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Wind and Truth Reread: Chapters 91-94
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Wind and Truth Reread
Wind and Truth Reread: Chapters 91-94
In which harsh truths are faced, and past traumas revisited.
By Paige Vest, Lyndsey Luther, Drew McCaffrey
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Published on August 18, 2025
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Happy reread Monday, Cosmere Chickens! Well… maybe “happy” isn’t quite the right word. We’re going to be diving into some very dark and potentially divisive topics this week, as we’re about to deal with some devastating revelations and moments of real trauma: Gavinor, being forced to watch as his beloved grandfather beats his father senseless. Dalinar, having to face the violent man he was—and in some ways, still is. Shallan, forcing herself to confront the truth which shattered her world as a child. And Szeth, who finally discovers the force which has been driving his entire life and finds that it is a monster. Though… as it turns out, he’s mistaken as to the exact kind of monster. Gather your strength of will and join us, hand in hand, as we venture into the darkness together.
Content Warning: Discussions of familial abuse and murder.
The book has been out long enough that most of you will hopefully have finished, and as such, this series shall now function as a re-read rather than a read-along. That means there will be spoilers for the end of the book (as well as full Cosmere spoilers, so beware if you aren’t caught up on all Cosmere content).
Paige’s Commentary: Plot Arcs
Chapter 91 is titled “Recruiting” and opens with Dalinar landing in another vision. Only it’s different than any other vision he’s experienced: He’s in Elhokar’s body but he can’t see himself as he usually can. He only sees Elhokar… and he can sense his nephew’s feelings and thoughts. Then he sees the Cryptics from the corner of his eye and hears them speaking to Elhokar. Dalinar seems sad to fully understand that Elhokar was on a path to Radiance.
This scene is, of course, the one where Dalinar enters and beats Elhokar down, then tells him he’s courting Navani. We don’t see quite that far, but we see enough to know that Gavinor is in the body of a soldier and is watching as (younger) Dalinar defeats Elhokar/Dalinar. And Dalinar knows it’s Gav… and he understands that this vision is intentional, that Odium is manipulating the visions. And he wants Gavinor to witness Dalinar’s brutality toward his father. We know where this is going, but it’s still painful to watch it happening—and there’s nothing Dalinar can do to stop it.
POV Shift!
Jasnah is reeling at the revelation that Tarvangian is Odium’s new vessel. She thinks that perhaps Odium is deceiving her, so she looks for more information, asking how Taravangian came to possess the Shard. So he tells her. She’s still not entirely sure he’s actually Taravangian but figures that it doesn’t really matter… he isOdium. Taravangian tells her that he will be persuading Queen Fen to join with him and for Jasnah to prepare her arguments. They will be meeting in a day. And then he fades to mist.
Jasnah’s arguments will do no good, as we know, and she’ll be turned completely on her head during the doomed negotiations with Fen. This is probably one of the more disappointing plot arcs in this book; we expected so much more from Jasnah, but she is horribly outmatched by Odium that she doesn’t stand a chance.
POV Shift!
Venli is in the chamber with the pool that is Odium’s Perpendicularity, and a listener enters to say they’ve been discovered. She seals the room and exits the tunnel. Leshwi’s group had been discovered first and tried to distract their captors, but eventually the listeners are rounded up, as well. As Venli is a Regal, she’s taken up to the plateaus along with Leshwi and the other Heavenly Ones who had left Urithiru. They kneel before the Fused, seemingly terrified. Venli, however, is not afraid; she has faced Odium and though a Fused may kill her, she remains her own.
This Fused is El, as we discover when he speaks with no rhythm. He offers to make Venli a Fused and is interested in the fact that she and the others have chasmfiends who “follow” them. She demands time to consider and he allows this, though he tells her that he knows of the other listeners at the edge of the plateaus, stating this as a threat to Venli and the rest of the listeners. El departs and Leshwi, who has regained Gravitation, takes her back to the chasms. She tells Venli who El is and that he has no title. She mentions that he rarely lies, which in my opinion isn’t exactly reassuring. Still, Venli has to consider his offer in order to keep the rest of the listeners safe.
Chapter 92 is a very short Szeth flashback titled “Into the Blue” in which Szeth is flying. Or falling, rather. He wants to fall into the blue forever but eventually allows himself to land back upon the ground in a colorful city called Ayabiza, half a day’s walk from the Bondsmith monastery. He strolls through the town thinking of all of the changes in his life wrought by the Voice, and finally takes to the air again to go meet its source.
Chapter 93 is titled “White Carpet, Now Red” and we find Shallan amidst the tempest in the Spiritual Realm. She knows that it’s time to finally visit and accept the events of that day. And so she goes to that day, finds young Shallan in the garden with Testament, follows her to her mother’s chambers, and enters unceremoniously. There is a Skybreaker with her mother and he has a seon, which is formed into the shape of the head of Nale the Herald. He calls Shallan’s mother Chana and Shallan gets teary-eyed at the revelation that she must accept.
As she listens to their conversation, young Shallan still kneels outside the door as if the door were still closed (which it is, for her). Adult Shallan listens as Nale tells Chana that she must kill Shallan and that, if she doesn’t, the Skybreaker will. Young Shallan, warned by Testament, returns to her room and starts preparing to flee.
Adult Shallan stays to listen to the Skybreaker talk to her mother, the Herald Chana. Chana thinks that Shallan’s powers indicate that she’s replaced Chana as a Herald and that she, Chana, is now mortal. Chana seems to see adult Shallan and speaks directly to her, telling her that she’ll do a better job. Then Chana and the Skybreaker find young Shallan in her father’s chambers. While the Skybreaker subdues her father, her mother prepares to kill her, believing that she’ll come back as she’s now a Herald. But holding the knife, she hesitates—she does not strike, which gives young Shallan time to summon Testament as a Blade and kill Chana. Shallan then kills the Skybreaker.
Adult Shallan is nauseated, knowing that it’s her fault that the Fused had returned, because she sent Chana to Braize, and she broke, triggering a Desolation. Then she watches her father comfort young Shallan and knows that her mother is the one to blame for the whole situation. She kneels by her mother’s fallen form and Testament tells her that she doesn’t have to forgive her mother… adult Shallan agrees that she doesn’t have to, but that she wants to.
Then Pattern—Honor love him—says the following, adding levity to a tense situation:
Are we… just going to ignore… that you’re the daughter of a Herald?”
He tells her that Chana must still be alive somewhere. Shallan knows, of course, and reveals that her mother was at her wedding.
Chapter 94 is yet another Szeth flashback, titled “Sacred Truth.” Szeth arrives at the Bondsmith monastery and reflects on one version of Taln’s sacrifice he’d been told, in which Taln volunteered to go back to Braize alone. These teachings had stated that the other Heralds had each demanded that he let them be the one to return, but that Taln had refused. The sheer arrogance of the Shin teaching this false history is infuriating. But… perhaps they were misled. They seem to be good at being misled.
Szeth speaks to the Voice, who directs him on where to go to meet it. As Szeth nears the place he’s being directed to go, he feels that something is very wrong. He tells the Voice that he senses something dark and the Voice basically pooh-poohs his concerns, telling him to ignore his instincts and keep going. Szeth continues and then the Voice asks if he’s ready to meet his God. Szeth steps into the tunnel and travels until he reaches a room… where spren are nailed to the walls.
The Voice tells him that the spren need to learn their true master, that the Voice can transform them into better versions of themselves. As the Voice grows nearer through a tunnel, Szeth realizes that it’s an Umade, one who could take spren and twist them to her own ends. He knows that he must make a decision, and that decision is to turn and flee.
And so Szeth seals his fate to become Truthless and be cast out of Shinovar. Poor Szeth… these flashbacks make me feel so very sorry for him.
Lyndsey’s Commentary: Character Arcs and Maps
Chapter 91’s chapter arch Heralds are Palah, Nale, Battah, and Kalak. Palah most likely stands in for Jasnah, the quintessential scholar. Nale is harder to place… none of the characters this week seem to align with his attributes of Just/Confident, nor do we see any Skybreakers. Maybe he’s standing in for El, who is certainly confident. I would also make a case that he’s symbolically linked with Dalinar, who spends most of this chapter judging himself (and finding his past self wanting). Battah is patron of the Elsecallers, so a Jasnah stand-in… but her attributes of Wise/Careful can also be seen in Venli’s interactions with El. Lastly, we see Kalak, which tracks for a chapter in which Venli shows up.
Chapter 92 features Jezrien, Kalak, Shalash, and Ishar—a lot of Heralds, for such a short chapter. I’d assume that Jezrien is here for the Wind. Kalak for the incredible city of Ayabiza; I wouldn’t be surprised if it was he who designed that fabled sewer system. Shalash, for the beauty both of nature (as Szeth hangs in the balance between heaven and earth) and for the man-made beauty of the city he finds himself in. And last, Ishar, whom Szeth is going to meet.
Chapter 93 has a full chapter arch as well, portraying Palah, Chana (naturally), either Vedel or Nale (I think it’s Nale, since he physically appears), and Shalash. Chana and Nale play pretty big roles here which explain their presence (provided it’s him on the arch), and Shalash and Palah often show up in Shallan chapters, since she’s an artist/Lightweaver and a scholar, respectively.
Chapter 94: Ishi (Ishar), Herald of Luck, is patron of the Bondsmiths. His attributes are Pious/Guiding and his role is Priest. Talenelat (Talenel, Taln), Herald of War, is the patron of the Stonewards. His attributes are Dependable/Resourceful and his role is Soldier. Palah (Paliah) is the patron of the Truthwatchers. Her attributes are Learned/Giving and her role is Scholar. Ishi (Ishar), Herald of Luck, is patron of the Bondsmiths. His attributes are Pious/Guiding and his role is Priest.
Elhokar
Elhokar respected him so much, but he didn’t know how to deal with the scheming highprinces, the expectations, the fear that he was losing his mind. It was all so overwhelming.
That’s a LOT of pressure. No wonder Elhokar felt as if he had to put up a strong front, especially given Alethi societal expectations. Kings were expected to be powerful warriors, like Dalinar was. Elhokar, given everything we saw of him before he died, was not. If he’d not been killed (at the hands of a worthless traitor), he could have turned out to be more of a negotiator; someone willing to meet his opponent halfway, or even give ground on an agreement if it was the right thing to do. Or, on the flip side of the coin… he could have turned into an easily-led puppet, following whatever a strong-willed advisor told him to do, in order to avoid conflict. We did see some hints of this in how he asked Kaladin for advice on leadership. What do you think, gentle Chickens? Which path would he have followed?
Dalinar
This Dalinar had been starting on his path to Radiance, but he continued to solve things in only one way. One blunt, terrible way.
Realizing one’s base nature and overcoming it are two very, very different things. It’s a Herculean task to change one of the fundamental aspects of your own personality or moderate actions and behavior that you make on instinct, without thought.
The sad truth was that despite his accomplishments, Dalinar had consolidated power by killing or removing the highprinces who didn’t agree with him. He’d taken a proud nation of warriors, eliminated all balances upon a monarch’s powers, completely broken the ruling class, and installed himself as a despot at the top. For the good of the world.
I’ve refrained from making correlations to current world events and politics in the reread up until now, but this one just feels too relevant to pass by. If you’d rather not think about current politics (and trust me, I understand that sentiment) best to skip this and go down to the next quoted excerpt.
I’m going to start off by stating that my opinions are my own and I’m not saying that Sanderson made these parallels intentionally, nor do my opinions reflect those of Reactor, Macmillan, or my co-authors on this article. Now, with that out of the way…
Dalinar, much like Donald Trump is doing right now, took an existing system of government and dismantled it because he thought he knew better than those who came before. I can’t say that I believe that Trump’s motives are as altruistic as Dalinar’s; he may very well believe that his actions are for the greater good, but I personally believe that he’s simply in it for money and power, bent on consolidating greater power and wealth not only for himself but for his family and the fellow billionaires who support him. But both Dalinar and Trump, whatever the difference in their motivations, became dictators in the most literal sense of the word. As I am writing this article, the president is enforcing a military state in Washington, D.C., despite that the fact that there’s no evidence to warrant such an action. It is the latest in a long series of disturbing power grabs and erosions of our long-held rights. Many of us have been watching this systemic destruction of the pillars holding up our constitutional republic for the last six months with trepidation and mounting horror, and I can’t help but wonder if the common Alethi experienced similar thoughts and fears as Dalinar took power.
A few caveats concerning this comparison; Alethkar was a monarchy, and only established for one (and a half) generation(s) before Dalinar took power. Dalinar also did make an attempt to preserve the status quo by naming Jasnah as Queen of Alethkar, while he took control of Urithiru and the residents there. So it’s encouraging that he did recognize that he needed to relinquish power and step back. But that was only after Dalinar had already removed the highprinces that didn’t agree with him and rebuilt the government as he wished it to be. Jasnah is trying to remedy some of these things (and Dalinar isn’t stopping her, another point to his credit), but that doesn’t change the fact that Dalinar imposed his will upon the many, without taking into account their wishes as representatives of their princedoms.
Perhaps this is my BA in English Lit talking, but I fully believe that literature—including fantasy and science fiction—exists in part to shine a light on current and historical events and sociological matters. Art is not created in a vacuum, and is almost always influenced, whether intentionally or subconsciously, by the events happening around us. We’ve seen Sanderson touch on cultural and sociological issues so often in this series, from LGBTQIA+ rights to disability awareness and neurodivergent representation, that to refrain from commenting on this, intentional on his part or not, feels like a disservice to the work and to our analysis of it.
Gavinor
Odium wanted Gav to witness Dalinar nearly killing his father.Gav reached toward him with tears in his eyes.
Really, Sanderson? HAS THIS CHILD NOT BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH? (Of course we know the answer to this, given the end of the book, but still. Jeez. Gav’s being put through the ringer and then some.)
El
“It is unusual,” this Fused said, walking around Leshwi and the others as they knelt, “to find those who rebel against Odium. Some think it impossible, but it does happen.” He looked to Venli. “Often it is a mark of our best.”
El is a fantastic villain because he’s so terrifyingly efficient. He respects his enemies, and hence he doesn’t underestimate them.
Venli
Accepting this offer might be the sole path to avoiding such a disaster. Venli hated it… but they at least had to discuss the possibility.
This is particularly poignant. Venli knows the price of submission to Odium; she knows better than anyone. But the fact that she is willing to consider it in order to save her people, and—more importantly—willing to put that choice in their hands rather than unilaterally deciding for them, is yet more proof of the incredible amount of growth she’s undergone.
Szeth
He knew that once he took that step, his life would change again. First, this Voice had stolen the grasslands from him, then it had stolen his innocence, then finally it had ascended him to master of wind and Truth.The next step… Szeth dared not guess.
DING DING DING! We have a title drop!
Aside from that (thank you, MST3K, for conditioning me to always have to call that out), we see poor Szeth contemplating yet another change in his life. Who could blame him for procrastinating in this moment? Every time his life has changed so far, it has been for the worse. But this time, he has the strength the make the hard choice… the right choice. And his life does change for the worse, but at least it was his choice and not forced upon him.
Shallan
“I don’t want anything to change, and it will. I hate the future. I’m scared of it.”
Interesting that we’re seeing this coming so soon after Szeth voicing almost the exact same sentiment in the previous chapter (and Lift a few chapters previous). Is Sanderson trying to convey that all children fear change on a fundamental level? I think it’s fair to say that most do, and perhaps this is a through-line in his work in general. Once authors have put out a certain amount of work, I firmly believe that certain patterns in themes and characteristics begin to become more and more apparent. (Stephen King and his inclinations to use writers as main characters or to write stories in which a community of misfits come together, for instance.) A whole article could be written on various thematic patterns and characteristics within Sanderson’s work, but for now we’ll move on, because we have a lot of big revelations for poor Shallan this week.
At long last, we have the full truth about Shallan’s parentage, and it’s no wonder that she’s been trying to ignore this for her whole life. Not only is her mother a Herald, seen by most at that time as almost gods… but she tries to kill her own daughter. It’s no wonder that this event almost destroyed the poor child, and caused her to foreswear her oaths to Testament.
“All but your husband’s bastard bear a terrible burden, including predispositions inherited from you.
It’s not clear if those “predispositions” he references are towards Radiancy… or madness.
Maybe both.
She followed them down the hallway, and felt something changing in her. The pains were still there, but they had dulled, the barbs no longer razor sharp.
Facing her past is causing it to lose its hold over her. Finally.
Her face softened. She did not strike. A sword appeared in young Shallan’s hands, materializing out of white mist.She rammed it up through her mother’s chest, and Chana’s eyes burned.
Talk about trauma. Not only did her mother almost kill her… but now Shallan has to deal with the horrific knowledge that Chana might not have gone through with it. She killed her own mother out of self-defense, yes, but the child didn’t realize that it might not have been needed. The adult Shallan, however, now sees what the child could not.
“It never broke me,” Shallan said. “It merely cracked me, Pattern. I filled those cracks.” She took another deep breath, shuddering. “I’m glad to remember.”
I cannot fathom the strength of this young woman. To have this additional guilt and burden placed upon her, and to have the strength to shoulder it along with everything else… what an absolute legend.
You don’t have to forgive her, Testament said. What she did was terrible.I don’t have to, Shallan replied. But I want to.
There’s really only one response to this.
As always, this artwork is fabulous and provides a wonderful visualization to go along with the text. The Husked Ones, as a reminder, are the type that Kaladin fought in Rhythm of War, who drop their “husks” and recreate their bodies at the destination point. They utilize the Surge of Transportation. The Devastating Ones utilize the Surge of Division, disintegrating anything they can touch.
Drew’s Commentary: Invested Arts & Theories
We have a pretty short selection this week, with four short chapters (and one of those barely even a full scene—if beautifully written). Things kick off with Dalinar and Jasnah experiencing intense realizations, but it’s Venli’s POV that gives us our first bit of theory fodder.
Venli had never seen a Fused like this before. Tall, with magnificent metal horns—and with his carapace somehow transformed to shimmering steel. It looked violent, but with an artistic touch, all smooth lines until the bits came to points here and there. What brand was this? She couldn’t tell; perhaps whatever was going on with the carapace obscured his true nature.
Boy, it’s frustrating that we went through all of Wind and Truth and still don’t know much about El. He’s this enigmatic, threatening figure with unusually lenient attitudes. In fact, in many ways, El reminds me of Grand Admiral Thrawn from the Star Wars Expanded Universe—his focus on studying the art of his enemies to understand them, his unknown status for the protagonists and almost mythical status among the antagonists, his leadership role for a resurgent enemy… a surprising amount of it is all there.
Hmmm. I wonder if he’ll get killed by one of Retribution’s servants, someone who holds a trusted position under him.
We also find ourselves getting confirmation of one of the most notorious theories to ever pop up in the Stormlight fandom, thanks to Shallan’s memories. But first:
In that moment Shallan remembered her companion in crisp detail: a foreigner who wore the Skybreaker symbol on his sleeve. He carried a box with a glowing light inside, like the one that Shallan had used to communicate with Mraize while in the Cognitive Realm. A sphere rose from it and formed a face.
It seems maybe silly, but there really must have been a great deal of intermixing among the various secret groups and societies working on Roshar. Seons must be rare resources, given how dangerous the Sel subastral is, thanks to the Dor. And yet the Skybreakers have one here! My first guess is that the Ghostbloods brought a store of them and traded them for valuable information or access to places across Roshar; making friends with a Herald like Nale would be pretty darn important, I imagine. But seons seem much too useful and restricted for something like that. Maybe I simply don’t have a good sense of scale when it comes to how common they are. Maybe there’s a thriving seon trade, despite all the functional barriers?
And, sure, the Sons of Honor were working on interplanetary/inter-Cosmere travel. But they were barely at the point of reaching Braize, not even close to crossing to other systems—much less navigating one of the most dangerous areas of Shadesmar and returning with Invested resources from a possibly hostile and certainly powerful foreign power like Elantris.
Nale is working with Kalak, so maybe the Sons of Honor traded their knowledge of Stormlight/other Lights to the Ghostbloods for a seon. That might be of enough value, given how interested Kelsier is in transporting Investiture away from Connected locations.
I wonder how much more we’ll find out about these organizations in the back half, given how drastically the geopolitical landscape of Roshar has changed. The Ghostbloods are probably in disarray following the deaths of their two highest-ranking members and one of their most able agents. The Skybreakers lost their leader to the new Oathpact. The Sons of Honor have been totally dismantled, thanks to Shallan. The Seventeenth Shard has fled the planet entirely—assuming Demoux, Baon, and Galladon are either representative of their actions or (more likely) were in fact the sum total of their presence on Roshar.
Not a lot of fertile ground left to explore, I think. Unlike the Heralds…
“It’s true,” Shallan whispered, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.
So yeah, Shallan’s mother is the Herald Chana. And she was not just trying to find an escape from her duties, like most of the other Heralds, but she was actively trying to shape Shallan to replace her as a Herald.
It’s almost funny, in an ironic way, that this confirmation of a major fan theory showed that Chana was trying to fulfill another common theory—namely, that Shallan (and others like Dalinar, Lift, Venli, Jasnah, etc.) would become a Herald alongside Kaladin. Of course that’s not the case, at this point in time at least, but the shape of the story heading into the back five books does make me think there are more varied fates in store for the other nine flashback characters.
“I know,” Shallan said, wiping her tears again as her father continued to sing. “Pattern… she was at my wedding.”
This is another revelation that makes me chuckle, given how much fan uproar there was after Oathbringer and the lack of a real wedding scene. I wasn’t a beta reader at the time, but I remember some people even accusing the beta readers as being at fault and convincing Brandon to remove the wedding scene.
Lyn: I remember this, and I remember being rather offended by it, because trust me, we wanted to see that scene just as much as anyone else!
Drew: Little did anyone know—including the beta readers, because that scene didn’t exist back in 2016—just why Brandon chose to keep the wedding off-page in Book Three.
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.
And please note that as always, we ask that you keep the discussion civil; we welcome your opinions as long as they are expressed in a constructive and respectful manner, in keeping with Reactor’s moderation policy.
See you next Monday with our discussion of chapters 95 through 98![end-mark]
The post <i>Wind and Truth</i> Reread: Chapters 91-94 appeared first on Reactor.
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