In Emul, Dalinar senses something wrong at Urithiru and struggles with impatience, resisting the urge to fight as he plans a risky Shadesmar infiltration. The Stormfather offers to let him ride the highstorm, and Dalinar accepts, experiencing the storm’s passage while wrestling with his history and a growing dependence on battle’s thrill.

As they cross unfamiliar lands, Dalinar witnesses devastated villages and two foragers who die in the storm, prompting him to chastise the Stormfather for refusing mercy. Shaken but determined, Dalinar pushes against the storm’s momentum to reach Urithiru, briefly entering a balcony before being forced onward.

Refusing to give up, Dalinar fights his way into the storm’s inner chaos and senses a Connection to Urithiru, finding Kaladin clinging to the tower’s exterior, wounded and exhausted. Kaladin reports a Singer takeover, Navani’s capture, and Radiant suppression across the tower before collapsing. Dalinar gathers the winds to fling Kaladin onto a balcony and is then ejected back to his body in Emul.

Dalinar orders an emergency meeting and debates the situation with the Stormfather, who warns that Bondsmith powers will not function at Urithiru under the tower’s inverted protections; Dalinar would need far greater strength, enough to overwhelm the Sibling. Concluding he must accelerate his growth, Dalinar seeks knowledge from another Bondsmith.

Dalinar visits Heralds Shalash and Talenelat. Shalash confirms that Ishar, creator of the Oathpact, was a Bondsmith and is currently in Tukar. With Jasnah handling the warfront, Dalinar resolves to attempt contact with Ishar, hoping the god-priest’s guidance can enable a rescue of Urithiru.