Four years earlier, Lin Davar holds a somber feast to impress local lighteyes despite failing finances. He boasts of prosperity and announces his betrothal to Brightlord Gevelmar’s youngest daughter. Shallan observes her brothers’ withdrawal and Balat’s interest in Brightlord Tavinar’s daughter, while recalling past violence and household fear after their mother’s death.

The feast is interrupted by a newcomer: Redin, Highprince Valam’s bastard son and feared envoy, marked by one blue and one brown eye. He declares the highprince’s concern over rumors that Lin murdered his lighteyed wife. Lin insists her lover killed her and himself, then hustles guests away to speak with Redin in private.

While Lin and Redin confer, Shallan deliberately lightens the mood among her brothers with jokes and wordplay, briefly restoring laughter to the hearthside. Yet the tension builds as Lin’s temper shifts from hot to cold, the most dangerous state the children know.

Redin ends the fruitless exchange and publicly invites any lighteyed witnesses to testify in Vedenar. Jushu nearly stands; Balat falters under Lin’s silent threat; Wikim urges Shallan to speak, insisting she was there. Shallan, unable or unwilling to recall, remains quiet. Shamespren swirl as fear and shame keep them seated.

With no testimony, Redin leaves in disgust. Lin orders his children out and slumps alone at the high table, head in hands, his gift to Shallan—an expensive necklace meant to signal stability—left forgotten. The family’s terror, Lin’s control, and the unresolved truth of their mother’s death remain.