Livira spots a distant figure approaching the Dust settlement and raises the alarm. Aunt Teela, unusually tender and frightened, orders Livira to stay close as everyone gathers by the well. The lone traveler proves to be a sabber, with a larger band trailing behind.

The sabber advances, declaring the settlers his property. Five men, including Old Kern, step out to resist. Spear throws fail; Acmar’s older brother charges and is easily felled. In the ensuing dust cloud the sabber cuts through the defenders and continues forward. Panic erupts, and in the chaos Livira is torn from Teela, knocked senseless, and captured.

Livira comes to in a rope line of children—Katrin ahead, Neera behind, and Acmar limping. She tests her bonds, mouths off at the sabber, and wrestles with fear by focusing on anger. The loss of Ella’s wind‑weed sphere pierces her composure and finally brings tears, while the adults’ fates remain unknown.

Four more sabbers join, including a grey‑maned female with a staff hung with cratalac claws. The captives are marched east; the leader avoids dust‑bears with practiced care as Livira quietly gnaws at her ropes and nurtures a growing hatred. They pass the wind‑carved ribs of an ancient ship and approach low hills at sunset. As they begin to climb, an arrow strikes a child, introducing a new, unseen threat.