Awesome / Rhythm of War

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Chapter 4

• Shallan's plan to infiltrate the Sons of Honor, from how carefully she prepared to cover her back, to how she reacts when it doesn't go as planned. First, Veil shut down their anti-Radiant screening process by selling them a device that she claims destroys illusions, but is actually a plausible fake, with a test demonstration set up by her squires. Next, she bought her identity from a well-known merchant, who was sent to a secure location for the duration of the sting, and learned everything she could about her habits, down to how often she does her accounts. When the Sons fall for it and bring them to their secret meeting spot, they swallow her fake vows, not knowing that Lightweavers can lie when they swear. The Sons accept her, even as she insists that they test her more in case she's a spy. And when they don't bring her to Ialai right away, Shallan jumps in and claims to leak even more information, and Radiant intimidates them into not just stealing her work. Finally, when Adolin and the rest of her backup show up, she remains under cover and runs with them, and none of them question her.

Chapter 7

• Kaladin is lured into an ambush where a Fused and several singer soldiers try to catch him with a fabrial that shuts down Radiant powers. The Fused taunts Kaladin by saying that Radiants are just peasants who are completely helpless without their powers... right before Kaladin kills three of the singer soldiers and then kills the Fused with a stab with his knife based on pure instinct. He is called Stormblessed for a reason.

Chapter 35

• Adolin rides to Notum's rescue against twenty Tukari. And everything about it is awesome.
  • First, Adolin runs off without warning, and then Gallant (with Maya still on his back) gallops up without receiving a signal. Adolin jumps into his saddle "in a move Radiant would have sworn was impossible" and rides off ahead.
  • Adolin takes out his greatsword and faces twenty untrained but armed men at once, relying on shock tactics to take advantage of their inexperience. He starts by beheading the first one he sees, and kills three more before they have any idea what's going on.
  • Just as he's flagging, he finds Maya at his back, holding a sword, which should not be possible because deadeyes aren't supposed to be able to act on their own initiative. Then Adolin has her do his morning sword kata to ward off the enemy.
  • Adolin claims he didn't win, the Tukari just lost. But it's still damned impressive.
    When Felt and the others arrived a few minutes later, they found a bloodied Adolin propping up Notum—dazed, but alive—surrounded by the corpses of what had once been overwhelming odds against him.
  • Given the revelations of later chapters, this means that Adolin probably saved Notum's entire existence.
  • One of Adolin's character threads through the last couple of books has been wondering how much of his legendary skill in battle was ever him, and how much was Maya and his Plate. In this battle, he has neither (or at least he doesn't have Maya the way he's used to) and he still pulls off an awesome victory.

Chapter 39

• When the Fused attack Urithiru, Navani immediately reacts, sending out runners to alert the garrisons since the spanreeds are down and coordinating an organized response to the invasion.

Chapter 40

• Navani managing to calm the panicking generals pretty much entirely by looking like she knows what she's doing.
• Battalionlord Teofil, for managing to explain why Navani's initial strategic ideas won't work without sounding like he's undermining her authority, and Navani for recognizing that this is Teofil's area of expertise and listening to him.

Chapter 42

• A formation of Alethi reserve troops guarding Urithiru very nearly manages to fight all the way down to the Fused-controlled central pillar of the tower. These are just regular Alethi soldiers, with no Surges or Shards, against an entire force of Fused including Deepest Ones, Heavenly Ones, and stormform Regals, and they effectively negate or completely slaughter everything that tries to stop them through a combination of discipline, adaptability, and clever tactics. They pour water onto the stormforms to negate their electricity, they lock shields to prevent the Heavenly Ones from using their lances, and the troops closest to the walls use swords and immediately cut apart any Deepest Ones who try to emerge from the stone. Venli and Raboniel are both shocked and amazed at the relentless, nearly unstoppable advance, which is only stopped when the Pursuer returns and uses his teleport spam to break up their formation. Venli admits that this incredible discipline is what allowed humans to defeat her people in the long term.
  Raboniel: Amazing.

Chapter 50

• In previous books, it was mentioned that the King's Wit is a weapon, a tool used so that the king does not have to sully himself with his own insults, and most certainly not a silly court jester. Elhokar mostly used him as a silly court jester. Here, Jasnah uses him to completely destroy a political rival. Jasnah goads Ruthar into insulting her, allowing Wit to insult him freely, and when Ruthar gets angry enough to decide to duel Wit to the death (despite Dalinar dryly noting that he's pretty sure Wit can't be killed), Wit appoints Jasnah as his champion, who literally kills Ruthar, but then Renarin brings him back to life, and Jasnah says that since he died now everything he owns belongs to his heir (who is far more amenable to Jasnah). And when Dalinar expresses distaste for the whole affair, Jasnah reveals that she has drafted legislation to make lethal duels illegal, and she will use the brutality of this event to push it forward.

Chapter 68

• Eshonai and her friends becoming the first listeners to wear warform, and Honor's Song playing to mark the transformation.

Chapter 72

• A villainous one for Raboniel. She realized Navani was in contact with the Sibling, anticipated that Navani would ask about the location of the nodes that allow access to the Sibling's pillar, and set voidspren (hidden inside cremlings so that Navani would believe herself private) to spy on Navani and bring the secret of the nodes to Raboniel.

Chapter 80

• This chapter has a scene that's both awesome and hilarious. Kaladin has been trapped in a nightmare by Moash and Odium and wanders through a dark, wind-swept place that's implied to be Braize itself. He sees a light and tries to reach it, but before he can the ground in the dream turns liquid under him. He despairs, thinking the light had been a cruel trick, but then a glowing arm pulls him out of the ground and banishes the wind and darkness. Kaladin is amazed and wonders if it was Honor or God himself. Then, he realizes it was actually Wit.

Chapter 94

• Sekeir brings out Maya as his final "witness" against Adolin. The way the honorspren have been sprenhandling her has left her whimpering, which the prosecutor chooses to interpret as her screaming in fear at the sight of Adolin. And then Maya gathers her strength... and speaks.
  Maya: We! CHOSE!
  Maya: You. Cannot. Have. My. SACRIFICE! Mine. My sacrifice. Not yours. Not theirs. Not his. Mine. MY SACRIFICE."

Chapter 97

• Raboniel outwitting Navani again. She maneuvers Navani into doing what she never could and discovering how to invert Voidlight, and it's not until too late that Navani realizes Raboniel can use the same technique to invert Stormlight and create weapons that can kill Radiant spren.
• And on Navani's side, discovering in weeks what Raboniel hadn't been able to figure out in seven millennia.

Chapter 108

• Kaladin finally speaking the Fourth Ideal... and Dalinar, not the Stormfather, accepting them.

Chapter 110

• Navani speaking the First Ideal and reawakening the Sibling. And blinding Moash at the same time.
  Navani: Journey before destination, you bastard.
  • Especially considering Moash killed her son while he was right in the middle of speaking the First Ideal.

Chapter 111

• Ishar uses his Honorblade to fight half a dozen Windrunners at once. He wins easily, even before he starts breaking out the Bondsmith powers. The Stormfather says that, by the scale of the other Heralds, he's average.
• Urithiru powering up, its defenses reactivating and instantly defeating the Fused.
  • This line from Kaladin, just before the defenses come back up.
    I bring word from the Sibling! They don't remember inviting you in. And considering that they aren't merely the master of this house, they literally are this house, your actions are quite the insult.

Epilogue

• Odium finally gets the better of Wit. He realizes that he can't hurt Wit directly because of what Honor did to bind him, but he can attack the Breaths that hold Wit's memories to give him Laser-Guided Amnesia. When Wit realizes this, he becomes truly terrified for the first time, not just in the series, but in The Cosmere overall.
• Apparently Cultivation's gift and boon to Taravangian was part of a long-running plan to kill Rayse by using him as a pawn, and now that Taravangian is the Shardbearer for Odium, her plan succeeded!

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