Brandon Sanderson
PROLOGUE
Elantris used to be a magical city filled with white hair, silver skinned ,nearly-immortal people. They healed quickly and could do magic. The people were re-born randomly fromthe Shaod in the night and the. Would come to live in Elantris.
PART ONE: THE SHADOW OF ELANTRIS
1. Prince Roaden of Arelon wakes up one morning and find himself starving. When his made comes to the door with his breakfast, she is terrified. He sees his own and and rushes to the mirror to find the Shaod had come upon him. Road on is given a basket of good and shut into the walls of Elantris. Roaden comes across a boy that looks ancient and begs him for food. He give him a loaf of bread from his basket of supplies. He walks away, but doesn’t get far before five men have knocked the boy to the ground and took the bread from him. He tosses them his basket to keep them from attacking him. Galladon appears and introduces himself. Roaden is distracted by the pain from when he stubbed his toe earlier. Galladon explains that now that he is dead, his body won’t heal. Most of them try to avoid hurting themselves because too much pain can drive them mad like the pack of five he just saw district the beggar boy for his food. Roaden asks if they should do something about the undead boy laying where he was trampled. Galladon explains that some people think the undead can become dead if their body are destroyed or burned, but no one knows for sure. He tells them they don’t have the right to make that choice for the boy. Roaden pulls a piece of dried meet from his sash and offers it to Galladon in exchange for showing him around for 30 days. He agrees to the deal and tucks the meat away. Roaden has him call him Sule.
2. Sarene just arrived in a boat to be betrothed to Roaden. Their marriage contract included a clause in case one of them died because it is a political marriage. Her companion, Ashe (a melon-sized ball of light) never liked that clause of the contract, left Arelon long ago and hadn’t stayed long). Upon arriving, she goes to the funeral tent and is told she cannot see the body because of what the disease did to the prince. She finds the behavior of those closest to Roaden odd. Her early arrival was meant to be a surprise for her betrothed so they could get to know each other before the marriage was official. Now it is a complication. She is taken to the palace where King Iadon, her new father, is rude to her and tells his servant to get her to her room and make sure she has plenty of things to do that entertain ladies. She is told her wardrobe will be brought to her, but for now, everything she is to wear is black. None of the dresses really suite her. Ashe comes in the window and she is able to use the ball of light to communicate with her father. He offers to bring her back home, but she declines. He knows she was very much looking forward to the marriage and had communicated often with Roaden. She wouldn’t have agreed to the marriage if she didn’t think she could love him. She tells him she will stay and that she has a courtful of new people to play with.
3. Hrathen comes to Arelon to convert the entire kingdom or it will be destroyed by Jaddeth, the lord of all creation. Arelon is one of two countries that have not converted. He gets off his ship and finds Fjon, Kae’s Derethi head arteth. They go to the chapel and Hrathen tells Fjon to assemble his priests. While they are assembling, Hrathen brings Fjon into his office and scolds him for his behavior. He says he is sending him back to their home land so he can reassigned somewhere and be reminded of their ways. He shows Fjon the scripture that has been written by Wyrn the prophet of their god, Jaddeth. He asks Fjon if he would be able to carry out what the god has asked and Fjon admits he would not be able to. Hrathen sends him to a ship to leave for the homeland. Hrathen choses to send the letter he wrote saying Fjon is worth saving rather than the one saying he has betrayed them. He interviews each arteth individually, but is not impressed with any of them. Arteth Dilaf comes in and Hrathen can tell he is not Fjordell, but Arelene, and is surprised. Dilaf has ambition and passion in his eyes, but Hrathen cannot trust him and wants to keep him close. He offers him the position of his odiv, practically making Dilaf his slave. Dilaf agrees to this knowing it will improve his rank. Hrathen sends him to follow Fjon and to kill him if he doesn’t get on the ship to go home. Hrathen looks at the scroll again telling his people they have three months to convert Arelon and Teod before Jaddeth will send his warriors to take over the countries. It is a major undertaking to convert both cities that do not follow their religion.
4. A woman enters Elantris and turns left. She runs into Karata’s people and they take her basket of offerings without hurting her. Roaden wants to help her, but Galladon warns him against it. He won’t last long if he gets hurt. While the Elantrians can’t die, they also don’t really survive more than a few years. The women made a good choice in going left because if she had gone right, she would have come across Shaor’s people (the most morally corrupt find their way to him) who might have done much worse to her. Those are the ones that Roaden met when he first came to Elantra’s. Shoar rules what used to be the market district. Karata has taken over the palace and tries not to hurt others unless necessary. She has been caught trying to escape Elantris several times and if she tries again, she will be burned. The last faction is ruled by Aanden in the University District. He says he was a Baron in his former life, but Roaden doesn’t recognize the name. He is bitter Karata is holed up in the palace and believes that should be his territory. He has taken over the library where it is rumored he has survived by eating scrolls made of sheep’s hide. He promises food to those that join him and plans to attack the neighboring city of Kae (where Roaden is from). The hunger gets to all of them eventually and even Galladon doesn’t know how he will act in a year. Some have tried canniblism, but it didn’t taste good or do anything for their hunger. Roaden asks Galladon where he lives and Galladon reluctantly takes him there. They take their time knowing any injury can be a major impact to their new lives. When they arrive, Roaden is surprised to find Galladon’s place has books. Roaden thinks he might be able to find in them the secrets to the Aons (magic of Elantra’s). Galladon draws a symbol in the air and his finger leaves a glowing line in the air. Roaden is surprised the magic is still there when the rumor was that it fled 10 years ago when everything changed in Elantra’s.
5. Sarene is surprised to see full gyorn (Derethi high priest) in Kae. She watches Hrathen march up to King Iadon and tell him he needs a bigger push for the people to convert quicker to Shut-Dereth. Iadon says he already believes in another form of the same god and tells him to go preach to the nonbelievers. Iadon doesn’t feel Fjorden has enough of a military presence to be a threat to Kae and sends him away. Sarene thinks the Fjordens are more powerful now than the king knows. She decides she will help her new king and then he yells at her because she was not invited to court. She says she was only looking at at the tapestries and didn’t know she wasn’t allowed. He falls for her innocent act and ignores her. Her uncle, Kiin (father’s younger brother she used to call Hunky K), comes up to great her. He takes her back to his mansion and introduces her to his wife (Daora), two children (Kaise and Doarn), step-son Lukel and his new wife Jalla, and other step-son Adien. Kaise finds it interesting that Sarene is a princess and tries to logic herself into being one as well. Kiin explains he lost his Toed title a long time ago, so Kaise wouldn’t have one either. Sarene is surprised to see Kiin cooking, but he explains it is something he likes to do and has travelled all over the world learning how to cook different foods. He said he could never cook for them because her mother wouldn’t allow it. Sarene notices they don’t have any servants in their house. Kiin explains that when the Reod hit, it was the servants that started the revolution. They went beyond rebelling against the Elantrians and attacked families. Ashe comes to find Serene and they are surprised she has one of the rare seons. She explains her mother passed Ashe to her when she was born. Sarene starts to feel comfortable for the first time since arriving in Kae.
6. Hrathen asks Dilaf about the girl he saw at court. Dilaf tells him she is the new princess. His disgust for her is clear and he explains it is because she is from Toed where they worship the parent religion of their own. Hrathen wonders if Dilaf has too many prejudices to perform his duties properly. Hrathen goes to take a look at Elantris from the wall. At first he just sees that the city is decaying a lot faster than it should have in the past ten years. Then he sees some of the Elantrians running around. Hrathen thinks the other supernatural force, The Svrakiss (can control the bodies of the evil), is what is responsible for giving the Elantrians their powers in the first place. He plans to use them to unite Arelon to his cause.
7. Roaden has spent all of his time drawing Aons since Galladon showed him how, but none of them work. Galladon tells him they haven’t worked since the Reod. Roaden thinks the answer could be in the books that surround them. Galladon admits he is reluctant to bring people there because it could easily be taken over by someone else. He brought Roaden there because two men can get through the books quicker than just one. Roaden asks why it is so dark and Galladon tells him resources were limited when Elantris was at its peak because the gods didn’t need things like oil or furnaces. It has been three days since Radon has eaten and the hunger is a pain in his stomach that made him understand how it could drive men crazy. Roaden and Galladon go to the square and can see Hrethen and a group of people on the wall looking into Elantris. Galladon is surprised to see a Drethi gyorn in Arelon. An old man enters Elantris and starts to go to the right. Roaden goes up to him yelling a common name. When he gets close, he tells the man he can go with him or face the men in the shadows. Roaden starts running, but the others are faster than him and the thugs follow. He yells directions for them to go to a house with an unstable staircase. They make it up the stairs, but the stairs collapse and the thugs can’t follow. Roaden keeps a small amount and tosses the rest down to the men. Galladon doesn’t understand Roaden’s plans and why he would make one of the three criminal groups angry with him. The old man introduces himself as Mareshe. He says he was a jeweler, but is a full artisan. Roaden asks if he can make shoes. Roaden tells him the people are thrust into the city in just a burial shroud. He could be successful in their making shoes. He warns the artisan he would have to make them well because if an Elantrian gets blisters, they would never heal. Roaden tells him to call him Spirit. Galladon is concerned about Shaor’s men still waiting for them at the bottom of the building. Roaden is inconcernrd until he feels the start of rain.
8. Sarene declines Kiin’s offer for her to stay with him and his family knowing she will need to be at the palace to fight Hrathen. She sets up in the middle of the throne room and paints. King Iadon is furious that she is in the middle of her throne room. She moves to the side. Lukel comes up to talk to her. She hadn’t noticed him when she came in. He recognized the bad painting for what it is, a plan to get into the throne room. He can’t help making fun of her lack of skill in painting. Two nobles are arguing over a servant, which confuses Sarene because she was always taught there were no slaves in Arelon. Lukel explains the king claimed all the land for the kingdom and himself. Elantrians used to supply everything, which made it difficult for merchants. When the Reod came, Iadon was a good choice to take over as king, but is not a good monarch. Iadon makes his decision to send the runaway slave back to his original master, but his children are to stay with the new one. Sarene is upset by this and Lukel tells her she sounds like his best friend, Roaden. He was a bright personality and smart, but bad at cards. He would speak his thoughts on the conditions of the outter plantations. The prince tried to work his way into everything and Iadon did everything but banish his son. He had really been making a difference, but now those he lead are starting to fall apart. He and Kiin have tried to keep it together and she says she wants to go to their meeting. Lukel is reluctant at first, but she points out it is to be their lady meeting anyway. Kiin refuses to take a title because as a rich man without a title undermines the King’s system of rich equals nobility. Roaden had a talent for twisting Iadon’s laws to suit him. Iadon tired to disown him anyway he could. The succession is uncertain now that Roaden is gone. Sarene is suspicious. She says she is coming to lunch with him and they go back to Kiin’s family mansion. At lunch, Kaise and Doarn bring up Roaden, but Kiin quickly changes the subject and asks Serene about seeing the city. Lukel says he can’t take her because he and his wife have to go sell silk to a Toed merchant. Kaise and Doran take her instead. The climb the stairs to the top of the wall of Elantris and see there is another group up there. Hrathen is trying to preach to a group of nobles. Sarene tries to appear dumb as she asks questions that successful details his speech until his audience starts to leave. Hrathen gives her a nod acknowledging her win. Dalif stares at her scornfully as they leave. Kaise bursts out into laughter at the spectacle when the Delthi priest is gone. Sarene looks over Elantris and can see the Elantrians moving around. She asks who feeds them and the children tell her no one feeds them because they are dead. She sees a group of three Elantrians on a building that appear different from the rest.
9. Hrathen is not worried about Sarene’s spectacle. Dalif says that killing the nonbelievers would be the only way to guarantee Jaddeth’s return. Hrathen doesnmt have any intention of killing off masses of people, but feels his deadline is much more important now. He meets with a group of young ambitious nobles to try to get them on his side. An older noble that he did not invite is there as well. He can tell a few of them like what he is saying and his promise of rewards for their loyalty to Jaddeth. Some of them point out it can take time to get an entire nation to change religions. There are a few examples of the Duladel religion falling after being one of the worlds oldest and of course Elantris’ fall was very quick as well. Hrathen gives them time to contemplate his offer of success. Dilaf makes a statement about wiping out the Elantrians before they come for them that ends in awkward silence. After the meeting, Hrathen asks lord Terlrii to stay for a bit so he can talk to him.
10. Roaden has Galladon go back to the courtyard gates with him when it is time for any new Elantrians to enter the city. He tells him he needs Galladon to run out and get Shaor’s men to follow him. When three new people enter the city, Galladon does as Roaden asks. The three newcomers are confused. Roaden comes up to them and asks them which way the man went. He tells them he holds the cure and they must catch him. He starts to run in the direction they pointed and they follow him. He takes them to the place he has decided to set up his base of operations. There, he tells the newcomers the truth of what is going on in Elantris. He asks each for their introductions. Maare was a housewife. Riil was a workman and Roaden asks if he can build a new roof on the building they are in. The man is confident he can until Roaden explains their wood is mostly rotten and resources are scarce. He promises to do what he can. The third man is reluctant to tell him who he is. Roaden has Mareshe explain that Roaden just saved their lives. The man says he is Saolin and was a soldier for Count Eondel’s legion. Roaden knew the Count and speaks highly of him. Saolin warms to Roaden. He takes a few things from the baskets of the newcomers and tells them to split it up amongst the four of them. When Galladon comes back, he gives him a loaf of bread. He was able to escape Shaor’s men by going into a building with broken stairs and making them think he was on the roof when really he went out the back door. Galladon finds it odd that Radon chose a building without a roof for his project. He points out that it was previously a church. Radon finds it odd that the gods of Elantra’s would have a church at all. They go to spy on Aanden and Radon recognizes him as a renowned sculptor. He says he would have recognized if he was a Galladon warns Raoden that the others are already talking about how Raoden is trying to start his own faction agains the others. Radon says he is trying to build something that will give people a purpose and hope. Galladon tries to argue that they are dead and don’t need a purpose. Galladon suddenly realize who Raoden really is. Raoden asks him to keep it between them and asks about Galladon’s past. He said he was a farmer and then bought an orchard because he thought trees would be easier than replanting every year. Roaden thinks there is more to him, but Galladon doesn’t tell him anything more. A seon comes fluttering around and Raoden realizes it is Ien, the one that belonged to him when he was human. He had hoped he had just disappeared when the Shaod had taken him because it was supposed to be awful for a person’s Aron when they are taken. The seon floats about in the air awkwardly. Raoden is sad to see what has happened to his once wise friend.
11. Sarene goes to the meeting of Raoden’s followers, but only five show up: Eondel (military genious), Baron Shuden (JinDo man that runs caravans between JinDo and Arelon), Duke Roial (wise old man that has been friends with the king a long time), Count Ahan (old friend/enemy of the Duke), and Baron Edan (nervous, has lost his fortune and will soon lose his title because of it). None of them are keen on the idea of her joining the meeting. She tells them she didn’t get to know her husband, but she would like to help realize his dream. They allow her to stay and start discussing how Tori’s themselves of Iadon. No one has any feasible ideas, so Sarene gives one. She points out that Arelon’s productivity has been dropping since Iadon took over as king. She tells them they need to make the other nobles jealous of them and get their attention. She thinks the best way to do this is to give their serfs a reason to work harder. If they give them their own land to work and the opportunity to earn and purchase it, they are more likely to work harder. They are all reluctant. Sarene corners Duke Rioal wants to take a few days to think it over, but she demands an answer right then. She says the hope is fading from the people’s eyes and it won’t be long before they don’t care enough to do anything about their government. He agrees to it and so do the others. The subject gets turned to Sarene’s lack of involvement in Arelon activities. While it was proper for her to do much while she was in mourning, she will need to start going to balls to get involved in the aristocracy. In Arelon, only men get invited to balls and they invite women to join them. Sarene’s marriage contract says she is not to remarry, so it would be inappropriate for her to go with a young bachelor. She suggests they take turns inviting her as a friend. They all agree to this. When the others leave, Sarene goes off to find the restroom. when she returns, she finds Rioal and Kiin discussing how special she is. They know she would have been a great queen for Raoden as well as Arelon. Rioal points out her outshines and she makes her presence known. She explains she needed his particular approval of her plan because the others look up to him. A delayed answer from him could have stalled everything. She apologizes for her brashness and he forgives her.
12. After Hrethen speaks to a group and starts loosing their interest, Dilaf starts his own unplanned speech. He rants and raves about the dangers of the Elantrians and the Arelene’s are captivated by him. When … approaches him about it, Hrathen pretends the double pronged speech style was his plan all along. He doesn’t like it, but he recognizes it might be the best way to get the people to listen. He has done many things he opposes (such as learning other languages) to be able to preach his religion. When Dilaf finishes, he pulls him aside and warns him not to do anything without his permission again. Dilaf admits the speech was not planned and he felt the draw to say what he needed to say. Later, Heather licks his door and and pulls a secret box out of his belongings he keeps his seon (forbidden in the Derethi religion). When it emerges, it asks how it can help, but Hrathen scolds it for speaking. He uses it to contact Wyrn about a proposal for one of the Arelene lords.
13. Raoden finds a book complete written in Aons and he plans to use the Aon dictionary to translate it. While Riil and Maare work on the new roof, the newest member of their group, Loren, clears away rocks in the courtyard. A man named Kahar comes to him because he heard Roaden’s people aren’t as hungry as the others and he wants to join them. He said he was a cleaner and Roaden calls over Mareshe to show him where the water is to start cleaning the place up. The guard, Saolin, runs up to warn them a group is coming with spears. Karata and her men appear. Raoden tells her she doesn’t need to attack him because he can give her what she wants. He promises to get her out of Elantris and into the Palace. They make their way to the only well in the city and carefully go in. They let the water carry them to the castle in Kae where his father had a secret exit put in for his own safety. They only need to breathe to speak so they stay underwater and avoid hitting rocks. Before he takes her inside the castle, he makes her promise she is not intending to harm the king. She does and they enter. They sneak through the dark palace to a guard’s room where Karata takes a minute to hold her sleeping child. As they are leaving, that same guard, Karata’s husband, finds them. He tells them to stop and he doesn’t recognize his own wife. Raoden draws an Aon in the air and tells the guard it will kill him if he moves. The guard believes him and Raoden is able to steal his sword. The get out of the palace and start walking to the gate of Elantris. Karata is upset that her husband didn’t recognize her, but she is relieved she got to leave a note and a necklace with her daughter. She spots a loaf of bread through a window, but Raoden tells her they can’t risk it and they wouldn’t be able to get enough to feed everyone. He knocks on the guard’s door and tells them they need to get back into Elantris. When the guards threaten them, Raoden reminds them it was their job to keep them in in the first place. He then lies and says the Shaod is contagious. The guards back off and let them back into the city. Once they are in, Karata admits she knows who he is and has for a while. She is afraid he wants to take over Elantris like he father took over Kae. Raoden shows her the plantable corn that is sent in with each new Elantrian and says he plans to plant it so they can feed them all. She takes him to her palace district and shows him a room of children. They have been taking care of them and give them most of the food, but eventually, they go crazy like the others. She knows she doesn’t have much longer. She wants to join Raoden and have him take over when she goes. He takes on that responsibility. When Raoden returns to his own place as the sun comes up, he gives the sword to Saolin and tells everyone he has something to show them.
14. Sarene starts attending the queens gatherings of women and realizes this is where she can learn the gossip and rumors of what is going on at court. She isn’t very good at needlepoint, but she learns the women aren’t nearly as foolish as they pretend to be. They ask her if the rumors are true about Toed women fighting with swords and using them to keep the men in line. She tells them they only use swords for the sport of fencing and says she can reach them if the king allows it. When she goes back to her room, she decides she can’t wear another black dress. She pulls out a golden one that has black over it and gets ready for the ball she is to attend that night at Duke Telrii’s mansion. Shuden, her escort, is glad to be taking her because it will thin out the group of women that follow him around at events. They take a carriage and Sarene is surprised to see the extravagance the Duke went through for the ball. Shuden takes her inside and they immediately go to a second room where King Iadon is with a few other high ranking people. Serene finds it odd the king is there at all. Her father never attended balls. Shuden points out that Iadon isn’t a very mature king and he likes the attention and power of the position. He says he is usually able to sneak his way into the second room for an hour or so, but having Sarene with him will allow him to stay longer. She spots Hrathen there and finds out he intruded in a party in his first. Night and has been invited to them since. Shuden thinks he is dangerous because he preaches in a calculated way rather than from the heart. Next to him is Waren (converted to Shu-Dereth when he claims had a vision Jaddeth), who has snuck his way in because of his association with Hrathen. They meet up with Roial, who is trying to avoid gold diggers who realize they will only have to put up with him for a few years ti get his money. He tells Sarene to watch Hrathen because Telrii’s good fortune is rumored to come from the gyorn. Eshen brings Sarene over to the king to explain fencing to him. She explains it is just exercise and such a lowly activity that it should worry him. He reluctantly gives in to her. A messenger comes in to whisper something to the king who becomes agitated. When he tells the messenger to speak up, Hrathen points out the king shouldn’t be discussing important matters in front of such foolish people, indicating Sarene. She watches Telrii circle the party, but avoid Hrathen. Sarene has Shuden introduce her to everyone. He has trouble keeping up with her. She is drowsy as she heads to her room. She hears yelling and finds guards. They tell her someone broke in through the king’s bed chamber, they take her to her room and plan to leave a guard at the door.
15. Hrathen looks out over Elantris and feels guilty about the hostile takeover he was in charge of in Duladel. He justifies it by telling himself that the results are worth it. He doesn’t want the same thing to happen in Arelon. Telrii comes to meet with him and is having second thoughts about their deal after hearing that Hrathen was in charge of what happened to Duladel. Hrathen points out that the guards in Arelon have never actually seen a fight or battle. The surrounding nations that have already converted to Shu-Dureth have soldiers and would come to Wyrn’s aid if he requested. Hrathen is there to oversee a peaceful conversion. Hrathen tells him when Arelon is converted, it will need a new king and promises to put Telrii on the throne. Telrii tells him Sarene may be an obstacle for them, but Hrathen is not worried about her. He tells him to increase the pay of the guards he got from the Elantris wall guards and give them some time off to visit their friends at the wall. Telrii asks if Hrathen will pay for the raises and he agrees to it. Hrathen goes to the wall and sees a group of guards watching a couple of Elantrians after they were put back into the city after escaping. He asks if it happens often and they tell them sometimes, but most of them are too mindless to accomplish it. Hrathen goes to talk to the captain of the guard. He offers a bribe for the next escaped Elantrian to be brought to his chapel for him to study. The captain agrees it can be arranged quietly.
16. Raoden’s seon, Ian, still floats around him, but doesn’t seem to be all there. Radon notices his Aon (healing) isn’t complete; there are cracks and patches of weakness in it. He asks Galladon what he misses most about life outside Elantris. Galladon says his house. Radon misses the letters Sarene sent him and tells Galladon about their engagement being a reaction to the Durethi invasion of Duladel. Galladon is surprised to learn about this and Radon realizes Galladon has been in Elantris a lot longer than he indicated previously. He tells him the Duladen Republic collapsed. Galladon says how this is a major event because the Duladen people liked their government because they got to chose their leaders. Galladon asks bout Jesker and their religion. Raoden tells him the country’s religion is now Shu-Dereth and leaves him to take the news in. Raoden goes inside to find Kahar has cleaned the chapel. There are intricate carvings on the walls. Kahar tells him there are similar carvings all over the city that can’t be seen because of the grime. Raoden tells him he will give him a team to help him continue cleaning around the chapel and where the people have started living around it. Karata has someone come to get Raoden. One of Dashe’s scouts heard of a surprise attack planned by Aanden and now he wants to take the fight to Aanden to prevent the children from being hurt. He takes off with his men. Raoden has Karata take him and Galladon a different route, but to the same place she believes Dashe will attack from. When they get there, Galladon points out the building has been rigged to collapse. Dashe won’t be reasoned with and is ready to go on the building’s roof right as they arrive. Roaden calls out to Aanden, calling him by the name he had when he was a sculptor in Kae. He points out the intricate carvings in the building wall. Taan is impressed and wonders how he hadn’t seen them before. He agrees to join with Raoden. Dashe still wants to attack. Raoden tells them they have opportunities in Elantris because they aren’t hampered by the things humans are. Dashe drops his sword to the ground and takes off. Raoden tells Taan there is a building he wants him to see.
17. Sarene enters the Palace dance hall in her fencing clothes with a bag for her equipment. The other women are surprised by her appearance. She shows them the sword and gives a quick history of the sport before showing the women how to position themselves and thrust the syres made from sticks. Lukel watches from the side with Kaise and Doarn. Kaise read a book about fencing to impress Sarene. Eondel and Shuden come into the room. The women all stop to stare at Shuden. Eondel goes around the room and helps the women one by one to improve their stances and how they hold the sticks. Sarene gives him a syre and challenges him. He tries to decline, but she attacks. He is good enough that she has to be constantly defending and doesn’t have a chance to attack. He gives her an opening and lets her win. She realizes he gave up the fight so she wouldn’t lose face in front of her students. They both go to get a drink and Eondel is surprised that it is water instead of wine. Everyone’s attention turns to Shuden who is doing an exercise called ChayShan which helps prepare the mind and body for battle. Sarene calls out to the women to keep practicing. She goes to the priest, Father Omin, who is constantly distracted, and asks what the widow’s trial is she must go through. He tells her she must do something for the people of Arelon. The bigger the gesture, the more she loved/respected her husband. She asks him how she is supposed to get money to accomplish this and the priest tells her she has inherited all of Raoden’s estates. His father had to make sure the prince was wealthy by his own rules and now all of it belongs to her. He advises her to talk to the treasurer about it. She goes home and uses her seon to get in touch with her father. He tells her the Shu-Dureth presence has left Teod and will not be welcomed back. When she tells him Hrathen is there, he confirms her suspicions of him being the one to take over Duladen. He wants her to come home, but she is committed to staying in Arelon. She tells him she was the king’s spinster daughter in Teod and no one wanted an intelligent woman. She reminds him that he has an heir already. She tries to tell him Kiin is there, but he won’t hear it. She asks about his spies and he admits they are disappearing. He says they cannot defeat Fjorden and will surrender and convert if they attack to keep his people from being killed. He tells her Wyrn has been sinking Iadon’s ships to get him to lose his title so Hrathen can replace him with someone who is more likely to convert to She-Dureth. She decides she will help Iadon because the longer Arelon lasts, the longer it will take the Fjorden to get to Teod. As she lies awake in bed, she thinks about all the things she loves in Teod (mostly her family). She also thinks of how she was a social outcast and mocked for her intelligence and argumentative personality. She hears a noise from the other side of her bedroom wall (no other rooms, just the outside) and convinces herself it was just the building settling.
18. Hrathen has an Elantrian, Diren, in his office. Dilaf comes in and is shocked to see it. Hrathen tells Dilaf he will need him to take over preaching that night. Dilaf becomes a bit too heated about the Elantrian’s presence and Hrathen sends him away. He asks the Elantrian about the Shaod and his new life. He says the Shaod took him overnight. He was a peasant before he was an Elantrian. He explains that he cannot heal and shows Hrathen a cut that is not bleeding, but clearly not properly healed. He says he has been in Elantris since the fall and Hrathen estimates it to be around eight months. Diren tells the goryn about the four gangs that run Elantris and how the newest one seems to be the most powerful. He asks for food and Hrathen promises to send him back with a basket of bread and cheese. He gives the captain of the guard a bag of money and instructions to return Diren with the basket as promised. Hrathen goes to Dilaf before his speech and tells him he needs him to talk to the people and get their hearts into it. He wants to tie the Elantrians in with the Korath priests that take care of them and send them into Elantris. He plans to speak after and bring everything together logically. Dilaf starts out his speech and starts to go overboard. He has points out the to a pole where Diren has been tied for him to burn. He cuts the Elantrian and shows that he doesn’t bleed and isn’t alive. He tells them they are demons and the Karath priests are in league with them. Hrathen stops him from burning the Elantrian and starting a riot. He tells the people Jaddeth is making these people suffer and they should not end the suffering the god has decreed for them. He thinks uncontrolled chaos could make Iadon turn against them. He warns Dilaf that he is on thin ice. He isn’t sure if he is trying to undermine him or if he is just zealous. Diren is now in so much pain that Hrathen cannot send him back into Elantris. He burns him privately to end his suffering. He uses his seon to contact Forton to request two doses of an elixir immediately. When Hrathen tells him where he is, the master potion maker says it will take at least two weeks to get to him. Hrathen tells him to get started.
19. Raoden has a dream about a boy with an injured leg being brought to Elantris because no other doctors have been able to heal it. An Elantrian woman heals the leg, but the boy still feels the pain and cannot speak to tell his parents that something is wrong. Raoden wakes up with a start. The pain comes in waves for him rather than a steady flow like most people have told him. He is able to get others to forget about the pain and hunger, but his only seems to be getting worse. He plans out his day so he is busy every second to distract him from it. As Raoden starts about his day, Saolin follows him insisting the city is dangerous and their leader needs a guard. Their area of the city was getting cleaner and Galladon has been overseeing the planting of the corn, who seems to be much more in control of himself now than he was when Raoden first came to Elantris. Raoden is walking when he is attacked by one of Shaor’s men. Saolin ends up having to cut off the man’s head. More come at them, but Dashe and three other soldiers hear the commotion and come to help. Five of Shaor’s men are lost in the fight. Galladon tries to tell Raoden that Shaor and his men are too far gone, but Raoden says he will find a way to give them their purpose back. Saolin was hurt in the attack, but he says it is part of his duty as an Elantrian. Karata and Saolin have been bringing all newcomers to Raoden and Shaor and his men are reacting badly. Taan spends most of his time studying the stone carvings. Most of his men have joined up with the new group. Raoden decides to get to his own studies of the AonDor. The book he has been translating seems to be an advanced writing of what isn’t supposed to happen when using specific Aons. Raoden gets frustrated until Galladon mentions the concept of Dor - the unseen power that is in everything, but can’t be touched. Raoden realizes the Dor is what is feeding their bodies to keep them going. He thinks Dor is linked to the Elantrians and to Elantris itself because no where else in the world has AonDor. He thinks it is the secret to maybe fixing them and starts to theorize. Galladon doesn’t see the “empirical” good in it and Raoden questions his use of the word.
20. Sarene gathers the rebel men to explain to them why she thinks they need to help Iadon keep his title of king. Telrii is working with Hrathen. She explains about Iadon’s sunken ships and how Hrathen is aiming to put Telrii on the throne. They are skeptical. Telrii may only appear to have money and he still goes to Shu-Korath services, but Sarene thinks he won’t announce his alignment with Hrathen until he is named king. Rioal agrees with her and helps convince the others that Telrii would be a worse king for them than Iadon. She says their crops should be able to be estimated and she believes they will be surprised at the results. Ahan asks if they could use Father Omin, but the rest of them know it isn’t possible. She says they need to side with Elantris. She plans to go into the city and give the Elantrians food for her widow’s trial. The others are the most open minded men in Kae and they are scared of Elantris. She promises to get in and go in by herself at first. She thinks they are people that are being mistreated. None of them think the king will let her in. Shuden agrees to go in if she does. She goes to the Iadon’s study to ask about going into Elantris. Her father has already promised whatever financial help he might need. The guards try to keep her out, but she goes in anyway. She tells him she knows about his ships being sunk and it is common knowledge he is not doing well financially. She hadn’t realized he was so paranoid. She offers him a trade agreement with Teod in exchange for allowing her to go into Elantris to perform her widow’s trial. He agrees to the arrangement and limits her to 10 people allowed in Elantris excluding guards. When Sarene gets back to her room, Ashe points out she is tidy, but it seems like the maids haven’t been in. She isn’t concerned about it, but he points out she doesn’t really notice the servants and should look into what is going on. Ashe goes out the window and fetches the head maid. When she comes in, she says one of the maids ran away and she didn’t realize Sarene’s room was on her list of duties. She promises it won’t happen again. After she is gone, Sarene hears the noise from her wall again. She looks in the rooms next to hers and realizes there must be a secret passage to the king’s rooms by her wall.
21. Hrathen calls Arteth Thered to his office to offer him the position of head Arteth. Thered declines. He thinks the Derethi arteths are splitting their loyalty. He goes to Dilaf to tell him he needs to deliver a progress report to Wyrn. When Dilaf leaves, Hrathen follows him. He hears Dilaf telling others to get ready to go to Fjordon with him. Hrathen approaches him and points out he told him to go, not others. Dilaf says that he has several odivs. When Hrathen has them name them, there are over 30 (unusually high) and they are Hrathen’s greatest supporters. Hrathen can’t order Dilaf to leave them behind, but if he takes them, Hrathen won’t have the support he needs. And if Dilaf orders them to go and they refuse, they would have to be excommunicated from Shu-Dereth. He tells Dilaf he has changed his mind. He makes his way to the wall of Elantris to look over the city hoping it will clear his mind. An old beggar man asks him for money and a younger one scolds him. Hrathen asks him about begging and the man says he was a carpenter in Elantris, but when the Reod came, he was sent out to the fields. He was too old to be a farmer and ran away. There are a few beggars that live outside of Kae (Iadon doesn’t let them in the city) and they come into the city at night to beg from some of the merchants. Hrathen gives him two bags of money, one for himself and one for the rest of the beggars. When he gets to the top of the wall, Omin joins him there. He asks why Hrathen teaches hatred of the Elantrians when he actually pities them. Omin sees the logic in his preaching, but wonders where his faith is.
22. Raoden keeps getting attacked by Shaor’s men. He decides he needs to go out and find the last remaining leader in Elantris and see what he can do. When he find Shaor, he is surprised to find she is a little girl, the daughter of Telrii. She wore a wig when she was alive and it is still attached to her head. She sits on a sort of throne and is worshiped like a god for the past two year. When she see Raoden and Galladon, she yells for her men to kill them. They get away using a collapsed staircase and make it back to their own sector of Elantris, or New Elantris as it is being called. On the way back, Raoden notices that even marble has softened to the consistency of soapstone. Galladon thinks it is just the way things decay quickly in Elantris, but Raoden thinks there must be a reason for it. Before too long, Mareshe comes to tell them there is an intruder in Elantris that looks like a princess. Raoden goes to see for himself and is surprised to see his wife with a cart full of food. Galladon is excited about the food at first, but Raoden tells him it could ruin everything they have been working for. If the people can get food from her, they will think they don’t need to work to stave off the hunger. She calls out that she wants to speak to the leaders of Elantris: Shaor, Karata, and Aarden. He has Mareshe get a runner to Karata and tells Mareshe he is going to have to practice pretending to be Aarden.
23. Sarene meets with Karata and the fake Aarden. They tells her they killed Shaod to create their new unified leadership. Sarene tells them she has brought food for the people of Elantris, but she understands that could undermine their power because it is how they control the people. She intends to bribe them to allow her to bring food in. Karata gives her a list of basic necessities they need and Sarene agrees. After the princess and her noblemen leave, Raoden tells them they will have ti add to their agreement that he is allowed to oversee the food distribution. He goes to the square where Sarene and the others are unloading the baskets of food. She calls Ahen over to help and he grumbles about it but does as she asks. She is surprised to find Raoden among her people helping with the crates. She slips on the slime of Elantris and he catches her before she falls. After they leave the city, Sarene thinks some of the information Ashe got must be wrong and decides the guards aren’t very good sources for any information on Elantris. She is concerned about Raoden. She knows he is hiding something from her. She wants Ashe to watch him more and find out what it is.
24. Hrathen watches Sarene deliver food inside Elantris from the wall. Others have gathered to see the odd site of the new princess in the forbidden city. Hrathen leaves and is picked up by Telrii’s carriage. He is concerned Sarene’s meddling will throw off their plans. Hrathen is not worried and tells him Elantris was just a small part of his plan. He thinks the people will grow bored of Sarene’s activities in Elantris soon enough. He believes the odds will be in their favor when the accounting comes and Iadon will not be able to prove his riches. Telrii is worried about his new trade agreements with Teod, but Hrathen tells him it won’t be enough to cover the loses from his sunken ships. Telrii doesn’t take him all the way to the chapel and let him out of the carriage telling him to walk the rest of the way. Hrathen starts to wonder if Father Omin was right about his lack of faith. He wonders if he wants to take Arelon peacefully because it is a challenge rather than because of his faith in Jaddeth. When he gets back to the chapel, he finds Dilaf scheming. He realizes when he sent away the ardeths that lacked in faith, he strengthened Dilaf’s hold. He has been around a lot longer and the others are afraid to take up a position over him. Hrathen is uncertain of what he is doing anymore.
25. Raoden continues to oversee Sarene’s efforts to feed the people of Elantris. She seems to hate him less as they work more together. He finds her fascinating and the inks their marriage really would have worked out well. After the princess and her new group of novels leave, Mareshe brings them a sled to haul back the boxes of Karata’s demands. Sarene has been doing everything she can to misunderstand their requests. This time, their request for steel comes in the form of bent nails. Saolin has been injured and he warns Raoden that the guards won’t be able to hold off Shaor’s men from attacking Sarene’s wagons much longer. Most of the food brought in goes to the Hoed that are too gone to move around. Raoden goes to study the AonDor more. He can see Galladon struggling with the farming by himself from his window. They group is down to about 20 people since Sarene started bringing in the food and Galladon now has to do all the work himself. When Galladon comes up to Raoden to say they’ll need some sort of fertilizer to keep the crops going, Raoden explains how he found a passage talking about how a careless mistake from an Elantrian not completing an Aon led to a women having similar symptoms to theirs. Raoden wonders if they aren’t dead, but maybe just not finished. Raoden notices that Galladon knows far more about the city than a person that has only been there a few months should know. He admits his father was an Elantrian and died of heart death shortly after his mother passed. Galladon was in Duladel then, but he never really got in and it seemed fitting when the Shaod took him. The library he keeps to himself was his father’s place. In the middle of the night, Raoden is tossing and turning. Suddenly, he remembers an old man, one of the Hoed, talking about how it used to be so beautiful. He thinks he has an idea and Karata, Galladon, Mareshe, and Saolin follow him. He goes to the hall where the Hoed are kept and finds the old man still talking about how beautiful it was, how beautiful they were. Raoden draws a symbol in the air and the man reaches out for it. He says he wants to be taken somewhere. Raoden carries him and tells Mareshe and Saolin to stay behind in case the others wake up. Raoden, Karata, and Galladon make their way through the streets with the old man leading them with his eyes. They go into a building and Galladon says it was where the Elantrian meetings where and his father never let him go. There is an Aon on the floor. Karata pushes an Aon on the wall that means “open” and pushes it to open the floor to a set of stairs. The end up in a room with Elantrians painted on the walls. There is an oval painted on the wall and the old man says “lake.” Raoden thinks the old man wants to be thrown in the lake. Raoden asks if Galladon had ever seen an Elantrian funeral, but he hadn’t. They find another room full of books. They notice it isn’t covered in slime like everywhere else. Lanterns line the walls and they think AonDor must have been forbidden there. They follow a path for about an hour to exit onto the mountain. The old man looks back and forth until they find another path to climb to a platform. There is a small pool of water and they put him in. He seems to come back to his senses and then he disolves into nothing. Raoden makes Galladon promise to bring him here when the Hoed finally gets him.
26. Sarene leaves Elantris to go back to Kae in the cart that brought the food. She was expecting to ride back with Shuden, but he seems to be enamored by Torena, the only other woman that went into Elantris with them. Ashe tells her the one they call Spriti (Raoden) is the one that is actually in charge. She thinks he is not himself around the others, but is around her. Later at fencing practice, she tells the women they are improving. She dares the women to be strong and go into Elantris with her like Torena did that day. Kiin shows up and tells Sarene her plan to keep Iadon as king has worked for now. She alludes to knowing that Kiin and her father, Eventeo, have been feeding for a long time, but he is not willing to talk about it. She asks if he knows anything about secret passages in the palace and he thinks Iadon is too paranoid not to have any. She goes back to practicing with her sword. Daora comes up to her to warn her against feelings for Shuden. Sarene tries to tell her she doesn’t think of him romantically, but Daora isn’t convinced. She advises Sarene to wait a while before having a discreet affair. She shrugs off the comment and goes back to thinking how to thwart Spirit’s latest requests.
27. Hrathen knows he has lost control of the Derethi church in Kae. He is brought a package. He opens it to find the four vials of poison from Forton. There is a note saying it will take 8 hours to show any symptoms. He had originally planned to give it to Dilaf, but now he takes one himself.
PART TWO: THE CALL OF ELANTRIS
28. Raoden, Karata, and Galladon keep the sacred space and the pool a secret from everyone else. Raoden starts studying the books in the library and starts to understand some things about AonDor, but can’t find any reason why it stopped working. Ien floats around Raoden’s head and Galladon finds it odd the seon stays by him so much. Before Sarene’s scheduled delivery, Saolin tells Raoden they don’t have enough men to keep Shaor’s men away from the square. He plans to use a trap to stop them. Raoden approves, but wonders if it is the right move. When Sarene and the others arrive, he pulls her aside to warn her that something might happen. She starts to think he was just trying to scare her until there are screams and Shaor’s men break through into the square. The princess and nobles back off to the gate with Eondel protecting them with his sword. Sarene is furious that Raoden was keeping them from the food the whole time. Saolin’s legs were crushed in the attack and he has become Hoed. Raoden stays there in the square a long time after Shaor’s men are gone. The gates start to open again.
29. Sarene finds out the king is planning to use her to wipe out Elantris. She goes to his study and yells at him until he writes an order to stop the guards from attacking Elantris. She sends Ashe to tell the guards a new order is on the way. She then sends the actual signed order from the king to be delivered by a guard. She goes to the wall and looks down on the square in Elantris. She sees the bodies of those that were injured still moving. She sees Raoden and is sad she will never see him again. She goes to the only place in Arelon that has given her comfort, her Uncle Kiin’s mansion. When she gets there, she cries and allows him to hug her. Lukel and many others heard about her yelling at the king and is giddy about it. Shuden comes in to tell them who was recently taken by the Shaod.
30. Hrathen wakes to find he is a new Elantrian. He is prepared and taken into Elantris. He stays in the square and prays.
31. Raoden and s shocked that someone from Fjorden was taken by the Shaod. He goes to the square to see the gyorn still has his full basket of food. When Shoar’s men attack, he beats them off and goes back to just sitting with his food. Raoden and Galladon go to the market district and are close to Shaor before her men even notice. They start howling and Raoden and Galladon ignore them. They go before Shaor, who is screaming for food and drop corn in front of her before leaving. A few hours later, one of Shaor’s men comes to Raoden with the corn and says “cook” because it is hard sees corn. Raoden says he won’t cook it for him, but he’ll allow him to cook it himself.
32. Sarene wears dark blue to the ball she convinced Duke Roial to throw for the eclipse. They walk around the gardens. Dilaf is there and they decide they will have to treat him differently than they did Hrathen. Ashe comes to tell Sarene the cook told him he did lose another serving girl that was said to have gone to stay with her brother. She tells Ashe keep watch on Iadon and his party. They find that Telrii has started his own similar exclusive party on the opposite side. Sarene sees Shuden dancing with Torena and she is jealous that she will never get to have that kind of relationship with someone. Roial tells her she is too hard on herself and there are many people in the court that adore her. If she were to take on someone who couldn’t appreciate her, it would be a waste. They find Ahan by the food and his wife is eating a bit of fruit. He comments on his wife getting skinnier because of Sarene’s fencing, but Roial changes the subject. Roial teases him about how he was in on Lukel’s fruit deal and will be making a fortune while Ahan’s fruit rots. They move on and Ashe comes to tell Sarene that Iadon has left. She excuses herself and Roial tries to stop her. She gets outside and Ashe tells her Iadon went into a carriage but exited out the other side immediately. They follow from a distance and end up going down into a sewer tunnel. Sarene slips and ends up sliding right into the middle of Iadon performing the Mysteries. He has cut a woman up to sacrifice her. Sarene screams and Eondel and his men rush in with swords to save her. Ashe admits he contacted Roial’s seon as soon as Sarene started following Iadon. Roial is there and Dilaf followed him there to see the entire scene. The Duke takes her back to his place to get her cleaned up. With Dilaf having seen everything, they don’t have anyway of keeping it quiet. Eondel was taking Iaodon to the jailhouse while Shuden was making sure everyone made it home safely.
33. Hrathen feels that something has changed. He doesn’t notice the eclipse until it starts to lighten again from it ending. He can understand how the Mysteries would include the beautiful moon in their riturals, but still finds it primitive. He eats the food that is going bad in his basket and drinks the wine. He is resolved to keep up his work for Jaddeth’s empire.
34. Shaor’s men bring Raoden the wig of Shaor, but her body is never found. Raoden gives them work to do, but he knows he cannot trust them. His pain is growing and he tries to study AonDor as much as he can and tells Galladon and Karata what he learns. He shows them the Aon Ashe. He reminds them the Elantrians had a bit of a glow to them. That light from the Dor was what sustained the almost imperceptible fungus that coated everything in Elantris. When it died because their light source went away, it became the slime. He hasn’t been able to find a way to make seons (even they are associated with Elantris) only on how famous ones have been passed to new people. Dashe comes to tell them the gyorn has been healed.
35. Sarene uses Ashe to talk to her father. He has already heard about her getting Iadon dethroned after only five weeks in Arelon. Iadon killed himself while in the jailhouse. He wants to bring her back to Teod immediately, but she has no intentions of going back. The rebellious noble men meet with Sarene at Kiin’s mansion. They start trying to think of a way to keep Telrii off the throne. The guards from Elantris have already started abandoning the decaying city to watch over Telrii. Shuden suggests Sarene and Roial marry. Since Iadon is dead, her marriage contract will be void the day of his funeral. With their combined wealth, Roial will have a chance to take over the throne. He promises the marriage will be strictly political knowing he won’t be around too much longer. He intends to put in a new system so she can marry again and birth heirs with her third husband. The prospect of her as well as the throne will make her very desirable. She agrees it is the best option they have and they plan to be married right after Iadon’s funeral in four days. As Roial and Serene leave Kiin’s together, they see Hrathen has left Elantris and been healed.
36. Hrathen is weakened and starts to become delirious from lack of food and water. He passes out and when he wakes up, he finds Forton’s potion has finally worn off and he is back to normal. He goes to the wall, but he notices there aren’t any guards. The captain he has been paying tells him the guards have gone to protect the new king. He lets Hrathen out. He goes into Kae and announces he has been healed. He sees Sarene’s shocked face from the carriage as she drives by and revels in her surprise. When he gets to the chapel, Dilaf is also shocked to see him healed and scolds him for not having enough faith and sends him away. He checks his trunk and finds it has been searched. He finds the box containing the seon and the other three vials of poison. There are scratches on it from someone trying to get in. He opens it and finds two vials have cracked and spilled. He asks the seon if anyone has opened the box since he last spoke to him and the seon says no. Hrathen closes the box, drinks some wine, and passes out. When he wakes up in the dark, he summons a priest named Dothgen who was trained as an assassin at the Rathbore Monastery. He says he needs his services and Dothgen asks for who. Hrathen smiles.
37. Raoden is studying and when the pain overwhelms him and he falls to the ground having a seizure. Karata and Galladon rush to help him, but there is nothing for them to do until the pain passes. Karata tells him that he was glowing. When he is able to tell Galladon what is going on, Galladon tells him that the pain is constant, not in waves as Raoden describes. They realize the Dor is trying to come through him more so than the others. When Elantris fell, the t was the most powerful AonDor users that went first. Raoden reminds them of their promise to take him to the pool when he becomes Hoed.
38. Hrathen has had to move his preaching to the outskirts of the city since the chapel is not big enough anymore. Sarene is suspicious of what happened to him. The patriarch, Seinalan arrives by ship. While Lukel is expecting Sarene to tell him off, they are all surprised when she greets him pleasantly. After the patriarch is in his own carriage into the city, Sarene reminds them she was a diplomat for her father before leaving Teod. Since the queen is under such distress over learning about her husband being involved in the Mysteries and killing himself, Roial takes over the planning for Iadon’s funeral. He plans to have it in the throne room since Father Omin requested not to have it in the Karachi Chapel. Roial decides to reuse the locations and flower arrangements and other decorations for his and Sarene’s wedding right after. After the funeral, Seinalan goes to the front of the room and reads a proclamation Iadon made ten years ago when he first became king saying all titles should be frozen as they are and shall be inherited from then on. While they don’t believe it is likely for this to be defied, Roial and Sarene decide it is best to continue with their plans to marry to solidify Roial’s right to the throne. Roial ordered a traditional Teod funeral, but instead decides to show off some wealth by using carriages instead of having the procession walk (as would be traditional in Teod). Sarene gets ready for the wedding and only hopes that they will be happy. She wears the dress she planned to wear for her first wedding. Her veil isn’t to be lifted until she enters the room where her fiancé is. When she gets there, she enters the throne room and lifts her veil. The gathered crowd is shocked at what they see. Sarene runs to a mirror to find the Shaod has taken her.
39. Hrathen watches the distress of Sarene’s friends as the Karachi priests take her away. He wonders why he feels bad that no one cried the the Shaod took him. He had given Sarene the potion to stop the wedding. While he knows she will return, it will keep her away long enough for Telrii to become king.
40. Raoden and Galladon look for a way to the top of the wall of Elantris. Raoden wants to be able to have people up there so they have a warning if anything comes for them. A man, Tenrao, runs up to tell them someone new has been put into Elantris. Raoden goes to the gate and finds Dashe watching over the newcomer. He says she is a fiesty one and threw her offering basket at the gate. Raoden approaches her and is suprised to find Sarene. She isn’t sure if she can trust him, but she doesn’t have much choice. Previously, she wanted to but knew she shouldn’t. He tells her she never really gave him a chance. He tells her to come with him and she does.
41. As Raoden shows Sarene around the city, she starts to realize why Raoden wanted to keep the newly organized New Elantris. She sees the supplies she sent them in use and feels bad for being petty when she sent them. She is given new clothes and a wrap to cover up her hair loss. She sees Taan make a horse sculpture out of rock with one of the bent nails and give it to a child. He shows her the crops and how they used the rotten fish she sent as fertilizer. She tries to place who Raoden was, but he tells her he was the son of a lower noble from the south. He has a sudden sweep of pain and falls the ground in a seizure. Sarene holds him on the ground and she asks if that is normal. He admits it is something that just happens to him and has to do with AonDor. She asks him to teach her about it. Later that night, Sarene is cold though she knows she shouldn’t be now that she is an Elantrian. Ashe comes to her and tells her he has been searching for her since he found out what happened. She is surprised he still seems to be normal despite what is supposed to happen to a seon after their master has been taken by the Shaod. She tells him to go and check on her friends and tell them he found her, but not anything about what he has seen in there. Before he leaves, Ashe tells Sarene her father wants to talk to her. She allows it. Eventeo wants to get her out of Elantris immediately, but she refuses to leave Arelon. Eventeo asks Ashe to keep watch over Sarene and contact him if she is hurt. He tells her to warn her friends that he will destroy any ship that approaches Teod.
42. Hrathen is happy to be back in control of the Derethi take over. Dilaf begrudgingly backed down and released many of his odivs from their vows and gives them the less demanding position of krondet. Dilaf still wants to preach against Elantris, but there isn’t a point anymore. They can deal with Elantris after they take over Arelon. He also has plans for Teod.
43. Galladon shows Raoden a set of stairs he has found that lead to the top of the wall. They go up to find a barricade at the top and break it down with an axe. Galladon tells Raoden he has been trying to get him to come up there for three days, but he has been spending all of his time with Sarene. Raoden points out that she is his wife and wants to find out if there is anything between them before he tells her who he really is. They look out and see a flag and the missing guards at Telrii’s house. The go through the city to the underground library where Sarene has been reading. She started out studying AonDor, but quickly found the political books section and moved on to those. She shows them the original poem written about Wyrn, who was just a minor diety and how the Fjordens changed it to suite their religion. Raoden tells her about the guards at Telrii’s mansion. She tells them about Iadon being caught in a sacrifice for the Mysteries and hanging himself a few days later. Raoden is shocked.
44. Raoden is shocked by the news and Sarene realizes she was a bit blunt in the delivery of the news. She goes back and tells Raoden what has been going on in Kae. She thinks he seems very familiar with the city’s politics and her friends for a lowly nobleman from the south. He tells her he has been in Elantris around a year. She is sure he is keeping secrets from her, but she isn’t sure what they are. When she tells him she was going to marry Roial for political reasons, he is surprised and asked if they was the only reason she was going to marry Raoden. She tells him it is and he seems disappointed. He wishes they could have contact with the people in Kae and Sarene reveals Ashe. She asks him to check on what has been going on. After a bit, Ashe returns to tell them Telrii has already been made king.
45. Hrathen watches Elantris hoping Sarene is alright. He hasn’t been able to see her since she entered Elantris and he knows how dangerous it can be. He needs her to survive it. A seon comes to him and tells him King Eventeo of Teod wants to speak with him. Hrathen agrees and the seon turns into Eventeo’s face. The king asks Hrathen to heal his daughter. Hrathen feigns ignorance and says only Jaddeth can do that. Eventeo promises to convert to Shu-Dereth if she is healed. Hrathen says he will do what he can to persuade Jaddeth and the connection is ended.
46. Raoden knew his father wasn’t a good person, but he was still his father and he mourns him. Down in the library, Raoden, Sarene, and Galladon continue their studies. Raoden tries to use AonDor. He starts to wonder if there is something wrong with the land. Sarene tells him they are connected because she was taught each AonDor symbol starts by drawing Arelon. Galladon pulls out a map and compares them. He confirms what she says. Raoden looks at her and is surprised to find she is healing. He realizes she never was an Elantrian and Hrathen never was either. She refuses to leave and he doesn’t want her to go. He convinces her that Arelon needs her out of Elantris. If the Derethi take over, they will come to destroy Elantris soon. The few remaining guards come to pull her out of the city and she hugs Raoden before she goes.
47. Kiin and Eondel are there to great Sarene as she is brought out of the gate. When Hrathen confronts her, Eondel puts his sword to the gyorn’s neck. Hrathen takes the sword easily and breaks it. Sarene tells him she knows he was the one that made her appear as an Elantrian and she is surprised at the devotion he has gone to. He tells her he is going to take Teod thanks to her. She is taken to Kiin’s house and he feeds her. The others are surprised at how much she eats. She explains there isn’t much food in Elantris. Sarene points out to the others that she was in Elantris the same amount of time as Hrathen and she thinks he, not the Shaod, is behind it. She is brought a wig and told that Aon following tradition they already burned all of her things. Ahan is at the palace trying to gain their group some favor with the new king. Sarene tells them she is still Raoden’s wife and she wants them to rule for the people rather than have another king that doesn’t care about them while Hrathen pulls his strings. They all agree. As the men are leaving, Roial asks if there is any reason to continue with their marriage. She tells him there isn’t and he admits he is a bit disappointed. When everyone else is gone, Sarene asks Kiin if she can stay with him. He tells her Daora is already making up a room for her. She is disappointed to learn her father converted to Shu-Derethi and is only waiting on the arrival of a priest in Teod to make the final vows. She bows he will not go back on his word. He taught her even a losing battle is worth fighting if you are in the right side. She feels conflicted that he loves her enough to go against that. She feels more pressure to save Arelon now that it is the last place for Shu-Korathi and free from Fjorden rule.
48. Hrathen finds it odd how much Telrii has changed the palace in the few days since he has taken it over. He goes into what used to be Iadon’s study to meet with him. When Hrathen reminds Telrii of his promises to convert to Shu-Dereth, Telrii says he didn’t make any promises. Hrathen warns him that he can be replaced just as easily as Iadon, but Telrii points out that was Sarene’s doing, not his. Telrii says he is willing to convert if his Derethi title matches his Arelon title. He has sent a letter to Wyrn asking him to make him a gyorn. Hrathen doesn’t tell him that he has made a massive mistake.
49. Raoden waits a few days before returning to the library because it reminds him of Sarene. The Dor is now attacking him twice a day and he isn’t sure how much longer he has. He goes back to the library to continue trying to figure out AonDor. Galladon suggests that something must have changed. Raoden remembers the chasm and incorporates it into the symbol for Ene (fire). A fireball bursts out and sets a book case on fire. They clean it up and try another another one. The Aons seem to work as long as they don’t try to use them on themselves. None are as powerful as the first one and they wonder if it is because there was a build up of Dor waiting to be let out. Raoden uses an Aon to put a disguise over himself. It doesn’t change him physically, but works like a mask. He says that is how they will get out of Elantris.
50. Ashe tells Sarene he couldn’t find Spirit in Elantris. Fencing practice has been moved to Roial’s gardens since Telrii has taken over the palace. Sarene is surprised that the other women still want to fence. While they are practicing, two Duladen men come up. One, Kaloo says he was to meet with King Iadon about taking over a Baron’s holdings. He made an appointment with the new king, but was told he wouldn’t be able to see him for a week. He flirts with Sarene and she is suspicious of him. She challenges him to spar with him and tosses him a sharp saye rather than one with the round tip. They start, but Kaloo mostly avoids her. When she is able to strike him, he lets out a small yelp. He ends up on his knees and gives her a yellow flower telling her he was never able to attack a lady. She looks for the spot where she struck him in the face with her blade, but there isn’t a cut. He gives her a smile, and she finds it familiar somehow.
51. Hrathen tried to contact Wyrn before Telrii’s letter got to him, but he was too late. He knew Wyrn would not put up with such a fool as Telrii or promote a foreigner to gyorn. He walks through the market noticing everyone waiting on their new king to make a decision. Hrathen sees a flash of red cloth go into a merchant’s tent and goes inside to find incense and Dilaf. The arteth tells Hrathen that he has failed and Dilaf has his victory.
52. Galladon gives Raoden stitches from where Sarene cut his face. They are staying in a room at Roial’s house. He says Raoden was lucky he was able to fight at all and Raoden admits it wasn’t easy. He is now trying to work his way into his own group’s secret meetings that he started. Roial comes to the room to tell Kaloo that he was able to sell his gold knobs and put the money into a bank account for him. Raoden suggests he find a place to stay now that he has money, but the Duke tells him to stay. Roial sees through the foolish act and has picked up on the hints he has been dropping. Roial tells him to meet him at Kiin’s house that night.
53. Everyone is surprised when they meet at Kiin’s mansion and Kaloo is there, especially Sarene. Roial convinces them they need him and a fresh perspective. Ahan is late and end up leaving early. They talk about if they could convince Telrii not to convert to Shu-Dereth, but they all know he is just waiting to see how much he can get for the conversion. Kaloo suggests they depend on the people who are clearly not backing Telrii fully. They are ready for a new system and real leadership. Sarene recognizes the hopefullness and calls for a break. She goes outside and Raoden joins her. He admits he is Spirit and that he is still Elantrian, just with a disguise. He tells her she helped him figure out how to use AonDor by pointing out the use of the land. They go back in before the others can become suspicious. They all decide Telrii will have to be killed. Roial has already called in Fjorden assassins (some are less religious about their god and more so about gold). Ahan returns and has brought Telrii to them. Rather than arresting Roial, Telrii orders him killed and Roial is run through with a sword. He then threatens to take Sarene first. Kiin tries to tend to the wound while Raoden reveals himself making it look like he wiped away his Duladel makeup with a cloth. He points out that Iadon’s family is still the ruling family. Telrii is shocked and leaves with his men. Raoden tries to use AonDor to heal Roial, but he doesn’t know the proper ones to target the fatal wound. Roial is relieved to see him return and says he can die in peace now.
54. Hrathen hears the rumors going around about Roial’s death and the return of Raoden. He doesn’t believe the dead prince has actually returned, but that Sarene has found a doppelgänger. Hrathen goes to the king’s study and waits to be seen. When he asks a guard to see if the king would see him. But he can see the chaos going on in the room. Eondel kills Telrii. Hrathen knows he cannot avoid a violent change in power.
PART THREE: THE SPIRIT OF ELANTRIS
55. Raoden feels odd seeing Elantris from the outside. He and Sarene spend some time together on top of Kiin’s house. She is surprised she hadn’t figured it out. His current AonDor mask was created the best he could based on his Elantrian appearance. He was wearing both at the meeting, one attached to his jacket and the other to his shirt so he could switch them quickly. He asks if she is still willing to be married to him and she is. They plan to make it official as soon as possible. He tells her Karata is watching over new Elantris, but it pretty much runs itself now. He sent Galladon back that morning to teach the others how to use AonDor. She asks him to show her his real face and he does. She apologizes for cutting him when she didn’t realize who he was. Sarene looks at the palace and wonders what is going on. Raoden uses a Aon for them to both get a closer look. They see both Telrii and Eondel’s bodies being carried outside.
56. While they are sad about Eondel’s death, Raoden is looking at everything from the viewpoint of a leader. They have lost two allies that very night and the people have lost two kings in a short time as well. Shuden not only lost his best friend, but one of their own, Ahan (the father of the woman he loves, Torena), has turned out to be a traitor. Torena has disappeared and Shuden hasn’t been able to find her. When the guards start to approach the house, Kiin prepares to fight them off. Raoden asks him to hold off until they say what they want. The guards ask if Raoden has really returned because they are in need of a king. They are all relieved and Raoden says he wants his coranation to be done within the hour to prevent anything else from stoping it. He asks the patriarch ti perform the ceremony and he agrees. Right as Raoden is about to be crowned, he feels something attacking his disguise. The room is shocked and he knows it is gone. He looks at where the attack came from and sees Dilaf in the crowd. Sarene steps in to tell them they shouldn’t judge him because he is an Elantrian, but allow him to lead because he is the best choice. They crowd agrees and she puts the crown in his head. After the coronation is complete, he asks Sarene about Dilaf. She says he is just one of Hrathen’s priests who is known for his hatred of Elantris, but he isn’t so sure. He asks her to borrow Ashe to send a message to Galladon to be ready, but he isn’t sure for what.
57. Hrathen watches Raoden enter the throne room. He wonders where she found him and why she seems to adore him. He wonders why he is jealous. He knows it won’t be long before the Derethi come with ti take over the nation. He is surprised when Raoden’s mask drops. He sees Dilaf leave and agrees with his disgust of the people’s acceptance of Raoden. He follows Dilaf who isn’t careful about where he is going. There are tents and men start to pour out of them. The Fjorden attack is going to happen a month early. The Fjorden merchants are actually warriors, Dakho rmonks.
58. Raoden and Sarene plan to go back to Kiin’s, but Raoden starts to hear screaming. The demon-like creatures start to attack the guards. Dilaf attacks Raoden and punches him in the stomach. He tells the others to bring him. Sarene goes to Hoid with boxes. Hoid, a beggar, and his men have spent a decade trying to avoid Iadon’s rule. She sends Ashe to tell Galladon the boxes of swords and bows are on their way. She is excited to be reunited with Raoden. Her carriage stops and she can hear screaming and smell smoke. She sees the strange warriors killing everyone. She yells at the driver to turn around, but it is too late. Sarene tries to run to Kiin’s house, but is caught. Lukel and Kiin come to her rescue. She is surprised to find her uncle fighting with an axe. He kills the demon with it. Lukel grabs her to get her back to the house. They collapse the entryway. Shuden and Torena are already there. Kiin is upset that he used the axe he swore he would never pick again. She realizes he was the pirate that had threatened to take over Teod. He tells her the truth is that his little brother stole the throne from him when he was out traveling the world. Hrathen questions why Dilaf is killing all of them. Wyrn and Gragdat are the only positions about gyorn. He is from the Decor order of the Bone. Each mark on him gives him a different ability. Hrathen had tried to join the monestary, but he couldn’t take it transferred soon after. Dilaf was Fjorden the entire time and pretended to be from Arelon. He says Hrathen was to tell the city their end was coming, not to save them. Wyrn has always planned to destroyed Kae. Hrathen doesn’t understand how they can condemn the people who doesn’t even know Jaddeth. Dilaf plans to slaughter them to make them an example for the other nations.
59. Raoden can feel the pain, but it is nothing compared to the Dor attacks. Dilaf has brought him to the base of Kiin’s house and he hopes Sarene is safe. Dilaf calls out to Sarene and she has to see Raoden. Kiin takes her to the roof and the monks appear around the house. Dilaf tells Hrathen to get his seon and he tells the seon he wants to speak to Eventeo. Dilaf introduces himself. He says he will be in Teod soon and will expect a complete surrender. He will kill the king and burn the ships so Wyrn can use the country as a battleground. Hrathen doesn’t understand he would kill so many when Eventeo already promised to convert. Raoden stumbles to Sarene. Dilaf sees him and he puts his sword through Raoden’s stomach. The pain is too much and he can’t do anything else. There is nothing left of him. Sarene screams and he says he failed his love in a hoed mantra. They have already started attacking the Elantrians. He tells them to say the purification rights and burn them. Sarene is taken away and she watches Raoden as long as she can.
60. Galladon arrives to find Raoden as one of the Hoed. He and Karata came out of the library to find everyone else already Hoed and came to find Raoden. They start to carry him to the pool to do what they promised they would. Lukel goes quietly. Kiin fights, but they are being taken to their deaths. Hrathen watches as the monk in the center of their circle is sacrificed to transport them to Teod. He can see Dilaf won’t rest until Arelene people were gone completely. He sees Sarene’s angry face. The ships are pulling into the bay. He says they are early and will wait. Galladon walks through the city and ignores the quiet death around him. He wishes he hadn’t given into Raoden’s hope, but he still continues to hope Raoden will still come through and save them all. Lukel is taken with his family. He tries to convince his wife to leave them, but she refuses. In the distance, he can see Shuden doing the dance he showed off in Sarene’s first fencing lesson. Shuden plans to go down fighting. Lukel grabs a chair leg and decides he will fight with his friend. Raoden feels like he is floating along and can see some things around him, but if he gets too close to consciousness, the pain becomes too much and he retreats. Dilaf is 70 years old. After 40 years in Dakhor, he took her to Elantris to heal her. The healing was done wrong and the pain was so much she threw herself off the city wall. He found her still alive. He burned her and she never stopped screaming. He says she will scream until Elantris is gone. Galladon and Karata make it to the top of the mountain and decide to rest before they sink into the pool and oblivion. A pile of bodies are made of Elantrians. Adeon goes up to the soldiers and is cut across the chest. He joins the pile of Elantrians and his secret of five years is revealed. Dilaf remembers Hrathen coming to the monestary and leaving. Dilaf was the one that convinced him to leave when he used one of his own monks to transport himself to Wyrn. He now plans to kill Eventeo. Raoden sees Aon Rao meaning Spirit. He tries to ignore it, but images keep popping up in his head. He sees the roads leading into Elantris and has figured out what he needs to do. The soldiers start to pour fuel on the fire. Lukel tells his family not to look. Eventeo thinks he is surrendering his country, not giving it over for a slaughter. Dilaf holds Sarene and has a blade pressed into the gagged princess’ back. He plans to kill her in front of Eventeo and then kill him. Raoden throws himself back into awareness. He is being pulled towards the pool. He screams and Galladon drops him. Raoden tries to steady himself, but falls into the pool.
61. Hrathen punches Dilaf in the face to stop him from killing Sarene. Dilaf tries to kill Hrathen, but his armor protects him. He yells for Eventeo to save his people. He promises to help Sarene while he saves Teod. The pool is welcoming, but Raoden can’t yet. The warriors finish preparing them Elantrians for burning. Shuden stats his attack on the monks with his eyes closed. Lukel sees he has a slight glow to him. He grabs his table leg and hits the soldier. He grabs the man’s sword though he doesn’t know how to use it. Hrathen is a master swordsman and holds the monks off, but there are too many. Eventeo’s honor guard joins the fray. They go into a building. Raoden crawls out of the pool. It cannot take him unless he wants it to. The rest of the town watches Luke and Shuden fight. Sarene’s fencers start to join in the fight. Shuden is knocked out. The former queen is run through the chest and the rest of the women drop their weapons. Raoden runs down the mountain and Galladon tries to keep up. Sarene and Hrathen hide in a cellar with a terrified family. They leave after the monks are gone and Sarene tells the family to stay there as long as possible. Hrathen takes off his armor until he is just down to pants and a sleeve on his arm. Sarene asks him why and he says Dilaf is a monster and while he believes in Jaddeth, he cannot abide these massacres. Raoden is banged up on his way down. He has to perform a single task before he kisses his mind again. He goes between Elantris and the city on the southern side. Lukel has a gash on his leg that his wife binds up. A torch is tossed onto the Elantrians. Raoden runs ahead towards the city gate. He grabs a stick and drags it behind him. Galladon and Karata follow to help however they can. Karata notices guards and they agree to keep Raoden going. Raoden can feel he is heading to the right place. He keeps the stick steady and a hand grabs him. He keeps dragging the stick. Karata is beheaded and Galladon gets swords in his stomach. Light explodes from the ground where Raoden had drawn. The Dor washes over him like a liquid and the pain goes away. It follows around and goes along the road to Elantris and the surrounding five cities. The entire structure was an Aon that just needed the chasm line. The Shaod finally completes. He emerges from the light as a true Elantrian to find Galladon with silver skin as well. Lukel and his family prepare for death while Father Omin prays for them. The light explodes from Elantris. The pyre of corpses become the full Elantrians and emerge from the fire. One monk tries to attack, but Raoden sends an attack at him and kills him. The Derethi give up and Raoden give an hour to get out. He tells the people Elantris is restores. Lukel faints. Dilaf sends the monks after Hrathen and the princess. He is confident he will still take Teod.
62. Hrathen still believes in god, but not Wyrn. He realizes he can no longer excuse his actions in Duladel. He plans to get Sarene out of the country and into hiding. She doesn’t want to leave, but he tells her Dilaf will never leave if she doesn’t. Fjon kills Hrathen, his new job from Wyrn. AonDor is back and Raoden heals Lukel’s leg. Raoden cannot find Sarene, Dilaf, or Hrathen. Arelon is restored and Fjorden is leaving. Ashe finds Raoden and tells him she is in Teoras in Teod. Sarene tries to escape in the crowd without getting too close to Dilaf. Raoden gets to the top of the wall while the people kneel before him. He ignores them and looks out over to Teod. He demands Ashe tells her the exact direction if Teoras. Galladon tries to stop him because of how dangerous it is. Raoden has no idea how far it is and he knows he can’t do it. Galladon yells out to have a ship prepared. Adeon, now fully Elantrian, tells him exactly how far it is to Teoras. Ashe says she is in the shire trying to get to the docks. Adeon gives him the number of steps to get there. He draws the Aon to travel. He prays to Domi to get him to the right place. Dilaf and the monks start to close in on Sarene. A flash of light appears and Raoden runs to Sarene. Dilaf attacks him, but Raoden sends a bolt of light at him sending him flying back. He grabs Sarene and draws another Aon to try to get them back, it the Aons are weaker as he gets farther from Elantris. Dilaf finds them, but waits for the others to catch up. They are vastly outnumbered. The other Elantrians arrive and send a wave of destruction towards the monks. Dilaf sees his men torn apart, but he doesn’t join them. He still wants revenge. He is attacked across the back. But his carvings protect him. Dilaf goes after Eventeo and Sarene sends Raoden after him. Dilaf attacks Raoden as soon as he enters the alley. Raoden is cut across the arm, but is nothing compared to his previous pain. Raoden makes a door of light. Dilaf’s sword cannot get through it, but Dilafms hand is able to shatter it. Dilaf stabs his hand and kicks his ribs. Sarene attacks with a sword, but he is able to block her. Dilaf’s sword pieces her shoulder and she falls next to Raoden. Dilaf is ready to kill them. Hrathen comes up behind Dilaf and attacks. The skin beneath his sleeve has the signs of a Dekor monk and the same benefits. Hrathen starts to strangle Dilaf. Hrathen’s arm starts to glow and he lifts Dilaf off the ground. Hrathen snaps his neck and tosses the body aside. He then dies himself. Galladon finds them and helps heal them. Sarene checks on Hrathen and finds he is dead though he should have died king before. Galladon says the Armada and Eventeo both survived the attack. Ashe called ahead to make sure Raoden made it before the rest of them made the jump. Sarene tells them they need to explain what is going on.
63. Raoden and Sarene prepare for their wedding. She won’t let him out of her sight until they are married. The ceremony drags on and Raoden lets his mind wander to the bones of the monks. Wyrn somehow found a way to use AonDor. His seon doesn’t remember his time of madness. He plans to study them more. He also wonders about Shuden’s glowing dance. He worries about how many ways there are to access the Dor. Sarene elbows him to bring him back to the ceremony. They exchange vows and gifts and are officially married.
EPILOGUE
Raoden now rules from Elantris. He outlaws surfdoms. The people still want a system, so he lets the people keep their titles. The nobility becomes less aristocratic and more food distributors. Sarene plans to get answers from her father about what happened between him and Kiin. They pass several graves of men they loved and hated. The last grave she comes to is for Hrathen. She admits she did. It know him or his internal conflict. She tells them to remember him as the hero that saved Arelon, Teod, Raoden and herself. Hrathen’s armor, cape, and sword are stacked there. He was their savior.