Chapter 88

Kaladin and Szeth travel with Nale toward the Lightweaver monastery in Shinovar. Kaladin attempts to convince Szeth to think independently and questions Nale's absolutist devotion to law, but Nale's rhetorical skill and claims of divine origin for Shin law prove persuasive, leaving Szeth resolved to continue his mission. Meanwhile, Jasnah leaves a strategy meeting in Thaylen City confident in the city's defenses but troubled by an intuition that something vital is being overlooked.

Kaladin, Szeth, and Nale journey northward through the dusty landscape of Shinovar toward the Lightweaver monastery. Szeth becomes withdrawn and monosyllabic in Nale's presence. Kaladin attempts conversation but grows frustrated by Szeth's detachment and Nale's demanding pace. Kaladin confronts Nale directly about his absolutist philosophy, arguing that laws need to be broken in certain circumstances and that Szeth should think for himself rather than blindly following Nale's teachings. Nale responds with calm, methodical counterarguments, claiming that law represents humanity's closest approach to divinity and references Nohadon and the divine origin of Shin law under the Herald Jezrien. The discussion touches on the origin of spren and the Heralds' arrival on Roshar via Elsecalling. Kaladin struggles with Nale's rhetorical superiority and attempts to appeal to compassion for Szeth's broken state, but Nale counters by reminding Kaladin that he once left Szeth to die in a storm. The conversation ends when Nale indicates they have reached the Lightweaver monastery; Szeth, unmoved by Kaladin's arguments, takes up his weapon again and heads toward the monastery on a hidden path, refusing to meet Kaladin's gaze. Kaladin reflects bitterly on how argument outcomes depend on the arguer's eloquence rather than idea strength. In Thaylen City, Jasnah exits a full day of strategic planning with high confidence in the city's defenses—stone spikes in the bay, fabrials to detect Fused, a locked Oathgate with Lightweavers watching Shadesmar, Windrunner patrols, anti-Voidlight gemstones, and fortified cliffs. Yet she is troubled by an intuitive sense that something crucial is being missed. Ivory suggests she approach the problem as a scholar rather than a tactician, recognizing that if the city is truly impregnable by military logic, then breaking it must be a logic problem requiring research and analysis.