Contents
Chapter Fourteen: Arin
Overview
Arin wrestles with grief and doubt in the Citadel gardens, then confronts a startling apparition of the Jasad Heir, who warns him to evacuate Galim’s Bend and hints the Alcalah cages are compromised. When the ancient alarm sounds and Al Anqa’a appears over the valley, Rawain orders Arin to hide, but Arin defies him, commands an evacuation, and rides to meet the threat.
Summary
At dusk, Arin lingers in the Citadel gardens before his dreaded dinner with Rawain, pausing at the statue of his mother, Isra. He reflects on her sorrow, his fear of failing the kingdom, and his tangled feelings for the Jasad Heir. Leaving the statue, he hears movement and draws a blade.
The Jasad Heir—Sylvia—appears as if conjured, and Arin doubts his senses, insisting she is a hallucination. They clash physically; she evades and counters, then urgently warns him to evacuate Galim’s Bend and mentions the cages. Footsteps interrupt; when Wes arrives, Sylvia vanishes.
Wes confronts Arin about his exhaustion and secrecy, urging him to talk. As they move past the Awaleen memorial—still thrumming with old magic—Arin brusquely dismisses concern but notes his guard’s shaken confidence. He heads inside for dinner with Rawain.
Sirens suddenly shatter the night. Arin orders servants to the cellars and finds recruits mustering without clear orders. Rawain emerges, shaken, insisting the alarm only sounds for severe threats and ordering Arin—the Heir and Commander—into the cellar for safety. Arin balks at being sidelined.
Recalling Sylvia’s warning, Arin scans the eastern hills as recruits gasp. Al Anqa’a, the glass-feathered monster from the Alcalah, soars above flames consuming Galim’s Bend. Concluding the cages are breached, Arin overrides Rawain, orders an immediate evacuation toward the Wickalla, and mounts his warhorse, Ehal, to ride straight into the crisis.
Who Appears
- ArinHeir and Commander; grieves at his mother’s statue, confronts a vision of Sylvia, defies Rawain, and leads the response to Al Anqa’a.
- Sylvia (the Jasad Heir)Appears to Arin in the gardens, fights him, and urgently warns to evacuate Galim’s Bend and that the cages are compromised.
- WesVeteran guardsman; finds Arin in the gardens, challenges his isolation and exhaustion, remains loyal despite concern.
- RawainSupreme and Arin’s father; rattled by the alarm, orders Arin to hide, highlighting their power struggle and differing priorities.
- Al Anqa’aGlass-feathered Alcalah beast unleashed over Galim’s Bend, signaling breached cages and triggering mass evacuation.
- IsraArin’s late mother; her garden statue prompts his reflections on grief, duty, and doubt.