Jasnah arrives in Thaylen City in Shardplate at the head of a full Alethi division, presenting herself as the kind of female military leader she has long wanted the world to accept. As she marches through the city with an honor guard of former slaves, she reflects on the limits of her reforms: slavery may be legally ended, but many freed people still face retaliation, coercion, and social hostility. Jasnah also worries about the unchecked power of monarchy and about the note she left for Wit ending their relationship, but she forces herself to focus on the coming defense.

Jasnah meets Queen Fen and Thaylen leaders on the city wall above the bay. Fen openly admits her fear that Thaylenah is becoming dependent on Alethi power and on Radiants whose loyalties are no longer tied to their homelands. The two review the city’s defenses, including trebuchets and Jasnah’s Radiants, while Fen laments that Thaylenah still has not rebuilt the great fleet it lost. They also recognize that the enemy armada approaching across the channel should not have been possible at this scale, which suggests that Odium has resources or plans they do not yet understand.

As they study the bay, Jasnah concludes that the enemy is committed to taking Thaylen City at any cost. Unlike earlier campaigns, this assault looks like a final, all-in confrontation whose outcome could determine the future for centuries. Fen and Jasnah go to plan for every surprise Odium might attempt, and Jasnah accepts that either she will be enough in this defense or she will die there.

Elsewhere, at Narak, Sigzil and Leyten watch enemy forces massing outside Narak Four under red lightning. Among the attackers are the newly awakened Focused Ones, a kind of Fused Hoid had warned about. As the Everstorm and highstorm converge, Sigzil expects the usual violent clash, but instead the highstorm falters and is overwhelmed, reduced to brief rain with little wind. Although the storm still infuses gemstones, its submission alarms Sigzil and suggests a dangerous shift in the balance between the storms.

When the enemy begins advancing, Vienta and Sigzil notice that only Skybreakers are supporting the assault and suspect the attack has a performative, distracting quality. Sigzil sends Leyten to investigate where the Heavenly Ones are, then commits to holding the wall because the enemy has been drawn toward the weaker gate exactly as he intended. The Focused Ones condense their strange layered bodies into dense, powerful forms, while Magnified Ones tear up the wooden planking meant to hinder Deepest Ones. Sigzil keeps the defenders in position behind the fortifications, but the enemy’s true method of breaching the walls becomes clear when he hears massive footsteps and sees a thunderclast approaching through the storm.