The Sunlit Man
by Brandon Sanderson
Contents
323
Overview
Outnumbered on the deck, Nomad arms himself with a staff powered by the stolen offworlder sunheart and breaks the Charred assault. He kills a Charred who slips into the cockpit, then intimidates the rest with the Chasm Kata. Seeing the Cinder King cowed, Zeal lifts off, and the enemy flees without pursuit.
Summary
Nomad, low on Investiture and hindered by lingering canker effects, forms a bo staff that can house the stolen offworlder sunheart. Auxiliary senses the sunheart’s growing power and offers limited support, giving Nomad precious reserves as some twenty Charred swarm the deck.
Nomad surges into the melee, using rapid movement, staff strikes, and momentary shielding to keep space and momentum. He disarms, trips, and hurls multiple Charred into the rain, refusing to be overwhelmed despite dwindling strength and the enemy’s healing.
When a Charred slips past Zeal and Rebeke into the cockpit, Nomad commands a spearhead, thrusts through the windshield, and shatters the attacker’s cinderheart, killing it instantly. Auxiliary warns his reserves are nearly spent; Nomad signals Zeal to take off, then turns to face the remaining Charred gathering at the bow.
Instead of pressing the fight, Nomad performs the Chasm Kata, advancing with controlled, intimidating precision. The display, coupled with the fresh kill, unnerves the Charred—whose fear mirrors the watching Cinder King’s realization of his own peril. Nomad ends with a quiet “Bridge Four,” and the Charred break, leaping from the ship. With no pursuit, Zeal lifts them away with the sunhearts.
Who Appears
- NomadProtagonist; wields a staff with the offworlder sunheart, kills a cockpit intruder, and intimidates the Charred with the Chasm Kata.
- AuxiliaryThe knight’s voice; senses the sunheart’s power, cautions Nomad about low Investiture, offers limited energy support.
- ZealPilot-ally; holds the cockpit with Rebeke, then lifts off when Nomad signals, aiding their escape.
- RebekeAlly defending the cockpit; witnesses Nomad’s kill and is shocked before departure.
- Cinder KingAntagonist observing from a nearby ship; visibly cowed by Nomad’s display and does not press pursuit.
- The CharredElite Invested warriors; swarm the deck, one invades the cockpit, then break and flee after Nomad’s kata.