The Way of Kings

The climax centers on the Battle of the Tower, where Highprince Sadeas betrays Dalinar Kholin by retreating with the bridge crews, stranding Dalinar's army on the plateau surrounded by Parshendi forces. Kaladin and his bridge crew, Bridge Four, stay behind. Syl, revealing herself as an Honorspren, urges a reluctant Kaladin to save Dalinar rather than flee. Kaladin, now able to draw on Stormlight for supernatural strength, speed, and healing, deliberately pulls an entire volley of arrows onto his shield, stunning the Parshendi archers, then charges alone into the enemy line. Bridge Four rallies to support him, holding the line long enough for Dalinar's son Adolin to cut a path through the Parshendi and allow the Kholin army to retreat safely.

Afterward, Dalinar, Adolin, and Kaladin confront Sadeas in his camp over the betrayal. When Sadeas refuses to simply hand over the two thousand bridgemen under his control, Dalinar trades away his Shardblade, Oathbringer, to buy their freedom. Having lost faith in the other highprinces, Dalinar pressures King Elhokar to name him Highprince of War, and he begins imposing stricter codes of honor on the army, angering rival factions. He formally makes Kaladin and Bridge Four his personal bodyguards, naming Kaladin captain of the guard. Dalinar resolves to found the Knights Radiant anew, convinced by his recurring highstorm visions that a great destruction is coming.

In Kharbranth, Shallan completes her theft, swapping a broken Soulcaster for Jasnah Kholin's working one. Along the way, an ardent named Kabsal, who had been courting her, attempts to poison Jasnah and is revealed to be an agent of a secret organization called the Ghostbloods — the same group Shallan's late father was involved with. In the aftermath, Shallan discovers that she and Jasnah can both Soulcast without any physical Soulcaster at all, a supposedly impossible ability. Jasnah shares her research suggesting the Parshendi, not mythical Voidbringers, were responsible for an ancient near-annihilation of humanity, deepening the mystery behind the war on the Shattered Plains.

Szeth, the assassin from the prologue, completes further killings of nobles across the kingdoms before returning to Kharbranth, where he learns that the seemingly feeble King Taravangian was his true employer all along — Taravangian had added his own name to the target list to deflect suspicion. Taravangian shows Szeth his secret hospital, used to gather "death rattles," cryptic glimpses of the future spoken by the dying. In the epilogue, the wandering storyteller Hoid waits in Kholinar when a Shardbearer smashes through the city gates, announcing himself as Taln, the last of the ancient Heralds, who declares that the Everstorm is coming before collapsing. Hoid, having watched this, states grimly that the warning has come too late.

Kaladin Stormblessed enters the next book transformed from the broken slave he was for most of this volume. Betrayed and branded a slave by Lord Amaram after refusing to claim a defeated Shardbearer's Blade and Plate for himself, he spent the war as a bridgeman under Highprince Sadeas, hauling assault bridges into archer fire. He bonded with an amnesiac spren, Sylphrena (Syl), who turns out to be an Honorspren, and discovered he can draw on Stormlight for superhuman strength, speed, and rapid healing after surviving a highstorm exposure meant to kill him. He rallied his bridge crew, Bridge Four, into a genuine fighting unit and, at the Battle of the Tower, used his powers to save Highprince Dalinar Kholin's army after Sadeas treacherously abandoned them. As the book ends, Kaladin has been made captain of Dalinar's personal guard, with Bridge Four serving as his honor guard — a huge rise in status, though he remains a branded slave and his powers are still not understood, even by himself.

Dalinar Kholin, uncle to King Elhokar, spent the book plagued by visions during highstorms showing the ancient Knights Radiant and urging him to unite his allies, leading many (including his son Adolin) to question his sanity. After Sadeas's betrayal at the Tower nearly destroyed his army, Dalinar traded his Shardblade Oathbringer to free the two thousand bridgemen Sadeas controlled, was named Highprince of War, and began imposing a stricter code of conduct on the Alethi armies, alienating other highprinces. He has resolved to try to found the Knights Radiant anew, convinced a great catastrophe is approaching. His relationship with Navani, his brother's widow, has also begun turning romantic.

Shallan Davar traveled to Kharbranth to become the ward of Jasnah Kholin, the king's heretical scholar sister, intending to steal Jasnah's Soulcaster to save her family's fortunes — which she ultimately does. In the process she grew to genuinely respect Jasnah, survived an assassination attempt by an ardent named Kabsal (revealed to be a Ghostblood agent, connected to her own late father's secret ties to that organization), and discovered — astonishingly — that she and Jasnah can Soulcast without any physical device at all. Jasnah's research suggests the Parshendi, the humanoid race Alethkar is at war with, may be responsible for an ancient near-destruction of humanity misattributed to mythical Voidbringers, a mystery left unresolved.

Elsewhere, Szeth, the Shin assassin who killed King Gavilar in the prologue and several other rulers since, learned his true employer all along has been King Taravangian of Kharbranth, who uses a secret hospital to collect prophetic "death rattles" from the dying as part of some larger scheme. In the closing epilogue, the storyteller Hoid witnessed a Shardbearer calling himself Taln — the last of the ten ancient Heralds — burst into Kholinar warning that the "Everstorm" is coming before collapsing, with Hoid remarking that the warning has come too late. Going into the next book, open threads include: the true nature and origin of Kaladin's powers and Syl; Dalinar's visions and his push to reform the Knights Radiant amid political opposition; Shallan and Jasnah's impossible Soulcasting ability and the looming threat of the Ghostbloods; the true history and intentions of the Parshendi; and the ominous, unexplained warning about the Everstorm and Taln's return.