Chapter 14

At dawn, Rin, Jiang, and Daji head for the Republican front to find Kitay, following the rivers through central provinces scarred by floods, famine, and war. In Boar Province they encounter fresh devastation: scorched forests and corpses. Daji explains Hesperian air campaigns and incendiary “jelly,” while Jiang recalls swatting airships in the Second Poppy War, exposing his slippery, returning memories.

As they raft, Rin studies Jiang’s shifting persona and finally questions his eroding Seal. Jiang describes coexisting, misaligned memories and guilt, admitting the “monster” the Sorqan Sira warned about once existed. He denies being either her old teacher or the Gatekeeper, acknowledging the pain of fractured responsibility.

Rin suddenly senses Kitay’s nearness through their bond. They push on to the New City—Arabak refashioned into a Republican-Hesperian hub. Traveling at night and disguised, they bypass gates when Daji effortlessly hypnotizes the sentries, revealing her amplified persuasive power. Inside, they are overwhelmed by foreign order: straight-lined architecture, glass, machines, mini-dirigibles, and strict public rules.

Rin experiences panic and alienation amid the New City’s mechanical hum and Hesperian cultural dominance. Daji frames it as a project of erasure: to “improve” the Nikara by remaking them. Rin notes Nikara collaboration and pidgin speech alongside racial hierarchy and the arrival of Hesperian women—signaling permanence.

In a hidden alley, Rin burns and cuts “Where?” into her calf; after tense waiting, pain blooms as Kitay replies with wikki-style coordinates: “Three, six, northeast.” They navigate the grid to the specified intersection and find a grand, new brick building adorned with the Gray Company’s gear sigil. Recognizing it as a church—and worse than a prison—they identify Kitay’s likely holding site.