Wind And Truth Sets Up The Hero Of Stormlight Archive Arc 2 & Now Readers Have To Catch Up On One Brandon Sanderson Book
Brandon Sanderson's latest book in the Stormlight Archiveseries has prepared one of the main heroes for the next sequence. Not much is known about the contents of The Stormlight Archive sequence 2, aside from a few major facts. Like the first arc, sequence 2 will have five volumes, concluding events on Roshar in book 10. The next five books will pick up after a ten-year in-world time jump, meaning characters will be aged up when readers see them next, following the events of Wind and Truth's climactic ending.
According to Brandon Sanderson's annual State of Sanderson blog post, readers shouldn't expect the next Stormlight Archive book until late 2031, meaning quite a long wait for volume 6. That being said, there's plenty of time to speculate and discuss the possibilities going forward, especially given how The Stormlight Archive's character arcs so far have set up much of the foundation for the next five volumes. Sanderson has already announced who his next five POV flashback characters will be, so it's easy to anticipate who's going to be important going forward.
Lift Will Be The Main Flashback Character For Stormlight Archive Book 6
Lift Is The Next POV Character
Lift is a young surgebinder who was introduced to readers in Words of Radiance, which is commonly perceived as Brandon Sanderson's best book. As of now, she's intended to be the primary flashback character for the next volume of The Stormlight Archive, which readers might have mixed reactions about. Due to her being a child, Lift has obviously been one of the most immature characters to this point, and her scenes are often played off for comedic relief. Though some readers find it charming, others might not like how her light-hearted tone conflicts with the series more grounded content.
Each of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive novels connects to one of the Knights Radiant orders, with The Way of Kings being about the Windrunners, Wind and Truth being about the Skybreakers, and so on and so forth. With Lift being the main POV character in book 6, the primary focus will be on the Edgedancers, the order of radiants primarily focused on representing the philosophy of representing and helping the world's common folk and those who most need representation. View the full table of flashback characters below:
Book Title | Flashback Character | Book Title | Flashback Character |
|---|---|---|---|
1. The Way of Kings | Kaladin | 6. Unknown | Lift |
2. Words of Radiance | Shallan | 7. Unknown | Renarin |
3. Oathbringer | Dalinar | 8. Unknown | Shalash |
4. Rhythm of War | Venli/Eshonai | 9. Unknown | Talenel |
5. Wind and Truth | Szeth | 10. Unknown | Jasnah |
It can't be stated that each flashback character has been the most prominent hero in their given story, aside from perhaps Kaladin and Dalinar in their books. Venli and Eshonai certainly weren't. However, Lift being the main POV character ensures a degree of importance, and there are details from her brief appearances in Wind and Truth that would lead to this making sense. Plus, given the time jump, readers won't have to worry about following a child, as she'll be in her early 20s by this point, drawing comparisons to Kaladin in The Way of Kings.
Why Lift Is So Important To Roshar After Wind And Truth's Ending
Lift's Power Doesn't Run On Stormlight
Wind and Truth's ending saw the contest of champions between Dalinar and Odium finally occur, and what resulted were drastic changes to Roshar. Most notable, as it pertains to the Knights Radiant orders, is that Stormlight is gone from the world, so the various orders have no way to draw power and will effectively be normal people in a time of strenuous peace going forward. That means that Lift will be one of the champions of humankind left on the planet, as her Radiant powers don't draw from Stormlight, but rather Lifelight, which comes from the Shard Cultivation.
This would make Lift incredibly important to those remaining at Urithiru, requiring her to grow up fast, setting the stage for a more complex version of her character when readers meet her next.
Adolin and his new unit of Oathless should be important, too, but it's unclear whether they'll be stuck in Azimir without the Oathgates being usable. This would make Lift incredibly important to those remaining at Urithiru, requiring her to grow up fast, setting the stage for a more complex version of her character when readers meet her next. Knowing Brandon Sanderson, readers might be pleasantly surprised by how terrific of a lead she is by Stormlight Archive 6, possibly even living up to the standard of Kaladin as a young hero still finding herself.
Now Is The Perfect Time To Catch Up On Edgedancer
Edgedancer Is One Of Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Novellas
Edgedancer has been around for years, but chances are, there are plenty of Stormlight Archive fans who haven't caught up on the novella. Most readers will say that it's a fun story but that it isn't essential to the grander story Brandon Sanderson is telling, which isn't entirely untrue. Readers can jump from Words of Radiance to Oathbringer without missing much; it's designed that way. However, now that Lift is going to be a central POV character, it's worth going back and checking out this work of short fiction set on Roshar.
Edgedancer can be bought as a standalone book or as part of the Cosmere compendium Arcanum Unbounded.
Edgedancer's story picks up after Lift's interlude in Words of Radiance and features important characters like her spren, Wyndle, the Herald Nale, and others like Szeth and Jezrien are mentioned throughout the story. Again, it's not crucial to The Stormlight Archive, but it helps build on Lift's characterization and might tie even more to her POV chapters in Stormlight Archive book 6. One of Brandon Sanderson's upcoming books should be another Stormlight Archive novella as well, focused on Rock, and they're a fun, less intensive medium of stories to consume.
How Wind And Truth & Edgedancer Set Up Brandon Sanderson's Next Major Hero
Lift Will Be Training With Zahel In Sword Combat
There are several heroes set up in Wind and Truth, from Talanel to Renarin to Jasnah, all of whom have their arcs laid out for the next five volumes, preparing them for their POV chapters. Lift will see the most immediate growth, with her story picking up after a drastic jump in age and maturity, but the volume also kicked off an arc for her between volumes: she's going to be training with swordmaster Zahel, who previously trained with Adolin and Kaladin, and was known as Vasher in the Brandon Sanderson novel Warbreaker.
By the time readers see Lift next, she might be one of the scariest warriors on Roshar, having been trained by one of the Cosmere's best. Not to mention, the genesis of Lift's powers and narrative was not wanting to grow up, which will be interesting now that she's going to have aged ten years and will be an adult. The Stormlight Archive will pick up with her reckoning with no longer being a child, and also knowing that Cultivation, the god who gave her powers, has fled the system.
The Stormlight Archive
- Created by
- Brandon Sanderson
- Character(s)
- Kaladin Stormblessed, Shallan Davar, Dalinar Kholin, Adolin Kholin, Jasnah Kholin, Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Navani Kholin
The Stormlight Archive is an epic fantasy series by Brandon Sanderson, set on the storm-ravaged world of Roshar. The series follows multiple characters, each with their unique storylines, as they navigate political intrigue, ancient prophecies, and powerful magic. Central to the story are the Knights Radiant, legendary warriors with magical abilities who must return to save their world from impending destruction. The series explores themes of honor, leadership, and the burden of power.
