Wind and Truth/Epigraphs

== Knights of Wind and Truth ==
In Part One of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs are excerpts from the in-world book Knights of Wind and Truth, an account of the cleansing of Shinovar by Masha-daughter-Shaliv, six years following Stormfall.
Chapter	Text 	Page
1 	"I should have known I was being watched. All my life, the signs were there." 	1
2 	"I first knew the Wind as a child, during days before I knew dreams. What need has a child of dreams or aspirations? They live, and love, the life that is." 	3
3 	"The Wind told me, before she vanished, that it was the change in Odium’s vessel that restored her voice. I wonder. Perhaps it is the new storm, making people begin to reconsider that the wind is not their enemy."	3
4 	"I have read that in the ancient days, the Wind often spoke to both human and singer. It would then mean that the Wind stopped talking not because of Odium, but because of people who began to fear her …
Or to worship the Storm instead."	4
5 	"As a historian, I find such nuances relevant. As a philosopher, I find them enticing." 	4
6 	"Regardless, the events surrounding the cleansing of Shinovar are of specific relevance, and I am doing my best to record what I can discover of the Wind’s own words regarding them. Though, now that the Wind and Heralds have vanished, I have only two sources who can speak of these events.
They are my witnesses."	5
7 	"However, the Wind did not think like a person does. This should not surprise anyone who has familiarity with a spren, though such things are less common now than they once were." 	5
8 	"Her memory was keen, but her interpretation and explanation of that memory could be fanciful. Those days, though, I believe that she was deliberate, concerned, and focused.
She did not see the future.
But she somehow knew it anyway."	5
9 	"All agree the first key moment came when Kaladin Stormblessed listened. Though not an Edgedancer, he did a fine impression of their oaths." 	8
10 	"The second moment had happened already, when Szeth himself decided to take upon him this quest. The one that would shape all of our futures." 	8
11 	"For while the contest of champions was to happen in the East, a different contest was to happen in Shinovar. And one that the Wind swore was equally vital. Perhaps more so." 	8
12 	"I was not with them. I did not know of their quest." 	10
13 	"Yet I will do my best to recount their story, and that of the Wind. For they were her champions." 	11
==The Way of Kings, Fourth Parable ==
In Part Two of Wind and Truth the epigraphs are excerpts from in-world book The Way of Kings, from the Fourth Parable.
Chapter	Text
14 	"As I approached the first crossroads, I met a family seeking a new life."
15 	"This family did not speak my language, but we could both write glyphs, which proved facilitative in our conversation. As I shared their kindly cookfire, I learned some of their story."
16 	"They had left behind family and hereditary home, something many would find unconscionable."
17 	"What I learned from their glyphs scribbled in dust trembled my soul: it was because of me, and the stories they’d heard of my teachings, that they had left."
18 	"They’d gone to seek a land some told them was mythical."
19 	"A land where the king was a holy man, and was concerned with the plight of the farmer beyond the appropriation of taxes."
20 	"I let them pass with two lies."
21 	"First, I dared not tell them this dusty traveler with whom they shared a meal was in fact that very king they had heard of. The second was that I did not explain that very king had abdicated his throne and walked away from his kingdom."
22 	"After we parted with affection the next day, I watched their cart roll into the distance, pulled by the father with two children riding in the rear, the mother striding with a pack on her back. Dust blew with them, for dust goes where it wishes, ignoring all borders."
23 	"Would that men could always do the same—if I could enshrine one law in all further legal codes, it would be this. Let people leave if they wish."
25 	"The Almighty has given us the limbs to move and the minds to decide. Let no monarch take away what was divinely granted. The Heralds also taught that all should have the sacred right of freedom of movement, to escape a bad situation. Or simply to seek a brighter dawn."
26 	"I continued on my way, contemplating dust and the nature of desertion. For I, as king, had walked away from my duties, and it was different for me. Had I not renounced a throne the Almighty had granted, and in so doing, undermined my very own words? Was I abandoning that which was divinely given me?"
28 	"I do not have answers, and there will always be some who denounce me for this decision I made. But let me teach a truth here that is often misunderstood: sometimes, it is not weakness, but strength, to stand up and walk away."
29 	"Those who offer blanket condemnation are fools, for each situation deserves its own consideration, and rarely can you simply apply a saying—even one of mine—to a situation without serious weighing of the context."
30 	"As I fear not the child with a weapon he cannot lift, I will never fear the mind of a man who does not think."
31 	"So think, my dear reader. As a soldier retreats from a battle he cannot win. As a woman rejects a home that shows her only violence. As a family finds hope in walking away from dying fields during a season of too much rain."
32 	"As a king leaves a people with the gift of his absence, so that they may grow and solve their own problems, without his hand to always guide them."
33 	"May you have the courage someday to walk away. And the wisdom to recognize that day when it arrives."
== Message from the Sleepless ==
In Part Three of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs are likely a message from one of the Sleepless on Roshar.
Chapter	Text
34 	"The time has at last come for our stewardship to end."
35 	"Obviously, the passing of the Dawnshard was the first indication that this event was near. However, we find many other signs."
37 	"The impending events in Iri are another sign. The age of transitions has arrived."
39 	"I believe, sincerely, that the winds blowing in from the future indicate this will be the final confrontation of Honor and Odium."
40 	"The Heralds are essentially no more. They are rejected by their Blades."
41 	"We must travel to the Well of Control, within the shroud of the fragments of the dead moon."
42 	"There, we will find our destiny. We cannot stop him from destroying us. It is time."
== Words of Radiance ==
In Part Four of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs are excerpts from chapter forty of the in-world book Words of Radiance.
Chapter	Text 	Page
43 	"Now, it stands to the accountability of reason that orders of Radiants, greatly interposed from common nature by their various oaths, should have had some controversions one to another." 	1
44 	"Of different note, as Vava will attest in great disbursement, is that within orders strife is unexpected, yet still vulgar, of a shape and manifold variety, that is often overlooked, still worthy of consideration." 	1
45 	"While Willshapers embraced this very sense of contrarity, an attitude that will come as no great surprise to any conversant with their predilections, and indeed might be found unexpected in its absence, the presence of such strife among Skybreakers is a source of no small stupefaction to many." 	1
46 	"Indeed, the presence of a Herald among them should have, to all reasonable understandings, and to the abridgment of expectation, led to stability of doctrine among this most specific of orders." 	1
47 	"Irid adjudges this reasoning spurious, given the Skybreaker air of exactitude, that dissention is inevitable, as they turn finer points of argument against one another." 	2
49 	"I challenge that itself to be perfidious; having studied much of their natures, and having made a specific attempt to represent their minds accurately, I find myself confident in my delineation; it is of particular passion and perfection in me; as perhaps I would have known them myself, given opportunity." 	2
50 	"Indeed, I find Skybreaker disagreements remarkable; I have preference for each account, seeing as the arguments of the great arguers are of the most engaging variety, as to leave a woman disposed to both one side or the other, at a variety of times, vacillating back and forth, first the first, then second the second, to accede victory to whichever last has spoken." 	2
52 	"It is to this end that I have identified and made particular note of three distinct factions of Skybreakers, even during Nale’Elin’s days of direct leadership, and this is to be found in my third coda." 	2
53 	"I wish not to engage to the reader their faults, rather to make it clear that an order so determined to care for the unwanted, the unguarded, and the disenfranchised would obviously have passionate disagreement in how to best attend to the needs of the lowly and disregarded." 	2
54 	"Indeed, some insist that among Radiants, some Skybreakers did step forth into the Recreance, and their actions are covered; to this end, I have engaged the commentary of Didal; it strikes as mendacious that any Skybreaker would turn upon their oaths, and I find their malignment to be uniformly abhorrent. A schism arose among them, as all evidence presents, but not of this nature. The Skybreakers, who have always quietly cared for those the law forgets, do still exist, as previously accounted; they merely exist in multiple forms."	3
== Endowment's Letter ==
In Part Five of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs form a letter from the Shard Endowment to Hoid, as a response to Hoid's request for help regarding Odium. 
Chapter	Endowment's Letter
55 	"Dearest Cephandrius,
	Your rebuttal is eloquent, as always, but did you think I would be moved?"
56 	"I have kept my part of the bargain, and will not be budged. I have stayed upon my land, bringing blessings to the people of Nalthis—gifting them the power of gods, as I was so long denied. I do not repeat the mistakes of the past."
58 	"I have plans to deal with Odium, as I told you before. I will not explain them to you."
60 	"I am well aware that if you were to know of my plans, you would be compelled to interfere. It is your way, is it not?"
61 	"If I were to give you the fuel with which to set yourself aflame, the resulting bonfire would then become my fault and not yours. For we all know what you are."
62 	"As for Valor, our dealings are none of your business—for largely the same reasons. Can you not leave her alone?"
63 	"You need not always have the last word, though I know you collect them like badges of honor. I will not tell you where she is."
64 	"All I will say is that I have kept my bargain, and I did not go in person at her request for aid."
65 	"These days, it seems she and I are the only ones capable of maintaining any manner of isolation. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, she does not want to see you again. It has not been too long. No, I do not think it ever will be."
66 	"Be content to play with your toys on their world of storms. Or do I have to broadcast what I have learned of your goals? I certainly do not think it a coincidence that you have made a special study of the worlds where legends abound of the dead being raised."
67 	"You feign altruism. But you have another motive, do you not? Well, you always have."
== Epilogue to Oathbringer ==
In Part Six of Wind and Truth the epigraphs are excerpts from the epilogue to the in-world book Oathbringer, by Dalinar Kholin.
Chapter	Text
69 	"You now know of my sins in full. You now also know of my revelations, if they may be called that, in full. Each of my visions are here. Each experience of my past that shaped me."
70 	"Both have as much detail as I can remember. My life. My reign. My sorrow. My glory."
71 	"It is not my goal to begin a new religion, or to inspire a division in Vorinism. However, I insist that when I was at my darkest moments, there was something there with me, and it was not the being we called the Almighty. He is dead. And even if he were not, I would find his actions increasingly suspect."
72 	"I realize this is, in a way, ridiculous. I, who proclaim a god to be dead, am also the one who rejects the idea that no God exists. And yet my very being—soul, mind, body—rebels at the idea that nothing out there cares. It must."
74 	"Jasnah says that the existence of an all-powerful and all-loving God must be questioned by the simple evidence of injustices done in life to the innocent, such as the child who dies from disease."
76 	"Jasnah’s argument is probably the greatest a person could make against what I teach, and so it must be addressed. I am not certain I have the philosophy, the words, or the experience to do so with the respect it deserves."
77 	"But I will say that for me, the existence of something that cares—and can, after death, make up for injustices in life—is not the question. But the answer."
== Hoid's Letter to Jasnah ==
In Part Seven of Wind and Truth the epigraphs form a letter, written by Hoid in response to Jasnah Kholin ending their relationship.
Chapter	The Second Letter
78 	"I'm sorry."
79 	"You are right, and your letter to me was—characteristically—full of wisdom and excellent deductions."
80 	"I accept that we cannot continue as we have."
81 	"Somehow, I’ve never been good at this. Ten thousand years, and some things I just cannot learn."
82 	"In the past, I’ve held on too tightly. I’ve worked on that, but find that sometimes my grip is too loose."
84 	"With you, it was both, wasn’t it? Suffocating at times, yet not involved enough at others."
85 	"In the end, it is my lies that do me in. Another lesson I fail to learn time and time again. I recognize this flaw. I hope it does not someday destroy me."
86 	"I offer my most sincere apology for everything wrong I’ve done. I am glad we tried. I am sorry that I continue to be someone with whom a relationship is nearly impossible."
87 	"Goodbye. It might be a great long time before we see one another again, if ever."
== Rhythm of War ==
In Part Eight of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs are excerpts from the first coda of the in-world book Rhythm of War.
Chapter	Text 	Page
88 	"I sense I’ve done a poor job of explaining the exact nature of anti-Light. This might be in part because even I, its discoverer, do not yet understand all the nuances of what I’ve done, though I do worry the ramifications of it will be felt for ages." 	
89 	"Some might assume that Light and anti-Light are opposites, as can be found in philosophy, though not truly in actual physical science. Hot banishes and destroys cold. Light banishes and destroys dark. Likewise, one might say that Light and anti-Light are opposites in that they are mutually destructive."	
90 	”… In mathematics, we have negative numbers—an impossible reality, yet an extremely useful model, as explained by the woman who developed them. Negative one balances with one to create zero, both evening out at nothing." 	
91 	"This is closer to the interactions of Light and anti-Light, yet I do not fully accept it as the proper parallel either." 	
93 	"Instead, I find the closest model to be that of destructive interference in sound. A destructive waveform is not itself an opposite, but indeed the exact same waveform played opposite the primary one." 	
95 	"The destructive version of a melody is not its opposite, then, but instead the exact same song played back at precisely the right time to negate the melody. If you were to hear the two in isolation, you would not be able to tell the difference." 	
97 	"Anti-Light is not inherently the opposite of standard Light, nor is it negative, or imaginary, or a philosophical opposite. It is a different phase of the same entity. I see it more like the same melody, played at a different time." 	
99 	"If you played the “destructive” melody and the primary melody at the same time, they would reinforce one another instead of destroying. This is humans and singers. Not opposites.
The same song. Played at different times." 	
== Proverbs for Towers and War ==
In Part Nine of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs come from excerpts from Zenaz's Proverbs for Towers and War, a collection of sayings on the nature of warfare and the game Towers.
Chapter	Text
101 	"Few combatants win on board or battlefield without first having won the fight against their own minds."
103 	"Fear the old man who welcomed failure when young. If he has survived this long, he learned."
105 	"The fool will, when losing, seek to flip the board and scatter the pieces. This is not an adage for towers."
108 	"The best way to win is to provide your opponent with no options but to lose. But beware the assumption that you have considered every possibility."
109 	"In every game are a hundred paths to failure. But not always a single one to victory. It is not weakness to admit that another general must fight this foe another day."
110 	"No general can control a battlefield. He must instead learn to ride it like one does an untamed beast. But you can practice and prepare for that eventuality."
112 	"The first rule of warfare is to know your enemy. If you can guess what he will do, then you have already won."
114 	"The second rule of warfare is to know your terrain. Your enemy cannot conquer mountains or rivers. Turn them against him."
116 	"The third rule of warfare is to attack where your opponent is weak. Every man is both weak and strong. Confront his weakness with your strength."
118 	"Not every win is a victory. And not every loss is a defeat."
119 	"It is often said that the best teacher is failure. This is true. But it is also the best killer. May you be lucky enough in failure to live, and unlucky enough in success to struggle."
121 	"Rarely, the wise will also seek—in loss—to flip the board and scatter the pieces. But if you do this, it is likely the last time you will play. This also is not an adage for towers."
123 	"The best players win two of three games against skilled opponents. In other words, even the finest lose a significant amount. Do not set up unless you are prepared for loss."
125 	"Never assume the game actually replicates real life."
== Knights of Wind and Truth ==
In Part Ten of Wind and Truth, the epigraphs come from more excerpts from the in-world book Knights of Wind and Truth.
Chapter	Text 	Page
126 	"The Wind was not there for the contest of champions, the final confrontation between Odium and the mortals who would oppose him. She felt ostracized from that world, where it was Storms—and not Wind—who drew attention." 	18
127 	"I know that to this day, people are confused by how at the end, spren began arriving in the East without the need for bonds. Notum, now among the most famous of honorspren, is an example. The answer is simple, however.
As the lands began to think of them, and remember them, they needed less the bond of a single person to give them purchase in the Physical Realm. For the thoughts of an entire people bolstered them."	46
128 	"I record here the notes of the song. The Wind knows it very well. I cannot hear her voice, but sometimes I hear the flute." 	117
129 	"Curiously, the closest I came to the Knight of Wind and the Knight of Truth during their quest happened during the last hours before Stormfall. When they visited my parents’ house, while I was asleep, and purchased their wagon." 	27
130 	"I will leave one to ponder upon the incredible irony of the Herald of Bonds deciding he needed to teach Szeth, of all people, how to be humble. As if years of slavery weren’t a capable instructor." 	83
131 	"I often reflect upon how the world changed that day. And how I spent it, completely unaware, working in the family orchard. Picking fruit while the End of All Things itself came upon us." 	92
132 	"I find stories of the Knight of Wind to be most intriguing. They call him Stormblessed, but best I can tell, the storm alternately tried to kill him and proclaim him its son. I wonder what it knew that we do not." 	34
133 	"Much of what I know of the Knight of Wind, I get from Jasnah Kholin. Now head of our order, and a woman who has shown much patience for a simple Shin bookworm who thinks herself worthy of the task of writing this account." 	22
134 	"To this day, I wish I had all the answers. Would that someday, a historian could make a record with all possible information at her fingertips. For example, what was it Ishu did to prepare himself for what he knew the Knights would attempt? It still baffles explanation, as do many Bondsmith arts."	201
135 	"I can say this. I believe the fact that Ishu was bearing some of the pain of each and every Herald is an extremely relevant point in this analysis. For while he gave the darkness, he indeed held it in part.
I keep returning to this idea. As I feel it should be explored further." 	201
136 	"For the events surrounding the contest at Urithiru, I must refer you to another volume of this multi-author work. One that has, unfortunately, not yet been written." 	238
137 	"There were not two heroes that day, but many" 	237
138 	"And the existence of those several key people is the one thing that I myself have heard from the Wind. This singular truth, a nugget that I cannot yet explain.
'One is not enough. The change must come from many.'" 	237
139 	"I can’t speak to that. But I can speak to the testimony of one man’s experience. That of what it felt like to be in the very depths of despair, and then to have someone stand up and try their best to shield you from it." 	237
140 	"The Wind itself accepted his Words." 	249
141 	"The curious effect that the Black Sword has on individuals is one that I find poorly recorded. It is true that many feel nausea when picking it up, which is a sign of a heart uncorrupted by greed.
Others are, then, corrupted by that greed.
Most interesting are those in between. Those who feel neither emotion. Those who can use the sword, but walk a fine line upon its edge."	266
142 	"Those who were not there, you future readers, understand. Even hundreds of miles away from the event, I heard the thunder.
The land trembled at what Dalinar Kholin did." 	181
143 	"On that day, the Knight of Truth did not save us from the evil that had been prophesied. But from the evil brought by the prophesier." 	281
144 	"And now we reach the part of the narrative where I can but speculate, as my witnesses were both unconscious." 	271
145 	"I can only guess what happened, therefore, to the Knight of Wind. That he is dead is demonstrable. That he succeeded, at least in part, is also demonstrable." 	289
146 	"But it was not a complete success, as I have not heard the Wind—neither has Szeth—in years. Save that one whisper.
Regardless, she lives, so perhaps the Oathpact, as it was, held well enough? Even without Szeth to fill the hole?
Or perhaps, as champion of the Wind, Kaladin was able to do something in the end right before he died, which turned Retribution’s ire from the spren."	290
147 	"This account will not be without flaws. But it is the best I have been able to create from available information—and from the witness of my husband, Szeth, and the witness of the black sword he bears. For I myself helped him bury the Knight of Wind’s body, the day after Stormfall.
The day that everything changed."	292
== Notes ==