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write it. You must release the captive Unmade. She will not fade as I will. If you leave her as she is, she will remain imprisoned for eternity. Rlain found her crying. Venli could count on her fingers the number of times she could remember crying. Not merely attuning Mourning, but actually crying. Today she couldn’t h... |
“There are daily transfers to Kholinar. Raboniel has released me from my duties here, and given me a writ allowing me to requisition whatever I need. I should be able to procure a spot in the next transfer, and from there go with some Heavenly Ones on a scouting mission out to the Shattered Plains.” “And in so doing, y... |
“Maybe,” Dul said to Appreciation. “So we go to Kholinar, but then what? We’re back where we began.” “We take the supplies, and we use this writ to leave the city,” Venli explained. “We hike out to the east and disappear into the wilderness to the east of Alethkar, like my ancestors did so many generations ago.” Then w... |
movable tube. However, she liked the sound of the plates best. They were difficult to increment, but she could order new ones cut and crafted quickly. Her study morphed from music theory—where some philosophers said that the true opposite of sound was silence—to mathematics. Mathematics taught that there were numbers a... |
she should have wanted to shout for joy, she simply sat there staring. She ran her hand through her hair, which she hadn’t put up today. Then she laughed. It worked. * * * The next day—washed and feeling slightly less insane—Navani incremented. She tested how loud the tone needed to be to produce the desired effect. Sh... |
attempt to see if temperature could blank the tone of Voidlight. “What are you not telling me?” Raboniel said to a musing rhythm. “I find your behavior … intriguing.” She glanced to the side as her daughter trailed into the room. The younger Fused was drooling today. Raboniel had a servant periodically put a cloth agai... |
from the floor. “Let me know if you require further equipment.” “Thank you,” Navani said from her desk. Raboniel lingered as Navani recorded her notes about the ice water experiment. Navani managed to appear unconcerned right until she heard the plates being shifted. She turned to see Raboniel pulling out the new one, ... |
refused.” “Yes, but haven’t I led you to a weapon?” she asked. “Haven’t I given you the secrets you needed to make it this far? Within reach of something that could kill a god? All because we worked together. Let’s take this last step as one.” Navani debated. She knew that Raboniel wasn’t lying; the Fused would rip thi... |
think it doesn’t emit the rhythm itself,” Raboniel said, “but echoes it. Picks it up.” “Like spren pick up mannerisms from humans,” Navani said. “Or how a piece of metal can be magnetized by touching a magnet over a long period of time.” “Ingenious,” Raboniel whispered. “We’ll see,” Navani said. She grabbed her bow, th... |
arm and hauling her along. They found chaos. The desk had exploded, and Raboniel lay on the floor. The Fused’s face was a mask of pain, and her front had been shredded—her havah ripped apart, the carapace scored and broken, the skin at her joints stuck with pieces of glass. Or diamond? She hadn’t taken much shrapnel to... |
but I’ll need to eventually move you out of this room and have it scrubbed for every scrap of raysium. We might be able to melt it down and reforge the dagger.” Navani nodded. “For now,” Raboniel said, “I would like you to make me another gemstone filled with that anti-Voidlight.” “Now?” Navani asked. “If you please.” ... |
her forever, didn’t you?” “No more rebirth,” Raboniel whispered. “No more Returns. Free at last, my baby. Free.” Navani pulled her hand up to her chest. That pain … she knew that pain. It was how she’d felt hearing of Elhokar’s death at the hands of the bridgeman traitor. Raboniel had done this killing though. Performe... |
weeping were now firm and unyielding. “So much for your words about working together,” Navani said. “And you dared imply I was wrong to keep trying to hide things from you.” “I will end the war,” Raboniel said. “That is the promise I will keep, for today we have discovered the means. Finally. A way to make certain that... |
replied. “It merely grows brittle. I think we’d sooner see a chull fly than see your father grow soft.” He must have noticed that the topic legitimately worried her, because he turned away from the gibes. “I’d bet that he’s fine, Hesina. Some men are too ornery to be bothered by something as mundane as an invasion.” “H... |
see that your thoughts and feelings are evolving on this topic—and because you’re you, they’re going the absolute wrong direction.” Lirin sighed. He stood and grabbed the stack of bandages, then turned to leave their little draped-off chamber. Storm it, she wasn’t done with him yet. Hesina rose, surprised at the depth ... |
side of the room, where a man with only one arm sat on a stool, painting the glyph on a young girl’s head. She ran off to her duty as Lirin and Hesina arrived. The man stood respectfully. Bearded, wearing a buttoned shirt and trousers, he had three moles on his cheek. He nodded to Hesina and Lirin. Almost a bow. As far... |
She left him standing there and returned to her maps. Trusting in him, and the man she knew he was. Adin was going to be a Windrunner someday. He had it all figured out. Yes, he was just a potter’s son, and spent his days learning how to turn crem into plates. But the highmarshal himself had once been a darkeyed boy fr... |
anymore. He didn’t want a spren to see him acting weak. What was going on? He went up on his toes, trying to look over the crowd, but his father didn’t let him linger. Together they entered the market, then turned toward Master Liganor’s shop. It felt strange to keep following their normal routine. How could they conti... |
tubby, he looked like a vase—the kind that had been made with too short a neck to really be useful. But he was nice. “Something’s happening, Alalan,” the master said. “Something in the atrium. I don’t like it. I think I’ll close the shop today. Just in case.” Adin’s father nodded calmly, still shaping his current pot. ... |
away faster and faster. He’d wake from a nap in his chair and the entire day had passed. Usually it was the pain that woke him. He wasn’t simply old. He wasn’t simply feeble. This was worse. Today, Taravangian forced himself to move to keep from drifting off again. He hobbled through his prison of a house. Trying so ha... |
else did he know? What other clues could he give himself? Odium has greatly expanded intelligence, he wrote. He can be in many places at once and can command the elements. But he feels the same way a man does. He can be tricked. And he seems to have a central … self, a core person. Szeth had refused to listen to Tarava... |
too close to a Bondsmith. Something itched at Taravangian through the fear and confusion. Sja-anat … she spoke like she wanted Odium to fall. Wasn’t there something in the Diagram about this? He tried to remember. Storms. Was she tricking him into confessing? Should he stay quiet and not say anything? No. He had to try... |
Walking among the dead, he couldn’t help but hear Taravangian’s terrible—yet hauntingly logical—voice. There was a way to see the war ended. All Dalinar had to do was stop fighting. He wasn’t ready yet, but the time might come. Every general knew there was a time to turn your sword point down and deliver it to your ene... |
is, they knew exactly how many troops to put in Emul to lure us in with a large enough force—but they also knew to cut their losses if the battle turned against them.” “You’ve been extremely helpful,” Dalinar said. “Just remember your promise. Alethkar next, then Herdaz.” “Urithiru before both,” Dalinar said. “But you ... |
colors. Squint your eyes a little, and everything is really just color and shapes.” Dalinar inspected the moving illusion. It depicted the entire camp of people, and most interestingly a large pavilion at the center. It was colored in ringed patterns, like the bracelets he’d seen Tukari wear. He thought they had religi... |
daring insist they should not be killed, but should instead be reconditioned. Repurposed. —Musings of El, on the first of the Final Ten Days Jasnah leaned back in her chair, lit by spherelight. The spanreed report had just arrived; today’s conflict with the enemy armies had ended. The coalition forces had won. Emul was... |
situation at Urithiru. Even the Heralds knew little of this Sibling, the secretive tower spren. She needed to present this to the other Veristitalians, see what they could tease from it all. Yet the words of the Heralds cast doubt on her second guiding principle—that the past was the best gauge of the future. There was... |
couldn’t literally see the future.” “Ah, but you see, I was rigging the games. So I did know the future—as much as Odium does, anyway. I shouldn’t have been able to lose. Yet I did.” “How?” “Someone else rigged the game so that no matter what move I made, I could not win. The game was a tie, something I hadn’t anticipa... |
“I hate that tradition even when played for lower stakes.” “Says the woman who used me in a ploy to manipulate that very tradition not two weeks ago.” “Lower stakes,” Jasnah repeated, “involving a meaningless loss such as your death.” “Jasnah!” “Wit, you’re immortal,” she said. “You told me yourself.” “And you believed... |
you trust the hearts of those who fight on your side?” She paused, and hoped he didn’t read too much into it. Staring at the contract, she couldn’t help but feel outmatched by all of this. She, who had been preparing for nearly two decades for these exact events, felt uncertain. Did she trust her own heart, when confro... |
line, Venli grabbed her scepter and hurried up the steps. The others ahead of her wore workform or nimbleform, so she towered over them in envoyform. There were a variety of different levels a person could have in the singer culture. Normal people—simply called singers, or common singers—had ordinary forms such as work... |
however, was among Odium’s elite. She wasn’t the most powerful, but was lofty compared even to most Fused. Part of Leshwi’s favor had to do with her prowess in battle, but Venli suspected an equal measure came because she’d maintained her sanity over the centuries. The same could not be said for many, though the Heaven... |
not until they brought the new recruit forward—a young femalen in workform, bright lines of red marbling her otherwise black skin. Venli hummed to Indifference, pretending to inspect the newcomer—whose name was Shumin—though they’d met several times in secret. Finally, Venli stepped up to Leshwi, who was still being sh... |
then selected a fruit from the bowl offered nearby. She inspected it for flaws. “You are compassionate to them, despite your attempts to appear stiff and stern. I can see the truth in you, Venli, Last Listener.” If that were so, Venli thought, I would undoubtedly be dead by now. “I favor compassion,” Leshwi said, “so l... |
fashions and clothing will not suit a Fused,” Venli Voiced. “The designs will be unfamiliar to you.” “I … I live to serve…” Yokska said. Venli glanced at Leshwi and knew immediately from the lady’s hummed tone that this servant would be rejected. Was it the woman’s mannerisms? Too cowering? Perhaps she didn’t look pres... |
would eventually encourage them to shed—of their own choice—the burdens of both Fused and human society. “You may speak now,” Venli said to Shumin. Venli changed her rhythm to that of Confidence—one of the old rhythms. The true rhythms, uncorrupted by the touch of Odium. “Stormfather!” Shumin said, turning to Dul and M... |
excited by that idea, so Venli tried to take strength from memories of her sister. Using that Light, she peeked into Shadesmar: the Cognitive Realm. Timbre pulsed to Concern. They’d tested Venli’s other power—the ability to mold stone—only once, and it had drawn secretspren. A kind of specialized spren that flew throug... |
tie up. This was different. She knew it was. She leaned forward. “We have two current plans. The first is to find sympathetic Fused and convince them we deserve this privilege. They respect Passion and courage.” “Yeah, sure, but…” Shumin shrugged in a human way. So casual. “There’s a big difference between respecting P... |
were willing, and she needed to prepare her friends for the path. “Long ago,” Venli explained to Shumin, “the singers were allies of the spren. Then humans came, and the wars started. The events of those days are lost to all but the Fused—in the end, however, we know the spren chose humans. “Eventually, the humans betr... |
was so tired. Eventually he managed to calm himself enough to free his hands. He searched around the black chamber, but saw nothing. They hadn’t left out any lights. Teft, however, was snoring softly. Everything was all right. Kaladin was … was all right.… He fumbled around his mat, looking for the canteen he’d placed ... |
asked. “I’m going to meet him,” Dabbid said. “Fourth floor. Something’s happened with Venli that has him really shaken. He didn’t want to talk in the infirmary.” “Tell him the plan is a go,” Kaladin said. “Someone needs to inform the queen. Do you think you two can get to her?” “Rlain thinks he can,” Dabbid said. “I wi... |
wrong building. Surely this was a storage room where they were keeping extra furniture gathered from the surrounding abandoned towns. But no, Dalinar was merely accustomed to austerity. It was an Alethi wartime virtue for a commander to eschew comfort. Dalinar had perhaps taken this idea too far on occasion—but he’d be... |
the position of Prime, and the empire itself, more than an elevation of the individual man. From what Dalinar had heard, they’d had trouble appointing this most recent Prime. The reason for that was, of course, standing directly behind Dalinar: Szeth, the Assassin in White, had killed the last two Primes. At the same t... |
as Dalinar knew, he couldn’t read Alethi. “Tell it to me straight.” Dalinar braced himself. “We have practically no chance of recovering Urithiru,” Jasnah said in Azish, her voice barely accented. “Our scouts confirm that fabrials don’t work near it. That means if we were to re-create a smaller version of my mother’s f... |
to stop Radiants.” “Undoubtedly,” Jasnah said, “that is the method the enemy used to get into the tower. They will be guarding against this same tactic.” “So what?” Yanagawn said, chewing on some nuts he had hidden in a pocket of his oversized robes. “Jasnah, you argue against every point Dalinar makes. Are you saying ... |
to continue an argument. “Very well then, let us discuss Urithiru.” “Your powers will work,” Dalinar said, “at least partially. You have said the Fourth Ideal.” “Yes,” she said. “I have—though the Stormfather is uncertain whether the fourth oath will truly allow a Radiant to withstand the suppression. Am I correct?” “Y... |
see to more … spiritual matters. Jasnah and Wit are preparing a contract for me to present to Odium, once we have pushed him to come speak to me again. “Until we can make that work, I need to do something to help. I need to bring Ishar to our side—then see if he can teach me how to restore the Oathpact and help me resc... |
the meeting,” Dalinar said. “They bothered me, Jasnah. But perhaps in a good way. Who in the world would dispute an idea as fundamental as hope? Yet because we all accept it as vital, we don’t think about it. What it really means. You do.” “I try,” she said, glancing back toward the Prime’s palace. “Tell me. Am I pushi... |
willing to give them.” She pulled the book close. “I consider it among the greatest honors I have ever been offered, Uncle. Be warned, however, I am not known for my brevity. This could take me years. I will be thorough, I will offer counterpoints, and I may undermine your entire argument. But I will be respectful.” “W... |
If I weren’t a coward, Venli thought. “What if we got you a different host? A singer who cares, like Rlain.” Timbre pulsed. “What do you mean?” Venli demanded. “You can’t want me. I’m an accident. A mistake.” Another pulse. “Mistakes can’t be wonderful, Timbre. That’s what defines them as mistakes.” She pulsed, more co... |
Venli said. “But just in case, take the map too. You’ll need it to find your way to the other listeners in secret.” “Where are you going?” Dul asked. Venli hummed to the Lost. “I think we should offer to bring the surgeon and his family—including their son, the Windrunner—out with us. Help them escape the tower, take t... |
to the Fused in the hallway playing notes on metal plates and demanding new ones—until one final sound had echoed against the stone hallways. A chilling, awful sound that was wrong in all the right ways. Raboniel had found the tone. The tone that could kill spren. Should Navani feel pride? Even in that time of near mad... |
hair, a narrow hawkish face with a prominent nose and sunken cheeks. Moash. The murderer. “I continue to have use for the queen,” Raboniel said. “My orders are from Odium himself,” Moash said. If a Fused’s voice was overly ornamented with rhythms and meaning, his voice was the opposite. Dead. A voice like slate. “He or... |
through the open stairwell toward the ground floor. Navani slumped in the doorway, objections withering in her throat. She knew he was wrong, but she couldn’t find her voice. Something about that man unnerved her to the point of panic. He wasn’t human. He was a Voidbringer. If that word had ever applied to any, it was ... |
failure, and his imprisonment. And they made it something better. He couldn’t help feeling that this was it. The last time he’d wear the uniform, his final act as a member of Bridge Four. One way or another, he had to move on from the life he’d been clinging to and the simple squad of soldiers who had formed the heart ... |
a spear. But perhaps it could offer him an edge in another capacity. With Syl flying as a ribbon of light beside his head, he strode into the atrium—with that endless wall of glass rising as a window in front of him. An equally endless hollow shaft in the stone rose up toward the pinnacle of the tower, surrounded by ba... |
inched along the wall toward the infirmary. Storm him if having his own personal spren wasn’t the best thing that had happened to him, other than Bridge Four. She could be a little crusty at times, which made them a good match. She also refused to accept his excuses. Which made them an even better match. Kaladin starte... |
stood, though he first had to unstick his clothing from the floor. Storming Stormlight. He looked down and found the front of his shirt had been burned clean through. He glanced to Phendorana, who had grown to full size. She folded her arms thoughtfully. “What?” he asked. “Your hair is standing up,” she said, then grin... |
The Pursuer kneed Kaladin in the gut, then twisted to get him in a hold. “So foolish!” Kaladin writhed, barely able to keep from being immobilized. Syl flitted around them. As the Pursuer tried for a lock, Kaladin twisted around and met the Pursuer’s eyes, then smiled. The Pursuer growled and repositioned to press Kala... |
in front of the door with no fallen Radiants to upset his footing. All Moash did at first was open a sack and throw something out across the floor nearby. Black sand? What on Roshar? Teft held out his weapon, Phendorana at his side, but the knife seemed tiny compared to Moash’s weapon: the assassin’s Honorblade. The on... |
because of the numbers. “Fine,” he said. “Let’s ask your superior, so I can get on with my duty.” They pulled him away, and Dabbid followed, whimpering softly as they were led—step by step—farther from their goal. Well, if the Sibling wanted him down there for some reason, they’d have to find a way to get him out of th... |
life can’t prepare you for something you’ve never met before, Defeated One! It can’t prepare you for someone who does not fear you!” Kaladin pulled out his boot knife and raised it. The Pursuer, seeing that coming, didn’t do what he should have. He didn’t try to grapple or knee Kaladin’s stomach. He panicked and shot a... |
to Exultation. “The Pursuer has used all of his husks. He will need to flee and renew.” “Why doesn’t he?” Venli asked. “Look,” Leshwi said, and pointed at the silent atrium. A perimeter of soldiers with humans crowded behind them, peeking through. Fused in the air. All staring at the two combatants. An incredible soldi... |
hands—and stopped. It threw sparks, but it stopped. Teft gritted his teeth and held on as Moash finally showed an emotion. Surprise. He stumbled back, his eyes wide. Teft let go, and Phendorana appeared beside him on the ground, puffing from exertion. He felt sweat trickling down his brow. Manifesting her like that—eve... |
Because I die knowing I’m loved.” Moash grunted and dropped him to the ground. Then he stabbed Teft directly through the neck with his Shardblade. Confident, and somehow still full of hope, Teft died. For ones so soft, they are somehow strong. —Musings of El, on the first of the Final Ten Days The highstorm blowing out... |
Stormblessed. Trembling, Kaladin retrieved and deactivated Navani’s device, then returned to the center of the room. He could feel their energy propelling him. A counter to the darkness. He turned toward the infirmary. The door had been opened. When had that happened? He stepped toward it, but could see the Radiants in... |
of the infirmary. There Moash waited until the Pursuer came flying back as a shameful ribbon of light. The Pursuer formed a body, and Moash pushed Lirin into the creature’s hands. “This is Stormblessed’s father,” Moash whispered. “No! Don’t say it loudly. Don’t draw Kaladin’s attention. His father is insurance; Kaladin... |
the hallway with immense agony. That done, she moved to the end of the corridor. The room with the crystal pillar seemed darker than she remembered it. The Sibling had been almost fully corrupted. Raboniel stood with her hand pressed against the pillar to finish the job. Navani forced herself forward, dagger held in a ... |
Syl landed on his shoulder, arms wrapped around herself, and said nothing. What was there to say? It was over. It was all just … over. What was there to life if he couldn’t protect the people he loved? Long ago, he’d promised himself he’d try one last time. He’d try to save the men of Bridge Four. And he’d failed. Teft... |
… returns.” “You tell me to run, after I tried to kill you?” “Not … tried…” Raboniel said. “I … cannot hear rhythms.… My soul … dying…” She pried open her eyes and fixed them on Navani. “You … tricked me well, Navani. Clever, clever. Well … done.” “How can you say that?” Navani said, glancing toward the desk and the pa... |
her, Leshwi descended until her feet touched the ground, then she bowed her head. Show her, Timbre pulsed. What you are. “What? Now?” Show her. Reveal what she was, in front of everyone? Venli shrank at the thought, attuning the Terrors. One by one the other Heavenly Ones touched down, as if in respect. For an enemy. “... |
and they met near the vast window, flashing with lightning. The Pursuer tried to grab him, and Kaladin welcomed it, folding into the deadly embrace—then expertly slamming them both up against the window. Kaladin pressed the Pursuer to the glass—the storm outside flashed, shaking the tower, vibrating it and splashing it... |
a Heavenly One who tried to block his path. Kaladin … He left that Heavenly One broken and dying, then tore through the upper chambers. Where? The roof. They’d make for the roof to escape. Indeed, he found another Fused blocking the stairwell up, and Kaladin slammed Navani’s device into the Fused’s chest and locked it ... |
to maneuver his Shardblade to fight off the crazed Fused who grappled with him. Move! Navani thought to herself. Raboniel was trying to buy time. Even with renewed vigor, Navani didn’t get far before the pain became too much. She stumbled into the room with the crystal pillar, abandoning thoughts of trying to escape in... |
Investiture and Connection to the Spiritual. But just briefly. Do it, Dalinar said. Give him more time. * * * Venli hummed to Agony as the slaughter began. Not of the Radiants, not yet. Of the civilians. As soon as the Pursuer’s soldiers started toward the helpless Radiants, the watching crowd of humans went insane. Le... |
“If he keeps pushing, he’ll have me. So I have to go.” THAT IS A LIE, the Stormfather said. IT IS HIS ULTIMATE LIE, SON OF HONOR. THE LIE THAT SAYS YOU HAVE NO CHOICE. THE LIE THAT THERE IS NO MORE JOURNEY WORTH TAKING. He was right. A tiny part of Kaladin—a part that could not lie to himself—knew it was true. “What if... |
armor. Storms, he was on a battlefield from his youth. The exhaustion had taken a toll on him. He was hallucinating. The surgeon in him was worried at that. A young squadleader walked up, haggard. Storms, he couldn’t be older than seventeen or eighteen. That seemed so young to Kaladin now, though he wasn’t that much ol... |
there, to help them not feel so alone as it happened.” “You were terrified. I saw your eyes.” “Of course I was.” Tien looked at him as the charge began, and the enemy advanced up the hillside. “Who wouldn’t be afraid? Doesn’t change that I needed to be here. For them.” Kaladin remembered getting stabbed on this battlef... |
finally asked. “Are you real? Or is this something made by the Stormfather, or Wit, or someone else?” Tien smiled, then pressed something into Kaladin’s hand. A small wooden horse. “Try to keep track of him this time, Kal. I worked hard on that.” Then Kaladin dropped suddenly, the wooden horse evaporating in his hand a... |
them. If anything, it had made the Pursuer’s soldiers more determined as they attacked. They seemed to enjoy the company of the angerspren and painspren. Some of the humans had wrestled away weapons, but most of them fought unarmed, trying desperately to keep the Radiants safe. “I don’t know what to do,” Venli whispere... |
Dabbid. But the fray ended quickly, and the side with the humans won. Few of the singers seemed to want to fight Fused, and so the troops fled, leaving the dead behind them. “What?” Dabbid asked softly, the two of them hanging back in one of the side corridors where some human civilians—brave enough to watch, but not s... |
best. Behind him, other matters drew Rlain’s attention. The humans and singers were already squabbling. “You need to submit,” Leshwi was saying, hovering above them in her imperious Fused way. “I will explain to Raboniel that the soldiers were uncontrolled and didn’t obey my orders.” “And you think she’ll let us walk?”... |
he did. Transporting a bunch of unconscious people would be slow, and there was a highstorm outside. “Rlain,” Venli said to Awe. “You gave orders to a Fused.” He shrugged. “It’s all about an air of authority.” “It’s more than that,” she said. “How?” “I had good teachers,” Rlain said, though he was a little surprised hi... |
and supplies to the townspeople. He’d never recovered from his battle shock, however, and didn’t have Radiant powers. He wasn’t so much a squire as someone Kaladin and the others looked after. The rest had all ascended to at least the Second Ideal. That made them more than a squire, but not yet a full Radiant—having bo... |
smile, for a moment. Then they started to break apart into small clusters, usually a Knight with their squad of squires. His friends all had their own teams now. Even Teft was pulled away by one of the groups, though his squires had been in Bridge Thirteen—and they had stayed behind to guard the ship. In fact, many of ... |
against the scars in his forehead, wishing he could shrivel away. Like the eyes of a person struck by a Shardblade. In moments like this—alone and huddled on the floor of a dark room, tormented by agonyspren—Moash’s words found him. The truth of them became undeniable. Out in the garish sunlight, it was easy to pretend... |
Highmarshal Stormface. Change your coat to one that doesn’t smell like smoke, then come with me. You don’t have to smile. You don’t have to talk. But if you’re going to be miserable, you might as well do it with friends.” Kaladin extracted his arm from Adolin’s grip, but didn’t resist further. He grabbed new clothes—to... |
pronounced edicts, tyrannical or wise. He was the type of general who drank with his men and learned the names of every soldier. Dalinar disapproved. In most cases Kaladin would have as well. But … this was Adolin. He’d have gone mad if he’d been forced to remain aloof. It went against every traditional Alethi protocol... |
of the Codes of War, so would Kaladin. And barring that … well, his friends knew. When Kaladin was in one of his moods, alcohol—for all that it seemed it would help him forget his pain—always made the darkness worse. He could use Stormlight to burn off the effects, but once he had a drink or two in him, he often … didn... |
drink. “If you decide you want to try that yellow…” she said to Kaladin. “Thanks, Mel,” Adolin said quickly. “But he doesn’t need anything to drink today.” The barmaid gave him a radiant smile—married man or not, they still treated him that way—and floated off, seeming encouraged by the fact that the highprince had spo... |
hair. “What about Hem over there? She’s tall.” “Great. Tall,” Kaladin said. “Because we both measure roughly the same in inches, we’re sure to get along. Think of all the tall-person topics of conversation we could engage in. Like … Hmm…” “Oh, don’t be sour,” Veil said, smacking him on the shoulder. “You didn’t even gl... |
cup. “Where’s that storming barmaid?” “You sure you haven’t had enough?” Adolin asked. “Am I sitting up straight?” “A vague approximation.” “There’s your answer,” she said—sliding out of the booth by moving over him in a maneuver that involved a lot of her touching a lot of him—then went picking through the crowd for t... |
these, so I know he’s right. I’ve known for months.” “Very well,” Adolin said. He nodded curtly. “So it is. What are we going to do about it? How do you get better?” “You don’t. Dabbid, the guy in my crew? The one who doesn’t talk? Battle shock, like mine. He’s been like that since I recruited him.” Adolin fell silent.... |
to know about all kinds of things like this.” “Surely you can give some advice, Kal,” Adolin said. “Let her know you care,” Kaladin said. “Listen to her. Be encouraging, but don’t try to force her to be happy. And don’t let her be alone, if you’re worried about her.…” He trailed off, then shot Adolin a glare. Adolin sm... |
friends. And Cord, she wanted to train. Ha! She says Horneater traditions and Alethi traditions to be foolish. First Shardbearer among my people was not nuatoma, but young woman.” “It could have been you, Rock,” Kaladin said. “Either with those Shards you won, or as a Radiant with your own spren. We need you. I need yo... |
Even cook can kill rat he finds in his grain.” He grinned, and Kaladin knew him well enough to realize it was a joke. Rock held out his arms for an embrace. “Come. Give me farewell.” Feeling like he was in a trance, Kaladin stood. “Will you return? If you can, after?” Rock shook his head. “This thing I have done here w... |
and for the moment she forgot Moash. She forgot the tower. She was someplace else. Not good enough. Not a scholar. Not a creator. You have no fame, accomplishment, or capacity of your own. Everything that is distinctive about you came from someone else. “Lies,” she whispered. And they were. They truly were. She pressed... |
to … The two snapped into harmony. The boundless energy of Cultivation, always growing and changing, and the calm solidity of Honor—organized, structured. They vibrated together. Structure and nature. Knowledge and wonder. Mixing. The song of science itself. That is it, the Sibling whispered to the Rhythm of the Tower.... |
try to do the same. I’m sorry, son. For my part.” He reached up and brushed aside Kaladin’s hair to see the brand there. But as he did, he found scabs flaking away, the brands falling off to the stones below like a shell outgrown, discarded. Clean, smooth skin was left behind. Kaladin reached to his forehead in shock. ... |
the equipment made sense. They were armed mostly with spears, though some had steel swords. “They’re ready for us all right,” the Azish Windrunner said, steadying Dalinar in the air so he didn’t drift away. “Brightlord, I don’t like this.” “We’re all Radiant,” Dalinar said, “with plenty of gemstones and a Bondsmith to ... |
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