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this here coach. Oi had to hop on without jostling things. He ran off giggling like a child, he did.” “He just likes to surprise people,” Adolin said, helping Shallan from the carriage. “Ignore him.” The new carriage driver hunched down as if embarrassed. Kaladin didn’t recognize him; he wasn’t one of Adolin’s regular ... |
It’s like the stuff in the middle of a hasper, only without the shell.” “It’s one of the sarpenthyn,” Shallan said. “Poor thing,” Adolin said. “Did its mother give it that name?” Shallan swatted him on the shoulder. “It’s a family.” “So the mother was behind it.” “A family of animals, idiot. They have more of them in t... |
not. I’m not a chull-thing. I’m a soldier.” They moved on, passing cage after cage of animals. Some Shallan wanted to draw, others she concluded didn’t need an immediate sketch. The one she found the most fascinating was also the strangest, a kind of colorful chicken with red, blue, and green feathers. She dug out colo... |
though as she started, people began to move away from the cage. At first, Kaladin thought it was something about the beast itself—but the animal continued to just lie there, eyes closed, occasionally snorting out of its nose holes. No, people were congregating at the other side of the menagerie. Kaladin caught Adolin’s... |
people think it’s blasphemous and stupid, what Dalinar is doing. The other half are undecided. If Amaram displayed Surgebinding powers, Brightlord Dalinar’s move would look a lot less precarious.” Sigzil was probably right. But . . . Amaram? The man walked with such pride, head held high. Kaladin felt his neck growing ... |
a deep patrol,” Kaladin said. “Head out toward New Natanan. I don’t want you here when we move against Graves and his people.” It had been too long already. “I’m not leaving.” “You will, and it’s not subject to—” “What they’re doing is right, Kal!” Kaladin frowned. “Have you still been meeting with them?” Moash looked ... |
Navani said, folding her arms and watching the remnants of the glyphward burn. “The terms change things.” The terms—agreed upon with Relis and spoken in front of the highjudge just earlier—indicated that this duel would go until surrender, not until a certain number of Plate sections were broken. That meant if Adolin d... |
out into the center of the arena. The others hadn’t left their preparation room yet. Take Relis first, Adolin told himself. You know his dueling style. The man preferred Vinestance, slow and steady, but with sudden, quick lunges. Adolin wasn’t sure whom he’d bring along to fight with him, though he’d borrowed a full se... |
from him, the growl of a beast on a chain. It surprised him. The highprince contained himself, however, sitting down with a curt motion. “He outthought us,” Dalinar said softly to the king. “Again. We’ll need to retreat and consider our next move. Someone tell Adolin to pull out of the contest.” “Are you certain?” the ... |
“One at a time, lad!” One shout from the stands seemed to separate from the others. Was that Zahel’s voice? “You’re not cornered!” Relis stepped forward in a quick motion, testing Adolin. Adolin danced away in Windstance—certainly the best against so many foes—with both hands holding the Blade in front of him, position... |
at the champion’s breastplate. If this had been a battlefield and these common foes, Relis would be dead, Elit maimed. Adolin was yet untouched. But they weren’t common foes. They were Shardbearers, and a second strike against Relis’s breastplate didn’t break the armor. Adolin was forced to turn on Abrobadar before he ... |
you know.” Sadeas’s voice. Dalinar spun toward the man. “The dueling conventions don’t forbid it,” Sadeas said, speaking loudly enough for Dalinar to hear. “I checked to make sure. Young Adolin can be helped by up to two people. The Blackthorn I once knew would have been down there already, fighting with a rock if he h... |
had the time to fetch his Plate. Abrobadar’s blow just about knocked the weapon from Renarin’s hands. “Now,” Relis said, stepping closer to Adolin, “Abrobadar there is fond of young Renarin, and doesn’t want to hurt him. So he’ll just keep the young man engaged, make a good fight of it. So long as you’re willing to kee... |
who will fight with them?” He scanned the crowd. The king was looking at his feet. Amaram. What of Amaram? Dalinar found him seated near the king. Dalinar met the man’s eyes. Amaram looked away. No . . . “What has happened to us?” Dalinar asked. “Where is our honor?” “Honor is dead,” a voice whispered from beside him. ... |
at Kaladin as he approached, then turned back away, indifferent. Relis obviously didn’t think a simple spearman was a threat. Kaladin smiled, then sucked in some Stormlight. On this bright day, with the sun blazing white overhead, he could risk more than he normally would. Nobody would see it. Hopefully. He sped up, th... |
fought desperately against his two opponents, swinging his Blade back and forth between the men on either side of him. And storms he was good. Kaladin had never seen this level of skill from Adolin on the practice grounds—nothing there had ever challenged him this much. Adolin moved between sweeps of his Blade, deflect... |
the other Shardbearer near him. On the other side of the arena, the fourth man—the one who had been “fighting” Renarin—was waving his sword at the ground for some reason. He looked up and saw how poorly things were going for his allies, then left Renarin and dashed across the arena floor. “Wait,” Syl said. “What is tha... |
his hand like a very strange glove. Taking a deep breath, Kaladin yanked out his side knife. He’d started carrying one meant for throwing again, as he had as a spearman before his captivity, though he was out of practice with that. Throwing wouldn’t work against that armor anyway; this was a pitiful weapon against Shar... |
not stop it. It was beyond the touch of men. It was infinite. . . . His Stormlight ran out. Kaladin stumbled to a halt. He tried to suck in more, but all of his spheres were drained. The helm, he realized, noticing that it was gushing Stormlight from its numerous cracks, yet hadn’t exploded. It had somehow fed upon his... |
fleeing inside. Kaladin heard his screams echoing inside the hallways there long after the man vanished. The arena grew still. “Highlord Relis Ruthar,” the judge finally called, sounding disturbed, “forfeits by cause of leaving the dueling arena.” Kaladin climbed, trembling, to his feet. He glanced at Renarin—the lad w... |
quieting the crowd. “Warrior, duelmaster,” the king shouted, “I am greatly pleased by what you have accomplished today. This was a fight the like of which hasn’t been seen in Alethkar for generations. You have pleased your king greatly.” Cheering. I could do this, Kaladin thought. “I offer you a boon,” the king proclai... |
Kaladin. “You’ve ruined everything! We lost our chance at Sadeas!” “Adolin made his challenge,” Kaladin said. “Surely Sadeas can’t ignore it.” “Of course he can’t,” Elhokar shouted. “He’s already responded!” Kaladin frowned. “Adolin didn’t get a chance to pin down the duel,” Dalinar said, looking at Kaladin. “As soon a... |
in conference with us this morning. You overshadowed it in the name of your own petty vengeance.” “Amaram—” “I don’t know where you got this idea about Amaram,” Dalinar said, “but you have to stop. I checked into what you said, after you brought it to my attention the first time. Seventeen witnesses told me that Amaram... |
felt pity for his former friend. Now the man pulled something like this. How had he grown so deft? No, Sadeas told himself. This was not deftness. It was luck. Pure and simple luck. Four Shardbearers. How? Even allowing for the help of that slave, it was now obvious that Adolin was at last growing into the man his fath... |
There wasn’t a straight line in the whole starvin’ place. Just lots and lots of curves. Lift’s companions climbed up to peek over the top of the wall. A scuffling, scrambling, rowdy mess they were. Six men, supposedly master thieves. They couldn’t even climb a wall properly. “The Bronze Palace itself,” Huqin breathed. ... |
an unlucky number.” She held up her hands. “I’m only this many.” “. . . Ten?” Tigzikk asked. “Is that how many that is? Sure, then. Ten.” She lowered her hands. “If I can’t count it on my fingers, it’s unlucky.” And she’d been that many for three years now. So there. “Seems like there are a lot of unlucky ages,” Huqin ... |
nifty, though. The thieves followed behind her, moving with reasonable stealth. They really weren’t that bad. Even if they didn’t know how to climb a wall properly. They gathered around her, and Tigzikk stood up, straightening his coat—which was an imitation of one of those worn by the rich scribe types who worked in t... |
captured you, just like in the stories.” “I came to you,” Wyndle said. “Your powers come from me! Do you even listen to—” “Up the wall,” Lift said, pointing. Wyndle sighed, but obeyed, creeping up the wall in a wide, looping pattern. Lift hopped up, grabbing the small handholds made by the vine, which stuck to the surf... |
so awesome when she was hungry. She slipped inside the window. Having a Voidbringer was useful, though she wasn’t completely sure her powers came from him. That seemed the sorta thing a Voidbringer would lie about. She had captured him, fair and square. She’d used words. A Voidbringer had no body, not really. To catch ... |
out. “Listen for the warning,” Huqin said to his nephew, then eased the door almost closed behind him. Tigzikk and his accomplice below would listen for any kind of alarm. If anything seemed to be amiss, they’d slip off and blow their whistles. Huqin’s nephew crouched by the window to listen, obviously taking his duty ... |
at him sharply. “Don’t pretend you don’t,” he said. “I’ve seen you doing it. Talking to the air, as if somebody were there.” “What’s your name?” she asked. “Gawx.” “Wow. Well then, Gaw. I don’t talk to myself because I’m crazy.” “No?” “I do it because I’m awesome.” She started down the steps, waited for a gap between p... |
then shoved past Gawx and pushed open the door, entering the main hallways again. Gawx cursed. “Do you even know what you’re doing?” “No,” she said, then scuttled around a corner into a large hallway lined with alternating green and yellow gemstone lamps. Unfortunately, a servant in a stiff, black and white uniform was... |
chosen yet!” “Well, it’s kind of strange,” Gawx said. By the dim light of the cracked door, she could see him blushing, as if he knew how starvin’ odd this all was. “There’s never not a Prime. We just don’t know who he is yet. I mean, he’s alive, and he’s already Prime—right now. We’re just catching up. So, those are h... |
and hurried her pace toward the Prime’s quarters. She knew she’d found those when she glanced down a side hallway and spotted guards at the end. Yup. That door was so nice, it had to belong to an emperor. Only super-rich folk built fancy doors. You needed money coming out your ears before you spent it on a door. Guards... |
me,” Wyndle said, growing up beside her to create another line of handholds, “because I exist mostly in the Cognitive Realm, even though I’ve moved my consciousness to this Realm. I can make myself visible to anyone, should I desire, though it’s not easy for me. Other spren are more skilled at it, while some have the o... |
twisting mesh of vines that could make a face. “It is the only answer I can find to why you can touch spren. And you can metabolize food directly into Stormlight.” She shrugged. He was always saying words like those. Trying to confuse her, starvin’ Voidbringer. Well, she wouldn’t talk back to him, not now. The men and ... |
have been harmful to Azir. Let’s just pick the worst application. From this stack.” “What if we pick someone who is legitimately terrible? Is it not our duty to care for the kingdom, regardless of the risk to the one we choose?” “But in picking the best from among us, we doom our brightest, our best, to die by the swor... |
time, constable, for—” Lift bolted. Her instincts finally battered down her surprise and she ran, leaping over a couch on her way to the room’s back door. Wyndle moved beside her in a streak. She tore a hunk off the roll with her teeth; she was going to need the food. Beyond that door would be a bedroom, and a bedroom ... |
wobble. Lift thrashed, trying to pull free, but without that storm inside of her, she was just a child in the grip of a trained soldier. “I am highly disturbed by the nature of this incursion, constable,” the lead vizier said, shuffling through the stack of papers that Darkness had dropped. “Your paperwork is in order,... |
vizier said. “Watch yourself.” “Is that a threat, constable? I am beyond your reach.” “Nobody is beyond my reach.” Still no emotion. Lift thrashed underneath the table, kicking at the minion. He cursed softly and hauled Lift out by her legs, then pulled her to her feet. Darkness watched, face emotionless. She met his g... |
quickly. Darkness was awesome too. “That is not fair!” Lift shouted, scrambling to her feet and dashing down a side hallway—the way she’d come when sneaking with Gawx. Her body had already started to feel tired again. One roll didn’t get it far. She sprinted down the lavish hallway, causing a maid to jump back, shrieki... |
are. Don’t worry. You’re mine. I won’t lettem have you.” “That’s endearingly loyal,” Wyndle said. “And not a little insulting. But they are not after—” The second of Darkness’s minions stepped out into the hallway ahead of her. He held Gawx. He had a knife to the young man’s throat. Lift stumbled to a halt. Gawx, in fa... |
Below, the minion moved off, hunting farther and farther for her. She was free. Climb across the roof, slip down on the other side, disappear. Was that motion on the wall at the edge of the grounds? Yes, those moving shadows were men. The other thieves were climbing their wall and disappearing into the night. Huqin had... |
said. Gawx stirred. The viziers gasped, their attention turning toward the youth as he groaned, then sat up. “It appears that you are an Edgedancer,” Darkness said, steering her down the corridor as the crowd moved in around Gawx, chattering. She stumbled, but he held her upright. “I had wondered which of the two you w... |
voted,” said a vizier. “This young man’s application was the best.” “What application?” Darkness said. “He is a thief!” “He performed the miracle of Regrowth,” said one of the older scions. “He was dead and he returned. What better application could we ask for?” “A sign has been given,” said the lead vizier. “We have a... |
reason he liked it. A hundred levels, built in ring shapes, each one beneath larger than the one above it to provide a sunlit balcony. The eastern side, however, was a sheer, flat edge that made the tower look from a distance as if that side had been sliced off by an enormous Shardblade. What a strange shape. He sat on... |
take days to get where he was going, but he would find answers. Or, barring that, someone to kill. Of his own choice, this time. Eshonai waved her hand as she climbed the central spire of Narak, trying to shoo away the tiny spren. It danced around her head, shedding rings of light from its cometlike form. Horrid thing.... |
everyone of it. Shouldn’t you have brought it to the Five first?” “I’m sorry,” Eshonai said. “I am merely excited. I believe, however, we should now be the Six.” “That has not been decided,” Abronai said, weak and plump. Mateform was disgusting. “This moves too quickly.” “We must move quickly,” Eshonai replied to Resol... |
to Joy. “I feel strong, and I feel powerful. I feel a connection to the world that I should have always known. Davim, this is like the change from dullform to one of the other forms—it is that much of an upgrade. Now that I hold this strength, I realize I wasn’t fully alive before.” She lifted her hand and made a fist.... |
isn’t enough. If the Five do not come to a consensus—” “Don’t worry.” “Our people must take that form, Eshonai,” Venli said. “It is inevitable.” Eshonai found herself attuning the new version of Amusement . . . Ridicule, it was. She turned to her sister. “You knew, didn’t you? You knew exactly what this form would do t... |
grew so that it whipped at her clothing, spinning around her in a swirl of wind, crackling red lightning, and dark mist. Finally, it dissipated. She heard Awe being sung throughout the crowd—full songs, not humming. Their emotions were strong. “With this power,” Eshonai declared, “we can destroy the Alethi and protect ... |
relayed through the ranks. More humming to Resolve. “I am proud of you,” Eshonai said. “I am going to have the Storm Division go among you and take your word, each of you, on this transformation. If there are any here who do not wish to change, I would know of it personally. It is your decision, by right, and I will no... |
them an escort so that they do not get lost.” Venli stepped up to her as Melu passed the word, sending ranks out to obey. Thude rejoined his division. Every half year, they did an accounting to determine their numbers and see if the forms were properly balanced. Once in a while, they would need more volunteers to becom... |
“What of the rest of the Five?” “They agreed,” Melu said. “Some were reluctant, but they agreed.” “Go and fetch Zuln. Put her with the dissenters. I don’t trust her to do what is needed.” The soldier didn’t question as she towed Abronai away. There were perhaps a thousand dissenters there on the large plateau that made... |
of the old songs, as she was guided. “You can watch over that group,” Eshonai said to Thude. “You and soldiers you trust. I’ll put my own division in charge of the people there, you at their head. That way, nothing will happen to them without your agreement.” He hesitated, then nodded, humming to Consideration for real... |
down one of the bridges, then used the ropes to climb down into the chasm itself. They’ve fled through those.” “Then they’re dead anyway,” Eshonai said. “There is a storm in two days. They’ll be caught in the chasms and killed. Ignore them.” “What of their guards?” Venli demanded to Spite, shoving her way up beside Esh... |
to suck that Light out. It’s only a little farther than the Parshendi were when I drew the Light from their gemstones.” “Then what?” Syl asked, voice small. Good question. “Would you help me break out, if I wanted to?” “Do you want to?” “I’m not sure.” He turned around, still standing, and rested his back against the b... |
hadn’t been there a moment ago. Storms . . . had the bench even been there before? “How did you get in?” Kaladin asked. “Well, there are these things called doors . . .” “The guards let you?” “Technically?” Wit asked, plucking at a string, then leaning down to listen as he plucked another. “Yes.” Kaladin sat back down ... |
Wit was playing with him. The man was said to do that. He was supposedly Sigzil’s old mentor. Shouldn’t Kaladin have earned a reprieve by helping out his apprentice? There was nothing of humor to those notes. Those powerful notes. Wit added a second melody, complementing the first. Was he playing that with his other ha... |
The storm surged on, released a howl; it saw its chance might now approach. “To the highest mounts and the coldest peaks, our hero Fleet did make his way. The slopes were steep and paths unsure. Would he maintain his mighty lead?” “Obviously not,” Kaladin said. “You can never stay ahead. Not for long.” “No! The storm g... |
thought you were making it up.” “No, you were.” “Then what is there to know?” Wit smiled. “All stories told have been told before. We tell them to ourselves, as did all men who ever were. And all men who ever will be. The only things new are the names.” Kaladin sat up. He tapped one finger against his stone block of a ... |
taken forever to find a merchant at the Shattered Plains who had a copy. “Look,” Shallan said, holding the map beside a modern one of the same area, copied by her own hand from Amaram’s wall. Bastard, she noted to herself. She turned the maps around so that Pattern—who decorated the wall above her headboard—could see t... |
something valuable hidden out on the Shattered Plains. Will keep you informed of my discoveries.” If Sebarial thought there was opportunity beyond gemhearts out on the Plains, she might be able to get him to take her out there with his armies, in case Adolin’s promises didn’t come through. Getting all of that ready had... |
than explaining humor,” Shallan said. “We have more important things to discuss.” “Mmm . . . Such as why you have forgotten how to make your images produce sound? You did it once, long ago.” . . . Shallan blinked, then held up the modern map. “The capital of Natanatan was here, on the Shattered Plains. The old maps are... |
had artistic stylings instead of specific indications of things like distance and location. While she appreciated the former, the latter was truly frustrating. Are you on here? she thought. The secret, the Oathgate? Are you here, on this dais, as Jasnah thought? “The Shattered Plains haven’t always been shattered,” Sha... |
said, remembering him spinning on the ground and running into the wall. “You were kind of cute, though.” She banished the image of the frightened, huddled, whimpering girl, then got out her drawing implements. She tapped a pencil against her lips, then did something simple, a drawing of Veil, the darkeyed con woman. Ve... |
excess from her that would normally float above her skin. That could be useful. As Pattern moved up onto the bed, Veil’s elbow—which was closest to him—grew more distinct. Shallan frowned. “Pattern, move closer to the image.” He obliged, crossing the cover of her bed toward where Veil stood. She unfuzzed. Not completel... |
window, reading the same books over and over or sketching the same objects again and again. He had proven several times by this point that he would not touch her if she angered him. Instead, he would beat others in her name. The only times she allowed herself to drop the mask was when she was with her brothers, times w... |
arm. “You bastard,” Balat said, growing pale. “I’ll—” “You’ll what, Balat?” Father asked, shaking off Luesh’s touch, leaning toward Balat. “Come on. Say it. Will you challenge me? Don’t think I wouldn’t kill you if you did. Wikim may be a pathetic wreck, but he will serve just as well as you for what this house needs.”... |
“I’m not going to give up on Eylita, Shallan. She’s the only beautiful thing that has happened in my life. If she and I have to go live in Vedenar as tenth dahn, with me working as a house guard or something like that, we’ll do it. Doesn’t that seem a better life than this?” He gestured toward the dead pups. “Perhaps.”... |
it with my own eyes. He is the one who could ruin all of this. Surprise him, kill him before he can summon his Shardblade. That weapon will be yours in payment so long as you serve House Davar.” Shallan stumbled back from the door before Father could look up and see her. Helaran. Father had just ordered Helaran’s assas... |
her. With a groan at stiff muscles, Kaladin sat up and regarded his meal. Flatbread stuffed with bean paste. He stood, waving away some strange spren like taut wires crossing before him, then forced himself to do a set of push-ups. Keeping his strength up would be difficult if the imprisonment continued too long. Perha... |
Dalinar asked. “Sir? I’m in storming prison.” A smile cracked Dalinar’s face. “So I see. Calm yourself, soldier. If I’d ordered you to guard a room for a week, would you have done it?” “Yes.” “Then consider this your duty. Guard this room.” “I’ll make sure nobody unauthorized runs off with the chamber pot, sir.” “Elhok... |
commanded to rule over Kholinar and watch the kingdom while his father organized our first camps here in the Shattered Plains. I was . . . away at the time. “Anyway, do not blame Elhokar. He was taking the advice of someone he trusted. Roshone, however, sought his own interests instead of those of the Throne. He owned ... |
frowned. “I trust my hunches,” Dalinar said. “My gut said you were a man who could help change this kingdom. A man who could live through Damnation itself in Sadeas’s camp and still somehow inspire others was a man I wanted under my command.” His expression grew harder. “I gave you a position no darkeyes has ever held ... |
Shallan had used an illusion to expand the size of the shed atop this tenement in Sebarial’s warcamp, providing a hidden place to sit and watch the street below. Five hours of waiting—comfortable enough, with the stool and spheres for light—had revealed nothing. Nobody had approached the lone stone-barked tree growing ... |
nor Tyn’s would help. Jasnah had been indifferent toward men, while Tyn had not talked about keeping men, only distracting them for a quick con. Is your father feeling better? she wrote. Yes, actually. He’s been up and about since yesterday, looking as strong as ever. Good to hear, she wrote. The two continued exchangi... |
we can find a chrysalis? Shallan asked. Well, the pen wrote, even if the Parshendi aren’t fighting over those anymore, Father doesn’t take risks. I can’t bring you on a run when there is a chance they might come and contest us. But, I’ve been thinking we can probably arrange the scouting mission so it passes by a plate... |
Stand at the trunk for a moment, as if retrieving the thing inside, then walk to the alleyway between this building and the next.” “Yes!” Pattern said. He zipped off toward the stairs, excited to be part of the lie. “Slower!” Shallan said, wincing to see Veil’s pace not matching her speed. “As we practiced!” Pattern sl... |
to know about this person, and Dalinar’s allegiances are uncertain.” “He’s loyal to the king and the Throne.” “Outwardly,” the woman said. “His brother knew things of an extraordinary nature. We are uncertain if Dalinar was told of these things or not, and his interactions with Amaram worry us. This newcomer is linked.... |
immediately. “All are one or the other.” The palanquin’s porters slowed. Shallan peeked out the curtains and found that they had finally reached the edge of Dalinar’s warcamp. Here, soldiers at the gates stopped each person in line waiting to enter. “How will you get us in?” Iyatil asked as Shallan closed the curtains.... |
Dalinar’s temple grounds were as plain as she would have expected. Grey-robed ardents passed the palanquin in pairs or small groups, mixing among people of all stations. Those had come for prayers, instruction, or advice—a good temple, properly equipped, could provide each of these things and more. Darkeyes from almost... |
be beneath him socially, but was also the one paying his wage, and so he just treated her as he would any other master. The palanquin settled down and one of the parshmen walked off to deliver her request. “Going to feign sickness?” Iyatil asked. “Something like that,” Shallan said as footsteps arrived outside. She cli... |
done, she reached up and tucked her straight red hair—the only part of her that threatened to pop out of the illusion—inside the back of her coat. “Pattern,” she whispered, turning and walking down the hallway with a relaxed demeanor. “Mmm?” “Find him,” she said, removing from her satchel a sketch of the madman that Mr... |
fat ardent’s body. Would that startle the man? He wasn’t looking, so she withdrew the illusion. “He doesn’t seem angry,” Pattern said. “But you call him mad.” “‘Mad’ has two definitions,” Shallan said. “One means to be angry. The other means broken in the head.” “Ah,” Pattern said, “like a spren who has lost his bond.”... |
in some Stormlight, then breathed out, using the still-fresh memory of the ardent to create— “Aaaaaaaah!” The madman leaped to his feet, screaming. He lurched for her, moving with incredible speed. As Shallan yelped in surprise, he grabbed her and shoved her out of her cloud of Stormlight. The image fell apart, evapora... |
in a breath. Nothing happened. No Stormlight. The sphere continued to glow, even and steady. Kaladin cried out, reaching farther, pushing his fingertips toward that distant light. Don’t let the darkness take me, he thought. He . . . prayed. How long had it been since he’d done that? He didn’t have someone to properly w... |
intense hatred. It had been a long time since she’d seen Helaran, now. And Balat had a point in that her older brother had abandoned them. To try to kill this man, apparently—or so she’d been able to put together from what she’d read of Amaram and his Shardblade. Why had Helaran gone to kill this man? And could she rea... |
shook her head, the color bleeding back into her skin and clothing. She made herself look like Veil again, then walked to the door, accompanied by the sound of the madman’s rambling. Herald of War. The time of the Return is near at hand. . . . Outside, she found her way back to the room with Iyatil, then apologized pro... |
nature—a reduction from the infinite variety that is womanhood. I say that there is no role for women—there is, instead, a role for each woman, and she must make it for herself. For some, it will be the role of scholar; for others, it will be the role of wife. For others, it will be both. For yet others, it will be nei... |
of every day in her rooms, but she was still of a much higher rank than he. She walked by the men, trembling hands clenched tight. They let her go. When she passed her father’s door, she heard soft weeping inside. Malise still lived, thankfully. She found Father in the feast hall, sitting alone with both firepits roari... |
Shallan said. “We will make plans for you to meet him, and you can schedule your flight for a time when Father is away. He is planning another trip to Vedenar a few months from now. Leave when he’s gone, get a head start.” Balat nodded. “Yes . . . Yes, that is good.” “I will draft a letter to Helaran,” Shallan said. “W... |
cursed household?” Malise shuddered. “He’ll kill us all. One by one, he’ll break us and kill us. There’s a darkness inside of him. I’ve seen it, behind his eyes. A beast . . .” “You’re going to leave,” Shallan said softly. Malise barked a laugh. “He’ll never let me go. He never lets go of anything.” “You’re not going t... |
gestured for Kaladin to leave the room first. Kaladin waited. Finally, the guard sighed. “Right, then.” He walked out the doorway into the hall beyond. Kaladin followed, and with each step felt himself traveling back a few days in time. Shut the darkness away. He wasn’t a slave. He was a soldier. Captain Kaladin. He’d ... |
to fight Sadeas anyway.” The prince stopped in the hallway, and looked at Kaladin. “Besides. You saved Renarin.” “It’s my job,” Kaladin said. “Then we need to pay you more, bridgeboy,” Adolin said. “Because I don’t know if I’ve ever met another man who would jump, unarmored, into a fight among six Shardbearers.” Kaladi... |
the side. Who were those men beside the wall? Members of Adolin’s retinue. Was that one of Adolin’s armorers? They carried some items draped with sheets. Adolin stepped into the room and loudly clapped his hands, quieting Bridge Four. “It turns out,” Adolin said, “that I’m in possession of not one, but two new Shardbla... |
Kaladin said. “I want the lives of people like me . . . like I am now . . . to change. This gift is not for me, Adolin. I’m not trying to spite you or anyone else. I just don’t want a Shardblade.” “That assassin is going to come back,” Adolin said. “We both know it. I’d rather have you there with Shards to back me up.”... |
insists on getting up at night and tending it.” “Is celebratory stew,” Rock said, folding his arms. “Must simmer long time.” “Well, let’s get to it, then,” Kaladin said. “I could certainly use something better than prison food.” The men cheered, piling off toward their barrack. As they moved, Kaladin grabbed Teft by th... |
on the helmet, visor up. He took a deep breath, then took a step and stumbled, nearly crashing to the ground. He steadied himself by grabbing a table, which he crunched beneath his fingers, the wood splitting. He stared at what he’d done, then laughed. “This . . . this is going to change everything. Thank you, Kaladin.... |
grunted again. “We made a breakthrough in the design of new Shardblades the other day.” “What, really?” he asked. “What happened? How soon will you have one ready?” She smiled, arm around his. “What?” “Just seeing if you are still you,” she said. “Our breakthrough was realizing that the gemstones in the Blades—used to ... |
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