Difference between revisions of "War of Reckoning"

{{event

|participants=[[Alethkar]], [[Listeners]]

|effects=Summoning of the [[Everstorm]]

|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]

}}

 

== Background ==

 

Diplomatic relations were established, and eventually a treaty was made between the Alethi and the so-called Parshendi. The king invited a Parshendi delegation to celebrate the signing of the treaty in [[Kholinar]].{{book ref|sa1|prologue}} That night, Gavilar revealed to [[Eshonai]], a member of the delegation who could speak Alethi, his secret intention to bring back the [[Fused|old singer gods]] in order to also bring about the return of the [[Herald]]s. He mistakenly believed that the Parshendi would welcome this idea. In reality, the ancestors of the listeners had abandoned their gods in favor of freedom, and they did not want their gods to return.{{book ref|sa3|prologue}}

The majority of the Alethi armies were composed of [[darkeyed]] spearmen organized into battalions and led by [[lighteyed]] officers. Darkeyed soldiers were only allowed spears{{book ref|sa1|prologue}}, so Alethi archers and swordsmen were all lighteyes.{{book ref|sa2|76}}

 

 

The Alethi also had [[fabrial]]s, some of which, like [[grandbow]]s, had military applications.

Over the years the result was that the Alethi army lost its original purpose—to fulfil the Vengeance Pact—and their unity. The ten armies fought on their own instead of fighting united against the Parshendi.

 

=== The Battle of the Tower ===

:''Main article:'' [[Battle of the Tower]]

The [[Tower (Roshar)|Tower Plateau]] is a very large plateau not far from the center of the Shattered Plains. Because of this, the listeners always arrived first whenever a chasmfiend pupated on the Tower Plateau, and they usually had enough time to arrange themselves into battle formation and prepare their defense. Consequently, no Alethi army had ever won a battle at the Tower during the first six years of the war.

 

 

Dalinar and the remnants of his army were saved by [[Bridge Four]] led by [[Kaladin]]. In the aftermath, Dalinar made his nephew, King [[Elhokar]], declare him Highprince of War. It was Dalinar's goal to re-focus the Alethi armies into finally fulfilling the Vengeance Pact and to unite them again.{{book ref|sa1|69}}

Seeing the steady decline of her people and becoming war-weary, Eshonai was eager to find a way out of the protracted war. She had been planning to approach Dalinar Kholin and sue for peace. However her sister, the scholar [[Venli]], did not believe such a plan would work. Instead, Venli argued that they should use a [[Singer#Forms_of_Power|Form of Power]] in order to defeat the Alethi.{{book ref|sa2|i|1}}

 

 

Prior to bonding the stormspren, and with the help of Dalinar's son [[Adolin]]{{book ref|sa2|26}} and the listener warrior [[Thude]], Eshonai was finally able to arrange a meeting with Dalinar to discuss a possible end to the war. The plan was for the meeting to happen in seven days. Having received confirmation of the arrangement, Eshonai went out to experiment with stormform.{{book ref|sa2|i|5}}

Stormform gave Eshonai a different kind of armor and the ability to jump chasms more easily. She started attuning to a new set of [[Singer#Rhythms|Rhythms]] that were more aggressive.{{book ref|sa2|i|8}} More importantly, the new form changed Eshonai's personality, making her more arrogant and belligerent. She abandoned her plan to negotiate. Instead, she challenged the Alethi to try and destroy her people if they could.{{book ref|sa2|51}} She planned to lure the whole Alethi army out far away from their warcamps and destroy them with a summoned highstorm.{{book ref|sa2|i|11}}

 

 

=== The Battle of Narak ===

Szeth arrived on the battlefield on a mission from [[Taravangian]] to assassinate Dalinar, but was thwarted by [[Kaladin]].{{book ref|sa2|86}} [[Shallan Davar]] managed to find and activate the ancient [[Oathgate]] within the city, and the surviving Alethi army was safely transported to [[Urithiru]] before the combined Everstorm and highstorm destroyed the whole city of Narak.{{book ref|sa2|84}}{{book ref|sa2|86}}

 

 

== Warfare ==

 

=== The Use of Bridges Between Plateaus ===

 

During a race for a gemheart, mobile bridges were used by the Alethi armies. There were two main types of bridges.

:Bridges that functioned like siege-towers. Those were very heavy and needed to be pulled by chulls and thus were very slow. Their advantage was that they offered cover for the Alethi army until the bridge was lowered over the chasm.{{book ref|sa1|55}}{{book ref|sa1|28}}

;Light Portable Bridges

 

 

 

 

=== The Use of Shardbearers ===

{{complete}}

{{Stormlight}}