Conan is uneasy on his fifteenth birthday because his father wants him to become a blacksmith while he wants to be a warrior like Rion. He is about to partake in his coming of age ceremony -- surviving in a ring with a bull until it tires. He is wished luck by Mara and Jongalt, but Drasil, whose brother Conan killed, plots to kill him by having the slightly mentally challenged Rorem stab the bull into a blood frenzy. Conan manages to kill the bull, and when the deceit is discovered, he kills Rorem before Drasil's part in the plot can be revealed. Conan walks off to bond with his father, who, to Conan's surprise, came to the ceremony.