51. Heirs

Adolin convinces Dalinar not to attend a dangerous meeting with the Parshendi on the Shattered Plains by offering to go in his place, disguised in his father's Shardplate. The meeting reveals that the Parshendi have fundamentally changed their war strategy and will not accept peace, prompting Dalinar to plan a massive military campaign to strike at them before an approaching deadline.

After reflecting on his father's visions, Adolin joins a war council where Dalinar plans to personally meet with the Parshendi messenger. Concerned about the ongoing assassin threat and Dalinar's strategic importance to the kingdom, Adolin argues forcefully that his father should not attend. He offers to go instead, wearing Renarin's Shardplate so that from a distance he might be mistaken for Dalinar. Though reluctant, Dalinar eventually agrees. Adolin rides out with bridgemen and scribe Brightness Inadara to a remote meeting plateau featuring the ancient fossilized remains of a massive chasmfiend encased in crem. When the Parshendi arrive with two hundred soldiers, Eshonai emerges alone as their representative. Despite Adolin's attempts to negotiate peace using suggestions sent by Dalinar through Inadara's spanreed, Eshonai is dismissive and cryptic. She reveals that King Gavilar was killed years ago because he bragged about plans to restore the Parshendi gods, suggesting the Parshendi have been playing their own game all along rather than merely reacting to Alethi aggression. She declares that peace is impossible and that the rules of conflict have changed. When Adolin returns to the warcamp, Dalinar reveals he is now planning a full-scale assault on the Parshendi with the entire Alethi army before an unknown deadline marked on the warcamp's walls. He instructs Adolin to win more Shards through duels, focusing on Shardbearers loyal to Sadeas, to strengthen their military position and prove that unity is key to Alethi victory.