Chapter Twenty-One

It’s a turning point in Maika’s life when she comes face-to-face with a stranger from her deep past.

## Plot Summary

### Maika

Dreaming, Maika pursues Zinn, who cannot or will not speak to her but instead makes a motion to her she does not understand.

Waking, Maika finds herself with a new, artificial arm, and immediately attacks the nearby Lord Doctor, again confirmed to be her father - against her desires otherwise. They chat, although Maika is actively hostile, re-confirming that Yvette murdered Moriko. When Maika protests that her father is working with Yvette, he suggests Maika murder the witch, preferring Maika's trust and finding the witch of less use to him now that Maika has been found. He also confirms Corvin's fate: he attempted to have the Dusk Court agent killed, but Corvin escaped.

The Doctor takes Maika from the medical ward and offers her food, explaining that he possessed Zinn himself until Maika was born. Although Zinn never physically manifested in her father, it is revealed that he did experience Zinn's dreams. Maika realized the Doctor was the one who had Kippa kidnapped. As they depart the room, Maika is overtaken by hungry and consumes a hunk of meat before realizing what she has done.

The Doctor reveals his army of red-robed cultists, who repeat the mantra, "Blood give us light", reinforcing the Doctor's obsession with the old gods and their blood. The Doctor himself reveals a dedication to the resurrection of the Shaman-Empress, believing his and Moriko's bloodline give them a direct link to the warrior woman.

The Doctor declares his motivations to lead the Known World out of the coming war: to control the world free of the influence of the Federation and arcanic courts. To this end, he introduces Maika to the Blood Court, from whom Maika learns that Pontus has been captured by the pirate Brothers Imura. She then reveals she already knows the war-masters by reputation: Agata Tong Namma, Uliaza Grimm, and Sentenus Po. The only one she does not know introduces themselves as Va'lan, from the Wave Court, who is here to observe but has not officially allied with the Doctor.

The Lord Doctor then reveals his final ally, who has not yet arrived: Ren.

### Tuya

In a flashback, Tuya and the her new wife, the Warlord, are making love, but Tuya imagines it is Maika she is in bed with. Coming back to herself, she grows distant, and the Warlord leaves the bed chambers. Both wives appear unsatisfied.

In the present, Tuya receives an update from Tanno. The Warlord had captured the other survivors of Constantine and interrogated them to learn more about the blast. Learning nothing, the Warlord had them killed so necromancers could revive them and compel the truth from them - but even then all the Warlord learns is that the survivors knew Maika was Moriko's daughter. As yet, it appears the Warlord does not also know that Tuya was another Constantine survivor. It also re-confirmed that the Warlord is Maika's aunt and Moriko's sister.

Tuya determines she must obtain control of the Warlord's air fleet.

### Zinn

Dreaming, Zinn recalls speaking with the servitor under Pontus, who demands Zinn resurrects the Shaman-Empress while accusing him of her murder. He sees a young arcanic girl holding a teddy bear, to whom he protests his innocence. A vision of the Shaman-Empress places the girl in Zinn's hands, but both girl and woman turn to dust as the Empress intones, "You have not slept these thousands of years simply because you are tired."

### Post-Script

From Professor Tam Tam's archives, a Novice Youth Primer: A History of Monsters (written by the Cumaea) describes the Edenites, who hold that Cats and Humans were peaceful with each other before Marium's birth and that Cats were responsible for the birth of Human Civilization. Instead, the primer insists that Cats are the Great Foe of Humanity and responsible for the death of the Holy Mother and an event known as "the Violation of Aurum". Worst of all, the text says, are the Cats with Many Tails, closely linked to Ubasti.

To combat cats, the Cumaea created the Innoculus, repeated injections of which turn cats docile, incapable of speech, extra tails, or sentience.