Kadash smiled. "Best not to give up so easily, bright one. Go now. But do return sometime so we can speak of your goals in regard to your Calling. It has been too long since you've Elevated."

Adolin nodded and hurried from the chamber. After hours going over the ledgers with Teshav, Dalinar and Renarin reached the hallway before the king's chambers. They walked in silence, the soles of their boots clapping the marble flooring, the sound echoing against stone walls.

The corridors of the king's war palace were growing richer by the week. Once, this hallway had been just another Soulcast stone tunnel. As Elhokar settled in, he had ordered improvements. Windows were cut into the leeward side. Marble tiling was set into the floor. The walls were carved with reliefs, with mosaic trim at the corners. Dalinar and Renarin passed a group of stonemasons carefully cutting a scene of Nalan'Elin, emitting sunlight, the sword of retribution held over his head.

They reached the king's antechamber, a large, open room guarded by ten members of the King's Guard, dressed in blue and gold. Dalinar recognized each face; he had personally organized the unit, handpicking its members.

Highprince Ruthar waited to see the king. He had brawny arms folded in front of him, and wore a short black beard that surrounded his mouth. The red silk coat was cut short and did not button; almost more of a sleeved vest, it was a mere token nod to traditional Alethi uniform. The shirt underneath was ruffled and white, and his blue trousers were loose, with wide cuffs.

Ruthar glanced Dalinar's way and nodded to him-a minor token of respect-then turned to chat with one of his attendants. He cut off, however, as the guards at the doorway stepped aside to let Dalinar enter. Ruthar sniffed in annoyance. Dalinar's easy access to the king galled the other highprinces.

The king wasn't in his wardroom, but the wide doors to his balcony were open. Dalinar's guardsmen waited behind as he stepped out onto the balcony, Renarin hesitantly following. The light outside was dimming as sunset neared. Setting the war palace up high like this was tactically sound, but it meant the place was mercilessly buffeted by storms. That was an old campaign conundrum. Did one choose the best position to weather storms, or did one seize the high ground?

Most would have chosen the former; their warcamps on the edge of the Shattered Plains were unlikely to be attacked, making the advantage of the high ground less important. But kings tended to prefer height. In this instance, Dalinar had encouraged Elhokar, just in case.

The balcony itself was a thick platform of rock cut onto the top of the small peak, edged with an iron railing. The king's rooms were a Soulcast dome sitting atop the natural formation, with covered ramps and stairways leading to tiers lower on the hillside. Those housed the king's various attendants: guards, stormwardens, ardents, and distant family members. Dalinar had his own bunker at his warcamp. He refused to call it a palace.

The king leaned against the railing, two guards watching from a distance. Dalinar motioned for Renarin to join them, so that he could speak with the king in private.

The air was cool-spring having come for a time-and it was sweet with the scents of evening: blooming rockbuds and wet stone. Below, the warcamps were starting to come alight, ten sparkling circles filled with watch-fires, cook fires, lamps, and the steady glow of infused gems. Elhokar stared over the camps and toward the Shattered Plains. They were utterly dark, save for the occasional twinkle of a watchpost.

"Do they watch us, from out there?" Elhokar asked as Dalinar joined him.

"We know their raiding bands move at night, Your Majesty," Dalinar said, resting one hand on the iron railing. "I can't help but think they watch us."

The king's uniform had the traditional long coat with buttons up the sides, but it was loose and relaxed, and ruffled lace poked out of the collar and cuffs. His trousers were solid blue, and were cut in the same baggy fashion as Ruthar's. It all looked so informal to Dalinar. Increasingly, their soldiers were being led by a slack group who dressed in lace and spent their evenings at feasts.

This is what Gavilar foresaw, Dalinar thought. This is why he grew so insistent that we follow the Codes.

"You look thoughtful, Uncle," Elhokar said.

"Just considering the past, Your Majesty."

"The past is irrelevant. I only look forward."

Dalinar was not certain he agreed with either statement.

"I sometimes think I should be able to see the Parshendi," Elhokar said. "I feel that if I stare long enough, I will find them, pin them down so I can challenge them. I wish they'd just fight me, like men of honor."

"If they were men of honor," Dalinar said, clasping his hands behind his back, "then they would not have killed your father as they did."

"Why did they do it, do you suppose?"

Dalinar shook his head. "That question has churned in my head, over and over, like a boulder tumbling down a hill. Did we off end their honor? Was it some cultural misunderstanding?"

"A cultural misunderstanding would imply that they have a culture. Primitive brutes. Who knows why a horse kicks or an axehound bites? I shouldn't have asked."

Dalinar didn't reply. He'd felt that same disdain, that same anger, in the months following Gavilar's assassination. He could understand Elhokar's desire to dismiss these strange, wildland parshmen as little more than animals.

But he'd seen them during those early days. Interacted with them. They were primitive, yes, but not brutes. Not stupid. We never really understood them, he thought. I guess that's the crux of the problem.

"Elhokar," he said softly. "It may be time to ask ourselves some difficult questions."

"Such as?"

"Such as how long we will continue this war."

Elhokar started. He turned, looking at Dalinar. "We'll keep fighting until the Vengeance Pact is satisfied and my father is avenged!"

"Noble words," Dalinar said. "But we've been away from Alethkar for six years now. Maintaining two far-flung centers of government is not healthy for the kingdom."

"Kings often go to war for extended periods, Uncle."

"Rarely do they do it for so long," Dalinar said, "and rarely do they bring every Shardbearer and Highprince in the kingdom with them. Our resources are strained, and word from home is that the Reshi border encroachments grow increasingly bold. We are still fragmented as a people, slow to trust one another, and the nature of this extended war-without a clear path to victory and with a focus on riches rather than capturing ground-is not helping at all."

Elhokar sniffed, wind blowing at them atop the peaked rock. "You say there's no clear path to victory? We've been winning! The Parshendi raids are coming less frequently, and aren't striking as far westward as they once did. We've killed thousands of them in battle."

"Not enough," Dalinar said. "They still come in strength. The siege is straining us as much as, or more than, it is them."

"Weren't you the one to suggest this tactic in the first place?"

"I was a different man, then, flush with grief and anger."

"And you no longer feel those things?" Elhokar was incredulous. "Uncle, I can't believe I'm hearing this! You aren't seriously suggesting that I abandon the war, are you? You'd have me slink home, like a scolded axehound?"

"I said they were difficult questions, Your Majesty," Dalinar said, keeping his anger in check. It was taxing. "But they must be considered."

Elhokar breathed out, annoyed. "It's true, what Sadeas and the others whisper. You're changing, Uncle. It has something to do with those episodes of yours, doesn't it?"

"They are unimportant, Elhokar. Listen to me! What are we willing to give, in order to get vengeance?"