#also Navani: Can’t do anything to help Dalinar in this case so she makes him lunch

[silvercaptain24]

Navani is awesome

[preservationandruin]

Rhythm of War Liveblog, Part One Part 2 (Chapters 3-8)

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[to the tune of Things I Bought At Sheetz] Now It’s time for Notes I Took At Work. This is going to be a weird experiment, because I read these chapters while at my job and took extensive notes on my reactions, which I’m now going to try to condense into something coherent. 

Navani revels in a successful invention, Shallan encounters a very bad cult, I quote--of all things--Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, A Certain Fucker reappears, Leshwi becomes a character I like, Shallan finds a journal, I digress on Renarin’s abilities, and everyone is rightfully worried about Kaladin. Content warning; discussion of suicide and suicidal tendencies

Alright, we open Chapter Three with Navani’s AIRSHIP, which is a kickass sentence. She’s leaning over the side of the ship, to the distress of one of her fellow scholars who attempts to appeal to Dalinar to get her to stop. 

“It’s Navani’s ship, Velat,” Dalinar said from behind, his voice as steady as steel, as immutable as mathematics. She loved his voice. “I think she’d have me thrown off if I tried to prevent her from enjoying this moment.” 

This is great both because Dalinar and Navani are great, but also as a contrast to Gavilar saying that Navani doesn’t accomplish anything herself, she just pretends to be an inventor and stays behind other, smarter people. Dalinar says no, this is Navani’s ship, this is her victory. The ship’s base design is one of the chasm bridges; it’s operated on the same principles as spanreeds, a kind of sympathetic link where you link two fabrials and whatever happens to one, happens to the other. Just augmented with aluminum and a LOT of pulleys and hard work. 

My notes also say “Eat Shit Gavilar” which i think is just, a general note. 

Anyway she also wishes that Elhokar was there because he loved being up high and also watching her draw...so now I’m feeling emotions, and if that wasn’t enough, I get hit in the feelings again because the name of the ship is the Fourth Bridge, after Bridge Four because of the time they saved Dalinar and Adolin at the tower, and it not only has the Bridge Four glyph inlaid but the original bridge inlaid. 

We see Dalinar and Lirin interact (my notes call this a “Dad convention”) --Lirin, of course because he’s Kaladin’s father, doesn’t really defer to Dalinar at all but does see the potential of this platform as a movable hospital; he’s discomfited by the reminder that Edgedancers are usually used for that now. Lirin really is a practical man who doesn’t believe in heroes or hero stories, which is unfortunate because they’re coming to life all around him. Also Dalinar calls him Lirin Stormblessed which is pretty funny because Lirin is Not Having It. 

Also, we get this great line from Navani about Lirin and Kaladin: 

However, as she stepped up beside Dalinar, she caught Lirin’s eyes--and the familial connection became more obvious. That same quiet intensity, that same faintly judgmental gaze that seemed to know too much about you. In that moment she saw two men with the same soul, for all their physical differences. 

This is really interesting in light of how Kaladin and Lirin are at the moment arguing; they both are at their core very driven, caring people who want the best for their community, but they are at odds for the best way to achieve that in part because they’ve had such different experiences; Kaladin’s life hasn’t let him be the surgeon Lirin is. 

For more changes in the year since we last met these characters, Dalinar has learned how to recharge stormlight and open perpendicularities at will, which essentially makes him a portable battery for the Radiants. That’s super useful. Navani likes observing the process, hoping that somewhere in it is a key to how Urithiru functions; she knows that it used to be powered by the Sibling, the third god-spren of Roshar, but after the Recreance the Sibling either died or fell so asleep the spren treat it as having died. 

That’s interesting; the Sibling has been something I’ve been wondering about a lot, and confirmation that it was tied to Urithiru seems to preclude it being a godspren of Odium like I’d thought for a bit (and in any case, Odium has the Unmade and doesn’t seem the time to fragment himself into a godspren). Another spren of Honor or Cultivation? Or perhaps a spren of both? More importantly, if it really is dead, is there still a way to revive Urithiru? Last book talked about possibly recruiting Sja-anat; if we do, could she serve as an alternate power source for the tower? 

We also get the Mink, the Herdazian general, slipping up on Dalinar and Navani without them noticing and also calling Dalinar the fuck out for the many atrocities that his armies and nation had unleashed on the Herdazians, which Dalinar can’t really refute. I like this guy, honestly; I’m not sure what’s up with him, if he’s just really good at sneaking around or if he has something Up With Him, but I like him. 

Back with the Three (Shallan/Radiant/Veil), they wake up to find themselves in the chasms with an EXTREMELY melodramatic cult. They’re looking for proof Ialai is now running the Hypocrites Association--sorry, the Sons of Honor; Radiant refuses to move against Ialai without proof, even though Shallan and Veil both kinda wish Adolin had killed her at the same time as Sadeas and saved everyone some trouble. Anyway, the Hypocrites association wear deep, fancy hoods that leads to a great Shallan thought: 

Shallan had a fleeting thought, wondering at the seamstress they’d hired to do all this work. What had they told her? “Yes, we want twenty identical, mysterious robes, sewn with ancient arcane symbols. They’re for...parties.” 

They claim both to have guided the return of the Radiants and to be overthrowing Dalinar, which is hilarious because Dalinar is a Radiant so the only real extrapolation here is that, in the fantasy where they’re right about any of this, they brought the radiants back and lost control of the situation immediately and now are recruiting random strangers to try to help rein it back in. Which is still not a good look. 

Oh and also they claim to be “something greater” than the Radiants, and I really doubt they’re the Heralds, so everything they say is horseshit, as is proven a second later when they test if Shallan is wearing an illusion with a device she herself sold them at an exorbitant price. And then claiming that Radiants can’t tell untrue oaths, right in front of Shallan, who is bonded to a liespren. 

They’re just a very bad cult. 

Also they say Ialai is the true queen, which raises many questions to me about the line of succession that gives them THAT math, especially with Gavinor alive and there. Like, somehow Sadeas’s widow gets priority over the last king’s living child? I know they’re just a stupid cult but guys, that’s not how lines of succession work in monarchies. 

Anyway, Shallan hears them say that they have a mole in Dalinar’s inner circle--bad--and goes off-script, taking control to say she’s not who they think she is, and we cut back to Kaladin for the next chapter, which is called Broken Spears which prompted my note of “I don’t trust like that.” And then instantly I started laughing because of this quote: 

[The windrunners] hung in the air like no skyeel ever could: motionless, equidistant.

This is not a particularly funny line unless you, like me, have never been able to forget a line from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: 

“The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.”

So there’s that. 

Kaladin has apparently fought with Leshwi before at this point (she is, iirc, the Fused who was one of the main points of contact for Moash during his arc in Oathbringer); last time, Rock’s daughter Cord managed to shoot her down. The Windrunners, like the Edgedancers, have grown in number; there are about 50 knights, now, and five times that in squires; the problem is that there aren’t enough willing honorspren to bond. Kaladin mentions that “almost all” of Bridge Four had bonded honorspren and that he knew one honorspren who was willing but unbonded, all of which leads me to believe that Rock hasn’t sworn the Oaths yet. 

Meanwhile, these Fused--the Heavenly Ones--prefer one on one battles, as Kaladin noted in earlier chapters, so the Windrunners do the same; as long as they do this, the Heavenly Ones will keep to the ideals of honorable combat and will not gang up on the Windrunners. Again, it shows that they are both the orders that deal with Honorspren, even if the Heavenly Ones deal with...void-honorspren, I guess. 

Also, it’s another nod to the idea of if there can be such a thing as honorable combat in a war. Both the Heavenly Ones and the Windrunners are trying for it, clearly, but is that sustainable? 

Leshwi is in fact there, with a very cool aluminum-edged sword that can absorb stormlight into a gem at the hilt. She, along with the rest of the Fused and apparently the Heralds (Shalash and Taln are both in Urithiru), are stunned by the Fourth Bridge; fuck yeah, Navani and her team. She’s so cool, guys, I love Navani. Also, everyone is worried about Kaladin. 

Shallan, meanwhile, is ad-libbing having even more information, which leads to a hilarious moment of her being accused of treason by a member of the cult who are trying to overthrow the current queen, so...there’s a reason I’m calling them the Hypocrites Association, alright? Anyway, Adolin decides it’s time to attack, and Radiant and Shallan manage to bluff their way into being taken along to the hideout as the Hypocrites Association retreats. 

With Kaladin again, we get that the Fused see him as a particular challenge they enjoy fighting, although Leshwi always has first dibs; he fights another Fused and manages to disarm him, but decides not to kill him because killing him is pointless. Also, the teleporting fucker comes back, and yes, that is what I’m calling him until further notice. 

Something happened in Aimia that led to Cord getting a set of shardplate. Is this the Dawnshard novel? Is that what happened in Aimia? I’m going to read it next regardless but now I’m curious about what happened on the Radiant expedition to Aimia. 

So it turns out that the Hypocrites Association has a secret passage into and out of the chasms with a hidden door, which was probably a bolthole for escape that Sadeas put in early during the war at the Shattered Plains. His keep is also noted by Veil to be fortresslike; she notes that he was a cunning man, not just the blowhard that Shallan had taken him for. Ialai is now the sole remaining leader of the dissident Alethi army; while Radiant wants evidence against her that can have her be taken in, Veil is here just to assassinate her and have done with it. 

And honestly there is a nice symmetry in Adolin killing Sadeas and Shallan/the Three killing Ialai. 

Anyway, we go back to Kaladin as Leshwi fights Sigzil now; she manages to spear him through the chest, and I swear to god if any of the original Bridgemen actually die, I’m going to kick Brandon Sanderson’s ass. Those are my BOYS. In any case, Leshwi doesn’t kill Sigzil, because Kaladin spared one of the Fused earlier--honor in combat, again. There’s definitely a whole essay I could discuss about this opening few chapters and the idea of if continuing a fight is the right thing to do and if that fight can be continued in a way that is moral, but I don’t have the time for that, I’m trying to do NaNoWriMo and read this book. 

I’ll shelve it along with the Oathbringer and the idea of personal responsibility essay. 

We go back to Navani and get another real sense of how well she knows her team; she knows the personal tics and oddities of all the ardents and scholars who are helping her on the Fourth Bridge, which is nice to see. We also get that Renarin is here, distracting crying children by having Glys form a ball of light, and Navani has this observation: 

Renarin claimed the spren [Glys] was trustworthy, but something was odd about his powers. They had managed to recruit several standard Truthwatchers--and they could create illusions like Shallan. Renarin couldn’t do that. He could only summon lights, and they did strange, unnatural things sometimes...

Really excited to see how Renarin’s powers develop similarly to or different from standard Truthwatchers; I agree that Glys is probably trustworthy because Renarin is the best judge of that at the moment and also because “the corrupted spren turns out to be evil” isn’t a very interesting plot development compared to “there can be good corrupted spren” 

And then I got yanked forcibly off-topic because guess who fucking showed up. Moash decided to show his backstabbing, treacherous little face again, wearing--of all things--a uniform cut exactly like Bridge Four’s but in black rather than blue, which is just a stupendous dick move. Navani is the one who sees him, too, and we get a sharp reminder that he murdered her son.

Kaladin doesn’t hear the alarm that Navani raises, though, because he’s busy fighting Leshwi, something he seems to genuinely enjoy as a test of his skills. He pushes his home-field advantage here, managing to distract Leshwi to the point that they both seriously injure the other; Kaladin is grinning throughout, which is actually somewhat disturbing. To me it reads like Kaladin’s stopped caring about his own life in favor of trying to help others at any cost, but I’m not sure if that’ll play through as an accurate read. 

In any case, someone set Roshone’s house on fire, and the teleporting fucker is there and actively attacking civilians. Leshwi is pissed off to see this and gestures for Kaladin to go and deal with that rather than continuing their fight; at this point, I really started loving Leshwi as a character. I’m a sucker for a good principled antagonist lady, they’re just a good trope. 

Anyway, we get to Chapter Seven. Navani’s epigraph notes that zinc makes the spren in fabrials more active, while brass quiets them. So...you could say...that brass soothes them...while zinc...makes them riot....

Anyway, back to Ialai, Shallan notes that she seems extremely worn and tired, and she claims to support Gavinor to the throne--with herself as regent, of course. She and Shallan proceed to have an entire conversation in wine metaphors, talking about who they are working with or for, and Ialai assumes that the Ghostbloods sent the Three to kill her, claiming they want the Sons of Honor out of the way and will send her after Restares next. Veil instantly switches her vote to not killing Ialai bc she doesn’t like to be manipulated, and Adolin kicks down the door. 

Ialai tells Shallan to search her rooms for “the rarest vintage” before the Ghostbloods can, and then--before she can even leave the building--she dies of poisoning, implying there’s a mole somewhere in Adolin and Shallan’s people. That’s not great, and the Ghostbloods aren’t fucking around in the slightest with her. 

Meanwhile, with Kaladin, the teleporting fucker took Godeke--the one named Edgedancer here other than Lift--hostage to lure Kaladin inside, where he uses a strange, void-fabrial to drain Surgebinder powers in the room. And then makes a critical error in thinking that that will be enough: 

The Fused laughed and spoke in Alethi. “Radiants! You rely too much on your powers. Without them, what are you? A peasant child with no real training in the art of warfare or--”  Kaladin slammed himself against the soldier to the right. 

Oh you poor idiots, Kaladin was a prodigy with the spear LONG before he was a Windrunner, went most of his army career without bonding Syl, and--crucially--one of you is carrying a physical spear. Checkmate, assholes. Kaladin quickly beats most of the ones there, including killing the teleporting fucker before he can teleport again, and lets the last one go--of course--before helping Lift get Godeke out and telling her to get the void fabrial to Navani. 

Meanwhile, he’s going to go make sure Roshone is alright, where I have the very prescient note of “I bet actual money Moash is killing him as we speak.” 

Ialai’s probable method of death was blackbane poison in her bloodstream; one of Shallans’ people examines the body for it, while Shallan goes to search ialai’s rooms. 

Another epigraph note, this time about bronze and heliodor being used to make warning fabrials. Scadrial really was just a primer on the uses of various metals with investiture, huh? 

Meanwhile, Kaladin finds the prisoners below the manor killed with a shardblade, and spins around to find Moash slitting Roshone’s throat before making what I called, in a late-night worktime daze, “just a series of rat bastard moves. Hate that guy. Just honestly hate that guy.” 

Specifically, he surrenders so that Kal cannot keep attacking him--because Kal’s a good person--just after taunting him for wanting to rescue someone. 

Back with Shallan, Veil is pushing her again to continue remembering their past, but she still resists; she finds a rare Shin wine in Ialai’s store, before using that to find a pattern on the floor of old, shadowyears-era glyphs with maps of the ten Epoch Kingdoms, under one of which is a notebook of Ialai’s; she tucks it in her safepouch, and we go back to Kaladin. 

I really think the arc for Kaladin in this book is going to be accepting that he can’t save everyone,  particularly from themselves, because he pauses and remembers how Moash had been a friend, but even more than that, he had been Bridge Four--someone that Kaladin had sworn to protect, and he’d failed: 

Kaladin had failed Moash. As soundly as he’d failed Dunny, Mart, and Jaks. And of them all, losing Moash hurt the most. Because in those callous eyes, Kaladin saw himself. 

Kaladin can’t keep blaming himself for Moash’s choices, because Moash chose to do this, and was given ways out, and didn’t take them. It’s not Kaladin’s fault, and believing that it is is going to get Kaladin killed. 

And then, Moash winds up and delivers a grade-A Odium-powered Breaking Speech: 

"They're going to die, you know," Moash said softly. "Everyone you love, everyone you think you can protect. They're all going to die anyway. There's nothing you can do about it." [...] "Do you remember the chasm, Kal?" Moash whispered. "In the rain that night? Standing there, looking down into the darkness, knowing it was your sole release? You knew it hen. You try to pretend you've forgotten. But you know. As sure as the storms will come. As sure as every lighteyes will lie. There is only one answer. One path. One result. [...] I've found the better way," Moash said. "I feel no guilt. I've given it away, and in so doing became the person I always could have become--if I hadn't been restrained. I can take away the pain, Kal. Isn't that what you want? An end to your suffering?”

Odium’s deal all over again--he will take away your pain and your responsibility for your actions, but the price for that is your integrity and your honor. It’s so insidious, especially because Moash is exploiting the fact that Kaladin was suicidal to play into the idea of life being hopeless--he’s implying that Kaladin’s suicidal impulses were right and then offering another way out. It’s so, so so so awful, and Kaladin can’t even bring himself to fight it, because it’s coming from an unarmed man and it’s targeted so directly at him. 

 “The answer is to stop existing, Kal. You’ve always known it, haven’t you?”  Kaladin blinked away tears, and the deepest part of him--the little boy who hated the rain and the darkness--withdrew into his soul and curled up. Because...he did want to stop hurting. 

He wanted it so badly. 

Ugh, Moash’s whole thing here is just seeding that suicidality back into Kaladin--because frankly, most of the time? When someone is suicidal, in my (admittedly limited and personal) experience? What they genuinely want isn’t to die--they just want not to hurt anymore, and they see that as the only way. 

Light exploded into the room.  Clean and white, like the light of the brightest diamond. The light of the sun. A brilliant, concentrated purity.  Moash growled, spinning around, shading his eyes against the source of the light--which came from the doorway. The figure behind it wasn’t visible as anything more than a shadow.  Moash shied away from the light--but a version of him, transparent and filmy, broke off and stepped toward the light instead. Like an afterimage. In it, Kaladin saw the same Moash--but somehow standing taller, wearing a brilliant blue uniform. This one raised a hand, confident, and although Kaladin couldn’t see them, he knew people gathered behind this Moash. Protected. Safe.  The image of Moash burst alight as a Shardspear formed in his hands.

FUCK YEAH, RENARIN. 

I’m gonna end this section by just discussing what happened here, because there’s a lot to unpack there. We’ve seen Shallan use her illusions to create versions of people who they could be, but this isn’t doing that--if you look at the cause and effect, it’s not that Renarin created this illusory Moash, but more that the light Renarin created called forth that Moash from this one. 

More than anything, it reminds me of the effects of Gold Allomancy--creating a past version of the self, splitting the self into who you are and who you were, or who you are and who you could have been. This is not a version of Moash that could exist. He’s burned too many bridges and killed too many people in front of their infant children for that to happen. 

But it could have been Moash. It’s not calling forth the truth, really, it’s showing an alternate path. It’s strange and I can’t wait to see it explored more, and it shakes Moash to his core--because of course it does. Moash’s entire speech was saying “there are only two ways out, dying and giving in to Odium,” and Renarin’s light showed that that was a stark fucking lie. There’s the third choice of deciding to stand up and protect people anyway, and it was a choice Moash could have taken, and that kills him. It eats him up inside; it’s the pain that Odium can’t fully take away. 

As Kaladin said to Amaram: if what Odium says is  true, if what you claim is true, than why do you still hurt? 

[radiantmists]

row part one thoughts

So I’m done with part one! this got super freaking long, so readmore:

Navani focus! I am so very happy about this, y’all have no idea. And given that the fused are going to strike at the tower, specifically to mess with the very fabrial Navani wants to fix, she’s going to do something amazing. 

Also, I don’t have to worry about her living to the end, or the tower being lost, because the epigraphs for part one seem very likely to take place after the events of the book.

I do have to worry about Kaladin, especially because I really don’t think spending more time around Lirin is actually going to help his mental state. 

That being said, I did enjoy the evidence that he was excited about his parents moving in-- the idea of him and Syl picking out toys for Oroden is so sweet. I’m excited to see him spending time with Oroden and his mom.

I’m less excited that Shallan and Adolin are leaving without him; I get why sending him on the honorspren expedition is a bad idea, but it seems like the parts of his support system that are adapted to his current situation, as opposed to his parents who are used to him as a child, have been systematically stripped away (Rock leaving, Windrunners deployed in Azir, etc).

I continue to be super interested in what Brandon’s doing with Rlain-- he still hasn’t been able to draw in Stormlight, and he refuses to bond with a spren who’s been coerced. I hope he ends up with a spren anyway; we know it’s possible from Venli, so the honorspren just have to stop being assholes.

I initially thought that Kaladin only ordered the grouchy honorspren to consider Rlain, not to bond him, and I kinda agree that he shouldn’t be allowed to threaten a spren into bonding someone; he knows how much they hate being trapped.

Which brings me back to Navani being threatened. Who could have had the chance to smuggle the spanreed ruby into her box? My immediate prediction would be the Mink, who goes missing with incredible ease, but we really don’t know enough about him at this point to guess. 

Second question, what ‘new fabrials’ does she need to stop making? It has to be a big deal, something she’s known for; it has to be conceivably causing suffering to someone. I do wonder if maybe it’s just the ones with spren trapped in the physical realm, instead of Cognitive, but Navani definitely didn’t invent this procedure-- why would they be holding her responsible?

Another possibility is that whatever Gavilar was doing has been pinned on her, which would make sense-- she’s known to be an artifabrian, whereas almost no one really knew what he was doing.

Almost no one-- Nale and another male herald (who I think by elimination has to be Kalak?) probably know the most. Nalan probably wont be helpful, though he’s promised to come teach Szeth Division at some point.

(Also, it’s hilarious that we all were wondering what relations were going to be like between Szeth and everyone else, and they just put him in jail. Navani’s encounter with him was wonderfully chilling, and true to the way he’s depicted in books 1 and 2. We like his antics with Nightblood, but he’s very much not stable and his reasons for switching sides don’t make any goddamn sense, tbh.)

On the other hand, we do have two heralds who are giving as much information as they’re capable of! Which doesn’t seem to be much, given that Taln is incoherent and Ash apparently doesn’t know anything. But still, it seems like several of our fonts of ancient wisdom have become very forthcoming, which is. So exciting. 

Wit’s only talking to Jasnah who also likes keeping secrets so who knows if we’ll actually get to hear any. Navani’s perspective on him is interesting, and I wonder why no one seems to have told her how clear he’s made it that he is actually something ancient-- Dalinar, Shallan, and Kaladin all seem to know. 

I also wonder who (if anyone) knows he’s a Lightweaver now. I continue to worry about what Hoid is planning on doing with all the forms of Investiture he’s collecting, but we didn’t get much info on him here.

Except Vasher seems to know a fair bit about him! Vasher wins the award for most useful worldhopper in this part. Like, guys, he explained the Returned. He didn’t even just explain it in a way that was confusing in-world but made sense to readers-- he explained it in a way that Kaladin, who knows very little about the wider cosmere, could understand. 

I do appreciate that it’s made clear that he figured out this stuff himself, and that his understanding could be (and has been) flawed. Still, we now have a workman’s understanding of basically all forms of immortality and resurrection thanks to him, which is fucking amazing, yall.

The other big sharer of this part: Mraize. We finally get some insight into one thing the Ghostbloods want-- a way to transfer Stormlight off-world. We’ve long known that the Ghostbloods were among the most organized worldhopping powers active in Stormlight-- for all we know the 17th shard is still hanging out in the purelake-- but this gives them an interesting context. They’re vaguely opposed to Odium but they don’t seem to care all that much, as long as their goals for power and/or economic fulfillment work out. Beyond that things aren’t clear. Yet

Which brings us to Shallan!

If she fucks this up and doesnt get the answers Mraize promised I will scream.

She’s become fairly stable, and also remarkably open about her alters. I think it’s kind of interesting that Kaladin is in the know but her brothers aren’t-- no matter how much she loves and cares for them, their lives are pretty clearly separate.

I’m pretty annoyed that she hasn’t told Adolin about the Ghostbloods, honestly; she really wouldnt have to explain much of her past to explain that she’s investigating them, and I really don’t think Adolin would take it badly. I mean, I don’t think Adolin would take any of Shallan’s past too badly, but I imagine her infiltrating a secret society wouldn’t even register for him.

I’m curious to see how the trip to see the honorspren is going to develop them and their relationship; Kaladin’s not going, so the love triangle is probably going to continue not to be an issue despite Adolin expressing worry about Veil straying, which, thank fuck for that.

Adolin rebelling against Dalinar is great-- I love how Kaladin notes that Adolin isn’t following the codes with religiousness anymore, but he’s ‘found his own balance.’ I’m a bit concerned that Brandon is going to write this as a problem, instead of something fair and natural; while I do think Adolin does have to come to terms with things a bit, he needed to stop hero-worshipping Dalinar and it’s good that it happened.

He’s clearly excited to go to Shadesmar so that he can talk to Maya more, so that will be a big part of things, which will be nice. I do wonder what exactly Shallan will be doing during the travel-y parts of this, though I imagine negotiating Shadesmar won’t be simple even if it won’t be as chaotic as last time.

(It is vaguely hilarious to me that they’re sending the couple who are bonded to a cryptic and a deadeye to meet with the honorspren and apologize for the Recreance. How could this possibly go wrong.)

I’m not super sure what to say about Venli’s plotline? It’s super interesting, I love the complex political hierarchy of the Fused and the way Leshwi deliberately is lower in status bc the position gives her more latitude. (Though it’s not clear to me how this status is determined.)

I like that Venli isn’t just joining up with the humans; I was excited about the possibility but I guess it would feel cheap. She seems somewhat aware that the Fused won’t just let her get what they want-- and more cognizant than Leshwi that they wont just fade away if the war ends-- but I’m not sure I see how exactly she’s going to go forward from here.

She is going to help the Fused trying to infiltrate the tower. Raboniel is experimenting with spren somehow, and Venli can see into the Cognitive Realm with ease; that should be interesting.

(Sidenote, Raboniel reminds me heavily of Semirhage, and the Pursuer reminds me of Demandred. I can’t imagine Brandon is totally unconscious of the parallels, especially given that these are his “dark one’s” constantly-resurrected leaders, and I think that’s fun)

Leshwi is also worried about humans learning to trap the fused, or perhaps all singers, the way they did the unmade. I am also worried about this, as it seems like a temptingly effective but also horrific solution to the issue of the constant resurrection of the fused. 

The most promising thing about Venli’s storyline is that she might make it easier to reach a resolution to this whole series that doesn’t require the extermination of one side, which I have some faith Brandon wouldn’t do.

(It’s hilarious to me that they just yeeted Nergaoul into the ocean, especially considering that you can see trapped spren in shadesmar somehow, and oceans there are land.)

In any case, Venli is going to collide with the tower squad soon enough, probably by the end of the book, and I’m excited.

I hope this doesn’t end with Rlain defecting away from the humans and to her, though that would be understandable especially given his inability to fully integrate with the Windrunners.

Sundry other things-- I wonder if Navani’s drive to understand will help her deal with Re-Shephir, who to my understanding is still lurking in the depths of the tower somewhere? It’s interesting to me that trapping the unmade doesn’t seem to actually require any radiant powers.

My other theory, which I’d been developing over the course of rereading the last couple parts of Oathbringer, is that the ninth unmade is the Sibling, and that it would have to be reawakened, possibly cleansed somehow, and possibly re-imprisoned in the tower fabrial in order to make it work fully. The ‘resistance’ that Dalinar describes in investing the tower seems to support this, at least to me.

I do wonder which Shard the sibling is aligned with; parallelism would suggest Odium, and this kinda makes sense if she’s something like the unmade, though how this would then allow her to repel void creatures i’m not sure.

(Huh, when did I decide the sibling was a she? I think the stormfather does call her that, although in that case why aren’t they the sister? Hmm...)

What does it mean that Wyndle figured out chairs? I’m genuinely fascinated.

Jasnah’s abolishing slavery!! This does more to endear her to me than literally anything she’s done in the past few books. I do anticipate a significant fight over this, especially since a throwaway line in Shallan’s first scene suggests that freeing the singers has actually caused a huge spike in the slave trade, as was predicted a couple books ago. I can’t wait for Kaladin to hear about it.

The Kholin’s don’t trust Taravangian; I’m a bit unclear as to how much the rest of the coalition actually knows about what he did, though my understanding is that it’s a nonzero amount. I’m actually a bit disappointed that he’s reached an agreement with Odium, as now rather than jockeying for the best position he’s just straight-up following instructions and trying to get Odium to win. He’s not trying to save as much of the world as possible anymore; all he can save now is Kharbranth.

I do wonder how he’s concealing his compassionate days now that everyone knows he’s a genius; it’s easy to pretend to be stupid when you’re smart, much harder to do the opposite. Maybe he just says he’s sick.

...That’s probably enough.

[nightblink]

Blink Reads Oathbringer - Chapters 121-122 and Epilogue

And so it is that we come to the end.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty-One – Ideals

Oh, hello Moash. How are you doing, now that you've accomplished what you set out to do?

'Shouldn't Moash have felt pleasure? Or at least satisfaction? Instead, killing Elhokar had only made him feel… cold.' Yep, there it is. Cold. Like your heart, asshole.

[winces] And of course by this point the Fused have made many of the humans of Kholinar slaves, to clear out the battle-rubble of where they once lived.

Note: confirmed in-book that there are only nine orders of Fused (which means they're probably missing access to one of the Surges)

What is in the palace that they want

NO. YOU KEEP THAT MEMORY. YOU SUFFER THE MEMORY OF HOW KALADIN LOOKED WHEN YOU STABBED ELHOKAR.

Looks like there's at least some of the Fused who are trying to catch up on what they're missed in the past four thousand years.

“You have killed a king. Would you do the same to a god?” Oh maaaaaaaaan, you know where one of the insane Heralds is. Jezrien, if that sapphire is any indication (and if it has any meaning beyond just being a gemstone) but the gold-white metal sounds important too. Oh this is not going to go well.

---

I love Navani. 'EVERYONE BETWEEN ME AND DALINAR BETTER MOVE.'

That has to be a little hilarious to see, though, because while Kaladin's only just a little bit taller than Dalinar, Lopen is short. They make for rather lopsided crutches.

SHOO, BOYS. Navani please

Ahhh, that's how he thought to trap the Thrill to begin with. Remembering Taravangian's words helped capture it in the end, but Navani is the one who inspired the plan in the first place. If anyone can manage to find out why the King's Drop(/Honor's Drop) was able to capture the Thill, it's her.

'Something unconventional, perhaps uncomfortable.” “Anything. What is it?” “I want you to teach me how to read.” OH HOLY SHIT. DUDE. DUDE. WHAT EVEN IS THIS THIS IS FANTASTIC

---

[winces] Shallan is still very Not Well – and it is the true Shallan that is the most tired of course, because she is the core, and right now, it's just easier for her to be her masks.

At least she's apparently going to actually dedicate herself to her wardship now? She won't flee?

But at the same time, the inside of her mind is spinning, spinning, spinning, the two mask-personalities flickering and overlapping her and I was right to worry because she's not settling as she calms down and lets the adrenaline and battle furor fade away.

They are going to have to pull out all the stops to explain the day's events to the Azish, admittedly. With any luck, Queen Fen can help them with that.

'He skidded a little as he fell to his knees beside her, then raised his hands – only to hesitate, as if confronted by something very fragile.' He can tell. He was going in for a relieved, exhausted hug and maybe a follow-up kiss but he can see she's masking.

Flicker, flicker, flicker, 'Adolin searched her eyes. She bled from one, to the other, and back. A moment of Veil. A moment of Radiant. Shallan peeking through– Adolin's hand tightened around her own.' Excuse me while I go scream about this, this moment of quiet worry and understanding and him knowing Shallan, the real Shallan, picking her out from her shields against the world without even a word. An anchor for her to steady on.

“Most of the blood isn't mine. Well, I guess it is. But I'm feeling better.” Oh my god, way to understate 'I almost died but at least the internal injuries are healed?'

Ahhhhh, and we get a moment of pure, quiet physical contact as they hold each other on the wall in all the aftermath of the blood and fear and chaos, and it's just the two of them taking comfort in simply holding each other and being and it's lovely-

And then when he quips to lighten the mood a little of course that's when Kaladin lands not far way and Veil barges up to the forefront. And the way she looks at/is responding to Kaladin's presence… [winces] Shiiiit, that’s- that’s not a good blush from Adolin; he sees where she’s looking, sees Veil-Shallan’s immediate interest in Kaladin and abrupt dismissal of him. That’s an embarrassed, hurt, I’ve-been-deluding-myself blush. Piling that on top of his already-low self image right now, that's… haaaah. I wouldn't be surprised if he started trying to back away – women have a tendency to leave him, after all, so why wouldn't this relationship end up the same, no matter how much I love her?

I'm surprised that Radiant is on Veil's side of preferring Kaladin now, considering that she was the mask-personality that preferred spending time with Adolin in the first place. That seems almost like a switch that's Convenient Because Drama.

!!!! Shallan, exhausted and overwhelmed as she is, is managing to assert herself?! 'They were not her. She was occasionally them. But they were not her.'

You have done some healing.

---

'She attuned Appreciation anyway. An old rhythm. She loved being able to hear those again at will – she could attune either old or new, and could make her eyes red, except when she drew in stormlight.' I'm so glad that we have a Listener Radiant – I mean, I'd hoped it was going to be Eshonai, but all the same – LISTENER/SINGER RADIANT I'M SO STOKED. She can hide herself among the Singers and Fused, too, keep them thinking that she's a Regal while she observes them and listens to what Timbre has to say. (I'm betting she's a Willshaper, but I could be wrong…? Stoneward is a possibility as well, since those two and Dustbringer were the ones that were missing from Dalinar's Radiant-count if we don't include Taln as possibly 'counting'.)

Yeaaaah, I thought it was impossible too, but it looks like that's not the case.

[hums] The Singers on the ship make some very good arguments, and those same arguments are probably happening all over the world now that the Singers' minds are awakened again, and not trapped in Slaveform. After the intial 'what's going on' assessment, we haven't heard what the rest of the Singers around the world are doing.

“I know who you were. Keep working, and let me tell you of the Listeners.” Yesssss, spread the songs and history of your people! Keep them alive!

---

Nightblood. Nightblood, not everything has to be destroyed.

How the hell is 'Obedience' one of the Dustbringers' Divine Attributes when you have Nale saying of the Skybreakers “The very reason we swear to something external is because we acknowledge that our own judgment is flawed.” I mean, come on.

You say that Ishar survived with his mind intact, but isn't he the one going batshit crazy and calling himself a god/priest and wanting to kill everyone? That doesn't sound all that 'intact' to me.

“The law is made by men, so it is not perfect either. It is not perfection we seek, for perfection is impossible. It is instead consistency.” The Skybreakers continue to confuse the hell out of me.

Well, there's the Ideal. Next up, cleansing the Shin of their false leaders. Hopefully that won't be as bloody a task as the last leader-culling spree you went on was.

“You may find him a harsh master.” “He is a good man, Nin-son-God.” “That is precisely why.” ………..fair.

Aaaaand he's still going to train with the Skybreakers, or at least with Nale, despite the fact that they're technically on opposite sides now. That's going to cause some interesting clashes in the next book, I'll bet.

Nightblood, please

---

Of course someone was making tea. There is always time to make tea.

[winces] I'm… not sure how long it'll take you to find him, Shallan. He's probably not doing too well right about now, no matter how well he may look like he's managing.

'She'd seen how envious he'd been as he watched those Fused, with their flowing robes, moving like the wind.' He was probably more jealous that they got to fly everywhere than of the robes. He does like to stay aloft. The skies are Kaladin's domain.

Lots and lots of dust, though he wasn't so much fighting a bag of sand as something much more solid.

Ouch. She put his arm around her shoulders herself, when usually he's the one who's super-tactile. That alone should sound Warning bells going off! Something's wrong! for her, and he's not responding to her efforts at being lighthearted, either.

'He took a deep breath, and removed his arm from her shoulders.' Fuuuuuuuuuuuck. Warning bells heightened to Serious Alarms.

“I've decided,” Adolin said, “to step back.”' Aaaaaaaand there it is. I'm honestly not surprised. He's hurting and you can tell? so easily? But this is that crux point, that If-you-love-something-let-it-go moment of ‘I’ll step aside without another word if this is what will make you happy (even if it breaks my heart)', and he's backing that up with his body language with the way he goes all stiff and tall, like he's bracing himself and doesn't want her to see him falter.

[buries face in hands] There he goes with his concept-to-words getting screwed up between brain and mouth and I feel you on that, man, I really do, but oh my god Shallan please take him apart for that “I'm going to let him have you.” sentence.

“I'm holding you back. I see the way you two look at each other. I don't want you to keep forcing yourself to spend time with me because you feel sorry for me.” HELLO SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES. Even disregarding that, though, that's… okay, it's really dumb that he's not asking her her feelings on Kaladin first, but also it's really selfless of him, trying not to put any pressure on her about it.

I can't keep quoting here or I'm just going to end up going through the entire thing line by line-

THANK YOU FOR RIPPING HIM ON THAT LINE SHALLAN, there is no one who decides who 'gets' you because you are not a prize, but also please bash him over the head with the fact that this is your choice, not what attraction he's convinced himself that he's seen between Veil-You and Kaladin

….it's a good thing that she paused for breath because he'd never get a word in otherwise. That tirade definitely counts as smacking him upside the head with her honest opinion.

OOOP THERE'S THE PHYSICAL CONTACT COMING BACK (along with probably as much of an admittance of his inner weakness as he's going to give). And yet he still asks her are you sure, because he is going to Respect Her Choice and he'll be damned if he doesn't double check to make sure he's getting what she's saying exactly right, for both their sakes (because damn if it doesn't look like he wants to pin her against the alley wall right about now)

Still voices his worry for her concerning Veil and Radiant, and tbf she needs someone who will do that, and who will also be there to remind her who she really is if she starts slipping away and losing herself again.

“But that's the thing, Shallan. I don't want anyone. I want you.” [clutches chest] Be still my beating heart, but I'm such a sucker for things like this.

Ah, and now they get to have a heated makeout session in the alley. Good, they have some passion to work out and Adolin has some physical contact and dumbass words to make up for.

---

It is going to be a big effort to get the thunderclast's corpse out of that high tier of the city. Maybe once the next highstorm renews the spheres, the Radiants can help take care of that.

Oh good, Kaladin's not feeling bitter or jealous either THANK YOU SANDERSON. THANK YOU FOR NOT MAKING THIS A CLICHE LOVE TRIANGLE

Syl. Syl you can Kaladin need to sit down and have a Talk if this is how you're going to continue to be about his relationships both platonic and possibly-romantic.

“I don't think I loved her, Syl. I felt… something. A lightening of my burdens when I was near her. She reminds me of someone.” [cups hands] THAT'S CALLED PLATONIC LOVE, KAL, AND ALSO FRIENDSHIP and he's actually acknowledging that thank you once again Sanderson for having Kaladin realize the difference between Friendship and Romantic Love

And now I'm going to go sob over the memory of Tien thankyouverymuch

“He was your first god, before you turned to Honor.” HMMM. So. Perhaps the demise of the planet that the Rosharan-humans originated on was related to the fact that Odium was their only shard? If they came here and found Honor (and likely Cultivation as well), that could mean that the original Radiants weren't Radiants as we know them at all, but bonded to Voidspren of Odium.

'You could protect your home. You could kill to defend the people inside. But what if the people you killed were only trying to get back what was rightfully theirs?… Could anyone really be expected to let go because of what ancient people had done, no matter how dishonorable their actions? Who did he fight? Who did he protect?' Not easy questions, not with the humans having been on Roshar for so long at this point that they even forgot their own origins, and they're questions that're going to require much, much more in-depth assessment in the next book from every POV character we get.

That's… given Dalinar's vision, I'd thought the Recreance a single event, but that makes much more sense.

“The oaths are about perception, Syl. You confirmed that. The only thing that matters is whether or not we are confident that we're obeying our principles.” Hence why you couldn't say the Fourth Ideal. You couldn't say it and be confident that you meant it, much less could follow it. It also explains how the Ideals within each order are similar at their core but differ in small ways, like how Teft's Third Ideal differs from yours.

It is going to end up a little bit messy, but I imagine that that's why there's seven books left.

Cultural note: kuma = crushed lavis grain and spices, served with flatbread; Kaladin counts them as travel rations

“It doesn't change us, Teft. We're still who we are.” And that's the point. Broken people, the lot of the Radiants, and now Teft has a new perspective on that reality that he didn't before. He'll understand Kaladin a little better now, knowing that even storming Stormblessed is as broken as he is. And he has Bridge Four to help him, as Kaladin does. They're not alone in this.

“We lift the bridge together, Teft, and we carry it.”

I'm not crying you're crying

---

Did the Heralds disappear off somewhere during the battle? We haven't seen hide nor hair of Ash or Taln since the Radiant-count Dalinar did before everyone split and the POVs started flipping like popcorn.

Oh hello Taravangian. FUCK OFF.

He's fairly intelligent today, and Dalinar's at least starting to see a glimpse of his true colours – but only as much as Taravangian's choosing to reveal.

!!!! You think you've found Battah in Kharbranth? Ohhhhh, is that how you found out that the Dustbringers would be the most receptive to the plan of the Diagram, you found their patron Herald

---

Oh hello Moash. FUCK OFF.

Haaaaaaah. That old madman was Jezrien, I was right. Well, not anymore, though whatever that knife is that Moash is using to murder him, it's doing something – the dark smoke coming from the stab wound makes me think if Nightblood, but that glow at the pommel insinuates that they have him trapped there. Doing that should be possible, since the Heralds are a variety of Cognitive Shadow, but how the Fused/Odium figured out that not only could it be done but how, I'm not sure. Considering that they didn't want to do it themselves, though, there's probably consequences.

---

Lopen has a spren (at least one that's attached itself to him) and he plays hide-and-seek with it (him?) and teaches him rude gestures. Should we have expected anything less?

Dru-! Sanderson, you had better bring Drehy and Skar back alive; let them have a reunion, and a happy one at that.

'Kaladin had entered, glowing softly, speaking with some of the surgeons. Knowing Kaladin, he was probably telling them how to do their jobs.' Truer words have likely never been thought, Lopen, and you well know it. The poor surgeons probably have years upon years more training than Kaladin does, but he is glowing, so of course they're listening and nodding along. Glowing does that to people.

Haaaaaah. That's the thing, Lopen – just because you have an optimistic outlook doesn't mean that you're not broken. That looks different for each individual. Just because you're relatively sane or stable doesn't mean you're not cracked through.

JOURNEY BEFORE P A N C A K E S. Lopen have you been hanging out with Lift. You have, haven't you.

OMG. Of course he'd been wanting to save it for a dramatic moment. Hah – that's not quite how it works, Lopen. That is the moment to use your double-rude-gesture, though.

Kaladin plz

---

Ahhh, and now we get back to the Heralds. That answers where they were during Chapter 120, though. 'Talenel'Elin had broken like the rest of them.' He just took longer than the rest of you -  the hardiest soul of the ten.

Uhhhhh, Ash, I don't know if you've been keeping up with Ishar, but he's kinda gone completely bonkers. You won't find any answers with him.

[eyebrows rise] 'She'd stamp it all out. She would ruin every depiction.' ….huh. Given that you were one of those on the field when Radiant Roll Call was done and there were no Dustbringers there, you might be a potential Dustbringer, considering that you're in the lineup to get a POV book in the second five. That sounds like very destructo-Dustbringer thinking.

!!!! Is Jezrien your actual father, or is that an excuse that you're giving to explain away the collapse? Also, confirmation that whatever that knife did to Jezrien, it tore his soul away from the cycle the heralds were bound to, though still unknown exactly what it did.

Midius? That must be one of Jasnah's contacts – and Jasnah definitely recognises the two of them for who they are.

Chapter One-Hundred-and-Twenty-Two – A Debt Repaid

!!!!!!! Dalinar retained the ability to infuse spheres and people with stormlight! That wasn't just an effect of the opening Perpendicularity or a temporary buff!

Oh thank god Drehy and Skar are alive – and on top of that, Vathah and Red and Ishnah… and Gavinor

ohhhhhhh, Teft and Lopen weren't the only new full Radiants-!

---

Back to Taravangian – compassionate Taravangian, who in all honesty should still fuck off

Who is now hearing voices in his head, and I don't think it's a spren. (But you never know…)

And he's the one who let the Singers in! Probably by using Malata to unlock and use the Oathgate, and from there the Honorblade was stolen. Ohhh, you scheming cremling of an old man. Not only that, but he and the others of the Diagram know to call the 'parshmen' Singers when none of the protags do as of yet.

'The confrontation predicted by the Diagram would happen soon.' what confrontation. Taravangian, what confrontation are you/they talking about and are we going to see it next book

Inviting Odium in like a goddamn vampire, that's just great

'Do you really think you will ever be able to negotiate with me from a position of power?' Oc course Odium wouldn't consider compassion to be power, but only the intelligent end of the scale. Still, it's not like there's any position of power for a human to 'negotiate' with Odium from in the first place.

Golden light, golden words – gold is as much Odium's colour as red is. Considering that one of his Unmade gives the Death Rattles/the power to foresee possible futures, he likely had a hand in granting Taravangian the ability to make the Diagram as well.

'A ripple in what Odium could see… At its root, a name. Renarin Kholin.' [from the distance, a muffled 'fuck yeaaaahhhhhh']

“I need nobody.” Oh for fuck's sake, I know that the majority of this book isn't supposed to feel all ~highbrow English~ and that's fine, it's part of the writing and atmosphere, but Odium is supposed to come across as haughty, not like a belligerent three-year-old. The editor should have at least demanded that it be changed to “I need no one.”

Haaaaah, he's still trying to bargain… and even though they technically made a bragain, I don't think it'll end up how Taravangian wants it anyway. Even if Odium himself leaves Kharbranth alone, he can simply let the Singers do as they wish to it, or blockade the humans in and simply wait for them to starve. Kharbranth has nothing but the Palanaeum and its medical schools, after all. One city alone in all Roshar will still fall.

---

Back to the Shadolin Constant Physical Affection and now in front of the other highprinces/princesses, generals, etc., with added “It looks beautiful.” “You look beautiful.” “You are beautiful.”“Only because you’re here. Without you, I fade.” No goddamn wonder Brightness Teshav is rolling her eyes at them. He’s tucking her under his chin and they’re happily leaning into each other amongst a people that Do Not Do Public Affection, and being complete lovestruck morons on top of that.

AND THEY'RE GETTING MARRIED IN A WEEK HOLY SHIT

(it's gonna be a looooong week for those two)

Again with gold being Odium's colour, though this time Dalinar is the one preemptively associating it with him – burning gold, even.

(it's going to be a very long week for Adolin/Shallan)

Iri is fully allied with Odium at this point, and they've got three of the ten Oathgates. That alone will severely restrict protagonist movement in the north-northwest part of Roshar – and I bet we'll get to see that part of the continent for ourselves in the next book.

Looking out over 'Kholinar' has to be An Experience for those in the room that haven't seen Shallan's powers at work beyond the lightmap, doubly so since it shows the city under occupation. For those whose home it is – was….. the gut-wrench must be far more.

How long is it going to take them (Dalinar, lbr, it'll have to be Dalinar's realization) that Taravangian is their Traitor™

OH AND THEN ADOLIN COMES RIGHT OUT WITH THAT IDEA

But of course Dalinar shoots it down, though at least not entirely. It may take the entirety of the next book – or even longer – as well as solid proof for that realization to come.

Ooo. Oooo. I… agree with Shallan in that Adolin has the capability to be king, but at the same time, not only do we-the-readers know that he doesn't particularly want to step higher than Highprince, but he's got some serious internal self-doubt issues to deal with that he apparently still hasn't confided to Shallan (and likely won't).

I……. was not expecting that revelation, not like this. I don't see how Dalinar/the Kholins can manage to fix this, honestly, though they'll have to do something – and Dalinar is too honest to hide it. Ialai will know, and Ialai will remember, and Ialai will have her revenge. I'll bet a handful of emerald spheres that she manages to nearly kill Adolin and he survives by reviving Mayalaran (probably unintentionally/with his dying breaths).

Admittedly, he wouldn’t be nearly as good at politicking as they need in a monarch right now; they need someone who can negotiate and carve arguments. Highprince suits him better.

---

AYYY, PALONA AND SEBARIAL AGAIN

At least all the kings and princes from before decided to come back, after the whole fiasco of a meeting that happened right before the battle in Thaylen City. I’m honestly surprised that all of them are here, because while Gawx would at least listen to Lift, what led the other monarchs to believe that they could trust the Alethi again?

‘The Kholin family, it seemed, had chosen their new monarch.’ Haaahahahahah and now you all have to deal with Queen Jasnah. If the Alethi social system isn’t entirely overturned by the time the Desolation is over, this had better result in either absolute primogeniture, or even better, aptitude.

---

Moash! Hello again, and from the bottom of my heart, go jump off a fucking cliff

So. They’re depopulating the human inhabitants of Kholinar; but where are they sending them? They can’t all be sent to work as labor in farms and fields, there’s just too many - especially with all the refugees that had taken shelter in the city when Odium’s army attacked and overran Kholinar.

Even here they’re talking about Passions, rather than just down in Thaylenah where the ‘Passions’ are worshipped and therefore would be part of the narrative that Odium was feeding to the new Singers. Considering how Odium call himself the Shard of Passion, and he used to be the Old God of the original batch of humans, that worship could have a basis from those way-back-when humans, and now that Odium is ‘on the side of’ the Singers/Listeners, he’s instituting much the same now.

“We heard something. Made us want to be near you.” [squints] ….what did you hear. Are you referring to hearing rumours, or hearing Rhythms, or hearing something else…

Well, being near Moash doesn’t look like its going to last long, and not just because of the name change. Vyre, huh. It’s a lovely-sounding name, but the meaning…. not so much.

---

MARRIAGE DAY, MARRIAGE DAY

Weddings are usually a hassle, Shallan, especially for those near the top of the social order, and it sounds like ‘everyone’ wants to try to make this a spectacle in the ‘correct’ way (as opposed to the Dalivani ‘let’s have the Stormfather himself marry us if none of the ardents will).

Of course Lift would gift her something like a dried fish. Bless.

BOOTS FROM BRIDGE FOUR. Ohhhh, they are never going to let you forget that for the rest of your life - though at least at this point it’s apparently all in good humor.

(Ialai ‘[leaving] Urithiru in disgrace’ does absolutely nothing to assuage my worries/certainty that she’ll be back for revenge)

I definitely need to draw Shallan in her wedding ensemble (and Adolin too).

'Veil and Radiant faded. When Shallan looked back in the mirror, she didn't feel embarrassed by the attention any longer. It was all right. It was all right to be happy.' I am so very, very happy for how far Shallan's come – not just over the course of this book, with all its ups and downs, but from the very beginning. Actually! Allowing herself and admitting to herself that it's okay to be happy, that she deserves happiness! Her, Shallan, and not any shade of her that comes out sometimes.

AH GOOD THEY'RE ALIVE, MRAIZE KEPT HIS PROMISE. Heheh – this is definitely a time for joyspren if there ever was one. How different she must look to them, considering the last time they saw her was so long ago, a year or more! And now she's here in this tower and a Radiant and getting married.

Oooo, only part of her debt forgiven. It's not like she was going to cut ties with the Ghostbloods anytime soon, but still – she still owes them.

However, their goals still align, and Mraize somehow knows of Sja-Anat. Speaking of Glys being one of her corrupted 'children', though, can she somehow contact them through Glys, I wonder, much as she contacted the Shallan and the others through a corrupted gloryspren while they were in Shadesmar?

A celebration of being herself. This is a wonderful thing.

---

Teft gets his own Bridge of squires! YESGOOD

That has to be really weirdly awkward, though, with Szeth – the Assassin in White – taking up duty as Dalinar's personal bodyguard. WHY DID WE NOT GET A SCENE OF THEM TALKING ABOUT THIS WHOLE NEW ARRANGEMENT. Branderson I am disappoint.

W R I T I N G

It's so amazing that just the fact that this man. is writing. sends me into fits of flailing. How fantastic, how wonderful, that worldbuilding and characterization and character development can come together in such a way that this scene makes me hand-flap a mile a minute.

'We took Shardblades from women, and they seized literacy from us. Who got the better deal, I wonder?' I think you've already determined your answer to that question, Dalinar.

Writing this is going to be greatly cathartic for him, no matter how it's received by others.

!!! He calls Rock a Windrunner – is he insinuating full Windrunner there, or is that also applied to the squires for convenience?

The light – the light from that last 'vision', the one that wasn't sent by Honor or the Stormfather. That light.

Oathbringer, My Glory and My Shame. Written by the hand of Dalinar Kholin.

[insert flailing here. lots and lots of flailing.]

Epilogue – Great Art

Still in Kholinar, Hoid? Well, interesting things are happening there, though you are risking getting caught by Odium, and that could only mean Bad Things for everyone...

Of course he'd go into this deep and meaningful spiel about art, all as witty justification for “You are less a human being, and more a lump of dung with aspirations.” The King's Wit really was quite the perfect side-job for him.

'Not a mask he put on. Real sorrow. Real pain.' You don't live as long as Hoid does, be who he is, and not have a wellspring of both.

'-level the city and consider it a cheap price for even the slimmest chance of ending [Hoid]' does sound like something Odium would do.

[hums] Making the possible start of a new family from broken fragments of old ones now lost. People underestimate how much you care.

Of course Odium would have Fused – with their memories that stretch back Desolations – that are dedicated to keeping an eye out for Hoid.

!!!!!!!!

“I know you'd rather have someone else, but this isn't the time to be picky. I'm certain now that the reason I'm in the city is to find you.” Who? Someone – or something – in the walls of the palace?

Luring with truths.

A Cryptic.

“Life before death, little one.”

[muffled shrieking]

[mistralrunner]

Running Reads Oathbringer: Interludes and Part III.I

Time to jump back into liveblogging!

Spoilers for pages 555-605 below!

You know as nervous as I've been not knowing what Taravangian is up to, I really don't feel like going back to his twisted pov right now

At least with Venli there's hope of possiblyspren!Eshonai

Also where are Szeth and Nightblood?

It's nearly halfway through the book why can't they get pov

Kaza gets visions? I am concerned

What are they storming doing. No pun intended

Twisted face? Soulcaster?

We're finally going to learn more about Aimia yes!!!

There's yet another storm though beyond Everstorm and Highstorm?

"Closer and closer to oblivion" yeah friendly reminder that soulcaster fabrials are concerning and makes me wonder if Regrowth fabrials would also have dark side effects

Slowly becoming smoke? That's almost even more chilling than the stonelike thing mentioned before

You can soulcast pieces of an object when more proficient? Huh. Although casting air to anything is technically always a piece of an object so I guess those ones are automatically proficient?

Soulcasters start being able to see into Shadesmar?

So they see nothing beforehand?

Hmmm...being drawn into another world, another will reinforcing her own, something commanding and powerful attracted by her request for aid, so powerful spren are involved in soulcasters?

I wonder why there’s limited modes to a soulcaster, is it related to the spren involved?

Tricky to try to make generalizations from this cause it’s uncertain how ordinary Kaza is for a Soulcaster

Ooh soulcasters came from Akinah

Of course they did

Hey a shadow stretching in the wrong direction like Jasnah's from the WoR prologue!

The Shadesmar sun is where dying souls stretch toward maybe?

Well all the sailors not breathing is concerning

Is that odd cremling a larkin?

So the royal family keeps a soulcaster/tool weapon and she was forced to become slave to it and sacrifice her life in a way yikes

I did not see that coming with the cook well played ensuring everyone ate

Tattooed face I should have known like Axies

"There are those who could pull secrets from your soul, and the cost would be the end of worlds."

I am concerned

And disappointed we didn't really learn much about Aimia apart from Soulcaster connection

Oh no Taravangian's smart today I'm scared this is going to be disturbing

Nope Malata is Diagram I'm sad

I was rooting for you

Kind of praying for double agent but not counting on it

I want to like the Dustbringers just cause they're the maligned group but if they follow the Diagram and division alas

I forgot that there are no record/cd players so when Taravangian asks for music he actually gets a live children's choir singing outside his room while he plans atrocities

And here we go with the eugenics thinking preventing "stupid" people from reading although frankly that's foolish cause reading can improve one’s mind but I guess if your goal is a bunch of elites and a mindless serving class

Seriously the singing children is this eerie juxtaposition

Pfft the “Dalinar paradigm” is such an amusing name

What effect is Renarin having (although I'm proud he is a wild element the Diagram can't predict)

I'm concerned about the contingency plan

...

Wtf

Those poor children

"The monster you sometimes become"? Adrotagia he is generally already acting monstrous this is merely a step further

I guess it's comforting that at least the Diagram will resist him going too far for a certain definition of too far

Well the Listeners used the gemhearts to help grow food right? I think?

It is interesting that plants can photosynthesize stormlight, or something like it

Sad backstory still murder Taravangian

"Now he'd save the world. Well, the part of the world that mattered."

Yeah, not good

Hey Diagram do you think you should really be following the plans and agenda of a guy who is in favor of wantonly killing kids and eugenics? Like sure he predicted the future but if the big plan was by a guy even more morally terrifying than this one don't you think that might be a problem

Yeah I figured that was the plan, let Dalinar do the work of arranging the coalition then usurp him

Nooo why is the Dustbringer spren being sent for evil spying I want the Dustbringer to be a good guy

So the endgame is negotiate with Odium for a piece of the world at the cost of the rest I'm sure that's not going to backfire horribly

"Only one man would be strong enough to make that sacrifice"

Again with the "Some of you may die, but it is a sacrifice I am willing to make" mentality

So Voidbringers do have gemhearts?

Also Venli, I'm suspecting trap. Just saying. You were used. You have a horribly inflated sense of self importance.

Eshonai help us here

"You must embrace it...you have to want it." Nope definitely not a trap nope totally innocent

The Everstorm is just ash and thunder without rain?

Stormfather font?

She's still bonded to a Voidspren unfortunately

Ah yes they've been possessed and a couple are the crazed ghosts lovely

"This corpse"? Oh ouch

So the Voidbringers essentially have an eternal ruling class minus some shifts due to rulers going insane

"See passion and forgive this child" well seems they've bought into the Odium relabeled as passion thing

You know I keep thinking about beauty products labeled passion and it's really amusing

Just imagine the Voidbringers spritzing gentle perfume into the air

"It's Passion...by Odium"

“A new fragrance suffused with the sweet Thrill of vengeance”

Ah Venli you finally realize your error

Too late

Ah confirmation the possession isn't reversible, stapling souls to new corpses yikes

The Cosmere has quite of bit of body horror and stapling investiture to corpses doesn't it

Oh dear what is Odium planning for Venli

Assuming it is Odium but given Odium seems to like using a warm, ancient, paternal voice

As romantic as the resurrected with a life partner for thousands of years in an endless battle you hope to win is, you’re doing so by destroying others including ironically another romantic couple

Ugh Venli that is not a good thought process

Okay Venli is protecting the hopefully Eshonai spren there's hope

but really Venli you are a horrible person

Part III!

What shall the epigraphs be this time

Hurrah we're back to Kaladin pov although I'll miss the Bridge Four povs

Part one feels like ages ago

Oh yay it's the musical gem library!

So Stonewards are self sacrificing?

Yeah the Stormfather whimpering is really disconcerting

Having the example of Ruin makes me wonder exactly how omniscient Odium is 

Ooo the potential for city hopping without going through Urithiru

Dalinar: Oh by the way Kaladin you're a landowner.

Deathbend river though doesn’t seem like the best labeled real estate

Kaladin's busy training the Windrunners he really doesn't need the responsibility of landlord as well

So Dalinar has a connection to each of the three Rosharan Shards. Odium from his dependence on the Thrill, Cultivation through his deal with the Nightwatcher, and Honor through bonding the Stormfather. Feel like that is going to be significant.

Yeah the downside of the Alethi being in the Shattered Plains or Urithiru-they were storming easy to conquer for a martial nation. Admittedly the Kholinar riots didn't help.

I love Thaylen city already this is my aesthetic...except it's horrifically in ruins

I'm sad about this city

Aww these gems are records of people's lives, records of people being people that's really heartwarming

Huh wonder why this chapter is called Bondsmith

I want to go on this tour

"It was a pity to see several statues with the faces broken off"

Will we ever solve the mystery of miss art defacer from that one interlude who’s probably Khriss

Heh Dalinar wants to go on the swords tour instead but I feel those would be well guarded from the Blackthorn especially

Huh uncertain Everstorm effects definitely would mess with planning and precautionary measures but I wonder if there's something more cunning going on with targeting

Also a storm of burning embers ouch

How is Shinovar doing I feel like the Everstorm really should be a problem for them

Ugh Taravangian is here too bleh

I love Queen Fen

Dalinar there are other options than punching people

Dalinar: I have a plan!

Navani: Does it involve punching people?

Dalinar: I have no plan.

Ironic that Taln's temple has the cave in

Or intentional huh

Dalinar I don't think this is how diplomacy works

Well that is extra

Especially the bit with shoving in the sword further

That was pretty cool but yeah making people fear you as some sort of quasi immortal being with eldritch magic not great

The spren of the temple is in pain?

Ohhhh

We're going to see full Bondsmith abilities

Radiance used for civilization and healing, not terror

Repairing buildings damaged by war and storm that is one useful skill I love this

Wonder if any other orders can do that cause that’s really helpful and Bondsmiths are so few

Yes thanks for remembering you have a magical healer

"My son does the more important work" yeah Renarin appreciation!

But the magically rebuilding a city including symbolic parts

Aaaaa

"Once the soul grows accustomed to the wound, it's much harder to fix" I kind of knew that but only thought of it in the extreme identity case, and didn’t consider recently dealt wounds might be easier to heal than several day old wounds cause you’d think the healing process would have started and it would take less energy to finish

Huh Dalinar almost got a communication Connection?

Yeah person talking into the recording gem I'm worried about Truthwatchers too

Who is on the infiltration team?

Ah Skar and Drehy for the Windrunners I'm so proud of Skar

I'm concerned that they can't wear Plate even if it wouldn't be great for subterfuge

Summonable Plate will be lovely when we get it

Who is the maidservant? Ishnah?

Kaladin, Shallan smiles because of unhealthy coping mechanisms

Syl stop it not a healthy match

You don't need romance to be happy Syl

I am really concerned about the wrongness in Kholinar

Of course it's right by the Oathgate

[preservationandruin]

Words of Radiance Part 2

Viewpoints here are a weirder spread--Shallan, Kaladin, Adolin, and Sadeas. Not sure how long this will take me to get through or how many sub-parts the liveblog is gonna be, so bear with me!

Shallan takes control, Kaladin tries to work with what he has and meets a worldhopper, Renarin jumps off a roof, and people talk way too much about Amaram for either my or Kaladin’s liking. 

Epigraphs here are snippets of the Listener songs, which is probably why we had to get the Eshonai chapters first--so we could tell what they were talking about. In any case, Shallan is travelling with Tvklav’s crew--who I’m pretty sure are coincidentally the slavers who sold Kaladin. Because sometimes I feel like Sanderson’s world operates on the Dickensian premise of “everyone knows each other by coincidence.” Shallan is curious about the Frostlands’ natural vegetation. She also tries having conversation, but it doesn’t really work, in party because (rightly, given the situation) people don’t trust her.

We also learn that Jasnah kept, in her personal trunk, a drawing that Shallan had done of her. Shallan ends up mourning both Jasnah and the fact that all of her sketchpads--something she dismisses, but essentially her life’s work--are gone as well. 

More sketches--this time of various fighting stances. Nazh has written that he had to steal the scroll these were on and that the bottom half was eaten by an axehound. Nazh leads an interesting and fraught life. 

Cut to Adolin talking to his blade, something I still think might be significant. At the very least, I hope that spren can hear him and takes some comfort from having a human talk to them and trust them? We also get the story that nobody took Adolin seriously and that the guy he won the Blade from wanted to duel Adolin to embarrass Dalinar. Didn’t quite work that way. The Plate Adolin got from his mom’s side. Also, Adolin refusing to name his Blade is also important. Also, this: “I appreciate what you’ve done for me. I know you’d do it for anyone who held you, but I still appreciate it. I...I want you to know: I believe in Father. I believe he’s right...” 

Okay, I know I’ve gone on about Edgedancer Adolin before, but one of the things for the Edgedancers definitely seems to be paying attention to the people and things people take for granted. Like, say, the fact that your shardblade fights with you. 

Anyway, immediately after that we get the fact that Adolin can’t fucking read, not even glyphs. Navani voice: please get married so that I stop worrying about you not being able to fucking read. Also, Adolin is worried because they haven’t heard anything from Jasnah’s ship--WITH GOOD REASON. Also, Adolin insists that breaking up with Danlan wasn’t his fault--apparently she’d been saying something to her friends--but given that it’s Adolin it’s kind of hard to tell. 

Also, Renarin and Adolin run through Adolin’s list of good-luck charms for duels---talk to the sword, eat chicken before you duel, wear mother’s chain--and Navani is skeptical and the boys are Highly Indignant that Navani is skeptical. Also also, Adolin likes pissing off the guards because he doesn’t like Kaladin--thinks something is “off” about Kaladin. As always, he’s not wrong. But he is being petty. 

And then Adolin just crushes the other dude because he’s Adolin Kholin. He beats him so badly that the judge tries to stop them, but Adolin points out he didn’t break any rules. On the other hand, this probably didn’t endear Adolin to people--meaning that they were more likely to let slide that fucking 4-on-1 that Sadeas attempts later. Renarin thinks it was awesome, and Adolin gives him the blade. Which, uh, I mean, from Adolin’s point of view it was the best thing to do, but reading this again a) Renarin is notably hesitant to take the blade (Glys talking to him?) and also grimaces when he takes it and holds it (it’s screaming). But, unlike Dalinar or Kaladin later, he keeps holding it. 

Also, Adolin’s brutality here wasn’t planned, it was just something that happened and that he’s confused about later, feeling drained. He did get the Thrill. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but it might not be good. 

Back to Shallan, where she’s using Pattern to spy on the slavers to try to figure out how to deal with them. She also notes that these people don’t treat her like a real person, but instead as a means to an end, much like Kabsal, and she loses a bit of her temper and also mildly terrifies Tvklav. She realizes that Tvklav and the others don’t know she’s a timid rural lighteyes, and she also realizes that she can make them see her in certain ways, not just by copying Jasnah. 

Honestly, this entire trip to the Shattered Plains does a lot more for Shallan’s lightweaving than studying with Jasnah, I think. Nothing like being thrown into a fire to teach you to deal with it? Anyway, the deserters show up, and we cut over to Kaladin. The lighteyes sparring grounds is somewhat disappointing to the bridgemen, who expected something cooler. 

Also, Kaladin is plotting to kill Amaram already, which is THE MOST RELATEABLE but also not good for his oaths i guess. Anyway, Kaladin and the gang with him are supposed to be protecting the Kholin bros while they’re training, they get some backsass from Ardents, Kaladin backsasses back, and it works out. Kaladin is also left standing with Moash, which...okay, knowing where Moash’s character arc goes, I’m just going to be side-eyeing him the whole book, I apologize. We get a note that the numbers are still appearing--honestly Dalinar tell Kaladin it’s probably someone in there already so he stops panicking over intruders--and Kaladin starts getting irritated about Dalinar and Amaram again and Syl makes him admit that he does know that Dalinar, at least, is honorable. Amaram just has him fooled. 

Also, Kaladin is backsassing Adolin, and uses “Brightlord” for him--the title used for people he doesn’t respect as much. Adolin says that the only reason he hasn’t thrown Kaladin through a window is because he owes Kaladin his life. Renarin is just standing there, being awkward, holding his Blade--he had to hold that thing for five days. Yikes. 

Anyway, Syl doesn’t like the brothers, but only because they carry Shards (I hope. They’re good boys Brent). And we run into Vasher--I mean, Zahel, but it’s Vasher. Also, Adolin waited to bring Renarin until he knew Zahel was there so he could pressure Zahel into taking Renarin under his wing, and Syl drops the fact that she’s a tiny piece of a god, although it’s unclear how seriously Kaladin takes that. Back to Shallan, who is covering anxiety about the deserters with scholarship. She also sketches Bluth here--first a more true to life version, and then an idealized one with him in a proper uniform with a good weapon. Pattern asks about why people shit and Shallan does not want to be having that conversation. Pattern also says that Shallan--and presumably this is a Lightweaver thing--lives lies to make herself strong, but must speak truths to progress. 

Back to Kaladin, who’s talking with Lopen. Also, Kaladin uses the word “greenvines” to mean new recruits. And there’s another highstorm coming--meaning Kaladin is paranoid about the numbers again. Also they watch Adolin training, and we get this absolutely amazing exchange: 

“I’ve seen him summon that weapon before.”  “Yeah, gancho, on the battlefield, when we saved his sorry ass from Sadeas.”  I LOVE LOPEN. Also, Renarin’s training is beginning--he hasn’t been trained to fight, so there aren’t any bad habits for him to unlearn. And also this is the part where Zahel just tells Renarin to jump off the roof a bunch of times and also uses idioms that make absolutely no sense translated literally in Rosharan. Example: “I’m old, son. Repeating myself makes me eat the wrong flower.” I’m sorry Zahel that literally just sounds like a shitpost. 

And then Kaladin and Zahel have a conversation while, in the background, Renarin is throwing himself off a building again and again. Fun digression story, this part reminds me of a story from my mom’s family? She had 8 brothers and little to no parental supervision so some hijinks went down including the boys, at one point, deciding to play “who can jump off the highest object” which ended in the youngest jumping off the shed and breaking his leg. Don’t do these things unless you’re in Shardplate, kids. Kaladin discredits how well Renarin will do, but Zahel’s got a better idea of it. 

And also Zahel starts berating Kaladin for some of his nonchalance--like assuming he knows how to fight Shardbearers just because he got lucky against two. It’s turning into Sparring Bantertime. And then Adolin makes the mistake of further antagonizing Kaladin, they get in a fight, and Zahel calls Adolin the fuck out for challenging someone without shardplate when Adolin is in Shardplate because what the actual fuck, you could kill people. Zahel also says that Kaladin reminds him of Adolin, to which Kaladin Is Very Offended, and Zahel starts laughing at him. Kaladin also notes that the stormlight drained from him, and Syl points out that he wasn’t protecting anyone. 

Shallan flashback time--we get the fact that when Shallan thinks about her mother her brain shuts down. She also hasn’t spoken for five months, apparently--since her mother was killed. Helaran gives Shallan a drawing pad and charcoals and says that he needs her to come back because he’s going to be gone for a few years, and he’s worried about the others. And of course what Shallan automatically draws is the murder scene, which worries Helaran as well and he tells her to draw safe things instead of dwelling on the past. Shallan spoke for the first time in months to stop Helaran from killing their father. And Shallan sees her father in a furious rage, but he stops himself before he hurts her. I still wonder--did he just care about her more, or was he scared of her abilities and didn’t want to provoke them? Well, there’s not much way to know now. 

Shallan, again. The listener song quoted here does mention artform as a thing that exists. Anyway, we’ve just run into Shallan taking control of her caravan and leading them down to help another group against the bandits, because we’ve hit another moment where Shallan’s back’s against the wall and she becomes certain--and flat-up offers the deserters redemption if they help her help the other people. The leader doesn’t listen, but the others--including Gaz, everyone runs into everyone else out on the Shattered Plains, huh--do. Another new Listener form is mentioned--meditationform, meant for teaching and consolation, used by the gods for lies and desolation. 

Also, we meet Tyn here. Also, the leader of the deserters--Vathah--attempts to threaten Shallan, and Pattern spooks the living shit out of him by saying “you should let her go” while Shallan pretends to hear nothing. Also, Shallan frees Tvklav’s slaves, including using the line “I saved your life, you oily little man.” And Shallan also sees that the caravan survivors burned a prayer of thanks for the deserters who saved their lives, which is great. 

Back to Kaladin. Also, the listener song mentions stormform here, including the phrases “beware its powers” and “beware its end.” And it also says it “brings the gods their night.” So we’re getting heavy hints that stormform is really bad news. Also, Kaladin sees a red light out in the highstorm and thinks it looks like eyes. Creepy. Adolin is looking at fashions, Renarin is stimming, Elhokar is fretting. Kaladin is trying to unobtrusively be nosy. 

Also, Renarin geeks out about fabrials to Kaladin, and Kaladin wonders why Adolin is looking at fashion and Adolin gets defensive. No numbers appear--probably because Renarin is in a room with other people the whole time. Adolin mentions that the only Shardbearer in Sadeas’ camp other than Sadeas is Amaram, Dalinar jokingly comments that Adolin won’t be dueling him, certainly, while I am in the background yelling “KICK HIS ASS, ADOLIN! KICK HIS MISERABLE ASS!” 

Anyway now they’re talking more about Amaram. Can we stop talking about Amaram. You’re not going to get him to secede from Sadeas’s side. He’s a piece of shit. Kaladin also notices that when people mention Amaram, he gets upset and tense, UNDERSTANDABLY. 

And so Kaladin goes to tell Dalinar about Amaram, and Dalinar points out that Kaladin doesn’t have any proof. Syl is optimistic, saying that Dalinar listened--and she’s actually right in the end, Syl is always right, she’s the best--but Kaladin says that he didn’t. Syl is also very upset at the thought of Kaladin “finding his own justice,” as he puts it, and points out that this is not what he’s supposed to be like as a Windrunner. 

Also, Shen confronts Kaladin--which is an early sign that Shen is not a normal Parshman--and says that he isn’t really treated as Bridge Four, and that he’s basically still a slave, and Kaladin can’t argue with that and hates it. And then one of the palace guards runs in, panicking, and I’m pretty sure this is the Szeth attack. 

Listener song talking about “Nightform” which apparently predicts the future--there is the whole “Voidbringers see the future” thing. In any case, the “attack” was someone sabotaging the railing and balcony where Elhokar stands. Kaladin points out that whoever tried it was an idiot--or, more precisely, a coward, if they’re the same person who was behind the drained stormlight in the Plate. They want to make Elhokar’s death look like an accident, but they tipped their hand here--because the only tool that could have cut away at the balcony like that was a Shardblade. Kaladin also swears, here, that Dalinar can trust him--one half of the conflicting oaths that tear him apart in this book. Dalinar also assumes that bridgemen have no part in warcamp politics, which is...a bit naive. Kaladin does, as does Moash--lighteyes can engender deep antagonism in darkeyes without realizing. 

I’ll cut this here and get the rest of Part Two in another post.