With the combined Trojan and Etruscan forces at Laurentum's gates, Turnus becomes fully aware that the Latins are in grave danger, so he renews the offer he made earlier in the citadel before Latinus and Drancës: He will fight Aeneas alone, and the winner will have Lavinia for his wife.
Both Latinus and Amata try to dissuade Turnus from this resolution, which they recognize as foolhardy, but Turnus stubbornly sticks to his decision and sends his herald to inform Aeneas that both sides are to join in a truce, and that he and Aeneas will fight the next day at dawn. That night, Turnus inspects his horses and his armor, whetting his appetite for battle, while Aeneas, equally aroused, rejoices in the armor that Vulcan made for him at his mother's request.
At dawn, the two armies meet on a plain near the city. Juno, however, fearful for Turnus, summons Turnus's sister, the river nymph Juturna, and bids her to go to her brother's aid, either to save him from death or to break the truce. On the plain, sacred rites are performed, and Aeneas vows to the gods that if Turnus wins the fight, the Trojans will withdraw to Pallanteum and no descendants will ever attack the Latins in the future. He promises that if he should win, he will claim nothing for himself: The Latins and the Trojans will live together peacefully as equals; he will marry Lavinia; and her father, Latinus, will retain his power. Latinus solemnly agrees to these terms and declares that from this time on there will be peace.
