Two weeks pass as Talasyn trains intensively at the Sardovian regiment's new base in the Wildermarch, a fertile canyon in the Heartland. Pulled from active duty, she spends every waking hour practicing aethermancy under Amirante Vela's instruction and sparring with Blademaster Mara Kasdar. With Kesath already aware of her existence as a Lightweaver, she can now train openly, drawing crowds. Despite her progress with weapons and channeling, she frequently replays her duel with Alaric Ossinast, puzzling over moments when he could have killed her but didn't, and finding herself unsettled by her magnetic fixation on him.

Reinforcements leave for the Highlands while Talasyn remains behind preparing for her Nenavar mission. Khaede returns safely from the front, but brings grim news: most alpine cities have surrendered and the War Council is discussing retreating all resources to the Heartland and Coast. The evening before Talasyn's departure, she and Khaede sit together outside the barracks. Khaede questions the viability of the mission, and Talasyn admits she doesn't fully know how to commune with the Light Sever. Khaede shares the legend of the Fisherman's Warning—a purple glow from the southeast over the Eversea that heralds rough waters. When Talasyn finally asks how Khaede is coping with Sol's death, Khaede opens up about her grief but resolves to fight on so her child can grow up in a better world. Talasyn is moved, and privately feels grateful she has never loved anyone enough to suffer such devastating loss.

That evening, Talasyn meets with Vela, who gives her Bieshimma's detailed map and intelligence dossier. Vela demonstrates her own shadow magic, explaining that as a Shadowgate wielder she can only teach Talasyn so much—the Light Sever is essential. Talasyn asks Vela why she never joined the Shadowforged Legion when she was with the Kesathese army; Vela reveals she hid her abilities because she didn't want to become the person the Legion would require. She tells Talasyn she has a chance to become "the light that guides us out of the shadows."

Outside Vela's office, Talasyn encounters Coxswain Darius, who delivers devastating news: the King on the Mountain has surrendered the Highlands, and the Shadowforged Legion beheaded him. Sardovia is now reduced to just the Heartland and the Coast, surrounded on all sides except seaward. Darius, the steady officer who once saved young Talasyn in the wreckage of Hornbill's Head, breaks down in despair, questioning whether one Lightweaver can make any difference. He wishes her safe travels before going to report to Vela, leaving Talasyn alone with the crushing realization that her mission is now more critical than ever.

Before dawn the next morning, Talasyn launches her wasp coracle from the Wildermarch. She navigates the treacherous Shipsbane ravine in near darkness, then flies low over sycamore forests toward the coast. She witnesses a Shadow Sever discharge near the southern border—a towering eruption of dark magic called "Zannah's Fury." Steeling herself against nervousness about what awaits in Nenavar, Talasyn accelerates toward the Eversea, determined not to let Sardovia down.