The Poppy War, #2
The Dragon Republic
by R. F. Kuang
Contents
Chapter 22
Overview
Sorqan Sira forces Rin through a dangerous sweat rite to purge Daji’s mental Seal. Inside visions, Rin resists the Vipress’s temptations and symbolically kills Altan, rejecting his hold on her. Sorqan Sira extracts the “venom,” but though Rin is freed of the poison, her fire only flickers and fails.
Summary
The Ketreyids prepare a sweat yurt to purge Daji’s Seal from Rin’s mind. Sorqan Sira warns that the rite will lure Rin with comforting illusions and that failure means death. Despite exhaustion and injury, Rin enters the steam, coached by Sorqan Sira to empty her mind and not submit to fear.
The Vipress’s illusions manifest as a grand banquet and an idyllic life where Speer survived. Altan appears loving and triumphant, tempting Rin with peace, belonging, and oblivion. When the fantasy shifts to coercion—Altan demanding surrender and even her death—Rin recognizes the trap, asserts her agency, and fights the vision.
Rin confronts what Altan represents: her guilt, dependency, and self-loathing. She articulates her flaws, rejects his control, and stabs the vision—first wounding, then killing him—choosing reality over fantasy. Sorqan Sira’s voice anchors her as the illusion collapses.
Back in the yurt, Sorqan Sira chants and wrenches a rotten, black “clot” from Rin’s chest—Daji’s venom. Rin breaks down in grief as Sorqan Sira insists the dead must be let go. Emerging, Rin discovers a black handprint branded beneath her sternum, Altan’s lingering mark.
At Sorqan Sira’s urging, Rin attempts to call the Phoenix. Unblocked by terror, she reaches anger more easily and briefly touches the fire—but it sputters to a momentary flicker and dies. The Seal’s echo remains, and Rin collapses, screaming, devastated that the flame still evades her.
Who Appears
- RinUndergoes a Ketreyid sweat to purge Daji’s Seal; rejects Altan’s illusion; has venom extracted; branded; briefly touches fire but fails.
- Sorqan SiraLeads the sweat rite, coaches Rin through illusions, extracts Daji’s venom, and tests Rin’s ability to summon the flame.
- KitayWaits anxiously outside, supports Rin afterward, and witnesses the branded handprint and failed fire attempt.
- Altan TrengsinAppears in Rin’s illusion, tempting and coercive; embodies her guilt and control; Rin symbolically kills him to break free.
- ChaghanExplains the sweat’s purpose and risks, framing the ordeal as a test against Daji’s Seal.
- QaraNotes Sorqan Sira’s mercy would be swift if Rin failed; underscores the rite’s stakes.
- BekterRoughly carries Rin into the yurt at Sorqan Sira’s command, highlighting Ketreyid discipline.
- RamsaAppears in the banquet illusion, teasing Rin, part of the Vipress’s tempting false peace.