Tunuva

Guided by honeyguides, Tunuva Melim visits Meren’s grave in the Lasian Basin. Canthe appears and confesses she killed Meren swiftly and long ago stole Wulf to raise a mage heir and guardian for the forest. She explains she once enchanted others by seeming to be Saghul to divide the Priory, nearly breaking Tunuva and Esbar. Pressing for the waning stone’s key, which Tunuva has sent away, Canthe admits fear of the stone. Tunuva recognizes that Canthe loves her. Canthe offers a vial to slow the stone’s drain on Tunuva’s magic, and vows to become the Witch of Inysca and walk alone until Tunuva’s death.

As Dedalugun’s fall and the comet’s star‑rain rob wyrms of fire and flight, the South empties of their beasts. Tunuva returns to the Priory, where life resumes: Imsurin bakes, Hidat teaches, and Lukiri watches. Canthe has vanished without trace. The world’s fire is dampened; Tunuva’s flames burn shorter, while Esbar and others can sustain magic longer.

By the orange tree, Esbar asks about the tomb-night. Tunuva admits she and Canthe kissed, describing the suffocating solitude she sensed in Canthe. Esbar forgives her, calling Tunuva a sun. They resolve to guard against Canthe’s deceits; Esbar records warnings in the archives and decrees that Inys’s queen must always have a mage protector, preserving Inys as a vantage against the Deceiver.

The Red Damsels plan to hunt the weakened wyrms into their last refuges. After tender words, Tunuva descends to Cleolind’s tomb, lights the lamps, and sings in grief and devotion, affirming the Priory’s memory and endurance.