This is my reaction blog for Winds and Truth. Beware of spoilers! Index post here. 

Title: Listening
Either Edgedancers or actual Listeners make sense here, but my actual prediction is to do with Navani listening to the Sibling and working to accommodate them.

Icons: Jester
Worldhoppers in the house. This is most commonly Wit, but my prediction/hope is that this is going to be a surprise appearance by Zahel, since the prologue thrust his importance in our faces.

Epigraph: “I have read...” means this isn’t Kaladin. If they’re Vorin it’s probably a woman, and if not then we don’t have many candidates that we’ve already met. As for the claim that the Wind often spoke to human and singer alike… where are you getting these records, lady? From the historical vaults in Urithiru, possibly, or maybe out in Shinovar. Otherwise that’s a history that hasn’t been known for a long time. The author suggests that the Wind stopped talking because she was feared, or because people worshipped the Storm instead. Note the capitalization. Is this referring to the Stormfather, a figure of worship across much of Roshar? That would lend credence to the idea that the Wind is some counterpart to him. But if it’s not him, then there’s another entity associated with Storms that we have yet to meet, and I feel like piling in more (previously unknown) super-powerful spren is going to strain credulity sooner than later.

His memory of nearly falling to his hate after Teft died is painful enough to draw actual painspren. Ick.

All the spren are attracted to the Sibling’s bond with Navani. Is it the Towerlight itself seeping through? Or does something else draw them?

It’s Wit, not Zahel. And he’s…reading a romance novel? I mean, no judgement here, but seems an odd choice when he’s on a close deadline.

Wit’s insistence on teaching Kaladin to play the flute (a wind instrument) when the Wind is speaking to him smacks of a very convenient skill. If this is how he ends up communing with his new elemental friend, I hope it’s cool enough to overcome how silly and contrived the idea feels at the moment.

Navani gifting clock after clock to Dalinar in hopes of making him keep to a schedule is funny to me. Good luck reining him in, Your Highness.

Why did Kaladin’s armor spren follow the Aon out of the room when Wit directed it? Were they following his instructions or just following a nearby “spren” of interest?

Quote

“Long ago, that rhythm guided humans across the void from one planet to another. They followed it to reach your world.”
“One of the rhythms of Roshar. Made into a song, with the tones of the gods.”
“Gods older than yours.”

I was about to say that rhythms must exist cosmere-wide, but this exchange actually doesn’t do anything to claim that any originate outside the Rosharan system, only that they can propagate that far. I would suppose them to be a universal phenomenon, but the fact that they haven’t appeared in any other magic systems (think aviar, kandra, aons, all of which are invested beings who ought to be sensitive to such things) suggests pretty strongly that they are local.

It’s also interesting that the tones of the gods were used in the music, going back to Navani’s harmonization practice with Raboniel in the last book. I expect music could be really interesting (though also more complicated) when you live on a planet where certain notes and rhythms have supernatural significance and magical effects when they resonate through the world.

Oh, Wit’s actually going to talk directly about the Wind. Wasn’t expecting him to be direct about this. The Wind is an ancient spren from before the shattering. Apparently the Nightwatcher is too, which is a surprise. I thought “Old Magic” was just talking about something obscure, not something actually older than the gods invested here. I was nearly positive that Nightwatcher was a creation of Cultivation, not an ancient spren that had been nurtured into her current form as Wit just informed us. 

Wit claims that the music is just for Kaladin’s own appreciation and expression of art. That can be true while also helping him to listen better to the Wind, though.
Oh, he even says why it’s important a few lines later:

Quote

 “I want you to practice with that flute until you make the sound return to you. Because that will mean Roshar is listening.”

Wit is feeling pessimistic about his chances to survive? His memory of the confrontation with Odium still has him thinking he manipulated Rayse, so i’m not sure why he thinks things aren’t going to plan.

Oh, he figured out that something went wrong, but has no idea what it was. 

Wit is unexpectedly irate about the Passions. I mean, I agree with what he’s saying, even if that feels reductionist toward the actual Thaylen religion that has had thousands of years to grow out of the teachings Odium first gave. And yet, he’s usually so irreverent about things that it seems odd for this topic to trigger his anger so powerfully. The quickness with which he transitions from angerspren to gloryspren reminds me that he just said he’s capable with a lie. His outrage and (ironically) passion feel manufactured.

He’s citing Sazed now, with great respect. I approve, except for “Hope I get to meet him someday.” Sir, you spent years on Scadrial hiding from the man. Those are not the actions of someone hoping to meet their host.

We knew that Kal was revolutionizing mental healthcare, but Wit is claiming he’s actually inventing therapy for the first time on Roshar. I find that hard to believe unless you are defining therapy very narrowly.

According to Wit, Ishar won’t be able to help with the Champion contest, and Kaladin won’t be coming back in time to help either, though his mission is still important.

Haha! Wit was making Dalinar wait, not the other way around.