Happy reread Thursday, Cosmere Chickens! In today’s installment (the penultimate one, at least for now), we travel back fourteen months to witness the end for one of our previous POV characters, Eshonai. This is a sad one, especially for those of us who feel that Eshonai got one heck of a raw deal.
Before we begin, a bit of a reminder as to when/where we are in this chapter. This is the battle of Narak, at the conclusion of Words of Radiance. Kaladin and Shallan have just come out from the chasms, Dalinar’s visions have been made public, and the Everstorm has been summoned. Soon after this, Adolin murders Sadeas.
Reminder: We’ll be discussing spoilers for the entirety of the series up until now. If you haven’t read ALL of the published entries of The Stormlight Archive (this includes Edgedancer and Dawnshard as well as the entirety of Rhythm of War), best to wait to join us until you’re done.
In this week’s discussion we have no discussion from other Cosmere novels.
Heralds: Jezrien (Jezerezeh, Yaezir, Ahu), Herald of Kings. Windrunners (Adhesion, Gravitation). Protecting/Leading. Role: King.
Kalak (Kelek). Willshapers (Transportation, Cohesion). Resolute/Builder. Role: Maker.
L: Kalak’s here since Eshonai was on her way to becoming a Willshaper, and Jezrien’s symbolic of the Stormfather’s inclusion.
Icon: Sisters, indicating a POV from Eshonai or Venli
Chapter Recap
WHO: Eshonai
WHEN: Fourteen months prior to the events of Chapter 116. 1173.10.10.3 (Note: For the “when” notations, we are using this wonderful timeline provided by the folks at The 17th Shard.)
WHERE: In the chasms beneath the Shattered Plains
RECAP: In the chasms beneath the Shattered Plains, Eshonai becomes a Radiant… but too late. The Stormfather grants her one final gift and allows her to travel with him across the world, seeing everything she so longed to explore.
Chapter Chat — Grief
Eshonai hit the ground of the chasm in a furious splash. Above, the battle for Narak continued, and the rest of the listeners summoned the Everstorm.
P: This answered my first question when she fell into the chasm: Would the Plate keep her alive?
The terrible sound of water surging through the chasm, becoming an incredible wave. She braced herself, but when the water hit, it ripped her off the wall.
P: Seeing this is absolutely heartbreaking. Knowing how hard she was trying to get back to the battle.
Listening to the howling wind, she realized what it was. A second storm. A highstorm was coming as well.
She attuned the Rhythm of Panic.
P: As would I.
L: Yeah, this is an awful situation to be in.
The rain cannot stop the bloodshed, she said, fading. But it washes the world afterward anyway.
L: The rain… and the tears.
P: So many tears. Especially for Eshonai’s ending. She had so much potential as a scholar and even her being forced into the role of general was heartbreaking for her character.
MORTALS SEARCH FOR MEANING, SO IT IS PROPER THEY SHOULD CREATE IT. YOU GET TO DECIDE WHAT IT MEANT, ESHONAI. WHAT YOU MEANT.
L: That’s a heavy thought. Only you can decide what you meant to the world? I’m not sure if I agree with the sentiment, exactly. The changes we make on the world are beyond us, and live beyond us.
P: And whatever change we may have made is for those left behind to determine.
YOU WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS BEYOND THE NEXT HILL. SEE THEM ALL.
She soared with him, enveloping the land, flying above it. Her rain bathed each and every hill, and the Rider let her see the world with the eyes of a god. Everywhere the wind blew, she was. Everything the rain touched, she felt. Everything the lightning revealed, she knew.
L: Truly the greatest gift one could give to an explorer.
P: This was truly a perfect gift for Eshonai. All she ever wanted to do was explore and discover new lands.
Oaths Spoken, Powers Awakened
Her own powers had been ruined by the water, naturally. She could barely feel any energy in her; it flooded out the moment it started to build.
L: Oh, right, naturally. Because this was something we already knew, or remembered. ::nervous laughter:: ::shifty eyes:: Paige… DID we know this?
P: The fact that water could dampen the powers of a stormform? It tracks, but lemme check…
The Coppermind did! Though whether they knew that before this chapter, I don’t know.
“Another weakness of stormform is ironically water, which makes their ability to throw bolts of lightning even less reliable. If a stormform is sufficiently drenched in water their power will be ruined and unable to renew properly until they are dry, slipping away from the stormform every time it starts to return.”
An ember within Eshonai came alive. The part of herself she’d reserved, the part that would not be contained. The part that made her let Thude and the others escape. It was the core of who she was: a person who had insisted on leaving the camps to explore, a person who had always longed to see what was over the next hill.
A person who would not be held captive.
L: This is so beautiful. And so, so sad, because we know what’s coming for her.
P: Her story is so sad, because she had such promise.
A tone. The strange, haunting one she’d heard when taking warform. It seemed … one of the pure tones of Roshar. It began a stately rhythm. Then a second tone, chaotic and angry, appeared beside it. The two drew closer, closer, then snapped together.
They melded into harmony, making a song of Honor and Odium both.
L: Interesting that both of the sisters wound up taking the same path, ultimately.
P: And fitting, strangely.
She found this tone as, in the blackness, a small spren—shaped like a shooting star—appeared ahead of her.
L: Poor little spren. :(
P: She’ll be okay.
YOU WERE HIGHLY INVESTED WHEN YOU DIED, a voice said. It rumbled with the sound of a thousand storms, echoing through her. SO YOU PERSIST. FOR A SHORT TIME.
Invested? Eshonai thought.
YOU WERE RADIANT WHEN YOU DIED. YOU COULDN’T SAY THE WORDS, UNDER THE WATER, BUT I ACCEPTED THEM ANYWAY.
L: Aww. Well that was nice of you, Stormdaddy.
P: It’s so sad to me that this didn’t save her. She was by far my favorite sister, as I’m sure you all know.
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 the Epilogue, in which Wit makes a nasty discovery. That will be the final installment of the Rhythm of War reread, but we’re sure there will be more to talk about before the next Stormlight book is released!
Paige resides in New Mexico, of course. Though during baseball season, her heart is in the Bronx. Go, Yankees! 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!
