Chapter 248

This is an endnote presenting a mysterious ketek—a palindromic poem—discovered inscribed on stone atop Urithiru after the Contest of Champions. The inscription's origin and meaning remain disputed among scholars.

An unknown ketek has been discovered inscribed on stone at the top of Urithiru following the Contest of Champions. The text reads: "Trusted Words Known Words Renounce Once. Renounce Words Known. Words ... trusted ... Once." Scholars debate whether the inscription was made by Dalinar Kholin or by some spren or divine manifestation. The ketek is notably imperfect—it is not fully symmetrical and contains an extraneous word left on its own line below the main poem, separated as if divided from the rest. This imperfection raises questions about its origin, as it is presumed that no divinity or spren would be capable of such an egregious error, yet the possibility of divine or spren involvement is still considered by some.