Greetings, Sanderfans and Cosmere Chickens! It’s Monday, and we are back with another Wind and Truth preview chapter read-along discussion. Chapters 10 and 11 were something, right? We especially liked seeing Sureblood’s spren! (Surely that’s what that was, right? So many feelings!) But this week, we’re wrapping up Day One with Chapters 12 and 13. Yes, wrap up! That was a relatively short and sweet Day, wasn’t it? Have you figured it out yet?
Note that this post will possibly contain full Cosmere spoilers, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content. And please remember, when posting or commenting about these preview chapters on social media, to follow your platform’s spoiler rules. Pattern says, “No spoilers!” Your comments here don’t need to be spoiler tagged, however, so feel free to comment as you will down below!
Onward to our commentary…
Paige’s Summary and Commentary
Chapter 12 is titled “Beyond the Brands” and features, you guessed it, Kaladin, who we all know has been preparing to leave while knowing there’s a possibility that he won’t be returning, at least not immediately. The epigraph mentions that the author of the in-world book wasn’t with Kaladin and Szeth on their quest to Shinovar and that they (the author) didn’t know of the quest. That means Syl is ruled out—I’ve seen several people in the comments who guessed that it was her. At least, she’s ruled out if people believe she goes with Kaladin. So let’s think about who wouldn’t have been with them and who doesn’t even know about the quest. I’ll have more on that below.
Kaladin is dreading his visit to Rlain’s “I’m a Radiant!” party to say goodbye to the majority of Bridge Four. He and Syl run a quick errand, and then head to the tavern where the party’s taking place. Once the excitement over his arrival dies down, Kaladin shares a few words with Rlain. He thanks Rlain for staying with them when he could have returned to his people, noting that nobody would blame him for doing so. Then Kaladin said he’s proud to know him and glad to serve beside him. Excuse me… my tear ducts are acting up.
Drinks are passed around and everyone turns to Kaladin, as if they know he has a speech to make. (That might have been because Syl was flitting about, telling them all to pay attention, knowing Syl.) Kaladin surveys them, taking a moment to miss all those who are no longer present… except Moash, who he no longer misses. He has plans for Moash that make me so very happy.
—but he had not given up his right to take Moash to task. Kaladin would see that Teft got a chance to spit on Moash in the afterlife, if such a thing actually existed.
Then Kaladin gets on with it, drawing gloryspren as he tells his former crew how proud he is of them and how far they’ve come. It’s an emotional moment, thinking back to that sorry bridge crew and how he pulled them up and gave them purpose. How he taught them to care about themselves again. How he taught them to fight and gave them their pride back. Ugh, I’m getting verklempt again, talk amongst yourselves…
Kaladin then tells them of his orders to go to Shinovar and that he won’t be back before the contest. Next, he warns them to be wary of the weapons the Fused and singers now have—the ones that can kill spren—and bids them to be careful. I can’t help but think of how most spren stay small, which would make killing them with one of those weapons more difficult than if they were full-sized, as Phendorana was when Moash killed her. Makes me worry for Syl, who likes to appear full-sized. Like, quit doing that, girl!
Laran tells Kaladin that it sounded as if he was saying “a long goodbye” and Kaladin thinks about what Wit said, but decides not to mention it. I mean, would any of them have cared what Wit had to say? I think not. Instead, Kaladin just tells Bridge Four that it might be a long goodbye because nobody knows how the next ten days will go. Or what comes after. It’s all very up in the air, and Kaladin really has no idea what he’ll encounter in Shinovar, if we’re being honest. What does it mean to “cleanse” a country? Will he be able to reach Szeth and help him begin to heal? How about Ishar, for that matter? It seems like a monumental set of tasks to accomplish in a couple of weeks, doesn’t it, Sanderfans?
After all of the silent salutes are given, a tattoo artist shows up and we realize why Kaladin and Syl ran an errand prior to going to the party. Kaladin is going to finally get his Bridge Four tattoo. Now that his scars are gone and he’s accepted that they weren’t a part of who he was, the tattoo takes. Bridge Four cheer. They are quite pleased with the new tattoo and our boy Kaladin is the one getting verklempt. And I’ve just GOT to mention his thoughts at this point:
He’d done a good job. Storms, he’d turned away from the Honor Chasm in the rain, determined to save them… and he’d done it.
He’d storming done it.
He loved them for being willing to let him.
Before Kaladin leaves, Sigzil approaches him, Skar and Lopen in tow; Sigzil voices concerns about his own ability to lead in Kal’s place. Suffice to say that Kaladin dismisses that as nonsense and assures Sig that he’s the right man for the job. Finally, Sig accepts that he’s the Commander of the Windrunners, and Kaladin feels this “final separation,” but he isn’t saddened by it. Rather, he accepts it. It’s yet another moment in these preview chapters that shows us how far Kaladin has come in his journey.
This scene also eliminates Sig as the author of the in-world book, Knights of Wind and Truth, as he knows of the quest and the author of the book didn’t know about it at the time. I’m still thinking that it’s Jasnah. What say you, Sanderfans? Syl and Sig ruled out in the same chapter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
With that, Kaladin heads to the Oathgate to Azimir, planning to say farewell to Shallan, Adolin, and Drehy before catching the storm to Shinovar. Szeth is waiting for him and he is eager to be on their way. As is Nightblood, who always has fun things to say in response to Szeth:
***”We have reached the end of days, and I hunger for something I cannot describe.”
Pancakes? the black sword—strapped to Szeth’s back—said in their minds. Szeth, I think it might be pancakes.
“Justice or reconciliation,” the man said. “Condemnation or salvation. I don’t know yet.”
Ooohhhhh. Metaphorical hunger. Yeah, I understand. It paused. Can I have your pancakes then?
Chapter 11 is titled “Promise” and, I worry, features rather an empty promise. The epigraph tells us that Kaladin and Szeth are the Wind’s champions on their quest! So, what or who is she meant to face in Shinovar? Or who are Kaladin and Szeth meant to face on her behalf? These epigraphs get curiouser and curiouser!
We see Shallan and company arrive at the Azimir Oathgate at the start of this chapter. Once they land, several beads drop from Shallan’s clothing; she finds it odd that they hadn’t fallen off as she flew. They follow her when she walks away and then they start jumping up and down when she stops to look at them. Pattern reveals that they’re creationspren. Shallan picks one up and it bounces in her hand while she hears her name in her mind, as if it’s speaking to her.
Just then, Drehy comes to tell her that the spren of the Oathgate won’t let them through to Azimir. Shallan speaks to them and they say they will let them pass—for now. She has Drehy fly her up to the eye level of the giant, black Oathgate spren and she realizes that they’ve been touched by Sja-anat. They say that they’ve chosen freedom; that they aren’t beholden to Odium or Honor. That they are becoming something else.
Shallan asks if they’ll let the singers through and they say they will, as they’re letting the humans through. Then the spren gives Shallan a mental smack by saying they aren’t friends, that it doesn’t know her. That letting both them and the singers through the Oathgate is liberation. I can’t help but wonder at this… at them letting both humans and singers through. Sja-anat appears to be against Odium. She’s “enlightened” spren who would bond with humans—Renarin, at least—yet these “liberated” spren will allow singers through the gate in order to fight the humans? And yes, I know that one of her spren bonded Rlain, but he’s allied with the humans. So why would Sja-anat’s enlightened Oathgate spren allow singers through?
When they transfer to Azimir, Shallan is glorying in the atmosphere of the physical realm and raises her arms, taking it in. Bam! She’s suddenly encased in red armor. Level up, anyone? Adolin is delighted, we’d expect no less from him, but Shallan is quite uncomfortable as her clothing, satchel, and hair are all squished. She hears the excited creationspren saying her name over and over. Radiant takes over and basically tells the creationspren how to form Shallan’s armor, and they admit that they’re new… they’ve never been armor before. It’s just adorable, the way they’re so excited to be armor but don’t quite know what they’re doing.
Radiant sees runners going to tell the emperor about the approaching army and announces they need to transfer to Urithiru quickly. They have to exit the Oathgate, however, and wait for the proper paperwork to be done. Oh, bless you, Azir.
As they’re waiting, Kaladin arrives, Shallan reemerges, and they tell Kaladin about the approaching army. They encourage him to join them for a meeting to address the incoming attack, but he declines, telling them about his trip to Shinovar. They insist it can wait, and want him to meet them for a drink after the meeting. He again says he has to leave on the highstorm and admits that Wit was cryptic about saying goodbye to people… that they never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. He actually hugs Shallan, and the gives Adolin a longer hug.
Shallan then proceeds to punch me in the feels:
“You and I,” she said, “were there at the start. We meet at the end, like Adolin said. When the world is safe, and Dalinar’s done what he needs to do, we can all laugh and joke again.”
She makes Kaladin promise to have that drink with them after the dust settles and, though he knows it’s probably pointless, he promises.
When they go to transfer to Urithiru, the Blade that Shallan summons is Testament.
That is super interesting! Do you think that Testament wants to repair the bond with Shallan, Sanderfans? Kalak said they were still bonded, despite Testament being a deadeye. This feels like the way Adolin summons Maya without a bond. So what’s really happening here?
The chapter switches to Kaladin’s POV, as he’s watching Shallan and Adolin walking away. He actually tears up at saying goodbye to a couple of lighteyes, and realizes that he’s feeling oddly relieved. Syl asks him if it hurts to see them together but he says, while the rejection once hurt, he’s happy about it now. He also says that Adolin is what Shallan needs. Then Syl asks him what he needs and… lalalalala! I will NOT entertain this line of thinking! I have spoken.
As they all take off into the storm, Kaladin admits to Syl that he’s proud of himself. As someone who took years of therapy to admit that I’m proud of myself, in some respects, I can appreciate how long and hard Kaladin has worked to get to this point. Then he says something which simultaneously gives me hope and makes my gut tighten with apprehension:
“I find I’m not worried. We are going to survive this. No matter what Wit said.” He nodded firmly. “We’re going to have that drink with Adolin and Shallan.”
And that’s the end of Day One.
So… thoughts on the end of this first day? Regarding the singer army, will the coalition be able to hold against it? What if, as Shallan worries, they’re planning to attack through more than one Oathgate? Not knowing where else they might go could leave any number of places undefended. How can the coalition defend multiple fronts? And will we see Kaladin and Szeth in the next day/part? Or will we have to wait for the Shinovar quest? I think it’s about time for some flashbacks, don’t you all?
Lyndsey’s Commentary: Characters and Relationships
Chapter 12: Jezrien (Jezerezeh), Herald of Kings, patron of the Windrunners. His attributes are Protecting/Leading, and his role is King. It’s pretty clear that Jezrien’s present because this is a very Windrunner-heavy chapter. We can also make a case for the fact that Sig is stepping up as leader of Bridge Four, therefore we’re getting the attribute as well.
Chapter 13: Palah (Paliah) is the patron of the Truthwatchers. Her attributes are Learned/Giving and her role is Scholar. It’s interesting that she’s the arch character for this chapter, as it’s mostly about Shallan and Adolin. Perhaps we’re seeing her for her scholarly role, as Shallan’s learning about her armor and the corrupted spren and the changes to Urithiru.
I was not with them. I did not know of their quest.
—From Knights of Wind and Truth, page 10
Oh, another interesting tidbit. Not that our mystery author wasn’t with them—that tracks since Kal and Szeth are going alone. But they didn’t know about it either? That certainly narrows our list of suspects. We know it’s not anyone in Bridge Four, as Kaladin tells them all where’s going in this chapter. This also blows the theory (which I’ve seen on Reddit) that the author is Syl right out of the water.
Yet I will do my best to recount their story, and that of the Wind. For they were her champions.
—From Knights of Wind and Truth, page 11
More about the Wind. It’s gonna be nice to eventually find out for sure what’s going on with that.
Kaladin
Did Kaladin really have to say goodbye to the rest?
Hooboy. Kal’s sections sure do have a ring of finality about them, don’t they? It feels a lot like he’s making his final farewells. I don’t think he expects to die on this trip—we haven’t gotten any hints of that from his point of view. But the narrative sure does feel like it’s trying to set that up, at least to me.
He no longer missed Moash. Kaladin’s hatred had eased—he’d accepted there would always be those he couldn’t protect—but he had not given up his right to take Moash to task.
GOOD. Longtime readers of the reread will know that I’m no Moash fan. I’m firmly in the #noredemption club. I’m glad to see that Kaladin’s reached a… shall we say, healthier state of mind regarding the traitor, but I still can’t wait to see him taken down.
Kaladin’s speech to Bridge Four here made me tear up. For the first time he recognizes his solemn tone, and even admits to being uncertain about the outcome of his trip. And then, to be able to finally get his Bridge Four tattoo… His acceptance of his journey to who he is now is very telling. What is going to be his character arc for this book?
“I think he’s always been optimistic,” Adolin said. “You don’t jump in to save a doomed man unless you’re optimistic.”
In a way, Adolin’s right. Kaladin’s always been optimistic at the start. If he has someone to protect, someone to save, then he’s focused on that and doesn’t have time to be pessimistic.
I try to imagine myself with Shallan, and I can’t help thinking our individual neuroses would feed off one another in dangerous ways.
That’s some really good self-realization on Kaladin’s part. He’s grown a lot from the kid we met in The Way of Kings, that’s for sure.
“But Syl… I find I’m not worried. We are going to survive this. No matter what Wit said.”
I wonder if this is Sanderson trying to assure us… Obviously he realizes that all of us are going to read the signals, they haven’t been subtle. But… it could also be a red herring, laid here to throw us off guard, so we’re not expecting it when it comes. He’s just crafty enough to do that.
Bridge Four
You know, I’ve really missed the camaraderie of Bridge Four in the last few books. We do still get snippets of it, yes, but nothing as strong as that initial trauma-bonding and the subsequent healing via community they all went through together. It’s a solemn reminder that everything changes, but even if a family shifts, the foundation remains solid. We may not see them together sharing Rock’s stew and laughing over Lopen’s dumb jokes anymore, but they’re still family. Community. They still love and support one another, through one another’s ups and downs. And that’s truly beautiful. I hope that all of you, dear chickens, have at least one such community in your lives—and if you don’t yet, that you’ll find your Bridge Crew before long.
Rlain
The group was cheering Rlain, who stood—holding flatbread stuffed with salted paste, as eaten at celebrations—looking awkward, but smiling regardless. He had his spren at last.
About time! I’ve been cheering on poor Rlain since Words of Radiance. He’s so often been on the outside, even amongst Bridge Four. It’s lovely to see him get a spren at last… even if it is a “corrupted” spren, thereby making him an outsider yet again. (But hey, at least he and Renarin will have a point of similarity to bond over, right? *wink wink nudge nudge*)
I would like to note that Kaladin seems to think that Rlain has been completely embraced by the others, which is interesting to note since we know from Rlain’s own POV that he doesn’t really feel that way. Kal’s good at reading people, but maybe not as good as he thinks he is yet.
Szeth
“Finally,” Szeth whispered. “I return to my homeland. Once rejected and told I lacked Truth, I return with knowledge that I was right all along.
What a strong motivation that is. Who hasn’t wanted the vindication of being able to say, “See? I was right all along!” Especially after the torture that poor Szeth underwent because of it. (If you’ve never wanted to say that to someone I sincerely envy you.) For all Szeth’s oddness, I think most of us can at least relate to this. I’m so excited to learn more about his backstory…
Oathgate Spren
“We’re your friends.”
“I don’t know you,” the spren said. “You aren’t my friends; you are my oppressors. Now I find liberation.
I can’t really blame them. They’ve been bound for how long? Millennia?
Shallan
So, one of those truths she’d spoken in there had done the trick. She had obtained the Fourth Ideal, likely when she’d confronted Veil—or when she’d spoken the Words earlier, to accompany those revelations.
Ah, so Shallan did attain a new Oath! That’s exciting, and not terribly surprising. That showdown with Veil was a pretty huge character moment for her.
Adolin
Adolin’s eyes went wide, then he grinned like a schoolboy, joyspren appearing around him in a swirl of blue leaves.
Why are they just so precious? Adolin is so, so supportive. If I didn’t adore romance so much I’d say it was sickening.
He followed it by hugging Adolin—and if she were the jealous type, she’d have noted that Adolin’s hug was longer than hers.
I’ll die on my doomed Adolin/Kaladin hill. (I jest, I jest, Adolin and Shallan make a final couple. Except… you gotta admit, the bromance is compelling.)
“If you’re ditching us now, Kal,” Adolin said, “then I’m taking it as a promise for later. The four of us.” He nodded to Syl. “Drinks, once this is done.”
Oh, Adolin. You didn’t! YOU JUST DOOMED SOMEONE! Don’t you know that saying that is as good as a death sentence?!
Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts and Theories
Another week, another set of chapters with all the magic stuff focused on Shallan’s section. It is pretty clear how plot-driven Kaladin’s chapters are in Day One and how worldbuilding-focused Shallan’s are. But that’s fine, because Shallan just keeps delivering with the magical side of this story.
Always pretending to be something else. Mmmm… very tricky. Good liars. In here though, most objects from your realm look like beads. The creationspren try to become those objects, so they get confused and swirl with light. Or they just… become beads.
And
She lifted her arms to the sides, breathing it in—and out of nowhere a suit of red armor formed around her, forming out of mist.
Well, that’s the answer right there… or is it? It’s certainly an answer, with the narrative providing some dramatic irony as Shallan doesn’t understand why creationspren would be sticking to her, and us readers understand the phenomenon of platespren thanks to Kaladin. It also gives us an understanding of Shallan hearing voices in her head—but it may not fully describe all of the voices she heard. Mishram was definitely messing with things, and Shallan is developing unusual Spiritual Connections.
It remains to be seen what the extent will be of Shallan hearing voices in her head.
We become something else. Not Odium. Not Honor. Free.
It sure unsettles the mind (and bowels) to think about something as long-lasting and substantial as these Oathgate spren getting corrupted by Sja-anat. This opens up a huge amount of mobility for the forces of Odium, even if it’s just in the short term—assuming nothing goes catastrophically wrong with Dalinar’s duel of champions against Odium. The idea of a huge army of Fused and Regals just jumping behind the lines of the coalition into Azimir is pretty terrifying.
But that’s not all that’s unsettling, here. The spren is clear about being free to allow both Shallan and Odium’s army through; the more fascinating side of this is how they see themselves as becoming independent of both Odium and Honor. Does this mean Sja-anat is made of Investiture from a different Shard? Cultivation would be the easy answer, but I’m not sure Cultivation aligns with freedom as an ideal…
Drinks, once this is done.
Drinks. Jokes. Laughter. At the end. I promise.
On a much lighter note, I think it’d be amazing if the epilogue to the tenth book sees Adolin, Shallan, Kaladin, and Syl sit down for a round of Horneater white.
Together, with Szeth following, they soared forward to the front of the stormwall, then joined with the winds, heading westward.
And so we come to the end of the first day! We have a ton still to discover, even with the manifold revelations Brandon’s spread out for us so far. The biggest looming questions are still in Dalinar’s court: Who will be the champion for Odium? And, if Dalinar doesn’t end up choosing himself, who will be Honor’s champion?
More immediately for Day One, though, is the question of Shinovar. Szeth and Kaladin are finally off, and the epigraphs have been talking about a cleansing. What is going on, off in the west? We’re still waiting on a couple of the Unmade to rear their heads, and Ishar is a big ole wild card. Nine more days await…
Fan Theories
Shinsekai980 here on Reactor has a thought about Kaladin setting off to Shinovar with a copy of The Way of Kings in Chapter 10: “So let me get this straight, Kaladin is heading to Ishar, with The Way of Kings, the book that Gavilar believed had the Words to make him a Herald…” What are your thoughts on this, Sanderfans?
Also on Reactor, IdabombSanderfan333 has this to say about the author of the in-world book: “My new theory for the author of the epigraphs is a Shin scholar, possibly related to Szeth. The author refers to Szeth without a surname or anything, refers to The East as opposed to Shinovar, and just in tone and word choice seems consistent with a Shin voice. Would be interesting if the reference to the importance of Szeth’s mission to ‘all of us’ (or whatever that wording was) just meant Shinovar.”
Charm says: “Anyone else think the epigraphs are written by Renarin Kholin? He’s a Truthwatcher, related to scholars and still an outsider in every sense so he knows about all the events and has the ability to approach it objectively. And his father’s writing would’ve prompted him to write down his own thoughts and visions.” Hmm… not sure about these theories, but since possible authors are falling by the wayside, maybe they have some merit? ::skeptical Paige is skeptical, especially since the author is not with them::
Over on Reddit, tomayto_potayto is wondering about the compass Drehy had in Shadesmar: “Anyone else theorizing about the compass and the Knoll/place where a god died? With the god metals in this universe, and the way compasses work on earth as a result of magnetic poles, I can see some very interesting implications for the future of travel in the cognitive realm and throughout the cosmere.”
Lots of thoughts about Syladin going on! “Syl is learning what it is like to be a human after all so I don’t see it as unlikely that she discovers she feels something like romantic love for Kaladin, a very human emotion.” says Aromatic-Resort-9177. Meanwhile, Bhaskar1607 vehemently disagrees, saying “Reading this chapter made me realise how Anti Syladin I am! Just No”
AzurePropagation on Reddit has a very interesting theory… “Is the hinting that Adolin was substantiated by Shallan just me being paranoid?”
That would be a dark revelation, to be sure.
The award for making Lyn chuckle goes to Archie_cave_its with this gem: **Is that a chull in your pants, or are you just happy to see me?**
There are simply so many people who have homed in on Syl as the potential author of Knights of Wind and Truth after last week’s chapters that we can’t even highlight individual names, here, because it would take up way too much room in our limited space for this article.
However, it’s tough to deny that there’s some real gravity to her growing ability to impact the Physical Realm. The symbolism of the pen is real… but it’s also tough, now, to argue against the seemingly ironclad statement in the epigraph of chapter 12 that the author “was not with them.”
Unless something happens to separate Syl from Kaladin in the coming hours and days… We’ll see!
We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who choose to wait for the full release. See you next Monday with a couple of interludes!
