Contents
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Overview
The emperor visits a secret prison, where two guards are eliminated by Samran Hounds, and the day watch has vanished. He drops the Old Bear guise, revealing himself as Andren Valit, who has ruled for sixteen years using a Chameleon Spell keyed to Bersun via captive Gedrun.
Andren announces that Ruko will be crowned tomorrow, then further drains Gedrun’s essence to maintain the disguise, cementing the succession plot and exposing the empire’s central deception.
Summary
In the dead of night, the emperor—known as the Old Bear—arrives at a hidden prison. The weary night guards report little change in the last inmate’s condition and mention no knowledge of a girl with red ribbons, despite the emperor’s query. Noting a scrubbed floor and the day watch’s absence, the emperor thanks the guards, then Samran Hounds arrive and kill them, erasing witnesses.
The emperor enters the final cell, where a huge prisoner cowers in an iron mask. He removes his crown and speaks a release line from The Song of the Forest, transforming as the Chameleon Spell lifts. The Old Bear’s features melt away, revealing Andren Valit—the Golden Tiger of Samra—who has secretly ruled Orrun for sixteen years.
Andren seats the shackled man and unlocks the iron mask, exposing Gedrun, Bersun’s brother, tongueless and broken. Andren explains that the Chameleon Spell requires a living model; with Bersun dead, Gedrun serves as the template for the emperor’s public persona. He praises his own reign’s stability compared to Bersun’s imagined failures, justifying the deception as the salvation of the empire.
Andren shares his “good news”: his son Ruko will take the throne the next day, signaling the imminent transfer of power built on this long fraud. As the spell’s cost threatens his sense of self, Andren grows fearful and needy, seeking reassurance from the near-empty man before him.
At last, Andren grips Gedrun’s face and chants, demanding his “greatest treasure.” He takes what remains of Gedrun’s essence to refuel the disguise, promising it will be the last time. The scene closes with Andren’s resolve set and Gedrun further diminished, while dead guards and a vanished day watch mark the cover-up surrounding the empire’s central lie.
Who Appears
- Andren Valit (posing as the Old Bear/Bersun)Revealed ruler; drops disguise via Chameleon Spell, drains Gedrun, orders cover-up, and plans to crown his son Ruko.
- GedrunBersun’s brother; tongueless captive used as the living model for Andren’s Chameleon Spell; further drained.
- Samran HoundsAndren’s assassins; arrive to kill the night guards and erase evidence of the clandestine visit.
- Night guardsWeary prison keepers; one follows Andren; both are murdered to maintain secrecy.
- Unidentified girl with red ribbonsReportedly brought to the prison claiming a dream of the Bear; now missing with the day watch.