammock. Zahel asks if he has ever been to the Pure Lake (open so shallow you can wade across it the whole way). Kaladin assumes he blocked off the front of the courtyard to keep the sand from blowing away. Zahel points out the weeping rains don’t bring crem. He is saving the water for washing the sand. Kaladin has been looking for Wit, but came to Zahel when he couldn’t find him. He asks what he should do if he thinks something bad was going to happen and he has a chance to stop it, but it would be better if he didn’t. Zahel tells him to chose the option that lets him sleep at night. Kaladin goes down into the arena and practices his forms clumsily with his hurt leg. The spear feels off balance to him. He realizes Elhokar is to Dalinar what Tien was to Kaladin. Adolin is surprised at the order to attack. He asks the bridgemen if they will fight and they say they will. When the gem goes into the air, Adolin takes off and 2000 Voidbringers split off to his group. There is a flash and he loses his horse Sureblood. Red lightning appears in flashes from groups of Voidbringers. Adolin yells orders. The lightning blinds him and he finds his armor humming. He starts killing them with his blade and red spren crawl out of their chests. Shallan draws a giant map in quadrants so she can copy to each. A scout tells them they have found the center one plateau over and can do a rough sketch. Shallan’s own drawing is almost done and the corner gives her an idea on how to finish. Inadara wants to study Pattern. Shallan and Pattern do their best to assures her he is not a voidspren. Renarin is fascinated by Pattern. The oathgate is supposed to be south west of the city center, but she needs some sign on where it is. Another scout comes in to give his report and says the Voidbringers are throwing lighting and the battle has spread over several plateaus. Inadara plans their expedition into the city. Shallan thinks her plan is too slow. The scout tells her her drawing is wrong. There is a spot that isn’t long and flat, but a perfect circle. It doesn’t match the pattern. Dalinar tells Renarin to do what Shallan says and protect their scholars. The sky draws darker and the wind comes in bursts too strong for the weeping. He tells his men they have to stop the singing. He asks Shen if the Voidbringers are making the storm, and Shen thinks they are. Dalinar feels odd not fighting, but gives orders. He sends Navani’s fabrials to Roion’s army first. The Alethi are holding their own, but if the others attacked, they would be done. Dalinar tells his men to focus on them singing. Dalinar hears the voice from his visions, the Almighty, telling him they are sorry he has to die that way.
82. Kaladin limps back up to the palace to get to the king. When he makes it up tot he room there are two guards in Bridge 4 uniforms that Kaladin doesn’t recognize. He realizes they are Graves’ men and tells them he wants in.. they tell him to go away and he knocks them both out. He goes into the King’s room to find the king laying on the couch not moving. Adolin’s squad is brought back. The Voidbringers are trying to keep him out of the battle. He realizes they need to get to the ones singing in the back. He remembers what SHallan said about the rock formations and comes up with an idea. He tells Skar to create a distraction while he tries something. Dalinar sends more men to help Aladar. Shortly after, he gets word that Roion’s army is failing. He grabs a horse and heads that way. He searches for Navani who is working on a fabrial that will allow the archers to do what they need to. He calls for his horse and hopes he isn’t too late to help Roion. Kaladin approaches Elhokar and finds him drunk. Kaladin helps him up and starts walk him. One of the guards is missing and Kaladin frees himself from the king. Kaladin fights the man off as he attacks, but the man gets a dagger in the king’s side. Kaladin checks the king’s wound and tells him to keep pressure on it. He is barely able to stand. He ripped the sutures in his race to the king. He thinks of the story Wit told him about how Fleet kept running. He grabs the king and leans on his spear to keep him up. Kaladin decides to go out through the bowels of the palace rather than the front door. Elhokar asks why he helping him. Kaladin admits he doesn’t like him, but he doesn’t deserve to die. He doesn’t know why he is helping him. The king is too drunk and losing blood. Moash finds Kaladin. Graves, another shardbearer, is there with him.
83. Shallan and her party crosses the bridge past the battle. Renarin questions if she is sure of where they are going. Inadara isn’t confident in Shallan’s theory of the oath gate being where there is deviance. Shallan points out they are not supposed to be hidden. They were a Voren right of travel that all borders should be open. It was on a stage above the city because they were proud of it. Pattern tells them the bonded voidspren are starting a sword. Renarin points out the wind is going the wrong way. Rock asks what they are looking for. Shallan isn’t sure. She sends teams of scholars and bridgemen off to search. Renarin and most of the bridgemen stay with her. She looks around and finds a ring on the ground. She asks Renarin to slay a rock for her. Adolin cuts the large rock formation and it is hollow inside as was the rock he cut for Shallan previously. He leads some men to the other side of the cave and cuts another opening to come out behind the Voidbringers. He rushes in and starts slashing at the singers and his men follow to do the same. The singers are unable to defend themselves. Adolin sees as they seem to come back to themselves right before he kills them. He feels guilty and lets go of his shardblade. He is hit from behind by Eshonai and is ready to fight her. Dalinar is hit by a spear and has to go see a surgeon. He realizes he is getting old and slow, especially without shardplate. Roion was able to get back to safety, but they were forced to leave shardplate behind. Navani comes to check on him and isn’t upset that he road into battle to save someone. They should be evenly matched, but Dalinar becomes surrounded. Roion panics, but Dalinar tell him to get a hold of himself. He speaks to the voice, the Stormfather. He says he is not the almighty, but the opposite of what the Voidbringers are calling. The Stormfather can give them a storm of cleansing to carry away the bodies, but the is all. Dalinar calls for him not to abandon them, but the Stormfather says he won’t have any more visions. Graves is furious that Moash told him Kaladin was trustworthy, but is obviously helping the king. Kaladin offers to help Moash get his revenge for the one that is really responsible for his grandparent’s death, Roshone, but Moash won’t listen. Kaladin prepares himself to fight Moash, he prefers he doesn’t back down.
84. Shallan goes to enter the building, but the bridgemen insist on going in first. There are ten divisions in the floor mural, one for each kingdom. There is a narrow sliver to represent Urithiru. Renarin says it is coming. Shallan studies the 10 point star slot in the wall. Pattern says they have summoned the Everstorm, two storms, one from each direction that will work together and be very bad. She tells Renarin to summon his shardblade and scratch the metal with it. Shallan notices they are made of the same material and has him slide the weapon in, but nothing changes. They unlocked the door, but need to figure out how to turn the knob. She sends the bridgemen to gather the army in that plateau while she and the scholars try to figure out the secret. Adolin is confident in fighting against Eshonai. He uses her eagerness to knock her into a chasm. He almost falls in himself, but a few bridemen catch him and pull him back. He sends the men off to find pieces of his broken shardplate so he can regrow it faster. A man goes by in a cloak,and Adolin stops him for news of his father. It is the Szeth. Kaladin isn’t much of a challenge for Moash in his current condition. Graves tells Moash to go on with the plan. He removes the boards from the wall to make it look like the assassin came in the same way as before. Kaladin hears a scream from the wind and rain. He realizes he can’t only protect the people he likes because that is selfish. He gets into a protective stance in front of the king. Graves encouraged Moash to kill Kaladin. Syl claims Kaladin even though she is forbidden. She yells at him to speak the words. He vows to protect as king as it is right. She calls out for him to stretch out his hand. She becomes mist and a shardblade emerges from it. The stormlight drains from all the spheres in the hallway and Kaladin glows with it. A glyph forms in frost behind him looking like winds. The Knights Radiant have returned. Gravess said the diagram spoke of it. He thought they were supposed to keep him separated from Dalinar, but their actions ended up causing what they were trying to prevent.
85. Dalinar is confused by Shallan’s request. He gives the orders to start moving the men to where Shallan suggests. Adolin comes in through the side of the tent. Szeth follows. Shallan and Pattern try to figure out the portal. Renarin seems to be having a fit and says something is coming and they are all dead. Dalinar tells Adolin not to become corrupted like the others by becoming a high prince. He rushes in to fight Szeth and Roion and his men join in. The men are killed quickly and Roion is thrown into the sky so high they cannot see him. Skar and Drehy help Adolin up. Dalinar fights to avenge the death of his brother. He quickly realizes even if he had been there with Gavilar all those years ago, he would not have been able to defeat Szeth. A weight is lifted off of him. Adolin runs to his father’s aid. Szeth sends Dalinar flying into the air and Adolin rushes to challenge him. Szeth is more than happy to kill Adolin on his own time for fun. Before they can fight, Kaladin brings Dalinar back to the ground alive. He tells Szeth the winds and sky belong to him.
86. Szeth looks horrified. Kaladin tells Dalinar to seek shelter while he deals with Szeth. Dalinar says he is what he has been looking for and Kaladin confirms. Kaladin is almost out of stormlight, but refills it from the spheres around him and launches himself at Szeth. Shallan tells her party to shut up Renarin even if they have to gag him. She realizes there are 10 lamps to hold spheres and that it is a fabrial. Dalinar goes to help Adolin up. He tells Adolin where Shallan told the to go. Dalinar finds Gallant and mounts him. Sebarial and his mistress are sitting under a tent. Palona is reading. He got them leaderless army moving. He says Aladar is already crossing as well. He finds Adalar’s army crossing. Aladar is proud they have won, but realizes it doesn’t actually matter. Dalinar says they have to be ready to move through the portal as soon as it is open. Kaladin flies over the scene and see the debris and dead bodies. He sees the two storms are going to collide. Syl says her father is broken. He wants to wash them all away. Szeth disappears into the clouds. Kaladin follows and Syl becomes the blade again. He ends up above the clouds. Szeth says Kaladin has stolen honor blades. Kaladin asks why it would matter. Syl becomes a spear instead of a sword. Szeth tells him not to ask questions. Shallan pulls the stormlight from the spheres and lights the lanterns. She calls out that she needs stormlight. She calls out to the army and sees Adolin in bad shape. She sees how the close the storms are. She pulls in stormlight and tells everyone to be ready to move. Adolin realizes she is a Radiant too. Kaladin and Szeth fight. Szeth says the Knights Radiant cannot return. He cuts Kaladin’s hand and Kaladin has to use a lot of stormlight to heal it. Kaladin stops thinking and moves. Syl changes into whichever weapon Kaladin needs. Kaladin is able to stab Szeth in the shoulder, but the assassin’s hand still works. The plateau below starts to light up and a city appear. Kaladin says the Voidbringers are back. Szeth says he is fighting the wrong target and turns to go after Dalinar. Shallan gets the rest of the lamps lit and the room lights up. She runs to tell Adolin where to out his shardblade. When that doesn’t work. She grabs it and it screams like any shardblade she touches that isn’t hears. She asks Pattern to become her blade and he dies. She puts it in the lock and the walls rotate. It needed a truth and she now understands the mechanism. Adolin helps her push the sword until it faces Urithiru and pulls her blade out. Syl tells Kaladin he needs to get out of there because her father hates him. The high storm recharges him and he follows Szeth’s glow. Kaladin can see flashes of the army below in the lightning. When Kaladin lands on the plateau with Szeth, the armies are gone. Pattern is back to mist and she doesn’t hear anything outside. When they go outside, they are in the same plateau, but in the sun and mountains. The plateau was the portal. Red spren zip around Szeth and Kaladin. They continue fighting. Szeth realizes they went to the city. Kaladin chases Szeth. Szeth knows where Dalinar is, but Kaladin doesn’t. The winds blow them in unpredictable ways. Wind spren spin around Kaladin. He catches up to Szeth and they arrive at the storm wall. Kaladin is able to sneak up on him. The two storms separate. Kaladin is able to get a few hits on Szeth and the assassin has to slow to heal himself. Szeth says he was never actual Truthless and didn’t have to follow orders. Kaladin says that make shin a coward. Szeth stands and lets Kaladin sever his spine. Syl tells him to take Szeth’s blade before the storm claims it. Kaladin does and thanks Syl. She tells him that he almost killed her and he apologizes. She tells him she forgives him and fishes for complements. When he gives them, she tells him he is just telling truths.
87. Kaladin looks at how the Shattered Plains have shattered again from the storms. Kaladin asks where the army went, but Syl doesn’t know. He realizes Shardblades are spren. The ones held by non-Radiants are dead soren. They come back to life some when they are brought out by someone it is bonded to. Szeth’s sword is different. It is not a spren and will grant a Windrider’s power to anyone who possesses it without begging held accountable by a spren. Whoever uses it will need far more stormlight than Kaladin needs. Teft and a few others from Bridge 4 find him. They come to show him the Tower. Shallan told them how to get back to her using Kaladin. Shen is with them wearing a Bridge 4 uniform. He says he was a spy for a people that no longer exist. They lost a few from Bridge 4 and Teft says he cannot save them all. He wonders what to tell them about Moash. Teft saw a few men glowing with stormlight and thinks the Radiants are more than just soldiers. He says there will be changes in Alethi as they now have a new class. He tells Kaladin his eyes are now light blue. He is upset by this and had hoped they wouldn’t change. The travel took a lot of stormlight. Shallan asks if she is a Radiant and Patrern tells her she still needs to speak a few words, truths. There are no resources around and they are cut off from everyone. None of the other Shardblades work in the portal. She goes to find Dalinar. They have sent spanreed a to warn the others that high storms could come from the other way. They believe they will have a few days before it hits again. Kholinar seems to be in a state of riot and they cannot find the king. The oathgate is activated and Kaladin arrives with the men from Bridge 4. Navani asks what happened to Elhokar. He says he had to send him somewhere no one would think to look for him to heal. Lopen’s mother takes care of Elhokar. She won’t allow him to order her around in her house. The cousins watch for anything suspicious. Lopen’s practices with the sphere again determined to get it. This time, he is able to suck in stormlight and his arm starts to grow back. Moash is sneaking away with Graves who promises things will make sense once he sees the diagram. He doesn’t know how things could have gotten so messed up that he attacked Kaladin. Dalinar ordered the war camps disassembled and most of the high princes’ armies (including Sadeas’) move to the center of the Plains.
88. Shallan gets a note from the Ghostbloods addressed to Shallan rather than Veil. She meets with Mraize. He figured out that Shallan and Veil were the same person during the battle by the shared abilities. He says the others don’t know and there is no reason she can’t be Shallan and Veil. He says her family has a long history of being involved in these sort of matters. He tells her he is having her brother’s brought over from Jah Keved. They owe her a broken soul caster and he considers her it. Shallan goes to the room Adolin found for her. She calls him out for treating her differently and kisses him. He leaves her to sleep. Once alone, she realizes it is time for her to remember her past. She remembers her mother bringing a man to kill her because she was afraid of Shallan’s abilities. Pattern killed her mother and Lin covered it up saying he did it, which ultimately drove him mad. She tells Pattern she hates him. He promises he will kill him one day and have her revenge. She says she doesn’t want revenge. She wants her family. Amaram writes about how he, as a son of honor, knows the loss of life is necessary to make the Heralds return. He goes into Dalinar’s camp and cuts a hole in the wall where Talenelat is being kept. The Ghostbloods are there to kill Amaram. A blow dart is sent at Amaram, but Talenelat catches it. Amaram goes after the Ghostblood, but when he gets outside, the man is already gone. He ushers the Herald to his coach. Szeth wakes up. Nin/Nalan/Nale, the Herald of Justice was able to restore him before his brain died. He tells him he has been able to keep his word in the name of order when most others have failed. He tells him he will join the Skybreakers now that he has been reborn and his tie to his previous blade broken. Szeth tells him his people have the other Honorblades. If he is to bring judgement to them, he will have to face Shardbearers. Nin gives him a sheathed blade that is black and has dark smoke/stormlight coming up from it. It asks him in his mind if he is ready to destroy some evil.
89. A week after arriving in Urithiru, Dalinar has a dream about his life as a child with his brother. He sees a bright familiar light that doesn’t hurt his eyes. He wakes up and is confused about the vision and asks if there has been a high storm. His guards tell them there hasn’t been one. People are arriving from the war camps and bringing the sphere’s they need to work the Oathgate. Adolin is contemplating how his engagement has change due to Shallan now being a Radiant. He is surprised to see Sadeas has joined them at Urithiru. Sadeas plans to tell everyone that Dalinar has been planning this all along. Sadeas wants the kingdom for himself and plans to take it form Dalinar. Adolin takes him by the throat and throws him against the wall. Sadeas is able to free himself and they both go down. Adolin ends up on top and goes to stab Sadeas in the face. Sadeas grabs his wrist and is able to stop him. Adolin says Dalinar thinks he is a better man than him, but he says Dalinar is wrong and kills Sadeas. Adolin throws the blade out of a window and removes any evidence he left. Dalinar figures out the lock and tries to open the trap door at the end of the hallway. He has to use his blade to clear the crem and opens it to go out onto the top of the tower. Navani found a fabrial lift. He sees the outer rings are for planting food. He sees more people arriving from the Shattered Plains the only one Jasnah said was left open. Shallan is working on how to unlock them. He asks the Stormfather why he bothered to send the visions. The relpy is that he was told to do it when the time came. The Stormfather says it is too late and they have already lost. He is the Almighty’s spren, not his soul. He asks about the ever storm. The Stormfather says it rounding the world and will turn all of their kind to the new form to be Voidbringers. The other lands are not listening to him. The new emperor in Azir offers for Dalinar to visit, but considers his warnings the ravings of a madman. Jah Keved has Taravangian, but he is new and the country is in shambles from he succession war. Kholinar is rioting. Dalinar demands to be a Knight Radiant and speaks the words he needs to. The Stormfather refuses to become his spren since he thinks Dalinar will kill him. He knows the second oath. He will unite instead of divide. The words are accepted, but he says he will be a radiant with no shards. He summons his blade and it screams when he touches it. He drops it to the ground and the bond is severed. Dalinar asks about the vision that was sent that morning. The Stormfather said it was just a simple dream. He tells the Bondsmith to go about his business. Dalinar asks about the champion, but there are no answers. Dalinar, Kaladin and Shallan are together in a room with 10 columns. Dalinar sucks in stormlight and feels his wounds healing. Kaladin thinks it is unfair that Dalinar is able to do that so quickly. They are now Lightweaver, Windrunner, and Bondsmith. Renarin joins them and they realize he isn’t wearing his spectacles. Dalinar realizes he hears screams when he uses the shardblade. Glys says he is a Truthwatcher; he sees. Dalinar says the other orders must be forming and they must gather them to fight the Parshendi that are being turned into Voidbringers by the Everstorm. Kaladin wants to go save his parents. Dalinar says he will get as much stormlight for him as he can and he should stop by Kholinar to see what he can do there. A group of Herdazians arrive. Shallan realizes how many people are going to die. Dalinar says they will save who they can.
90. Wit is out on the plans as an ugly-crab-thing crawled by. He plays his flute and a couple songlings answer back in similar sounds. He talks about art while he waits for the arrival of his audience. A circle on the ground starts to look like it is heated and then glows. Jasnah Kholin is there and pulls out her shardblade to threaten Wit. He tells her the Voidbringers are already back, Urithiru found, and the Knights Radiant re-founded. She doesn’t believe him at first, but admits he doesn’t lie about those sort of things. He updates her about the Everstorm and she realizes they can’t fully rely on the histories to tell them what to do. Jasnah still doesn’t believe there is a god. Wit tells her she will find it in the same place she will find their salvation: in the hearts of men.