Contents
Chapter 6
Overview
Galva reunites with her younger brother Amiel in ruined Espalle and learns their servant Munno drowned in the storm. Amiel is assigned to Fulvir Lightningbinder, a Molrovan magus overseeing mixlings. Confronted with executions, maimed wounded, and soldiers’ tremors, Amiel voices fear of dying, and Galva resolves to protect him.
Summary
Near the Inn of the Badly Drawn Beast and Three Stars, Galva joyfully reunites with her youngest brother, Amiel. The moment turns somber when Amiel reveals that Munno, the faithful servant sent with him, fell overboard and drowned during the crossing’s storm. Seeking a drink, they find a tanners’ guesthouse, sip poor wine in a foul courtyard, and note Espalle’s ruined trellises—beauty shattered by goblins who hate order.
Amiel explains he has found his magus: Fulvir Lightningbinder, a Molrovan wizard who has commandeered a farm west of town and keeps mixlings, including bull-men and failed corvids. Amiel describes Molrovan “polite untruths,” a custom of courteous contradiction masking everything except vital truths, a habit he is already learning.
They speak of the gibbets by the docks displaying executed traitors with yellowed eyes—godsmilk takers boiled alive for willingly serving goblins’ addictive dreams. Galva’s judgment clashes with Amiel’s pity, underscoring their differing moral temperaments.
Recalling the embarkation, Galva describes the wounded clustered in scant shade, barber-surgeons preying for coin, and flykeep boys applying maggots. A one-eyed soldier woman chops a severed foot to make gulls “share,” then collapses into tremors while her earless, noseless comrade notes this is now her lot—an unflinching portrait of war’s damage.
Galva remembers Amiel’s youthful devotion to Aura dom Altea, his humiliation in a wrestling bout arranged by their father after a challenged duel, and the squire’s later comeuppance—lessons in chivalry, cruelty, and misplaced valor that shaped Amiel’s heart.
Finally, Amiel recounts a one-armed soldier who teased him to flee the “slaughter-yard,” leaving him chilled by the thought he might not see nineteen. Galva counters that fate “because I say so,” and their shared laughter restores a fragile courage.
Who Appears
- GalvaNarrator; reunites with Amiel, reflects on Espalle’s ruin, judges godsmilk traitors, steadies Amiel’s fear with resolve.
- AmielGalva’s youngest brother; reports Munno’s death, assigned to Fulvir Lightningbinder, confronts war’s horrors, fears dying young.
- Fulvir LightningbinderMolrovan magus; commands a farm with mixlings, becomes Amiel’s master; noted for Molrovan ‘polite untruths.’
- MunnoFaithful servant sent with Amiel; drowned after falling overboard during the storm crossing.
- One-armed soldier at the docksFlirts and warns Amiel to avoid the ‘slaughter-yard,’ triggering his fear of dying.
- One-eyed soldier with axeChops a severed foot to make gulls ‘share,’ then suffers tremors—embodiment of battlefield trauma.
- Earless, noseless soldierCompanion to the one-eyed soldier; explains her tremors are habitual now.
- Aura dom AlteaAmiel’s past love; her defense spurred his chivalry and a humiliating wrestling episode.