Violet Sorrengail climbs the stairs to the office of her mother, General Sorrengail, on Conscription Day, the day that 20-year-olds from across the kingdom of Navarre select their branch of military service to defend against invasion attempts from the gryphon riders of the kingdom of Poromeil. Violet overhears her renowned dragon rider sister, Mira, arguing with her mother about Violet’s poor chances for survival should she pursue a place among the Riders Quadrant, as their mother is insisting that she do. Violet enters the office and embraces Mira, who demands that their mother, the general of the Basgaith War College, allow Violet to pursue a place among the scribes instead. Violet has spent most of her life training to join the Scribe Quadrant and is thus ill-prepared for the physical and psychological demands of the Riders. General Sorrengail disparages their late father’s choice to shelter Violet in the library due to her physical frailty, which stems from an illness that almost killed her in infancy. She demands that Violet join the Riders to gain prestige, reminding the girls that their father is dead and no longer has a say in Violet’s future. Mira warns that Violet will likely die during the trials and also evokes Brennan, their older brother who died with his dragon while quashing the Tyrrish rebellion.