Wind and Truth Reread: Chapters 57 and 58

Welcome back, Sanderfans! Let’s dive into this week’s chapters! Chapter 57 is a Szeth flashback and is titled “Which One to Follow.” Szeth is now 14 years old, so this takes place three years after his previous flashback… and he is kicking ass. He’s the youngest and smallest boy in his training class. The chapter opens with him sparring one of the other boys, another officer in training, though one quite a bit larger than Szeth. He still easily beats the boy, who gives him a death stare. Szeth thinks he’ll need to sleep on the roof for a few days because the boy and his friends will come looking for revenge. It seems to have played out this way before.

We see that the Voice is still speaking to Szeth, and can seem to read his mind now, though Szeth is uncertain about when that might have begun. The Voice instructs him to hit the other boy hard this time, though once Szeth knocks the boy down, he hesitates and the boy sweeps Szeth’s legs out from beneath him. The bigger boy grapples with Szeth, though that’s not part of their training. Szeth finds a rock with one hand and considers using it but then decides not to.

The Sergeant arrives and pulls the older boy off Szeth, chastising him for losing control of himself. Then he accuses Szeth of causing trouble which, of course, sets Szeth on edge. He’s done nothing to provoke the older boy after all—he just beat him, as he’s been trained and, largely, trained himself to do. When the Sergeant orders Szeth to run 16 laps for talking back and stating that he’s outgrown the Sergeant’s teaching, Szeth refuses. The Sergeant takes a practice sword and shield from another student and proceeds to find himself knocked on the ground by a slight, fourteen-year-old trainee.

Now that he feels like he’s done something wrong, Szeth decides to go ahead and run the laps. His mother finds him while he’s running. He stops to accept water from her and rest for a moment. He notices that his mother has grown thinner over the years and thinks how she has not taken to this life as his father and sister have. Further, he reflects that his parents are rarely in the same room together anymore. I can’t help but think that Zeenid’s life in the training camp has wilted her like a flower that’s not getting enough sun or water. It’s a sad state of affairs for her, to be sure.

After his run, Szeth is summoned to the General’s office. He fears that he’s in more trouble, but the summons comes from his father, who now works for the General. His father is excited instead of angry, and takes Szeth to see two of the Honorbearers who have visited the monastery. He’s thrilled at the sight of the Honorbearers and their Honorblades. The Voice asks him if he wants to hold an Honorblade and Szeth says that he does, though the Voice tells him the time is not yet right, and may never be. Of course, we know what happens, don’t we?

Szeth asks one of the Honorbearers, as he had once asked the Farmer, how he knows what is right. The Honorbearer first asks if his father did not teach him this. Szeth states that the truth seems different for different people.

This advice doesn’t bode well for Szeth, who is so literal, as we’ll see in next week’s chapters. But when the second Honorbearer asks if he has a particular issue, he admits that he has trouble hurting people. He’s told he needs to spend time in the slaughterhouse in order to get used to death. Which is just lovely and Szeth is really looking forward to the experience… not. The first Honorbearer also instructs the General to assign Szeth to the defense during the next raid. And so Szeth is sent to get used to death—one more turn of events that will lead to him becoming the Assassin in White. He’s killed once at this point, but as we know, he’ll soon be quite an effective killer. It makes me sad, once again, for that small boy who loved to dance.

Chapter 58 is titled “The Song of the Beasts” and opens with Dalinar back in the vision with the Heralds during their pre-Herald days. Ash’s ribbon brought them to this vision and Dalinar searches for something to anchor him to a future vision. When Ash enters, angry at being left out and treated as a child by the other Heralds even though she’s over 60 years old, Dalinar retrieves her ribbon when she throws it on the ground. He feels nothing from it, as Navani had mentioned feeling, so he tries finding something else. When Jezrien eventually reveals a stone with a marking on it that represents a debt he owes to Nale, Dalinar senses that this would work as an anchor. He snatches it and runs from the cave, narrowly avoiding being tackled by Chana, and finds Navani and Gav just as the vision begins to dissolve around them.

Navani, in the meantime, has been sitting with Gav, who is scared. Navani does her best to reassure him and tells him they’re in a place of pretend. Then she talks with the Wind for a while, letting Gav know that the Wind will not hurt him. Gav says that before Grampa found him, there was a nice spren that said it could protect him from the bad ones. He said the voice sounded like Daddy. Navani thinks that he can’t possibly remember the sound of Elhokar’s voice, because he was so young when Elhokar left for the Shattered Plains. This made me realize that she must not know about Elhokar rescuing Gav before the traitorous Moash killed him, though I can’t see how she wouldn’t know that. Surely Adolin would have told her. Right? Anyone have thoughts on this?

And in the middle of all of this: POV SHIFT!

Venli listens to Thude singing the Song of the Beasts, which is really pretty good considering he’s not a Keeper of the Songs, as Venli and Jaxlim are. The song is, of course, a poem, sung to the Rhythm of the Lost; it mostly rhymes, such as when it ends lines with “sight” and “fight,” though many lines end in slant rhymes, such as “yours” and “years.” Many of the lines are like the latter example, more alliterative than perfect end rhymes. We don’t see every line of the song, so we don’t know how many stanzas there are, but it feels as if it’s rather long based on Venli’s experience of hearing it for the first time. The structure, from the bits we see, is mostly AABBCC, meaning the first two lines rhyme or share alliteration, as do the second set of two lines, and then the third.

The most fascinating thing about the song, in my opinion, is that the story it tells is from the point of view of the chasmfiends. The beasts are quite intelligent and didn’t at first see the humans and listeners as rivals. Then… then the humans and listeners began to kill “the small,” meaning, of course, the pupating ones. The chasmfiends couldn’t grasp why they would do such a thing. It was for survival on the part of the listeners, of course, but the humans were primarily after wealth when they recovered gemhearts.

Still, the chasmfiends don’t seem to hold a grudge about it, though their numbers had dwindled due to the killing of the pupating chasmfiends. They’re now content to coexist with the listeners, and it’s a beneficial relationship for all. The chasmfiends hunt and share their kills with the listeners; the listeners, in turn, clean their carapaces and scratch the critters in spots that they seem to like. It’s super cute that chasmfiends like a good ear-scritching!

Venli asks if the chasmfiends can fight and Thude says they obviously can but that they’re outmatched by Shardbearers. She asks if they can fight Fused, pointing out that Odium will get around to dealing with them eventually. She suggests joining with the humans, which doesn’t go over well with everyone, of course. Venli uses herself as an example that people can change, but the others close ranks and take the matter to the Five. I can’t say as I blame them, considering that she’s responsible for their predicament and the slaughter of her people. But Venli really is living proof that people can change—and I actually like her now, so that redemption arc was successful for me.

(The other one won’t be. You know who I mean.)

As usual, a Szeth chapter is preempted with Nale as one of his arch Heralds. This is expected, as Szeth’s a Skybreaker and his personality aligns very nicely with Skybreaker ideals in this chapter. Chana is likely here due to her association with the divine attribute of obedience. A big part of this chapter is Szeth being persuaded to obey the chain of command despite his ethical questions.

Jezrien, Ishar, and Vedel (x2)

All three of these Heralds are physically present in the vision in Dalinar’s section, so it makes sense for them to be here. But other Heralds also make an appearance in the vision (Battar, Chana, Kalak, Shalash) so there must be more to their inclusion in the chapter arch than just their presence. So let’s dig a little deeper: Vedel is the only one to be shown twice, and I think with good reason. Her attributes of Healing/Loving are clearly displayed in that touching scene between Venli and her mother, and also to some degree between Navani and little Gav. Ishar, shown in the arch only once, is likely here because he’s the patron of the Bondsmiths. Not only do we have both Dalinar and Navani as POV characters, but we see the bond between the listeners and the chasmfiends being formed as well. Now, as for Jezrien… usually he’s one of the easiest when it comes to finding an attribute connection, but in this instance, I’m finding it difficult to link him to anyone displaying protective or leadership traits. Both Venli and Dalinar are leaders, but neither are displaying those traits in this particular chapter. Maybe he’s here for Navani, reflecting her protectiveness toward Gavinor.

Szeth

An interesting flashback chapter for Szeth this time around. We see him being thoughtful and careful, questioning his orders and the morality of the decisions he’s forced to make… or could be forced to make, down the line. He wants the responsibility of morality to be removed, to be able to just follow orders without having to think about them… but he can’t seem to help wondering whether they’re right or wrong. I rather like this dichotomy in his character, as it’s very true to life. Sometimes it’s simply easier to let someone else call the shots and go with the flow, not worrying about having to take responsibility for what happens next. But when those actions could literally mean life or death, for many people the choice to follow orders blindly becomes more difficult. Letting a friend decide which restaurant to go to obviously carries far less ethical risk than letting a friend tell you to do something that could hurt or kill someone. While this is something that we see a lot more often in media and stories about soldiers (“I was just following orders”), it’s a quandary that many of us may face, albeit to a smaller extent, in real life as well.

Another aspect of Szeth that comes to the fore here is his insistence on doing things the right way. Elsewhere, readers have raised the question of whether he may be mildly autistic (especially given his strict adherence to rules/routine). I certainly see some parallels to people in my life who are on the spectrum, but I don’t think that he ticks enough boxes to be clinically considered so. I think he’s just a very thoughtful, careful young person who wants to get things right by following direct, set guidelines and who has been thrust into an exceptionally difficult life. He made a mistake once, and doing so changed not only the entire trajectory of his life, but his family’s as well. That’s a lot of guilt to carry, and a lot of motivation to try to do things perfectly and not screw up again.

Direct-quoting this one, as this is a fascinating turn. Szeth is directly disobeying orders here and going against his nature of “I just want to do what I’m told,” because the other side of his personality—the rules- and ethics-driven side—compels him to do so. If you’ll pardon a little D&D reference… How very Lawful Good of him. The Law (in this case, the rules of the monastery) state that he did no wrong and hence merits no punishment. Therefore, The Law stands above the acting orders he’s just been given. This ties in nicely with his eventual induction into the Skybreakers, doesn’t it?

What a heavy question for a child to ask. Storms, there are whole philosophical schools of thought devoted to this, and entire books written about it! And this great ethical quandary is basically hand-waved off by saying “because god told us so,” an immature answer to an incredibly mature question, especially for such a young child.

Chasmfiends

Who indeed? You can hardly blame the chasmfiends for reacting the way they did. Their children were being slaughtered wholesale.

Anyone who’s ever trained a dog will understand the importance of being seen as the pack leader. Animals have a distinctly different way of viewing the world and forming social bonds and relationships; using human societal norms to try to understand and relate to them is a huge mistake. The chasmfiends absolutely remind me of big dogs; they’re content to live with the listeners and enjoy their ear scritches, and to bring the listeners food. They don’t bear a grudge about past offenses because their memory doesn’t quite work that way.

Venli

Once we move away from the fascinating story of the chasmfiends, this chapter begins to delve into Venli and her attempts to figure out what her people should do next. She brings up the possibility of joining with the humans, but the suggestion is met with disdain by the other listeners.

I’m proud of her for her growth in this regard. She still has problematic thoughts, but she recognizes them for what they are and calmly rejects them.

And then… then, we get the loveliest single scene in these two chapters. Venli’s mother holds her and hums to Love, and Venli accepts and reciprocates it. This moment was so touching. Venli has spent so much of her life wrapped up in her pride and… well, in herself that the selfless and giving nature of loving and being loved seems foreign to her. This moment is one of healing and growth for her.

Gavinor

Oof. We know from later in the book that this was Odium, and it gives me the shudders knowing what’s going to happen to this poor kid.

The Heralds

That’s a fascinating little tidbit, isn’t it? Vedel is one of the few Heralds that we haven’t seen in the present day, so we don’t know where she is right now or how she’s doing, mentally. Is this exchange perhaps foreshadowing that her decision did haunt her for the rest of her life, and she’s now devolved into madness like so many of the others?

Stormfather/Honor/Tanavast

Getting a little nervous, are we, Tanavast?

Battle Tactics

It is often said that those best suited to leadership are those who don’t want to lead, and I think we see a parallel to that here. People who are actively seeking to not kill and be removed from the field should be those who are making final decisions in battle; they’re logical and levelheaded and trying to make decisions that will result in the least harm being done. But those are the very same people whose morality will torture them for the awful decisions they’re forced to make.

Interestingly, I think Adolin’s a great example of a leader who did choose to remain and make those logical decisions rather than be promoted away, specifically because he cares so much for the people under his command. Kaladin, on the other hand, left his command because he couldn’t handle the emotional toll taken by the deaths of those he was responsible for.

Szeth’s flashback here is pretty grounded, so there’s not much to talk about in terms of my section. That said:

Not really a theory here, or even a comment on Invested Arts, but more just a thematic point: I find it interesting that so much of Adolin’s arc in this book frames momentum as a good thing, a positive tool to use in battle, but here Szeth’s outlook plants it squarely in the Liability category.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the epigraph!

Endowment has plans to deal with Odium, eh? This is such a tantalizing bit of information. Endowment’s continued insistence on isolation for the Shards makes this doubly fascinating, because this isn’t even framed as a contingency—no “If Odium comes to Nalthis…” or anything. Just “I have plans to deal with Odium” and that’s it.

This could be a crack in Endowment’s façade. It could also simply be that I’m reading too much into the wording, but hey—that’s what I’m here for!

The first thing that comes to mind, with Endowment and Nalthis, is the infamous “Cognitive anomaly” found on the Nalthian system map. (Brandon really needs to give us that Nalthian system essay already.) Might this be a trap, lying in wait for Odium if he ever decided to move on Endowment?

This stands out to me. We’ve seen Invested Arts grant immortality—the Elantrians, the Returned (with some fuel)—and we’ve seen them grant baseline healing—Radiants—but I think this is the first reference to Investiture simply allowing for slowed aging. It reminds me more of the One Power in The Wheel of Time than other Invested Arts in the Cosmere.

This is undoubtedly being left for the more Herald-centric books in the back half of The Stormlight Archive, but this book is really lining up a lot of questions about Ashyn and how Investiture worked there, how humanity adapted to Roshar, and the mechanics of Surgebinding.

To be honest, it’s almost frustrating. This is my third time reading Wind and Truth now, and there’s a surprising number of magical elements that just don’t get explained. Lots of mysteries around the Heralds, plus… well, basically everything in the Spiritual Realm. The magic in this book really does feel softer than we’re used to. Especially when compared to the recent Cosmere books, like The Sunlight Man, The Lost Metal, and even Rhythm of War.

Another area where I feel there are more mysteries yet to uncover. The “land of fallen stars” is certainly an evocative name, especially given the revelation in this book about the fourth moon, but I’m continually drawn back to the chasmfiend life cycle.

This chapter says that they pupate several times during their lives, but the final pupation must happen on the Shattered Plains. It stands to reason that this final pupation is tied to Odium’s shardpool, as the chasmfiend indicates to Venli, perhaps with some sort of Investiture bleed that allows them to grow to max size.

But this chapter also talks about how the humans were “killing the small” and “the young.” I never got the impression in earlier books that these were juvenile chasmfiends getting killed—or at least not that juvenile—that it was pretty much the regular old Big Boys who came to pupate into… something else.

But this makes it sound like most of them were little chasmfiends. They were confused about the humans killing them, because why challenge the little ones?

It all smacks of some potential deeper secret to the chasmfiends. I hope we get it in one of the later books.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the comment sections of posts about this article on various social media platforms and may include some of your comments/speculation (with attribution) on future weeks’ articles! Keep the conversation going, and PLEASE remember to spoiler-tag your comments on social media to help preserve the surprise for those who haven’t read the book yet.

See you next Monday with our discussion of chapters 59 and 60!