4. Oaths

Two days after Sadeas's death, the Everstorm strikes again while Dalinar and Navani watch from Urithiru's balcony. Dalinar proposes marriage to Navani by asking the Stormfather himself to officiate, and they are married on the tower's roof in an unconventional ceremony that defies Vorin church authority. Afterward, the ardent Kadash warns Dalinar that his teachings about the Almighty's death and his defiance of religious convention are creating dangerous theological conflict with the church leadership.

Dalinar experiences the Everstorm's passage from Urithiru's balcony, sensing through the Stormfather that the storm carries an enemy presence—vast and vengeful, awakening glowing red eyes (future Voidbringers) and destroying towns and fields across Roshar. Navani joins him, and they discuss their relationship. Dalinar reveals his inability to remember his first wife due to the Old Magic's curse, explaining that only the emotional debris of her loss remains. He resolves to marry Navani properly, with oaths spoken before a witness. When ardents refuse to perform the ceremony due to their sibling-like status, Dalinar proposes that the Stormfather himself officiate—a solution Navani finds unusual but acceptable. Hours later, on Urithiru's roof before a small gathering of officers, family, and witnesses, Dalinar and Navani exchange vows with the Stormfather as their authority. The spren manifests dramatically, questioning their commitment to oaths, then pronounces them married. Guests celebrate with spren manifestations—awespren for most, gloryspren for Navani. After the celebration, Kadash pulls Dalinar aside. The ardent warns that the church leadership is angered by Dalinar's teachings that the Almighty is dead and his defiance of religious protocol. Kadash fears Dalinar's actions aboard 'a ship barely afloat in a storm' will sink it entirely. Kadash obliquely references 'the Rift' and Rathalas, hinting at dark knowledge from their shared past that Dalinar cannot fully remember. Dalinar insists he will not suppress truth, given his bond to the Stormfather, but Kadash departs troubled, leaving Dalinar uncertain what his old friend remembers that he cannot.