When she holds the baby in her arms for the first time, she's fascinated. The tiny little person has chubby little arms and legs. Little unfocused eyes peek out under a shock of dark brown hair like his father's. She falls in love with her nephew immediately; her sister-in-law can barely manage to pry the babe out of her arms to feed him. Everyone dotes on him, but she is almost more excited than the baby's parents. "Little Oren," she coos to him as she rocks him in her arms. The only thing that can drag her away from the baby is the brand new longbow to replace the older one that was worn with use. She spends equal time practicing with her longbow and playing with the baby. She is so completely occupied between the two she has no idea that anyone else exists in the world.
Father is disappointed in him more and more. No matter what he does to try to please his father, he's too small or he's too shy or he's too skinny. Delilah is two years younger than him, and Thomas four, but they are both the same height as he, and Thomas is stronger. Mother tells him that he will grow, and he is a 'late bloomer,' but that does not redeem him in Father's eyes. Subconsciously he knows it's because he takes after his mother's side of the family, and for some reason Father does not get along with them, but he still tries to do anything and everything to get Father's approval.
Finally, one day, Father invites him along to visit the Teyrn. On the way there, Father tells him that he must make a good impression on the Teyrn's daughter. "Part of being a nobleman is learning how to get along with the other nobles," Father says. "I want you to introduce yourself to the daughter. I expect to make a match between you two and her father allows her too much freedom, so for this to happen you need to be … friends with her."
He knows this is a big responsibility that Father has assigned him, and he wants to please Father, but when he sees the girl he's terrified. She is practicing archery in the courtyard when they arrive, and her skill and concentration are amazing. She is tall, several inches taller than him in fact, with brown hair that is kept in a long braid down her back. She is more beautiful than anyone else there. He tries to approach her, he honestly does, but she pays him no notice as her brother arrives in the courtyard with a baby in his arms. She puts down the bow and her enormous green eyes shine with excitement as she takes the baby from its father and begins to play with it. He is too shy and too afraid to talk to her – her self-confidence makes him feel even more helpless and inept than usual, and he never manages to even say three words to her.
Father is so angry that he refuses to speak all the way home or for a week afterward. He knows that he has messed up worse than ever before, but he doesn't know how to fix things. He's just so awkward and afraid.
On his fifteenth birthday, a letter arrives from one of Father's friends in the Free Marches. The next day, his things are packed and he is sent to learn "how to be a man." Father informs him that he will never amount to much, and that Thomas will end up becoming Arl someday. He swears to himself that he will, one day, be worthy of Father's praise and vows to work as hard as he can to redeem himself.
"I've got it!" his wife announces proudly as she walks in the door. She tries to describe the smokeless fuel that she has developed to him, but he has no idea what she is talking about. After all, he is a warrior, not a smith. He is proud of her, though; this sounds like a really big deal. He has no idea how big a deal it is.
Within the month, there is talk of making her a Paragon. "A living Ancestor!" he exclaims. "Good on you!" The vote is cast, and is nearly unanimously in favor of Branka being named a Paragon. He actually goes without drink before the ceremony and cleans up as well as he can so that he can make her happy on her special day. Unfortunately, he goes overboard at the celebration afterward, so she gets angry at him anyway.
His own reputation as a warrior has grown on its own, but with her elevation to Paragon status, he becomes a minor celebrity. He doesn't mind the attention, especially since it means that he gets drinks for free at Tapsters more often than not. Her duties as Paragon start to take her away from home more and more, and he starts to drink more and more out of loneliness and habit.
The harrowing isn't really all that big a deal. Granted, he was surprised that he got called to undertake his so soon; after all, he's only been an apprentice for three years. Most apprentices don't get called for almost a decade. The First Enchanter tells him that he has remarkable skill and power, however, and the lessons were incredibly easy. He enters the Fade and is back within two hours. Everyone seems to be impressed.
"You are a natural," Irving tells him. "You could become a Senior Enchanter within a year at the rate you are learning."
"You mean that's all I have to look forward to?" he asks the First Enchanter. "Why bother learning how to harness the power if we never get to use it? It's ridiculous!"
Irving spouts platitudes about compromise, but he feels patronized. He looks around him at the other mages, and he notices that the longer they stay in their prettied-up prison, the more complacent they become and the more cowardly and accepting they become. In his eyes, they are worse than sheep. At least sheep get moved from place to place occasionally. He makes plans to try to escape that very night.