Contents
Chapter Thirty-Three: Arin
Overview
Omalian troops charge Nizahl on neutral ground, giving Arin legal cover to enter Mahair. Amid brutal street fighting, Arin finds Sylvia; their charged duel ends when he takes a wound to save her and eviscerates her attacker. They argue over the Supreme’s lies and magic‑madness as villagers, Urabi, and Nizahl turn the battle.
Summary
Watching Mahair burn, Arin restrains his soldiers because Nizahl law forbids crossing into Omal—until Omalian troops, seemingly goaded by magic, charge the Nizahl line. Seizing the pretext, Arin authorizes engagement and enters the village as battle erupts.
Inside Mahair, Arin observes diverse Jasadi magics amid chaos and searches for Sylvia. He prevents an execution by pinning an Omalian with a thrown boar spear, then is immediately attacked by Sylvia, who refuses capture. They trade blades and tactics, their sparring laced with familiarity, taunts, and unresolved desire, devolving into a raw, close-quarters brawl.
When an Omalian soldier hurls a dagger at Sylvia, Arin takes the cut and, in a cold fury, disembowels the assailant. The shock unsettles Sylvia, who challenges Arin’s motives and the brutality of his response. Around them, momentum shifts as Nizahl soldiers, Jasadi rebels, and Omalian villagers advance together against Felix’s forces.
Sylvia confronts Arin about the Supreme’s lies; Arin concedes Rawain lies often but insists magic‑madness is a real, defining threat, citing catastrophic historical cases. Sylvia argues the rarity of such cases and presses the foundations of Nizahl doctrine. As gold and silver surge in her eyes and the ground trembles, she warns that while Arin is immune to magic, the world around him is not.
Who Appears
- ArinNizahl prince-general; exploits an Omalian strike to intervene, duels Sylvia, takes a wound to save her, and kills her attacker.
- Sylvia (Essiya) of JasadJasad Queen fighting in Mahair; clashes with Arin, rejects capture, and confronts him about the Supreme’s lies and magic‑madness.
- RiddahThird-year under Arin; witnesses the massacre and Nizahl’s initial restraint before the counterattack.
- MedhatJasadi ally; mourns a dying woman, nearly executed before Arin’s thrown spear stops the attacker.
- KenzieWoman mortally wounded in the fighting; her death sparks Medhat’s grief and magic.