The Way of Kings

This trio of Interludes provides more information on the nature of spren. They stop changing once measured and recorded, which confirms that they are the embodiment of ideas and emotions. While a person does not pay attention to them, they can take on any shape, but once measured, or put into words and numbers, their essential nature becomes concrete, preventing further change.

There is also more information on Szeth’s situation and his slow mental disintegration under the emotional and spiritual weight of so many murders. As he cannot escape his master’s commands, his guilt and loathing are externalized into hatred for his victims, which he sees as the reason for so much death. Szeth’s inner torment highlights that he is an honorable person and another victim of his own crimes.

Through Szeth’s crisis of morality, the ambiguous nature of the spren, and the defacement of sacred art, Sanderson also uses these interludes to meditate on systems of belief and spirituality on Roshar. Religion and spirituality have played a primarily cultural role in the novel so far, with the notable exception of Dalinar’s mysterious visions. By reintroducing spren and religious identity at the same time, Sanderson suggests a relationship between the spiritual realm and supernatural elements of the world of the novel. The focus of these interludes also prepares the reader for the reintroduction of the Knights Radiant to the story in a more significant and direct way, which will soon follow, repeating the pattern established by previous interludes, which often highlight ideas and themes that will be largely at play in the following chapters.