The Stormlight Archive 5 could feature Dalinar Kholin on the cover.

If you’ve been following the release of Rhythm of War, the fourth book in the Stormlight Archive, you’ve likely seen cover artist Michael Whelan making some comments. For the launch of the new cover, he gave some insight into the cover for said book. However, along the way, it looks like all of this has reignited confusion surrounding the cover for The Way of Kings, the first book in the series.

The cover features a Shardplate wearer holding up a long sword, seemingly saluting an enemy in the distance along the Shattered Plains. In the past, author Brandon Sanderson had stated the characters to be Dalinar Kholin and the Parshendi warrior Eshonai. However, as we reported yesterday based on a statement on Twitter from Whelan’s assistant, that was never the intention with the cover of The Way of Kings.

“The cover was meant to convey the conflict at the Shattered Plains,” the tweet from Whelan’s assistant stated. 

This goes contrary to what Sanderson has stated in the past…and Sanderson actually took to Reddit to respond to the claims from Whelan.

RELATED – The Rhythm Of War Cover Finally Puts This Stormlight Archive Character Front-And-Center!

“Huh. I’ve been told (granted, second hand) that he intended it to be Dalinar and Eshonai–but then again, he wasn’t as familiar with the series when he did that cover as he is now. He’s mentioned before he wished he’d made the cloak blue,” Sanderson wrote.

With this in mind, we can understand that Dalinar Kholin — despite being one of the main three characters of the series — has yet to grace the cover of a Stormlight Archive novel. Is this something Sanderson hopes to remedy?

“I think a Dalinar cover will be appropriate for the next book,” Sanderson wrote. “So there’s a very good chance that’s the way we go.”

Obviously, this is no confirmation. Sanderson has yet to put pen to paper on The Stormlight Archive 5, so that can change in an instant. Plus, given the trajectory of entries in the past, we are looking at around three-ish years or so until that book hits. This would mean the marketing side of things over at Tor (or even Michael Whelan) could decide to go a different route.

Would you like to see Dalinar Kholin on the cover of The Stormlight Archive 5? Sound off down below!

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SOURCE: Michael Whelan, Brandon Sanderson