Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence, illness or death, physical abuse, and enslavement.

Six years ago, at the feast celebrating the treaty between the Alethi and the Parshendi, Princess Jasnah Kholin finds herself in a dark hallway, confronted by figures made of oil. Suddenly, she falls into a sea of dark, glass beads and begins drowning until she discovers she can manipulate the beads to recreate the hallway. She realizes she fell into Shadesmar, the realm of the spren, the physical and emotional manifestation of natural forces and human emotions. Jasnah hears screaming and rushes to her father King Gavilar’s room just as he is assassinated. The Parshendi join her and tell her that they hired the assassin to stop Gavilar from doing something dangerous, though they will not elaborate. Jasnah knows war is imminent, but having seen Gavilar’s assassin walk on walls, she must find answers.

Shallan Davar and Jasnah sail to the Shattered Plains. On deck, Shallan, who has an incredible talent for drawing from memory, sketches Shadesmar, startled when a rippling pattern runs across the page. As they sail, a santhid, an elusive and mysterious creature, floats by the ship, piquing Shallan’s curiosity.