Seeking the ancient knowledge of Dragdah that might help them rescue Helena, the Harbingers travel toward Tch'nev and the Veng'namar Plateau. Torrin's compass points directly toward the distant glacier that entombs the city. At a fork in the road, the group encounters a scarecrow connected in Torrin's memory to Mother Argalus. He senses that it is watching them and demanding a choice, so they burn it, yet find no ash or trace of it the next morning. They take the more traveled road and reach Anathema, an impoverished village governed by Mother Ethel. Its people receive protection from the Blood Sorcerers of Keph, but must periodically surrender a human tribute. Inside a small church, four black-clad worshippers surround a scarred young woman in red as blood from her cut wrists fills a ritual design beside an untouched feast. Their chant promises beauty and youth in exchange for lifeless blood. The Harbingers debate intervening, but leave as armored riders from Keph approach the village.

That night, Torrin dreams of a windswept plateau, a golden tree dripping light, three surviving statues where four once stood, and red illumination spreading beyond the tree as darkness presses outward from the Chained City. A voice asks whether he remembers who he is and commands him to guide their people with light before time runs out. Five days later, the luminous Elendra Elutharis enters the camp carrying a moonlit blade. She warns that Helena may have crossed beyond any path the Evenari can follow, then cuts a passage through the trees into Venfallas. Beneath its star-filled sky and purple moonlight, the Harbingers find a sanctuary of silver trees, drifting lights, and roughly a thousand Evenari. The council reacts angrily to the outsiders until Torrin removes his disguise. Recognizing a person they believe should no longer exist, the Evenari bow to him. Their chief, Ylvis Denell Elutharis, explains that love saved his people from annihilation and preserves them within Venfallas, though they remain trapped there and vulnerable beyond its borders. He has opposed the Blood Keepers for as long as he can remember. Torrin identifies Acuras as an ancient prisoner of the Vey who escaped when their prison fell, while Ylvis describes him as an ageless foreign predator empowered by sanguine magic and terrified of Mother Argalus.

Three Evenari speaking as maiden, mother, and crone grant the travelers three questions on behalf of their great mother. They reveal that Dio Ostium separated the highborn and lowborn Vey, and that the greatest Veyan king shattered its Crystallic key into nine pieces. A second key, forged through black betrayal, still exists within the shadows. Asked what restoring Ithelion would cause, they say the answer lies beyond their sight because gods do not interfere in the affairs of gods, then permit a replacement question. They teach that Mother Argalus belongs to a class of ancient emotions born into the world, later corrupted and sealed on Ardhas until mortals summoned them. Her influence can be resisted by replacing fear with hope, despair with love, and darkness with light. Before the party leaves, the triune speakers warn them to beware everyone who asks for their aid, including the Evenari. Ylvis refuses sanctuary to the displaced children traveling with the Harbingers, but allows Elendra to guide the group toward Ilanar and the plateau. The council presents the visitors with three luminous swords named the Pale Blade, Crescent Edge, and Nightbringer. Elendra also reveals that she last saw Helena being embraced by Acuras and believes death would have been kinder. Elsewhere, an unnamed gathering in a dark-green chamber plots to open a door. The enthroned woman condemns Draxus and Zyltrix for betraying them, while another figure promises to continue spinning a web and remarks that others believe it is a book.