Greetings and salutations, Sanderfans! Last week, we discussed Wind and Truth preview chapters 29 and 30 with Renarin and Rlain POVs, which we’ve been jonesing for, right? Then Shallan showed up, asking for their help; what kind of shenanigans is she going to get them into? We also caught up with Lift, who’s being a good friend to poor little Gavinor. This week we’re moving on to chapters 31 and 32—and it’s a wild ride!
Be sure to check out the social media section at the end of the article to see if we spotlighted one of your comments!
Note that this post will possibly (likely) contain full Cosmere spoilers, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content. And please remember, when posting or commenting about these preview chapters on social media, follow your platform’s spoiler rules. Your comments here, however, don’t need to be spoiler-tagged, so feel free to comment as you will down below!
Paige’s Summary and Commentary
Chapter 31 is titled “Experiment” and we’re back with Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain who head down to the Oathgates along with some backup muscle to pop over into Shadesmar and, presumably, intercept Mraize and Iyatil. Shallan is overcome by the stunning sight of the awakened tower from the Shadesmar side and asks Radiant to take over.
“Other Shallan!”
::chuckle::
There are three guards in Shadesmar looking after the Oathgate, and the Windrunners Shallan had sent ahead chat with them as Shallan gives way to Radiant. One of the Windrunners tells Radiant that they did a sweep and haven’t seen anyone, and one of the guards states that they’ve been there all day and haven’t seen anybody, either.
Renarin and Rlain join Radiant, asking what’s going on, so she tells them about the Ghostbloods, how they’re “seeking to control the balance of power on Roshar.” Rlain thought that was the group that Shallan had captured at the beginning of Rhythm of War and Renarin explains how that was the Sons of Honor. Radiant says that the Ghostbloods are supported by someone from offworld… further offworld than the Fused. She mentions how long Shallan had been mixed up with them, pretending to be one of them, until she realized that they needed to be stopped.
“Well, that’s a storming big secret,” Rlain said to a very pronounced rhythm, which Radiant couldn’t place.”
I’m guessing it had something to do with irritation? Incredulity? Anyway, Radiant continues, telling them that the Ghostbloods had seemed uninterested in the Unmade but that they had met with Sja-anat and she’d given them some of her spren. Radiant takes a moment to wonder where Renarin’s and Rlain’s spren are, thinking they should have appeared as her two spren and her armor had as soon as they’d entered Shadesmar. Then, back to the conversation, she says that Sja-anat’s spren have an affinity for the Spiritual Realm and that she figured she’d have a better chance of navigating it with Renarin. She expects that the fugitives will show up as Dalinar opens the portal.
Renarin points at the tower and Radiant sees a red glow around his hand and wonders if it’s his spren. Rlain does the same and they say they can see Dalinar and Navani descending a lift. Radiant insists they need to go to them, as that’s where the Ghostbloods will be as soon as Dalinar opens the portal.
POV shift!
Navani is holding Gavinor’s hand as they head to the room where they’ll conduct their experiment with Wit. Gav is afraid and Navani asks him why. He cringes from the gloryspren around her and when she asks them to back away, they move further off. Gav asks if the whole tower is a spren and Navani tries to reassure him that the tower is good, that it’s there to help them.
They arrive at the room Wit had chosen for the experiment and Navani hands Gavinor to his governess. They leave guards outside the door and enter a cistern room. Wit says something that Navani can’t hear due to the sound of the water and when she asks what he said, he neglects to answer, clearly pleased that they won’t be overhead. He asks if they’re ready and they say they are.
Wit tosses a rock to Navani and explains that it came from Ashyn, where the humans came from before their migration to Roshar. He explains that it came from a holy site and was carried to Roshar, and eventually the original association with these stones were lost, and stones themselves were considered mystical… after much time and numerous cataclysms, the Shin now worship rock and don’t know why. Navani seems appalled by this and asks if Wit has ever told them of this history. He says he keeps meaning to…
Oh, my… poor Wit. With so much knowledge and so many memories, even with some of them stored in Breaths, he must have a head just full of information. As someone who deals with racing thoughts, I can certainly empathize with him!
Dalinar asks Wit if he stole the rock and he says that he picked it out himself before the migration. Which leads to a question from Navani:
“You were there?”
Again Wit shrugged. “Look, I can’t be expected to tell you everything that has happened in the last ten thousand years, all right? Yes, I was there. Can we focus on the experiment?”
I kind of adore Wit!
Wit goes on to explain that they need an anchor to direct them to a specific memory and Navani surmises that the rock will take them to a specific moment and Wit confirms that it should take them to the arrival of humans on Roshar. He instructs Dalinar to tether himself to the room, so Dalinar creates a connection with the floor, and a line of light “anchors” him there. Navani does the same and then Wit instructs them to open a perpendicularity and send their minds in. Dalinar asks how to do that and Wit, our wonderful, wonderful Wit, says he doesn’t know either. He explains how he’s done it in the past, though always at a pool, such as we saw in Elantris. And then he says something truly chilling:
“There are few paths in this universe I fear to walk. This is one of them.”
Dun-dun-dunnnnn…
POV shift!
Shallan and company leave three of the Windrunner squires at the Oathgate and, taking the guards that had been at the Oathgate all day, they fly to the tower. They follow the light of Dalinar’s and Navani’s souls toward the room where they’re meeting with Wit.
Renarin tells Radiant he needs to speak with Shallan about his vision and Ba-Ado-Mishram and Radiant gives way to her, hoping they won’t get distracted…
POV shift!
Renarin is overwhelmed by the tower from the Shadesmar side. The light, the “flocks” of spren. It’s overwhelming, like sensory overload. He retrieves two spheres from his pocket and plays with them to distract himself and has to listen to Shallan, who is grinning and freaking out about all of the spren.
Finally, she asks what he wanted to talk about and he says that Rlain thinks they saw Mishram in a vision. Shallan says that she has too, and explains about odd things happening with Lightweaving when you’ve bonded two spren. Which is news to Renarin, who considers Testament as Shallan explains.
Honestly, the whole time I’m here thinking, “Get ON with it, people! They’re down there about to open the perpendicularity! MOVE!”
They don’t listen, though, and keep yammering. Renarin says they should tell Dalinar not to go into the Spiritual Realm and Shallan counters by saying they can’t allow the Ghostbloods to get to Mishram. He asks why she wanted him to come along on this mission and she replies that she thought that he might be able to spot others who have bonded one of Sja-anat’s spren.
Renarin asks Glys if he can help them on the other side; the spren says he thinks he could. That he will.
They arrive at the room and leave the guards outside. They see three souls, Dalinar, Navani, and Wit, who is shimmering with a great number of odd colors. Of course, Wit’s soul is different. Did we think it would be otherwise? Then they see two souls in the wall and Pattern says that one of them is Lift.
Renarin asks what the guards look like so they can keep an eye out for them. Shallan describes them, two men and a woman, two short and one tall, two that wear masks and one, Thaylen, with short eyebrows and scars on his face.
Renarin asks if one of them could be a Lightweaver, if they could be disguised. Then it clicks for Shallan and she looks back through the door, which is like crystal, at the two short and one tall guard they had brought with them from the Oathgate and haven’t vetted at all. Shallan really should have known better, don’t you think, Sanderfans? I’m just over here shaking my head. Literally. And tsking. Lots of tsking.
Chapter 32 is titled “Cords of Light” and Dalinar forms his perpendicularity, joining the three realms. He and Navani step into the light, directed by Wit, and Navani says she hears the tones of Roshar and that this place has been calling to her. For weeks. Weeks? During the occupation?
POV shift!
I’m telling you… it’s like a book-long Sanderlanche.
Shallan panics. And now Veil chimes in.
Oh no, Veil thought. Remind me, what do you do when there’s a guard watching for you?
Storms. You became the guard.
Didn’t Shallan just do that? Like… literally just did that. She became the guard to infiltrate the Ghostblood meeting. Barely a minute ago.
I know, I’m overusing “literally.” Hush.
Then Mraize and the others burst into the room, Mraize with a dagger that glows and warps the air. Shallan screams to protect the spren and chaos ensues. There are two Windrunners and their spren, Renarin, Rlain, and then Shallan and her two spren. And three Ghostbloods. Iyatil slits the throat of one of the Windrunners (worry not, he heals) and then the perpendicularity opens.
Radiant separates from Shallan and forms in full Shardplate, fighting with Iyatil, who avoids her and pulls out an anti-Stormlight dagger. Radiant tackles Iyatil, who drops the dagger and Shallan picks it up. She can only gloat for a moment though, and then Iyatil shoots her in the freaking eye with a blowgun dart. In the eye! Ouch! Lieke, the other Ghostblood, is killed in the fray and then bam, it’s over.
Then Iyatil taunts them by saying that the three guards whose places they took will be killed unless she gives a signal. Shallan knows it’s true and the Windrunners leave, rushing to save them. Mraize, funnily enough, is lashed to the ceiling, but… he still has his anti-Stormlight dagger.
“Have you ever seen a perpendicularity collapse on itself, little knife?” he asked.
“Mraize…”
“I haven’t either,” he said. “But it’s reportedly spectacular.” He threw the dagger.
Shallan leaped for it, but she was in the wrong position. The anti-Light struck the center of the portal.
The blast that followed shattered the room.
POV shift!
Dalinar feels the vision begin to form and then something snaps.
Their Connection to the Physical Realm vanished, and something came rushing toward them: power, wind, and screams.
Aaaaand that’s all for this week, Sanderfans. Wasn’t it exciting?! Except for that whole bit where Shallan doesn’t even suspect the two short guards and one tall guard to be the two short and one tall Ghostbloods she’s looking for. ::shaking my damn head::
So the perpendicularity was collapsed with anti-Stormlight. Dalinar and Navani are trapped in there? I mean, how will they get out without their tethers? And the screaming? Who was screaming? They wouldn’t be able to hear Shallan and the others screaming in Shadesmar. But… the realms were joined, weren’t they? So much to think about! What a cliffhanger for the week! Tell us all your thoughts in the comments!
Lyndsey’s Commentary
We’re nearing the end now, Cosmere Chickens, and things are starting to really heat up. After this week’s read-along, we only have two more chapter drops to go before the Big Release! How many of you will Drew and I be seeing at Dragonsteel Nexus? I may or may not have a few special badge ribbons to hand out, so come and find me! I’ll be in my Bridge Four cosplay most of the time, and can be found on Friday in the Dealer’s Room peddling my own book. Drew will be at his own booth for Inking Out Loud, talking literary analysis alongside The Legendarium. What are you most looking forward to? And did you get anything fun for Light Day?
Okay, enough socializing—let’s dive into this week’s character arc and cultural analysis…
Chapter 31’s Heralds in the arch are the Joker and Battah (Battar), patron of the Elsecallers. Her attributes are Wise/Careful and her role is Counsellor.
The Joker is almost certainly here for Hoid, as usual. He’s very prevalent in this chapter. And Battah… I’d take a guess that she’s here as Hoid himself is serving as a counselor to Dalinar and Navani, giving them advice on how to proceed.
Chapter 32’s arch has Ishi (Ishar), Herald of Luck, patron of the Bondsmiths. His attributes are Pious/Guiding and his role is Priest. Also making an appearance is Jezrien (Jezerezeh), Herald of Kings, patron of the Windrunners. His attributes are Protecting/Leading, and his role is King. Ishi’s appearance is probably due to both Dalinar and Navani being present. Jezrien could be a couple things; first of all, Dalinar is acting in his capacity as ruler of Urithru. Second, we do have some Windrunners being particularly Windrunner-y at the end of the battle with the Ghostbloods. If I were a betting woman, I’d put my spheres on the former, but it could be either or both.
Shallan
It was the pinnacle of all artistry. This was the height to which creations could rise. This was what you could… could…
Interesting that Shallan loses it to the point where Radiant needs to take control here. I’ve been known to appreciate some fine art, but rarely to the point where it’s made me completely lose control. (Notably the only time I can think of was a certain passage in a book, which made me put it down for a while to collect myself.) So Shallan absolutely losing it here is very, very interesting. What is it about the beauty of Urithiru that enthralls her so? Is this foreshadowing of some kind?
Radiant folded her arms, thoughtful. Around her feet, a collection of beads gathered and bounced up and down. “Other Shallan!” they said.
This reminds me of IFS (Internal Family Systems) therapy, in which you learn to identify and relate to different “parts” of your personality. Shallan’s other “parts” manifest quite physically, thanks to the magic of stormlight. But the underlying concept is the same; her Radiant persona is her confident, self-assured, and competent “part.” The fact that the little spren that make up her armor actually recognize this is utterly fascinating.
He understood. She now felt infinitely more guilty for finding him weird when they first met.
Renarin is often treated this way by others, so it’s nice to see this moment of connection between the two of them.
There was so much to be studied about the symbiosis between spren and human. Someday when all this was done, that would be her project. Jasnah thought her a whimsical artist, and that was part of her. But so was the scientist.
I wonder if this is foreshadowing her working alongside Navani down the line, since this is very much Navani’s wheelhouse.
Hoid
There are few paths in this universe I fear to walk. This is one of them.”
Hoo boy. A path that Hoid himself fears to walk? That’s a scary thought, considering how much Investiture and knowledge he has. It’s hard to imagine Hoid being afraid of anything.
Windrunner Squires
Both he and Breteh were former bridgemen from Bridge Thirteen, the group that had become Teft’s squires. She thought that was why they wore red glyphwards on their arms—something about a pact relating to Moash and vengeance.
And rightfully so. I can’t wait to see Moash get his comeuppance. It’s going to be a lovely day. (Unless Sanderson pulls the rug out from under us and gives him a redemptive arc, but that’s the tallest of tall orders at this point. Before Rhythm of War I might have been able to accept it, but now? No. No thanks. Team #NoRedemption all the way for THIS Windrunner.)
Rlain
“…every single member of Bridge Four now has an honorspren—except me. Curious, how people’s decisions are an individual matter when they’re confronted about them—but those decisions form blatant patterns.”
Daaaaaaaaaaamn. Rlain coming in swinging against the inherent racism he sees every day. Good for him.
Renarin
Renarin forced himself to keep moving along the short hallway, trying so hard to ignore all the lights, the motion. It was… it was loud. Not loud to the ears, loud to every sense. It made him want to put his hands around his eyes and block out most of the stimuli, to cut down on how much was reaching him.
Poor Renarin. Overstimulation is incredibly hard to deal with. It’s very cool how Glys finds a way to help him with it. I do find it interesting that their bond hasn’t “healed” Renarin; according to the lore, this would be because Renarin doesn’t think that his autism is “wrong,” but rather that it’s an integral part of him (which is accurate). It does, however, seem to bother him a great deal on many levels. It’s possible that “healing” his autism will become a part of his character arc, but personally speaking, I hope it doesn’t. It’s not a deficiency, just a different way of viewing the world.
Navani
His new ways, new teachings, weren’t strictly blasphemous, but things about them did make her uncomfortable.
This is the first time I can remember Navani showing misgivings or concern about anything regarding Dalinar. I’m happy to see it; it means she’s viewing him as the flawed human that he is, and not some perfect manifestation.
Cultural Observations
We create this air of Alethi propriety, promising that we’re up-front and honest. No one can say what they really think, because it would be ‘un-Alethi.’ Then our honesty becomes a lie as we turn to scheming…”
Hmm. I’m not entirely sure I follow Renarin on this one. If being honest is an Alethi trait, how is not saying what you really think un-Alethi…? I must be missing something on this. Does anyone have any theories?
“Rock from Ashyn,” Wit said lightly. “Like those carried by your ancestors to this world during their migration. They were fragments of a holy site on your homeworld, but stones themselves took on a kind of mystical lore by association.”
Ah hah! This explains the Shin reverence of stones. Makes perfect sense, when explained this way.
Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts & Theories
Before we get into the explosive conclusion to this week’s set of chapters, let’s talk about a few intriguing curiosities. There are all sorts of spren hanging around Urithiru in the Cognitive Realm, but what are they?
But what were the ones that had six arms and gripped the walls, watching with a large drooping mouth that seemed to have eyes in it? The things that were shaped like anemones? The darker shadows, hulking and threatening, that he kept glimpsing through the glass walls?
The anemones immediately make me think of anticipationspren, with their “streamers” flowing, but I don’t think I have an immediate idea of the first or third unknown spren listed here. What do you think?
As for a different sort of spren:
Sja-anat can make any order of Radiant save Bondsmith, assuming the spren are willing.
While I don’t think this is necessarily shocking information, it’s at least illuminating. The fact that either Mraize or Iyatil is an Elsecaller is noteworthy enough, since Jasnah is the only other Elsecaller on record at this point. But the potential for Enlightened highspren and honorspren seems a little surprising to me—the highspren have had their own thing going on for so long, carrying forward the Skybreakers under Nale’s watchful eye, and the honorspren are, well… honorspren. None of the honorspren we’ve seen so far have the attitude I’d expect to subject themselves to the influence of an Unmade. Essentially, I think Renarin’s “assuming the spren are willing” is carrying a LOT of weight here.
The other revelation here is that, while either Mraize and Iyatil is an Elsecaller, the other is definitely a Lightweaver. This feels like an almost direct counter to Shallan—and would be right in Mraize’s wheelhouse, with his whole hunter mentality.
Things have certainly gotten crazy, overall, with these two chapters, as Mraize’s thrown anti-Light dagger collapses the perpendicularity. So much for a test run: it seems as if Dalinar and Navani have been fully cast into the Spiritual Realm.
This opens up some serious implications for the rest of the book. For one thing, Hoid stressed how much time works strangely there, and how easily someone can get lost. Dalinar has only eight days until the contest of champions; he doesn’t have any experience with the Spiritual Realm, and he no longer has a Connection to the Physical. Whether or not he can navigate a perpendicularity back from the Spiritual Realm is one question; whether or not he’ll even make the deadline is another.
And the Spiritual Realm is the Realm of the Shards. If he breaks the contract, he’s right in Odium’s proverbial front yard, open to a whole host of potential actions from Taravangian.
Finally, a note on the epigraphs, and a reminder of what sort of foreshadowing Brandon likes to use. The quotes from The Way of Kings used before each chapter of Day Two have all focused on ideas of leaving, of abdicating… and now, right near the end of the day, Dalinar and Navani are forced to leave behind their thrones in Urithiru, cast into the unknowable fathoms of the Spiritual Realm.
Obviously the epigraphs change for each Part (or Day) of a Stormlight Archive book, and Brandon uses them in different ways… but it’s worth keeping an eye on what sort of themes start arising as the book progresses, and new writings pop up in the epigraphs. That said, it’s only a couple weeks from release. The proverbial die has been cast. The story is truly in motion now.
Saddle up.
Fan Theories
Danthemanlee on Reddit (and several others) is convinced that:
[…] Gavinor as child champion is definitely happening. … I went from “aww Lift is helping a traumatized child” to “omg this 5-year-old already has an overwhelming desire to kill people and mutilate their bodies afterwards” in the span of 10 seconds lol
Lyn: That’s a horrible thought. I can see why you’d think it, but BOY do I hope you’re wrong. That poor kid has been through enough!
Drew: I’ve always disliked the Gavinor-as-champion theory, so I can still find plenty of ways to reason around it despite these recent scenes… but I totally get the trepidation from readers. There are a whole lot of red flags waving in the wind, for many different characters, after the preview chapters so far.
A few people are speculating that Lift is going to wind up in the Spiritual Realm, and might be the one to set BAM free. That would certainly fit in with her “I will remember those who have been forgotten” ideal…
This week’s “Reddit quote that made Lyn laugh” award goes to greenfishbluefish for this:
I need someone from Scadrial to check that Lyft isn’t just Wayne in a wig.
It’s tied, however, with this one by PlausibleApprobation:
Can’t believe Sanderson made his autistic character collect Warhammer. Genuinely hilarious.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who choose to wait for the full release. See you next Monday with chapter 33!
