selfbaring

The narrator struggles with intense guilt and shame after engaging in 'selfbaring'—a profound mutual soul-revealing experience with Schweiz, an Earthman—challenging the cultural norms of his society. Seeking absolution, he undergoes a draining ritual with the healer Jidd but finds no spiritual relief, instead experiencing a loss of faith in the Covenant and a transformation of belief inspired by Schweiz. Ultimately, the narrator reconciles with his new sense of self and the altered worldview that embraces connection over isolation.

In this chapter, Kinnall Darival hosts his bondbrother Noim and reveals his secret use of the Sumaran drug, which enables profound self-revelation through shared consciousness. After initial reluctance, Noim partakes in the drug experience, exposing deep insecurities and contrasting self-images between the two men, culminating in Noim's urgent plea that Kinnall not involve their mutual bondsister Halum in this dangerous practice.

In this chapter, the protagonist experiences a vivid sensory and psychic overlap induced by the Sumaran drug, revealing hidden aspects of others' identities. He is abruptly warned by Androg Mihan that he is under imminent threat of arrest for 'selfbaring' and drug-related charges, forcing him to flee to the Duke of Sumar for protection. The chapter explores the tension between personal freedom, societal repression, and the dangers of secrecy in a tightly controlled culture.

The narrator learns that news of his disgrace has spread from Manneran to Salla, where he is publicly denounced for violating the Covenant by using a forbidden drug that enables 'selfbaring,' a prohibited psychic connection between souls. He is accused of abusing his high office to smuggle the drug, forcibly administering it to a lowborn woman, and distributing it among nobility, leading to his exile and impending trial in absentia with severe penalties including forfeiture of his property.