In the Calaculla mines, an unnamed enslaved girl from Eyllwe struggles to survive brutal conditions under Adarlanian rule. She has lasted six months, longer than most, after Adarlan killed her rebel father, sent her family to the mines, and worked her mother, grandmother, and little brother to death within a month.

The girl endures by remembering the sky and grasslands of Eyllwe and by holding onto hope in Princess Nehemia. Before her capture, she overheard her father and other rebels speak of bringing down Adarlan and believed Nehemia was in the capital working toward freedom for their people.

As the girl works under the gaze of a cruel overseer, a wave of stillness and grief passes through the mine. The news reaches her: Princess Nehemia has been assassinated by Adarlan. The revelation destroys the hope that had kept the girl alive and turns her grief into rage.

When the overseer prepares to punish the slaves for pausing, the girl silently recites the names of her dead relatives. Accepting that she may die for her defiance, she adds her own name to that list and drives her pickax into the overseer’s gut.