At dusk on the causeway at Loch Traenala, Vis eats with Conor, Seanna, Miach, and Fearghus after a humiliating training session in which Tara easily beat several of them. Instead of mocking him, the group gives Vis practical advice about fighting one-handed and reassures him that they have all trained through injuries. When Vis asks about Tara’s strange eyes, they explain the nasceann: a rare battle state described as calm clarity rather than rage, possibly taught by visiting druids to chosen warriors such as Tara. Vis also tries to learn more about the druids and their lessons, partly because he still hopes to understand this land better.

As the meal continues, Vis reflects on how readily this group has accepted him. Loch Traenala feels unlike the Academy because its students compete fiercely without the same cruelty; they function more like a family, and Vis finds himself genuinely liking the place. That creates a problem, because he does not want to become part of a warband or fight for a king he barely knows. When Tara arrives and bluntly tells him he is late for patrol with Rian, Vis resolves to keep disappointing the school so that he will be seen as unreliable rather than useful, even though he hates cheapening the others’ hard work.

On patrol, Rian first asks whether Vis really fought Gallchobhar and exposed his treachery, then casually reveals something more startling: Tara is King Rónán’s daughter. Rian explains that Tara is no longer an heir because of the scar on her face, which is why she is at Loch Traenala training to become her father’s Champion instead. Before Vis can ask more, he senses the same strange pulsing presence he has noticed before, this time from the trees beside the lake. Rian takes the warning seriously and readies his spear, but when the sensation fades, Vis decides not to escalate the alarm and says it was probably only an animal.

Afterward, Vis reflects on a line once quoted by Kadmos about how the one who chases is never free. In hindsight, Vis realizes the Hierarchy was never truly hunting him because it believed him dead; he was the one always pushing back against it. Ruarc is different. After what happened at Caer Áras, Vis believes Ruarc may know he is alive and may actively be after him. Conversations at Loch Traenala also fill in the broader political danger: High King Úrthuile is near death, the Grove backs King Fiachra, the other kings are unwilling to oppose the druids, and war with King Rónán now seems likely.

Over the next three weeks, Vis settles more fully into life at Loch Traenala. He continues training under Pádraig, carefully hiding how much he is improving, and deepens his friendships with the others by running, playing Fidchell, and sharing in the camp’s rough but affectionate rhythm. Only Tara remains distant. Just as life begins to feel almost stable, the strange pulse returns again, suggesting that whatever Vis sensed in the woods has not gone away.