44 East

Snow falls over Antuma as Dumai watches two ancient dragons circle the palace, their overlapping voices pressing in her mind before fading. Kanifa brings her to Emperor Jorodu, who has met elder dragons including Tukupa the Silver. Unora arrives to conduct rites for the gods’ return, and the three discuss the rising fire beneath the earth that Dumai witnessed at Sepul.

Unora shares a temple record describing a Western winged serpent—the Nameless One—that erupted from a fire mountain and ravaged Lasia, illustrated much like the creature Dumai saw. Though Dumai proposes learning from the West, Jorodu and Unora warn that the Abyss is impassable and its Northern ruler dangerous. Instead, Jorodu urges Dumai to consult Kiprun of Brakwa, an alchemist serving the Lacustrine Empress, believing alchemists may understand the earth’s imbalance.

Jorodu also reveals that the Council concealed Dumai’s Sepul discovery, letting rumors grow that she is unstable or power-hungry, likely seeded by the River Lord Fotaja. He argues her absence will blunt the gossip and her next flight will reaffirm divine favor. Dumai presses for restoring water to the drought-stricken provinces; Jorodu promises to petition Tukupa, though the weary dragons may struggle.

A servant delivers a dead sorrower from Empress Sipwo, which Jorodu and Unora interpret as a veiled threat: a warning to Unora to restrain Dumai, and an allusion to harming unborn life. Shaken but resolute, Dumai storms to Nikeya’s chambers, accusing her family of intimidation and of letting slander spread. Nikeya, evasive yet earnest about the shared threat, claims she told her father the truth and presses Dumai about securing rain.

Dumai announces a journey to the City of the Thousand Flowers to find Kiprun and pointedly includes Nikeya, insisting Kanifa accompanies them despite Nikeya’s suggestion they go alone. Afterward, Dumai returns to her rooms, conflicted and drawn to Nikeya, and allows herself private longing while committing to the perilous mission ahead.