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rendition of the scene, worked in blacks and greys. The princess’s proud figure regarded the fallen stone, demanding that it give way before her will. It was her. Shallan knew, with the intuitive certainty of an artist, that this was one of the finest pieces she had ever done. In a very small way, she had captured Jasn...
more complete than our interview revealed. Unfortunately, I haven’t the grounds for such an argument. I have weaknesses in my understanding. That is plain and not subject to reasonable dispute. But the lives of men and women are more than logical puzzles; the context of their experiences is invaluable in making good de...
twenties wearing simple grey robes. An ardent. Shallan relaxed. The young man noticed her. His face was narrow, his blue eyes keen. His beard was trimmed short and square, his head shaved. When he spoke, his voice had a cultured tone. “Ah, excuse me, Brightness. I thought this was the alcove of Jasnah Kholin.” “It is,”...
to put you at ease? Shall I step up onto this desk here and do a jig?” She blinked in surprise. “No objection?” Brother Kabsal said. “Well, then…” He set down the portrait and began to climb up on his chair. “No, please!” Shallan said, holding out her freehand. “Are you certain?” he glanced at the desk appraisingly. “Y...
the lacquer, dusting the page with careful puffs. She had trouble keeping herself from reaching to snatch the sketch away. Fortunately, his hands were careful, and the lacquer went on evenly. He’d obviously done this before. “You are from Jah Keved, I presume?” he asked. “From the hair?” she asked, raising a hand to he...
Anyway, I think a personal message from you might help where written requests have been ignored.” “I…doubt that.” “Well, if she refuses, it only means that I’ll be back.” He smiled. “That would mean—hopefully—that we shall meet each other again. So I look forward to it.” “I as well. And I’m sorry again about the misund...
Was she weak because confrontation unsettled her so? She felt that she was. Foolish, idiot girl, she thought, a few painspren crawling out of the wall near her head. What made you think you could do this? You’ve only set foot off your family grounds a half-dozen times during your life. Idiot, idiot, idiot! She had pers...
Jasnah said. “You seem surprised about the spheres, Miss Davar. I assumed that you were waiting outside to recover them. Is that not why you were so close?” “No, Brightness. I was just settling my nerves.” “Ah.” Shallan bit her lip. The princess appeared to have gotten past her initial tirade. Perhaps…“Brightness,” Sha...
her house. If only. Eventually, Shallan made her way out of the Conclave; there were no gates on the front, just pillars set before the open maw. She was surprised to discover how dim it was outside. She trailed down the large steps, then took a smaller, more cultivated side path where she would be out of the way. Smal...
for men of honor!” That quieted their protests. Yalb chuckled to himself, bowing to Shallan and leading her away down the path. He had a twinkle to his eyes. “Stormfather, but it’s fun to win against lawmen. I’ll have free drinks at the docks once this gets around.” “You shouldn’t gamble,” Shallan said. “You shouldn’t ...
the sun refusing to rise or the sea turning white.” “Or Jasnah Kholin smiling.” “Exactly! Anyway, you’re perfect.” “It’s kind of you to say so.” “Well, it’s true,” he said, putting hands on hips, stopping. “So that’s it? You’re going to give up?” She gave him a perplexed stare. He stood there on the busy roadway, lit f...
him. “Should we get a porter?” she asked as he led her to a large side street that ran laterally across the city’s hill. She stepped carefully; her skirt was long enough that she worried about tearing the hem on the stone. The strip at the bottom was designed to be easily replaced, but Shallan could hardly afford to wa...
woman rang a bell on the underside of the counter. Soon, a portly man waddled into the room wearing a vest that seemed ready to burst from the stress of holding in his girth. His hair was greying, and he kept his eyebrows combed back, over his ears. “Ah,” he said, clapping ample hands, “dear young woman. Are you in the...
speak without interrupting. Shallan knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that she was letting herself go too far—that she was tense and frustrated after her interactions with Jasnah. She didn’t care at the moment. “Discriminating,” she said, testing the world. “I’m not certain I agree with your choice of words. To ...
can see, the treatment is exhaustive.” The four volumes were thick. The five Vorin kingdoms? She’d thought there were four. Jah Keved, Alethkar, Kharbranth, and Natanatan. United by religion, they had been strong allies during the years following the Recreance. What was the fifth kingdom? The volumes intrigued her. “I ...
be swindled. I will visit every bookshop in the city if that is what it takes to find someone reasonable.” “Artmyrn isn’t reasonable,” Yalb said, spitting to the side. The merchant’s eyes opened wide with rage. “We shall see,” Shallan said. “Brightness,” Artmyrn said, red faced. “Surely you don’t believe these allegati...
have my thanks, anyway.” “Wasn’t nothing. It was fun, though I can’t believe you paid what you did. It’s just a bunch of wood. I could find some driftwood and put some funny marks on it. Would you pay me pure spheres for that too?” “I can’t offer that,” she said, fishing in her satchel. She took out the picture she’d d...
broams. They were best for light, but less useful in Soulcasting, so weren’t as valuable. Shallan ducked back around. There was a place at the very edge of the alcove’s table where she could sit, hidden by the wall from Jasnah, so she sat there. Perhaps she should have chosen an alcove on another level, but she wanted ...
you to marry well without a tactically sound alliance.” Shallan relaxed, though she tried to keep it from showing. “Let me see your satchel,” Jasnah said. Shallan frowned, resisting the urge to pull it close. “Brightness?” Jasnah held out her hand. “You recall what I said about repeating myself?” Reluctantly, Shallan h...
a highstorm. Just an ordinary spring rain. Soft. A timid cousin to the great storms. Syl sat on Kaladin’s shoulder. Or hovered on it. Whatever. She didn’t seem to have any weight. Kaladin sat slumped, chin against his chest, staring at a dip in the stone, which was slowly collecting rainwater. He should have moved insi...
from the other camps—there was always rivalry where armies met. But mostly it was so bridgemen and slaves could not flee. Why? Why did this all have to be so horrible? None of it made sense. Why not let a few bridgemen run out in front of the bridges with shields to block arrows? He’d asked, and had been told that woul...
lives. They don’t seem to care about pushing inward and assaulting the Parshendi. They just fight pitched battles on plateaus, then come back to the camps and celebrate. Why? WHY? He ignored that voice. It belonged to the man he had been. “You used to be vibrant,” Syl said. “So many looked up to you, Kaladin. Your squa...
Sometimes a soldier would be thrown into a bridge crew. That only happened if he’d done something extremely bad, like striking an officer. Acts that would earn a hanging in many armies meant being sent to the bridge crews here. Supposedly, if you survived a hundred bridge runs, you’d be released. It had happened once o...
the plateau. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for. The boy’s body. Kaladin stood, wind whipping at his hair, looking down at the corpse. It lay faceup in a small hollow in the stone. Kaladin remembered lying in a similar hollow, holding a similar corpse. Another bridgeman had fallen nearby, bristling w...
his father would have already begun working on it, using Kal’s mother—Hesina—as an assistant. Lirin walked to the side of the room and gathered up a few small, clear bottles. He was a short man, balding despite his relative youth. He wore his spectacles, which he called the most precious gift he’d ever been given. He r...
up the Heralds and the Lost Radiants, Kal had heard his father say that he thought the Voidbringers weren’t real. Ridiculous. Who else could be blamed when things went missing in the night, or when a crop got infected with digger-worms? The others in town thought Lirin spent too much time with books and sick people, an...
and Kal’s family—his parents, him, and his younger brother Tien—would continue to be able to eat. Odd, how they survived because of others’ misfortune. Maybe that was part of what made the townsfolk resent them. Lirin finished by using a small heated rod to cauterize where he felt the stitches wouldn’t be enough. Final...
Gavilar always finds people for us to fight. That much is true.” “So we need soldiers, like I said.” “We need surgeons more.” Lirin sighed audibly, turning away from his cabinet. “Son, you nearly cry each time someone is brought to us; you grind your teeth anxiously during even simple procedures. What makes you think y...
were a bridgeman’s options, though several of the bridgemen had found a third use for the blankets. They wrapped them around their heads, as if to block out sight, sound, and smell. To hide from the world. The world would find them anyway. It was good at these kinds of games. Rain fell in sheets outside, the wind still...
turned. “Leave the sandals and vest,” Gaz said. “I don’t want to have to send someone down to fetch them.” Kaladin pulled the leather vest over his head and dropped it to the ground with a splash, then left the sandals in a puddle. That left him in a dirty shirt and stiff brown trousers, both taken off a dead man. Kala...
it, couldn’t know it, until you joined them. Leaping off into the void and letting the wind bear you down… “You were right, Father,” Kaladin whispered. “You can’t stop a storm by blowing harder. You can’t save men by killing others. We should all become surgeons. Every last one of us….” He was rambling. But, oddly, his...
“Why?” he pled. “Why do you care?” “Because I do,” she said, cocking her head. “I watched you, you know. Back in that army. You’d always find the young, untrained men and protect them, even though it put you into danger. I can remember. Just barely, but I do.” “I failed them. They’re dead now.” “They would have died mo...
off with a gagging noise as Kaladin lunged forward, grabbing Gaz by the neck. Gaz lifted an arm in surprise, but Kaladin batted it away and swept the man’s legs out from under him, slamming him down to the rocky ground, throwing up a splash of water. Gaz’s eyes opened wide with shock and pain, and he began to strangle ...
couldn’t erase the scars—but he could learn from that man, as a new squadleader learned from the victorious generals of the past. Kaladin Stormblessed was dead, but Kaladin Bridgeman was of the same blood. A descendant with potential. Kaladin walked to the first huddled figure. The man wasn’t sleeping—who could sleep t...
toward the meeting with the strange foreigners, whistling softly to himself, his pole with buckets on each end resting on his shoulders. He wore lake sandals on his submerged feet and a pair of knee-length breeches. No shirt. Nu Ralik forbid! A good Purelaker never covered his shoulders when the sun was shining. A man ...
infect her with their constant worries.” “Sun and tides send it!” Thaspic said with a chuckle, continuing on. Maib’s house was near the center of the village. Ishikk wasn’t sure what made her want to live inside the building. Most nights he did just fine sleeping on his raft. It never got cold in the Purelake, except d...
Nu Ralik had sent her. One kolgril would be two weeks of soup, and would put her in debt to him. “Vun Makak eye you,” she muttered in annoyance walking over to check. “That’s one all right. How am I ever going to catch you, man?” “I’m a fisher, Maib,” he said, taking a slurp of his soup—the bowl was shaped for easy slu...
Makak—his younger, spiteful brother—had to be tricked into thinking you worshipped him, otherwise he’d get jealous. It was only safe to speak of these things in a holy grotto. “I swear it by Vun Makak,” Ishikk said pointedly. “May he watch over me and curse me as he pleases. I have looked diligently. No foreigner like ...
traps. Nan Balat liked killing things. Not people. Never people. But animals, those he could kill. Particularly the little ones. He wasn’t sure why it made him feel better; it simply did. He sat on the porch of his mansion, pulling the legs off a small crab one at a time. There was a satisfying rip to each one—he pulle...
hobbling forward, “what have you got there, girl?” The axehound looked up at her master, antennae cocking upward. The hound trumped with two echoing voices overlapping one another, then went back to playing. Blasted creature, Balat thought fondly, never would obey properly. He’d been breeding axehounds since his youth,...
but it was unsatisfying. The crab was too small, and the legs came off too easily. “This plan probably won’t even work,” he said, taking off the last of the legs. Odd, looking at a creature like this when it had no legs. The crab was still alive. Yet how could you know it? Without the legs to wiggle, the creature seeme...
he sure will. Hey, kurp, look at me.” Szeth looked up. “Kurp” meant child in the local Bav dialect. Szeth was accustomed to such pejorative labels. Though he was in his thirty-fifth year—and his seventh year since being named Truthless—his people’s large, round eyes, shorter stature, and tendency toward baldness led Ea...
like Szeth to order around was quite the novelty. He cleaned floors, sawed wood, helped in the fields, and carried burdens. Some treated him well, some did not. But they always got rid of him. Perhaps they could sense the truth, that he was capable of so much more than they dared use him for. It was one thing to have a...
recognize. He had to preserve himself so that he could suffer. After a short explanation that left out incriminating details, Szeth had found himself riding in the back of the merchant’s cart. The merchant—a man named Avado—had been clever enough to realize that in the wake of the king’s death, foreigners might be trea...
other footpads pulled open Took’s pouch. “Kelek,” one of them said, “hardly worth the effort. A handful of chips and two marks, not a single broam in the lot.” “Oi’m telling you,” the first man said. “We can sell this fellow as a slave. People like Shin servants.” “He’s just a kid.” “Nah. They all look like that. Hey, ...
sixteenth birthday. That was now seven years past. He turned and took a long drink of lukewarm water. Sadeas rode to the king’s left, and Dalinar—Adolin’s father—was a solid figure riding at the king’s right. The final highprince on the hunt was Vamah, who wasn’t a Shardbearer. The king was resplendent in his golden Sh...
he began raving in gibberish. Often, he’d stand, blue eyes delusional and wild, swinging and flailing. Adolin had to restrain him lest he hurt himself or others. “He sees things,” Adolin said. “Or he thinks he does.” Adolin’s grandfather had suffered from delusions. When he’d grown old, he’d thought he was back at war....
is—in the end, it’s really just butchery.” Now, dueling, that was exciting. The feel of the Shardblade in your hand, of facing someone crafty, skilled, and careful. Man against man, strength against strength, mind against mind. Hunting some dumb beast just couldn’t compare to that. “Maybe you should have invited Janala...
than an ordinary horse. The animals chose their own riders, and only a dozen men in all of the warcamps were so fortunate. Dalinar was one, Adolin another. In seconds, Dalinar reached the formation’s base. He threw himself from the saddle while Gallant was still moving. He hit hard, but the Shardplate absorbed the impa...
natural tower for them both. Breathing deeply, Dalinar slapped the king on the back with a clank of metal on metal. “That was a fine contest, Your Majesty. And you played it very well.” The king beamed. His golden Shardplate gleamed in the noonday sun; he had his faceplate up, revealing light yellow eyes, a strong nose...
of trespassers on your balcony, and none of the servants reported any strangers in the area.” “There was someone watching me in the darkness that night.” “If so, they haven’t returned, Your Majesty. And they left no clues behind.” Elhokar seemed dissatisfied, and the silence between them grew stark. Below, Adolin met w...
appeared to have been smashed. “Proceed,” Adolin said. “Advance runners have met with the lead huntmaster and have returned. There are no sightings of Parshendi on any nearby plateaus. Companies Eighteen and Twenty-one are in position, though there are still eight companies to go.” Adolin nodded. “Have Company Twenty-o...
was on duty or in command. He chafed at the needless restrictions, but Dalinar had spoken as Adolin’s commanding officer. That meant there was no room for argument. He’d have to find a way to duel the two idiot sycophants in another setting, put them in their places. Unfortunately, he couldn’t duel everyone who spoke o...
met with the huntmaster. Two companies have secured the next plateau, and the other eight will need some time to cross. We’re close, though.” “Yes, we saw from above,” Elhokar said. “Perhaps a few of us could ride ahead….” “Your Majesty,” Dalinar said. “The point of bringing my troops along would be somewhat undermined...
You really should have invited Janala.” “Janala hates hunts. Thinks they’re barbarous.” Dalinar frowned. “Janala? Who’s Janala?” “Daughter of Brightlord Lustow,” Adolin said. “And you’re courting her?” “Not yet, but I’ve sure been trying.” “What happened to that other girl? The short one, with the fondness for silver h...
about winning wealth and prestige.” “Wealth and prestige are what being Alethi is about, Father!” Adolin said. Was he really hearing this? “What of the Vengeance Pact? The highprinces vowed to seek retribution upon the Parshendi!” “And we have sought it.” Dalinar looked to Adolin. “I realize that it sounds terrible, so...
between them? The day wore on, and they eventually arrived at the hunt site—a pair of plateaus, one where the creature would be lured up to attack, and another one a safe distance away for those who would watch. Like most others, these plateaus had an uneven surface inhabited by hardy plants adapted to regular storm ex...
was beneath the dignity of the king, so just as one used gloves when forced to handle something vile, the king retained a Wit so he didn’t have to debase himself to the level of rudeness or offensiveness. This new Wit had been with them for some months, and there was something…different about him. He seemed to know thi...
saddle. “How long will it take?” “Two or three hours is likely,” Bashin said, taking the reins of the king’s horse. Grooms took the two Ryshadium. “We’ve set up over there.” Bashin pointed toward the hunting plateau, the smaller plateau where the actual fighting would take place away from the attendants and the bulk of...
mean they are when they’re not pupating. With one this big, use a distraction and come in from…” He trailed off, then groaned, cursing softly. “Storms take that animal. I swear, the man who trained it must have been daft.” He was looking across at the next plateau. Adolin followed his glance. The crablike chull that ha...
the tenth beat of his heart thudded in his chest. Six feet long from tip to hilt, the Blade would have been unwieldy in the hands of any man not wearing Shardplate. To Dalinar, it felt perfect. He’d carried Oathbringer since his youth, Bonding to it when he was twenty Weepings old. It was long and slightly curved, a ha...
raised his free arm to shade his eye slit as an arrow clanged off his helm. Adolin fell back as the beast swung at a batch of archers, crushing them with one of its claws. “I’ll take left,” Adolin yelled, voice muffled by his helm. Dalinar nodded, cutting to the right, galloping past a group of dazed soldiers and into ...
The command ordered the rest of the foot soldiers to retreat toward the pavilion. Orders given, he slipped in and killed another leg. That meant five down. Perhaps it was time to let the beast limp away; killing it now wasn’t worth risking lives. He called to the king, who rode—Blade held out to the side—a short distan...
trying to draw the creature’s attention. Hopefully, Elhokar had— “Are you a god!” Elhokar bellowed. Dalinar groaned, looking over his shoulder. The king had not fled. He strode toward the beast, hand to the side. “I defy you, creature!” Elhokar screamed. “I claim your life! They will see their gods crushed, just as the...
when the Shardblade struck. If he rammed the Shardblade in just right, he could stop the heart or lungs, but that would be difficult while the beast was upright. Adolin—stalwart as always—had dismounted beside the king. He tried to stop the claws, striking at them as they fell. Unfortunately, there were four claws and ...
ground and puffed away—as he skidded beneath the falling claw. He raised his hands and— And he caught it. He bent beneath the blow, going down on one knee, and the air rang with a resounding clang of carapace against armor. But he caught it. Stormfather! Adolin thought, watching his father stand over the king, bowed be...
bridgemen awoke. Kaladin turned toward them, hands on hips. Bridge Four currently had thirty-four members. That number fluctuated, but at least twenty-five were needed to carry the bridge. Anything below that, and the bridge would topple for certain. Sometimes, it did even with more members. “Up and organize!” Kaladin ...
their way to the crem of an army. “Excellent question,” Kaladin said. “We are going to train. Each morning before our daily chores, we will run the bridge in practice to build up our endurance.” More than one of the men’s expressions grew dark at this. “I know what you are thinking,” Kaladin said. “Aren’t our lives har...
them. These bridgemen know they’ve reached the bottom.” With a sigh, he let some of his tension bleed away. “I’m lucky I got them out of the barrack.” “So what do you do now?” “I don’t know.” Kaladin glanced to the side, where Gaz still stood chatting with the soldiers. “Actually, yes I do.” Gaz caught sight of Kaladin...
week will—” “I expect only what I said. What is Bridge Four’s camp duty today?” “Evening meal. Scrubbing and cleaning.” “And bridge duty?” “Afternoon shift.” That meant the morning would be open. The crew would like that; they could spend payday losing their spheres on gambling or whores, perhaps forgetting for a short...
might just stop caring and let themselves be killed. Unfortunately, that also meant that there wouldn’t be much Kaladin could do to punish his own crew, even if he’d had that authority. He had to motivate them in another way. He crossed the lumberyard to where the carpenters were constructing new bridges. After some se...
said a word as Kaladin slurped down two full ladles of metallic rainwater. He shook the ladle free and nodded to a pair of apprentices, then jogged back to where he’d left the plank. Rock—the large, tan-skinned Horneater—was hefting it, frowning. Teft noticed Kaladin, then nodded to Rock. “He bet a few of us a chip eac...
the concept of lying. But now I’m happy that you didn’t lie. Don’t you see?” “No.” “I’m changing.” She shivered—it must have been an intentional action, for her entire figure fuzzed for a moment. “I know things I didn’t just a few days ago. It feels so strange.” “Well, I guess that’s a good thing. I mean, the more you ...
know what sarcasm is.” Then she smiled deviously. “I know what sarcasm is!” Stormfather, Kaladin thought, looking into those gleeful little eyes. That strikes me as ominous. “So, wait,” he said. “This sort of thing has never happened to you before?” “I don’t know. I can’t remember anything farther back than about a yea...
a final list of casualties. The man’s wife read it, then they left him with the sheet and retreated. There were nearly fifty men dead, twice as many wounded. Many were men Adolin had known. When the king had been given the initial estimate, he had brushed aside the deaths, indicating that they’d be rewarded for their v...
escape the Plains, or would have to attack the Alethi in their fortified warcamps. It had been an excellent plan. Except, Dalinar hadn’t anticipated the gemhearts. He turned from the chasm, walking across the plateau. He itched to go see to his men, but he needed to show trust in Adolin. He was in command, and he would...
the evening coming on, Dalinar could see lights twinkling across the Plains. Towers where men watched for chasmfiends coming up to pupate. They’d watch through the night, though chasmfiends rarely came in the evening or night. The scouts crossed chasms with jumping poles, moving very lightly from plateau to plateau wit...
the Almighty himself had spoken to him? Dalinar Kholin, the Blackthorn, a fearsome warlord? Unite them. At the pavilion, Sadeas walked out into the night. He had removed his helm, revealing a head of thick black hair that curled and tumbled around his shoulders. He cut an imposing figure in his Plate; he certainly look...
found that by doubling the number of bridges on a run, then making them extremely light—no armor, no shields to slow them—the bridgemen work far better. “You see, Dalinar? The Parshendi are too tempted by the exposed bridgemen to fire at anyone else! Yes, we lose a few bridge crews in each assault, but rarely so many t...
pointedly. “Sadeas. Surely I did not just hear you openly—before the king—call my son useless. Surely you would not say that, as such an insult would demand that I summon my Blade and seek your blood. Shatter the Vengeance Pact. Cause the king’s two greatest allies to kill one another. Surely you would not have been th...
with such entertainment.” “That is unfortunately true,” Wit said. “Unfortunately?” “Yes. You see, Sadeas, you make it too easy. An uneducated, half-brained serving boy with a hangover could make mock of you. I am left with no need to exert myself, and your very nature makes mockery of my mockery. And so it is that thro...
may be torment enough for most men, but not him.” The king sighed and looked toward Dalinar. “I should go placate Sadeas. I’ve been meaning to ask you, though. Have you looked into the issue I asked you about earlier?” Dalinar shook his head. “I have been busy with the needs of the army. But I will look into it now, Yo...
stressed.” Adolin frowned. “Maybe.” He hadn’t noticed that. “But think about it, Father. Why would someone cut his strap? A fall from horseback wouldn’t harm a Shardbearer. If it was an assassination attempt, then it was an incompetent one.” “If it was an assassination attempt,” Dalinar said, “even an incompetent one, ...
was strolling out of it. Adolin narrowed his eyes. “Do you think—” “No,” Dalinar interrupted. “Sadeas is an eel.” “Son, you have to stop fixating on him. He likes Elhokar, which can’t be said of most of the others. He’s one of the few I’d trust the king’s safety to.” “I wouldn’t do the same, Father, I can tell you that...
walls without using scaffolding? Out here, on these remote plains, it’s fortunate that we have Soulcasters to provide things like wood, wouldn’t you say?” “Er, yes,” Vamah said, expression darkening further. Adolin looked from him to his father. There was a subtext to the conversation. Dalinar wasn’t speaking only of w...
sword high as he rides against his father’s enemies.” “Lately, he seems less preoccupied with the Parshendi, and more worried about assassins in the night,” Dalinar said. “The boy’s paranoia worries me. I don’t know where he gets it.” Sadeas laughed. “Dalinar, are you serious?” “I’m always serious.” “I know, I know. Bu...
“I didn’t realize that Uncle Gavilar followed the Codes.” “He’s the one who first showed them to me. He found them as a relic of old Alethkar, back when we’d first been united. He began following them shortly before he died.” Dalinar grew hesitant. “Those were odd days, son. Jasnah and I weren’t sure what to think of t...
stable throne, allies that support him, not highprinces that bicker. Making a strong Alethkar will protect him better than killing our enemies will. This was Gavilar’s life’s work, uniting the highprinces…” He trailed off. Adolin waited for more, but it did not come. “Sadeas,” Adolin finally said. “I’m…surprised to hea...
still wearing his golden Shardplate, though he’d removed the helm. He was several years Adolin’s senior, and had a bold face with a prominent nose. Some said they saw in him a kingly air and a regal bearing, and women Adolin trusted had confided that they found the king quite handsome. Not as handsome as Adolin, of cou...
greatshell from a distance, then ride up and butcher it.” Elhokar narrowed his eyes, looking at Dalinar, then at Adolin. It was almost as if the king were suspicious of them. The look was gone in a second. Had Adolin imagined it? Stormfather! he thought. From behind, Vamah began calling to the king. Elhokar glanced at ...
was completely indescribable. “You’ll eat both of those crispmelons,” Dalinar said, pointing at the horse. “You deserve them.” Gallant blustered. “You do,” Dalinar said. The horse nickered, seeming content. Dalinar checked the leg, then nodded to the groom. “Take good care of him, son. I’ll ride another horseback.” “Ye...
least of its discomforting passages. In other places, it outright said that lighteyes were beneath darkeyes. That contradicted Vorin teachings. Yes, best to keep this quiet. Dalinar had spoken truly when he’d told Adolin he didn’t care what people said about him. But when the rumors impeded his ability to protect Elhok...
logically, what was happening to him. His father had explained the process of growing with the precision of a surgeon. But there was so much feeling involved, emotions that his father’s sterile descriptions hadn’t explained. Some of those emotions were about Laral and the other girls of the town. Other emotions had to ...
Tien opened his hands to reveal a small stone, weathered on all sides but with a jagged break on the bottom. Kal picked it up, looking it over. He couldn’t see anything distinctive about it at all. In fact, it was dull. “It’s just a rock,” Kal said. “Not just a rock,” Tien said, taking out his canteen. He wetted his th...
strange lately. The two of them joined Tien, who jumped down into a hollow between some boulders. The younger boy pointed eagerly. A silky patch of white grew in a crevice on the rock. It was made of tiny threads spun together into a ball about the size of a boy’s fist. “I’m right, aren’t I?” Tien asked. “That is one?”...
It settled down on a rock to spin its cocoon again. Kal grabbed a small, weathered stone off the ground, then laid a hand on Tien’s shoulder, stopping the boy from prodding the tired amphibian. Kal moved forward and nudged the lurg with two fingers, making it hop off the boulder and onto his stone. He handed this to Ti...
brown shirts, and sturdy boots. It was worming season. A single worm could ruin an entire polyp’s worth of grain. It would incubate inside, slowly eating as the grain grew. When you finally opened up the polyp in the fall, all you’d find was a big fat slug the size of two men’s hands. And so they searched in the spring...
the day while they talked over whether to try another planting there, or just let them grow and see what comes of it.” Kal nodded, feeling awkward as he stood before the nine boys. They were sweaty, the knees of their trousers stained with crem and patched from rubbing stone. But Kal was clean, wearing a fine pair of t...
Shardblade. But the man who was with him, he took it while my fah was knocked out. Told the officer that he’d been the one to kill the Shardbearer, so he got the Blade, and my fah—” He was cut off by Laral’s tinkling laughter. Kal frowned. That was a different kind of laughter than he normally heard from her, much more...
gasped, letting the staff clatter to the stones and grabbing his side as he fell to his knees. He breathed out in huffing breaths, straining against the pain. Small, spindly painspren—glowing pale orange hand shapes, like stretching sinew or muscles—crawled from the stone around him. Kal dropped one hand to the stones,...