Greetings, Cosmere Chickens, and welcome back to Elantris! Don’t mind the slime, there’s plenty of wonderful things to do here. Uh.
Right?
Surely there must be…
Oh. Hold on a moment, I’m getting a report that…
Huh. There’s nothing, huh? Nothing redeeming at all about this city?
Well. Um. Welcome anyway?
In this week’s installment of the reread, we’re delving deeper into Elantris as Raoden makes a new friend and gains something invaluable, and Sarene makes herself out to be a simpering idiot in order to get the better of two very powerful men. Won’t you join us?
Spoiler warning: This week’s article contains some small spoilers from the Stormlight Archive, and a bit of greater Cosmere theory. Proceed with caution if you haven’t read them yet!
Last time on Elantris: Family Matters and the Unification of Hate…
Sarene meets some family members she wasn’t expecting, and Hrathen details his plan to unite the people of Kae in hatred of the cursed Elantrians in an effort to prevent the wholesale slaughter of the population in the upcoming invasion.
Chapter Essentials
POV Character(s): Raoden, Sarene
Chapter 7
Those three marks—two lines and a dot—were the starting point of every Aon.
He continued, drawing the same three-line pattern at different angles, then added several diagonal lines. The finished drawing looked something like an hourglass, or perhaps two boxes placed on top of each other, pulling in slightly near the middles. This was Aon Ashe, the ancient symbol for light.
Raoden nodded, drawing his own Aon, Aon Rao. Four circles with one large square in the center, all five connected by lines.
“They must be related,” Raoden mused. “The change in Elantris, the way the Shaod started making people demons rather than gods, the ineffectiveness of AonDor…”
L: At least he’s on the right track. The magic is linked to the geography of the world, and that geographical pattern has been changed due to the earthquake.
P: It’s almost painful how they can’t figure it out.
L: In hindsight, yes. I remember on my first read I was just as clueless as they were!
There was a metal plate hanging there. Though it was tarnished with time, Raoden could still make out the shape etched into its surface—Aon Ashe, the character he had drawn just a few moments ago.
“Those plates used to glow more brightly and steadily than any lamp, sule,” Galladon explained. “The Elantrians could shut them off with a bare brush of their fingers.
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L: So the Aons can be stationary, rather than having to be drawn each time by a practitioner. That’s interesting, in terms of Investiture. Sort of like the fabrial technology on Roshar. Those require a source of Investiture in order to run (namely, spren being trapped within them), but since Dor is permeating the world all around the Elantrians, it seems as though these stationary Aons just draw on the power that’s surrounding them in the very air.
P: Which is super cool, when you think about it—so much power that already drawn Aons worked with seemingly no explanation.
Raoden walked over to the newcomer, who had collapsed after stumbling up the stairs. Raoden carefully removed each of the man’s food offerings and, after tucking a certain one into his belt, he dumped the rest to the houndlike men waiting below.
L: And so Raoden begins to put into action his plan to grow food within the confines of Elantris. (What he took was, as we will discover later, seeds.)
P: It begins. I love how he’s just like, “you’re one of us now” to the newcomer.
L: It’s one of Raoden’s most redeeming qualities. He’s a lot like Kaladin in that respect.
Raoden paused, then said, “Just call me Spirit,” using the translation of Aon Rao.
L: Interesting that he chooses to take on a pseudonym.
P: He doesn’t want anyone to recognize who he was before the Shaod took him. Which I get, on one level. Though as time passes, it’s hard to hide what he really is.
Chapter 8
She was usually good at everything she tried, but the secrets of painting completely eluded her.
L: It’s important to recognize your faults as well as your strengths!
P: This makes me giggle. She’s trying so hard to paint and it’s just not good.
“Slavery is illegal, but it probably won’t be for long. Ten years ago there weren’t any nobles or peasants in Arelon—just Elantrians and everyone else. Over the past decade, commoners have changed from families that owned their own land, to peasants beneath feudal lords, to indentured servants, to something more resembling ancient Fjordell serfs. It won’t be much longer before they’re nothing more than property.”
L: ::sigh:: No matter what society you encounter, there are always people who try to find a way to subjugate others.
P: I guess man’s legacy here is to lord over other men.
Society was supposed to have progressed beyond that point.
L: Indeed.
“The merchants’ guild was an autonomous organization—and many of its members didn’t get along too well with the Elantrians. You see, Elantris provided free food for everyone in the area, something that made for a happy populace, but was terrible for the merchants.”
L: Free food, free healthcare… sounds like a utopia to me.
P: Seriously. It’s sad that the common man turned against them after the Reod.
“Eventually the merchants’ guild struck a deal with Elantris, getting the Elantrians to promise that they would only provide ‘basic’ items to the populace for free. That left the merchants’ guild to import the more expensive luxury items, catering to the wealthy crowd in the area—which tended to be other members of the merchants’ guild.”
L: An interesting balance of socialism and capitalism, here…
P: Yes, the wealthy crowd should definitely have to pay for stuff.
Lukel smiled. “You sound like Prince Raoden.”
Sarene paused, considering. “Did you know him well?”
“He was my best friend,” Lukel said with a sorrowful nod. “The greatest man I have ever known.”
L: I’m so glad to see Sarene finally forming a connection with someone who knew Raoden personally!
P: It’s just so sad to think of her alone and wishing she had gotten to know him.
The king’s entire government is built on the idea that monetary success is justification for rule.
L: Ah… A plutocracy, then.
“Svordish scientists claim that the human mind can only maintain six languages before it starts to jumble them.”
L: This made me curious, so I looked it up. Apparently it’s true—the average person can learn a maximum of four to six languages (though of course there are outliers). Fascinating!
P: That is fascinating. I’ve never heard this before now.
She had been so looking forward to surprising him with her early arrival—not early enough, apparently.
L: Ugh, my heart aches for Sarene. To just be starting to fall for someone, then to have all that potential stolen by (what she thinks is) death… heartbreaking.
P: Yeah, she definitely got the raw end of the deal here. For now.
As she walked, she reached out and rubbed her hand across the groove of a carved Aon sculpted into the side of the city wall. The line was as wide as her hand. There were no gaps where stone met stone. It was as she had read: the entire wall was one seamless piece of rock. Except it was no longer flawless.
L: Because the wall was created by (and imbued with) the power of Dor, which is now corrupted, presumably. I can’t help but wonder if there are some wider Cosmere implications here, in regards to the corruption of spren on Roshar by the Unmade.
“Isn’t ambition serving our own lusts?”
L: Sarene, 1. Hrathen, 0.
P: This whole exchange leaves her ahead.
“…hard times make people willing to accept a man who preaches change.”
L: Very true.
She scanned the city once more, trying to put Kaise’s disturbing comments out of her mind. As she did, her eyes fell on a particular trio of figures—ones who didn’t appear to be as pitiful as the rest. She squinted at the figures. They were Elantrian, but one seemed to have darker skin than the other two.
L: This is one of those moments where you just want to scream because he’s RIGHT THERE! SARENE! IT’S RAODEN! Argh. Infuriating.
P: Poor thing. Struck by him when she doesn’t even know it’s him.
L: I just want to take one final moment to praise Sarene for so handily exploiting gender stereotypes to completely get the upper hand in these two social situations. She’s deftly manipulating these men based on their assumptions about her—though Hrathen isn’t quite as easily fooled, as we’ll soon see.
We’ll be leaving further speculation and discussion to you in the comments, and hope to join you there! Next week, we’ll be back with chapters 9 and 10.
Paige resides in New Mexico, of course. She has been to numerous baseball games so far this season and is looking forward to a family trip to see the Yankees this weekend! Links to her other writing are available in her profile.
Lyndsey lives in Connecticut and makes magic wands for a living, as well as working as the costumer for two of her local Renaissance Faires. If you enjoy queer protagonists, snarky humor, and don’t mind some salty language, check out book 1 of her fantasy series. Follow her on Facebook or TikTok!
