117. Champion with Nine Shadows

Spoiler Warning: This analysis contains major spoilers for Oathbringer Chapter 132. Proceed only if you’ve read through this point.

Summary

Dalinar stands alone before Amaram’s red‑eyed army, refusing to retreat. Lift reappears and asks what his plan is; he sends her to steal a large ruby from a Fused woman who moves with a supernatural glide. Odium approaches, exchanges pleasantries, and Dalinar formally demands a contest of champions. Odium accepts—then names Dalinar his champion, unleashing the Thrill to overwhelm him.

At the Oathgate, Adolin fights a Fused lance‑to‑knife, is stabbed through the stomach, and is saved unexpectedly by his deadeye spren, which claws the enemy’s face. Shallan, fleeing another Fused, instinctively pulls a bead from her pocket and manifests a stone wall—a crude form of Soulcasting. Dragging a bleeding Adolin, she plunges into the bead sea to join Kaladin, who is out of Stormlight. Syl tells Kaladin he must speak the Words.

Lift chases the ruby‑bearing Fused, but a thunderclast crushes her legs. Szeth arrives, destroys the thunderclast with a glowing black Shardblade, and declares that their master’s task must be finished. Navani is captured by men loyal to Amaram and Sadeas. Renarin sees visions of Jasnah executing him and of his father kneeling before a gold‑and‑white god. Shalash, after defacing a brazier depicting herself, finds the catatonic Taln in a tent.

Key Events

  • Dalinar proposes a contest of champions; Odium chooses him, reactivating the Thrill.
  • Lift is assigned to recover a large ruby from a Fused who shares her Slickness Surge.
  • Adolin is gravely wounded; his deadeye Shardblade spren unexpectedly defends him.
  • Shallan manifests a wall by pulling a bead’s “soul” across realms, a new application of Surgebinding.
  • Kaladin, drained of Stormlight, hears Syl urge him to speak the Words as Adolin bleeds.
  • Szeth kills a thunderclast, rescues Lift, and declares allegiance to a master (implied to be Dalinar).
  • Navani is seized by Sadeas loyalists who intend to deliver her and Queen Fen to Amaram.
  • Renarin foresees his own death at Jasnah’s hands and his father’s capitulation to Odium.
  • Shalash finds Taln in a dim tent, silent and unresponsive.

Character Development

  • Dalinar: His gamble to save Roshar backfires dramatically; the Thrill reclaims him, suggesting he has unwittingly served Odium all along.
  • Lift: For the first time she meets a foe more “awesome” than herself, forcing her to slide on her knees and rely on Szeth.
  • Szeth: Appears with a black Shardblade, slays a thunderclast, and speaks of a shared “master,” hinting he has sworn to follow Dalinar after leaving Nale.
  • Adolin: His near‑fatal injury reveals a hidden bond: the deadeye spren of his former Blade acts against its own nature to protect him.
  • Shallan: Experiments with a bead from the cognitive realm, pulling its physical form into her world—an ability beyond ordinary Lightweaving.
  • Kaladin: Staring at a dying Adolin with no Stormlight left, he stands on the precipice of a new Ideal; Syl’s prompt signals a major oath will follow.
  • Renarin: His corrupted spren shows him fragments of the forbidden future; he sees himself struck down by Jasnah and Dalinar submitting to Odium.
  • Ash (Shalash): Her obsessive defacing of her own image is interrupted by genuine concern when she finally locates Taln.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • The Contest of Champions: The mythological framework of the war becomes a trap; Odium twists the rules by choosing Dalinar himself, showing that the promised “fair” contest was always a deception.
  • The Thrill: The red mist returns as a symbol of Odium’s deep‑seated hold on Dalinar, reinforcing that the Blackthorn’s past violence was never truly his own.
  • Deadeye Spren Resistance: The deadeye’s attack on a Fused contradicts everything known about Blade‑dead spren, hinting that a shattered Nahel bond can still stir.
  • Future Sight: Renarin’s visions of his own murder and his father’s fall underscore the chapter’s tension between predestination and the choices still being made in the present.
  • Stormlight Exhaustion: With every Radiant drained of Light, the chapter dramatizes the fragility of Surgebinding and the necessity of oaths beyond raw power.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 132 is a fulcrum. Dalinar’s decision to force a contest of champions backfires catastrophically, setting the stage for the climax of his internal struggle. Simultaneously, the Oathgate mission collapses: Adolin is dying, Kaladin is powerless, and Shallan’s resourcefulness is their only immediate hope. Lift’s side quest for the ruby intersects with Szeth’s newfound loyalty, linking two formerly isolated threads. Renarin and Ash provide glimpses of both cosmic and personal apocalypse. The chapter ends on multiple cliffhangers—Kaladin’s next Ideal, Dalinar’s corruption, Adolin’s survival—that will drive the rest of the book.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Odium accept Dalinar’s challenge so readily, and what does his choice of champion reveal about the contest’s fairness? Answer: Odium accepts because the contest is never meant to be impartial. By naming Dalinar as his own champion, Odium exploits a loophole: Dalinar’s lifetime of battle, fueled by the Thrill, has already made him the perfect agent of hatred. The agreement’s wording does not prevent Odium from claiming the challenger himself, underscoring that the Shard’s promises are always twisted.

  2. What does the deadeye spren’s intervention imply for Adolin and the future of dead Shardblades? Answer: The deadeye’s attack on the Fused—despite its blank eyes and screeching—suggests that the bond between a Shardbearer and his Blade is not entirely severed. This act of fragmented loyalty could be the first step toward reviving the spren, foreshadowing a potential restoration of Adolin’s Blade or even the resurrection of other deadeyes.

  3. How does Lift’s confrontation with the ruby‑bearing Fused advance her character arc? Answer: For the first time, Lift meets someone who outclasses her in her own “awesomeness.” Watching the Fused glide effortlessly forces Lift to push beyond her instinctive sliding and accept help from an unexpected ally (Szeth). The experience humbles her and reinforces that her powers—and her mission—are part of a larger struggle, not just a personal game.

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