112. Terms

Dalinar confronts Ishar at his camp and attempts to negotiate, but the Herald—now claiming to be the reborn Almighty and completely mad—attacks. After a brutal magical duel where Ishar nearly steals Dalinar's bond to the Stormfather, Szeth intervenes with his strange black Shardblade, forcing Ishar to retreat into Shadesmar. Meanwhile, in Urithiru, Kaladin achieves his Fourth Ideal and helps repel the enemy forces as Navani and the Sibling work to purge Voidlight corruption from the tower's systems. In the market below, civilians and resistance fighters are saved when the tower's defenses activate. Dalinar then discovers Ishar's horrific laboratory where he has been conducting experiments on spren, creating impossible physical bodies for them—most dying almost immediately.

Dalinar and a team of five Windrunners, plus Szeth and Sigzil, fly to Ishar's camp in Tukar to negotiate. Upon landing, Ishar emerges from his pavilion claiming to be the reborn Almighty and insisting Dalinar is Odium's champion. Despite Dalinar's attempts to reach him by mentioning Ash's plea for help with the wounded Taln, Ishar attacks with the Honorblade of the Bondsmith—revealed to have been held by Szeth's people, the Shin. A fierce combat ensues where Ishar, using Bondsmith powers, tethers all five Windrunners to the ground and begins draining their Stormlight. Dalinar opens a perpendicularity to restore them and attempts to reason with Ishar, but the Herald tries to steal Dalinar's bond to the Stormfather. Szeth, enraged at the revelation about his father and his people's blade, intervenes with his black Shardblade, severing the Connection and collapsing the perpendicularity. Ishar and his soldiers escape into Shadesmar, though not before cryptically warning Dalinar to meet him in Shinovar, claiming he can reset the Oathpact if restored to sanity. Szeth realizes he must undertake a pilgrimage to his homeland. Afterward, Dalinar investigates Ishar's pavilion and discovers a nightmarish laboratory containing corpses of spren that Ishar has somehow given physical bodies to—an impossibility that horrifies the Stormfather. Ledgers detail failed experiments on cryptics, ashspren, and finally honorspren, with the most successful subjects living only minutes. Simultaneously, in Urithiru, Kaladin achieves his Fourth Ideal and manifests in full Shardplate, helping coordinate the tower's defenses as Navani works with the Sibling to purge Voidlight corruption and restore the tower's systems. The tower comes alive with light and sound, stunning enemy forces and awakening the unconscious Radiants. Moash flees the tower, blinded by the light but kept alive by Stormlight, only to have his gift of numbness and freedom from pain return when rescued by Heavenly Ones—leaving him alive but blind and hollow.