Thirty-one years earlier, Dalinar broods through a feast at a fortified waystop as a highstorm rages. Gavilar entertains the Westerner Toh, who marvels at Alethi Soulcasters, Shards, and warfare. Dalinar, restless and out of place among politics and etiquette, wanders into the storm and returns soaked, inadvertently impressing Toh with Alethi boldness.

Navani and Ialai join the high table, and the conversation turns frank: Toh and his sister Evi seek protection, bringing the promise of Shardplate. Ialai frames marriage as the price; aligning Evi with Dalinar would secure asylum and bind Toh to the Kholins. Gavilar outlines a strategy to unite Alethkar through legitimacy and treaties rather than more war, invoking the old Codes and lessons from the Sunmaker’s overreach.

As Evi briefly appears from the women’s hall and Toh hovers nearby, Dalinar notices a server palming a knife. He kicks Gavilar’s chair to spoil the strike, then overpowers the attacker and kills him with the very blade. The room reels; Toh and Evi watch in shocked awe while Sadeas denounces the cowardly attempt.

With the threat ended, Navani tends Gavilar, and the leaders read the moment: their enemies are desperate, and alliances matter. Accepting political necessity and relinquishing any hope regarding Navani, Dalinar agrees to marry Evi, securing Toh’s promised Shardplate and strengthening Gavilar’s bid for broader legitimacy.