Contents
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Overview
Tiyung and Hana slip into Khitan through mountain caves to avoid royal patrols as war approaches. In a border town, Hana retrieves and deciphers a palace message under war drums. The note reveals Tiyung’s father has seized Qali Palace, forcing them to abandon their plan and turn back.
Summary
Tiyung and Hana navigate a clandestine cave route beneath the Khakatan Mountains, avoiding the guard-choked border roads as war builds in Khitan. Tiyung, still shaken by Idle Prison and the lake crossing, follows Hana’s sure progress as she reads wall carvings and leads them toward daylight.
They emerge into a snowy border town where Hana, repeatedly scanning the skies, heads straight for a messenger house. Speaking flawless Khitanese and using the alias “Nabhi of Kur,” Hana requests letters and receives a red palace envelope. The choice of this secret route and Hana’s alias underscore their need for stealth while their allies pursue the Golden Ring elsewhere.
As Hana cracks the seal and begins decoding the mixed-symbol message, the ground trembles to distant war drums. The messenger clerk calmly cages his eagles and urges them to seek safety, a sign of imminent conflict sweeping the border.
Hana finishes the cipher and, switching to Yusanian, says they must go back. When Tiyung reads the translation, he learns the staggering truth: his father has seized Qali Palace. This revelation overturns their objective to reach Sora in Khitan and compels an urgent reversal toward Qali.
Who Appears
- TiyungNarrator; follows Hana through cave routes into Khitan, fears the dark, learns his father seized Qali.
- HanaSpy and guide; leads via carvings, retrieves a palace letter as Nabhi of Kur, deciphers it, decides to turn back.
- Tiyung’s fatherOff-page instigator; seizes Qali Palace, triggering Tiyung and Hana’s urgent return.
- Messenger house clerkBorder-town worker who secures birds and warns them to seek safety as war drums sound.