Chapter 18

At dawn, Rin, hungover and demoralized, tells Ramsa the Cike are disbanded and reassigned across ships. Ramsa pleads for resistance, invoking Altan and loyalty, but Rin, stripped of rank and fire, refuses to fight Jinzha’s order, admitting she won’t be their commander.

The Republic rapidly subjugates Hare and Ram through coerced plebiscites, funneling labor and grain into the campaign. Rin, relieved of leadership, throws herself into nonstop combat, gaining a reputation for effective brutality and briefly finding numb purpose despite the Phoenix’s silence and creeping fears the Seal may be eroding her memories.

In strategy talks, Kitay warns their victories feel too easy and a counteroffensive looms, but Jinzha presses north, wagering on weather and supply lines. Meanwhile, Sister Petra’s examinations escalate—from puzzles to invasive procedures and taunting opium—testing Rin’s restraint. Rin nearly snaps but submits, recognizing Hesperian power. Augus offers bandages and a “softer” conversion philosophy that remains patronizing.

A prison riot on the Kingfisher sees missionaries held at knifepoint; Tarcquet arrives, orders volleys that kill eight prisoners, then publicly forces Jinzha to defer, deepening tensions between Hesperians and Nikara. Surveillance continues, but Hesperian guns stay holstered unless their own are threatened.

Two months in, Rat Province’s intelligence-led defense appears: empty villages, burned stores, and a population withdrawn to Baraya to starve the fleet. Jinzha insists on advancing. The fleet must haul ships overland, exhausting troops. Patrols spot Militia scouts; Jinzha demands relentless reprisals. Despite trophies of severed heads, guerrilla archers harry the columns from the mountains, panic spreads, and morale falters as the navy-bound army finds itself trapped on land without escape routes.