55. Kinship With the Open Sky

Dalinar visits his grandson Gavinor and struggles with the boy's trauma, then addresses various camp matters before meeting Renarin at the Windrunner stew fire. Renarin takes his father into a vision where stained glass depicts Odium as an overwhelming force, revealing that the visions interfere with Odium's ability to see the future and that Renarin himself is the "blackness" that mars the enemy's plans.

Dalinar spends time with young Gavinor, attempting to comfort the child about his parents' deaths and assure him that his mother was brainwashed rather than evil. After Gav falls asleep, Dalinar reflects on his day smoothing over concerns about Jasnah's near-execution of Ruthar and her vision of a neutered monarchy for Alethkar. He visits the Windrunner camp and approves their communal stew tradition, finding Renarin relaxed among his Bridge Four companions. Dalinar and Renarin then walk into the wilderness, where Renarin summons a vision of stained glass windows. In this vision, Dalinar appears as a white Shardplate figure pierced by a black arrow, facing the wrong direction against an overwhelming depiction of Odium as yellow-white light fragmenting into infinity. Renarin explains that the vision shows Odium will keep Dalinar fighting endless distractions rather than agree to a contest of champions, as the enemy fears no actual threat from such terms. The "blackness" infecting the vision represents Renarin himself and his bond with Glys—their ability to see future possibilities obscures Odium's ability to perceive their futures. Renarin also reveals that there are only a handful of corrupted spren touched by Sja-anat, made with consent, and that Glys believes Sja-anat may be trying to broker peace. Dalinar accepts this cautiously and asks to be informed of further contact. As the vision crumbles, Renarin reflects that he may be less alone than he thought, and considers someone who would be a perfect candidate for becoming like him and Glys.