Rebirth

Chapter Ten

Summary

Lady Alvane's Shift takes April to the Journeyman Inn in Marcuria. She goes out into the city to visit the friends she made there and to see how they are. The marketplace is deserted; she goes into the Temple of the Balance, but Vestrum Tobias is nowhere to be found.

She goes to Brian Westhouse's home. He's drinking, fully prepared for the Tyren's arrival with no intention of leaving. He's got a shotgun in his house, and he's prepared to use it - he built his house himself, the only thing he ever did that he was proud of, and the Tyren won't get near it. He tells April she should leave the city. She wishes him good luck.

The dragon's head at the Enclave

Heading to the City Green, April finds Abnaxus preparing to leave. He wants to be with his family in this dark time. Before he goes, he gives April the Venar Stone, the final piece of the Stone Disk. April takes it to the Enclave, where the Disk was originally kept. Beneath the dome, the design of the Balance is carved into the stone with four hollows at the cardinal points. April puts the four pieces of stone in the hollows, beneath the head of the stone dragon curled around the dome, but there's just the sound of a mechanism jamming. She calls Crow, who points out the head of the dragon is blocked with pigeon...guano. After some persuading, he pecks it off, and the dragon breathes bright blue magical fire. It melts each fragment, and they run together into the circular mould at the centre. Then the bottom of the mould opens, dropping the molten Disk into the Library pool below.

April goes into the Library to retrieve it, and runs into Minstrum Yerin. Like Brian Westhouse, he is defiant about the Tyren and prepared to help defend Marcuria. She asks him where Vestrum Tobias is, and Yerin sadly tells her that Tobias is dead. He was found in the temple, stabbed to death by an unknown assassin. April is shocked and saddened - she can't imagine who would do such a thing. Yerin believes it was the Vanguard, but tells her Tobias looked very peaceful... he didn't seem to have put up any resistance, and so it was probably someone he knew. With Yerin's help, April drains the Library pool using the sluices and obtains the Stone Disk.

She leaves the Enclave, and sees an army of Tyren riding towards the city. Remembering what Lady Alvane told her, she tries to make herself Shift, but it doesn't work. She runs back into the Enclave to take shelter, just as a Shift opens up behind her. She races through it to escape.

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Themes & References

This chapter deals with April's reaffirmation of her mission after the events of Shadows. The Stone Disk is also reassembled in this chapter by use of magical flames - fire is a symbol of purification and change.