Words of Radiance
Chapters - Brandon Sanderson
Prologue: To Question
Six years ago, Jasnah leaves the feast celebrating the signing of the Alethi treaty with the Parshendi. On her way to a clandestine meeting that she had scheduled, she notices her shadow pointing the wrong way. Her shadow slowly returns to normal, but she is disconcerted. This is not the first time this has happened to her, and she wonders if she is cursed. As she continues, she observes a group of oily black figures materialize before her. Jasnah then transfers to Shadesmar for the first time. She almost drowns in the sea of beads before figuring out how to form the beads into the shape of one of the palace hallways. One of the figures approaches her drawing a sword and Jasnah manifests a statue of Talenel to protect herself. The figure bows to her while his companions whisper to each other, and Jasnah is transferred back to the Physical Realm. She notices that the lanterns near her have been drained of Stormlight . She hurries on to the meeting, where she tells the assassin Liss that she only wants her brother's wife, Aesudan , watched for now. Jasnah reminds Liss of their first agreement, according to which Jasnah will match payment of any offer made against a member of her family, in exchange for the name of whoever tried to have them assassinated. As she leaves Jasnah hears the Parshendi's drums cease. As she walks she encounters Nale and another man discussing an individual named Ash as well as what Jasnah believes is a Shardblade. Continuing on, Jasnah hears screams and starts running, following a trail of destruction that leads to her father's rooms. She watches as Szeth collapses the balcony beneath himself and Gavilar . She begins to cry as he stands over her father and wonders what he is doing. When he walks away she sees that her father is dead, his blade having appeared next to him, and despairs over failing in her efforts to protect her family. Members of the Parshendi ruling council, including Klade , Gangnah , and Varnali , approach Jasnah and apologize. They confess to hiring Szeth to assassinate Gavilar, claiming he was about to do something very dangerous.
POV: Jasnah Kholin·On page: Dalinar Kholin, Elhokar Kholin, Torol Sadeas, Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Gavilar Kholin, Amaram, Nale
Source: Coppermind
Part 1: Alight
Chapter 1: Santhid
Tanatashah 1173 The chapter opens with Shallan sketching Shadesmar aboard Tozbek's ship, The Wind's Pleasure, sailing south of Roshar. While sketching, she notices a pattern appear on her sketch. This marks the first time Pattern manifests in the physical realm, appearing as an embossed sequence of complex lines with sharp angles and repeated arrowhead shapes. The appearance of Pattern startles Shallan, causing her to drop her sketches which Yalb collects for her. Shortly thereafter, a scout spots something in the water which turns out to be a Santhid - a large, rare sea creature viewed by sailors as good luck and whose shell is the only thing anyone ever sees. Seeing an opportunity, Shallan decides she needs to sketch the first ever picture of a living Santhid. After much debate with Yalb and Tozbek, and after conversing with Jasnah about Shadesmar and Spren in some detail for the first time, the sailors finally agree to allow Shallan to be lowered over the side of the boat to get a look at the Santhid. Jasnah tells Shallan that she has spoken to Navani about the possibility of repairing the Soulcaster Shallan possesses so that her brothers can give it back to the Ghostbloods . Shallan is also informed that she has been betrothed to Adolin Kholin, which she accepts willingly.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Jasnah Kholin, Pattern·Mentioned: Navani Kholin, Dalinar Kholin, Adolin Kholin
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 2: Bridge Four
Tanatashah 1173 Kaladin rides out the first highstorm since being freed in a small room attached to his mens' new barracks within Dalinar's war camp. Upon exiting the room he is greeted with cheers by his men who have been shaving their beards during the storm with Rock's razor. Kaladin contemplates the betrayals of both Sadeas and Amaram while speaking with Skar, Teft, and Moash about how to proceed training the newly freed bridgemen. There are some 1,000 men situated in 20 now empty buildings in Dalinar's camp; buildings recently emptied after the betrayal of Sadeas and the subsequent loss of soldiers. Kaladin decides they will find the most eager bridgemen and train them personally, sending them back to pass on their training to larger groups of bridgemen, all of whom have been given permission to leave as free men although the majority of them have not done so. Kaladin says his worst case scenario plan is to have all 1,000 men trained and able to leave the war camp as a cohesive band of mercenaries if it comes to that. Having been named Captain by Dalinar, the highest rank Dalinar dared appoint a darkeyes, Kaladin plans to name Sigzil, Rock, Teft, Moash, and Skar lieutenants. Rock will be quartermaster with Lopen as his second, Teft will be in charge of training, Sigzil will be the clerk, and Moash, Skar, and Kaladin will be mainly in charge of guarding Dalinar, who they have mutually agreed after some discussion, is their best hope for remaining free men. Later, the men previously of Bridge Four visit a tattooist. The tattooist sets about covering the slave brands with tattoos of freedom, including some details of who freed them and when. First Hobber decides he wants a Bridge Four glyph added and after this decision, the rest demand the same. Not to indicate freedom from Bridge Four, but to embrace the unity they found there. Even those members of Bridge Four who were without slave brands opt to get the tattoo including Shen, most on their foreheads though Moash chooses to get it on his arm. Finally Kaladin sits for his tattoo but the ink will not take - his Stormlight expelling it - even after banishing his Stormlight until the tattoo is set, the ink immediately melts away when he again sucks in Stormlight. After leaving, Kaladin and his men walk through the war camp noting the general mood. Kaladin decides the camp has an air of dread to it following Sadeas' betrayal. The men receive Bridge Four salutes from a few people they pass, Kaladin wondering where they even learned the salute. The men visit the head quartermaster, Rind, to discuss uniforms for the bridgemen. Rind hands out what's left of the old Cobalt Guard uniforms and the men try them on, eventually coming to admire how they look in them. After some discussion with Kaladin, explaining to him that they all identify as Bridge Four despite being free, Kaladin requests that Rind commission new Bridge Four glyph patches for the uniforms.
POV: Kaladin·On page: Rock, Moash, Teft, Sylphrena, Sigzil, Lopen, Rlain, Drehy·Mentioned: Dalinar Kholin, Torol Sadeas, Amaram, Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Gavilar Kholin
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 3: Pattern
Tanatabach 1173 Shallan sits in her cabin on the Wind's Pleasure reading a book written by Jasnah about Vorinism and the Recreance and its effect on the documentation of history, such as the existence of Shadesmar. While studying, Pattern shows up again, this time on the cabin wall, vanishing when she looks directly at it. Shallan notes the similarity between Pattern and the symbol headed creatures she had seen previously. She immediately attempts to sketch the pattern, attracting many creationspren, though she found it difficult to capture the precise pattern. When finished, the pattern seems to leave the paper and move to the floor. Jasnah comes to Shallan's room just as Shallan leaves to find her. Shallan catches a glimpse of what Jasnah explains to her is her own spren, just as she tells Shallan that the pattern is Shallan's spren, a Cryptic. Jasnah explains about the Knights Radiant and the Orders, explaining that their Soulcasting is a shared surge, but that their Orders are not the same, judging by their different spren. A lengthy discussion of the nature of spren and Jasnah's opinions of the Almighty and the Heralds follows.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Jasnah Kholin, Pattern
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 4: Taker Of Secrets
Tanatakes 1173 Dalinar is experiencing another vision. He describes how he is running through what he believes to be the Purelake along with about a dozen armed and armored men, though he notes that they are clad in ancient leather armor. At first he is unsure if they are running away from something or toward something, until he notices a Fortress apparently made completely out of onyx. His group meets up with another one led by a Knight Radiant in deep red glowing Plate . Dalinar thus determines that this vision takes place before the Recreance . The Radiant informs them that Caeb thought he saw something and tells them to look around. When one of the men hears Dalinar mumbling to himself, as he describes what is happening, he tells Dalinar to look for a spren that isn't behaving the way it should because spren that were touched by Sja-anat are different. Dalinar repeats the words quietly, hoping that Navani will record them, when he notices that the female Knight is talking to apparently nobody. As he looks around he sees a face of shadow with red eyes in the water. When he points this out to the others, the Knight, after noting that this is Sja-anat's spy, sends Caeb to the checkpoint and tells the others to keep watching for the carrier. Dalinar chases after the spren while describing it, when it is suddenly joined by a six-foot-tall spren. As the second one dives into the rock, Dalinar stumbles back. He gets pulled back further by one of the men as the ground starts to tremble. Dalinar watches as the spren, having somehow apparently animated the rock, starts to climb out of the rock with its new rock body. The soldiers, recognizing it as a Thunderclast , start yelling for Hammers. Dalinar wakes to Navani fervently transcribing the last of his cryptic words before recording Dalinar's detailed description of the vision to be used by his scholars in their attempts to translate Navani's transcription. The two then discuss Dalinar's plans to publish his proclamation as Highprince of War in the next few days, Navani having convinced him to first release the news to the other highprinces in private. Dalinar, exhausted by the growing burden of responsibility bestowed upon him by his visions, falls asleep by the fire following Navani's departure. He wakes hours later, the fire burned out, and rises to attend to his duties. Dalinar stops suddenly when he notices a series of marks newly scratched on the wall to form glyphs, reading "Sixty-two days. Death follows."
POV: Dalinar Kholin·On page: Kaladin, Adolin Kholin, Navani Kholin·Mentioned: Elhokar Kholin, Gavilar Kholin, Renarin Kholin, Torol Sadeas
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 5: Ideals
Tanatakan 1173 Kaladin Kaladin and the members of Bridge Four listen to a crier read Dalinar's proclamation. The proclamation states that all gemhearts won in battle will now belong to the king, and shares of that wealth will be apportioned at the Crown's discretion. The men are concerned that this will sow even more discontent among the highprinces, making their job as bodyguards to Dalinar more difficult. Kaladin orders Rock to start training cooks for the other bridgeman barracks, hoping it will make them less despondent, then heads to the Pinnacle to relieve Skar's team. On the way, Syl worries that Kaladin no longer laughs. Once at the king's palace, Kaladin is allowed to stay for a meeting consisting of Dalinar , King Elhokar , Adolin , Navani , Renarin , General Khal , and his wife Teshav . Teshav reports that the highprinces are irate. They had hoped that Dalinar would reconsider, and sending the proclamation out to the public has provoked them. Elhokar says that it is a disaster, and fears that they'll be dead before the week is out. Dalinar says he'll unite the kingdom or destroy it trying. The proclamation was made in order to re-focus the highprinces' attention on the war, and Dalinar did this knowing that it would enrage them. He wants the highprinces angry, to remind them of why they came to the Shattered Plains in the first place. He then announces his intention to "disarm" the highprinces by having Adolin begin dueling for the Shardblades and Shardplate in their armies. Lastly, when prompted on his endgame, Dalinar states his intention to refound the Radiants. He isn't sure why exactly he needs to do this, but he knows he has to. Sadeas Meanwhile, Torol Sadeas sits in front of an elaborate stone table with Oathbringer stuck through it. He thinks about how often he had lusted after the weapon, but now possessing it feels hollow. His wife Ialai enters the room, and mentions that she has used Dalinar's heavy recruitment drive to place more spies in his war camp. They talk about how the other highprinces hate the proclamation, and plan to fan the flames of discontent. Torol wants conquest. He plans to let Dalinar alienate the other highprinces and fracture the kingdom, at which point he will "forge a new Alethkar from flame and tears".
POV: Kaladin, Torol Sadeas·On page: Adolin Kholin, Dalinar Kholin, Navani Kholin, Renarin Kholin, Lopen, Moash, Rock, Ialai Sadeas, Sigzil, Sylphrena, Teft, Rlain, Elhokar·Mentioned: Gavilar Kholin, Amaram, Hoid
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 6: Terrible Destruction
Tanatakach 1173 Shallan sits on the deck of the Wind's Pleasure , bundled up because of the cold. She's observing and taking notes on the complex geometric spren, who she had named Pattern . Pattern asks about the concept of food and replies, "Terrible! Destruction!" when Shallan describes eating. Shallan notes that Pattern is connecting increasingly complex thoughts. When she asks him about his first memories, Pattern starts to vibrate and Shallan can hear wind blowing through branches, and the deck starts to turn to a dirt path in front of her. Shallan is horrified and the images vanish. Just then, Yalb comes over and introduces her to " New kid ", a six-foot-tall hulk of a man. Yalb tricks New Kid into doing galley duty for him, which Pattern seems to like. Shallan asks him if he likes lies, to which pattern replies that he likes "good lies ... True lies." Shallan heads below deck to her cabin where she gets caught up in her research. Hours go by before she closes her books, and her spheres are getting dim. She feels satisfied, her life seems to finally be coming together. She fishes some newly-restored spheres out of her safepouch to replace those in the goblet, but strangely they are completely dun. When she goes to ask Jasnah for some new spheres, Shallan notices that Jasnah is uncharacteristically disconcerted. She seems exhausted, and her poise has been replaced by worry. They discuss the return of Surgebinding , and Jasnah asks that Shallan focus on learning the Illumination Surge rather than Soulcasting , as the latter can be dangerous. Jasnah also reveals that she is worried about the parshmen , who she thinks are secretly the Voidbringers . They worry that because the parshmen are so integrated into Vorin society they could cause utter collapse if they rebelled. Jasnah speaks of how in ages past, the Heralds would return before Desolations and train the Knights Radiant . She reveals that she hopes to find a path to Urithiru , the legendary city of the Knights Radiant, in the Shattered Plains . There she will try to find information that will convince the Alethi leaders to expel the parshmen. Before Shallan leaves, Jasnah gives her a book that contains information on the Order of Lightweavers . The book is called Words of Radiance . Shallan goes to sleep planning to read the book in the morning. She is awoken by screams, shouts, and smoke.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Jasnah Kholin, Pattern·Mentioned: Dalinar Kholin, Elhokar Kholin, Navani Kholin
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 7: Open Flame
Tanatakach 1173 Shallan wakes up in a panicked state, and rushes out of her cabin into the passageway. She sees three men holding torches with their backs to her, and one of them throws Jasnah's body to the deck, then stabs her through the heart. She screams, recognizing one of the men as a new sailor, and returns to her cabin, locking the door. The men break down the door, but fail to see Shallan as she manages to draw in Stormlight then create an illusion of shadow to hide in, and another visible moving image for them to chase to another part of the ship. She sends Pattern to spy and he tells her the regular sailors are being killed on the main deck. She makes her way to Jasnah's cabin, surprised to not trip over her mentor's body in the dark. She finds Jasnah's chest and opens it to access her spheres, and hears as the sailors are being murdered. Shallan tells Pattern she wants to soulcast the bottom of the ship to sink it and use the confusion to help the sailors, and Pattern intercedes, giving her passage to Shadesmar. Pattern is there also, appearing like a symbol-head. He tells her to find the bead representing the Wind's Pleasure and persuades it to change and sink so that it can possibly save some of the sailors that it serves. Shallan returns to the physical plane and the sinking ship, and starts going under as she cannot find the way out, then something grabs her, dragging her down.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Jasnah Kholin, Pattern
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 8: Knives In The Back, Soldiers On The Field
Tanatakach 1173 Dalinar watches as Highprince Aladar's army, which has arrived to the plateau faster than his own, fights the Parshendi over a gemheart. Dalinar feels bitter and jaded, as he no longer believes the plateau runs represent the fulfillment of the Vengeance Pact. Kaladin and his guards cross a bridge to guard Dalinar as he joins Aladar on his command plateau adjacent to where the battle is being fought, while Adolin and General Khal lead the Kholin forces to the fight. Dalinar joins Aladar and tells him that he saved the other Highprince from losing, but Aladar complains that he will earn less and that he is being punished for being successful. Dalinar threatens Aladar on the consequences of disobedience, but Aladar counters that Gavilar didn't use honor to unite the kingdom originally, which strikes a nerve. Aladar thinks the Parshendi are about to push, but Dalinar thinks otherwise, and turns out to be correct about them getting ready to harvest the gemstone and withdraw, and they end up victorious. Dalinar notices the Parshendi Shardbearer watching from a distance, having never entered the battle, and states that this has never happened before. Aladar thanks Dalinar for his advice, but refuses to trust him regarding politics since he fears betrayal. Back in his bunker, he notes there are now sixty days left in the mysterious countdown, and receives a letter announcing that an old friend of his would be coming soon to the Shattered Plains and might solve some of the problems Dalinar is dealing with.
POV: Dalinar Kholin·On page: Adolin Kholin, Elhokar Kholin, Navani Kholin·Mentioned: Jasnah Kholin, Gavilar Kholin
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 9: Walking The Grave
Kaladin leads the way down into the chasms, accompanied by Rock, Teft, Sigzil, Sylphrena, and the forty bridgemen from the reorganized crews who were chosen to practice spears under Teft's guidance and become future sergeants. Kaladin and Syl stroll off, debating the laws of physics and Syl jokes about her ability to defy gravity. They discuss Dalinar's plan to refound the Knights Radiant, which Syl likes, and the mysterious countdown. Syl mentions dangerous red spren that she sees on occasion. Kaladin asks if there are other Surgebinders and Syl says yes, and there are other spren of different types doing what she is, but that she is the only honorspren and that she defied the Stormfather to do so. Syl tells Kaladin to be what Dalinar is looking for, and he says that he will try, despite his painful past. Rock interrupts them, praising Syl and offering to build a shrine dedicated to her. Rock says that Teft moved their training to a different spot, and says the bridgemen are becoming less reticent. Kaladin agrees to allow Sigzil to do his testing now to determine the extent of Kaladin's abilities.
POV: Kaladin, Shallan Davar·On page: Rock, Sylphrena, Teft, Pattern·Mentioned: Dalinar Kholin, Moash, Sigzil
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 10: Red Carpet Once White
Six years ago, Shallan believes the world is ending and it is her fault. As her father tries getting her to sleep he wipes some blood from her face and starts singing a lullaby. Shallan thinks herself to be a monster that kills and thus unworthy of the love and affection her father is giving her. In the room are two corpses, one a man who bled and one a woman in blue and gold - Shallan's mother - who lies face-down, hiding her "horrible eyes." As Shallan and her father pass his safe in the wall, Shallan can see the light from the "monster" inside of it. After the song ends her father leaves the bedroom closing the door on the corpses.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Pattern
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 11: An Illusion Of Perception
Tanatakev 1173 Shallan awakes on a rock surrounded by ocean water, just offshore. She sees the santhid that saved her swim off toward the horizon. Pattern says that the ship sank and doesn't know if any of the sailors survived. Shallan forces herself to accept that Jasnah is dead. She manages to tread water and reach the shore. She waits on the beach for a while looking for signs of survivors but sees none. Pattern says that he found someone and urges Shallan to follow him, and leads her to Jasnah's trunk, which contains her books and notes intact in a waterproof enclosure. Shallan is unable to build a fire, so she decides to try to soulcast one. Pattern eases her into Shadesmar, and she sees large, fuzzy-looking, bird-like spren that hover overhead, which are exhaustionspren that are drawn to her. She takes a bead that represents a piece of wood and tries to persuade it that it could be fire, but it prefers to be a stick instead. Her sphere is drained of Stormlight and she flees from Shadesmar, having failed to make a fire start. She gets up and starts walking, though her feet are cut up and bleeding, and ends up encountering a group of strangers around a fire, and due to her state of exhaustion, lays down next to the fire and goes to sleep. Shallan wakes up as someone with a Thaylen accent addresses her as Brightness, but he isn't one of the sailors as she initially thinks. She realizes that they are slavers, led by a man named Tvlakv , and asserts herself as she imagines that Jasnah would, introducing herself and ordering them to retrieve Jasnah's trunk and escort her to the Shattered Plains, overcoming Tvlakv's objections by sheer force of will and gaining his reluctant compliance.
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Pattern·Mentioned: Jasnah Kholin, Torol Sadeas
Source: Coppermind
Chapter 12: Hero
Sigzil finally gets the possibility to 'measure' Kaladin's abilities. Down in the chasms - while Teft and Drehy are working with twenty others to train them - Kaladin, Sigzil, Rock, and Lopen are doing experiments. Lopen guards the location to avoid unbidden guests. They try to measure how long a rock which Kaladin infuses with Stormlight and sticks to a chasm wall stays stuck. Rock hints at spren that pull the stone to the wall. Kaladin sees them too, when looking close, but Sigzil does not. Sigzil takes notes, writing them down in glyphs. And he is confused. He says he would need a clock to properly measure times and that he has no real references to compare. So they start testing other things, things Kaladin can do in battle with his Stormlight. For example, Infusing his spear and making it stick to the spear of a foe or Infusing the ground causing others that step on it to topple. For these experiments, Lopen and Rock join Sigzil as sparring partners. It's shown that Rock indeed knows how to fight, though he still refuses to do so aside from this sparring for testing Kaladin's abilities. Teft comes and sees the last part of the sparring. He asks Kaladin to release him from his task of training new recruits, but Kaladin refuses. When Kaladin and his men leave the chasm, a darkeyed soldier tells him that a hero has arrived at Dalinar's warcamp. When Kaladin hears the man's name, he rushes to Dalinar's command complex to see the newcomer with his own eyes. Kaladin sees Dalinar clutching hands with his old friend, Brightlord Amaram.
POV: Kaladin·On page: Amaram, Dalinar Kholin, Lopen, Rock, Sigzil, Teft·Mentioned: Torol Sadeas
Source: Coppermind
Section 1: Interlude: Narak
Eshonai leads the Parshendi as they return to their home plateau after successfully harvesting a gemheart that was brought back by Devi , who is allowed to carry it as a reward for spotting the chrysalis. She wonders where Dalinar is, and feels a need to speak with him, but she can't join battles since her leg is still injured from when Kaladin stabbed her during the Battle of the Tower . She wanders through the ancient ruins on the plateau they named Narak , or Exile, where her people came to escape their gods. She enters the Hall of Art to observe the heretofore futile efforts to rediscover a new form for making art, as an incremental step towards discovering other more useful forms, but Varanis , one of her lieutenants, is unsuccessful in trying to attract creationspren to his novice attempts at painting. She contemplates the six current known forms, and laments the loss of the hundreds that their old songs mention, thinking her people may die off if they don't become more versatile. She leaves the Hall, and encounters three mateforms who are playing idly in a pool, and berates them for being unproductive. She reflects back on how she and the rest of the Parshendi leaders conspired to assassinate Gavilar, to prevent the Parshendi gods from returning, at the cost of the slow annihilation of her people. She returns to her home, and finds her sister, Venli , and tells her of the plateau run and that Dalinar was not present on the Alethi side. Eshonai says that she wants to talk to Dalinar and sue for peace but Venli thinks that he wouldn't accept, and says that she discovered stormform. Eshonai exclaims that this could cause their gods to return, but Venli says that is a moot point since the Alethi now have Surgebinders, though Eshonai isn't sure about this. Demid , Venli's former mate, agrees that they should risk using stormform to protect their people from being wiped out. Venli says she wants to raise the issue with the Five, and Eshonai says she will consider supporting it.
Source: Coppermind
Section 2: Interlude: Ym
Ym is in his shop trimming a small block of wood. The cobbler had been taught to make the wooden forms himself, so he does. It's the way it's been done for centuries, which is good enough for him. A spren moves in the dimness to his right. It has been coming around more often lately, and Ym had never seen one like it before. As it moves it looks like specks of light, like those from a piece of crystal suspended in a sunbeam. When it stops, light creeps upward from it, like small plants growing, which withdraw when it starts moving again. They talk briefly about the shoes, and that Ym finds himself needing more shoes for children lately. The spren shakes suddenly, and warns "He Comes." Anxious, Ym stands up looking for "the watcher," a man in a military coat, but finds only a child peering through the door. Ym invites the urchin in, who's feet are dirty and scraped. The boy is Iriali , with their characteristic golden skin and hair, and walks with a limp. Ym offers him a pair of shoes in exchange for his story. As the boy speaks, Ym cleans his feet to fit the shoes. One of the feet has a nasty cut on the bottom, infected and crawling with rotspren. Ym cleans it and puts on antiseptic, then subtly uses some Stormlight to heal the cut. They speak of Ym's religious beliefs, and the boy leaves after receiving the shoes. The spren whispers "He's still here," and Ym spins as he hears a rustling behind him. A dark-skinned man with a crescent scar on his cheek steps out of the shadows in the back of the shop. The man accuses Ym of commiting a murder in his youth. Ym tells the man that it wasn't intentional, but the man says he is guilty nonetheless, then summons a Shardblade . Ym runs, but he is old and quickly tires. He stops, trying to pull out a sphere for some Stormlight, but the dark-skinned man slams him against a wall and stabs him in the chest with the Shardblade.
POV: Eshonai·On page: Venli·Mentioned: Dalinar Kholin, Gavilar Kholin
Source: Coppermind
Section 3: Interlude: Rysn
Rysn is traveling with Vstim to the Reshi isles to do trading, but Vstim is very sick. Gu, the flotilla's guide, takes them there, guiding them since the islands move. Rysn is quite shocked and amazed when she realizes that the moving islands are huge great shells. The group lands on one of the islands, and Vstim tells Rysn that she must go and trade with the Reshi, as he is too ill to do so. He tells her to be bold, and although Rysn is nervous, she agrees to do so. Kyrlm and Nlent, two of the guards, accompany her as she ascends the island. While Rysn is observing the island, she sees Axies hanging upside down. They talk for a bit, and then Rysn and the guards continue their way up the island. They make it to the king, and as Rysn approaches to speak with him, Talik, a Reshi trader, comes forward to speak on his behalf. Talik is disappointed that Vstim himself did not come to trade, and initially turns her away. Rysn is insistent in her trade, wishing to prove herself to Vstim, and the king eventually relents so that Rysn is speaking to the king, and not to Talik. The Reshi are opposed to trading with Rysn since they do not yet respect her and do not know if they can trust her. The king eventually dismisses Rysn, telling her that she did very well. Rysn, worrying that Vstim is dying, instead insists on talking to the greatshell that is the island, Relu-na . She slides down the side of the head on a rope and begins to talk with it, pleading her case. Talik attempts to bring her back on top of the island, but Relu-na takes a bite of the fruit at the bottom of the rope and breaks it, causing Rysn to fall. As she crashes into the water, Relu-na cushioned her fall, and Rysn fell unconscious. Rysn wakes up in a hut on the island with her legs paralyzed. She sees Vstim, a Reshi healer, and Talik around her. They scold her for her stupidity, but Rysn insists that it was boldness, to allow for the trade. Rysn realizes that it was all a test that Vstim had set up for her to trade, and feels foolish. Vstim reveals that the trade was for a larkin corpse, but that Rysn has been granted a live larkin by the island itself. Vstim and Rysn will stay on the island while Rysn's legs heal.
POV: Rysn Ftori·On page: Nale, Vstim
Source: Coppermind
Section 4: Interlude: Last Legion
Eshonai, Thude, and Bila examine a gemstone with a captured Stormspren inside that Venli believes will allow them to rediscover stormform. Bila thinks that anything that will help in the war against the Alethi is worth it, but Eshonai worries about provoking the old gods. They depart, and Eshonai decides that she will see her mother. On her way, she sees a group of Parshendi that have chosen the dull-form, the form most like the Parshmen . Eshonai questions them on the cause of their transformation, and they respond that they do it so the Alethi will not kill them when they come. Eshonai is concerned by this response but understands that the Parshendi are free to choose their own forms, as they are no longer ruled by the old gods. Continuing on her way, Eshonai eventually arrives to see her mother, who suffers from dementia and believes Eshonai to be her sister, Venli. Despite her mother's declining memory, Eshonai is still able to elicit some information from her regarding Parshendi history. Her mother tells the story of the Last Legion, the Parshendi warrior-people who rejected the old gods, giving up advanced thought and knowledge of the forms of power in exchange for freedom. This left them with only dullform and mateform, but the Last Legion had composed songs as a way to remember the many forms of old in hopes that they would one day be rediscovered. Before Eshonai leaves, her mother gives her a sack of old maps from Eshonai's days as an explorer, which makes her long for the past. Eshonai leaves her mother's house to attend a meeting with the Five regarding Venli's plan to attempt rediscovery of stormform. Eshonai is hesitant, expressing her concerns regarding the old gods, but eventually agrees to the plan under the condition that she be the first one to try assuming the new form, as Venli's studies and knowledge of the forms are too valuable to risk undergoing the transformation herself.
POV: Eshonai, Shallan Davar·On page: Pattern, Klade, Demid
Source: Coppermind
Part 2: Winds' Approach
Chapter 13: The Day's Masterpiece
Tanatakah 1173 Shallan travels towards the Shattered Plains on one of Tvlakv's wagons. She sits next to Bluth, one of the stoic mercenaries hired by Tvlakv, who drives the wagon. She distracts herself by studying their surroundings - the flora of the southern Frostlands is completely unfamiliar to her. When they stop at midday for a meal, Shallan asks Tvlakv to set up one of the empty slave wagons as a carriage for her. Wooden sides, typically used as protection for the slaves during highstorms , are hooked onto the sides of the cage to provide her some privacy. She also gets the cage's key from Tvlakv, though he seems hesitant to give it to her. She crawls across the newly enclosed wagon - her feet are injured and standing on them is painful enough to make painspren appear - and opens the lid to Jasnah's trunk. Pattern, who had been instructed to stay hidden, waits inside. Shallan tells him that the notes need to reach the Shattered Plains, and that she intends to finish Jasnah's work of finding Urithiru and convincing the Alethi that the return of the Voidbringers is imminent. Pattern confirms that the threat from the Voidbringers is real and that they are the reason he was sent to her. As she continues to go through the contents of the trunk, Shallan finds a sketch she had done of Jasnah and is overcome with grief over her mentor's death, as well as the loss of the rest of her sketches. She also laments the loss of the broken Soulcaster , which is at the bottom of the ocean, and speculates that the attackers could have been from the same group as Kabsal and her father ( The Ghostbloods ).
POV: Shallan Davar·On page: Pattern·Mentioned: Jasnah Kholin
Source: Coppermind