Holding Mraize’s glowing cube, Veil experiences disorienting echoes of childhood memories and suppresses Shallan’s panic to complete the contact. Mraize quizzes her, reiterates Ghostblood hierarchy, and tasks her to watch for Sja‑anat’s corrupted spren. When Veil vaguely mentions odd watchers, Mraize carelessly names them gloryspren—information Veil never shared—revealing an internal leak.

Veil ends the call and, with Pattern, reviews meticulous sketches that show the cube has been moved in secret. She concludes Beryl has been contacting Mraize, yet Veil questions whether the answer came too easily. Pattern worries that “something else” looks out through Shallan’s eyes when the past is probed, hinting at a new persona—Formless. Veil moves to stay near Adolin, shielding Shallan’s fear that he would reject her if he knew her past.

Meanwhile, Adolin, Godeke, and Archinal investigate a human caravan whose members wear Marati/Tukari styles and maintain a threatening posture. The Tukari refuse conversation and hide real weapons; Adolin withdraws, uneasy about their presence in Shadesmar without Radiant aid.

Outside the barge, Adolin meets Notum, the honorspren captain he once knew. Notum condemns the mission, calling humans criminals for the Recreance’s “eight genocides” that created deadeyes like Maya, and insists Lasting Integrity will not receive humans or their letters. He reveals he was imprisoned, demoted, and exiled to endless patrols for releasing Syl and the humans.

Asked whether Dalinar was saved, Adolin answers honestly: the Bondsmith prevailed without them, though Kaladin and Shallan helped turn the battle. Shaken by Notum’s fate yet resolute, Adolin decides he must find another way to make the honorspren hear him.