The Priory of the Orange Tree

Being married to Aubrecht agrees with Sabran, who is in an unusually light mood. The queen goes hunting with her ladies and wonders if the forests hide the Lady of the Woods. Ead reassures her that Kalyba’s domain is further north near Goldenbirch, where Galian spent his childhood.

Sabran is bitterly disappointed when she gets her period, suggesting she is not pregnant. Sabran wants Ead to placate her, but Ead refuses to humor the queen, which makes Sabran even more irritable. One morning, Aubrecht seeks Ead out to discuss Sabran’s mood, saying that she has not been sleeping well at night. Aubrecht also asks her about the Inysh legend of the fearsome Lady of the Woods, but Ead reassures him that the seat of the enchantress is in the north, far from Ascalon. Aubrecht suggests taking Sabran into the city to cheer her up. Since her mother’s assassination 14 years ago, Sabran has not ventured out publicly because of potential danger. Ead does not think going into the city is safe for Sabran.

Meanwhile, Ead gets a scroll from the priory via a “sand eagle.” The scroll says the prioress has granted her permission to stay in Inys until Sabran gives birth to her daughter. Sometime later, a happy Sabran tells Ead that her “courses” (periods) are late. Sabran suspects she is pregnant and plans to tell Aubrecht. She has decided to travel across Ascalon on the Feast of Generosity, a few months later. Aubrecht’s disregard for Ead’s warning shocks Ead, and she fears that the journey will “end in blood” (272).

Happy in Eizaru and Purumé’s household, Niclays Roos begins to dream of a future in Ginura. A docking Mentish ship brings him two letters from home. One is from Aubrecht II, denying Niclays’s request for release from exile. The other letter is from Truyde and was written a year ago, before Niclays met Sulyard. Truyde asks “Uncle Niclays” if he has figured out an answer to the riddle in the Tablet of Rumelabar. Truyde’s passion for uncovering the truth reminds Niclays of her grandfather Jannart. Niclays dwells on the ancient text of Rumelabar. Its central riddle speaks of the balance of the elements and the universe. The lines “Fire ascends from the earth, light descends from the sky” are especially intriguing (276), but Niclays cannot unravel them yet.

Meanwhile, Eizaru brings the bad news that the viceroy of Orisima has ordered Niclays to return. Eager to enjoy Ginura while he can, Niclays accompanies Eizaru to the market. He runs into a woman wearing the watersilk robe of a dragonrider and, from her angular face and fishhook scar, identifies her as the woman on the beach whom Sulyard described. Now a “Miduchi” (a dragonrider), Tané commands considerable respect. Tané is high-handed with Niclays, dismissing him as an “outsider” whom she warns Eizaru to always watch.

Niclays realizes that Tané hid Sulyard to protect herself. He feels he can utilize this knowledge to arm-twist Tané into securing Sulyard’s release. Later, Tané too realizes that Niclays has recognized her, which makes her vulnerable. To distract herself from these worrying thoughts, she approaches Nayimathun, the great dragon with whom she has been paired. Tané and the dragon have grown very close, like sisters. Comforting Tané, Nayimathun tells her important dragon lore. The first dragons of the East came not from eggs (like they do now), but from a comet called “Kwiriki’s lantern,” also known as the “Long-Haired Star.” This comet “leaves behind a substance. Molten starlight that falls into the sea and the lakes” (284), giving rise to the first dragons. Dragons are at the peak of their powers whenever this comet passes by earth. Long ago, the comet also left behind two shards, which formed into gems, that could allow the dragons to retain their strength. Used 1,000 years ago to bind the Nameless One, the gems are now lost.

Sabran’s ladies-in-waiting adorn her for her first venture into the city in 14 years, but a worried Ead focuses on arming herself with blades. Sabran tells Ead that she wishes she could announce her pregnancy to her people, but Ead reminds her that the royal physician has advised Sabran to keep the pregnancy a secret for some time.

Sabran and Aubrecht’s retinue proceeds onto the cobbled streets of Ascalon. Truyde is missing from the procession. The crowds welcome Sabran with roars, clearly besotted with the queen whom they consider “their shield and their salvation” (293). As Sabran’s retinue travels by foot through a tree-lined avenue, Ead notices a suspicious masked figure nearby. Ead moves to protect Sabran as the man brandishes a pistol. The royal guards race towards Sabran. More masked men emerge onto the scene. From their cries hailing the Nameless One, Ead deduces that they are doomsingers.

The doomsingers kill Linora. A knight leads Sabran, Aubrecht, and Ead into a hidden garden for sanctuary. The knight locks them in, but there is knocking outside as Sabran’s ladies cry to be let in. Ead suspects it is a ruse, but Sabran refuses to listen. She instructs the knight to open the gate, and a masked figure enters, shooting first the knight and then Aubrecht. The figure says they have been sent by the “Cupbearer.” Ead kills the cutthroat, but Aubrecht dies. Another attacker enters the sanctuary. Ead rips the mask off the attacker, revealing Truyde.

To escape exile in Orisima, Niclays wants to create the immortality elixir Sabran demanded. The paucity of a key ingredient—dragon blood—has held him back, but now that he knows Tané’s secret, Niclays arranges a meeting with her and demands dragon blood and scale from her. If Tané doesn’t comply within four days, Niclays will reveal that she kept Sulyard’s presence a secret.

For Tané, the thought of dishonoring even the image of a dragon is taboo, let alone mutilating Nayimathun. However, she lets Niclays assume she will meet him at a chosen spot with the dragon blood. A troubled Tané goes to Nayimathun, who senses Tané’s sadness and confusion. Tané confesses everything to her dragon. Remorseful, Tané asks Nayimathun to choose another rider, but Nayimathun tells Tané they are bound to one another. Although Tané’s actions have been disappointing—she hid Sulyard not out of kindness, but to protect herself—Tané deserves a second chance. Nayimathun tells Tané that the “Inysh man” (Sulyard) must see the Warlord and the Emperor of the Twelve Lakes as he desired. Sulyard’s message matters because the Nameless One has begun to stir. Tané must get Sulyard to the Warlord.

In his quarters, Niclays goes through things that belonged to Jannart. One is a tiny scrap of silk decorated with script that Jannart was found holding upon his death. Jannart had spent decades trying to decipher the script, as has Niclays since Jannart’s death.

The ichneumon brings Loth to Rauca, the capital of Ersyr and the largest surviving city of the South. Loth wants to find Chassar, who is King Jantar’s ambassador to the House of Taumargam, the ruling dynasty of Ersyr. However, Loth learns he may have to wait, as Chassar could be abroad. Loth rents a room for the night and requests that the ichneumon wait for him. Loth prays that Chassar does have the cure for the plague with which he has been infected. That night, Loth wakes to the presence of a stranger in a bronze mask in his room. Loth faints.