Michael

Taliesin escapes Affalon to discover things in the world are much changed. Uthyr Pendragon has taken Gorlois' widow, Igerna, as his wife and elevated Caer Leon to its former Roman glory. He learns Brython is preoccupied with threats from a warlord who claims to be Octa, son of Hengist, though he was believed to have been executed in front of thousands at Uthyr's victory games in Caer Lundein.

Agathe and Réjean Lapointe are about to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary when Réjean's beloved Chevy Silverado is found abandoned at the side of the road - with no trace of Réjean. Agathe handles her grief by fondling the shirts in the Big and Tall department at Hickey's Family Apparel and carrying on a relationship with a cigarette survey. As her hope dwindles, Agathe falls in with her spirited coworker, Debbie, who teaches Agathe about rock and roll, and with Martin Bureau, the one man who might know the truth about Réjean's fate.

In the aftermath of the Battle of the Crossroads, Bran convinces the few warriors who remain to gather their families and live as one clan under his leadership. Together they abandon their villages and unite under a new sigil - the Sacred Oak of the Crossroads - no longer referring to themselves as Easterners, Northerners, or Southerners but simply as "Oaks."