Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive 4)

“Yes, and?” Jasnah asked.

“I have scouts surveying his position,” Dalinar said, “and have visual confirmation—shown to me via Lightweaving—that the man himself is there. Wit’s drawings confirm it. I have spoken with the Stormfather, and the two of us think this is our best solution. Ishar is a master with the Bondsmithing art. If I can recruit him, he could be the secret to saving Urithiru.”

“Pardon,” Noura said. “But haven’t we determined that the Heralds are all … insane?” It was hard for her to say; their religion viewed the Heralds as deities. The Makabaki people worshipped them, and not the Almighty.

“Yes,” Dalinar said, “but Ash indicates Ishar might have escaped with less damage than others. She trusts him.”

“We’ve had letters from Ishar, Uncle,” Jasnah said. “That are not encouraging.”

“I want to try speaking with him anyway,” Dalinar said. “We’ve been mostly ignoring his armies, other than to use them as our anvil. But if I were to approach with a flag of peace and parley, Ishar—”

“Wait,” Yanagawn said. “You’re going to go personally?”

“Yes,” Dalinar said. “I need to see Ishar, ask him questions.”

“Send your Radiants,” Noura said. “Take this being captive. Bring him here. Then talk to him.”

“I would rather go myself,” Dalinar said.

“But…” Yanagawn said, sounding utterly baffled. “You’re a king. This is even worse than when Jasnah went out in Plate and fought the enemy!”

“It’s an old family tradition, Majesty,” Jasnah said. “We are prone to putting ourselves into the thick of things. I blame long-standing Alethi conditioning that says the best general is the one who leads the charge.”

“I suppose,” Yanagawn said, “that a history of having excessive numbers of Shards might create a feeling of invincibility. But Dalinar, why do you raise this point now? To get our advice?”

“More to warn you,” he said. “I’ve deliberately put the Mink in command of our military so I can step away to see to more … spiritual matters. Jasnah and Wit are preparing a contract for me to present to Odium, once we have pushed him to come speak to me again.

“Until we can make that work, I need to do something to help. I need to bring Ishar to our side—then see if he can teach me how to restore the Oathpact and help me rescue Urithiru.”

“Well,” Yanagawn said, looking to Noura. “Being allies with the Alethi is … interesting. Go with Yaezir’s own speed then, I suppose.”

Yaezir is dead, Dalinar thought, though he didn’t say it.

Jasnah took the reins of the conversation next, explaining the contract she was preparing for Odium. She and Dalinar had already talked to Queen Fen earlier, via spanreed. Dalinar offered some explanations, but mostly let Jasnah do the persuading. She had an uphill battle, as getting the monarchs to agree to this contest would take some doing.

Jasnah could manage it; he was confident in her. His job, he was increasingly certain, involved his Bondsmithing, the Oathpact, and the Heralds.

Eventually the meeting came to an end. They agreed to meet again to talk over more points in the contract, but for now Yanagawn had to attend some religious ceremonies for his people. Dalinar needed to prepare for his trip to Tukar; he intended to go as soon as was reasonable.

As they rose to leave, Yanagawn replaced his headdress. “Dalinar,” the youth said, “do we know anything of Lift? We left her at the tower.”

“Kaladin said the other Radiants were unconscious,” Dalinar said. “That probably includes her.”

“Maybe,” Yanagawn said. “She often does what she isn’t supposed to. If you hear word, send to me, please?”

Dalinar nodded, joining Jasnah and withdrawing from Yanagawn’s palace. The exterior might look as ordinary as every other building in the village, but a palace it was.

He collected Szeth, who was holding something for him. Dalinar took the large book—intimidating in size, though he knew it to be shorter than it appeared. The paper inside was covered with his own bulky letter-lines, larger and thicker than was proper, drawn deliberately with his fat fingers.

He held the book toward Jasnah. He’d allowed early drafts and portions of it to be shared—and they’d gotten out all over the coalition by now. However, he hadn’t considered the book finished until he’d made some last changes earlier this week.

“Oathbringer?” she said, taking it eagerly. “It’s complete?”

“No, but my part is done,” Dalinar said. “This is the original, though the scribes have made copies following my last round of alterations. I wanted you to have the one I wrote.”

“You should feel proud, Uncle. You make history with this volume.”

“I fear you’ll find it to be mostly religious drivel.”

“Ideas are not useless simply because they involve religious thinking,” Jasnah said. “Nearly all of the ancient scholars I revere were religious, and I appreciate how their faith shaped them, even if I do not appreciate the faith itself.”

“The things you said about hope in the meeting,” Dalinar said. “They bothered me, Jasnah. But perhaps in a good way. Who in the world would dispute an idea as fundamental as hope? Yet because we all accept it as vital, we don’t think about it. What it really means. You do.”

“I try,” she said, glancing back toward the Prime’s palace. “Tell me. Am I pushing too hard to establish myself as a military leader? I feel it’s an important precedent, as your book here is, but … I hit the target a little too squarely, didn’t I?”

Dalinar smiled, then put his hand on hers, which held up the book. “We are revealing a new world, Jasnah, and the way before us is dark until we bring it light. We will be forgiven if we stumble on unseen ground now and then.” He squeezed her hand. “I would like you to do something for me. All of the great philosophical texts I’ve read have an undertext.”

“Yes, about that…” He wasn’t the only man who had been shaken to discover that for centuries, the women in their lives had been leaving commentaries for one another. Something dictated by a man would often have his wife’s or scribe’s thoughts underneath, never shared aloud. An entire world, hidden from those who thought they were ruling it.

“I would like you to write the undertext for Oathbringer,” Dalinar said. “Openly. To be read and discovered by any who would like to read it.”

“Uncle?” Jasnah said. “I’m not certain the tradition should continue. It was questionable to begin with.”

“I find the insights offered in the undertexts to be essential,” Dalinar said. “They change how I read. History is written by the victors, as many are fond of saying—but at least we have contrary insights by those who watched. I would like to know what you think of what I’ve said.”

“I will not hold back, Uncle,” Jasnah said. “If much of this is religious, I will be compelled to be honest. I will point out your confirmation biases, your fallacies. Perhaps it would be better if you gave the undertext task to my mother.”