Brandon Sanderson’s epic Stormlight Archive fantasy series will continue with Wind and Truth, the concluding volume of the first major arc of this ten-book series. A defining pillar of Sanderson’s “Cosmere” fantasy book universe, this newest installment of The Stormlight Archive promises huge developments for the world of Roshar, the struggles of the Knights Radiant (and friends!), and for the Cosmere at large.
Reactor is serializing the new book from now until its release date on December 6, 2024. A new installment will go live every Monday at 11 AM ET, along with read-along commentary from Stormlight beta readers and Cosmere experts Lyndsey Luther, Drew McCaffrey, and Paige Vest. You can find every chapter and commentary post published so far in the Wind and Truth index.
We’re thrilled to also include chapters from the audiobook edition of Wind and Truth, read by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. Click here to jump straight to the audio excerpt!
Note: Title art is not final and will be updated as soon as the final cover is revealed.
Interlude 1: Kalak
Kalak locked himself into his secure building in Lasting Integrity. He checked the locks three times, then sighed, closing his eyes. The Radiants were gone.
He’d survived so, so many things, but this escape felt narrower than the others. He couldn’t help thinking that the payment for his frighteningly long life was coming due.
Even after all this time, he didn’t want to die.
He put his back to the door, breathing hard. Should he have gone with them? Eyes closed, he tried to remember the man he’d once been, the hero who had fought for thousands of years. His life seemed a blur, a wash of grey and brown, a fresh painting left out in the storm. These days he felt only panic, indecision, and a crushing darkness. Always nearby, always threatening him. Without Ishar holding some of it back… it would have destroyed him long ago.
But he’d survived. He’d survived.
What if the Ghostbloods sent others? Thaidakar wanted him. Thaidakar, a Herald from another world, a creature who was resourceful and brutal.
I need to hide somewhere else, Kalak thought. Yes. I will gather my things and… and I will go. He rushed into his study, opening the door and stepping through.
Immediately, the drapes from the window beside the door seized him, wrapping around him like two grasping hands, pulling him tight. They’d been cut into strange shapes. What was this? Some art of Stonewards? He panicked, but the cloth—moving on its own—filled his mouth. Like a constrictor from the old world, it bound him, tied around him, then slammed him against the wall and held him there.
He whimpered.
“Well hello, Herald,” said a man sitting at Kalak’s desk. “If you don’t mind, I have a few questions.”
He was a foreigner, with long mustaches and a short stature. Pale skin, his hands laced before him. A floppy hat rested atop the desk. Kalak thought he recognized the man. A member of the caravan? One of Prince Adolin’s soldiers?
Oh… oh no…
A dagger with a gemstone affixed to the crossguard lay next to the hat. The foreigner glanced at it, then smiled. “Oh, don’t focus on that. We won’t be needing it, will we?”
Kalak whimpered again.
The stranger picked up the box that Shallan had relinquished to Kalak, the one that held the seon. The creature liked to hide inside, timid and—
The stranger rapped on the box, and the ball of light popped out. “We good, Felt?” it asked with a feminine voice.
“Should be,” Felt replied.
“Finally!” the spren said. “You have no idea how aggravating that experience was.”
“You did well,” Felt said, leaning back in Kalak’s chair. “I heard Shallan and Adolin talking, worried about the trauma you’d undergone by being ‘in prison.’ ”
“Domi!” the spren replied. “If I had to listen to one more lovers’ spat between those two—let alone one more makeup session—I would grow a stomach so I could vomit.”
The ball of light swooped over to where Kalak was held against the wall. The spren’s entire air had changed from a frightened and abused creature—with dim light, and a symbol flickering at the center—to a glowing, confident sphere.
Storms… this was the thing they’d used to communicate. It knew everything they’d discussed. The real spy hadn’t been Shallan. He felt such a fool. He, more than any, should have realized the potential for spren to turn against you. He struggled weakly in the strange bonds.
“I was about to interrogate him, Ala,” Felt said.
“There might not be a need,” Ala replied. “I’ve already relayed the information on Mishram’s location to Iyatil.”
“And Lord Kelsier?” Felt said. “I don’t work for that masked witch.”
“Him as well,” Ala said. “Obviously.” The spren hovered around Kalak’s head. “Do we use the dagger?”
Felt considered it, saw Kalak’s distress, and frowned. “No. I don’t trust it—Iyatil gave it to us, and Lord Kelsier said to be careful. I think we wait to make sure the mission goes as planned. Mraize and Iyatil might contact us for more explanations. So we sit tight, keep this one company, and bide our time.”
“I’m ready to be done with this world.”
“It’s not so bad,” Felt said, idly playing with the dagger that could—if used correctly—end Kalak forever. “Once you get used to everyone being a foot taller than you are. Be patient, Ala. Only a fool assumes they know everything, and Kalak might yet have a part to play.”
Kalak squeezed his eyes shut, trembling, his heart beating rapidly. But a part of him… a part of him was relieved. It seemed that one way or another, further decisions were out of his hands.
Interlude 2: The Divided God
Odium knelt, holding a dying child.
This was Tu Bayla, considered a backwater by other nations—a place where foreign armies clashed, rather than ruining their own lands. Azir had fought Jah Keved—or Alethkar, when it held Jah Keved—here dozens of times over.
Few thought of Tu Bayla; when mortal, Odium never had. Yet it had its own wonderful traditions. The people raised a strain of domesticated mink as hunting companions, and nearly everyone had one as a pet. They named their daughters after stars and their sons after flowers. They loved to sing, and had the greatest variety of instruments on all of Roshar, though few outsiders ever got to hear the beautiful music.
Now they died. A famine had struck the land, initiated by the passing Everstorm destroying crops—exacerbated by the ending of trade between Azir and Jah Keved, who were now on opposite sides of the war. Most importantly, in the chaos, the government had collapsed and warlords claimed any supplies for themselves, using them as leverage to rule.
So many children died here, unseen. And Odium…
That was not my name, he thought. I cannot lose myself in godhood.
Odium wept for them, and—having formed a body from his infinite essence—held one little boy close. Cultivation appeared behind him, wearing clothing that evoked the woods—green and vibrant brown, dark hair in tight curls.
“I have infinite capacity,” Odium whispered, his voice ragged. “I can see to the ends of the cosmere. I can see the lives of people great and small. I had thought this wonderful, with so much to experience, but now I find only suffering. Infinite capacity to see. Infinite capacity to feel. Infinite capacity for agony.”
“Yes,” Cultivation said softly.
Odium was a person divided. One side thinking, the other feeling. The former understood that with his vast powers and knowledge, he would of course have to accept certain drawbacks or complications.
The latter just wanted to weep.
“This is a curse,” he said, holding the dying child close. “I should be able to help them. Save them!”
“You are forbidden,” Cultivation said, “from taking direct action against any who are not fully given to you.”
“Because of the pact my predecessor made,” he spat. “I can break it.”
“In so doing, you would be vulnerable to outside attack,” she said. “The powers bind us to our promises, particularly those made and sealed with a formal oath.” She crouched by him.
“You promised to teach me what it is to be a god,” he whispered.
“I am,” she said. “I know the pain, Odium, and why it must be. Tell me you don’t. Tell me you can’t understand.”
The logical side of him asserted control, shoving down the side that simply wanted to rage. “I understand,” he admitted. “Assuming these were fully mine, and I were allowed, it would not be enough. I could wave my hand, heal this boy’s body—but I’d return in several weeks and find him starving again, because the systems that caused this suffering are still in place.”
“Yes.”
“So I change the systems,” he said. “I strike down the warlords who hoard resources! I force them to share, to not hurt one another. I make pain impossible.”
“And in so doing…”
“I create a country where there are no consequences. Is that so bad?”
“You tell me,” she said in her infuriatingly calm way.
Yes, it would be bad. He could see all the permutations of time, as well as attempts by other Shards like himself to do this very thing. By directly intervening on such a granular level, he risked creating a society where no one learned, and where civilization did not progress. By supernaturally forbidding warlords, he would also stifle scientists and artists. By removing the capacity for violence, he would also remove the capacity for mercy.
The child died. He saw the soul briefly before it vanished to a place beyond his touch.
“What do we do instead?” Cultivation said.
“You want me to say,” he whispered, “that we create systems—teachings, incentives—that encourage the right decisions. That we prevent war by building up societies where people choose peace. We prevent greed by nurturing governments where the greedy are held accountable. We take time, and we steer, but we do not dominate.”
“Yes.”
He carefully rested the child’s body on the ground, then stood to face Cultivation, who rose to meet him eye to eye. Anger made him tremble. This divinity he held, it had so much emotion he could barely steer it.
“I blame you,” he hissed.
“For the boy’s death?” Cultivation said. “But I just showed you that—”
“I blame you,” he said, “because you should have done better. Eight thousand years, and you should have fixed this. All three of you.”
“You can see the circumstances that prevented that.”
“Your fault still. I can do better.”
“Odium… do not make this mistake.”
“The problem,” he said, “is not these people. You shift the blame to them with elementary theological arguments.”
“Elementary,” she replied, “in the same way that gravity is elementary. Basic, because it is the foundation. People must be allowed choice.”
“There is a spectrum of choice that can be allowed,” he said. “No society can persist with complete freedom, and growth can happen within limits. I can make it so that free will exists to an acceptable degree, while also preventing famines.”
“You could do it now,” she said. “Calm the Everstorm. Make peace between nations. Restore trade.”
“And in so doing, set them up for another war in a few years? Learn your own lessons, Cultivation. These people will not get along because they have different forces manipulating them. Honor’s touch lingers, and your own meddling—invisible to most—creates so much tension and strife. It is worse in the greater cosmere. So many gods who are cowards.”
“Because we give people choice?”
“Because you killed your father, and now worry the same will happen to you. Like the warlords here, you consolidate power so that no one can kill you.” He stepped toward her, raising a fist, the emotions making a tempest of rage inside him. “I am the very substance of passion, and where a person suffers anywhere in this miserable galaxy, I feel it. That is the burden of this power.”
“It is why,” she said, “I called yours the most dangerous and difficult of them all. You can be the one who—”
“I know their anger, Cultivation. Do not lecture me. Oh, I taste it. Every moment. And I also know there will not be a way to soothe that agony, not until…”
She held his eyes. He saw in them the depths of eternity, as he was sure she saw in his—for these forms they wore were but cloaks across a vast essence that was itself infinite.
“Not until what?” she demanded.
“Not until there is but one god,” Odium whispered.
“Do not go down this path. It destroyed your predecessor.”
“I destroyed my predecessor,” he said. “Leave me. I am finished with your ‘lessons.’ ”
She did, stalking away and vanishing—leaving him with the knowledge that she would work against him. She had already been planning to do so, pulling on threads for millennia to get what she wanted. She had raised him up because the old Odium was becoming too violent, too willing to destroy everything as the emotions raged freely. This had been her only choice to prevent a much greater cataclysm.
The divided one knelt, and let himself feel. He was not Odium. He held Odium. He would not let it rule.
He was not Odium.
He was Taravangian.
And he had an important mission, the same that he’d given himself years ago when he’d seen the threat to Kharbranth—then had moved to save it. He was the one who could both see the coming danger and be willing to stop it.
He was Taravangian, the divided one—and he could save them. All of them.
Excerpted from Wind and Truth, copyright © 2024 Dragonsteel Entertainment.
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Wind and Truth
I’m glad I started reading Mistborn while I wait on these chapters!! So much more little things connect. Haha
Haha finishing at least era 1 and secret history would fill in a lot of gaps with thaidakar/Kelsier and felt. Considering how cosmere heavy TLM was in era 2 , wind and truth will definitely lean in heavy to it
Could you be more specific on what to read while waiting on Wind & Truth? I have read the first four Stormlight books as well as the Mistborn Era 1 & 2. I’m completely entranced by the Cosmere and cannot get enough of it. I also need something to read until December 6th.
Yeah, also Tress, Yumi, and the Sunlit Man
Read Elantris and Warbreaker as well as all of the Arcanum unbounded book, that will set you up nicely for wind and truth.
Todium says that he won’t let the Shard rule him but I feel like we can already see him going down the same path as his predecessor. Their reasoning may be different but their end goal is likely the same.
“So many children died here, unseen. And Odium…
That was not my name, he thought. I cannot lose myself in godhood.
Odium wept for them,”
As soon as I read that i knew he was starting to lose himself already.
Yes, this was bound to happen.
But did Cultivation give him an advantage by training him to deal with inner conflict with his boon/curse as Taravangian?
Might that let T-Odium have more freedom or control, and more importantly, is that a good or bad thing?
It seems to me Cultivation is trying to sabotage Todium rather than helping him, which makes me wonder why she grooms him to take up the Shard of Odium in the first place. Maybe there’s a 3D-chess level of manipulation here.
Yeah, I’m still waiting for Cultivation’s endgame.
I don’t really think it makes sense that she “just expected Taravangian to be a good guy” since she’s the one whose Diagram directed him to the murder hospitals and to decimating Jah Keved. So it would be weird if she gave a guy like that divine power and then expected it to just work out.
But we’ll see! Maybe I’m wrong and she’s just dumb lol
Oh Taravangian, with a Zealots faith in his Ideals and Narcissists belief in his own capacity. Even ready to ‘save the world’
Storms! Who is Ala? Am I missing something obvious or is this yet another mystery? And what on Roshar has Cultivation been cultivating for millennia?
I’m also wondering about what Culvitation has been cultivating for millennia. The way it was said implies that it was more than just the curse/boon carried on as the “old magic” such as what Taravagnian and Dalinar went through, but if it is to be done in a way that is invisible to most it seems like it must still be at the level of discreet contact with individuals. So while we are pretty sure that she is not the Wind, she might be behaving in similar ways as it…
I’m assuming Ala is the name of the Seon.
That’s the seon’s name.
when Shallan reminded us of Felt being from off-world and being there I went oh-oh
He was a spy for the Ventures in era 1, then worked for Dalinar for decades and went to Nightwatcher/Cultivation with him. Been a few WoBs about him over the years about his varying loyalties haha. But we never thought he was a GB spy.
I feel so bad for Kalak, only reason he said he stayed was to care for the Seon haha, that little bastard.
We know from TLM that Iylatils faction has gone a bit rogue from the core GB on the home world, at least in their methods.
I’m surprised Kalak has never seen anyone use breaths before though.
It’s crazy to see an era 1 Scadrian use breaths while talking to a Seon from Sel and capturing a Herald haha. That’s a triple book cosmere classic,
Think it’s actually a quadruple:
1. Era 1 Scadrian. (Mistborn)
2. Awakening (Warbreaker)
3. Seon (Elantris)
4. Herald (Roshar)
If you want to get ambitious you could call it 5 with the fact that he’s a ghostblood (Era 2).
Also I’m more and more convinced that we are seeing the beginnings of a Scadrial/Roshar war.
Sooo, no one going to mention Felt’s betrayal against House Kholin (who I trust more than the ghostbloods, even if directly led by Kelsier)?
Well to be fair, he hasn’t outright betrayed the Kholins, he’s still just loyal to Kel and the ghostbloods. We’ve wondered for years wtf he was doing on Roshar haha, few WoBs about if he worked for silver light or not
OH MY SHARDS! SO MUCH GOING ON.
No epigraph
Kelsier is finally taking direct action on scadrial it seems, at the very least he’s more involved in Mraize’s operation. Felt has finally moved, shame. I liked him, I guess I still might with how things play out.
Taravagian! Omg I don’t know how to feel. On one hand, I am definitely hating Cultivation the more she shows her hand, and perhaps he’s right to hate the three of them, on the other, trying to destroy all the other shards… This was the goal of old odium and Taravagian as well given that’s what Hoid said in Lost Metal. Also, is that a reference to Sazed, how his graniluar input on scadrial caused the world’s tech to stifle?
I hope Kel can be reasoned with, Taravagian is definitely being played by Cultivation, perhaps not actively but she has already planned for his betrayal.
Insane interludes
Why on Roshar do you hate Cultivation? If you’re feeling bad for TOdium, then you’re being played. The goal was to put Taravagian in a position to handle the powers of Odium. Clearly that’s not working as well as hoped.
Not Sazed, the Lord Ruler
I’m sorry, I just don’t get the hate for Cultivation? Why are so many people hating on her? Why her and not Endowment?
Well, because she’s the one who manipulated Taravangian into becoming the new Odium
She just took a leap of faith that he’d be better and it backfired. Same kind of leap of faith that Taravangian berated Dalinar for.
But maybe there’s still some way that he is better than R-Odium? Or if not better easier to win against? Still not understanding hate for cultivation…
And felt was using AWAKENING!
I wonder now if Stonewards can do something similar to awakening based on Kalaks immediate thoughts when he was restrained
“[Name of monstrous historical figure] had some good ideas but went to far!” Taravodium would fit right in on Twitter.
So much happening in such short interludes! I NEED MORE! Felt using awakenings and working for Kelsier!? Taravangian/Odium with a true zealots belief?! Things do not bode well. For Kalak’s sake!
Todium has a glaring flaw in his logic: Roshar was fine before humanity brought Odium from space, and from there it’s pretty easy to infer that his Shard is the problem. Cultivation should’ve pulverized Taravangian and splintered Odium the moment Rayse died
The problem is that most fantasy authors push the Yin and Yang trope that without evil good no longer has free will.
True; but Brandon seems to be going with chaos and order more than good and evil. Preservation and ruin odium and honor. They’re all two different sides of the same coin
Genuinely so betrayed by that Felt twist :( And no codenames, just “Lord Kelsier”. Rip to anyone who hasn’t read mist born yet.
Also if Todium ends up killing Cultivation I will laugh my a— off. The guy she ascends to usurp the shard-killer actually agrees with him and kills HER? Hilarious
RIP to anyone who has read Mistborn but only era 1 and at this point thought he was dead.
ie me.
hes only mostly dead, which is slightly alive
(please open his mouth)
Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker and SA converging in one scene ! Wow!
I guess no more shadowing or foreplay – every chapter is a big reveal or scene! Loving it!
Kelsier! woohoo!
HOLY HECK. The choices of who would be these interlude characters???? I cannot believe what is happening.
Guys was that biocromatic breath felt used for the curtains?? I can’t figure out how he’s done it
It is easier to awaken / takes less breaths if the item has the form of the object you intend it to be.
Makes me wonder why they do not use an octopus… LOL.
He was… He probably cut the curtains to be vaguely human-shaped
Yes. It was awakining from Nalthis in Warbreaker
Wow, I knew Felt was shady but we all should have seen it coming, Kelsier’s motto is “There is always another secret”. And TOdium is apparently working openly against Cultivation rather than secretly. This is gonna be so much fun.
Agreed.
I felt (pun intended) that he had his own agenda. But I was genuinely surprised that he was a Ghostblood. Looking back, makes sense… but that was a nice reveal.
Also, there seems to be a schism in the Ghostbloods, based on the reaction some have towards Iyatil and Mraize… wonder how that plays out.
At least it confirms that Kelsier does has his eyes on the roshar group. I always felt it was odd that he would let them go rogue like that
I think we sometimes forget how brutal Kelsier was in Mistborn. Yes, he can be a man of compassion, but I feel he will do anything to get his way.
We tend to hold him as a “good guy”, but is he?
So while I was initially shocked he would let Iyatil and Mraize do as they pleased, it does seem to be somewhat in character for him. He has eyes on them, but he is also does not seem to rein them in, either.
One of the things Brandon does well, is that if you flip the narrative, some of the “good guys” could easily be perceived “bad guys” in another story. So who is ultimately good or bad is often murky.
After all, we are the hero of our own story….
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. If I had to say which Kelsier is regarding the Stormlight Archive in general, he’s a bad guy
Im betting the Taravangian Interludes are gonna be where we learn all the Formal Shard names and their interpretted aspects.
I wonder if he’s gonna attempt to convince Dalinar Rayse is dead. Im not sure Dalinar would believe “Odium” and just about the only way to confirm is for Taravangian to tell Hoid, then have Hoid tell Dalinar.
I mean, he actively doesn’t want people to know. That’s why he wiped Hoid’s Breath with the memory of him realizing that.
Right, but Todium cant really convince Dalinar he’s Taravangian. Rayse showed himself to Dalinar as the super manipulative evil D*bag. Any attempt to say, convince Dalinar to forfeit because he wants to save everyone, would be seen as Odium trying to trick him.
“Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns.”
I love these. So much is happening…
It’s implied that there is some divison between the Rosharan and Scadrian branches of the Ghostbloods, which makes sense, but it’s nice to have confirmation. Also we probably should have seen that Felt was a Ghostblood operative. Though, it does make sense that we’d miss it, considering he’s not associated with the Rosharan branch.
Also it looks as though this book will be in ten parts, not 5, with interludes after every day. Which is interesting.
Yeah, it said on the Coppermind that the Scadrian (original) Ghostbloods thought the Rosharan ones were too greedy and pushing (or smthn like that)
Oh, and the mention of constrictors essentially confirms that Ashyn was based on Yolen, so a planet with an effectively Earth biosphere.
HOLY SHIT HAHAHA
Felt actually WAS an undercover dude this whole time with Dalinar. Obviously we knew he used to be a spy for the Ventures in era 1 and was a worldhopper, and from WoB that he had worked for multiple factions, but having breath and actually pulling this with breaths? Holy shit that’s been theorized about for years. Makes sense he’d still have Scadrian/GB loyalties.
Kelsier as an offworld Herald is funny though
I can totally see Felt twirling his pencil mustache and laughing maniacally. Also, isn’t Sixteen from Scadrial? Are you telling me there’s going to be a hostage situation with a herald and a worldhopper and the other worshippers worldhopper won’t know about it?
When did he pull with his breath? I see that he used breath but I don’t see any pulling
Kelsier as an off world herald is just repeated information of Vasher’s lesson to Kaladin in Rythim of War regarding various types of Biochromatic entities
“Felt just moved for work” my ass, Brandon! You know, if you want people to stop thinking every worldhopper is hyper-plot relevant maybe you should make at least some of them not hyper-plot relevant.
And of course Vargo wearing the hat doesn’t change anything. Did you really expect this to go well for you, Koravellium?
*ROTFL*
Hmm. So at the end of RoW we wondered if Cultivation was being naive to think tOdium wouldn’t be up to his old shenanigans haha but turns out she knew he would be trouble.. Just better than Rayse haha.
Love that they’re exploring all the problems and issues Harmony faced for the last 3 centuries. tOdium complains but he doesn’t have to deal with two opposing shards haha.
This definitely goes a long way to explore why he decided to just continue the war. I’m looking forward to seeing him contact his old diagram people and have them crap their pants.
But I figured it wouldnt be til act 2 or later that the gang find out he ascended. Renarin might know since he brought the gems, Cultivation could probably tell SF about it. It’s nice to get confirmation she has been involved in things this whole time.
But really have no idea where it’s heading leading into the timeskip, if he stays the main villain or not.
As much as I hate felt being a ghostblood, he’s been a fan favorite worldhopper for a reason. As long as he doesn’t kill Kalak I’m hoping they do find a way to help Kelsier and the heralds go offworld.
The epigraphs do say the heralds all vanished..maybe they all left haha, if it isn’t just tied to an oathpact thing
These gods just need a pep talk from Sazed and they’ll get it right
We get a Kalak POV! And it makes me want to cry!
“Odium wept for them” – and I don’t trust it one bit. I have no sympathy for him. He is not Taravangian; he is a murdering jackhole.
Having just finished rereading the second Mistborn era, this stuck out at me. I really like the internal consistency of the gods/Shards, and how they can’t directly go after others without destroying themselves.
“You tell me,” she said in her infuriatingly CALM way.
….
“Not until what?” she DEMANDED.
…..
We are 5 books in and I still don’t know if I believe Culti arranged this ascension for good honorable reasons.
I could almost swear she’s actually egging Taravodium on…
That she’s relying on Taravangian to be exactly the Taravangian he has always been…. Willing to sacrifice the many for the few if needed. Believing he’s the only one who can make the “tough calls.”.. sacrificing others if need be to save his own….
What if Taravangian is discord?
Wow, I can’t help but to side with Todium here.
Not the one god part, but I agree the shards do a poor balancing act.
They could help more than they do, but they are afraid.
Man, I’m probably the only one that feels like this, but I really don’t like the idea of the Cosmere. It feels like kingdom hearts with trying to link all these worlds together. Seeing Kelsior’s name dropped like that is such a bummer.
Kingdom Hearts is my favorite video game series so it makes sense why I love all the convoluted connections in the Cosmere. It definitely isn’t for everyone though, and I hope there are more standalone adventures in the future.
I’m somewhat in the same camp. The crossovers used to be a lot more subtle, revealing lore and Cosmere connections without any significant direct impact on the book’s narrative. I guess it’s not clear yet whether this Kalak interlude will have a direct impact on the narrative, since Kalak is the only witness to this ambush, so what we’re learning here probably won’t make it to our Rosharan characters. But given there’s going to be a time skip before the next book, this scene is probably going to have a follow-up later in book 5. I’ll read it, of course, but I’m not digging how broad the prerequisites are getting for understanding scenes like this.
I guess what I’m saying is that I look forward to getting back to straight-up Rosharan adventures in next week’s chapters.
Of course it would be Felt !
We knew and yet constantly forget that he is a Scadrial Worldhopper !
well..we really should have expected Felt to be working with Keliser AND be Mraize’s “spy” from the last book. at least he seems loyal to Kelsier and kalak might not be fully in danger yet.
Seeing how the seon was putting on a act, playing as scared and timid, it makes me wonder if Felt was actually using her during the trip through shadesmar.
He wasn’t with the initial party sent to Lasting Integrity tho.
he was there for the trip to lasting integrity though, when shallan had the box. it’s also possible that the seon just told mraize everything, including the plan to try to trick him. Mraize wasn’t worried about shallan not killing Kalak. he said he had another agent. we thought that was Radiant, when it could have been Felt. this chapter does say Ilatyl did give him a dagger. They just didn’t think that Felt was more loyal to Kelsier and more pragmatic; he’s a spy. he knows better to show his hand.
Good to see Taravangian remains a self-righteous b*tch
Right? Only now he has the power to be an even bigger problem than he was previously.
I wonder how Ishar helped Kalak with the madness. Did he take some of it on himself? I think this death rattle isn’t Taln, it’s Ishar!
Quote
“The burdens of nine become mine. Why must I carry the madness of them all? Oh, Almighty, release me.”
As I have read only Stormlight, I have no idea how all these people interconnect. I suppose it is amazing for those in the know, but for me it is just actio sine proposito. All I got was that Felt and Seon appear to be turncoats.
Felt is a member of the ghostbloods, not the branch on roshar, but a member of the bigger organization. That’s all this was really showing.
You’re gonna have to read some more you are missing out, Mistborn era 1 & 2 are some of the best fantasy out there.
i think Kelsier will show himself during champions duel, not started Mistborn yet but it would be cool to see some out of Roshar character open a portal or something when champions are fighting in the middle of it
I should’ve finished Hero of Ages before reading this :(
Yikes, that’s a spicy pair of interludes!
As somebody who is constantly faced with decision paralysis and no longer really trusting my inner voice/judgment or even ability to know what ‘the right thing’ is, in a way I can really relate to aspects of both of this. Kalak’s madness in some ways feels like my own. Especially in a world where there are secrets upon secrets.
As for TOdium in a weird way I relate to that as well. My favorite Valar in the Tolkien pantheon is Nienna, and he seems to in some way be a twisted version of that! In the classical sense, “Passion” refers to “suffering” (eg, Passiontide referring to Lent), so Odium as the shard of passions who feels everybody’s suffering is apt. And it must do weird things to your brain when all you experience is the suffering in the universe. I guess I don’t share the same skepticism in that I think he is genuinely sorrowful for this reality.
And I can see how it does lead to thinking about, well, IS choice worth that? Is somebody else’s potential for virtue or happiness worth another person’s suffering? To be sure, I don’t really subscribe to a worldview in which good (or even will) depends on evil existing in a tangible form to be knowable but it’s definitely hard to wrap a mind around; what does that look like? When is it worth it? But we’ve been grappling with that idea for all humanity.
I do wonder what Cultivation is playing at, and also what the implications are for WHY Ado was shattered and if they were right/wrong to do so.