Chapter Seventy: Halls of the Ironwing[edit | edit source]

Solineus, escorted by Morik and Kingdomer warriors, arrives at Molikîn, a fortified mountain city, after a five-day journey from Yurhol. The city’s sparse population and grand architecture reflect its storied past, marred by enslavement and loss during the God Wars, which Morik attributes to Bodomyûl’s Wrath—the Great Forgetting—that freed the Kingdomers but banished their gods. Solineus, seeking alliances, meets King Sînhôlar the Ironwing and Queen Nisenî at the Third Throne, a lavish pavilion. Initially rebuffed for his foreign status, Solineus reveals his grasp of the Helm language, proposing peace and trade with the Eight Kingdoms. The Ironwing, intrigued by Solineus’ godless state, offers a chance to prove his worth via the Pilgrimage of the Foundations, requiring him to summit the Twelfth Foundation, Hîmr’s Eye’s Hammerfall, a deadly climb unachieved since Pîlôstar the Skywind, to retrieve a token. Examining the Twins, the Ironwing theorizes their spirits are linked from the Celestial, like an onved way-stone, possibly residing in Solineus himself, and notes the cryptic phrase Gersvôresh’kûmjotu’kî for scholarly review. Solineus accepts a month-long purification and fasting to undertake the pilgrimage, aiming to secure alliances and the Ironwing’s prestige.

ToP Chapter 69 — A Curious Hand
ToP Chapter 71 — Mountain Tongues
Trail of Pyres - Main Chapter Listing