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the merchant lords of Steen,” he noted, “I once had to swim across an entire vat of dye in order to save the prince’s daughter. When I was done, I still wasn’t as colorful as that preening cremling.” Alaward grunted. “Storming highborns. Useless for anything but giving bad orders and eating twice as much food as an hon... |
It felt wrong to be on patrol without a spear, and he instinctively sought out Syl, who rode the winds above. He’d been given a side sword to carry at his right, a truncheon to carry at his left, and a small round shield. The first thing the Wall Guard had taught him was how to draw the sword by reaching down with his ... |
“Not me,” Kaladin whispered. “The uniform.” “What … what will you do if they actually attack?” He didn’t know. He hadn’t come to this city to fight the populace, but if he refused to defend the squad … “Storming Velalant is late,” Ved grumbled. “A little more time,” Noro said. “We’ll be fine. The good people know this ... |
a beard, though his wasn’t exactly inspiring. Rock would have laughed it to shame and euthanized it with a razor and some soap. “Why do we pay off the highlords, Beard?” Kaladin asked as they climbed. “Velalant and his type are pretty useless, from what I’ve seen.” “Yeah. We lost the real highlords in the riots or to t... |
close a little while back. I heard voices, Kal. Whispering to me to join them. The highmarshal says we have to close our ears to those. They can’t take us unless we listen.” He rested his hand on Kaladin’s shoulder. “Your questions are honest, Kal. But you worry too much. We need to focus on the wall. Best not to talk ... |
large window looked out at the city beyond, where those inside could get specific orders via signal flags from below. He was sliding his shield onto a rack when the drums sounded, calling the alarm. Syl zipped up behind him like string suddenly pulled taut. “Assault on the wall!” Kaladin shouted, reading the drumbeats.... |
trying to find out how the Wall Guard was feeding itself. The drums signaled for the squads to stand down, and the men of Kaladin’s platoon lethargically trudged back to their tower. A sense of frustration accompanied them. Pent-up aggression. All of that anxiety, the rush of the battle, only to stand around and sweat ... |
the same?” “Nah,” he said. “I can finally move without kicking someone.” She left him and shoved her hands in her pockets, wearing her new coat and hat against the cool air. She’d hoped that Kholinar would prove to be warmer, after so long on the Shattered Plains or Urithiru. But it was cold here too, suffering a seaso... |
to do something to help. Like throwing a thimbleful of water onto a bonfire. She stood at an intersection, head bowed, as the shadows grew long, reaching toward night. Chanting broke her out of her trance. How long had she been standing there? Flickering light, orange and primal, painted a street to her left. No sphere... |
devotion. When have spren ever demanded your devotion? Stop dancing in the streets and be men and women again. Strip off those idiotic costumes and return to your families!” They didn’t move quickly enough, so she sent her tassels streaming upward, curling about one another, lengthening. A powerful light flashed from h... |
what did Shallan want again? Did it matter? Why bother worrying about her? Veil finally let go. She folded her hat and coat, then used an illusion to disguise them as a satchel. She layered an illusion of Shallan and her havah over the top of her trousers and shirt, then strolled inside, where she found Drehy and Skar ... |
said. “I want one.” Creationspren started to appear around her immediately. They seemed normal, though they were so odd anyway, it could be hard to tell. Elhokar was a good man. In his heart, at least. Shouldn’t that matter most? He moved to look over her shoulder, but she was no longer sketching from sight. “We’ll sav... |
to each step. The second fire was the Thrill. Sadeas, a traitor? Impossible. He had supported Gavilar all along. Dalinar trusted him. And yet … I thought myself trustworthy, Dalinar thought, leading the charge down a hillside, a hundred men flooding behind him. Yet I almost turned on Gavilar. He would see for himself. ... |
Finally it ended. He found himself lying in blackness, his head pounding, thick warm blood running down his face and dripping from his chin. He could feel the blood, but not see it. Had he been blinded? His cheek was pressed against a rock. No. He wasn’t blind; he’d been buried. And his helm had shattered. He shifted w... |
He dropped the head of the corpse in his hands and breathed out, feeling … What did he feel? Numb, suddenly. Pain was a distant thing. Even anger was nebulous. He looked down at his hands. Why was he using those, and not his Shardblade? He turned to the side, where Oathbringer protruded from a rock where he’d stabbed i... |
Dalinar continued through camp. Noise stirred at his passing, men crying of visions of the dead and of Voidbringers. He made for his command tent. The eternity it took to get there seemed the same length as the others. How could he cross so many miles in the same time as it took to go the few feet to a simple tent? Dal... |
from the ground around her. Dalinar glanced toward a sphere lantern, which had a polished metal surface. The man who looked back seemed more Voidbringer than man, face crusted over with blackened blood, hair matted with it, blue eyes wide, jaw clenched. He was sliced with what seemed to be a hundred wounds, his padded ... |
to stall the scribes,” Sadeas whispered, “as you ordered. Gavilar doesn’t know that you live. His orders from before were to wait and lay siege.” “My return supersedes his distant orders,” Dalinar said. “The men will know that. Even Gavilar wouldn’t disagree.” “Yes, but why keep him ignorant of your arrival?” The last ... |
be crushed by stones or impaled by arrows as they carried ladders. They broke through eventually, securing a section of the wall in a furious, bloody fight. The Thrill was an unsatisfied lump inside Dalinar, but he was wrung out, worn down. So he continued to wait until finally, Teleb and Sadeas joined the fight and ro... |
and walkways on fire. The very foundations of this city were flammable. Tanalan’s soldiers tried to organize a fight back out of the Rift, but they’d surrendered the high ground, expecting Dalinar to do as he had before, conquering and controlling. He watched as the fires spread, flamespren rising in them, seeming larg... |
this before. He drew his lips to a line, and shoved down the Thrill. He would not let himself enjoy this. That single sliver of decency he could keep back. “Brightlord!” a soldier said, waving to him. “Brightlord, you must see this!” Just below the cliff here—one tier down into the city—was a beautiful white building. ... |
your orders.” “My orders?” “You said to ‘Kill anyone who comes out of the city and leave their bodies to rot.’ I had men stationed below; they’ve launched arrows in at the city struts, burned the walkways leading down. This city burns from both directions—from underneath and from above. We can’t stop it now.” Wood crac... |
soldiers pulled him—limp—away from the heat and carried him to his camp. * * * Six hours later, Dalinar stood with hands clasped behind his back—partially to hide how badly they were shaking—and stared at a body on the table, covered in a white sheet. Behind him in the tent, some of his scribes whispered. A sound like ... |
the innocent pleading for help, for mercy. Evi’s voice joined them. Something must be done about the remnants of Odium’s forces. The parsh, as they are now called, continue their war with zeal, even without their masters from Damnation. —From drawer 30-20, first emerald Kaladin dashed across the street. “Wait!” he shou... |
Most people in the city would be inside their homes, the refugees instead in public stormshelters. This for-pay shelter was sparsely occupied, only a few of the tables or booths in use. That would give privacy to talk, fortunately, but it didn’t bode well for the proprietor. People didn’t have spheres to waste. “Where’... |
personalities to the Unmade.” Adolin lifted the cover, peeking in. “So … anything about swords in it?” “Oh hush,” she said, and batted his arm in a playful—and somewhat nauseating—way. Yes, it was uncomfortable to watch the two of them. Kaladin liked them both … just not together. He forced himself to look around the r... |
she snapped at him sometimes? If that was so, how did one explain the other times, when she watched him and grinned? When she winked, in a sly way? “Hessi reports stories of the Unmade not only corrupting spren, but corrupting people,” Shallan was saying. “Maybe that’s what’s happening with the palace. We’ll know more ... |
proprietor could at least keep this place clean. * * * Once the storm finally blew itself out, Shallan stepped from the winehouse, holding Adolin’s arm. She watched Kaladin hurry off toward the barracks for evening patrol. She should probably be equally eager to get going. She still had to steal some food today—enough ... |
the street. A young woman, lighteyed and hanging out a window, hair drifting free, wearing only a nightgown with her hand tied in a pouch. “Shallan,” he said, “these are amazing! Some of the best work you’ve ever done.” “They’re just quick sketches, Adolin.” “They’re beautiful,” he said, looking at another, where he st... |
Why not go a few steps farther? Radiant … Radiant could be his perfect bride, and she did like him. The thought made Shallan feel cold inside. Once they were close enough to the tailor’s shop that she didn’t worry about him being safe as he walked back on his own, Shallan forced herself to pull out of his grip. She hel... |
nobody could see her. Nobody could see her. Had anyone ever seen her? She stopped on the street corner, wearing shifting faces and clothing, enjoying the sensation of freedom, clothed yet naked skin shivering at the wind’s kiss. Around her, people ducked away into buildings, frightened. Just another spren, Shallan/Veil... |
with a droll expression. “I believe,” she said, “I wanted to not be interrupted.” “I brought drinks!” “Which is an interruption,” Veil said, pointing out the door. “If we’re thirsty, we’ll ask.” The innkeeper grumbled, then backed out the door, carrying his tray. He’s suspicious, Veil thought. He thinks we were up to s... |
new persona, a false face, to not expose Veil? But Veil is a false face, a part of her said. You could always abandon her. She strangled that part of her, smothered it deep. Veil was too real, too vital, to abandon. Shallan would be easier. First moon was up by the time they reached the steps to the Oathgate platform. ... |
was time for dinner. Below, he picked out buildings newly scarred from lightning strikes. A pod of corrupted windspren danced past, trailing intense red light. Even the smell of the air was wrong somehow. Moldy and sodden. Syl sat quietly on his shoulder until Beard and the others piled into the stairwell. He finally j... |
picked up his plate and moved down the table to settle into the open spot. * * * Veil reached the top of the platform, entering what felt like a little village. The monastery structures here were much smaller—yet far nicer—than the ones on the Shattered Plains had been. A cluster of fine stonework structures with slant... |
remnants of uniforms. They seemed to take no note of her or Kharat standing to the side. She’d have to cut through the stream of people to get farther inward to the Oathgate control building. She started to do so, but Kharat took her by the arm, steering her to join the flow of people. “We have to stay to the outer rin... |
used a Memory she’d drawn earlier in the day, that of a woman from the market. In her mind, Shallan added touches to the clothing. A havah, ragged like the others, an exposed safehand. It would do. She wished she could sketch it, but she could make this work. Now, what to do about her guard? He probably hears voices, s... |
earlier than that time. They say you appeared right when the Guard needed you.” “Perhaps I was always here, but merely blended in.” “With those scars? They may not spell out danger as explicitly as mine, but they’d have been memorable.” The rest of the table—lieutenants and the platoon captain—stared at Kaladin slack-j... |
on the tables here rotted, and was infested with decayspren. Kishi wavered at the edge of the ring. She should have kept to the outer ring; she didn’t belong here. There was food aplenty behind her. Laughter and reveling. It seemed to pull her back, inviting her to join the eternal, beautiful walk. Within that ring, ti... |
30-20, third emerald Kaladin charged up the stairwell beside Highmarshal Azure, the sound of drums breaking the air like echoes of thunder from the departed storm. He counted the beats. Storms. That’s my section under assault. “Damnation these creatures!” Azure muttered. “I’m missing something. Like white on black…” Sh... |
nearby. It had been dropped from very high up—or perhaps it had been Lashed into the sky and had only now fallen. Most of the wounded men were archers from the Eighth Platoon; it looked like they’d been swept from the top of the tower. We can’t fight these things, Kaladin thought. The Voidbringers attacked in sweeping ... |
attack Beard and the men on the other side. Kaladin growled and dashed along the inside wall of the tower, pulled himself up past the table, then hurled himself out a window. He crashed into the Voidbringer in midair, shoving the creature’s lance to the side. “Leave. My. Men. Alone!” Kaladin clung to the clothing of th... |
thought as he knelt by one of the wounded and quickly prepared a bandage by slicing up a fallen cloak. Storms. We might all be doomed. We’re not anywhere near ready to fight these things. It looked like Noro’s squad, at least, had survived. They jogged down the wall and gathered around the Voidbringer Kaladin had kille... |
been brewing in me since my youth. —From Oathbringer, preface Shallan drew. She scraped her drawing pad with agitated, bold streaks. She twisted the charcoal stick in her fingers every few lines, seeking the sharpest points to make the lines a deep black. “Mmm…” Pattern said from near her calves, where he adorned her s... |
out a damp rag to wipe her freehand fingers. Down on the plateau, soldiers ran drills. The thought of them all living in that place disturbed Shallan. Which was stupid. It was just a building. But it was one she couldn’t sketch. “Shallan…” Pattern said. “We’ll work it out,” she said, eyes forward. “It’s not your fault ... |
an old artistic movement. I guess I defaulted to it when I couldn’t get the picture to look how I wanted. Hardly anyone bothers with it anymore except students.” “It made my eyes make my brain think it forgot to wake up.” Shallan gestured, and the scout led the way back down and across the plateau. Here, Shallan notice... |
fool invaders, like a castle fortification. The sweeping turns and lack of seams made the corridors feel like tunnels. Shallan didn’t need a guide—the strata that cut through the walls had distinctive patterns. Others seemed to have trouble telling those apart, and talked of painting the floors with guidelines. Couldn’... |
Tashikk’s information networks, but they’re so isolationist. That leaves Yezier and Liafor. Perhaps the weight of their involvement would persuade their neighbors?” He turned toward her expectantly. “Yes, yes…” Shallan said, thoughtful. “I have heard of several of those places.” Dalinar drew his lips to a line, and Pat... |
wasn’t about understanding, but about knowing. The Stormlight streamed off the map, passing between her and Dalinar in a rush, causing Navani to scramble off her seat and back away. The Light swirled in the chamber and became another, larger map—floating at about table height—in the center of the room. Mountains grew u... |
champion,” Dalinar said, eyes narrowing. “In the visions, Honor told me our best chance of survival involved forcing Odium to accept a contest of champions. I’ve seen the enemy’s champion—a creature in black armor, with red eyes. A parshman perhaps. It had nine shadows.” Nearby, Renarin had turned toward his father, ey... |
and gone to help the city’s people. If she could find them. “Grund?” Veil repeated, leaning farther in through the window. Before, he’d always been up at this time. Perhaps he’d finally moved out of the building, like all the others had. Or maybe he hadn’t gotten back from the stormshelter yet, following the Everstorm.... |
and a whimper. That’s Grund. Veil cursed softly, scrambling around to look in through the window. A group of thugs was chewing on the flatbread she’d brought. Grund lay in the corner, whimpering and holding his stomach. Veil felt a flash of rage, and angerspren immediately boiled around her, pools that sprayed red and ... |
pleasant. “You know already?” Shallan asked. “About Grund?” “Grund?” Muri snapped. “All I know is that the Grips are angry about something. I’m not going to take a chance.” “The Grips?” “How oblivious are you, woman? The gang in charge of this area has had toughs watching us all for when you next arrived. The one watch... |
Kaladin, scrunched up against him in the confines. “Um, so Kal, you … you know the Blackthorn?” “Better than most.” “And … ahem … you know—” “That the two of you never went swimming together in the Purelake?” Kaladin said. “Yes, though I suspect the rest of the squad guessed that, Beard.” “Yeah,” he said, glancing back... |
help him use his powers without notice. “All right, Stormblessed,” Azure said. “I’ve opened our secrets to you. Now you’ll tell me how the king could expect one man, even a Shardbearer, to be able to save this city.” “There’s a device in Kholinar,” he said, “of ancient design. It can instantly transport large groups of... |
doorway, then carefully stepped inside and settled down across from her, his back against the wall. The room was narrow enough that his legs stretched out and touched the wall beside her. She had hers drawn up, knees against her chest, head resting on them. Wit didn’t speak. He put his sphere on the floor, and let her ... |
a girl. It gave the brief impression of her standing before a wall, but then disintegrated back into dust. He tried again, and it swirled a little higher this time, but still fell back to dust. “A little help?” he asked. He pushed a bag of spheres across the ground toward Shallan. Shallan sighed, then picked up the bag... |
have opposing endings? In half, the child ignores her parents, wanders out into the woods, and gets eaten. In the other half she discovers great wonders. There aren’t many stories about the kids who say, ‘Yes, I shall not go into the forest. I’m glad my parents explained that is where the monsters live.’ ” “Is that wha... |
down beside her? “So you remember,” Wit said gently, “the rest of the story?” “It’s not important. We found the moral already. The wall kept people out.” “Why?” “Because…” What had she told Pattern before, when she’d been showing him this story? “Because,” Wit said, pointing, “beyond the wall was God’s Light.” It burst... |
father, then broke herself in turn. She’s worthless, Wit.” She gritted her teeth, found herself sneering. “It’s not really her fault, but she’s still worthless.” Wit grunted, then pointed at the second illusion, standing behind them. “And that one?” “No different,” Shallan said, tiring of this game. She gave the second... |
but a safehand glove. Should she hide? Why? This felt … fine. She walked all the way back to the tailor’s shop and peeked in. Adolin sat at a table inside, bleary-eyed. He stood upright. “Shallan? We were worried! Vathah said you should have come back!” “I—” He embraced her, and she relaxed into him. She felt … better.... |
It was thick at the base, as wide as a man’s palm, and the front waved like the ripples of a moving eel. The back had small crystalline protrusions growing out of it. No sheath could hold a weapon like this, and no mortal sword could imitate it—not without growing unusably heavy. You knew a Shardblade when you saw one.... |
but many were loyalists. They’d brought some hundred men-at-arms with them—not as many as Kaladin had brought from the Wall Guard, but still, Elhokar seemed proud of what he had done in gathering them. As well he should. Together, he and Adolin joined the Radiants near the front of the shop. Elhokar waved for the highl... |
spears and shields. “Steady, men,” Azure called. “Your Majesty, the bulk of my soldiers are dying on the wall in a hopeless fight. I’m here because Stormblessed convinced me that the only way to help them is to take that palace. So if we’re going to do it, the time is now.” “We march, then!” Elhokar said. “Highmarshal,... |
palace rose before the army like an obsidian block. The very stones seemed to have changed color. Adolin summoned his Shardblade, and the sight of it seemed to give comfort to the men nearby. Their march took them toward the northern section of the city, near the city wall. Here, the Fused were visible, attacking the t... |
king’s flanks as he cuts! Don’t let the enemy strike at him as the door falls!” Men crowded up the steps, taking positions along the front of the palace’s front porch. They held spears, though some were lighteyed. Adolin, Azure, and Elhokar each went to a separate door atop the steps. Here, the front of the palace roof... |
said. Adolin took a deep breath, then approached the opening. The interior bristled with spears. Like the proverbial whitespine’s den. At Adolin’s instruction, a soldier on his side faced his men and did a countdown with one hand. As the last finger dropped, the soldiers at the doorway fell back. Adolin charged through... |
Azure said. “We’ll fight for every inch.” Outside, the crashing at the gate finally grew silent. “They’re in,” Adolin guessed. “That breach isn’t far from here.” Highlord Shaday grunted. “Maybe our enemies will turn against one another? Can we hope the Voidbringers and the Palace Guard will start fighting each other?” ... |
that ardent, and then executed Brightlord Kaves.…” He took a deep breath. “We’re traitors, sir.” “She culled the Guard, sir,” another man said. “Locked us in here because we wouldn’t obey. Practically forgot about us.” Adolin breathed out a relieved sigh. The fact that the entire Guard hadn’t simply gone along with her... |
on the Shattered Plains. “The gallery is secure,” Kaladin said, Stormlight puffing from his lips. “The enemy you pushed back has fled up the steps. Your Majesty, I suggest you send Azure’s men onto the Sunwalk to hold it.” Adolin ducked into the eastern gallery, followed by a flood of soldiers, Azure calling commands. ... |
a deep breath, then summoned Pattern as a Shardblade. She held the Blade before herself in a common stance. “Good form,” Adolin said. “I had a good teacher.” They advanced across the Sunwalk, passing fallen enemy soldiers—and a single dead Fused, pinned to a cleft in the rock by what appeared to be his own lance. Shall... |
time with the heart. “Storms…” Drehy whispered. “All right,” Shallan said, walking forward. “Guard this area. I’ll see what I can do.” The enemy makes another push toward Feverstone Keep. I wish we knew what it was that had them so interested in that area. Could they be intent on capturing Rall Elorim? —From drawer 19-... |
me?” Elhokar bellowed. “Do you not know your monarch? Are you so far consumed by the touch of the spren that you would kill your own king?” Storms … those soldiers barely seemed to be breathing. At first they didn’t move—then a few looked backward, down the hallway. Was that a distant voice? The palace soldiers immedia... |
a city being conquered. She tried Pattern first, stabbing him into the heart as a Shardblade. The mass simply split around the Blade. She slashed with it, and the spren cut, then sealed up behind. So. Time to try what she’d done in Urithiru. Trembling, Shallan closed her eyes and pressed her hand against the heart. It ... |
him like cremlings at a corpse. The boy tried to turn his head, and the spren pulled on the back of his hair until he looked up, while others hovered in front of his face and took horrific shapes, like horses with melting faces. Kaladin reacted with swift, immediate rage. He growled, seizing the Sylblade from the air, ... |
child stopped weeping. He looked up, blinked away tears, and finally let his father pick him up. Elhokar cradled the child, who in turn clutched his stuffed soldier. It wore blue armor. “Out,” Kaladin said. “But…” The king looked toward his wife. “Elhokar,” Kaladin said, gripping the king’s shoulder. “Be a hero to the ... |
going to be tricky, Azure,” Adolin said. “We’re going to have to fight back down into the city, push the enemy out. Storms, I hope my father has our armies ready.” Shallan blinked, dazed. She couldn’t help feeling she’d failed. That she hadn’t done anything. “The first transfer will be only the control building,” Adoli... |
of men clashing, and of familiar singing. Parshendi songs. “Rearguard!” Kaladin shouted. “Form up on the steps; orient toward the upper floor!” His soldiers obeyed, turning and leveling spears and shields at the descending enemy. Kaladin Lashed himself upward and twisted so that he hit the ceiling feet-first. He ducked... |
fighting to keep their freedom. The guardsmen who had been rescued, fighting for their king. Azure’s Wall Guard, terrified as their city fell around them. The Queen’s Guard, convinced they were loyally following orders. In that moment, Kaladin lost something precious. He’d always been able to trick himself into seeing ... |
king faded and flickered out. The king’s Shardblade appeared from mist and clanged to the ground beside him. Elhokar, king of Alethkar, was dead. Moash pulled the spear free and glanced at the Shardblade. Then he kicked it aside. He looked at Kaladin, then quietly made the Bridge Four salute, wrists tapped together. Th... |
engage them if they don’t press. We’re abandoning the city. Anyone not on the platform in ten minutes will be left behind!” Adolin hurried toward the control building. Kaladin followed, dazed. After what he’s been through, Adolin thought, I wouldn’t have expected that anything could faze him. Not even Elhokar’s … Storm... |
that recording this will be good for me, so here I go. Everyone says I will swear the Fourth Ideal soon, and in so doing, earn my armor. I simply don’t think that I can. Am I not supposed to want to help people? —From drawer 10-12, sapphire Dalinar Kholin stood at attention, hands behind his back, one wrist gripping th... |
a man who was just?” Just? Justice is what you brought to those people. “That was not justice. That was a massacre.” The Stormfather rumbled. I have burned and broken cities myself. I can see … yes, I see a difference now. I see pain now. I did not see it before the bond. Would Dalinar lose his bond now, in exchange fo... |
an innocent man or free three murderers.” “I remember.” “How does one live after making a decision like that? Particularly if you eventually discover you made the wrong choice?” “This is the sacrifice, isn’t it?” Taravangian said softly. “Someone must bear the responsibility. Someone must be dragged down by it, ruined ... |
He was dying! He was going to die and suffocate in this sea of endless beads. He— Someone caught his hand. Azure pulled him up and helped him back onto the platform, beads rolling from his clothing. He coughed, feeling that he had been drowning, though he’d gotten only a few beads in his mouth. Stormfather! He groaned,... |
Dalinar thought. It’s been almost three years. Three years, living with what he’d done. Three years, wasting away in Kholinar. He’d assumed it would get better. It was only getting worse. Sadeas had carefully spun news of the Rift’s destruction to the king’s advantage. He’d called it regrettable that the Rifters had fo... |
He fumed, tapping the counter. Had Gavilar discovered that Dalinar was coming here, and moved the wine? The king thought him a drunkard, but Dalinar indulged only on occasion. On bad days. Drink quieted the sounds of people crying in the back of his mind. Weeping. Children burning. Begging their fathers to save them fr... |
came all the way out here, facing their condemning eyes. He slipped down the stairwell into the depths of the building, entering halls that led toward the kitchens in one direction, the catacombs in the other. A few twists and turns led him out onto the Beggars’ Porch: a small patio between the compost heaps and the ga... |
dance! I watched.” Dalinar paused, the bottle halfway to his lips. Then he held it out to Ahu. “Drink this. You need it.” Ahu obliged. Sometime later, Dalinar stumbled back to his rooms, feeling downright serene—thoroughly smashed and without a crying child to be heard. At the door, he stopped and looked back down the ... |
pretty, blue-white spren girl? The creature with the stiff robe and a mesmerizing, impossible symbol instead of a head? What of the woman with the scratched-out eyes? And those two enormous spren standing overhead, with spears and— Light exploded to Adolin’s left. Kaladin Stormblessed, pulling in power, floated into th... |
on this side.” “So what do we do?” Shallan asked. Pattern looked in one direction, then the other. “No boat. Hmmm. Yes, that is a problem, isn’t it?” Adolin spun around. Some of the eel-like spren climbed onto the platform, using stumpy legs that Adolin had missed earlier. Those long purple antennae stretched toward hi... |
Nearby, hundreds of little spren—like little orange or green people, only a few inches tall—were climbing among the spheres. She ignored those, searching for the soul of something that would help. “Shallan,” Pattern said, kneeling. “I don’t think … I don’t think Soulcasting will accomplish anything? It will change an o... |
“I can … Yes, there’s an impression to each one.” “We need the soul of something long and flat.” Shallan plunged her hands into the spheres, eyes closed, letting the impressions wash over her. “I can’t sense anything,” Adolin said. “What am I doing wrong?” He sounded overwhelmed, but don’t think about that. Look. Fine ... |
to make another standing platform. Pattern jumped down, followed by Adolin and Azure. Once they’d all piled precariously on the door, Shallan let go of the building. It crashed down behind them, beads falling in a tumult, frightening some of the little green spren crawling among the beads nearby. Shallan reconstructed ... |
small. He started toward the rooftop. Kaladin, however, remained standing on the door, staring sightlessly. Syl, his spren, tugged his hand. “Kaladin?” Adolin asked. Kaladin finally shook himself and gave in to Syl’s prodding. He walked onto the rooftop. Adolin followed, then took Kaladin’s pack—deliberately but firmly... |
fine. It just took … concentration. Visualization.” “We need to find another way back to our world,” Kaladin said, seated nearby. “We can’t rest. They’re fighting. We need to help them.” Adolin surveyed his companions. Shallan lay on the ground; her spren had joined her, lying in a similar posture and looking up at the... |
screw. It was striking enough that Shallan took a Memory of it for later sketching. Shallan and Adolin finally caught up to the others, passing a group of guards maintaining a perimeter. Though Bridge Four had discovered the body, they’d sent for Kholin reinforcements to secure the area. They protected a medium-sized c... |
trailed by Peet, Lopen, and—remarkably—Rlain of Bridge Four. That one drew attention from the other soldiers, several of whom positioned themselves subtly to protect Dalinar from the Parshendi. They considered him a danger, regardless of which uniform he wore. “Colot?” Dalinar said, looking toward the lighteyed captain... |
dead. “Perhaps if I put my son on the job, it will convince people I’m serious about finding the killer. Perhaps not—they might just think I’ve put someone in charge who can keep the secret. Storms, I miss Jasnah. She would have known how to spin this, to keep opinion from turning against us in court. “Either way, son,... |
They were close enough to the Surges. Or maybe they feared him because of the black sword in a silver sheath that he wore strapped to his back. Oh, it’s the lake! the sword said in his mind. It had an eager voice that didn’t sound distinctly feminine or masculine. You should draw me, Szeth! I would love to see the lake... |
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