Chapter Fifty-Nine

Summary

• Cadet Violet Sorrengail is readying Andarna, a dragon who intends to join a battle, with a new harness so she won't fall out of formation and can be carried by Tairn, another dragon.
• Andarna and Tairn engage in a sharp exchange about dragon hierarchy and independence.
• Cadets, dragons, and gryphons prepare for battle, showing reluctance, teasing, and distributing weapons.
• The strategic importance of some cadets staying behind due to their vulnerability to Navarrian wards is highlighted.
• Riders and dragons form an unauthorized formation and debate on who should join the fight to defend the hatching grounds.
• The first-years express their desire to fight, but are ultimately not allowed to join due to their lack of training and developed abilities.
• The cadets enter a debate with Brennan, who is against the attack plan, as he believes it is a mistake.
• Cadets discuss the lack of movement from the Assembly and the potential need to act without their consent to save their home and people.
• After a long and cold flight, Violet and her squadron arrive at the Morraine province, noticing a lack of patrols, which is unusual.
• They reach Basgiath and notice that things seem too quiet, as if many soldiers have been sent away to another location.
• Violet confronts her mother, who is the general of the base, about the vulnerability and the impending danger to the wards.
• The general is skeptical but allows Violet and a group to inspect the wards after a tense discussion.
• The ward inspection team encounters dead soldiers, and they realize someone has compromised the wards.
• A battle with Baide, a dragon influenced by dark forces, ensues in the ward chamber.
• Jack Barlowe appears to have orchestrated the attack on the wards, using Baide and eventually killing her to bring down the wardstone.
• The chapter concludes with the wards falling, leaving the stronghold vulnerable.