Words of Radiance: Chapter 55

Progression of the Chapter:
Kaladin sets himself to accompany Adolin and Shallan on their date, to Adolin's exasperation; the carriage driver is - "You!" and Kaladin joins him cautiously; Wit and Kaladin trade smart remarks, in an exchange which Kaladin clearly loses; Wit drops a hint that he knows about Kaladin's Surgebinding; as they arrive to pick up Shallan, Adolin discovers that the carriage driver is - "You!" and is suspicious; Shallan emerges and realizes that the extra man standing there is - "You!" and hugs him; Kaladin rides in the carriage with Adolin and Shallan, with a running internal monologue about the superficiality of lighteyes; Shallan gives Adolin the details of the dueling scheme she's developed; it becomes clear that it might well work, but only because it's such a lighteyed sort of game; they visit a menagerie in the Outer Market, where Shallan is fascinated, Adolin puzzled, and Kaladin bored; Kaladin admits to Syl that he's almost ready; Dalinar arrives, and makes an announcement that sets Kaladin back to zero.
Quote of the Chapter:
Commentary:
The chapter starts out on a rather sour note. Kaladin has decided to take Teft's questions about Shallan seriously, and given the possibility that she could be an assassin, he'll do the guarding himself. He is, however, extremely grumpy, and seems determined to take out his acid mood on Adolin.
Everything gets a bit awkward when the carriage driver shows up. Kaladin thinks ...
Adolin keeps saying exactly the same thing about Kaladin ... which may well be one of the best reasons to suspect that he will become a Radiant eventually.
The central discussion, of course, is the scheme to get Sadeas into the dueling arena. When Shallan brings up the subject of the duel, Adolin assures her that it's okay to talk about it in front of Kaladin; since he's saved Adolin's life twice, there's no point in being coy. It's also clear that at this point, Adolin is expecting a two-on-one duel. He fully expects to win it, too.
It's deliberate irony that the plan is actually a direct copy of something Sadeas did many years ago, but that it's not something he can see coming, because the only set-up it needs is a spectacular win. Although Shallan and Adolin fully believe it can work, and even convince Kaladin of the same, Shallan still insists that Navani and Dalinar need to examine the idea and approve it.
Things are starting to get better: Kaladin concludes that Shallan isn't an assassin; he, Adolin and Shallan behave humanely with one another; Shallan has a great time sketching the menagerie; and Kaladin cheers up by thinking about flying. So much so, in fact, that he's just about ready to tell Dalinar about his abilities. Things are right on the brink of a big step up ... and then at the very end of the chapter, Dalinar and Amaram show up and make an announcement that destroys it all.
Amaram doesn't have a clue what the ancient oaths actually mean. Or if he does, he doesn't care if he's forsworn on the spot.
Stormwatch:
This chapter takes place the day after Adolin's duel with Elit and Shallan's meeting with the Ghostbloods.
All Creatures Shelled and Feathered:
* Sarpenthyn - " ... little more than a lump of flesh with two bulbous eyes and four long tentacles." Kaladin and Adolin both think it's about the ugliest thing ever, but Shallan is wide-eyed and thrilled. She reaches in and grabs one of the tentacles to see if it's warm or cold, and starts sketching, disgusted at the lack of scholarship when the identification plaque calls it "Devil rock captured in Marabethia. The locals claim it is the reborn vengeful spirit of a child who was murdered."
* Skyeels - Not a lot of information here, but there already are all the sketches from The Way of Kings for them.
* "Some kind of chull-thing" - A rather uninformative grunt from Kaladin, who thinks it should be perfectly happy in its cage, where it's at least safe from predators. Syl feels sorry for it.
* The "Chicken" - Presumably a parrot, it has " ... red, blue, and green feathers. She dug out colored pencils to do that sketch. Apparently, she'd missed a chance at sketching one of these a long time ago ... " (i.e., Middlefest) ... the same day as the talk which earned Wit that enthusiastic and unexpected hug.
* Whitespine - "The square face showed sharpened mandibles - like teeth, only somehow more vicious - and a pair of long, toothlike tusks that pointed down from the upper jaw. The stark spikes running from the head along the sinuous back, along with powerful legs, were clues as to what this beast was." This particular specimen seems too small and apathetic to justify the stories, but both Kaladin and Adolin have seen what they can do to a human body, when in the wild. Shallan comments that "They don't do well in captivity. This one probably would have gone dormant in crystal long ago, if it had been allowed. They must keep dousing it to wash away the shell."
Haven't We Met Somewhere Before?
Hoid is back in town. Whether Kaladin might be a better match for Shallan than Adolin because he's more witty remains in question; Kaladin could barely figure out what Wit was saying half the time. Not that this stops Kaladin from sourly thinking that Adolin isn't very good at cracking jokes to amuse his betrothed; humility is not one of Kaladin's strong suits.
Hoid is just as fun as ever!
Wit's flute - which Kaladin forgot about when he left Sadeas's bridge barracks - is perhaps more than an ordinary flute. There is word from Brandon that Sadeas had it, and that Wit really wants it back. Where it is now ... well, it could be in Urithiru, or it could be at the warcamps if it got left behind with unimportant stuff.
Wit drops a hint - and scares the living daylights out of Kaladin - that he knows about Kaladin's Surgebinding.
Kaladin picks up the hint, but can't figure out what to do with it. After a bit of verbal sparring, he asks what Wit wants of him; the answer is forthcoming.
There's also this:
This is, at least, a highly diverting interpretation of men's vs. women's arts, and quite possibly an insight into the past politics of Vorinism.
Shallan's reaction to Wit, however, elicits responses from those others present:
Also:
Is that a reference to the holder of the Shard Cultivation?
Heraldic Symbolism:
Another chapter where the Herald icons are fairly transparent: the Joker is always there when Wit plays a large role, and Shalash can variously be associated with Wit's Lightweaving, Shallan's Lightweaving, or Shallan herself.
Words of Radiants:
This is from the same page as the previous chapter's epigraph, and sounds very much like it could be the following sentence. Could the unique ability of the some kind of con woman, she wasn't after Adolin's life. Just his dignity.
Too late, Kaladin thought, watching Adolin sit back with a stupid grin on his face. That's dead and burned already.
On Roshar, or at least in Alethkar, if you weren't important enough to be Soulcast into stone when you died, your body would be burned, not buried.
- Paraphrased from Alice Arneson