Chapter 97: Trial By Witness
Spoiler Warning: This page contains detailed discussion of Rhythm of War through the end of Chapter 97. Do not read ahead unless you have finished that chapter.
Summary
The weather turns energetic as Adolin arrives at the forum for his trial. High Judge Kelek declares the session open. Sekeir dismisses Adolin’s objection that he should not answer for his ancestors—the trial will judge all humankind. The first witness, Amuna, caretaker of the deadeyes in Lasting Integrity, shows the horrors of the Recreance: every bonded honorspren but Syl died on a single day. She insists that humans are still as destructive and untrustworthy as ever. Adolin counters by citing the Stormfather’s choice to bond his father, Dalinar.
The second witness is the inkspren Blended, Adolin’s own tutor. She testifies that she lived through the Recreance, that bonds between spren and humans are unnatural, and that men are far too fickle. She provocatively suggests that spren might side with the singers—Odium’s people—instead. Adolin notes the crowd’s discomfort with that idea, and Blended acknowledges his point. The third witness is Notum, the former ship captain. Instead of condemning Adolin, Notum shouts the cry “Honor is not dead so long as he lives in the hearts of men!” The forum erupts; some honorspren push back, but others take up the call before officials drag Notum away.
After the chaos, Adolin speaks privately with Kelek and learns that many honorspren are seriously considering defecting to Odium. The trial, Kelek warns, may tip those delicate scales in the wrong direction. Separately, Shallan stages a fall from a tree, convincing the honorspren to give her Stormlight for healing. With Veil’s sleight-of-hand, she steals a perfectly cut gemstone from their vault and observes the barrier at the edge of the plane.
Key Events
- Adolin’s long-awaited trial begins before a packed honorspren forum.
- Sekeir frames the trial as judging all humanity, not just Adolin personally.
- Amuna uses the deadeyes to argue that spren bonds with humans end in extinction.
- Blended, an inkspren, testifies that bonds are unnatural and hints at siding with Odium’s forces.
- Notum refuses to betray Adolin and instead shouts a defiant phrase of honor, triggering a public disruption.
- Adolin learns that some honorspren are moving toward defection, and his presence could accelerate it.
- Shallan and Pattern fake a near-fatal accident to gain access to Lasting Integrity’s Stormlight cache, where Veil steals a perfect gemstone.
Character Development
- Adolin: He maintains calm under relentless attacks, wields reason rather than force, and even after a demoralizing day he clings to optimism—though Kelek’s revelation deeply unsettles him.
- Kelek: The ancient Herald appears erratic and broken, yet his few lucid moments reveal a man haunted by millennia of failed bonds and the knowledge that even Taln finally broke.
- Blended: Her dual role as tutor and hostile witness underlines the complexity of spren politics; she puts logical arguments ahead of personal ties.
- Notum: His public stand, at great personal cost, demonstrates that some honorspren are willing to sacrifice safety for a principle.
- Shallan / Veil: The scheme to steal a perfect gemstone shows Shallan’s resourcefulness and Veil’s practiced deception, while Pattern’s clumsy lying emphasizes their reliance on spren naiveté.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The Weight of History: The Recreance towers over every argument. Amuna and Blended use past slaughter to argue that the future can never be safe. Adolin’s task is to persuade a people defined by a single catastrophe.
- Trust vs. Certainty: Blended demands absolute promises; Adolin can offer only imperfect hope. The chapter asks whether relationships can exist in a world without guarantees.
- Honor and Hypocrisy: Notum’s cry—“Honor is not dead so long as he lives in the hearts of men”—splits the honorspren, revealing that their society is not monolithic and that honor sometimes requires defiance.
- Ingenuity and Deception: Shallan’s theft mirrors the larger stakes of the trial: she steals light to power her own investigations, just as Adolin hopes to steal a few converts away from neutrality.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 97 transforms the stalemate at Lasting Integrity into a volatile turning point. The trial arguments lay bare the core philosophical rifts among the spren: between those who would isolate and those who might even join Odium. Notum’s outburst shows that Adolin’s message can resonate, but Kelek’s warning makes clear that the very act of arguing could drive spren into enemy arms. Meanwhile, Shallan’s espionage advances the secrecy plotline and underscores that the coalition’s future will depend on bold, sometimes ethically ambiguous actions. The chapter sets the stage for a climax that could reshape the Radiant war permanently.
Study Questions and Answers
-
How does Amuna’s testimony connect the deadeyes to the trial’s larger question?
Amuna cares for the deadeyes and presents them as visible proof that even the most intimate bonds ended in mass death. She argues that if the ancient Radiants could not be trusted, modern humans certainly cannot, making continued isolation a moral imperative. -
Why is Blended’s testimony especially damaging, and how does Adolin turn part of it to his advantage?
Because Blended is an inkspren and his tutor, her appearance as a hostile witness lends credibility to the idea that “any would acknowledge” humans are untrustworthy. Adolin neutralizes some of the damage by drawing attention to the honorspren’s visible unease with her suggestion of siding with Odium, forcing Blended to tacitly concede a point. -
What does Notum’s cry reveal about honorspren society, and what immediate consequences follow?
The phrase reveals a deep, suppressed faction that still believes honor can live through human bonds. It shatters the polite decorum of the forum, leads to physical removals, and exposes a rift that will either help Adolin or plunge Lasting Integrity into a crisis—exactly the tipping point Kelek fears.