Greetings, Sanderfans and Cosmere Chickens, and welcome to another Monday morning Wind and Truth preview chapter read-along discussion. We had some great discussion last week on chapters 5 and 6 and we’re hoping to see all of your thoughts on today’s release! This week, we dive into three chapters, 7 through 9, and we’re looking in on both Shallan and Kaladin again.
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. We’ve had a couple of things spoiled for people on the big Facebook groups and we want to avoid that as much as we can! Your comments here, however, don’t need to be spoiler-tagged, so feel free to comment as you will down below!
Let’s dive in…
Paige’s Summary and Commentary
Chapter 7 is titled “Lost Blades” and the epigraph mentions that the Wind doesn’t think like a person does, and then likens the Wind to a spren while saying that “such things” are less common than they once were. Let’s talk about this epigraph… or rather, ask some questions about it. Does it mean that spren themselves are less common than they once were? And is this all spren or just true spren that can form a Nahel bond? And if the Wind doesn’t think like a person does, could it actually be Mishram, as many people have speculated? Food for thought, Sanderfans. Let us know what you think about this epigraph in the comments.
This chapter features Shallan and company preparing to leave the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity. She first marvels that they were taking Gallant with them as she watches the horse floating nearby, Adolin astride his back, moving his legs in a mid-air gallop. Then she speaks to Adolin and Maya about the deadeyes gathered before the fortress as they watch them return to the bead ocean. Maya says they are lost Blades, forgotten and vanished from the Physical Realm while their spren are left to wander. Shallan vows to find them all, though how she’ll accomplish that is anyone’s guess.
Shallan then goes to chat with Vathah, who is staying behind to travel to the Oathgate on foot with the rest of Shallan and Adolin’s group. Only Shallan, Adolin, their spren, and Gallant will be taken back by the Windrunners. Vathah seems to have eyes for his fellow Lightweaver Ishnah, so perhaps they’ll have an interesting trip back! Shallan waves farewell to Felt, who she suspects isn’t even from Roshar; she reflects that, as one of Dalinar’s elites, he’ll do well leading the caravan back to the Physical Realm.
A retinue of honorspren leaders arrive, along with Kelek; Shallan asks if he’s sure he doesn’t want to go with them. It seems she really wants him to return with them to Urithiru, but he doesn’t even respond, wringing his hands and looking at the ground. When Shallan waves goodbye and turns to leave, Kelek tells her to take care with her two bonds, warning that she may see things that are “not good.” Shallan talks about different ways of seeing the world, and particularly seeing light and how it affects her art; Kelek responds by noting that energy, matter, and Investiture are all important for her understand, in relation to her illusions. Shallan states that illusions can’t change anything and then Kelek says something very interesting…
“Oh?” Kelek said, pointing to the honorspren. “What do you think they are? Investiture. A form of Light. There were once Lightweavers who could give some substance, briefly, to the things they created.”
There were once what?! Lightweavers could give substance to the things they created? This makes Shallan think back to illusions she’d created which seemed to have some substance. Kelek thanks her for not hurting him and she hugs him. Not gonna lie… it’s a bit emotional.
Shallan returns to her party and they prepare to depart. Then Drehy throws her for a loop when he mentions the awakened tower and Bondsmith Navani. It’s kind of funny to see Shallan so taken aback at something and, for once, not having a quippy comment. The Windrunners lash them and they all take off flying, with Gallant and Adolin clearly having an absolute blast.
Then they’re attacked, in the last line. End scene. Brandon certainly knows how to keep us from putting the book down, doesn’t he?
Chapter 8 is titled “A Coming Storm” and the epigraph is, as the last few have been, intriguing. Assuming we’re still talking about the Wind, it mentions that her interpretation of her keen memory could be fanciful. The author, whoever they may be, states that during this time, she seemed to be “deliberate, concerned, and focused.” She seems to know the future despite not being able to actually see it. Any more ideas of who’s writing this in-world book, Sanderfans? Is it Jasnah or Sigzil, as many people have theorized, myself included? Or is it someone to whom the Wind was actually speaking during these ten days?
This chapter is split between Kaladin and Shallan; we begin with Kaldin, who makes plans to meet Szeth at the Oathgate in two hours. Nightblood is insistent that they bring snacks on their journey because Lift has stressed the importance of snacks. It’s a bit of levity to lighten Szeth’s strange mood… but I suppose his mood is no stranger than it ever is.
Kaladin collects his rucksack from Leyten and finds Wit’s flute and Tien’s horse in a side pocket… along with a rock. Leyten says he didn’t put it there. Where do you think it came from? Did Syl put it there? Could Syl put it there? It’s a sweet gesture, if so. Dabbid passes by and Kaladin is shocked to see an honorspren trailing him. Leyten says he hasn’t noticed her yet and Syl, who knows her, says she’s a bore. Leave it to Syl to turn her nose up at another honorspren!
Then we’re back with Shallan and her party, being attacked by eight Heavenly Ones against their five Windrunners. Adolin draws a sword and attempts to engage the Fused but Shallan hangs helplessly in the air. When Adolin falls into the bead ocean, Shallan somehow shakes off Drehy’s lashings after she thinks, “Be. Drehy.” She drops into the bead ocean, as well.
Whew… again, Brandon leaves us hanging at the end of a chapter! People falling into the beads, Fused spearing Windrunners and draining their Stormlight (which they need to get to the Azimir Oathgate), and Gallant, left hanging in the air with no rider to protect him. Please don’t let Gallant get hurt! Pleaseohplease!
Chapter 9 is titled “Tossing Spears” and the epigraph states that Kaladin did a fine impression of an Edgedancer’s Oaths because the key moment was when he listened. Listened to the Wind, I wonder? It’s got to be, right? What do you all think?
Back to Kaladin, who feels a sense of urgency as he goes to say goodbye to Skar, who is training new recruits. He senses that Kaladin is leaving and though Kaladin says it shouldn’t be dangerous, he also worries about not making it back. Skar is confident that he would be back and makes sure that Kaladin agrees to say goodbye to everyone at the party they’re throwing for Rlain to celebrate him getting his spren. As they leave Skar, Syl tells Kaladin it’s time to fetch her things. Surprised, Kaladin follows her.
Back to Shallan, thank goodness, these cliffhangers give me anxiety! She falls into the bead ocean and panics, causing Radiant to take over. She finds a bead that represents a building and they rise above the surface of the bead ocean. Drehy drops off Adolin and they discuss their situation. Drehy suggests a retreat, thinking the Heavenly Ones may disengage if they see the Radiants fleeing.
Then they’re attacked again and Shallan falls into the bead ocean where a Heavenly One grabs her and takes her to the bottom. Beads shy away from his Voidlight and an open space forms. The Fused taunts her and stabs her in the shoulder. Radiant struggles to get free and wishes for a Blade, but Shallan tells her that her weapon has never been a Blade. Just… what? If not a Blade, what is her weapon? Her Lightweaving?
Radiant asks her if she’s ready and Shallan said she’s been ready since she absorbed Veil. (Ready for what? Her next Ideal? Keep reading, Paige!) Shallan admits out loud to being afraid, of the world, for her family, of herself. The Fused, thinking she’s speaking to him says that she should fear him most of all and blathers on about ruling the world. Yeah, whatever, dude.
Radiant forms behind the Fused and he scoffs at the illusion. The Radiant runs him through with a Shardblade. A Shardblade! In Shadesmar! Shallan states that reality is what she decides it to be.
Nooo! It’s the end of the chapter! And that’s all for this week, Sanderfans. Can you explain what just happened? Because just as I was when we hit this chapter during the beta read, I’m fairly flabbergasted by this scene!
What will happen in the battle with the Fused? Will Drehy rescue Adolin from the bead ocean again? Will Gallant be okay? What things does Syl need to fetch? It’s all very intriguing! Tune in next week for the next preview chapters and, in the meantime, give us all your thoughts and theories in the comments!
Lyndsey’s Commentary
Apologies if my commentary is more sparse than usual; I’m still a smidge jet-lagged from WorldCon in Scotland, and the fall renaissance faire season is beginning, which is always a hectic time for me. A huge thank you to those who attended my panels, and to those who I met and got a chance to hang out with! Now… on to the chapters.
Chapter 7’s Herald is Battah (Battar), herald of the Elsecallers. Her attributes are Wise/Careful and her role is Counselor. The connection with the events of this chapter is a little more subtle than most, but in my opinion, Battah appears to be here for her “counselor” role. Shallan spends a fair bit of this chapter speaking to and guiding other characters.
Chapter 8 features Chana, (Chanarach), Herald of the Common Man, herald of Dustbringers. Brave/Obedient. Role: Guard. I can only assume that Chana is here due to her role as guard. Both Kaladin and Shallan are, in a way, acting as guards in this chapter—or will be, in Kaladin’s case at least.
At the top of Chapter 9, we have Talenelat (Talenel, Taln), Herald of War, herald of Stonewards. Attributes: Dependable / Resourceful. Role: Soldier. We’re seeing a lot of soldiers in this chapter, between Kaladin reminiscing on his duties, Skar teaching new recruits, and Shallan/Radiant fighting for her life.
However, the Wind did not think like a person does. This should not surprise anyone who has familiarity with a spren, though such things are less common now than they once were.
—From Knights of Wind and Truth, page 5
Her memory was keen, but her interpretation and explanation of that memory could be fanciful. Those days, though, I believe that she was deliberate, concerned, and focused.
She did not see the future.
But she somehow knew it anyway.
—From Knights of Wind and Truth, page 5
All agree the first key moment came when Kaladin Stormblessed listened. Though not an Edgedancer, he did a fine impression of their oaths.
—From Knights of Wind and Truth, page 8
So our mysterious author definitely isn’t Kaladin, then. Interesting that they note that the Wind appears to know the future, especially given the Vorin belief that seeing the future is taboo.
Vathah
Vathah actually blushed. About Ishnah. Not Beryl, who was sultry enough to be mistaken for some kind of passionspren. Ishnah: short, not particularly curvaceous, and with a striking tendency to use her Lightweaving to give herself edgy tattoos and black fingernails.
So, clearly Vathah has good taste. (I don’t have any meaningful commentary on this relationship other than to note that suddenly I really like Ishnah.)
Shallan
“Take care,” Kelek said, “with your two bonds, child. You may see things that are not good for the healthy mortal mind.”
Oof. Portending more trouble to come, or simply an observation of why she’s had so much trouble? I sincerely hope for the latter.
So she hugged [Kelek].
“I want to be better,” he whispered.
“We all do,” she said.
This is an incredibly touching moment. Shallan reaching out to other “broken” individuals and offering them a hand or an understanding ear is one of my favorite things about her sections. She’s taking her traumatic past and using it to help others who are hurting…much like Kaladin.
“Are you certain you are ready?” Radiant whispered.
“Yes,” Shallan said. “I became ready when I confronted Veil, and my memories.”
What are the Words? Radiant asked.
“I said them already,” Shallan replied as the Heavenly One twisted the knife.
Say them again.
“I’m afraid,” Shallan said.
Very interesting, from a story/character arc standpoint, that we’re seeing this pivotal moment of Shallan’s come at such an odd time. She’s already had her revelation, but hadn’t fully embraced it at the end of Rhythm of War, so it’s now at the very beginning of the next book that we’re seeing the culmination of that revelation—the swearing of her next Ideal..
Adolin/ Shallan
It made her heart melt into a pool of bubbling jelly.
Very nice to see this moment. Shallan/Adolin is one of my favorite canonical ships. They complement one another very well, and Adolin is so kind and patient with her.
Kaladin
In that same pocket was Tien’s small toy horse, along with… a rock?
Well isn’t that curious. Is Tien still watching out for him after all, somehow?
What would cause a woman in her fifties to leave her hearth and take up a spear? But then, Kaladin supposed her motivations might not be that different from his own. Protecting those who couldn’t protect themselves.
He’s come a far way from the young man who initially assumed that Lyn would want to be a scribe and not a fighter.
“You’ll be back,” Skar said.
“I don’t know if I will, Skar. Not this time.”
Echoing the sentiments of a lot of the readers, who are very concerned about Kaladin’s chances of making it out of this book alive.
Kaladin had led, but Skar… he’d been born to teach. It took talent to be a good soldier, but a different kind entirely to make good soldiers.
And it takes a great leader to recognize the strengths of your soldiers and utilize them based on those strengths, as Kaladin is here. Now granted, he’s not in charge anymore, but he probably assigned Skar to similar roles before leaving command.
Dabbid
It’s so wonderful that Dabbid is in the process of bonding a spren! Whether or not his malady fades once he becomes a Radiant will, of course, depend on whether or not he views it as a part of who he is.
Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts and Theories
Three chapters this week, and the pace has picked up already! That gives us a few new chances to engage with the Invested Arts of Roshar, and even see some new applications in action.
More than that, we have an answer to one of the longest-standing mysteries in all of The Stormlight Archive! People have been slinging theories for nearly 15 years, wondering where the heck all those missing Shardblades went to. Lots of folks settled on Shinovar as the most likely spot, with others theorizing secret rooms in Urithiru or the possibility they’re being held by the Sleepless… but the answer is they’re in Shadesmar.
People stop thinking about them. They fade away after centuries…to be lost. Their sword vanishes from your world, and they wander forever.
Straight from the Blade’s own mouth. All those hundreds of Shardblades, those hundreds of deadeyes, have simply returned to the Cognitive Realm and wander the bead oceans, aimless. It’s a peacefully melancholy fate—once used as the ultimate weapons, now hidden from the eager hands that would take them up again, but at tremendous cost.
And speaking of Shardblades…
He continued laughing until the Shardblade speared him from behind, spilling orange blood on his ch outfit.
Shallan’s illusions just leveled up! This is actually a pretty incredible new ability to unlock, when you think about it. Being able to materially impact the Physical with Lightweaving has all kinds of crazy implications, and it raises questions about the actual mechanics of it. Though Shallan says she gets to decide what reality is, it’s clearly limited—at least for now—since the Shardblade draws blood rather than burning out the eyes.
But how does it do that? My gut says that it’s basically a relatively hand-wavy application of lasers, where Shallan is weaponizing light, but there’s nothing yet in the text to give much indication. Any way you cut it, though, Shallan just became a LOT more deadly.
What are the Words?
Shallan is a weird case study for a Knight Radiant, and it’s only becoming clearer in these early chapters. She says a Truth here, but it sure doesn’t feel like a New Ideal Level. It’s a neat moment, but not exactly one that screams We just got our first Fifth Ideal Radiant! Her double bond, partially broken as one is, seems to be causing her to experience some intermediary steps as she progresses. This could also explain her ongoing struggles with Soulcasting and the Surge of Transformation—a normal Lightweaver might have different strengths and weakness, sure, but the bits we’ve seen of the Unseen Court show them having fairly regular progress.
Shallan and her mangled bond with Testament, however, are keeping her back from fully utilizing the standard abilities—even as the resonance between the two bonds develops unique abilities, like her use of Fortune in art.
Last but not least, we have another example of weird things happening with Kaladin and the memory of Tien, as the horse has now been joined by a rock. How in the Three Realms this stuff is happening is anyone’s guess, as it seems the Spiritual is leaking through to the Physical in some strange ways. We can only hope that we get answers as Wind and Truth goes on, even though we all know that Brandon is going to ensure that any answers are served with a nice side of new questions to ponder…
Fan Theories
Over on Reddit, Cruxist ruminates on the epigraphs and Kelsier: “The epigraphs feel very final, as if they come after some sort of major moment. And saving Kel for the prologue of this book feels very intentional, very much a Chekhov’s gun, and not just for the Cosmere as a whole.”
Mt50, talking about Dalinar asking Kaladin to be his heir says: “Damn, Dalinar is basically writing his will.” Do you think he’s expecting to lose and/or die, Sanderfans? HA2HA2 thinks so: “OK, Dalinar definitely gonna die and Kaladin definitely gonna pick up the fallen title (the tower, the crown, and the spear), right?” Auchenai has this to say on the subject: “He has to die, from a storytelling perspective Fused Dalinar is just a concept too great to abandon it.” Down in the comments, let us know your theories about Dalinar’s fate.
Keep the thoughts and theories coming Sanderfans! We love following your discussions!
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 chapters 10 and 11!
