53. Reunion

The party struggles to deal with the aftermath of Rey's break as they make their way to Mahalanka. 
Recognizing that she has inadvertently killed someone again while blinded with rage, Rey stalks off, and Ember in the opposite direction. Valeria sets off after Ember, reminding him that it is important to stick with the group, even in the face of danger. “Rey is the danger,” Ember retorts. And while Valeria admits that the Circle may be imperfect, they are all still allies. Jorek remains behind at the scene at the fight, speaking with Eyes Alight: she believes it is very important to get Ember and Rey back together. At that moment, Tai-La appears, recognizing that she is competing for Jorek’s affections with the Sidereal.
Rey is walking back to the manse, trying to figure out how she can restrain herself in the future. Speaks-of-Silence catches up to her and points out that she has been there for Rey twice in times of need. When Rey lashes out, desperately wishing that the Solar Exalted could be freed from their Limit Breaks, Speaks-of-Silence remembers that Starlight Dove had mentioned a long time ago that there should be a way of ending the Great Curse. However, given that they cannot as of now, she hopes that Rey can accept the help of the rest of the Circle instead of wanting only to be alone.
The Circle decides that the next logical step is to reunite All Fates Saved with her lover, She-Who-Knows-Ten-Thousand-Things, at Mahalanka. As Rey promises her father to better manage her emotions in the future, the issue of how best to return Nexus to stability arises. Exquisite Tide is the next expected leader of the Tepet forces in the city state: she plans to take command while having those around her believe she is still under the thrall of the drug. Over time, she will be able to slowly undermine the Tepet army from the inside, sending some away, and institute a new Council in Nexus. Alvor and Hope will go with her to do what they can, and Jorek, recognizing that Tai-La will do what she can to ensure her family’s legacy, gives her a position on the Council of Nexus in order to keep her out of harm’s way, and somewhere where she can do the least damage. As the plan is decided upon, it becomes clear that the woman killed by the Circle, Tepet Deep Fury, was not Tide and Rey’s mother… somewhere out in Creation, Tepet Final Rush is still alive.
Rey, Jorek, Valeria, Speaks-of-Silence, Ember, All Fates Saved, and Eyes Alight (the “new” Circle) ascend on the airship and fly towards Mahalanka. Eyes Alight and Jorek spend a passionate night together when the Sidereal reveals that she has important information for him, and that she loves him. All Fates Saved is worried about being punished for all of her deeds as Three Fates Shadow, but Rey reassures her that making the right choice will reward her. The Circle spies Mahalanka through the thick jungles of the East, and descend into the overgrown city. No one is to be seen, except She-Who-Knows-Ten-Thousand-Things, who charges down All Fates, leaping into her arms. She leads the Circle to her home, where she immediately gifts Jorek with books on sorcery and the Circle’s past exploits, and Valeria with medical tomes. Knowing that Rey can’t read, she directs the Dawn’s attention to a map of Creation from the First Age, exhorting her to be excited at the possibility of getting it back to the way it once was.
She-Who-Knows-Ten-Thousand-Things is wildly excited for the return of her mate, and starts throwing out information left and right, including details of the Dragon-Blooded who surround the Circle’s war manse on the Blessed Isle. When the Circle is finally able to calm her down, they get down to brass tacks: the prophecy about the future of Creation. Written long ago by Entropy and Weaver, the prophecy apparently tells of a moment when one Terrestrial Exalted will begin the final struggle for power in Creation.
“The traitorous flame will bring the new age;
When all hear his heresy, the challenge begins;
The first to forsake Creation selects the new rule;
One love to ruin; one love to save.”
And as the Circle begins to debate how to proceed with this new information, Speaks-of-Silence arrives with news that the other Lunars are outside, and may not be quite so happy with the Solars’ presence there. But before they can even react to that, Eyes Alight chooses that exact moment to share a startling revelation with the Circle: Rey is going to have a baby!
Category:EXN-Ep