Summary:Words of Radiance/Chapter 31

Chapter 31: The Stillness Before
Words of Radiance Summary
Follows	Chapter 30: Nature Blushing
Precedes	Chapter 32: The One Who Hates
Analytics
Viewpoint	Shallan

Smokeform for hiding and slipping 'tween men.
A form of power—like Surges of spren.
Do we dare wear this form again? It spies.
Crafted of gods, this form we fear.
By Unmade touch its curse to bear,
Formed from shadow—and death is near. It lies.

—From the listener Song of Secrets, 51st stanza

Characters

• Kaladin (Point of view)
• Shallan Davar (Point of view)
• Nazh
• Pitt
• Rock
• Sigzil
• Tyn
• An unnamed caravan worker

Mentioned only

• Abrial
• Evinor
• Hanavanar
• Jal Mala
• Macob
• Szeth-son-son-Vallano
• Teft
• Valam

Plot summary

Ishanah 1173

Kaladin, along with forty bridgemen from bridge seventeen, returns to Bridge Four's barracks for evening stew. Pitt, one of those bridgemen, apologizes to Kaladin for being glad when Bridge Four went on gemhunts instead of seventeen, and says he will do his best to motivate his crew. Rock chases off a man trying to draw sketches of the bridgemen. Kaladin eats his dinner quickly in anticipation of going to protect Dalinar during the upcoming highstorm.

Tyn watches Shallan practice sleight-of-hand tricks and inquires about her practice with accents and lectures her on how she needs to overcome her prudishness. Their caravan reaches the outskirts of the war camps and they decide to stop for the day. Tyn tells Shallan the Veden king is dead, along with six highprinces, all killed by Szeth, and that she expected to learn more via spanreed later that evening. Macob agrees with the decision to stop the caravan due to the upcoming highstorm that night.

Notes

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