AFTERWORD

Chapter 43

Chapter 42

Overview

While Siharna labors in another room, Kaan drowns his anxiety in alcohol and summons Borg, a misty spirit who reveals that a moonshard has been spotted and that Elluin went willingly to her binding ceremony with Tyroth over a century ago. A brutal memory of his mother's death during childbirth surfaces as Borg feeds on Kaan's pain, leaving him devastated by the revelation about Elluin.

Summary

Kaan stands in the stairwell listening to Siharna's screams during labor, gripped by fear and helplessness. He checks on sleeping Korie, then drinks heavily while releasing Borg from his pocket-jar. The misty spirit confirms his brothers spotted a moonshard and agrees to trade information: Elluin was escorted back to Arithia willingly, unshackled, prior to her binding to Tyroth. In exchange, Borg feeds on Kaan's most agonizing memory—his mother's death giving birth to his sister Veya. Kaan recalls standing outside his mother's chambers while she labored, playing her favorite song; when his father emerged bloodied and ordered him to keep his newborn sister out of sight, Kaan brought the screaming infant to his mother's deathbed to say farewell. The revelation that Elluin went willingly devastates Kaan further, contradicting any narrative of coercion. As Siharna's moans echo through the compound, Raeve descends the stairs unable to sleep. Kaan reveals his mother died in childbirth, and Raeve—tender and gentle—offers him company, which he accepts.

Characters

  • Kaan VaegorThe protagonist, gripped by anxiety over Siharna's labor and tortured by memories of his mother's death; seeks information about Elluin from Borg and is devastated by the revelation she went willingly to her binding.
  • BorgA misty, spirit-like creature housed in a jar who feeds on Kaan's pain and fear; reveals information about a moonshard sighting and Elluin's willing departure, extracting Kaan's most traumatic memory as payment.
  • SiharnaLaboring off-stage in another room, her screams haunting Kaan throughout the chapter.
  • KorieSiharna's sleeping daughter, glimpsed briefly as Kaan checks on her.
  • RaeveArrives unable to sleep, offers Kaan tender company and sympathy when he reveals his mother's death during childbirth.
  • Kaan's mother (Mah)Appears only in flashback; dies during the birth of Veya, leaving Kaan to present his newborn sister to her corpse.
  • VeyaKaan's newborn sister in the flashback, named after their grandmother; never known by her mother.
  • Kaan's father (Pah)Appears bloodied in the flashback, orders the newborn kept from his sight, then departs.
  • SheraMah's chief handmaiden in the flashback; presents the newborn to Pah with apparent sadness.
  • KyzariMentioned as a child Raeve gave birth to (implied dead); referenced when Kaan compares her fate to his mother's.
  • Elluin NevánDiscussed extensively; Kaan learns from Borg that she was escorted willingly back to Arithia over a century ago for her binding ceremony with Tyroth.
  • TyrothMentioned as the person Elluin was bound to in the past.
  • GrihmKaan's second-in-command, mentioned as having set off to Gondragh to claim an egg.
  • JógoMentioned as Mah's Sabersythe in the flashback, unable to enter her chambers during labor.