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some clear liquid. Amaram glanced at the opening, which spilled sunlight into the room. A small figure there made a puffing sound, a blowgun held to lips beneath a half mask that covered the upper face. The Herald’s other hand shot out, quick as an eyeblink, and snatched the dart from the air mere inches from Amaram’s ... |
“My gods are the spirits of the stones,” Szeth whispered. “The sun and the stars. Not men.” “Nonsense. Your people revere the spren of stone, but you do not worship them.” That crescent . . . He recognized it, didn’t he? “You, Szeth,” the man said, “worship order, do you not? You follow the laws of your society to perf... |
He tossed his large sword to the ground. It skidded on stone and came to a rest before Szeth. He had not seen a sword with a metal sheath before. And who sheathed a Shardblade? And the Blade itself . . . was it black? An inch or so of it had emerged from the sheath as it slid on the rocks. Szeth swore he could see a sm... |
Shallan might be the most important person in the world, and he was . . . What was he? He raised his lantern, then made a few marks in chalk on the wall to indicate he’d been here. This tower was huge. How did the entire thing stay up? They could probably explore in here for months without opening every door. He had th... |
trying to undermine Dalinar. “Why?” Adolin asked, stepping up to him. “Why are you like this, Sadeas?” “Because,” Sadeas said with a sigh, “it has to happen. You can’t have an army with two generals, son. Your father and I, we’re two old whitespines who both want a kingdom. It’s him or me. We’ve been pointed that way s... |
but they’d do less good than a rock in such a close-quarters fight. Thoughts coming more clearly, Adolin picked up the weapon and stumbled away. He ditched the Blade out a window, dropping it down into one of the planterlike outcroppings of the terrace below. It might be safe there. After that, he had the presence of m... |
Jasnah had tried to open the Oathgate there; the woman’s notes said that Oathgates to each of the cities were locked tight. Only the one in the Shattered Plains had been left open. Shallan hoped to figure out how to use the others, though their tests right now showed them to be locked somehow. If she managed to make th... |
his madness had traveled so far. Even without that, however, he suspected his warnings would be ignored, as the things he spoke of were insane. A storm that blew the wrong way? Parshmen turning into Voidbringers? Only Taravangian of Kharbranth—and now, apparently, Jah Keved—had seemed willing to listen. Heralds bless t... |
it was. I saw light and warmth.” A SIMPLE DREAM. NOT OF ME, NOR OF GODS. Curious. Dalinar could have sworn it felt the same way as the visions, if not stronger. GO, BONDSMITH, the Stormfather said. LEAD YOUR DYING PEOPLE TO FAILURE. ODIUM DESTROYED THE ALMIGHTY HIMSELF. YOU ARE NOTHING TO HIM. “The Almighty could die,”... |
me,” Renarin whispered. “My mind. But Glys, he says . . .” Renarin blinked. “Truthwatcher.” “Truthwatcher?” Kaladin said, glancing at Shallan. She shook her head. “I walk the winds. She weaves light. Brightlord Dalinar forges bonds. What do you do?” Renarin met Kaladin’s eyes across the room. “I see.” “Four orders,” Da... |
“It is what it is.” “So many will die.” “And we will save the ones we can,” Dalinar said. He turned to her. “Life before death, Radiant. It is the task to which we are now sworn.” She pursed her lips, still looking eastward, but nodded. “Life before death, Radiant.” “A blind man awaited the era of endings,” Wit said, “... |
and procure a suitable set of spectacles before attempting any further traversal of thoroughfares. “Anyway, as this story is a comedy, the man is invited to the palace for a reward. Various nonsense follows, ending with the poor farmer wiping himself in the privy with one of the finest paintings ever painted, then stro... |
when her journey had begun. She groaned a long groan, then looked to the side, where Wit stood. He grinned at her. She stabbed her hand out in the blink of an eye, mist twisting around her arm and snapping into the form of a long, thin sword pointed at Wit’s neck. He cocked an eyebrow. “How did you find me?” she asked.... |
He looked at her. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be sorry,” she said, “until we see how much I can salvage. The storm has come already? The parshmen have transformed?” “Yes and no,” Wit said. “The storm should hit Shinovar tonight, then work its way across the land. I believe that the storm will bring the transformation.” Jasnah ... |
of this Investiture and its manifestations. THE TEN SURGES As a complement to the Essences, the classical elements celebrated on Roshar, are found the Ten Surges. These—thought to be the fundamental forces by which the world operates—are more accurately a representation of the ten basic abilities offered to the Heralds... |
only type of gemstone that will work, or if there is another reason heliodor is used. In the case of this kind of fabrial, the amount of Stormlight you can infuse into it affects its range. Hence the size of gemstone used is very important. WINDRUNNING AND LASHINGS Reports of the Assassin in White’s odd abilities have ... |
Surgebinding involves the manipulation of light and sound in illusory tactics common throughout the cosmere. Unlike the variations present on Sel, however, this method has a powerful Spiritual element, requiring not just a full mental picture of the intended creation, but some level of connection to it as well. The ill... |
don’t know, this book was produced as a result of a successful Kickstarter campaign for the Way of Kings leatherbound. So the first acknowledgment is to all of you! Thank you for your active enthusiasm for this series, which I always thought would be too strange and too enormous to be popular. Putting Dawnshard togethe... |
Eltania * Warbreaker White Sand Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell * Sixth of the Dusk * The Way of Kings Words of Radiance Edgedancer * Oathbringer Dawnshard Rhythm of War This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s i... |
“Rising out of the water? It has big tentacles, waving in the air. And . . . and a bright red stripe on its back.” “Well toss me overboard and call me a fish,” Yalb said. “If you can see it, I guess you are a real sailor! You win the bet, then.” Of course, they’d made certain Dok could hear them whispering when they’d ... |
curve. . . . Yeah, it’s a ship, sails in tatters. Listing to port. How’d you ever spot it?” “What banner does it fly?” “None,” Brekv said, handing down the spyglass. A bad sign. Why was it out here alone, during a war? Yalb’s own vessel was a quick scouting vessel, so it made sense for them to sail alone. But a merchan... |
she did it sitting in a room surrounded by stacks of papers, but she felt like a hunter all the same. Among these reports hid so many interesting tidbits. Details of goods for sale, rumors of ports with needs that the war was making difficult to fulfill. Somewhere among all of this minutia was the perfect opportunity f... |
forced herself to return to her hunt. She’d already sent a request via spanreed to someone she thought could help with Chiri-Chiri. There wasn’t anything more Rysn could do until he replied. So, she scooted along her bench to resume her work. Then, however, she realized she’d left her pen. She began to scoot back to fe... |
with them was exciting and invigorating. They felt so many of her own emotions, and were eager to share with her things they’d learned. Mura, an Azish woman, had designed several interesting devices to help in daily life, demonstrating marvelous creativity. Hooks and rings—with items hanging on pegs—to allow for ready ... |
her approval, moved out into the antechamber to answer the knock. A smiling man entered her office a second later. Rysn dropped her papers in shock. The Reshi man had deep tan skin, with his hair in two long braids down over his shoulders. Talik wore a traditional Reshi wrap and tasseled overshirt, with his chest bare.... |
few months ago.” “Feels like an eternity for me,” Rysn said, sipping her tea and stretching her other hand out on the desk toward Chiri-Chiri. Normally, the larkin would hop over and sniff it when she did that. Today she barely stirred, letting out a soft chirp. “I suppose we can catch up later,” Talik said. “For now, ... |
ghost ship was discovered by a Thaylen military vessel some two months ago. Officials had traced it back to a voyage to the semi-mythical city of Akinah. The Queen of Urithiru, Navani Kholin, had put out a request for another ship to travel to Aimia and investigate a certain region. A strange storm where the ruins of A... |
lowered, the other rose. Rysn—privileged in her relationship to her babsk, who was Thaylen Minister of Trade—had heard extremely interesting talk of the hidden purpose behind these platforms. If what she’d heard was true . . . If those fabrials could do what Queen Navani claimed they could . . . Chiri-Chiri shifted in ... |
It was a good thing Rysn had mostly gotten over her feelings of insecurity. Otherwise this might have been very intimidating, instead of only slightly so. Navani studied Rysn as if she were a schematic for a ship, seeming to read her very soul with those discerning eyes. “So . . .” the queen said in Thaylen. “Who are y... |
seems likely that someone knew the ship was carrying this runaway, and then attacked it, murdering the crew to get the Soulcaster.” The devices were rare and extremely powerful. Most kingdoms had access to only a handful of Soulcasters—if any at all. Many people in Thaylenah thought the Alethi’s wartime prowess was due... |
of power. So she waved for Nikli to pick Chiri-Chiri up and carry her over. As the months had passed, Rysn had begun to truly grasp the strategic importance of Stormlight as a fuel both for fabrials and for the Knights Radiant. Beyond that, the enemy had creatures—known as Fused—who used the Void’s own Light. Chiri-Chi... |
said, “but I can’t risk sending Windrunners alone if they will be drained midflight and fall into the ocean to drown. And so, I need a ship. I think you’ll find that your own queen encourages this mission as well. “Hopefully we can minimize the danger. All I want is for you to take one of my scribes to the place, penet... |
“But what of you, Captain? This is a difficult mission I propose. Is my payment offer enough? Is there anything more I could offer the woman who owns her own ship and keeps a mythical creature as a pet?” Rysn glanced at Chiri-Chiri, who had grown tired of playing already, and was quietly batting at the sphere instead o... |
skin, as if they had sapphires in their veins. All so different. He figured, sure, that people must be like mountains. See, when you were far away from mountains, they all basically looked the same. Fly up high, soar over them in a hurry, and there was no time for detail. Pointed. Covered in snow. Mountain. Got it. Fly... |
enjoying the ride. “Now see, I figure that you live on a giant crab out in the ocean, right?” Lopen said as they flew. “One of the really big ones. A bigger-than-a-town type crab. “I had a cousin once, sure, who had a crab he swore had bred with chulls, but I didn’t think that was possible, even if it came up to my kne... |
drop, it would take way long for you to hit. I’d catch you first.” “That’s not terribly encouraging . . .” Talik said. He took a deep breath, then studied Lopen. “Normally, I would assume a person who brought me up here like this had done so to discomfort me during our negotiations. But you . . . really aren’t doing th... |
We now realize this transformation is in relation to a spren he has been seeing. It is why he agreed to make this long trip.” “Your king is Radiant!” Lopen said. “What kind?” “He can make the very air seem to catch flame,” Talik said. “And sees a spren that burns through the inside of objects in curious treelike patter... |
But I can’t betray their secrets. They’re my cousins, gon.” “They’re not your cousins.” “Herdaz is next to Reshi. So we’re cousins.” “Alethkar is next to Herdaz too,” Kaladin said. “So I’m as much your cousin as those people are.” Lopen tapped him on the shoulder and winked. “You’re finally figuring it out, gancho. Goo... |
City via Oathgate and report to the docks tomorrow morning. And be careful.” “Gancho, I’m always careful.” “Are you?” “Of course,” he said, pointing at himself. “What? You think this happens by accident?” He grinned, waved Rua over, then went to taunt Huio about being sent on a special mission—before relenting and tell... |
both the quartermaster and the navigator were women by tradition. On the Wandersail, the soldiers were led by Kstled, the ship’s man-at-arms, who was the captain’s brother. Both captain and man-at-arms bowed formally to Rysn as she was carried up to the quarterdeck. Nikli and his assistant carried her in her wheeled ch... |
people like me, not outright hostile. Not everything in people’s interactions with me is related to my condition.” So what was the reason so many of the crew resented her? She wasn’t certain she could stand another full trip constantly feeling their eyes on her. “I hesitate to mention this,” Nikli said, “but perhaps it... |
done the old religions any favors. Rysn herself had drifted away from such ways of thinking, trying to be more intentional about her beliefs. At any rate, Thaylens formally ignored omens. It was on the books, you might say, that such things were nonsense. Yet tradition was powerful, and when out at sea, logicspren coul... |
“He knew an appointment from the queen was going to come to him, and he wouldn’t be able to continue his expeditions. So he prepared you all ahead of time. He always watches out for the people he employs.” The captain, not meeting Rysn’s eyes, gave an almost imperceptible hint of a nod. Storms, that’s it. That’s why. R... |
you really want to feel like one of them, ask Flend—he’s the man on day shift in the eel’s nest—if he has ever seen a sailorspren.” “What will that do?” Nikli asked, frowning. “It should make him start a little hazing ritual they often put new sailors through. They love pranking new hands with that old trick.” “Hazing,... |
have been given the ship. But even without that, talking to them would have been awkward. She was their rebsk, more unapproachable than an officer. When she tried to engage them in conversation, they’d respond in noncommittal ways or grow quiet. The Lopen did not have that particular problem. He was fascinating. She’d ... |
be seen, where she could watch the horizon. She wanted to listen to the sounds of the sea—the sprays, the crashes, and the calls of the sailors as they worked. Nearby, Queen Navani’s scribe—a slender ardent named Rushu—knelt beside a box, where she tinkered with some fabrials. Though they were a few weeks into the trip... |
make other people comfortable with their personal insecurities.” “Yup, true,” the Lopen said. “She shouldn’t have to.” Rushu nodded curtly, as if she’d won the argument. But Rysn understood the tone in the Lopen’s voice. She shouldn’t have to do such things, but life was unfair, and so you controlled the situation as b... |
number of them to work in conjunction. “That is how we create flying platforms. Each has a lattice of rubies conjoined to another lattice that is set up in a convenient location, such as alongside a plateau with a steep cliff. We can lower the cliffside lattice, and in so doing raise the lattice on a distant battlefiel... |
attached to a lattice of gemstones, and then if I wanted to move forward, someone would have to move that lattice. So I’d still need porters and carriers.” “Unfortunately, yes, Brightness,” Rushu said. Rysn tried not to let disappointment show on her face. The world was becoming a place of wonders—men and women soared ... |
Rysn as Kstled rushed up to the quarterdeck and whispered something to the captain, who had been chatting with the current helmsman. Rysn focused on them, on Kstled’s worried face, and on the captain’s immediate frown. Would they remember to inform her, whatever it was? The captain gave an order, then started down the ... |
glancing toward the Horneater woman. “My sorrows,” Cord replied. “I did not know this thing was . . . he was bad. . . . I asked others. . . .” “It is done,” Rysn said, turning to Nikli. “To my cabin, quickly.” The tattooed porter, along with his assistant, quickly carried her up from the hold to the higher decks. Yes .... |
It was a kind of Soulcasting: taking scraps and transforming them into the brightest of gemstones. He’d made her write down a list of locations. . . . “Fetch the captain for me,” Rysn said absently, unrolling one of her maps. She didn’t realize until after he’d gone that she’d given an order to a Knight Radiant. Would ... |
more jovial as they returned to their stations. Rysn had, hopefully, inverted the omen. That was the traditional way to disperse such a thing: to derive a good turn from it. To those who followed the Passions, this showed that fate was on your side, even when an omen tried to darken the way. You could always defeat glo... |
out of some kind of petulant spite was exactly the kind of thing the youthful her would have done. That voice persisted anyway. “You know,” Nikli said, still kneeling beside her chair and scanning the ship, “I have this strange, perhaps selfish piece inside me that didn’t want the crew to like me. It was easier to thin... |
Something to do with the mission. That’s all I heard. But I do feel I should point out that the Horneater was the first to discover the worms. And the Radiants still haven’t come up with a good explanation for why she’s on this voyage.” “What are you implying?” Rysn said. “No implication. Merely sharing what I heard.” ... |
is a different argument, said Alalhawithador, who was Third—a swarm almost as old as Yelamaiszin. You like these humans, Nikliasorm. That is good. We are so bad at imitating them, and you learn well from your travels. More of us should spend time studying humans, to become like them. Plus, Yelamaiszin said, we should h... |
but I will need help. This was sent to another vote, and Nikli’s bodies—the distant ones, not on the ship—all vibrated with anticipation. Yes, the vote came. Yes, Nikli should be allowed to try again. It hurts us to kill Radiants, let alone one of the Sighted, said Yelamaiszin, the First. You may try this plan. If it f... |
of aluminum plates and foils that Rushu had sent with him, to use in some experiments trying to communicate back to her on the ship. “You know this?” Huio asked of them. “Aluminum,” Lopen said, still floating above the deck a few feet. “Yeah, it’s weird stuff. Can block a Shardblade, Rua tells me, if it’s thick enough.... |
the opposite of being casual. So he put his hands behind his head, and thought more about what she’d said. “Cord,” he said, “your father. Is he really in danger because of what he did? Saving Kaladin? Killing Amaram?” It had been several months since the event, and Kaladin had persuaded Rock to remain in Urithiru for t... |
half.” “You know, cuz,” Lopen said in the same language, “those spanreeds are way more valuable than the locks you used to break apart. You could get into trouble.” “Perhaps,” Huio said, tinkering with a small screwdriver to undo part of the gemstone’s housing, “but I am certain I can reassemble it. The ardent-lady wil... |
guys. The Radiants. Urithiru. All of it. He’d decided they were, despite bad choices by some of the Radiants in the past. But he thought about the Shattered Plains. And how stupid that battle had been, stretching all those years. How many good people had it killed? He couldn’t help worrying they were now headed into a ... |
The, uh, starboard side? He wandered over, and then Lashed himself upward to see over their heads. Something was floating in the water nearby. Something large. And something that was very, very dead. Rysn felt a sinking sense of dread as Nikli carried her to the side of the ship. The sailors had bunched up here, attend... |
And she became suddenly aware of the crowding sailors’ mood. Dark. Too quiet. No mentions of what a bad omen this was. They already knew. There was nothing more to say. “We’ll be turning back after this,” said Alstben, a tall sailor who liked to spike his eyebrows. He looked at Rysn. “No way we continue.” Storms. It wa... |
majesty.” “. . . Fortunate?” Kstled asked. “Yes,” Rysn said. She had trained herself not to feel intimidated when seated among a crowd of standing people, but it was difficult not to feel her old insecurities as so many of them turned to stare down at her, skeptical—even angry. Attitude, she reminded herself. You will ... |
I do see a good omen in this. I’ve always wanted to meet a santhid in the wild. I have burned prayers that one would someday come to me. This creature’s soul must have known that.” “Yeah,” another sailor said. “Notice how it doesn’t stink? It should smell, rotting like that. I don’t see a single rotspren. Good omen, th... |
frothed, and in moments nothing was left of the santhid. Even the eyeball she’d felt watching her earlier had broken into multiple pieces, exposing legs and shells on the underside, before swimming away into the deep. Later that night, Rysn sat in a little cove, watching the bonfire send smoke toward the Halls far abov... |
Vstim. On this matter, I’ve been less successful, he dictated. None of the scholars I talked to have any idea what to make of your story of the disintegrating santhid. Though it does smell a little like some of the old stories about Aimians. That they could take off their arms and legs? Rysn wrote. I met one of them on... |
Queen Jasnah is agreeing with your theory. She wrote, “Of course, that is an astute observation. I should have seen that possibility. Our access to these powers is too new—we keep overlooking such things. “Compliment your shipowner for me, and warn her that an enemy Lightweaver is a very real possibility. And tell her ... |
smooth skin and large eyes—rode the foam up onto the beach, then quickly retreated with the water. “Your village is in . . . Alm, is it?” “Yes, Brightness,” he said. “Inland, up against the mountains.” “That’s close to Aimia. Do your people have any legends or stories about the place?” Nikli settled down on a large sto... |
But . . .” “But?” Rysn prompted. “Well, the people who attacked Aimia quickly realized that destroying these devices would catastrophically undermine the place.” He shrugged. “That’s really all I know. Without these . . . fabrials, I guess they were? Without them, the island couldn’t sustain a nation. “Many were killed... |
talk. Listen. They are a swarm of creatures, but they have one mind each. They have traveled our land, always as a creeping group of cremlings. They are not evil, but they are extremely secretive.” “I appreciate the information,” Rysn said, thoughtful. “Can you tell me more of these gods who don’t sleep?” “Maybe,” Cord... |
again. “We must continue this voyage, Brightness not-captain. These spren are not high gods, but near to them. They urge us forward. But we must be cautious. . . .” A call rose from the fire, and Huio waved for Cord to return—he was tending the stew in her absence—so she excused herself and hurried over. Rysn stirred a... |
head. Not yet. “Ardent Rushu?” Lopen asked. “I cannot help noticing that you have not given an explanation to me or Brightness Rysn about what it is you want to do.” “You say more than enough for both of us, Lopen,” Rushu replied. “Ha!” Huio said. Lopen grinned, putting a hand to his head. “A fellow has to try all the ... |
wobble like this?” “No,” Rushu said, but she was grinning. “Huio, do you realize what you have done?” “Make . . . wobbles?” he said. Then his eyes opened wide. “It wobbles! Wobbles—side-to-side!” He let out an exclamation in Herdazian that Rysn didn’t understand, then grabbed Rushu’s hand, barely able to contain his ex... |
Brightness? Are you well?” They both looked to Rysn, who had been struggling to keep her composure as they chatted. She finally failed, and the tears started flowing. Chiri-Chiri chirped and leaped up, flapping her wings to help her get high enough to grab the chair with her mouth. Rysn scooped her up with one arm, hol... |
out of this job, Rysn,” he said softly. Then hesitated. “This is an important discovery for so many people. You should make certain to transfer it quickly via spanreed. So it is not lost, in case something happens to this expedition.” “Wise,” Rysn said, glancing toward the dimming bonfire. The night was growing late. T... |
installed on her seat. It was based on a spinning serving dish, and let the top of her seat rotate, while the bottom portion—with the gemstones—stayed in place. Rysn spun around so she faced the other direction, then pulled herself back toward where she’d started. Because there was no real resistance once she began, it... |
chair put her a little higher than she was accustomed to sitting. If this worked, would she someday be able to hover in conversations at eye level with everyone else, even when they were all standing? A way to avoid feeling like a child among adults? Cord was staring to the northwest. Over the last few days, they’d com... |
home. My world. I never wanted to leave. But then I did, to join my father. And you know what I found?” “A world?” “A frightening world,” Cord said, narrowing her eyes. “He is a strange place. And I realized that I liked him.” “Being afraid?” “No. Being able to prove that I could survive frightening things.” She smiled... |
you doing? I revealed the traitor to you!” “Yes, you did,” Rysn said. She’d had days to prepare for this event, ever since she’d become certain Nikli was the one creating the “omens.” It hurt anyway. Damnation. He seemed so genuine. Kstled finished binding Nikli and pulled him over and up to his knees. Nikli looked at ... |
gancha,” he explained. “At least, no way I can tell. Queen Jasnah, sure, she could do it. But to Rua and me, he looks like a regular person. Even cutting him won’t work. A regular singer, they would bleed blood the wrong color. But a Lightweaver? Well, he could change that.” “Could we have Cord inspect him?” Rysn asked... |
quarterdeck—she’d been informed ahead of time, of course. She would make an announcement to the crew. Eventually, the sailors sent to rummage through Nikli’s things returned with another bag of poison and, curiously, an annotated recipe book written in Azish. Rysn looked through this, finding notes that said things lik... |
the railing. It was strange to see the ship stripped of most of its sails, like a skeleton without the flesh. But this ship, sure, was special. Fabrial pumps would supposedly keep it bailed, no matter how much water washed onto the deck. And there were stabilizers that used attractor fabrials. Those would shift weights... |
like Huio, which made his eyebrows look extra amusing to Lopen—particularly wet as they were. But he played a mean mouth harp. “We’ve trained to sail into highstorms on this ship if we have to! I’ve actually been through one! Waves as high as mountains, Lopen!” “Ha!” Lopen said. “You haven’t seen anything. I was once i... |
Lopen exploded from the ocean a moment later, carrying a sputtering Turlm. Rua darted ahead, leading him toward the ship—which was good, because in the dark tempest, details were about as easy for Lopen to make out as his own backside. Lopen hauled Turlm over the rail and hit the deck with a thump, then Lashed the man ... |
thing was, but Rua was insistent. It was one of them. The things that had feasted on Stormlight, draining the Windrunners who had tried to investigate the storm before. “It’s swimming?” Lopen asked, wiping rainwater from his eyes. “How can you be certain that’s one of them, naco?” Rua simply was. And Lopen trusted him.... |
plus he had an excellent sense of humor. And not only because he thought Lopen’s jokes were funny. He also thought Huio’s were terrible. Lopen hastened up the stairs to the quarterdeck, then slowed as he stepped up beside the captain and helmsman. They were staring out across the ocean, toward something emerging from d... |
the beach. Just lying there, discarded among the shells of fallen beasts.” Curious. Rysn took a deep breath. “I authorize a slow approach. Warn me if anything new is spotted, and kindly have someone ask the Radiants and their party to come speak with me.” She could see Lopen, Huio, and Rushu chatting softly with Cord d... |
embarrassed enough to draw a few shamespren, like floating flower petals. “Er, yes, Brightness,” Rushu said. “We’ll want to strike inward, toward those buildings.” “I suggest letting my men do a quick reconnaissance before you do so,” Rysn said. “Kstled, take a large contingent of sailors and—leaving non-combatants on ... |
by bringing her here, Rysn had unwittingly offered her freedom—and she’d taken it? Well . . . Rysn tried to be positive. That was better than Chiri-Chiri being sick. And if the creature wanted freedom, Rysn wouldn’t confine her. At the same time, so much emotion was wrapped up in her experiences with the larkin. Rysn’s... |
long the Epoch Kingdoms stood and the expected population numbers.” “Fine,” Lopen said, pointing forward heroically, with Rua copying him. “Onward we go, to step foot on a land no person has visited in centuries!” “Except the crew of that other ship,” Huio said. “Who probably landed on the island, since they weren’t fo... |
to find the right Alethi words. “Oh!” Rushu said. “I’ll bet this is a place where greatshells come to die. I’ve read of that sort of thing. I’ll have to write to Brightness Shallan; she studies greatshell life cycles.” Kstled walked up, his back straight as the ship’s mast, a barbed spear over his shoulder and a shorts... |
all this unnatural silence weren’t enough. No crem. Everywhere else he’d been, you could tell old things by the crem buildup. Over time, buildings became lumps in the landscape. Not here. Nothing on the beach—the carapaces, those gemhearts—had a crust on it. No dust either. The place was, sure, cleaner than a soldier’s... |
person of Herdazian nationality hadn’t stepped before you and the others arrived there—all of Urithiru, for example.” “Ha!” Lopen said, spinning his spear. “Stupid Huio. Come on, naco, let’s go make history.” Rysn sat on the quiet deck of her ship, alone save for the captain and a small crew. A sailor kept watch for tr... |
“I . . .” Rysn trailed off. She wasn’t certain what to make of this. A portal to the land of the spren? She’d heard about Shadesmar; rumors of it were making their way through society. But if the Horneaters had a way into the place . . . “You are allies with the Alethi and the rest of us,” Rysn said. “We can protect yo... |
“Afterward, I asked my babsk why he’d acted that way. He told me, ‘People don’t leave money out casually. They do it to make you see it. Either they want to pretend they have more than they have, or . . .’ ” “Or?” Cord asked. “Or they want you to fixate on it,” Rysn said. “And ignore some greater prize. Would you fetch... |
resupply cities with food. So everything was constructed on a much smaller scale.” Lopen turned around in a circle, feeling like those broken buildings were skulls, with sunken eye sockets for windows, all dripping with hardened crem. Rushu sent the sailors to go searching through some of those, and he shivered. Why wa... |
one hadn’t vanished mysteriously. He ought to go tell them to stick together, just in case. “Curious,” Rushu said, tucking away the note. “What does she say?” “It’s a warning,” Rushu said. “She thinks everything about this place is too expected, too perfect. An opening in the stones out in the water, leading toward a p... |
. .” They turned and walked to a solitary structure—one of the few that still had a roof—near the center of the raised platform. Inside, they found what they’d been searching for. Kind of. This had obviously once been an Oathgate chamber. It had the remnants of the same mural on the floor as the ones in other cities, b... |
to discover an architectural site when digging a mine, for example.” “All right . . .” Lopen said. “So . . .” “So I have double the reason to believe that city above is fake,” she said. “The real Akinah probably sank into the crem years ago.” She held out her hand—which glowed suddenly with a fierce light. The ardent w... |
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