Eshonai leads fifteen hundred listeners to the central plateau and secures a gemheart before the Alethi arrive. At Narak’s ancient ruins, she reflects on dwindling morale, her wounded leg, and her desire to confront Dalinar Kholin. The city’s remnants and the listeners’ exile weigh on her.

Inspecting the Hall of Art, Eshonai encourages soldiers clumsily painting, hoping artistry might attract spren and aid her sister’s research into new forms. She reviews the limits of known forms—warform, workform, mateform, dullform, nimbleform, and the empty slaveform—and the need to rediscover others.

At the watering square, Eshonai reprimands carefree mateforms, then broods on the listeners’ disciplined culture versus humans’ constant urges. She recalls early explorations, first contact with humans, and the conspiracy to assassinate King Gavilar to prevent their gods’ return—an act that has doomed her people to grinding war.

Returning home, Eshonai meets Venli and Demid. Venli announces she has discovered stormform, an ancient “form of power” said to let many listeners control or even summon a highstorm. Venli argues the humans now field Surgebinders and that old songs may be unreliable; Eshonai fears rekindling their gods.

Venli and Demid press that stormform could destroy the Alethi army and win freedom, promising Eshonai a return to exploration afterward. They intend to present stormform to the ruling Five. Torn between survival and the peril of the forms of power, Eshonai says she will consider.