The Way of Kings

Bridge Four is in the middle of an assault. Despite being exposed and being shot at, the crew does not lose any men. While the bridgemen retreat to relative safety, Kaladin sees that Dunny has been shot in the shoulder. In the next moment another arrow pierces him in the side and the young man falls to the ground and is trampled by the cavalry. Kaladin attempts to run to Dunny but Moash stops him. Realizing Dunny is dead, Kaladin walks around the plateau and helps other wounded bridgemen. His men are initially hostile to his attempts to help members of other crews, but Kaladin’s passion and desire to be a better man than those commanding them change their minds and they start helping out, as well.

Dalinar attends the king’s feast where Wit, aka Hoid, warns Dalinar that Sadeas is planning something against him. Dalinar takes his warning to heart. After ensuring that there are Kholin men in key positions, Dalinar confronts Sadeas in front of everyone about his investigation of the potential assassination attempt on the king’s hunting trip. Sadeas reveals that an assassination attempt was indeed made, but not in the way everyone thinks. The Shardplate was the real danger, not the saddle. The gems in the armor were damaged, making it possible for the armor to fail at a crucial moment. However, Sadeas concludes that this was done before the hunt and Dalinar bears no responsibility. Dalinar takes Sadeas’s behavior as proof he can be trusted and proposes that they work together.

Sadeas and Dalinar begin cooperating to more efficiently fight the Parshendi.

While scavenging, Kaladin comes up with a way to keep some of the spheres they find. He gets Rock to use a bow to shoot an arrow tied to a bag of gems to the underside of their bridge. That way, they can collect the spheres at a later time.

During a skirmish with the Parshendi, Dalinar experiences conflicting emotions about killing. He normally relies on something called the Thrill, a berserker-like state of violent rapture, which carries him through battle and makes him rejoice at violence and death. However, lately the Thrill has been weaker and often Dalinar now feels remorse and nausea at all the death he causes.

While Teft, Lopen, and Kaladin talk, Teft feints a strike at Kaladin. Kaladin deflects and is confused by the older man’s behavior, but suddenly realizes that he is glowing from inside. At first Kaladin thinks that it is Teft’s fault, but Teft reveals that Kaladin has been glowing unknowingly for a while. Kaladin realizes that he has abilities similar the legendary powers of the Knights Radiant and is scared because those people became oath-breakers. He also suspects that his ability to absorb stormlight relates to Syl’s presence. The spren, however, is unable to provide more information.

That night, Kaladin walks away from the war camp to think. He encounters Wit, aka Hoid, who tells him the story of Derethil, a man who lived at the time of the Heralds. Derethil wanted to find out the Voidbringer’s origin and so sailed on a ship called Wandersail. After a shipwreck, Derethil was stranded on an island called Uvara, where people are murdered for making even small mistakes because the emperor will not tolerate failure. Derethil goes to the tower where the emperor lives to stop the killings, only to find the emperor’s desiccated corpse. After announcing his discovery to the Uvarans, Derethil is surprised by the riots breaking out all over the island. He escapes the island, bringing along a local woman who explains that if the emperor died a long time ago, then the murders become the responsibility of the people, not the ruler.

Wit disappears into the night. Syl appears and reveals that Kaladin’s abilities are the result of some kind of symbiotic relationship between them. She can end it, but would have to go back to being a mindless creature. Kaladin realizes that he has been using apathy as an excuse, the way the Uvalans used their emperor. If some higher power causes bad things to happen, then Kaladin is a victim and bears no responsibility. To accept that he is not cursed is to accept his own agency. He can save people for their own sake, rather than as a way to prevent personal failure. With renewed hope, Kaladin seeks out Teft to learn more about the Knights Radiant.

Adolin fights a duel with another young lighteyes. Dalinar, Sadeas, and Elhokar observe and converse at the same time. Dalinar is once again trying to find a way to convince the others that the war is detrimental to Alethkar. Elhokar asks him outright whether he is a coward. Dalinar has an epiphany. He is not physically afraid, but his decision of abdicating is cowardly, as is pretending not to believe his visions to maintain social status. To not be a coward, he needs to stay and see things through. He attempts once more to explain his stance. Sadeas and Elhokar seem willing to consider a change of tactics. The two Highprinces agree to attempt a joint assault that will destroy the Parshendi army.

While the bridge crew is on chasm duty, Kaladin decides to try out a desperate measure to keep his men alive. He has noticed that the Parshendi are extremely reverent toward their dead. He harvests some Parshendi bones and uses his newfound abilities to climb the side of the chasm and secure them to the bridge bottom.

While Navani and Dalinar talk, a highstorm arrives and the Highprince has a vision. After Dalinar comes out of the vision, Navani announces that his ramblings are actually spoken in a dead language. This may be proof that the visions are real.

The next time Dalinar and Navani are alone, the Highprince asks her to leave as well in order to preserve decorum. Navani becomes frustrated at how everyone, including Dalinar, sees her as an extension of her late husband and not as a person in her own right. She cries, which prompts Dalinar to kiss her.

Bridge Four is on another run. Right before the final assault, Lopen gives Kaladin armor with Parshendi bones attached to it. Kaladin then dashes in front of his troops, hoping to draw all the arrows to himself. Kaladin’s armor of Parshendi bones enrages the enemy, who fire only at Kaladin. With the help of stormlight, Kaladin dodges all the arrows and his men successfully reach the last chasm with their bridge.

While the bridgemen rest and recover, they become the Parshendi’s target once again. This is unprecedented, so no one is there to cover for them. Right before the enemy is about to start firing at Bridge Four, Dalinar’s army arrives and scatters the enemy archers.

Bridge Four gets some respite after the success of Kaladin’s daring idea. The men begin collecting more Parshendi bones and carapace, in order to armor everyone in the crew. They also continue with their training.

During the next fight with the Parshendi, Sadeas approaches Dalinar and offers to work together so that they can surround the enemy troops and kill as many as possible. To do that, they need to commit all their troops. Dalinar agrees.

Dalinar and Sadeas arrive to an extremely large plateau, known as the Tower. The Parshendi forces are also there, working on extracting a gem. Sadeas’ soldiers cross over to the Tower and carve out a space for Dalinar’s troops. Dalinar and his men then cross over and engage with the Parshendi. At one point, Adolin brings his father’s attention to a second Parshendi army coming from the west. Dalinar climbs up to an elevation and searches for Sadeas and his men only to discover that the other Highprince has abandoned the battle and is retreating.

Realizing Sadeas’ betrayal, Dalinar reassesses everything he has been doing so far, including following the Codes. He regrets trusting the visions’ message to act with honor, which has seemingly brought about his house’s destruction. Adolin, however, does not join in his self-recriminations; instead, he confides that he has come to value the Codes and supports his father’s desire to reform Alethi culture. After reaching an understanding, father and son decide to fight to the end with renewed determination.

Bridge Four lags behind during the retreat because of the wounded they are bringing along. Eventually, they are left completely alone on the plateaus. This is the perfect time to attempt an escape as Sadeas will think they have been killed. Alternatively, they can go back, provide an escape route for Dalinar, and stay with the Alethi army. At first, Kaladin is determined to save his men. However, he realizes that he will not be able to live with himself if he does not try to help the Kholinar men.

While the bridge crew runs back to the Tower, Kaladin protects his men with the help of stormlight. The effort exhausts him and he falls into a stupor during which he relives his brother’s death. Tien served as a messenger boy, a relatively safe position. However, during a battle, the messenger squad was separated from the rest of the army. Kaladin attempted to find them and in the process killed his first enemy. Despite his best efforts, Tien was shot down with arrows, used as bait by his squad leader. Kaladin is unable to hate the man as in war, a person does everything possible to stay alive, including sacrificing others. Kaladin feels a profound sense of loss and failure for not protecting his younger brother.

When Kaladin regains consciousness, he realizes that he is in a similar situation with the bridgemen depending on him to save them. With renewed resolve, he charges over the bridge onto the Tower. The Parshendi use gemstones as decoration, so Kaladin is able to draw stormlight from them. At the moment he touches ground on the other side of the bridge, Syl urges him to say the Words. Kaladin vows to “protect those who cannot protect themselves,” which is the Second Ideal of the Knights Radiant (1156). Kaladin becomes filled with energy and light.

Kaladin fights his way to the Kholin army. He orders Adolin to retreat and then proceeds to save Dalinar, who is fighting against a Parshendi Shardbearer. The battle is uneven, as Dalinar’s plate has been damaged. Kaladin bursts onto the scene, glowing, and rams his spear into a crack in the enemy’s plate. The Parshendi is surprised and loses the Shardblade. Kaladin is able to hit him once more, bringing the enemy down. Together with Dalinar, he makes his escape from the battlefield.

After realizing that Bridge Four has come to the rescue of their own volition, Dalinar vows to free them and make them safe in his own camp. Kaladin has his doubts but with so many wounded and no supplies, escape is no longer viable.

Navani worries about Dalinar Sadeas returns alone. Sadeas tells her that he had to abandon Dalinar as the situation was hopeless. Navani doubts the Highprince’s story as he is the one with all the bridges. In desperation, she draws a single large glyph on the ground, spelling “Justice.” After the prayer is burned, as is customary, a messenger arrives. Dalinar’s surviving troops are making their way back to camp.

Dalinar decides to confront Sadeas right away. Before reaching the other Highprince, however, he encounters Navani, whom he embraces in front of everyone, unembarrassed. When Dalinar confronts Sadeas, he realizes that he cannot outright challenge the other man as that would lead to more internal strife. Instead, Dalinar acknowledges that Sadeas did what he thought he had to. Sadeas in turn tells him that he is did what he believed was best by removing Dalinar, who seems to have gone insane. Dalinar demands Sadeas sell him all the bridgemen. The Highprince refuses at first, but Dalinar offers him his Shardblade. This is unheard of, and both Sadeas and Kaladin are left speechless. Sadeas accepts, telling Dalinar that he is a fool.

Dalinar goes to Elhokar, realizing that he cannot continue behaving as before if his nephew doubts him. He orders the king’s guards to remain outside no matter what. Since they are Kholinar soldiers they are more loyal to Dalinar than to the king. Dalinar beats Elhokar as a way to prove that he could have killed him at any moment. With the king down, Dalinar confronts him about the saddle. He has realized that Elhokar arranged the entire episode. Dalinar is furious with the king for pulling a stunt like that and casting doubt on his own uncle. After demonstrating that he has no desire to kill Elhokar for the throne, Dalinar orders his nephew to declare him Highprince of War. If the other Highlords refuse to unite and work together, they need to be forced to do it.