ByDanielD
We’re getting into the thick of things with this week’s chapters, or near to it. Shallan’s plan has worked and now she’s got to keep her cool and her cover, while Dalinar and Navani prepare for an incredibly dangerous journey. Brandon Sanderson kindly lets us get two chapters with Shallan’s narrative this time around, although we still end on a serious cliffhanger. We also get some of Brandon’s most awkward conversational similes yet, and an epigraph sure to upset certain groups in the western world.
To best enjoy this article, first read chapters 25 & 26 of Wind and Truth over at ReactorMag.com. This article contains major spoilers for all the previous Stormlight Archive books, and contains spoilers for Mistborn Era 1.
Shallan discovers how much the Ghostbloods know while struggling to maintain her composure and her disguise. Dalinar and Navani discuss Dalinar’s need to take up the Shard of Honor.
Let’s get the uncomfortable part out of the way first: some people aren’t going to be happy about the “sacred right of freedom of movement” in the Way of Kings epigraph at this chapter’s start. 2024 is a politically charged year, and immigration is a hot button issue in the United States and much of Western Europe. I point this out to remind everyone that an author presenting a perspective is not an endorsement of that perspective — this is the same author who, as a Mormon, wrote a staunch atheist in Jasnah.
Fiction is a useful lens through which to examine tough issues, and we should welcome politics and other uncomfortable topics in our art — if you don’t want to be challenged, there’s always reality TV. Media literacy is hard to come by these days, however, and unsurprisingly one of the first comments left on today’s chapters complained about the freedom of movement thing. We’ll hope for now that it was a troll comment and move on. PSA over!
A few weeks back, I wondered about when we’d see the anti-light Navani discovered show up again — and it finally did, quite literally in Mraize’s hands. The Ghostbloods are training with crossbows that can fire anti-light bolts, and boy am I worried about more Radiants I care about getting killed. I’m still not over Teft.
Shallan’s nerves almost get the better of her this scene, which makes perfect sense given how anxious she was at the start of this operation. The way Brandon writes her getting control is wonderful: Veil pointing out that Mraize accidentally left part of his pants in his sock.
Shallan glanced again at Mraize, and it was true. In dressing, he’d let his right sock catch the back of his trouser leg. In the face of her panic, it was an almost comical detail.
Who hasn’t done that? It’s a very believable moment, and it’s also a great example of how it’s possible to humanize larger-than-life figures by noticing how normal and human they actually are.
Felt being revealed as a Ghostblood isn’t a huge surprise — we already knew he was from Scadrial due to him using a Scadrian exclamation like “Rusts!” or similar. He says he doesn’t care about being paid, and never wanted any part of Mraize’s plot, so why is he helping? Perhaps there is something being held over his head, loved ones or a secret, or perhaps he’s loyal to Kelsier and is just doing what he was told.
It’s also quite interesting to learn how Ala the seon seems to have a very independent personality. We knew seon’s were intelligent, but this Ghostblood seon is spoken of as if they are an individual like any person — as opposed to simply being treated as a sentient tool. This conversation also reveals Restares is being held captive by Felt and Ala, which ought to be important to note for later.
Mraize and Iyatil planning to enter the Spiritual Realm seems bold — one wonders if their spren will be enough to keep them aware of how much time is passing. I suppose if they do a good job sticking close to Dalinar and Navani, they can leave at the same time, but the Spiritual Realm sounds like a confusing place. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if one or both of the Ghostbloods get lost and left behind in the Spiritual Realm.
Dalinar’s section doesn’t tell us much we didn’t already know, but sets the stage for something exciting: getting to see some of Wit’s memories. Sadly, Wit specifically says “an event I’ve witnessed”, so it doesn’t seem likely that it will be an event Wit was directly involved in. Still, getting to learn any of the past’s secrets is tantalizing.
Dalinar speaks of a force beyond the Shards that he feels is playing a role in his journey:
I feel that something has been guiding me all this time. Something I can’t explain, something beyond Honor.
Yeah, and her name is Cultivation. More seriously, this isn’t the first time a god “beyond” of some kind has been mentioned, and I’m very curious how far Brandon is planning on taking this concept, if at all. It’s still unclear exactly what Adonalsium was, but the current theory I like the best is that Adonalsium is more of a “local” god, who created the Cosmere but isn’t the kind of capital G God that oversaw the creation of the entire universe. Which in turn leaves the door open for that kind of God to show up at some point. I would bet that the most we get are hints, however, as the author being a practicing Mormon makes me think he won’t want to get too close to real-world theology in his fantasy/sci-fi books.
In any case, there’s no way Dalinar takes up the Shard of Honor. It’s been discussed too much, it’s too obvious a path — the only question is, what happens instead? There are so many places Brandon Sanderson could take this, it’s hard to even begin to speculate (but we’ll do so at the end of the article).
If you play the Brandon Sanderson awkward writing drinking game, this chapter means you have to finish your drink. Navani uses a pretty awkward simile, and then Dalinar responds with another! Someone stop this man.
“We’re out of our depth,” Navani said. “Like an army struggling against an enemy with far more modern equipment.”
“Or a scholar trying to read complex ideas in a language she has barely studied,” Dalinar added.
The similes themselves are OK, not great, not terrible — but it’s incredibly immersion breaking to have characters say them to each other like this. Beta readers for Sanderson reading this, hear my plea!
Also, this is definitely referring to Vin:
Wit grew distant, a faint smile on his lips. “Once. It wasn’t a full Ascension, but a mortal did give up the power once. It proved to be the wrong choice, but it was the most selfless thing I believe I’ve ever witnessed.
Not a full Ascension, and it being “selfless”, are clear indicators that this is a reference to Vin releasing Ruin (which was the wrong choice) instead of saving Elend (which is what makes this selfless).
Shallan speaks with Sja-anat, and her disguise is discovered by Iyatil.
Shallan seemed on the verge of being discovered — as soon as Iyatil spoke to her in Malwish(?) I was sure the jig was up. But her ploy, pointing out Sja-anat, was clever and honestly quite believable. I didn’t expect Sja-anat to play along, but it seems the Unmade is trying her best to stay allied with everyone she can.
It’s a bit distressing that Sja-anat is helping the Ghostbloods, given how willing the organization is to kill characters we care about, and how effective Sja-anat’s spren are at spying. It sounds like those spren won’t be as effective as Dalinar’s Connected watch when it comes to guiding mortals through the Spiritual Realm, so maybe the Ghostbloods problem will take care of itself.
Yet another unfortunate fact is revealed in this scene: at least some of the Ghostbloods have spren, and are likely Radiants. Presumably, these are more spren enlightened by Sja-anat, so it will be interesting to see what kind of uniqueness there is to the powers of these Ghostblood Radiants.
There is clearly division within the Ghostbloods, with Mraize more worried about his own goals, and Iyatil thinking beyond Kelsier’s plans — while she’s still working for the main goal of her boss, she’s looking well past Scadrial and seeks to control Shards. It seems a tall order, but perhaps Bo-Ado-Mishram can help influence Shards in some way we don’t yet know about. It’s ironic that Shallan successfully infiltrated the Ghostbloods, learned many things, and finds herself with just as many questions as before.
Sja-anat, in her conversation with Shallan, says something that I at first took for nothing except Sja-anat reaffirming she wants to help Shallan:
I am on the side of preserving a world for my children. You should not fear “my side,” Shallan. You should embrace it. If there is room for my children, there will be room for yours.
She doesn’t reveal Shallan to the Ghostbloods, so obviously she’s telling the truth there. But some clever readers have pointed out that this could hint that Shallan is pregnant. It seems a bit of a stretch, except that she was surrounded by creation spren after the scene with Adolin in the shower — and I was surprised Brandon wrote that scene to begin with, so the fact that there’s a potential reason he even hinted at sex makes it all make sense.
The chapter ends with Shallan being discovered as an infiltrator, so we have an action scene to look forward to next week. Maybe next time she’ll ask Dalinar for some Connection that lets her speak other languages.
Here are a few guesses and predictions based on what we read today:
This is going to be another long seven days between chapters! To kill some time, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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