CHAPTER TEN

Summary

• The chapter begins with the character Mira and her friends confronting the Gauntlet, a challenging obstacle course designed to test their strength, balance and agility. The obstacle course is part of their training regimen to become riders.
• The Gauntlet is located on a steep cliff and it is a test Mira must successfully complete to advance in her training. However, it looks like a death trap and Mira considers that the Scribe Quadrant may have been a safer choice.
• As Mira and her friends stand before the course, they engage in some squabbling among each other. Their instructor, Professor Emetterio, interrupts to remind them of the importance of teamwork and to focus on the task at hand.
• Each member of the squad attempts the Gauntlet one by one. Some find the course challenging, while others navigate it with ease. One of the members, Sawyer, impresses the group and the instructor with his skill and technique. However there is a reminder that even Sawyer was passed over at the Threshing, highlighting the high stakes and level of competition in becoming a rider.
• Mira manages to complete the course thanks to her agility, lightness and a study habit that helps her focus. She is particularly elated to complete a section of the course where she had to run quickly over spinning posts. However, her joy is short-lived when her friend Aurelie falls halfway down the cliff after slipping on one of the posts.
• In a touching ritual, the fallen trainees are honored in a roll call the next morning. The cruel reality of the Gauntlet is emphasized when Aurelie's name is called among those who have not survived the training.
• Despite the danger, Mira decides to continue with her training. She takes on the responsibility of handling Aurelie's things, as a tribute to her fallen friend and the last person she saw.

• Aurelie’s parents have chosen to have the Basgiath school handle their cadet daughter's burial after she was killed.
• The protagonist remembers Aurelie’s death, hypothesizing that there was nothing anyone could have done to save her. They remember getting stuck in a chimney formation during an event called the Gauntlet and being unable to complete it due to their height.
• The protagonist carries Aurelie’s heavy pack to the school's burn pit to dispose of it. They note that they'd previously wouldn't have been able to carry such a heavy pack.
• Reflecting on their circumstances and future prospects at the school, the protagonist debates running away or staying to face the Gauntlet, a fatal task they might not survive.
• The protagonist sees Xaden, Garrick, and Bodhi — three senior students — sneaking back into the school after curfew. Xaden notices the protagonist, leading to a confrontation.
• Xaden and the protagonist engage in a prickly conversation, where both hint at secret plans concerning each other. The protagonist fears Xaden knows about a plan involving them and another student, Dain.
• The protagonist admit to struggling with hope, disheartened by recent experiences and challenges in the school. Xaden criticizes the protagonist's self-pity and challenges them to either quit or find a way to overcome their challenges and survive.
• Despite Xaden's harsh words, he motivates the protagonist to find a new solution to their height problem for the Gauntlet, suggesting they need to find an alternative way to complete it.