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Difference between revisions of "The Way of Kings (in-world)"
Adding a summary and quotes from Oathbringer
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It was read by [[Gavilar Kholin]] in the years prior to his death. [[Dalinar Kholin]] began reading from it after his brother's death.
== Summary ==
The book was written as a narrative of the life of [[Nohadon]], an ancient king, as he acts as a ruler should, with honor and dignity. In particular, it focuses on a journey he undertakes between the cities of [[Abamabar]] and [[Urithiru]], with his decision to go it serving as the framing device for the entire piece. Rather than taking an [[Oathgate]], as his family does, he instead travels alone and on foot, encountering a number of thought-provoking scenarios.
The book is composed of an introduction, where the narrator makes the decision to set out, forty parables concerning different aspects of kingship, and a postscript where he summarizes his experiences. Each parable presents a situation or a problem that the narrator comes across, then a solution and, finally, philosophical musings on how the situation relates to the duties of a king. In each story, the narrator always strives to lead by example, despite the objections of those close to him. In this manner, he gains the respect and loyalty of his followers.
== Excerpts ==
Note: apart from the postscript and the eighth parable, none of the excerpts are named or numbered; as such, the names given here are purely informal.
=== Introduction ===
[[Jasnah]] reads the entirety of ''The Way of Kings'' on the night of [[Gavilar]]'s funeral, but only an early section is quoted. It's possible that this is part of the foreword.
{{quote
|You must find the most important words a man can say.
Those words came to me from one who claimed to have seen the future. 'How is this possible?’ I asked in return. ‘Have you been touched by the void?’
The reply was laughter. 'No, sweet king. The past is the future, and as each man has lived, so must you.’
‘So I can but repeat what has been done before?’
‘In some things, yes. You will love. You will hurt. You will dream. And you will die. Each man’s past is your future.’
‘Then what is the point?’ I asked. ‘If all has been seen and done?’
‘The question,’ she replied, ‘is not whether you will love, hurt, dream, and die. It is what you will love, why you will hurt, when you will dream, and how you will die. This is your choice. You cannot pick the destination, only the path.’
This started my journey. And this begins my writings. I cannot call this book a story, for it fails at its most fundamental to be a story. It is not one narrative, but many. And though it has a beginning, here on this page, my quest can never truly end.
I wasn’t seeking answers. I felt that I had those already. Plenty, in multitude, from a thousand different sources. I wasn’t seeking ‘myself.’ This is a platitude that people have ascribed to me, and I find the phrase lacks meaning.
In truth, by leaving, I was seeking only one thing.
A journey.
|{{book ref|sa3|105}}
}}
=== The eighth parable ===
This is the only parable to be presented in its entirety, as quoted by [[Dalinar Kholin]].
{{quote
}}
=== The man and a stone ===
This is presumably an excerpt from another parable.
{{quote
|{{book ref|sa1|15}}
}}
=== Candles ===
Part of yet another, unnumbered parable.
{{quote
}}
=== Stack of stones ===
{{quote
|I passed a curious pile of stones along my path, of a type I found remarkable. The fractured shale had been weathered by highstorms, blown up against stone of a more durable nature. This pile of thin wafers lay as if stacked by some mortal hand.
But no man had stacked these stones. Precarious though they looked, they were actually quite solid, a formation from once-buried strata now exposed to open air. I wondered how it was possible they remained in such a neat stack, with the fury of the tempests blowing against them.
I soon ascertained their true nature. I found that force from one direction pushed them back against one another and the rock behind. No amount of pressure I could produce in that manner caused them to shift. And yet, when I removed one stone from the bottom—pulling it out instead of pushing it in—the entire formation collapsed in a miniature avalanche.
|{{book ref|sa2|38}}
}}
=== Hogman's murder ===
Dalinar tells this parable to [[Taravangian]] while discussing kingship.
{{quote
|On my sixtieth day, I passed a town whose name shall remain unspoken. Though still in lands that named me king, I was far enough from my home to go unrecognized. Not even those men who handled my face daily—in the form of my seal imprinted upon their letters of authority—would have known this humble traveler as their king.
In this town, I found men bedeviled. There had been a murder. A hogman, tasked in protecting the landlord’s beasts, had been assaulted. He lived long enough, only, to whisper that three of the other hogmen had gathered together and done the crime.
I arrived as questions were being raised, and men interrogated. You see, there were four other hogmen in the landlord’s employ. Three of them had been responsible for the assault, and likely would have escaped suspicion had they finished their grim job. Each of the four loudly proclaimed that he was the one who had not been part of the cabal. No amount of interrogation determined the truth.
|{{book ref|sa3|28}}
}}
The ending to the parable isn't quoted, but is summarized by Dalinar.
{{quote
|Nohadon eventually wrote that the landlord took a modest approach. He imprisoned all four. Though the punishment should have been death, he mixed together the guilt and innocence, and determined that the average guilt of the four should deserve only prison.
(...)
[Nohadon] said the only course was to let the Almighty guide, and let each instance be judged differently, depending on circumstances.
|{{book ref|sa3|28}}
}}
=== Postscript ===
The epigraphs for last few chapters of ''[[Oathbringer]]'' (119-122) are taken from the postscript to ''The Way of Kings''. Put together, they read as follows:
{{quote
|As I began my journey, I was challenged to defend why I insisted on traveling alone. They called it irresponsible. An avoidance of duty and obligation.
Those who said this made an enormous mistake of assumption.
If the journey itself is indeed the most important piece, rather than the destination itself, then I traveled not to avoid duty—but to seek it.
It becomes the responsibility of every man, upon realizing he lacks the truth, to seek it out.
Yes, I began my journey alone, and I ended it alone.
But that does not mean that I walked alone.
|''The Way of Kings'', postscript{{book ref|sa3|119}}{{book ref|sa3|120}}{{book ref|sa3|121}}{{book ref|sa3|122}}
}}
=== Other quotes ===
There are also several smaller quotes scattered through the book, such as:
|Rule as you would be ruled.
|{{book ref|sa1|28}}
}}
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