Explore the real-world places that appear in The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Kharbranth, The Shattered Plains, Kholinar, Urithiru, Shadesmar Entrance and 8 more.
City of Bells and scholars
Shallan Davar seeks out Jasnah Kholin here to become her ward. Dalinar's brother's old rival Szeth is hunted by plot events, and Kaladin's old friend is not here, but Jasnah's research and Shallan's theft of her Soulcaster begin the path to the truth. Kabsal befriends Shallan and attempts to kill Jasnah as an Ghostblood-aligned assassin.
Built on a mountainous bay on the northern coast, Kharbranth is a neutral city of hospitals and libraries ruled by King Taravangian. Its terraced streets are climbed by chull-drawn carts and it is a haven for scholars and the sick.
It is where Shallan begins her journey from a desperate scheme to a true scholar and Surgebinder. The city stands for knowledge and compassion amid a world dominated by war.
Plateaus of the Alethi war
Kaladin Stormblessed is sent here as a slave in Bridge Four, carrying bridges for the Alethi armies against the Parshendi. Dalinar Kholin struggles with visions while Sadeas betrays him on a plateau, leaving his army to die. Kaladin leads Bridge Four to survive the highstorm and rescues Dalinar's forces.
The plateaus were shattered by an ancient cataclysm, leaving chasms filled with chasmfiends that produce gemhearts. The Alethi race to harvest them in a war that began with the assassination of King Gavilar.
The Plains are the crucible where Kaladin rediscovers his purpose. The endless war illustrates the cost of vengeance and honor lost.
Alethi capital city
Kholinar is the capital where King Elhokar holds the throne, though he campaigns far away. Dalinar remembers the city in visions of his past, and a past of Gavilar's reign lingers. The city is later the place of the Alethi kingdom's heart and fate.
Kholinar is an ancient walled city, seat of the Alethi monarchy. Its great walls and bound to Vorin tradition made it the center of the kingdom.
Kholinar represents the seat of the throne Dalinar must protect and the unity he struggles to restore. Its distance from the war shows how detached power can be.
Legendary lost Radiant city
Urithiru is sought in Dalinar's visions as the place he must go to unite men. The Almighty's voice tells him to gather men there, and Jasnah searches for it. Its location is hinted at as the key to the oncoming Desolation.
The tower city was the home of the Knights Radiant, built in a high mountain atop a pressing peak. Fabrial-based systems kept it warm and alive until the Radiants abandoned their oaths.
Urithiru is the destination of the story's hope: the place where lost knowledge may be reclaimed. It drives Dalinar's mission to unite the world.
Perpendicularity to the Cognitive Realm
Shallan and Jasnah travel through Shadesmar when Jasnah uses a Soulcaster to open a way across the sea. Shallan glimpses a realm of glass beads and living spren, and sees an ocean of beads where the water should be. She sees how Soulcasting changes a mind.
Shadesmar is the Cognitive Realm of Roshar, where spren live and thoughts shape reality. Perpendicularities are places where the Physical and Cognitive realms meet.
It reveals the hidden magical architecture of the world and Shallan's growing power. It also reinforces the book's theme of truth hidden beneath appearances.
Vast shallow lake of the Reshi and Purelake peoples
The Purelake is a sight of calm and ritual in the world beyond the war. It is a quiet counterpoint to the Alethi, and it represents the diversity of Roshar's culture that Dalinar hopes to unify.
The Purelake is a shallow, warm lake where people live in floating villages. The people there farm lavis polyps and are peaceful.
It shows the peaceful side of Roshar and the stakes of the coming war for every nation. The lake hints at the world beyond Alethkar that will matter later.
Southern empire of many emperors
Azir is mentioned as a distant land with its complicated Emperor system and its trade through Kharbranth. It is a land of traders and scholars whose political order differs from the Alethi.
Azir is a vast southern empire where the emperor is chosen by a unique system. Its people of the Azish trade bureaucracy and writing.
Azir represents the broader world Dalinar hopes to bring into an alliance. Its unusual bureaucracy contrasts with the warlike Alethi.
Vorin kingdom of Sadeas's rival
Jah Keved is the homeland of Shallan's family, the Davars, where her father's crimes and ruin shape her journey. Shallan carries the secrets of her house, her father's death, and her brothers while she works to save them from debt.
Jah Keved is a kingdom of Vorin tradition with powerful highprinces who answer to a king. Its houses are bound by oaths and trade.
It is the source of Shallan's burden and her drive to save her family. It connects her personal struggle to the larger political world.
Western land of the Honorblades
Szeth, the Assassin in White, comes from Shinovar, where he was declared Truthless for breaking his people's laws. He kills King Gavilar under orders from Parshendi. Szeth's own people hold to stones and oaths, and he bears his exile.
Shinovar is a land of soil and plants where highstorms do not reach. Its people hold to the Stone Shamanate and shun Surgebinding.
Szeth's origin shows how law and oaths can become chains. His story questions the book's theme of duty versus conscience.
Warrior kingdom of the Alethi
Alethkar is the home of Dalinar and his family and the kingdom whose war begins the novel. Kaladin remembers his youth in Hearthstone, its towns and Highprinces, and his service under Amaram. The kingdom's honor code is tested by betrayal.
Alethkar is a martial kingdom of ten highprinces united under the king. It follows the Vorin faith, and it long ago turned from the Knights Radiant.
Alethkar is where the story's central conflict between honor and ambition unfolds. Its fate depends on the choices of Dalinar and Kaladin.
Kaladin's hometown
Kaladin grew up here as the son of a surgeon, Lirin. He is remembered through flashbacks as he leaves with his brother Tien to join Amaram's army. Tien's death sends him to slavery.
Hearthstone is a small town in Alethkar under Lord Roshone. It is known for its humble surgeons and rural life.
It grounds Kaladin's origins in compassion and service. His loss of Tien drives his bitterness and later redemption.
Cold northern kingdoms
The Frostlands appear as a northern realm beyond Kharbranth with cold winters and trade routes. Shallan's travel takes her near its seas, and its people appear in the cities she visits.
The Frostlands are cold realms of ice and stone where winters are hard. Their peoples trade with the coast.
They expand the sense of Roshar's scale and variety. They emphasize the threats the world faces beyond the war.
Kholin warcamp on the Shattered Plains
Dalinar leads his men here while enduring visions and mockery. Kaladin's Bridge Four joins his guard and Adolin duels. Dalinar fights to restore the Alethi code despite the doubts of Sadeas and his own son.
The Kholin warcamp is one of ten around the Shattered Plains. It is known for strict discipline and honor.
It is the center of Dalinar's moral struggle. It shows how leadership guided by honor can inspire change.
More by Brandon Sanderson: All Brandon Sanderson books