Complex sentence: At the island, the Phoenix and the Turtledove fall in love, apparently without the aid of the balm, but first the Turtledove asks the Phoenix to forgive him for some unspecified wrong.
Split into simpler sentences: At the island, the Phoenix and the Turtledove fall in love, apparently without the aid of the balm. But first the Turtledove asks the Phoenix to forgive him for some unspecified wrong.