Contents
Fourteen
Overview
Garral follows Jessyn’s coordinates and is captured by a group of human refugees—children, a teacher (Manta), a man (Omco), and an armored soldier (Corvall). He reunites with Jessyn and, noticing their tally marks, establishes a linguistic bridge to proto-Anjiin. The discovery implies the Carryx’s enemy are human cousins and heightens the need to hide them from the Carryx.
Summary
Garral tracks a stranger near the cliffs while searching for Jessyn. Realizing too late that he’s being lured, he flees but is hunted down by a black, limping armored soldier. Captured, he is brought into a cave where a young woman, a man with a knife, and a class of traumatized children shelter—and where Jessyn is already a prisoner.
While their captors argue over the seized notebooks, Garral and Jessyn assess the situation. Jessyn insists they must keep the group hidden from the Carryx, believing these are the Carryx’s “deathless enemy” and, crucially, that the enemy might be human. Garral doubts at first, questioning why the Carryx didn’t recognize humans on Anjiin, but he begins to see the group as refugees, not monsters.
The refugees decide to break camp after their security is blown. Bound together, Garral and Jessyn are put at the center as the children line up. Garral notices interrupted tally marks from a lesson and recognizes a first-generation Anjiin math notation. He tests number words from archaic languages; the teacher and the man respond with cognates, confirming a deep linguistic connection.
Through numbers and names, rudimentary communication begins: Omco (the man), Manta (the teacher), and Corvall (the armored soldier) exchange names with Garral and Jessyn. Garral concludes the refugees are culturally linked to humanity’s earliest settlers on Anjiin—literal cousins. This breakthrough promises fuller communication, while the refugees prepare to move, and the danger of Carryx discovery looms.
Who Appears
- Garral PärArchaeologist who locates Jessyn, is captured, and deciphers proto-Anjiin numerals to open communication with the refugees.
- Jessyn KaulBiologist already captured; argues the Carryx enemy are humans and insists on hiding the refugees from Carryx.
- CorvallBlack armored soldier leading the refugees; captures Garral and Jessyn; terse, injured, and vigilant.
- OmcoKnife-carrying man caring for traumatized children; engages Garral in number-word exchange to establish contact.
- MantaTeacher with amber eyes; calms tensions, organizes children, and assists in the initial language bridge with Garral.
- Refugee childrenTraumatized students preparing to flee; their tally marks trigger Garral’s linguistic breakthrough.