I actually came here to make the same post. Yes, the animancy hearings naturally halt the game's progression. My party retired to Caed Nua until the duc held the hearings in which my characters were scheduled to appear. Kana encouraged the exploration of the dungeons below, in the meantime, until discovering Gabrannos' tomb, at which point he, so disconsolate over those troubling findings, returned above ground. This fortuitously means that my party avoids the brutal fight at the end of Level 7, too, a nice side effect when doing TC. And so they sit, in this narrative, until venturing to White March...
I'm having trouble finding another plausible time to revisit the White March, though. I agree that the Eyeless would take precedence over Thaos, provided we understood what that whole story entailed. But there's no credible reason for why the MC wouldn't push right through to Thaos and then, assuming they survived the experience, handle whatever's troubling Stalwart afterward; ominous dreams are not, by themselves, sufficient motivation to drop everything. I'd imagine that it might have something to do with Twin Elms not accepting any visitors--perhaps the leader who lets you in isn't there.