Kaladin supervises the lighteyes’ practice grounds while coordinating Bridge Four logistics through Lopen’s reports: troop tallies, food needs, and fitness assessments. He plans patrol routes beyond the warcamps, adjusts Sigzil’s path to stay close, and orders relief for overworked guards, intending to personally watch Dalinar’s family during the predicted highstorm and potential recurrence of mysterious storm-borne numbers.

Kaladin observes Adolin’s dazzling Shardblade warm-up, then joins Zahel as the swordmaster begins training Renarin. Zahel orders Renarin, in full Plate, to jump from the training roof to learn the armor’s protection and limits. Despite clumsiness, Renarin obeys eagerly, impressing Zahel with obedience and fearlessness. Zahel invites Kaladin to train against Shardbearers; Kaladin protests he wants no Shards and doubts Renarin’s suitability, but Zahel counters that the prince’s attitude is promising.

Zahel tests Kaladin with a blunted Shardblade. Feinting by dropping the Blade, Zahel closes and floors Kaladin, then pressures him around the grounds with swift, efficient strikes. They simulate a cut spear, and Zahel highlights how Plate changes stamina and speed. When Zahel feints toward Renarin, Kaladin intercepts, arguing that wounding the assassin to save the protected is victory enough. Adolin interjects that real assassins would come in pairs, raising the stakes for a bodyguard.

Provoked, Kaladin charges Adolin. He disrupts the prince’s first swing, tackles him, then is hurled away by Plate-augmented strength. As Zahel scolds Adolin for reckless force, Kaladin secretly draws Stormlight to heal and attacks again—only for the Light to vanish abruptly when his anger surges. Adolin seizes him as Zahel ends the bout with a Blade at Kaladin’s neck. Afterward, Zahel praises Kaladin’s grit but notes his ignorance against Shardbearers and compares him to a once-reluctant Adolin. Syl later asks whom Kaladin was truly protecting, leaving him unsettled as he resumes duties and slowly heals his bruises.