The Spear Cuts Through Water

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and sexual content.

The theater falls silent, but the audience does not leave. They want to know what happens next. The dancer begins again. Shan finds the spear in the city’s rubble. For days, she and others try to save people from the ruins of the city. The man she rescued from Joyrock lives for seven days before dying. She looks for Keema and Jun, but they are lost to the ocean. The rain continues for two weeks. Shan becomes the new head of the Induun family and consolidates her forces with survivors of the other families by marrying the son of another lord. They become leaders who help the country recover from centuries of despotic rule.

The spear travels down the family line. One owner of the spear becomes a historical chronicler who travels the land, preserving the old stories. She learns that the line of tortoises mostly died out after the fall of the emperor. However, some escaped to the Thousand rivers and lived in peace. The Induun family gradually gains control of much of the country.