Orla tries to reassure Samah that she is still loyal to him, but he remains cold and unfeeling towards her, and she keeps thinking it is her fault. Then, at the Council meeting, he is once again polite and kind to her. Alfred is brought before the Council, and tells them about life in Arianus, and what it was like for him to wake up and find all the other Sartan were dead. Samah talks about the history of the world before the Sundering, tries to justify the Sartans actions in performing the Sundering, and accuses the Patryns of interfering in mensch affairs behind the scenes, even though, as Alfred points out, the Sartan also got involved in mensch affairs.