Following a feast where a woman's unusual ability to commune with beasts was displayed, a nobleman discusses the potential threat to his power if this lost art is real and used by the northern army. Skeptical but wary, he dismisses it as a possible trick using repellent powder. He decides to test her, ordering his Shadow Guard to launch a non-lethal assault on the Northern Keep at midnight, aiming to force her to reveal her true power. If she fails the test, the guards are instructed to maim but not kill her, leaving her fate hanging on her response to the imminent attack.