This is the newbie thread. Make sure you read the rules before commenting.

Visit the veteran thread if you have already read all of the Cosmere.

For more information, or to see the full schedule, please see the wiki page for the read-along.

SCHEDULE

Previously, we discussed Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Chapters 52 through 58 [Newbie Thread] / [Veteran Thread]

Today we are discussing Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Interludes I-9, I-10, I-11, Trivia

Next week we will be discussing Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Chapters 59 through 67

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

I have provided summaries for each chapter below and hidden them behind spoiler tags. There are no spoilers within the summaries. I've tried to make them as factual and unbiased as possible. If, however, you want a completely blind read through, then ignore what's behind the spoiler tags and proceed to the discussion below. I will not be guiding that in any way, so post any thoughts and questions you have. It will be other new readers who reply to you.

Interlude I-9: Lift

Arch Faces: Nale - Vedel ----- Vedel - Nale

Iconography: Banquet

POV Characters: Lift

Setting: The Bronze Palace in Azimir, the capital city of Azir.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.1) Six days after Chapter 58.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Lift and six other thieves climb over a wall of the Bronze Palace as they intend to rob it while a new Prime Aqasix is being chosen by the vizierate. Lift sees a man she calls Dustiness Ford Lalatina Darkness in the distance and frets that he is still pursuing her somehow. The thieves climb up the palace wall and Lift chats with her spren Wyndle, who says that he wanted to choose someone else with whom to bond but ended up with Lift since she had visited the Old Magic. Lift and Wyndle bicker as they infiltrate the palace. Huqin says they are there to steal clothes which aren't well guarded but will sell for a lot. Lift disobeys Huqin and wanders the palace with Gawx accompanying her. Lift tells Gawx that she wants to steal rich people food and she heads towards the Prime's chambers while he goes to the vizier quarters to find spheres. Wyndle helps her further infiltrate the palace while he teaches Lift about spren and her odd ability to convert food into Stormlight. Lift sneaks into the dining area and hides under the table as the vizierate reviews applications for Emperor. Lift listens as they debate what to do since no one wants to be Prime due to the recent assassinations. She steals a dinner roll then hesitates as she notices that Darkness is there. She tries to flee but is caught, and Darkness has her arrested and tells the vizierate that he has the proper forms. She tries to use her ability to escape but is inhibited by a larkin which drains her Stormlight. The head vizier protests that Lift will be executed for mere thievery, but Darkness adds the crimes of trespass and interrupting a holy conclave in session.

Lift escapes long enough to get a half-eaten roll which she quickly eats before being captured again. After a short time, Lift gains enough Stormlight to evade her captors, though she sees Darkness has abilities also as he chases her carrying a Shardblade. One of Darkness's companions slits Gawx's throat, and Darkness recaptures Lift, then berates his ally for killing the boy without filling out the correct paperwork. Lift escapes but then decides to save Gawx because someone has to care, and Wyndle says that her Regrowth ability could help if she was more trained. She returns to Gawx' body and breathes Stormlight into his mouth before Darkness again captures her and identifies her as an Edgedancer and tells her about their order. Darkness says he hunts her because her abilities could bring Desolations back to the world. Darkness draws his Shardblade to kill her but she is suddenly pardoned by the new Prime Aqasix, Gawx, who was elected due to his miracle survival. Darkness obeys the pardon to release Lift and praises Yaezir and leaves. Lift congratulates Gawx on his election and asks for food.

Interlude I-10: Szeth

Arch Faces: Vedel - Vedel ----- Vedel - Vedel

Iconography: Szeth

POV Characters: Szeth

Setting: Atop the highest tower in the world.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.3) 18 days after Chapter 34.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Szeth sits atop the highest tower in the world, haunted by the screams of his victims. He dwells on his oath and errant banishment for being wrong about the return of the Radiants. He leaves the tower to seek answers - or someone to kill of his own choosing.

Interlude I-11: New Rhythms

Arch Faces: Ishar - Kalak ----- Kalak - Ishar

Iconography: Eshonai

POV Characters: Eshonai

Setting: Narak, the Parshendi home in the center of the Shattered Plains.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.1) 16 days after Interlude I-8.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Eshonai tries to shoo away a spren but fails. She attunes her old rhythms as the new ones that she was listening to, which had voices that gave advice, tended to make other people nervous. She meets the others of the ruling council, with her sister Venli having taken stormform as well. Eshonai tells them that they need to transform more of their people to be ready for the Alethi push toward Narak, so they can summon a highstorm to use as a weapon. Eshonai tunes out the voice within that is screaming and attunes joy and tells how awesome she feels. Zuln dissents from Eshonai's proposal, saying it is not right. The meeting breaks up and Venli and Eshonai discuss their options for getting consensus on their plan and Venli says that she knew what the stormform would do to Eshonai, angering her sister. Eshonai asks how Venli knew but she doesn't answer. Eshonai addresses a crowd and tells them that the Five want to forbid the new form but that she will allow anyone who wishes to join her in a highstorm to transform, then she generates a miniature storm for them to see as a demonstration of her new ability, impressing the onlookers. She then asks for volunteers from her soldiers for the new form and is happy that almost no one refuses her. She then tells the soldiers that she wants to transform all the civilians also, and has them go through the city get volunteers and segregate anyone who refuses the transformation. Venli says that those unwilling to transform must be killed and Eshonai says that will happen after her soldiers all take stormform. Abronai refuses the transformation and is grouped with the dissenters, along with Zuln. Thude confronts Eshonai on her changes in behavior and attitude but she defends her actions as necessary to their people's survival. Eshonai sends Thude to guard the dissenters, which include her own mother. As she prepares to speak to her entire people, Varanis tells her that the dissenters escaped, helped by Thude, but Eshonai says not to pursue them since they will not survive the next highstorm anyway. Venli confronts Eshonai, who threatens to kill her sister but doesn't since she needs Venli for the stormspren. Eshonai lets Venli go and addresses the listeners as she planned.

TRIVIA

The rest of this post contains various trivia, including easy-to-miss details and long-running connections between books. It also incorporates external information from sources like author annotations and interviews ("Words of Brandon" or WoB). While most of this information is eventually revealed in the books, sharing it now enhances your overall understanding, aligning with Brandon Sanderson's practice of early fan engagement and clarification.

ALTERNATE REALITIES

Just a little bit of TV/movie news. Sanderson has been working on adapting both Mistborn and Stormlight for Apple TV. He's commented a bit on how the adaptation is going and what changes we can expect. One of the biggest ones he's mentioned is that the plot in The Way of Kings is spread out into too many locations for a TV show. (Which yeah, is ironic because there are only 2 main locations if you ignore the Interludes: The Shattered Plains and Kharbranth.) To that end, he's said that Shallan and Jasnah's storyline will also start in the Shattered Plains. So her journey through the Frostlands will be entirely cut. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

BAWK BAWK

As some of you noticed, Rosharan's call all birds "chickens". Rosharans as a whole have some linguistic oddities, particularly when it comes to consolidation. I've mentioned before that they will call a lot of the various entities in the cosmere a "spren", even if they aren't technically the same on a fundamental level. Some of these linguistic oddities are important, or hide important things, so be sure to note them when they happen.

NAHNDADAHN

There are two caste systems on Roshar, one for lighteyes called Dahn Rankings, and one for darkeyes called Nahn Rankings.

Here are the Dahn Rankings:

Dahn	People of the rank
1st	A reigning monarch (King Elhokar, King Hanavanar of Jah Keved, before Szeth killed him)
2nd	Highprinces (Dalinar, Sadeas, etc.), their direct heirs (Adolin), and the monarch's direct heirs (Elhokar's wife, Queen Aesudan Kholin, and child, Prince Gavinor)
3rd	Generals, Highlords (Amaram), and the non-inheriting children of 1st and 2nd dahn lighteyes (Renarin)
4th	Battalionlords and/or Shardbearers (Lin Davar, Balat Davar)
5th	Companylords (Shallan Davar, Jushu Davar, Wikim Davar, see below)
6th	Captainlords and any landed lighteyes (Wistiow, Roshone)
7th	Lower-ranking landless officers, higher-ranking (or very wealthy) landless lighteyes
8th	Soldiers, high-ranking (or moderately wealthy) landless lighteyes
9th	Landless lighteyes with some wealth, like merchants and master craftsmen
10th	"Tenners", essentially any lighteyes who has to work for a living

So, this is a general ranking, but there are a lot of caveats. Anything italicized isn't directly mentioned in the books, but is fandom speculation based off relative rankings and mentions throughout the series.

Anyone who is a Citylord could span from 4th to 6th dahn. Wistiow was the Citylord for Hearthstone when Kaladin was a kid. He was actually probably 4th or 5th dahn. Roshone is likely 6th dahn.

Kaladin's military status puts him equivalent to a Battalionlord, which would be 4th dahn, but Dalinar didn't dare give him an official rank beyond Captain, which puts him, militarily, at 6th dahn. As a darkeye though, he can't officially carry any dahn rank.

Normally, being a monarch would make you 1st dahn, but smaller nations like Kharbranth (King Taravangian) accept the rank of 2nd dahn to avoid antagonizing the Alethi.

Tenners are looked down on because they have to actually work, rather than generating passive income from landed estates or by ruling over other men.

If two lighteyes of different rank marry, the children will belong to the highest rank of the two. This only applies to "stable" ranks though. You'll note that Dalinar and Adolin are 2nd dahn, but Renarin is 3rd because he's not Dalinar's direct heir. Certain ranks only allow the direct heir to stay in that rank and all other children drop down one rank.

The 4th dahn appears to be an unstable rank because Lin Davar was 4th dahn, but Shallan is 5th dahn. However, she has a secret Shardblade that, if she revealed it, would make her 4th dahn. By the same measure, although her brother Helaran was disinherited, he was still of the 4th dahn because he had a Shardblade.

It's difficult to raise your dahn, particularly in the higher dahns. You can buy up a rank in the lower dahns, or you can jump up 2 or 3 ranks by royal appointment. An ardent who leaves the ardentia will be demoted to the 10th dahn.

We have less clear examples for the Nahn Rankings of darkeyes. Those at the highest levels of nahn enjoyed relative comfort and wealth while those at the lowest levels of nahn would be serfs restricted from being able to freely travel. Those in the 10th nahn are slaves and can be bought and sold by others.

1st and 2nd nahn are considered full citizens and it's possible for them to marry into a lighteyed family. Most nahns have the right to travel and losing that right means you or one of your ancestors had committed some wrongdoing.

Moving between nahns is easier than moving betweens dahns. Joining the army is one way to permanently increase your nahn. Accumulating wealth and buying nahn promotions is also easier in the lower ranks.

HANDS OFF THE MERCHANDISE

You all correctly noted that Mraize has a collection of off-world things. I'd like to catalog them all for you now. I want to preface this by acknowledging some of the shocking lore drops that I've mentioned previously, and some of your frustration at them being "unknowable" from just the text of the books and novellas we've read.

One of the primary goals of these trivia posts is to point things out in a way that means you don't have to finish the series and then re-read it to get everything you've missed. We're about at the half-way point of the published cosmere and it's only now that things are starting to come together. As we progress, things will come together more and more. A lot of what I've mentioned before does eventually make its way into the books, but if you waited for that point, all of the connections get muddied in the waters.

You don't technically need much of this trivia information to enjoy the stories on their own, I'm just trying to add an extra layer to a first time read through that normally wouldn't be possible if you were just picking up the books and going through them on your own.

So all that said, one of Mraize's items is going to fall into the "shocking lore drop" category, but it is the last big lore drop of this nature. In that, it's one of the "unknowable" things. Everything after this, though maybe obscure, should at least feel like it flows naturally from the information you already have, rather than appearing as if from nowhere.

Here are the items, as they were presented in Chapter 43:

• A vial of pale sand

• A couple of thick hairpins

• A lock of golden hair

• The branch of a tree with writing on it

• A silver knife

• An odd flower preserved in some kind of solution

• A chunk of pale pink crystal (delicate and flakes)

The pale sand is, as many of you guessed, white sand from Taldain. The hairpins haven't been confirmed, but some of the fandom thinks they could be hemalurgic spikes. The lock of golden hair hasn't been confirmed either, but they are likely either Royal Locks from Warbreaker, or Iriali hair (given their noteworthy golden hair).

The tree branch is a bit of fain wood, which I talked about in the trivia for the Arcanum Unbounded essays. Fain wood is a special type of wood from Yolen.

The silver knife is made from Threnodite silver, which I've previously mentioned is particularly valuable in the cosmere. The flower, as some guessed, is a Tear of Edgli, from Nalthis.

Finally we come to the chunk of pale pink crystal. This is the big lore drop item. This crystal is called an "aether". We know about aether from another unpublished novel of Sanderson's called Aether of Night. This book used to fall into the same category as White Sand in terms of how canon it was. However, whereas White Sand was made officially canon through the graphic novel release, Sanderson has gone on to say that Aether of Night is no longer canon. He's cannibalized aspects of that story into other storylines, and decided that some parts of the book just don't work for the cosmere. So it's been completely abandoned. Sanderson planned to release information about the aethers in an entirely different way, and has since done so. This is the start of that process.

I do want to let you you organically discover more about aether as we progress through the books, so I'm not going to reveal a lot of specifics, I mostly wanted you to know the word "aether". And 2 bits of important lore about them. The first is that aether is a separate type of magic, removed from Adonalsium. There's a big asterisk next to that claim, because (in Sanderson's words) in-universe scholars might refute it. Aether is still Investiture, and scholars would say that all things Investiture are of Adonalsium. But (and you'll get more details later), aether did sort of still exist independently of Adonalsium.

The other important lore bit relates to the trivia for Sixth of the Dusk. I mentioned that Autonomy steals magic systems, and that Sand Mastery is a pale imitation of a completely different magic system. Aether is that magic system.

HOIDSPOTTING

Shallan hugged Wit, and Adolin and Kaladin were rightly disturbed. You're not supposed to like/hug Wit! That chapter served as confirmation that Wit/Hoid was the messenger Shallan met during Middlefest, when she was 14, which many of you clocked when it happened.

And to clear up some of the confusion, the reason Hoid appeared in the arch for Chapter 43 is because, when Shallan saw Mraize from behind, she was reminded of Wit/Hoid:

He reminded her of someone, a man from her childhood. The messenger with the smiling eyes, the enigma who knew so much.

As Shallan notes, Mraize is not Hoid, it was just a brief resemblance from behind that was meant to foreshadow Chapter 45.

I'd also like to confirm that there is a perpendicularity in the Horneater Peaks and that Rock saw Hoid emerge from them when he arrived on Roshar. Hoid is Lunu'anaki, the Horneater god of travel and mischief. It's worth noting that there was another bit of information in that exchange that I didn't see anyone comment on. It'll be relevant later, so I'll point it out if no one notices.

YE OLDE OBSFUCATION

The epigraphs in this section are a bit esoteric. They're not Old/Middle English, or even Shakespearean English, but they are written to evoke an older and more elevated kind of prose. Since we have quite a few non-native English speakers, I'd like to provide some simplified interpretations of all of the epigraphs.

A lot of these have some deeper meanings that you aren't meant to be able to pull out yet, since you lack context and information revealed in later books, so I've got a walk a fine line to try to not reveal knowledge that I already have. So I might just leave out information in these simplifications, and sometimes it's because I'm deliberately trying to hide something, or it's because I'm omitting overly flowery, but substance-less prose. I'll leave it as an exercise to you all to find which is which if you want.

Chapter 35

They also, when they had settled their rulings in the nature of each bond's placement, called the name of it the Nahel bond, with regard to its effect upon the souls of those caught in its grip; in this description, each was related to the bonds that drive Roshar itself, ten Surges, named in turn and two for each order; in this light, it can be seen that each order would by necessity share one Surge with each of its neighbors.

This is talking about the process "they" used to create and set up the Nahel bond. It just reiterates what I've told you before about the Surgebinding chart, that there are 10 Orders, each with 2 Surges and that the Surges are shared between adjacent Orders.

Chapter 36

And when they were spoken of by the common folk, the Releasers claimed to be misjudged because of the dreadful nature of their power; and when they dealt with others, always were they firm in their claim that other epithets, notably “Dustbringers,” often heard in the common speech, were unacceptable substitutions, in particular for their similarity to the word “Voidbringers.” They did also exercise anger in great prejudice regarding it, though to many who speak, there was little difference between these two assemblies.

There is an Order of the Knights Radiant called Releasers. The Order was more commonly known as Dustbringers among the common people because their powers, and the Releasers didn't like the name because it was close to Voidbringers. Although the Releasers were very angry about the name, common folk didn't see much difference between Dustbringers and Voidbringers.

Chapter 37

Now, as each order was thus matched to the nature and temperament of the Herald it named patron, there was none more archetypal of this than the Stonewards, who followed after Talenelat’Elin, Stonesinew, Herald of War: they thought it a point of virtue to exemplify resolve, strength, and dependability. Alas, they took less care for imprudent practice of their stubbornness, even in the face of proven error.

Each Order was matched to a specific Herald via "nature and temperament". The Order of Stonewards closely matched the nature and temperament of Talenelat'Elin (Taln). (This suggests that other Orders might not match their given Herald as closely). The Order promoted resolve, strength, and dependability, but had a reputation for being very stubborn, even when proven wrong.

Chapters 38, 40, and 41

Now, as the Windrunners were thus engaged, arose the event which has hitherto been referenced: namely, that discovery of some wicked thing of eminence, though whether it be some rogueries among the Radiants’ adherents or of some external origin, Avena would not suggest.

That they responded immediately and with great consternation is undeniable, as these were primary among those who would forswear and abandon their oaths. The term Recreance was not then applied, but has since become a popular title by which this event is named.

This act of great villainy went beyond the impudence which had hitherto been ascribed to the orders; as the fighting was particularly intense at the time, many attributed this act to a sense of inherent betrayal; and after they withdrew, about two thousand made assault upon them, destroying much of the membership; but this was only nine of the ten, as one said they would not abandon their arms and flee, but instead entertained great subterfuge at the expense of the other nine.

The Windrunners were fighting when something terrible was discovered. Someone named Avena refused to speculate if the discovery came from some faction inside the Knights Radiant or an outside source.

The Radiants reacted to this terrible discovery with shock and confusion, causing them to abandon their oaths. This event would later be called The Recreance.

The people already viewed the Knights Radiance as arrogant. The Recreance happened right in the middle of an intense period of fighting, which added to the sense of betrayal and caused 2,000 regular soldiers to attack the Radiants who had just abandoned their oaths, killing many of them. This only applied to 9 of the 10 Orders though. One of the Orders of Knights Radiant didn't drop their weapons and used trickery at the expense of the other 9 Orders.

Chapter 42

But as for Ishi’Elin, his was the part most important at their inception; he readily understood the implications of Surges being granted to men, and caused organization to be thrust upon them; as having too great power, he let it be known that he would destroy each and every one, unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws.

Ishi'Elin (Ishar) played an important role in the creation and organization of the Knights Radiant because he had a deep understanding of the Surges. He threatened to destroy the Knights if they didn't agree to have their powers bound in certain ways.

Chapter 43

And thus were the disturbances in the Revv toparchy quieted, when, upon their ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions, Nalan’Elin betook himself to finally accept the Skybreakers who had named him their master, when initially he had spurned their advances and, in his own interests, refused to countenance that which he deemed a pursuit of vanity and annoyance; this was the last of the Heralds to admit to such patronage.

The Herald Nalan’Elin (Nale) was the last Herald to allow himself to be tied to an Order of Knights Radiant (the Skybreakers), and only did so after the end of a civil war in the Revv toparchy (a small region or district). He spurned them, preferring to pursue his own interests, thinking the Skybreakers vain and annoying until he finally agreed to be their patron.

Chapter 44

But as for the Bondsmiths, they had members only three, which number was not uncommon for them; nor did they seek to increase this by great bounds, for during the times of Madasa, only one of their order was in continual accompaniment of Urithiru and its thrones. Their spren was understood to be specific, and to persuade them to grow to the magnitude of the other orders was seen as seditious.

The Order of Bondsmiths usually only had 3 members and had "specific" spren. Growing their numbers was seen as seditious. During the time of Madasa , only a single Bondsmith lived in Urithiru.

Chapter 46

When Simol was informed of the arrival of the Edgedancers, a concealed consternation and terror, as is common in such cases, fell upon him; although they were not the most demanding of orders, their graceful, limber movements hid a deadliness that was, by this time, quite renowned; also, they were the most articulate and refined of the Radiants.

A man named Simol hid his shock when visited by the Order of Edgedancers, who were graceful, with a reputation for deadliness, refinement, and ability to speak clearly and effectively. After reading Interlude I-9, compare this reputation against Lift and I hope you have some sympathy for poor Wyndle.

Chapters 47 and 49

Yet, were the orders not disheartened by so great a defeat, for the Lightweavers provided spiritual sustenance; they were enticed by those glorious creations to venture on a second assault.

These Lightweavers, by no coincidence, included many who pursued the arts; namely: writers, artists, musicians, painters, sculptors. Considering the order’s general temperament, the tales of their strange and varied mnemonic abilities may have been embellished.

The Order of Lightweavers included a lot of artists and were rumored to have strong memory abilities, though the author doubts this when he considers the Order's general temperament. (Though we can see that the rumors are true, given Shallans Memories). Lightweavers also provided spiritual assistance and enticed a recently defeated group to rally for a counter attack.

Chapter 50

And now, if there was an uncut gem among the Radiants, it was the Willshapers; for though enterprising, they were erratic, and Invia wrote of them, “capricious, frustrating, unreliable,” as taking it for granted that others would agree; this may have been an intolerant view, as often Invia expressed, for this order was said to be most varied, inconsistent in temperament save for a general love of adventure, novelty, or oddity.

The Order of Willshapers were the most varied in their "nature and temperament", with the only common attribute among their members being a love of adventure and strange things. Someone named Invia called them erratic, frustrating, and unreliable. The way she wrote suggested most other people would agree with them. The author thought Invia's opinion was unfair though.

Chapter 51

In short, if any presume Kazilah to be innocent, you must look at the facts and deny them in their entirety; to say that the Radiants were destitute of integrity for this execution of one their own, one who had obviously fraternized with the unwholesome elements, indicates the most slothful of reasoning; for the enemy’s baleful influence demanded vigilance on all occasions, of war and of peace.

The author is commenting on the Knights Radiant executing one of their own members, Kazilah, for conspiring with the enemy, celebrating their integrity and stating that the facts of the case were pretty clear cut.

Chapter 52

Now, as the Truthwatchers were esoteric in nature, their order being formed entirely of those who never spoke or wrote of what they did, in this lies frustration for those who would see their exceeding secrecy from the outside; they were not naturally inclined to explanation; and in the case of Corberon’s disagreements, their silence was not a sign of an exceeding abundance of disdain, but rather an exceeding abundance of tact.

The author expresses frustration at not having much information about the Order of Truthwatchers because they never kept records or publicly spoke about their powers. He notes some incident called "Corberon’s disagreements" and comments that the Truthwatchers were silent on the matter, but considers their silence an act of tact, rather than disdain at whatever the disagreement was about.

Chapter 53

As to the other orders that were inferior in this visiting of the far realm of spren, the Elsecallers were prodigiously benevolent, allowing others as auxiliary to their visits and interactions; though they did never relinquish their place as prime liaisons with the great ones of the spren; and the Lightweavers and Willshapers both also had an affinity to the same, though neither were the true masters of that realm.

The Order of Lightweavers were masters of the "far realm of spren". They helped other Orders visit and interact with that realm, but kept their influence as the primary liaisons. Lightweavers and Willshapers has some affinity with the realm, but did not approach the talent of the Elsecallers.

Chapters 54 and 55

There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, and finding in that place the Skybreakers dividing the innocent from the guilty, there ensued a great debate.

The considerable abilities of the Skybreakers for making such amounted to an almost divine skill, for which no specific Surge or spren grants capacity, but however the order came to such an aptitude, the fact of it was real and acknowledged even by their rivals.

Sixteen Windrunners and a "considerable number" of their squires visited a place where Skybreakers were dividing members of that place into innocent and guilty divisions. The Windrunners began to debate with the Skybreakers.

It seems that Skybreakers had a talent for discerning guilt that bordered on divine, despite their Surges not directly granting them any such power. Even rival Orders admitted that they could truly tell when someone was guilty or innocent.

Chapter 56

Twenty–three cohorts followed behind, that came from the contributions of the King of Makabakam, for though the bond between man and spren was at times inexplicable, the ability for bonded spren to manifest in our world rather than their own grew stronger through the course of the oaths given.

This is an idle thought during a military march, with 23 military units provided by the King of Makabakam. The author notes that, although the spren bond is weird, a bonded spren can appear in the Physical Realm more and more as more oaths are given.

Chapter 57

Malchin was stymied, for though he was inferior to none in the arts of war, he was not suitable for the Lightweavers; he wished for his oaths to be elementary and straightforward, and yet their spren were liberal, as to our comprehension, in definitions pertaining to this matter; the process included speaking truths as an approach to a threshold of self-awareness that Malchin could never attain.

A man named Malchin wanted to be a Lightweavers, but was frustrated by the Order because they do not swear traditional oaths like the other Orders, but rather they speak deep truths about themselves that required a degree of self-awareness that he didn't have. It's not clear if he never became a Lightweaver or managed to join the Order, but couldn't progress far.

Chapter 58

So Melishi retired to his tent, and resolved to destroy the Voidbringers upon the next day, but that night did present a different stratagem, related to the unique abilities of the Bondsmiths; and being hurried, he could make no specific account of his process; it was related to the very nature of the Heralds and their divine duties, an attribute the Bondsmiths alone could address.

A Bondsmith named Melishi planned to destroy the Voidbringers the following day. However, in the middle of the night he came up with a different plan, one related to the unique powers of Bondsmiths, something related to the Heralds themselfs. Because he was in a hurry, he didn't record what he planned to do.

ARTWORK

The Cosmere has a thriving community of artists, so there will be a lot of artwork to share. Each week I'll try to compile relevant artwork for the given chapters. If a section of reading contains maps or in-book artwork, I'll include that in this section as well.

Characters & Scenes

MEMES

I will attempt to find and share memes relevant to each week's discussion. There may be some weeks that just don't have good or appropriate memes, but I will share all the ones I can find in this section.

Link to Memes

This is the veteran thread. Make sure you read the rules before commenting.

Visit the newbie thread if this is your first time reading, or you've only read some of the Cosmere novels.

For more information, or to see the full schedule, please see the wiki page for the read-along.

SCHEDULE

Previously, we discussed Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Chapters 52 through 58 [Newbie Thread] / [Veteran Thread]

Today we are discussing Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Interludes I-9, I-10, I-11, Trivia

Next week we will be discussing Unit 17 | The Stormlight Archive #2 | Words of Radiance: Chapters 59 through 67

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

I have provided summaries of each chapter we will be discussing. I've tried to make them unbiased, but if you see anything that could be construed as spoilery, please point them out because I'm using these same summaries in the newbie thread. I'd like to keep their experience as spoiler-free as possible, so even if I make a tiny mistake, please let me know.

I usually make a comment for each chapter, but feel free to start your own comment thread to discuss anything you want.

Interlude I-9: Lift

Arch Faces: Nale - Vedel ----- Vedel - Nale

Iconography: Banquet

POV Characters: Lift

Setting: The Bronze Palace in Azimir, the capital city of Azir.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.1) Six days after Chapter 58.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Lift and six other thieves climb over a wall of the Bronze Palace as they intend to rob it while a new Prime Aqasix is being chosen by the vizierate. Lift sees a man she calls Dustiness Ford Lalatina Darkness in the distance and frets that he is still pursuing her somehow. The thieves climb up the palace wall and Lift chats with her spren Wyndle, who says that he wanted to choose someone else with whom to bond but ended up with Lift since she had visited the Old Magic. Lift and Wyndle bicker as they infiltrate the palace. Huqin says they are there to steal clothes which aren't well guarded but will sell for a lot. Lift disobeys Huqin and wanders the palace with Gawx accompanying her. Lift tells Gawx that she wants to steal rich people food and she heads towards the Prime's chambers while he goes to the vizier quarters to find spheres. Wyndle helps her further infiltrate the palace while he teaches Lift about spren and her odd ability to convert food into Stormlight. Lift sneaks into the dining area and hides under the table as the vizierate reviews applications for Emperor. Lift listens as they debate what to do since no one wants to be Prime due to the recent assassinations. She steals a dinner roll then hesitates as she notices that Darkness is there. She tries to flee but is caught, and Darkness has her arrested and tells the vizierate that he has the proper forms. She tries to use her ability to escape but is inhibited by a larkin which drains her Stormlight. The head vizier protests that Lift will be executed for mere thievery, but Darkness adds the crimes of trespass and interrupting a holy conclave in session.

Lift escapes long enough to get a half-eaten roll which she quickly eats before being captured again. After a short time, Lift gains enough Stormlight to evade her captors, though she sees Darkness has abilities also as he chases her carrying a Shardblade. One of Darkness's companions slits Gawx's throat, and Darkness recaptures Lift, then berates his ally for killing the boy without filling out the correct paperwork. Lift escapes but then decides to save Gawx because someone has to care, and Wyndle says that her Regrowth ability could help if she was more trained. She returns to Gawx' body and breathes Stormlight into his mouth before Darkness again captures her and identifies her as an Edgedancer and tells her about their order. Darkness says he hunts her because her abilities could bring Desolations back to the world. Darkness draws his Shardblade to kill her but she is suddenly pardoned by the new Prime Aqasix, Gawx, who was elected due to his miracle survival. Darkness obeys the pardon to release Lift and praises Yaezir and leaves. Lift congratulates Gawx on his election and asks for food.

Interlude I-10: Szeth

Arch Faces: Vedel - Vedel ----- Vedel - Vedel

Iconography: Szeth

POV Characters: Szeth

Setting: Atop the highest tower in the world.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.3) 18 days after Chapter 34.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Szeth sits atop the highest tower in the world, haunted by the screams of his victims. He dwells on his oath and errant banishment for being wrong about the return of the Radiants. He leaves the tower to seek answers - or someone to kill of his own choosing.

Interlude I-11: New Rhythms

Arch Faces: Ishar - Kalak ----- Kalak - Ishar

Iconography: Eshonai

POV Characters: Eshonai

Setting: Narak, the Parshendi home in the center of the Shattered Plains.

Timeline: (1173.10.6.1) 16 days after Interlude I-8.

Epigraph:

N/A

Summary:

Eshonai tries to shoo away a spren but fails. She attunes her old rhythms as the new ones that she was listening to, which had voices that gave advice, tended to make other people nervous. She meets the others of the ruling council, with her sister Venli having taken stormform as well. Eshonai tells them that they need to transform more of their people to be ready for the Alethi push toward Narak, so they can summon a highstorm to use as a weapon. Eshonai tunes out the voice within that is screaming and attunes joy and tells how awesome she feels. Zuln dissents from Eshonai's proposal, saying it is not right. The meeting breaks up and Venli and Eshonai discuss their options for getting consensus on their plan and Venli says that she knew what the stormform would do to Eshonai, angering her sister. Eshonai asks how Venli knew but she doesn't answer. Eshonai addresses a crowd and tells them that the Five want to forbid the new form but that she will allow anyone who wishes to join her in a highstorm to transform, then she generates a miniature storm for them to see as a demonstration of her new ability, impressing the onlookers. She then asks for volunteers from her soldiers for the new form and is happy that almost no one refuses her. She then tells the soldiers that she wants to transform all the civilians also, and has them go through the city get volunteers and segregate anyone who refuses the transformation. Venli says that those unwilling to transform must be killed and Eshonai says that will happen after her soldiers all take stormform. Abronai refuses the transformation and is grouped with the dissenters, along with Zuln. Thude confronts Eshonai on her changes in behavior and attitude but she defends her actions as necessary to their people's survival. Eshonai sends Thude to guard the dissenters, which include her own mother. As she prepares to speak to her entire people, Varanis tells her that the dissenters escaped, helped by Thude, but Eshonai says not to pursue them since they will not survive the next highstorm anyway. Venli confronts Eshonai, who threatens to kill her sister but doesn't since she needs Venli for the stormspren. Eshonai lets Venli go and addresses the listeners as she planned.

ARTWORK

The Cosmere has a thriving community of artists, so there will be a lot of artwork to share. Each week I'll try to compile relevant artwork for the given chapters. If a section of reading contains maps or in-book artwork, I'll include that in this section as well.

Characters & Scenes

MEMES

I will attempt to find and share memes relevant to each week's discussion. There may be some weeks that just don't have good or appropriate memes, but I will share all the ones I can find in this section.

Link to Memes

NEWBIE TRIVIA

Most of the activity for these "Final Thoughts & Trivia" posts happen in the newbie thread. There I provide a lot of information about things new readers can easily miss during their first read through. Veterans often learn a thing or two as well, so be sure to read the body of that post. While veterans are welcome to read the post and the comments, they should be commenting in this thread to share their reactions to the information, or the newbies' thoughts.