Chapter 20

Riaz reflects on the consequences of claiming a mature Moonplume at a young age, grappling with survivor's guilt over the permanent injuries her brother Haedeon sustained and the damage to his Moonplume's wing during the chaotic hatching that forced her to act.

Riaz internally processes the weight of her accomplishment in claiming a mature Moonplume, though she struggles to feel remarkable about it. Her brother Haedeon suffered severe bone damage during the hatching incident when doomquills attacked their makeshift camp; the bones fused incorrectly, leaving him unable to walk again. Medical intervention is impossible without risking further harm. His Moonplume's wing was also damaged in the chaos and may never allow the creature to fly. Riaz recounts the sequence of events: she had to hide Haedeon's egg in warmth with her injured brother before it fully hatched. Though she fought off the attacking doomquills and was rescued by a passing mature Moonplume, which she subsequently claimed through song, Riaz frames these actions as merely doing what was necessary to get her brother home. She notes the bitter irony that the Creators—divine entities—refused to answer her desperate pleas for help during the crisis, yet now constantly communicate with her.