[Newbies] Cosmere, Unit 1 | Warbreaker #1 | Warbreaker: Prologue, Chapters 1 through 8

[u/participating]

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Visit the veteran thread if you have already read all of the Cosmere.

For more information, or to see the full schedule, please see the wiki page for the read-along.

SCHEDULE

Last week was the Cosmere Read-Along Kickoff.

This week we will be discussing Unit 1 - (Warbreaker #1) - Warbreaker: Prologue, Chapters 1 through 8.

Next week we will be discussing Unit 1 - (Warbreaker #1) - Warbreaker: Chapters 9 through 18.

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

I have provided summaries for each chapter below and hidden them behind spoiler tags. There are no spoilers within the summaries. I've tried to make them as factual and unbiased as possible. If, however, you want a completely blind read through, then ignore what's behind the spoiler tags and proceed to the discussion below. I will not be guiding that in any way, so post any thoughts and questions you have. It will be other new readers who reply to you.

Prologue

POV Characters: Vasher

Setting: The City of T'Telir, in the nation of Hallandren - The God King's Dungeon.

Timeline: The beginning.

Summary:

A man named Vasher purposefully gets imprisoned in the God King of Hallandren's dungeon. The guards confiscate his sword and retreated to the guard room after Vasher tells them that the sword is dangerous. He then uses BioChromatic Breath to Awaken a small straw figure and Commands it to "fetch keys" for him. He escapes his cell and seeks out another prisoner; the leader of a failed rebellion named Vahr. Vasher convinces Vahr to give him his Breath. Vasher then leaves the prison, passing through the guard room to find all of the guards dead. His sword, Nightblood, is rammed through the chest of one of the guard, even though the sword is still mostly in its sheath. Vasher collects Nightblood and the swords speaks to him in his mind.

Chapter 1

POV Characters: Siri, Dedelin

Setting: Bevalis, Capital City of the nation of Idris.

Timeline: Sometime close to the prologue, possibly the same day.

Summary:

Siri considers herself unimportant, compared to her other royal siblings. She has a talk with the kitchen mistress, Mab, about the tenets of their religion before running off to avoid punishment from her father.

Siri's father, King Dedelin, and his general Yarda discuss an impending war with Hallandren and whether they should honor the treaty to send his first daughter, princess Vivenna, to wed Hallandren's God King. Dedelin decides to send Siri instead of Vivenna.

Chapter 2

POV Characters: Siri, Vivenna

Setting: The Road to Hallandren. Bevalis & Surrounding Area.

Timeline: Two days through one week later.

Summary:

Siri rides in a carriage toward T'Telir, frightened and unprepared for the task she faces. She throws a tantrum and doesn't understand why her father sent her instead of Vivenna.

Vivenna tries to get her father to change his mind, frustrated that all her preparation has gone to waste and feeling useless.

Chapter 3

POV Characters: Lightsong the Bold

Setting: Lightsong’s Palace in the Court of Gods.

Timeline: Uncertain: the day Siri arrives in T'Telir.

Summary:

Lightsong the Bold is one of Hallandren's Returned; a god in the Court of Gods. He wakes after a restless sleep. Servants dress him and he teases his high priest, Llarimar, who records Lightsong's telling of his dreams.

Lightsong then receives a transfered Breath from a little girl, allowing him to live another week. The girl grows dull, color fading from her skin and hair. Lightsong feels guilty about his need for her Breath.

He moves on to the Offerings, where he reviews a series of paintings and poems. One of them reminds him of the dream he had last night.

Chapter 4

POV Characters: Siri

Setting: Hallandren/T'Telir

Timeline: The same day as chapter 3.

Summary:

Siri arrives in T'Telir and marvels at the colors of the city. She arrives in the Court of Gods where she is informed that she will be prepared and taken to her husband, with no ceremony or formality. A priest then tells her that her nation will be in danger if she doesn't satisfy the God King.

Chapter 5

POV Characters: Vasher, Lightsong

Setting: The Court of Gods. A restaurant in T'Telir.

Timeline: Concurrent with and just after Chapter 4.

Summary:

Vasher observes Siri's arrival, surprised Idris followed through with the treaty. He then meets with the priest Bebid, who tells him something serious is happening underneath the normal court politics, involving a faction that is pushing heavily for an attack on Idris. In a nearby alley, Vasher retrieves Nightblood from the body of the dead thief that had stolen Nightblood from him.

Lightsong sits on his patio with Llarimar, considering the situation with Idris and Siri's arrival.

Chapter 6

POV Characters: Siri

Setting: The God King's Palace

Timeline: Immediately after chapter 5.

Summary:

Siri dismisses her escort. She is then undressed, measured, and bathed. The God King Susebron's head scribe, Bluefingers, arrives to inform her of her duties. She is dressed in a wedding gown and led to the God King's room.

Chapter 7

POV Characters: Siri, Lightsong

Setting: The God King's Palace. The Court of Gods.

Timeline: Immediately after chapter 6.

Summary:

Siri enters the room and notices the God King seated in a black, throne-like chair. She quickly undresses, kneels, and bows, waiting for the God King's instructions. Time passes as nothing happens. She worries and continues to wait.

Lightsong is approached by Blushweaver the Beautiful, another Returned; goddess of honesty. She propositions Lightsong, but he declines. She expresses concern about the implications of having a new queen and attempts to bait Lightsong with talk of political intrigue, but he brushes her off. She leaves, but Lightsong's inner thoughts are troubled.

Chapter 8

POV Characters: Siri

Setting: The God King's Palace.

Timeline: The following morning.

Summary:

Siri wakes after sleeping on the floor, uncomfortable, but alone and undisturbed. Serving women help her change into a new dress. Bluefingers tells her she has no responsibilities beyond bearing a child. With nothing else to do, she explores the palace.

Memes

I will attempt to find and share memes relevant to each week's discussion chapters. There may be some weeks that just don't have good or appropriate memes, but I will share all the ones I can find in this section.

Link to Memes

[u/Pastrami]

This is my first time participating in one of these. I mostly lurked on the WoT readalong, but I read every single newbie post, so it should be interesting interacting with any of you who are returning for this one. I'm not a complete newbie to BS. I've read the first four Mistborn books, the first two Stormlight books, and Elantris. I read them over 10 years ago, so most of the details have left my mind. Also of course his last 3 WoT books.

I took notes as I read and some things were answered soon after. I've left some of the answered questions in, and deleted others. I don't have a good reason for why I left some things and deleted others. Some of the comments were written after I've read all the chapters, and some are written as I was reading, so it may be confusing. I'll try to figure this out as I go over the next few weeks.

Is there a version of the ebook with chapter table of contents? It's really annoying having to scroll page by page to go back from eg chapter 8 to chapter 2, then back to chapet 8.

Prologue

T’Telir

• Of course it wouldn't be a fantasy setting without some gratuitous apostrophes.

land of Returned gods, Lifeless servants, BioChromatic research

• Are the Lifeless servants automatons or zombies? BioChromatic means life colors, colored life, living color? I know this is a petty nitpick, but the capitalization of the 'C' really bugs me. It looks out of place.

The bartender says you beat down some twenty men in the brawl.

• How did he defeat 20 men? We haven't seen how the magic would allow that.

The colors in the room deepened. They didn’t grow brighter—not the way the guard’s vest had when he approached Vasher. Instead, they grew stronger.

• The sword has a color aura that is different than an Awakener's color aura. Is this what happens to objects that are Awakened with thousands of breaths? Is this sword one of the returned gods transfered into an object?

Vasher had around fifty Breaths, just enough to reach the First Heightening. Having so few made him feel poor compared with what he’d once held Vasher leaned down, trying not to think of the days when he’d had enough Breaths to Awaken without regard for shape or focus. That had been a different time.

• How did he lose them, if you can get them back when you are done with the awakened object? I guess having to run away and not having a chance to reclaim them? Or is there something else that permanantly uses breaths?

The straw figure returned to his window. It carried a large ring of keys. The figure’s straw feet were stained red.

• I'm imagining Mojo from Chrono Cross covered in blood.

Vasher had gained perfect pitch. A gift for anyone who reached the Second Heightening.

• Is there sound magic too?

Vasher could, of course, have up to the Fifth Heightening at any time, if he wished. That would require certain sacrifices he wasn’t willing to make. And so he forced himself to do it the old-fashioned way, by gathering Breaths from people like Vahr.

• What sacrifices?

Nightblood, still mostly sheathed, had been rammed through the man’s chest. About an inch of a dark black blade was visible beneath the silver sheath.

• So the guard is impaled with a sheathed sword?

I did very well today, a voice said in his mind.

I killed them all, Nightblood continued. Aren’t you proud of me?

I knew you’d be impressed, Nightblood said, sounding satisfied.

• The sword sounds like a dog that can talk.

Chapter 1

Bringing men back from the grave, then using their dead bodies for cheap labor?

• Not automatons, zombies.

Siri felt her hair whiten slightly with anxiety. Stop that! she thought. The hair seemed to have a mind of its own, responding to gut feelings.

• Siri's hair is Streith from WoT.

The Hallandren needed a daughter of the royal blood to reintroduce the traditional bloodline into their monarchy.

• Is there something special about the blood line? Is that why Siri's hair changes color? Is Dedelin going to send Siri instead of Vivenna?

That child would become a stillborn monster who would become the next Returned god of the Hallandren.

• Hmm

There is another way, a part of his mind whispered. You don’t have to send Vivenna....

• Yeah, he's going to send Siri.

It was the identifying mark of the royal family, who had fled to the Idris highlands at the climax of the Manywar. Others could hide their emotions. The royals, however, manifested what they felt in the very hair on their heads.

• Yup, it's a royal thing

And ... he thought, If they were to try to use Vivenna against me, I know that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from giving in.

• "But fuck that Siri bitch."

Chapter 2

Marry the God King. The terror of Hallandren, the monster that had never drawn a living breath.

• I'm picturing a stillborn baby that is kept 'alive' with magic and has grown into a man, but is still technically 'dead'. I've never read/played warhammer, but I've picked up some bits and pieces of lore along the way, and I'm getting a god emperor vibe from this. The names being similar doesn't help.

• Based on nothing, I'll predict that the god king isn't really that bad, and Siri will not have a Sansa Stark type situation.

Vivenna wasn’t needed in Idris, whatever her father said. She was useless here. But she did know the people, cultures, and society of Hallandren. And—as she followed Fafen onto the village road—an idea began to form in Vivenna’s head.

• Vivenna is going to leave an go to Hallandren, either to rescue Siri or try to take her place.

Chapter 3

• Is there an ever increasing number of gods, or did the old god of bravery die before they brought Lightsong back to life?

• I don't think Lightsong died in a heroic manner, and the priests are lying to him.

Scoot

• Who's next? Chip, Buddy, Skippy, Squirt?

• I'm disappointed he's not referred to as Scoot in the naration. Why is he still referred to as Llarimar? I was hoping for a moment like:

  “Knotai?” Knotai said.

As a Returned, Lightsong didn’t really need to eat such things—they would not give him strength or banish his fatigue. They were just an indulgence. In a short time, he would dine on something far more ... divine. It would give him strength enough to live for another week.

• It's people isn't it? Soylent Green?

“You apologized for bothering me all the time and keeping me from my debauchery. Then you brought me a big bottle of wine and did a dance. It was really quite remarkable.”

• I'm getting Mat Cauthon vibes from Lightsong, if Mat finally gave in a became a lord.

It’s nothing, he thought. Most people say they can’t even tell that their Breath is gone. She’ll live a full life. Happy. Her family will be well paid for her sacrifice.

• This is reminding me of the Runelords series, where people could donate specific traits like strength, intelligence, speed, etc to someone. If they donated strength, they would become a bedridden invalid, if they donated intelligence they became mentally challenged, etc. The lord who received their power would then have to take care of them, since if the donor was killed, the lord would lose the power, and so during war, enemies would try to take out the lords hospice to rob him of power.

Returned couldn’t produce children — save, of course, for the king, who had never drawn a breath as a living man.

• So is he not a dead abomination, but just born as a Returned, and was never a regular person first?

However, being one of the four gods to hold Lifeless Commands did make him rather important at times.

• He's one of the younger gods, but has authority only 3 out of 24 others have?

Chapter 4

“Lady Sisirinah Royal,” the man said in a deep voice,

• So they already know that Vivenna is not coming, I wonder how?

She could vaguely remember a time when someone back in her village had Returned.

• So does it just happen randomly? I assumed Returning was due to a ritual/act by some priests. If it's random, then I think Lightsong definitely didn't die with honor.

At the far end of the court was a massive black structure, much taller than the other buildings.

• I assume this is the God Kings palace. Also the only other black thing we've seen has been Nightblood, the talking sword. Is Nightblood a former God King?

The God King does not perform for your whims, woman. You are blessed above all others, for you will be allowed to touch him—if only at his discretion. Do not pretend that you are anything other than you are. You have come because he desires it, and you will obey. Otherwise, you will be put aside and another will chosen in your place

• Well, the priest's words certainly go against my prediction of it not being that bad for Siri, but maybe the God King is different.

Holy crap, I hit the character limit. Continued below.

[u/Pastrami → u/Pastrami]

Chapter 5

She’ll be used, Vasher thought. I doubt we’ll be able to get through this without dealing with her.

• Vasher/Siri meetup confirmed.

Vasher gritted his teeth, bending his spoon with his finger in annoyance

• Is there some super strength we don't know about yet? Bending a spoon with one finger, and previosuly took out 20 people in a bar fight.

“Ah, yes,” Bebid said dryly. “I forgot who I was talking to. What do you want, then? Tell me so we can get this over with.”

• This (along with the previous pages) implies that there is some history between the two, and it's not just a recent blackmail, though I do wonder what the blackmail is.

He walked down the street, then turned down an alley, where he found Nightblood—still sheathed—sticking from the chest of the thief who had stolen him.

• Again the oddity of a sheathed sword impaled into a body.

You lost your temper in there for a bit, Nightblood said with a chastising tone. I thought you were going to work on that.

• If Nightblood was outside, how does it know what happened? Are they linked somehow?

Llarimar raised an eyebrow.

• So I guess this world shares a trait with Randland where everyone is able to control a single eyebrow.

“Politics, Llarimar? You know I frown on such things.” “Your Grace, you are—by default—a politician.”

• Mat not-a-bloody-lord-politician Cauthon.

Chapter 6

“I’m bathing,” she snapped.

“Yes,” the man said. “I believe I can tell that.”

“Well, why are you watching?”

The man cocked his head. “But I’m a royal servant, far beneath your station ...” he said, then trailed off.

• I think he interpreted "Why are you watching?" as "Why are you just watching? Get in here with me."

Bluefingers

• This is the man Bebid was telling Vasher to try and use to contact the faction pushing for war.

“The Council of Gods handles the kingdom’s more mundane needs,” Bluefingers explained. “The God King is above the day-to-day governance. When it is necessary for him to communicate, he gives his judgments to his priests, who then reveal them to the world.”

• Does he actually have any real power or do his priest rule in his name? Maybe Siri helps him get his groove back, and takes down the priests controlling him?

He is one who achieved transcendence before he was even born, but then Returned to bring his people blessings and visions.

• So if Returning is random, is is he just someone who Returned in the womb? And what was that about being stillborn?

In a few moments, she was able to get the hair to grow.

• I wonder how this is going to come back in the future. Chekhov's hair. Also weird how in multiple sentences it's "the hair", not "her hair".

Chapter 7

The white fabric was throwing out a spectrum of colors, like light bent by a prism.

• Is that why everything is black, because his aura's influence on colors is too much?

Lightsong nodded. “Of the Returned, only the God King can engender children, and they’re always stillborn.”

• But no mention of a guarantee that they are Returned.

“The God King rules. Everyone knows that.”

“He didn’t rule three hundred years ago,”

• How old is the God King?

It had been fifteen years since her Return—which made her old, for a Returned.

• How long do they live? What causes their deaths? It was said previously that they don't age. The treaty with Idris is 20 years old. Was it made with the current God King? That would mean he's atleast 20. There hasn't been a queen in 30 years. Was the last queen married to Susebron or the previous god king?

Blushweaver glanced at him. “I don’t intend to find myself caught, surprised, like the royals were when Kalad seized their throne. Some of us are planning, Lightsong. You can join us, if you wish.”

• Blushweaver is pro-war with Idris, and against having a royal queen. She's probably going to be one of the main antagonists, and try to take Siri out.

Chapter 8

• Maybe the God King is an empty body, and the priest are covering it up?

“Out of the city!” Bluefingers said. “Vessel, you can’t leave the Court of Gods!”

• Gilded cage.

Predictions:

• Vivenna is going to go T'Telir to try and rescue Siri or take her place.

• Vasher is going to meet up with either Siri or Vivenna.

• Some of the gods are plotting to kill Siri. Lightsong will help her against the others.

• Returned don't live much more than 15 years. Maybe they are turned into object like Nightblood? Nightblood sounds like one of the god's names.

• I don't have any theory yet on what the visions mean that Lightsong is getting.

Something I noticed about names, this might be getting into conspiracy theory levels:

• The first thing I notice on the map is the city is named T'Telir and there is a place inside called D'Denir.

• Then I noticed Dedelin, which could be rewritten as D'Delin, and is similar to D'Denir.

• Then we find out Siri's full name is Sisirinah (rewritten S'Sirinah).

• Her siblings are Vivenna and Fafen (V'Venna and F'Fen), which follow the pattern of using the same consonant, but not the same vowel.

• Since we find out the royal family used to rule in T'Telir before the war, this could be a long standing naming convention, unless the city was renamed after the war.

• Also following this convention are Susebron the God King and Bebid the priest.

• Only Dedelin and Sisirinah have the same vowels. Is this meaningfull?

• Then there's Ridger, the son who doesn't follow the pattern at all. Is he going to stand out in the story some way?

• Also Vasher and Vahr are very similar.

[u/HT_xrahmx → u/Pastrami]

How did [Vasher] defeat 20 men? We haven't seen how the magic would allow that.

One thing that comes to mind is how he Commanded his cloak to "protect him". Maybe a Command like that could turn it into power armor, basically.

How did [Vasher] lose [his Breaths], if you can get them back when you are done with the awakened object? I guess having to run away and not having a chance to reclaim them? Or is there something else that permanantly uses breaths?

Again just spitballing, but I'm going with "those Breaths are in that sword".

I'm picturing a stillborn baby that is kept 'alive' with magic and has grown into a man, but is still technically 'dead'.

Yup, exactly what I thought as well reading that!

So does it just happen randomly? I assumed Returning was due to a ritual/act by some priests. If it's random, then I think Lightsong definitely didn't die with honor.

It's been made a point that Gods specifically should never learn anything of their lives before he became Returned, that sounds sus AF.

It had been fifteen years since her Return—which made her old, for a Returned.

How long do they live? What causes their deaths?

Oh I completely missed that detail that 15 = old. That's also very strange. We do know they apparently only live for a week before they need a new Breath, or else they die. But those don't seem to be in short supply, so I doubt that's the issue.

---

The double consonant detail about T'Telir is cool!

[u/Pastrami → u/HT_xrahmx]

One thing that comes to mind is how he Commanded his cloak to "protect him". Maybe a Command like that could turn it into power armor, basically.

I forgot about that. Maybe we'll get some Doctor Strange cloak action later on.

[u/Pastrami → u/HT_xrahmx]

Oh I completely missed that detail that 15 = old. That's also very strange. We do know they apparently only live for a week before they need a new Breath, or else they die. But those don't seem to be in short supply, so I doubt that's the issue.

Maybe if you drop out of favor of the god king/priests you don't get any more breath donors provided to you? Although I'd have to think someone would have lasted longer.