72. Outmatched

Dalinar rides the highstorm with the Stormfather to scout Urithiru and discovers it has been invaded by singers, with Navani captured and other Radiants unconscious. He finds Kaladin clinging to the tower's exterior, wounded and nearly dead, and uses the Stormfather's power to pull him to safety before being ejected from the vision. Realizing his training is too slow, Dalinar resolves to seek out Ishar, the Herald who was a Bondsmith, hoping he can accelerate his understanding of his powers.

Dalinar begins his day feeling relief that he no longer fears highstorms, though he remains deeply concerned about Navani and Urithiru based on her recent letters. When the Stormfather offers to let him ride the storm itself, Dalinar accepts and becomes one with the highstorm as it passes over Roshar. From this perspective, Dalinar witnesses the devastation wrought by the Everstorm on small villages and encounters two foragers who are killed despite his pleas for the Stormfather to show mercy. He confronts the Stormfather about lacking honor and cowardice, receiving only a subdued response.

As they approach Urithiru, Dalinar manages to briefly enter the tower through a balcony but is swept out too quickly to learn anything. Against the Stormfather's protests about momentum, Dalinar forces them to return to the tower's exterior by swimming against the storm's winds. There he discovers Kaladin clinging to the eighth level of the tower, bleeding and nearly unconscious. Kaladin reveals that singers have invaded, Navani has been captured, the tower is on lockdown, and other Radiants are unconscious. Before losing consciousness, Kaladin mentions that Radiant powers don't work except for his and possibly a Bondsmith's. Dalinar uses the storm's power to throw Kaladin onto the balcony before being ejected from the vision.

Back in his camp in Emul, Dalinar calls an emergency meeting with the monarchs and highlords. The Stormfather admits he cannot help Dalinar overcome the tower's defenses because they would require far greater strength than he currently possesses—strength enough to overwhelm the Sibling itself. Frustrated by his slow progress, Dalinar realizes there was another Bondsmith: Ishar, one of the original ten Heralds. He rushes to find Shalash and Talenelat, the two surviving Heralds in his camp, and learns that Ishar is alive and located in Tukar, a short flight to the southeast. Despite Shalash's objections about priorities, Dalinar decides to seek out Ishar to gain training in his Bondsmith abilities so he can rescue the tower.