Shallan reads a clandestine letter explaining that two groups foresaw the Desolations: the Sons of Honor—expanded by Gavilar Kholin, who brought Meridas Amaram into their ranks—and the Skybreakers, secretly maintained under the Herald Nale. The letter asserts the Sons sought a Desolation to restore the Heralds, Radiants, and Vorin strength, implying this likely led to Gavilar’s assassination.

The letter also claims Nale believed new Radiants would hasten the Voidbringers’ return and personally eliminated prospective Surgebinders or used agents. It identifies Helaran—as a Skybreaker acolyte—possibly sent to kill Amaram as a proving test, and mentions that any Surgebinder in Amaram’s army had already been removed; the “bridgeman” was unknown to them. Pattern cautions that the letter contains lies. Shallan commits the page to Memory, then destroys it for safety.

Switching to her Veil persona, Shallan visits Vathah and his men in the barracks, where they play pieces and gripe about idleness. Veil casually demonstrates remarkable deduction by naming Vathah’s hidden pattern, reinforcing her authority while the men express a desire for meaningful work and concern they might drift into trouble without direction.

Veil spots a suspicious “washwoman” and exposes her as Ishnah, the woman who had shadowed them earlier. Away from the table, Ishnah claims training as a spy for House Hamaradin in Vamah’s court and says her lady died after crossing the Ghostbloods, forcing Ishnah into low-level criminal work. Veil weighs using Ishnah’s skills without revealing her own inexperience.

Determined to stop neglecting her crew, Veil proposes building a support team for upcoming infiltrations. She tasks Ishnah with training Vathah’s men in basic surveillance and support techniques, effectively turning them into a functional aid network. Ishnah, skeptical but eager to prove herself, agrees to try.