A young Rhivi woman, known only as The Mhybe, awakens in her tent. Not long ago she was young and unwed, refusing all marriage proposals due to the generations of war afflicting the Rhivi. After the death of her parents, she caught the attention of Pran Chole and K'rul, who considered her a perfect candidate to be a vessel (a mhybe) for a child born in the influence of the Tellann warren. The Mhybe feels unnaturally older, and knows that her child has unwittingly leached her youth from her as she grows at a fast rate. She tries not to be bitter about this, but thinks that she ultimately fails.