Contents
Chapter Four: Sylvia
Overview
Maia sneaks Essiya outside the Urabi mountain, revealing the long-hidden Suhna Sea and the refuge’s isolation. Alone, Essiya resolves to sever her attachment to Arin. Exploring the halls, she’s trapped by living webbing and freed by Efra, who confronts her past betrayal, underscoring fraught trust within the Urabi.
Summary
Namsa hands Essiya food and leaves her in the crowded dining hall. Maia arrives, offering privacy outdoors, and guides Essiya through a secret passage. Maia opens an iron door with magic, revealing a cliffside facing the Suhna Sea, confirming the Urabi refuge lies deep in the mountains and far from Essam and the kingdoms.
Alone on the cliff, Essiya confronts her dislocation and silence from Hanim’s once-constant voice. She reflects on Arin discovering her identity six days earlier, the collapse of their trust, and convinces herself he remains her enemy. She decides the tear she sheds will be her last for Arin.
After eating, Essiya searches for Namsa in the tunnels, marveling at the refuge’s construction. She accidentally triggers a living web in the wall that traps trespassers whose magic it doesn’t recognize, revealing the refuge’s magical defenses.
Efra, a survivor from the Meridian Pass incident who resents Essiya’s past refusal to flee with the Urabi, releases her from the web and confronts her with open contempt. When Essiya asks for Namsa, Efra curtly says Namsa is at the Aada and refuses to help further, reinforcing the Urabi’s distrust and Essiya’s precarious standing among them.
Who Appears
- Essiya (Sylvia, Mawlati)Protagonist; sees the Suhna Sea, grieves and resolves to sever ties with Arin, then is trapped by living webs and challenged by Efra.
- MaiaUrabi ally; uses magic to open a hidden door, shows Essiya the outside cliff and sea, then leaves her to reflect.
- EfraUrabi survivor from Meridian Pass; frees Essiya from a living web and condemns her past betrayal, refusing to assist her.
- NamsaUrabi leader figure; gives Essiya food earlier, later absent and said to be at the Aada, the seat.
- Arin of NizahlOffstage; subject of Essiya’s painful reflections after he learned her identity, solidifying him as her enemy.