The explosion heralds the death of a sentinel near the Mirror Cliffs; the Weaver is attacking sentinels and weakening the guard between them and the Mainland, with the goal of leaving the Island. Despite Skandar’s kindness to his fellow trainees, Mitchell continues to suspect Skandar of secretly working with the Weaver to bring down the Island and all the unicorn riders.

The Mainlanders attend their first “extra” class with Instructor Joby Worsham, a unicorn rider whose unicorn died at the hands of the Executioner. His purpose is to teach the Mainlander children about life on the Island and help fill in their knowledge gaps. With the Weaver’s attacks becoming more frequent, many of the trainees want to know more about the spirit element and how the Weaver came to be. Joby reluctantly explains before redirecting the conversation back to other topics. He next reveals that the Hatchery exam is nothing more than potential riders shaking the hand of an experienced rider who can tell if they have rider potential—it’s magic and destiny, not skill. After class, Skandar and Bobby stay back to ask Joby how someone might stop the Weaver; Joby says only a spirit wielder could stop them, and spirit wielders are illegal.