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Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 108 (Moments) Icons: Mirrored triad: Taln, Vev, with Jez doubled. Windrunner moments, plus endurance and healing? Epigraph: Confused but brilliant? Sure, I’ll take that compliment, El. On a tent in Amaram’s colors. Is this Tien, and he doesn’t recognize him? I am not sure how this vision will be helpful, Dalinar. Kaladin hasn’t learned that in living the vision he inhabits memories of the one he replaces. It took a while for Dalinar to learn to go with the flow on that. Kal is just being himself. And suddenly Kal recognizes where and when this is. “Work with what you have.” Oh, that’s why he didn’t see it at first. Tien came in later to protect these two. Aww, Tien recognizes him in the vision, somehow. Kal and Tien are more alike than we’ve had a chance to see. This is touching. I am frequently emotional in books, so this isn’t out of the norm by any stretch for me, but this little exchange is definitely making me tear up a bit. Well done Brandon/Tien. And Tien gives him a wooden carving to carry out of the vision to show it was real. Alright, Dalinar, I take it back. This was a good idea after all. (Though only because there was more to it than just watching Tien die again.) He grasps Syl, somehow recognizing her from only a pinprick of light. Oh, the horse dissolved. Not sure how that will go over. He hears Tien and Teft’s voices egging him on to say his Fourth Oath. And more shockingly, the voice that says “These Words Are Accepted” isn’t the Stormfather’s. I want to say it’s Tien’s but they’ve already left the time-agnostic realm of the Spiritual, so it seems like Teft is the only one who could stick around long enough for it. I’m not sure, though, because Tien was definitely implied. And all the windspren congregate from across the sky to (presumably) form his Plate.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 107 (Uniting) Icons: Four: Kek, Chach, Jez, Ishi. I got nothing. Epigraph: These short snippets are infuriatingly meaningless on their own. Clump them into a single epigraph so that there’s room for more meat. Or, alternatively, just tell us who El is! Is it significant that the mural navani smears blood on is the one of a willshaper spren? I don’t think so–it seems like it’s probably just added color, but it’s a weird place for that sort of detail. Taunting Navani with Elhokar’s murder is not going to make her give up. You say you feel nothing, but I’m sensing a lot of residual spite in you, Vyre. As expected, he gets a Raboniel to the face. I’m imagining all those shows where a cat jumps up at someone out of nowhere, though I suspect it’s a bit more terrifying to have that happen with a full-sized Fuzed. She’s weak enough it will only delay, but it’s super satisfying to see her fondness and belief in Navani motivate her like this. Nice, Raboniel is using the stormlight siphon version of the knife to hinder Moash, sucking away his strength. She reaches the pillar and only hears the Rhythm of War. So the Unmaking is complete, but as anticipated the Sibling is not like the other Unmade. Those are fully Odium, while the Sibling is powered by Warlight. Actually, wait. If previously the Sibling worked on Towerlight, generating Towerlight, a.k.a. fusion of Honor and Cultivation, why are they working on Warlight now? Shouldn’t there be some Cultivation in the mix? Or did all of the Voidlight replace the Lifelight half? That might explain the severe weakening that the Sibling experienced, especially towards the end. *** The Stormfather manifests next to Dalinar in the air, outside of a storm. That’s unprecedented. Also, it’s weird to me again to think about the timescales involved for the highstorm to travel across the continent. They are blithely flying toward the enemy camp, while a highstorm is bearing down on them to arrive within hours at most. Surely they should be waiting until after it passes to do this? Also, with Dalinar getting pulled into a vision, that’s gotta be awkward for Lyn the Windrunner who is carrying him. Kaladin taking Syl’s hand, then letting her go… definitely a sad moment. Dalinar convinces the Stormfather to pull Kal into the timestop at the center of the Storm. Giving someone a little more time to process their grief is the sort of magical intervention that feels relevant to real life concerns. I like this part of the solution. *** The civilians in the tower are trying to protect the Radiants, and Venli specifically notices the one-armed soldier that took Kaladin as inspiration against depression. I hope not too many of them die. Venli reveals the wrong rhythms in her speech, getting Leshwi’s attention. Timbre is shouting her little head off inside, "Show her, show her!" All this buildup to Leshwi being accepting of Venli’s radiance, and LOLnope–she immediately attunes Destruction. Definitely not an automatic alliance. Here’s a reminder that as much as we like Leshwi, and as much as we trust her morals, she’s still fighting for the forces of Odium. *** Kaladin buys into Moash’s dichotomy of Odium or oblivion. The Stormfather tells him there are more choices, and there is still more journey worth taking. Actually, until I wrote that I didn’t recognize this as a journey vs. destination point. Odium or oblivion is a pondering of consequences and outcomes, forcing Kaladin to choose to end his journey. The Stormfather instead tells him there’s more to do right now, which is more important than the false choice of destination he’s been presented. The thought of Syl being left alone to grieve is enough to make Kaladin try again, but he still has exhausted his strength. I’m glad he loves Syl enough to try. *** A reminder that for all the Bondsmith’s powers, he is still bound by the constraints of the nahel system of oaths, and that pushing those limits is done at everyone’s peril. We do not want a deadeye Stormfather, or one broken in other soul-destroying ways. Dalinar is in the spiritual realm and he senses a warmth. Is this the anomalous light from his visions? In the past he attributed it to the God Beyond, but we don’t really know what it is or where it came from. Does this mean we’ll get an actual explanation? Dalinar connects Kaladin to the warmth and sends him a vision. What is the connection to? What will the vision be of, and how much of it will Dalinar be influencing? Any? I sort of think that his contribution is done after forging the connection.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 106 (A Hundred Discordant Rhythms) Icons: Offset triad of Taln, Jez, and doubled Nale. Epigraph: I don’t get it. How are varied and intense being used as antonyms? Or at least exclusive? Kaladin reflects on his argument with Lirin about killing to protect, and how that may be an inherent contradiction. But unbeknownst to him, Lirin is mere feet away being held hostage against Kaladin doing anything. So when he does finally look up, will he kill in order to protect his father? Or will he accept Lirin’s morals and let his father suffer the fate the enemy has planned? *** Navani jumps into the pain field to grab the knife, and stabs Raboniel with it. Way to be awesome, Navani! Sometimes it’s easy to forget that she’s married to the Blackthorn. I doubt there’s enough light in there to actually kill Raboniel, though. I really like that she takes time to have pride in the range of her pain field, while being bombarded with its effect. Definitely a scholar. Oh. Raboniel is almost dead. She’s cut off from the rhythms and in excruciating pain. Navani succeeded, but Raboniel has enough time for some last words. And what words does she choose? Affirmation of Navani, and encouraging her to escape. Awesome. Raboniel esteems the Voice of Lights highly enough to think she is the best chance now of ending the war. Wonderful culmination of this relationship! And Moash ruins the moment. At least he did it dramatically (by throwing a knife into Navani’s chest from across the room). *** Timbre really has no fear, telling Venli to reveal herself in front of everyone. That’s far gutsier than I would expect. Leshwi frees Lirin! Kaladin doesn’t have to face the decision I thought would come. Oh, Leshwi is definitely going to capitalize on the Defeated One title. She’s going to get a lot of mileage out of that. Well, that’s even more dramatic. The Pursuer teleports past Leshwi to kill Stormblessed, and now Venli will have to save him with her stone shaping. That’s a sweet setup right there. Oh, that’s not what happened. It just broke Kal out of his funk and forced him to fight back. Ah, maybe that’s not a good thing? Kaladin with eyes that are starting to glow red is not an auspicious sign. Uh oh. Using the wrong color of light to lash the Pursuer’s head off of his body…that’s not the Windrunner ideals I’m used to. Has Brandon been running a long con? Is Moash right? What if Dalinar does get his contract signed, only to find out that Kaladin has taken up the role of Odium’s champion? I don’t actually think that’s what’s going to happen, but sequences like this are doing a seriously impressive job of convincing me it’s a possibility. No, don’t run away with the hostage! That’s how you make him follow you! Seriously, folks. If you aren’t going to fight him, just give him what he wants. So now Venli just has to reveal herself by fighting against the Pursuer’s personal guard and protecting the Radiants. I’m not sure that’s an improvement over the previous scene. *** No! Syl is forgetting. This is not good. Kaladin, please don’t kill Syl or abandon her! Um, is Syl forgetting the Words he said or the ones he was getting ready to say? Because that’s an important distinction. When Lirin is thrown off, Kaladin jumps off the tower into the storm, while remembering honor chasm. This took an even darker turn than I thought it would. For the moment I think I still prefer my hypothetical hostage negotiation for the character arc, but I’ll wait and see where Brandon is going with this.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 105 (Children of Passions) Icons: Another offset triad: Jez and Chach, plus Vev twice but not mirrored. Maybe that’s Lift getting pride of place? I’m beginning to think the lack of symmetry is intentional to evoke the chaos of the current situation. Epigraph: Are you making fun of our skin, now? Just because we humans don’t have cool crab shells doesn’t mean… yeah, who am I kidding. I’m sure we’re funny looking to you. Smashing the Pursuer against the giant window against the backdrop of highstorm lightning is a cool move. Following it up by scaring him away, that’s how you win with panache. *** Of note is that this whole section identifies Moash by his former name, not by Vyre. Not sure if that’s a change based on his proximity to Bridge Four, or something else, but he’s thinking of himself that way. Kaladin is going to take some time to get over Teft’s murder, but it’s definitely not going to break him the way Moash expects. It might have, earlier, but he has already accepted that he’s not Bridgeleader or Highmarshal any longer, and he has the beginnings of a new identity in place. Oh, stink. Odium is interested in Lift for obvious reasons. I really hope she doesn’t get taken captive again at the end of all this. Going from Mraize to Raboniel to Odium in a series of cages is not what I want for our little Edgedancer. Moash, that is where your narrowmindedness betrays you. Kaladin’s only two options are suicide or surrender of self? You don’t know him as well as you think you do. And now he’s headed for Navani. Is he going to get hit by her fabrial mines, or is he going to have Odium ejected from his heart by her anti-Voidlight dagger, forcing him to face his own emotions again? My money is on the second one. *** The shield is down. This is your chance, Navani. Two more Fused titles we haven’t heard before: Word of Deeds and Night Known. Not sure what their role is in the final Unmaking of the Sibling. Hm. She only arms one of her traps (for now). I love that Raboniel prepared the notebook and plate for Navani to escape with. There’s lots of potential manipulative reasons for it, but I like to think there is true fondness and gratitude there. Nice, Navani. You did outthink Raboniel at this juncture, at least. “Here, have my knife and we’ll talk it out.” And she takes the bait. Walking into the prepared painrial. Let’s see how this plays out.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 104 (Full of Hope) Icons: Three, and in a different configuration than before. We have Chach, Vev, and two Nale… but the Nale icons aren’t mirrored. What’s going on?! Epigraph: “Humans are a poem. A song.” I’mma need some more context to see where he’s going with this one. Rlain is reprimanded for carrying water to the basement…but it’s the carrying water part that he’s doing wrong. Make the humans do that menial labor. Nice subversion there. Oh, wait. He was recognized. He and Dabbid are both detained. Not sure how they’ll get to Navani or the Sibling now. *** Now that he’s set the stakes, Kal is smack talking loud enough to put on a show. This fight became about the audience and reputation in their eyes, more than the contest itself. Nice move. And it works. The Pursuer (now a.k.a. Defeated One, apparently) is psyched out and starts to retreat to fight more cautiously. *** I love that Leshwi is cheering for Kaladin. And she may be speaking softly, but she’s doing it to Exultation. It’s definitely cheering. *** I’m disappointed that Moash misinterpreted Teft here. I was expecting him to say, “We both know who the better man is. If I were a better man I wouldn’t win this.” Nice, Teft. Advancing to the next oath in dramatic fashion, manifesting a blade. Well, spear really. Is he going to get a glyph of power when he actually says the oath? Will that make it through the tower’s suppression, and if it does will it make a difference? Oh, nope. He was just forcing the connection to bring Phendorana through a little bit. I was expecting Teft to get killed directly, rather than tortured with the loss of Phendorana. Her death is a gut punch. There’s a reason we all hate you, Vyre. Oh, Teft is getting killed too. I’m rather surprised that Vyre didn’t leave him as evidence of what had been done to his bound spren. Especially since the wound he received at her death sounded like it would preclude forming another bond for a long time at least. Lift’s not gonna be happy about this, though, which is going to matter to Moash in a minute. The "full of hope" line and title are interesting in context of Jasnah's vehement denouncement of the topic. Is hope worth anything here? Did it do more harm than good? It's constructed as a rebuttal, but in a form that her arguments are still potentially valid.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 103 (The Legend You Live) Icons: Jez and Vev=windrunners and edgedancers. Teft and Lift gonna be doin’ stuff. Epigraph: El also thinks human tenacity appears appropriately Rosharan. Teft is right that Kaladin does have a flair for the dramatic, but having just seen inside his head I don’t know I’d go so far as to say he’s intentionally grandstanding. Teft, that was pretty ballsy but I don’t think putting them in a headlock is the preferred method to deal with opponents who have electrokinesis. I guess it works, though, when you’ve got a healer on tap and Stormlight for strength. Too bad Moash is on his way or this might actually work as planned. Yes, Phenodrana. Go out the east-facing window into the coming highstorm. Briliant plan. Oh no! Moash wasn’t on his way, he was already here and ready to ambush the rescue party! As he takes down lift, I can’t help but think: He’s come to steal Kaladin’s dinner. *** Kaladin is doing a good job of getting into the Pursuer’s head. But pulling out a scalpel as his weapon of choice was not what I expected him to do. Neat statement about fusing his soldier and surgeon identities, but could probably have been built up more to make that moment really shine. *** What is Moash using that sand for? It’s already black, so it’s got to be intended as a sensor. Is he detecting spren? Teft, you are facing down an honorblade-wielding agent of odium with only a dagger. I think Kaladin is rubbing off on you.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 102 (Highstorm Coming) Icons: Jez and Chach. Either brave windrunners, or destructive highstorm. Epigraph: This one is quotable: Is…is this talking about the infamous “voidbinding chart” from the endpapers? Are those shapes intended to be singer faces? Also, am I correct in assuming “this Return” to mean the current one in the story, or would these Musings on the first of the FInal Ten Days be a more ancient document? *** Venli is lined up for the Oathgate, in a position that will make it awkward and very visible to change plans. This means it will be the optimal time narrative-wise for her oaths about freedom to kick in and force her to back out of the “run for the hills” plan. Venli’s got 15 friends/minions at this point. I don’t think I knew before this how large her recruitment had gotten. Honestly, it’s a bit smaller than I expected, if only slightly. Venli’s envoyform carapace is “ornamentation, not true armor,” which somehow means it doesn’t shield her from the cold wind? I think I have a different understanding of armor than they do, but I suppose this is just saying that there is a lot of exposed skin to that form. Which, going by the folio page, is hardly a surprise. Just an odd way of saying it. Venli knows she’s being manipulated, but she doesn’t care. She sees what she wants to grasp. Yup, Timbre is disappointed in her choice. Aww, she tells Timbre to leave, find another host, but Timbre wants her. Ah, so there’s a deadline of sorts as well. Highstorm inbound, probably to the Kharbranth end. I doubt they'd be trying to organize transfers in the time between one leaving Kharbranth and striking Urithiru. Vyre has run off, somehow sensing that Kal is on his way. Or maybe Leshwi told him that the Pursuer was trying to kill steal? Anyway, it’s funny to me because I only just realized that Vyre is the sole conduit they have at the moment for running the Oathgates. That means he’s been stuck as the elevator operator or revolving door attendant for the entirety of this occupation. He has got to be so bored. Ah, nope. The highstorm is about to strike Urithiru, so they appear to have been transferring personnel and supplies in that brief lull. Weird, but okay. I mean, the Kharbranth Oathgate is inside the palace and wouldn’t really be exposed to the storm anyway. I guess that end of the transit is not particularly affected one way or another. I guess getting rained out thanks to Vyre’s absence means that Venli doesn’t have to make a scene (here) when she changes her mind. And it forces her to reconsider when she sees things start to go down. Timbre knows what this means. The coming storm is supposedly going to be big enough to cover the entire tower. Sounds like a big’un. Her friends like the idea of saving Kaladin and family, because they see him as a potential ally/asset. I wasn’t expecting Venli’s honesty here, or their support. A lot of unspoken trust going on. *** Navani isn’t even getting food? That’s not how you are supposed to treat the Voice of Lights. Something has fallen through the cracks. Surely Raboniel doesn’t think Navani’s usefulness is at an end, after what she accomplished so far. Raboniel managed to reverse-engineer Anti-Stormlight in less than a day from Navani’s notes. That’s impressive. That’s a ludicrously high standard to hold scholars to, Navani. Take a look at your own scholars and ask how much they have missed of the wider picture. Navani painting prayers now is reminiscent of her Thath glyph after the betrayal at the Tower, and I love that this moment mirrors that one. Navani’s reflection on faith here is powerful and salient. How do you respond when you know that the god you pray to is in fact dead? Does that make the prayers worthless? Or is it an act of devotion to rely on their foresight reaching beyond even that death? As readers, we know that there is another deity on Roshar known for her future sight. So it is entirely possible that Cultivation did in fact seed this possibility into being. But it is equally possible that with blindspots and competing manipulations, this outcome was random and unforeseen. It is an act of faith to choose what Navani should believe, and though the stakes for us readers are as close to zero as to make no difference, it’s still an instructive situation to examine for how we ourselves approach faith in such a hypothetical. It’s a situation that could easily be compared to our own universe. Someone says he’s here to kill Navani in order to distract Dalinar. I’m guessing that Rlain is failing to come up with a natural cover story. Oh, nope. It’s Moash/Vyre. (Reminder: Moash was a better name and it shouldn’t have been changed.) Woah. He’s directly arguing with Raboniel, and says the order comes straight from Odium…but Raboniel somehow pulls rank and says her orders take precedent? I’d like to see the rules lawyering that makes that viable. Moash promises to not kill Kaladin, but ruin him somehow. In exchange, he gets Navani. I’m not sure what Moash is going to do, but I’m concerned about Syl’s continued absence. I think he’s going to do something creatively sadistic, rather than any of the straightforward attacks on Kal’s loved ones. But I’m not sure what. It was implied earlier, but explicitly noted again: the Honorblades are perfectly viable under the tower’s suppressive field, and stormlight functions normally for them. Therefore, it is the spren and the nahel bond specifically that are being smothered. The honorblades are aligned to Honor’s investiture just as much, so either they are simply powerful enough to shrug off everything the tower does–a distinct possibility, since we know more advanced Radiants gain greater immunity to the inhibitor–or the suppression targets something much more specific than the Intent of kinetic investiture. Actually, having typed that out, it’s got to be the strength of the artifact that matters here. Fabrials are suppressed too, but it depends on the light they are infused with, not the spren that powers them. So the Honorblades can overpower the suppression, not escape it through a difference of attunement. With all of his Passion consumed by Odium, it’s an apt term. She found a sliver of Raysium… no wait. There is a second dagger, whole and unexploded. That is a useful piece of equipment. An answer to prayers, one might say. And it’s slightly charged with anti-Voidlight. *** Kaladin sees everyone wearing the Shash glyph. This is the most overtly messianic symbology we’ve had associated with Kaladin, and the most direct analogy to Christian symbols since the Well of Ascension when the Church of the Survivor took up the spear that slew Kelsier. I’m surprised that Kaladin’s thoughts about the end of his life as Highmarshal are so much more focused on what he might embody next rather than on martyrdom and endings. He’s come a long way since honor chasm, and suicide is not something he is looking for. He found Syl! He’s wearing the gauntlet on his belt, aimed at his back. My only guess is it will let him ram the Pursuer when he does his “I’m behind you” trick?

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 101 (Undertext) Icons: Palah. Matches the title for Learned, but I don’t have a guess about why that matters here. Epigraph: El likes that humans think he’s scary. Big surprise there. The Prime’s house full of furniture made me think first of that meeting of monarchs where everyone brought their own throne, and I had the facetious thought that maybe the Azish just kept all of them. Then I thought of Wyndle’s chair garden and wished that he could have come to see this. I’m sure it’s not quite as ridiculous as Dalinar thinks. New swear for the list! So, not only do the Azish have fewer Shardblades and Plate, they have fewer Soulcaster fabrials as well. Did the Alethi start with more, or did they take them by conquest with their abundance of Blades? This tradition of sharing the Emperor’s meal is very different when seen through Dalinar’s eyes compared to Lift’s. Dalinar’s extreme distaste of this pageantry is funny when wedded to his concept of effect leadership. He really can’t fathom someone like Yanagawn wielding actual power. Another for the list. It took me a minute to parse the way it was being used, though. Device in this case was literal rather than idiomatic, a reference to his watch fabrial. I didn’t read it correctly the first time. Jasnah handles the cultural business with aplomb, as expected. More interesting is the fact that Gawx/Yanagawn is doing remarkably well at handling his role. He’s relying on his advisers, but also making decisions for himself and acting with ever-greater confidence. I’m impressed. The argument about hope is appropriate to the characters and situation, but also feels a bit off thematically. I’m not sure how to articulate my reaction better, but it doesn’t feel like it arises organically from everything that’s been happening. Ishar is Tashi to the Azish. So why was Tashi the one who didn’t get a pancake? Is it a conflation or confusion about who was lost? Or something else entirely specific to the pancake festival? Dalinar: I’mma go talk to Ishar. Noura: But…isn’t he insane like the others? Dalinar: Yup. But maybe less than the others. Ash (who is definitely insane) says we can trust him. Noura: o.0 I’m actually with Dalinar on this next part, though. If you’re going to talk to him, do it peaceably if possible. Noura’s kidnapping idea is doomed to fail. Thanks Yanagawn! Not really a swear, but I’ll add it to the list. I remain very skeptical of this contract Jasnah and Wit are preparing. I feel like it is a trap that can be turned around on those who laid it, even if Wit is acting completely above board here–of which I have yet to be convinced. Aww, Gawx is worried about Lift. Good job being a friend! Dalinar has kept working on writing and editing his book this whole time. That’s dedication when so many other duties are pulling him in other directions. I’m impressed. Asking Jasnah to write the undertext is sweet. It’s a show of trust and approval that I think she needs, and demonstrates how far he’s come in regards to being paternal. Okay, I know that this is meant to be a sweet comment about trust and unity, and the value of working together. But good grief these people are self-assured. I want to say conceited and arrogant, but they have a lot of reason to think highly of themselves, so the attitude could be deserved. Still, this is what it sounds like: Dadlinar: “Hopefully you can add something to make my amazing autobiography even better. I trust that you’re smart enough to contribute. A bit.” Jasnah: “What are you talking about? It’s a foregone conclusion that it will be leagues better when I’m done with it. I’m the best scholar in the world, after all.”

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 100 (Watchers at the Rim) Title: A repeat from previous books. While I recall the term and its meaning, I don’t remember at all what chapter previously bore this title so I don’t know if there’s any parallelism being set up. I assume not, and it’s just the conceptual callback. Icons: Jez and Shash. Jez for windrunners, not sure about Shash Epigraph: El refers to himself as a singer, so yes, Navani’s “no title” bit was definitely misdirection. Kal was woken by a distant song–the Sibling? The anti-Stormlight that was just created? Hard to say. Sibling is talking to him, but isn’t doing well. Not sure why the Sibling is being weakened by this. I’d have expected more scattered thoughts, altered emotions, not frailty. The Fused found the final node, and it’s in the same room where all the Radiants are being tended. This feels contrived. I’m all for confluent climaxes, but I’d have liked there to be a reason that the Radiants were placed in that particular room, so that’s it’s justified as a decision rather than just a coincidence. Oh no. Kaladin doesn’t know what the Sibling meant when it asked him to send Rlain. I hope the delay from that misunderstanding isn’t too costly. Dabbid brought them Bridge Four uniforms to wear. That’s unsubtle, but sure. Time to suit up for battle. Rlain is not at his best, due to Venli’s confession. That could help open him for the bond, or hurt by distracting and discouraging him. Hm. It makes sense to have Rlain and Dabbid hide, since they won’t be with the escaping party, but I was anticipating a larger breakout. This method trusts everyone to handle themselves and leaves fewer points of failure for getting some people out, but also leaves people to their own devices and the increased risk that entails. I know it’s just a backup plan, but Teft’s willingness to jump off a cliff in the hopes that his powers return in time to survive is uncomfortably reminiscent of the Envisagers. I guess that’s the point, but yeah. Not something I want to see him try. Teft made Kaladin swear to escape and not sacrifice himself. That’s going to make a big difference. He’s not going to risk another broken oath.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 99 (Not Bound) Icons: Betab and Jester–caution and an offworlder. Possibly consulting with Wit via the radio, possibly just learning about wider cosmere events, or maybe Azure returns? Oh, wait. This is Jasnah’s chapter header. Betab for Elsecaller, Jester for Wit. It’s just a cast list. Epigraph: Okay, three big things here. First, identity of El: he had his title stripped from him so he probably is/was a Fused, and Navani’s confusion was just lack of context. Second, in addition to the title, he had his rhythms stripped away. HOW? What does that mean? I am terrified at some of the possibilities. Third, he seems to have floated the idea that listeners and fused should enslave humans rather than exterminate them–the very outcome that was flipped around on the parshmen after the capture of Ba-Ado-Mishram. So it’s neither a new tactic nor one that is uniquely human, though admittedly nobody else went for it and El himself was shamed as a result. Jasnah’s security is pretty good for being on a campaign. Traps and alarms in all the surrounding rooms, including below, so she has sufficient warning of any attack. Plus Wit is there, so any assassins that make it past her fabrials probably won’t be entirely undetected. Yeah, I guess that first assassination attempt leaving her stranded in Shadesmar left a lasting impression. I can understand the frustration to a veristitalian of having to throw away her laborious reconstructions once an eye witness to the past is suddenly available. At the same time, I think they’ve already established that Ash, Taln, and the rest are hardly unassailable in their memories. But settling academic debates about history and motives is a pretty convenient use for immortals coming to the fore. I’m not sure the right answer to this quandary is that “relying on the past is flawed.” The conclusion is that “precognition is terrifying to compete with.” Don’t just give up on the tools you’ve learned to use so expertly. Wit, that is uncharacteristically intimate of you–both of you. Removing her glove and kissing her safehand? This is making me think there’s something besides Fortune behind the way you’ve lingered at Jasnah’s side for almost two years. Oh wow, yes. They are being entirely more familiar in their flirtations (Jasnah! Flirting!) than would have been expected. I didn’t know this was a legitimate ship. Honestly, I’m not sure I’m on board yet, since I was really expecting Jasnah to be ace and that’s been my headcanon of her character for a while. I guess I’ll watch and see how it develops. The way she’s describing Wit, though, maybe she’s ace but not aro? Not clear yet. Okay, I take it back. It’s teasing and flirtatious, yes, but apparently not intimate to any degree. I am sad that the Awakened card games never featured in our views of Nalthis. Maybe they are played outside Hallandren, or in a different time period? I’ll hope for an appearance in Warbreaker 2 when that book comes out…eventually. Good analogy, though. Rigging the games compared to manipulating the future. Odium can anticipate what is going to happen as well as someone who knows all the factors influencing an outcome, but there can still be surprises and other cheaters. Also, who won Hoid’s Breath from him? Hm. Sounds like maybe they are physically involved, but she is some degree of ace after all. So Wit is interested, but hasn’t revealed enough of himself to earn trust, and may run off at any moment. Not too surprising. Wit’s wordplay is all alliteration and only some degree of cleverness. I did like the soulless stars slumber line, even though jasnah didn’t get it. Wit really doesn’t have a Rosharan perspective here. “If we lose, it just turns your planet into hell. I find myself entirely skeptical of the idea that this sort of contract would be effective in forcing Rayse to comply with it. Except, just as I’m about to rant about that, Wit says this: It sounds like there were more strings attached at the beginning than are readily apparent, and that may be the primary reason Hoid turned down the opportunity. I’m confused about how that promise is actually efficacious, though. So, yes. The obligations that come with power are the problem. And, maybe this is something that was already known, but it sounds to me like this means Hoid was the only non-Vessel present at that time. All the others took one of the shards, with no other abstentions according to this.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 98 (An Unwholesome Shade) Icons: Ishar and Shash. Coming up with a creative way to meet Ishar? Epigraph: Musings of El. Having just gone back through the Rhythm of War notebook epigraphs from part three, the identity of El is a question at the front of my mind. Looks like we may get an answer by the end of the book. “I look forward to ruling the humans” doesn’t really sound like an Unmade necessarily (since I don’t get the impression they have designs on ruling things) but we know so little about them I won’t rule out that possibility yet. Most obvious option is that he is a Fused, but Navani already cast doubt on that. A sleepless perhaps? One working with the Fused? Or what about the Siah Aimians? We have only met Axies so far. There could be others with very different plans for their ageless lives. Where did the Horneaters get goose feathers? Do they have sadistic long necked chickens on the peaks? I had completely forgotten about the burial customs of the Alethi where nobility were directly soulcast into statues, then returned to their homelands. That is so weird to me. I guess it means that you have a good likeness of your ancestors to remember them by? Shipping statues overland has got to be inconvenient and a huge sink of effort. Only the highest tier of nobility would command that sort of observance. “Singer and human bodies smelled the same when they burned”–that seems odd, given the crab people thing. Surely there’d be different chemistry going on inside? Huh. the soldier’s patches have their names on the back, serving a similar function as dog tags here. Emul reveres archers, which strikes Dalinar as bizarre. I want to learn more about the sort of influences that would promote that hierarchy. I’d forgotten that the Iri had allied with the Fused. I guess it will be a while before we learn more about Evi’s heritage and family. “Stargyle the Lightweaver”--where did that name come from? He’s described as Alethi, I think. Did we meet him earlier in the book under Shallan? I don’t recall the name at all. Oh, Dalinar thinks it’s a stupid name too, and is sure it’s a self-chosen one. That makes sense. From his height…is this Vathah? Whoever he is, he grew up a pigmenter’s son before joining the army he later deserted. So, color is his thing. Ishar is with the army? That’s unexpected. Also, he looks Shin. I need to look again at the descriptions and figure out the relationships between the heralds, and which ones look like offworlders. It’s probably just indicative of the distribution that arrived from Ashyn, rather than any timeline of arrival, but it’d still be worth doing. Ishar magically draws the glyph for mystery, to entice Dalinar closer. That’s a weird thing to do for someone who denounced the new radiants in such strong terms. Szeth wants to do the same thing, apparently. He didn’t seem to realize that one or more heralds came from his ancestry.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Part V start (Ketek, Epigraphs, and speculation) Before I start in on the final section of the book, let’s take a moment to address a few things. First, the Ketek: That repeated “Knowledge” in the middle doesn’t quite match the form we’ve seen from past keteks, as I recall. Isn’t there usually a single non repeated word in the third line? Man, my Alethi poetic analysis is rusty. I’m a bit surprised to have the entire second half of the ketek appear in the final section of the book–I was starting to think it wasn’t a ketek at all. It feels like something that should apply to Jaxlim and the Keepers of Songs, but keteks are a human thing. I don’t see non-Vorins becoming enamored of symmetry to the point of composing these. The listeners already have their own songs without downgrading to human poetic forms. I’m not sure how to interpret the interplay between the concepts here. I’ll have to wait until it shows up in context, probably in the epilogue. Second, let’s revisit the Part III epigraphs, excerpts from the Rhythm of War notebook. The authorship was bugging me way too much, but now that we have both the context and the authors, I might get more out of it. Here’s a chapter-by-chapter commentary on the epigraphs. Page 1 Navani has done this shared notebook thing before. It’s a standard or at least a common format for collaborations, though her research partner is a new twist. Word choice suggests this is Raboniel, but it’s not explicit. This person has hopes for the outcome. A direct response in the undertext to the previous comment, presumably by the other partner, but that’s not certain. This person professes to only care about getting a scientific answer, which sounds like Navani Page 3 “Fevered state” sounds like that rush to complete things at the end of Part IV, but this is only on page 3 so I’m not sure what Navani’s referring to here. Raboniel (in undertext) advises detachment and to “abandon lesser connections.” Page 6 Navani has deja vu about the rhythm/Tone. Not sure which one she means, probably Honor’s. Raboniel (in undertext) is surprised at Navani’s familiarity with the rhythms and acknowledges that humans may belong on Roshar after all, since they’ve been here for thousands of years. From what we’ve seen in the story, that doesn’t mean she’ll be any more compassionate in prosecuting her war and trying to genocide the nahel spren. But maybe she’s more willing to accept the survival of a subjugated humanity? Raboniel laments that it’s more complicated than the simple answer of Stormlight and Voidlight annihilating each other. Navani encourages results-focused scientific thinking. Raboniel (in undertext) defies that, argues that scientists are not dispassionate observers of the cosmere but perform their work with hope for what they might discover. Navani (in undertext) reflects on the oddities of working with an ancient being who has not lived all their thousands of years on Roshar and thus is missing modern developments. Page 10 Raboniel says the emotional influence of the Rhythm of War will be of interest to someone named El. Last time reading this I got confused and thought it was a shortening of Ulim, since I was going on the theory that these were Venli’s research notes from the Shattered Plains. Now, I have no idea who it would be. I don’t remember the Pursuer’s actual name, and can’t think of any other Fused that would take an interest. Oh, Navani (in the undertext) has the same question I did. “Who is El?” She says they probably aren’t a Fused, given the lack of title. My way-out-there guess is that it’s one of the unmade. Kelek shortened Ba-Ado-Mishram to just Mishram. Maybe this is an abbreviation of Yelig-nar? I know that’s a stretch. Page 13 Navani wants to know about the sand from Yolen Raboniel (in undertext) explains about the lichen that grows in the sand. Notably, she says “I am told,” so she hasn’t really investigated it herself. Also, I hadn’t previously paid attention to the statement here that the sand can be propagated by cultivating the lichen to grow into new sand. That means trade with Yolen is not the only source for this, and someone in the cosmere probably has a profitable little lichen farm for selling to interested parties Raboniel (still in undertext) talks about other offworld items–specifically something that resembles the necklace from that Shadesmar marketplace, which she says is meant to “anchor a person through Cognitive abnormalities,” whatever that actually means. Page 21 Navani is questioning the nature of God due to her research into Investiture Raboniel (in undertext) says gods/shards probably can’t be destroyed. Page 27 Raboniel says “don’t mourn for what has happened,” presumably meaning the early failure to create an anti-Light Yes, Raboniel is now leaving Navani to her own devices. Final page Navani thinks about opposites and what that could mean for sounds that have meaning and intent. Navani thinks about her new title as Voice of Lights, and says that means she must express their desires, then connects that to the idea of Intent. You know, the first time around I didn’t make the obvious connection to Venli’s job as Voice to Leshwi. Navani’s title draws on that, but makes her Voice to all the lights, which is much more of an honor than I gave the name credit for. It’s not a recognition of esoteric, scientific accomplishment, but a position that makes her the interpreter for the powers of deity. Navani thinks about Intent. Third, the cast list for part five includes the usual suspects, plus Vyre and someone named Lezian. No clues at this time on who that would be, but I’m going to go out on a limb of wild speculation to guess that it is a personal attendant to Ishar. That seems like the sort of person Brandon might give a perspective to, and the name could be vaguely Tukari. Okay, I’m making that part up. I don’t know much about naming conventions in Emul/Tukar besides that they use a lot of double Qs in place names. The use of an X might be more consistent with Azir (compare Gawx, Zawfix) but there is also Sesemalex Dar, so Xs aren’t necessarily rare. Anyway, that’s my guess.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Interlude I-12 (Taravangian) Compassionate Vargo on top, with more Vev in the icons. “Loving” is getting a bit of a workout over the past chunk of chapters. I can understand Taravangian’s struggle to say things without outright betraying his deal with Odium, and thus invalidating Kharbranth’s protections. It must be a struggle to figure out how to thread that needle when his own mind is unreliable, especially since Rayse told him that the agreement is one that he honors in spirit, not in letter. There will be no rules-lawyering his way through loopholes. Taravangian forced to slowly create a new mastermind scheme without his prior superpowers is a comic book trope that I didn’t know I needed injected into this story. It’s refreshing seeing it apply to a character so different from the standard protagonist role/demographic. There’s nothing in the Diagram about Nightblood. But he did get an agent to interview “a former bearer.” That’s got to be Azure, since I don’t see Zahel being particularly free with information. I wonder what they are both up to these days? We haven’t seen either around recently, especially Azure. I hope she shows up at some point during the last part. Luring Szeth and Rayse into the same place sounds like something that will immediately depart from whatever you planned. It’s worth a shot, but seems insufficient as a measure against Odium. A weird cryptic? No, Sja-Anat. Very cool. I was not expecting that. How is she projecting herself so far? It’s a neat trick. Taravangian’s fear is convincing and a good reminder that the Unmade are more potent than “big spren.” Sja-Anat knows about Cultivation’s touch, and speculates that the Old Magic was a cover for her to be able to influence things directly without everyone noticing. A fair conclusion, I’d say, though there’s probably much more to it. “Exposed” is an interesting word here. By pulling against his power, Rayse the vessel emerges close to the surface and can potentially be struck separately. So, Odium isn’t watching Taravangian all the time, or anyone else. And as Bondsmith Dalinar is scary enough that most voidspren spies keep their distance. That gives a bubble for plotting in. Corrupted spren to lure in Odium sounds like a bait that is removed enough from Szeth/Nightblood that it shouldn’t trigger any suspicions. I can see the first elements of this plan. It will need a lot more to become useful. I am intrigued by this line. I have a lot of questions about what binds Odium to act more circumspectly with those who haven’t made such deals. Is it his nature? Is it some sort of pact between the shards of Roshar? Is it the threat of Cultivation responding if he extends himself? It doesn’t really make sense with what I know of shards.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Interlude I-11 (Adin) Icons: Jez. Not sure why. Adin is a new name. I’m not sure what nationality it fits. Oh, it’s an Alethi kid in the tower. Makes sense, it’s a shorter version or at least shares roots with Adolin. We know that Kaladin didn’t like his name because it made him sound like a lighteyes with that extra syllable in the middle, so it feels obvious in retrospect that a darkeye kid would have a simpler form similar to Adolin. Wants to be a windrunner, hence the chapter icons. His plotting to draw the attention of spren is cute, except every time he mentions it I think about how the spren in the tower are all suppressed and there’s nobody around to watch him even if there were enough honorspren to be looking for a bond and even if his attempts to attract them weren’t mostly ridiculous. He does have the core concept that it’s attitude that matters. My favorite though is how he’s competing with the girl next door for being the most spren-worthy. Adin’s dad has been tending the Radiants, but also doing something with the tower’s resistance after curfew. No hints on what that something is. I guess having crem around and available makes for convenient starting materials for pottery. I don’t love the idea of working with it as my job, but I’m not really a hands-on laborer type by experience. I’m sorry, run that by me again? I don’t think I quite got the flow of logic there. I’ll ask my son to explain it to me, I guess. His dad knows how to handle this. “Windrunners have to eat, so they respect plates. You should do pottery until you can fly.” Didn’t Master Liganor already arrive? Oh, he arrived at the front door, but hadn’t come into the back room yet. I guess I didn’t think of it as a shop with attached work area, but more as a single open room (which it isn’t). That double entrance threw me. Alalan as a name matches conventions, but I’m betting it’s a cameo for someone with an IRL name like Alan. (There was another windrunner mentioned recently that was also an obvious cameo. Kati or something? But I’m out of touch with the fandom and those close to team dragonsteel, so I’m not sure who either would be.) Adin can tell that things are coming to a head today, and he convinces his dad to bring him along, on the argument that the Radiant room will be safer than the shop. I’m going to say that’s probably a bad argument, but the whole tower will get pulled into this mess, so it’s still potentially better to have the family members together. This was a fine interlude, but honestly kind of forgettable. It feels like a letdown to have it be another perspective on events in the tower without revealing anything substantial. The interludes in general are ideal for expanding the world and exploring distant people and situations. Getting a civilian view of things and a child’s view of spren/Radiants was good, but probably not enough to justify an interlude in my opinion.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Interlude I-10 (Hesina) Alright, I’m excited for Hesina to get a turn. She’s been far more in the background than Lirin and needs a bit of time in the spotlight. Icons: Vev. Because loving is pretty much what we need from her right now. Tomat? Where is that? Oh, it’s her hometown. I don’t think we knew its name before. And we see that her parents are both high nahn and also forceful enough personalities that they bully the lighteyed citylord into doing whatever they want. Not really surprising, but I have a much more refined and snobby image of them in my head from the few passing mentions Lirin made of them. It’s possible that’s still the case, but this description feels less snobby than simply stubborn. Interesting that the singers repaired things that had been left broken for generations. There is a lot of industry happening right now with a motivated workforce. Lirin is trying to be supportive, but the stress is getting to all fo them. Lirin, I really sympathize with you trying to find the right answer. The problem is, she’s not going to believe the right answer because she knows what you actually think. Ouch. Lirin blaming himself for Tien’s death is not the form I expected this to take, but it makes way too much sense. I guess I hadn’t really considered his perspective before. I’m pretty sure that’s not what he said. Which thing did you interpret as cutting ties, Lirin? I agree with Hesina. Stop pretending Kal isn’t your son. This argument feels like it should for a couple who’ve been together a long time. It’s a bit of a pilgrimage to come take care of the Radiants. There are a lot of people here that cycle through for a chance to be close to them and feel a touchstone of reverence/resistance. Is the word choice significant here? Probably subconscious for the characters, but Hesina does use that word and it’s only come up a few times in a non-realmatic context. In fact, I should go back and search through the other books so far and see if there is any hidden suggestion at Cultivation’s influence. Noril (I’d forgotten his name–sorry guy) is definitely going to give a different perspective on Kal. I wonder if Hesina knows how much worse Kaladin’s depression has gotten since he left home. I’m sure Lirin hasn’t considered it. Asking everyone for their stories of the shash glyph is a good approach to helping him think about this from another side, but it’s not going to be fun for Lirin to confront.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 97 (Freedom) Icons: Nale. This one confused me at first, but in addition to Justice, Nale is associated with Confidence. Navani’s research coming to a head and giving her a shot of self confidence along with something tangible to contribute is a good fit for that herald to head the chapter (assuming that’s where it’s going, based on the preceding notebook page. Epigraph: So it’s both. Mishram (and that’s an interesting shortening of the name that I want to consider at length for patterns) is pitiable for the captivity she suffers, but her extended imprisonment may have adversely affected the underpinnings of Roshar and “all spren”. Which is plenty ominous and suggestive without actually giving any concrete clues on what to look for in speculating further. Thanks Kelek! You’re a gem ;-) (pun fully intended) Navani is going all in on this research thing. And yet, her notes still look as beautiful as the preceding art page. I get the sense that her idea of disorganization doesn’t match mine. My lab notebooks are way worse than that, especially when I’m in the middle of experiments with loose sheets of paper everywhere. Navani, I’m proud of you for learning to do things the right way. Oh, she’s looking specifically for the opposite of Voidlight. That’s obvious in retrospect, but from the prior chapters I’d been expecting her to be working toward the opposite of Warlight, the fusion of Honor and Odium’s investitures. What she’s actually doing makes way more sense, and could possibly even serve to counter/reverse the unmaking of the Sibling, if it chases out the voidlight that was already injected. Obviously you’re not going to make the antimatter version of the power your own side needs to win. She’s using a trombone and a slide whistle in her experimentation! This is delightful, and I have such a comedic mental image of how she’s using them in her meticulous science experiments. Please tell me that someone has made art of this. If they haven’t, I may need to see about commissioning something from one of the many amazing artists in this fandom. Hmm. I’ve noticed that the illustrious illustrator Botanica is following my liveblog (Yay! I’m flattered you consider it worth your time). I humbly submit this as a concept worth considering, if you haven’t done so already. EDIT: I asked on discord, and someone shared that there is in fact an illustration of this scene. You can find it here, based on the “oven kid” meme that I hadn’t known existed until now. Yeah, phase shifting the frequency of a tone isn’t going to directly phase shift the effect it has on physical objects or passage through a medium. I’m glad you’ve discovered destructive interference, but what you need is something that changes resonant nodes in a predefined medium, and I’m not convinced that’s even possible. She’s getting good enough with tones that she can manually draw out light! Go Navani! Look who’s an expert now. I’m not sure I even understand what she managed to accomplish with the plate. Is she changing the harmonics while leaving the root frequencies the same? Oh, so Intent is involved. I’m kind of surprised it works through the plate, then. It’s a step further removed than humming. Oh, smart. She’s devising a universal power converter to change investiture to the desired flavor in stepwise fashion: First remove the old flavor, then add a new one. If this works as she’s imagining it will, then the limiting factor will be Intent…the exact thing that gives investiture its flavor in the first place. It makes a great deal of sense, and emphasizes both the utility and the limitation. Gathering a group of people together to share their intent (hypothetically, all the captured humans in a giant tower city, to name a random example) you can process a great deal of investiture at once. At the same time, a planet’s entire population is not going to stack up favorably against the Intent in a shard, or even an Unmade. This will be a small-scale, precision tool rather than a cosmere-upending weapon. I do wonder whether the process would be able to halt at that middle point, the undifferentiated state. I’m guessing that any “neutral” investiture will quickly take on the flavor/intent of whatever it meets through simple resonance, but if it can be isolated would it correspond to original Adonalsium light, as an all-in-one sort of superposition? Or would it simply be raw power unaligned to any shard or other subdivision of the powers of creation? I’m sorry, Raboniel, you’re going to have to specify. Are you talking about the intent-phase-shifted tone she’s been designing to be antithetical to your very existence, or to her trombone playing? Because they’re both likely to set your teeth on edge. Hm, how cold would something have to get to effect the state of investiture? Does absolute zero function in the same way in the cosmere? Do you get Bose-Einstein condensates of investiture axi? I guess matter at the fundamental level has more quantum states to occupy? Raboniel’s care for her daughter continues to be a tender spot in her behavior that deepens her character. She is far different as an antagonist than I expected when she was first introduced. The final node is nearby and very small. Is it in the library, hidden among the gemstone memories? Nope, Navani’s scheming is not up to the task. Raboniel hones in immediately on the hidden plate. Not only that, the intent of creating the plate apparently trumps the intent of playing the plate, and it functions as Intended even when someone else pulls the bow. That’s both a good thing for future fabrial creations, and a bad thing for Navani’s current secret keeping. I was kind of expecting it to just sound like the regular tone when Raboniel played it. Oh, Navani thought the same thing, or at least wondered. The notebook is, in fact, named the Rhythm of War. Not that we needed confirmation, but it’s nice to see the book itself make an appearance in the text. Oh, right, the vacuum tubes. That will be a start to holding the light isolated, but I’m not clear on how the properties of the glass are kept from interfering. Oh, it’s a big vacuum tube. Several feet long and nearly a foot in diameter. I was imagining something substantially smaller. Hm, the tube is for meteorology and “barometric studies.” That’s a good enough justification for why they would develop such a thing. Oh, she supposes that physical sound is necessary to propagate the tones and rhythms of roshar, and that realigning the intent will fail without isolating it that way. Hence the vacuum tube. It’s good reasoning, but why would the metaphysical sounds of eternity that you hear with your soul be constrained to movement through air? In fact, we know that Fused can utilize their powers in the vacuum of space, so I have a hard time believing they are actually separated from anything up there. It worked! That’s cool, no matter what doubts I have to poke in her reasoning. And it’s a discovery and success she made together with Raboniel. I can see how this could be scaled up slightly, but it looks like once attuned to a tone, the change is permanent. How could you perform this without access to a vacuum? And how did Gavilar or his associates accomplish it? And finally, what is Navani’s true plan for her to be able to hide it under this revelation to Raboniel? Oh, is she going to give her notebook to the other scholars and have them build something? Sweet! Oh, wait no. It blew up? Why? Was it simple proximity and leakage into contact with voidlight? The previous sphere lasted years before it exploded under the manipulations of Navani’s scholars.What triggered this one? Navani didn’t manage to kill her, but it was a good attempt at assassination. Almost completely deniable as well. Raboniel tried to draw in voidlight with the dagger, as Navani expected, and the explosion was naturally violent. The daughter is nearly unharmed, the servant not quite dead. No fatalities from this bomb. Navani observes smoke and heat as well as pressure damage from the explosion. Also, the dagger was destroyed. Actually, I wonder if the lights even had the chance to mix and react with one another, or if the anti-Voidlight annihilated with Raysium before it ever had the chance to get there. Oh, wait, no. The anti-Light was in the pommel, with regular voidlight getting sucked in. It wasn’t a Light/Metal reaction. (Also when I write anti-Light I feel like I’ve suddenly switched to a DC universe with an anti-Life equation.) Did the plate survive? That would be bad if the bomb ruined her ability to make more. Oh, the vacuum tube was also fine. Thats the bit far more likely to have been damaged, but I didn’t even think of it. Oh, she’s going to inject it into someone. Has she told Navani that it’s possible to do that, or just written “reversible” in the notebook and expected her to draw conclusions? Who is she going to assassinate? It’d better not be Leshwi, and I will be surprised if it’s the Pursuer. At this point I’m expecting a mercy-killing of her daughter, which is somewhat understandable but will also be very messy. I am not comfortable with this. Ah, yes. It was indeed the daughter. I’m surprised there’s no reaction with the Raysium, though. Also, no explosion. Would it have been more dramatic if she’d stabbed the gemheart? Probably not, but it’s hard to say. I wouldn’t have thought much of this moment where Raboniel weeps if we hadn’t already seen Venli’s breakdown and learned about crying as opposed to attuning sorrow. This is true grief and relief, and I have to feel for Raboniel here. This is the “tenth name of the Almighty.” people swear by the description frequently, but this may be the first time it’s been directly invoked. Onto the list it goes! Navani feels the same sympathy, even directly compares Raboniel’s experience to her own grief at Elhokar’s death. Navani recognizes that the unmaking of the Sibling was a protracted process compared to what it needed to be, so that Raboniel could motivate her research. That’s got to be a bunch of mixed emotions. The daughter’s name was Essu. That’s worth remembering. Raboniel is going to contact braize (through visions?) to confirm it was a lasting death. Oh no. Raboniel sees the notebook unharmed, and instantly recognizes the assassination attempt for what it was. How will she respond to that? Also, she calls it “Our notebook” in a way that at first I thought was appropriating Navani’s work, but on reflection it really is appropriate. Just as the rhythm of war could only be created by their combined efforts, the Rhythm of War and its fruits belong to both of them. Perhaps not equally, but enough to make it theirs together. And obviously the anti-Stormlight is the next step, because what can kill a fused will kill a spren. And, conveniently, she has a bunch of test subjects lined up and waiting. Turns out that an arms race is not going to help when you are closely monitored and all of your research is immediately copied by the enemy. That edge didn’t last long. Huh. Maybe she didn’t recognize the assassination attempt. Small mercies. I guess that’s a bit of a downer ending to Part Four for Navani. Next up, Interludes!

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Navani’s Notebook Part IV Art here. Looking at the pictures before translating anything, I love the beauty of the scientific instruments, the musical equipment, and the spren or light being channeled through that tube. It feels like a naturalist’s notebook, and it’s wonderful. I can’t tell if the cymatic pattern drawn at the bottom has any similarity to the ones depicted previously. I’m going to guess no, but would need to open the prior images from Shallan’s notebook in WoK to really compare. How did the Thaylen create such a thing, and for what purpose? Why is that useful without electronics or incandescent illumination? What’s the point? Pretty awesome, though. Man, “cracked” and “might” gave me trouble because I was mixing up some of the letters. I’m not sure what sort of leakage is desired from a cracked gem, or why diamond is the chosen species. Is that so you can use different gems in experiments or for connecting to other things? Gems makes the most sense. So the vacuum tube can be regenerated multiple times as needed. That’s helpful. Why was “the” written multiple ways in that first line? (Th E versus T H E) I know we’ve established nonstandardized spelling between Navani/Shallan/Jasnah via the notebook pages, but so far each author has been internally consistent. An error? It looks like Navani hasn't gotten over her imposter syndrome yet. Also, this next bit looks like it’s a different hand. I thought this page would be something she tried to hide from Raboniel? Maybe not possible given that multiple days of experimentation would be necessary to make progress. Yes, see? Even Raboniel thinks reverse engineering a tone from a phase shifted pattern is kinda unbelievable. Sorry Navani, you pulled this one out of nowhere. Also, I initially mistranslated "Voice" but I love that she is calling Navani by the granted title now. (Also, AAAA! This means Raboniel has access to the research and its results! Aaaa!) Yay Navani! Progress. But is it realmatic or experience? Let’s see what Raboniel has to say: Wait, so did Raboniel add these comments after the fact? The fact that it was “kept hidden” suggests that the interspersed comments weren’t included initially, but only appended later. However, it does appear that Raboniel ends up with all of the research eventually.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 96 (A Thousand Lies) Icons: Vev again. Loving? Healing? Coming after the previous chapter, let’s hope it’s thematic healing for Venli. Epigraph: Wait, what? Why are we supposed to let Ba-Ado-Mishram out? (And presumably Yelig-nar as well, or any others that are caught.) Is it out of sympathy because “trapped forever” is a fate worse than death? Or is it because that’s a bad outcome for other reasons–power perpetuated, Intent sequestered, etc. If we let her/them out, how does that improve anything? Remember how we’re in a war against them? Oh, maybe it’s another piece of what is tying Odium to Roshar? Maybe he can’t leave while his Unmade are here? That seems unlikely. I’m going to go with the merciful interpretation, where Kelek is horrified at the idea of eternity in confinement. *** Actually, I know it’s not directly relevant, but before we jump into the chapterI want to note something I’ve been thinking about after the recent chapters: I’m not entirely comfortable with how close together Dabbid and Maya both regained their voices. It sets an obvious parallel to compare their situations, which really aren’t comparable. It’s a coincidence of appearance in how their injuries manifest, and with as much thought as I’ve given it so far (admittedly not a ton) I don’t see anything valuable coming from an attempt to compare or contrast the two. I think it forces a narrower reading of their characters and their traumas, and in this case that’s a bad thing. I suspect that to Brandon it was two separate stories that aligned in this place, and if anything he thought the parallelism was a degree of added depth, but that doesn’t seem to be the case from my perspective. I’ll wait and see if anything more is made of it, but for now I’m going to register that as a minor complaint of the book’s construction. I now return you to your regularly scheduled blog. *** Interesting note that crying is less common when you can express your sorrow or pain through the rhythms. I’d make a comment about the Weeping (as in the weather phenomenon) but that name is clearly a human invention and not influenced by any of the same forces. She told the whole story? That’s a good thing, but it’s kind of long, right? How long are they sitting there talking? I’m not sure if Rlain has a point or not. Venli leading the Fused to the remaining listeners seems like a lower risk because don’t they already know where those “nomads” are? Why would they need Venli to do it? The notes idiom is worth mentioning, but also Ow. Props to Rlain for being willing to work with her despite what he just learned. That’s not bad reasoning that the rescue attempt will create enough chaos to cover for your group. I’m not sure that Timbre will be happy with you standing by while the attempt at freedom is made. That sounds like a suitably dramatic point to have a change of heart and speak your oaths. With that said, Venli doesn’t sound like she is doing much in the way of planning here. I guess that means the plan can’t go too wrong, if there isn’t a plan to start with? Silver lingings. And yes, Venli is hoping to see Jaxlim again. That reunion is the culmination she is looking for, whether or not it manifests in this story.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 95 (What She Truly Was) Icons: Forgot to do this part before I’d read a couple pages already, but Chach is appropriate for the association with destruction. Also for the inverted virtue of bravery→cowardice. Sad to see all of the listeners overwhelmed by the new form. Venli’s familiarity allows for resistance, which is fortunate for her. Heck of a time to have a change of heart or moment of realization. I like that it’s once again the rhythms that clue her into the way her reactions are not quite right. Wow. Conceit being seen as desirable. Good going, Venli you are definitely on the winning side now. *eyeroll* Oh no, is that Adolin’s horse? Sad times. The death in WoR was not built up well enough to have a big emotional impact, but this callback is still a mood killer. She’s going to watch Eshonai’s fall. And as she does it she reflects on the changes that have occurred. A reminder here that Eshonai was working to escape a war while Venli not only incited it but spent years doing her best to fan the flames. Sisters working against each other to the tragedy of all. She feels a void when Eshonai falls, no powerful emotions at all, not even weak ones. Odium has taken her passion. She can feel Odium’s joy in destruction and sorrow as the new storm builds. The violence of the colliding storms is really awe inspiring. And for Venli to watch it all through this open doorway cut in stone, shielded only by crem, is a striking image. With plateaus themselves about to be tossed into the air, as we know from Szeth and Kaladin’s fight, it’s shocking that she or anyone was able to survive this. The rhythms go crazy as opposing perpendicularities clash with each other. The pure tones of Roshar, of Odium and Honor meeting. Do they harmonize into the Rhythm of War for her, or will that only happen when there is union rather than opposition? And in the face of those storms, alone and terrified, she is forced to confront the fact that she is scared, powerless, and selfish, not a genius or a potential queen. Just a coward. Like I said, heck of a time to face all that…but, if this destruction of her home and her people wasn’t enough to get through to her then I’m not sure what would have been.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 94 (Sacrifice) Icons: Vev. Loving? Epigraph: Now you’re just being a tease. “Oh, yes, I know the secrets of the Recreance. I will tell them to you after five more paragraphs of filler to fit into epigraphs, so that the readers don’t learn anything interesting.” Resolving not to let Shallan rescue him would be the right answer if it weren’t tinged with such dejection and feelings of worthlessness. We love you, Adolin. You may think the world needs more Radiants, not Princes, but it absolutely needs more people like you. Kelek’s indisposed, Shallan’s incarcerated, and Sekeir has the knife. Not a great situation. Actually, I wonder if the knife functions any differently in the cognitive realm. I presume not, but it’s hard to say. Maya is the final witness. I guess that solves how she’s going to get to the trial. I was imagining her wandering in at the end, but that strained plausibility. This is much cleaner. I see. Sekeir has legal recourse to say whatever he wants until the witness shows herself able. She’s not a witness, she’s an object lesson and a chance to use his own words. That hurts. Adolin admits that Maya isn’t more than a slave, no matter how much he wants it to be otherwise. It has less stigma perhaps in Roshar where slavery is a matter of course, but he does not relish the prospect of being her slave master. Credit to him for not flinching from the reality of it. Not a good look there, Sekeir. The human is pleading for mercy for the deadeye that you are restraining and agitating.Your words will spin this for many, but the optics are not in your favor and your enemies will not be convinced. I guess a majority is all you need, so it’s a worthwhile attempt. (At least until it blows up in your face, but we haven’t gotten there yet.) Exactly. Sekeir’s grudge is against Adolin challenging his power and authority, threatening the system he’d built at Lasting Integrity. It’s not about Radiants and bonds, or about murdered spren. It’s about the humans who intruded on his domain and upset his control. This is a power move, and I have to admire it. By not rendering judgement, Sekeir says that the trial was a farce because precedent was so well established. He forces any critics to contend with the history rather than anything that was done in this event. At the same time, by declaring “no judgement” he has just removed the legal hold on Adolin when Maya does upend his whole argument. And here it is. What does she say? She says “We Chose.” Aww, and she says his name. That makes my heart happy :-) Sekeir tries to recover, spin it (or perhaps to make sense of it in his own mind as his worldview is utterly challenged), but Maya is having none of it. So good. Sekeir, the honorspren, Adolin–none of them are allowed to appropriate her sacrifice for their own ends. They don’t speak for her, they don’t take credit or blame for what she did. I feel it’s especially appropriate here that she is a cultivationspren, the companion spren of Edgedancers. Usually Edgedancers listen to the unheard, but usually that doesn’t mean themselves. Adolin here has lent enough strength to Maya so she can make her own voice heard by all. I love it. Blended is the only one hanging around. I would have thought Amura would want to investigate, given how much of herself she dedicates to the deadeyes. I like that Maya is the one invoking Strength Before Weakness. Usually the spren viewed with the sort of personhood to need that development and commitment. Silly thought: Maybe instead of the standard nahel bond, they’ll get one that’s somehow inverted. Maya will draw on Adolin for power and strength, and he will be allowed to grow in new ways by being drawn into the cognitive realm. Actually, this started as a silly thought with Maya wielding a little Adolin sword, but the more I think about it the more I like the concept. Nahel bonds in general are governed and constrained by whatever Ishar did to codify the oaths, but Maya has already broken those constraints and paid the price. She and Adolin could well be capable of forging their own path. Blended suggested this tactic, “playing both sides.” That didn’t make sense to me until she revealed the stake she had in it: trying to prove whether Maya was more alive than anyone believed when Adolin told them. Or rather, that they have a friendship. Blended confirms that the bond between Adolin and Mayalaran is not a nahal/Radiant bond, but that something is indeed happening. Very good point, Blended. If the spren were complicit in ending the age of Radiants, then the current spren may have far better reasons for avoiding humanity than simply fear of death. Adolin may have convinced them that humanity aren’t horrid monsters, but he probably hasn’t secured the type of help he was hoping for. You know, I didn’t really get why this is a big deal at first, because as a reader I’ve been assuming for a long time that the spren must have been complicit to some degree in the recreance for it to have been as widespread as it is. But in-world it seems that until this point nobody entertained the idea that it could be anything but murder. This is not like the anticlimax at the end of Oathbringer where the “humans are invaders” fell flat, but it is a reveal that hits very differently for the readers and the characters. Maya says they didn’t know it would kill them, though they expected terrible pain. Blended echoes Sekeir’s words, but with different intent: Maya’s judgement of Adolin was the only one that ever mattered. Is that something Blended went into this believing, or did she arrive at that opinion after all of the reveals from Maya? It matters because I would be much more charitable about the way she put Maya on display here if she started out with the belief that Maya should be given the opportunity to judge Adolin for good or ill. But if she couldn’t know Maya’s ability to push through as powerfully as she did, then Blended gets a lot less sympathy from me. Yay Adolin! Even now he’s working to reframe things in his mind away from self-centeredness and towards concern for Maya, respect for Maya. Definitely Edgedancer material. Hm. Adolin says he wants to get back to the Oathgate to share the news. But the map of their journey definitely continued south from Lasting Integrity rather than returning to Urithiru. So how are they going to know to go the other direction? Will news of the Sibling’s unmaking be spreading through Shadesmar?

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 93 (Strong Enough) Title: But strong enough for what? To attack a herald, or to let her husband be taken, or to face her own truth? Not that last one, since Formless hasn’t been around long enough to deserve that climax, but she could still go either way. Oh, who am I kidding. She’s on the downslope right now. She’ll make the aggressive choice. Icons: Nale. Presumably because Kelek is rendering judgement today? Epigraph: Wait. If the bond is broken by capture, how could Kelek feel the difference between Jezrien fading away and simply remaining captive? Obviously some aspects of the bond persisted for him to have that awareness. Oh dear. Formless is supplanting Shallan, not becoming a fourth aspect. Or at least she thinks she is. Hmm, and she appears to have less of a grip on Veil and Radiant than she thought. Aww, Adolin with the sweet affirmation. Who is stronger, indeed? Don’t let your struggle be a detraction from your determination and diligence. Formless doesn’t listen, of course, but someone surely does. Pattern perks up when he sees her? That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it sure strikes a sour chord. He’s not always the best at seeing through her aspects, though, so maybe he’s not fully aware of what’s happened. Radiant is trapped, but not Veil. That’s significant, for sure. But what is Formless planning to do after this “last gift” for Adolin? Is she planning to end herself, or just cut ties with Shallan’s life? And what does Veil think she’s figured out? Oh, I see. “A new persona couldn’t draw like that.” Shallan is trying to be supplanted, to reinvent herself. “How would she extricate herself from Adolin?” Yeah, no. Formless no longer gets a vote. You’ve messed with my ship, girl. Yes, Pattern thinks she’s Veil. His perception is sadly lacking for someone with a direct line to Shallan’s soul, but it definitely shows Adolin well in contrast. Formless is a fusion of the “best parts” of her three aspects. It’s the poorly constructed version of the organic healing we hope Shallan will achieve, built from what she envies most of her make-belief personas, or from what she hopes will paper over her combined insecurities. What it isn’t is an actual, whole person. I have to say, Formless seems much more fragile than I anticipated from the buildup she got. Huh. Formless being uncomfortable with the impossible box that is Lasting Integrity, to the extent that she avoids looking at the other three planes of the tower. That’s a remarkably apt yet subtle metaphor for her place in Shallan’s psyche. She’s in denial, trying to form a new identity without addressing the “impossible box” she’s created of her mind. I wouldn’t have noticed it except that it was a mention of something Formless “wasn’t got at,” which seemed pretty unlikely for her to admit when she’s trying to be her strongest, most capable self. Pattern, that was not how you retell a joke. I presume it was something about parroting Wit’s words, and that’s how you are like a chicken? You fail at second-hand jokes, Pattern. You should have gathered by now that I am all the way here for Shallan’s inner conflict. Yet, I have to admit that this sequence feels more than a tad forced. Formless shows up, and within a page we’re at “You deserve to be loved,” and she suddenly questions her life plan of throwing away the past to join the Ghostbloods. Subtle it ain’t. She wanted to spend time drawing it, but of course she wasn’t like that anymore. She needed to find all this disorienting and strange. Like Veil. Oh dear. If we needed any further confirmation that she’s drawing on the wrong pieces to construct herself, this is it. She’s so desperate to get away from her history that she embraces her invented weaknesses just to displace who she was before. The plan is to Soulcast the lock to the door? Since when does soulcasting work inside Shadesmar? I am not convinced this is viable at all. Radiant killed Ialai. Storms. This is some real Third Man type mystery stuff going on here. Literally, in fact. That’s more appropriate a comparison the more I think about it. Huh. So, how many recent things have been blocked from Shallan’s memory? I feel like it’s a bit of a cop out to have her unaware of what her aspects do. Guess I was wrong. Soulcasting is easier in Shadesmar, not harder/impossible. Weird. A small glass chicken is Kelek’s memento in the window. What type of chicken? Who was it from? Was it an Ashyn chicken or one further afield? I love that Veil forced herself into being through lightweaving that Formless didn’t want or intend. This dynamic is great. Veil is speaking aloud! They are making sounds with their lightweaving, which is something she hasn’t achieved since her mother died. (Unless the sound is mental, but I don’t think so.) How much of this argument is Kelek hearing? I kind of want to know what he thinks of it. Actually, is Shallan still wearing her Lusintia disguise while talking to Veil? Wait, but if Veil does this, we won’t get to enjoy her anymore :-( Shallan getting the memories back, and (I assume) losing the partition between some of her skills and talents is a good thing, something we’ve been building toward. But I’ll miss Veil. Yup. Shallan’s first spren is dead, and she remembers. Another one for the list! That’s really rough. Shallan killed her mom. Then her nahel spren. Then her dad. No wonder she’s messed up. But wait. If Shallan killed her first spren, then the safe really did contain a dead Shardblade. Is it still bound to Shallan? Does she carry that blade as well as Pattern? The screaming could be something else that’s hidden away in her mind. Hm. Radiant doesn’t seem to be getting a goodbye scene, but I sort of get the impression she’s leaving/integrating as well. Am I reading that right? Ah, actually I don’t think she’s left yet. We’ll have to see in the next chapter. Yes, go find your first Pattern! Oh, is this where we’ll get someone dual-wielding Shardblades? I could see it happening regardless, but it’d be even better if she is able to (eventually) revive Pattern the First following Adolin’s example with Maya. I’m proud of Shallan for making the better choice about Kelek. I was expecting Formless to be more formidable. Ah, yes. Protective custody “for your own good.” Definitely not house arrest. And that’s the it-gets-worse moment that allowed Shallan to make the right choice. She didn’t have to make it worse on her own.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 92 (A Gift) Icon: Vev. Just Vev. Loving/Healing, presumably, and that’s something that Venli needs more of, so I’ll support this. Epigraph: Why is Kelek explaining this to his would-be captors? I’m not sure sharing this information is a good idea. Interesting to note that yes, capturing one in a gem cuts off their bonds. So I was wrong last chapter in speculating about Syl. Venli is recovering/progressing well, if Odium’s rhythms are starting to feel unpleasant to her. Relayform for scouts. Could a description have really been that hard to include? Venli’s honesty to Raboniel is refreshing, but also highly dangerous. She is too perceptive by half…is the usual phrase, but that’s underselling it. Oh, and there it is. Raboniel notices the wrong rhythm in her words. Venli covers it well, attributing it to her lost people in a way that is plausible, but it’s still a rhythm she shouldn’t be able to hear. That’s going to haunt her. Raboniel is almost done here and wlll soon be leaving the tower. “If you survive what comes next, there is a chance you may find some peace of your own, Venli.” That’s pretty ominous. Is that “what comes next” referring to the war in general, or more specifically to the chaos that Raboniel is about to unleash? It sure sounds to me like the second one. A report from a flying human scout–I had forgotten that the skybreakers were working so closely with the Fused. Sounds like many of them are on detached duty in various parts of Roshar, rather than all fighting together. I continue to be confused by Raboniel’s character. Her giving the “lost legion” to Venli like this is something I would not have expected of her. I am not sure if she’s really that complex a person, or if it’s just that her motivations remain obscure, but she keeps surprising me. Oh, wait. Elderly. Is Venli’s mom still alive? I was sure that she at least would have died, but from all the flashbacks I think we must be building towards that reunion.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 91 (Worth Saving) Icons: Jez and Vev–healing and windrunners. Looks like a Teft chapter. Epigraph: Okay, this one is worth quoting. This is sure sounding like Shallan/Formless will go through with it, which is how we get access to this note. But there are a couple things that make me think it’s misleading, beyond Brandon’s penchant for doing that. First, the apparent audience of the note. It doesn’t sound like he’s addressing the Fused or Odium’s forces. It sounds like he’s addressing an assassin from another faction whose reach may or may not exceed its grasp. And why would he do that when from what we’ve read so far he doesn’t seem to suspect that involvement? Is this a lie left in place for Shallan to find after he escapes? Is this a lie given to Shallan to deliver to Mraize when she doesn’t follow through? Or is it genuine? I can’t guess yet. *** That’s a new usage for that swear. Onto the list it goes! Teft saw Dabbid’s joy, but heard Rlain’s. Does that mean he’s also recognizing rhythms now? From familiarity or attunement? I want to know! Wait, Teft has been in the army for thirty years? I knew he was an old veteran, but I thought that was on the order of 10-15 years, not 30. Wow. Also, I’m proud of you for making it seven months, Teft. Good work! What? Where did Syl go? She can’t have been lost in the fighting like Teft says, because she was with him heading into the storm. The only things that could separate them are her own choice to go a long way away for some reason (unlikely, but can’t be entirely discounted), Odium’s visions of Braize (highly likely, except shouldn’t it have worn off by now?), and her being captured in a gem (doubtful, because Raboniel would be doing stuff to her that would be evident somehow, but we saw witht he conjoined rubies that existing bonds can survive transfers, so capture wouldn’t necessarily eliminate the nahel bond with kaladin. Um, actually that may not be true, because Nergaul and Ba-Ado-Mishram are obvious counter examples. This parenthetical is getting too long, though, so that’s the end of my speculation for now.) Hmm. The comatose Radiants had comatose spren as well, so no updates for “while you were sleeping.” Okay, so the expectation was correct and Lift’s revival of the Radiants is temporary. That suppressor field is no joke. Wait, Phendorana thinks he needs to go back to the location where he lost Syl, in order to wake her up again? This sounds like a contrived side quest. Looks like Navani has had zero contact at all. That makes it tricky to coordinate a rescue, among other things. So, no comment on what the Fused have concluded about Lift vanishing from her cell? That seems like something someone should mention. And isn’t that a notable coda. All these people are struggling with their own demons (or Voidbringers, as Teft said a moment ago) and I applaud Brandon for including it so organically. Hm. Interesting note about Kaladin’s eyes reverting to dark. Not sure why that’s important, except as a guide for how to imagine things. Is there another connection we’re supposed to make about how long they've had their spren suppressed? Huh. The Envisagers came to Teft’s village 45 years ago. That’s well before any of this new Radiant business started, and before the Sons of Honor nonsense. They were remarkably well informed and accurate in their understanding for a group that had supposedly persisted since the Recreance. Could they be a breakoff of the Skybreakers? Or perhaps they learned from the Stone Shamans but drew different conclusions? Not really a variant, but I’ll stick it on the list for completeness sake at this point. Lift needs a chull-worth of food to wake the Radiants. Is this her dream? Does she get to eat a buffet, convert an entire chull (or equivalent weight) into Stormlight to just eat and eat and eat? Living your best life, aren’t you, girl? I agree that leaving the Radiants at the mercy of someone researching spren unmaking and anti-light is probably not a good move. I want to know what she’s planning, but not enough to want her to succeed to any degree. Everyone agreed not to do anything rash, “even Lift and Dabbid.” Why am I suspicious?

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 90 (One Chance) Icons: Four this time. Jez, Nan, Ishar, Shash. Notably, Palah is absent so I don’t think Maya will show up this chapter. Epigraph: I wonder if it would make a difference if he knew that the current threat to his life and freedom was coming from a different quarter than the Fused? Also, don’t do it, Shallan. I’m once again curious about the political situation of Lasting Integrity, that Notum was expelled front the forum (and perhaps the city?) for his statements, and that the ruling class is able to exclude all of the opposition from this event. Does that mean the trial isn’t actually that impactful, or does it mean that the ruling party is powerful enough to impose itself this way? At least some of the spren sympathetic to Adolin are able to watch from above. Hm. There are six of the “ten honored by storms” present today. I presume that’s the form the ruling council takes, and not just individuals worthy of respect, but either way… I wonder if that means that 40% are in favor of Adolin or neutral and were thus excluded, or if his support is less than that and the other four just weren’t available to attend. That’s a pretty good opening statement. Bold move to invoke Cultivation on top of Honor, but I can see it working. She is the surviving deity, even if her involvement is far less than Tanavast’s was. Ooo, very nice, Adolin. “I could answer, but you don’t care.” This was a good rebuttal, attacking their sense of fair play and honesty in providing a true trial. I’m glad to see it working. His next bit, calling on their similarities to humans, is also excellent. Addressing their fear, their irrationality, the way they are casting about for solutions. Oh dear. The deadeye cryptic is recent, and now we think it’s Shallan’s first. That will go over well when it comes out. Not this chapter, but presumably soon. *** I like this intimate moment of Shallan and her husband, and the reminder that when she is with Adolin she is only ever Shallan. Because he can tell, and she is the one that he married. Adolin can’t decide what he wants to do about this imprisonment. I love that he is considering the honorspren’s position and having enough empathy to say, “You know what, maybe it isn’t fair to ask them to fight a war.” He might be willing to give them their way there. Good thing he practiced being in jail back in WoR. Yay Veil! Don’t follow through with Mraize’s suggestion. She and Radiant agree. Except, that only gives Shallan enough motivation to finally let Formless free. Chilling that she does so on the heels of Adolin’s judgement: Even if Shallan isn’t letting herself remember, she knows who is being blamed here. And with that Formless says It is time. And the worst part is that Adolin doesn’t notice. He would recognize Radiant or Veil, but Formless is either too new or too insidiously linked to Shallan’s core for him to know that she has intruded on this moment that is supposed to be sacrosanct in their relationship. Plus, Formless then echoes the same words Veil threw at Mraize… Maybe you’ll be surprised. This is all sorts of bad for her. Not to mention that it can’t possibly reflect well on the “we don’t kill spren” thing to use a soul stealing dagger to assassinate the person judging the case. I don’t see that as a particularly convincing demonstration of their trustworthiness.

Welcome to my liveblog of Rhythm of War! Index post here. Beware of spoilers. Chapter 89 (Voice of Lights) Icons: Kelek and Palah–Learned and Builder for Navani doing science things? Epigraph: Kelek thinks he’d be even more insane/fallen with more memories of his failures across his long life. I can’t really say he’s wrong, but it feels like the memories are incidental to his mindset. That’s got to be rough for Navani to be out of contact with everyone. Is she still allowed to send notes to people or is she entirely isolated to her lab, with only singers to speak to? Key terms there: static and kinetic investiture. I know kinetic has been in use in the fandom for a while, but I think this is the first time we’ve had a real term for its complement. The sand changes color in the presence of spren. I wonder, what is the limit of detection here? How little investiture leakage is enough to cause color change? Does the sand itself leak, such that a large amount of white sand could convert a small amount of black sand? Raboniel doesn’t know where the sand is from, which I at first didn’t believe but actually makes sense. It’s valuable enough to make the trading circuit, but it’s not a place people have been able to access for some time. Plus, Raboniel isn’t able to leave the Rosharan system any more than the heralds can. Actually, is that what she’s looking for with the whole anti-light search? Is she trying to find the same solution that Restares is seeking, so she can “get off this rock?” I imagine she has different motivations than he does, but the goal may well be the same. Oh, she just said that exact thing. Guess I could just read instead of stopping to speculate wildly…but then what would be the point of keeping this blog? Oh, that’s both funny and terrible. They sent Heavenly Ones to try to fly to Braize through normal space. I guess since they can reincarnate it wasn’t a huge burden to die of asphyxiation or decompression in space when their Light ran out. Still, that’s not the sort of space program I want to design my rockets. Electromagnets powered by stormform zapping! That’s delightful! I want to see singer fabrial science take off and have them build a maglev train powered by a team of stormform. What polarity do the gemstones have that would need to be swapped? Forget the idea of using electricity to effect the change, what even are you trying to accomplish here? Hm, it appears there is a ways to go before controlled use of stormform lightning can be used for actual sustained electric current. I love the tension of Navani only getting academic acknowledgement from her enemy, and for the encouragement to come from that quarter. I want Raboniel to tease out the insight that Navani doesn’t consider herself a scholar primarily because her first husband belittled her so much. It seems like the sort of hurtful bluntness that the Lady of Wishes would go for, and something Navani would struggle with because if it’s true then she’s agreeing with the enemy and letting them help her heal from that abuse. It’s a deliciously complicated possibility. We’ll see if it actually comes through in the text rather than just my imagination. Oh, now that is a mark of honor for sure. Navani no longer has to use elaborate titles to address Raboniel. That’s one way to prove sincerity of compliments. Is Navani recognizing rhythms now because she’s spent enough time in company with singers who use them, and is simply becoming acclimated as with any other language? Or is it deeper than that, and her study of Light and Tones has allowed her to begin attuning them? First, this is the confirmation that the Sibling is on the path to becoming another Unmade. Not something we want to happen, but it also isn’t necessarily disastrous. Going by Sja-Anat, they still have some degree of self-determination and volition outside of their patron shard. Actually, this is an interesting question. Going by the numerology, is the Sibling’s unmaking important for replacing either Sja-Anat or Ba-Ado-Mishram? What about Yelig-Nar? I wouldn’t think that the trapped unmade would stop counting toward the total of Nine, but the defector might. On the flip side, if they all still count, does adding the Sibling as a full Unmade change anything about the nature of the group? Do they become less in tune with Braize and/or Rayse? Will Sja-Anat’s departure be further enabled by a success with converting the Sibling? Second, it’s Significant that Raboniel considers this unmaking a “worse” thing. Wouldn’t she be in favor? I don’t think she recognizes the pain she causes in people as a moral wrong at all, so I’m not sure what about this is a line too far for her. Cymatics are ancient listener music? Navani gets a singer title? A Fused title? That is incredible. And Voice of Lights is appropriate. The sibling is not doing well. They can tell that they have eavesdroppers, though, which is an improvement. I’m still not clear on how that eavesdropping works. Okay, I’m calling B.S. here. You want to be able to reverse engineer a musical tone and rhythm from a cymatic pattern? A pattern that you generate to be a reverse-phased version of others you have seen? I do like that the cymatics weren’t actually the music, just a side effect that the singers didn’t expect, and I like that it is coming into play this way after being teased in so many places. I look forward to Navani discovering the connections to the Dawncities and how they work with Light. However, this whole flow of science in the other direction, extrapolating from cymatics back to sound, really stretches my suspension of disbelief. I know, I know. Why would that be the thing that makes me question stuff? It’s not like anything else has been improbable. I guess I’ll just hold out hope that it’s presented in a believable way.