68: ESHONAI

This chapter depicts the climactic battle on the Plains of execution as the remaining soldiers fight their way toward the chasm. As the armies retreat, the bridgemen make a stand at the bridge itself, and the spearman leads the charge that saves the highprince when he is cornered by a powerful enemy shardbearer, fundamentally shifting political dynamics in the warcamps.

The battle reaches its crescendo as soldiers under both highprince and shardbearer commanders push through superior parshendi numbers toward escape via a chasm-bridging construction. Two shards-wielders spearhead the assault—one commanding troops through direct force. The spear-wielding bridgeman emerges at full power, drinking captured stormlight and speaking binding words, becoming a living whirlwind of combat while his team holds the bridge's western approach against overwhelming odds. He kills dozens of enemies while his own side sustains three deaths among the bridge crew and severe losses across entire battalions. When a parshendi shardbearer appears to finish the cornered highprince, the bridgeman abandons his position and sprints across enemy lines. Using knowledge of shardplate vulnerabilities, he disables the parshendi warrior by striking exposed crystal at the leg joint, shattering the enemy's weapon. The parshendi troops inexplicably cease pursuit and begin chanting an unfamiliar name. The bridgeman, concealing his stormlight, helps the highprince mount a loyal ryshadium horse and they escape across the bridge as the structure is pulled toward their side of the chasm. The enemy forces halt at the edge and salute from across the divide. In the aftermath, the highprince approaches the bridge crew's leader and discovers he bears slave brands. The young man reveals his team abandoned the warcamps of their own volition, defying explicit orders. The highprince offers sanctuary, and though the bridgeman worries about future conflicts with the man who enslaved him, he accepts the terms, recognizing he cannot safely flee with so many of his men wounded.