27. Fabrications to Distract

A flashback five years into Shallan's past, showing her as a young girl seeking refuge in her family's manor gardens while her father hosts a feast. Disturbed by family conflict and her father's violent temperament, Shallan witnesses her intoxicated brother Jushu and learns of her other brother Balat's destructive behavior, culminating in her spotting a glowing strongbox hidden behind a painting in her father's chambers—a box she associates with dark secrets and her mother's death.

The chapter opens with young Shallan in the gardens of her family manor, sketching cremlings from an instructional book while seeking escape from the shouting within the house. She notes her brother Helaran's unexplained absences and avoids the flowerbed areas that trigger her sneezing. As evening approaches and her father's feast nears, she returns indoors to prepare, reflecting on the isolation of rural manor life in Jah Keved. In the hallway, she encounters her brother Van Jushu, who is drunk and unkempt, having gambled away his cufflinks and belt. Jushu informs her that their youngest brother Balat has been setting fires, nearly burning the servants' building. While helping the intoxicated Jushu, Shallan passes her father's chambers and glimpses a powerful white glow emanating from a strongbox hidden behind a storm painting—a sight that deeply disturbs her. When Jushu cannot see the light and questions her sanity, referencing her trauma from witnessing her mother's death, Shallan fixates on the strongbox, which she associates with something monstrous and connected to her mother's soul.