Twenty-Seven

Dafyd and Else use a translator device to communicate with various alien species held by the Carryx, learning fragments of their histories and fates. Their conversation is interrupted when they witness their librarian participate in a ritualistic breaking of another Carryx's leg, followed by the systematic slaughter of the Night Drinkers species by Rak-hund soldiers, forcing Dafyd to confront his complicity in the massacre.

Dafyd and Else carry a translator device through the cathedral-like common chamber, marveling at their newfound ability to communicate with the diverse alien populations. They encounter several species: the Phylarchs of Astrdeim, once-proud builders now content in servitude to the Carryx; a hostile swarm-creature that refuses dialogue; a vine-like entity with no history or ambition; a liquid-evolved being too frightened to speak; and crystalline Carryx-sympathizers who celebrate submission to their masters. Overwhelmed by the scope of knowledge available, Else becomes emotional, and an intimate moment develops between her and Dafyd as they sit in the chamber. Else warns him she is not what he thinks, but Dafyd declares his love. Their moment is interrupted when they spot their librarian—the human moiety's Carryx scholar—moving through the crowd with Rak-hund soldiers. Dafyd and Else follow to the Night Drinkers' alcove, where they witness a ritual: their librarian breaks one of another Carryx's legs in what appears to be a formal interaction. The second Carryx then directs the Rak-hund soldiers to systematically destroy the Night Drinkers' habitat and slaughter the entire species. Despite the Night Drinkers' desperate resistance with crude weapons, they are overwhelmed and killed. Over an hour, all are exterminated. Dafyd realizes his earlier negotiation with the Night Drinkers—securing their surrender—may have sealed their fate, and he becomes violently ill.