The Fourth Bridge

[The Sneaky Kandra]

Hey so something random I thought up, but do we ever find out where the Fourth Bridge is during Wind and Truth? Especially at the end! Like did it just kinda drop from the sky?!?

[Ninth of the Night]

There are only three times it's mentioned.

Quote

“Eight days?” Navani asked. “You want us to deliver troops to a nation hundreds of miles away in eight days?”

“The Fourth Bridge,” the Mink said. “Your flying machine—”

“Would take weeks to travel that distance,” Navani said.

And then Rysn name-drops it twice in her Interlude. Nothing happened to it, just isn't of any practical use with a ten day time limit. Even less so at the end, considering it no longer has "flight" capability.

[The Sneaky Kandra]

So do you think it was in flight, or did they have it docked somewhere at the time of the reclamation of stormlight?

[Treamayne]

6 hours ago, The Sneaky Kandra said:

So do you think it was in flight, or did they have it docked somewhere at the time of the reclamation of stormlight?

We have no indications either way. It's last known status was Landed at the Shattered Plains to offload the Hearthstone Refugees (RoW Ch 18). It seems to be forgotten after that, except the three very brief mentions quoted above. If Offscreen Inertia holds true, then it was landed in the Shattered Plains being inspected from it's initial test mission when the Invasion of Urithiru happened. Which would imply it was still grounded at the beginning of WaT (the next day) - which implies it was not airborne during the Stormlight Recall event.

Of course, the problem with that theory is; if Fourth Bridge had been grounded in the Shattered Plains, why was there no mention of the thing during Sigzil's Battles?

Unless we get a WoB, we will not know its fate until Book 6 (at the earliest).

[QuantumAce]

9 hours ago, Treamayne said:

If Offscreen Inertia holds true, then it was landed in the Shattered Plains being inspected from it's initial test mission when the Invasion of Urithiru happened. Which would imply it was still grounded at the beginning of WaT (the next day) - which implies it was not airborne during the Stormlight Recall event.

Of course, the problem with that theory is; if Fourth Bridge had been grounded in the Shattered Plains, why was there no mention of the thing during Sigzil's Battles?

At first I assumed it was docked at the Shattered Plains, in whatever configuration it would be secured for a highstorm.  That would presumably keep it out of the action during the fighting. However, that would also put it under Listener control now. 

It is a prototype for revolutionary technology, so it would most likely be in some sort of R&D facility between test runs. The War Camps or Urithiru are plausible options that would keep it under Kholin control.