19. Garnets

Kaladin greets his parents, Lirin and Hesina, as they arrive at Urithiru on Navani's flying platform. He gives them a tour of the tower and shows them quarters prepared for the Hearthstone refugees on the sixth floor, including a fully equipped surgery room stocked with advanced medical tools and medications. Kaladin reveals his decision to leave the military and become a surgeon, fulfilling his father's long-held dream for him.

Kaladin stands at an Oathgate platform, reflecting on his recent retirement from active military duty and wondering what role to take next. He travels to the Shattered Plains to meet Navani's flying platform carrying refugees from Hearthstone. Upon returning to Urithiru, he leads his parents Lirin and Hesina through the tower's hallways, explaining how the city has been reorganized by neighborhoods to maintain community bonds rather than by princedom. His parents marvel at the tower's architecture and unusual design features. Kaladin guides them to the sixth floor, where the Hearthstone refugees will be housed, showing them balcony rooms designated for common spaces and family quarters. He then reveals a surprise: a luxurious private suite with a complete surgery room stocked with the finest medical instruments and medications, along with a library of books for his mother. Lirin initially responds with somber concern, worried that Radiant healers have made traditional surgeons obsolete. Kaladin reassures him that healing Radiants are few in number and mostly serve on battlefields, and that a busy clinic in Urithiru requires skilled surgeons. Syl urges Kaladin to tell his parents about his life-changing decision, and he confesses that he is leaving the military and will pursue surgeon training. Lirin's reaction is one of profound joy—he has finally achieved his long-standing dream of his son becoming a surgeon like him, a path Kaladin had long resisted.