text stringlengths 1.73k 3.83k |
|---|
the floor while other arms reached up to grab your mouth and neck. The living humans struggled with wide eyes. Some of those phantom hands had long knifelike carapace fingernails. One at a time, they slit the throats of the captives. Venli looked away, sick to her stomach. She had to walk through blood to follow Raboni... |
alcohol. That stopped when Rlain stepped in behind Syl. Kaladin winced at how obvious it was. The people of the tower knew about Rlain—he was nearly as famous as Kaladin—but … well, Kaladin heard what they said about him. The “savage” that Dalinar had somehow “tamed.” Many treated Rlain like some dark unknown quantity ... |
without perpetuating the system, eventually causing the common people to suffer more than if you’d refused. Kaladin found fault in that reasoning, but hadn’t been able to explain it to Lirin. And so he doubted he could explain it to a piece of divinity—a literal embodiment of hope and honor. He could just do his best t... |
detail, and hues of her forms were improving. Maybe they were right. Maybe he should take part more in the meetings with the battle-shocked men. He just wasn’t sure he deserved to divert resources or time from them. Kaladin still had a family. He had support. He wasn’t locked away in darkness. How could he worry about ... |
stumbled away and Venli managed to dash over and catch her, keeping her from tumbling to the ground. Raboniel sagged, her eyes drooping, and Venli held her tight, attuned to the Rhythm of the Terrors. Cries continued in the hallway outside. “Is it done?” Venli asked softly. Raboniel nodded, then righted herself and spo... |
best to keep him facing sideways, in case of vomit. And he was trembling, the muscles of his arms spasming faintly. “Might be a kind of aftereffect,” Kaladin said. “Some addicts feel them for years.” Not seizures though. “If it’s not that, then…” “What?” Rlain asked as the winehouse owner pushed through the crowd to se... |
Navani’s soldiers. When he glanced at Navani, he had that same wild cast as before. His hands were free, so he raised them toward her. One of the soldiers reached to stop him, but wasn’t fast enough to prevent the captive from tapping his wrists together. The Windrunner salute. He made the gesture again and again as th... |
a great time to show yourself to me!” Nothing. The winehouse had grown quiet, many of them staring at Kaladin as he steamed with Stormlight. “Kal?” Rlain called from the doorway. Kaladin shifted Teft on his shoulders, then strode after Rlain. Stormlight didn’t seem to give one much additional raw strength, but it did s... |
That Full Lashing worked. When he touched his boot to that patch of stone, it stuck in place. He reclaimed the Light without any problems. So … Adhesion worked but Gravitation didn’t? “I have no idea what is going on,” Kaladin said to Rlain. “This can’t be a coincidence,” Rlain said. “You losing some of your powers? Th... |
was lit with spheres and crowded with worried people. When Kaladin’s mother saw him, she immediately began clearing room for him to pass. “Lirin!” she shouted. “Another one!” Kaladin jogged down the hall to the first exam room, where a Radiant—in an Aladar uniform—lay on the exam table. He recognized her. Another Stone... |
the tower. “You were wrong, Rlain,” Kaladin said. “It’s not a raid. This is an invasion.” * * * Several of the women clustered around Red, who was breathing, but unconscious. Navani let the others deal with the Lightweaver. She reread the lines the phantom spren had written. The Sibling. The third Bondsmith spren. Not ... |
of them—four full knights and their squires—remaining in the tower. “But Brightness,” the guard said, taking the note she handed him, “you’ll be unguarded.” “I’ll manage,” she said. “Go!” He hesitated, perhaps trying to determine if Dalinar would be angrier at him for abandoning Navani or for disobeying her. Finally he... |
was a very different thing from a soldier’s knife. A surgeon’s knife could be a subtle thing, meant to cause as little harm as possible. A delicate contradiction. Like Kaladin himself. He reached out to touch one of them, and his hand didn’t shake as he’d feared it would. The knife—glowing in the spherelight as if it w... |
for light. He halted upon seeing Kaladin, then moved with exaggerated calmness, smiling in a friendly way. Storms. If his father put on that face, things really were bad. “Put down the knife, son,” Lirin said softly. “It’s all right. You aren’t needed.” “I’m well, Father,” Kaladin said. “I just … wasn’t quite ready to ... |
against the wall. “We … we need to find a way to contact Dalinar and Jasnah. The spanreeds aren’t working?” “None of them,” Lirin said. “No fabrials at all.” “How are they using the Oathgates?” Kaladin asked, settling down on the floor of the hallway. “Maybe it’s the Skybreakers,” Syl said. “But … I don’t know, Kaladin... |
“Stormform Regals, mostly. Pouring in through the basement. But there are Heavenly Ones landing on balconies all up and down the lower levels.” “Damnation,” she muttered. The enemy had the library rooms then. And the pillar. Was that where the Sibling resided? She glanced at the battalionlord again. A lean, balding man... |
disregarding that, I don’t think barricades would be a prudent strategy. “Yes, I plugged the stairwells to slow them, but they have stormforms, and I have reports of Fused who can move through stone. They’ll blast and burn away what we put in front of them. If you want us to hold, we’ll hold as long as we can—but I wan... |
fight down and clear a path for the queen. By the blood of our fathers!” They scrambled into motion, the various lesser officers calling for runners to deliver orders. Navani didn’t miss their delayed response. They’d moved only after hearing the command from Teofil. These soldiers would fall over themselves to do her ... |
said. “But if it doesn’t work … I need to know how the enemy is treating the people on the upper floors as we withdraw the troops. Think you can have a scout find that out for me?” He nodded, and she read understanding in his expression. Fused usually occupied rather than destroyed. Honestly, they generally treated the... |
are a slaver, the Sibling said. “Am I better than a Fused?” The Sibling didn’t respond at first. I’m not sure, they said. I have avoided your kind. You were supposed to think I was dead. Everyone was supposed to think I was dead. “I’m glad you’re not. You said you were the soul of the tower. Can you restore its functio... |
it might stop the Fused from corrupting me further. “Please,” Navani said. “Let me help. Please.” You cannot be trusted. “Let me show you that I can.” I … You will need Stormlight, Navani Kholin. A great deal of Stormlight. Of course, I admit this is a small quibble. A difference of semantics more than anything. Venli ... |
“It is in his nature.” He turned, looking upward through the stone. “The Radiants we capture are dangerous. They have skill beyond what we anticipated, considering the newness of their bonds. We should behead them, each and every one.” “No,” Raboniel said. “I will need them. Your orders are the same as what I told the ... |
take as their own everything they see. Yet they do not understand that by holding so tightly, they cause the very thing they desired to crumble. They truly are children of Honor.” Raboniel turned from the mural and strolled farther down the hallway, approaching an intersection where doors opened on either side. These l... |
are ready? Yes, their works crumble. Yes, their nations collapse from within. Yes, they end up squabbling, and fighting, and killing one another. “But in the moment, they are the sprinter who outpaces the steady runner. In the moment, they create wonders. One cannot fault their audacity. Their imagination. Surely you’v... |
would be a wonderful blessing to all the people of the land. With him around, it always had been easier to rationalize the price in blood. Regardless of their feelings, they had to keep moving. They’d given Battalionlord Teofil an hour to gather his assault force and send some initial sallies to clear the landing. Duri... |
morale was thin as a sheet of paper. The trickle of soldiers became a flood. Fleeing men, chased by flashes of light and thunder that made Navani hastily stuff her ears with the wax. She spared a moment of grief for the slowest of the fleeing soldiers, who sold this ruse with their lives, dying in a bright flash of lig... |
on Kaladin’s shoulder, whispered the interpretation—but the woman translated right afterward anyway. “Dark ones in the corridors,” the woman said. “They … are staying?” “We don’t know yet,” Kaladin said. “For now, it’s best to remain in your rooms. Here, I brought water and some rations. Soulcast, I’m afraid. We’ll sen... |
the singer asked. “When they were forced into dark rooms, locked away and ignored? Did you spare any concern for them, surgeon?” Kaladin bit off a response. This wasn’t the kind of taunt where the speaker wanted an answer. Instead he looked down. The singer, in turn, stepped forward and snapped his hand at Kaladin to s... |
the small rooms for various storage dumps. “Now what?” asked Elthebar, the stormwarden. Navani wasn’t particularly happy to have the tall man along; he looked silly with his pointed beard and his mysterious robes. But he’d been in the map room with them, and forbidding him hadn’t seemed right when she needed every mind... |
to infuse was relatively small—limiting the potential size differential. She moved up next to Ulvlk and Vrandl, the two Thaylen scholars. Both were artifabrians of a very secretive guild. “Almighty send we can make this work in time,” Navani said as thunder echoed behind them. “So that is why you brought us,” Vrandl sa... |
the gemstone on the wall, it trailed a small stream of Stormlight. Like how Light behaved when a Radiant was sucking it in. That did the trick, infusing the wall gemstone in seconds. The Sibling had explained what was coming, but Navani still jumped when—upon being infused—the fabrial made the entire wall shake. It par... |
Four.” “That’s not what I meant.” Rlain turned toward him, green moonlight shining against his carapace and skin. “If I try to hide among the humans, I will be courting disaster. Assuming I could somehow stay out of sight, someone is going to reveal me to the Fused. Someone will think I’m a spy for the enemy, and after... |
she helped pull him out of the deep waters. “They’re all going to leave, aren’t they?” she whispered instead. “Moash, Rock, now Rlain … every one of them. They’re going to leave. Or … or worse…” She looked at Kaladin, uncharacteristically solemn. “They’ll all go away, and then there will be nothingness.” “Syl,” Kaladin... |
though it did have metal wire running around it. And why did it have a glass globe, the size of her fist, set off to the side in its own nook and attached to the gemstone by wires? As her scholars worked, emptying one gemstone after the other, Navani brushed the back of her freehand fingers against a vein of garnet in ... |
to fight down such steep and uncertain footing while harried by Fused and Regals. Yet the humans made a valiant run of it. They locked shields and moved together with a precision that Venli’s sister had always admired. While listeners would fight as warpairs, in tune with one another and the rhythms of Roshar, humans s... |
of the formation of humans, swinging out with arms bearing sharpened carapace. The formation shattered as the men frantically tried to reorient to this new foe—but of course the Pursuer zipped back into the air. He left behind a dummy, a fake carapace version of himself. The humans began stabbing it repeatedly as the r... |
and how much the people resisted. “Shatter that sapphire,” she said to her scholars. “Destroy the entire fabrial, cage included, and that glass globe. Send people to both the map room and the information vault to burn our maps of the tower. The rest of you, join me. We must find a way to deliver a formal surrender with... |
small human—not a singer, but a human, with odd eyes and hair that waved in an unseen wind. Ulim. The first Voidspren she’d ever met, all those years ago. “Lady of Wishes,” he said, performing a flowery bow. “We have located the Blackthorn’s wife, queen of this tower.” “Oh?” Raboniel asked. “Where was she hiding?” “A D... |
she’d willingly done to others? It was the enormous flaw in Gavilar’s reasoning. If their strength justified their rule of Alethkar, then what happened when someone stronger came along? It was a system that ensured there would always be war, a constant clash for rule. She was able to use such high-minded philosophical ... |
saying something. Whatever it was, the Regal didn’t seem to have expected it, for when she spoke again her voice cadence had changed markedly. “The Lady says, ‘She comes to me as a queen, though she will leave without the title. For now she may speak when she wishes, as befitting her rank.’” “Then let me offer surrende... |
known this Lady of Wishes could speak Alethi. Or perhaps she was surprised to hear one so high speak to a human. “I have unusual hobbies,” Navani said. Raboniel folded the sheet of paper and finally met Navani’s eyes. “They are remarkable. I would like to hire you.” “… Hire me?” Navani asked, taken aback. “You are no l... |
in answer to your question, I’ve seen Queen Navani and the head of the Fused army together. She confirmed the surrender to me. We are to live under singer law, and not resist.” “Stormwinds,” Kaladin whispered. “I never realized how blind I’d feel without spanreeds.” It had taken hours for any sort of factual informatio... |
the enemy. Battles stretched on for months, instead of occurring in decisive engagements. Nobody quite knew how to fight a war like this—well, nobody on their side, at least. “I keep waiting,” Kaladin said, wiping his brow again, “for the thunder to hit. The lightning struck last night. We saw the flash, and need to br... |
her pocket and gave it to Kaladin as he found himself yet again wiping his brow. Then she left to go visit Laral—who had seen the messenger before them and already knew the situation. Kaladin reluctantly joined his father and walked down the long hallway past the patient rooms toward the family’s living quarters. “What... |
Besides, what did he think he was going to do? Fight a war against the invaders all by himself? After Navani had surrendered? Before retiring, they checked on the unconscious people in the patient rooms. The Stoneward was completely out cold, less responsive than Teft, though Lirin was able to get her to take soup by s... |
told by messengers. All Radiants are to be taken into custody.” “These are my patients,” Lirin said. “They were entrusted to my care. Please; they’re no danger to you like this.” “Your queen accepted these terms,” the Regal replied. “Complain to her.” Kaladin peeked out the door into the hallway. A Regal led five ordin... |
said to the singers. “And leave quietly. Send one of the Fused to get him, if they’re so insistent.” The two froze, and the Regal sized him up. “Go back to bed, boy,” he eventually said. “You don’t want to try my patience today.” Lirin dashed forward, trying to push Kaladin out of the room. With a quick pivot to the si... |
As it was, he was able to hold on—not letting the enemy force him back too much—until the Regal tried another punch. At the windup, Kaladin hooked his leg around the foot of his opponent, then sent them both to the ground. He landed with a grunt and tried to roll into position to choke his opponent unconscious. If the ... |
he corrected. You’re no surgeon. He looked across the room at the singer who huddled beside the far wall. He’d watched, stunned, and hadn’t intervened. “Haven’t been in many fights, have you?” Kaladin asked, hoarse. The singer jumped, his eyes wide. He was in warform, so he appeared fearsome, but his expression told an... |
knelt before the body. It had stopped moving, finally. “We’ll need to hide,” Kaladin said to his father. “I’ll fetch Mother.” He surveyed his bloody clothing. “Perhaps you should do that, actually.” “How dare you!” Lirin whispered, his voice hoarse. Kaladin hesitated, shocked. “How dare you kill in this place!” Lirin s... |
shouts in the singer tongue began to sound behind him. THE END OF Part Two Vyre was unchained. Moash, the man he’d once been, had lived his entire life chained up and never known it. Oh, he’d recognized the bonds the lighteyes used on him. He’d experienced their tyranny both directly and indirectly—most painfully in th... |
… I am leaving.” “Very well,” Vyre said, working. “You’re … not angry?” “I can’t be angry,” he said, truthfully. “Nor can I feel disappointment.” After all these months together, she still didn’t understand—because she rushed to explain, worried he’d be upset, despite what he’d said. “I don’t want to go on these raids ... |
They were models of behavior the humans needed to learn to follow. When disputes happened, the singers forced men to be fair to one another. After all, when the parents came home, it was their duty to remove privileges if they found a mess. Humankind had been given millennia to prove they could self-govern properly, an... |
guise of a mighty Fused, majestic like a king should be. Vyre walked closer and knelt. “You can take me without a storm now, Lord?” OUR CONNECTION GROWS STRONGER, Odium said. I HAVEN’T NEEDED A STORM TO BRING YOU INTO A VISION FOR MONTHS NOW, VYRE. I USUALLY DO IT FOR TRADITION’S SAKE. That made sense. Vyre waited for ... |
you show me anything?” YES. “Could you show him anything?” I HAVEN’T THE CONNECTION TO HIM. Odium considered, humming softly to a rhythm. I SEE A WAY. THERE ARE HOLES IN HIS SOUL. SOMEONE COULD GET IN. SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HIM, SOMEONE CONNECTED TO HIM. SOMEONE WHO FEELS AS HE DOES. “I will do it.” PERHAPS. YOU COULD INFL... |
got through. Two turns and a straight crawl later, they entered a small intersection where she’d left a sphere for light. The roof of the tunnel was a little higher here, letting her settle with her back against the stone wall so she could inspect her prize. Wyndle came in on the ceiling, taking the shape of a growing ... |
was actually her domain. The adults were too big, and the other children too frightened. Plus she could glow—when properly fed—and her awesomeness could get her through tight squeezes. A year ago, there hadn’t been nearly as many of those as there were now. Stupid, stupid, stupid. They eventually reached her nest, a la... |
spren like me. Still, I don’t believe her capable of lying. It isn’t something she could conceive of, I believe.” “She’s not the liar,” Lift said, closing her eyes. Storms. She’d made the wrap too tight. She could barely breathe. “It’s the other one. The one with a dress like leaves, merging into the underbrush. Hair l... |
things felt right, Lift thought, I was with her. Before she got sick. And I was her little girl. If she saw me now, she wouldn’t recognize me. A few strange spren, like faces mocking her, faded in nearby. Wyndle slowly wrapped his vines around her. Gentle, like an embrace. Though others could barely feel the touch of t... |
of feet!” “Cowardspren.” “Wisdomspren, if anything!” he said, but kept weaving as she scrambled upward. The red chicken barely dodged another attack in the sky before darting in toward a balcony above and vanishing from her sight. The green chicken rounded, and she got a good look at it. Wicked talons, a sharp knifelik... |
didn’t regrow the lost feathers, but in a moment the thing had rolled over and was picking at the bare skin on its side with a tentative beak. Finally, it looked at her and released a confused squawk. “It’s kind of what I do,” she said, and shrugged. “I’m ’posed to listen too. Damnation take me if I can figure out how ... |
sort of thing. The chicken let out an angry screech, fluttering out of her hands to the man. Then—in perhaps the most heart-wrenching thing she’d ever seen—it began to nuzzle the corpse and chirp softly. It climbed into the crook of his dead arm and pushed its head against his side, chirping again, more worried this ti... |
he hadn’t. Perhaps … perhaps Taravangian’s service wouldn’t be needed today. Perhaps the plan had changed. Weak, frail hopes for a weak, frail man. He so wished he could be smart. When had he last been intelligent? Not brilliant—he’d given up on feeling that way again—but merely smart? The last time had been … storms, ... |
A god made you what you are. He held up the pages and read through them, squinting without his reading spectacles. The cramped handwriting listed instructions, spliced together with original pieces of the Diagram. Most of it detailed the ploy to unseat Dalinar by the careful reveal of secrets—a plan designed to bring t... |
were more ornate than last time, red and gold, with a sword tied at the waist. It was a presentation meant to stun and awe, and Taravangian couldn’t help but gasp. It was so gorgeous. He forced himself out of his seat, falling again on painful knees, bowing his head but unable to tear his eyes away from the magnificent... |
be led in this glory by the one who should have been their king…” As the god mused, Taravangian noticed something—a light emanating from Odium. It pulsed, making his skin transparent, glowing from within. There was a … sickly feel to it somehow. Indeed, Odium stopped and seemed to concentrate, making the light retreat ... |
of plans ruined by Renarin Kholin. The implications of that seemed profound now. Odium wasn’t able to see Renarin’s future. No one could. The scar had expanded. Taravangian turned away quickly, not wanting to draw Odium’s ire. Yet right before looking away, Taravangian saw something half-consumed in the black scar. His... |
bragged about his plans, but Taravangian knew firsthand that you could plan and plan and plan, but if one man’s choices didn’t align to your will, it didn’t matter. A thousand wrong plans were no more useful than a single wrong one. “Don’t be too pained, Taravangian,” Odium said. “Dalinar won’t kill you immediately. He... |
created by the sudden withdrawal of Stormlight, though the science of the two phenomena are not identical. You will be left with a captured spren, to be manipulated as you see fit. —Lecture on fabrial mechanics presented by Navani Kholin to the coalition of monarchs, Urithiru, Jesevan, 1175 The Windrunners rose around ... |
At this point, there was only a single one he knew of who was willing, but didn’t have a bond. But that was another problem for another time. Lopen and Drehy moved up beside him, floating slowly, brilliant Shardspears forming in their waiting hands. Kaladin reached overhead and seized his own spear as it formed from mi... |
Heavenly Ones, and they had access to Shardweapons. One might have thought these advantages insurmountable, but the Heavenly Ones were ancient, practiced, and cunning. They had trained for millennia with their powers, and they could fly forever without running out of Voidlight. They only drained it to heal, and—he’d he... |
The Heavenly One couldn’t go as fast as a Windrunner, and so she focused on sudden turns or weaving around obstacles—requiring Kaladin to moderate his speed and remain unable to press one of his strongest advantages. He followed, the chase thrilling him in part because of how well Leshwi flew. She turned again, this ti... |
launching it toward her. She, unfortunately, glanced behind at just the right moment, allowing her to narrowly dodge the spear. It crashed to the ground, splintering, the head smashed up into the shaft. Recovering, Leshwi pulled upward in a stunning move, soaring past Kaladin, who—in the moment—lost concentration and n... |
pillar of radiance he’d created the first time he’d done this, today’s beacon was still powerful enough that it was difficult to look directly at it. In the past, the Fused had focused their attacks on Dalinar. Today they buzzed the ship—but didn’t try to strike at the Bondsmith. They were afraid of him for reasons nob... |
silly hood and trying to depose the Kholin monarchy, Veil thought. These people … “It’s only treason if you accept Dalinar’s family as rightful rulers,” Shallan said to him. “I do not. But if we can truly help House Sadeas assert itself … These secrets could be worth thousands of broams. I would share them with Queen S... |
discover if the woman really did have a spy in Dalinar’s court. That meant taking a few risks. Red was the first one they’d embedded into the Sons of Honor, but his persona—that of a darkeyed workman—hadn’t been important enough to get any real access. Hopefully, together they could— Shouts rose nearby in the chasm. Ve... |
leveled it at the enemy’s neck. The Fused met his eyes, then licked his lips, waiting. The creature began to slowly drop from the sky, his Light expended, his powers failing. Killing him does no good, Kaladin thought. He’ll simply be reborn. Still, that was one Fused out of combat for a few days at least. He’s out anyw... |
new Fused, the one I told them about earlier. He moved toward me as a ribbon of red light—like a windspren, but the wrong color. He can fly incredibly quickly, and could strike at one of us up here.” “Will do…” she said. “If you’re sure you don’t need any help…” Kaladin pointedly ignored that comment and dropped toward... |
they moved in a not-so-subtle way over near Dalinar, keeping a watch on the sky for red lines of light. Kaladin glanced upward as one of the Heavenly Ones shot past, chased by Sigzil. “That’s Leshwi,” Kaladin said, launching into the air. I find this format most comfortable, as it is how I’ve collaborated in the past. ... |
then rested against the wall—Teft still weighing heavily on his shoulders—and fished a chip from his pouch. The small topaz was barely enough to see by, but he needed it as the Stormlight he was holding finally gave out. And he didn’t have many spheres left. He grunted under the weight of his friend, then pushed himsel... |
extended period of time. He moved on, thankfully, going deeper along the path Kaladin had been taking. Storms … Kaladin had defeated the thing last time without any Stormlight, but he had done so by playing on its arrogance. Kaladin doubted it would let him get such an easy kill again. Those singers in the clinic … one... |
He was ready to breathe in his last spheres of Stormlight, but wouldn’t until the last moment. Footsteps scraped the corridor to Kaladin’s right, and the walls slowly bled with red light. Kaladin held his breath, ready, his back to the wall. The Pursuer froze just before reaching the intersection, and Kaladin knew the ... |
level. They couldn’t have managed to place people in every hallway or stairwell. The net closing around him had to have gaps. He began searching. Down a side corridor, he found shadowy figures approaching. And in the next stairwell. They were relentless, and everywhere. Plus, he didn’t know this area any better than th... |
along the crystal vein. He followed it to the doorway, then watched it cross the hallway to the room on the other side. He hesitated only briefly before putting away his weapon and hauling Teft onto his shoulders once again. He stumbled across the hallway outside—and one of the approaching people said something in Azis... |
Closer to the Shattered Plains, most everything was flat, grown over by only the occasional rockbud. Yet here, not so far away, plants thrived in abundance. Her people made frequent trips to the forest to get lumber and mushrooms. However, they always took the exact same route. Up the river a day’s walk inward, gather ... |
to the storm and marched away, abandoning their very gods in the name of freedom. Eshonai would use that freedom. Instead of sitting by the fire and complaining, she would experience the beauties Cultivation offered. And she would ask the best question of them all. What will I discover next? Eshonai continued walking, ... |
doing fine.” Fine? Venli had spent years memorizing the songs, while Eshonai barely did anything useful. Venli was better than fine. She was excellent. Except … she’d forgotten an entire stanza? She looked at her mother, who was humming softly as she worked the loom. “The nineteenth stanza isn’t that important,” Venli ... |
songs like me. It’s her duty too, as your daughter.” “Yes, you are correct,” Jaxlim said. “But Eshonai has a bold heart. She merely needs to learn that her family is more important than counting the number of hills outside the camp.” “I have a bold heart!” Venli said. “You have a keen and crafty mind,” her mother said.... |
you.” Venli nodded, then hummed the same rhythm, attuning Praise to be in sync with her mother. She felt love, warmth, acceptance from those fingers. And knew whatever else happened, her mother would be there to guide her. Steady her. With a song that pierced even storms. Her mother returned to her weaving, and Venli b... |
be the one who carried her people to greatness. Out of the crem and toward the skies. The Five were gathered around the firepit amid the trees, discussing offensive tactics for the upcoming battle. That mostly equated to which boasts to make, and which warriors to let cast their spears first. Jaxlim stepped up to the e... |
wiser choice, and the more dangerous one, Navani Kholin.” Raboniel hummed a different tone. “I do not find the schematics for your flying machine in these notes.” Navani made a show of debating it, but she’d already considered this issue. The secrets of the flying platform would be impossible to keep; too many of Navan... |
that you should have made so many advances that we never dreamed of in epochs past, yet you’ve forgotten the far simpler method your ancestors used.” “We … we didn’t have access to spren who would talk to us,” Navani explained. “Vev’s golden keys … this … I can’t believe we didn’t see it. The implications…” “Lateral mo... |
your power. You can just kill me once you have everything you want. She smiled at Raboniel, however. “I would like to check on my scholars, Lady of Wishes, to see how they’re being treated, and find out the extent of our … losses.” That made one point clear, Navani hoped. Some of her friends had been murdered. She was ... |
sketches then,” Raboniel said. “And write about the experiments they’d done before the occupation. I can see that their new theories get tested.” Did that mean there was a way to get fabrials working in the tower? “As you wish.” Then she got to work on the real problem: planning how she was going to get them out of thi... |
by Kaladin’s spear. Three corpses, including his brother. “No!” Kaladin screamed, ragged and hateful. “How dare you show me this? It didn’t happen that way! I was there!” He turned away from the corpses, looking toward the sky. “I didn’t kill him! I just failed him. I … I just…” He stumbled away from the dead boys and ... |
us,” a voice said, “so we could suffer.” Moash. He stood on the edge of the chasm near Kaladin. The man turned, and Kaladin saw his eyes—black pits. “People think you were merciful to us. But we both know the truth, don’t we? You did it for you. Not us. If you were truly merciful, you’d have given us easy deaths.” “No,... |
have come in through some sort of vent high in the wall. Her appearance brought with it a measure of his sanity. He released a shuddering breath as she flitted down and landed on his outstretched palm. “I found a way out,” she said, taking the shape of a soldier wearing a scout’s uniform. “I don’t think you’d be able t... |
project with inspiration renewed; the answers are all that should matter. —From Rhythm of War, page 1 undertext The wood lurched under Dalinar’s feet, and he grabbed a railing to steady himself. “Skybreakers!” he shouted. “Trying to get at the fabrial housings!” Two figures in blue leaped off the deck nearby, bursting ... |
Mink made a quiet order to one of the waiting scribes, who transferred it. Dalinar guessed—correctly—he’d ordered a harrying strike of light riders along the left flank. Those filled the Veden back rows with arrows, distracting them to further stress the wavering lines. “I do have to admit,” the Mink said to Dalinar as... |
“Another ploy to negate the Oathgates,” Dalinar agreed. “That device they used on Highmarshal Kaladin must have been some sort of test. They’ve knocked out Urithiru for a while to isolate us.” The Mink leaned out, squinting at the armies below. “Something about this smells wrong, Blackthorn. If this was merely a ploy t... |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.