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The Emperor's Soul Page 17
Author: Brandon Sanderson

In short, he would become a fighter. He would take that single—but so hard—step across the line from dreamer to doer. Gaotona could see it, in these pages.

He found himself weeping.

Not for the future or for the emperor. These were the tears of a man who saw before himself a masterpiece. True art was more than beauty; it was more than technique. It was not just imitation.

It was boldness, it was contrast, it was subtlety. In this book, Gaotona found a rare work to rival that of the greatest painters, sculptors, and poets of any era.

It was the greatest work of art he had ever witnessed.

Gaotona held that book reverently for most of the night. It was the creation of months of fevered, intense artistic transcendence—forced by external pressure, but released like a breath held until the brink of collapse. Raw, yet polished. Reckless, but calculated.

Awesome, yet unseen.

So it had to remain. If anyone discovered what Shai had done, the emperor would fall. Indeed, the very empire might shake. No one could know that Ashravan’s decision to finally become a great leader had been set in motion by words etched into his soul by a blasphemer.

As morning broke, Gaotona slowly—excruciatingly—stood up beside his hearth. He clutched the book, that matchless work of art, and held it out.

Then he dropped it into the flames.

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Brandon Sanderson's Novels
» Legion
» Elantris (Elantris #1)
» The Emperor's Soul
» The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive #1)
» Warbreaker (Warbreaker #1)
» Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz #1)
» Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones (Alcatraz #2)
» Alcatraz Versus the Knights of Crystallia (Alcatraz #3)
» Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Lens (Alcatraz #4)
» The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1)
» The Well of Ascension (Mistborn #2)
» Mistborn: The Final Empire (Mistborn #1)
» The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)
» Infinity Blade: Awakening (Infinity Blade #1)
» The Alloy of Law (Mistborn #4)
» Infinity Blade: Redemption (Infinity Blade #2)
» The Hope of Elantris (Elantris #1.5)
» The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time #12)
» Towers of Midnight (Wheel of Time #13)
» A Memory of Light (Wheel of Time #14)