Summary:Words of Radiance/Chapter 21
Chapter 21: Ashes[edit]
| Chapter 21: Ashes | |
|---|---|
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| Words of Radiance Summary | |
| Follows | Chapter 20: Pattern |
| Precedes | Chapter 22: Lights in the Storm |
| Analytics | |
| Viewpoint | Shallan |
Mediationform made for peace, it's said.
Form of teaching and consolation.
When used by the gods, it became instead
Form of lies and desolation.
—From the listener Song of Listing, 33rd stanza
- Characters
- Plot summary
- Tanatishes 1173
Shallan says a prayer for Bluth, who died fighting the bandits, though the bandits ended up being defeated. Shallan speaks with the caravan owner, Macob, and the lead guard, Tyn. Shallan explains that she got the deserters to work for her and asks the caravan to accompany them to the Shattered Plains. Macob agrees to Shallan's request.
Vathah forcefully confronts Shallan and asks why she doesn't look majestic anymore, and Shallan dissembles about his conscience tricking him. Shallan tries to reassure Vathah that she will protect him from prosecution for desertion but he does not believe her, and Pattern tricks Vathah into letting Shallan go.
Tvlakv confronts Shallan with a conspiracy theory about Bluth being a bandit but Shallan disproves it and demands the non-parshmen slaves in compensation for saving his life. Shallan frees the slaves but offers to hire them as servants. Shallan watches as one of the women from the caravan offers a paper with a glyph of thanks written on it to the one-eyed deserter, who accepts it and burns it as the rest of the caravan folks observe.