An epigraph notes Yelig-nar’s immense, compounded Surges and the legend that one must swallow a gemstone to invite the creature, underscoring recent events in Kholinar.

In Shadesmar, Kaladin leads a rapid march south along a narrow obsidian peninsula, struggling to suppress anger and despair over Kholinar’s fall and Elhokar’s death. Angerspren screeches pursue, drawn by strong emotion. Azure describes their nature, and Syl warns they threaten spren as well. Kaladin admits his feelings are irrational but vows control as the group—Kaladin, Shallan, Adolin, Azure, Pattern, and Syl—chooses to continue toward a distant lighthouse and the hope of a spren ship.

They hike for days with scarce food. Kaladin fights the familiar pull of numb darkness and guilt over past failures, while Adolin keeps a buoyant pace and Shallan struggles with exhaustion. Syl is unsettled by being back, viewing the place like a half-remembered dream. The unchanging sky and brittle, glasslike flora emphasize the bleakness of their route.

Seeking distraction, Kaladin asks about Syl’s past. She reveals she once bonded an elderly Knight Radiant who died in battle long ago. When the Recreance came, many of her kind perished, but she survived without a bond. The Stormfather later found her and confined her in an honorspren city in the west; she eventually slipped away, hid among windspren in the Physical Realm, and heard Kaladin’s call. As morale wanes, a bright yellow glow appears ahead: the lighthouse, their immediate goal.