Difference between revisions of "Summary:Oathbringer"

Adolin goes to visit [[Gallant]]. They mourn the death of [[Sureblood]] as Adolin gives him treats. Renarin appears; he has been looking for Adolin. He suggests having Shallan draw Sureblood. He also says that he must give back the shardblade because it hurts to hold. Renarin reluctantly admits that he has created his own blade now and shows Adolin, who admires it for its beauty. Renarin is not content though; he was starting to fit in with Bridge Four, but now he must pivot to being a Knight Radiant. He's afraid that he will make a mistake trying to use his new power. Adolin clasps his hand to give him confidence, and he feels a wash of Stormlight through his body. He sees aof vision of himself, perfected and whole. Renarin is embarrassed and leaves, and Adolin is surprised that his wounded wrist is now healed.

Shallan discusses the murder investigation with Adolin. Adolin says that he thinks there are two culprits since the two victims are totally disconnected. Shallan thinks that he is being foolish and shouldn't focus on one theory too much. They decide that there isn't anything more to get from the reports, so Adolin changes the subject to her Shardblade. He convinces her that even though she's a woman, she needs to learn how to use it, and he can train her. She agrees, and he goes to fetch the Blade guards. Shallan freaks out, as she is still not over the fact that she killed her mother with her Blade. Pattern believes that she hates him and offers to die so another spren can take his place. She creates an alternate identity -- someone confident and poised, like [[Jasnah]]. She names her Brightness Radiant. With that persona she is able to overcome the history of the blade. Adolin returns and teaches her the importance of a proper stance and breathing. Shallan dismisses her Blade and sketches the proper stance to help her get it right. They practice some simple strikes together. Shallan"Radiant" sees the passion that Adolin has for swordsmanship and realizes that it parallels her passion for art, feeling a bond with him, even allowing herself to become Shallan occasionally. They practice long into the evening.

* [[Rlain]] (mentionedmetioned only)

* [[Sebarial]] (mentionedmentioend only)

* [[Ur (character)|Ur]]

* [[Ur (character)|Ur]] (mentioned only)

Dalinar prepares for battle, in prayer with his betrothed, Evi. She encourages him to not kill in anger, to "be a man and not a beast." He leaves to fight in what should be a decisive battle for the kingdom. Gavilar notes that Sebarial hasn't shown up, ostensibly due to supply line problems, but Dalinar believes he's just waiting to join the winning side. A small number of Ryshadium gallop by, musicspren trailing behind. Gavilar tells Dalinar to kill [[Kalanor]], the Shardbearershardbearer highprinceHighprince, to finally quell all resistance to the kingdom. The battle begins, and Dalinar seeks out a section of Kholin troops doing poorly, then attacks. He gets so enthralled he doesn't realize how many he is killing. Kadash finally snaps him out of it, and Dalinar has realized that he's killed some of his own troops. His slaughter has drawn out Kalanor. Dalinar seeks him out, regretting that he can only kill one man instead of hundreds. He finds Kalanor on a Ryshadium. Dalinar fights him and the two end up on a high ledge. After trading blows, Kalanor stumbles back, losing his blade, holding on for dear life, begging mercy from Dalinar. He runs him through the face with his shardblade, but feels oddly dissatisfied. The Thrill fills him with strength and arrogance -- all others are weak, and he deserves to rule. He dashes to Gavilar, intending to kill him, but realizes that he is about to murder his brother and stops. He gives up his newly acquired shardplate and blade to Gavilar for his heir. Dalinar vows to never be king.

Dalinar enters the vision. He asks the Stormfather to put Queen Fen in the role of [[Heb]], the father in the house attacked by the Midnight Essence. He comes as one of the Radiants, flying with the aid of a Windrunner. He asks him questions to try to figure out why Shardplate from this time is glowing, but he can't get a straight answer. They arrive at the town, and Dalinar is ordered to help the villagers while the Windrunners engage the creatures. He sneaks to the house and finds [[Taffa]]'s body. He makes his way back to the town and finds that Queen Fen has organized the townspeople to fight. She is incredulous that a tyrant such as Dalinar has been chosen to lead the Knights Radiant, if their return is even true. Dalinar argues that she has little option but to let him go to Thaylen City; she is more convinced by his passionate plea thanthen his "diplomatic" language over spanreed. Indeed, she didn't even trust it was him. Now that she has talked to him in person, Dalinar believes she will reconsider.

Lunamor (Rock) is cooking stew and surprised at how he finds the barren Shattered Plains beautiful. Kaladin is training crews on how to use Stormlight. He first has them swear the first oath, and Lunamor quietly recites it to himself as he cooks. He instructs Lopen, Sigzil, and Peet to start teaching. Dabbid takes over stirring. Lunamor goes to find Hobber and finds Kaladin kneeling beside him. He tenderly encourages Hobber to try breathing in Stormlight. Rock is skeptical he can do it, but Kaladin insists all of Bridge Four will, and maybe others. He cautions Kaladin that they are going to war and some may die. Several of the bridgemen are glowing; Lopen has stuck his face to the ground. Elhokar appears and asks Kaladin to come with him to Kholinar and reclaim their home. Kaladin agrees and is given twenty days to prepare the rest of the men. Renarin meanwhile comes straight from his daily duty at the Oathgate to be with Bridge Four. Rock invites him over to help cook and notes he can see all spren, but never Renarin's. Renarin wonders if he belongs to Bridge Four since he is not a Windrunner, but Rock insists that he does. He is conflicted over what is expected of him -- to be a warrior, or what he is good at, scholarly work. He feels the odd one out, but Rock points out [[Rlain]]; Renarin goes to sit by him. The men come over for a drink break. Skar is struggling at drawing in Stormlight, but he manages to teach Lunamor how to draw some in. Skar, instead of being jealous, is pleased, being a teacher at heart. Rock suddenly notices a large group of spren gathered to watch Bridge Four practicing. Sylphrena says they wouldn't talk to her because she sought out Kaladin and hate to admit they were wrong. Rock makes an offering of Stormlight-infused spheres. The human-sized spren draws it in before flying away. Hobber breathes in a bit of Stormlight and calls the bridgemen over. Kaladin tells them to give him all their spheres so his legs can heal. He tentatively stands up, and Lopen givesgive him the ''two''-armed Bridge Four salute, which Hobber proudly returns. Rock looks to the west and sees a plume of smoke.

Shallan reads another letter from Mraize. He tells her that Ishnah was an assistant to real spies, but not a threat and may continue to work for Shallan. While she waits for a meeting with Elhokar she examines the illusion she has placed on her pouch that makes it appearappears violet, but is actually white. The illusion is being sustained by the Stormlight of a sphere in the pouch, rather than by Stormlight from inside her. She ponders new applications of this ability. Shallan then meets with Elhokar. She tells him she's going to fly with Kaladin to Thaylen City. Then, in private, she offers the king her and her spies' company on the mission to Kholinar. Elhokar at first hesitates, not wanting to take two Radiants away from Dalinar. She convinces him that she is not Dalinar's subject and neither is he; he can do what he wishes. He accepts.

{{epigraph|If you would speak to me furtherfuther, I request open honesty. Return to my lands, approach my servants, and I will see what I can do for your quest.}}

Kaladin flies above the highstorm with Elhokar's team. Shallan uses Stormlight to keep warm, but the others are bundled up. Skar and Drehy are flying below the team in case anyone falls. They pass the [[Windrunner River]], so Kaladin knows they are close to Kholinar. He gives the team half lashings so they can slow down and talk. Kaladin drops down below the clouds to scout the city. He seessee Alethi flags but senses something wrong about the palace complex. He reports back to Elhokar that the city is intact, so he wants to go directly in. Kaladin advises caution due to the troubling feeling he and Syl have, and Adolin backs him up. They decide to sneak in instead using disguises courtesy of Shallan.

Shallan tries to draw out some painspren by punching herself, but she can't bring herself to do it hard enough. The others are sitting in the showroom, [[Yokska]] updating the king on the erratic behavior of his wife. Shallan spies some scissors and stabs herself, bringing the painspren. They are twisted, monster-like, and green instead of orange. Elhokar blames his wife's behavior on the "dark spren" that came after the Everstorm. Shallan continues to sketch as she listens. She draws a hungerspren she'd seen earlier, but it had looked normal. The tailor tells them that the queen had ordered the execution of the parshmen, but the order was blocked by important lighteyes in the city. They were eventually exiled outside the city by the Wall Guard. Meanwhile, Shallan tries to think of something really embarrassing, and she unbuttons her safehand sleeve. During a pause in the conversation, she trips and sprawls out on the floor, showing her legs AND exposed safehand! Shamespren appear, also altered from their normal form. She scurries off to draw them. Yokska continues: a new highmarshal of the Wall Guard arrived and restored order, but they mostly just guard the wall, leaving the [[Cult of Moments]] to rule the city. Use of any type of fabrial attracts screaming yellow spren, which draw some Fused who then confiscate the fabrial. Kaladin presses her for more information, but Shallan perceives that she is overwhelmed, so she is dismissed to rest. Elhokar is determined to stay and do something to save the city and his family. They decide to stay and at least scout out the city. Elhokar will send a message to his wife at the palace via Shallan, disguised as a message girl. Kaladin is to accompany her in case of emergency. Shallan goes to her room to change into Veil. Since she obviously wasn't with them, Shallan is forced to reveal the truth to them.

He leads her to an inn and they are admitted to a private dining area. Wit compliments Shallan on her disguise. She probes him for information on who he is, suspecting that he's a Herald. He claims to be much older than themthey. Shallan looks into his eyes and sees eons of time passing. He has made a vow to be "there" when he is needed. They banter, and it comes out that Sadeas has been murdered. Wit is disappointed that he wasn't around for that. He does know that he needs to be in the city, but doesn't know why. The innkeeper brings some food, and Shallan eats while Wit seems distracted. She tells him that she wants to be like him, to be able to change the world. He cautions her to be careful with power and to be wary of anyone who claims to see the future. She asks him about the cult on the Oathgate platform. The Unmade known as the [[Ashertmarn|Heart of the Revel]] is there, and every night the members feast. If she can obtain non-soulcast food, she may be able to join the party. Wit makes an abrupt exit, and she asks Pattern if he knows who Wit is, and he says that he feels like one of them.

Dalinar marches toward the Rift from the west while Sadeas's forces march in from the east. He rides behind Evi's wagon, where she continually burns incense and glyphs. He regrets their earlier exchange and decides to join her. She begs him to try to avoid bloodshed. She sees a great man, but he becomes a bloodthirsty monster in battle with a terrible empty look in his eyes (i.e. when he's taken with the Thrill). The carriage stops and he receives Teleb's report. A caravan was observed leaving the city, but they did not engage it. He commands the troops to form up and goes alone toward the city wall. Tanalan eventually comes out to talk to him. Dalinar tries to convince him to surrender, or at least try to reduce bloodshed by having a duel decide the battle. Tanalan declines, knowing he'd probably lose, but does propose the idea that they can pretend that they were allies in secret so that disloyal highprinces could be rooted out (because they would join Tanalan's supposed rebellion). He says that Sadeas was the one in the caravan. Dalinar rides back, and Teleb reports that someone with Shardplate is in the caravan. Dalinar decides that he can't risk sending conventional troops against someone with shards, so he must go with them. He tellstell Evi to send a message to Gavilar, that the Rift may be taken without bloodshed, and to trust no one.

Kaladin is on patrol along the inside of the wall. He's been assigned to Noro's squad. The men chat amiably; Kaladin has been easily accepted into the group by the others. They see some noble dressed in a ridiculous outfit and make jokes about him. It turns out to be Adolin, who gives a subtle signal to Kaladin to stay with the guard. As they talk, Kaladin learns that even among lighteyes there are distinct castes. Those of the lower dahns call those of the higher dahns "middlers" and do not associate with them. They eventually meet up with some other squads to guard Velalant's food wagon. The starving refugees get increasingly hostile, but fortunately Velalant's guards show up and push back the crowds. Noro's squad is assigned to the wall in half an hour, and Kaladin and [[Beard]] climb to the station. Kaladin asks him how they are getting food. The only clue is that Azure had them attack a monastery that has a soulcaster, but they don't know why the screamers don't give it away. They reach the top of the wall, and Kaladin notices that the portion near the palace is lightly patrolled. Beard says that they hear whispers to join the palace guard when they go near there; Azure has told them to not listen, and they won't get sucked in. As the rest of the squad arrives, alarm drums sound. Kaladin starts giving orders, then feels stupid because he's not in command. They form a pike block and see the Fused engaging other troops some distance away. Some men start to break out of formation to go help, and Kaladin has to hold his tongue until Noro finally says something. The assault is very brief and never gets to them. Kaladin apologizes to Noro, but Noro doesn't seem to mind.

Veil makes her usual rounds, giving food to Grund and Muri. She is gaining a reputation as a "Swiftspren," a spren robbing the rich and giving the food to the poor. She enhances this reputation by sending Ishnah and Vathah, wearing illusions, to look like Veil. She notices a Cult of Moments procession and joins them, creating an illusion shaped like the one she saw on the ''Wind'sWinds Pleasure''. She gets caught up in the chanting but is jarred by a voice in her mind saying "Shallan, I'm not your enemy." She breaks free and, continuing under the illusion of a spren, tells the cultists to stop worshiping spren and go home. Shaken, she realizes that she wants to be a hero too much and it stops her from being logical like Jasnah. She hears genuine laughter and goes toward, finding Wit leading people in song. She heads back to the tailor's shop.

The battle consumes DalinarDalanar, and when he regains his senses, he's smashing the head of a man repeatedly, surrounded by corpses. Badly wounded and plate heavily damaged, he trudges back to his camp. The men there are astounded at his return, having received the message that all were dead. Dalinar realizes it was all a trap from the start. The scouts who relayed that a caravan left were traitors. Sadeas and Dalinar don't want to besiege the city;, they want all the inhabitants to be punished -, men, women, and children. Evi tries to pacify Dalinar,him but heDalinar orders the soulcaster to make as much oil as possible. He intends to burn the entire town for their broken oaths.

Dalinar can't sleep, being consumed with the Thrill. He hardly even feels pain, or anything else besides a burning deep down. Messengers emerge from the city bearing a flag of truce. He orders that they be shot by the archers. Sadeas and Dalinar keep back messengers from the king so they can go forward with their plan and give Gavilar plausible deniability. Sadeas assures Dalinar that he does not want to be king and questions why Dalinar thought he had betrayed him. Dalinar admits that he once wanted to rule but realized that the man needed for this atrocity and the man to rule could not be the same person. They attack at night and secure a foothold on the wall. Dalinar orders the city to be burned. Teleb tries to convince him that innocents would die, but Sadeas retorts that this would eventually save lives in the future because there would be no more rebellion. Oil is dumped on the already flammable city and set ablaze. He leads Kadash to a saferoom on the outside of the city where he assumes Tanalan is hiding and sets it ablaze with barrels of oil. Walking away from the screaming within, he spots Tanalan trying to reach the palace instead. He pleads to Dalinar to let him save his family, but Dalinar (still bothered by the screams earlier in the saferoom) admits he is an animal and he will not be so foolish as to allow survivors again. As the palace collapses, Tanalan's family dead, Dalinar decides it is enough and allows the remaining people to flee. As he moves to execute Tanalan, he comments that at least Tanalan didn't hide in that hole but he had set afire the people who were there. Tanalan laughs. The messengers that Dalinar killed at the start of the day were to tell him they had imprisoned his wife in the safehouse, which was now a prison since everyone knew about it. Dalinar strangles him to death in a fury. Kadash vomits at the realization of what they've done. Dalinar orders soldiers back to the hole, but the heat is too much. They are forced back, and Dalinar goes limp.

Evi's burned corpse is brought back to camp. She had drugged her guard and sneaked away in the night, leading people to suspect that she was a traitor. He swears the scribes to secrecy and instead has them hide her burned body. They lie that she was assassinated in the night and the city was burned as retribution. As Dalinar leaves, he hears the screams of the innocent the night before and thinks he even hears Evi.

Kaladin rushes to a stormshelter for rich folk before the Everstorm hits. He meets with Shallan and Adolin to share information. Adolin shares that Elhokar is doing better than expected at convincing lighteyes to join him. Kaladin states that he thinks Captain Azure might have an honorblade. They definitely have a soulcaster and seized emerald stones in the city. Judging the state of Kaladin's issued sword, Adolin is impressed by her. Shallan has found information on the Unmade and believes there are two in the city: Sja-anat, the Taker of Secrets, and Ashertmarn, the Heart of Revel. The former corrupting spren and the latter leadingleads people to indulge in excess. Shallan plans to infiltrate the palace that night. They all realize their dire situation as the city's fall is inevitable without the Oathgate open.

Shallan and Adolin leave the wine house and walk through the streets arm in arm. Adolin complains that he hasn't seen any of her sketches for a while, so she hands him one of her sketchbooks. He is impressed with her drawings of the various refugees. He studies a sketch of himself in his new suit, and Shallan takes the book back, knowing that the next drawing is of Kaladin. They part ways so she can steal some food as payment to the cult. Shallan changes into Veil and meets Vathah to go over the details of their food heist. The barkeep bursts into their room to try to figure out what they're up to, and Vathah unconsciously disguises himself with Stormlight. After the barkeep is dismissed, and he realizes what he has done and what he might be, he is brought to the verge of tears.

Veil goes to distribute the remaining food to Grund and the others, too shaken from the experience at the Oathgate to go back to the shop. She givesgive some bread to Grund, who is acting odd. He takes a bite of the bread and tries to bluff her into staying. She promises to come back with more food and leaves him, walking through the market disguised as a guard. She circles back to Grund and hears thugs beating him. She scares them off but not before one of them bashes Grund in the head. She tries to tend to his wounds, but as she does, he reveals that he actually hates her because the "Grips" gang forced him to wait around for food and would just steal it from him. All of those who she thought she was helping hate her. Grund dies, and she rushes to Muri, who is escaping the area because the Grips are mad about something. She curses Shallan and leaves with her children. Shallan crumples to the floor in anguish.

{{epigraph|The enemy makes another push toward FeverstoneFeverston Keep. I wish we knew what it was that had them so interested in that area. Could they be intent on capturing Rall Elorim?}}

Kaladin glows fiercely to try to hold back the queen's troops. It halts them momentarily, but they go forward again. Kaladin rushes down the steps and hears Parshendi singing. One of them is Sah, his friend.

=== Chapter 86: ThatThe Others May Stand ===

{{epigraph|My spren claims that recording this will be good for me, so here I go. Everyone says I will swear the Fourth Ideal soon, and in so doing, earn my armor. I simply don't think that I can. Am I not supposed to want to help people?}}

Dalinar waits for news from Kholinar while he tries to deal with the returned memories. It's been four hours since the last communication, and the platform is packed with soldiers ready to join the fight. After even more waiting, word finally comes via spanreed: the city has fallen.

The Oathgate control building shakes violently as it activates. Adolin falls onto a hard surface and rolls off into a sea of glass beads. Azure pulls him back up onto the platform. He notices that the sky is different, --being pitch-black with long, strange clouds stretching towards a small and distant sun --, and that they are surrounded by an ocean of beads. There are two large spren nearby, one black-colored and one red. Pattern remarks that it is a bad situation, startling Adolin, causing him to run into Sylphrena. He also notices [[Mayalaran|another spren]] with scratched out eyes next to her. Azure says that she hates this place.

Venli tells a biased account of the [[War of Reckoning]] to a group of gathered singers, portraying the listeners as a heroic group that fought against the humans who sought to enslave them for years and Venli as a brave leader who discovered the secrets of stormform. She finishes her story by telling about the listeners sacrificing themselves for the singers' freedom and encouraging them to fight for Odium. When her speech is over, a femalefemalen singer in scholarform brings her a cup of water, and expresses doubt at what they were told to do. Venli expresses frustration at how far behind the singers are. She returns to the town's mansion, where she is staying, and Rine derides her for being arrogant. Venli laments that the singers are so far behind, still stuck in Alethi customs. She suggests using human slaves to help speed up the work, but Rine tells her that they must kill all the humans to prevent them from manifesting Surgebinding. Venli returns to her room to pack and frees the spren from her pouch. It zips around and looks at various things in the room, pulsing to the rhythm of Curiosity. Venli realizes that she is attuning to the old rhythms, not the new ones of power, and tells the spren to go away. It pulses to Resolve and stays.

Dalinar attends a meeting with Gavilar and the heirs of the highprinces, acting as intimidation. He is still struggling with the events that occurred at the Rift three years ago. Since then, Gavilar (and Sadeas) have used the burning of the Rift as leverage to convince others to follow Gavilar's lead, with the implication that he can't control the Blackthorn and needs them to give him safer options by cooperating. Gavilar suggests that they light a fire in the hearth for warmth, which is a signal to Dalinar that he can leave since he can't stand the sight and sound of fire. He leaves the room, looking for alcohol to drive out the screaming he hears. As he walks down a corridor, he smells the incense Renarin is burning, reminding him of Evi. As he searches for wine in various places in the palace, Dalinar encounters Adolin with a group of soldiers, wearing a specifically tailored uniform. Adolin proudly tells him about setting up a bout with [[Tenathar]] and getting closer to winning a Shardblade. Dalinar scolds him for being too familiar with him while in uniform, but Adolin is not insulted; he merely tries harder and responds with a formal invitation to watch the duel. Adolin runs off, and Dalinar eventually must resort to the [[Beggars' Porch]] where he meets up with [[Ahu]], a crazy beggar who always seems to have something to drink. As they drink, Ahu (who is actually Jezrien) says strange things relating to various Desolations and being tortured. Afterwards, Dalinar drunkenly stumbles back to the wrong room and overhears a discussion between Gavilar, Elhokar, and Adolin about Dalinar's drinking. They're aware of all his attempts to find booze that evening and his visit to the Beggars' Porch. Their conversation brings memories of Evi back, so he stumbles off to his room and collapses on a couch.

Szeth is talking with sword-nimi at the [[Skybreaker]] fortress at the [[Purelake]]. It encourages Szeth to draw it more often, but Szeth has been warned only to draw in extreme emergenciesemergency and with lots of Stormlight on hand. He plans to finish his training and go back to Shinovar to administer justice. Ki tells Szeth and five other hopefuls that they are deemed worthy to speak the First Ideal of the [[Immortal Words]]. Instead of belting the words out like the others, Szeth whispers the First Ideal to the voices of the dead that he hears to assure them that they will receive justice for their murders. Ki then explains to them the procedure of becoming a full Skybreaker. They will undergo several tests and speak more ideals when a highspren is ready to bond to them. Before being carried through the air, Szeth asks Ki if he should be treated the same as the other new Skybreakers. She explains to him that only Nin, who is absent at that moment, is able to make such a judgement, and Szeth is content with this answer.

{{epigraph|I should point out that although many personalities and motives are ascribed to them, I'm convinced that the Unmade were still spren. As such, they were as much manifestations of conceptsconepts or divine forces as they were individuals.}}

Kaladin remembers back to when he was inis Amaram's army. He's being disciplined for freezing up during training. He chisels away at crem stuck on the bunker floor. Sergeant Tukks comes in to discuss it. He thinks that Kaladin was afraid of getting hurt, but Kaladin claims he was afraid of hurting someone else. Tukks suggests that he focus on his squadmates; they are like family, and he should worry about fighting for them. Kaladin isn't entirely truthful though -- he's actually worried about being an effective killer.

They camp and walk for a couple of days. As they walk, Kaladin asks Syl where she lived. She lived in a grand city ruled by honorsprenHonorspren. She tells of another man she had bonded to. He was killed in a battle before the Recreance, so she survived, but she was broken. Her father found her and forbade her to leave the city again. She left anyway because she heard Kaladin calling to her. Suddenly she sees a light in the distance from a lighthouse.

Kaladin uses his experience in scouting to sneak up on the lighthouse. He settles down to watch it for a bit, and anticipationspren crawl up from the beads and start waving their tongues like banners. Kaladin tries to kick them away, but they won't budge, so he merely continues forward. He peekspeaks through a window and sees an old Shin man, reading by spherelight. He somehow senses Kaladin and calls out. Kaladin is forced to reveal himself.

The corrupted spren lands on Shallan's arm, and she hears the voice of Sja-anat. She warns Shallanher that Odium has minions on this side that will hunt them. She lied to him and said that they were far away from the transfer point, but she fears that Odium doesn't trust her anymore. The spren flies off.

Adolin and Shallan bargain with Riino for rations. They get some canned food and dig in. A ship will be coming soon that will take them to Celebrant, a city near the location of Rathalas in the Physical Realm. Kaladin asks Shallan for paper, and he draws the city he had seen in the vision. They all agree that's it's Thaylen City. Kaladin wants to go to the Oathgate there and somehow use it to get there. Azure says the only way back is through the perpendicularity. A ship arrives.

Lightspren, known as Reachers, crew the ship captained by [[Ico]]. He unpacks a crate with a device that will provide water for the humans. Ico places the soul of ice from a high altitude that never melts, and the steel contraption gathers the condensation. After a half hour, there is enough for Kaladin to try a cup of water. He goes over to Syl, who is wearing a lightweaving so she won't be recognized as an honorsprenHonorspren. She encourages him to go talk to Shallan. He goes over and looks through her sketchbook, noticing some strange drawings with childish technique. They discuss the mandra pulling the ship and the spren that may help the various gargantuan creatures survive on Roshar. Shallan estimates that they have two days before they get to Celebrant.

The stall merchant, a Reacher, tells him that the painting was from the Court of Gods and that it is rare for one to escape being burned at the Court. It is a painting designed for those with divinity to see, and everyone who looks at it sees something different. Kaladin sees the nine unmade and knows that he must reach Dalinar. He hears a disturbance behind him and sees Adolin rushing up.

Multiple spren appear to recognize Syl, who is disguised by both Shallan's lightweaving and clothing that Adolin bought at the market. Syl admits to Kaladin that she has been trying to hide her identity because there is a bounty on her capture/return to the honorsprenHonorspren capital, which she escaped when she came to the physical realm. Kaladin pulls her away from the crowd, then sees smoke up ahead.

The Fused heads toward the registrar's office, and Shallan hurriedly putsput disguises on all of them and tells them to look frightened. The Fused arrives and ignores them, instead yelling at the poor spren that he should have told him that there were humans there. He tells her to put out the fire and leaves. The spren realizes they are Radiants and rejoices, agreeing to help them.

Kaladin senses trouble and pulls the others with him into a tent. A Fused flies past. They head to the docks and run into Shallan's group, still disguised as the crew from the Reacher ship. With no other available options, Syl reveals herself to a white ship with gold accents -- the ship of honorsprenHonorspren that are sailing to Lasting Integrity, the honorspren capital. They recognize her and allow her and the others to board. Syl is restrained and cautions Kaladin against interfering. A Fused appears to see them boarding but flies away in the opposite direction.

Dalinar wakes up on a stone floor where there is light streaming in from a balcony. He recognizes the room and realizes he is in the vision where he met Nohadon, believing there must be a highstorm outside while he sleeps. He is surprised since the Stormfather, following Dalinar's encounter with Odium, had agreed the visions were now dangerous. Once again, the vision is not playing out like it did before. Instead of joining a young, morose Nohadon on the balcony overlooking the Desolation, he finds an aged Nohadon sitting in another room at a desk writing what he assumes is the Way of Kings, but the king cheerfully tells him that it is a shopping list and invites Dalinar to go shopping. A large shadow passes in front of the sun outside. Dalinar accompanies Nohadon to the market, contemplating how the old man reminds him of Taravangian. The enormous shadow again appears again, followed by heavy footfalls that shake the ground, but Nohadon is busy haggling with a merchant and doesn't seem to notice. The shadow passes away while Nohadon tells Dalinar stories and philosophizes about the nature of principles. Frustrated and desperate for counsel, Dalinar laments that he and his allies can't seem to make any progress and that he's half-tempted to force them into it. The shadow and sound return, and Dalinar sees it's a giant stone creature with an angular face and red eye sockets (a [[Thunderclast]]). Nohadon touches the giant stone creature and it stills; he wonders aloud what it represents. Dalinar tells him it represents pain, tears, and burdens. He calls himself a hypocrite. Nohadon states that a hypocrite is "nothing more than a man who is in the process of changing." Dalinar realizes this is something that he himself once said. The city is suddenly overcome with more stone creatures as a seemingly-unaware Nohadon continues to philosophize, noting that although Dalinar has said the oaths, he doesn't understand the journey and what is required. The vision ends with Nohadon telling Dalinar that he has forgotten an essential part of the journey –- "the most important step a man can take."

Dalinar attends Gavilar's funeral in the royal catacombs of Kholinar. He is pained by the sight of his brother's body lying dead on a slab. [[Jevena]], a wizened ardent, preaches about how Gavilar was a good ruler who will fight on in the Tranquiline Halls. He asks Jevena what will happen after the Tranquiline Halls are retaken, hoping for peace and rest, but she instead comfortingly tells him that he will get another fight. The [[ketek]]s are read, and Dalinar realizes that one of them is Navani's. He spots her with her arm around Elhokar and trying to comfort Jasnah, who stalks off into the palace. A Soulcaster comes and turns Gavilar's body into stone, and Dalinar forces himself to watch. Elhokar swears vengeance on the Parshendi and asks the highprinces to join in his vow. Sadeas is the first to pledge. Dalinar heads back into the palace; Adolin catches up to him, concerned. Dalinar tells Adolin to pledge support for their house and runs into the palace. He fumbles with his keys, trying to enter his chambers to get some wine. He hears a feminine voice speaking, and is attracted by the words. He follows the sound and finds Jasnah reading from ''The Way of Kings''. Dalinar asks her to read to him, and she reads the entire text over the next several hours. When they are done, they cry a bit and embrace before going their separate ways. Dalinar talks to Adolin, apologizing for being a poor father to him and Renarin, then tells him that he will travel to the Shattered Plains by water. He plans to cause a delay, during which he can follow Evi's advice to seek the Old Magic.

Szeth flies southward with the Skybreakers and Nin for three days, stopping several times to recover hidden stockpiles that had been left alone for centuries. They reach Marat on their fourth day. Nin dismisses Ki and the others but keeps Szeth with him. They fly to another small town and enter the ruins of a courthouse. Nin admits to Szeth that he has failed in preventing the next Desolation. Ishar had warned him that Surgebinders of other orders might upset the balance and cause another Desolation. Nin looks at his hand; a simple but elegant honorblade appears. NightbloodNightbood tries to get Szeth to draw him, commenting that he thinks Nin might be evil, but Szeth refuses. Nin desires to be merciful, but feels it is too chaotic. The purpose of the law is to bring order and prevent sentimentality from interfering with the judgement process. He tells Szeth that he will have to swear his Third Ideal soon, but what he actually swears is up to him. Szeth points out that Nin's tendency to selectively hunt Surgebinders while ignoring other lawbreakers is biased. Nin does not deny it. He holds out his other hand, and a shardblade appears. He tells Szeth that he is a Skybreaker of the Fifth Ideal, probably the only herald to join his own order's Radiants. He tells Szeth that he must know what happened on the day known as Aharietiam.

Kaladin has walked up to the forbidden deck and is looking through a spyglass. The captain comes and asks him to not upset his crew. Kaladin again demands the release of Syl. The captain explains that she is too young to have a bond and he could just kill him to break it. Kaladin asks him if that is honorable, and the captain doesn't answer, ashamed. But he still won't release Syl. Kaladin moves off and contemplates the ideals that he has sworn, wondering how difficult the fourth one will be. Lights begin to appear around him, causing quite a stir amongst the crew, who gasp and scurry away. Syl speaks in his mind -- he is close to finding the fourth ideal. The captain comes over, amazed at the windspren around Kaladin. They're almost always in the Physical Realm and he has never seen them before. Kaladin once again appeals to him; he is a Windrunner sworn to protect, and the Bondsmith who leads them is in danger. The captain is astonished that there is a Bondsmithbondsmith at all and replies that he will consider helping them.

Dalinar awaits the next highstorm, minutes away. Navani is nervous for him --, this isbeing histhe first visit to the visions since Odium appeared to him in one. -- butBut Dalinar needs to know his enemy. The highstorm arrives and he enters the vision with Nohadon as a younger man. A parshendi woman is there, in the place of the king's counselor. The Stormfather warns that Odium is aware of what is going on and is coming. Dalinar asks him to resist so he can talk with Venli.

The meeting is going very well with everyone encouraged about the defenses. Renarin starts to look uncomfortable and excuses himself from the room. Dalinar feels something wrong. The Stormfather says a storm is coming. All the spanreeds in the room light up; there are reports of an early Everstormeverstorm arriving in Shinovar. They decide to break, but the Stormfather says there's more coming. He goes over to Navani and Jasnah, who have received a translation of the [[Eila Stele]] which tells of events before the first Desolation. It reveals that ''humans'' were the Voidbringers, arriving in Roshar and conquering the parshmen. This would eventually cause the Recreance. Taravangian has apparently received the same news and expresses concern that the Radiants' powers are too dangerous. Fen has received word about Elhokar swearing to Dalinar as highking, and Noura has learned that Dalinar is holding back information on his visions that included visits from Odium. The whole room erupts in arguments, and Dalinar realizes that he has been outflanked diplomatically. The coalition is falling apart.

Venli tells her story to Thaylen parshmen. She speaks more of emotions and Passion to them, as instructed. She turns and leaves at the end of her speech, as she is no longer allowed to stay and answer questions about the listeners. Venli wonders if it is because Odium and the Fused are afraid of her people's history, despite their use of it as propaganda. As she walks back to her cave, Venli encounters an insane Fused who grabs her and flies them over to the ships in the harbor. She is dumped onto one of hundreds of ships waiting in harbor, where Rine is waiting for her. He informs her that she is to accompany them as they sail for an assault. Venli is surprised that they are leaving so soon, expressing reservations on needing to fight. Rine tells her that the Everstorm will arrive soon, and that it is the singers' war they are fighting -- that the Fused are merely there to help give them their home back. After that is accomplished, they can finally sleep.

Rysn enters her combination to the first door, then they pass two more doors that are opened by guards, one of whom is unfamiliar to her. Rysn is taken through to an alcove that Fladm is waiting in, and she's transferred to a palanquin that Tlik and another guard carry her in, to her embarrassment. Chiri-Chiri follows her intoin to the main vault. The vault is full of gemstones, but it is dark; they are traded on ledgers, backed by the confidence that the reserve is safe and intact. Rysn gives Vstim a key, and he unlocks Vault Thirteen, the queen's own vault. This closet-sized vault is full of light, much of it coming from a giant ruby, the [[King's Drop]]. Vsitm covers it with a cloth to reduce the glare, and the audit begins. Suddenly, the unfamiliar guard stabs Tlik and grabs the ruby, wounding Vstim and locking him in vault 13. Other guards attack, but the thief is able to heal. As more guards arrive to the fight, Rysn grabs the King's Drop, ties it to her leg, and pulls herself down the corridor. Chiri-Chiri feeds from the ruby. Rysn reaches Fladm's corpse and yells for help, taking his crossbow. Chiri-Chiri harrasses the thief, feeding from his [[Voidlight]]. The traitor is revealed to be one of the [[Fused]] that can lightweave. Rysn shoots him in the chin right as he looms over her. His Voidlight gone, he drops to the floor and is still.

Dalinar watches the Everstorm approach and then settle over the city. The enemy ships sail in with the storm and arrive uncontested, his armada having fled the storm. Amaram's troops flood into the space between the walls and the water while reinforcements are called from Urithiru. Dalinar wonders why Cultivation allowed his memories to return. What is the step he must now take? He picks up his copy of Way of Kings and heads out into the city.

Venli watches as the souls of the thunderclasts meld into the ground. She sees, in the Cognitive Realm, another force offshoreoff shore. The Fused bow to Odium, so Venli quickly follows suit. [[Turash]], the sane Fused that Venli had been interpreting for, expresses doubt to Odium about their army, but Odium replies that they have only come to watch. The red power enters the Physical Realm and she feels the Thrill.

Dalinar feels the ground shaking, realizing that there is probably a second thunderclast now. He sees civilians running and panicking, heading towards the Oathgate. Dalinar continues running toward the wall, holding ''The Way of Kings'' close. Suddenly, he feels the Thrill, but he resists the temptation to embrace it. He is hit by a falling boulder from the thunderclast destroying a building nearby. Dalinar uses stormlight to heal himself. The thunderclast is furiously attacking the Thaylen Gemstone Reserve. He is confused by this odd behavior and asks the Stormfather about it, but he doesn't know why either. Two Fused, led by a yellow spren, glide (with what appears to be the Voidbinding equivalent of the Surge of Abrasion) over to a palanquin and steal something from the occupant. Dalinar tries to give chase, but is unable to catch up to the Fused. He then runs over to help Rysn and Vstim and Rysn tells him that the stolen object was a ruby, the King's Drop. Dalinar is baffled at why they'd want a gemstone. He prepares to ask for more details when he notices that the figures with glowing red eyes on the battlefield are not parshmen, but Sadeas troops.

Adolin feels the part of his soft new flesh that was once his wound. He reflects on the feeling of being fragile, and being drawn through the Perpendicularity created by Dalinar. Shallan checks on Adolin's wound, and he tells her to go and save the city and to "be radiant." Shallan leaves Adolin, draws Pattern as a Shardblade and Lightweaves an army. Without a specific task, Adolin goes into the city to find Jasnah standing amidst a previous battlefield. Adolin summons his Shardblade, and after it doesn't scream in his hands, apologizes and thanks it, then rushes to join a nearby battle.

Adolin leads a small group of troops through the city after some enemy troops who are converging on Jasnah's position. He is interrupted by several red-eyed soldiers falling through the air, seemingly thrown. He peekspeaks around the corner to see Jasnah standing alone, surrounded by a fading, glowing silhouette of smoke geometric shapes that had been outlining her. With Jasnah not needing help, Adolin and his group rush to the aid of Thaylen soldiers fighting a larger group of enemies. Adolin attacks the rear of the enemy formation with his Shardblade, killing all of them. A voice from the crowd, Kdralk the son of Queen Fen from Thaylenah, asks for Adolin's help as his mother and father are trapped behind the wall.

Szeth and Lift approach the Parshmen army. Lift slips into the Parshmen ship, the Parshmen not aggressive. Szeth notes Nin in the sky above the battle. A Fusedfused streaks out of the ship, carrying the large ruby, escaping Lift. Szeth chases the Fused through the battlefield of illusions, and eventually catches up to and crashes into them. Both eventually crash into the ground, where Szeth scoops up the ruby, and draws the attention of three more Fused.

Jasnah lingers between realms, and Soulcasts air into steps to the top of the wall to meet Navani and Queen Fen. She notices that Shallan is nearly out of Stormlight from creatingcrating her illusory army, and tells Navani that they need to rally a defense. Jasnah defends the group from two Fused nonchalantly, setting one on fire and bisecting the other. Jasnah commands that they must hold the wall by conventional means until Urithiru sends reinforcements.

Dalinar reflects on the Thrill and the points in his life that it had affected him, but he embraces what he was, rejects the Thrill, and thanks it for the strength it had lent him.

Adolin is greeted by the Thaylen Shardbearer, Hrdalm. Hrdalm is overtaken by two Fused, and Adolin manages to throw his Shardblade Maya at one, finishing it off while Hrdalm bats the other away. Adolin manages to slice off a finger of the Thunderclast, but is knocked back by a slap, his Shardblade dropping and disappearing. Adolin frantically moves to escape the Thunderclast, counting out heartbeats for his Shardblade. As he reaches the seventh count, he consciously calls to Maya, and she appears in his hand three seconds early. After Adolin is knocked down by the Thunderclast, Renarin appears carrying his Shardblade. Adolin notices the Thunderclast steps back, seemingly afraid of Renarin. Renarin uses Stormlight to heal Adolin, while commanding Adolin to retreat before charging the Thunderclast. Renarin is crushed by the Thunderclast, but heals and slices off the beast'sbeasts hand. Adolin reluctantly lends Maya to Hrdalm, and then goes to help hold the streets.

Szeth chases down a Fused carrying the Ruby. The Fused uses the power of Abrasion, and Szeth feigns ignorance of it until he's in a position to lash the Fused into the sky, and catchescatch the Ruby in his pouch. Szeth manages to trick the Fused into thinking they stole the pouch with the Ruby in it, but instead the Ruby was handed to Lift, who hid in an illusion of a rock. Together, Lift and Szeth go to Dalinar, but Szeth entruststrusts the Ruby to Lift as he can't bring himself to approach the red mist. Lift enters the red mist alone.

{{epigraph|It becomes the responsibilityresponsbility of every man, upon realizing he lacks the truth, to seek it out.}}

Shallan is in better spirits after drinking some of Teshav's tea as she meets up with Adolin at the command post atop the city. Kaladin lands on a nearby rooftop, surveying the city, and Shallan glances at him., Adolin sees this and says he'll step back and let Kaladin have Shallan. Shallan goes on a long tangent about how she doesn't love Kaladin but that Adolin is the one for her, after which they passionately kiss, and Shallan commits to Adolin that none of her alternate personalities will take control and go after Kaladin.

Lopen makes banter and jokes with Rua, teaching him a rude gesture in the process, he then attends to some wounded soldiers, one of whom asks him how one becomes a Radiant. Lopen tells him the easy part is swearing the First Ideal: "Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before pancakes,." but that the hard part is swearing the Second Ideal, which he swears, not expecting the Stormfather to accept it. He and Rua make the rude gesture at the Stormfather, as Lopen is angry the Stormfather hadn't accepted his oath in the heat of battle.

Ash drags Taln through Thaylen City, trying to reach the Oathgate and make it to Azir, where they will be more inconspicuous. Something inside Ash rips as Moash kills Jezrien, her father. Jasnah, nearby, notices and, looks at a drawing she has of Ash and Taln from Hoid as Ash falls unconscious for the first time in thousands of years.

Kaladin flies overhead Alethkar, until he sees a very small fire giving off a bit of smoke next to a tarp painted with the symbol of Bridge Four. He lands, and two cloaked figures take off their hoods: Drehy and Skar. They reveal a couple of people they saved from the fighting in Kholinar, as well as Elhokar's son, Gavinor, heir to the Alethi throne. They also reveal that they have both sworn the Second Ideal of the Windrunners.

Taravangian finishes his day'sdays puzzles, revealing he is stupid on this day, as his assistants, Mrall, Adrotagia, and Dukar, debate over the recent accuracy of the Diagram. A voice constantly asks Taravangian to open a window, which he does, and Odium enters the room. Odium sarcastically compliments the Diagram before showing Taravangian the absolute eternity within his plans. Taravangian strikes a deal with Odium in exchange for the protection of everyone in Kharbranth.

Shallan, Dalinar, and many of Dalinar's generals as well as a few members of the coalition gather in a room in Urithiru. Shallan uses her Lightweaving to make a map of Roshar at Dalinar's request, changing the colors of various countries to depict which ones are members of the coalition, members of Azir's coalition, lands controlled by Odium, and lands that hadn't committed to either side, such as Shinovar and Tukar. The generals argue over what course of action to pursue, and Shallan raises the question of why the humans don't just retreat to Shinovar, the land they were given, to which Dalinar answers that Odium will overrun them even if they give the Parshendi what they deserve. Dalinar and Adolin then argue over who should become the next King of Alethkar, with Dalinar not wanting Gavinor, as he's too young, but Adolin doesn't want himself to be king, so he reveals to Dalinar his murder of Torol Sadeas and his breaking of the Codes of War.