The War Games begin after days of tension among the Ironteeth Clans. Adarlan officials gather on the Northern Fang to observe the witches and wyverns and report to the king. Manon notes that the brief unity after Abraxos completed the Crossing has vanished, and the clans have returned to rivalry and blood feud.

The contest requires each clan to defend a glass egg in its mountain nest while capturing the other two clans’ eggs. Manon equips the Thirteen with armor and weapons suited for the no-killing rules, then leads the Blackbeaks in a disciplined formation built to punch through enemy lines. She reminds the Thirteen that the objective is capture, not slaughter.

When the bell rings, Manon correctly predicts that the Yellowlegs will attack the Blackbeak nest. She sends part of her force back to defend, then strikes the Blueblood nest. Because the Bluebloods split their strength poorly, Manon and the Thirteen surround the nest quickly, take the Blueblood egg, and return it to the Blackbeak nest, gaining a major advantage.

Manon then leads the assault on the Yellowlegs egg. The Thirteen use rehearsed maneuvers to break the Yellowlegs’ mixed and disorganized lines, but Petrah and four Blueblood covens suddenly dive toward the exposed Yellowlegs nest. Before Petrah can take advantage, Iskra attacks her, and Iskra’s wyvern mauls Petrah’s wyvern, Keelie.

As Keelie and Petrah fall, Manon sees a chance to seize the Yellowlegs egg, but Abraxos refuses to dive for victory. The Blueblood Matron screams for her daughter, and Manon, moved by the sound and by Keelie’s desperate attempt to save Petrah, follows Abraxos into a rescue dive. Realizing Abraxos cannot save Keelie, Manon understands that she must save Petrah instead, and she leaps from Abraxos toward the dying wyvern and unconscious rider.