Summary:Words of Radiance/Chapter 17
Chapter 17: A Pattern
Dullform dread, with the mind most lost.
The lowest, and one not bright.
To find this form, one need banish the cost.
It finds you and brings you to blight.
—From the listener Song of Listing, final stanza
- Characters
- Shallan Davar (Point of view)
- Bluth
- Jasnah Kholin (Mentioned only)
- Pattern
- Tag
- Tvlakv
- Plot summary
- Tanatishes 1173
Shallan sits next to Bluth who is guiding their wagon, and distracts herself from worry by talking about plants that she found. She also draws some sketches of a leaf, the santhid, and Bluth in one of Jasnah's old notebooks, to try to recreate her lost sketch collection. The caravan stops, and Shallan sees smoke on the horizon, which indicates that the deserters are following them and not worried about being seen. Tvlakv says the deserters will give up the chase eventually as long as they keep moving with few stops.
To distract herself further, Shallan chats with the two parshmen but they are unforthcoming. Shallans sketches more plants, then notices a column of smoke along their current path. Tvlakv says that indicates another caravan if they are lucky. They discuss whether to go toward the new group or take a detour east while hoping the deserters run into the second group. Shallan orders Tvlakv to try to intercept the new group and he complies. As she rides along, she draws more sketches, including various sketches of women with Shallan's face. She then moves into the covered wagon to use knobweed sap on her feet and notices they have healed significantly. She asks Pattern if it healed her but it seems ignorant of how to cause or heal injuries to humans. Shallan and Pattern converse about Lightweaving and the Knights Radiant. Shallan asks how to use stormlight but Pattern doesn't know, so she figures it out on her own and breathes it in, though she is unable to make it do anything. She notices that her wounds heal noticeably however. Pattern reveals that it is a scholar and is excited to learn about humans before it is killed by Shallan, as it believes will eventually happen due to the Knights Radiant somehow killing their spren. Shallan denies that she is a Knight Radiant, but Pattern refutes this by saying that she spoke oaths and is on a possible path to joining one of the Orders.
She leaves the wagon and notices a lot of smoke ahead, and realizes that it is from burning wagons.