ByDanielD
To say things are getting spicy in Wind and Truth is like saying Shardblades are good at cutting things — it’s a massive understatement. While lots has happened in the last thirty chapters, today’s end with an event that may shape the events of this book more than anything else we’ve read so far. Let’s talk about it!
To best enjoy this article, first read chapters 31 & 32 of Wind and Truth over at ReactorMag.com. This article contains major spoilers for all the previous Stormlight Archive books.
Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain look for the Ghostbloods in Urithiru, Shadesmar-side. In the Physical Realm, Navani and Dalinar prepare to enter the Spiritual Realm.
Notably, I believe this is the first time in the book (or at least since I’ve started doing these discussion articles) that we go back and forth between perspectives within a single chapter. Rapid perspective switches are generally a sign that a Brandolanche is occurring, and indeed, this chapter feels like a climax — despite it being quite early in the book!
Urithiru sounds as awesome-looking in Shadesmar as I’d expected — to the point where Shallan straight up cannot handle its beauty. At least I think that’s what happens when Radiant takes over; it’s unclear if it’s that, or if Shallan is struggling with another, darker emotion:
It was magnetic, taking not only her breath and attention, but her soul and mind, which longed to just once create something so beautiful. It was the pinnacle of all artistry. This was the height to which creations could rise. This was what you could… could…
Radiant noting the “pretty tower” and moving on is funny either way. Also funny in this section of Chapter 31 is Brandon’s choice to have a character with the same name as another character. While it’s probably not a best practice for fiction writing — why confuse your reader? — I found the presence of a second Isasik immersive. In real life, when you interact with hundreds of people, the odds that some of them will share names is very high (for example, I was one of five Daniels in my high school graduating class).
If Radiant hadn’t taken over, Shallan probably would have made more of what might be Renarin and Rlain’s spren showing up as afterimages when the two men move. The other Radiant spren appear humanoid in the physical realm, but it seems that either the mistspren that Truthwatchers bond with are able to exist in/on top of their Radiant, or that Sja-anat’s enlightened spren are different — I’m gonna bet on the latter for the time being. While it’s technically speculation, Renarin feeling Glys inside of him in the latter part of this chapter makes it pretty clear what’s happening.
You can tell Brandon is really excited about Urithiru being alive, as he continues to find excuses to show off all the cool things it can do. It doesn’t feel out of place, fortunately — people from a planet at Roshar’s level of development would definitely have their minds blown by conveyor belts and showers. One wonders if the laundry belt will come into play later… likely with Lift riding it. Urithiru being able to recycle water doesn’t feel like a throwaway bit of info either — if the tower ends up isolated or otherwise under siege, having access to both food and water becomes an incredible boon.
Wit casually drops some serious lore on Dalinar and Navani in this chapter, and settles a long-standing speculative debate in the community about why the Shin worship rocks. Turns out they originally worshiped fragments of a holy site that was destroyed:
“And this is?” Dalinar asked.
“Rock from Ashyn,” Wit said lightly. “Like those carried by your ancestors to this world during their migration. They were fragments of a holy site on your homeworld, but stones themselves took on a kind of mystical lore by association. That sort of thing happens when the world undergoes repeated cataclysms and society gets knocked back to the stone age a few dozen times. Some seven thousand years later, everyone in Shinovar worships rocks, and has no idea why.”
More well-researched portrayal of neurodivergence from Brandon — no surprise there. He even comes up with a magical, in-system solution for Renarin’s overstimulation; Glys dampening Renarin’s vision is something anything with sensitivity to visual stimuli is gonna be jealous of. Despite not wanting to see so much, Renarin spots what sounds like a new spren:
But what were the ones that had six arms and gripped the walls, watching with a large drooping mouth that seemed to have eyes in it? The things that were shaped like anemones? The darker shadows, hulking and threatening, that he kept glimpsing through the glass walls?
This first one might not actually appear in the Physical Realm at all — or if it does, it may be very hard to spot. The darker shadows seem ominous, but they may be docile or simply part of the tower.
We learn in this part of the chapter that Shallan suspects she might need to follow the Ghostbloods into the Spiritual Realm, and that’s why she grabbed Renarin and Rlain (as their spren may be able to guide her). We also learn that Lift managed to find a good spot to spy on Dalinar, Navani, and Wit — her presence may end up being important in the immediate aftermath of the… event that occurs in the next chapter.
Our Truthwatcher plays a key role in this scene: Renarin’s question to Shallan, “Could they be disguised” is what helps her realize that Mraize and his compatriots have been with them the whole time.
Dalinar opens Honor’s Perpendicularity and enters it with Navani. The Ghostbloods are neutralized, but not before Mraize collapses the Perpendicularity with Dalinar and Navani inside it.
This chapter is short but (literally) explosive. Dalinar opens the perpendicularity, Navani notably hears the tones of Roshar, and they both step into the the pillar of light right before we swap back to Shallan’s perspective. When we return to Dalinar’s perspective, he’s feeling like his plan is working, and then he and Navani lose their Connection to the Physical Realm. Uh oh. It sounds like they did manage to enter the vision Wit wanted them to, as they hear “power, wind, and screams”. Certainly appears Dalinar and Navani could be in the midst of a panicked, mass exodus.
This is a cool combat scene, albeit one in which the numerical superiority of Shallan’s team makes it fairly easy for them to subdue the Ghostbloods. We see Radiant appear physically again — I’m very curious if this is a Shallan-and-her-two-spren-specific skill, or if all Lightweavers can learn to do this when they reach the Fourth Ideal.
Unfortunately, despite the easy victory, Shallan’s team didn’t move quickly enough to actually disarm the Ghostbloods, and Mraize throws his anti-Light dagger at the perpendicularity Dalinar has opened. Is this a move out of spite, or does Mraize hope that the expected explosion will give him and Iyatil a chance to escape? Mraize is nothing if not practical, so the latter seems more likely.
The anti-Light, as unfortunate as its existence is for our beloved characters and their spren, does add some much-needed tension to the action sequences. Without it, characters like Shallan are basically immortal, and so is everyone else so long as a Radiant with the Surge of Regrowth is around. There was always Stormlight as a limit to Radiant powers, but in Urithiru, that danger goes away, so the anti-Light plays an important role in keeping things interesting. That said, if any more Radiant spren get killed, I’ll never forgive Brandon.
As expected, Brandon isn’t wasting any time getting into the thick of the action of Wind and Truth. Let us know what you thought about today’s chapters in the comments! We’ll once again end with a few of my predictions based on today’s chapter:
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