63. Within the Mirror

Veil, one of Shallan's personas, infiltrates the palace in Kholinar to deliver a message from the king to Queen Aesudan. She discovers the palace is under the control of a malevolent force; soldiers stab her upon arrival, and she witnesses a shadow creature with white eyes in a mirror before being dumped in a wine cellar full of corpses. She escapes through the catacombs and reunites with Kaladin to report the palace's corruption.

Veil enters Kholinar and observes the city's desperation and disorder during wartime. She notes the contrast between the functioning market district near the tailor's shop and the crowded, desperate areas near the city walls. The palace district appears wrongly empty and ominous, guarded by soldiers who move with unnatural, predatory behavior. Veil assumes the disguise of Lyn, a blue scout, and approaches the palace. She observes the Oathgate platform covered in buildings and guarded by cultists in spren costumes, with disturbing sounds emanating from above. Meeting Kaladin at a statue in the square before the palace, she receives the king's sealed letter. Both notice unusual spren and unmoving soldiers positioned beneath the palace pillars. Veil enters the palace claiming to be a messenger, but is immediately stabbed through the chest by a soldier. She uses minimal Stormlight to survive and feigns death. While being carried deeper into the palace, she glimpses a shadow creature with white eyes looking out from a mirror. She is dumped in a wine cellar filled with seven corpses of well-dressed individuals covered in rotspren and cremling damage. Discovering an exit through the Kholin mausoleum, she uses Pattern to distract guards and escapes to a hollow building in the city. She sends Pattern to fetch Kaladin and warns him the palace soldiers may be watching. Kaladin arrives, and Shallan—returning to her primary persona—reports the palace is controlled by an evil force. They agree to return to their hideout.