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hadn’t gathered around Stormblessed and his halo of glowing lights—lowered a spyglass. She frowned, then raised it again. Then she began to call out in the spren language. People tore themselves away from Kaladin and crowded around. Adolin stepped back, watching until Kaladin and Shallan joined him. Azure crested the s... |
sleeping. But if that’s the case, I have no idea how to wake it. We’ve tried infusing the heart like a fabrial, even had Renarin try to push Stormlight into it. Nothing’s worked.” Dalinar picked up a chair, then pushed the door open. He held the door with his foot—shooing away a guard who tried to do it for him—while N... |
But Dalinar felt blind in this war. He didn’t know what the enemy wanted, or how they intended to exploit their conquests. The first rule of war. Know your enemy. He raised his chin as the storm slammed into Urithiru, roughly at the height of its third tier. All went white. Then Dalinar appeared in the ancient palace—t... |
The older man grabbed her arm above the elbow. “Don’t,” he said softly. “We need to talk.” This is the Alethi warlord. “My name is Dalinar Kholin,” the man said. “I lead the Alethi, and you’re seeing a vision of past events. Only your mind has been transported, not your body. We two are the only real people here.” She ... |
can meet on the battlefield.” “No.” He seized her arm again. “I don’t know what the accommodation will be, but we can find one. Let me prove to you that I want to negotiate, instead of fight.” “You can start,” she said to Irritation, pulling away from him, “by not assaulting me.” She wasn’t certain she could fight him,... |
trying to run. The wind pulled at her, making each step a struggle. Overhead, the ceiling separated in a single magnificent burst—each brick exploding away from the others, then streaming toward the void. The pieces of the unfortunate guard rose after them, a sack drained of grain, a puppet with no controlling hand. Ve... |
her grip. He could come claim her, but she would not let go. And what of the grand purpose? What of the power he offers? Did she still want those things? Or was that merely something to grasp onto, now that she had brought about the end of her people? She gritted her teeth. In the distance, she heard a quiet rhythm. So... |
in the air, reaching for the collapsing sky with one hand and clutching Timbre in the other. Above, the man in the blue uniform leaped into the chasm. He fell beside the hole’s perimeter, and stretched one hand toward Venli. His other ground against the rock wall, hand scraping the stone. Something flashed around his a... |
a child, whispering that Odium was too strong. THIRTY-THREE YEARS AGO Dalinar danced from one foot to the other in the morning mist, feeling a new power, an energy in every step. Shardplate. His own Shardplate. The world would never be the same place. They’d all expected he would someday have his own Plate or Blade, bu... |
have to worry about feeding the darkeyes, about city infrastructure, about ties with other kingdoms. Politics.” “You and Gavilar,” Dalinar said. “All of us,” Sadeas said. “All three.” “Weren’t you trying to get me to relax?” Dalinar snapped. Storms. The rising sun finally started to disperse the fog, and that let him s... |
and onto the wall walk, crashing down amid panicked defenders. He jerked the release rope on his hammer—dropping it on an enemy behind—then swung out with his fist, sending men broken and screaming. This was almost too easy! He seized his hammer, then brought it up and swung it in a wide arc, tossing men from the wall ... |
again. He’d wear this Plate morning and night—he’d sleep in the storming stuff—until he was more comfortable in it than out. He raised the wooden door and swung it like a bludgeon, sweeping soldiers away and opening a path to the catapults. Then he dashed forward and grabbed the side of one catapult. He ripped its whee... |
on the railing, whistling softly. “Something’s going on with this city,” Dalinar said. “What?” “I don’t know.…” Dalinar might not pay attention to the grand plans Gavilar and Sadeas made, but he was a soldier. He knew battlefields like a woman knew her mother’s recipes: he might not be able to give you measurements, bu... |
have broken a few fingers. His Shardplate leaked glowing white smoke from a hundred fractures, but the only pieces he’d lost completely were from his left arm and hand. He gingerly pried himself from the rooftop, but as he shifted, he broke through and fell into the home. He grunted as he hit, members of a family screa... |
followed, hitting the second soldier even as he gawked at his fallen ally. The walkway stopped shaking, and Dalinar grinned, pulling to a stop. He turned, spotting a man standing near the sheared-off section of stone above. He lifted a black bow toward Dalinar. “Teleb, you storming miracle,” Dalinar said. He reached th... |
it provided. Unfortunately, that Plate was still leaking, and he had all these guards to deal with. Still, he tried to play it as Tanalan would expect, dodging attacks, acting as if he were going to drag out the fight. Tanalan growled and came in again. Dalinar blocked the blow with his arm, then made a perfunctory swi... |
it pretty.” “You don’t have to pull sorrow behind you like a sledge on the stones, scraping and crushing those you pass. You’re a monster.” “I’m a soldier,” Dalinar said, eyeing Tanalan’s men, many of whom were preparing their bows. Tanalan coughed. “My city is lost. My plan has failed. But I can do Alethkar one last s... |
it seem like a part of the wall. If he hadn’t seen them enter, it would have taken days, maybe weeks to locate this place. At the end of a short walk, he found the two soldiers he’d followed. Judging by the blood trail, they’d deposited their brightlord in the closed room behind them. They rushed Dalinar with the fatal... |
soldiers were rounding up. “Tens of thousands of people. They won’t be cowed easily; they won’t like that you killed their highlord and his heir. Those people will resist us for years. I can feel it.” Dalinar took a drink. “Make soldiers of them,” he said. “Tell them we’ll spare their families if they fight for us. You... |
carried three larger gemstones; Kaladin carried four others. Their broams had all run out of Stormlight. Even these larger, unset gems were getting close to failing. Hopefully they would last long enough to get them to Thaylen City and the Oathgate. Beyond the waves—so close that the sailors feared hidden rocks beneath... |
bales of cloth into the shapes I requested?” “Yes,” the captain said. “But I don’t understand—” “You soon will.” She gave Kaladin a lazy salute. He returned it, sharper. Then she nodded to them and walked up toward the main deck. The ship crashed through a large wave of beads, sending some through the open cargo deck d... |
Pattern entered and looked around the room, humming happily. “Mmm. A nice pattern, Shallan.” “Syl,” Kaladin repeated. “We jumped hand-in-hand, but she let go. Where—” “She’ll be fine,” Shallan said. “Mmm,” Pattern agreed. “Spren need no air.” Kaladin took a deep breath, then nodded. He started pacing anyway, so Shallan... |
a head start on their hike—and to get away from the coast. Hopefully the Fused wouldn’t treat the honorspren too harshly. Shallan worried for them, but equally for what would happen if the Fused doubled back to search for her group. A short flight now should deposit them far enough inland that they’d be tough to locate... |
kingdom and Jah Keved. Your men get to liberate our homeland, while mine spend their days digging in rocks. You do realize the effect this has on their morale, particularly since many of them still assume you assassinated their highprince.” “I hope that their current leader has worked to disabuse them of such false not... |
think.” The young man grinned. Dalinar never would get used to those spiked eyebrows. They climbed down from the platform, and a Thaylen guard gave the all clear. A scribe sent word via spanreed that the next transfer could take place. Dalinar paused to watch. A minute later a flash occurred, surrounding the Oathgate w... |
that are shadows of gods?” There is … a third sibling. They are not with us. “In hiding?” No. Slumbering. “Tell me more.” No. “But—” No! Leave them alone. You hurt them enough. “Fine,” Dalinar said, setting aside the towel and leaning against the window. The air smelled of salt, reminding him of something not yet clear... |
in havahs had joined Bridge Four. They carried notepads and pencils, and had sewn Bridge Four patches to the upper sleeves of their dresses—the place where scribes commonly wore their platoon insignia. Alethi highprinces, Azish viziers, Knights Radiant, and Thaylen admirals all in one room. The prime of Emul talking ta... |
the Azish scribes began explaining their code of rules and guidelines for the coalition, Renarin excused himself in a hoarse voice, and left. Dalinar glanced at Navani, who seemed troubled. Jasnah stood to follow, but was interrupted by a scribe bringing her a small sheaf of documents. She accepted them and moved to Na... |
to thrust his hand to the side, fingers splayed, to summon a Blade he no longer possessed. Bridge Four responded immediately, dropping food from the table of victuals, grabbing spears. Nobody else seemed to notice. But … notice what? No attack came. Conversations continued on all sides. Jasnah and Navani were still hud... |
they welcomed to their world, the otherworlders…” “Were us,” Dalinar whispered. He felt cold, like he’d been dunked in icy water. “They named us Voidbringers.” Jasnah sighed. “I have suspected this for a time. The first Desolation was the invasion of humankind onto Roshar. We came here and seized this land from the par... |
released all this information at the same time.” “Is it true?” Noura asked in Alethi. “Dalinar Kholin, have you met with our enemy?” Navani gripped his arm. Jasnah subtly shook her head: Don’t answer that. “Yes,” Dalinar said. “Did he,” Noura asked pointedly, “tell you you’d destroy Roshar?” “What of this ancient recor... |
length of the weapon, to make sure it was straight. She would never trust it, as she hadn’t personally requisitioned it for him. She wore green today, under a brown skirt, her black hair tied back in a tail. Slightly plump, with a round face and firm build, Tarah’s beauty was a subtle thing. Like an uncut gemstone. The... |
mistakes when they’re young and angry. Because she had been right. * * * Kaladin shouldered his harpoon, leading his companions through the strange forest. They’d flown part of the way, but needed to conserve what little Stormlight they had left. So, they’d spent the last two days hiking. Trees and more trees, lifespre... |
alone in the rooms Queen Fen had given him, staring out the window, looking west. Toward Shinovar, far beyond the horizon. A land with strange beasts like horses, chickens. And humans. He’d left the other monarchs arguing in the temple below; anything he said only seemed to widen the rifts among them. They didn’t trust... |
“We thought we’d head back to Urithiru. We left some of the men behind, and they deserve to know about this business with the ancient Radiants.” “What we’ve discovered doesn’t change the fact that we are being invaded,” Dalinar said. “Invaded by people trying to reclaim their homeland,” Sigzil said. “Storms. I’d be mad... |
that … we shall see. Taravangian has said we may use his vessels to return to our empire, without needing to use the Oathgates.” She walked off after the emperor, eschewing the palanquin waiting to carry her. Others drifted down the steps around him. Veden highprinces, who gave excuses. Thaylen lighteyes from their gui... |
What in the Almighty’s tenth name had that been? One moment, he’d been lying in his bunk. The next, he had been … Well, he didn’t rightly remember. What was the drink doing to him now? Someone rapped on his door. “Yes?” Dalinar said, his voice hoarse. “The caravan is preparing to leave, Brightlord.” “Already? The rain ... |
creatures burst from behind a tree and shot into the air, clumped together. Dalinar gaped at their speed and agility. “Chickens?” he said. Little black ones, each the size of a man’s fist. Felt chuckled. “Yes, wild chickens range this far east. Can’t see what they’d be doing on this side of the mountains though.” The c... |
He couldn’t wait another day. The sound of it lured him. The vines rustling, moving as tiny animals scampered between them. Leaves curling. The men didn’t call after him; they understood his decision. He stepped into the musty, damp valley, vines brushing his head. He could barely see in the darkness, but Felt had been... |
feed the scavengers. You sent terror before you like a storm until your enemies surrendered. The Rift would be but the first in a long line of examples. He saw himself standing upon the heaped corpses, laughing. Yes, he had escaped the drink. He had become something grand and terrible. This was his future. Gasping, Dal... |
The Nightwatcher curled around him, agitated. Forgiveness is no boon. What should I do to you. What should I give you? Speak it, human. I— THAT IS ENOUGH, CHILD. This new voice startled them both. If the Nightwatcher’s voice was like whispering wind, this one was like tumbling stones. The Nightwatcher backed away from ... |
IN DOING THIS, I PROVIDE FOR HIM A WEAPON. DANGEROUS, VERY DANGEROUS. YET, ALL THINGS MUST BE CULTIVATED. WHAT I TAKE FROM YOU WILL GROW BACK EVENTUALLY. THIS IS PART OF THE COST. IT WILL DO ME WELL TO HAVE A PART OF YOU, EVEN IF YOU ULTIMATELY BECOME HIS. YOU WERE ALWAYS BOUND TO COME TO ME. I CONTROL ALL THINGS THAT ... |
these last years. He’d suffered a breakdown at losing the woman he loved. Well, he assumed that he’d loved her. Curious. Nothing. It seemed that the Nightwatcher had taken memories of his wife, and in so doing, given him the boon of peace. However, he did still feel sorrow and guilt for failing Gavilar, so he wasn’t co... |
front of Thaylen City—then seemed to stop. It dominated the sky to the west, but strangely did not proceed. Enemy ships landed in its shadow, many ramming right up onto the shores. Amaram’s troops flooded out of the gates to seize the ground between bay and city; there wasn’t enough room for them to maneuver on top of ... |
to be able to see the future.” “No. No, that wasn’t from him!” Kaladin looked between them, frantic, and finally turned to Syl for support. “It was like when the Stormfather … I mean…” “Azure warned us from this path,” Adolin said. “And what else could we have done?” Kaladin said, then hushed his voice, pulling back wi... |
pinned it back, exposing the gloved hand underneath. In preparation, she’d also worn a scout’s yellow and gold havah, with shorter skirts slit at the sides and front, trousers underneath. Sturdy boots. She turned out of the path of another group of cursing soldiers and strode up the steps to the doorway of the temple o... |
speaking in Thaylen. I’m an interpreter, she thought, relaxing. That’s why they wanted me on the battlefield. “What was it,” Venli said to Derision, addressing the one the Fused had indicated, “you wished to say to the holy one?” “We…” The singer licked his lips. “We aren’t soldiers, ma’am. We’re fishers. What are we d... |
air, and the ground beneath her feet trembled. Lightning in the clouds behind seemed to flash to this rhythm, and in a moment she saw that the area around her was filled with ghostly spren. Those are the spirits of the dead, she realized. Fused who haven’t yet chosen a body. Most were twisted to the point that she bare... |
balcony. Below, figures with marbled skin flooded across one of the Oathgate platforms, the one that led to Kholinar. That was supposed to be locked, unusable. Scouts and soldiers began to shout in panic down below. Urithiru was under attack. * * * Puffing from her run, Navani scrambled up the last few steps onto the w... |
In the Physical Realm, the Fused knelt and bowed their heads toward Odium. So they could see him too. Venli knelt quickly, knocking her knees against the stone. Timbre pulsed to Anxiety, and Venli put her hand on the pouch, squeezing it. Quiet. We can’t fight him. “Turash,” Odium said, resting fingers upon the shoulder... |
* * * “Passion,” Odium said. “There is great Passion here.” Venli felt cold. “I’ve prepared these men for decades,” Odium said. “Men who want nothing so much as something to break, to gain vengeance against the one who killed their highprince. Let the singers watch and learn. I’ve prepared a different army to fight for... |
and burst alight. Within the power’s embrace, a lifetime’s worth of moments seemed to snap into place. Throwing Gaz to the ground in the rain. Screaming in defiance while charging at the front of a bridge. Coming awake in the practice grounds during the Weeping. Fighting the assassin on the stormwall. The Fused leaped ... |
but a falling boulder pounded into him, crushing him into a wall. Blackness. Falling. Power. He gasped, and Stormlight flooded into him—he shook awake to find his arm pinned by the boulder, rocks and dust falling on a rubble-strewn street before him. And … not just rubble. He coughed, realizing some of those lumps were... |
Thaylen. She blinked, then seized his arm. “The King’s Drop … a ruby. They tried to steal it before, and now, now they’ve taken it!” A ruby? A simple gemstone? The porters attended to the old man, who was barely conscious. Dalinar looked over his shoulder at the retreating thunderclast. The enemy had ignored the wealth... |
black with a variegated oily shimmer. Did they guard the Oathgate, or did they—somehow—facilitate its workings? At a loss for what else to do, Shallan simply waved her hand. “Um, hello?” Steadily, two heads turned down toward her. * * * The air around Venli—once crowded by the spirits of the dead—was now empty save for... |
skin swirled through with a single marbling of red, like smoke blown across the cheeks. The creature stabbed its long spear at him, but Kaladin Lashed himself to the side just in time. Lashing wasn’t flying, and that was part of its strength. Kaladin didn’t have to be facing any specific direction to move in the air. H... |
we should have stayed,” he said. “War is coming to Thaylen City.” “We’re merely protecting our fleet from the storm,” Noura said. “Pardon, Vizier, but that’s a load of chull dung, and you know it. We left because you’re worried that Kholin is being manipulated by the enemy.” “That is not the only reason,” Scion Unoqua ... |
with difficulty, and Noura nodded to him in appreciation of a lesson learned. “When was this?” Noura asked. “Right before we left,” the guard said. “Sorry, Your Grace. I’ve been down since then, only now recovered.” Yanagawn turned toward Noura. Surely now she would see the importance of returning. The storm had yet to... |
enormous spren cocked their heads in concert. We are apologetic. We have been … alone very long. We would enjoy granting passage to men again. But we cannot do that which was forbidden. * * * Szeth of the Skybreakers hovered far above the battlefield. “The Alethi have changed sides, aboshi?” Szeth asked. “They have see... |
Lashed himself back away from the mountain slope in an enormous loop, continuously changing his Lashings one after another. He made a circle in the air, then darted past the Fused and straight through the crack, close enough to the walls that he could feel them pass. He broke out the other side, exhilarated. Should he ... |
stone guard towers along the wall, but one side had collapsed in the shaking. It had fallen on the three soldiers who had come to protect the queen. The poor souls. Behind, Fen led her consort—who nursed a cut scalp—out over the rubble. Two other scribes had taken shelter with Navani and the queen, but most of the admi... |
hesitated outside the gap. Some men had already gotten in, but the bulk had been forming up to wait their turn. When you rushed a city like this, you wanted to be careful not to push your own forces too hard from behind, lest you crush them up against the enemy. These kept uneven ranks, snarling, eyes red. More telling... |
had already scampered away, hugging the wall and running quickly to round the outside of the army. Odium strolled up to Dalinar, trailed by a handful of Fused—plus the woman Dalinar had sucked into his visions—and a shadowy spren that looked like it was made of twisting smoke. What was that? Odium didn’t address Dalina... |
against spear. Adolin breathed in and out, worried about the other Fused—who had gone for Shallan. He tried to dredge up Zahel’s lessons, remembering days on the practice yard running this exact exchange. Jakamav had refused the training, laughing at the idea that a Shardbearer would ever fight knife to spear. Adolin f... |
didn’t work, of course. Pattern shouted in apology from the bridge, panicked. And yet in that moment—facing the enemy bearing down, its lance pointed at her heart—Shallan felt something. Pattern, or something like him, just beyond her mental reach. On the other side, and if she could just tug on it, feed it … She screa... |
ranks and fell to her knees, which she’d slicked up real good. That meant she kept going, sliding on her knees away from the men with the glowing red eyes. Wyndle—who she knew by now was almost certainly not a Voidbringer—was a little snaking line of green beside her. He looked like a fast-growing vine, jutting with sm... |
“The Skybreakers will swear to the Dawnsingers and their law. And you? Will you join us?” Wind rippled Szeth’s clothing. All those years ago, he’d been correct. The Voidbringers had returned. Now … now he was to simply accept their rule? “I don’t trust myself, aboshi,” Szeth whispered. “I cannot see the right any longe... |
teeth, forcing himself to his feet and stumbling over to help Shallan get the prince up onto the shore. The prince lay on his back, cursing softly, holding his gut with bloodied hands. “Let me see it,” Kaladin said, prying Adolin’s fingers out of the way. “The blood—” Shallan started. “The blood is the least of his wor... |
here for their turn, cursing and grumbling at the delay. They took swipes at Lift as she tried to follow the trail of vines Wyndle left. Being little helped her avoid them, fortunately. She liked being little. Little people could squeeze into places others couldn’t, and could go unnoticed. She wasn’t supposed to get an... |
her Stormlight running low. She summoned Wyndle as a rod, twisting against the pain and holding him toward the monster, her eyes watering with the effort. An explosion of light appeared overhead, a ball of expanding Radiance. Something dropped from the middle of it, trailing smoke both black and white. Glowing like a s... |
streets and squares of the Low Ward. The unlit brazier that had stopped Ash was in front of a tent, and had perhaps been used for warmth on cold Thaylen nights. Ten figures ringed the bowl. Her fingers itched. She couldn’t move on, no matter how desperate her task, until she’d done it. She seized the bowl and turned it... |
shown him when the Everstorm would come. They had shown him how to find the hidden compartments in Urithiru. Now they showed his death. The future. Renarin could see what was forbidden. He wrenched his eyes away from the glass pane showing himself and Jasnah, turning toward one even worse. In it, his father knelt befor... |
chest. “I was with you then.” Dalinar fought atop a strange rock formation, facing another man who knew the Thrill. Dalinar dropped him to the ground with burning eyes, and called it a mercy. “I was with you then.” He raged at Gavilar, anger and lust rising as twin emotions. He broke a man in a tavern, frustrated that ... |
The Voidbringer turned at the last moment, dancing away from his sword. Szeth Lashed himself downward, then spun in a sweeping arc, towing black smoke—almost liquid—behind his sword as he destroyed men in a grand circle. EVIL! the sword cried. Szeth leaped for the Voidbringer woman, but she dropped to the ground and sl... |
to have no light left in them, true, but … storms. She’d lost track of the woman with the gemstone, but at least the army seemed to be flowing away from Szeth, leaving him fewer people to kill. He stumbled, slowing, then dropped to his knees. “Uh-oh.” Lift summoned Wyndle as a rod in case the assassin lost his starvin’... |
they barred the door. There were bars on both sides; you wanted to be able to lock out enemies who had seized the wall, and also ones who had broken through the gates. Navani surveyed their options. A quick glance revealed that the streets were indeed held by Amaram’s troops. Some groups of Thaylens held ground farther... |
look away, but the vision was everywhere. He didn’t merely see it, he lived it. He ordered Evi’s death, and listened to her screams. “Please…” Odium wasn’t done with him. Dalinar had to watch the city burn, hear the children die. He gritted his teeth, groaning in agony. Before, his pains had driven him to drink. There ... |
man who had resisted—slumped forward, head bowed, holding one hand against his chest and trembling. Odium stepped back, his appearance that of a parshman with golden carapace. “It is done,” he said, looking toward Venli and the gathered group of Fused. “You have a leader.” “We must follow one of them?” Turash asked. “A... |
a father who didn’t seem to be able to feel love. Little Renarin, always so solemn. Always misunderstood, laughed at and condemned by people who said similar things about Jasnah behind her back. Jasnah froze, as if standing at the edge of a cliff. Wind blew through the temple, carrying with it a pair of spren in the fo... |
that. You cannot have her. You cannot take her from me again.” “Dalinar,” Odium said. “What do you hope to gain, keeping this burden?” Dalinar sneered at the god. “If I pretend … If I pretend I didn’t do those things, it means that I can’t have grown to become someone else.” “A failure.” Something stirred inside of Dal... |
in the moment when Odium had let him glimpse the Spiritual Realm. Today, he held it in his hand. The Fused scrambled away. Amaram pushed down his faceplate, but that wasn’t enough. He stumbled back, arm raised. Only one person remained in place. A young parshwoman, the one that Dalinar had visited in the visions. “What... |
* * Teft gasped in the darkness. “Can you see it, Teft?” the spren whispered. “Can you feel the Words?” “I’m broken.” “Who isn’t? Life breaks us, Teft. Then we fill the cracks with something stronger.” “I make myself sick.” “Teft,” she said, a glowing apparition in the darkness, “that’s what the Words are about.” Oh, K... |
They lit the ground with a thousand pinpricks of color. * * * “No!” Odium screamed. He stepped forward. “No, we killed you. WE KILLED YOU!” Dalinar stood within a pillar of light and spinning gloryspren, one hand to each side, clutching the realms that made up reality. Forgiven. The pain he’d so recently insisted that ... |
column of light. And he knew. Knew, somehow, that the king was not coming. He closed his eyes, and accepted that grief. He had failed the king in many ways. Stand up, he thought. And do better. He opened his eyes, and slowly his column of gloryspren faded. The power within him withdrew, leaving him exhausted. Fortunate... |
to power it. “Sir?” Kaladin asked again. “The enemy is trying to crush this city, Captain,” Dalinar said, lowering his arm. “We’re going to hold it against his forces.” “Seven Radiants?” Jasnah said, skeptical. “Uncle, that seems a tall order, even if one of us is—apparently—the storming Assassin in White.” “I serve Da... |
Do not forget that. “Why?” Dalinar asked. “What happened? What changed them?” The Stormfather fell silent. “Please,” Dalinar said. “Tell me.” Some things are better left forgotten, the voice said to him. You of all men should understand this, considering the hole in your mind and the person who once filled it. Dalinar ... |
had often admired it. Layers of clerics filled all levels—where both men and women wrote. Scions were kind of like ardents, though they weren’t slaves, which Dalinar found odd. In Azir, being a priest-minister in the government was the highest honor to which one could aspire. Traditionally, the Azish Prime claimed to b... |
pain. Remembered bringing blood and ash to those who defied his brother. Those memories had become particularly vivid lately. “Another tactic maybe?” Navani suggested. “Instead of an invitation, try an offer of aid.” “Your Imperial Majesty,” Dalinar said. “War is coming; surely you have seen the changes in the parshmen... |
“ ‘We regret to inform you that the device you mention,’ ” Kalami read, “ ‘is not functional in our city. We have investigated it, and have found that it was destroyed long ago. We cannot come to you, nor you to us. Many apologies.’ ” “He’s telling us this now?” Dalinar said. “Storms! That’s information we could have u... |
than intended.” “We need Azir,” Dalinar said. “Nobody in Makabak will listen to us unless we have Azir’s blessing, not to mention that Oathgate.…” He trailed off as a different spanreed on the table started blinking. “It’s the Thaylens,” Kalami said. “They’re early.” “You want to reschedule?” Navani asked. Dalinar shoo... |
stole our best ships—almost everything in the harbor from single-masted sloops on up—and escaped the city.’ ” “They … sailed?” Dalinar said, again shocked. “Confirm. They didn’t attack?” “ ‘There were some scuffles,’ ” Fen wrote, “ ‘but most everyone was too busy dealing with the effects of the storm. By the time we go... |
admit that my merchants are intrigued by these Oathgates. We have lore surrounding them here, that the one most Passionate could cause the portal of worlds to open again. I think every girl in Thaylenah dreams of being the one to invoke it.’ ” “The Passions,” Navani said with a downward turn of her lips. The Thaylens h... |
can only assume this is happening worldwide. It is entirely likely that among the people of your city, someone has already spoken the oaths.” “You’re giving up quite an advantage, Dalinar,” Aladar noted. “I’m planting a seed, Aladar,” Dalinar said. “And I’ll plant it on any hill I can find, regardless of who owns it. W... |
have discussions with the monarchs of Iri—it had three, strangely. The Oathgate at Rall Elorim was in their lands, making them important—and they held sway over nearby Rira, which had another Oathgate. Beyond that, of course, there were the Shin to deal with. They hated using spanreeds, so Navani had poked at them thro... |
“Uncle, am I your king?” Elhokar demanded. “Yes.” “Well, I shouldn’t be.” He knelt, shocking Navani and causing her to pull to a stop three-quarters of the way up the steps. “Dalinar Kholin,” Elhokar said in a loud voice, “I swear to you now. There are princes and highprinces. Why not kings and highkings? I give an oat... |
if embarrassed to be making demands. “Very well,” Dalinar said. “Though we need to work this out with scribes before we make the change officially. And before we go too far, we should make certain there is still an Alethkar for you to rule.” “I’ve been thinking the same thing. Uncle, I want to lead our forces to Alethk... |
he’s so special. See if he’ll teach me to be like him. And if I fail…” He shrugged. “Well, Alethkar is in safe hands regardless, right?” Dalinar nodded, bemused. “I need to make plans,” Elhokar said. “I’ve only just recovered from my wounds. But I can’t leave until the hero returns anyway. Could he fly me and my chosen... |
Kaladin rose into the sky, alive with Stormlight. Below him, Dalinar walked toward the red mist. Though tendrils of it moved among the soldiers of Amaram’s army, the bulk of it swirled closer to the coast, to the right of the bay and the destroyed docks. Storms, Kaladin felt good to be in the real world again. Even wit... |
from them—as if each were a Knight Radiant. Adolin climbed to his feet, and came face-to-face with an illusion of himself wearing a Kholin uniform. The illusory Adolin glowed with Stormlight and floated a few inches off the ground. She’d made him a Windrunner. I … I can’t take that. He turned toward the city. His fathe... |
armored forearm. Those red eyes cast a crimson glow through the helm’s slit. “You should thank me, boy.” “Thank you?” Kaladin said. “For what? For showing me that a person could be even more loathsome than the petty lighteyes who ruled my hometown?” “I created you, spearman. I forged you.” Amaram pointed at Kaladin wit... |
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