Vis enters Ulciscor's office and finds Baine Breac, Eidhin's father and a Quartus in Military, waiting for him. After Kadmos treats Vis's wound, Baine explains that he has not come on Military's behalf but because Eidhin is in danger. He confirms that Princeps Redivius, one of several claimants in the civil war, plans to attack Caten the next night before dawn.

Baine lays out the attack plan in detail. A diversionary strike will hit the docks using Will-powered ships let through the harbor chain by Magnus Quintus Otho, and Redivius intends to send Cymrian troops in the first wave because he considers them more expendable. Eidhin will be among them. Baine adds that the real assault will target Alta Semita through a Transvect Redivius controls, with the Tolverium anchor being moved to make the strike possible.

Vis first assumes Baine wants Eidhin to defect, but Baine explains that Eidhin does not know about this meeting and still means to fight. Redivius has threatened to execute refusers and purge the pyramids of any Cymrians who defect or are captured, so Eidhin believes dying is the only way to protect his people. Baine asks Vis to meet Eidhin at the docks and persuade him that sacrificing himself will not truly save anyone; Vis reluctantly agrees and memorizes a distinctive Cymrian armband that Eidhin will wear.

As they continue talking, Baine gives Vis fuller intelligence on Redivius's plans while quietly drawing out stories about Eidhin's life at the Academy. Vis gradually sees that Baine's questions come from personal longing rather than strategy, and he shares memories of Eidhin's progress, friendships, and grief after Callidus. Baine then reveals that Eidhin had an older twin, Cathair, who died when the Republic attacked four years earlier, and he argues that his own submission to the Hierarchy was not simple betrayal but a father's willingness to cross any line to protect his son.

Before leaving, Baine offers practical ideas for smuggling Eidhin out of the city if Vis can change his mind, including routes through the sewers, while insisting Eidhin must never learn Baine arranged any of it. He accepts that the intelligence he has shared may doom Redivius's invasion and possibly himself, but he still chooses to try. At the door, Baine warns Vis that Eidhin's trust is fragile and begs him to save Eidhin without betraying him, leaving Vis with both vital military information and an almost impossible moral burden.