Chapter 112: 100. An Old Friend

Spoiler Notice: This summary and analysis contains full spoilers for Chapter 112 of Oathbringer. Read on only if you have finished this chapter or don’t mind learning key events.

Summary

Dalinar, now with most of his memories restored except the Nightwatcher encounter, tours the devastated city of Vedenar. Every sight and smell rekindles his guilt over Rathalas, and Evi’s phantom weeping haunts him. He unsuccessfully seeks distraction inspecting the city walls, but the persistent crash of waves and the scent of smoke trigger his darker recollections. Worry for Adolin and Elhokar gnaws at him, as they have not sent word after the Kholinar mission.

Taravangian arrives at the gazebo with a half-shard shield and engages Dalinar in conversation about enslaving spren for fabrials, then poses a subtle moral trap: would he change the past and let the Sunmaker’s bloody conquest continue if it meant a unified Roshar against the Voidbringers? Unsettled, Dalinar excuses himself and mingles with wounded Veden veterans. The soldiers describe the civil-war battle where the Thrill burned so fiercely that no one could stop killing. The Thrill stirs in Dalinar, familiar and terrifying, and he realizes it had left him to come here.

Panicked, Dalinar flees to the city wall, then down into the streets, battling the Thrill’s call and his own self‑loathing. He resists Rial’s offered alcohol, but the whispers grow louder. At the Oathgate, a council of curates excommunicates him as a heretic for denying the Almighty’s divinity. The Thrill surges, and Dalinar knows he must escape or kill. Using his Bondsmith power—not a Shardblade—he forces the Oathgate control building to transport him alone to Urithiru. Even there, the Thrill follows, and Evi’s voice condemns him. Finding no solace in The Way of Kings, Dalinar ransacks Adolin’s room and raises a bottle of violet wine to his lips, poised to fall back into the oblivion of drink.

Key Events

Dalinar struggles with full memory of his past atrocities while surveying war‑scarred Vedenar.
Taravangian discusses half‑shards and the enslavement of spren, then challenges Dalinar’s moral stance on the Sunmaker.
Wounded Veden soldiers describe the Thrill’s overwhelming presence during the civil war; the sensation reawakens in Dalinar.
The curates formally excommunicate Dalinar, provoking a near‑murderous rage.
Dalinar escapes via the Oathgate using an unfamiliar Bondsmith power, without a Shardblade.
Back in Urithiru, still pursued by the Thrill and Evi’s voice, Dalinar nearly resorts to drinking alcohol found in Adolin’s room.

Character Development

Dalinar: The returned memories have transformed him into a man caught between four past selves: the blood‑thirsty youth, the hypocritical general, the broken drunk, and the false reformed man. The chapter dramatizes his relapse into guilt, his terror of the Thrill’s pull, and his growing desperation. His final action—reaching for the bottle—shows him teetering on the edge of becoming the third, broken self again.
Taravangian: His conversation reveals a manipulative streak. By linking half‑shards, enslaved spren, and the Sunmaker’s tyranny, he probes Dalinar’s willingness to sacrifice the past for present necessity—a theme that aligns with his own secret agenda.
The Stormfather: He reacts with dismay when Dalinar forces the Oathgate, withdrawing favor but not breaking the bond, signaling that Dalinar’s use of power will have consequences.
Evi (memory/voice): She persists as an internal accuser, giving voice to Dalinar’s guilt and pushing him toward self‑destruction.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

The Thrill / Nergaoul: The epigraph explicitly ties the Thrill to Nergaoul, and the chapter provides first‑hand accounts of its influence making soldiers fight beyond reason. Dalinar’s personal struggle with its return underscores it as an addictive, external force red as blood.
Memory and Identity: Dalinar’s quilt‑of‑scars metaphor illustrates how his suppressed memories fragmented his self. The chapter asks: can he rebuild a true identity, or is he doomed to relive his worst self?
Moral Compromise and the Past: Taravangian’s question about the Sunmaker echoes the novel’s larger dilemma: can monstrous acts be justified by future good? The half‑shard, which enslaves a spren that might have bonded a Radiant, becomes a symbol of that trade‑off.
Oathgate and Bondsmith Power: Dalinar’s ability to force the Oathgate without a Shardblade hints at the extent of his Bondsmith abilities—enough to alarm the Stormfather—and foreshadows his capacity to bind things beyond ordinary limits.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter is the linchpin of Dalinar’s personal crisis before the climax. It brings together every major internal conflict: guilt over Rathalas, fear of the Thrill, the collapse of his spiritual support from the church, and the temptation to drown his pain in alcohol. Taravangian’s probing plants seeds of moral ambiguity, while the excommunication strips away external approval. Dalinar’s panicked flight and the use of untaught Bondsmith power show his desperation and the dormant strength he still doesn’t understand. Ending with him about to drink sets the stakes: if he surrenders, his journey as a Radiant may be over; if he resists, he must find a new foundation beyond memory, reputation, or even faith.

Study Questions and Answers

Why does the Thrill return so strongly to Dalinar in Vedenar, and what does its presence there reveal?
The Thrill had departed Alethkar and concentrated in Vedenar during the civil war, as the epigraph suggests Nergaoul actively sought bloodshed. Dalinar, who once thrived on it, now feels it as a predatory echo of his own violent past. Its resurgence shows that the Thrill is not a personal flaw but an external force—yet one that feeds on his deepest instincts, testing his resolve.
How does the excommunication scene exemplify Dalinar’s current internal conflict?
When the curate accuses Dalinar of heresy, the Thrill instantly ignites a murderous impulse. Dalinar recognizes that if he stays, he will kill a man of the cloth. His flight is not cowardice but a desperate act of self‑preservation, forcing him to choose between the violent first self and the redeemed fourth self—even if he doubts that redeemed self’s reality.
What does the end of the chapter—Dalinar holding the wine bottle—imply about his character arc?
It marks the low point where the broken third man resurfaces. Having exhausted other escapes (duty, prayer, even the Stormfather’s presence), he reverts to the crutch he once used. The chapter leaves him suspended between destruction and the possibility of choosing a fifth identity, one not built on erasing the past but on confronting it without intoxicants.

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