Rhythm of War

The novel flashes back nine years.

Venli’s sister, Eshonai, explores the woods around her home. She has been told by elders not to map the lands but is determined to explore. Before returning, she discovers the presence of humans and approaches them.

Meanwhile, Venli practices songs about listener forms with her mother, Jaxlim. Venli wants there to be more to her life and wishes to accomplish great things. When she admits to her mother that she has been experimenting with spren in highstorms to discover how to regain some of the old forms, her mother convinces her to tell their leaders of her discoveries and experiments. The leaders agree that seeking new forms is worth the risk. However, the meeting is interrupted by warning drums outside the town as Eshonai overshadows Venli’s discovery with her interaction with humans.

Working with Raboniel, Navani learns that some fabrials are actually spren that manifested in the Physical Realm, helping her understand how Soulcasters—devices that allow the magical transformation of one material into another—function. Raboniel chalks the lack of technological progress among the Fused up to the fact that voidspren are not as willing to become imprisoned as Honor and Cultivation spren are. Raboniel hopes that by working together, she and Navani can end the war, but such a partnership would be under the rule of the Fused.

Moash appears to Kaladin in a nightmare. When Kaladin awakes, his spren, Syl, tells him that there are singers looking for him. She assumes that it was the Sibling who led Kaladin to the room and agrees to help him scout for supplies and a weapon.

As Dalinar and the Mink observe the Alethi battle against Taravangian’s troops, a messenger—actually a Fused spy—arrives claiming to be from Navani. The message is that all is well at the tower, but Fused interference is blocking fabrial use. Sensing something wrong, Dalinar sends scouts to the tower.

Nale, an enemy Herald, or angel-like being, condemns Dalinar, claiming that Dalinar’s bond with the Stormfather—one of the three most powerful sprens—should be impossible. When Nale attacks, Dalinar touches Nale’s chest with his hand and suddenly can magically see Nale’s memories—a power Dalinar has never had before.

The novel flashes back nine years.

Eshonai and other listeners spend time with the humans, learning one another’s languages. She takes them to the Shattered Plains, where the humans hope to see chasmfiends—enormous land crustaceans.

One of the humans is King Gavilar. As he shows interest in Eshonai’s ancient knife, a chasm fiend comes closer than expected but shows no interest in them. Later, Eshonai mentions seeing the ruins of cities. Gavilar asks her many questions, and through her broken Alethi, Eshonai describes warriors of old that Gavilar recognizes as Knights Radiant. Astounded that listener songs speak of the Knights Radiant, he becomes obsessed with the songs.

Gavilar gives the listeners weapons, demanding that they take back one of the old city ruins from another group of listeners. He also asks permission to hear the ancient songs from their keeper in person.

Navani works for Raboniel but also seeks ways to drive the Fused from Urithiru. The Sibling admits that there are other gemstones powering her shield, and that through those, the Fused could still corrupt her, but refuses to tell Navani where they are, still distrusting Navani’s intentions. The Sibling also informs Navani that two Radiants, Kaladin and Lift, did not fall unconscious like the rest.

Kaladin and Syl sneak through lower floors and steal Stormlight-infused gemstones from hall lanterns. Kaladin then sneaks into the lightly guarded sanitarium he had visited weeks prior, and the ardent there brings him food, water, and medical supplies. Back in the hidden room, Kaladin touches a blinking light in the wall and discovers Navani contacting him through the Sibling. Kaladin agrees to spy on Fused activities to help Navani learn how to use Voidlight to power her spanreeds and contact Dalinar.

After Dalinar’s army thwarts Taravangian’s betrayal, the coalition decides to continue with the attack on Emul. As Dalinar and Jasnah discuss the larger conflict with Odium, Wit—Dalinar’s adviser who is really a worldhopper being who can jump to different Cosmere worlds and who appears under different names in several Sanderson series—suggests that Odium will not follow through with the agreed-on contest of champions unless he believes he is losing the war. When scouts report seeing nothing amiss at Urithiru, Dalinar realizes the enemy could be using Lightweaver illusions and sends the scouts back.

As Jasnah speaks with the Alethi generals and highprinces, one of them shows increasing anger over Jasnah’s insertion of herself into the male art of war. She baits the man into insulting her and then has Wit brutally insult the man until the general challenges Wit to a duel. Wit appoints Jasnah as his champion, but when the general refuses to fight a woman, she stabs him in the neck. Jasnah orders the general to be physically healed but declares him legally dead and his title forfeit. Jasnah admits to Dalinar that she was making an example of the man to prove her strength as ruler, but she also plans to pass a law forbidding trial by sword in the future. Dalinar disapproves of her actions but wonders if he could manipulate Odium the same way.

Venli meets with singers who have joined her in seeking escape from the Fused and instructs them to remain prepared. She believes something will happen to give them an opportunity for flight, whether human revolt or outside attack. Worried she will not be able to save her people, Venli decides to tell her spren Timbre about her past failures.

The novel flashes back over eight years.

Jaxlim continues to recite the ancient songs for Venli, but she starts to forget the words as her mind decays. Eshonai, meanwhile, sees plumes of smoke on the Shattered Plains and goes out to meet the returning humans.

Venli finds the humans tedious; all they do is ask her to repeat the songs over and over again. A human woman approaches Venli, seeking someone who remembers how great the listeners used to be and asking if Venli wants to discover old forms of power. She gives Venli a gemstone, telling her to break it during a highstorm and use the power to save her loved ones.

In the present, Venli admits to Timbre that she kept the gemstone for herself to prevent Eshonai from having the glory. This means Venli has lived out the destiny she believes was meant for Eshonai, gaining a spren and powers and serving the Fused.

Hearing reports that Kaladin is alive and that the Pursuer plans to interrogate his family, Venli feels terrible about the danger Kaladin’s family is in. Timbre encourages her to do the right thing, and Venli remembers the kindness Dalinar once showed her. She turns to Leshwi for help. After receiving permission from Raboniel to take over control of Kaladin’s family, Leshwi concocts a plan: She will say that she killed Kaladin’s family while actually hiding them from the Pursuer. Leshwi publicly declares that she wants to fight Kaladin herself, rather than leaving him to the Pursuer. However, Leshwi also warns Venli not to let others see her compassion for humans.

Adolin’s younger brother, Renarin, shares his most recent vision with Dalinar, telling his father that the images mean that Odium will delay their contest of champions. Renarin also asks about bonding corrupted spren, and Dalinar agrees to consider it. Later, Renarin tells his own corrupted spren, Glys, that he knows someone whom another corrupted spren could bond.

Syl begins to understand Kaladin’s depression; the tower’s partial corruption alters something within her, causing her to recall her ancient knight and the pain she felt at his loss.

The Sibling leads her human sympathizer Dabbid to Kaladin with more food; Dabbid also takes over care of Teft so Kaladin can spy on the Oathgates and learn how to use voidspren to power fabrials. Assuming that the Fused are using spanreeds to communicate, Kaladin has Syl follow their scouts to find their stash of spanreeds.

Venli arranges for her singer allies and Lirin to care for the unconscious Radiants. She learns that the Fused are seeking the gemstone nodes that control the Sibling’s shield. She also sees that since the Fused have partially corrupted the Sibling, Radiant spren cannot be seen in the tower, which allows Venli to practice the powers Timbre imbues her with. Venli then discovers another listener—the imprisoned Rlain—despite her belief that after the Everstorm, she is the only surviving one.

The novel flashes back.

A young Dalinar warns Eshonai that Gavilar’s interest in the listeners is dangerous. Meanwhile, Venli breaks the gemstone from the strange woman in a highstorm, bonds its spren, and returns to her family. It then takes her several tries to attune to the song rhythms as usual. Her difficulty is noticed by Eshonai.

In the present, Syl helps Kaladin sneak back into the tower and steal some spanreeds for Navani. Then, the Sibling needs his help to protect a gemstone node discovered by the Fused.

At the gemstone node, Kaladin fights the Pursuer while Raboniel works to corrupt the Sibling. However, with the Sibling’s help, Kaladin traps the Pursuer in a closed-off room so he can confront Raboniel. Kaladin destroys the node, but Raboniel takes advantage of his fatigue to stab him, noting his slow healing—a side effect of not having full access to his Radiant powers. When Kaladin moves to kill her, Raboniel threatens to kill an innocent mother to use as her next body. Kaladin flees as more Fused approach.

Venli finds the imprisoned Rlain, whom she knew before the war. When Rlain accuses her of only working in her own self-interest, Venli admits that she is also working to save her people from Fused control and agrees to get Rlain out of prison. Venli seeks Raboniel to request Rlain’s release, and she finds Mraize offering Raboniel a gift—the young Lift, now imprisoned in a cage—in return for access to the Oathgates. Curious about Lift’s different way of accessing magic, Raboniel agrees.

Raboniel releases Rlain into Venli’s care. However, despite Venli’s step toward doing what is right, Timbre rejects her attempt to swear the next Ideal: Venli needs to make more progress in considering those besides herself.

Kaladin and Navani debrief after the fight at the node; Navani has a scholar leave the levitation glove for Kaladin to pick up.

Raboniel introduces Navani to different kinds of Light—Roshar’s source of magic—including Towerlight, a combination of Stormlight and Lifelight. Navani asks about mixing Voidlight and Stormlight, but Raboniel believes it is not possible, as they are opposites.

The Sibling is weakening from the loss of another gemstone node. Still not trusting Navani, however, she refuses to reveal the locations of the other nodes.

The novel flashes back.

The Five, the rulers of Venli’s listener family, agree to consider Venli’s proposal to use painspren to learn warform—one of the ways listeners can transform their bodies to have more physical aptitude for combat—and Eshonai’s proposal to unite with other listener families to become one people.

Receiving permission from the Five to have several listeners try to take on warform, Venli decides her mother should be one of them, hoping it will heal her.

In the present, after another nightmare from Odium, Kaladin and Syl share their feelings and bond further. Syl begins to understand the darkness that sometimes consumes Kaladin.

Jasnah joins her men on the battlefield in Emul, hoping to prove her strength as a queen. The Mink appreciates her decision, believing leaders should know the real cost of war. After the battle, Jasnah finds a concerned Wit, who shares that he has found a Sleepless spy—a being made up of thousands of swarms of small insectoid crustaceans—disguised as a pen among his things. This means Wit and Jasnah have been compromised.

Suspecting Gavilar may have been seeking a way to combine Stormlight and Voidlight, Navani experiments with each of the different types of Light. Raboniel is fixated on the same combination as Gavilar, believing it will help end the war. When Raboniel explains the theoretical concept of anti-Light to Navani, Navani suspects that this is what was contained in the gemstone that exploded and killed her ardents. Raboniel also introduces her daughter, who has severe mental illness, as do many other Fused.

Dalinar visits Taravangian, who takes the opportunity to explain why he made a deal with Odium. Taravangian wants to save his people in Kharbranth; the Diagram showed him that the humans of Roshar would lose to the evil god, so he has chosen to do terrible things for the good of his subjects. Dalinar doubts that the Diagram’s vision of the future is flawless and unchangeable; he believes they can still defeat Odium.

Venli’s practice with her Radiant powers allows her to communicate with the tower’s stone through its rhythms, seeing its memories of the ancient listeners, called the Dawnsingers. Spren of Timbre’s type gather around her, but Venli asks them to wait until her people are no longer surrounded by Fused.

The novel flashes back.

Eshonai takes her mother into the storm to help her take on warform, but the released painspren enters Eshonai instead of Jaxlim. In the aftermath, another listener family attacks their home, but the discovery of warform and the knowledge that humans discovered them allows Eshonai to convince the attackers that the listeners should instead create a unified nation.

In the present, Navani conceals weapons in the hall, calling them broken fabrials. While Navani continues her experiments with Light, the Sibling explains the connection between her powers and Roshar. The Sibling is still resistant to bond humans, so Navani suggests bonding a singer that also serves Honor—a listener like Rlain. Shortly afterward, the Sibling tells Navani that the Fused have found another of the gemstone nodes.

After yet another nightmare, Kaladin wakes to the news that the Fused have found another node. On his way to the node, Kaladin fights the Pursuer and then Leshwi, who stops when she realizes that Kaladin does not have all of his powers. Kaladin reaches the node, located in a well, and destroys it before Raboniel can complete the corruption. However, the Fused trap him inside the well, with Syl still on the outside. Kaladin crawls outside the tower through pipes, but the appearance of guards forces him out into the highstorm.

The Stormfather allows Dalinar to ride the highstorm so he can see Urithiru, and as the storm passes the tower, Dalinar sees Kaladin clinging to tower’s side. Hearing Dalinar’s voice, Kaladin yells through the storm, telling Dalinar about the invasion. Dalinar then uses the wind to push Kaladin to safety as he falls unconscious.

Raboniel always seems to know when to expect Navani’s attempt at a distraction, which leads Navani to realize that the Fused found a way to listen in on her conversations with the Sibling. Raboniel confirms this—she has overheard Navani’s conversations with the Sibling since the beginning. Raboniel also tells Navani that Kaladin died in the highstorm.

Szeth’s spren warns Szeth—a former assassin who has become one of Dalinar’s knights—that he must no longer rely on the honor of others to guide him; instead, Szeth must learn to interpret honor and justice for himself.

Upon learning that Taravangian has requested a stone very much like Szeth’s Oathstone, Szeth believes Taravangian wants to order Szeth to kill Dalinar.

Chiri-Chiri, a pet dragon-like creature of a merchant named Rysn, listens to Rysn speak of Dawnshards and then hears an ancient rhythm that indicates danger. Chiri-Chiri tries to communicate the danger to Rysn but only manages to say, “Rysn eat food” (838), surprising Rysn with the ability to speak.

Young prince Renarin visits Taravangian in an attempt to sway the king to their side, but he leaves when Taravangian refuses to reply. When the former assassin Szeth appears and demands to know why Taravangian wants his Oathstone, Taravangian shares his belief that Odium fears Szeth’s magical sword called Nightblood. Taravangian wants Szeth to go into one of Odium’s visions and attack Odium with the blade, but Szeth rejects the idea. Then, Taravangian switches tack, asking Szeth to give Nightblood to Dalinar instead. Szeth believes Taravangian is still trying to manipulate everyone and leaves.