59. Bondsmith

Dalinar tours Thaylen City's temples with Queen Fen, witnessing widespread suffering among the storm's victims. When the queen's son challenges him, Dalinar accepts a ritualized duel, deliberately allowing himself to be wounded to demonstrate his power and sincerity. This spectacle transforms local opinion, prompting Dalinar to use his Radiant abilities to restore a damaged temple, which awakens him to his role as a Bondsmith. With Renarin's healing abilities now deployed to aid the wounded, Dalinar successfully convinces Queen Fen to join his coalition against Odium.

Dalinar accompanies Queen Fen on a tour of temples in Thaylen City, which suffered devastating damage from the Everstorm. He observes thousands of wounded lying in temples repurposed as hospitals. Taravangian's emotional response moves Fen to allow him to bring surgeons from Vedenar through the Oathgates. Dalinar recognizes that Fen's authority is limited by merchant and naval councils, and that the city's skeptical young officers, particularly her son Kdralk, need convincing of his intentions.

When Kdralk insults Dalinar during a rest at the courtyard of Talenelat, Dalinar challenges him to a duel with alternating advantages—three minutes with Kdralk armed and Dalinar unarmed, then reversed. During the exchange, Dalinar deliberately allows Kdralk to wound him deeply in the chest, then uses Stormlight to heal instantly and dramatically. This display of power and apparent invulnerability shocks the observers.

Immediately after, Dalinar hears the spren of the damaged temple crying out in pain—the cracked and broken stones longing to be whole. He lifts the massive stone block blocking the temple's entrance and uses his Stormlight to restore the entire facade to pristine condition. This act of creation rather than destruction clarifies his role: he is a Bondsmith. He sends word for his son Renarin, whose healing abilities can aid the wounded.

Dalinar then works with Kdralk and others to restore a fallen statue in another temple courtyard. When Renarin arrives and begins healing the recently wounded, the transformations impress Queen Fen deeply. Dalinar makes his pitch: he needs her as part of a true coalition, not merely as a city offering aid. He emphasizes that Shardbearers alone cannot win wars, and he needs leaders from different cultures to see what Alethi thinking misses. Fen, swayed by the day's events and the suffering she sees alleviated, agrees to join the coalition and to advocate for Azish participation. She warns that the Azish, being non-Vorin and not desperate, will require different persuasion tactics than strength and passion.