Five Broken Blades

Prince Euyn walks through Outton’s market, feeling paranoid and hunted. He returns to his heavily booby-trapped room at the inn to find a red letter addressed to him as Prince Euyn, not as Donal, the name he gave himself in exile. Because everyone believes him to be dead, he does not know who could have sent the letter. He feels conflicted about meeting the sender at the rendezvous point but goes anyway. When he meets the sender in the stables, he thinks that he must be about to die.

Sora forages with the local children and teaches them about edible and poisonous plants in the forest. At the edge of the meadow, the Count Seok waits for her. He gives her a calling card: an order to kill that she cannot refuse. The task is to be performed that evening. If she succeeds, she will be allowed one hour to see her sister, Daysum, whom Seok holds captive.

When Royo returns home, he uncovers his hidden stash of money (50,000 gold mun) and adds his most recent earnings. He now has only half the amount he needs. He finds a card in his inner coat pocket, promising a job and requesting that he meet the sender at the Black Shoe Inn. Hackles raised, he feels trouble on the horizon. Ultimately, Royo decides to keep the meeting to find out how the sender slipped the card into his pocket without his knowledge.

Sora prepares to meet her target, a nobleman named Maricellus Silla. She poses as a courtesan at his home. Enthralled, he kisses her, and the poison on her lips quickly takes effect, killing him. She makes her way back to Gain and the small cottage that Count Seok has provided for her. Once there, she finds a calling card on her pillow, demanding that she meet the count immediately upon her return. Grudgingly, she goes to his home, and he offers to free her and her sister if she kills the god king, King Joon of Yusan. Almost hysterical at the thought, she initially refuses but soon reconsiders. However, Seok tells her that if she dies in the assassination attempt, her sister will be sold to a pleasure house. As Sora leaves, Seok also declares that his son, Tiyung, will accompany her on her mission.

When Euyn sees Mikail, his former lover and the royal spymaster, in the stables, he thinks that his brother, King Joon, specifically sent Mikail to kill him, so he offers himself up without a fight, but Mikail merely praises him for surviving his death by exile. They go to Euyn’s inn and disarm his booby traps—ones that Mikail once taught him to make. Mikail confirms that he has known Euyn to be in Fallow for the last three years. Mikail proposes joining forces to kill Joon, but Euyn laughs at this idea because Joon holds the crown of the Dragon Lord, which makes the wearer immortal. However, when Mikail says that the assassination plan is supported by Euyn’s sister, Quilimar, the Queen of Khitan, Euyn hesitates.

Aeri—the sender of the note to Royo—nervously fiddles and paces as she waits for Royo to arrive. A young servant boy comes to fetch her. In the lobby of the inn, Royo waits for her, stone-faced. She fumbles in her greeting and directs him to a private area for tea. When they introduce themselves and shake hands, Aeri feels an instant connection to him. She asks him to become her bodyguard on her travels to Tamneki, the capital city of Yusan. Royo questions why she doesn’t hire a guardsmith instead, and she explains that she wants to take her revenge on the king. Royo refuses to help until she offers to pay him with a diamond worth 50,000 gold mun. She is adamant that he will not be complicit in killing the king, especially since she confirms that the king is made immortal by his crown, which is allegedly made of Etherum (magic). When Royo still doubts her, she suggests that he take the diamond and have its value verified. She then leaves before he can refuse.

Euyn and Mikail plan to leave Outton to reach the town of Tile before dark. On the road, they are ambushed by brigands but leave none alive. Mikail reveals that he knows about Euyn’s habit of hunting humans when he was still a prince; this practice earned Euyn the moniker The Butcher of Westward Forest.

Because the attack of the brigands has delayed them, Euyn and Mikail will have to travel in darkness, which will make them targets for monstrous birds of prey called samroc.

Sora meets with her sister at the count’s villa the next day and worries over how pale and easily winded Daysum is. As Sora listens to the news of her sister’s studies, she notices Daysum’s scars; Daysum was whipped when Sora tried to escape from poison school. Daysum states that Sora’s life would be easier if Daysum herself were dead. This devastates Sora. She tells Daysum of the count’s offer but does not reveal the identity of her target. Daysum accepts the possible outcomes, and they spend the rest of their hour together pleasantly. Daysum tells Sora of the gossip she heard while staying in the Count’s villa, namely that the King of Khitan has died and the Queen is now serving as regent until her four-year-old son comes of age. When the two sisters part, Daysum leaves Sora with an odd message, saying, “Sora, I think it’s time” (75).

As Euyn and Mikail near the city of Tile, they are attacked by samrocs and are forced to abandon their hamels—creatures that are half camel, half horse—and run for a nearby tunnel. Mikail is caught by a samroc that intends to feed him to her young. Euyn saves Mikail by shooting the creature in the eye. He carries Mikail into the tunnel just as his clothing is caught by one of the samrocs. Mikail drags him to shelter, but Euyn believes the samroc will remember him and track him.

Mikail is losing a lot of blood, so they search his pack for laoli, a pain-killing drug, and use it to offset the pain as Euyn stitches the wounds on Mikail’s back. Mikail reflects on how easy it is for him to read Euyn. Comparatively, Euyn can never tell when Mikail is lying; he believes Mikail to be from Yusan, but Mikail is actually from Gaya, the oppressed land where laoli is produced. Mikail is surprised at how much Euyn has changed after three years; Euyn is no longer a spoiled princeling, but a paranoid man who is considerate of others. Mikail tells Euyn that he missed him and falls asleep with his head on Euyn’s lap.

Royo enlists the help of a gem specialist to appraise the diamond and later meets with Aeri to accept her job offer. They take a coach to Succession Point, a port with riverboats that will allow them to leave Umbria. Along the way, Aeri reveals that her plan is not yet fully formulated. For now, they must meet the royal spymaster, Mikail, before arriving in Tamneki. At the port, they settle into their lavish rooms on the riverboat. Royo is uneasy about his decision to take the job, but before he can reconsider, the boat leaves port, floating down the river Sol.

Sora packs for her mission, and Count Seok’s son, Tiyung, comes to fetch her. In his coach, there is another nobleman who is unconscious and reeks of alcohol. They bring him back to his home, and Sora asks Tiyung’s purpose for showing such kindness. He confirms that he only did the nobleman this favor so that the man would owe him a debt. The narrative reveals that Tiyung was the one who whipped Daysum and found Sora in the forest when she tried to escape. Now, he tells her about their travel plans, and she privately vows to kill him and send his head to his father.