In the quiet after the storm, Dalinar insists the king in his vision was Nohadon. Navani presses for historical anchors, arguing the Dawnchant evidence best validates the visions. Dalinar worries about manipulation and hesitates to publicize them, while Renarin maintains that seeing the past is not heresy.

Discussion shifts to the Old Magic. Navani reveals Dalinar once sought the Nightwatcher; Dalinar admits it but says his known curse does not relate to the visions. Renarin supports this conclusion, emphasizing the Nightwatcher’s one-boon, one-curse pattern. Dalinar remains uncertain of the visions’ source and intent, and asks whom they can trust.

They explore Desolations through myth, with Navani citing Parasaphi and Nadris and the cyclical wars against Voidbringers. Dalinar wonders if the visions aim to recast the Knights Radiant favorably, yet Navani doubts deception, noting legends portray Radiants as not always tyrants. Overwhelmed, Dalinar asks to be left alone.

Navani confronts him privately, confessing frustration at being treated as a relic of a dead king and pleading to be seen as herself. Dalinar, torn between duty and long-suppressed desire, kisses her. They acknowledge the impropriety and potential denunciations but refuse to disavow what happened, agreeing to find a way forward while Dalinar asks for time.

Amid their resolve, Navani shares troubling signs: the Shin Shardbearer in white has slain the king of Jah Keved; surgeons whisper of strange death utterances; stormwardens say highstorms are intensifying; Jasnah hunts dangerous knowledge. Dalinar promises not to abandon Navani, feeling paradoxically steadied even as the world’s threats mount.