Realm Breaker

As they run, Andry grapples with his misplaced faith in Erida and realizes that his mother is now boarding a ship without him. A horn blasts, and Andry knows that Erida has called her 200-strong garrison to chase after them. Torn between the life he was raised to lead and the treason he is about to commit, Andry hears voices telling him to burn his previous life so that he can save the world from flames. As they arrive at a hedge maze, Dom struggles with his injuries, so he and Sorasa send Andry and Corayne ahead. They all arrive at the Syrekom cathedral, but with the garrison quickly approaching, they jump through a window and into the river below. When they all reach the bank of the river, Andry gives directions on how to escape through the city’s outer gates but tells his companions that he cannot leave his mother behind. Though they implore him to stay and argue that he will be captured and killed before he can reach her, Andry sets off anyway. The memory of the burnt army quickly assails him, however, and with the city watch also joining the fray to catch them, he knows that he will never reach his mother’s boat, so he reverses course to catch up with the others.

Dom continues on with Corayne’s help as Andry returns to their group, grief-stricken and grim. With luck, they all reach the outer gates without being caught, and although the watchman tries to close the gate, Dom dimly remembers Corayne pushing him through it before he loses consciousness. When he next awakens, Sorasa is stitching his stab wound. She tells him that they have taken refuge in an abandoned farm. As they discuss the impossibility of closing the Spindle at the temple, Dom informs them that his cousin, Ridha, is trying to gather an army to help them. Suddenly, Andry returns and announces that he has discovered something.

Andry brings them to a farmhouse in which he found a pot full of clean, fresh animal bones and a sleeping old woman in a bundle of rags. When Sorasa recommends killing the woman to keep their trail a secret, the woman awakens. Corayne recognizes her as the old Jydi woman from the boat who gave her the twig charm. Andry discovers that the woman is a witch, and the others are puzzled by her presence. When Sorasa reiterates that they should kill her, the old woman reveals that more than one Spindle has been torn. Sorasa lashes out at the woman, who calls her Amhara Forsaken and Osara. Though the others do not understand, these are titles given to an Amhara in exile. As the others despair over the news of the second Spindle, the old woman, who identifies herself as Valtik, tells them that it is possible to fix the second torn Spindle—but only if there are seven members of their party. Only Sorasa understands who the two other party members must be. Meanwhile, Andry and Corayne speak privately. She tries to reassure him that his mother is safe. She also admits that her own mother is a pirate. Sorasa announces that they must all go to the lawless city of Adira, a prospect that terrifies Andry.

Erida recalls first meeting Taristan during her petitions session, when he presented her with her deepest desire: the prospect of conquering the whole of Allward. Now, the place of her wedding is moved to a different cathedral because Andry and the others damaged the Syrekom during their escape. Erida and Taristan marry in a traditional ceremony; in this ritual, they must both clutch Prevail, the marriage sword of Erida’s family, and vow to conquer anything and anyone trying to conquer them. As her citizens applaud their marriage, Erida convinces herself that marrying Taristan is the right path to achieve her goals. Although she and Taristan do not love one another, they make a performance of showing their affection publicly. At their wedding feast, Erida discovers that Taristan was abandoned as a child and grew up in the “mud,” despite his noble Corblood.

Taristan seeks to leave the feast immediately, denying interest in their wedding night because he is more preoccupied with his quest for the Spindles; Ronin has found a promising lead in the east. Erida is eager for him to tear open more Spindles, which impresses him. When he declares that they will leave in an hour, they immediately retire to Erida’s bed chambers. Erida demands that they make efforts for her to bear a child, but instead, he rumples her appearance, ruins the bed, cuts a small gash, and bleeds over the bedding to make it seem as if he took her virginity. However, he tells her he will not have her in this manner. He leaves Erida behind, furious.

Sorasa and the others make their way to Arida by horseback as quickly as possible. Andry remarks that Sorasa might be planning to sell them in Arida, but Sorasa declares that she would never participate in human trafficking given that she was once enslaved as a toddler. This admission garners sympathy from Dom, who otherwise still holds hatred for Sorasa simply because she is an Amhara. That night, Valtik reveals that she is the one who sent the vision of the burnt army to Sorasa, Corayne, and Dom. She has also sent the inner whispers that Andry has been hearing; these were her attempts to influence them along the right path. Now, she tells them that she calls herself the North Star because she only calls people what they are. Corayne demands that Dom sleep in order to heal.

They continue traveling for days, and Corayne eventually asks Sorasa what “Osara” means. She discovers that the true price that Sorasa asked of Dom in exchange for her help was his life. Sorasa intends to kill Dom in front of the Amhara in order to regain her position in the Guild. She tells Corayne not to worry, however, as they have much road to cover yet. When Corayne doesn’t ask why Sorasa was exiled, Sorasa is grateful for the first time in a long time.

When they finally cross over to the kingdom of Larsia, Andry feels relieved and worries about Corayne. They settle in for the night, and as the others are sleeping, Andry finds Dom having a nightmare. Dom puts on a stoic and angry façade, but Andry tries to address his grief over losing Cortael. They discuss their survivors’ guilt, and Andry reveals that his father died in an insignificant boarder battle against Larsia—in the very field they were sleeping in. When Dom is lost among his conflicted feelings for Cortael (who never told him about Corayne), Andry offers to share the burden with him.

The group arrives in Adira, the lawless city. Sorasa leads them through the gates to the Priest’s Hand, a church-turned-marketplace. She brings them to an underground chamber, a forging center, where they meet Charlon Armont, an old friend of Sorasa’s. He tells them of a ship that has arrived in port, half-broken. He impresses Corayne with his forging abilities, but Sorasa doesn’t ask for fake travel documents; instead, she asks him to join them. To convince him, Corayne shows him the Spindleblade and tells him of Taristan and his quest to take over Allward.

They all head to a tea shop. Troubled, Charlon initially tells them that he cannot join them because Sigil the “Temur Wolf,” a bounty hunter, is pursuing him. Sorasa assures him that she will take care of Sigil and coerces Charlon to join by stating that if he doesn’t, Garion, his former lover, will die like everyone else. Sorasa and Charlon leave to pack his belongings, and as Corayne ponders where the second torn Spindle might be, she spots two members of her mother’s crew and hides. She overhears them talking of the tentacled monster that nearly broke the Tempestborn. Valtik strikes up a conversation with one of them, and Corayne uses the distraction to leave the teashop. She replays their conversation in her mind and figures out where the second torn Spindle is.

Corayne collects provisions for their trip to Ibal, where she believes they will find the second torn Spindle. When they return to the Priest’s Hand, Charlon is ready to leave with Sorasa. They depart, following Sorasa’s advice to go west. As they travel, Dom loses himself in his homesickness and considers how close Corayne came to dying at Taristan’s hand. When they arrive at an inn, the group discusses Ibal. Charlon theorizes that the Spindle torn open in Ibal might lead to the realm of oceans, Meer. This would explain the oceanic monster that Corayne’s mother faced. Corayne believes that Taristan is trying to isolate the kingdoms from each other to make them easier to conquer, specifically by making the Long Sea uncrossable. When Charlon makes a holy gesture, he mentions having once been a priest. Just then, Sigil, the bounty hunter, enters the inn and tries to arrest Charlon. The situation quickly devolves when Sigil refuses to speak with Sorasa. Sigil and Sorasa fight while Charlon and Dom fight Sigil’s men. When Dom has had enough, he clears the floor, and Sigil finally agrees to talk.