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Okay, so I preemptively apologize to everyone if this question exists elsewhere, but I don't know how to find the answers I'm looking for. I actually have two questions: 1) We know that the Parshendi had spies in the Alethi camps (obviously, since I'm talking about Rlain), and we know that they have some weird mental connections. However, we never experience an Eshonai interlude (at least that I can remember) where she mentally communicates with another of her species. Yes, in conversation the Parshendi often "hum" a tone which can be felt by their conversation partners, but so far we have not experienced any other form of telepathy, which I assume is how spies in the warcamps communicate since they and the rest of the parshmen are so closely watched and counted by their Alethi owners. It doesn't make sense that parshmen are just walking back and forth across the barren Shattered Plains--surely they would be seen by the numerous Alethi scouts. Therefore, my first question is how do the spies communicate with the Parshendi at Narak? We know Rlain has been in the warcamps for years -- that is a long time for a spy to sit around being useless, since during wartime information would be needed as fast as it could be brought. So, Rlain is worthless....unless there is some sort bond that Parshendi possess through their Cognitive connections that allow their spies to transmit information nigh-instantly. Remember, Eshonai knew that the Alethi would be marching towards Narak within a short amount of time after Dalinar made the decision to do so. I'm curious what the forums have uncovered via WOB's or from their own speculations. It seems apparent to me that all of this could be explained by the spies running back and forth between the camps and Narak, but once again I feel like that it too much traffic to not be noticed by sharp-eyed scouts looking for movement. 2) My second Rlain question revolves around the in-book timeframe. We know that Shen told Kaladin he needed to leave Bridge 4 before Kaladin fell into the chasm, and even before Adolin's 4-person duel and Kaladin's days (weeks?) of imprisonment. We also know that the Parshendi are able to cross the Shattered Plains at a much faster rate than the Alethi due to their ability to jump. How quickly can they move across the Plains? Given that they reach the chasmfiend chrysalises at the same time as or often before the Alethi, even Sadeas's troops, and it's unlikely that they have roaming armies, they must then leave from Narak itself. This means that they can move across the vast majority of the Shattered Plains--almost to the warcamps themselves--in hours, when it takes Alethi armies days to reach Narak. Admittedly, a dullform Parshendi probably can't move as quickly, but they have to cross the plains somehow. So, at the very least we know that Rlain transformed into warform BEFORE approaching Narak during one of the highstorms. However, he only approached Narak AFTER the final two highstorms before the Weeping! He mentions to Dalinar that the transformation of his people was the reason he stayed away from Narak when he first approached it. THIS CREATES A WEIRD TIME GAP BETWEEN HIS ESCAPE ONTO THE PLAINS AND HIS ALMOST RETURN TO NARAK! Full weeks pass between his departure and his rediscovery by the Alethi army. He already admitted he never returned to Narak, so what in the world was he doing? How was he surviving alone for weeks out on the barren Shattered Plains? What could have happened here? Please, enlighten me, as I am very confused by this seeming time-progression dichotomy.