51. Full Circle

Moash arrives with parshmen work crews at a suburb of Kholinar, realizing the Voidbringers intend to besiege the city rather than destroy it outright. He discovers he will be forced to build siege equipment and assault the walls. Meanwhile, Shallan meets privately with King Elhokar, demonstrates her Lightweaving and face-changing abilities, and secures his formal request to join the mission to Kholinar despite potential objections from Dalinar.

Moash and a crew of parshmen pull supply sledges toward Kholinar, observing the landscape transform from plains to cultivated orchards. He studies the Fused overseeing them, noting their aerial abilities and their apparent interest in preserving the farmland rather than destroying everything. Moash discusses with a parshman named Sah his confusion that the apocalypse involves farming rather than total destruction. When he casually mentions killing a Fused, Sah reacts with shock. The army diverges from the direct route to Kholinar and enters a suburb town, where the Voidbringers release weak workers as refugees to burden the city. Moash realizes the Fused are positioning for a siege. His sledge crew is sent to a lumberyard where they will spend weeks building siege equipment and will be forced to the front of the assault on Kholinar's walls, causing Moash to laugh uncontrollably at the grim irony of his situation. In a parallel section, Shallan receives a letter from Mraize via her satchel, informing her that Ishnah is safe but not fully trustworthy, and that the Ghostbloods will "allow" her to retain Ishnah's services. Shallan has successfully created an illusion powered by a sphere rather than her own Stormlight, which holds for hours. She meets with King Elhokar in his audience chamber, where he is preparing maps for the Kholinar mission. After dismissing his attendants and guards, Shallan demonstrates her Lightweaving by changing her face to resemble Adolin, then other people. She proposes offering her team of spies to help infiltrate Kholinar and secure the Oathgate, arguing that she is her own woman and not Dalinar's subject. Elhokar agrees and provides her with a formal written request to Dalinar for her participation. Shallan leaves with the letter in her safepouch, acknowledging to herself that she is partly fleeing from Jasnah and the Ghostbloods, though she also genuinely wants to help reclaim Adolin's home.