#Dalinar: I think it might be time for that longer explanation

[nevertheless-moving]

Angsty Continuation of this Crack Szeth/Kaladin Time Travel AU:

"Sir, may I speak with you? It's a matter of some importance."

Dalinar looked up sharply, locking eyes with his Captain of the Guard.

Some of the clerks he had been meeting with had bristled, affronted as ever by what many saw as the unreasonably jumped up dark eyes. His intrusion into the room with barely a knock probably hadn't helped their opinion.

Dalinar ignored them for the moment, choosing instead to maintain eye contact. A chill ran down his spine.

Stormfather. When had the Captain started looking so…worn out? The man's gaze had always been strikingly intense, tired shadows kept at bay by a fiery rage. But now… Dalinar had perhaps seen that expression before, in a dying Chasmfiend. Embers of an unfathomably immense blaze, finally burning itself out. The heat it gave off still enough to scorch a man, but dying nevertheless.

He felt a twinge of guilt. Surely… he hadn't done that? Almight knows he asked a lot of the young man, too much perhaps. But storms… no, something must have happened. He had just seen the man, what, yesterday? Perhaps it had been a week since they had spoken more than in passing, but still. A week of overwork didn't burn through a person like that.

The Highprince cleared his throat. "I assume this has something to do with security?"

Captain Kaladin nodded firmly.

"Very well. Zaninel, Sherath, you're dismissed."

They left without a word, and barely a glare. Perhaps they had also caught something in the Captain's expression.

Kaladin closed the door behind him as he entered. He proceeded to the table, then all but collapsed into the chair across from the Highprince.

Dalinar raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The darkeyed man rubbed a hand across his forehead, palm seeming to linger across the brands there. He started, sitting up.

"Sorry sir," he said hoarsely. "I forgot myself."

He pushed his weight forward as if to stand, but Dalinar waved him back.

"Its alright," he said. "I'm not one to make a soldier stand when hes clearly on his last chip."

The Captain sagged back.

"I apologize for the breach in decorum, I… last night…" He sighed, squaring his shoulder's and seeming to steel himself. "Well, sir, there's been vital matters I've been debating how to best present to your attention, but now one aspect has come to a head. Bridge four had… a visitor to our fire last night, scared the light out of my men. I've been trying to figure out what to do with him all night."

"A visitor?" Dalinar frowned. "This man is a security concern?"

Kaladin barked a humorless laugh. "It would be fair to say that, yes."

Dalinar waited for more of an explanation.

Kaladin sighed heavily. "I'd like to make a request sir."

"A request."

"That you not immediately put this man to death."

"Not…immediately?" Dalinar felt like an idiotic river spren, only able to mimic words/ But for the life of him, he had no idea where this conversation was going.

The captain nodded, drumming his fingers on the table. "I think he's of more value alive than dead, sir. And… I swore to try and help him regain some measure of his sanity. I can't do that if you kill him on sight."

"Kelek's Breath!" Dalinar said with some disbelief. "This madman if yours, he's truly so alarming, that you think I would do such a thing?"

Kaladin nodded, and Dalinar felt dread pool in his stomach.

"Who is this man?" he whispered.

"His name is Szeth."

"Szeth."

"Yes sir."

"That sounds like a Shin name."

"It is sir."

Dalanir stared down at the Captain, uncertain at what point he had stood up.

"Captain Stormblessed," he said with calm he didnt feel. "I can think of only one Shin man that I would desire to kill on sight."

Kaladin winced, then looked up locking those exhausted, burning eyes with his. "Yes."

"The assassin in white is here." Dalinar stated flatly.

"Yes."

The Highprince took a deep breath to steady himself. "The assassin who killed my brother?"

"Yes."

"The assassin who has been killing world leaders, throwing kingdoms into chaos."

"Yes."

Dalinar grabbed the lapels of Kaladin's jacket, towing him up with an enraged growl. He breathed heavily for a moment , attempting to restrain himself as he stared at that tired, dark expression.

"I trusted you," he hissed. "I trusted you with everything I had, everyone I loved, and you've been working with the Assassin in White."

Storms, did he feel tears in his eyes? Surely this betrayal couldn't hurt worse than Sadeas, but the dagger sharp pain in his sternum said otherwise. Had it all been a ruse? The tower, the retreat, Oathbringer…all one large, intricate lie to trick an old fool?

"No." The captain said firmly, meeting his unsaid questions with a steady, inarguable honesty.

"No, your maj — Sir. No, I have not been working with him. No, I had nothing to do with your brothers death — I was a child at the time, and Szeth and I hadn't even met. When we did first meet, I fought him. Then we fought again. I thought I killed him. I… I actually did kill him, from what i understand."

Kaladin Stormblessed's expression went very far away, but his words continued with that discordant lighteyed crispness he had had from that start.

"He was brought back by… a higher power. I'll explain what I can, but honestly, there's a lot a don't understand. He still very disturbed, but he is trying. He's taking another step along the journey, each day. Szeth is only a danger to himself now."

Stormblessed paused, then looked pained anew.

"Well…mostly. He's prepared to serve you, including as a killer. And…he's indicated that he's similarly willing to listen to my commands. He trusts me, sir. It…I realize this puts you in an uncomfortable position."

Dalinar felt his fingers unclench, and he lowered Stormblessed gently to his seat. There was no question in his mind if he could accept the Captain's word on this, he knew as instinctively as ever that this mans could be trusted.

Knew it more now than ever, seeing in those eyes a man who would rather break himself than break his oaths.

The pain of betrayal ebbed away, leaving a mess of emotions and thoughts in their wake.

Dalinar sat back heavily, rattling the maps and folios on the table.

"Storms!" He scrubbed a hand across his face. "You realize how mad this is, right?"

Kaladin laughed humorlessly. "Very much so."

"I —" Dalinar didn't know where to begin. "Where is he right now?"

"My office — my quarters in the Bridge Four Barrack."

"And he's under guard?"

"I have the Lopen and Rock switching off with him, but like I said, hes rather not a threat to anyone right."

"The Lop— wait, isn't Rock your cook's name?"

"Yessir. And you’ve probably seen Lopen before, he's hard to miss —small, loud, Herdassian."

"The one with one arm? You have a cook and a one armed man guarding the most dangerous man alive? Guarding a known shardbarer?" Dalinar found himself standing again, voice close to a shout. He forced himself back down.

Kaladin smiled weakly for some reason. "He gave me his shardblade, actually. As part of his surrender."

Dalinar glanced at Kaladin's hands, as if to find a shardblade he hadn't noticed.

The Captain opened his mouth, but Dalinar raised a hand. "…I'm not going to enjoy your answer on the location of that either, am I."

"Probably not, no."

[nightblink]

Blink Reads Oathbringer - Chapters 107-111

More confirmation of emotional transfer/sensing via the Nahel bond, which I am all about, and then even more-

And also, shit’s starting to hit the fan.  (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Seven – The First Step

[squints] I don't think the Unmade can be 'returned to Damnation' like the Voidspren, but I could be wrong. No way she was destroyed at Aharietiam, though.

Not a flashback! We're getting more present!Dalinar! Gooood.

We haven't heard a whole lot about Gavilar and Dalinar's father – or what their life was at all like before they decided to go unite the princedoms into a kingdom. Their father getting into honor-duels all the time and getting a bad head injury from one of them could explain a little more of why young!Dalinar scoffed at dueling.

That dream with Nohadon in it is still suspicious, even if it turned out to be something possibly good for Dalinar to hear and ponder over. It was just too vivid, too pointed, for it to be Just A Dream. Maybe Cultivation had a hand in it…?

[growls at Taravangian's presence] The old king seems to be in a more compassionate state today, though not with a low enough intelligence as to appear doddering. Hmm.

AHHHH THE STORMFATHER SENSED KALADIN WHEN HE TOUCHED THE ORB-THING AT THE LIGHTHOUSE. Hah – is hope a new emotion for him? It's enough to give Dalinar some hope, at the very least (which he sorely needs).

Are there only two highprinces left in all of Jah Keved after the civil war – and these two even being new ones after former ones died? I'm betting they're Diagram, considering that Taravangian appointed them.

Queen Fen is not letting him go without an explanation and, to be fair, she's got a point, even if 'sulk' is a bit harsh.

[hums] Command of a language though Dalinar's Surges are temporary. It might last for a few hours, maybe longer if he starts practicing it more often, but we don't have any indication yet as to how long he can hold the Connection right now.

Fifteen thousand men in Jah Keved, and among them “some of their most loyal Kholin and Aladar troops.” I… hmm. Jah Keved isn't particularly stable still, but even so, that's a lot of troops to commit to one place, especially with how few you have left. And isn't the bulk of Sadeas' forces in Thaylen City right now to help rebuild? The place where Kaladin and Shallan and Adolin are heading? …I have a bad feeling about this.

Dalinar has a Bad Feeling about this too. That's not comforting.

[rolls happily at Dalinar acknowledging Navani's patience and support and thanking her for it] And that small touch of hands aaaaaaaaahhhh-

DALINAR HIDING A SMIRK AT JASNAH SNARKING AT IALAI, BLESS. That's absolutely professional behaviour right there, mmhmmm. 'Intelligence', pffFFFT

!!!! Talk about a sudden outburst, but damn that's a good flash of insight, and one that they desperately needed. Their lost Radiants are heading there, so it only makes sense story-wise, and now Dalinar's laying out military reasoning as well. Very good. I'm still wondering how exactly the Thaylen ships survived given how badly the city was smashed up; Queen Fen says that it was “as if the winds left them alone”, which infers that Odium – or perhaps an Unmade – has very direct control over the effects of the Everstorm.

Thank the Heralds that they're managing to (hopefully) scrape together at least some semblance of a navy, because they'll desperately need it.

“You are a good man, Dalinar Kholin. I did not expect that.” Um. Um. Coming from Taravangian, that sounds ominious.

!!! Dalinar's telling Kadash he's going to give his ardents to Taravangian? And Kadash is telling him to stuff it? He's got a point about serving the Kholin people even if the Highprince Kholin has been excommunicated, though. The waiting people that Dalinar just passed in the hallway are an easy example to point to right off the bat. The ardents are not going to accept what he's saying anytime soon, but those that already serve him aren't abandoning him entirely.

Ooooo. Oooooo. Are we going to meet Ba-Ado-Mishram via a vision?

[hisses at Taravangian]

Dalinar recovering from his PTSD-triggered psuedo-catatonic state wasn't good for the Diagram That makes me even more worried than before.

“Moelach seems to have settled in the Horneater Peaks.” Um. You're tracking the Unmade who gives Death Rattles. Y'know, tracking one of the Unmade seems like it would be awesome information to share with the people who are trying to stop the end of the world. Just so you know. Because you're all just a collective bag of dicks with half the usefulness, if that.

Kill or recruit Dalinar? Really. That was your plan. [LAUGHS IN YOUR FACES]

[blinks] Did they. Did Taravangian and the Diagram team force a Nahel bond in order to get a Radiant on their side? Because the term 'project' certainly makes it sound like they did.

Division burns, or turns things to dust; that much we pretty much knew already. It's the specific Dustbringer combinations of their Surges that we're still entirely unsure of, and Division and Friction together? Yeaaaaahhhhh… Also, Note: Dustbringerspren are called Ashspren, and there are definitely a bunch of them and other spren that are pissed about the Recreance (and not without reason).

Hmmm. So. Both Spark and Malata are definitely into the whole breaking things aspect of their bond. Was that common amongst Dustbringers of the past?

Are you the one leaking information to Odium's forces, then? (Did Shallan not reveal that she's actually a Lightweaver to Malata? It's been a while, so I can't remember.)

Fuck off, Taravangian, you and your whole crew.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Eight – Honor's Path

Another sketch-page before the chapter! The little scribble in the upper right hand corner must be the drawing – or the same type of drawing – that Kaladin noticed when he last glanced at Shallan's sketchbook. I'm glad for the visualizations of glorsyspren, though, they're actually quite cute. The anticipationspren and whatever those others are…. They're less cute.

Another Unmade mention: Chemoarish, the Dustmother. Any connection to the Dustbringers, I wonder?

Ahh, 'Honor's Path' is the name of the honorspren ship! Fitting, to be sure. !!!! But the humans spent a week locked in the hold down below? Oh fuuuuck, that could not have been good for either Kaladin, with his history of being imprisoned and aversion to enclosed spaces with no open areas in general, or for Adolin, who'd probably been swinging between bouts of extreme energy and lethargy if he really is ADHD like I suspect/headcanon. They're still not letting Syl out though – too important to risk her getting away, I imagine.

Note: 'Unyielding Fidelity' = honorspren stronghold near Kharbranth (though in the CR)

Of course Kaladin argued with the honorspren and got tossed in the hold again – probably trying to get Syl free, considering. I doubt that honorspren do well in captivity either, and he definitely believes that.

Kaladin is in full single-track-mind mode right now – a desperation that lends him certainty, which Shallan is seeing here as authority, but. Mmmmmmm. It's both, I think. The drive that desperation gives him lends itself to an authoritative manner, but it's apparent just how fragile it is – he's bolting towards a destination rather than actually leading with authority.

There's a loooooot of ifs in Kaladin's plan, and I'm pretty sure at least one of them is going to come into play and fuck things up, or it wouldn't be a Sanderson Avalanche.

Shallan mistaking Kaladin's drive for passion is making me twitch.

Oh shit. Looks like Shallan's fractured sub-personalities are starting to leak out again. It looked like she was almost stabilizing a little, but what small measure of healing she might have processed with talking to Wit can only do so much.

[buries hands in face] The part of Shallan that's subsumed into Veil that sees Kaladin as a 'wild spren of passion, trapped by oaths and codes' – I just. How can you misinterpret someone that badly. It's like I'm watching comedy with secondhand embarrassment; it's that painful to see. He's driven, yes, he's determined, most certainly, but it feels like she's overlaying it with this over-romanticised rose-glasses view that's skewing everything off-kilter and making it very uncomfortable to read.

I'm definitely judging the little corner of her mind that's adding to Veil for liking the scruffy, unkempt beard on him, though. Ugh.

Finding a bead to use would require Shallan getting down to the level of the beads to find an appropriate one, and I don't think the honorspren will be as indulgent in your desires to look overboard as the Thaylen sailors were.

The mistspren or whatever they are sound really cool, ngl. Porcelain masks on bodies made of mist!

Huh. Her asking to practice with the beads… actually worked? Sort of? And the honorspren – or at least a faction of them – are some of those who were definitely not hoping for the Radiants' return. Considering that Aharietiam probably involved the mass breaking of oaths, I can certainly see why.

No guarantees on not breaking your ship, buddy.

I wonder if with all of this practice, she could convince a stick to become fire…? Heheheheheh-

Kaladin is not doing well with being forced to wait in this relatively-enclosed area, no matter if he'd be waiting anyway from the sheer fact that they have to travel. They do need to get back, though, and each day away is one more that the people in Urithiru have no idea about what happened in Kholinar. On top of that, Shallan and Kaladin are Radiants – they're absolutely necessary in this Desolation, more than any of the others of Strike Team Kholinar that haven't returned yet. How long until the Voidspren forces in Shadesmar catch up with them?

!!! Is Vivenna's Blade sentient. And it thinks of itself as a 'she'! Is it an Awakened blade?

Admittedly, Vivenna's right that she has no stake in this fight – so far as she knows. If they fail and Odium is released to ravage the Cosmere, that's an entirely different story, but she doesn't know that, not really. And so, she follows her own motivations, not the overall party's. Kaladin must not have heard or picked up on the hints/outright statements that she's not only not Alethi but not from this world, though, because that softly breathed 'Traitor.' says that he still thinks of her as such.

“I've seen a lot of young hotheads in my time, and young Stormblessed feels like another color altogether.” Because lbr, he's not so much a 'hothead' as a bundle of poorly-contained emotion. Determined, passionate – in a way other than what the part of Shallan that lends itself to Veil sees – and devoted, but prone to outbursts and needing direction to keep from slipping. Kaladin's feeling different here partly because he's amongst equals of a sort – he doesn't have a group of people that he can take under his wing and watch over as their leader, only people who might-be?friends who are alongside him as he rushes towards his goal of trying to protect the person he promised to do so for.

OH. You're not chasing Vasher, you're chasing Nightblood. Well. And Vasher, but he's secondary on your list. [back in Urithiru, an ardent's suddenly aware that someone's talking about him...]

[hums] Is Shallan slipping back into a relatively-unhealthier state of mind? All these 'wrong' sketches seem like they might suggest he's headed back in that direction, but she's still far more in control of herself and aware than she was before. It still feels like she's a smidge healthier than she was before her talk with Wit, all the stress of Shadesmar nonwithstanding. Although this talk of making a new mask since she came across shortcomings that made her recognize the illusion of Veil… (not that she calls it that, she calls Veil broken instead, even though what's really 'broken' is Shallan's ability to see her Veil-persona as flawlessly competent as she had before, and therefore a suitable mask to hide behind)

“I just have to recover… her...” !!! Are you… are you outright admitting about your splitting personality-masks to someone other than Wit? That's… hell, this conversation is a huge step of trust, Shallan. “Shallan's broken, so I think I'm trying to hide her. … I'm not doing it on purpose, but it's happening, and I don't know how to stop it.” Okay, telling someone else is a huge measure of trust and an enormous step forward in possible recovery, but even more so, she's admitting it to herself as well, in a way that she can't alter lie away because it's being witnessed by another person. That's an even bigger step forward, especially since acknowledgment has been one of the things she's been most reluctant to do throughout the entire series thus far. It's always 'hide it away, pretend it doesn't exist', even when she was little, which isn't healthy at all, and has led to the splitting personalities to deal with all the things that she doesn't want to face herself.

[hums] Is this the first time that someone's offered silent acknowledgment of her pain, rather than suggesting what she should do to deal with it? I mean, it makes sense that Adolin's doing what he can to support her even when-

Wait. Did he just. Um. Um. I… well. I did not expect that revelation to happen like that.

“It was me. I'm the one the spren copied the first time. I kept thinking about how I was lying to you, to Father, and to everyone. The honorable Adolin Kholin, the consummate duelist. A murderer. And Shallan, I… I don't think I'm sorry.” I figured he didn't regret it. He's not the kind to regret something like stabbing that snake of a man for the sake of his loved ones and his people. He may regret the consequences that come if anyone finds out about it, though. That lying, though – how much does that weigh on him? Without any POV sections for Adolin in most of the early and mid-book chapters, we haven't seen much of him facing and upholding his lie.

omg Shallan. “Good for you.” HE WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT. And she's not going to tell Dalinar either. For now, it's a secret between the two of them (which could be bad later, if he does get, say, caught in a trap by Ialai and accused, and Shallan now knows the incriminating fact)

I do like that he's offering support via a measure of understanding, (see some of my previous Shallan/Adolin writings because hooooo I've gone over both of their tendency to use situational masks already) acknowledging her problem while still admitting that a) it's a problem and b) he doesn't have an answer for it, but could she share one if she finds any? It's very much unlike Kaladin's earlier and rather wince-worthy response of 'you can just. repress your emotions? That's AWESOME.”

“You never did say which one you prefer.” “It's obvious. I prefer the real you.” “Which one is that, though?” “She's the one I'm talking to right now. You don't have to hide, Shallan. You don't have to push it down. Maybe the vase is cracked, but that only means it can show what's inside. And I like what's inside.” Sanderson, beyond my personal pairing preferences in general and even in specific, these two had better be endgame with how well they interact/you're setting them up. They're actually good for each other.

'What was this peace? This place without fear?' asfhjakldlfghlagfhdgdgfhdgfksbjdbjdbf

Kaladin did you fly up to the deck that you're not supposed to be on. I'll bet you did.

You did. [CACKLES]

He's right to worry about any Fused/Voidspren following them or laying traps ahead of them, as I still have a Very Bad Feeling about this. Oh man but he can sense Syl's anxiety! EMOTIONAL TRANSFER VIA THE NAHEL BOND ONCE MORE COMFIRMED.

'Of all the spren they'd interacted with on this side, honorspren seemed to share the most human mannerisms.' Oh, interesting; I wonder why that is? Were honorspren nonexistent on Roshar before humans?

“It's not like we eloped.” “It is worse, as the Nahel bond is far more intimate a relationship – the linking of spirits.” He's got you there, Kaladin. Did you really think that that was going to work when you two are bonded?

Why am I cackling so hard over Captain Notum being completely thrown by Kaladin's nonchalant agnosticism/atheism.

Also:“You… actually understand this?” “Understand, no. Follow, mostly.” PFFFFFFFT. That's  about how the rest of us who are only lightly versed in Realmatics feel about this whole schtick too, Kal. It's complicated and we don't even have all the pieces.

Ooooooo, shit – all the honorspren from before the Recreance save Syl are dead, and all the others now are the ten made by the Stormfather and their descendants? I think the fact that all of the old honorspren dies might have been been insinuated before, but it's the first time it's been outright stated. No wonder the Stormfather is particularly attached to Syl and the other honorspren are so bent on bringing her back.

The thought that Syl herself might not be ready for a bond – that the spren themselves can be just as unprepared as humans when going into this – isn't something I'd really considered before. That means that the spren can make mistakes – perhaps even big ones – in choosing to bond.

“But your bond is dangerous, without Honor. There will not be enough checks upon your power – you risk disaster.” Hmmm. Does he mean the Surges when he says 'your power'? Other than the Oaths, what checks/bindings did Honor put on his Invested?

“Not too late. Killing you would free her – though it would be painful for her. There are other ways, at least until the Final Ideal is sworn.” …….judging by the fact that the final Skybreaker Oath is basically 'becoming the law', and now this honorspren all but says that the bond between spren and human cannot be broken once the Fifth and Final Ideal is sworn, I'd bet a handful of emeralds that that means that the spren and human halves of a Radiant pair become almost merged somehow, unable to be separated by any means.

Heh – since appealing to logic isn't getting him anywhere, it's time for Kaladin to play by his strengths and bring out the emotional side of his argument. And… okay, doesn't look like that's getting him anywhere either. Damn.

The Ideals are overwhelming when you take even a moment to sit down and think of them, and it's no wonder that many spren don't see the humans as being able to keep to the oaths they swear. There's very valid points here though: all of those in the world that cannot protect themselves is an impossible order for one person; what is right, and how is one supposed to judge who is in the right? Much like the Skybreakers and what is justice?

Huh. Interesting that windspren exist almost solely on the Physical Plane. His debating the Ideals somehow manifested them in the CR despite their rarity – Windrunner and windspren, that's a no-brainer – but why would windspren not only be drawn to him while he debates his oaths, even bolstering his bond with Syl to the point of telepathy?

Also, just. HOT DAMN, TELEPATHY VIA THE NAHEL BOND NOW TOO, not just for Dalinar and the Stormfather alone anymore!

Which, speaking of, looks like Notun wasn't of the understanding that the Stormfather is bonded again as well. Heheheheheheheheh

I am highly amused by Adolin coming up out of the hold to this sight of Kaladin on deck and his admiring description that follows, though really, same. The fond addition of 'the storming bridgeman' right before he thinks of how heroic Kaladin looks deeeeeefinintely feels like a 'storming damnation how is he so handsome'. Also, with those windspren glowing points? Canon shoujo-sparkle!Kaladin Stormblessed confirmed,

And it looks like Shallan agrees – which again, same, can we all please love and appreciate Kaladin – but her body language as she does so, in what's probably the Veil part of her slipping out in appreciation… [winces] Adolin already has some serious self-doubt/self-worth issues about their relationship, as we saw not only back in Kholinar but all the way back in Urithiru as well; this definitely isn't going to help in that regard.

He's not laying fault on either Kaladin or Shallan, though, thank you Sanderson for Very Much Not going a jealous route there or I may have had to murder you.

Ooooop, and there we go, the Fused finally caught up to them. Fleeing probably isn't even close to an option here, so it's time to stand and fight. Problem is, there's eight flying Fused, one Windrunner, and no Shardblades. This could turn very bad very quickly.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Nine – Neshua Kadal

Ahhhhhahahahahahahah oh, Re-Shephir was very much Not Destroyed – though she was caught, which could perhaps also be the case for Ba-Ado-Mishram, perhaps, since they were both 'thought destroyed' at Aharietiam?

I wondered if they were going to try infusing that massive column of gemstone and try to power Urithiru again, but apparently they've tried and it's just not working so far.

That armguard is a watch and serious ibuprofin all in one. Navani needs to start marketing those.

'He raised his chis as the storm slammed into Urithiru, roughly at the height of its third tier.' Okay, so the lower levels of Urithiru get stormlight and rain and crem; it's the upper levels that the storms can't reach – or so far as we know.

Oooop, time is short, go go go before Odium finds you-!

Haaaaaah, Venli recognises him, or at least his description. Good, then they can get straight to the point without too much dithering. [winces] And she has every right to tear into him for the genocide he and his visited upon her people.

'Though he was not short for a human, her current form was a good six inches taller than he was.' Venli's in… storm-form, or scholar-form? Something else? Either way, that height would put her at at least seven-foot-one, maybe even taller, headcanon-wise.

“Don't you understand? The people who live there – the singers, my cousins – are from Alethkar. That is their homeland too. The only difference between them and you is that they were born as slaves, and you as their master!” I'm applauding Venli as she rips into Dalinar tbh. [cups hands and yells] YOU STILL HAVE SLAVERY. AND ALSO YOU HAVE MASSIVE SOCIAL INEQUALITY B/C OF YOUR HIGHLY STRATIFIED, RACIST CLASS SYSTEM. AND THE PARSHMEN YOU CONSIDERED PRACTICALLY ANIMALS AND BELOW EVEN THAT.

Ohhh, shit, that cracking – that's probably the Stormfather trying to shield them, and Odium just powers right on through, blasting the vision-world to smithereens in the process, with them in it. That must be utterly, bone-shakingly terrifying to experience.

Note: Neshua Kadal. Radiant Knight. 'The listeners remembered this as a song sung to the Rhythm of Awe. Neshua Kadal.'

!!! Dalinar's got stormlight, and is somehow using it to resist Odium's pull on the vision-world around him? But only so much, only the immediate area that his light can spread, and the rest still crumbles around him.

Without Odium's influence pulling at her via the Voidspren in her heart, Venli can think more clearly. And! Timbre followed her even into the vision! She can do that? Are they almost-bonded?

(okay, so she's not in stormform, but still a Voidspren-form, though more delicate than stormform)

YOU WENT AFTER HER YOU SAVED TIMBRE FROM BEING PULLED INTO THE DESTRUCTION AT THE RISK OF YOURSELF BEING PULLED IN TOO, AHHHHH- 'Great. Now we can fall together.' Sarcastic, but aaaaaahhhhhhh, VENLI

!!!! Dalinar jumping in to catch her! And that 'Something flashed around his arm. Lines of light, a framework that covered his body. His fingers didn't bleed as they scraped the stone.' PROTO-SHARDPLATE, PROTO-SHARDPLATE

[winces] And now with Venli back safe in the waking world, Dalinar gets to experience Odium's torture.

FUCK OFF, ODI-DUMB. AND YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL HIM SON. SCRAM. SHOO.

Don't trust a single word he says, Dalinar. You don't have to be a force of destruction.

And on his return, he hears through the bond as the Stormfather itself, greatest of spren, weeps in pain and broken fear, 'whispering that Odium was too strong'.

A price paid indeed.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Ten – A Million Stars

Hessi's book calls the Midnight Mother's creations 'monsters of shadow and oil', though as we've seen they tend to favor the shadow side, with an oily movement and, if I'm remembering right, slight iridescence.

With as little stormlight as they have, they can't afford to have Kaladin fly all four of them – or even just three, if Azure didn't come with them – to the closest land mass, or they wouldn't have any light left to work the Oathgate, if they can even manage to do so.

Syl has not done well in her extended captivity, although now I want to draw Kaladin and Syl leaning on and supporting each other as she stumbles out from the doorway and he steadies her with shaking hands of his own.

HEHEHEHEH. Watch out Vasher, Vivenna's here and she's hunting you down! And now Adolin and Kaladin know that she and Zahel know each other. U CANNOT ESCAPE

Shitfuckdamn they're jumping in to the sea of glass-

It's a damn good thing that Shallan managed to not only find a bead that could work to hold out the other beads, but that she somehow managed to either test it or get information from the honorspren or Pattern to know that it would work like that in the first place.

Okay, at least spren don't need to breathe, that's good to know.

Shallan: ...I'm holding both their hands right now #livingthedream

A forest of glass plants? Oooooo~ Do they react like 'normal' Rosharan plants and curl away or clam up at vibrations and/or contact? They sounds beautiful. - 'The trunks were translucent; the leaves looked like they were blown from glass in a multitude of colors. Moss drooped from one branch, like melted green glass, strands hanging down in silky lines.'

Another highstorm. This is probably the same one that Dalinar used in the last chapter to send a vision to Venli, and Odium broke in. Ooo, the other storm that Syl senses might be the Everstorm approaching.

Okay. Short flight inland to gain some distance without (hopefully) using up too much of their stormlight, then several days' walk to get to the Oathgate. They're so close. So close. Something's going to go wrong when they get there; everything's starting to ramp up in energy and in stakes. Besides, what's a Sanderson book without the fear of Major Suffering during the Avalanche?

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Eleven – Elia Stele

'Lore is confident there were nine, an unholy number, asymmetrical and often associated with the enemy.' So who's the ninth Unmade. What're their powers. Kinda need to know that.

'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.' Fucking bless. The entirety of the Kholins finally being solidly on Kaladin's (and Jasnah's) side in this and viciously wanting to either verbally flay or physically maim Amaram on sight is so satisfying.

God fucking damn it, Amaram. You have a point about the Sadeas soldiers assuming that they've been essentially assigned Punishment Duty (which is basically what it is in standard Alethi estimation, as they're rebuilding instead of actively engaging an enemy or sent to wait in defense for a possible attack), but you're tossing fuel on the fire by thinking of the Thaylens as 'our enemies', and as acting-highprince now, that is going to leak down to your soldiers as well. Friction between allies is the last thing all of you need for the survival of Roshar right now.

It's amazing how Bridge Four can just pop in and lighten the mood like they do, with their vibrant personalities and their humor and their sense of loyalty, of right and wrong, so different from the broken bridgemen that littered Sadeas' camp back in TWoK. They've come so far.

Queen Fen's son has gone from his outright distrust to practically outright hero-worship in regard to Dalinar and it's hilarious.

“More bankers. The quiet economic collapse of Roshar continues.” Um. If they're all making their way back to Thaylenah along with their gemstones, and we-the-readers as well as the alliance are expecting an attack on Thaylen City… ahh, but this could be Very Not Good if Odium's forces start making off with their way of storing light – essential to the Radiants' Surgebinding.

???? 'Rin? Renarin? What do you need the large stone(s) for? Do you have a plan?? Capturing the Unmade like Re-Shephir once was, maybe?

!!!!!!!! Dalinar's met Cultivation! And she's not the Nightwatcher! WHO IS SHE AND WHERE AND WHEN DID THEY MEET. And there's another one – a Splinter-spren greater than the rest, one that sleeps now and that humans have hurt before. Where, and who, Stormfather.

[hums] Your job of Uniting Them is far, far from done, Dalinar…

“Odium lies when he claims to have sole ownership of passion.” THANK YOU. That's definitely something that Dalinar needed to hear from an outside source, not just him trying to convince himself of the fact.

“It is not a day to be heartless.” FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK, HOW BAD IS TARAVANGIAN TODAY AND WHY DO I FEEL LIKE IT SPELLS DISASTER. SHITFUCKBALLS

Oh noooo, Dalinar's actually interested in and excited to be at the meeting and I have this looming feeling of dread that everything is just about to be upended into the fan...

(despite that looming dread I do love the detail of Fen's son chatting with Renarin; plz let him have more friends, all the friends)

…..it's not the Stormfather whispering in the back of Dalinar's mind, despite their Nahel bond having grown even closer, and the Stormfather can't hear it either. Bad Feeling Intensifies.

Renarin's getting the Bad Feeling too, isn't he. Fffffffftttt-

“Something… something is coming. A storm.”

Uh oh.

A storm indeed. Odium's sent it early, and with more power behind it – a supernatural assault to speed his armies on their way and to give them lightning strikes as near-artillery? That can't just be it, not when last book's Avalanche hinged around the Everstorm as well...

...what did Jasnah and Navani just discover.

Oh.

Shit.

Okay, so. Unpacking – those first called Voidbringers were humans, called such by the native Parshendi/Singers/Listeners- Dawnsingers. “They destroyed their lands and have come to us begging.” Well, that negates my theory that Rosharan-variant humans were scratch-created based on the Yolen model, but I'm still of the mind that they at least got a serious DNA-manipulation (probably via Cultivation) in order to not only survive on Roshar but to be able to have children with the Parshendi, considering that there's several (maybe all, save for the Shin?) Rosharan-variant human races that have Listener(Dawnsinger?) blood.

But which world did those original humans come from? And how did they use Surgebinding to destroy an entire world? And how did that truth in turn destroy the Radiants – was it the realization that they, and their predecessors before them, had been the Voidbringers to these people, the invaders and bringers of death and destruction? Or was it something else?

Oh for- and of course, now Taravangian has to speak up, and with… news about…

This is what you had your informants spreading that would destroy Dalinar and all that he's been working for, you poxed slug. This is the point where you sweep Dalinar's feet out from under him and there's nothing he can do about it.