Legacy of Orïsha, #1
Children of Blood and Bone
by Tomi Adeyemi
Contents
Chapter Seventy-Four: Inan
Overview
Inan mourns Zélie but is confronted by King Saran, who shares a past attempt to integrate maji and the losses that hardened him. Saran gives Inan his inscribed majacite blade, urging duty over love. Steeled, Inan chooses kingdom over Zélie and proposes a plan to recover the scroll.
Summary
Two days after parting from Zélie, Inan stands on a warship consumed by memories of their bond in the dreamscape. Clutching the bronze token she gave him, he wavers between his feelings for Zélie and his duty to Orïsha, questioning the gods for a sign.
King Saran approaches and senses Inan’s hesitation. Instead of anger, Saran offers a rare confession: as a prince he once supported his father’s plan to elevate maji leaders into the royal courts, influenced by his first wife, Alika, who believed in change. That choice, Saran implies, led to disaster—the king’s death and Alika’s loss—cementing his belief that magic only destroys.
Saran presents his black majacite blade, engraved “Duty Before Self. Kingdom Before King,” and declares that a king must sacrifice his heart for his people. He urges Inan to prioritize the kingdom over personal love, modeling the creed that has defined his reign.
Galvanized, Inan embraces the mantra—duty over self, Orïsha over Zélie. Despite the blade burning his hand, he takes it as a vow. He then tells Saran he knows how they can recover the sacred scroll, choosing a path that puts the mission above his bond with Zélie.
Who Appears
- InanTorn between love for Zélie and duty, then embraces Saran’s creed and plots to retake the scroll.
- King SaranRecounts past idealism and loss, gives Inan his majacite blade, and urges duty over love.
- ZélieAbsent but central to Inan’s turmoil; her memory and gift test his resolve.
- AlikaSaran’s first wife; inspired his brief support for maji integration before tragedy hardened him.
- Inan’s grandfather (former king)Proposed integrating maji leaders into the royal courts; died amid ensuing turmoil.