The Way of Kings

A depicture of the Alethi warcamps from right to left, belonging to Roion, Sadeas, Aladar, Dalinar, Vamah, Ruthar, Thanadal, Hatham, Bethab, and Sebarial. I stayed in Dalinar’s warcamp, marked with the Tower and crown. Above that to the west is the Outer Market. North of there, the king’s complex contains, from top to bottom, the Royal Palace, the Gallery of Maps, the Feasting Basin, and the Dueling Arena. Further north runs the mighty River Vandonas. Observe that stormward is toward the bottom.

Vandonas, 1173

18 Highprince of War

Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him. Rayse, on the other hand, was among the most loathsome, crafty, and dangerous individuals I had ever met.

“Yeah, this was cut,” the portly leatherworker said, holding up the straps as Adolin watched. “Wouldn’t you agree, Yis?”

The other leatherworker nodded. Yis was a yellow-eyed Iriali, with stark golden hair. Not blond, golden. There was even a metallic sheen to it. He kept it short and wore a cap. Obviously, he didn’t want to draw attention to it. Many considered a lock of Iriali hair to be a ward of good luck.

His companion, Avaran, was an Alethi darkeyes who wore an apron over his vest. If the two men worked in the traditional way, one would labor on the larger, more robust pieces – like saddles – while the other specialized in fine detail. A group of apprentices toiled in the background, cutting or sewing hogshide.

“Sliced,” Yis agreed, taking the straps from Avaran. “I concur.”

“Well hie me to Damnation,” Adolin muttered. “You mean Elhokar was actually right?”

“Adolin,” a feminine voice said from behind. “You said we’d be going on a walk.”

“That’s what we’re doing,” he said, turning to smile. Janala stood with arms folded, wearing a sleek yellow dress of impeccable fashion, buttoning up the sides, cupping around the neck with a stiff collar embroidered with crimson thread.

“I had imagined,” she said, “that a walk would involve more walking.”

“Hm,” he said. “Yes. We’ll be getting right to that soon. It’ll be grand. Lots of prancing, sauntering, and, er…”

“Promenading?” Yis the leatherworker offered.

“Isn’t that a type of drink?” Adolin asked.

“Er, no, Brightlord. I’m fairly certain it’s another word for walking.”

“Well, then,” Adolin said. “We’ll do plenty of it too. Promenading. I always love a good promenading.” He rubbed his chin, taking the strap back. “How certain are you about this strap?”

“There’s really no room for question, Brightlord,” Avaran said. “That’s not a simple tear. You should be more careful.”

“Careful?”

“Yes,” Avaran said. “Make sure that no loose buckles are scraping the leather, cutting into it. This looks like it came from a saddle. Sometimes, people let the girth straps hang down when setting the saddle for the night, and they get pinched underneath something. I’d guess that caused the slice.”

“Oh,” Adolin said. “You mean it wasn’t cut intentionally?”

“Well, it could have been that,” Avaran said. “But why would someone cut a girth like this?”

Why indeed, Adolin thought. He bid farewell to the two leatherworkers, tucked the strap into his pocket, then held out his elbow to Janala. She took it with her freehand, obviously happy to finally be free of the leatherworking shop. It had a faint odor about it, though not nearly as bad as a tannery. He’d seen her reaching for her handkerchief a few times, acting as if she wanted to hold it up to her nose.

They stepped out into the midday sunlight. Tibon and Marks – two lighteyed members of the Cobalt Guard – waited outside with Janala’s handmaiden, Falksi, who was a young Azish darkeyes. The three fell into step behind Adolin and Janala as they walked out onto the street of the warcamp, Falksi muttering under her breath in an accented voice about the lack of a proper palanquin for her mistress.

Janala didn’t seem to mind. She breathed deeply of the open air and clung to his arm. She was quite beautiful, even if she did like to talk about herself. Talkativeness was normally an attribute he was fond of in a woman, but today he had trouble paying attention as Janala began telling him about the latest court gossip.