Rosehip Mole asked for
Recap of The Way of Kings
8 steps, drawn by Nib. Read it here, or watch him draw it.
1the world
We're on Roshar, a world battered by huge magical storms called highstorms, where plants pull into rock and armor-shelled creatures rule the land.
2the war
On the Shattered Plains, Alethi armies chase gemhearts from monstrous Parshendi warriors, in an endless, pointless war of attrition.
3Kaladin
Kaladin was a soldier and surgeon's son, betrayed and enslaved as a bridgeman — sent to run suicide bridge charges across those chasms.
4the awakening
He slowly wakes strange powers — speed, healing, storms breathed in — and rallies his bridge crew to survive and finally fight back.
5Dalinar
Meanwhile Dalinar, a battle-hardened highprince, is haunted by visions during highstorms — ancient voices warning of a coming Everstorm and a forgotten code.
6the choice
He fights his own son's doubt and the court's scheming, choosing honor over easy politics, trying to hold the fracturing Alethi armies together.
7Shallan
And Shallan, a clever young scholar, apprentices herself to the exiled scholar Jasnah — secretly planning to steal a legendary Soulcaster to save her family.
8the reveal
All three threads collide: the Parshendi reveal their true, ancient nature, the Everstorm looms, and Kaladin's powers mark the return of the Knights Radiant.
Three broken people, one dying world — and the storm that's coming means old magic, and old enemies, are both waking up.