Throne of Glass, #6
Tower of Dawn
by Sarah J. Maas
Contents
Chapter Forty-One
Overview
Nesryn, Sartaq, Falkan, and Kadara undertake a stealth mission into the kharankui-infested Dagul Fells to find stolen ruk hatchlings and learn what the spiders may be hiding. During the flight, Sartaq opens up about succession, marriage, Borte’s grief, and her volatile betrothal to Yeran, deepening Nesryn’s understanding of the rukhin. The mission turns disastrous when Kadara rescues a hatchling only to fly into a giant web, revealing the spiders’ territory as an active and deadly trap.
Summary
Nesryn, Sartaq, and Falkan spend over a week preparing to enter the Dagul Fells, where the kharankui have expanded their territory. Houlun orders Borte to remain at Altun because Borte is heir to the hearth-mother’s bloodline, despite Borte’s anger and her argument that Sartaq should also stay if succession matters. Sartaq refuses the idea of safety through status, saying his siblings can have the crown if being khagan means sitting idle while others fight.
The final plan favors stealth over force: Nesryn and Sartaq will fly on Kadara with Falkan hidden as a field mouse, while an army will follow only if they do not return within four days. As they fly toward the Fells, Nesryn asks Sartaq about the crown, marriage, and war. Sartaq explains that he does not want a life confined to court, that his father has not named him heir, and that he has avoided marriage because potential brides treated Kadara and his freedom as obstacles.
Sartaq also tells Nesryn about Borte and Yeran’s turbulent betrothal. He reveals that Borte’s mother died during a mission Sartaq led, killed by a poisoned arrow after enemy fighters seemed ready to surrender; Sartaq carried her body home and never forgot Borte’s grief. Afterward, Borte and Yeran became fierce rivals in the rukhin Gathering races, and their contentious competition eventually led to Yeran’s father publicly announcing their engagement, though Borte has neither embraced nor rejected it.
When Kadara crosses into the Dagul Fells, Nesryn sees a dead, web-strangled land of gray peaks, thin pines, and unnatural silence. The sight confirms Houlun’s warnings that the kharankui have grown dangerously strong. Nesryn and Sartaq keep Kadara high and attempt to circle casually, hoping to avoid signaling that they are searching for stolen hatchlings or eggs, while Falkan remains hidden in Nesryn’s pocket.
Kadara fixates on two hornlike sister-peaks and a pass between them. Nesryn spots movement below: a terrified ruk hatchling fleeing across the shale, unable to fly. Kadara dives to rescue it while Nesryn and Sartaq ready arrows and watch for pursuing spiders. Kadara snatches the hatchling, but as she rises through the pass, Nesryn realizes too late that a massive web is strung between the peaks, and Kadara flies directly into the trap.
Who Appears
- Nesryn FaliqJoins the stealth mission, questions Sartaq, surveys the Fells, and spots the web too late.
- SartaqLeads the mission, rejects passive succession, shares painful history, and directs Kadara’s attempted rescue.
- KadaraSartaq’s ruk; carries the group, senses the hatchling, rescues it, and flies into a trap.
- FalkanShapeshifter hidden as a field mouse in Nesryn’s pocket, conserving strength for the mission.
- BorteOrdered to stay behind as heir; her grief, rivalry, and betrothal are recounted by Sartaq.
- HoulunHearth-mother who helps plan the mission and insists Borte remain to preserve the bloodline.
- YeranBorte’s rival and betrothed, discussed through Sartaq’s account of the Gathering races.
- KharankuiSpider-creatures whose expanded territory is webbed, lifeless, and dangerous to the rescuers.
- Ruk hatchlingTerrified stolen young ruk fleeing through the pass, rescued by Kadara before the trap springs.