#Adolin being the person Syl goes to when Kaladin desperately needs someone but won’t ask

[recallthename]

Also RoW really is the book of “would you like to ship Kaladin Stormblessed with someone? Because we are going to give you ALL OF THE OPTIONS”

[preservationandruin]

Oathbringer Liveblog, Part Four: Chapters 108-111

Onward with our various plotlines in various Planes of Existence!

Shadesmar Road Trip continues, Dalinar arranges a meeting, Azure bids the group farewell (and also I’m still in love with her), Dalinar meets my Least Favorite Person In All Roshar, and then everything goes straight to hell while I scream constantly. 

An epigraph: 

Chemoarish, the Dust-mother, has some of the most varied lore surrounding her. The wealth of it makes sorting lies from truths extremely difficult. I believe she is not the Nightwatcher, contrary to what some stories claim. 

So that’s interesting. I remember thinking back in my book 1 reread that “dustmother” might be a reference to Cultivation, but looks like I’m wrong. Anyway, back to the honorspren ship! Apparently the humans were kept in the hold for a week, and when Kaladin tried to argue the honorspren into letting Syl out he got locked in for another two days. 

Of course he did. 

He’s trying to plan them a way off the ship--getting off when it’s closest to Thaylen City, then making for the Oathgate. Not going to be easy, as Shallan thinks. She’s also drifting between personalities, and Kaladin’s fuckin ended up growing a beard again. Kaladin’s attempts to remain clean-shaven in this book seem doomed to failure. 

The honorspren are, still, bound by honor--they can’t keep Shallan and the others imprisoned, because they did nothing wrong. it wouldn’t be right. But they don’t know what to do with them. Shallan’s starting to get familiar with dealing with the beads of Shadesmar, but Veil keeps peeking through into her main persona, which worries her. 

Notum, the head of the honorspren on the ship, has confirmed that the Voidspren are trying to create an empire in Shadesmar. Azure got her sword back--because it doesn’t have a bond or an enslaved Spren, they’re fine with it. Still, Azure warns the honorspren she’s talking to to draw the sword slowly--”she doesn’t know you.” 

So it probably is a Blade similar to Nightblood, although with a different command-phrase, I expect. Kaladin and Azure start arguing--she wants to go to Lasting Integrity, to try to get to Cultivation’s Perpendicularity and see what the honorspren know about the person she’s hunting--who I’ll bet is Zahel, although might not be. Kaladin stalks off onto the high deck. Azure says that it’s a weapon that she’s chasing, so it’s almost certainly Nightblood. 

Shallan glanced toward the high deck, where she could faintly hear Kaladin making a disturbance.

Never change, Kal. 

Anyway, Shallan’s drawings of herself are going strange, too--she’ll draw one head on another body, and such. 

“Shallan?” Adolin asked, coming over to her. “Are you all right?”  She shook herself. How long had she been sitting there? “I’m fine,” she said. “Just...remembering.” “Good things or bad?”  “All memories are bad,” she said immediately, then looked away, blushing. He settled down next to her. Storms, his overt concern was annoying. She didn’t want him worrying about her. “Shallan?” he asked.  “Shallan will be find,” she said. “I’ll bring her back in a moment. I just have to recover...her...”  Adolin glanced at the fluttering pages with the different versions of her. He reached out and hugged her, saying nothing. Which turned out to be the right thing to say.  She closed her eyes and tried to pull herself together.  “Which one do you like the most?” She finally asked. “Veil is the one who wears the white outfit, but I’m having trouble with her right now. She peeks out sometimes when I don’t want, but won’t come when I need her. Radiant is the one who practices with the sword. I made her prettier than the others, and you can talk to her about dueling. But some of the time, I’ll have to be someone who can Lightweave. I’m trying to think of who she should be...”  “Ash’s eyes, Shallan!”  “Shallan’s broken, so I’m trying to hide her. Like a cracked vase, where you turn the nice side toward the room, hiding the flaw. I’m not doing it on purpose, but it’s happening, and I don’t know how to stop it.” 

So first of all, this is horrible for Shallan--she’s so lost that she’s actually talking to Adolin about it, asking which version of her he likes most, and I’m so glad he’s hugging her through this. This is what I’ve been wanting to happen--Shallan actually being open with someone, admitting that she’s a lot more broken than she pretends to be. 

And as if that wasn’t enough of what I wanted, the other big thing I’ve been wanting to happen also happens: 

“I...” he pulled her tight again as the ship rocked. “Shallan, I killed Sadeas.”  She blinked, then pulled back and looked him in the eyes. “What?”  “I killed Sadeas,” Adolin whispered. “We met in the corridors of the tower. He started insulting Father, talking about the terrible things he was going to do to us. And...and I couldn’t listen anymore. Couldn’t stand there and look at his smug red face. So...I attacked him.”  [...] Shallan shivered, then whispered, “Good for you.” 

I’M SO GLAD THESE TWO ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THEIR MANY, MANY ISSUES AND STARTING TO BE MORE OPEN AND HONEST. 

Anyway, Adolin says that he likes the real Shallan--the vase is cracked, but that just lets him see what’s inside, and he likes what’s inside. There’s a moment, there, where Shallan is comfortable. Warm. Unafraid. 

And then Kaladin causing problems on the upper deck ruins it. He’s arguing with the captain. Again. 

When you try to explain that god is dead but are talking to a depressed agnostic who really doesn’t give a shit: 

“The honorspren were created by Honor himself, many thousands of years ago. You call him the Almighty, and...I’m afraid he’s dead.”  “Which makes sense, as it’s pretty much the only excuse I would have accepted.”  “That wasn’t levity, human,” Notum said. “Your god is dead.”  “Not my god. But please continue.” 

Anyway, Kal calls Notum out pointing out that both keeping Syl captive and killing Kaladin--which he mentions as a way to get rid of the bond--would go against Honor. 

And as he thinks, as he ponders the Fourth Ideal, noting that he’s worried what it’ll demand of him, small pinpricks of light start spinning around him, almost like spren--but not spren, because spren here are closer to people. And then he hears Syl’s voice in his head, and they start talking. 

Syl claims that she escaped the Honorspren trait of stubbornness, which is. A lie. 

Ok, so the light-prick things are windspren that Kaladin is somehow drawing. Also, he tells Notum that Dalinar, who Kaladin is trying to save, is bonded to Stormfather--and realizes he probably should have said that sooner. 

Adolin notes that it’s kind of hard to compete with Kaladin, who is currently dramatically posed, trailing a halo of windspren, and is just like. he doesn’t even know he’s doing this, is he. 

And then, of course, the Fused start coming for them. 

Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, is another Unmade who appears to have been destroyed at Ahareitiam. 

Ok, so we can’t trust any reports of them being destroyed, ‘cause we know Shephir came back. 

We’re over to Dalinar, in any case. He and Navani are still trying to figure out how the hell Urithiru works. It has garnet veins running through it. I still think it’s interesting how Radiants find it easy to get around, but other people are baffled. They’ve gotten confirmation that the Voidbringers are building a navy--probably to start harrying the shores, as Dalinar suspected. 

Anyway, Dalinar is going to try to bring someone--the one of the Voidbringers that Stormfather can sense--into a highstorm vision. Please, please work. Venli needs to know she and Timbre have other options. 

Plus, if anyone can understand feeling like the wrong sibling lived and the wrong sibling died, if anyone knows their own stupid, stupid actions tearing their loved ones away from them...it would be Dalinar. 

Unfortunately, Odium has noticed that Dalinar is starting a vision. Dalinar gets Stormy to try to hold him off so that Dalinar can speak with Venli. Venli is startled and bitter, but notes that here, she can use the old rhythms--so Odium hasn’t concentrated on her. Yet. 

Also Venli is currently taller than Dalinar and I love tol Parshendi ladies. Just a note. Odium starts battering at the vision. Venli starts running--trying to avoid Odium, knowing what he’ll do if he sees her talking to Dalinar. 

She turned away, desperate to do what she could to delay her own burning. Then...she stopped and looked back again. Dalinar Kholin stood on the balcony. And he was glowing.  Neshua Kadal. Radiant Knight.  Without meaning to, she attuned the Rhythm of Awe. Around Kholin, the balcony was stable. Boards trembled and quivered at his feet, but did not move into the sky. The balcony had ripped apart to either side of him, but where he held to it with a firm grip, it remained secure. 

Dalinar is literally holding this vision together despite Odium’s force. It actively starts reknitting itself. 

Venli tries to leave, and Odium comes for her again--she’s clinging to the balcony, not wanting to let go, and then sees Timbre, fighting through the wind and the vision to get to her. Have I mentioned I love Timbre because I love Timbre. Venli manages to grab it out of the air, and feels warm as Timbre basically yells “THANK YOU” in Timbre-speak, which is just a pulse of Rhythm of Praise. 

And then she’s falling into a bottomless chasm, and Dalinar jumps to save her--and shoot her out of the vision before Odium burns it to shreds. She lands in Marat, and she and Timbre are safe. 

Dalinar, on the other hand, is in excruciating pain. Odium gives his little “ohh I care about you, Dalinar,” speech again, then Dalinar returns to Urithiru. 

Stormfather is weeping from pain and exertion. 

The most powerful spren on Roshar--embodiment of the tempest that shaped all life--was crying like a child, whispering that Odium was too strong.

HEY BRANDON CAN I HUG STORMFATHER

Anyway, we head back to Shallan and Shadesmar. They’re getting let go--but the Fused are still on their tail. Notum notes that they need to hurry--he can’t promise how long the crew can keep their secret. Syl is more than a little pissed at Notum. Azure is staying with the crew, saying she’ll help them try to fight off the Fused. That...increases their chances considerably. 

“When you boys next meet the swordsman who taught you that morning kata, warn him that I’m looking for him.”  “Zahel?” Adolin said. “You know Zahel?”  “We’re old friends.” 

And then she confirms with the captain that they were cutting cloth into specific shapes. Oh boy, those Fused are about to get a nasty surprised. They’re expecting a ship full of honorspren; they’re getting that, but they’re also getting a practitioner of BioChroma who trained with one of the best. 

The gang basically hides in a Shallan-made cave under the water. They manage to survive, and Shallan wants to draw the trees in Shadesmar. There’s a highstorm happening in the real world--this must be happening pretty much concurrently with the Dalinar moment, then. They’re almost to Thaylen City. 

Back over to Dalinar, opening with the MOST RELATEABLE SECTION THE BOOK: 

Dalinar stepped out of the Oathgate control building into Thaylen City and was met by the man he most wanted to punch in all Roshar.  Meridas Amaram stood straight in his House Sadeas uniform, clean-shaven, narrow-faced, square-jawed.

In case anyone is keeping score: I still hate Amaram. He fuckin thinks that they’re going to being invading Thaylen City, because god forbid anyone do anything good without an ulterior motive, am I right???

“Permission to stab him a little, sir,” said Teft,  the bridgeman leader.  “How do you stab someone ‘a little,’ soldier?”  “I could do it,” Lyn said. “I’ve only started training with the spear. We could claim it was an accident.”  “No,no,” Lopen said. “You want to stab him a little? Let my cousin Huio do it, sir. He’s the expert on little things.”  “Short joke?” Huio said in his broken Alethi. “Be glad not short temper.”  “I’m just trying to involve you, Huio. I know that most people overlook you. It’s very easy to do, see...” 

I fucking love bridge four so much like here we get: A) they still to a man hate Amaram B) Lyn is already ride-or-die enough to offer to stab a highprince C) they instantly lift the mood of any situation through teasing and bullshit jokes

Navani is very smug about the success of her arm-clock fabrial in getting Dalinar to be on time or early to things and this is still my favorite tiny running gag. We also get that Fen’s son has spiked his Thaylen-long eyebrow hair, leading me to declare this man a punk icon. 

They’ve left running the Oathgate to Malata, which--given that she’s working for Taravangian--might be a problem. Oh well. Renarin is wondering if there are any larger gemstones in the city, other than spheres; when asked why, he just says “because.” 

Someone might be either planning something or getting another future-vision. 

We get that the only reason Stormfather is alive is because Odium doesn’t want to expose himself to a strike from Cultivation. So, even in her retreated state, the thought of her attack is still an effective deterrant for Odium. Good to know. I think her retreat might only be partially grief-driven; I think that also, in her mind, the way for Roshar to grow was for it to learn to live without active gods. 

I mean, what if she was active and they relied on her, and then Odium killed her like he did Honor? That would be devastating. This way, they learn to stand on their own. Their growth is their own. 

That’s just a hypothesis, though. 

We get that the Nightwatcher isn’t Cultivation, although Dalinar has met Cultivation herself. The Nightwatcher is one of Stormy’s siblings--the third Stormy refers to with “they” pronouns and refuses to tell Dalinar about, saying “Leave them alone. You hurt them enough.” 

I don’t know who this slumbering nonbinary wounded third godspren is but i love them. 

“Did he...care about what we felt?” Dalinar asked. “Honor, the Almighty? Did he truly care about men’s pain?”  He did. Then, I didn’t understand why, but now I do. Odium lies when he claims to have sole ownership of passion. Stormfather paused. I remember...at the end...Honor was more obsessed with oaths. There were times when the oath itself was more important than the meaning behind it. But he was not a passionless monster. He loved humankind. He died defending you. 

YES. Tanavast didn’t deserve the slander Rayse was spreading about him. Yes, I am very protective of Tanavast, and no, I’m not sure why. 

Taravangian says that Dalinar can call him Vargo. I think someone is feeling more and more guilty. 

“I am...I am well, today.” He stopped and squeezed his pale grey eyes shut. “That’s good, isn’t it?”  “Yes. But it is not a day to be heartless. So I worry.” 

This does not bode well for literally anything ever.

Oh no, Dalinar is also looking forward to the meeting, which means that you know something is going to go horribly wrong. 

Anyway, things are starting out well. Queen Fen’s son is making a point to talk with Renarin and engage him in conversation, which is good. Lift is perched on a windowsill near Bridge Four, and somehow Bridge Four has actually gotten two scribes--perhaps the women that some of the members were courting. They’re becoming a real platoon, while still being a ragamuffin crew of bros. 

Dalinar keeps hearing unite them in his head, but Stormy says he’s not saying anything. You know how I totally distrust all voices in people’s heads that don’t have a source? Even though this is literally Dalinar’s catchphrase, I’m on edge. 

I just...don’t trust when things are going well in these books. And we know that Taravangian is planning to undercut Dalinar. He’s probably going to do it now. Fuck. Fuck. 

The Azish fleet is only a day away, and there’s no sign of a Voidbringer advance. They might wait for a Everstorm, though. Amaram’s troops have been carousing, and he’s a bit pissed at that. 

He wants his image to be cleaner than that. Well, too fucking bad, asshole. 

Renarin looked very uncomfortable and just excused himself, so that means something bad is definitely going to happen. I’m going with my instincts, which say “trust the one kid who can see into the future.” 

And then Stormfather says that a storm is coming. 

Oh, fuck. That’s the Everstorm. it just hit Shinovar. Navani and Jasnah are distracted, reading through something. Stormfather says that that won’t be everything--there’s more coming. 

A passage of the Dawnchant, called the Eila Stele, has been translated by both the people in Jah Keved and those in Kharbranth. 

...Taravangian was talking about leaking something about the Dawnchant....

Oh, god. Oh, oh god. 

The original Voidbringers weren’t Parshendi. 

They were human. 

Fuck. So many things make sense. Why Roshar’s mythology is a refugee narrative. They say that humans were exiled from the Tranquiline Halls, and that’s why they went to Roshar. This gels with that. The Dawnsingers, the original inhabitants of Roshar--

Dawnsingers. Fuck, how didn’t I see it before? Dawnsingers. Of course they were Singers, parshmen. They welcomed humans, and that welcome destroyed them. it was in the name. How did I think that Dawnsingers would be human? Only one race in this world is tied to songs. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. This will kill morale. 

And that’s the truth that destroyed the Radiants. Humanity destroyed its previous world with Surgebinding. 

At the same time, the news about Dalinar being “highking” has been raised. And that he had a Vision where he talked to Odium. Lift reacts to that. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Jasnah immediately picks up on the fact that someone leaked this deliberately. 

These three pieces of information: that humans are the original invaders, that Dalinar talked with Odium, and that Elhokar wanted to make Dalinar an Emperor. 

That’s what Taravangian is using to destabilize the alliance.