History Literature / Dawnshard

* SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: The dramatic changes Talik said the Reshi king has experienced after becoming a Dustbringer is implied (and [[https://wob.coppermind.net/events/444-dawnshard-annotations-reddit-qa/#e14326 confirmed by Sanderson]]) to be Stormlight transitioning his body into male.

** Cord also has a problem with her extremely limited Alethi, and is incredibly relieved when she learns that she and Rysn both speak Veden.

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''Dawnshard'' is a novella written by Creator/BrandonSanderson. It is part of EpicFantasy series ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''. It is set between ''Literature/{{Oathbringer}}'' and ''Rhythm of War'', and takes place three months after the end of ''Oathbringer''.

* AccidentalDiscovery: Huio disassembles a spanreed, and when he puts it back together it doesn't work right. Rushu realizes that accidentally leaving a piece of aluminum inside the casing has caused the sympathetic movement to decouple; now only lateral movement is sympathetic, side-to-side movement is normal. Meaning that she can quickly give Rysn a hover chair. Rushu says that a lot of important discoveries are accidents.

* BlaseBoast: Nikli is ''incredibly'' unconcerned with physical harm, despite being on a ship with dozens of angry sailors, two Knights Radiant, and an artefabran.

* AntiMagic: Something living in the air and waters around Aimia drains stormlight, which is why they need to send a ship instead of Windrunners. [[spoiler: It turns out that Sleepless [[MegaManning bred with Larkin]] to acquire their investiture-draining metabolism, though it apparently isn’t as effective as the original thing.]]

* CoolChair: After hearing of certain fabrial breakthroughs Rysn was hoping she would get a SuperWheelchair, maybe one that could fly. But at first it seems that the linked fabrials are ''too'' linked and won't let her move while lifted. But then they accidentally discover how to break some of the linkages, and she has a hover chair! It's still limited, but far better than anything she had before.

* CosmicKeystone: [[spoiler: The Dawnshards, the four divine commands that were used to create the universe. They still exist, and were used to splinter Adonalsium. Rysn absorbs, and becomes, the Dawnshard of Change.]]

* DueToTheDead: When the dead Santhid turns up Rysn nearly faces a mutiny. Santhids are enormously rare symbols of good luck, and to see one dead is about as blatant an ill omen as it gets. Until Rysn [[ManipulativeBastard manages to spin it]] as ''good'' luck that its body was found against all odds by people who would give it a proper burial.

* HostileTerraforming: Inverted. Aimia is desolate and uninhabitable, but before the scouring it had been made livable by some kind of MagiTech. The first move in the war was to destroy the fabrials, with disastrous results.
* HostileWeather: Aimia is surrounded by a constant storm for unknown reasons. Among other effects, this keeps out the Highstorms and means any gems on the island won't recharge. It also means that the ruins aren't buried in crem.

* ManipulativeBastard: Rysn is a benevolent one. She is a very well trained trader, and [[CharacterDevelopment has become]] very good at seeing from other's perspectives and proffering deals.

* TheReveal: The Dawnshards have been mentioned several times in earlier ''Stormlight'' books, as ancient weapons or artifacts that no one knows anything about any more. It turns out that the Dawnshard of the title is [[spoiler:an almighty Command, at least somewhat related to [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthian Breaths]]. The four Dawnshards were what were used to kill Adonalsium and they could destroy worlds if used correctly. Rysn accidentally takes the Command, making her the new Dawnshard]].

* ShootTheDog: While the Sleepless are sympathetic, their opening gambit to stop the expedition is poisoning the ship's pet sky eel. Being willing to kill the helpless and beloved pet to make a point is a sign of how ruthless they can be when pressed.
* SimpleYetAwesome: A cutting edge medical breakthrough on Roshar are ''modern style'' wheelchairs that allow you to propel yourself rather than one set up like a wheelbarrow that requires a porter.

* YourMindMakesItReal: It turns out that the relative motion of conjoined fabrials has more to do with human perception of frame of reference than anything else. It should have been obvious: this is why, for example, Spanreeds don't need to take the curvature of the planet into account.

* CoolChair: After hearing of certain fabriel breakthroughs Rysn was hoping she would get a SuperWheelchair, maybe one that could fly. But at first it seems that the linked fabriels are ''too'' linked and won't let her move while lifted. But then they accidentally discover how to break some of the linkages, and she has a hover chair! It's still limited, but far better than anything she had before.

** Cord also has a problem with her extremely limited Alethi, and is incredibly relieved when she learns that she and Rysn both speak Vedan.

* HostileTerraforming: Inverted. Aimia is desolate and uninhabitable, but before the scouring it had been made livable by some kind of MagiTech. The first move in the war was to destroy the fabriels, with disastrous results.

* YourMindMakesItReal: It turns out that the relative motion of conjoined fabriels has more to do with human perception of frame of reference than anything else. It should have been obvious: this is why, for example, Spanreeds don't need to take the curvature of the planet into account.

* SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: The dramatic changes Talik said the Reshi king has experienced after becoming a Dustbringer is implied(and [[https://wob.coppermind.net/events/444-dawnshard-annotations-reddit-qa/#e14326 confirmed by Sanderson]]) to be Stormlight transitioning his body into male.

* SupernaturallyValidatedTransPerson: The dramatic changes Talik said the Reshi king has experienced after becoming a Dustbringer is implied to be (and [[https://wob.coppermind.net/events/444-dawnshard-annotations-reddit-qa/#e14326 confirmed by Sanderson]] to be) Stormlight transitioning his body into male.

* EloquentInMyNativeTongue: In this book and all of his previous appearances, Huio speaks with very broken [[TranslationConvention Alethi]]. As seen during his conversations with Lopen in Herdazian, Huio is clearly very intelligent and articulate; the Alethi language is just particularly difficult for him.

* GhostShip: How the plot starts. The Sleepless hole a ship and send it towards the mainland, as they often do. They were unaware that this was a new ship with plenty of safety functions against sinking, so some sailors stumble upon it and realize where it came from.
** The ''Wind's Pleasure'' has earned this reputation amongst sailors, since it not only vanished in the middle of a voyage, it vanished right under the sailors' feet. It actually vanished because Shallan Soulcasted it into water to save herself and the crew.

* LivingMacguffin: [[spoiler: Rysn by the end. She has become the Dawnshard of Change, keeping it safe but with no ability to employ it on her own. WordOfGod is that, while holding it will change her and by the end we see her displaying effects [[{{Literature/Warbreaker}} similar to the Third Heightening,]] as things stand she has no capacity whatsoever to use its awesome powers herself.]]
** [[spoiler: Notably, one of the conditions the Sleepless impose for letting Rysn live after claiming the Dawnshard is that she must never bond a spren, because doing so ''would'' allow her to use the Dawnshard.]]

* LivingMacguffin: [[spoiler: Rysn by the end. She has become the Dawnshard of Change, keeping it safe but with no ability to employ it on her own. WordOfGod is that, while holding it will change her and by the end we see her displaying effects [[{{Warbreaker}} similar to the Fifth Heightening,]] as things stand she has no capacity whatsoever to use its awesome powers herself.]]

* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: The Sleepless trying to stop the expedition ''really'' doesn't want to be forced to kill them all, and Rysn in particular. When their identity is revealed they go so far as to beg Rysn to turn back, and [[PlayAlongPrisoner pretend to be imprisoned while trying a complex bluff]] as a last ditch attempt to avoid it.

* AntiMagic: Something living in the air and waters around Aimia drains stormlight, which is why they need to send a ship instead of Windrunners. [[spoiler: It turns out that Sleepless [[MegaManning bred with Larkin]] to acquire their investiture-draining metabolism.]]

* PhysicalGod: We get a bit more perspective on the Horneater religion, and learn that they have a different definition of god than the Alethi. It includes reverence for certain spren, certain powerful entities like Hoid, and the Sleepless. The latter, due to being incredibly dangerous and essentially invincible, are surprisingly high up the scale

* DontYouDarePityMe: A quiet but emphatic version. Rysn has absolutely had it with people asking 'but why?' As in 'but why would you try to do as much for yourself as you can and and overcome your disability when you're rich enough you don't need to?'