History Literature / RhythmOfWar

** Cultivation had planned for a long time for [[spoiler: Taravangian to replace Rayse as Odium's Vessel, with the expectation that he would be a more responsible wielder of the Shard's power. While Taravangian does kill and replace Rayse as planned, it quickly becomes apparent through both Taravangian's thoughts and his interaction with Wit that he is just as dangerous, with him explictly thinking about [[KnightTemplar "saving" the rest of the Cosmere.]]]]

** The Pursuer, after spending the entire novel being an arrogant, self-obsessed, petty bully, [[spoiler: gets soundly trounced by Kaladin - who at the time [[DePowerZone ''can't even use his Surges'']] - in front of a crowd of singers and humans, and ends up fleeing in terror, effectively destroying his status as a fearsome ImplacableMan. When he comes back to try and kill an emotionally destroyed Kaladin, Kaladin snaps from catatonia into berserker fury and ''brutally'' kills the Pursuer's body. Then he reincarnates in front of a superior who first taunts him for his failure and then uses him to try out a new weapon, one that finally kills him DeaderThanDead.]]

** The Pursuer, after spending the entire novel being an arrogant, self-obsessed, petty bully, [[spoiler: gets soundly trounced by Kaladin in front of a crowd of singers and humans, and ends up fleeing in terror, effectively destroying his status as a fearsome ImplacableMan. When he comes back to try and kill an emotionally destroyed Kaladin, Kaladin snaps from catatonia into berserker fury and ''brutally'' kills the Pursuer's body. Then he reincarnates in front of a superior who first taunts him for his failure and then uses him to try out a new weapon, one that finally kills him DeaderThanDead.]]

* BuxomIsBetter: Veil spots one of Adolin's old girlfriends, Dakhnah, and wonders if they should set Kaladin up with her. There are two big reasons why.

* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Over the intervening year between Oathbringer and thsi book, the battles between the Windrunner Radiants and the ''shanay-im'' Fused have become increasingly ritualized and duel-like: They fight one-on-one duels with any extras on either side hanging back and waiting their turn, and wounded on both sides will often be allowed to disengage. When challenged on this by Dalinar, Kaladin points out that the ''shanay-im'' generally outnumber the Windrunners and can replace their losses far more easily by sacrificing their civilians, so playing along with these rules helps the Windrunners more than the Fused.

* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: Over the intervening year between Oathbringer and thsi book, the battles between the Windrunner Radiants and the ''shanay-im'' Fused have become increasingly ritualized and duel-like: They fight one-on-one duels with any extras on either side hanging back and waiting their turn, and wounded on both sides will often be allowed to disengage. When challenged on this by Dalinar, Kaladin points out that the ''shanay-im'' generally outnumber the Windrunners and can replace their losses far more easily, so playing along with these rules helps the Windrunners more than the Fused.

** The Leader of the Ghostbloods, Thaidakar, is ''heavily'' implied to be [[spoiler:[[Literature/{{Mistborn}} Kelsier]]. Hoid calls Thaidakar "Lord of Scars", in likely reference to the numerous scars running down his arms, and notes he may have to beat him up "again" as he had in ''Literature/MistbornSecretHistory''.]]

* CourtroomAntics: Hypocritically enough, the honorspren Sekeir drags Mayalaren into Adolin's trial as a witness, claims to speak on her behalf, and exploits her distress to grandstand about the evils of humanity. [[spoiler:This [[NiceJobFixingItVillain utterly backfires]] on him when she has a MomentOfLucidity and calls him out.]]

** [[spoiler:Sekeir's CourtroomAntics infuriate Mayalaren enough to snap her out of her deadeye catatonia and reveal the truth of the Recreance. After the moment passes, she's still more lucid and communicative than she was before.]]

** Pursuer decides to disregard Moash's orders and attack Kaladin once again [[spoiler: which results in Kaladin snapping out of his numbness, his own permanent death, and ultimately humans and singers uniting to protect the Radiants]].

* WrongContextMagic: That Lift has an unusual relationship with Stormlight was established in her introduction all the way back in ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance''. In this book, we find out that, unique among Knights Radiant, [[spoiler: her powers are paid for with Cultivation's Lifelight, rather than Honor's Stormlight]].

* CourtroomAntics: Hypocritically enough, the honorspren Sekeir drags Mayalaren into Adolin's trial as a witness, claims to speak on her behalf, and exploits her distress to grandstand about the evils of humanity. [[spoiler:This utterly backfires on him when she has a MomentOfLucidity and calls him out.]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:In the epilogue, Wit encounters Odium and notices that Odium is acting differently, hinting that Taravangian has taken over. Odium alters his memory to remove this revelation]].

* MeaningfulName: Turns out that [[spoiler: Veil has one. She's more than just Shallan's stealth-and-infiltration persona – she's the keeper of Shallan's worst memories, the ''veil'' drawn over her past.]]

* MercyKill: [[spoiler:Raboniel wanted the opposite-Voidlight for many reasons, and one of them was to put her daughter out of her misery. Navani later inflicts this on her at Raboniel's own request]].

* ActuallyPrettyFunny: Even the other Fused pick up Kaladin's jibe about [[spoiler:renaming Lezian to "Defeated One".

* AbnormalAmmo: That Lift has an unusual relationship with Stormlight was established in her introduction all the way back in ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance''. In this book, we find out that, unique among Knights Radiant, [[spoiler: her powers are paid for with Cultivation's Lifelight, rather than Honor's Stormlight]].

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler: The Sibling says that if Raboniel fully corrupts them with Voidlight, they'll become one of the Unmade.]]

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Several of the Radiant Orders are limited by the number of spren willing to form bonds. Kaladin has dozens of Windrunner squires ready to step forward, but he remains capped at about fifty Windrunners because there are only that many honorspren willing to risk bonding humans. Similarly, they haven't been able to recruit any new Elsecallers because Ivory was the only inkspren willing to defy his kind's prohibition on bonding. Convincing more spren to be willing to bond with humans is why Adolin and Shallan lead an envoy to the honorspren.
** This is most pronounced for Bondsmiths. While it was revealed in ''Oathbringer'' that there were only ever three Bondsmiths at any one time, we learn ''which'' three this time around. [[spoiler: The Stormfather, the Sibling, and the Nightwatcher.]]

* AwesomeYetImpractical / BoringButPractical: The ''Fourth Bridge'' zig-zags these tropes in equal measure in different ways.
** AwesomeYetImpractical: From a design perspective, the ''Fourth Bridge'' (and thus any current model of airship) is extremely inefficient when it comes to the manpower, fabriels, and coordination involved to transport troops from point A to point B. Just getting that one ship in the air requires two separate lattices of conjoined fabrials in two separate locations, hundreds of gemstones which need to be perpetually reinfused, teams of chulls to provide horizontal motion, hundreds of people working winches to raise and lower the ship, and careful co-ordination using half a dozen different spanreed sets. It works, but the sheer manpower and logistics involved make it impractical to field on any substantial scale. It takes nearly as many people to operate it as it can transport. Hoever, simply by getting a functioning prototypical design working, Navani and her crew are given plenty of praise, because now her design can be refined, improved upon, and made more efficient by others.
** BoringYetPractical: All of the above in mind, the ship still flies, which is more than can be said of any other attempt. It may be a simple platform with people standing on top of it, but that has its own advantages.
--->'''Navani:''' Five knots. Not particularly fast, compared to your best ships.\\
'''Kmakl:''' Pardon, Brightness. But this is essentially a giant barge--and for that five knots is impressive, even ignoring the fact that it is ''flying''. This ship is faster than an army marching at double time--yet it brings your troops in fresh ''and'' provides its own mobile high ground for archery support.
** The flying glove fabrial definitely fits into the AwesomeyetImpractical category. A small mistake could see your hand crushed, your arm mangled, your arm ripped off, your life not being alive any more... Kaladin spends some time practicing, but even he makes some mistakes and only his long experience as a Windrunner and GoodThingYouCanHeal powers keep it from permanently crippling him.

* BilingualBonus a woman Shallan identifies by her voice is named "Ulina", which in Finnish means screech or whine.

* BoringButPractical: Lirin thinks that since Radiants can heal with magic, surgeons like himself are obsolete. Kaladin points out that Radiant healing is limited by Stormlight, can only heal relatively recent injures, and there are only a bit over fifty Radiants capable of healing (mostly Edgedancers plus three Truthwatchers). Plus most of the Radiants' time is taken up in the war effort, so only the worst injures are treated by them. Even without the war going on, conventional medicine will still be needed both for injuries Radiants don't have time to treat as well as old wounds and chronic illnesses.

* DamselInDistress / DamselOutOfDistress: Navani is captured by the Fused after they [[spoiler: conquer Urithiru, but ultimately escapes on her own after she bonds with the Sibling.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: On discovering that anti-Voidlight annihilates Voidlight, Raboniel's first act is to very careful kill her mindlessly damaged daughter forever.
-->'''Raboniel:''' No more rebirth. No more Returns. Free at last, my baby. ''Free.''

* FateWorseThanDeath: The Sibling [[spoiler: considers being corrupted this trope. They won't become a deadeye if fully tainted with Voidlight, they'll become an ''Unmade''.]]

* MentalHealthRecoveryArc: This book finally sets Kaladin on the path to recovering from his trauma, both through retiring from active combat and helping others with mental health issues. [[spoiler: This culminates in his slave brands finally healing as he speaks his fourth ideal.]]

-->'''Navani:''' You'd ''actually'' let Urithiru fall rather than share what you know? If we lose the Oathgates permanently, that's ''it'' for the war. That's ''it'' for your homeland.
-->({{Beat}})
-->'''Navani:''' Fine. I hope that when you die - knowing your homeland is doomed, your families enslaved, your queen executed - you feel satisfied knowing that at least you maintained a small market advantage.

* SpellMyNameWithAThe: The Sibling, along with the previously introduced [[spoiler: Bondsmith]] spren, the Stormfather and the Nightwatcher.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: DiscussedTrope. Due to prejudices, progression in care for mental health ground to a halt long ago, with any explanations for unhelpful or even detrimental treatments being excused as referencing other authorities that themselves are based on little but guesses. Kaladin realizes this after seeing the conditions of one BedlamHouse, and takes it upon himself to [[DefiedTrope be the therapist himself]] for various methodologies, something that prompts his father to realize how poorly they have handled "sanity" in the past.

* WhamShot: One done via description. In the battle against Ishar, Szeth attacks him with [[ArtifactOfDoom Nightblood]]. Ishar parries with his Honorblade...and Nightblood leaves ''a chip in the Blade.'' Shardblades are indestructible, Honorblades even moreso... and Nightblood [[BeyondTheImpossible damaged it anyway.]]

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The Fused. Odium gave the Fused Surgebinding powers and a form of immortality. This made them terrifying foes during the Desolations, but four thousand years on [[PhysicalHell Braize]] has left most them completely bonkers.
** The singers even have a name for "the lost ones," Fused who stare into space when not given explicit instructions.

* PhysicalHell: Braize is visited and described by someone. Apparently even in Shadesmar, it is a really bad place to go, and out if it, it is unclear how it can sustain life or an atmosphere.

** Wit has gained Lightweaver powers offscreen, demonstrated when he uses them to illustrate a story for Kaladin.

* LiteralMetaphor: Early on in the story, multiple characters are asked to speculate on the Ghostbloods' ultimate goal for meddling with Roshar, and cannot come up with anything better than "power". According to Mraize, the Ghostbloods are in part interested in power in the literal sense: they're trying to find a way to transport Stormlight out of the Rosharan system so they can sell it on other Shardworlds where loose Investiture is much harder to find.

* BilingualBonus a woman Shallan identifies by her voice is named "Ulina", which in Finnish means screech or whine.

* TheUnfettered: Deconstructed in Vyre/Moash. Odium takes away Moash's emotions, making him into Vyre, a deadly calm monster. But when Vyre's connection to Odium is disrupted, all his anger and guilt come flooding back, to the point that he's almost paralyzed.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: Navani suddenly downs her glass of wine once she is alone due to the combined revelations that [[spoiler:Gavilar had been plotting deicide]] and [[spoiler:Raboniel had been lying about being willing to leave Urithiru once they finished their experiments]].

* RightForTheWrongReasons: Venli informs Rlain that they have to be careful of lurking cremlings because, due to not being able to turn invisible, voidspren will use them as a hiding spot. Only, [[spoiler:they're actually Sleepless Ones, a Hive Mind race of cremling-like things]].

* RightForTheWrongReason: Venli informs Rlain that they have to be careful of lurking cremlings because, due to not being able to turn invisible, voidspren will use them as a hiding spot. Only, [[spoiler:they're actually Sleepless Ones, a Hive Mind race of cremling-like things]].