Folio: Envoyform Fashion

Venli discovers that Rlain, another listener, has survived and is imprisoned in the tower. She negotiates his release from Raboniel, but her attempt to swear a new Radiant oath about freeing the enslaved fails when she realizes her motivations are still self-centered. A mysterious scarred human negotiator delivers an awake Edgedancer girl to Raboniel as payment for access to the Oathgates.

Venli visits Rlain in his cell and learns he has been living among the humans as a spy, serving in the bridge crews and befriending the Radiants. Though he initially distrusts her in her new form, she reveals herself through the listener language. Rlain urges her to free him so he can reach Hesina and share important information, pushing back against her self-interested concerns. Venli then goes to find Raboniel and witnesses a tense negotiation with a scarred human envoy who presents her with a pouch of spheres as an advance payment and delivers a caged teenage girl—an Edgedancer powered by Lifelight rather than Stormlight—as the true gift. The envoy cryptically suggests Raboniel ask Cultivation why this girl exists. Venli successfully petitions Raboniel to release Rlain into her custody by asserting her worth as a servant. Later, alone in her chambers, Venli attempts to swear a new oath about freeing the enslaved but finds the words rejected by the distant voice of Roshar itself. She realizes her failure stems from her lack of genuine commitment to the cause, recognizing she is still primarily self-interested and unable to honestly make such a promise while a child remains caged.