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were not. There was a pattern to them that she was growing better at understanding. And there was a mood at times to their tones, almost like a rhythm. She crawled closer along the desk, trying to listen. It was difficult. Chiri-Chiri did not like listening. She liked to do what felt right. Sleeping felt right. Eating ... |
what you’ve done, Rysn, the more dangerous it will be for you.” “I realize this,” she said. “But … Babsk … I had to tell someone. I need your wisdom, now more than ever.” “My wisdom does not extend to the dealings of gods, Rysn,” he said. “I am just an old man who thought himself clever … until his self-indulgences nea... |
they were required. Taravangian awoke hurting. Lately, each morning was a bitter contest. Did it hurt more to move or to stay in bed? Moving meant more pain. Staying in bed meant more anguish. Eventually he chose pain. After dressing himself with some difficulty, he rested at the edge of the bed, exhausted. He glanced ... |
He wasn’t trying to be a problem. People took their minds for granted. They thought themselves wonderful because of how they’d been born. “Traitor!” a voice called into the room. “You have a visitor!” Taravangian felt a spike of alarm, his fingers shaking as he closed and gripped the notebook. A visitor? Szeth had come... |
Taravangian. Taravangian watched Renarin walking away, wishing he had the courage to call after the boy. Foolish emotions. Taravangian was not lost in darkness. He had chosen this path, and he knew precisely where he was going. Didn’t he? “He is wrong,” the guard said. “We can’t all return from the dark. There are some... |
did not care which Taravangian he was speaking to. “I don’t understand your manipulations,” the man said as he walked away. “I should have realized I wouldn’t be able to understand the way your mind works. All I can do is refuse.” He left, sending the other guard back to watch Taravangian—who stood gripping his little ... |
strong all these years later. We have to work around him. “The new storm,” Venli whispered. Yes. It’s been building in Shadesmar for centuries. We need to get our agents close enough to it on this side—a place that is out in the ocean, mind you—so they can use gemstones to pull my brothers and sisters across. Then thos... |
to all the other singers in the world? They’re slaves. “Yes,” Venli said. “Proof that my ancestors were wise in leaving.” Yeah, please don’t say that around any of my friends, Ulim said. You’ll make me look bad. Your ancestors were traitors. And no matter what you do, the humans will make you fight. Trust me. It’s what... |
they did.” They got lucky. Doesn’t mean they weren’t traitors. “Perhaps they knew what Ba-Ado-Mishram was going to do, and so they attuned Wisdom, not Betrayal, in their actions.” She knew the name, of course. As a keeper of songs, she knew the names of all nine Unmade—who were among the gods her people swore to never ... |
people, Ulim whispered. Once you give them additional forms, they will revere you. Worship you. She wanted that respect. She wanted it so badly. But she forced herself to listen to what her ancestors had done, four hundred of them striking out alone, wearing dullform. The fools were inbred, then, Ulim said. No wonder …... |
attune an emotion she didn’t feel; doing so felt like a worse kind of lie than she normally told. Not a lie to others, or to herself. A lie to Roshar. Timbre pulsed comfortingly. These were dangerous times, requiring dangerous choices. “That sounds an awful lot like the things Ulim told me,” Venli whispered. Timbre pul... |
how to minimize the formation of sores on the humans’ bodies and how to spot signs of dehydration. When Venli and Rlain entered, the surgeon’s wife—Hesina—hurried over. “Is this them?” she asked Rlain, helping him with the crate. “Nah, it’s my laundry,” he said to Amusement. “Figured Venli here is so mighty and importa... |
complex,” she said. “Is there a map here of the tunnels under the tower?” Rlain dug for a moment, then pulled out a map. “Here,” he said. “Why?” Venli took it reverently. “It’s one of the few paths of escape, Rlain. I came in through those tunnels—they’re a complicated maze. Raboniel knew her way through, but I doubt I... |
said, “it is Lady Leshwi’s favor. Without it, the Pursuer would kill you, no matter what you did to prove yourself. He’d kill other Fused, if he thought it would let him fulfill his tradition. And the others would applaud him.” Lirin grunted—a human version of Derision, she thought—as he knelt beside a Radiant and lift... |
some kind of ink. “What is that?” Venli asked. “Nothing, Brightness,” the man said, pulling out of Lirin’s grip. “Just a little reminder.” He moved on, but one of the other water carriers—a female this time—had a similar marking on her forehead. “It’s a shash glyph,” Lirin said. As soon as Venli knew it was writing, he... |
reach the top, Adolin had strolled vertically up the inside of the fortress wall. His body thought he had been walking on the ground. However, at the end of the path, he’d reached the battlements. Getting onto them had required stepping off what seemed to be the edge of the ground. As he’d done so, gravity had caught h... |
nearby was an unusual group of spren. It had begun about two weeks ago as a few scattered individuals, but those numbers grew each day. At this point, there had to be two hundred of them. They stood on the coast all hours of the day, motionless, speechless. Deadeyes. “Storms,” said Vaiu. “There are so many.” Vaiu was A... |
what is happening here.” Adolin glanced at his other guard, Alvettaren. She wore a breastplate and a steel cap—both formed from her substance, of course—above close-cropped hair. As usual she stared forward, her lips closed. She rarely had anything to add. “It is time for today’s legal training,” Vaiu said. “You have v... |
fell in powerful spouts; if a spray got beyond about fifteen feet high, the water would suddenly break off the top and stream down toward the actual ground rather than back toward the wall plane. Storms, this place didn’t make any kind of sense. Radiant turned away from the fountain and tried to focus on the people she... |
mind reeled at the thought. She took a deep breath, slowing near a group of trees—real ones from the Physical Realm, kept alive with Stormlight instead of sunlight—that were the centerpieces of this park. The tops were so high that when leaves fell off, they drifted down toward the real ground, through the middle of th... |
in the Recreance. Tall men and women with heroic builds and clothing that—though made of stone—seemed to ripple in the wind. How odd that they’d made these; after all, the real individuals were still around, though deadeyed. Pattern bobbed over to her. He was easy to tell from other Cryptics; he had an excitable spring... |
killed her mother, were you surprised? Did you know she was going to do something that drastic?” “I … don’t remember,” Pattern said. “How can you not remember?” Radiant pressed. He remained quiet. Radiant frowned, considering the lies she’d caught him in during the last few weeks. “Why did you want to bond a human, Pat... |
“I try to be worthy of trust. That is not a lie. But I have brought someone for Shallan to meet. I think it is important.” He stood with a smooth inhuman motion, then gestured behind him with one long-fingered hand. Radiant frowned and glanced over her shoulder. Leaves from the trees farther up the plane lazily drifted... |
the heel of her foot down first and rolling toward the toe. She knew to walk on the sides of her feet as much as possible, not letting the flats slap. She got right up behind Sixteen as he hunched over, fiddling with some notes. She grabbed him by the shoulder, then spun him around. His hood fell, revealing his face. H... |
experiments cluttered her desk. She didn’t have the least bit of interest in continuing them. Why would she? Everything she’d attempted so far had been a sham. She wrote out her daily instructions to the scholars—she was having them perform tests on Voidspren fabrials, which Raboniel had delivered before everything wen... |
indistinguishable cadence to her words. “So very, very long ago. What has it been? Seven thousand years? I don’t think you can comprehend how tired I am of this war, Navani. How tired all of us are. Your Heralds too.” “Then let’s end it,” Navani said. “Declare peace. Withdraw from the tower and I will convince Dalinar ... |
majority of elements, when combined, produce no reaction. I’d have long ago named these two things immiscible if I hadn’t seen Towerlight.” “It is what gave me the original idea,” Raboniel said. “I decided if there was a hybrid between Honor’s Light and Cultivation’s, there must be a reason no one had mixed Odium’s Lig... |
Why is there a rhythm that makes plants grow?” Navani dug in her materials and began setting up an experiment. “I have asked myself this question many times,” Raboniel said. “But it seems like asking why gravity pulls. Must we not accept some fundamentals of science as baselines? That some things in this world simply w... |
you hoping to accomplish?” “I thought that perhaps if we melded the two songs, we could find the proper harmony that would come from a combination of Stormlight and Voidlight.” “It won’t be that easy,” Raboniel said. “The tones would need to change to find a harmony. I’ve tried this many times, Navani, and always faile... |
Honor’s tone and beat. Raboniel did so, and it struck Navani like a wave, making her tone falter. She almost lost it, but the gemstones were her guide. Navani sang louder, trying to hold that tone. In turn, Raboniel sang more forcefully. No, Navani thought, taking a breath then continuing to sing. No, we can’t fight. S... |
are those powers? Gravitation, Division, Transformation … the fundamental Surges that govern all things. You said that nothing simply is. I accept that, and your wisdom. But by that same logic, the gods—the Shards—must work not by mystery, but by knowledge.” She turned the gemstone in her fingers, then met Navani’s eye... |
patrol. She breathed quietly, trying hard not to let the majesty of this human building overwhelm her. Ulim assured her that her people had built equally grand structures once, and they would again. They would build such amazing creations, this palace of Kholinar would look like a hut by comparison. Would that she coul... |
here!” she hissed after they passed. “Couldn’t your friend have brought the gemstones into the basement, where all the other listeners are?” “I … lost contact with her,” Ulim admitted. “You what?” Venli said. He whirled on the floor, then the lightning rose up to form his little humanlike figure. “I haven’t heard from ... |
knew there was a way to travel from this world to the place the humans called Damnation. The land of the Voidspren. Many thousands of spren waited there to help her people, but they couldn’t get free without some Surge or power. Something to … pull them across the void between worlds. So what did this mean? Had his age... |
She had to strike out on her own. Perhaps she could sneak back the way she’d come? She ripped up the note, then dumped it out the shaft with the waste. She attuned Determination and slipped from the room. “You there!” She cringed, attuning Mourning. One hallway. She hadn’t been able to cross even one hallway. A human s... |
attuned Disappointment, but nothing was going to happen. She’d probably suffer nothing more than a talking-to from her sister. Part of her would rather be locked up. She nodded anyway. In truth, she found the man’s actions surprisingly rational. Keeping her close would stop anything she might have planned—and if she tr... |
by your king. You will authenticate it.” “I’m not sure…” the scribe woman said. “You will authenticate it,” the man repeated. Perfectly void of emotion or rhythm. He made Venli feel cold. Particularly as he turned toward her. Behind him, the scribes began scribbling with their spanreeds. The newcomer blocked most of Ve... |
careful. You must tell me! How did you accomplish his return?” So cold. A voice with no rhythms, and no human emotions. Yet those words … He was raving. Perhaps it wasn’t that he measured time differently, but that he was addled? Though she’d been considering telling him the truth, that instinct retreated before his de... |
will be enough to buy him.” “I don’t understand,” Venli said. Nale looked at Ulim on her shoulder. “This Shin man bears Jezrien’s Blade. And he is expertly trained in its employ.” He looked back to Venli. “I judge you innocent of any crime, using provision eighty-seven of the Alethi code—pardon of a criminal who has a ... |
first. But in the end you will rule, Venli. Can you pay this small price now, for untold glories in the future? If it meant being strong enough to never again be weak? Never again feeling as small as she had today? “Yes,” she said, attuning Destruction. “What do we do?” So, words. Why words, now? Why do I write? Shalla... |
to help,” Veil said. “But you should have come to me. I’m Veil, by the way. I could have helped you.” Pattern hummed softly. Veil got the sense that he didn’t trust her completely. Well, she wasn’t certain she trusted her own mind completely, so there was that. “There’s a lot to think about in what you said,” Veil said... |
whereupon he had promised to answer all her questions. “You should equip yourself with Stormlight,” Mraize suggested. “If you have not found Restares, there is a chance he knows you are there—and that could be dangerous. He is not the type to fight unless cornered, but once pushed, there are few beings as dangerous on ... |
an appointment for instruction. The honorspren were quite clear: His offer, worded as it had been, let them condemn him as a traitor and murderer. Though that hadn’t completely been his intent, this trial would let them pin the sins of the ancient Radiants on him. Before they did so, they wanted him to understand prope... |
have had a strong effect on many honorspren. They preach isolation. Others listen.” “It’s so extreme,” Adolin said. “They must see there is a better way of dealing with their anger at humans.” “Agreed. A better solution is. I would simply kill you.” Adolin started. “… Excuse me?” “If a human tries to bond me,” Blended ... |
testimony against you. However, factoring in how weak your grasp of legal systems is, well … this choice is best.” Adolin felt a tremble deep inside. He wished for a fight he could face with sword in hand—but that was the trouble. Any given Radiant could do better than he at such a fight, so his expertise with the swor... |
order to prove you wrong, they need only prove that bonding men is a risk. That past failings of men justify wariness.” “Everything is a risk,” Adolin said. “Yes. Which is why this trial … is not strong for you. This truth is, Prince Adolin.” “To hear you say it like that,” he said, trying to laugh about it, “it sounds... |
him to follow in another direction, and he soon saw why. A disturbance was occurring on the ground plane, near the gates into the city. A moment of panic made him wonder if his friends had decided to rescue him against his wishes—followed by a deeper worry that all those deadeyes outside had snapped and decided to rush... |
humming to Curiosity. Human women working the large tubs of sudsy water turned as they scrubbed. Men who were toiling at bleaching vats—with long poles to move the cloth inside—stopped and wiped brows. Chatter became whispers. Rlain. Traitor. Reject. Oddity. He kept his head high—he hadn’t lived through Bridge Four to ... |
know something about me,” Rlain said. “I figured maybe if you did, you would stop making things up.” He nodded to them, then forcibly attuned Peace as he went back to tie the pillows into place on the top of his cart. As he began wheeling it away, the whispers started again. “You heard him,” the first woman hissed. “He... |
and like many people, he briefly basked in the light coming through the large eastern window. There was always a lot of traffic in here these days. Though only the privileged among the singers were allowed to use the lifts, people of both species came here for light. He crossed the atrium with his cart, then pushed it ... |
Lirin said. “And haven’t seen any. Nothing so far. As for the Pursuer, Venli says that we should be safe from him, so long as that Heavenly One, Leshwi, protects us.” “I don’t know how much I trust any of them, Lirin,” Rlain said. “Particularly Fused.” “Agreed,” Lirin said. “What games are they playing? Leshwi didn’t e... |
than most, but he’d been there for Kaladin’s most dramatic transformations. Stormblessed was alive in the tower somewhere, planning his next move. Hesina continued to pore over the map of the tower’s sixth floor—but Rlain noticed something else. Hesina had set another map aside, one of the Shattered Plains. Rlain unrol... |
was a Bridge Four tattoo like Rlain’s own. Dabbid kept his eyes down, walking with his characteristic sense of mute subservience. “I think that man was one of Kaladin’s friends,” Lirin said. “Am I right?” Rlain nodded, then hummed softly to Anxiety and stepped out into the main room. He and Dabbid had often been set to... |
it had come to life and started talking to him. Its hatred crushed him. Left him trembling. He screamed for Syl, then remembered that he’d abandoned her. He couldn’t remember how he’d come to this terrible place, but he remembered that. Plain as a dagger in his chest. He’d left Syl alone, to lose herself because he’d g... |
solid crack to his head and a flash of light. Hate. Hate. Hate. He lay there. Letting it rail. Letting it pummel him. Was it time? Time to finally let go? He forced himself to look up. And there—in the distance along the bottom of the chasm—he saw something beautiful. A pure white light. A longing warmth. The sight of ... |
he didn’t hurt any longer. In fact, he could see now that he was in a nightmare. He was asleep. He must have fallen unconscious after fleeing into the tempest. Storms … What kind of fever did he have to prompt such terrible dreams? And why could he see it all so clearly now? Wit looked up at the tumultuous sky far abov... |
empty stomach.” Kaladin waited for more, some insight or encouragement. Wit merely ate, and so Kaladin tried to do the same. Though the stew was perfect, he couldn’t enjoy it. Not while knowing that the storm awaited him. That he wasn’t free of it, that it was going to get worse. “Wit?” Kaladin finally said. “Do you … ... |
this not the part where I speak yet?” “You people,” Wit said. “A dog is a hound, like an axehound.” He held up his palm, and a creature appeared in it, four-legged and furry, like a mink—only larger, and with a different face shape. “It is funny, you can’t realize,” Wit said. “Humans will selectively breed for the same... |
never known. Today he’d seen perfection, and had been presented with a goal. From today, nothing else mattered. “He was going to become a dragon.” “Hint,” Design whispered to Kaladin, “that’s impossible. A dog can’t become a dragon.” “Design!” Wit said, turning on her. “What did I tell you about spoiling the ending of ... |
the other animals where the farmer obtained new ones. “It turns out, the farmer could make seeds by putting them in the ground, waiting for plants to grow, then taking more seeds from the stalks. Knowing this, the dog borrowed some seeds and did the same, accompanying the farmer’s eldest son on his daily work. As the y... |
with the baby, stayed with him, and listened as he began to form words. The dog played with the daughter too, helped her with yard work. He soon found he could understand her, if he tried hard. But he couldn’t form words. “He tried so hard to speak as they did, but his mouth could not make that kind of speech. His tong... |
soared like the dragon had! He felt the air around him, and knew the sensation of being up high, with everything below him. When he landed, he felt so proud and so free. “Then the other dogs laughed the loudest they had ever laughed. ‘That is not flying like a dragon!’ they said. ‘You fell slowly. You looked so stupid ... |
he did, the dog sadly thought to himself, ‘I could not become a dragon. I am an utter and complete failure.’ “The end.” Wit clapped his hands, and the images vanished. He gave a seated bow. Design lowered her flute and flared out her pattern again, as if to give her own bow. Then Wit picked up his bowl of stew and cont... |
do—and then he’ll destroy me. I have violated our agreement, which exposes me to his direct action. I’d rather not be killed, as I have seven more people I wanted to insult today.” Kaladin nodded, standing up again. He realized that somehow, the story fired him up. He felt stronger, less for the words and more for how ... |
understanding. When she reached the edge, her body knew what to do. She sprang in a powerful leap, the air whistling through the grooves in her carapace and flapping the loose robe she’d worn into the storm. She landed with a solid crunch, her feet grinding stone as she slid to a stop. The Rhythm of Confidence thrummed... |
a high rock formation as they waited, watching some windspren play in the air. Eshonai wished she’d brought her book for drawing maps of the Plains. She’d found it in the human market of Kholinar—such a small, simple thing. It had been expensive by Alethi standards, but oh so cheap by her standards. An entire book of p... |
imagine, and there are so many of them. They’ll find a way to get to us. Escaping out the other side of the Plains wasn’t an option either. If the chasmfiends there didn’t get them, the humans eventually would. To flee would be to abandon the natural fortification of the Plains. “I’ll do what I have to, Thude,” Eshonai... |
listeners to join with us in adopting forms of power. We’ll be smart; we won’t be ruled by the spren this time around. We’ll rule them. “Eshonai and the others have foolishly thrown everyone into an unwanted war. So we have to take this step. We will be remembered as the ones who saved our people.” Oh … Father … Seven ... |
that you’ve been withholding vital information from me. From my perspective, there is no incentive to continue this arrangement, as the promised reward is of little interest to me. Even Shallan is questioning its value. “Your refusal to give me important information makes me question what else you held back. Now I’m qu... |
and fighting the Fused—but rarely reveal anything practical.” “This isn’t very persuasive,” Veil said. “Yes, I know what you want me to do—but I suspected it from the beginning. If you want me to do this, I need to know why. What specifically do you expect to learn from him?” “Our master, Thaidakar, has an … affliction... |
Mraize said here … it made too much sense. Oh storms, Shallan thought, growing cold. Stormfather above and Nightwatcher below … He’s right. That is a solution to this problem. A way to let Adolin win. A way to bring the honorspren back. So this was how he manipulated her this time. She wanted to buck him for that reaso... |
Many people back home thought of him as the Stormfather, and though that had never been true, he was one of the most ancient beings in all of creation. A god to many. An immortal soldier for justice and Honor. He was also short, with thinning hair. He felt like the type of man you’d find administering some minor city i... |
you, and you still don’t have a way for me to get off this cursed world. Fine, boy, trial by witness it is. We can start it … um, the day after tomorrow? Is that acceptable for everyone?” No one objected. “Great,” Kelek said. “Day after tomorrow. Okay then. Um … let’s have it at the forum, shall we? I guess everyone wi... |
fatigue. He settled down on the deck and put his back to the railing. One of the ardents brought him a cup of something warm, which he took gratefully—until he realized the drinks were distributed to the townspeople and refugees, not the other soldiers. Did he look so bad? Yes, he thought, glancing down at his bloodied... |
softly. “To help you.” He glanced down. “The darkness in you is better some times, worse others,” she said. “But lately … it’s grown into something different. You seem so tired.” “I just need some good rest,” Kaladin said. “You think I’m bad now? You should’ve seen me after Hav made me hike at double time across … acro... |
your mouth and do what your sergeant told you. Even if he wasn’t your sergeant anymore; even if there wasn’t a squad anymore. Teft looked up at the sky. “So, the bastard is still alive, is he?” “We had a confirmed sighting of him two months ago, at that battle on the Veden border,” Kaladin said. “Aye, two months ago,” ... |
peace of mind. Navani flipped through her notes. Her featureless round chamber was too small to stand up in. It had a table—bolted to the floor—and a single chair. She could touch the walls to both sides simultaneously by stretching out her arms. A goblet to hold spheres was affixed to the table and fastened shut at th... |
Navani. They were the proverbial flaw in the system, the fabrial that didn’t make sense. Navani wasn’t a scholar herself, but she had a strong working knowledge of fabrials. They produced certain effects, mostly amplifying, locating, or attracting specific elements or emotions—always tied to the type of spren trapped i... |
so much in the last year. She’d almost started to feel she could deduce it all—answer the questions pertaining to time and to creation itself. Then she remembered Soulcasters. Their armies ate and remained mobile because of Soulcasters. Urithiru depended on extra food from Soulcasters. The Soulcaster cache discovered i... |
bridges connecting many of the relevant plateaus. They desperately needed to be able to farm this region to supply Urithiru—and that meant dealing with Ialai Sadeas and her rebels. Hopefully Navani would soon hear good news from the Lightweavers and their mission to— Navani cocked her head, noticing something odd. The ... |
to give me your name. The response came quickly, written as if by a fervent hand. You capture spren. You imprison them. Hundreds of them. You must stop. Stop, or there will be consequences. Spren? Fabrials? This woman couldn’t seriously be concerned about such a simple thing, could she? What was next? Complaining about... |
done with him, at least. They rode in silence for some time, with Shallan snuggled against him. “You never push,” she eventually said. “Though you know I keep secrets from you.” “You’ll tell me eventually.” She gripped his shirt tight between her fingers. “It bothers you though, doesn’t it?” He didn’t reply at first, w... |
it have been so bad if I had? We both know she needed to die.” “She was a defenseless woman!” “And it’s that different from what you did to Sadeas?” “He was a soldier,” Adolin said. “That’s what makes it different.” He glanced out the window. “Maybe. Father thinks I did something terrible. But … I was right, Veil. I’m ... |
our ship.” “So they’re on Odium’s side,” Adolin said. “It’s more complicated than that. Honestly, I’m not sure what they want, besides secrets. They were trying to get to Urithiru before Jasnah, but we beat them to it.” Led them to it might have been more accurate. “I’m not at all sure what they want those secrets for.... |
is he? The name seems a title, much like Mraize. But neither are in a language I know. Shallan was pretty sure she’d heard Mraize use the name Thaidakar before. “So, this is our new mission?” Adolin asked. “We find out what these Ghostblood people are up to, and we stop them.” He took the palm-size notebook from her an... |
hands left in the floor as they sank into the eager stone. Remember, the stones whispered. Remember what you have forgotten. She remembered sitting at her mother’s feet as a child, listening to the songs. The music had flowed like water, etching patterns in her brain—memories—like the passage of time etched canals in s... |
her of freedom. Rock seemed so stable, so unchangeable, but if you saw it on the timescale of spren, it was always changing. Deliberately. Over centuries. She had never known her ancestors, but she knew their songs. She could sing those and imitate their courage. Their love. Their wisdom. The power slipped from her, as... |
thin at this point; Raboniel was certain Dalinar Kholin had seen through it and knew something very wrong was happening at the tower. The supplies to the upper floors could have been delivered via the lifts. However, Raboniel had put the Heavenly Ones to work, making it very clear that she had both the authority and th... |
to bring him down here to give him long-term care.” “You would give him up for execution!” “If that’s what is required, then so be it. I’ll do my job as a surgeon, then let Kaladin deal with the consequences of his actions. I’m finished being a pawn in games of death. For either side.” Rlain threw up his hands. “What i... |
taught you about triage, didn’t he? What did he say about people with wounds like his?” The two former bridgemen glanced at each other. “Make them comfortable,” the human with the slurred words said. “Give them drink. Pain medication, if you can spare it. So they are peaceful when they … when they die.” Again the room ... |
I know, but there’s something else.” He hummed to Determination. “I won’t intervene unless something goes wrong.” “If you do, we all have to go into hiding,” Venli said to Skepticism. “So make sure before you do anything.” He nodded, still humming to Determination, and they split up at the next intersection. Venli foun... |
Venli let go of the stone, it hardened instantly—she had to shake a few chips of it free of her fingers. The girl poked it, then hopped through. Hopefully the guards would assume a human Stoneward had survived and saved the girl. Venli gestured for the Edgedancer to follow her—but the girl wavered. She seemed as if she... |
Timbre. The pulse indicated the negative. Not yet. “When?” Venli asked. A simple, straightforward pulse was her answer. You’ll know. Midius once told me … told me we could use Investiture … to enhance our minds, our memories, so we wouldn’t forget so much. Raboniel made good on her promise to leave Navani to her own de... |
she spent time creating weapons that wouldn’t look like weapons. Traps she could use, if she grew truly desperate, to defend her room or the pillar room. She wasn’t certain how she would deploy them—or if she would need to. For now, it was something scholarly to do, something familiar, and she threw herself wholehearte... |
one sung sometimes at taverns. How did the Fused know it? “I suppose I can see it done,” the guard said to Navani. “Though some of our people are growing annoyed by your persistent demands.” “Take it up with Raboniel,” Navani said, walking to her seat. “Oh, and the Fused use some kind of weapon that draws Stormlight ou... |
they left with your expeditionary force.” Navani flipped the weapon over, feeling cold. “We’ve used this metal for several Returns to drain Stormlight from Radiants,” Raboniel said. “It conducts Investiture, drawing it from a source and pulling it inward. We used it to fill gemstones, but didn’t realize until the fall ... |
spren escape. It sprang free, but was immediately captured by the dagger. Light traveled along the blade, then the ruby at the base began to glow. Navani confirmed that the half spren was inside. Interesting, Navani thought. So, what if I break the other half of the ruby and capture that half in the same gemstone? Exci... |
steps if they were too long. He was different. The surgeons hadn’t been able to say the reason. They said some people are just different. He was always going to be like this. The midwife, when she heard about him later, said the cord was wrapped around his neck when he was born. Maybe that was why. When he’d been young... |
was another kind of different. They thought he had been hurt by the battle, like all of them. He was one of them. They hadn’t known about his mind. How he’d been born. He didn’t like it when people used the word “stupid” for the way he was. People called one another stupid when they made mistakes. Dabbid wasn’t a mista... |
talk? I’ve never felt like that. Except this once, when I ate the queen’s dinner, but it had been sitting out, see, and she didn’t put it away like she should have. It’s her fault, I told her, because it’s like leavin’ a sword out where a baby could step on it and cut up her foot or somethin’.” “Can we please keep movi... |
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