Battle of Narak

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Battle of Narak
Part of the War of Reckoning
Battle of Narak.jpeg
Date Ishishach 1173[1]
Participants Dalinar, Adolin, Kaladin, Shallan Davar, Bridge Four, Eshonai, Aladar, Roion
Effects Everstorm unleashed, path to Urithiru discovered.
Region The Shattered Plains
Location Narak
World Roshar
Universe Cosmere

The Battle of Narak is a major event during the War of Reckoning on Roshar. The battle ended the war and ushered in the True Desolation.

BackgroundEdit

In an attempt to unite the Highprinces, end the War of Reckoning, and fulfill the Vengeance Pact, Highprince Dalinar Kholin proposed a joint assault deep into the Shattered Plains.[2] The armies of Aladar, Kholin, Roion, and Sebarial left the warcamps in order to find the Parshendi and defeat them.[3] They left during the Weeping, a period of four weeks with no Highstorm.[4]

The Parshendi, meanwhile had discovered Stormform, a new and powerful form, which most of them had taken. A few Parshendi refused, when they saw the effects that the Stormform had, and escaped Narak.[5] The Parshendi, under the leadership of Eshonai, then prepared to summon a storm and kill the Alethi as they arrived.[6]

On the way to Narak, Shallan Davar revealed her abilities as a Lightweaver to Dalinar.[7] When the Alethi arrived at Narak, they encountered Rlain, who told them that something had happened to the Parshendi, turning them into monsters.[8] Dalinar then tasked Shallan with finding the Oathgate to Urithiru so that the Alethi army could escape if the battle went poorly for them.[6]

The Alethi then attacked Narak. The Parshendi were spread out on three different plateaus, and the Alethi split up, in order to attack all three groups at the same time. Armies led by highprince Roion, Highprince Aladar, and Prince Adolin Kholin engaged the Parshendi. Dalinar himself stayed on a fourth plateau to command the battle.[6]

The BattleEdit

 
by Христо Чуков (Hristo Chukov)
Kaladin and Szeth fighting in the Everstorm

The battle was tough for the Alethi, since the Parshendi Stormform made them more powerful, and allowed them to blast red lightning at their foes. After receiving advice from Rlain, Dalinar commanded the Alethi troops to kill the groups of singers in the Parshendi rear to prevent them from finishing their song. Adolin, despite having lost his mount Sureblood,[6] managed to defeat a group of singers by ambushing them from behind. He was then engaged in a duel with Eshonai,[9] which ended with them both falling down a chasm. Adolin was caught by the bridgemen Skar and Drehy,[10] while Eshonai disappeared and later drowned.[11] On Roion's plateau, however, the Parshendi gained the upper hand and managed to kill Teleb, one of the Kholin Shardbearers.[12]

Shallan suspected that a perfectly round plateau, which did not fit into the pattern of the Shattered Plains was where the Oathgate was located.[6] Together with Prince Renarin Kholin, and a team of soldiers and scholars,[9] Shallan went to the plateau and discoverd the Oathgate.[10] After struggling to activate it, she discovered that it operated like a fabrial and that a living Shardblade was required to operate the gate.[13]

As the battle continued, Adolin encountered Szeth, who was secretly sent by Taravangian to kill Dalinar.[10] Adolin engaged him in a fight. Meanwhile, Roion's forces were losing, and Aladar managed to defeat the Parshendi on his plateau. The victory came too late, however, as the singing Parshendi managed to summon the Everstorm. The Stormfather decided to summon an unexpected Highstorm; the two storms approached from different directions, set to collide above Narak.[14]

Szeth and Adolin arrived at Dalinar's position as Szeth defeated Adolin. He then attacked Dalinar, who managed to temporarily hold him off before getting help from Roion and a group of soldiers. Szeth took them down and killed Roion, before being attacked by Dalinar, Adolin, and a force of bridgemen. Despite the numbers, Szeth managed to lash Dalinar to the sky, which was supposed to kill him after the stormlight faded and he fell back to the ground. However, Kaladin arrived and saved Dalinar before taking on Szeth.[14] Dalinar then led the retreat of the Alethi toward the Oathgate.[13] The armies managed to escape before the storms clashed. Kaladin and Szeth used Surgebinding to fight above the storms. Eventually, Kaladin defeated Szeth, and recovered his Honorblade.[15]

AftermathEdit

Kaladin arrived at the Oathgate plateau with the Honorblade and found the other men from Bridge Four, who told him how to operate the Oathgate. He then reunited with the survivors of the battle in Urithiru.[15]

Meanwhile, Szeth's body was found and revived by Nale, who granted Szeth a place among the Skybreakers and gave him the use of Nightblood.[16]

Four of the remaining warcamps (those of Bethab, Hatham, Ruthar, and Sadeas) fled to Urithiru at Dalinar's orders after the news of Uruithiru's discovery and the threat of the Everstorm, crowding in to the as yet unexplored city.[15][17] Highprince Hatham managed to recharge his spheres in the unexpected Highstorm before fleeing, giving him a source of great wealth as the Radiants scrambled for Stormlight in the middle of the weeping.[18]

The Alethi forces at the battle were decimated, and as Dalinar sought to establish Urithiru as a place of order in the world, Highprinces Thanadal and Vamah, those with the strongest military forces remaining, stayed behind in the warcamps and refused to lend their support.[17]

The Sons of Honor considered the battle a victory for them, as they had been working towards the return of the Voidbringers and a new Desolation.[16]

The battle was a victory for the Ghostbloods as well, as their immediate goal had been the discovery of Urithiru. Mraize discovered Veil's true identity when Shallan manifested her powers during the battle, prompting him to entice her to properly join their ranks.[16]

NotesEdit

The War of Reckoning
Battle of the Tower Battle of Narak End of the war
Beginning of the True Desolation
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