Chapter 39

The protagonist is herded by a Fate Herder into a massive hidden settlement built within an ancient dead dragon's skeleton. Upon arrival, she is greeted with reverent chants of "Kholu haf comá" by the inhabitants, who treat her as a prophesied figure. She is then prepared for a trial called the Tookah Trial by being ritually cleansed and painted with ceremonial blood silks.

The narrator travels through an elaborate pathway system with a Fate Herder escort, eventually arriving at a colossal settlement carved within the ribcage and skull of a long-dead dragon. The inhabitants—a diverse group of warriors, craftspeople, and families with various hair colors and skin tones, many bearing distinctive tattoos—greet her arrival with the chant "Kholu haf comá," prostrating themselves. The male ruler (Oah) and female ruler (Oah-ee, the Queen) sit upon twin bloodstone thrones with a nursing infant. A blind female seer called the Sól confirms the prophecy, explaining that ancient markings depicting three moons, the River Ahgt, and a silver Fate Herder were foretold to herald the arrival of "Kholu"—a figure whose offspring will supposedly tether the moons to the sky forever. The narrator vehemently denies these claims and her role in any such prophecy. A six-legged creature (colk) is ritually slaughtered before her by the blind seer, disturbing the protagonist. Saiza, a woman who speaks the narrator's language, explains the markings and begins preparing her for the Tookah Trial through ritual cleansing, anointing with soapy water, and painting her body with ceremonial blood-red silk wrappings and copper ornaments. The gong sounds repeatedly, signaling the trial's commencement as the crowd disperses and the Fate Herder herds her toward an unknown destination.