Violet and Xaden Riorson awaken to Unnbriel soldiers surrounding their camp near Soneram. The platoon—disciplined, uniform in height and build, and armed with swords and forearm-sheathed daggers—orders the riders and dragons to leave. Tairn spots two full companies of cavalry hidden in the surrounding hills, and dragons and gryphons emerge to ring the platoon, rattling the soldiers. The captain denies their request for an audience with the queen, slighting Violet’s stature and worth.

Xaden cites Unnbriel law that defeating their best in combat grants entrance to court at the defeated’s rank, forcing the captain to acknowledge the rule. The captain limits their escort to half of the visiting party and demands the dragons remain outside the inner areas. Violet, as mission lead, selects Xaden to challenge, Aaric to speak for Navarre, Cat to represent Poromiel, and Dain as interpreter, leaving the rest under Mira’s command with orders to raze the city if they do not return by nightfall.

The cavalry escorts them to Eistol, Unnbriel’s capital, a terraced, walled city with pale blue roofs and heavy cross-bolts on each ring, clearly engineered to fight dragons. Tairn and Sgaeyl land on the third ring wall alongside a cross-bolt; their presence intimidates the crew. The captain directs Violet and Xaden down internal stairways within the walls—defensive corridors capable of bottling attackers—and into narrow alleys that open to a residential district packed with soldiers in varying uniforms: muted green leather, pale blue with greaves, and silver armored troops guarding the next gate.

Held under guard in the street, Violet and Xaden are joined by Aaric, Dain, and Cat. Interpreting overheard exchanges, Dain explains the locals want any challenge conducted at a station away from their primary temple. The group is permitted through another gate marked with Dunne’s emblem—two crossed swords gripped by a claw—suggesting a symbolic kinship with Navarre’s own symbology.

They enter a grand plaza with terraced seating facing Unnbriel’s largest temple, supported by six granite pillars carved with symbols—sword, shield, fire, water, claw, and book—emphasizing tools of war. A towering statue of their goddess faces outward, armed with sword and shield, her armored robes signaling a martial culture. As guards take positions around the plaza, blue-robed attendants emerge on the steps, each one bearing distinctly silver hair, a striking and unusual trait that underscores Unnbriel’s difference and hints at a unique lineage or tradition.