Taelo is called to help the Condor Clan. Feather-In-the-Wind's family lead this Clan. Now living with the Elk Clan, she has become the leader of the newly formed Eastern Elk Clan. Taelo has promised to escort her to the East of the current Elk Clan territory but the Ancestors are calling on him to go south to help the Condor Clan.
On learning of Taelo's situation, Feather-in-the-Wind frees him of his promise to escort her and the newly formed Eastern Elk Clan so he can go south to help her parents.
Taelo is also plagued by a nightmare where his mate Quiet Rabbit is beheaded by a warrior priest. This is to happen in the land of the Condor.
He takes only seasoned team members. He does not know why he is being sent by the Ancestors, but he anticipates a dangerous situation.
He finds the huge army of the Warrior Clan camped in the valley facing the Condor Clan living area. They are kept out of the Condor Clan village by the huge bottomless crevasse that separates them from the village.
Taelo and his team enter the land of the Condor Clan, through what is called the "backdoor", a point where a daring person can leap across the crevasse and take a narrow path to safety.
Taelo and his team enter and train the Condor Clan a fighting formation they refer to as the "fighting Diamond". This formation allows nine persons to fight as many as thirty at a time. The fighting diamond and Quiet Rabbit's, and Busy Bee's suggestion that they establish nine slinging squads to use the sling, to sling volcano class shards at the oncoming Warrior Clan fighters give Taelo confidence that the Condor Clan will drive the Warrior Clan of the mountain and back to their own land.
Preparation seems to be going smoothly. Taelo sets out with nine fighting diamonds to drive the Warrior Clan back from the crevasse. He needs the area immediately across the crevasse to set up his fighters for the major assault.
In an attempt to prevent having his beheading nightmare come true, Taelo has deployed Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee with their own fighting diamonds to protect the Llama herds located in another section of the mountains.
However, the Warrior Clan captures both Quiet Rabbit and Busy Bee. They are brought to a sacrificial platform especially built by the Warrior Clan war priests. A warrior priest drags Quiet Rabbit out to be beheaded.
Taelo watches nightmare becoming real.
He races faster than he has ever run to save her. In his dream his spear pierces the priest's chest, but the priest's blade moment follows through the devastating beheading arch. The action Taelo takes is one that saves Quiet Rabbit. It is an inspirational counter intuitive flash that surprises him at the moment it occurs.
Quiet Rabbit is also aware that Lasher, the wolf that she thought had been killed saves her from the swing of the blade when he fiercely chomps down and crushes the warrior priest's wrist.
In a subsequent battle where the Condor Clan is vastly outnumbered, the fighting diamonds and the all-female, glass shard slinging squads, handily defeat the Warrior Clan and drive them off the mountain.
The all-male fighting diamonds are never confronted because the Condor Clan Slingers are so effective that no Warrior Clan fighter gets close enough to effectively throw a spear.
