Wind and Truth Chapter 138: Shallan’s Victory, Kaladin’s Rise
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Shallan kills Mraize using a Lightweaved illusion to hide the real knife charged with anti‑Light. She then absorbs the Radiant persona—acknowledging that Radiant carried the violence she had long suppressed. Shallan helps Mraize’s wounded Cryptic spren, who admits it hates her, and notices Renarin and Rlain about to drop the gemstone that holds Mishram. Meanwhile, Nale lies on the ground, crushed by guilt after Ishar removed his mental protections. Sylphrena experiences a terrifying void of emotion, unable to move. Szeth sinks into exhaustion and self‑loathing, barely hearing Nightblood’s voice. Ishar announces his plan to dissolve the Oathpact and turn the spren into an army. Kaladin endures the same dark assault but, seeing visions of his past selves—the boy who volunteered, the squadleader, the bridgeman, the captain, the Radiant—chooses to stand up, affirming his identity as a protector.
Key Events
- Shallan kills Mraize by tricking him with a Lightweaving that hides the real anti‑Light knife.
- Shallan thanks Radiant and then reintegrates the persona, recognizing that she will always need to manage her mind but is now better.
- Shallan tends to Mraize’s Cryptic spren, which is wounded by the anti‑Light and expresses hatred toward her.
- Shallan glimpses Renarin and Rlain holding the gemstone containing Mishram, about to shatter it.
- Nale is incapacitated by overwhelming guilt after Ishar stripped his defenses.
- Sylphrena is afflicted by a forced depression that makes her feel completely alone and worthless.
- Szeth, curled up and trembling, cannot find motivation to continue fighting and ignores Nightblood’s calls.
- Ishar declares his intention to dissolve the Oathpact and make the spren his army.
- Kaladin, under the same emotional assault, recalls his previous incarnations and chooses to stand, refusing to let failure define him.
Character Development
- Shallan achieves a significant internal milestone: she kills Mraize herself without needing Radiant to take over, then willingly reunites with Radiant. This signals a healthier integration of her violent past rather than suppression.
- Kaladin faces the deepest despair yet—the weight of the nine Heralds’ burdens—and still rises. By admiring his former selves’ protective instinct, he solidifies his core identity as someone who helps others, and he now has boundaries (e.g., not taking Szeth’s failures onto himself).
- Szeth and Syl both experience the full force of Ishar’s weaponized depression. Szeth’s resignation contrasts sharply with Kaladin’s recovery, highlighting different coping mechanisms.
- Nale is reduced to a broken state, unable to hide from his past murders now that Ishar has removed his mental shields.
- Ishar reveals himself as a desperate, ruthless figure willing to destroy the Oathpact and enslave spren for his own plan.
Themes, Symbols, and Motifs
- Identity and Reinvention: Kaladin’s vision of his past selves (volunteer, squadleader, bridgeman, captain, Radiant) underscores that identity is built from chosen actions, not erased by failure. Shallan’s integration of Radiant similarly redefines her relationship with violence.
- Depression as a Weapon: Ishar’s method—forcing his targets to feel profound emptiness and guilt—literalizes the internal darkness that many characters have fought. Syl’s reaction shows that even spren are vulnerable to this emotional assault.
- Protection vs. Destruction: Kaladin stands because he wants to protect; Ishar wants to destroy the Oathpact. The chapter frames protection as the virtuous response to despair.
- The Weight of Failure: Nale, Szeth, and even Shallan (in her exhaustion) all grapple with past failures. Kaladin’s ability to set boundaries and move forward becomes the counterexample.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter delivers major turning points for multiple characters. Shallan’s defeat of Mraize closes a long‑running antagonistic thread and forces her to own her capacity for violence. Kaladin’s choice to stand, despite the intensified darkness, prepares him for the climax—potentially a confrontation with Ishar or a new role among the Heralds. The Renarin/Rlain cliffhanger sets up a momentous decision regarding Mishram. Ishar’s revealed plan to dissolve the Oathpact raises the stakes for the entire book and redefines the conflict. Additionally, the direct depiction of depression and suicide‑adjacent thoughts (Syl, Szeth) continues the series’ unflinching look at mental health.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Shallan feel exhausted rather than triumphant after killing Mraize?
Shallan’s exhaustion reflects the emotional cost of using violence, not regret for the act itself. She later clarifies that she does not blame herself for Mraize’s poor choices, but the killing still drains her—it is a necessary act, not a joyful one.
2. How does Kaladin’s vision of his past selves help him resist Ishar’s darkness?
The vision shows Kaladin that each version of himself was defined by the same core trait: the willingness to protect others. Rather than seeing these past selves as failures, he admires them. This recognition allows him to embrace his identity without letting the darkness convince him that he is worthless.
3. What does Ishar mean when he says he must “dissolve the Oathpact” and make spren his army?
Ishar has concluded that mortals are unworthy of being Heralds. His new plan is to destroy the Oathpact (the magical bond that sends Heralds to Damnation when they die) and bring spren fully into the Physical Realm, where he can use them as a controllable army to fight the Desolation on his own terms.