Last part of Dragonsteel. I guess there are only 53 chapters. I'm going through right now and re-reading everything and making small changes and making everything polished. After that's done, I'll add some quotes, and then post it up for everyone to read.
Chapter 50
Jerick and his men survey the ruins of the Ekrobila. Frost mentions that this couldn’t have been the Sho Del, but won’t explain why he thinks that. The men find in the nearby town the Drath survivor, who claims that the Healing Lord, Sivonn, healed him and that this is His judgement upon the wicked. The men leave him and start to follw the So Del tracks.
Jerick’s nightmares begin to return, even with the Gvel Mou, each one having to do with his parents in some way. At the border to Aldbish, Aldbish warriors stop their way, refusing to let Jerick’s man through, even though they let the Sho Del through for some reason. Jerick decides they have to go around Aldbish and hope to connect back with the Sho Del tracks later.
They find the trail three days later, but three days after that they notice that about ten Sho Del chariots had split off from the main group. Jerick notices that they are in the general direction of his home village. That night he has a dream of his father and a Sho Del fighting, and of his father being split down the middle, killing him. He awakes and immediately decides he has to go after the ten Sho Del chariots, sending the rest of his men to finish the chase of the main army. Frost realizes with dread that Jerick is going after his parents.
Chapter 51
Ryalla spends seven weeks trapped in the Temple of Slonis, and uses that time to practice bending light. She hears a click one morning and discovers Torell has picked her lock to rescue her: he knew she was somewhere in the Temple of Slonis because that’s the last place she mentioned before she disappeared. They try to pick the Prince’s lock as well, but hear footsteps and turn invisible. Hsor comes down the stairs and discovers Ryalla and Torell when Torell drops a pick. Just when Hsor is about to kill Torell, Ryalla bends every beam of light in the vicinity and aims it at Hsor’s chest, which burns a hole through his heart. Hsor drops down dead, and Ryalla, Torell, and the Prince escape to outside where they learn the city is under attack from an army of Sho Del.
Topaz awakens outside of Lakdon, with Oreon, or the fifth god, standing near him. Topaz arrived to warn the city of the mock Sho Del in time, but the fifth god kept him incapacitated until it was too late. Topaz figures out that the fifth god’s plan was to frame the Sho Del in order to pitch the world into a massive war, and by the look of things, the plan is succeeding.
Jerick races toward his hometown on horseback, the weeks passing fitfully. He continues to have dreams about his father being murdered by a Sho Del and believes he can stop it if he can only get there in time.
Chapter 52
Ryalla, Torell, and Prince Yoharn escape from the Temple, and Ryalla convinces Torell to take Yoharn and escape the city. Ryalla moves towards Strafen’s house, where she sees the Old Kalord talking with some Sho Del, telling them they can keep the girl but to leave the boy. In response, and to the Old Kalord’s horror, the Sho Del reveal Martis’s corpse, saying that their only bargain was to make certain he couldn’t take the throne. Ryalla heads off toward the palace.
Topaz sees Jerick’s army arrive, but the fifth god creates a Sho Del army out of nothing, which easily defeat them. The fifth god demands that Topaz give it the power he has, but Topaz refuses, causing the fifth god to assault Topaz with its torturous power. Under this onslaught Topaz notices an untapped power within him that he never would have discovered if he hadn’t been so close to death. Topaz heals by bringing someone’s physical bodies in alignment with their spiritual bodies: their perfect form. But the fifth god’s spiritual nature is a void. Topaz takes part of his new-found power and applies it to the fifth god, causing it to scream in agony and disappear. Topaz, now with new energy, races toward the palace, passing a dragon who is just observing events unfold.
Ryalla reaches the king and creates a brief image of Oreon the White to trick the Sho Del. They escape to the gardens but the fifth god causes her invisibility to vanish, and the Sho Del attack them.
Topaz uses his microkinetic vision to locate the king’s castemark, as it is made of Dragonsteel. He reaches the gardens to find the king dead with three arrows sticking out of him, and Ryalla also about to be fired upon. Topaz uses his power to cause a huge wave of growth to burst from him, which not only heals everyone in the entire city, but also causes dormant tree seeds in the ground to spontaneously grow. The arrows hit the sides of the new trees and Ryalla escapes. A weakened Topaz admits he overdid it a little, and is captured by Kalord Strafen.
Chapter 53
Jerick arrives at Farastham hours too late, the scents of smoke and blood still hovering in the air. He hears weeping and runs into Wat, the priest. Oreon the White appears, mocking Wat for just standing by and not interfering while everyone was slaughtered, in keeping to his vow. Oreon threatens to kill Jerick, but Wat begs him not to, saying that he’s special and has come so far. Oreon causes Jerick to begin to suffocate, but at the last moment is spared by Wat, who gives a disbelieving wail and then vanishes.
Ryalla watches Strafen’s coronation on the cliffs near the city. Strafen then orders Topaz immediately executed, and he’s brought forward. Strafen removes Topaz’s topaz ring, but as he does so Topaz is able to get a good look at the king’s castemark hanging around his neck, and with sudden realization notices it’s the name of the fifth god: Aronack. The axe falls with a thunk and Topaz’s head and body, gushing blood, are tossed over the cliff into the lake.
Bat’Chor is brought in before Emperor Aronack, who apologizes for being busy on the other side of the continent, and then admits that he knows Bat’Chor didn’t kill Lady Ki, but he needed an excuse to keep Bat’Chor there so they could talk in person. Aronack reveals that the troops Bat’Chor saw were not to invade U Poni Sho Del, but to invade Yolen. Aronack proposes a deal: once the mourning period for Bat’Chor’s father is passed, Bat’Chor will be the Ke’Chan leader; if Bat’Chor will commit Ke’Chan troops to Aronack’s army, Aronack will use his technology to restore the Old Ke’Chan homeland to its former glory. The deal is tempting to Bat’Chor, who decides to think about it.
Jerick stares at his parents’ abandoned house, realizing what it means. Frost appears and gives Jerick the terrible news from Lakdon. In his pain, Jerick remembers fully what happened the day his father died, and remembers what was actually the first time he used microkinesis. When the Sho Del swung its knife at Rin, Jerick saw everything as Axi, and in panic commanded the Axi in front of the knife to get out of the way. Those Axi made up Rin’s body, and they obeyed, splitting Rin down the middle. The Sho Del hadn’t killed Jerick’s father; Jerick did. With a bowed head, Jerick finally admits to himself what he had done.
Epilogue
Jerick, wearing pure black, bids goodbye to Frost and mounts his horse. Jerick says he is going to rescue Courteth from the Sho Del, after settling his grievance with King Strafen in Lakdon.
A man sits on the shore of a beach, introspective. Near him, a bloated head floats to shore. The man pokes at it with a stick, and muses that he had always believed that it would be his head that would grow a new body.
The End of Book One
Hey man, can I get a copy of the book?
ReplyDeleteI don't have a copy. The only copies that exist are at BYU's Library, and maybe Brandon Sanderson himself has one.
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