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saw in the world, but lacking love or affection. Like stones come alive, content to be killed or to kill with no attachment or enjoyment. No emotions beyond an overpowering curiosity, and that ephemeral attraction to violence. Almighty above … it’s like a creationspren. Only so, so wrong. Pattern whimpered, huddled aga... |
she tucked her exposed safehand under her other arm. Storms … she’d somehow kept up the illusion of the havah. Even after all of that, she didn’t want Adolin to know of Veil. She couldn’t. “Where?” she asked him, exhausted. “Where did it go?” Adolin pointed toward the other side of the room, where a tunnel extended far... |
hatchets, and tinder in waxed sleeves made from candles he’d traded for. He’d even begun teaching them to use a sling. He probably shouldn’t have shown them any of these things; that didn’t stop him from feeling proud as he walked with them, entering the city. Crowds thronged the streets. Where had all these parshmen c... |
shimmering haze of mist. She caught his eye, then zipped over to a windowsill and settled down, taking the shape of a small rock. “I…” Kaladin said. “I don’t know, Sah. But a war to exterminate one side or the other can’t be the answer.” “You can fight alongside us, Kal. It doesn’t have to be about humans against parsh... |
arms prickled with ridges, as if there were carapace under the skin as well. Her eyes glowed red. Kaladin’s breath caught. Bridge Four had described these creatures to him, the strange Parshendi they’d fought during their push toward the center of the Shattered Plains. These were the beings who had summoned the Eversto... |
“So have you.” “You’re a force of nature, Syl,” Kaladin said. “You can feel the storms. Don’t you have some kind of … location sense?” “You’re the one from this realm,” she said, batting away another gloryspren and hanging in the air beside him, folding her arms. “Besides, I’m less a force of nature and more one of the... |
about what’s right and wrong, is it, Syl. It’s about what you see as right and wrong.” “What we see,” she corrected. “And about oaths. You swore to protect Elhokar. Tell me that during your time planning to betray Elhokar, you didn’t—deep down—think you were doing something wrong.” “Fine. But it’s still about perceptio... |
hardened crem. Kaladin took one step toward the parshmen, then swiped his Blade, separating their spearheads from the hafts. The parshmen—who had barely more training than the ones he’d traveled with—stepped back in confusion. “Do you want to fight me?” Kaladin asked them. One shook her head. “Then see that those peopl... |
rival armies, so irregular that Kaladin was tossed by them one way, then the other. It took all his skill in Lashing to simply get going in the right direction. He watched over his shoulder as the two red-eyed parshmen burst in. Their strange glow was more subdued than his own, and somehow gave off the impression of an... |
pens and the ground near the bunkers. One of those bunkers still had the doors open, and a few men were trying—bless them—to gather the last people outside and carry them in. Many were too far away. They huddled against the ground, holding to the wall or outcroppings of rock. Kaladin could barely make them out in flash... |
from him like wings, diverting the storm. He managed to turn his head as the storm battered him. People huddled behind him, soaked, confused—surrounded by calm. “Go!” he shouted. “Go!” They found their feet, the young father taking his son back from Kaladin’s leeward arm. Kaladin backed up with them, maintaining the wi... |
tea from Palona. She still hadn’t been able to rid herself of the lingering chill she’d felt since her encounter with Re-Shephir a few hours back. “Is there anything else I can get you?” Palona asked. Shallan shook her head, so the Herdazian woman settled herself on a sofa nearby, holding another cup of tea. Shallan si... |
creature again. But … maybe she did deserve some acclaim. She’d been a child when she’d left her home, seeking salvation for her family. For the first time since that day on the ship, watching Jah Keved fade behind her, she felt like she actually might have a handle on all of this. Like she might have found some stabil... |
claimed to always look at things from a logical perspective, but she had a flair for the dramatic to rival any storyteller. Shallan well remembered that night in Kharbranth when Jasnah had lured thieves in, then dealt with them in stunning—and brutal—fashion. Jasnah didn’t want to merely prove her points. She wanted to... |
through her chest. “My mother,” Jasnah said, hand still on the pillar, not looking toward Shallan, “thinks this must be some kind of incredibly intricate fabrial. A logical assumption; we’ve always believed that the ancients had access to great and wonderful technology. How else do you explain Shardblades and Shardplat... |
nice if you had let us know you were alive.” Here I was assuming I could handle things on my own—assuming I’d have to handle things on my own. But all that time, you were on your way back to toss everything into the air again. “I only had the opportunity upon reaching the warcamps,” Jasnah said, “and there decided that... |
as if to herself. “For years I was at the very forefront of all this,” Jasnah said. “One short stumble, and I find myself scrambling to stay afloat. These visions that my uncle is having … the refounding of the Radiants in my absence … “That Windrunner. What do you think of him, Shallan? I find him much as I imagined h... |
VASE FLOATING AWAY THEN, ITS FORM DISSOLVING INTO THE NOTHINGNESS. Dalinar had never heard anything so philosophical from the Stormfather. He hadn’t imagined it was possible that a spren—even a mighty one of the highstorms—could dream in such a way. Dalinar found himself hurtling through the air. Flailing his arms, he ... |
he shouted. “You haven’t summoned your armor yet; you had to dismiss it so I could Lash you.” Oh, Dalinar thought. “I mean earlier. It wouldn’t vanish when I wanted it to.” “Talk to Harkaylain then, or to your spren.” The Windrunner frowned. “Will this be a problem for our mission?” “I don’t know,” Dalinar shouted. “Bu... |
the people there.” The man pressed his hand against Dalinar. “You’ll drop in about thirty seconds.” The man’s helm materialized, then he plunged toward the monsters. Dalinar remembered that descent from the vision—like a falling star come to rescue Dalinar and the family. “How,” Dalinar whispered to the Stormfather. “H... |
overturned, chairs scattered. The door hung open and creaked softly in a breeze. There was no sign of Queen Fen, but Taffa’s body lay facedown near the hearth. She wore a single-piece brown dress, now in tatters. Dalinar sighed, sheathing his sword and kneeling to gently touch her back in a spot unraked by monster claw... |
bloody, screaming heaps, but others pinned down the monsters and stabbed open their backs—sometimes with kitchen knives—to deflate them. Dalinar remained on the outskirts of the battle until a dramatic figure in glowing blue swept down upon the scene. The Windrunner made short work of the remaining creatures. At the en... |
did better than I did. I worried only about Taffa and her daughter, but just ended up getting them surrounded by monsters anyway.” “I let the woman die,” Fen said softly. “I ran with the child, and let the thing kill her. Used her almost as bait.” She looked to Dalinar, eyes haunted. “What was your purpose in this, Kho... |
and raised her left hand to her chin, inspecting Dalinar. She didn’t seem the least bit fazed by his shouting. Dalinar stepped past a squat man who was slowly—as if through tar—turning toward where they’d once been seated. “Fen,” Dalinar said. “You don’t like me. Fine. You tell me to my face that trusting me is worse t... |
erratically because I’ve been in contact with the Voidbringers!” “All I knew,” Fen said, “was that the voice on the other end of the spanreed was not the Dalinar Kholin I’d expected. The words were too polite, too calm, to be trusted.” “And now?” Dalinar asked. Fen turned. “Now … I’ll consider. Can I see the rest of it... |
Almighty himself spoke through one of the people, passing along wisdom that—at first—Dalinar had assumed was interactive. Fen seemed troubled by what she heard. As well she should be. Dalinar remembered the words. This is important, the Almighty had said. Do not let strife consume you. Be strong. Act with honor, and ho... |
out. What … His skin started glowing, letting off a faint luminescent smoke. Oh, right. Kaladin was back. Well, that was going to solve so many problems. He got out another sphere, and did his best not to eat this one as he finished shaving. Afterward, he pressed his hand against his forehead. Once, he’d had slave bran... |
here, he was a few inches shorter than most. He slipped out into the hallway. The bridge crews occupied a sequence of large barracks on the tower’s first floor. Bridge Four were gaining Radiant powers, but there were hundreds more men in the battalion who were still ordinary infantry. Perhaps Teft had gone to inspect t... |
behind those eyes of his.” “Not to mention Punio, who I found out recently is already married. His wife drops off food for him.” “I thought that was his sister!” “He wanted to fit in, I believe,” Sigzil said. “His broken Alethi already makes that hard. And then there’s the matter of Drehy…” “What matter?” “Well, he’s b... |
on the shoulder. “It’s all right, Sig.” “Sir,” Sigzil said. “The other men don’t have any direction. You’ve given them purpose, a reason to be good men. They are good men. But in some ways, it was easy when we were slaves. What do we do if not all the men manifest the ability to draw in Stormlight? What is our place in... |
a Windrunner? Or, more pointedly, what if our men start swearing oaths and bonding their own spren? Would we dissolve Bridge Four, and let each man be their own Radiant?” The idea of dissolving Bridge Four seemed to pain Kaladin almost as much as the idea of losing men in battle. They walked in silence for a short time... |
remember feeling that way with Kaladin since the time the captain had woken him up that first morning, back in Sadeas’s warcamp. “I see,” Kaladin said. “Well … we’re going to have tryouts to join the order proper. I suppose I could extend you an invitation. If you’d like.” “Tryouts?” she said. “For real positions? Not ... |
If there is a squabble over Dalinar’s lands in Alethkar, can he call you—and Bridge Four—up to fight for him, like a normal liege-vassal relationship? If not, then can we still expect him to pay us?” “Damnation,” Kaladin breathed. “I’m sorry, sir. It—” “No, they’re good questions, Sig. I’m lucky to have you to ask them... |
fool. “We’re going to practice being Radiant.” TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AGO Dalinar cursed as smoke billowed out of the fireplace. He shoved his weight against the lever and managed to budge it, reopening the chimney flue. He coughed, backing up and waving smoke away from his face. “We are going to need to see that replaced,”... |
gave her. He forced himself to go back and sit down beside her. “I still think the flamespren are playing,” she said. “I’ve always wondered,” Dalinar said. “Are they made of fire themselves? It looks like they are, and yet what of emotion spren? Are angerspren then made of anger?” Evi nodded absently. “And what of glor... |
trailing along with one hand touching the wall, a habit of hers. They passed open windows that looked down upon a sodden Kholinar, flickering lanterns marking where people moved through the streets. Gavilar waited in the sitting room, dressed in one of those new suits with the stiff jacket and buttons up the sides of t... |
but you’ll have to forbear. I’m not sending an army.” “But—” “I can nip this thing with politics. We can’t have a show of force be our only method of maintaining unity, or Elhokar will spend his entire life putting out fires after I’m gone. We need people to start thinking of Alethkar as a unified kingdom, not separate... |
the Shattered Plains. Nearby, one of the plateaus flashed as Renarin Kholin worked the Oathgate. Lunamor tried not to be distracted by that. He wanted to look out westward. Toward the old warcamps. Not much longer now to wait, he thought. But don’t dwell on that. The stew needs more crushed limm. “I trained many of you... |
stir though, and run waterskins. He had become something of an unofficial mascot for the team, as he’d been the first bridgeman that Kaladin had saved. When bridgemen passed Dabbid, they gave a subtle salute. Huio was on kitchen duty with Lunamor today, as was becoming more common. Huio requested it, and the others avo... |
out … a gemstone? Ahhh … Lunamor thought. “I had to breathe to draw it in,” Kaladin explained softly. “I’d been doing it unconsciously for weeks, maybe months, before Teft explained the truth to me.” “Sir,” Hobber said, “I don’t know if … I mean, sir, I’m no Radiant. I was never that good with the spear. I’m barely a p... |
followed. That should fix his hand—he too had been injured by the Assassin in White. “This will work, Rock,” Kaladin said. “The men have been close to the power for months now. And once they have it, they’ll be able to heal. I won’t have to go into battle worrying which of you I’ll lose.” “Kaladin,” Lunamor said softly... |
onto the plateau, trailed by a cluster of guards from Bridge Eleven. Lunamor positioned himself working on the soup where he could listen, as he was curious. “Windrunner,” Elhokar said, nodding to Kaladin. “It seems you are right, your men have had their powers restored. How soon will they be ready?” “They’re in fighti... |
also theirs. They also hadn’t questioned when Lunamor had decided to bring along his cauldrons and supplies to make lunch. It was inefficient, true, but a hot meal would make up for it—and beyond that, there was an unspoken rule. Though Lunamor, Dabbid, and Hobber didn’t participate in the training or sparring, they we... |
press, draw them out. Others you wanted to let move at their own pace. Like the difference between a stew you brought to a boil and one you kept at a simmer. But where is his god? Lunamor could see all spren. Prince Renarin had bonded one, except Lunamor had never been able to spot it. He bowed when Renarin wasn’t look... |
immediately. “He may not realize it, but it’s there, Rock.” Lunamor grunted. “Perhaps this is stupid reason, but it is reason, and I can respect that. But tell me, why do you not want to become ardent or stormwarden?” “Because everyone assumes I will be!” Renarin said, slapping bread down on the heated stones. “If I go... |
I’ve started mixing,” Lunamor said. “And do not look so self-satisfied. I may still throw you off side of plateau.” Huio smiled and kept working. The men soon started coming over for something to drink. They grinned, thumped Lunamor on the back, told him he was a genius. But of course, none remembered that he had tried... |
about in the air, though their focus was obviously the practicing bridgemen and hopefuls. “Uma’ami tukuma mafah’liki…” Lunamor started, hastily making the signs of respect. Then, to be sure, he got down on his knees and bowed. He had never seen so many in one place. Even his occasional meeting with an afah’liki in the ... |
Lunamor left the bowls in case any of the others wished to partake of his offering. At his cook station, he stacked up the flatbread, intending to give the plates to Hobber to hold and distribute. Only, Hobber didn’t respond to his request. The lanky man sat on his little stool, leaning forward, his hand in a tight fis... |
and breathing in the enclosed spaces. The slapping of feet on plateau. Mixed exhaustion and terror. An assault. Arrows flying. Men dying. Lunamor had known what might happen when he chose to come down from the Peaks with Kef’ha. No nuatoma from the Peaks had ever yet won a Shardblade or Shardplate from the Alethi or Ve... |
that was blood soaking a headscarf. And that … That other body wasn’t human—it had marbled skin. A brilliant white arrow stuck from its back, fletched with goose feathers. An Unkalaki arrow. Lunamor looked to the right, where someone had piled up furniture in a heap, almost like a fortification. A head poked up over th... |
lives. Tuaka rubbed Lunamor’s back, then knelt down beside him, pulling their daughter close with one arm, Lunamor with the other. “It was a long journey,” she said in Unkalaki, “and longest at the end, when those things came from the sky.” “I should have come to the warcamps,” Lunamor said. “To escort you.” “We’re her... |
Bridge Four group, who seemed to sense that what he said was true. “Ha! Do not look so sad. I left great stew back near city. Hobber will probably not ruin it before we return. Come! Pick up our bridge. The last time, we march not toward death, but toward full stomachs and good songs!” Despite his urging, it was a sole... |
men didn’t flinch. Dalinar had come to rely on the way soldiers pulled away when they saw him fighting. He depended on their discipline to fail—even when he hadn’t been a Shardbearer, he’d counted on his ferocity, his sheer momentum, to win fights. Turned out, the momentum of one man—no matter how skilled or determined... |
We’ll try to find a way to climb down from there!” He jumped off the cliff and hit the incline in motion. It was a reckless maneuver, but storms, they’d never survive up above. He slid down the stone, staying on his feet as he approached the sheer drop into the valley. A final small ledge of stone gave him a place to l... |
writhe. Steps formed in the rock, as if it were made of wax that could flow and be shaped. The Shardbearer extended his hand to the side, and a massive, glowing hammer appeared there. He charged upward toward the Voidbringer. Dalinar felt the rock, which was firm to his touch. He shook his head, then ushered his men to... |
was more her air of confidence, the way she settled them down and took something glowing from the pouch at her belt. “I remember this,” Dalinar said. “It’s one of those devices I mentioned from another vision. The ones that provide Regrowth, as they call it. Healing.” Navani’s eyes widened, and she beamed like a child ... |
had somehow bullied the Radiant into letting her look at the fabrial. The day was stretching toward late afternoon, the canyon falling into shadow. But this vision was a long one, and he was content to wait upon Navani. He settled down on a rock. “I don’t deny God, Jasnah,” he said. “I simply believe that the being we ... |
saw again.” “Excellent. We’d best split to cover more ground. I will go in the other direction, then we can meet afterward and compare notes.” She took off down the slope toward the largest gathering of men. Dalinar stood up and stretched, his earlier exertion still weighing on him. A short time later Navani returned, ... |
burden, Navani. To be able to show this to you, and to know for once—absolutely and certainly—that what I’m seeing isn’t merely in my own mind.” She pulled him close again, walking with her head on his shoulder. Far more affectionate in public than Alethi propriety would sanction, but hadn’t they thrown that out the wi... |
fight on the Shattered Plains. He knew the path to take, one that led him and Navani across the field of corpses, then into a shadowed recess beneath a tall rocky spire. The light had caught on the rocks here, intriguing him. Before, he thought he’d wandered into this place by accident, but in truth the entire vision h... |
ODIUM. OTHERS ARE MORE … AWAKE. EACH REBIRTH FURTHER INJURES THEIR MINDS. THEY ARE REBORN USING THE BODIES OF PARSHMEN TO BECOME THE FUSED. AND EVEN BEFORE THE FUSED LEARNED TO COMMAND THE SURGES, MEN COULD NOT FIGHT THEM. HUMANS COULD NEVER WIN WHEN THE CREATURES THEY KILLED WERE REBORN EACH TIME THEY WERE SLAIN. AND ... |
WILL SEE THIS WORLD DESTROYED IN ORDER TO DESTROY MANKIND. AND YES, THEY HAVE RETURNED. “Aharietiam,” Dalinar said, “was not really the end. It was just another Desolation. Except something changed for the Heralds. They left their swords?” AFTER EACH DESOLATION, THE HERALDS RETURNED TO DAMNATION, the Stormfather said. ... |
what caused the Radiants to rebel?” Navani asked. “Are these secrets what sparked the Recreance?” NO. THAT IS A DEEPER SECRET, ONE I WILL NOT SPEAK. “Why?” Dalinar demanded. BECAUSE WERE YOU TO KNOW IT, YOU WOULD ABANDON YOUR OATHS AS THE ANCIENT RADIANTS DID. “I wouldn’t.” WOULDN’T YOU? the Stormfather demanded, his v... |
suggested the basement rooms of the tower because they were so well secured. She was incredibly worried about being spied upon. The rows of dust had been removed from the library floor; Navani’s flock of scholars had carefully catalogued every splinter. The emptiness served only to underscore the absence of the informa... |
thirst to destroy humankind.” “The parshmen are the key,” Jasnah said, shuffling through some pages of notes. “Looking over what you discovered, it seems that all parshmen can bond with ordinary spren as part of their natural life cycle. What we’ve been calling ‘Voidbringers’ are instead a combination of a parshman wit... |
force arrives. You might have to infiltrate an occupied city, Captain.” “Please send that it isn’t so,” Renarin whispered, eyes down. “How many would have died on those walls, fighting nightmares…” “We need more information,” Jasnah said. “Captain Kaladin, how many people can you take with you to Alethkar?” “I plan to ... |
out,” Jasnah said, unperturbed. “The Heralds made a pact. When they died, their souls traveled to Damnation and trapped the spirits of the Voidbringers, preventing them from returning.” “Yeah. Then the Heralds were tortured until they broke.” “The Stormfather said their pact was weakened, but did not say it was destroy... |
doodle she’d been doing. Actually, it was a bit more complex than a doodle. It was … kind of a full sketch of Kaladin’s face, with passionate eyes and a determined expression. Jasnah had noticed a creationspren in the form of a small gemstone that had appeared on the top of her page, and Shallan blushed, shooing it awa... |
“to talk to me.” Shallan nodded again. She wasn’t working with the Ghostbloods. That was Veil. And Jasnah didn’t need to know about Veil. Jasnah couldn’t know about Veil. “Very well,” Jasnah said with a sigh. “Your wardship is not finished, and won’t be until I’m convinced that you can meet minimum requirements of scho... |
difficulty understanding the woman. In some ways, Jasnah seemed fiercely masculine. She studied whatever she pleased, and she talked tactics as easily as she talked poetry. She could be aggressive, even cold—Shallan had seen her straight-up execute thieves who had tried to rob her. Beyond that … well, it probably was b... |
unfolded it. The top read: You have accomplished the task we set out for you. You have investigated the Unmade, and not only learned something of it, but also frightened it away. As promised, here is your reward. The following letter explains the truth about your deceased brother, Nan Helaran, acolyte of the Radiant or... |
out during the entire Everstorm. “The spanreeds are abuzz. The monarchs are delaying a response, but I suspect that soon they’ll realize they have to listen to us.” “I think you underestimate the stubbornness a crown can press into a man or woman’s mind, Navani.” Dalinar had been out during his share of highstorms, par... |
intoxicating. And those entrancing, brilliant violet eyes. “You need to relax, Dalinar,” she said. “Navani…” he said. She looked at him, questioning, so beautiful. Far more gorgeous than when they’d been young. He’d swear it. For how could anyone be as beautiful as she was now? He seized her by the back of the head and... |
stopped. It might start again. Or the proper storms might start up. Nobody knew, and the Stormfather refused to enlighten him. Navani entered and pulled the thick drapings closed over the doorway, tying them tightly in place. This room was heaped with furniture, chairs lining the walls, rolled rugs stacked atop them. T... |
must look like he was in agony. He slumped down in a chair across from her. “The alcohol?” she asked softly. “Something more.” She breathed out. “The Old Magic. You said you knew both your boon and your curse.” He nodded. “Oh, Dalinar.” “People glance at me when her name comes up,” Dalinar continued, “and they give me ... |
think that any man has ever had a chance better than this.” She smiled, and her only reply was a kiss. * * * Dalinar was surprisingly nervous as, several hours later, he rode one of Urithiru’s strange fabrial lifts toward the roof of the tower. The lift resembled a balcony, one of many that lined a vast open shaft in t... |
smaller than the one below it, this roof was still over a hundred yards wide. It was cold up here, but someone had set up braziers for warmth and torches for light. The night was strikingly clear, and high above, starspren swirled and made distant patterns. Dalinar wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that no one—not e... |
said. “It doesn’t stop you, but I don’t suppose that it should. Your life is defined by deciding what you want, then seizing it. The rest of us could learn from that, if only we could figure out how to keep up.” Dalinar winced. “I have things to discuss with you. Plans that you might appreciate. But for tonight, I simp... |
his face—equally pleased. The next part became a blur, shaking hands, speaking words of thanks. Insisting that no gifts were needed, as they’d skipped that part of the traditional ceremony. It seemed that the Stormfather’s pronouncement had been dramatic enough that everyone accepted it. Even Elhokar, despite his earli... |
your friend. I’ve tried to explain to the councils in Kharbranth and Jah Keved that you mean well. I tell the ardents of the Holy Enclave that you’re looking back toward when the Knights Radiant were pure, rather than their eventual corruption. I tell them that you have no control over these visions. “But Dalinar, that... |
in the palace that night who had reason to see him dead. A second group who knew the Desolations might return are the Skybreakers. Led by the ancient Herald Nalan’Elin—often simply called Nale—the Skybreakers are the only order of Radiants that did not betray its oaths during the Recreance. They have maintained a conti... |
Shallan said. “Like a man on the docks who has a trained kurl that will dance and wave its arms for fish.” “But … we want those tidbits, don’t we?” “That’s why it works.” Storm it. She couldn’t deal with this at the moment. She took a Memory of the page. It wasn’t a particularly efficient method in regards to text, but... |
strange one, our mistress,” Vathah agreed. “Makes you want to do things,” Gaz said with a grunt. “Things you never thought you’d do.” “Yeah,” Glurv said from the next table over. “I got a medal. Me. For helping find that mess hiding in the basement. Old Kholin himself sent it down for me.” The overweight soldier shook ... |
die.” “Shob,” Vathah said, “with the way justice plays out in this world, I can guarantee you’ll outlive the rest of us.” “Ah, that’s nice,” Shob said. “Right nice, Sarge.” The game progressed only a few rounds before Shob started flipping over his tiles. “Already!” Gaz said. “Shob, you cremling. Don’t do it yet! I don... |
“I used to be their storming sergeant,” Gaz said. “Did everything I could to get them to run those bridges faster. Nobody likes their sergeant though.” “I’m sure you were the perfect sergeant,” Red said with a grin. “I’ll bet you really looked out for them, Gaz.” “Shut your cremhole,” Gaz grumbled. “Though I do wonder.... |
loves it.” “Storms. How long have you been spying on me?” “Not long,” Ishnah said quickly, in direct contradiction to what she’d just said. “But I can assure you, promise it, that I’ll be more valuable to you than these rancid buffoons. Please, at least let me try.” “Buffoons?” Gaz said. “Rancid?” Shob said. “Oh, that’... |
“I can find people for you! Experts.” “I wouldn’t be able to trust them,” Veil said, shaking her head. “I need someone I know is loyal.” “Who?” Veil pointed at Vathah and his men. Ishnah’s expression fell. “You want to turn those men into spies?” “That, and I want you to prove to me what you can do by showing it to tho... |
he tasted the cool water, his stomach immediately cramped, rejecting it even though he was parched. This always happened after a night on the moss, so he knew to ride the nausea and the cramps, hoping he could keep the water down. He slumped, holding his stomach, frightening the people in line behind him. Out in the cr... |
some places than others. But they were always there, nameless but still known. The tough-looking Herdazian man sitting at the front waved him in. It was dim inside, but Teft found his way to a table and slumped down. A woman in tight clothing and a glove with no fingers brought him a little bowl of firemoss. They didn’... |
for three bowls,” said the den’s keeper. “One garnet broam.” “Be glad,” an accented voice growled, “we do not rip off pieces of your body and pay you with those.” Storms. Rock was here too? Teft groaned, turning away. “Don’t see me,” he croaked. “Don’t…” “Our establishment is perfectly legal, Horneater,” the den keeper... |
a man. Days when he couldn’t feel anything but his own self-loathing, days living with the shame, the memories, the glances of other bridgemen. Days without any storming help whatsoever. That terrified him. Cephandrius, bearer of the First Gem, You must know better than to approach us by relying upon presumption of pas... |
started down a path away from the cliff, and Dalinar followed. Aharietiam. The people who lived through this had thought it the end of the world. Surely they assumed they’d soon return to the Tranquiline Halls. How would they respond to the information that—after four millennia—mankind still hadn’t been allowed back in... |
raised to the throne miraculously, the Heralds may choose to speak through me!” He looked about. “This day we are living through, it is the Day of Glory?” “Aharietiam,” Dalinar said. “Yes.” “Why did they place you here? What does it mean?” “They didn’t place me here,” Dalinar said. “Your Excellency, I instigated this v... |
what to do with all of his captives. He couldn’t leave a fighting population behind him in the towns. There were thousands upon thousands of men he needed to murder. “Sometimes he’d simply assign the work to his soldiers. Every man was to kill thirty captives—like a child who had to find an armload of firewood before b... |
butt.” Dalinar cleared his throat. “What?” “Your butt is too nice. Old guys shouldn’t have tight butts. It means you spend waaay too much time swinging a sword or punching people. You should have an old flabby butt. Then I’d trust you.” “She … has a thing about butts,” Yanagawn said. “No I don’t,” the girl said, rollin... |
branch and stalked out into the night. The cold air felt strange on his skin after so long in front of the fire. He hated how cold it was down here. Perpetual winter. The four of them had suffered through the storms hiding in the cramped, reinforced bottom of their wagon, which they’d chained to the ground. They’d frig... |
thing in the fire. Storms. He should throw himself in the fire. He looked up toward the skies, toward both Damnation and the Tranquiline Halls. A group of starspren quivered above. And beside them, something moving in the sky? Moash shouted, throwing himself backward off his perch as four Voidbringers descended upon th... |
simply let it happen. The Voidbringer working in the cart said something eager, excited. He’d found the Shardplate. He kicked other items while digging it free, and something rolled out the back of the wagon, thumping against the stone. A spear. Moash looked down at his Shardblade, the wealth of nations, the most valua... |
night as they continued to spin in the air. Moash hung on tight and pushed the knife farther. She didn’t heal, as Kaladin would have. Her eyes stopped glowing, and the dark light vanished. The body grew limp. A short time later, the force pulling Moash upward ran out. He dropped the five feet to the ground, her body cu... |
and joking. She enjoyed the warm, enveloping buzz of fellow humans who had turned this tomb of rock into something alive again. It still daunted her to contemplate the size of the tower. How had anyone built a place this big? It could gobble up most cities Veil had seen without having to loosen its belt. Well, best not... |
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