What have we learnt?

• Dedelin, Siri’s father, is the King of Idris. He is also able to change the colour of his hair as he is of royal blood. They fear war. Idris holds valuable passes to the north, and Hallandren considers them to be rebels.

• Dedelin has kept Hallandren at bay through politics. A treaty has been created to keep the peace. One that demands Dedelin to send his own daughter away to marry the God King.

• Dedelin is reading a letter from Hallandren. It indicates that it is Vivenna’s twenty second birthday, and the terms of the treaty can no longer wait.

• Dedelin and his general, Yarda, know that this treaty will be broken eventually. There were Vendis raids last fall, and the Idris troops have still not recovered. They can not afford a defensive war in the summer, and their best defense would be snow.

• Dedelin hopes that the rebel leader Vahr and his Pahn Kahl dissidents would draw away the attention, but he has been captured and his army dispersed. The peace will not last. Their only hope is to delay the inevitable attack a few months to prepare, and to do this Dedelin must comply with the demands of the treaty.

• Furthermore, Yarda is sure that with more time, he can bring the Tedradel to their cause. Tedradel has hated Hallandren since the Manywar. He also thinks he could provoke Vahr’s broken rebel faction in Hallandren itself. At the very least, they could build, gather supplies, and live for another year. If they don’t send the princess to Hallandren the war will be seen as their fault.

• The Hallandren court needs a daughter of the royal blood to reintroduce the traditional bloodline into their monarchy. It is the only specific clause in the treaty that has kept Idris safe for the last twenty years. The Hallandren army includes fourty thousand Lifeless.

• The treaty was the first act of Dedelin’s reign, negotiated furiously following his father’s assassination. Dedelin knows that if he sends his daughter to marry, he will be sending her to death. He knows, that when war strikes, his daughter will be used against him.

• Vivenna is the perfect image of an Idris woman. She is composed, simple, hard, and capable. She has always made her father proud, and has earned the love and respect of her people. Dedelin imagines that she would make a great queen. She has been preparing to be the God King’s wife her entire life and she feels like she is ready.

• Dedelin decides to send Siri in her place for the treaty is unspecific, and states only that he must send his daughter on Vivenna’s twenty-second birthday. Not which daughter. Dedelin knows that this would makes them angry. Although, he also knows that they would not attack until a royal-blooded heir was born. That gives them at least nine months. Dedelin sends his youngest daughter – Siri – to marry, and conceive a baby with the God King.

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Favourite Sentence

‘The paper was a bright pink, and the garnish colour stood out on his desk like a drop of blood in the snow.’

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Characters

• Dedelin

• Yarda

• Vivenna

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Buy the Book on Amazon!

• Warbreaker – https://amzn.to/2QzKFGh

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Other Books by Sanderson!

• Three fantasies: Tales from the Cosmere: Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul, Warbreaker – https://amzn.to/2W3p2zp

• Way of Kings: The Stormlight Archive – https://amzn.to/2JPF4uP

• The Final Empire: The Mistborn Trilogy – https://amzn.to/2wtcy9N

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What have we learnt?

• Siri is 17 years old and is the daughter to a King. She is the youngest of four siblings. Fafen, the daughter just older than Siri, has done the family duty of becoming a monk. Ridger, the eldest son, will inherit the throne. And then there is Vivenna, the firstborn. She is beautiful and betrothed to a god. Siri feels unimportant, and feels she can get away with things that the others can’t. She considers this a blessing.

• Siri lives in Bevalis, the capitol of Idris. Although, it is hardly a village compared to metropolises in other nations. It is quieter compared to these other cities, which include, Xaka, Hudres, and Hallandren.

• Idris children are trained to to avoid outbursts of emotion. Austrin teaching say that drawing attention to one’s emotions is wrong. Austre is their religious creater. Other than the colour of eyes and skin, there is no colour in Bevalis. Stones are whitewashed and clothing is bleached grey or tan. For without colour, there can be no Awakeners.

• Mab is the kitchen mistress, and Siri enjoys spending time in the kitchen. It is a bad time for some reason. Idris has a treaty with Hallandren, but Hallanden has better armies, more steel, more food, and something else… They hope that Hallandren will leave them alone.

• Siri’s father is in a conference with Yarda, and they usually last for hours.

• Siri’s hair changes colour with emotion, but she is not very good at controlling it. Unlike her sister, Vivenna, who is good at controlling it. Some of those hair colours include white with anxiety, blond with joy and excitement, and a deep blond when she is thrilled.

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Personal Chapter Analysis

The character’s existed in the story before we opened the book…

• Again, Brandon locks the reader inside the mind of his Character. Instead of just stating that Siri is unimportant, he writes, ‘there were great advantages to being unimportant’, before continuing to explore this concept through Siri’s feeling against the world around her. Brandon does this so we can experience the world through the mind of this character as opposed to describing us a narrative. This makes us feel like we are a part of the story.

• Another example is: ‘Still, she thought, looking down at her utilitarian grey dress, I’ll bet those cities have more colours. That’s something I might like to see.’ Instead of simply telling us that Siri lives in a city without much colour, he shows us through the eyes of the character. By making her look down at her dress, we are locked in this first person point of view. Not only that, but he does this in a way that makes us feel like Siri has had these thought before. That the character’s existed in the story before we opened the book.

Siri feels unimportant, and yet she values her own reputation with ignorance…

• Brandon provides internal conflict – or a contradiction of thoughts – right from the start of this characters introduction. Siri is unimportant, yet she is the daughter of a king. She is the youngest child and feels the most redundant, yet see’s the bright side of this by being able to excape from the world and get away with things. Siri can disappear, even though she draws inevitable stares.

‘Being a princess—even an unimportant one—did have its perks.’ Siri feels unimportant, and yet she values her own reputation with ignorance. I feel that Brandon has done this to reflect her age. She is still working out where she stands in this world.

The contrast between her love for flowers and careless attitude for society makes Siri and interesting character…

• Although Siri is just a seventeen year old girl, Brandon does well to make her appear special. She is different. She considers her unimportance to be a blessing – something not many seventeen year olds would think. An interesting character is necessary in capturing a readers interest.

• “I like words. And I always learn a few new ones when Father gets angry. I shouldn’t neglect my education, now should I?” She defies her own father and is fearless to the consequences. She is a dark horse in the form of a sweet seventeen year old girl..

• Siri is an irresponsible princess who enjoys being by herself. She has a strong opinion of the world around her. She is a bit of a rebel, not afraid to seek joy in a place that frowns upon open emotion. She takes fancy to colour in a place where colour has been forbidden. The contrast between her love for flowers and careless attitude for society makes Siri and interesting character that stands against stereotype.

They simply exist and we have entered at a later point in their lives...

• This chapter is almost fairytale in comparison to the last. From a dirty prisoner who is used to the sight of blood, to a ditsy teenage girl who likes flowers and pretty colours. This shows off Brandon’s skills in his variations of character and his ability to make each feel true to the reader.

• Furthermore, we really feel like each character has a background. A place they have come from. Experiences they have encountered. With many references to past influences and occurences, mixed in with simple everyday tasks such as cutting vegetables, we really feel like these characters are just living in this world that they were born into.They have lives that have not been implanted into the book just for the sake of the story. They simply exist and we have entered at a later point in their lives.

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Favourite Sentence

‘The flowers stood out starkly against the town’s determined drabness.’

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Characters

• Siri

• Mab

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Buy the Book on Amazon!

• Warbreaker – https://amzn.to/2QzKFGh

---

Other Books by Sanderson!

• Three fantasies: Tales from the Cosmere: Elantris, The Emperor’s Soul, Warbreaker – https://amzn.to/2W3p2zp

• Way of Kings: The Stormlight Archive – https://amzn.to/2JPF4uP

• The Final Empire: The Mistborn Trilogy – https://amzn.to/2wtcy9N

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