Contents
Chapter 44
Overview
Abandoned by Raker and stripped of her sword, Aris pleads for help and is visited by the Astral Queen. The Queen reveals Aris and Raker’s blades are halves of one weapon and must not be reunited, yet their bond can guide Aris to the gods. The Queen restores Aris, grants a starlight sword, and reunites her with her dragon, refocusing Aris’s mission.
Summary
Alone on the mountain after Raker’s departure, Aris grapples with betrayal, the loss of her sword, and the dwindling days of the Questral. She clutches the diamond necklace he left and, in desperation, begs the skies for help, believing she cannot survive or complete her purpose alone.
Instead of her dragon, a woman of light descends—the Astral Queen. Aris demands guidance and asks how Raker could take her sword while she still lives. The Astral Queen explains that godswords bond to the wielder’s soul, allowing someone admitted to the heart to claim what is theirs. She further reveals Aris’s and Raker’s blades are two halves of one ancient sword; reuniting them would unleash ruin for millennia.
The Astral Queen tells Aris that the connection between the twin blades binds their wielders—Raker is a map who can lead Aris to the gods she seeks. Though Aris doubts how to follow, the Queen insists Aris is not alone.
Aris’s dragon appears, answering her plea. In a flare of light, the Astral Queen cleanses Aris’s blood, clothes her in soft fabric and glittering armor, and shapes a sword of pure starlight for her. Aris discards the diamond necklace to the dragon, who destroys it, then secures the humming starlight blade. Reunited with her dragon and renewed in purpose, Aris mounts up and commits to finishing her journey.
Who Appears
- ArisBetrayed and weaponless, she pleads for aid, learns her sword’s twin truth, receives starlight arms, and resolves to continue.
- The Astral QueenAppears in light; reveals the twin-sword secret, warns against merging, restores Aris, and gifts a starlight sword.
- RakerAbsent but central; took Aris’s sword through their bond; his blade is the twin half and a map to the gods.
- Aris’s dragonAnswers Aris’s plea, reunites with her, destroys the necklace, and becomes Aris’s mount for the renewed quest.