[OB] Write a scene for the one year gap

[aemetha]

I thought it might be fun to write our own scenes for the 1 year time gap between Oathbringer and book 4. Here's mine. It will of course be a Lift scene, because, it's mine! Please add your own.

"Okay, it's been three weeks since Thaylenah, you've all had a chance to begin your assignments, and I need to know what progress you've made. Captain Kal..." Dalinar began.

"Umm..." interrupted Lift.

"Yes Lift?" asked Dalinar

"Maybe we should break, you know, for lunch and stuff." suggested Lift.

"Lift, we literally just ate breakfast. Right now. Shallan is still chewing hers, and the plates have not been cleared off the table." replied Dalinar.

"Yeah" said Lift.

"Yeah what?" asked Dalinar.

"Yeah, we just ate breakfast" replied Lift.

"Okay, I'm glad we sorted that out. Captain Kaladin, could you..." Dalinar began again.

"What about lunch?" Lift asked hopefully.

Dalinar sighed audibly "Renarin, could you please ask the kitchen staff to send Lift some lunch. Captain Kaladin, how is the training progressing with the new Wind runner recruits?"

"Unfortunately sir, there have been some injuries. Nothing life threatening, but a number of recruits will be out of action for several weeks." replied Kaladin.

"What happened?" enquired Dalinar.

"The Lopen happened." Kaladin responded unenthusiastically. "He thought it would be a good idea to train adhesion by sticking new recruits to the ceiling and seeing who stays up the longest. Apparently it didn't occur to him that the tower has stone storming floors."

"Fine." said Dalinar, visibly annoyed now. "We'll move on. Shallan, how is the training of your lightweaver squires progressing."

"Umm, not much progress yet. We... I mean... I... umm..." Shallan blushed furiously and glanced at Adolin furtively before mumbling something inaudible.

Dalinar rolled his eyes, "Right, well, just don't forget the whole apocalypse thing, okay? Szeth, any progress on the negotiations with Nale? Will he agree to join our side?"

"Of course Dalinar-son-god. You have said it must be." replied Szeth.

"Damnation, I told you a hundred times. I am not the son of god! Honor isn't even god!" shouted Dalinar.

"Of course Dalinar-son-god, if you say it, it cannot be otherwise." replied Szeth characteristically dispassionately.

Dalinar took a deep breath and ploughed ahead "So Nale has agreed to come to our side?"

"Not yet Dalinar-son-god." replied Szeth.

"But you literally JUST said he was coming to our side!" exploded Dalinar.

"Yes, you have told me this is true." replied Szeth.

"Did you let it back out?" asked Lift.

"Let what back out?" asked Dalinar, perplexed.

"The red angry thing. You're kind of red and angry. You're old though. Old people are often red and angry. I can't tell." Lift replied, stabbing another pancake with her shardfork.

Dalinar slumped back in his chair. "I give up, we're not getting anywhere here. I supposed I can take some solace in the fact that your collective efforts make my attempts at diplomacy look storming inspired by god."

"This is only right Dalinar-son-god." replied Szeth, earning a further glare.

"Tomorrow, same time. I want to hear actual progress then!" said Dalinar dismissively.

"WAIT!" shouted Lift.

"Yes Lift?" asked Dalinar.

"What about dinner?" she enquired.

[Song]

(Bit of a serious one, but this is the scene I am sad will get skipped)

 

Shallan's eyes flickered between the two Kholin brothers as they processed their Father's words. Dalinar had stumbled through the terrible truth of their Mother's death, not daring to look either boy in the eye. As the story came to an end he looked up, but his eyes locked onto Shallan's. She recognised the pain contained within, it visited her in the mirror everyday.

Killing someone you loved left a distinctive mark.

Renarin stared at his knees, his fingers tightening around the chain which he had pulled from the pocket of his shinny new Bridge 4 jacket. Adolin looked up, his eye hollow and cold. Shallan reached out her safe hand and rested it on his shouder.

Finally Adolin spoke, his voice cracking like he was a young boy again. "Why are you telling us now?"

Dalinar looked back at Adolin.  "I sought the Nightwatcher. To forget.  I didn't want to remember. But now I do, I knew you needed to know. The truth about her. The truth about me."

Pattern gave a nervous hum from Shallan's skirt.

Shallan shook her head. No. Forgetting as he had sounded tempting . But she would not take back her truths.

Adolin stood, his fists white. "I can't. I need time to think Father. Let's go."

Shallan joined him and they walked towards the door. But she paused as Renarin stood and stepped towards his Father, chain falling to the floor. He put out his hand, as if to summon his blade.

"No." But Shallan stopped as Renarin placed his hand onto his Father's drooping shoulder.

"Father, I am so sorry. The pain you must feel." His eyes were bright, but not with stormlight. "We can help you bear it now."

Shallan swallowed a sob as she turned back and followed her husband back down the hall."

[Vissy]

Nice scene, @Song ! I actually want to continue that... 

Spoiler

Adolin didn't stop at his rooms. Shallan kept pace with him, still numbed by Dalinar's horrific story. How could he be so steady, so strong, after all that? What was she doing wrong? Why couldn't she--

No. Down that road lay madness. She had to be more like Radiant, stronger and more poised. Pattern began to hum quietly on her skirts.

Radiant didn't last long.

Shallan found her thoughts returning to her own childhood. Back to the bloodless corpse of her mother, to the day her father had lost his mind. They both walked in quiet. Distracted by themselves.

Adolin didn't brood like the Windrunner. His anger was something more, something that seemed to bleed his entire body to white, like a spring about to uncoil. Should she let him sort it out by himself? 

But no. They were husband and wife. They could share this moment. Shallan put a hand on her husband's back.

"That was... horrible. I'm sorry, Adolin."

"He... my father lied to me. He lied to all of us, for all these years. They... you couldn't possibly understand." 

Shallan felt a surge of empathy for him. She knew that feeling all too well.

"Try me. I might understand much more than you think."

Adolin stopped. He traced his index finger along the strata on the wall, then balled his hand to a fist. "It's... for all these years, the stories of that day, every public account... they were all wrong. None of them blamed fa-- Dalinar. The day my mother died, the day she burned to death. They blamed that atrocity on Sadeas!" 

Shallan narrowed her eyes. Why-- oh.

"You killed Sadeas," she whispered.

Adolin gave her a worried look. "That's not why I killed him. He... he threatened to kill everyone I know. But that's not the point." 

"The point is that... Damnation." Adolin's voice broke.

"I'd never have thought that Sadeas would have done something like that for my father." The fist opened into an open palm. Adolin sighed.

"I shouldn't feel bad for having done that. It was the right thing to do. But... but somehow, I do." 

"Oh, Adolin," Shallan said. "If that's the worst you've ever done, you are a saint among us." When Adolin turned to look at her, she grinned and added:

"And a very handsome saint, too."

He hesitated. "Just how much like my father am I, Shallan?"

Shallan was taken aback by the question. She felt something within her waver. "You're... like him, and not like him at all. You're kinder than he is. You're more open. You're not the Blackthorn in disguise, Adolin."

Adolin shook his head. "No. I killed in anger. I didn't feel guilty about it, and I never have. I killed in cold blood, Shallan." 

"Deep down, is that any different from the Blackthorn of old? From my father?"

Shallan shivered. Those words sounded all too familiar.

She met Adolin's eyes and put her arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. 

"I don't know." she whispered. "But only you can decide who you are. Don't let the ghosts of the past control you."

And to herself, she added unheard words. 

'Not like me.'

Edited December 12, 2017 by Vissy

[Matt O]

Adolin Kholin's hands tightened around the back of the sturdy wooden chair that sat in the bedroom that he and Shallan shared. His heart seemed to be beating faster than normal, and a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Light streamed in from an open window, and a cool breeze ruffled his black and blonde hair.

Shallan hummed from the other room, seemingly oblivious to maelstrom of emotions surging inside of him. Adolin had tried to hide his inner conflict when she was near, adopting a forced grin when she asked him if everything was alright. He had even pushed himself to go out drinking routinely with the men of Bridge Four, and had tipped extra gems to the dark eyes who worked there. People seemed to like being with him, but he couldn't escape the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that the easy-going manner of his friends might be as forced as his smiles. Did they all secretly view him as he viewed himself? As a fraud, who only took the role of High Prince because it was expected of him to do so? Because he was the son of the Blackthorn?

Shallan sauntered into the room lazily, still humming. Adolin instinctively stiffened. That wasn't Shallan. It was Veil. The one who preferred to be with Kaladin. Or was it? He could never really tell and that made him nervous. Perhaps she was walking normally and he was being paranoid?

“Adolin?” Shallan asked, hesitating.

He tried to give her his trademark goofy grin, but felt insincere. His tried to relax his posture. He was a High Prince now. He needed to learn how to hide his emotions at certain times.

She placed a hand on his shoulder. He tried to relax, but felt tense. Could he ever fool her? He had tried but she seemed to be able to read him so well. Storms, what was he doing married to her? She was a storming Knight Radiant!

“Shallan, I...” He licked his lips. You married a fraud even after I tried to warn you. “I...”

“You are bothered by what Ialai Sadeas said, aren't you?” She folded her arms, and the corner of her mouth turned down.

“Yes! Well, no. I mean... she had every right to say what she did.” When Dalinar had published to the world that the murderer of Ialai's husband had been found and that it had been his son, the Alethi High Princes had reacted poorly. Those who had tended to support Sadeas in the past had used this as an excuse to further divide the tender Alethi bond. Dalinar's position and influence had been severely weakened. Ialai had publicly demanded for Adolin's imprisonment and Dalinar had instead given up a vast amount of his house's property and holdings as 'compensation'. Adolin had offered to go to prison instead, but Dalinar had refused, saying that it would serve no useful end. But a part of him wondered if Ialai was right. Could he truly command respect of his subjects if he didn't obey his own laws?

“You're doing it again,” Shallan observed. “Oh, Adolin, you know said yourself that he needed to be killed. Sadeas left you and Dalinar to die on the Shattered Plains!”

“We should've had a formal trial. Or maybe gone to war. Or.. I don't know.” And he didn't. He had never been good with figuring out the best solutions to his problems. Including his problems with relationships. He sighed.

“Perhaps the best solution is to finish what you started,” she shrugged.

“I don't know what that means,” he admitted.

“Maybe Ialai needs to be eliminated too so that our problems finally go away for good.”

“Shallan!”

“Sorry,” she grinned. “I don't know where that suggestion came from.” She tried to look innocent with a hint of a smile. Then she became more serious. “Storms, Adolin. I must be losing my touch if I can't make you laugh at that! What thundercloud is looming over you today?”

“I... well let me show you,” he lamely replied, stretching out his hand. He made sure to do it away from Shallan so that she did not feel threatened. Not that she would anyway. She could heal herself from practically any wound, after all! After ten heartbeats, his shardblade misted into his hand. He gazed at it for several moments, working up the words that he had prepared to say but now which seemed inadequate.

“I need to give her up,” he whispered, his voice sounding more hoarse than he expected.

“What?” Shallan demanded, her voice rising. “Why?”

“Because I don't want her to be in pain anymore every time that I summon her!”

He waited for a quick reply from Shallan but when her mouth opened, no words came out. She hesitated.

“You saw what she looked like when we were in Shadesmar. Broken, thoughtless... dead. What if she suffers every time I use her to burn out the eyes of my enemies?”

“What if summoning her is the only way for her to feel slightly alive again?” Shallan countered, in a small voice.

Adolin stared at the blade, considering these words. Could he find a way to save his spren? To make her alive again? Would giving up the blade give her the peace that he wished for her? Or would it simply prolong her agony? She deserves to live again, not be a dead eye.

A knock at the outer door to their chambers interrupted his thoughts.

“Come,” Adolin commanded, wincing as his voice cracked. Storm it! He quickly dismissed his blade.

A messenger stumbled into the room, panting, with sweat running down her forehead. Adolin frowned.

“Sir,” the messenger panted. “Word from the oath gates sir. Ialai Sadeas has returned to Urithiru. And she didn't come alone.”

 

[digitalbusker]

"The ASSASSIN IN WHITE!"

"Yes."

"The ASSASSIN! IN WHITE!"

"Yes."

"I can't be the only one who remembers, you know, the assassination?"

"You are not."

"By an Assassin, one in White?"

"Look we've been over this."

"THE EVERSTORMING ASSASSIN IN EVERSTORMING WHITE!"

"Sigh...."

[Necessary Eagle]

Storm you lot, I'm going to end up using up all my upvotes on this one thread!

Anyone have a take on what happens after Jasnah finds Taln and Ash? I'd really love to be a fly on the wall when she first talks with them, or when she tells Dalinar they've got visitors.

[Blazenella]

I have a Zahel scene, because Zahel

Dalinar and Szeth walk briskly through the sparring grounds.

" So most of the Skybreakers have opted to swear themselves to the Singers?" Dalinar questioned, almost hesitantly.

" Yes Dalinar," Szeth says glancing down at his strange shardblade, " No Sword-Nimi, they are not evil. They are following Oaths."

Dalinar shook his head clearing it from his mind. He scanned the room, hoping he might see Kadash. Instead he saw Zahel, casually leaning against a wood pole. He was wearing his usual odd clothes, and a scruffy beard. Not quite stubble or full grown facial hair, just somewhere in between. He looked at Dalinar, nodding his head in acknowledgement. Dalinar kept walking, but stopped as he heard a sputtered remark.

" What the!?" Zahel had nearly fallen down, with a bewildered look on his face. "Colors! And with him!?" He exclaimed.

" Zahel, are you ok?" Dalinar asked, concerened. Suddenly he heard a voice like a roar in his head,

"VASHER!!!!" Dalinar stumbled back, but Szeth and Zahel looked relatively unfazed.

" Sword-Nimi? Do you know this person?" Szeth questioned the sword, confused. Zahel had regained his composure, but had a worried expression. All at once, Dalinar realized a small circle of light around Zahel. All of the colors around him seemed just a touch brighter than they should be. Then, the voice echoed in his head again.

" It's Vasher!! Where have you been! Why'd you leave me? I've been destroying lots of evil!" The thing, whatever it was seemed very eager. It was also calling Zahel, Vasher...

" Szeth, didn't Kaladin and Adolin say something about Zahel? The girl they met? Azure, the highmarshal, mentioned him," Dalinar recalled, remembering something about Azure finding Zahel?

" Colors! Storming woman!" Zahel said pacing back and forth, hand on his forehead. " I may need to talk to you Dalinar. You and your Radiants. Alone." He began to walk furiously towards the door, but stopped, looking back he said gesturing at Szeth's shardblade, " And don't bring the sword."

 

 

 

Edited December 12, 2017 by Ookla the Variable

[GoddessIMHO]

Adolin rolled over in bed and spooned Shallan from behind. "Good morning beautiful" Adolin whispered in her ear. Shallan responded by leaning back into him to feel his firm body at her back. Adolin continued "Kaladin and I have been sparring a lot. It's pretty intense when we practice hand to hand* combat". "Oh?" Shallan responded sounding interested.

"Anyway" Adolin stopped,  then took a deep breath and continued "You know what would be hot?"

* punchy guy stuff

Written by Dirty Little Old Ladies Inc.

 

[teknopathetic]

Estonia attuned resolve. 

[+Hoiditthroughthegrapevine]

"So, it's finally come to this," Dalinar said. "We are finally here, the True Desolation, the Everstorm, the Night of Sorrows."

Looking deep into the heart of the heatrial, watching the storm within, Dalinar knew what he had to do.

"Oh Dalinar," Navani consoled, "If only there was something that I could do to take this foreboding brooding from you!".

Unite them, a voice said. Looking around Dalinar and Navani saw that all of the Knights Radiants in Urithiru had gathered  around them and they had brought incredibly comfortable looking beds, chicken feather pillows, and plush cozy blankets.

Dalinar realized what he must do. Grabbing the beds, he reached out and he UNITED THEM. All of the beds that had been haphazardly spread across the great hall room of Urithiru pulled together, stacking one atop another, the whole mass of beds was bathed in radiant stormlight as the tower of beds got higher and higher.

"Storms, that's the biggest bunk bed I've ever seen!" Kaladin said, as Syl zipped up and perched on the topmost bed. "You could sleep a hundred radiants in that bunk bed."

"Unfortunately," Dalinar said, taking the sleeprial that Navani offered him and strapping it onto his forehead, "You're all we've got. Everyone, grab a sleeprial from Brightness Navani. With all the crem that's going to be going down in book 4, I think we all need our beauty sleep".

 

So on the eve of the Night of Sorrows, the Radiants slept for an entire year, dreaming fitfully of battles to come, obstacles to overcome and oaths yet unspoken. I think one of them might have wet their bed, but we'll have to wait for a WoB to see who that one actually was.

See you in a year they say....

Edited December 13, 2017 by hoiditthroughthegrapevine

[Bort]

"It's this way," Navani led Dalinar deeper into Urithiru, following passages that had, until recently, been devoid of life for thousands of years.

"Navani, where are we going?" Dalinar asked, somewhat frustrated. He had meetings to attend with the Highprinces, visions to watch and rewatch in the hopes they would provide just one more clue, Radiant abilities to practice, soldiers to train, the list went on. And yet, here he was, following his wife around, simply because she wanted to show him something. Something 'odd', as Navani had described it.

The pair descended some stairs, then turned a corner into a large hall. It was dominated in the centre by an almighty tree, unlike anything Dalinar had ever seen. Boughs of deep green stretched up and brushed the ceiling, and strewn about the floor in a haphazard fashion were a vast number of small boxes, each wrapped with a ribbon tied in a bow.

"What is this place?" Dalinar asked quietly. The tree seemed to demand peace and quiet.

"I don't know," Navani answered in an equally subdued tone.

Ah, you have found your destiny, the Stormfather's voice echoed through the room, startling both Dalinar and Navani.

"Stormfather...What?" Dalinar said. "My destiny, or Navani's?"

Your destiny, Dalinar, the Stormfather rumbled on.

"But... my destiny is to refound the Knights Radiant," Dalinar protested. "Unite them," he added.

No, Dalinar, your destiny lies here. In this very room, the Stormfather replied, then went on to explain. Tanavast was a fine fellow, but he did have a speech impediment. He wasn't telling you to UNITE them, Dalinar, he was telling you to UNTIE them.

Suddenly, the beribboned boxes made a lot more sense.

Merry Christmas, Sharders

[Michael Portz]

On 12.12.2017 at 5:01 AM, aemetha said:

... the 1 year time gap between Oathbringer and book 4 ...

Wupps, missed this totally ... where was it announced?

[Toaster Retribution]

We didn't get much Mraize in OB, so I wrote a scene for him (I can't de-bold the text for some reason, but I think its readable anyway:

Spoiler

Mraize loved to admire the trophies he’d gathered. The hemalurgic spike, which he kept in a nice jar of blood. The Tears of Edgli, picked on Nalthis. A silver knife, in the variety that was common on Threnody. And his most recent one, a Soonie-pup from Scadrial, which he had found upon his most recent visit to the planet. Sadly, it didn’t contain any magical properties of interest, but it was a nice keepsake anyhow.

 

Suddenly, someone knocked on his door. Mraize turned, and gave the person outside permission to enter. It was Jin, the irali who had once been sketched by Shallan Davar. Mraize had kept the drawing, and placed it in his collection. After all, it had been made by the first Lightweaver since the Recreance, and as such, was quite valuable.

 

“Mraize” Jin said. “We have found the Heralds. Talenel and Shalash are captured by Jasnah Kholin.”

 

“Damnation!” Why wasn’t the storming woman dead? Even Shallan had spoken of her demise, and she had no reason to lie. She survived somehow. She is an Elsecaller, after all.

 

“What do you want us to do?” Jin asked.

 

“Nothing” Mraize said. “Not yet. We have to wait. Jasnah Kholin is Queen of Alethkar now, and an important piece in the war against Odium. We can not kill her right now, and stealing from her would be tough.”

 

“But now she can ask them whatever questions she wants too!”

 

Mraize shrugged, and put on his slippers, and poured himself a glass of yellow. It was early, after all. “I got what we needed from Shalash. If Jasnah learns those same things, it will make her a more worthy adversary. That, in turn, will make for a better hunt.”

 

Jin nodded, although he seemed angry. Mraize knew that he hadn’t supported the decision to let Shalash go. Furthermore, he didn’t like that Mraize had put a picture of him among the trophies

 

Suddenly, one of the guards threw the door open, pale-faced.

 

“Master” he said. “We have an intruder in the kitchen!”

 

“What?” Mraize had ordered his men to settle in a far-off section of Urithiru, that the Alethi forces wouldn’t feel the need to use. Since Mraize preferred to have his food made properly, he had made the men to construct a basic kitchen. They had also put up a front of a Sadeas-owned tailor shop, in case someone wandered past and asked what in the name of the Almighty they were up too.

 

“Show me!” Mraize ordered. He grabbed his aluminum knife from a box, and followed the guardsman to the kitchens. Inside, he found chaos.

 

The tables had been flipped over, and a the splinters of a broken chair covered the floor. One of the chefs, a bald man from Jah Keved, lay unconcious on the floor. A Reshi girl stood in the middle of the room, and shoved Pekki, Mraizes aviar, into her mouth.

 

“You… you ate my aviar!” Mraize exclaimed. For once he felt truly shocked. Something had gone very, very wrong.

 

“I ate your what?” the girl asked. “Caviar? This is not caviar, Mister Scarface, it’s chicken. I love chicken.”

 

Storming rust and storming ruin! By the tenth name of the storming Almighty himself, that is one of them. Lift, the Edgedancer.

 

“Don’t look so sad, Scarface” Lift said. “You have fancy slippers. Men with fancy slippers can always afford another chicken. And I was starvin. Gottago now though, because I have some really important meeting with some really important folk, all serious-looking people talkin about serious-sounding stuff. This chicken was awesome, thanks!”

 

And she ran past Mraize and the guardsman, and out the door. For an eternity, all was silent. Finally, Mraize realized that he had to say something.

 

“We have to move our base of operations” he mumbled. “And I need a new aviar!”

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Toaster Retribution

[What's a Seawolf?]

Kaladin could not move.

An army of Voidbringers was on their storming doorstep, half of his squires had the grace of a drunken skyeel, and the Assassin in White was waltzing around with a Shardblade that vaporized life.

And yet, Kaladin could not move.

Lopen had long ago passed out, refusing to surrender until his body quite literally convulsed, stomach spewing three hours worth of contents onto the floor, walls and ceiling.

But Rock and that Reshi girl...

They just-kept-eating.

"Sure," Kaladin whispered to himself, "Bridge 4 needs to let loose, have some fun.  So what a storming thin-as-a-branch kid challenges Rock to an eating contest.  Let 'em laugh, blow off some steam, then back to work."

Eighteen hours later and neither Rock nor Lift showed any signs of slowing.  

"It's not actually possible Syl," Kaladin said as Rock roared a mighty guffaw, shoving a fist sized cremling-shell and all-into his mouth.

"With everything you've seen," Syl responded, finally breaking her gaze from the two combatants.  "You really should have learned to not use that word."  She of course found the eating contest utterly fascinating.

Lift paused for a moment as the cremling shell cracked and shattered in Rock's mouth, then thrust her tiny arms at a steaming bowl of stew five times the size of her head.  Stormlight somehow streaming from her, the girl slurped down the entire bowl's contents without pause, Stormlight healing her tongue and throat from the burns.

"This is insane," Kaladin said.  "I'm putting a stop to it."

The glare Syl gave him would have made Odium pause.  "Do you want a mutiny?  Cause that's how you get a mutiny."

Kaladin threw up his hands and collapsed into a chair.  He glanced over to a tall, stout dark skinned man who had watched the battle unfold with as rapt attention as Syl.  "Bet the Heralds never had to deal with this," Kaladin said.

"No," the man said with a smile, "We most certainly did not."

[Saoilin]

“MATING!”

[aemetha]

3 hours ago, Michael Portz said:

Wupps, missed this totally ... where was it announced?

Discussed in this thread. You're certainly not the only one who missed it.

 

[Matt O]

Dalinar stared at the wooden box that had been delivered to him moments before. Plain in appearance and unassuming, it had come from the bowels of Urithiru, in a hidden chamber, along with a number of other curious artifacts. The person who had brought it to him bore a solemn look and had left quickly with little explanation. Might it contain something important? Could it help him to end the war?

He reached a hand toward the dusty lid, then paused. He heard Navani's soft footfalls behind him and felt her hand rest on his shoulder. They were alone in a large chamber normally meant for meetings. People weren't necessarily forbidden from coming here, but people seemed to avoid him these days for some reason. All except Navani.

“Dalinar?” she asked from behind.

He gritted his teeth, then tore the lid from the top of the box. A cloud of dust billowed from within. He caught site of a number of small objects, like blocks sitting inside. What by the Stormfather's forked beard were those? He overturned the box into the large table that he was seated at. No... no, they weren't blocks. There were thousands.. and thousands.. of flat wooden pieces. Were these... were these puzzle pieces?

Unite them!

Of course. It suddenly all made sense. All of the dreams, all of the visions. He wasn't supposed to be uniting Roshar. It wasn't about that. It had never been about that.

Navani squeezed his shoulder as he began sorting the puzzle pieces on the table, turning them face up, looking for the edge pieces. It had been a long time since he had done one of these. Could he still solve one on his own?

Unite them!

The puzzle pieces felt too small in his hands and some clattered to the table as he tried to organize them. Were his hands.. shaking? Was he too old to master a work of art like this?

And then he felt it.

Like a haze of red misting around the corners of his vision. Like an old friend that had never been good for him but which he lusted after. He knew it as soon as he felt its passionate embrace.

The thrill.

This puzzle belonged to him. He owned it. Anticipationspren began drawing toward him as he worked. He lost track of time. He vaguely was aware of Navani pacing behind him or sitting in a chair next to him. She never spoke and respected his concentration. Others came and left the meeting room. Some stayed, whispering quietly. He ignored them. He had only one objective.

Hours passed. A plate of uneaten food sat next to Dalinar. His stomach burned with hunger, but the thrill drove him onward, drove him to complete what he had started. He would not be denied now. A large crowd had gathered, some of them bridgemen, some of them nobility.. storms, he thought he may have seen a few High Princes and Azish ambassadors in the group. It didn't matter who was watching. Nothing mattered except the end. The thrill would accept nothing less.

Finally, he could see the end in sight. His heart beat like a thousand drums and sweat ran like a river down his forehead. With a triumphant thud, he slammed the last piece of the puzzle into place.

Gloryspren burst all around him as he stood up from his chair. They encircled him like brightly glowing yellow globes. He.. had.. won!

Awespren shown above the members of Bridge Four, the High Princes, and the Azish. Was that.. storms.. even Jasnah had a single awespren above her.

Dalinar grinned, accepting a towel from a nearby attendant. And then he saw it. Was it... yes... it was unmistakable!

Taravangian stood in the back of the room. He was surrounded by... fearspren...

 

[+Hoiditthroughthegrapevine]

2 hours ago, Matt O said:

Dalinar grinned, accepting a towel from a nearby attendant. And then he saw it. Was it... yes... it was unmistakable!

Taravangian stood in the back of the room. He was surrounded by... fearspren...

Currently out of upvotes, but I'll come back tomorrow to give you one, holy crap that is so FUNNY! I love that Dalinar has to towel off after his Thrilling completion of the puzzle.

I do have to know, what's the picture on the puzzle that Dalinar completed that has Mr. T so afraid?

[Michael Portz]

2 hours ago, aemetha said:

Discussed in this thread. You're certainly not the only one who missed it.

 

Great, thanks :-D

 

[Matt O]

3 hours ago, hoiditthroughthegrapevine said:

Currently out of upvotes, but I'll come back tomorrow to give you one, holy crap that is so FUNNY! I love that Dalinar has to towel off after his Thrilling completion of the puzzle.

I do have to know, what's the picture on the puzzle that Dalinar completed that has Mr. T so afraid?

Many thanks!  I actually got inspired after reading your contribution   The idea of Dalinar uniting a bunch of beds into a massive framework of bunk beds had me laughing out loud.  I really think that some of stuff in this thread would be appreciated by a larger audience if they knew about it

As for what is on the Puzzle, I may have to write a few more chapters. <evil grin>

[+Hoiditthroughthegrapevine]

20 minutes ago, Matt O said:

Many thanks!  I actually got inspired after reading your contribution   The idea of Dalinar uniting a bunch of beds into a massive framework of bunk beds had me laughing out loud.  I really think that some of stuff in this thread would be appreciated by a larger audience if they knew about it

As for what is on the Puzzle, I may have to write a few more chapters. <evil grin>

I have a couple theories as to what the picture on the UNITED puzzle is:

1. A scene with plump and happy Axe hound pups rollicking in a Lavis field, lit so that their soft and unhardened carapace glows softly in the sunlight.
2. A Thomas Kincaid painting of a Hallandren villa overlooking the sea, and yes Thomas Kincaid is a known worldhopper. Though Kincaid's Hallendren series of paintings have been known to make people's eyes melt, not unlike the occular effect of being killed by a shardblade.
3. I really hope this is the one, A majestic Ryshadium-corn galloping at full speed on a plateau at the heart of the Shattered Plains, trailing curling eddies of brightly colored music spren, and in the sky a giant rainbow hangs, for the world had just finished it's yearly Weeping.

Looking forward to your next chapters.

Edited December 13, 2017 by hoiditthroughthegrapevine

[Song]

Yanagawn stood on the prowl, starring at the retreating enemy ships. He didn't know what it meant, nor the light that had pierced the sky in the middle of the storm. But it was time.

"Head back to Thaylen City"

Noura shook her head. "We can't risk it. We don't even know she survived."

Yanagawn had no time to argue. A call came up from the mast. There were figures flying towards the boat. The archers began to assemble, but Yanagawn called "wait!"

Two figures approached. One looked to be Herdazian and was glowing with Stormlight. The other was floating beside him, legs crossed in the air, chewing on some flat bread.

"Lift!" Gawx jumped in the air, his hat tumbling to the deck. He laughed, caring little. No one was looking at him anyway. They were all starring up. Unoqua actually had tears in his eyes.

Lift landed on the deck dropping her bread. "You would think saving a city would at least get you some famous Thaylen soft bread. Got anything better than this cardboard?"

Dalksi interrupted. "The city? We heard the Alethi turned"

"Some of the soldiers got possssed by Odium. But we won. Old tight-butt saved the day."

"She means Dalinar." Yanagawn answered into the stunned silence.

Lift nodded. "So I think it is time you trusted me. And Gawx. And time you stormin showed me to the food."

Gawx pointed to his rooms. Lift bowed towards her Radiant friend. "Thanks your majesty." Then she headed below.

Everyone turned to the Herdazian.

"Who are you?" Dalksi starred him up and down. 

The man nodded. "Of course you haven't heard of me yet. But your children will hear tales of the Lopen, the great two-armed Herdazian Radiant."

Yanagawn was puzzled. How many arms did he expect to have?

Lopen breathed in and glowed with even brighter light.

"I must go. Thaylen City is full of women who are hearing tales of my heroics as I speak."

Then he winked at the Grand Vizier of Aziz and took off into the sky.

 

[aemetha]

"Come in Odium, or is it Passion? Which do you prefer? Pull up a seat. Lopen, get him some stew please." Kaladin said.

"Is good question. He is powerful god, but he is not god of our gods, he is bad god, so maybe devil? Is hard to know what we call this thing. Perhaps a name is for the best?" said Rock.

"Rayse, call me Rayse" said the shard as Lopen plonked a bowl of stew down in front of him. "Thank you, Lopen is it?"

"Your majesty" replied Lopen.

"Oh come now, no need to be so formal, you don't have to call me your majesty." said Rayse.

"Oh no, you got it all wrong gancho. You're supposed to call me you're majesty. I was a king." proclaimed Lopen.

"Err..." began Rayse "You know I'm a god, right?"

"Yeah, but there isn't a word for talking to gods. There's a word for talking to kings, so you gotta call me your majesty" said Lopen.

Rayse crinckled his brow at that logic, but chose not to comment, instead lifting a spoonful of stew to his mouth, and immediately regretted it. Spices! a lot of spices! "By the... By me! That's hot!"

"HAH!" exclaimed Rock "Airsick god devil thing! You not worry, you get used to it!"

One of the other members of the bridge approached Rayse. Stiff backed, dark skinned and clean shaven. His uniform was neatly pressed and he seemed rather more formal than the other members of this group. "Excuse me sir" said Sigzil "I was wondering if we could perhaps go over some paperwork before we begin negotiations. One cannot understate the importance of establishing a firm initial position before negotiations."

Wonderful. Azish. Rayse hated the Azish. "I suppose if it's really necessary."

The next four hours passed as slowly as the entirety of his existence up until that point. Finally the tedium ended though. "Captain Kaladin, Can we discuss the surrender of the windrunners now?"

A confused look passed over the windrunners face "Surrender of the windrunners? We invited you here to negotiate your surrender to us."

Rayse was irritated now "Why would I ever surrender to you?"

"Well," began Kaladin "We acknowledge that you are the flame of eternal hatred, but no flame can burn us, we eat Rock's stew every day! We acknowledge that you are passion, but no passionate emotion could ever be as baffling as a few minutes in conversation with the Lopen. Finally, we acknowledge that you are the void, but no void could ever be as tedious as Sigzil's storming lists. There really isn't anything left that you can do to us, that we haven't already done to ourselves."

Something odd happened next. For the first time since his ascension, Rayse found himself weeping in despair.

[Matt O]

Chapter 2

Taravangian hobbled out of the meeting room, his stomach in knots. The fearspren that had initially been drawn to him were now replaced by angerspren that seemed to nip at his heels. Storm it! Where had that man, Dalinar, obtained that Artifact? And how had he managed to assemble it so quickly?

I will not let him undermine my plans.

Taravangian almost collided with a corpulent oaf of a man who was walking down the hallway opposite to him.

“Out of my way, you wart-hog faced buffoon!” he croaked, side-stepping the fool in annoyance.

“That may be the first time a man has dared insult me,” the figure declared, his voice a mixture of awe and insult.

“It won't be the last,” Taravangian vowed, hobbling away toward his quarters in Urithiru. Taravangian thought he recognized the voice of the obese man. What was his name? Sebariel? Ah yes, that lazy waste of flesh that spent his days in gluttony. Taravangian already felt his overall intelligence level dropping several notches for having conversed with the man.

Why he had taken the time to visit the spectacle of Dalinar playing with a child's toy was beyond him. Today he was not only smart, but brilliant. He should be closeted in a room studying the Diagram. But he had first had to fool his handlers into thinking that he was not dangerous. Therefore, he had intentionally failed the Tests and stepped out to 'socialize' in order to let them give him the control he wanted, no the control he needed, to save his people.

After a painfully long time, he finally staggered through the doorway to his own quarters. That chull-like cretin of a man, Mrall, rose from a sitting position and saluted awkwardly. Taravangian dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

“I need something to write on!” he croaked, hobbling to his room, the one where he liked to work.

“Vargo?” Adrotagia asked, her voice like wood scraping sandpaper. She looked like a corpse of an axehound that had rotten in a field for a hundred years. Taravangian inadvertently cringed as he kept walking.

“Paper!” he barked again. “It is something sometimes used to write on, often produced from trees.”

Adrotagia and Mrall shared a look, then both looked at Dukar, who shrugged.

“You did administer the Tests, did you not?” Adrotagia asked Dukar, slowly.

“Storms, woman!” Taravangian bellowed. “I need to be alone, with the Diagram, and with paper, and with a writing instrument. Dalinar has uncovered something which supersedes the Diagram in importance!”

“What did he uncover?” Mrall asked, slowly.

“I could either spend my time and infinite intellect capturing the essence of what I have learned about the Puzzle or I could spend it trying to explain sophisticated concepts to your idiotic brain! One use of my time would be successful while the other would be a waste of time so colossal that it would be amusing were it not so tragic!”

Mrall cocked his head, his eyes vacant.

“Dalinar discovered a Puzzle earlier today, managed to assemble it, and he will discover its true meaning in approximately 3 weeks, 2 days, and 7 hours!” Taravangian shouted, a bit of spittle escaping from his lips. “I want a duplicate made, a forgery.”

“Of what?” Adrotagia asked, her face similarly vacant.

“Of Dalinar's Puzzle, of course! To swap with the original!”

“Won't he notice a forgery?” Adrotagia wondered, her voice worried.

Taravangian paused. “Why, thankyou, Adrotagia,” he mused. “I would not have been able to conceive of such a possibility had you not so kindly pointed it out to me. Furthermore, I need you to find me new associates because I was obviously too stupid when I chose the current lot!” When he saw Mrall begin to sputter, he added, “That was sarcasm, you nincompoopish cremling! I do not want to be disturbed until you have delivered my paper!”

With that, he slammed the door to his work room.
 

Chapter 3

 

Kaladin strode down one of the wide roads in a non-descript market in Urithiru. He had tucked away his Bridge Four uniform in his quarters and instead wore a generic coat favored by dark-eyed laborers. Around his head was a mask with only holes for his eyes and mouth. While not technically illegal, it did make him feel a little uncomfortable.

Syl flitted nearby. “Kaladin,” she asked. “Why are you wearing that mask?”

“Shallan thought that her light-weaving might not work on me, that people might still be able to see my brands,” he grunted, continuing to walk.

“But why don't you want people to recognize you?” She appeared near him as a young woman, standing on a random staircase.

“Because then they might not let me protect them if they know it's me,” he responded.

Syl cocked her head. “Why should that make any difference?”

“Storms, Syl,” Kaladin barked. “I don't know. Shallan seemed very insistent. She knows about things better than I.” When Syl stopped keeping pace with him, he paused. “Syl?” He turned around and noticed that her gaze was fixed on something they had passed.

“Kaladin!” she hissed, staring at a nearby shop.

He cursed and leaped into action, running toward the store where she was looking. Syl spun around him like a circle of light. He kicked down the front door of the shop and ran toward a patron who was lifting a large gooey something to his wide open mouth.

Storms, I hope I'm not too late.

Kaladin summoned Syl.

She appeared as an impossibly long spear. Kaladin slammed the syl-spear into the object that the man had been holding. It sizzled loudly, then turned dark and crumbled to ash.

Other people in the store screamed in panic. The man whom Kaladin had almost impaled was so startled that he toppled over in his chair, falling to the floor.

“Thief!” someone cried. “Go get the watch!”

“I'm no thief!” Kaladin growled, dissmising Syl. He stooped to attend to the man who had fallen.

“I'm a surgeon,” he informed the man. “I'm here to rescue you.”

“Rescue me?” the man fumed. Angerspren boiled around him as he dusted himself off. Kaladin was taken aback by this reaction. “And just what do you think you are rescuing me from?”

Kaladin stood back up straight, then looked around at what the shop contained.

“Calories,” he breathed, his voice ragged. All around the bakery were the most obscene forms of sweets. Crem-cakes, donuts, chull fudge, brownies, and sugar sweetened cremlings on a stick. The place was a constant danger to anyone who set foot within its doors.

“Kaladin!” Syl shouted, her voice urgent. “Behind you!”

Kaladin spun to see the most humongous cake he had ever beheld. It loomed upon a platter, like a voidbringer, its confection-infused threat like a Highstorm about to level a small village. Syl formed a shardblade in his hands, and he quickly dispatched the danger. The cake fizzled into black ash and collapsed, smoldering.

“That was close,” he muttered.

By this point, people were not only screaming but were pushing toward the exit. Kaladin nodded. “Go,” he pointed, gesturing with Syl. “Seek safety. I will protect you from this place. I swear it.”

Suddenly, Aladar's troops burst into the shop, weapons brandished.

“Peace!” barked Kaladin. “I am no enemy!” He dismissed Syl and held both hands to the side.

“Show your face!” one of the guards ordered.

Kaladin reached up and removed the mask from his head.

Fearspren immediately appeared toward the guards and they began to scream. “Stormfather!” one of them wailed. They turned around and bolted out of the shop, leaving Kaladin nearly alone except for some quavering figures in corners.

Confused, Kaladin turned to regard the large mirror sitting on the back of the shop. He staggered backward when he saw the disguise that Shallan had created for him.

Staring back at him was a monster with three sunken eyes that oozed blood and puss. Where hair should've been, tentacles writhed instead. An oversized, bulbous nose covered with pimples crowned a too-small, crooked mouth with jagged, rotting teeth. On top of his head was a cone-shaped hat with a spinning miniature shard-blade.

“By the Almighty,” Kaladin breathed, his voice hoarse and revolted. “Shallan, what have you done to me?”

 

[Borio Singaldi]

On 12/13/2017 at 5:26 AM, Bort said:

 

  Hide contents

 

"It's this way," Navani led Dalinar deeper into Urithiru, following passages that had, until recently, been devoid of life for thousands of years.

"Navani, where are we going?" Dalinar asked, somewhat frustrated. He had meetings to attend with the Highprinces, visions to watch and rewatch in the hopes they would provide just one more clue, Radiant abilities to practice, soldiers to train, the list went on. And yet, here he was, following his wife around, simply because she wanted to show him something. Something 'odd', as Navani had described it.

The pair descended some stairs, then turned a corner into a large hall. It was dominated in the centre by an almighty tree, unlike anything Dalinar had ever seen. Boughs of deep green stretched up and brushed the ceiling, and strewn about the floor in a haphazard fashion were a vast number of small boxes, each wrapped with a ribbon tied in a bow.

"What is this place?" Dalinar asked quietly. The tree seemed to demand peace and quiet.

"I don't know," Navani answered in an equally subdued tone.

Ah, you have found your destiny, the Stormfather's voice echoed through the room, startling both Dalinar and Navani.

"Stormfather...What?" Dalinar said. "My destiny, or Navani's?"

Your destiny, Dalinar, the Stormfather rumbled on.

"But... my destiny is to refound the Knights Radiant," Dalinar protested. "Unite them," he added.

No, Dalinar, your destiny lies here. In this very room, the Stormfather replied, then went on to explain. Tanavast was a fine fellow, but he did have a speech impediment. He wasn't telling you to UNITE them, Dalinar, he was telling you to UNTIE them.

Suddenly, the beribboned boxes made a lot more sense.

 

Merry Christmas, Sharders

 

Oh, my goodness. This is comedy genius. I read it really late at night and I had to try so hard not to burst out laughing. Well done.