106. Law Is Light

Szeth flies with Nin and the Skybreakers to Marat, where they discover a coastal town destroyed by the singers (parshmen). Nin uses the ruined courthouse to teach Szeth about justice and law, then reveals himself as a Herald of the Fifth Ideal and begins to explain the Heralds' ancient decision at Aharietiam.

Szeth travels with Nin and other Skybreaker masters for four days, stopping at hidden stockpiles in remote locations that reveal Nin's vast age. They reach Marat, a loosely connected kingdom of little political importance. While the other masters fly toward a distant town, Nin takes Szeth to a smaller coastal town on a hill, where they find a recently destroyed courthouse—evidence of the singers' invasion and conquest. Inside the ruined building, Nin questions Szeth about justice, challenging his assumptions about what constitutes justified killing and whether ordinary civilians caught in war can be considered casualties of justice. Nin reveals that the singers pressed survivors into labor at nearby docks and allowed the town's people to return only to burn their dead. As they explore the courthouse, Nin discusses his failure to prevent another Desolation and his thousand-year effort to uphold the Oathpact. He produces a missing Honorblade and reflects on his own nature—acknowledging that despite being one of the Heralds, he is not truly passionless and struggles with mercy versus the impartiality required by law. Nin instructs Szeth that he must choose a Third Ideal for the Skybreakers, noting that Szeth will be the first to swear new oaths in a world where the old order has failed. When Szeth challenges Nin about his own inconsistency—hunting specific Surgebinders despite ignoring other lawbreakers—Nin admits to his partiality but reveals he holds the Fifth Ideal of the Skybreakers, making himself the law. He then begins to reveal the Heralds' decision made long ago on a day called Aharietiam, when they sacrificed one of their own.