Contents
Chapter Seventy: Essiya
Overview
Essiya revives emotionally and magically as Arin returns and collapses, proving alive but spent. Jeru forces a shattered Sefa to leave Marek’s body, preserving her life. Accepting that her power is Rovial’s and that madness looms, Essiya summons the ancient fortress to full height, separating herself from Arin and setting a grave choice ahead.
Summary
On the battlefield’s edge, Essiya clings to Arin and, through the kiss, feels her senses flood back—grief for Marek, guilt over slaughter, terror of the fallen mist—and a resurgence of her long-dammed magic. Arin admits he feared arriving too late, then collapses, leaving Essiya to confirm he still breathes as the fighting wanes.
Projecting to Sefa, Essiya watches Jeru find the girl rocking over Marek’s body. Sefa refuses to leave him, but Jeru, grieving, insists Marek needs her alive to remember and bury him. He carries Sefa away through her resistance. Essiya returns to her body, orders Jeru to keep Arin alive, and prepares to act.
Essiya vanishes to Sirauk Bridge, now dressed ceremonially, and faces the rising ancient fortress. She realizes the visions and “madness” are her—Rovial’s magic layered through lives—long suppressed by cuffs and moderated by Arin’s conduit power. The mental barrier restraining her power is cracking; if it breaks, she will go magic-mad and cause devastation greater than before.
Rejecting the tempting future of peace beside Arin for the world’s safety, Essiya summons the fortress to its full height. Memories of her siblings—Dania, Kapastra, Baira—and past selves flood her as the structure completes. When the fortress stands fully raised, Arin appears on the far side, barely upright, physically and emotionally separated from Essiya by the wall she has chosen.
Who Appears
- Essiya (Sylvia)Protagonist; accepts her identity as Rovial’s magic, fears impending madness, and raises the ancient fortress, separating herself from Arin.
- Arin UrabiNizahl Heir and conduit; reaches Essiya and collapses from exhaustion but survives, later facing her across the fortress.
- JeruLoyal guardsman; rallies confused soldiers, rescues Sefa from Marek’s body, and tends to the collapsed Arin.
- SefaGrief-stricken over Marek’s death; resists leaving his body until Jeru compels her to live and remember him.
- MarekRecently deceased; his body anchors Sefa’s grief, motivating Jeru’s intervention.
- RovialAncient Awal; revealed as the source and lineage of Essiya’s magic, foreshadowing her potential madness.
- NiseebaGriffin; circles above the battlefield, mourning fallen siblings and marking the battle’s aftermath.
- DaniaEssiya’s sibling from past lives; remembered fondly, deepening Essiya’s connection to her former selves.
- KapastraEssiya’s sibling from past lives; recalled in tender detail, reinforcing the weight of memory.
- BairaEssiya’s sibling from past lives; famed storyteller whose memory underscores Essiya’s sacrifice.