The Way of Kings, Animated

I made an animatic for a scene from The Way of Kings from the Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. Narrated by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer.

I used various royalty free music and sound effects, along with Storyboard Pro and Adobe Premiere.

[AlbecoSound]

“What is a man’s life worth?” Dalinar asked softly.
“The slavemasters say one is worth about two emerald broams, ” Kaladin said, frowning.
“And what do you say?”
“A life is priceless, ” he said immediately, quoting his father.
Dalinar smiled, wrinkle lines extending from the corners of his eyes. “Coincidentally, that is the exact value of a Shardblade. So today, you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. And all I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that a bargain.”

Gave me chills

[ianastor]

"This will be remembered as the most ridiculous decision ever made by a Highprince!"
Said Sadeas to Dalinar, as he was making the most intelligent and profitable decision ever made on Roshar

[TheRosgath]

Man, I had forgotten how Sadeas foreshadowed the fact that he made the worst trade deal ever

[HeadCannon]

“Today, you and your men sacrificed to buy me twenty-six hundred priceless lives. And all I had to repay you with was a single priceless sword. I call that a bargain.”
-Dalinar to Kaladin right after this, in one of my favorite quotes from the whole series

[geologist_luna]

Michael Kramer sold this scene. Wow, one of the best in the book. Absolutely love The Way of Kings, and this scene was perfect.

[dragonlordjonerc]

This was the moment that made Dalinar my favorite character in the series. The entire book I dreaded that the other shoe would drop and he would be revealed as some sinister betrayer or something. This moment sealed that he is a man of honor.

[DrunkenSupah]

Dunno if you'll read this but I'd like you to know that this single animation made me pick up The Way of Kings and begin reading it. Just a few short weeks later I'm starting Oathbringer and it has been a hell of a journey. Thank you for this!

[noelhann]

I love the look of fear on Sadeas’ face! You really captured the change in emotion from Sadeas thinking he had Dalinar in his hand, to Sadeas straight up thinking he was about to die. Well done

[bhamgaming]

One of my favorite scenes of the entire series is when Dalinar uses priceless armor and weapons to dig a latrine trench for sewage. A literal god among men when it came to status, notoriety, and prowess decided to help those assigned the lowest of tasks because he had the most effective tools to do it. With that humility he used his advantages to help others instead of taking from others. With that he gained the respect of those who cared not for status, notoriety, or prowess.

[eldritchwizardkeawe]

I love the sheer terror Sadeas showed when he thought he was about to witness the return of the Blackthorn

[teabeenz]

This randomly came up in my recommended, I’ve got no idea of the context, no idea where these characters are even from, but I still got chills when he gave up that sword. Bravo 👏

[milk_choc]

Ooh, I must be a Southern Scadrian, because I was _chilled._ The shock of Dalinar giving up his Shardblade, Sadeas mocking him as he walks away... this scene never impacted me this much before, when I read it.
By the by, Adolin's left gauntlet should be missing, I think; he gave it to Dalinar.

[duathhadron]

Worthless, they call lives
A priceless sword to pay
Storming Sadeas, storms
The cost, a sword
Priceless lives, they call worthless

[GladiatorDude]

"For the bridgemen" always reminded me of "You bow to no one" from the Lord of the Rings, shed a tear every time

[tonyfriendly]

"This will be remembered as the most ridiculous decision ever made by a Highprince!"

Oh Sadeas, if only you had known how right you were.

[BillErak]

I wish brandon would forego the idea of bringing hte cosmere to Live Action and just accept the superior version would be animation. The amount of CGI they'd need alone would make the movies 90% animated anyways, just stupidly expensive in comparison to traditional animation.

Stellar job!

[ajking]

I've never heard of the "the way of kings" but this made me want to read it

[BeatchBall]

When I was reading this book and got to the moment he said, "For the Bridgemen, " I threw the book across the room and screamed.
What an amazing scene!
Kaladin was betrayed by a man he once thought honorable for a Shardblade. And now, he, and the rest of Bridge Four, were being traded for one. It was the perfect way for Dalinar to win their loyalty and respect. This book had so many good moments in it. But this was the one that trumped them all.
Well done. You captured the scene beautifully. Would like to have seen the shock on Kaladin's face, but it's still amazing.

[Jek_Skeleton]

This animation made me pick up the book six months ago. Now I've devoured my way through almost every one of sanderson's books. Thanks a lot for making this.

[andersmiltner]

This is so good. The use of Michael Kramer for the voices. The choice to animate such an emotionally impactful scene, even though it's such a understated scene. So good.