Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive 4)

Second, she had to get word to Dalinar and those on the outside, apprising them of what had happened.

Third, Navani needed to figure out what the enemy had done to negate Radiant powers. According to the Sibling, it involved a corruption of ancient tower protections. Navani needed to deactivate it.

Finally, she needed to turn that power upon the invaders. Barring that, she needed to use the awakened Radiants to mount a counterattack.

Standing here, trapped in the basement and constantly watched, those seemed impossible tasks. But her scholars had made a ship fly. She could do this, with their help.

Navani counted off the singer guards as they strolled through the room, looking over the shoulders of working scholars. One stopped the girls carrying out notes and checked through the boxes. That one Fused—the one who kept moving her head from one side to the other, humming a loud rhythm—was watching Navani at the moment. Navani tried not to let that unnerve her, and turned her head so her lips wouldn’t be visible, then continued talking under her breath.

“Let’s assume,” she said, “that Raboniel is smart enough to figure out what those ancient Radiants did in creating this shield for you. What would be the best way for her to go about circumventing it?”

The Sibling didn’t respond, and Navani began to worry. “Has something happened? Are you well?”

I am fine, the Sibling said. But we are not friends, human. You are a slaver. I do not trust you.

“You’ve trusted me so far.”

Out of necessity. I am safe now.

“And for how long will you be safe? You’re saying there is no way for Raboniel to get through?”

The Sibling didn’t respond.

“Fine,” Navani said. “But I can’t plan a way to help you if I don’t know your weaknesses. You’ll be alone, subject to whatever Raboniel decides to do.”

… I hate humans, the Sibling eventually said. Humans twist what is said and always make themselves out to be right.

How long until you demand that I bond a human, give up my freedom, and risk my life? I’m sure you’ll have wonderful explanations as to why I should absolutely do that.

This time Navani was the one who remained silent. The Sibling could create another Bondsmith, and considering how useful Dalinar’s powers were to the war effort, Navani would be foolish not to seize the opportunity. So she would need to find a way to make the Sibling bond a human again. She’d have to find someone completely unthreatening. Someone who didn’t work with fabrials, someone who wasn’t a politician. Someone the Sibling would like.

For now, Navani didn’t prod. The Sibling clearly had some strange ways, but their interactions so far had been quite human, despite what they claimed. And Navani would expect a human to …

The shield we created is something Raboniel might have heard about, the Sibling said at last. Therefore, she might understand how to circumvent it.

“Tell me more,” Navani said.

The shield is an extrapolation of the Surge of Soulcasting. It solidifies the air in a region by persuading it that it is glass. For the shield to be maintained, the system needs to be fed by external sources of Stormlight. Raboniel might realize this—especially if she researches the remnants of the node you used to activate the shield.

There are other nodes like that one, with crystals connected directly to my heart. There were four. You destroyed one. If she finds one of the other three, she could use it to corrupt me from the outside.

“So we need to find them first,” Navani said, “and destroy them.”

No. NO! That will weaken the shield, then destroy it. We need to defend them. Breaking one was bad enough. Do not think because I gave you permission once, you can continue to do this. Humans always break things.

Navani took a deep breath. She had to speak very carefully. “I won’t break any of them unless it’s absolutely necessary. Let’s talk about something else. How did you contact me earlier? Can you work a spanreed?”

I hate the things. But using one was necessary.

“Yes, but how? Do you have hands somewhere?”

Just helpers. There is an insane woman, locked in a monastery, who I contacted. Those isolated, those with permeable souls, respond better to spren sometimes. This one, however, only wrote down everything I said—never responding. I had Dabbid bring her a spanreed, and I communicated through her.

Drat. That didn’t seem particularly useful, at least now that spanreeds weren’t working. “How is it that the enemy knocked the Radiants unconscious?” Navani asked.

It is an aspect of Ur, the Tower, the Sibling said. A defense set up to prevent the Fused—and the Unmade, depending on circumstances—from entering it.

“I encountered a fabrial designed to do the same—one I think must have been modeled after part of the crystal pillar. I don’t mean to be rude, but did you not consider activating this defense when they attacked?”

The Sibling fell silent for a time, and Navani wondered if she had pushed the spren too far. Fortunately they spoke again, softly. I have … been wounded. Thousands of years ago, something happened that changed the singers. It hurt me too.

Navani covered her shock. “You’re speaking of the binding of that Unmade, which made the singers lose their forms?”

Yes. That terrible act touched the souls of all who belong to Roshar. Spren too.

“How have no spren mentioned this?”

I don’t know. But I lost the rhythm of my Light that day. The tower stopped working. My father, Honor, should have been able to help me, but he was losing his mind. And he soon died …

There was enough sorrow in the Sibling’s voice that Navani didn’t push them for answers. This changed everything.

When that Fused touched me, the Sibling continued, she corrupted part of me to the tone of Odium. This wouldn’t have been possible, once—but it is now. She fills my system with his Light, ruining me. Corrupting me.

“So…” Navani said. “If we could find a way to destroy the Voidlight inside you, or somehow recover the rhythm you lost, you could reactivate the tower to our defense?”

I suppose. It doesn’t seem possible. I feel … like we’re doomed.

The mood shift seemed familiarly human. Indeed, Navani felt a little of the same. She rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes.

Break it down into little pieces, she reminded herself. Protect the Sibling long enough to figure out the other problems. That’s your first task.

You didn’t fill out a map all at once. You did it one line at a time. That was the soul of discovery.

But … the Sibling said.

“But?” Navani said, opening her eyes. “But what?”

But we might not need to wake up any Radiants. There are two in the tower who are still awake.

Again Navani nearly broke her calm facade. Why hadn’t the Sibling mentioned this immediately? “How?”

One makes sense to me, the Sibling said. She is awake because she was created oddly, to use Light differently from others. She was made by my mother for this purpose. But I have lost track of her, and I do not know where she is. A young woman. Edgedancer.

“Lift,” Navani said. That one always had been strange. “You can’t see her anymore?”

No. I think one reason I can see parts of the tower has to do with Radiants, who are Connected to me. I caught glimmers of this Edgedancer girl for a while, but she vanished yesterday. She was in a cage, and I suspect they surrounded her with ralkalest.