Welcome to the full-on, top-down spoiler review for Wind and Truth, in which beta readers Paige Vest and Drew McCaffrey are here to discuss every single spoilery thing about this book. Or at least most things. If you haven’t finished the book yet, do not continue because, seriously… SPOILERS ABOUND!
The first thing we have to talk about, even before we get into the story itself (and there’s A LOT of story to cover!) is that Wind and Truth follows a completely different structure from the other four installments of The Stormlight Archive! Instead of being divided into five parts, we have a countdown: the Ten Days until Dalinar’s contest of champions against Odium.
It works, you know? The number ten is all over this series: ten Heralds, ten-day weeks, ten Oathgates, ten Radiant orders, ten surges… You get the idea. Buckle up, because there’s almost five hundred thousand words packed into these ten days. Below, we cover the Prologue and Szeth’s flashbacks, then summarize the first two Days (covered in depth in our discussions of the preview chapters). After that, we’ve broken up the discussion to focus on each of the five major plot lines in turn, with our final thoughts at the end.
There’s so much to talk about, so let’s get to it!
Buy the Book
Wind and Truth
Prologue: Gavilar
The Wind and Truth Prologue is told from Gavilar’s point of view. We’ve seen different versions of the night of his death from four other perspectives, so it’s super interesting to see Gavilar’s thoughts on this night. And for many readers, it cements the fact that the Alethi King is one big piece of storming crem.
We see numerous interactions that Gavilar has with various other characters throughout the night, including Navani, Dalinar, several potential Sons of Honor, Taravangian(!), a couple of Heralds that he doesn’t believe are Heralds at first, and finally, Thaidakar (Kelsier), who appears through a seon.
Kelsier is frustrated that Gavilar hasn’t turned over Restares—whom we now know to be the Herald Kalak, one of Gavilar’s many visitors that night.
And throughout all of these conversations, the Stormfather is hanging around! Gavilar is hard at work, trying to become a Herald himself—to become immortal, mostly, with the Herald stuff as an incidental side effect. He struggles to find the right words (or rather, Words) and the Stormfather is getting increasingly frustrated with him.
Oh, yeah, and a little something happens over on Braize: A Herald is killed on this night of all nights, and travels back to be tortured under the Oathpact.
Of course that’s not all that happens during the feast, though. Word arrives of the Assassin in White, using strange powers and tearing through guards with an Honorblade. Gavilar and Sadeas hatch their decoy plan, Szeth fails to fall for it, and the rest is history.
…Well, maybe not all history. We’re left with one final tidbit, as we learn that Gavilar is speaking to the Stormfather, not Szeth, in his final moments. And oh so curiously, the Stormfather swears he’s finished with the Kholin family.
So that was a lie.
Flashbacks: Szeth
Szeth’s flashbacks begin as a story he’s relating to Kaladin about his childhood. It’s a really cool way of relaying the information, as Kaladin learns along with us. He talks of dancing around a sacred rock on his family’s homestead while his older sister Elid played the flute. It’s a nice, yet melancholy glimpse of a young, innocent Szeth who hasn’t had terrible things happen to him. Though it won’t be long, unfortunately, before things take a turn.
After he dances, Szeth’s loveable old sheep, Molli, licks the ground until a new rock is revealed. It’s a small rock compared to the larger one that Szeth had been dancing around, but it’s a rock, and the Shin revere rocks. The kids fetch their father, who sends for their mother. When she arrives, she has a shovel and plans to dig up the rock and move it; otherwise, the Farmer would likely make the family leave their homestead and move to the town. Szeth objects to this plan, thinking they should do the right thing and inform the Farmer. So his father gives him the option to either tell the Farmer or relocate the rock. Szeth is only 11 years old in this flashback and, frankly, it’s a crem thing to do to make him decide on a course of action that would affect the fate of his entire family.
He chooses to let them move the rock, not because he felt it was the right thing to do, but because he felt that was the choice they all wanted him to make. So his mother digs up the rock, which isn’t very large. Then a horn sounds and they realize that they’re under attack by the stonewalkers. Szeth’s mother picks up the rock, with gloves on, and hides it amongst the roots of a nearby tree. Then they plan to head toward the mountains to avoid the marauders.
As many homesteaders gather with their flocks in the foothills of the mountain, they prepare food to try to calm people. Szeth helps but then takes food for himself and Elid, and she tells him that they’re missing three sheep, Molli among them. Szeth searches the other flocks, looking for her, to no avail. Then, with the light of burning homesteads in the distance, he heads toward his own home to search for Molli.
Szeth finds three men at his homestead, sitting on the sacred rock in front of a fire, where they’d cooked a meal. Szeth realizes that they are Shin and that they were likely a patrol of the Farmer’s soldiers. But something is wrong. They’re drinking his father’s wine and—though he has a hard time facing the truth—he knows that they’ve killed and cooked Molli. He gets angry, tells them they need to go because they subtract.
He’s thrown to the ground by one of the soldiers and he falls beside the stone his mother had dug out of the ground earlier. As the soldier chokes him, he picks the rock up with his bare hand. Filled with rage at what the soldiers had done to Molli, he smashes the rock into the soldier’s head again and again. He’s found by his family the next morning, covered in blood and clutching Molli’s pelt.
The Farmer tells Neturo and Zeenid that Szeth must go train to be a soldier because he subtracted, using a rock. He does defend his actions, because the soldier was choking Szeth at the time, but he said that when one shows talent at subtracting, then that talent needs to be utilized. Neturo announces that he will also go and be taught how to subtract, that he won’t let his son go alone. Zeenid says that they’ll all go. Szeth is much relieved upon hearing this as he lies in bed listening to his parents speak with the Farmer.
Szeth and his family go to the monastery of the Stonewards, where Szeth is to be trained. He hears a voice speaking in his mind helping him decide what to do. And listening to it, he shows restraint and wisdom. The trainer thinks he might do better in officer training.
After three years in training, Szeth is clearly the best; he even beats an instructor. His father is the aide-de-camp to the General and takes him to see a couple of Honorbearers that visit the monastery which, of course, has no Honorbearer. It is Taln’s monastery; he is the lost Herald. One of the Honorbearers bids Szeth spend time in the slaughterhouse learning how to kill, and instructs the General to send Szeth on the next raid so as to teach him his purpose.
Five years later, a 19-year-old Szeth leads a mission to drive raiders away from the shore. He takes it upon himself to burn the three ships that come to raid. Only two of them burn, and when Szeth tries to rescue his men who have been captured on the third ship, he gets stabbed in the gut, a life-ending wound. But the Voice in his head heals him! Back on shore, the General shows up with Neturo, and Szeth is chastised for not simply driving the raiders away.
A tribunal consisting of the General, his father, three Honorbearers, and the Farmer meet to decide on Szeth’s punishment (or so he thinks). The Farmer wants to send him to a solitary watchpost in the mountains, but then the Voice returns and speaks to the Honorbearers about Szeth, though they won’t tell Szeth who or what the Voice was. Then they decide that he must be trained as a shaman acolyte with an Honorbearer, specifically at Pozen’s monastery, where Pozen has the Elsecaller Honorblade. Neturo decides to go with Szeth, though he’s discouraged until it’s pointed out that the city near the monastery where Szeth will be training is in need of an administrator. Szeth’s sister, Elid, isn’t bothered by the move, but Zeenid refuses to go. She abandons them, and Elid decides to proceed with Szeth and their father.
Two years later, 21-year-old Szeth has become good enough at the sword to defeat the sitting swordmaster and take his place. He is now next in line to bear the Honorblade. Pozen mentions his inadequacy at Elsecalling, but sets him to another task, which Szeth gladly accepts. He heads out to find Pozen’s first clue, which leads him to another Honorbearer, Sivi, who holds the Willshaper honorblade. Szeth agrees to go on a pilgrimage during which he’ll visit each monastery to train, eventually challenging the Windrunner Honorbearer for his honorblade. Oh, and Sivi is apparently in a relationship with Neturo. Scandalous! When Szeth leaves for the Willshaper monastery, Neturo goes with him but Elid stays; the last words she speaks to him are that she hates him.
Years later, we’ve frankly lost count, Szeth defeats the Windrunner Honorbearer, killing him in combat. Before he dies, he warns Szeth that they’re just using him. Several of the current Honorbearers were chosen by the Elsecaller Honorbearer, Pozen, but Szeth doesn’t understand what the warning is all about. He now must face each of the other Honorbearers, though defeat doesn’t necessarily mean he won’t gain the Windrunner Blade. Then Pozen tells him that he won’t actually have to fight each Honorbearer, that it’s just a formality. Sivi tells him he can go meet the Voice after his second pilgrimage.
Szeth visits the Bondsmith monastery and thinks of how Talmut—Taln—stayed in damnation alone and is inspired, believing that it had been his choice. Which, of course, it hadn’t been. Very interesting how the teachings had been wrong in Shinovar for Szeth to believe this version of the story. The Voice guides him to a cavern where he finds spren nailed to the walls. He’s horrified and, as the Voice continues to speak to him, he realizes that it’s one of the Unmade. He flees. When he returns to the Windrunner monastery, he tells the acolytes there what’s happening and why his predecessor was going to rebel. He states that he might get one or two other Honorbearers to support them. He declares that the Desolation has begun and that the Voidbringers had returned. The day of Truth is here and it’s time to fight.
Szeth begins recruiting troops and sends word to two other Honorbearers, Sivi among them. Then he goes to kill Pozen and finds Sivi there, willingly serving the Unmade. He tells her the Return has begun and that they must fight. She begins to question herself, wondering if she’s wrong. Then Pozen arrives and rather than fighting him, Szeth retreats.
He leads his soldiers to fight the troops of the other Honorbearers and is then betrayed by the troops at his old monastery, where he was first stationed as a child. Then his father appears, with the Bondsmith honorblade. The Voice has spoken to Neturo and his father assures Szeth that he is not a Voidbringer. Szeth breaks and says he’ll do whatever Neturo tells him to do.
Szeth waits while the other Honorbearers decide his fate. From their conversation he gathers that his father had known about the Voice for some time. They decide to name him Truthless and banish him. He accepts this fate as it will allow him to abstain from making any decisions, especially wrong decisions. Pozen gives Seth an Oathstone, and the Voice tells the Honorbearers to leave the Windrunner blade with Szeth. Neturo weeps as he says goodbye and tells Szeth that he can’t go with him this time.
Seeing Szeth transform from a happy, carefree child into a killer was… difficult. We meet him in The Way of Kings as that killer, the Assassin in White. And then, of course, he goes on a killing spree. Many readers have strong opinions about him, but all Szeth ever tried to do was the right thing. No matter what situation he was in, he just wanted to do what was right. We hope these flashbacks will change the minds of some fans who feel he doesn’t deserve peace and happiness.
Days One and Two: Urithiru
Day One starts with Kaladin and Shallan in the aftermath of Rhythm of War. Shallan and Adolin are still in Lasting Integrity, where they witness the departure of those willing honorspren to help the Radiant war effort. Shallan speaks with Kalak, who gives her more insight into Ba-Ado-Mishram and the Spiritual Realm.
A group of Windrunners arrives to fly them back to the Azimir Oathgate and from there return to Urithiru—but they’re attacked en route by a group of Heavenly Ones, including the formidable Abidi the Monarch. Shallan speaks yet another truth, unlocking her Shardplate and possibly a new Lightweaving ability (substantiation, anyone?) before Adolin takes down Abidi.
They make it to the Oathgate, at last, with terrible new information: A huge singer army is approaching Azimir through Shadesmar, and the Azimir Oathgate spren have been corrupted by Sja-anat. The Radiants are about to lose control of the Oathgate entirely.
Kaladin, meanwhile, is preparing for the upcoming journey to Shinovar. He begins saying goodbye to those closest to him: his family, his friends in Bridge Four, Shallan and Adolin, Wit and Dalinar. He gets some typically sage advice (and a few lessons with the flute) from Hoid before meeting with Dalinar, who offers to make Kaladin his heir in Urithiru. Kaladin refuses, but Dalinar asks him think about it. And all the while, Syl is working on making herself more manifest in the Physical Realm, hoping to become a scribe for Kaladin.
Day Two dawns with numerous people not sleeping, and their wakefulness being interrupted by the news that Adolin and Shallan have brought from Shadesmar about the impending invasion. Not gonna lie, the best POV was Queen Fen’s, and how her nakedness freaked out the guard. Oh, my… so funny. Though that could be rivaled by Shallan and Adolin’s sexy time in the shower. ::ahem:: Moving on…
The monarchs gather at Urithiru to discuss the impending attack. Fen informs them that there’s a fleet of singer ships heading to Thaylen City and wants reinforcements. Yanagawn also wants military assistance for Azir, since the Azimir Oathgate is located in the heart of the city.
They also learn that a massive singer army is headed to the Shattered Plains, including the majority of the Fused. The forces of Odium are set to invade and possibly conquer the three seats of power left to the Coalition. In doing so, Odium would gain total control of Alethkar, no matter the result of the contest of champions.
Of course everybody wants troops, but there are only so many to go around. Then the Mink pipes up to hold Dalinar to his promise to reclaim Herdaz. Though everyone is against funneling their precious resources to Herdaz, Dalinar abides by his oath and agrees to send Windrunners to assist. Yanagawn is disappointed at receiving hardly any troops—though they’re some of the best, led by Adolin, no less—because the Coalition army that was fighting in Emul is on its way to Azimir. Fen has very few ships and demands assistance on her battlefront; she gets Jasnah and what she deems too few troops. That leaves the Shattered Plains, and Dalinar assigns Sigzil to lead the troops there. Sigzil hedges but Dalinar is insistent, and Sig’s spren encourages him, so he accepts.
Dalinar and Navani slip into a private meeting with Jasnah and Wit and talk about finding the shard of Honor. Wit’s wary of Dalinar visiting the Spiritual Realm, as even he is afraid of going there. However, thanks to the intervention of Cultivation herself, Dalinar is insistent. The three of them head down into a secluded part of Urithiru to run a test, searching for a moment in Roshar’s deep past. Wit sets up the experiment and prepares Navani and Dalinar, giving them instructions to find their way to the arrival of humanity on Roshar in the Spiritual Realm and then back to the Physical.
While all of this is happening, Shallan is infiltrating a secret meeting of Ghostbloods. While undercover as a Malwish Ghostblood, she sees Sja-anat (who, amazingly, doesn’t give her away) and who draws the attention of the Malwish, including Iyatil. All the while, Mraize is playing with a crossbow loaded with anti-Stormlight bolts.
But Iyatil discovers Shallan’s ruse, and she is forced to summon her Shardplate—along with Pattern as a Shardblade and Testament as a Shardshield! But once Iyatil brings anti-Light into play, Shallan instinctively sends her spren away for fear of their destruction. (Shallan might get a lot of hate, but she’s a badass.)
Shallan tries to appeal to Mraize as she waits for reinforcements, to no avail, and he disappears into Shadesmar along with Iyatil and another of the Malwish mask-wearers.
Back at Urithiru, Renarin goes in search of Rlain, who is working with the farmers who are now very easily growing crops. Drehy drops in, notes the way Renarin is looking at Rlain, and offers to listen if Renarin ever wants to talk. It’s a very sweet moment and we’re glad that Renarin still has friends from Bridge Four that he can depend on. Then Renarin has a vision and Rlain can see it, too, so he joins Renarin. As they navigate the vision, the furious, terrifying face of a singer appears in one of the windows; Rlain is sure that it was Ba-ado-Mishram.
Then Shallan shows up to whisk the pair of them off to an Oathgate platform where some Windrunners are waiting, speaking to the three guards that have been at that post all day. They say they haven’t seen anyone, and as Shallan speaks with Renarin and Rlain about Dalinar and his plan, they decide to go to the tower on the Shadesmar side to see if they can find the three Ghostbloods they’re looking for…
They arrive right as Dalinar is opening the perpendicularity, and the Ghostbloods spring their attack—they’ve been masquerading as the three guards all along. Come on, Shallan… rookie mistake.
Though Shallan and the other Radiants defeat Mraize and his crew, Mraize uses his anti-Light dagger to collapse Dalinar’s perpendicularity. Big bada boom.
After the dust settles in the Physical Realm, Wit has saved Lift and a curious purple cremling from being sucked into the Spiritual Realm, but missed Lift’s buddy: Gavinor is now gone, along with Dalinar and Navani. When the Windrunners return to the room in Shadesmar and find everyone gone but the dead Malwish Ghostblood, Lopen decides there’s nothing they can do about the situation since Navani, who’s too busy eating, seems to shrug off the issue as no big deal. Wit did a decent job Lightweaving Navani onto Lift, but he apparently couldn’t get the voice right.
Plot Alpha: Spiritual Realm, Ba-Ado-Mishram, and the Contest of Champions
Dalinar loses a whole day, according to his wrist clock, while floating in the Spiritual Realm. Whenever he opens his eyes, he sees visions from his past. He realizes that something has gone wrong and that his Connection to the tower has been severed. Then he concentrates on the rock, trying to go to the moment the humans arrived on Roshar.
Dalinar appears in the body of a singer, oddly named Moash, and after a while, Navani shows up. She says there’s someone else in there with them and Dalinar wonders if Wit got pulled in. The Wind speaks to them and knows them for travelers, knows who they are, and mentions Szeth and Kaladin. As they talk, Dalinar insists that he needs “to know why Honor’s power abandoned mankind.” He says he has to take up the power and the Wind laughs at him.
The Wind tells them it’s time to see… and then a portal opens to a world on fire.
Then we see Shallan, floating in colors which occasionally bleed into glimpses of her past. A room forms around her, a child’s room with toy soldiers on the floor. The door opens and Pattern comes in, calling out to the others that she’s there. Renarin enters along with Glys, whom Shallan can finally see, and Rlain and his spren. They talk about finding Mraize and Iyatil and surmise that they’re likely trying to follow Dalinar through the Spiritual Realm.
Renarin remarks that finding Mishram’s prison isn’t really necessary, that they just have to stop the Ghostbloods. Pattern proclaims how good Shallan is at murder and once Renarin and Glys find that Dalinar is in a vision and they plan to go find the Ghostbloods, Pattern is very excited at the prospect of more murder.
Navani and Dalinar move onward through the history of Roshar, using first Shalash’s ribbon as a Connection to the founding of the Oathpact, and then an Honorblade to Connect with Aharietiam.
At the founding of the Oathpact, Dalinar discovers that Taln was a late addition to avoid the number nine (and that Taln tried to kill Cultivation at some point). But the Ghostbloods are still getting involved, and Mraize takes the form of Tanavast before attacking Shallan yet again.
Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain are cast back into their memories, with Shallan still struggling to face elements of her own past.
But Dalinar arrives at Aharietiam and sees in detail the broken state of the Heralds. How desperate they were, how they actually planned to abandon Taln even before the final battle, hoping he would die while the rest of them avoided combat as much as possible. They make a deal with Honor, abandon their Honorblades, and try to walk away from their duty in the Oathpact.
However, Dalinar is still missing key information in his quest to take up the mantle of Honor—and he’s missing a touchstone to continue progressing through Roshar’s history. He once again forces the issue with the Stormfather, using him to bring Navani, Gavinor, and himself to the years before the Recreance. They witness the final days of Urithiru, as the Sibling is going into hibernation, the Skybreakers split off from the rest of the Radiants, and the False Desolation erupts under Ba-Ado-Mishram’s direction.
And at long last, we discover the truth of the Recreance! The leader of the Windrunners has been working with a singer to end the war between them—and not just plotting for peace, but they’re actually in a romantic relationship! As they draw out Ba-Ado-Mishram to witness this groundbreaking bond between human and singer, however, Melishi betrays them. He traps Mishram in a perfect gem and sends both Mishram and himself into the Spiritual Realm, leaving the betrayed Radiants and slaveform singers behind, and ravaging the very identity of Roshar itself.
But now Odium is taking a direct interest in things, and he swoops in to mess up everyone’s day. Our heroes are sent into visions of their past, each to relive horrible moments, each to be subject to Odium’s breaking.
Dalinar fights his way through the worst moments of the Blackthorn, but finds himself in Elhokar’s body on the day Dalinar beat up Elhokar in the warcamps. He realizes that Gavinor is also in the vision, witnessing his Grampa beating his father to a pulp. Low blow, Odium. Low blow.
Shallan on the other hand, is sent back to the fateful day of her mother’s death—and it’s finally time to confront the truth. Shallan’s mother was none other than the Herald Chanarach, and Shallan’s actions sent her back to Braize, to be tortured once again.
The world ended, and Shallan was to blame.
From there, Shallan goes to her wedding day, which we finally get to see in detail! Everyone who was angry at Brandon for excluding it in Oathbringer? Yeah, there was a good reason for that. Take a deep breath and try to hold in the tears from Shallan’s powerful moments with Chana, forgiving her mother.
Navani, of course, is resourceful as always. She figures out what Odium is doing and manipulates the visions into bringing her and Gavinor to Kholinar, where she will have access to an Oathgate. She flees the scene of Elhokar’s death, taking Gav to the Oathgate and Connecting with the Sibling to transfer them back to Urithiru.
But Dalinar isn’t finished. Oh no, not by a long shot. He makes the ultimate discovery, witnessing the truth behind the truth, as the Stormfather—Tanavast himself!—brings Dalinar through the history of Roshar from Honor’s point of view. Dalinar sees how Tanavast battled with the Shard of Honor, how he continually betrayed his oaths even as he fought to save Roshar from Odium, how Honor abandoned Tanavast and left the Radiants with potentially unfettered access to the Surges. How Tanavast died at Odium’s hand, but Honor remained splintered.
Armed with this knowledge, Dalinar returns to Urithiru on the day of the contest of champions.
Rlain, Renarin, and Shallan are still in the Spiritual Realm, however. They start piecing together the meaning of Mishram’s appearances in their visions, and collectively they Connect to her. They discover her prison, in Melishi’s childhoom room, but they bring company as well: Mraize is here for the final showdown.
Shallan stands her ground, blocking Mraize while Renarin and Rlain approach Mishram’s gemstone prison. But Shallan isn’t alone—Formless, who has been haunting her this whole time, appears to torment her one more time. Shallan faces down Mraize and realizes that Iyatil has been curiously absent… or has she?
Shallan surprises Iyatil, hiding behind the mask of Formless, and kills her with the anti-Light knife she stole from Mraize back at the arrival of humanity on Roshar. She tries one last time to convince Mraize to come over to the right side of things, but Mraize refuses. With some quick Lightweaving and quick hands, Shallan tricks Mraize into thinking he has the last anti-Light knife—but Shallan actually does, and she kills Mraize.
All the while, Renarin and Rlain are confronted by the fury of Ba-Ado-Mishram. They realize that they must risk her wrath for the good of Roshar and, together, they break her prison. She is eager to destroy them, but they present a united human-singer front, convincing her that there is hope after all for the inhabitants of Roshar.
They are transferred to Shadesmar outside of Urithiru.
While Renarin and Rlain are freeing Mishram, however, the contest of champions begins. Dalinar gets one last story from Wit as he heads to the top of Urithiru and is confronted by Taravangian, who opens a portal to the Spiritual Realm and reveals his champion.
It’s Gavinor.
That’s right, folks, it’s Gavinor. The “suckling child” Death Rattle was foreshadowing this all along. Well… maybe.
Because it’s Gavinor, but it’s an adult Gavinor, who has spent 20 years learning to hate Dalinar in the Spiritual Realm, manipulated and molded by Odium for precisely this moment. Dalinar is crippled by indecision, dodging and fending off Gavinor’s attacks but refusing to kill his grandnephew.
He wars with himself as well as with Odium, finally understanding what Honor wants. In the moment of Mishram’s liberation, Dalinar Ascends—but still cannot defeat Odium, because to directly fight and destroy him would be to destroy Roshar itself. Dalinar enters another vision, has a slice of tasty bread with Nohadon, and realizes he must gamble if he is to save Roshar and the Cosmere itself.
He returns to Urithiru and renounces his oaths. He abandons Honor’s power once again, severs his bond with the Stormfather, and dies protecting Gavinor from the fury of Retribution.
Yup, you read that right. Retribution, not Odium. Taravangian cannot help himself and takes up the power of Honor, creating a truly horrific new Shard and drawing the attention of all the rest of the Shards. He vaporizes Wit (who survives anyway, because it’s Hoid), forges himself a new general from the spren of the Blackthorn, and reshapes Roshar under the Night of Sorrows, the true Desolation, the real Everstorm.
The Heralds and the Oathpact
There is for sure much more to discover still about the Heralds—thousands of years were skipped over as Dalinar and company jumped to the major moments of Roshar’s history—but we still got a heap of new revelations about our favorite (maybe not-so-favorite, in some cases) servants of the Almighty during the Spiritual Realm Adventure. Taln was just as awesome as expected, being the only non-noble Herald… and honestly, he was even better than expected! Who just says “You know what? I’m gonna try to kill a Shard” like that? What an absolute boss. It was a delight that he was an outcast and brought back in to be an alternate voice amongst all the kings and judges and scholars and nobles among the Heralds.
Gavinor
This poor kid.
Seriously, what did little Gav ever do to deserve this life? First he gets tortured by spren while his corrupted mother looks on, then he gets ripped from his father’s arms and has to watch him get murdered from mere inches away, then he gets cast into the Spiritual Realm in a total accident… and it only gets worse from there.
Odium’s plan to use Gav as his pawn in the contest of champions is among the most utterly evil things we’ve seen a character do in these books. TWENTY YEARS of reliving the worst of Dalinar’s actions, of seeing his family torn apart in violence, and then treated as a puppet atop Urithiru.
At least he lived, and perhaps he’ll have a chance to truly rehabilitate himself over the coming years.
Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain
It felt like a bit of expedience on Brandon’s part to pull these three into Dalinar’s Spiritual Realm shenanigans. We absolutely needed to get the rest of Shallan’s story, so that worked very nicely through these visions of her past. Her conversation with her mother after the wedding was beautifully done, a truly heart-wrenching moment of pain and forgiveness.
Then, of course, she has her big final battle with the Rosharan Ghostbloods—but not all of them! Who expected Shallan to end this book stuck in Shadesmar, pregnant (!), and having a conversation with Kelsier himself while Mistborn Era 2 happens in the background?
Final Thoughts on Plot Alpha
When we were trying to figure out how structure this whole thing, this section was tricky, because in a lot of ways, what we’ve labeled “Plot Alpha” is really two separate, major plot lines that happen to share some of the same space. It’s crazy to think about how streamlined (hah) The Way of Kings was in its character and plot arcs compared to what we’re now seeing with the interwoven stories of Dalinar, Navani, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain here in Wind and Truth.
But finally getting to see the history of Roshar was a cathartic experience, no matter how it was structured. So many mysteries were answered, so many theories were confirmed or debunked (Chana’s identity and Gavinor’s fate chief among them). The shocking level of candor from Tanavast’s chapters in Day Nine was pure Cosmere hype—we have all sixteen Shards named now! More dragons! More Sho Del!—and of course the incredible spectacle of the final contest.
There has been a lot of concern over the years about whether Brandon would have Dalinar Ascend to Honor and whether the “Main Character Becomes a Shard” conclusion would start to feel stale. We think it’s safe to say that Brandon did a fantastic job of both meeting and subverting expectations with Retribution and the contest in general.
If we were going to mention any nitpicks for this plot arc, it’s likely that things in the Spiritual Realm can feel a bit undirected at times, as the characters are all sort of just trying to figure out what’s going and how things work. But Brandon cleverly brings it all back together in a neat way, and arranges events so that all of the various characters inform the conclusion in substantial ways.
Plot Beta: The Scouring of the Shire… erm, of Shinovar
Szeth absolutely does not want to hear whatever Kaladin has to say to him in order to address his mental and emotional issues. But that doesn’t stop Kaladin from trying; he’s nothing if not determined. They visit Szeth’s long-abandoned homestead, Syl says she feels something coming, and they find a small, terrified spren. The Wind speaks, saying that the spren fear what could be the end of all spren. Syl mentions that Wind, Stone, and Night have been there since before humans arrived on Roshar and that while few spren remember them, there are things older than the gods in Shinovar.
Despite Kaladin’s best efforts (including stew), Szeth remains determined that he deserves the torments he experiences. After a brief chat with Ishar, they head first to the Stoneward monastery, where (surprise!) the Honorbearer Rit awaits them, Taln’s Honorblade in hand.
Szeth wins the Blade in single combat, unlocking his Division Surgebinding along the way. The pilgrimage is officially underway, and the Willshaper Blade is next. This one belongs to Sivi, once Szeth’s mentor… and they find her dead when they arrive at the next monastery. She refused to succumb to the corruption, writing “I will not bow to him” as her final words.
The next challenge is an unexpected one, however, as Szeth finds himself transported into Shadesmar, where the Elsecaller and Edgedancer Honorbearers ambush him. He survives, thanks to the help of Nightblood, and defeats them both. That’s three Honorblades in Szeth’s pack, now, with six more to go.
Kaladin and Szeth notice that, after each Honorbearer is defeated, it’s like a shadow is lifted from the lands around the monasteries. They worry about which Unmade is corrupting Shinovar, but know that they have to complete the pilgrimage in order to get all of their answers.
Szeth continues his stellar work, defeating Honorbearers one by one, but he needs the timely help of both Syl and Kaladin along the way—especially during the tricky Lightweaver showdown, where Syl helps Szeth solve an illusion puzzle.
Soon enough, only two Honorbearers remain: Nale and Ishar. Szeth, finally beginning to understand Kaladin’s advice regarding his mental health, chooses not to fight—even though Nale reveals that this entire pilgrimage is to prepare Szeth for inclusion among the Heralds. Disgusted, Nale moves in for the kill… but Kaladin steps in as Szeth’s champion and fights the Herald of the Skybreakers.
But it’s for naught. Nale is too strong, too powerful, even without Stormlight. He reveals that the Heralds can tap into the primal forces of Roshar itself, moving with superhuman speed and skill. He breaks Kaladin’s armor, but Kaladin’s last-ditch attempt to tell the story of Derethil and the Wandersail pays dividends: The Wind itself brings the song to Nale, breaking through his madness and allowing him to truly remember and understand all he’s done.
Nale, broken, joins Kaladin and Szeth for their final challenge against the mad Bondsmith, Ishar. There, Szeth finds the Honorbearers reborn (except for the Edgedancer, whom he killed with Nightblood) thanks to Ishar, turning them into a new kind of Fused. Indeed, Ishar himself is the corrupting force in Shinovar, and not an Unmade at all. He had tapped into Odium’s perpendicularity in an effort to make of himself a replacement for the Almighty, as well as taking upon himself much of the pain from the other Heralds.
Kaladin tries to talk Ishar down while Szeth gets pummeled by the Honorbearers in a fight meant to simply humble him (because a Herald must be accomplished, but not arrogant). Ishar scoffs at Kaladin, but all is not lost! Szeth skips the Fourth Ideal entirely, swearing the Fifth, Nightblood pipes up and lets Szeth know that he can grant all ten Surges, and Szeth takes the fight to the Honorbearers. Ishar is forced to step in directly and Connects to Kaladin, Syl, and Szeth, forcing them to feel all the pain he bears… but now it’s Kaladin’s turn.
He swears the Fifth Ideal as well, snapping Ishar out of his madness. It’s time for a new Oathpact to be made, but Szeth is crippled by Nightblood. Kaladin sees what he can do and offers himself instead, replacing Jezrien and joining the Heralds in their defense of the spren after Retribution’s birth.
Kaladin, Syl, and the Flute
Kaladin spends a lot of this book working on not fighting, avoiding violence where he can. He replaces it with a new practice, thanks to Wit: playing the flute. It’s charming, in a way, to see Kaladin stumble through the beginning stages of doing something he’s not excellent at (as he was with a spear).
This also brings up an unavoidable topic—Kaladin and Syl as a couple. Syl spent the entire book gaining greater and greater presence in the Physical Realm, and there are a whole bunch of relationship flags popping up around these two characters. This is a contentious possibility, to say the least, with readers sharply divided among those who hate the idea of Kal and Syl being romantically involved, and those who absolutely love it.
While nothing for sure happens here in Wind and Truth, it’s noteworthy that Kaladin replaces the King of the Heralds and Syl gains a crown, herself, at the end.
Szeth’s Spren
Poor 12124. It’s frankly shocking how quickly Brandon managed to make this stuffy, stuck-up spren into a sympathetic figure by the end of the book. Once he drops the lordly highspren act and reveals his vulnerability and inexperience to Szeth, he becomes a good partner for him. But in the end, Szeth makes the critical choice to release 12124 from his bond (boy, that happened a lot in this book, didn’t it?), sending him into exile in Shadesmar.
Where, yep, he meets Sigzil in an Iriali caravan. I wonder what hijinks they’ll get up together? One can only imagine…
Final Thoughts on Plot Beta
So many wild, interesting things happened in Shinovar. Seeing Kaladin becoming a Herald was something a great number of readers predicted would happen, so it won’t have been a surprise to them. Unfortunately, he’s no longer “with us,” so to speak, and that will displease a lot of fans. But King of the Heralds? Come on, that’s cool.
Szeth skipping right over the Fourth Ideal to speak the Fifth was epic. And we got to see Kaladin’s Fifth, too. Radiants leveling up is always thrilling, and Brandon didn’t disappoint with these two characters!
Plot Gamma: The Shattered Plains Battlefront
One of the three major battlefronts during the final ten days, the Shattered Plains once again get their time in the sun. Er, well… under the storm.
Sigzil, now leading the Windrunners, is given command of the Narak stronghold. He works with Dalinar’s generals to develop an unorthodox plan, strategically and deliberately ceding ground to the hundreds of Fused Odium has gathered to retake the Plains.
Day-by-day, the plan works… but they’re running out of Stormlight, thanks to Dalinar’s sudden absence. They’re also understaffed, with half the Windrunners busy ferrying the Mink and his men to Herdaz.
To make matters worse, the enigmatic El is now in command of Odium’s forces, and he has the services of Dai-Gonarthis to ferry in huge numbers of troops from the Horneater Peaks. Not only that, but Moash is back and scarier than ever, transformed into a Rosharan Inquisitor thanks to crystal spikes through his eyes.
In Moash’s first clash with the Windrunners, he kills Leyten. His final moments reveal that Moelach is present with a Death Rattle prophesying Sigzil’s death at the hands of Moash.
While all this chaos is underway, Venli is busy trying to figure out how to save the Listener nation. She listens to the stones, which tell her to take a small group to the heart of the Shattered Plains. There, she discovers Odium’s perpendicularity, sealed away far below Narak. But Odium’s forces discover them, and she and Leshwi are taken before El.
She strikes a deal, but has an ace up her sleeve. She also makes a deal with Sigzil and Jasnah, and when the time comes for Sigzil’s forces to retreat to Urithiru, Venli and her Listeners are left alone on Narak—securing control of the Shattered Plains for themselves, thanks to the contract between Odium and Dalinar.
But things are never too easy. As Sigzil prepares to leave the Shattered Plains, Moash has one more ambush in store. He takes Sig down with an Surgebinding-negating fabrial and moves in for the kill on Sigzil’s spren, Vienta. Desperate, Sigzil renounces his oaths and saves her, before Bridge Four moves in and chases off Moash.
Sigzil the Leader
The driving theme of Sigzil’s character arc here is his reluctance to step up and take responsibility for the Windrunners. He’s never been a leader before, and he carries with him the guilt of failing Hoid’s tutelage. It’s nice to see him grow, thanks in large part to the support of his friends in Bridge Four. Kaladin really built a team with them, and they know how to support each other no matter who’s “in charge.”
Moash
Well, huh. We sure weren’t expecting this out of Moash. The Rosharan Hemalurgy was a really cool touch, and he’s back to being downright scary… but that’s it? We get a couple scenes of him going after Bridge Four, then he just nopes out and we never see him again?
It seems a bit underwhelming, after all that’s been built up around him over the past 5000+ pages. We guess Brandon must be saving something special for him in the back half of the series…
El
So El is still a huge mystery, isn’t he? Even with another POV from him in the interludes. We still don’t know what brand of Fused he is. Apparently he has a Shardblade? What kind? Is it a deadeye Blade (and will it start to awaken)? Does he somehow have a Radiant bond? Is this a new type of Shardblade entirely? Cuz that seems like something El would be interested in making happen…
Final Thoughts on Plot Gamma
While this battlefront didn’t get the same pagetime as Adolin in Azimir, it did a lot of work to really set the tone for this book. The desperate battle under perpetual stormclouds, the death of the highstorm as it hit the Everstorm, the knowledge from the start that it was a losing battle… yeah, this was some dark stuff.
And despite that, Brandon managed to give it a silver lining. The Listeners get their independence! (And they have chasmfiends that are basically just giant golden retrievers—just try to tell us that Thundercloud isn’t a Good Boy. We dare you.)
Plot Delta: Azimir Battlefront
Adolin arrives in Azimir and inspects the dome that is built around the Oathgate. It’s about 200 yards across, with the Oathgate measuring about 25 feet across. He surveys the platform where archers are already in position, and the bags of oil hanging from the ceiling that can be set on fire, which would cause them to lose the dome. He thinks of how those won’t be as effective against the singers or Fused as the Azish might think they will be, and that they’ll need boots on the ground inside the dome to keep the singers from taking it, which would give them a staging ground right in the middle of the city.
The awakening of the Sibling and the tower seems to have had a positive effect on Maya. She can see through Adolin’s eyes and they can communicate; she speaks right into his mind now and their connection is stronger. She’s interested in the defense of the Oathgate; she and Adolin talk about it, with him telling her how singers fight differently than humans and how they’re harder to kill. Maya actually displays some knowledge of military tactics; Adolin is impressed with how much she has to say. He can even think his thoughts at her and carry on a conversation mentally. Though it’s a struggle for her, she keeps trying. That’s our Maya. Colot talks with Adolin about the battle arena and tells Adolin he should take control of the Azish forces, though Adolin declines.
We learn that Gallant is there, too. Because, of course he is. And then we learn that Adolin is wearing a cape with his uniform. Because, of course he is.
They exit the dome area to see Azish troops and meet the leader of the city’s Imperial Guard—Commandant Supreme Kushkam, who Adolin has heard is good at the card game called towers. The Commandant thinks Adolin has come to take over the defense of his city and Adolin says he’s just there to help… with all of two thousand troops. Which is almost as much as Kushkam’s three thousand troops. Not much of a defense and many days to go before the troops coming from Emul arrive. Then they see the palanquin of the Emperor approaching and Adolin takes Gallant for a spin around the dome while they wait and while Alethi soldiers emerge from the dome. He thinks of his mother and how she taught him to fight for something and he thinks of how he’ll protect Azimir, whatever it takes.
Adolin meets with Yanagawn and Noura along with Kushkam, who still has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to Adolin. No matter what Adolin says, Kushkam doesn’t like it so Adolin apologizes and relays that he’ll follow Kushkam’s guidance. They had mentioned playing towers and Yanagawn asks Adolin what that is. Adolin is surprised that he doesn’t already know, then promises that he’ll teach him the game.
Once they’re dismissed, Adolin and Colot meet with the Scribes that have been sent to assist him. Highprince Aladar’s daughter May is among them, which might be a bit awkward as Adolin kind of dated her once. But though she seems cold, she’s all business and sets to the tasks assigned to her. Talking to her father, Adolin promises to do his best to keep her safe, and reminds him that she’s quite the accomplished archer, before Aladar heads to the Oathgate to transfer to Urithiru before they’re no longer able to use the Oathgate. Then Adolin heads off to meet with his armorers as he expects battle within the hour.
Adolin doffs his cape and dons his Shards as Maya watches the singers and Fused approaching the Oathgate in Shadesmar. Adolin directs May, the head scribe, to get her bow. She’s an archer and he wants her on the balcony. He directs Colot to have two of their archers report to her and places her in command of twenty of their best archers. Then he heads to the catwalk to observe the Oathgate.
Voidspren enter first, to scout the Oathgate platform and the surrounding area. They then transfer back to Shadesmar to report. Adolin sends a suggestion to Kushkam, who had a thousand men inside the dome and who ignores Adolin’s suggestion. Then the Oathgate control room flashes, admitting the enemy. The assault on Azimir has begun.
Adolin watches from the catwalk until it seems that singers will breach the ring of Azish soldiers. He leaps to the floor of the dome below and does his thing, laying about with his Mayablade, which he summoned instantly. His guard rushes in to protect him from being surrounded Then several Heavenly Ones appear, Abidi the Monarch among them. He can’t seem to use the surge of Gravitation and Adolin wonders if he damaged the Fused’s gemheart when they fought in Shadesmar. As they fight, Abidi calls the retreat and the singers return to Shadesmar. The first advance has been rebuffed.
Outside the dome, he sees Kushkam approaching Yanagawn and he intercedes, saying how great the Azish soldiers had been and praising Kushkam. He wants to make nice with the general, and succeeds. Then Adolin speaks with Yanagawn, offering to give him lessons with the sword. Yanagawn asks if Adolin will also teach him the game of towers, and that sets up Yanagawn’s arc nicely.
As the fighting continues, Adolin receives word that the army coming from Emul has met with resistance, causing them to be delayed. He rests while one of his backups takes his yard plate. Adeline senses that the Plate is resistant, but he touches the breastplate and tells it to go and protect the other bearer as it protected him. This was super interesting because of course it’s not living Plate.
During a visit to the wounded, Adolin sees Shalash sitting by a bed which contains Taln, seeming to be asleep but muttering as he usually does. He hadn’t known they were in as Azimir. When his one healer, a Truthwatcher scribe, asks if she should try to heal him, Adolin tells her that her healing wouldn’t be able to do anything for him.
Adolin takes his Plate and visits with Yanagawn. The young emperor has the Plate strapped on and takes some time to practice just wearing it and doing simple tasks. Then he begins teaching him the game of towers. He is later stopped by Noura, one of Yanagawn’s viziers, who tells him to back off. She thinks he’ll corrupt the Emperor, perhaps encouraging him to give up his throne. Adolin insists that the boy needs a friend and that he doesn’t want anything from Yanagawn. Adolin really is the best boy.
During one fight, Adolin is trying to keep from getting surrounded by Direforms when he hears a voice telling him that the Azish Shardbearer is down on the other side of the control room and the enemy fortifications that surround it. Adolin can’t fight through the Direforms flanking him so he charges forward, through the enemy fortifications and uses a storming Direform to beat back the other Regals. They break leaving one Fused, Abidi the Monarch, who calls Adolin Radiant and basically announces he’s going to bathe in Adolin’s blood, and then retreats. Then Adolin turns to the spren who had helped him, it was Notum. The honorspren says he came to help but that he would not bond a human; Adolin names him a Captain and assigned him to run messages.
Later, after sparring with Yanagawn and playing towers, Adolin learns that the armies from Emul and Tashikk were the ones harrying the Alethi army. It seems Odium made a deal with them and they were working to delay the military support that Adolin was waiting for. They were going to get no help.
Colot takes Adolin to the top of one of the buildings in Azimir and shows him a pair of binoculars. Through them, Adolin sees four Heavenly Ones approaching. He expects something to happen soon. He speaks with Commandant Kushkam, who also expects a large-scale attack. Adolin hears Maya saying that help is coming but he worries that it will be too little, too late.
Adolin summons Notum who sees the soul of a Thunderclast in Shadesmar. Adolin rushes from the dome, sounding the alarm, as the great stone behemoth rises from the ground outside the city walls. Adolin reveals an aluminum chain to be used to trip the Thunderclast and is joined by the Azish Shardbearer, who summons his Blade. Adolin sends a thought to Maya, letting her know that he may need to summon her. She asks him not to, stating that she’s close.
Try as he might to wrap the chain around the Thunderclast’s feet, Adolin is unsuccessful. He’s dealt a blow that damages his Plate and then the Thunderclast smashes the Azish Shardbearer into tiny pieces. The Dome has failed and Kushkan orders the firebombs.
Adolin feels worthless and defeated… for a moment. Then he calls to Gallant, mounts, and chases after the Thunderclast. Adolin gets ahead of the Thunderclast and climbs a watchtower. He leaps onto the monster’s back and tries to stab it in the neck. The thing shakes itself, trying to throw Adolin off. Finally he’s able to sink the Azish Shardbearer’s Blade into the creature’s neck. It freezes… and then falls on top of him.
Adolin survives, but his right leg below the knee was crushed by the Thunderclast, and he loses it. As his guard helps him get back to the dome, they find hundreds of singers and Fused dead, first scattered then culminating in a pile. Atop the pile they find Taln, dead. He has numerous spears piercing his body and he died while sitting. Adolin finds Ash behind him and she also dies, after saying that Taln won’t be alone this time. It’s rather heartbreaking and I wish we’d been able to see Taln fighting onscreen.
Adolin is healed… but not fully. The budding Truthwatcher doesn’t have full mastery of Regrowth, so Adolin is fitted with a peg.
He is forced to take on a new role, leading from behind the lines and continuing his tutelage of Yanagawn in the game of towers. It’s particularly difficult for Adolin to handle, as the fighting is growing ever more desperate. They could really use a consummate Shardbearer like him to hold back the tide, but they have to give his Plate to another soldier instead.
Indeed, on the ninth day, the replacement Shardbearer falls. Adolin is forced to join the lines as a last resort, peg leg notwithstanding, and he witnesses none other than Abidi the Monarch step forth from the ruined dome, wearing Adolin’s old Shardplate and wielding the Azish Shardblade.
Adolin resolves to die in a final stand, but is rescued by Colot and Yanagawn. They hide in the safe room as Azimir finally falls.
But what’s that? Hope is not all lost? Thanks to Yanagawn’s knowledge from his less-scrupulous childhood, they hatch a plan to sneak into the palace and seize the throne room before the deadline, which would leave them in control of Azir on a technicality. With Maya on the way, promising reinforcements soon, Adolin, Yanagawn, Colot, May, and the rest steal across the city and into the palace.
But it’s a trap. Of course it’s a trap.
Abidi seals Adolin inside the aluminum-lined throne room while Yanagawn and the rest are surrounded in the hall outside by Fused and Regals.
At last, Abidi gets his big showdown with Adolin. Using an aluminum candelabra, Adolin desperately fends off Abidi’s Shardblade and stumbles around the room on his peg leg. Even after stabbing Abidi in the eye, however, Adolin can’t overcome the Fused. He’s driven to the floor and has no chance of survival… except for one factor he hadn’t foreseen. His Shardplate, newly awakened, forsakes Abidi and returns to Adolin. Abidi’s blow is blocked, and the tables are turned.
Maya arrives with a host of deadeyes, who manifest as Shardblades and Plate for Adolin’s cohort in the hallway. A huge brawl breaks out, with the new Unoathed wielding Shards against Odium’s forces. Even Notum gets his own set of Shardplate! Adolin, with Maya, kills Abidi. The day is won in Azimir, and the deadline comes with Noura holding the throne.
Unfortunately for Adolin, however, the results of Dalinar’s showdown mean that Azimir is totally cut off from Urithiru. Despite being the one place on Roshar with a break in the perpetual storm, the one ray of light in the Night of Sorrows, Adolin must do without Regrowth for his leg. He and the other Unoathed prepare for uncertain tomorrows with the support of their new spren.
Mayalaran
After the first advance by the singers is rebuffed, Maya tells Adolin that she might be able to get more honorspren to come help. Adolin tells her she can go; she bids him not summon her as she’ll have to start the journey over. Adolin knows there are some warhammers that he can use while wearing his Plate, so he plans on doing that rather than utilizing his Mayablade.
As the last stand in Azimir begins to falter, Maya sends a thought to Adolin, letting him know that she is coming. Later, as Adolin and the others hide in the safe room, she reassures him that his life isn’t meaningless. She’s come so far since she first told him her name in Oathbringer, it’s quite moving to see her mentally holding conversations with Adolin. He’s not Radiant but they do have a unique and special bond.
The best part about Maya leaving to get help was that she brought deadeyes back with her. Honor love that spren!
Yanagawn
Gawx is just a great kid, isn’t he?
His earnest desire to be more than a figurehead underscores this entire plotline. From the moments of him struggling against the rigid, bureaucratic social bonds of the Azish to the quiet and enthusiastic games of towers with Adolin, it’s easy to remember the awkward kid who helped Lift’s crew break into the palace way back in Words of Radiance.
But despite that familiarity, he grows so much in this book. It’s truly satisfying to see him step up and personally help Adolin in the final, desperate moments of the ninth day. And it’s maybe even better when he sheds his Imperial Robes and resumes his role as street thief to get them into the palace for their final play—the scene with the guard refusing to believe he’s the Prime Aqasix was low-key hilarious.
He also gets to continue growing into his throne, too, which is wonderful. We hope Yanagawn and Azir get to play a big role in the back half of the series!
Taln and Ash
Ash sits beside Taln in the makeshift hospital when she hears it go quiet outside. Then, voices. She sees Abidi the Monarch, who she knows, enter the hall where he orders all of the wounded to be killed. Ash is ready to give up, but Taln? It seems as if that threat, to kill the broken, woke him and made him lucid. And he was ready to fight.
That moment was one of the most purely adrenaline-fueled in the entire book. Brandon refusing to show Taln in action was a bold choice, but one that works—it allows us as readers to imagine all the incredibly cool things he did in taking on a wave of Fused barehanded while simultaneously maintaining the mystique and awe of this most dangerous of warriors.
Adolin finding Taln, with Shalash cradled against him, was a tremendous, bittersweet moment (one of Drew’s favorite in the whole book, in fact). Ash’s last words, showing her resolve to be better as a Herald, were the literary cherry on top. Brandon nailed it with this one.
Final Thoughts on Plot Delta
This whole plot line just oozes the grim weariness of war. Adolin is forced to confront several problems within himself, just as he must problem-solve for the problems facing Azir. First, he has to wrestle with his feelings of increasing worthlessness in a world of Radiants; second, he still hasn’t forgiven his father for… well, anything.
Adolin does get his moments of apotheosis, though they come at a tremendous cost. He becomes the first of the Unoathed, his empathy and generosity paying off through the awakening of the deadeyes. While he may be missing a leg, he now has a set of supremely helpful Shardplate that accommodates his injury.
But when it comes to Dalinar, Adolin had a harder time. It was only in what he thought were his last moments when he finally brought himself to let go of his resentment, his anger toward his father. We wonder if Dalinar’s sacrifice will carry forward with Adolin, or if his renewed lease on life will bring with it more lingering effects in the back five books.
Plot Epsilon: Thaylen City Battlefront
Jasnah
Jasnah arrives in Thaylen City with her reinforcements and meets with Queen Fen. She’s distracted and out of sorts, thinking about all that’s to come, all that’s happened up to this point. Then we get a peek at how she wrote a letter to break up with Wit. A letter? Come on, Jasnah. She and Fen talk about defenses while the generals head off with Kmakl to decide where to integrate the Alethi troops.
After the strategy meeting, Jasnah is feeling that she is missing something. Ivory tells her that maybe they need a scholar right now. She goes to the temple of Taln, which Dalinar had restored in Oathbringer, and tries to think logically. After exploring every pathway to discover why Odium was attacking the city yet again, she comes to the conclusion that there are no troops on the ships heading their way. She needs Windrunners to get close to those ships.
The Windrunners that scouted the fleet heading to Thaylen City confirm Jasnah’s theory; the holds of the ships were full of stone and the singers on the decks were likely there to give the impression that there was no room below. The Windrunners also suspect that the singers are mere laborers and not soldiers. Fen is skeptical but Jasnah insists that they need to send reinforcements to the Shattered Plains, as that Oathgate has spren that haven’t yet been enlightened by Sja-anat. Fen leaves to speak with the Council and Jasnah begins to draw up orders.
Unfortunately, Jasnah has to compromise with Fen. She sends the Radiants to the Shattered Plains but leaves the troops in Thaylen City, just in case. She regrets not being able to send Radiants to Adolin, as she knows about his dire situation. Wit has also been in contact so she’s aware that Dalinar and Navani aren’t around. With Ivory spying on one of Fen’s meetings, Odium appears to Jasnah, complimenting her on her discovery that there were no troops in the ships. Then he appears to her as Taravangian and says that by the following evening, Thaylen City will fall and that he’s come to see to it personally. This is incredibly unsettling, and it’s worrisome that he’s so confident that he’ll take the city.
Jasnah meets with Fen and Taravangian, who tries to say that Jasnah has been working for him—for Odium—her entire life. He tries to convince Fen to follow him, promising to spare her city. If she doesn’t follow him, he says he’ll destroy her city. Fen is adamant about staying in the Coalition. Then Odium brings up what Jasnah did in Kharbranth the night she took Shallan out into the city and killed the cutpurses. Finally, he pulls out the contract Jasnah had made to have her sister-in-law, Aesudan, assassinated. Then Odium pulls up a vision of Jasnah, Wit, Dalinar, and Navani meeting in Urithiru—in which Jasnah said that sometimes you have to think about yourself first. Jasnah sits in shock as Fen and Taravangian negotiate and, in the end, Fen agrees that Thaylenah will switch sides to join Odium.
Odium visits Jasnah again as she’s trying to figure out where she went wrong. He tells her she has always been his servant. Then he proposes that she rule Roshar as he turns his attention to the Cosmere. He says he will make her Fused and she proclaims that she would never do that. But… she does consider the offer. Then she learns that the Thaylen Central Council has voted to accept Odium’s offer.
Queen Fen
It’s pretty shocking to think about the huge swing in tone Queen Fen gets in this book. From the opening scene on Day Two, almost slapstick in its use of nudity and awkwardness for humor, to the crushing loss of Thaylen City, a choice made of Fen’s own volition… wow. Talk about a powerful arc.
Brandon handled it neatly, too. Fen has always been the skeptic, one of the first to challenge Dalinar and Navani and Jasnah. She’s shrewd and self-interested, even as she works to secure the best for her people. With the debate hinging on the flaws of utilitarianism (a very flawed outlook, as any freshman ethics or philosophy class will reveal), it’s no wonder Fen was willing to leave Jasnah and the Urithiru coalition. Odium played his cards well with her.
And now Thaylen fleets and shipwrights will be working for Retribution’s forces in the back half, with all the ports of the world under their control. If Azimir is a bright spot in the geopolitical landscape, Thaylenah reminds us that there’s still an overwhelming amount of darkness yet to come.
Final Thoughts on Plot Epsilon
We can’t completely fault Fen for doing as she did; she was looking out for her people. Though she essentially made the same deal with Odium that Taravangian had made when looking to preserve Kharbranth, she’s not as loathsome as he was, following his Diagram and sending Szeth to slaughter scores of people. It’s still so sad to us that Urithiru is essentially cut off from the entirety of the continent.
Seeing Jasnah broken is hard. Storming hard. She’s always been so stalwart, so sure and confident. Seeing how Taravangian used her own words against her to turn Fen was absolutely heart-wrenching. Still, we look forward to her flashbacks… eventually.
Welp—We Weren’t Expecting That!
AKA, wait… What just happened?
One word: Retribution. Need we say more?
Or how about Cosmere Blackthorn? No more Stormlight? The Night of Sorrows, eternal darkness across Roshar (except for Urithiru, which is totally isolated, and Azimir)? The sheer amount of insanity during those final chapters was just blow after blow.
Hoid had the Dawnshard all along, and had to give it to Sigzil at the last second, to avoid Retribution becoming even more dangerous… and then we get scenes with Hoid on Scadrial, of all places! We didn’t expect Mistborn to literally show up so suddenly in The Stormlight Archive, that’s for sure.
And again, Moash. To add to the (very little) bit about his appearance on the Shattered Plains mentioned above… why is he still alive, Brandon? I know a lot of fans will be disappointed that he didn’t get his comeuppance—Paige, at least, is extremely disappointed… but maybe we’ll see something spectacular from him in the back five.
Oh, and how about Lift going toe-to-toe with a full Feruchemist and breaking her legs. Now we’ve got Lift/Vasher buddy adventures in store, and we’re sure THAT is gonna be a wild ride!
There were many theories about who Odium’s champion would be, and an aged-up Gavinor was a popular theory, but we were taken aback by it. At least Paige was. It was just horrible, what Odium put that child through. Though not wholly unexpected that he would do something horrible. This is Taravangian holding Odium’s Shard, after all.
Epigraphs
Without getting too far into the weeds here, because there is a veritable thicket of weeds, the epigraphs were a solid mix of revisiting old eponymous epigraph texts and bringing in the new spice that we’ve all come to expect.
The first thing that stands out is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the structure of the epigraphs. This is, after all, The Stormlight Archive. Three of Sixteen may have once ruled, but structure still reigns.
(Just kidding, the Broken One definitely reigns now.)
Anyway, Day One leads off with Knights of Wind and Truth, which fits nicely. However, Days Two, Four, Six, Eight, and Ten correspond with the in-world texts for books one through five. We expect Brandon had a nice little chuckle when he realized he could do that.
Of the other epigraph sets, two stand out. In Day Five, we have the return of the Cosmere Postal Service with a letter from Endowment to Hoid. In some ways, this is old hat—it’s Endowment telling Hoid to knock it off and mind his own business, to stop trying to convince the Shards to break their agreement of isolation.
But in others… hoo buddy, it’s shiny new. Valor is in hiding, and once had a unique relationship with Hoid. Moreover, Endowment calls out Hoid’s own motives, which he seems to be keeping quiet from most of the Shards, and notes that he keeps going to worlds “where legends abound of the dead being raised.”
Well, that’s ominous, isn’t it?
And then there’s Day Seven, which is an unaddressed and unsigned letter of apology. It positively drips the sense of deep lore, making us wonder if this is a letter between Shards, or perhaps another letter from Hoid to a Shard (maybe Valor, after Endowment chastised him so harshly?).
We can only hope that this trend of letters exchanged among the oldest beings in the Cosmere continues in the back half of the series!
Epilogues
We have two relatively short epilogues here (well, one epilogue and a storming postlude). The first is our standard Hoid monologue, this time holding forth about improvisation in the creation of art as he goes about his day on Scadrial, getting a job as a coachman for a certain *cough* character *cough* in Elendel.
But lastly is the Postlude to the Stormlight Archive. In an appropriate bit of symmetry, the POV is once again Kalak as he approaches a gathering of the Heralds. He’s in a grassy field, with beautiful clear skies and no pain at all, thanks to Ishar and Kaladin. His fear is still present, his indecision still plaguing him… but Kaladin extends a hand in friendship, and says they can work on it.
Final Thoughts on Wind and Truth
This book is… a lot.
There’s no doubting that. It’s one of the longest fantasy books ever published; the longest in The Stormlight Archive by almost 50,000 words (or ~9% longer than Rhythm of War). It features a frankly insane number of major plotlines—just look back at how long this review got!
It also had a lot of weight on its shoulders. Brandon has always been clear about how he views The Stormlight Archive as his magnum opus, and the unique split-arc structure meant that this book needed to carry off a major climax. And… it did.
The landscape has changed, both literally and metaphorically. Retribution is here, the Night of Sorrows is here. Stormlight is gone from Roshar, Dalinar is dead, Navani is in a magical coma, Kaladin is a Herald (but thought dead among the survivors on Roshar). Things can simply never be the same again.
Looking Ahead to the Second Arc
What We Know
Well, we know what Brandon’s plan is for the flashback characters, at least. In order: Lift, Renarin, Shalash, Taln, and Jasnah. Brandon has also spoken about having the main characters from the front five become more side characters, with others stepping into more important roles.
What We Want
More than anything, Drew would like to see Brandon lean all the way into the huge change on Roshar. There’s no more Stormlight… so let’s call the back five The Warlight Archive or The Voidlight Archive! Heck, we even got a “Postlude to The Stormlight Archive” in this book. That sure sounds like something that should happen after The Stormlight Archive is over, right?
What We Expect
We expect Lift to become a much bigger deal. She’ll have had a decade or so to continue growing up, but she’s still has the proverbial gun above the mantel, flashing a giant neon sign saying CULTIVATION HAS A ROLE FOR YOU. There’s no way she doesn’t become a central figure in the next five books.
Similarly, the Heralds. Yeah, we got some answers here, but we’re getting Herald flashbacks in books 8 and 9. That’s got to be a warning sign that there are still big secrets hiding in their pasts. And besides, Taln went absolutely bananas on the Fused in Azimir, but we never got to actually see it. We demand an epic Taln scene in the back five, Brandon!
We hope you’ve enjoyed our whirlwind of spoilers for Wind and Truth. And if you’ve already read the book—and we certainly hope you have—we hope you enjoyed it. Leave your thoughts in the comments! Tell us what we missed, tell us what we got right, and wrong. We want to see it!
Paige, Drew, and Lyndsey will be back in mid-January to bring you reread articles starting with chapter 34. We hope you join us for those, to discuss the book in a little more depth.
Until then… keep taking the next step.
