Chapter Twenty-Three: Digging Deeper[edit | edit source]

Eliles, sleepless from Rovol’s death, attends prayers in the First Hall, where Woxlin declares Rovol’s execution by Thrown to the Thorns a sanctioned act for falsifying a scroll, branding him forgotten. At the Alcove of Sol, Ulrikt paralyzes her with prayer, revealing he knows of her library visit, sparing her for curiosity but threatening death if she speaks of the scroll, hinting at her potential to succeed him. Shaken, Eliles resolves to flee Istinjoln despite Dareun, bolstered by Ivin Choerkin and Pikarn’s arrival with Meliu and wardens. Recognizing Ivin as Kotin’s son and Pikarn as a priest-hating ally from her past, she hides in the stable loft, planning to use feral magic to meet Ivin at night, seeking alliance against Ulrikt’s grip as the Eve of Snows nears.

EoS Chapter 22 — Gift of Words
EoS Chapter 24 — Failing Visions