Back in the Lodge great room, Bree waits with the other Pages and studies the competition. Most are athletic and likely trained by Vassal families from childhood, making Bree aware that her limited but real experience with Shadowborn attacks is both an advantage and something she must hide.

Victoria Morgan, called Tor, enters and introduces herself as the Legendborn Scion of the Line of Tristan. Victoria explains that the Pages will take the Oath of Fealty; if the Oath accepts them, they will gain Sight, but if it rejects them, they will be mesmered and expelled. Victoria also announces that Nick’s return creates three open Squire positions and publicly praises the chapter’s “most diverse Page class,” singling Bree out in a way that leaves Bree angry and exhausted.

Outside, Greer quietly acknowledges that Victoria’s comment was wrong and tells Bree that Greer also faces targeted remarks, though people are more strategic because of Greer’s donor family and long Vassal history. Greer and Whitty then explain the stakes of the tournament: Pages must avoid losing or forfeiting to remain eligible for Selection, and the high rank of Nick’s Line means many competitors will target his Squire position.

The ceremony begins when hooded figures appear through a sudden magical distortion. Sel’s mesmer blinds the Pages, and each Page is led away one at a time. Bree is guided through the woods while unable to see, then down stone steps, until Nick quietly reveals himself as her guide and tells Bree not to resist Sel’s blindness.

Nick starts explaining that Oaths are living bonds sealed by speech and aether, but Sel interrupts and attacks. Sel accuses Nick of bringing a Shadowborn onto sacred grounds and calls Bree an “uchel,” while Nick insists Bree is not Shadowborn and physically protects her. Sel begins calling aether against Nick and Bree, but Dr. Martin Davis, Nick’s father, arrives and stops him by invoking Sel’s duty as Kingsmage.

Martin Davis greets Nick with strained emotion, showing both pride and distance between father and son. Nick introduces Bree as his Page, and Martin interprets Nick’s decision as a major return to his Scion role. When Martin asks why Nick and Sel were fighting, Nick covers for Sel by saying Sel merely sensed a possible Shadowborn and was mistaken; Sel does not contradict him, and the group proceeds toward the Chapel.