Greetings Sanderfans! We’ve reached the end of Day Eight, can you believe it? We can’t believe it. This reread is just flying by, like Lift in a dream! This week we see Dalinar facing his painful past again as he prepares to meet Honor, while Shallan confronts her mother—her actual mother, not a memory. Then in the interludes, Rysn must go into hiding; Hoid is holding a WHAT?; and Odium is a vile, reprehensible creature… as we all know. Let’s dive in and let’s chat about all the things!
The book has been out long enough that most of you will hopefully have finished, and as such, this series shall now function as a re-read rather than a read-along. That means there will be spoilers for the end of the book (as well as full Cosmere spoilers, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content).
Paige’s Commentary: Plot Arcs
Chapter 99, the final chapter of Day Eight, is titled “Never Too Late.” We are still at Shallan’s wedding in the vision as she leaves Adolin to go after her mother, who flees when she realizes that Shallan is approaching her. Shallan catches up with her, though, and they talk. Shallan forgives Chana, though she thinks her mother may not be deserving of forgiveness. Still, Shallan offers it and when she does, it’s a truth that she speaks, not a lie. Painful, yes, but not a lie.
Chana tells Shallan how she broke and how the Desolation is her fault. Shallan disabuses her of this notion, but Chana says that she died again a few months ago but felt Shallan calling to her, pulling her mother to her. Then Shallan realizes this is really Chana—not her mother from the vision of her wedding, but actually her mother, there, as herself. Chana insists she must go and tells Shallan not to trust anyone but Taln. Then she’s gone, and a shadow falls across the room. Testament whispers that Odium is there and the vision breaks apart.
It’s also important to note that during this vision, as she prepares to confront Chana, Shallan tries to push the responsibility of facing her mother onto Radiant, who refuses. So Shallan shoulders the burden and takes the pain that comes along with this difficult encounter. I honestly don’t recall what, if anything, happens with Radiant in this book, so I’m going to speculate that Shallan is nearly ready to absorb her, too.
POV Shift!
Dalinar is still being shown the many horrible things that he’s done in the past. Then a vision coalesces and he finds himself in a room with several bunks. It’s the room in Rathalus where Evi died. A young boy speaks and Dalinar realizes that it’s Gavinor, though it doesn’t look like him. Dalinar tells him it’s Grampa and the boy cringes. Then Evi is there, having risen from one of the bunks. She assures another man that her husband will come.
Then they hear screaming. Dalinar leaves the room to intercept barrels of burning oil and then finds himself face to face with the Blackthorn. He wants to punch him but refrains. He sends Kadash to stop the killing and save as many civilians as he can. He sees Sadeas and doesn’t refrain from punching him.
Dalinar hears a voice speaking to him and comes to realize that it’s Nohadon. When that voice fades, Odium appears and speaks with Taravangian’s voice. Dalinar is terrified, as he knows that there is no one worse to hold the power of Odium. Taravangian tells him he must suffer and Dalinar looks down to see a glowing light forming on his chest. It’s Connecting him to something; when he touches it, he feels agony.
He takes hold of the light and begins to pull himself through the chaos. He stands and begins to walk, holding to the line of light, even though it’s agonizing. Odium offers to end his anguish; Dalinar ignores him, which seems to vex him.
Dalinar then steps into a vision… and finds a huddled old man weeping in the corner. It’s the Stormfather. Dalinar, immediately overcome by anger, calls him a liar—and then stops, thinks, and tries to choose a better path than anger and aggression. He touches the Stormfather’s shoulder and feels the same agony, realizing that’s what led him to this vision. He asks the Stormfather to show him what he remembers of Honor and the spren says that it hurts. He insists that Dalinar will hate him and Honor for what they did. Dalinar denies this.
“Understanding has never led to hatred. Show me. I cannot take your pain, but I can help you carry it.”
And so the Stormfather touches Dalinar’s hand and takes him into a new vision with a god.
And so ends Day Eight, as Dalinar finally finds what he came to the Spiritual Realm to find: Honor. We’ll see how that goes for him in Day Nine!
Interlude 15 is a Rysn interlude! Our girl is at Urithiru for the signing of a treaty. It involves patents, of all things. Those silly Thaylens! But she does hold the patent on her chair and the fabrials that power it. And so the ardents agree to the treaty. Then Dalinar walks in, only Rysn can tell that it’s not actually Dalinar. She sees Hoid, and sees that he holds a Dawnshard.
Dun-dun-DUNNN!
Hoid/Dalinar orders everyone out and confronts Rysn, demanding to know who she is. She demands the same, in turn. Then a Sleepless shows up and the two Dawnshards begin to interact. Rysn finds herself pulled toward Hoid and knows that if they meet, she will be destroyed. Then Hoid says, simply, “NO” and Rysn is left lying on the floor. Hoid leaves, saying he’ll ensure that they won’t meet again.
The Sleepless, having been joined by another, discuss how Hoid had given up the Dawnshard previously, and that he was there when they were all used to kill a god. Rysn realizes that she must go into hiding lest Odium discover her, and she makes a plan…involving her ship.
Interlude 16 is an Odium interlude, of course, and is titled “Surprise.” The surprise in question is experienced by the power of the Shard when Dalinar, who had been a pawn to Odium, suddenly disappears from the Spiritual Realm. Odium realizes that only a Shard could hide Dalinar and that the power of Honor must be taking a hand in things. He feels that it’s becoming dangerous, having gone too long without a host, and contemplates destroying it.
And thus end the Interludes. As we go forward into Day Nine, Dalinar will be speaking with a god; Navani is… ???; Gavinor is at Odium’s disposal; Shallan has healed a smidge; Renarin and Rlain are… also ???; Adolin is doing his best to cope with his disability and the inevitable fall of Azir; Sigzil is facing annihilation on the Shattered Plains; Venli has been offered a deal by El; Szeth is preparing to finish his pilgrimage and become a Herald; and Kaladin, against the odds, is becoming quite the therapist… He has two clients now!
Lyndsey’s Commentary: Character Arcs
A note here on the chapter arch Heralds… I looked ahead to the next “Day,” and this is the final day in which the Heralds are visible. After this point, all the figures are too worn away to be discernible, and are exactly the same for each chapter. So this will be the final Chapter Arch analysis section of this book, and I’m sad to see it go. Including the Heralds and how they relate to each chapter is one of the coolest of the subtle features Sanderson has worked into these books; but the deterioration of the arches also makes perfect sense. So, raise a glass with me to the Heralds, and the themes that they represented; from here on out, we’re on our own, Chickens!
Chapter 99’s Heralds are Shalash, Chana, Nalan (or maybe Vedel? I can’t be 100% sure) and Ishi. Shalash and Chana don’t need much explanation; Shalash is here for the Radiant of her order, Shallan. And Chana, of course, physically shows up in the chapter. Ishi also makes sense, as he’s the Herald of Bondsmiths, and Dalinar’s the other main POV character in this chapter. But Nalan (or Vedel)? I suppose Nalan could be the stand-in for Taravangian, who is acting as judge, jury, and executioner here. He’s also quite confident, which is another aspect of Nalan.
Rysn’s interlude features Kalak, Nalan, Palah, and the Joker/Wild Card. We’ll start with that last, as it’s the most obvious. That particular “Herald” icon is almost always indicative of Hoid, who appears in this chapter. Kalak, one of whose attributes is “builder,” makes sense as Rysn is an inventor and displaying that attribute of herself to full effect, here. Palah is likely here for the same reason, as her role is that of the scholar. Nalan, though… he’s a bit more of a mystery. Perhaps he’s here as Rysn is being particularly confident in her business dealings.
Odium’s brief little Interlude features Ishi in all four spaces. This makes sense, as it’s dealing with Dalinar, our resident Bondsmith.
Shallan
No, Radiant said. You said it’s time. Fight.
“Fight for me,” Shallan whispered.
Not this time, Shallan. Not this time.
I love how, even at this moment, she still falters and almost falls. But Radiant and Veil are still here for her, pushing her forward into the light.
“Mother,” Shallan said, “I forgive you.”
::confetti cannons::
“Mother?” Shallan said. “Where am I, right now?”
“Inside a vision,” Chana said, “in the Spiritual Realm.
And the big reveal! This was actually happening; it’s really Chana, and not just a vision of the past. I’m so glad for this, because otherwise Shallan may have felt that the conversation lacked true meaning or depth.
Dalinar
Gav cringed, a motion that broke Dalinar’s heart.
Oh, just wait, Dalinar.
“No,” Evi said. “My husband is a good man.”
Not this, Dalinar thought. Anything but this.
Who wouldn’t want to relive the absolute worst day of their life? The day they literally murdered the one person who always believed the best of them?
…he was the thing shadows and flames feared. He was a man who did not care what they revealed.
This whole section is just chock-full of great motivational quotes.
“It’s never too late,” Dalinar said, “to try to be a better man.
Something that we all could be reminded of, from time to time, I think. Mistakes happen. We all flounder and fall. But we rise each time with the opportunity to be better people.
Honor’s power watches, and you just showed it something.”
“That even I can change?”
“That men don’t deserve Honor, for they disobey orders.”
Oof. Even when he tried to do the right thing, it comes back to bite him.
“It hurts.”
“Maybe that’s the point. Maybe emotions don’t make us weak. Maybe they teach us. Like the pain of touching a hot stove. They show us what we should do, and remind us what we should not.”
Watching Dalinar’s growth from “guy who solves everything by punching it” to “wise counselor who spouts off deep thoughts about empathy and love” wasn’t on my bingo card when I started The Way of Kings, but boy, am I here for the ride.
“Understanding has never led to hatred.
Wow. That’s a hell of a statement, isn’t it? Reminds me a bit of good old Ender from Ender’s Game: “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him.”
Rysn
War seemed constant these days, but life went on.
Hooboy, if that doesn’t ring true… Your land might be at war, with soldiers fighting for their lives… but kids still need to be fed.
With the military in charge, she doubted time would ever be devoted to such a presumably low-level need as mobility devices.
More’s the pity. Mobility devices should be on the top of the priority list. But we all know that some people would argue that without the military, people wouldn’t be alive to begin with to need those devices. (Despite the fact that war creates the need for so many more…)
“We need to go into hiding, don’t we? I have … I have to abandon my ship. My crew. Everything.”
After having come so far, to be forced to give it all away? How awful.
So, just when everything looked like it was finally building back up and coming together for her, Rysn prepared to say goodbye.
Five bucks says she’s heading off to worldhop. But hey… at least she had a choice in it. Not in the leaving…but in the journey, and the destination.
Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts & Theories
“Inside a vision,” Chana said, “in the Spiritual Realm. Reliving your wedding. I died again, a few months ago. I was on Braize, in the Cognitive Realm, but I felt you calling… pulling me to you…”
This scene is one of my favorites in the entire book, for several reasons, but this one bit of dialogue is particularly fun from a theory perspective. How in the world was Chana able to be pulled into Shallan’s vision? The Oathpact works the way it does because Braize is a magnet, but somehow Shallan can simply call her mother’s Cognitive aspect into a Spiritual Realm vision, just like that?
And I’m sorry, but:
“Rules are odd for Heralds, who are beings of all realms. I believe it was indeed her. A lie that became true.”
That is not a satisfying answer. There are an unfortunate amount of really crazy things that happen in Wind and Truth, things that open up all kinds of new avenues for Realmatic possibilities… and then are handwaved away with vague statements like this.
Oh, yeah, and… how did Chana die this time? Who killed her? Did she try to get back into the fight? Where did she show up, after breaking, and why wasn’t it with Taln outside of Kholinar?
Given what we know about Chana’s personality and role among the Heralds, I have to imagine she would’ve tried to find her way back into the struggle against Odium, regardless of whether or not she had her Honorblade. Taln and Shalash make it pretty darn clear that Heralds are walking killing machines with or without their Surges, especially when they have serious combat training. Taln’s obviously the most lethal, but Chana was the bodyguard—she certainly had a great deal of martial prowess.
Speaking of martial prowess, we have to at least touch on the Blackthorn here.
The air warped again, and they were—for a second—truly one. The Blackthorn’s eyes came alight with understanding as he saw the future—saw himself breaking, saw Gavilar die. Dalinar poured into this effigy every pain, every ounce of understanding, and the truth of who he had become. The Blackthorn gasped, and fell to his knees.
In retrospect, this appears to be the moment where the “Blackthorn spren,” as many have taken to calling it, that Retribution commandeers at the end of the book is manifested. The air warping, the unified moment, the translation of memories and emotions, all point toward a Connection-based action on Dalinar’s part. Good ol’ Bondsmith powers, at it again.
“As you accused me, I remember what… Honor did. I know his whole life. I’m an echo of him. And his failings are mine.”
And then we get to the Stormfather, to Tanavast, to the Cognitive Shadow. We will be spending a great deal of time on the details of his memories in Day Nine, but this is still a big moment. There has always been a good amount of confusion around what, exactly, the Stormfather is. Through fairly early Words of Brandon, we “knew” that he was a Cognitive Shadow, that he was both sliver and splinter of Honor. But in execution, throughout especially Oathbringer, the Stormfather seemed too confused, too ignorant, for that to be the case.
Wind and Truth reveals the lie to it all. Tanavast was much more present than we imagined, and was obfuscating, hiding, and occasionally being outright false to Dalinar. But the time is nearly here for the truth to come out.
First, however, we have to check in with everyone’s favorite Thaylen merchant and hoverchair-using Dawnshard holder.
She was growing better at controlling, or at least dealing with, the expanding powers given by… her special duty.
Rysn has always been a fun time for me, and becoming the holder of a Dawnshard only enhances that. This paragraph goes into more detail about the passive senses it grants her—life sense, perfect pitch, perfect color recognition—and it remains powerfully curious how much these directly align with the side effects of various Heightenings on Nalthis.
The easy explanation is that these are all simply side effects of being powerfully Invested, but we’ve seen many other highly Invested characters across many other books, and Sanderson never spends the same amount of time or exact wording drawing parallels between Breaths and Heightenings and any other Invested Arts.
Rysn’s Dawnshard appears to have the Intent of Change. There are certainly some mental gymnastics you can undertake to tie Endowment to Change, though other Shards (like Ruin and Cultivation, notably) would fit much more neatly. If so, why does Lift, for instance, not experience similar sense-enhancing effects when she’s full of Lifelight?
Of course there’s also the four-by-four theory of Dawnshards and Shards, thanks to the mural out in Aimia: that each of the four Dawnshards is tied to or responsible for the Intents of four Shards. If this is indeed the case, you have to imagine that the four Shards tied to Change are Cultivation, Ruin, Invention, and Endowment.
But that’s not all that’s interesting in this interlude. Oh no, no no no…
“You took it up again?”
Hoid also has a Dawnshard! For so long, we operated under the same assumption as poor Nikli here, that Hoid once held it, but gave it up. The Sunlit Man reinforced that perception, though it also introduced complexities to things.
And now we know why. It really is clever, hiding the Dawnshard in plain sight, knowing that anyone aware of it and its history will discount Hoid because he used to hold Exist.
The four had been divided up, never to be brought together, lest…
Lest this happen. The two started to pull toward one another.
So this scene is pretty freaking harrowing. I have to think that, if they were to merge, the Dawnshards would generate at the very least an immediately destructive outpouring of energy. But was this merging what Shattered Adonalsium? We know the Dawnshards were involved, but not the actual mechanism. If the process actually involved merging all four of them and releasing a cataclysmic outburst of Investiture, I could see that being enough to cause the Shattering.
But either way, Rysn and her Sleepless buddies are going into hiding:
There was something she’d been planning. More a fanciful imagining than a true expedition. But perhaps… with her ship’s new capacities…
And I’m pretty sure this is the first step toward Shadesmar ships, culminating in the sort of stuff we just recently saw in Isles of the Emberdark, with the Dynamic.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who haven’t read the book yet.
See you next Monday as we embark on Day Nine with our discussion of chapters 100 through 104!
These are so fascinating to read! I only read Wind and Truth via the audiobook, so even if the arch isn’t going to change after chapter 100, please still include it at least once!
I really want to know the circumstances leading up to Chana dying again recently. She says she died once again after Shallan killed her. I guess we will have to wait until the book that focuses on Dustbringers to find out this answer. My hope is she died at the Battle of Thylen. She was trying to help Shallan. I am glad Shallan was able to forgive Shallan. I think she will forgive Kaladin for killing Chana’s stepson, especially when she learns that Kaladin helped her survive in the chasms during a highstorm. I find it interesting that Chana, like Ash, has come to realize that the only Herald to be trusted is Taln.
I first thought that Rysn will take her boat, crew the Two Sleepless, and Chiri-Chiri and hide in Shadesmar. But I am not sure how she would get her boat into Shademar. Instead, I wonder if she will attempt to sail beyond the Continent of Roshar (either heading west to the Endless Ocean or east past the Ocean of Origins). I would like for Rysn and team to somehow get into Shadesmar. I want to see her meet up with Shallan. I also wonder how Chiri-Chiri would do in Shadesmar.
So, do we know if the Dawnshard that Hoid is carrying in this chapter is the same one he had previously? Also, do we know when he got that one (was it at the Shattering or after)?
I don’t believe we know for certain about which dawnshard Hoid is carrying. It would be a very Sanderson thing to do to give Hoid a second Dawnshard other than Exist without telling us about it and assuming he still held the original one. And who knows with Hoid? He very well may have been able to track a second one down. That would leave them all accounted for, if you believe the theory going around that Taln had/has one that warped his soul so he would never break. But again, that’s all speculation. Personally, I think this is still Exist. This would make sense to me considering the effects a certain character carrying this Dawnshard feels at the end of the book and in another book. And if the Night Brigade were chasing that Dawnshard, it would make the most sense for it to be Exist, as they could likely use the immortality it grants to clear out the forests of hell on Threnody. But again, that’s all speculation.
We don’t know when Hoid picked up the dawnshard, initially, though. Or at least I don’t. But I’d reckon it was pre-shattering.