Difference between revisions of "Summary:Oathbringer"

* Sadeas’sSadeas's officer

The murder victim is [[Vedekar Perel]], a member of Sebarial’sSebarial's army. Shallan can't keep up with the long strides of Dalinar, so she falls back. Adolin joins her, taking her arm. They arrive in a chamber with a depression in the middle of the room. The body lies in the depression. The murder appears to be an exact copy of how Sadeas was killed, including the location of the wound and the position of the body. Adolin appears shocked and distracted. Dalinar assigns him to investigate the murder since so many other officers were killed in all the recent fighting. Adolin is taken aback and appears nervous. Shallan wonders at his strange behavior and observes Renarin studying him closely. Pattern starts to hum.

Shallan transforms herself into Veil. She practices walking with a more confident gait and talking with a deeper, rougher voice. She looks over her sketches of Veil to try to refine the look. She wants to be able to transform quickly, without needing to review them. Someone knocks at her doorway, so she invites them in, assuming it’sit's [[Palona]]. It turns out to be Adolin, who sees her in only her nightgown, safehand exposed! She hurriedly dresses while they flirt through the doorway as he waits outside with food and books. She admits him and begins eating. Adolin realizes that this is her bedroom and wonders if it’sit's proper for them to be alone, so Shallan enlists Pattern as a chaperone to prevent them from doing anything “inappropriate”"inappropriate" (which he later realizes is “mating”"mating"). Adolin convinces Shallan to try some men’smen's food, and it burns her mouth. He has brought several books to help her with her political knowledge since she was lacking in their last meeting with Dalinar. Adolin expresses his concern with the betrothal: he doesn’tdoesn't want to mess this one up like all his other numerous courtships. Shallan reassures him, and they start to kiss until Pattern starts yelling at them to stop.

Dalinar is in the vision of the Aharietiam with Yanagawn. He has assigned the young emperor as a common soldier, but Dalinar makes sure he doesn't die in the battle. The Radiant arrives and the battle is drawn away from them. Yanagawn walks away from Dalinar and starts chatting with some of the wounded soldiers. Jezerezeh’ElinJezerezeh'Elin himself is there, proclaiming the final victory over the Voidbringers. Dalinar approaches Yanagawn and identifies himself, saying that he brought him into the vision, but Yanagawn is skeptical. Dalinar shows him the terrible battlefield and tries to convince him to join Alethkar so they can fight the Voidbringers together. The last time an Alethi united with Azir, the Sunmaker led a reign of terror with arbitrary purges. Dalinar insists that he is different because he is old enough to have seen the consequences of war. Suddenly Lift shows up, and Gawx joyously greets her. She tells him not to trust the Blackthorn, and they vanish. The Stormfather is upset that the Nightwatcher has somehow given her the power to leave the vision.

Jasnah reads the words of Talenel’ElinTalenel'Elin, who apparently really was the returned Herald rather than just a madman. Nearby are three spanreeds writing continuously. They are paired with spanreeds in [[Tashikk]] where scribes are writing up all of her backed up notes. Ivory also believes the writer to be Taln and agrees that they need to find him. He reports that Odium stirs and wants to destroy all mankind and spren like him. Jasnah's thoughts turn to a childhood illness with hints of a betrayal. She asks Ivory what he thinks of Shallan, and his opinion is that she is unstable -- even more so than most humans -- and that Cryptics are trouble. Jasnah believes that she should share what she learned from Wit, but Ivory objects, saying it will cause another Recreance. She decides to wait for now.

Dalinar is in Vedenar, a city devastated by their civil war and the Everstorm, to survey their martial capabilities and fortifications. He has now regained almost all his memories, except for his meeting with the Nightwatcher. He is startled to hear the sounds of Evi crying and the cries of dying children again, and he worries for Adolin, Elohkar, and the Radiants. As Dalinar overlooks the city’scity's damage, Taravangian joins him with holding a giant kite shield containing a fabrial. The old king talks to him about choices and the paths they lead to, eventually concluding that morality and law are built on the bodies of the slain. He explains that fabrials are made by enslaving spren by luring them in with something they love, something familiar. The discussion overwhelms an already-shaken Dalinar and he excuses himself. He goes to the storm shelters, hopeful that the familiar company of soldiers will calm him. While meeting with a group of veterans, he asks an elderly one about the civil war. The man tells him it was a nightmare, marked by men shouting to keep fighting even when it was no longer necessary, to keep up the momentum. The soldiers recalled seeing a haze that day. Hearing the description of their bloodlust, Dalinar feels it stir - the Thrill awakening deep inside. He realizes he never learned to overcome it; rather, it had left him to come to Vedenar.

Frantically trying to distract himself from the growing Thrill and the haunting events of Rathalas, Dalinar climbs the city wall to inspect the city fortifications. The Thrill continues to call to him, and a voice in his head urges him to give in. He then heads to the Oathgate, eager to return to Urithiru so he can rest. A group of scribes, Kholin guards, and Navani are there. He sees ardents with blue robes, Curates from the Holy Enclave in Valath. An Ardentia leader declares Dalinar a heretic due to his assertion that the Almighty is not God and excommunicates him. Knowing that he will kill the ardent if he stays, Dalinar dashes to the Oathgate control building before remembering he has no Shardblade to use as a key. Ignoring the Stormfather’sStormfather's warnings, he uses his bondsmith capabilities to produce something bright and white that he rams into the keyhole. The Stormfather groans in pain and pulls back. Dalinar is transported to Urithiru. He hears Evi’sEvi's voice beckoning him to accept that this is who he is. He pulls the Way of Kings off his bookshelf, thinking about how it once saved him but how he can't even read it. He ransacks Adolin’sAdolin's room and finally finds some wine, raising the bottle to his lips.

The ship is on its way to Celebrant. Adolin is in Captain Ico’sIco's cabin, refashioning clothes that the spren gave him. Ico enters and tells Adolin he can sense that he was a ruler in the Physical Realm, wondering why such a human would come to Shadesmar. Adolin doesn't answer and contemplates the thought of ruling, thinking that Dalinar will surely abdicate now that Elohkar is dead but worries he may have to take the throne. He grew up hoping he wouldn’twouldn't, fearing that it would mean an end to dueling and enjoying life; plus, he feels inconsistent, unlike Dalinar.

On the deck, Adolin and Azure talk as a highstorm causes the clouds above to become iridescent and the Reachers to work more vigorously. Azure is impressed by how well Adolin improved his outfit, noting it’sit's an unusual skill to have for a royal. Adolin asks her if she knew many royals, and after an enigmatic answer, she says she has known some, including a woman who abdicated her duty in favor of someone who could do it better. She indicates that she has been in similar situations herself, getting “too"too involved”involved" then abandoning everyone. Thinking she is referencing the wall guard in Kholinar, Adolin tells her she did not abandon them. The conversation ends with Azure saying that she doesn’tdoesn't regret allowing someone else to rule who was more capable but doesn’tdoesn't elaborate on what she means. Captain Ico bids Adolin to go with him into the brig to retrieve his “deadeye"deadeye,”" referring to Adolin’sAdolin's dead spren. Adolin sees another deadeye in the brig, Ico’sIco's father, and doesn’tdoesn't understand why they should be held captive. Ico responds that he can’tcan't have them on deck because they don’tdon't watch where they’rethey're going and fall off; furthermore, his father would go searching for the human carrying his corpse. Adolin is surprised since this implies that Ico’sIco's father is a Radiant spren. Ico cautions Adolin that his spren is not his friend, just a tool, and he shouldn’tshouldn't pretend otherwise.

The ship pulls up to the dock as Adolin thanks Ico, asking once more if he’llhe'll take them to the portal between realms, but Ico declines since the region has gained a bad reputation due to vanishing ships. He advises them not to stray too far outside Celebrant, to tie up the deadeye, and to visit the dock registrar which will help them find potential passage. The group agrees to split up: Kaladin, Adolin, and Syl will acquire rations and supplies, and Shallan, Pattern, and Azure will go to the dock registrar to try to find a ship that will take them on.

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 suspects is the Way of Kings, only to be informed by the king that it is a shopping list. A large shadow passes in front of the sun outside. Dalinar accompanies Nohadon to the market with the list, contemplating the old man’sman's uncharacteristically whimsical nature and how he 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’tdoesn'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’tcan't seem to make any progress and says he’she'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"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’tdoesn'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"the most important step a man can take.”"

Dalinar wakes up in Urithiru next to a mostly-empty bottle of wine. There was no storm, and he is uncertain what happened. Suddenly something blooms inside of him; not a new memory but a sudden crisp recollection – the night of Gavilar’sGavilar's funeral.

Teft and the other members of Bridge Four who attended the meeting return to the barracks. They find that a massacre has taken place, and that most of their fallen comrades have been felled by the honorblade, which appears to have been stolen. Several of the members, including Rock are barely alive. Bisig informs Bridge Four of what occurred and it is revealed, to Teft’sTeft's shock and horror, that the perpetrator used the Bridge Four uniform he sold for firemoss to enable the attack.