23. Storming Strange

Kaladin secures shelter for the parshmen group at a waystop bunker, negotiating with an elderly lighteyes merchant while maintaining their secrecy. As the Everstorm approaches, a golden Voidspren appears to Kaladin and questions why he remains with the parshmen, hinting at a larger destination and asking if he would fight for them.

Kaladin arrives at a waystop run by an elderly lighteyes merchant in Vamah lands, securing a storm bunker for the growing parshmen group under the pretense of serving a privacy-conscious brightlord. The merchant mentions three caravans from Revolar have gone silent and disappears into his house after Kaladin subtly threatens him. Kaladin trades dun spheres for food supplies and returns to guide nearly a hundred parshmen—including children and elderly—into the bunker before the Everstorm strikes. As the storm rages outside, Kaladin contemplates his situation: he could return to the Shattered Plains within a day but is uncertain about leaving. A golden Voidspren materializes before him, distinguishing herself from the younger parshmen by claiming to be much older than a month. She probes why Kaladin remains with them, questions how he predicted the storm, and asks whether he would fight for the Voidspren cause, mentioning a gathering at their destination. When Kaladin deflects her questions with evasions and lies, she sees through them with amusement before vanishing. Kaladin is left uncertain of what the spren knows about him and his connections to Syl and the Knights Radiant.