ByDanielD
Reactor magazine has the distinct honor of releasing two chapters of the upcoming Stormlight Archive novel Wind and Truth, every Monday, until the book’s release on December 6th. Here at Beyond Hogwarts, we have the distinctly fun opportunity to talk about the chapters.
Today we got chapter 14 and chapter 15, which is the start of Day 2 (of the 10 day deadline before the Contest of Champions). Chapter 14 is particularly exciting, as it reveals what may be the key plot point for the first portion of the book. Let’s get into it!
To best enjoy this article, first read chapters 14 and 15 of Wind and Truth over at ReactorMag.com. Naturally, this article has major spoilers for all the previous Stormlight Archive books.
Dalinar, Jasnah, Hoid, Navani, Queen Fen, and Emperor Yanagawn learn that Odium’s forces are moving on the coalition’s capitals, Wit realizes Odium removed some of his memories.
Whew, what a spicy start to Day 2. First of all, it was really cool to see Brandon Sanderson getting a bit fancy with his prose’s broader structure. Starting each perspective with “[Character] was not asleep” worked very well; it tells the reader what’s happening immediately in each scene, and the repetition has an emotional impact as well. Knowing that these powerful people are lying awake worrying about what is to come in turn makes us, the reader, worry. (It’s also very funny and in character that in the next chapter, we learn Adolin grabbed a few hours of sleep rather easily.)
It’s frustrating to see Dalinar continue to think it would have been better for everyone if he had died instead of Gavilar — when we know perfectly well Gavilar was not a nice man, nor was he looking out for the best interests of Roshar. Not the way Dalinar currently is. Perhaps Dalinar will someday learn everything his brother was doing; this seems particularly likely if it was indeed the Stormfather Gavilar was speaking to in the prologue.
This chapter has a rarity: Hoid scared. And when he learns what Todium (what the fandom has started calling Taravangian holding the shard of Odium) did, he has every right to be scared. We also learn that Hoid is actually “shorter, with stark white hair and subtly different features” — I suppose most people would make themselves just a bit taller if they had access to Investiture that allowed it.
Hoid also reveals a fascinating aspect of BioChromatic Breath in his scene: it can be used to “expand” a person’s soul, with training. It’s not currently clear exactly what that means, but it might explain how Hoid has been able to adopt so many different forms of Investiture and its usage. We already knew he stored memories in Breath, as those are what Todium destroyed to remove the memory of their conversation.
He mentions contacting an old friend who might be able to help him figure out what he’s missing in regards to Todium’s plans — could this perhaps be Harmony? Of all the Shards, the one(s) held by Sazed seem the most willing to communicate and ally against Odium.
Finally, this scene is a clear turning point in Jasnah and Hoid’s relationship, and serves as a counterpoint to the following chapter. Jasnah realizes he will never be able to fully let her in, to reveal all of his secrets — which is the opposite of what Adolin has come to realize about Shallan and her secrets.
Excitingly, we also get our first peek at Navani the Radiant — we got a teaser in a previous chapter when she is seen glowing on the other side of a door, but now we know first-hand what the heck is going on with her and the Sibling. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to be aware of a gigantic tower full of fabrials. While she chastises the Sibling for spying on people, I wonder if she won’t eventually be able to do the same, feeling, seeing, and hearing what goes on in the tower just as she feels the fabrials.
The Sibling reveals an interesting bit of Realmatic theory in regards to Towerlight, saying “Humans cannot hold my Light; they are too full of holes.” While I know not everyone enjoyed Navani’s scientific endeavors in the previous book, as soon as I saw this, I immediately began hoping we’re going to see Navani try and figure out a way to get that Towerlight to stay in a gemstone — or a person — for longer. Now that Navani doesn’t need sleep, she’ll have plenty of time for experiments!
Navani reveals in this chapter that the archaic fabrials of the tower, made with willing spren, are more inefficient than modern fabrials that rely on trapping a spren. It’s not clear why that is, however, and it may be the case that the inefficiencies aren’t due to the willingness of the spren, but simply the construction of the fabrial. The moral debate about spren in fabrials feels much like the conversation around vegetarianism and veganism, and comes down to the perceived sapience of the spren — can a spren trapped in a fabrial feel pain? I imagine we’ll dive deeper into this question as Navani and the Sibling continue their relationship.
The scenes with Queen Fen and Yanagawn are both cute in their own ways, and reveal more about the character’s personalities — but nothing of consequence for the Cosmere at large is revealed in either. The scene with Yanagawn is a great payoff for the “[Character] was sleeping” device, and a slick way to show how much the role of Prime is just that — a role. The idea of people being rewarded for service with a chance to watch the Emperor sleep will never not be funny.
Adolin and Shallan share a moment. Dalinar learns there is a large Fused force moving on the Shattered Plains, and then meets Cultivation in the tower.
This chapter is much shorter, and except for the last bit, less impactful narratively, but very impactful emotionally. Adolin’s absolute rapture in the shower is relatable — who hasn’t felt like they could stay in the shower for hours? Shallan wanting the water pressure down, and the temperature up, was equally relatable as far as opposite sexes sharing a shower generally goes.
It’s honestly surprising Brandon was able to write a scene like this, given how he tends to shy away from anything sexual — he actually wrote the word sex in chapter 14, however, so perhaps the dam has been broken. The scene is more romantic than sexual though, and an incredibly important moment for Shallan in particular; her realization that Adolin knows all of her secrets, and still loves her, is monumental. She spends a lot of Rhythm of War certain that if anyone finds out everything about her, they’d leave her, but Adolin proves that wrong in this scene — well, he’s been proving it wrong for a long while, but Shallan only realizes it now.
Shallan’s current plot thread is established in this scene: she’s going to go hunt Mraize before he can hunt her — or the people she loves. While the Ghostbloods are a powerful organization, with more experience in subterfuge and murder than Shallan, she’s in no real danger thanks to Towerlight. So, it will likely be a non-Radiant like Adolin, or one of Shallan’s brothers, who ends up in danger from Mraize and his allies. Shallan knows this, saying “To get to me, he’ll capture or kill you if he can”. Adolin better start practicing hard with his smaller weapons — one’s that would be useful in Urithiru’s corridors.
We also get confirmation that Adolin still hasn’t forgiven Dalinar for killing shhhshhhshh I mean Evi, which is understandable. It’s quite the secret to discover, that your father killed your mother — accidentally or not. Adolin being more angry than when he first found out suggests that he isn’t working through the pain, but is instead pushing it down, and letting it fester (as he describes it). Unfortunately, with what’s going on right now on Roshar, it probably isn’t the best time for Adolin to confront his feelings — and besides, the planet’s only therapist is off to Shinovar anyway.
Dalinar stomping his way through the tower is classic, and worth reproducing here:
Dalinar stormed forward, keeping momentum, as had always been his way. People who spotted him would yelp and jump back, but mostly he ignored everyone.
It’s a funny mental image, and balances the seriousness of the news Dalanir receives from Sigzil: almost a thousand fused, and one or two thunderclasts, are on their way to the Alehti settlement on the Shattered Plains. Todium striking at the heart of all three major coalition nations — Azir, Thaylena, and the Alethi-in-exile — is not what anyone expected. It’s a bold move, and given how good Taravangian was at planning, a worrying one. At the same time, we know that Todium is struggling between the Shard’s Intent and Taravangian’s own desires, so it’s possible this is a strategy born of Passion, rather than an insidious plan.
Perhaps we’ll find out soon, as a women Dalinar recognizes as the Shard Cultivation beckons him to follow her at the end of the chapter. Every time Shards speak with people, we learn much about the Cosmere, and what is — or what may be — to come.
If Dalinar is lucky, Cultivation will help him understand exactly what the contest between his champion and Odium’s will be. That’s also a thread Hoid is following, however, so it’s more likely all we’ll get is hints. We may also find out who our side’s champion is — my money’s still on it not being Dalinar. We’ll see you next week for chapters 16 and 17!
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