Chapter 23

Sancia watches Berenice, Claudia, and Giovanni fabricate a small, reinforced capsule from raw iron, scriving it for bracing, durability, and waterproofing. They plan to tow it beneath a barge using lantern logic that follows a marker, with controls to surface and re-sink. The claustrophobic design worries Sancia, but the team presses on, expecting Orso to solve remaining problems with the Mountain.

In parallel, Gregor waits hours outside the Dandolo Vienzi foundry to confront Ofelia. He directly asks about the Silicio Plantation and whether Dandolo engaged in scriving the human body and soul. Ofelia first deflects, then admits the company once did under Gregor’s father during the Enlightenment Wars; she claims she ended it after taking power, saying their lexicon advantage made it both wrong and unnecessary.

Ofelia brings Gregor into a guarded warehouse and reveals a light-absorbing combat rig: a fast, stealthy armor with integrated polearm, shield, and bolt caster, using a black plate based on a method Orso devised. She frames it as a necessary response to looming intra-city warfare and asks Gregor to lead Dandolo’s forces if escalation comes, advocating decapitating rivals in a single strike.

Horrified by the prospect and wounded by her expectations, Gregor speaks of losing his memories of his father and brother Domenico after his accident and refuses to be treated as expendable. Rejecting Ofelia’s path of assassination and escalation, he reaffirms his commitment to civil reform in Tevanne and walks away.