Chapter 35

Din returns alone to the shrine of Master Gaddar and finds Ana waiting. She immediately infers that Din and Tauri saw the underground lake of true web and its horrors. Ana says Tauri now holds a dagger against the Empire’s flesh industry, though the ruling circles will likely bury the truth.

They debate whether the Empire can abandon the web. Ana argues the state muddles through change and suggests Tauri must balance exposing the cattle trade with rumors about Ana herself—implying he will avoid attacking his source while wading near “deep waters.”

Asked why the atrocity existed, Ana explains the Daljen’s belief in superiority and their use of web to reduce people to tools, while the Daavir chose a more pragmatic path that rejected slave foundations. She warns that advanced beings could influence minds invisibly, and that the forest’s concealment likely aimed to hide Daljen works, not Daavir crimes.

As rain falls, Ana notes the Empire’s growth and widespread augmentations, yet the enduring temptation to dominate kin. Din presses about the Daavir’s chosen path; Ana withholds details and asks to leave.

On the road, Ana chides Din over Tauri, then grants him two weeks’ leave to aid Fotia and Ippeas, anticipating their flight to Rimula. Din wrestles with memories manifesting as his late mother’s face and doubts returning home under that haunting.

Near the road, Ana mentions briefly lifting her blindfold to view Gaddar. Din recalls her remark, “I’ve seen stranger,” and connects it to rumors of the emperor’s seclusion, suspecting Ana has met him and may be related. He restrains his questions and goes to flag a carriage.