Contents
Chapter Four
Overview
Lore wakes uneasy but accompanies Bastian to the ruined farmlands. She discovers she can leave Dellaire, then joins Bastian to blend Mortem and Spiritum, reviving the stone-locked fields. As the success unsettles her, a Kirythean delegation arrives, and Bastian reveals he invited their envoy, escalating looming geopolitical stakes on the eve of his coronation.
Summary
An intercepted letter hints at plots to remove a girl close to the new king. At dawn, Bastian rouses Lore for a trip to the farmlands. She is anxious after troubling dreams and resists going, but Bastian insists both for optics and her safety. Despite fears about her Mortem, Lore agrees.
They travel in an open carriage with Alie, while Bastian rides ahead, guarded by Presque Mort monks led by Malcolm. Lore crosses Dellaire’s boundary for the first time without the Mortem binding stopping her. On the road, Alie urges Lore to confront her trauma and shares reports of Kirythean troops near Erocca, highlighting rising tensions.
They reach the gray, stone-locked fields created during the earlier Mortem leak. As farmers arrive, Bastian silently asks Lore to help heal the land. Drawn by the Law of Opposites, Lore links hands with Bastian. Together they channel Mortem and Spiritum—Lore drawing out death and stasis, Bastian amplifying lingering life—transforming the fields back to verdant growth.
The success jolts Lore, who breaks the connection as ominous inner shadows press in. Green returns across the farmlands, astonishing the gathered farmers. At the same time, an approaching dust cloud resolves into a Kirythean contingent under a laurel-and-stallion banner.
Bastian steps forward to meet them as the leader dismounts. The envoy, Maxon Agripolus, acknowledges Bastian’s invitation, revealing that the meeting is deliberate and signaling a diplomatic turn amid impending war and Bastian’s imminent coronation.
Who Appears
- LoreDeathwitch torn by nightmares; leaves Dellaire for the first time and, with Bastian, restores the petrified farmlands.
- Bastian ArceneauxSainted King; insists Lore accompany him, co-channels life and death to heal fields, and greets invited Kirythean envoy.
- Alie BellegardeAdvisor and friend; accompanies the trip, confronts Lore about coping, and discusses rising Kirythean tensions.
- MalcolmPresque Mort monk; rides near Bastian, concerned observer during the field restoration.
- Maxon AgripolusKirythean envoy; arrives with a contingent in response to Bastian’s invitation.
- Farmers of the farmlandsWitnesses whose ruined fields are restored by Lore and Bastian’s combined magic.