Chapter 100: Swallowed by the Sky Summary & Analysis

Spoiler Warning: This analysis covers Chapter 100 of Words of Radiance in detail. Read ahead only if you are comfortable with full plot revelations.

Summary

Rain batters the command tent as Dalinar learns from bridgeman Peet that a second storm—an Everstorm—is coming to collide with the highstorm. The tent rips free in the gale while Commander Cael reports that Highprince Aladar’s plateau is won, though Roion’s has fallen. Dalinar orders the army to a round plateau southeast for shelter. Then he sees the tent shake unnaturally; Adolin crashes through it, his Shardplate shattered, and Szeth strides out, simmering with Stormlight.

Dalinar cradles his son and speaks final words of leadership before rising to face the assassin. He draws his Shardblade and duels Szeth, holding his own momentarily, remembering his failure to protect Gavilar. A cracked rib drops him to his knees. Roion charges with a side sword and soldiers, but Szeth Lashes the highprince into the sky; Roion plummets to his death moments later. Adolin and the bridgemen attack, but the assassin is untouchable. Szeth Lashes Dalinar upward, and the highprince vanishes into the black sky. Suddenly a glowing form drifts down like a leaf—Dalinar descending slowly, wreathed in Stormlight. Before him crashes Kaladin, eyes blazing, claiming the sky and winds as his own. Drawing a brilliant glyph on the stone, he challenges Szeth.

Meanwhile in the Oathgate chamber, Shallan searches for a means to activate the portal. She suspects a pattern in the murals and moves to the center of the room. Renarin, plagued by visions, scrawls a string of zeros on the wall and whispers that they are all dead.

Key Events

Peet warns Dalinar of the Everstorm about to collide with the highstorm.
The command tent blows away; Cael confirms Aladar’s victory.
Szeth defeats Adolin off-screen and smashes his armor.
Dalinar confronts Szeth, holds briefly, then suffers cracked ribs.
Roion and his soldiers are slaughtered; Roion is Lashed skyward and falls to his death.
Adolin leads a doomed charge; Szeth effortlessly repels them.
Szeth Lashes Dalinar into the air, seemingly killing him.
Dalinar falls back slowly, cloaked in Light.
Kaladin descends like a meteor, eyes blazing, and declares the sky and winds his.
Renarin has a prophetic breakdown, writing zeros and declaring doom.
Shallan searches for the Oathgate’s activation method and realizes the pattern may be visible from the center.

Character Development

Dalinar: The chapter completes his emotional arc regarding Gavilar’s death. When Szeth breaks his ribs, Dalinar accepts that he could never have beaten the assassin—drunk or awake. He finally sets down the burden of guilt he has carried for six years and finds peace. His final words to Adolin cement his trust in his son to unite Alethkar, showing a father passing the mantle rather than a tyrant clinging to power.

Adolin: Stripped of his armor and battered, Adolin witnesses his father’s sacrifice and feels helpless. He leads a frantic charge but understands the futility. The experience humbles him and sharpens his resolve; he is ready to die for his father, but his later survival points toward a new purpose beyond dueling.

Szeth: The assassin is revealed as deeply unhinged, his calm a thin mask over rage and madness. He speaks of his “payment” coming to him, a hint at his oathstone’s weight. His moment of horror when Dalinar descends alive shows the limits of his understanding, and his declaration “I am done” suggests an internal breaking point.

Kaladin: His entrance marks the fulfillment of the Windrunner ideal. He claims dominion over the sky and winds—the very medium Szeth used to kill. The glyph of light that forms under him recalls Radiant symbolism and signals him as a full Knight Radiant, no longer a slave but a protector with authority over the storm.

Renarin: His cryptic vision and desperate writing of zeros (“It’s come, it’s come, it’s come. We’re dead.”) foreshadow catastrophe. The moment portrays his curse of foreseeing the future as a painful burden, linking his nascent abilities to the broader doom approaching.

Shallan: She struggles alone to decipher the Oathgate, applying Pattern’s advice to step back and see the whole. Her determination under pressure shows her growth as a scholar and Radiant, but the chapter leaves her moment of discovery hanging.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Everstorm: A new, unnatural tempest from the west with red lightning, symbolizing the arrival of Odium’s true power and the end of the world as the characters know it.
The Sky and Winds: Szeth’s weapon—Lashing foes upward—is inverted when Dalinar glides down and Kaladin claims the sky. The sky transforms from a killing ground to a realm of salvation, embodying the Windrunner oath.
Impossible Survival: Dalinar’s slow descent, enveloped in Light, evokes imagery of the Heralds and suggests a divine intervention or latent Radiant bond. It undercuts Szeth’s certainty and signals that something greater is at work.
Patterns and Perception: Shallan’s quest to find the pattern from the center mirrors the larger narrative—the need to step back from chaos to see the hidden shape of events.
Sacrifice and Legacy: Dalinar’s willing confrontation, Roion’s doomed charge, and Adolin’s hopeless attack all underline that heroism in the face of the impossible defines character, not outcome.

Why This Chapter Matters

“Swallowed by the Sky” is the turning point where three plotlines—Dalinar’s confrontation with his brother’s killer, Kaladin’s emergence as a full Radiant, and Shallan’s race to unlock the Oathgate—collide with the onset of the Everstorm. Dalinar’s near-death and the realization he could never have saved Gavilar resolves years of guilt, while Kaladin’s dramatic arrival redefines the battle. The chapter also seeds the storm’s destructive potential and Renarin’s vision of annihilation. It sets the stage for the final confrontations and the desperate need to transport the Alethi armies to safety.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Dalinar’s realization about Gavilar’s death reshape his character?
Dalinar had long believed that if he had been awake that night, he could have saved his brother. When Szeth breaks his ribs and defeats him, Dalinar understands that even at his best he would have fallen. This acceptance allows him to release six years of guilt. He no longer defines himself by that failure, instead focusing on passing his leadership to Adolin and facing death with peace. This emotional breakthrough paves the way for his later role as a Bondsmith.

2. What does Kaladin’s entrance and his claim over the sky and winds signify about his Radiant powers?
Kaladin’s descent, the ring of glowing light, and the swordlike glyph all mark him as a Knight Radiant who has spoken the Third Ideal. He no longer merely manipulates gravity; he asserts ownership over the very element Szeth weaponised. By catching Dalinar and defying the assassin, Kaladin demonstrates that his oath protects those who cannot protect themselves and affirms his break from the slave he once was. It also echoes the Windrunner resonance between Adhesion and Gravitation, now fully expressed.

3. Why is Renarin’s behavior in the Oathgate chamber significant to the broader story?
Renarin’s episode—scrawling zeros and repeatedly saying “we’re dead”—reveals a prophetic ability linked to the imminent Everstorm. His terror and the string of zeros suggest a catastrophic future that even a seer feels powerless to change. This moment lays groundwork for his later role as a Truthwatcher and connects his personal torment to the larger apocalyptic threat. It also underscores the theme that foreknowledge can be a curse rather than a gift.