Rhysand: Two Years Before the Wall

This opening chapter follows Rhysand as he surveys a devastated battlefield two years before the events at the Wall, searching desperately among the dead Illyrian soldiers for signs of his brothers Cassian and Azriel after a brutal three-day siege. The chapter establishes the ongoing war between resistance forces and the Loyalists, as well as Rhysand's burden as a warrior and commander.

Rhysand walks across a sprawling killing field littered with corpses of humans and faeries alike, where a three-day battle has just concluded. His army held the line against Ravennia's Loyalist legions to protect a strategically vital keep with crucial forges and supplies. The Loyalists retreated rather than surrender, leaving their dead behind. Rhysand notes the Loyalists show no regard for ancient battle customs and view Fae warriors as vermin to be exterminated. As he surveys the carnage, he reflects that he depleted his own power during the fighting and resorted to brutal physical combat. Reinforcements arrived at dawn on the third day, sent by his father, though they suffered heavy casualties. Desperate and exhausted, Rhysand searches through piles of dead Illyrian soldiers, checking faces and looking for his brothers Cassian and Azriel, uncertain whether either fought in this battle or survived it. He discovers multiple Illyrian corpses but cannot find either brother among them, leaving his anxiety unresolved.