Chapter Thirty-One: Mother's Paradise[edit | edit source]

Solineus arrives on Pôn’s black sand beach aboard the Lady Moon, 27 days after a cautious voyage from Mulshahar, greeted by Emudar clansmen and scantily clad Sikotô natives. Reuniting with his mother, Suseru, and sister, Erênu, he learns of the clan’s settlement across Pôn, Chitorâ, and Tebôhûu, where they’ve repelled Histê slavers, notably torching Rôqwu’s shipyards to deter reprisals. Adinvan recounts their naval superiority over the Histê’s primitive galleys, but warns of a new fleet amassing at Hîvukûqwunowu, upriver from a fortified mouth, threatening Chitorâ. Suseru forbids Adinvan from joining Solineus’s southern voyage, citing his duty to defend the Emudar, while Solineus plans to raid coastal villages to draw Histê forces south, protecting Chitorâ. Erênu insists on joining, sparking family tension, as Suseru opposes their departure. Seeking a decisive strike, Solineus learns from Sîu, a young Sikotô, that the Histê worship Môgôdûu, sacrificing 90 twelve-year-old children—raised for this purpose—on equinoxes and solstices at sites like Yungilêtunu’s Temple Mount near Rôqwu. Proposing to steal these sacrificial children to provoke the Histê, Solineus envisions a bold plan to disrupt their religious rites and lure their fleet south, aligning with his mission to aid the Silone against the Wiirê and Malstefnê (Ch. 25), despite familial objections and the looming Histê threat.

WoG Chapter 30 — Dry Rains
WoG Chapter 32 — Final Foundation
Whispers of Ghosts — Main Chapter Listing