The novel begins with Byx describing her failings as a dairne. Byx feels she is too small, too impetuous, and too inept at many of the things her siblings can do well. Byx often does not trust her instincts or her actions, for she feels that they often fall short of what she should be able to accomplish. Whenever Byx must make an important decision, these doubts become a central issue to her decisions, often causing her to hesitate to do something brave or heroic. In the beginning, when Byx first sees Tobble struggling in his boat, she hesitates to help him due to misgivings about disobeying her mother, and this moment of indecision leads to the poachers catching her on the side of the cliff. Once she is in trouble, however, Byx acts without thinking and heroically saves Tobble from drowning while saving herself from the poacher’s arrow. Byx could simply glide right past Tobble, but instinct makes her save the small creature even though her own life is in danger.

As the novel progresses, Byx continues to doubt her bravery, but whenever her friends are in danger, such as when the Knight of the Fire first comes after them, Byx doesn’t hesitate to draw the knight away from Gambler by jumping on the Vallino’s back and serving as a decoy.