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| “ | He holds the most frightening and terrible of all of the Shards. Ponder on that for a time, you old reptile, and tell me if your insistence on nonintervention holds firm. Because I assure you, Rayse will not be similarly inhibited. | ” |
Point of view: Dalinar
Setting: Highstorm Vision
The moment the highstorm hits, Dalinar finds that he is no longer in the barracks, but in an unfamiliar barn in the middle of a clear, cool night with only a small girl for company. The girl is terrified of something, and thinks that Dalinar is her father. After a few moments of hushed conversation, a strange creature bursts through one of the walls of the barn and attacks. Dalinar is able to avoid the creature long enough to grab the girl and escape to a nearby house where a woman who thinks he is her husband is waiting for him.
Once in the house, Dalinar has the woman bar the door. Shortly thereafter, however, two more of the strange creatures force their way in, and Dalinar is forced to fight them off using a poker from the hearth. When he kills them, he notices that rather than bleeding, their wounds seem to release smoke of some sort.
Dalinar takes the woman, Taffa, and the girl, Seeli, to try to escape the creatures by moving along the course of a river. He deflects all of the woman's questions about why he doesn't remember them or their surroundings at all by saying that he hit his head in the fight. Before they can arrive at the river, however, the group is attacked by more of the strange creatures. Just as Dalinar is about to be killed, two Knights Radiant appear and help him to kill the creatures. They tell him that the creatures aren't Voidbringers, but rather Midnight Essence. They invite Dalinar to Urithiru to train as a Radiant, then leave to help others.
Taffa begins to speak to Dalinar, but it isn't her voice. Dalinar recognizes her voice as the same voice he's heard in his previous visions, the one he suspects belongs to the Almighty. The voice tells him to "Unite them," and offers cryptic advice, telling Dalinar that it can't be of much help. Dalinar asks the voice if he should continue to trust Sadeas, and is told that he should.
Dalinar continues to question the voice, but before he can receive answers, he wakes up back in the barrack on the Shattered Plains, surrounded by soldiers who have been holding him down, keeping him from acting out his visions. He tells them that his mind is clear and they can release him, then takes Renarin and leaves.
Appearances[]
| Character | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Dalinar | POV | Is having one of his visions. Fights off a strange creature. Talks to a strange Shardbearer. |
| Heb | POV (through Dalinar) | Is the individual whom Dalinar personifies while having his vision. |
| Battar | Mentioned | Used as a curse word. |
| Seeli | Appeared | The small child that Dalinar rescues. Daughter of Heb. |
| Taffa | Appeared | The woman that Dalinar protects. Wife of Heb. |
| Harkaylain | Mentioned | Prophecized that the Desolation was coming. |
| Female Shardbearer (unnamed) | Appeared | Fought off the Midnight Essence. Told Dalinar to come to Urithiru for training. |
| Male Shardbearer (unnamed) | Appeared | Fought off the Midnight Essence. |
| Sadeas | Mentioned | Dalinar asks the unknown voice if he should trust Sadeas. |
| Adolin | Mentioned | Dalinar says his son is not trustful of Sadeas. |
| Elhokar | Mentioned | Dalinar asks what he should do about Elhokar. |
| Renarin | Appeared | Is looking on with concern as Dalinar is having a fit. |