Lyn: Hello, everyone, and welcome to… stars and stones. Can it be? The final installment of the Oathbringer reread‽ It doesn’t feel as if it’s been almost two and a half years, does it? But we started back in January of 2018.

Alice: … no way. Just… are you kidding me? ::checks calendar:: Wow. You’re right, of course.

L: Hard to believe, isn’t it?

A: SO hard. At the same time, this has been a steady milepost in my weeks for a long time, and it will feel really strange not to have that Wednesday deadline and Thursday discussion!

L: Especially considering how upended a lot of our lives have been lately. I suspect that joining along on the adventure has been a fun part of a lot of our readers’ routines, and I’m sorry to see it end for that reason as well.

A: For sure. I haven’t been as involved as usual in the discussion for the last months, but I’m going to miss the interaction—both with you in the writing, and then in reading the comments. Still, I’m really glad we were able to keep this going and keep our global group in touch.

L: Reminder that the Storm Cellar FB group is still out there, so if you need a way to connect and chat with other Stormlight fans and aren’t already a member, that’s an option.

A: YES! We would welcome you there!

L: In the coming months leading up to the release of Rhythm of War, you won’t be bereft of Stormlight content, thankfully! Alice and the rest of us “usual suspects” will be here now and again to bring you some fun articles to fill the gap. Want to give us a preview of some of the ideas you’ve had, Alice?

A: We’ve been tossing some ideas around, for sure! I’m pretty sure we’ll have another “The Story So Far” summary from Ross and Paige, to remind everyone of various important facts we’ll need in our back pockets. And of course, in the days just before release, we’ll have non-spoiler reviews, a beta-read article, and a “see if you can find the reference” game. Beyond that, or rather before that, some of the ideas we’ve looked at include a series on the physical world itself (flora, fauna, magic system), the Cognitive realm, foods, Cosmere tie-ins, the Unmade, the Heralds, the Knights Radiant orders, the Fused, what we know of the history… I’m pretty sure we don’t have time for ALL of that, but those are some of the things we’ve discussed. I’m not sure yet what the timeline will be on all this, so… we’ll see!

L: I have to admit… I don’t particularly want to end this. It’s so nice getting even this little bit of social interaction… but I suppose Alice and I can’t blather on at one another all day. That’s not what you’re here to read.

A: US? Blather at one another? All day??? Surely you jest.

L: I know right, that NEVER happens.

A: And I’m going to miss it.

L: Me too. But… Let’s begin, shall we?

In this week’s reread we discuss the magic system from Warbreaker in the Cosmere Connections section, along with references to a character or two, so if you haven’t read it, best to give that section a pass. We also make passing mention of characters and magic from White Sand and Mistborn.

Chapter Recap

WHO: Wit (Hoid)

WHERE: Kholinar

WHEN: 1174.2.10.5 (The same day as Adolin and Shallan’s wedding, probably four days after Moash was “promoted”)

Wit, disguised as a beggar, attempts to get punched by insulting a man, but finally resorts to cutting in front of him in a food line. Having satisfactorily lost a tooth, he proceeds to take care of a couple of the innocent victims of recent events. He then moves to the eastern wing of the palace, which is being diligently demolished; pretending panic and confusion, he reaches a particular segment of wall and starts whispering. Just before the guards throw him out, a frightened Cryptic climbs onto his hand and leaves with him.

Beginnings

Title: Great Art

“All great art is hated,” Wit said. … “That a thing is hated is not proof that it’s great art, but the lack of hatred is certainly proof that it is not.”

A: In keeping with the previous epilogues, this one opens with Wit musing on art, asking questions and finally reaching an answer. The first book, as he waited for Taln to arrive, had him talking to a couple of confused guardsmen about what talent people consider “of most worth”—and concluded that the answer was “timeliness.” The second book, as he waited for Jasnah’s return, showed him expounding to cremlings and songlings (both of which were probably hordelings of a Dysian Aimian) about the true soul of art, and his conclusion was “expectation.” This third book, as he prepares to seek out a small spren, he talks with the poorest and most destitute of the humans remaining in Kholinar, asking how many people need to love a piece of art to balance the number of people who will hate it; his answer (which we’ll discuss more below) is “one.”

Heralds:

Joker: Wild card

Shalash: Herald of Beauty, the Artist, patron of Lightweavers, Creative and Honest

A: There really couldn’t be any other choices, could there? The Joker is often associated with Wit’s presence; although he is occasionally there to represent an unexpected interference (wild card), in this case… well, it’s Wit. Shalash, as patron of the Lightweavers, is naturally depicted when a Cryptic is bonded.

Icon: Double Eye of the Almighty

A: I assume this is here because Hoid doesn’t (yet) have his own character icon, and uses the generic one. This is consistent with the previous two books.

Thematic Thoughts

Art is about emotion, examination, and going places people have never gone before to discover and investigate new things.

A: I get a kick out of the way Brandon almost breaks the fourth wall in these epilogue musings on art. They always make me wonder just what recent experience he had in mind when writing them.

L: Yes, they’re quite meta, aren’t they?

The only way to create something that nobody hates is to ensure that it can’t be loved either.

A: I suspect there’s a lot of truth here. I also suspect this applies particularly to the characters in a well-written work of fiction…

L: Oh, for sure. And even within a work, you will find people that love one aspect and hate another—much like how certain POV characters are despised by certain people and loved by others, and those same characters can be reversed for other people.

“The question becomes,” he whispered to her, “how many people need to love a piece of art to make it worthwhile? If you’re inevitably going to inspire hate, then how much enjoyment is needed to balance out the risk?”

A: The answer comes a few pages later, as usual:

He carried the girl back to the square, then quietly pushed the empty cradle away from Kheni and knelt before her. “I think, in answer to my question… I think it only takes one.”

A: I’ve had occasion to be watching Brandon when someone personally identifies with, and thanks him for, the way he wrote a particular character—more specifically, a character that seems to engender the whole range of emotional reactions from the fans. His delight in knowing that, no matter how many others might dislike the character, this person was deeply touched by the depiction… I think he knows exactly what he’s talking about with this question and its answer.

L: Absolutely. The greatest gift any writer can get is someone relating to a character.

A: For that matter, go look at the comments on the Ideal Heroes: Mental Illness article Paige and Ross wrote a while back, and compare those to the general reactions to these same characters in any given fan group. In general, there is a pretty high percentage of fans who get really tired of, for example, Shallan’s multiple personalities, or Kaladin’s depression. But on the other hand, there are those who have been deeply encouraged to just keep going by reading about a character so intimately relatable on a personal level. How many people need to love a character to balance out the risk? Perhaps it only takes one.

L: Positively affecting one single person is all some people need.

Stories & Songs

He passed into the shadow of the palace, and the sentry hovering in the air nearby, wind rippling her long clothing. Vatwha was her name. Thousands of years ago, he’d shared a dance with her.

A: I found this bit absolutely fascinating. Back in the long, long ago—somewhere in the neighborhood of seven or eight thousand years ago—Hoid was on Roshar. Whether he came at the same time, or even with the humans migrating from Ashyn, we don’t know. He could have come a bit before, or a bit after, but one way or another he’d been around during the time before the relationship between the singers and the humans turned sour. I wonder why he needed to be there, that time.

L: Do you think he’s time travelling too, or just immortal?

A: IIRC, it’s a bit of both. He was born tens of thousands of years ago, but he hasn’t actually lived all the time that’s passed; he skipped over a bunch of it. But he’s also got some pretty funky immortality-fu going on.

L: I wonder if that time-travelling only goes in one direction, then. Like he can only go forward, never back?

A: I… think that’s the rule. I’ll have to go check! … And on checking, I see several forms of the same answer: So far, at least, he’s not allowing anyone to go back into the past. And the latest one (from October 2018) states that “time travel into the past is not going to be a factor in the Cosmere.” Which for me is a big relief; it would just get so awkward to have Hoid going back to fix things—especially if Rayse could go back and re-fix them too. Ugh.

Like all the others, she’d later been trained to watch for him. But not well enough. As he passed underneath, she gave him the barest of glances. He decided not to take that as an insult, as it was what he wanted.

A: Was this a matter of personal enmity between Rayse and Hoid, or did he give the singers in general some reason to want his hide? With Hoid, it could certainly be the latter, and quite easily—but we know for a fact that the former is a never-ending issue. I guess it could even be both, couldn’t it?

L: I mean… Hoid’s got some level of enmity with most people he encounters, so… ::cough Kelsier cough::

He passed the sentry post, and wondered if anyone else thought it irregular that the Fused spent so much time here near this fallen section of the palace. Did anyone wonder why they worked so hard, clearing blocks, breaking down walls?

A: As a matter of fact… yes. Near the beginning of Chapter 121, Moash asked exactly that question, and Leshwi told him there was a reason, but he didn’t need to know it yet. Once we get to the end of the chapter, we find out… that they’re looking for a certain frightened and possibly damaged little Cryptic.

L: Poor little baby.

Relationships & Romances

On the other hand, if Rayse learned that Wit was in the city, he’d order his forces to level it—and would consider that a cheap price for even the slimmest chance of ending him.

A: So there’s that, as a possible answer to the previous question about why the Fused had been trained to watch for Hoid. It’s a bit over-the-top, to destroy an entire city on the off-chance of killing one person you hate. Then again, this is Rayse/Odium we’re talking about so… over-the-top is probably the order of the day. It’s not like he actually cares how many lives are lost in his own bid to escape the Rosharan system, so what are a few hundred thousand a little sooner, if it means a possibility of killing Hoid?

L: I also think that Rayse knows just how dangerous Hoid is. I suspect if anyone has the information and drive to take him down, it’s Hoid, so… makes sense that to take out such a clear and present threat, he’d be willing to sacrifice a few thousand people.

A: Interestingly enough, as I just now remembered, Hoid has said that if he has to watch Roshar burn to achieve his own ends, he’ll do it. And yet, he won’t risk the people of Kholinar at this moment.

L: I think there’s a difference between wanting a thing and needing a thing, you know? As of now, the destruction of Roshar isn’t necessary, so he’s doing what he can to preserve the life there. But should that change… I don’t doubt that he would do it. Does this make him the same as Taravangian?

A: Oh, I hate to even think such a thing! I like Hoid right now! But in a way it does, and on the whole I’d have to say Hoid is probably even more pragmatic about the survival of humanity than Taravangian is, though possibly less self-focused about it. Taravangian is willing to sacrifice the rest of Roshar to save his own family & city, which… well, it seems selfish, but at the same time, if you can only save a few, of course you save those you love. Hoid doesn’t have his own family to worry about (so far as we know), but I really don’t know what his priority for “saving some” might be. His motivations are a complete mystery. Is he trying to protect the rest of the Cosmere from destruction, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep Rayse bound here on Roshar? Or is it just that Rayse would interfere with his own plans? I don’t know.

Bruised & Broken

A: I know this unit is mostly for the brokenness of the Knights Radiant, but there are others who fit this category. In this case, just two of the many people Wit has gotten to know in the city.

He eventually squatted next to Kheni, who still rocked her empty cradle, staring with haunted eyes across the square.

A: Kheni and her husband Cob seem to be among the many victims of the invasion, having lost their little child to anything from starvation, to incidental damage from the thunderclast and other fighting, to deliberate killing by an enemy. They’re certainly not alone in that loss, but… somehow, that doesn’t really help.

L: No one should have to suffer the loss of a child. :(

… a dirty little face poked out from some rubble. … He held out his hand to her, but she ducked back in. “I can’t leave Mama,” she whispered. … [shows doll to child] “I need to leave the city,” he said. “And I can’t take her with me. Someone needs to care for her.” … The girl, maybe four years old, finally emerged from the shadows and ran to get the doll. … The girl hugged the patchwork creation, and he picked her up, turning away from the broken building—and the bones of a leg sticking from the rubble just inside.

A: Here’s another victim—a mother killed by falling rubble when the thunderclast was smashing things, and a terrified little girl who can’t understand that her Mama is dead. The poor child would probably starve to death there in the dark, scared to stay but more scared to leave, if not for the compassion of this enigmatic character who, despite his own longevity and larger goals, is still moved to help the poorest of the poor as long as he can.

L: It’s actually really endearing to see these snippets of compassion from Hoid. So often he seems so far removed from humanity, so alien… but then we see these beautiful moments of empathy and love and care. It’s nice to know that even with everything he’s seen and experienced, he still cares.

A: This is the reason I keep coming back around to liking him. He’s done some things that made me absolutely furious… and then he does something like caring for these hurting souls in the midst of the end of their world, and I love him again.

He carried the girl back to the square, then quietly pushed the empty cradle away from Kheni and knelt before her. … She blinked, then focused on the child in his arms. “I have to leave the city,” Wit said. “And someone needs to take care of her.” He waited until, at long last, Kheni held out her arms. Wit put the child into them, then rose.

A: This desire to take care of those who can’t take care of themselves… it’s not just Hoid, and it’s not just the Windrunners or the Edgedancers. Here, it’s a little girl who is given a doll that needs someone to care for her. It’s a grieving mother who discovers in herself the desire to watch over an orphaned little girl. All around us, it’s the people who are donating to their local food bank, making masks, picking up groceries for their elderly neighbor, or going to work despite the risks because others need their help.

L: You know, we often make parallels between the book and the real world in the reread, but this one is particularly poignant right now. The entire world is banding together against a threat—this is probably the closest we will ever get to the plot of a fantasy novel. There is a great evil that threatens to destroy us, and by and large, we’re all being heroes, in our own ways. As Alice said, we’re staying home despite the loneliness, or helping others, or going into work because others are in need of what we can do, or putting our own lives on the line to go work in hospitals. It’s… it’s really beautiful, and terrifying, and it’s reminding me more and more every day that living in extraordinary times like these isn’t fun or an adventure. It’s scary and trying, but just like the heroes in the stories we love, we will come out on the other side of this, and the heroism that’s been displayed from each and every one of us will serve to remind us that people are good and caring, and that the darkness will never prevail so long as we stand against it.

A: And because I don’t have another good place to put it, I’m going to add the reaction of Kheni’s husband, and Hoid’s response, right here:

Kheni’s husband took him by the arm, smiling. “Can you not stay a little longer?” “I should think you are the first to ever ask me that, Cob,” Wit said. “And in truth, the sentiment frightens me.”

A: Yeah, it just made me chuckle. Cob probably isn’t the first person to wish he could stay longer; I’m pretty sure Shallan has thought it a couple of times, and surely over the last ten thousand years or so, someone else has appreciated him. But I have to admit—he’s very focused on his own goals, and he usually doesn’t bother himself about incidental damage to individuals on the way by. It’s not generally an endearing trait.

L: It’s got to be hard to form connections with mortals, when their lives are so fleeting compared to your own.

Places & Peoples

Weeks after the fall of Kholinar, the place still smelled like smoke. Though the city’s new masters had moved tens of thousands of humans out to work farms, complete resettlement would take months, if not years.

A: Probably due to recent reading choices (The Three-Body Problem was… amazing in its unique way), this reminded me inexorably of the Chinese “Socialist Education Movement” where the intellectuals were sent to the countryside to learn from the peasants… at least nominally; mostly it seems to have been an effort to silence those who didn’t, or even might not, agree with the Party line. I doubt that’s what Brandon had in mind, though; this tastes more like a combination of the usual “conquerors enslave the conquered,” and “have a taste of your own medicine.” And… it’s difficult to know quite what to say. Sending a bunch of city-dwellers to become farmers is so inefficient. They don’t have the faintest idea what to do, so production is going to go way down, meaning that there won’t be enough food for either race. If they’re supremely lucky, enough of the refugees who came into the city will go back out of the city and return some experienced farmers to the land.

L: Unless they’ve got exceptionally talented overseers who are taking the time to train them swiftly and efficiently, which… let’s face it… the Fused almost certainly do not.

A: As for the taste-of-medicine approach… I’m not a fan. Obviously the enslavement of the parshmen, and the way some/most people treated them, was a huge dark blot on humanity. On the other hand, the action that took away their self-determination was the action of a few in an effort to stop an unceasing war, and had unintended consequences. However, once it was done the entire people would likely have died out had they been left to themselves without the ability to take forms. We obviously don’t know enough yet to say for sure, but I strongly suspect that initially, taking in the parshmen and giving them simple tasks was an act of pure generosity, which later devolved into racial slavery like we can’t even imagine.

Tight Butts and Coconuts

“I’d tell you to put a sack over your head, but think of the poor sack! Theologians use you as proof that God exists, because such hideousness can only be intentional.” The man didn’t respond. Wit poked him again, and he muttered something in Thaylen. “You … don’t speak Alethi, do you?” Wit asked. “Of course you don’t.” Figured. Well, repeating all that in Thaylen would be monotonous. So Wit cut in front of the man in line.

A: LOL. That whole speech was a lot of work just to get someone to punch him in the face! The second approach was both more effective, and much more efficient. Ah, well. Much like me, Wit has only a casual and infrequent friendship with brevity.

One of his teeth popped out. “Success!” he said in Thaylen, speaking with a faint lisp. “Thank you, dear man. I’m glad you appreciate my performance art, accomplished by cutting in front of you.”

A: Yeah, brevity? Nah.

Weighty Words

“Look,” he whispered to the wall, “you don’t have many choices right now.” Above, the Fused turned to look at him. “I know you’d rather have someone else,” Wit said, “but it isn’t the time to be picky. I’m certain now that the reason I’m in the city is to find you.”

A: So many questions raised here on a first read. Why is he whispering to the wall? Will the Fused recognize him now? And why did his spidey-sense tell him he needed to be here? What is so important about this moment, in the grand cosmic scheme of things?

L: Also… why is he here without knowing the reason why? Some sort of supernatural intuition, or was he given a tip by someone…?

A: I don’t think we’ve got much info on this just yet. We know he has some sense about where he needs to be, apparently because he has some access to Fortune (however that works!). But he often doesn’t know why he needs to be there, so he has to wait and see what shakes out.

“It’s either go with me now,” Wit said to the wall, “or wait it out and get captured. I honestly don’t even know if you’ve the mind to listen. But if you do, know this: I will give you truths. And I know some juicy ones.”

A: I’ll admit to a bit of confusion here, and I think it’s just that we have virtually no experience to look back on for enlightenment. If a bonded (or semi-bonded) Radiant is killed, is their spren stuck in the Physical realm? If that’s the case, what happened to Tien’s poor little bondmate? And how do the Fused capture sapient spren?

In any case, though, I loved Wit’s bargaining chip. I’ll bet he has some really juicy truths to share with a Cryptic!

L: Hoo boy, does he ever. He’s probably like a ten-course all-you-can-eat buffet.

A: LOL. That would surely describe him well! It also occurs to me that this might be the only Order he could possibly join; he can give truths, for sure (even if he’s not in the habit of telling the whole truth!), but I’m not sure how many of the other orders have Ideals he could honestly speak. Huh.

Something slipped from one of the cracks in the wall. A moving Pattern that dimpled the stone. It crossed to his hand, which he tucked into his rags as the guards seized him under the arms and hauled him out into the gardens, then tossed him among the beggars there. Once they were gone, Wit rolled over and looked at the Pattern that now covered his palm. It seemed to be trembling. “Life before death, little one,” Wit whispered.

A: Poor little mathematical design… Is it terrified of the close call, or of Wit? I’m going with the first, but hey, it could go either way. I’m also assuming that he goes on to complete the first Ideal, but this is just such a beautiful ending.

L: It really is a beautiful ending. And for what it’s worth, I think it’s the former, too.

Cosmere Connections

A: Warning: Warbreaker spoilers ahead!

He scooped up some rags—the remnants of a spren costume. … He took a cord from his pocket and twisted it around the rags.

A: Is this looking at all familiar? If not, go reread the prologue to Warbreaker.

Nearby, several buildings had fallen to the thunderclast’s attacks. He felt life from one, and when he drew close, a dirty little face poked out from some rubble.

A: This indicates that Wit is using a Nalthian magical ability called “life sense,” allowing him to tell without seeing that there’s a living person inside the fallen building. Those native to Nalthis have a small amount of this sense naturally, and it’s enhanced by BioChroma. Since Wit is definitely not native to Nalthis, he’s probably got at least the first Heightening (about 50 Breaths) in order to sense the child from a slight distance. (It’s probably quite a bit higher than that, but we don’t know for sure.)

L: Go on. (Seriously this is all Alice’s area of expertise, I’m not gonna have much to add in here…)

He took the rags and cord he’d worked with earlier, forming them into the shape of a little doll. … He raised the doll to his lips, then whispered a choice set of words. When he set it down, it started to walk on its own. A soft gasp sounded inside the shadows. The little doll toddled toward the street. … Wit stood and dusted off his coat, which was now grey.

A: I’m drawing a blank on this: Have we ever seen Wit definitively Awaken something before? Aside from the walking doll, he drained the color from “his ragged brown coat,” leaving it grey. That’s most definitely Nalthian Awakening, and probably used at least 25 Breaths to do. It doesn’t really tell us much about how many Breaths he still has, though. It takes the Sixth Heightening, about 3500 Breaths, to gain the “instinctive Awakening” that would let him do this kind of thing without training and practice, but… this is Hoid. He could well have spent as many years on Nalthis as it takes to develop an incredible amount of skill.

L: I don’t recall ever having seen him Awaken anything, either. But we all know how great my memory is, so…

He hesitated, then leaned down and touched the doll in the child’s hands. “Forget what I told you before,” he whispered. “Instead, take care of her.”

A: I’m honestly baffled by this one. Did he recover the Breath, or will the doll remain slightly animated forever? And if this was the doll’s new directive, that last is one heck of a complex Command.

I’m also going to include just a few comments on the Ars Arcanum, and I’m putting them here because they were written by one of the greatest Cosmere scholars in the Cosmere, the Duchess Khrissalla of Elis, on the Darkside of Taldain.

One, the “Ten Essences” table hasn’t changed since the first book, but this is the first time we’ve really seen the gemstones directly associated with the Knight Radiant orders for each Herald. We did see them linked to Soulcasting before, of course.

Two, this is the first time we’ve seen the list of Surges with their formal names and (sort of) what they do. It’s worth noting that while Khriss mentions the Surges as a “complement” to the Essences, she doesn’t speak to the fact that each order uses two of the Surges, but only one Essence. Later, when talking about Windrunning and Lashings, she does state that she believes the Windrunners use two types of Surgebinding.

Three, she points out something that various fans have noticed along the way: The chemical structure of the gemstones is far less important than the color thereof.

L: Which is pretty interesting when you really think about it.

A: Isn’t it, though? It makes me intensely curious!

Khriss is also fascinated by the relationship of fabrials to Surgebinding, and the fact that the Rosharans are able to imitate the abilities of the original magic-users by mechanical means. She also ties this to some of the discoveries being made on Scadrial, so… we can speculate about that for days on end!

There’s so much more that could be said about the Ars Arcanum, but… not by me, not today. Dig into it in the comments, though!

Abject Artwork

A: I loved watching Wit’s performance art in this scene, so I’m quoting some of it here:

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his ragged brown coat, then slouched his way through an alley. He passed groaning humans crying for deliverance, for mercy. He absorbed that, letting it reflect in him. Not a mask he put on. Real sorrow. Real pain.

A: I’m never 100% convinced that Wit is not masking something, but he also seems to have some kind of ability to absorb (or discard) the real emotion and pain of those around him.

L: Yeah, that’s real interesting. An ability from a world we haven’t seen yet, perhaps?

A: Oh, I hadn’t thought about it as an actual magical function… That would be awesome.

Was it time for his big performance? Strangely, he found himself reluctant. Once he walked up those steps, he was committing to leave the city. He’d found a much better audience among these poor people than he had among the lighteyes of Alethkar. He’d enjoyed his time here.

A: I’ve probably used “baffled” (or a synonym) more in this chapter than any other place in the book. There’s just so much about Wit that we don’t know, and we’ve been taught never to take him at face value. Had he enjoyed his time here because he was able to unequivocally help those who needed help? Or just because they were less suspicious than the nobles? Or… what? I’d like to think it was because he really enjoyed helping people, but I’m never quite confident that Wit is actually… good.

He adopted the act as he walked. The twitch of madness, the shuffle to his step.

A: Without quoting the entire section, it was fun to watch him fit himself to the part of a crippled, toothless, addled beggar, and then use that to do a series of “stupid” actions, getting himself into the exact place they were guarding but never looking like he was going there on purpose.

Quality Quotations

United,

new beginnings sing: “Defying truth,

love.

Truth defy!” Sing beginnings,

new unity.

–Ketek written by Jasnah Kholin, on the occasion of her ward Shallan Davar’s wedding celebration.

A: And with that, we bid farewell to the Oathbringer Reread. Not to Oathbringer, though; not at all. It’s time to start looking forward more specifically to the release of Rhythm of War! As we noted last week, the beta read is complete (more or less—we’re still adding notes as they occur to us) and Brandon is working his way through the next revision, fixing any holes and polishing the text as needed. We’ll be providing you with plenty of reading material before the book comes out, though; as we talked about earlier, we have Plans. Watch these spaces!

A: Thank you all for sticking with us through this lengthy endeavor. It’s been a delight to share it with you.

L: We’ll miss you.

Alice is rather startled to have come to the end of this reread. Other than that, things are almost exactly the same in her world as they have been for the last… oh, month or so. Still staying home, still distancing…

Lyndsey is closing in on 400 masks donated to hospitals and other health care workers, including an ER in NYC and one in Providence, RI. She hopes that you’re all staying safe out there and reminds you that if you’re doing something—anything—to help with this pandemic, even if that’s just staying at home to help flatten the curve, YOU are a hero and a Knight Radiant. Protect those who cannot protect themselves, my fellow Windrunners (and Radiants of other orders). If you’re an aspiring author, a cosplayer, or just like geeky content, follow Lyndsey’s work on Facebook or Instagram.