At night on the Shattered Plains, Kaladin descends into the chasms to train. Practicing Lashings, he battles instinctive fear as down becomes sideways, then steadily learns to jump to walls, shift perspectives, and move without stumbling. With Syl encouraging him, he reframes the ability as natural and pushes harder.

Meanwhile, disguised as a messenger boy, Shallan enters Sadeas’s grim warcamp to infiltrate Highlord Amaram’s manor. When Amaram unexpectedly returns, she diverts him with a fabricated message, then uses Pattern to unlock his perpetually shuttered study. Inside, she finds walls of maps and stormwarden-script notes about the Shattered Plains, the Parshendi, and methods to “return” the Voidbringers. She memorizes everything, fearing the implications and the Ghostbloods’ reaction if she fails.

Kaladin’s confidence surges; he strings together Lashings, sprints along walls, and finally shoots into the sky, attracting windspren and experiencing pure exhilaration. In the air, he and Syl discuss his talent, the Assassin in White’s mysterious weapon, and Shardblades; Syl calls Blades tainted yet admits new ones could be forged. Kaladin also avoids telling Dalinar about the conspirators Moash introduced, promising only to act soon.

To conceal her intrusion, Shallan Lightweaves Amaram’s image to silence the cook, then resumes the messenger guise and uses a cover errand: arranging a time for Shallan Davar to sketch Amaram’s Blade. Amaram idly summons his Shardblade, which Shallan recognizes as Helaran’s. He states his Shards came from a red-haired Veden assassin he killed. Shaken, Shallan departs in tears, now certain of her brother’s fate.

Returning toward camp, Kaladin nearly turns to kill Amaram, justifying it as protection, but Syl pleads and he postpones. Back at the barracks, Shen emerges from the dark, requests to leave, and reveals his true name—Rlain—before slipping away into the night, saying the winds are not what he fears.