Dawnshard (2020) is an epic fantasy novella by Brandon Sanderson, set in his interconnected Cosmere universe. The story is a bridge between the third and fourth books of The Stormlight Archive, Oathbringer and Rhythm of War. The narrative follows Rysn Ftori, a young merchant who uses a wheelchair, as she embarks on a perilous voyage to the mythical, storm-shrouded island of Akinah, the lost capital of Aimia. Motivated by the need to save her ailing larkin, Chiri-Chiri, Rysn must navigate sabotage from a mysterious enemy and uncover ancient secrets that could alter the fate of Roshar. The novella explores themes of Accommodation as a Path to Empowerment, The Dangers of Secrecy, and Change as a Strategy for Survival.

The novella originated as a stretch goal during a highly successful 2020 Kickstarter campaign for a special edition of The Way of Kings, illustrating a modern publishing model of direct author-to-reader engagement. Sanderson is a bestselling author known for his complex magic systems and for completing Robert Jordan’s acclaimed The Wheel of Time series. In Dawnshard, he subverts the fantasy genre’s common “magical cure” trope. Working in consultation with accessibility experts, Sanderson centers the narrative on the social model of disability. Instead of seeking to magically reverse her paralysis, Rysn actively adapts her environment to her needs, collaborating with others to develop assistive technologies like a hovering chair. Her journey emphasizes adaptation, innovation, and self-advocacy, reflecting the novella’s focus on agency, accessibility, and collaboration.

This guide is based on the 2021 Tor Books edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain descriptions of graphic violence, illness or death, ableism, and animal death.

Plot Summary

Rysn Ftori bah-Vstim, a young Thaylen merchant who uses a wheelchair, searches for a worthwhile voyage for her ship, the Wandersail, while worrying about her pet larkin, Chiri-Chiri, who is suffering from a mysterious ailment. Larkin are rare, winged creatures capable of consuming Stormlight, the magical energy that fuels many fabrials and the abilities of the Knights Radiant. Her concerns are interrupted by the sudden arrival of Talik, a man from the Reshi Isles, who tells her that Chiri-Chiri must be taken back to her ancestral home: the mythical, storm-shrouded island of Akinah. This aligns with a request from Queen Navani Kholin of Urithiru, who seeks a ship to investigate a strange, permanent storm near Akinah, the last known location of a ghost ship called the First Dreams.

Rysn travels to the great tower-city of Urithiru and accepts the mission, negotiating a generous payment and access to Navani’s experimental fabrial technology, which may help her develop new mobility tools. In return, Rysn agrees to transport Rushu, Navani’s scribe and an ardent familiar with fabrial technology, to the island to investigate the storm and a possible hidden enemy stronghold. The mission also includes two Windrunners—a type of flying Knight Radiant—Lopen, a gregarious Herdazian, and his quiet cousin, Huio. They are accompanied by Cord, a Horneater woman who can see spren, spirits connected to Roshar’s magic.

The voyage aboard the Wandersail is tense. Rysn faces quiet hostility from her captain, Drlwan, and the crew, who she realizes resent her for being given the ship by Vstim, Rysn’s former babsk (trade master) and their former employer, a role Drlwan had expected might become hers. The crew’s morale is further damaged by a series of what they perceive as terrible omens: the ship’s pet skyeel is found dead, and their entire grain supply becomes infested with worms. Rysn turns the second omen to her advantage by navigating to the shores of Hexi and trading the wormy grain to nomads who consider the grubs a delicacy, securing a large supply of jerky and earning a measure of the crew’s respect. Their journey is again disrupted by a third omen: the floating corpse of a santhid, a massive and revered sea creature. When Rysn reframes the discovery as a blessing and orders the crew to tow the corpse for a proper funeral, the body disintegrates into a swarm of thousands of tiny crustaceans called cremlings. Rysn now believes a saboteur is aboard, deliberately trying to frighten them into turning back. Her head porter, Nikli, suggests Cord is the culprit, and Rysn sets a trap. When Nikli presents a bag of poison he claims to have found among Cord’s belongings, Rysn reveals she had already secretly searched the room and found nothing, exposing Nikli as the true saboteur. He warns her to turn back but offers no explanation, so Rysn has the Windrunners leave him and his assistant, Plamry, on the main island of Aimia with food and water until they can be recovered later.

The Wandersail successfully penetrates the violent, unnatural storm surrounding Akinah, using its advanced fabrials and the crew’s skill, with Lopen saving two sailors washed overboard. They arrive at a small, strangely quiet island surrounded by a ring of towering rock spires. The beach is littered with the ancient carapaces of greatshells and what appear to be valuable diamond gemhearts. While Lopen, Huio, and Rushu lead a party ashore to investigate, Chiri-Chiri is suddenly invigorated by a swarm of ordinarily invisible luckspren and dives into the ocean, leaving Rysn afraid she may not return. The shore party soon discovers that the gemhearts are fakes made of Soulcast quartz and that the city ruins on the surface are also a fabrication, designed to be a convincing decoy. Lopen and Rushu find a hidden entrance leading to an underground cavern containing Akinah’s functional Oathgate, a magical transportation platform. Lopen realizes the surface ruins were meant to mislead visitors, then flies back toward the beach just as the shore party is attacked by a monstrous, grub-like greatshell.

The climax unfolds on two fronts. On the ship, Nikli and other figures rise from the sea, revealing themselves to be the Sleepless, an ancient race whose individual bodies are made of swarms of cremling-like hordelings that can form humanlike bodies and impersonate people. As they seize the ship, killing three crewmen, Cord grabs Rysn and leaps overboard. Guided by luckspren, they swim through an underwater tunnel into the caverns of the true Akinah. There, they discover a chamber containing a full set of Shardplate and several Soulcasters, featuring a large mural of an exploding sun. As the Sleepless close in, Rysn gazes at the mural and feels an immense power, the Command to CHANGE, flow into her. She has unwittingly accepted the burden of a Dawnshard, one of the ancient Commands connected to divine power. Meanwhile, on the beach, Huio swears the Third Ideal of the Windrunners to protect the wounded Lopen, summoning a Shardweapon and killing the monster, only for six more to rise from the water. Just as the Sleepless are about to kill Rysn, a healthy and vivid Chiri-Chiri returns, standing between Rysn and the Sleepless as one of Akinah’s Ancient Guardians.

Facing the now-healthy guardian and Rysn, who now holds the Dawnshard, the Sleepless hesitate. Rysn, drawing on the lessons of her master, initiates a formal Thaylen negotiation. She realizes the Sleepless are guardians acting out of fear that the Dawnshard will be misused. She proposes a new plan: She will become the Dawnshard’s vessel, hiding it in plain sight within the mind of an unassuming merchant. The expedition will return with a story of passing the island’s “trials” to win the treasure they found, creating a new layer of misdirection. In exchange for the Shardplate and Soulcasters, and the crew’s safe release, Rysn agrees to secretly train some of the Sleepless to better understand and imitate humanity. After the Sleepless vote among themselves, they agree, halting their attack. Cord keeps the Shardplate, though Nikli warns that wearing it carries the burden of guarding the Dawnshard. After Huio explains that Lopen’s jokes can hurt the people he loves, Lopen resolves to be better, a realization that allows him to swear his own Third Ideal and gain a Shardblade. The Wandersail departs, its surviving crew rich and safe, with Akinah’s true secret still hidden. Now perceiving the world with supernaturally vivid senses, Rysn is recognized by Captain Drlwan as a worthy rebsk (shipmaster), and her altered senses reveal the lasting effects of the Dawnshard.