Dawnshard

Sometimes you need to accept what you’ve lost, then move forward. Then you can instead realize what you’ve gained.

Omens weren’t real. But the way people reacted to them was very real.

Vstim said to always read contracts with friends an extra time,” Rysn said softly. “That’s it?” “I asked him, on another occasion, to explain. He said, ‘Rysn, being cheated is a terrible feeling. Being cheated by someone you love is worse. Discovering such a deception is like finding yourself in a deep dark ocean with nothing around you but formless shadows of things you once thought you understood and enjoyed. It is painful beyond explanation. But that is never a reason to pretend it can’t happen. So read those contracts again. Just in case.

They’re trying to be good. But they’re, you know, Alethi. Conquering folks is basically their primary cultural heritage.

The problem with people was that everyone saw other nations from far away. Saw them as big mountainous blobs. Foreigners. Strange. Got it. Up close, it was hard to see people that way. Each was so distinctive.

Hey, have you heard about the time I saved Huio from being swallowed? Oh yes. He was going to get eaten. By a monster uglier than the women he courts. And I flew into the thing’s mouth to save him. Off the tongue. Then I was very humble about having done such a heroic deed.

She inspected him lying on the deck, and he raised a fist in a gesture of solidarity. “Radiant the Lopen,” Rysn said, “. . . um, what do you call a Thaylen who can’t walk?” “Not sure, gancha.” “Names. From afar.” He grinned widely. “Of course,” Rysn added. “I’d never stand for that sort of thing.” The Lopen about died from laughing. He called to his cousin again, translating the jokes. This time Huio chuckled.

Most of Rysn’s contemporaries entered a discussion asking, “What can I get from this?” Rysn had been disabused of that notion early in her training. Her babsk taught a different way of seeing the world, training her to ask, “What need can I fulfill?” That was the true purpose of a merchant. To find complementary needs, then bridge the distance between them so everyone benefited. It wasn’t about what you could get from people, but what you could get for them that made a successful merchant.

It wasn’t about what you could get from people, but what you could get for them that made a successful merchant.

More science happens through lucky accidents than you’d believe, Radiant Lopen,” Rushu said. “It makes me wonder how many amazing innovations we’ve passed up because we were searching for something else, and didn’t realize what we’d done.

Well, not on Lopen’s watch. You didn’t let your friends drown in nameless oceans during a frigid storm. That was, sure, basic friendship rules right there.

I told Kaladin, ‘I’m gonna fly those Reshi guys up high.’ And Kaladin said, ‘I don’t think that’s a good—’ but I didn’t let him finish, because he was going to grumble,

They wanted to wow us, maybe?” Lopen said. “Perhaps they thought we’d be so distracted by the riches that we’d be stunned and confused. They did not know that I am accustomed to such incredible sights, for I experience something even more impressive each morning after I awake.” “Is that so?” “When I look in the mirror.” “And you wonder why you’re still single.” “Oh, I don’t wonder,” he said. “I’m fully aware that so much of me is difficult for any one woman to handle. My majesty confuses them. It’s the only explanation for why they often run away.” He gave her a grin.

Did your master have any wisdom to share about traitors?” Nikli asked. “About how to deal with someone you trust who turns against you?” “Vstim said to always read contracts with friends an extra time,” Rysn said softly. “That’s it?” “I asked him, on another occasion, to explain. He said, ‘Rysn, being cheated is a terrible feeling. Being cheated by someone you love is worse. Discovering such a deception is like finding yourself in a deep dark ocean with nothing around you but formless shadows of things you once thought you understood and enjoyed. It is painful beyond explanation. But that is never a reason to pretend it can’t happen. So read those contracts again. Just in case.’ ” Nikli grunted. “That’s . . . a different kind of wisdom than I’d anticipated. I thought maybe this man lived purely a life of charity.” “Vstim is good and honest,” Rysn said. “But you don’t get a reputation for either without some people seeing your nature as an opportunity.

But they’re, you know, Alethi. Conquering folks is basically their primary cultural heritage.

Now,” the Lopen said to her, “you gotta have two hands to properly crawl. I came up with my own version, sure, when I had one hand. But it was more of a shuffle. See?” He moved to crawling with one hand, the other behind his back. “That . . . looks very much like crawling to me, Radiant the Lopen,” Rysn said. “It’s different though,” the Lopen said. “I tell you, I missed being able to do it.” “You missed crawling?” "Sure. I’d lay in bed and think, ‘Lopen, you used to be a majestic crawler. These louts don’t know how good they have it, being able to crawl whenever they want.

You all strange,' she admitted. Each word was hesitant, but her Alethi was progressing well. 'So long as I'm the strangest,' Lopen said. 'It's, sure, one of my more endearing traits.' 'You are... very strange.' 'Excellent.' 'Very much strange.

All so different. He figured, sure, that people must be like mountains. See, when you were far away from mountains, they all basically looked the same. Fly up high, soar over them in a hurry, and there was no time for detail. Pointed. Covered in snow. Mountain. Got it. Fly up close, and they each had their own distinctive jagged bits and places where the rock showed through. He’d even found flowers growing on a few, near vents that let out warm air. The problem with people was that everyone saw other nations from far away. Saw them as big mountainous blobs. Foreigners. Strange. Got it.

He flopped down onto the deck beside her chair, rolling over and looking up. “Yeah, maybe. But it’s nice to make people laugh at you for something you do, and not something you can’t control. You know?

But Rysn understood the tone in the Lopen’s voice. She shouldn’t have to do such things, but life was unfair, and so you controlled the situation as best you could. Strange, to find such wisdom in a man she’d initially dismissed as silly.

That was the thing about omens—they were made up. Imagined signals of something nebulous. So why not make them up to be something positive?

Plus she was tall, and tall women were best.

it became more difficult to ignore the part of her that whispered lies.

The sea was so open, so welcoming. Pay her a little respect, and she would carry you anywhere you wished to go. She’d even feed you along the way and lull you to sleep with her songs at night.

I'm fully aware that so much of me is difficult for any one woman to handle. My majesty confuses them. It’s the only explanation for why they often run away.

Aluminum,” she explained as Rysn peered inside. “It blocks spanreed communication, something we only recently discovered.

(...) fate was on your side, even when an omen tried to darken the way. You could always defeat gloomy Passions with optimism and determination.