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Six Crimson Cranes 1
Elizabeth Lim
Summary from SuperSummary
1. Shiori’anma Hanriyu, affectionately called Shiori, is the princess of Kiata and the emperor’s only daughter. She dreads the idea of being betrothed to Lord Bushian’s son, Lord Takkan, because she wants her freedom and does not want to move from the capital, Gindara, to the Far North. Magic is forbidden in Kiata, but Shiori recently discovered her own magic when she enchanted a paper crane she folded. While Shiori’s brother Hasho escorts her to the betrothal ceremony, the bird, Kiki, escapes Shiori’s sleeve and Shiori chases after it, diving into the nearby Sacred Lake. Her heavy robes weigh her down and she begins to drown, and the last thing she sees before losing consciousness is a small dragon holding Kiki between its claws.
2. Shiori wakes up in her bed to Hasho covering for her, claiming that a snake scared her away. Her six brothers, father, and stepmother Raikama (which literally means “The Nameless Queen”) scold her for missing the ceremony, as it caused great shame to the Bushians. When Shiori mentions the small dragon, her brothers do not believe her, but Raikama seems momentarily disturbed by the news. Shiori begrudgingly agrees to embroider an elaborate tapestry as an apology gift for the Bushians, even though it means she will miss the upcoming Summer Festival. Raikama notices Kiki hidden under Shiori’s hand and rips up the paper bird. Alone with Shiori, Hasho recommends she not try to reanimate Kiki, so she does not risk being exiled from Kiata and encourages her to make peace with Raikama.
3. Time moves slowly for Shiori as she works on her despised embroidery. She spends her days ignoring Raikama, who frequently criticizes her stitching. Raikama does not allow Shiori to attend the Summer Festival, but when the emperor arrives for his consort, he lets Shiori go after she promises to work on her relationship with her stepmother. Shiori meets her brothers in the park and indulges in the abundant food, while her brothers prepare for the annual kite-flying competition. On a walk with Hasho, Shiori strikes up a friendly conversation with one of the emperor’s warlords, Lord Yuji, and Shiori reflects on her preference for marrying one of his sons. While wandering through the food carts, Shiori notices a peculiar boy with a dragon mask and red eyes, who trips Hasho and runs off with Shiori’s food.
4. Shiori chases the dragon-mask boy and confronts him, where he gleefully eats her food. She finally recognizes him as the dragon from the Sacred Lake, and he introduces himself as Seryu, “Prince of the Easterly Seas and most favored grandson of the Dragon King” (38). Shiori tries denying that magic does not exist in Kiata, but Seryu explains that rare Kiatans are born with it and offers to help her practice her skills. Torn between her family, who are partaking in the kite ceremony, and the possibility of magic, Shiori chooses to stay with Seryu. The first thing he teaches her is that walnut wood possesses concealment properties and can hide enchanted things. Shiori continues to meet with Seryu every day that week, and he teaches her how to animate things by imbuing them with her soul. This process requires her to think of joyful memories, so she reminisces about cooking and singing with her mother. Seryu recognizes that magic exhilarates Shiori, but warns her that one day, her magic will be dangerous.
5. Shiori decides to enchant her embroidery needles to finish her tapestry faster, and while she succeeds, the sustained magic costs her energy. In private, Raikama warns her to stay away from the dragon in the Sacred Lake. The next time Shiori meets with Seryu, he mentions that dragons and snakes are related, which reminds Shiori of the time she tried to steal one of Raikama’s pet snakes—the event that Shiori believes caused Raikama to start hating her. Seryu reveals that he implanted part of his dragon pearl into Shiori’s heart to keep her alive in the lake, which allows them to communicate telepathically. Shiori successfully reanimates her paper crane Kiki, and the two can also communicate telepathically now. Before Seryu leaves for a prolonged trip to another part of the dragon realm, he reveals that Raikama is a powerful sorceress, but since she is not native to Kiata, her magic must come from another source. Seryu further advises Shiori to keep her dragon pearl fragment a secret, because enchanters covet pure forms of magic.
6. After finishing the tapestry, Shiori returns to her usual responsibilities, which she tries to avoid. She spies on Raikama, to confirm anything about her magic, but only witnesses her daily routine. One day, she finds Raikama’s missing golden sash floating in the Sacred Lake, and brings it to her as requested. Shiori notices that her stepmother’s eyes glint with gold as she commands her to get the sash cleaned. The next morning, Shiori’s new maid, Guiya, informs her that Raikama took the sash. Shiori sneaks into Raikama’s private garden to find out what she plans to do with the sash. Shiori follows Raikama down a magical staircase through a pond, following a ball of red thread. She recognizes that they have arrived near the Holy Mountains, and that a magical pool is filling with the legendary tears of the goddess Emuri’en. Raikama recites a spell as she dips the sash in the pool, reciting the names of the royal children. As she speaks Shiori’s name, the water turns black, seven serpents appear, and Raikama’s face transforms into that of a snake. She spots Shiori and tries to wipe her memory, but Shiori runs away with the ball of thread.
7. Shiori commands the thread to lead her back to the castle, and she rushes to warn her brothers. Her brothers do not believe her, and Raikama arrives, commanding the boys to leave. Shiori convinces them that Raikama is enchanting them, and they finally believe that Raikama is a demon. Raikama admits that Shiori discovered her secret and transforms the six brothers into crimson cranes (as they were named after the first six stars of the Crane constellation, with Shiori being the “knot” that holds them together). She also enchants Guiya, Shiori’s maid, and Shiori notices that Guiya has black powder in her hand. Raikama curses Shiori to silence, warning her that any sound will cost one of her brothers his life. She also forbids her from revealing her identity through writing and places a walnut bowl over her head before Shiori becomes unconscious.
8. Shiori wakes up in an unrecognizable place and realizes Raikama has banished her to a northern island. She also realizes that the walnut bowl has been magically fused to her head, preventing anyone from seeing her full face. She spots six cranes flying overhead and yells and throws her slipper at them to get their attention. The birds, which turn out to be swans, suddenly die and crash onto the beach, and six serpents slither out from the bodies to warn Shiori of her curse. Shiori weeps with despair, but finally calms down to make a plan. She finds Kiki in her pocket, who reassures her. Together, they find the island’s only village of Tianyi, where she spends three days silently begging for food or money, but everyone ignores her because of her strange bowl. Desperate, she tries to steal a fishing boat to escape the island, but the boat’s owner, Mrs. Dainan, catches her, and knocks her out with a fishing pole.
9. Mrs. Dainan, the woman whose boat Shiori tried to steal, forces Shiori to work for her at the Sparrow Inn, where she names the silent princess Lina. Despite Shiori’s desire to escape, the exhausting labor and her lack of resources lead to her working there for two months. Mrs. Dainan is angry and unkind but protects Shiori from the inn’s belligerent patrons. While Kiki spends the two months flying around, searching for news of Shiori’s brothers, Shiori cooks her mother’s fish soup and does other menial tasks at the inn. Shiori cannot use her magic anymore, and often dreams of her brothers. One night, a dream of Raikama ordering the palace guards to shoot her six crane-brothers motivates Shiori to escape.
10. The next morning, Shiori asks Mrs. Dainan for money, but the latter strikes her and threatens to sell her to a brothel. A sentinel arrives at the inn, recruited to search for the royal children. Despite Shiori’s nosiness, the sentinel is kind and compliments her soup. That evening, Shiori rifles through his belongings, searching for money. She finds her slipper (which she threw at swans in Chapter 8), and an A’landan letter discussing the poison Four Breaths, the missing royal children, and a plan to meet with the Wolf. The sentinel catches Shiori snooping but does not punish her. She tries to write her name, but invisible serpents warn her against it. She mimes out that she needs money to leave the island, and he gives her a silver coin.
11. A second sentinel arrives at the inn the next morning while Shiori makes soup, threatening Mrs. Dainan and the other guests. When he notices Shiori, he hits her head with his sword and accuses her of being a demon. The first sentinel defends her, and from their exchange, she realizes the two are cousins and that the second sentinel is Lord Takkan, her betrothed. Takkan has arrived to take his cousin back to Iro, and Shiori declines the cousin’s offer to bring her with them. Before the cousin departs, he offers Shiori a charm with the Bushian crest (which allows access to Castle Bushian) and relinquishes his dagger at her request. Shiori prepares some supplies to leave, pondering the kind sentinel’s name.
12. With her money, Shiori buys a boat and heads south. She tries to summon Seryu to no avail and spends nine days at sea folding kelp into cranes. Finally, on Kiata’s shores, Kiki acts as a translator for the forest animals and informs Shiori that the birds have not seen her crane-brothers. Shiori decides to row down the Baiyun River, where a beaver warns her and Kiki of danger. Just as Shiori is about to tumble over a waterfall, her brothers swoop down and save her.
13. Shiori’s brothers drop her off at their mountain cave. Each night, they painfully transform into their human forms again, which can be dangerous if they are mid-flight. Everyone is excited to see her, except for Reiji, who blames their misfortunes on Shiori and her magic. He eventually calms down, and the siblings try to celebrate their reunion despite the melancholic mood. The next day, the brothers return with supplies, and Shiori writes them questions in the mud. The brothers found out that Raikama’s magic is powered by a dragon pearl, and Shiori has to steal it to defeat her and break their curses.
14. The brothers met an A’landan enchanter named Master Tsring, who explained what they must do to defeat Raikama. On Mount Rayuna, in the middle of the Taijin Sea, Shiori will have to collect a legendary plant called starstroke, and then weave a net from the fibers. The enchanter gave the brothers an enchanted satchel of walnut wood to collect the starstroke and requests the net after they use it in exchange for his help. Shiori explains the true reason she is forbidden to speak, and the brothers finally tell her the last step of breaking the curse: Once she secures the dragon pearl, she has to speak Raikama’s true name, meaning one of her brothers will die. The brothers are all willing to make this sacrifice and are additionally motivated to break the curse now that Kiata is at war with A’landi. Shiori recalls the information she read in the kind sentinel’s secret letter and learns that the Wolf is a “treacherous” enchanter bound to the leader of northern A’landi.
15. The brothers transport Shiori in a basket to Mount Rayuna, a volcano protected by the Dragon King. Shiori convinces her brothers to let her summit the volcano alone, so as to not put them at risk too. As she approaches a clump of starstroke, a plant created by the gods to control dragons’ power, Shiori’s dragon pearl fragment causes her immense pain. Despite the excruciating pain of pulling out the plants, Shiori is motivated by saving her father and brothers as well as defeating Raikama. Seryu arrives and advises Shiori to leave the mountain, and Shiori telepathically explains why she needs starstroke. He concludes that Raikama’s dragon pearl must be stolen and promises to distract his grandfather to allow Shiori to leave the mountain safely.
16. Shiori’s crane-brothers rescue Shiori from a landslide, and they realize the Dragon King, King Nazayun, is after the stolen starstroke. He summons a terrible storm as the siblings fly across the sea, but Shiori convinces her brothers to drop her onto the dragon’s head. She telepathically explains to Nazayun why she needs the starstroke, and reveals her own sliver of dragon pearl, promising to return the nettles when they defeat Raikama. Nazayun dives into the surrounding sea, allowing the brothers to catch Shiori in their basket and fly to safety. With dusk approaching, Shiori sends her fastest brother, Benkai, to shore with the satchel of starstroke. The other brothers start to transform while still flying over the sea, crashing into the water with Shiori. They all survive the fall and reunite on the shore, where they notice how wounded Shiori’s hands are from the starstroke. For the first time, they all bow to her with respect. Shiori looks up at the night sky to identify any familiar constellations, and sees the Crane, which comprises seven stars—a symbol for the seven siblings.
17. The siblings keep themselves busy in the cave that winter, making plans for defeating Raikama and teaching Shiori how to fight. While the brothers are away during the day, Shiori figures out how to transform the starstroke into workable material, and practices holding them to toughen her hands. The brothers decide to spend a week in the South to learn more about Raikama’s past, and forbid Shiori from meeting Seryu or leaving the cave. However, Shiori immediately heads for a river to summon Seryu. While waiting, a snake addresses Shiori and warns her “not to interfere with [Raikama’s] spell,” because “there are events in motion [she does] not understand” (174). As she flees the snake, Shiori stumbles over a dead body. Sentinels attack Shiori, and she recognizes the leader as Takkan, but wearing different armor. “Takkan” again accuses Shiori of being a demon and asks where Takkan is. His fellow soldiers refer to him as Hasege, and Shiori realizes that the kind sentinel was the true Takkan, who concealed his identity. Shiori tries to escape, but Hasege captures her when he sees that she has Takkan’s dagger. Another soldier recognizes the emblem that grants her safe passage into Castle Bushian, but Hasege accuses Shiori of stealing it and knocks her unconscious.
18. Shiori spends five days in a dungeon at Castle Bushian before Lady Bushian moves her to another room to interrogate her. On the way, they run into Megari, Takkan’s 10-year-old sister, who is extremely excited to meet Shiori and suggests to her mother that they have lunch together. In the guardhouse, a young woman named Zairena greets the group; as part of Shiori’s interrogation, Zairena does not recognize Shiori as one of the assassins who killed her parents, friends of the Bushians. Lady Bushian explains that two weeks ago, Takkan left for a hunting trip and did not return. Through miming, Shiori tries to convey that Takkan gave her the emblem more than a month ago in exchange for food. Lady Bushian allows Shiori to stay at the castle to help in the kitchen until winter passes, but Zairena worries that Shiori is possessed. Shiori reclaims her satchel, with the starstroke inside. Zairena brings Shiori to an inhospitable storehouse to sleep, rather than the servants’ quarters as Lady Bushian promised. Despite the terrible conditions, Shiori makes peace with her new home because the privacy will allow her to work on the starstroke net.
19. The kitchen servants react to Shiori with fear (due to the walnut bowl concealing her face), but she quickly gets to work. Chef Chiruan, tells Shiori to deliver Megari her permission cake, which Megari then shares with Shiori. Megari asks Shiori to write more about herself, but the curse causes Shiori to spill the ink. Zairena bursts in, calling Shiori a “demon-worshipper” and dragging her away. Shiori realizes that her 17th birthday passed while she was in the dungeon and fantasizes about her birthday banquet. Kiki finally returns, waking Shiori in the middle of the night. Shiori requests Kiki’s help in escaping, but Kiki recommends that Shiori wait out the winter at the castle, as conditions are brutal in the forest.
20. A storm blows in, and the castle gates remain locked, preventing Shiori from leaving. On the third night of the storm, the guards sound an alarm and lower a bridge, offering Shiori a chance to escape. Realizing her plan is faulty, she heads back to her fish cellar, and guards announce Lord Takkan’s return. Simultaneously, assassins attack the fortress. Amidst the clamor, Shiori responds to a sentinel’s call for help and stitches up Takkan’s wound. When the battle subsides, Shiori leaves Takkan before Hasege spots her.
21. Shiori returns to the kitchen the next day, where she learns that Takkan is not dead, but his condition is not improving. She tries to convince the cooks to let her make Takkan a special soup, but they refuse to let her touch any food, claiming her spirit will “contaminate” it. Zairena arrives during lunch, and the kitchen erupts in a frenzy of movement and preparation. Chiruan explains to Shiori that Zairena’s arrival means Megari is ill again, and Zairena needs to make her a special blend of tea. She prepares the tea, and then prepares a soup for Takkan, who has been refusing food. She requests that Shiori fetch her water from a distant well, which requires her to walk through the storm. Along the way, Shiori seeks shelter in the stables, and hears Seryu speak to her from a horse trough. Seryu explains that the curse is preventing her brothers from finding her at Castle Bushian, but he promises to try communicating with them, despite their lack of magic. Shiori describes Raikama’s dark and broken dragon pearl, which is something Seryu has never heard of. He cannot remove the walnut bowl from Shiori’s head with his own magic, as Raikama’s magic is too strong. Nevertheless, they agree to meet at the river sometime. Back at the castle, Takkan continues to refuse food, so Shiori sneaks into the kitchen that night to make him some fish soup.
22. Shiori exchanges her soup for the chef’s a few more times, until a sentinel enters, demanding who made Takkan’s soup. He takes Shiori to Takkan’s chambers, where they overhear a conversation he is having with Lady Bushian. Shiori learns that Takkan took Hasege’s armor to look for Shiori and found her slipper on the beach. Lady Bushian forbids him from searching anymore. When Shiori enters the room, Takkan and his mother thank her for saving his life. Takkan invites Shiori to stay for breakfast, and formally invites her to live in the castle—a request that shocks Zairena. In private, Takkan returns his dagger to Shiori and gives her a notebook so she can communicate with others more easily. Shiori’s new room is lavish, but she keeps returning to the fish cellar so she can privately work on the starstroke net.
23. As a result of Shiori saving Takkan, the kitchen staff are kinder to her. She enjoys learning how to cook from Chiruan, and at night, she separates the starstroke. One day, Shiori sits with other esteemed guests and Lady Bushian to watch Zairena spin golden thread on her spindle. Though Zairena lets everyone have a turn at the spinning wheel, she refuses Shiori because of her scarred hands, embarrassing her in front of the other women. She orders the spindle moved to her bedroom, so Shiori has no chance of touching it.
24. Shiori realizes that at a gathering, Zairena gave her four persimmons—a number that brings bad luck. She decides to bring the fruits to the temple as an offering, and on the way, runs into Takkan. Inside the temple, Shiori sees her slipper and embroidered tapestry laid on the altar. She asks Takkan about the assassins’ attack, and he explains that he was able to trace the A’landan letter (from Chapter 10) back to Lord Yuji (the seemingly friendly warlord in Chapter 3), and was on his way to warn the emperor when he was intercepted by assassins. Based on the letter stating the royal children are “gone,” Takkan believes they are still alive, and prays for their safe return daily. He notices Shiori wincing in pain because of the starstroke thorns in her hands, and gently removes the rest. While Shiori reflects on her memories of flirting with boys in the royal court, Takkan encourages her to confide in him because he is her friend.
25. Megari convinces Shiori to sneak out of the castle to look at plum blossoms with her, despite Lady Bushian’s orders to stay put. During their journey, Megari divulges that Takkan is an excellent writer and singer and wants Shiori to convince him to perform at the upcoming Winter Festival. Takkan is waiting for them at the plum trees, and Shiori realizes that this was a good-natured ploy by Megari to get Takkan and her to spend more time together. Shiori enjoys the idyllic winter afternoon, listening to Megari practice her lute and Takkan make up stories. Suddenly, the trio realizes that a pack of wolves has surrounded them. Takkan sends the girls back to the castle on his horse, but Shiori returns to help him fight. While Takkan struggles to fight the pack, Shiori notices a smaller wolf with a golden cuff around its leg and stabs it. The injury forces the wolf to call the others to retreat, and Takkan and Shiori survive. Megari returns, chastising Takkan for sending her away. The good-natured ribbing between Megari and Takkan makes Shiori barely laugh, but this sound is enough to turn a plum blossom black as another warning of Raikama’s curse.
26. Hasege disdainfully awaits the trio at the castle, where he continues to call Shiori a “demon” and taunts Takkan about his broken betrothal. He and fellow guard Pao do not believe there was a wolf attack, and Zairena hopes that Lady Bushian will banish Shiori from the castle. Shiori spends her subsequent days avoiding contact with others in the castle, for fear of accidentally speaking and killing her brothers. One day, Takkan finds her in a garden veranda folding paper cranes. He tells her about the search for the wolves, and confirms he also noticed the strange wolf with a golden cuff. Takkan suspects the wolf might be Lord Yuji’s enchanter (the Wolf), and thinks magic might have something to do with the emperor’s missing children. Shiori folds six cranes, hoping to convey information about her brothers, but Takkan does not understand. Instead, he tells her the legend of how red-crowned cranes got their color, and their sacred role in connecting humans’ fates.
27. The sound of screaming outside of the castle interrupts Shiori’s kitchen tasks, and she finds Oriyu, a sentinel, fatally poisoned with Four Breaths. While she inspects the body, Hasege accuses her of murder, but Takkan defends her and wants to hear her assessment. Shiori suggests Oriyu inhaled the poison, which Takkan confirms after inspecting the body more closely. He orders the fortress sealed to uncover the assassin, and suspects that Oriyu was not the intended target, given the letter he found. Fueled by anger and convinced that Raikama is involved in Lord Yuji’s betrayal, Shiori works on her starstroke net. She struggles with conflicting feelings, not knowing if her and Raikama’s familial love was ever genuine.
28. Shiori finishes de-thorning the starstroke nettles and needs to start spinning them into thread, for which she will need Zairena’s spindle. To win Zairena’s favor, Shiori bakes her some monkey cakes, but Zairena criticizes them and does not eat one. Shiori finds Zairena’s behavior suspicious, “as if she were an imposter” (308). She later snoops in Zairena’s room but cannot find any sign of the Four Breaths poison. That night, while Zairena sleeps in Hasege’s room, Shiori sneaks into her room to use the spindle while Kiki keeps watch.
29. Within a week, Shiori has secretly spun all the starstroke fibers into thread. The last time she leaves Zairena’s room, she runs into Zairena in the hallway, and Zairena threatens to burn her for trespassing. In the morning, Shiori is forbidden to enter the kitchen because Zairena accuses her of poisoning Megari with monkey cakes. Shiori visits Megari in her room, where Takkan assures her that Megari’s illness is not her fault. In his room, Takkan shows Shiori his paintings, including one specifically made for his betrothed. He heard much about the princess while growing up, and frequently wrote her stories, but she never wrote back. Takkan remembers meeting Shiori at the Summer Festival years ago, which triggers a flashback for Shiori. Lord Yuji had asked the royal children to successfully grow an orchid but tricked them to test their character. Shiori was the only one who grew a flower, not knowing of her magic at the time. Lord Yuji and Shiori’s brothers accused her of lying, and when she ran away to hide, Takkan found her and was the only one to believe her story. Not knowing who he was at the time, Shiori told him that she had no desire to marry anyone, especially “that barbarian fool in the North” (323). In the present, Takkan shares that he stopped writing to Shiori after that. He was hopeful of their future at their betrothal ceremony, but Shiori’s rejection left him the object of ridicule. Shiori silently cries, ashamed of her behavior, and Takkan expresses that he cares deeply for her.
30. Shiori returns to the kitchen, and during lunch preparations, Hasege storms in. He accuses Chiruan of assassinating Oriyu, based on the poison and gold that were found in his room. Shiori runs to Takkan, convinced Chiruan was framed, but Takkan shows her Chiruan’s locked recipe box, which contained instructions for using Four Breaths. Sensing that her time at Castle Bushian is limited, Shiori works tirelessly to weave the starstroke net until it is finished. As she weaves, she finds herself commiserating with Raikama, and uncovering old memories. She remembers Raikama telling her that she was raised by snakes; she also used to see a glow surrounding Raikama. Raikama once predicted that one day, Shiori would despise her, and reminded Shiori that she would never be her mother. Kiki wakes Shiori one morning, informing her that Seryu has news for her.
31. Shiori convinces the guard Pao to let her out of the castle and heads to the river to meet Seryu. Seryu facetiously asks Shiori about her life at the castle, which she interprets as jealousy. He bears a message from the Dragon King, who demands that Raikama’s dragon pearl be returned to him if Shiori defeats her. Shiori confides in Seryu that she thinks there might be other motives for Raikama’s curse, but Seryu has no help to offer. When Shiori returns to her room, Megari is sick and slumped over by the door. Shiori wakes Zairena, who brews some tea for her. Together, they watch over Megari and feed her tea until she stabilizes, and Zairena even thanks Shiori for calling upon her.
32. Shiori prepares to say goodbye to Megari and Takkan; however, her farewell is thwarted by Megari’s excited preparations for the Winter Festival and the traditional hunt. Megari explains that the hunting party might aim for some cranes that appeared nearby, so Shiori hurries to disrupt the hunt before someone shoots one of her brothers. Shiori and her crane-brothers take cover nearby, and communicating through Kiki, her brothers confirm that she has been at Castle Bushian with her betrothed. Shiori’s brothers have finally learned Raikama’s real name, Vanna, which will allow them to break the curse. Takkan finds the group, after having sent the other hunters home. He suspects that Shiori and the cranes know each other and shares that Lord Yuji has murdered the leader of A’landi and is now in control of the Wolf, the A’landan enchanter. Yuji is preparing to take over the capital of Gindara, so Takkan will be leaving to fight. Recognizing Shiori and Takkan’s budding romance, the brothers encourage Shiori to stay for the Winter Festival until they return for her later. Takkan observes Shiori and the cranes’ interactions without asking any questions, and eventually takes her back to the castle.
33. Shiori gets dressed for the Winter Festival, and Zairena suggests Shiori borrow her beautiful silk purse rather than her satchel. Wanting to keep the starstroke net near, Shiori does not accept Zairena’s offer. In Iro, Shiori watches Megari and Takkan’s musical performance that tells the story of Imurinya’s ascension to the moon (which led to her becoming the moon goddess). Shiori and Takkan stroll through the festival together afterward, enjoying the beautiful sights of the evening. Takkan admits that he has been smitten with her since they met at the Sparrow Inn; they are about to kiss when Shiori runs away, for fear of never being able to leave Iro. Back at the castle, Kiki frantically informs Shiori that Zairena’s spun threads turned her wings gold and then black, confirming that Zairena was the assassin with Four Breaths all along.
34. Shiori runs into Hasege, who offers to take her back to the castle, claiming Takkan is waiting for her. When Shiori arrives at her room, her satchel is magically replaced with Zairena’s golden purse, which Shiori realizes must have been enchanted. Hasege, Zairena, and Lady Bushian confront Shiori in her room, and to prove that Shiori is a demon, Zairena opens Shiori’s satchel and conjures terrifying shadow beasts using her own magic. Shiori is able to send Kiki away to communicate with her brothers, before Hasege brings her to the dungeon. While Shiori is incapacitated in her cell, Zairena visits and confirms that she has always known Shiori’s true identity; Zairena also recently confirmed her magic when she discovered the starstroke left on her spinning wheel. Zairena admits that she killed Oriyu, and that she has been intermittently poisoning Megari whenever she asks too many questions. She goes on to explain that she is a priestess of the Holy Mountains, tasked with keeping the demons contained there. However, rare Kiatans like Shiori are Kiata’s bloodsake, whose magic is powerful enough to free the demons. The priestesses see it as their obligation to kill the bloodsake to keep Kiata safe. Zairena has been working with Lord Yuji and the Wolf, who disguised himself as the seer Master Tsring (mentioned in Chapter 14); he tricked Shiori’s brothers into completing the starstroke net so he could eventually have Raikama’s dragon pearl for himself. Zairena confirms that Raikama’s curse was to keep the Wolf from finding the royal children. In an act of frustration, Shiori splashes water on Zairena’s face, which dissolves her illusion and reveals that she is Guiya, Shiori’s maid. Guiya explains that the real Zairena died with her parents in an assassin attack and promises Shiori that tomorrow, she will be burned at the stake.
35. The sentinels deliver Shiori to a pyre in the forest before sunrise. The guard Pao gives Shiori a string of seven cranes from Megari before Hasege ties her to the stake. Kiki arrives with Shiori’s crane-brothers, who fight the sentinels while Shiori frees herself. Guiya lights the pyre with demonfire and traps Shiori’s dragon pearl fragment with the starstroke net, before riding off. Shiori begins to make peace with dying, but when Takkan arrives and Guiya aims an arrow at his heart, she yells out to warn him before losing consciousness—despite her curse.
36. Shiori wakes, realizing that the walnut bowl covering her face has broken, and her brothers are alive despite her speaking. Takkan is uninjured, and Shiori is able to speak to him for the first time. Hasege makes one last attempt to kill Shiori, but the cloak she wears magically shields her from his dagger. Takkan exiles Hasege from Iro before joining Shiori in her search for Guiya in the Zhensa forest. When Shiori and Takkan stop to rest, Takkan reveals that he knows she is Shiori, his betrothed. She demonstrates her magic and explains she is Kiata’s bloodsake (someone with the power to unleash the demons trapped in the Holy Mountains). Despite the potential consequences, Takkan remains certain of his commitment to Shiori. They are about to kiss when Guiya interrupts, crushing Kiki and ready to use her magic to kill the pair. Hidden assailants kill Guiya first, then reveal themselves to be Lord Yuji’s soldiers, who have captured Shiori’s crane-brothers.
37. Lord Yuji taunts Shiori, and her magic attacks are useless against him because he is protected by his enchanter, the Wolf, who takes the starstroke net from her. Enchanters typically have no power in Kiata, but with Shiori’s dragon pearl fragment, the Wolf can now do magic freely. Instead of killing Shiori, the Wolf kills Lord Yuji, fully prepared to transform into a demon for killing his master. As the sun sets, the cranes start to transform as does the Wolf; the dragon pearl fragment starts to merge with his amulet, the only thing keeping him from being taken in by the Holy Mountains. The demon’s dark power starts to take over the forest, but Takkan rescues the pearl. As the siblings and Takkan ride away from the forest, the Wolf snatches Shiori, who leaves the pearl with Takkan. She lets go of Takkan to sacrifice herself as the magic of the Holy Mountains transports her and the Wolf away from the forest.
38. As Shiori and the Wolf fly and struggle on the way to the Holy Mountains, the Wolf explains that he has been waiting for Shiori because his plan has been to kill the bloodsake (someone with the power to unleash the demons trapped in the Holy Mountains) and become the ruler of demons after releasing them from the mountains. Suddenly, Raikama summons Megari’s seven paper cranes (from Chapter 35) to tie a red thread around Shiori’s wrist. Shiori lands in Raikama’s garden, but quickly realizes it is an illusion inside the Holy Mountains. She sees demons bound by chains, and Raikama’s voice instructs her to follow the red thread to safety. The illusion leads her through a maze of the imperial castle’s rooms, where demons impersonate different people and memories of her life. In the last room, Shiori finds the Wolf, who scrapes her leg as he tries to keep her from escaping through a crack in the mountain. With her magic, Shiori causes a landslide of rocks to trap the demons, and Raikama pulls her out. Together, they seal the fissure to keep the demons from escaping. This powerful act of magic weakens Raikama, and Shiori comforts her while they reminisce about Raikama’s arrival to Kiata before she asks Shiori to lead them home.
39. Shiori and Raikama follow the red thread to the imperial castle, during which Raikama apologizes for her past actions. When they arrive at her garden, Raikama explains that she put the capital of Gindara to sleep to avoid a needless war (as Lord Yuji’s forces were on their way to attack). She explains that her dragon pearl is a burden because it does not always obey her commands; her curse was intended to protect the royal children but produced unforeseen consequences (the threat against Shiori’s brothers’ lives) due to the dragon pearl’s unruly nature. Shiori uses the starstroke net to remove the dragon pearl from Raikama’s body, and Raikama returns to her true serpent form. Raikama explains that Vanna (her supposed true name) was her sister, who was originally born with the dragon pearl. When Vanna died, the dragon pearl embedded itself into Raikama’s heart, which turned her appearance into her sister’s. Raikama finally reveals that the few memories that Shiori has of her birth mother are actually memories of her (that were enchanted), and Shiori has known her true name all along—Channari, the name of the girl they sang about during Shiori’s childhood. Shiori speaks Channari’s name to the dragon pearl, ending her brothers’ curse. Channari’s last request is for Shiori to return the dragon pearl to its rightful owner, presumably the Dragon King, and Shiori agrees to do so and pass on her last messages to the rest of the family. Mother and daughter sing the song of Channari for the last time as Channari dies.
40. Shiori and her brothers give their stepmother a private ceremony after they reunite, and Shiori uses her magic to send a memorial box through the water to Tambu, so Channari can be reunited with her sister Vanna. She finally reads Takkan’s years’ worth of letters and stories, which she had kept hidden in a box. Exhausted, Shiori sleeps for three days and wakes up ready to begin her next quest—returning Channari’s dragon pearl. Shiori bids farewell to her brothers and Takkan, the latter of whom sends her off with his sketchbook. She enters the Taijin sea with Seryu, who will accompany her to the Dragon Kingdom. Meanwhile, in the Holy Mountains, the Wolf (whose true name is Bandur) uses a bit of Shiori’s blood to form cracks in the sealed rock, eager to release the imprisoned demons and himself.