Chapter 62: Kinship With the Open Sky

Spoiler Warning: This analysis covers events through Chapter 62 of Rhythm of War. If you have not read this far, the following contains significant plot details.

Summary

Kaladin continues tending to the unconscious Teft in his hidden monastery room, washing him and using a metal syringe to give him water. Syl grows uncharacteristically solemn and confesses she has been remembering her old knight Relador, whose death caused her to sleep through the Recreance. She worries the same thing will happen when Kaladin dies and wonders whether her grief means she is broken. Kaladin reassures her that feeling loss makes her alive—that whatever created them, they both get to choose who they become, and that is what makes them people. Syl brightens, and her illusory clothing grows more vibrant in color, a sign of her deepening bond.

The conversation is interrupted by a scraping at the door. Kaladin opens it to find Dabbid, the mute bridgeman, carrying a pot of broth. Dabbid reveals he followed the tower spren's crystalline light to find Kaladin. Kaladin shows Dabbid how to feed Teft with the syringe and learns the tower doors can be opened by anyone unless the Sibling locks them. Leaving a gemstone for light, Kaladin departs.

His mission: observe the Oathgates up close to learn why they function when other fabrials do not. Rather than sneak through occupied floors, Kaladin fashions climbing handholds from scrub brushes, infusing them with Stormlight via Full Lashings. He scales down the exterior of the tower, finding exhilaration in the open sky. Syl scouts ahead in ribbon form, and they communicate through their bond—impressions more than words.

Near the fourth floor, Syl detects singers with spyglasses on a third-floor balcony, watching for Windrunner scouts. Kaladin realizes the enemy conducts Oathgate transfers at night precisely to spot glowing Radiants. A flash of violet-tinged Voidlight confirms a transfer has just occurred, and Kaladin is too late to observe it. Frustrated, he starts climbing back up—then a crucial insight strikes. He asks Syl how the scouts would have communicated with the Oathgate operators. She reports they were writing in the dark: using a spanreed. One that somehow works inside the suppressed tower. Kaladin abandons his original plan and sets off to steal the device for Navani.

Key Events

• Kaladin feeds and comforts Teft, who remains unconscious but swallows water eagerly.
• Syl shares her grief over Relador's death and her fear of losing herself again.
• Kaladin delivers the chapter's thematic heart: personhood is about choice, not origin.
• Dabbid arrives with broth, having followed the tower spren's light.
• Kaladin fashions climbing tools from scrub brushes and descends the tower exterior.
• Singers with spyglasses are discovered monitoring for Windrunners.
• A Voidlight flash confirms the Oathgate operated, but Kaladin missed observing it.
• Kaladin realizes the scouts used a functioning spanreed and pivots to steal it.

Character Development

Kaladin: Demonstrates steady, methodical care for Teft while wrestling with his own limitations as an emotional counselor. His admission that he is "not the best at dealing with" grief shows hard-won self-awareness. The climb reconnects him with his love of heights—not as a death wish, but as kinship with the sky—revealing how far his mental state has progressed since earlier books. The pivot from observing to stealing the spanreed highlights his tactical adaptability.

Syl: This chapter is arguably Syl's most emotionally vulnerable moment in the series. Her confession about Relador, her fear of sleeping through Kaladin's death, and her worry that feelings mean she is "broken" deepen her beyond the whimsical spren archetype. Kaladin's reassurance marks a role reversal: now he counsels her. Her deepening colors visually reinforce her growing personhood.

Dabbid: Though mute and still profoundly affected by battle shock, Dabbid emerges as quietly resourceful. He finds Kaladin through observation, brings sustenance, and proves capable of caring for Teft—a small but meaningful expansion of his role.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Personhood Through Choice: The chapter's central argument is Kaladin's declaration: "whatever it was that created us, we get to choose. That's what makes us people." This applies equally to Syl (a piece of divinity shaped by human thought) and Kaladin (shaped by his parents but ultimately self-determined).

The Open Sky: Kaladin's climb reprises the motif of heights as freedom. His feeling of "kinship with the open sky" contrasts sharply with the tower's suppression—both magical and occupational. The sky remains his, even when flight is denied.

Vibrant Color as Connection: Syl's deepening blue and green hues symbolize her growing bond with the physical world. The closer she draws to Kaladin's realm, the more she can become—a visual echo of their mutual development.

Improvised Tools: The Soulcast syringe and the scrub-brush handholds both exemplify Kaladin's resourcefulness under constraint. The fingerprints sunken into the metal syringe also subtly reinforce the theme of human touch shaping inert matter—paralleling Syl's origin story.

Why This Chapter Matters

"Kinship With the Open Sky" bridges intimate character work and plot momentum. The Syl-Kaladin conversation lays philosophical groundwork for understanding spren personhood, a concept that pays off in later revelations about the nature of bonds and the Recreance. Dabbid's appearance keeps the Bridge Four family connected amid the occupation. Most critically, the spanreed discovery turns a failed reconnaissance into a new objective, directly feeding Navani's fabrial research and the larger effort to understand how the enemy circumvents the Sibling's suppression. Kaladin's exterior climb also establishes a viable infiltration route for future chapters.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Syl worry she is "broken" for grieving Relador, and how does Kaladin's response reframe her understanding of personhood?

Syl has internalized the honorspren belief that spren are created for a specific purpose and should not experience human emotions. Kaladin counters that feeling loss does not indicate brokenness—it indicates being alive. He argues that personhood is not defined by origin or design, but by the capacity to choose. This reframes Syl's grief as evidence of growth, not malfunction, and affirms her as a person in her own right, not merely a fragment of Honor.

2. What does Kaladin's decision to steal the spanreed reveal about his tactical thinking under pressure?

Kaladin initially fixates on his assigned mission: observe the Oathgate. When that fails, he demonstrates cognitive flexibility by interrogating the scout setup. By asking how the singers communicated rather than simply accepting the missed opportunity, he uncovers a more valuable target. This mirrors his battlefield instincts—adapting when the original plan collapses and prioritizing actionable intelligence over stubborn persistence.

3. How does the chapter use the tower's physical environment to reinforce its themes?

The tower suppresses Radiant flight, forcing Kaladin to climb manually—a slower, more effortful process that literalizes his current powerlessness. Yet he reclaims agency through improvisation, turning scrub brushes into climbing aids. The exterior climb also reconnects him to the sky he loves, reinforcing that identity persists even when abilities are stripped. Meanwhile, the crystalline tower spren leading Dabbid to Kaladin suggests the Sibling's quiet cooperation, a counterpoint to the occupation's oppression.

Navigation: ← Previous Chapter | Book Hub | Next Chapter →