Chapter 66

This is a flashback chapter set twenty-six years before the main narrative, depicting young Szeth's arrival at a soldier training camp after being forced into military service. Szeth and his family are separated, and he undergoes his first assessment as a recruit while a mysterious stone spren begins communicating with him.

Young Szeth arrives with his family at a military training camp near the Stoneward monastery. His sister Elid resents being forced to leave their pastoral life, while Szeth struggles with the overwhelming sensory experience. His parents and sister are assigned to support roles (cooking, laundry, animal tending), while Szeth is taken for assessment by Betheth, the captain of recruitment and discipline. Betheth explains that once recruited, soldiers never return home, though they may eventually transfer to city guard or other work. As Szeth's father watches, Betheth gives Szeth and four other youths spears and instructs them to attack dead sheep carcasses to assess their combat instincts. The other boys attack with aggression and fury, but Szeth hesitates. A mysterious voice—claiming to be a stone spren that has been watching over his family—communicates with him, advising restraint and offering him a narrative to deflect questions about his past violence. Szeth makes a single precise strike instead of attacking wildly, distinguishing himself from the other recruits. Betheth notes that reports mention Szeth killed a soldier from the camp, then coaches Szeth to repeat a justification that the man was sick and needed to be stopped. After accepting this explanation, Betheth suggests Szeth might be suited for officer training and leads him away from the other boys, while his father observes from a distance.