Ep 1 Spark of the Everflame: Prologue-Chapter 6

Summary

Fantasy Fangirls Podcast Summary: Episode 1 – Spark of the Everflame: Prologue-Chapter 6

Host: Nicole and Lexi
Release Date: May 5, 2025
Current Book Coverage: Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole (Kindred's Curse Saga)

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Introduction

In the inaugural episode of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast, sisters Nicole and Lexi embark on a comprehensive deep dive into Penn Cole's Spark of the Everflame, covering the prologue through chapter six. They set the stage by warning listeners about spoilers for the entire Kindred's Curse Saga, ensuring that new listeners are aware of the detailed insights to come.

Chapter Summaries

Prologue: The Butterfly Effect

The story begins with a profound reflection on the butterfly effect, illustrating how a single event can cascade into a series of unforeseen consequences. This setup hints at the monumental changes and conflicts that will unfold throughout the saga.

Chapter 1: Foraging Day Disarray [05:04]

D.M. Bellator, known as DM, is introduced as a dedicated healer in Mortal City. On Foraging Day, a significant holiday celebrating the pact between mortals and the descended (half-mortal, half-kindred beings), DM encounters a mysterious old woman after witnessing her mother, Aurelie, arguing with Prince Luther Courbois, a prominent descended. This confrontation leads to DM's mother disappearing, setting off a chain of events that thrust DM into uncovering deep-seated secrets.

Notable Quote:
Lexi [21:58]: "It feels very like you're in a glass in that sense."

Chapter 2: Six Months Later [06:00]

Six months after the disappearance, DM grapples with her mother's absence and begins to question the truths she was taught. She ceases taking the flame root powder her mother provided, which suppressed her magical abilities and emotions. This decision marks the beginning of DM's transformation from a sheltered healer to someone ready to confront the injustices plaguing her world.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [05:34]: "This is the perfect prequel... Understanding Diem's choices... understanding the Guardians."

Chapters 3-6: Rising Tensions and Hidden Loyalties [10:00]

DM's world continues to unravel as she navigates her newfound emotions and magical instincts. She encounters Prince Luther multiple times, initially viewing him with suspicion due to her mother's mysterious disappearance. Meanwhile, DM's brother, Teller, attends the prestigious Descended Academy, further entangling the family in the rising conflict between mortals and descended.

Key events include:

• Encounter with Luther: DM heals Princess Lillian, inadvertently activating her magical abilities.
• Prophetic Revelation: An elderly woman reveals a prophecy linking DM's bloodline to ancient curses and future conflicts.
• Family Secrets: DM discovers her mother's clandestine mission and the truth about her own heritage.

Notable Quote:
Lexi [37:11]: "But he's the one person with the answers she's been so desperately seeking all these months."

Character Analysis

D.M. Bellator (DM)

DM emerges as a complex protagonist balancing her role as a healer with her suppressed magical heritage. Her decision to abandon the flame root powder signifies her rebellion against her mother's control and her quest for identity. DM's internal struggle between her compassionate nature and the emerging fight against injustice drives her character forward.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [05:04]: "She just has to make an assumption here because otherwise she can't touch that with a ten-foot pole."

Prince Luther Courbois

Prince Luther is portrayed as a brooding and enigmatic descendant with a deep-seated connection to ancient prophecies. His interactions with DM are laden with tension, hinting at a complex relationship intertwined with hidden agendas and personal vendettas.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [41:04]: "His raven black hair is pulled low and tight at his nape."

Aurelie Bellator

DM's mother, Aurelie, is depicted as a devoted healer with secrets that significantly impact DM's journey. Her disappearance and hidden alliances with the Guardians suggest layers of betrayal and sacrifice, setting the foundation for the saga's central conflicts.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [30:21]: "Aurelie definitely never breaks [her healer's vow]."

Teller Bellator

DM's younger brother, Teller, represents the bridge between mortals and descended through his education at the Descended Academy. His involvement with the Guardians adds another dimension to the family's struggles and loyalties.

Notable Quote:
Lexi [82:05]: "He knows incredibly happy and hopeful information about Arlie, and yet he does allow them to wallow, mourn and search the town."

Henry

Henry, DM's long-time friend, now a member of the Guardians, embodies the rage and desire for change among the oppressed mortals. His evolution from a carefree companion to a determined rebel highlights the personal costs of the broader societal conflicts.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [76:02]: "He's solving this like a giddy little school girl right now."

Sophos Library: Foraging Day and Its History [126:02]

In this segment, Lexi delves into the significance of Foraging Day within the Amarian world. Originally established as a harmonious celebration between mortals and the Kindred descendants, Foraging Day has devolved into a day of indulgence and escapism for mortals, while descendants commemorate their dominance and the ancient pact that led to their supremacy.

Key Points:

• Origins: Foraging Day commemorates the Kindred's arrival and the magical pact that divided Omarion into nine realms, each governed by a different Kindred sibling.
• Current Celebration: Mortals receive descended wine that heightens their spirits, often leading to chaos, while descendants enjoy luxurious festivities symbolizing their control.
• Symbolism: The day underscores the deep divide and lingering tensions between the two groups, setting the stage for impending conflicts.

Notable Quote:
Lexi [126:02]: "Foraging Day is meant to remind everyone, mortal and descended, that this is a new age where the descended are to rule over the nine realms."

Insights, Theories, and Foreshadowing

Nicole and Lexi engage in thoughtful discussions, proposing theories that interweave the book's present events with its rich lore and impending conflicts. They speculate on prophecies, character backstories, and the significance of magical elements like the Blood Sun and Rosebane.

Key Theories:

• Prophetic Significance: The Blood Sun serves as an omen tied to ancient prophecies, indicating major upheavals and the resurgence of forgotten powers.
• Family Betrayals: Aurelie's secret missions and alliances suggest a deeper resistance movement against the descended, with DM's heritage playing a pivotal role.
• Magic and Identity: DM's awakening magical abilities symbolize her breaking free from her mother's constraints, positioning her as a potential catalyst for change.

Notable Quote:
Nicole [58:20]: "When forgotten blood on Hearthstone Falls, then shall the chains be broke."

Conclusion

Episode 1 of the Fantasy Fangirls podcast offers a thorough exploration of the initial chapters of Spark of the Everflame, blending chapter summaries with in-depth character analyses and lore discussions. Nicole and Lexi adeptly balance narrative breakdowns with engaging theories, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the story's foundation and the intricate web of relationships and prophecies that will drive the saga forward.

Notable Quote to End On:
Lexi [133:50]: "We have some shopping to do. That's all I have."

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Transcript

[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

Like a good neighbor, State Farm is.

[Nicole]

There Foreign welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where two sisters dive deep into beloved fantasy lore, characters, theme series and more.

[Lexi]

I'm Lexi, older sister and Fantasy Lore nerd.

[Nicole]

And I'm Nicole, younger sister and romantic at heart.

[Lexi]

And today's the day we begin our journey deep diving the Kindred's Curse saga.

[Nicole]

Wow.

[Lexi]

I just so excited. I am smiling from ear to ear right now. This is episode one of Spark of the Everflame by Pen Cole where we are covering the prologue through chapter six. But before we get started, we have a very important spoiler warning for you to please listen closely to. Every episode including this. Episode one has spoilers for all three released books in the Kindred's Curse saga. I'm going to say that one more time. This episode will discuss spoilers for Spark, Glow and Heat of the Everflame.

[Nicole]

So if you do not know why chapter one of our entire story is laden with every single Easter egg imaginable, then we cannot stress this enough. Please go finish the series, especially Heat of the Everflame. We will be here when you're done.

[Lexi]

Next, we at Fantasy Fangirls are adults who say adult things about adult books. In other words, friends, this podcast is.

[Nicole]

Rated R. You are all about to see a side of that you have never seen before because the second Luther Courbois comes wink onto the page, I am a different human. So please be mindful of those little listening ears.

[Lexi]

Additionally, we are so excited to see you at upcoming Live events I will.

[Nicole]

Be interviewing Rachel Gillig, author of One Dark Window and the upcoming the Night and the moth in Denver, Colorado on May 25th.

[Lexi]

We will be featured guests at Enchanticon in St. Louis, Missouri August 15th through 17th.

[Nicole]

Then we will be at the Everflame Ball along with Pen Cole, author of this amazing series for the first ever Kindred Curse Saga Ball on August 30th in Castle Rock, Colorado. We will also be back at the Dragon Gauntlet in Boyne City, Michigan September 12th through 13th.

[Lexi]

Then Romanticy Bookcon in Orlando, Florida October 23rd through 25th where we're interviewing Rebecca Yarros again at Disney World.

[Nicole]

Check out our website or the links below in the show notes for more information to all of these events.

[Lexi]

Last thing before we jump into our first Spark of the Everflame episode, if you love Fantasy Fangirls and want more events, more content, more community and so much more all around, please check out Fantasy Fan Club.

[Nicole]

We have three membership tiers that you can join. Number one, the Descended. Yes, we have new names which includes access to our Boppin Discord live Q&As from Lexi and I, a book club, exclusive author interviews including one with Pen Cole, community events like trivia, promo codes for live events plus 20% off and access to exclusive merch that is $6 a month. Or you can join the Royal Family which includes everything from the Descended level plus early access to ad free episodes, our full episode outlines and special voting privileges that is $10 a month. And then we have the Crown's Council which includes everything from the previous two tiers plus behind the scenes content, a welcome gift, giveaways, private Discord channel, and your name shouted out on the podcast. That is for $25 a month.

[Lexi]

Also, until May 9th we are running a special so when you get an annual membership you get an extra month free. So now you get three free months when you sign up for Annual for any of the three tiers. Join the party at fantasy fangirls.com fan club. The link is also in the show notes and really and truly from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for supporting us as we've turned this podcast into a dream come true. It's all because of you and we are so, so appreciative.

[Nicole]

And now it is time to head into an alley, meet an old woman and officially become the daughter of the forgotten.

[Lexi]

I'm so excited.

[Nicole]

I just got chills. I'm so excited.

[Lexi]

All right, so every time we start a new book Deep Dive, we open it With a twofold question, and that is, why do we like this book? And where does this rank in the series for you?

[Nicole]

One of the reasons I love this series so much is because the world opens up more and more with every single book that you go through in the series. It feels very like you're in a glass in that sense. And this book is the perfect book one, Especially a book one that is very much a prequel, which we talked about with Pen a lot in our intro episode. It is all about the life before everything changes for dm. We're introduced to the Guardians and the descendant are very much this mysterious other. I will say this is ranked last on my series ranking.

[Lexi]

Me too. For all the same reasons. Yes.

[Nicole]

I think I speak for both of us. It doesn't mean we don't like this book just because it's ranked last. In my opinion, this is the perfect prequel. And with. I truly do not feel like Glow or Heat would have the impact they do for us. Understanding Diem. Her choices. Her choices. Her choices. Especially when it comes to Henry. Not to mention understanding the Guardians, which we will. Oh, my God, I cannot wait to talk about them. Throughout this deep dive. And it's seeing where Henry is coming from. Getting to know Vance when he's not just being a dick, but instead he's DMs leader in a sense. We also get to know Andre, which makes his death so much more impactful. Next book, I'm not ready for that episode. Oh, my God. And of course, we get to know the oppression from the mortal side in the heart of Mortal City. This is a book that lays the foundation so that the next two books, and I highly assume Burn too, could be a rich palace on top of that foundation. And because of the depth of politics in book two and the magic world expansion of book three, I always just gravitate towards those books more. And yes, of course Luther is in those books more. I'm gonna like them more for that reason. But with all of that said, this is one of my favorite books to reread of the series because of all the information that you get from Heat and there are just unbelievable amounts of Easter eggs, literally from chapter one alone. So even though this is last in my ranking, I still give it five stars.

[Lexi]

It's an easy five stars and a fantastic book. One of a series. Like I said, as much as I love this book, I do rank it last in the series, too. It's a testament to this series. Nothing whatsoever wrong with. There are parts of Spark that I definitely Rank higher than heat like the pacing and slow burn tension. But I can't help but be more drawn to the expansion of the realms, magic and lore that the other two books have. Though this book is exactly what it's supposed to be and I think it is wonderfully executed as we are right there with DM living her mortal life and her world begins to shift. I loved learning that Pen originally wrote half of Glow before she realized she needed to show DM's previous life. Relationships, social class and what makes her her how DM was raised is such a driving force for her charact. So I absolutely love that Pen dedicated the first book to her previous life so we can truly be on this full journey with dm. The story immediately pulls you in with the mystery of her mom missing and what the disguised Umbros queen says, leaving us with so many Easter eggs and really just drawing you in being like oh my gosh, what happens next? I think it's important for us to experience the dynamic with Henry and feel the incompatibility despite the cling to familiarity in the midst of change. Like you can even feel the tension between them before it's revealed that she's descended. Major air quotes with that that we will talk about at late. We're exposed to the injustices of the descended and the poor living conditions for the mortals. It just fuels us to seek change right there alongside dm. But then we have to face the consequences, which is a theme that will be way more far reaching as the series continues even with these heavier themes that I really love. How Pen elaborated on all of that in our intro episode. Spark is an easy read and feels very YA young adult. Honestly. It's not until the second half of Heat that it bumps it up to new adult. You all know what I'm talking. There's a certain playfulness to the character dialogue. The slow burn is deliciously slow and the world building is unique but not dense or confusing. In fact, how have I not even mentioned this yet? The Kindred's Curse saga has my favorite world building. I am obsessed, absolutely obsessed with the uniquely different realms and their magic. How the history with the Kindred is such a big plot line. And the politics. I love the politics. This might be what I'm most excited about for this deep dive is getting completely immersed in this world and just basking in the lore and how well it's woven into the story. I am just giddy doing these Sophos libraries and I just can't wait. I can't wait. All Right, friends? So to start off every episode, Nicole does us the honor of summarizing this stretch of chapters. So gather round as we consult with our royal advisors to discuss what happens in the prologue through chapter six of Spark of the Everflame.

[Nicole]

Prologue Ah, the butterfly effect of one thing happens and it results in an absolute shitstorm. And that about sums up the prologue. And so our story begins. Chapter one Our story opens with one DM Bellator, a protege healer in Mortal City. Seeing DM down on her luck after losing a patient, Moira, her boss gives her the rest of the day off to go enjoy foraging day with her boo Henry. I mean, who doesn't want to enjoy magic laced wine and do all sorts of cavorting in the bushes? Let's just ignore the bad omen of the Blood Sun. Nothing bad happened on the last one, so I'm sure it's fine, right? Throwing caution to the wind, DM heads through the slums of Mortal City. But it's a damn good thing she's got her twin daggers on hand. And when a couple of mortal men wanna heavy air quotes celebrate like the asshats, they are not giving them the slightest chance to trap her. DM books it down the alley only to come across her mother arguing with a strikingly handsome descended man. And after rolling a NAT1 in Spatial Awareness, DM is caught eavesdropping by a mysterious old woman with an equally cryptic message. Secrets die with the people who keep them. Oh wait. Wrong book. Later on that evening, the mysteries continue because her mother, Arlie Bellator, does not return home. Chapter 2 Six Months later what better way to start the morning off than a lecture from your stepfather about not taking your vitamins? Did I mention Also Orly still hasn't returned home yet? After making plans to chuck the offensive flame root in the sacred sea, DM rushes out the door only to be teased by her little brother Teller. Poor girl cannot catch a break. That is not the last time. I will say that in this deep dive while walking Teller to school, the Bellator siblings bond over how poorly informed DM is about, well, everything descended, but mainly about how the hell she didn't know the King is dying and her mother was the one treating him. The healers might not gossip, but Teller certainly does. Word on the street is that the betting pool is leaning hard towards Prince Luther Courbois as the Future King. Chapter 3 After dropping Teller off at his fancy descended school, DM and Henry take a hike back to Mortal City. Arriving at the Healer center, DM has One question. Can I have a few days off to take a trip with my not boyfriend but kinda boyfriend, Please? Moira agrees, but only on one Henry must take the contraceptive tonic. We love a male birth control. Thankfully, before DM can die from embarrassment, a young man bursts through the door, his eyes fear struck and blue. He is descended. I'm blue. Da ba dee da ba da. Chapter four Desperate to help the young man and injured children, DM breaks her mother's number one rule and heads off to the palace full of descendant to help. But the healers and the frantic young man take a shortcut through a hole in the wall that we're definitely not cataloging for later. Once at the sc, DM runs over to the oldest hurt descended, AKA Princess Lillian, AKA Lily, AKA Teller's crush. Assessing the damage, DM gives Lily some painkillers and looks up into his eyes. Welcome, welcome welcome Prince Luther Korbois AKA the Mystery man from the alley six months ago Ignoring the voice inside her head telling her to fight, DM gets into position to set Lily's arms and with a 1, a 2, a 1, 2 3. Lily's broken arm slides into place like socks on freshly polished wood. But the good news does not last for long. DM didn't even get the chance to stand before lily collapses. Chapter 5 well shit. Princess Lillian is slowly bleeding out and DM has no clue how to fix it. Doing her best impression of the voice in her head, DM tells Lily to fight. Listening to the doctor's orders, Lily flares with light. No wait, that's DM's hands. Or was it? She doesn't know. DM doesn't even get a moment to ask herself what the fuck that was before Luther starts the accusatory 20 questions. But the only question he gets the answer to is how? How Delulu is Diem? Chapter 6 While recounting the day's events, DM is cut off by Moira with her own 20 Questions game. Like how did you set that descended arm? Dm? Oh, you know, with a little bit of rusties Ka chow. But seriously, how dm? Eh, don't worry about it. Subject change. DM informs Moira that from now on, DM will be taking over her mother's duties at the palace and there is nothing she can do about it. Later, at dinner, while pretending to eat her meal, DM rethinks everything she thought she knew about her mother. Or really everything she thought she knew in general. Furious with feeling lied to her whole life, Dia makes her way to the edge of the sacred sea under the COVID of darkness with all the flame root powder in the house and one by one she yeets them into the water. Hey there travelers.

[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

It is time to reach for our foraging magic and unravel key insights, character analysis, lore, foreshadowing theories, and oh so much more.

[Nicole]

Before we even get into the prologue or chapter one, we have to kick it off with the dedication for this book, which goes as follows. For anyone who has ever been told their sparks shouldn't burn so bright, and for all the people who loved them precisely because it did. Ugh. Like many books, this dedication speaks directly to the protagonist and what they're going through in the following pages, and also the reader who can see themselves told throughout the story. For dm, her whole life has basically been a lie to keep her from realizing that she's different. Not just descended, but something far greater that we're going to talk about a lot throughout the next few weeks. Was this lie with good intentions from Aurelie? Yes, she wanted to keep her daughter safe. That's going to be quite the gray area we're going to be going through. But by doing so, DM's own spark was also not able to burn as bright through her powers, but also through not being connected to her emotions herself. Her history, everything under the sun, under the blood sun. But for us readers, there's also this connection to ourselves. We might feel that there's this fire within us that is ignited, especially when we read stories like this. But through many of our own life experiences, it might feel like we've been taken down a peg, whether it's from family or an ex partner or bullies or strangers on the Internet or even our own gosh darn thoughts. But dedications like this are the reminders for us that we are the ones who allow our own spark to shine.

[Lexi]

So many of us have felt like have to fit into a specific box to be accepted and loved. And by trying to assimilate, we lose our passion and feel disconnected from our own selves. But when we let our sparks shine bright, when we embrace our quirks and passions and living out of the box the way we're meant to be, we're able to truly be ourselves and feel comfortable in our own skin.

[Nicole]

I know you and I have felt that way a lot with the pre fantasy fangirls life and then now like it feels like this spark is finally shining. But then there's also those people who love us because our unique spark and they're here to help us shine brighter, among many other things, much how Luther does for Diem along with the rest of her found family. In addition to the philosophical meaning behind this dedication, we also get a few mentions of spark, even just in chapter one. Most notably, DM mentions how she has a spark lit from within her in the form of a need for justice, bringing it right back to her, recognizing her own fire to make the realm a more equal place in it, perfectly sets us up for this story and what she's about to experience, especially in Glow and heat.

[Lexi]

Absolutely. And then the prologue immediately pulls us readers in as it creates an air of mystery around this epic story. It reflects on the butterfly effect and how if a seemingly small action had gone differently, then it wouldn't have set off a chain of reactions so unexpected, so far reaching that even the gods themselves could not predict the consequences that will later come to pass. First of all, I love how the gods are brought into this, especially with chapter one when we get umbra saying the kindred are done waiting and this day that her mother disappears is foraging day with a blood sun that all ties back to the gods and the role that this greater power could have in our story. This prologue also relieves that many lives will be lost, leaving us to wonder what these unexpected and far reaching chain of reactions can Possibly be. It's such a simple but powerful way to introduce the series and promise quite the journey.

[Nicole]

It also makes me very nervous because I feel like a lot of those lives lost we have not seen yet. Yes, many Ambrose lives were lost in heat, but there's that scene that her and Luther keep seeing of like many dead bodies on the battlefield that we have not come across yet. That makes me nervous. But in this prologue, I love when a story tastefully breaks the fourth wall. And at the end of the prologue it says quote and so it's there that my story begins. Ah, I get chills every time that kind of language is brought into a story and done really well. Absolutely.

[Lexi]

And then the way it leads right into chapter one, the exact day of her mother's disappearance. Because as the prologue states, it's indeed when the story begins. So let's dive into the setup of when and where the series opens and how DMs life altering world shattering story begins. It's Foraging Day. We're in Mortal City and in the POV of a young healer named DM Bellator. I think it was so smart of Pen to introduce us to the story, story, characters and world. By the day being a holiday, we get a peek into what Foraging Day means and how it's connected to the magic of this world. Stay tuned for today's Sophos Library. I'm so excited. It clearly represents the division between the two class systems in this world. Mortals and descended. This holiday is supposed to be a celebration of the magic and non magical people coming together, but in actuality it is a reminder to the mortals of their lower status in this world. After all, the original Foraging Day was the day that control of the mortals world passed to the descendants by way of inheritance. Quote one of the many gifts bequeathed by their divine ancestors. DM goes on to think how their mortal ancestors haven't been quite so generous to them. When we asked Pen if there are any Easter eggs in chapter one that no one has picked up on yet, she said yes, and it has to do with gifts. Could this be what she's referring to? Later in Spark, when Lumnos is speaking through King Ulther, she will say, give him our gift, Daughter of the Forgotten. When the end has come and the blood has spilled, give our gift to my faithful heir and tell this is my command. And then later on in Heat, Luther says this about the Everflame. Quote the mortal leaders gave the island to the Kindred as a gift. That's why depictions of the Everflame weren't banned before the war. It was meant to be a symbol of the mortals willing submission to descended rule. I don't know. I feel like all these mentions of gifts are connected somehow. And especially with the way that the mortal ancestor is not being generous to other mortals. How that's said here in chapter one, I don't know. I feel like it's all connected.

[Nicole]

Okay, so I have a theory then. We will talk about rosebane a little bit later. But one of the things that yourself says to DM before she dies is take the rose bane, which we will learn from DM in the stretch is rumored heavily air quotes rumored to allow one to have the ability to talk to the gods. Do you think that DM's gonna have a conversation with Lumnos and learn officially what this gift is?

[Lexi]

Yes. I don't even think it's just Lumnos. I think it's all of the kindred that she's speaking to. Yes. Reflecting on Foraging Day, Moira says quote, go out of their way to shut us out. Though this isn't out of the norm at all for the descendant to do to the mortals. This really is helping shape our perception of the division between these two people.

[Nicole]

It's like the descended believe that they're giving them. I'll call it an offering in the form of this happy juice, which is unlimited magical wine. That should be, you know, it's enough for, you know, the mortals to go off and do their thing while the descended have their balls with their staggering wealth on display in every direction. Meanwhile, that wine offering for the mortals actually leaves women having to be extra careful because of all the stupidly drunk men. Do the descended know about this extra danger they've released? Probably not. I would actually argue definitely not. Especially because Patrol and the guards, the descended guards are vacant today. It just goes to show how the descended, for the most part, have no wish to understand the issues at play. It's like, you have your happy juice, so you should be fine. Like, let us go play.

[Lexi]

Yes, exactly. And if, you know, the mortals were to be like, hey, that's not so helpful for us, the descendant would blame them and be like, well, we did our part, so this is on you. You like? That's the mortals problem. The holiday is supposed to be for both descended and mortals. And this is the descended's way of helping the mortals celebrate. It's brilliant how we see this animosity toward the descended and their holiday play out through DM's interactions with different people here in Mortal City. How she says to Moira that Foraging Day is bad enough without this Blood sun. And they anticipate more patience at the Healer's center. With today being the most raucous holiday. Plus women are literally shutting themselves up in their homes to avoid the drunk ass. Going right back to what Nicole was just saying. This gifted magic wine does more harm than good for these people.

[Nicole]

Immortal City this us versus them theme is so much bigger than just being present on Foraging Day. It's one of in fact the biggest themes in this story that will be a driving force for so much of the conflict. Especially when it comes to Henry and the rest of the Guardians. Long ago the Kindred came to Omarion and many of the humans treated them like gods when they let their magic loose. But the Kindred fell in love with mortals and had half mortal, half Kindred children who bec descended. As we will learn when we're in Umbros in heat, no matter how many humans are bred into a descended line, the Kindred magic always overpowers everything else. Which by the way feels like a huge Easter egg for dm. But we'll get to that later. So these descended generations later still have this Kindred's blood in their veins, which.

[Lexi]

Makes them believe they are superior to the mortals. And now, thousands of years after the Kindred fell in love with mortals and believed their two people would live happily ever after, that superiority is on stark display in every facet of this society.

[Nicole]

These descended have staggering wealth, they have magic, more time to be alive on the planet. They have more unrestricted education and just more, more, more all around. We will get into the descendants own caste system that they have in place when we get to glow. But right now it feels very much like they are on a pedestal and that humans are left to survive for themselves. Speaking of from the mortal pov, there are these wealthy beyond belief descended down the road who have created laws and societal struggle structure that keep mortals in their place in perpetuity. They have less education. It's very difficult, if not close to impossible for them to break out of their poverty cycles. They have to pay taxes to the descended, money that goes directly towards the lavish lifestyle that the descended live. Especially the Courbois. Also, many mortals find it unfair because it was the Kindred who came to this world and they just took over because they could when it was the mortals here first.

[Lexi]

The mortals had rich cultures and cities before the Kindred arrived and now all of it has been wiped away because they're deemed inferior by the descended and.

[Nicole]

The Descendants see the mortals as short life flies who they can squash at their leisure, killing them in the streets, whether it's from starvation or because the descended guards just feel like it. We see that with Henry witnessing Aemon just barrel over a child and kill him without even looking back. This book even opens with a young person who was murdered for stealing food out of starvation. And yet, just down the road, when DM is at the palace later on in the stretch, she notices that food is just laid out on tables and and it's basically untouched. Which going back to Mortal City, it's quite the odd name because it's not very urban to say the least. Instead, this town is a collection of crumbling brick buildings and tin roofs. As Diem notes, it's more of a slum than a city.

[Lexi]

The mortals have little resources and work with what they have. Like often needing to hunt and scavenge to put food on their tables. So many people die of starvation and preventable poor conditions.

[Nicole]

Preventable is a lot of the heavy lifting of that sentence. Yes, the descendant required all the mortal settlements to be named the same Mortal City.

[Lexi]

I think Umbros is the only exception since it's a big melting pot and we never get any mention of there being a mortal city in Umbros.

[Nicole]

Previously, before the Kindred arrived, each mortal city had meaningful names of their own. Quote names of great chieftains and monarchs, mighty clans or beloved figures. The old gods we want to turn to for salvation. So I have a question for you. Do you think that by the end of the series each mortal city will have restored its name to. I'll call it the Old Time Times?

[Lexi]

Maybe a few. These historical records will have to be recovered from the very few places they now exist to even know what the names would be.

[Nicole]

Because DM has a key to Umbros.

[Lexi]

Exactly.

[Nicole]

Library.

[Lexi]

Yeah, I could see that.

[Nicole]

I could too. I hope so. I hope so a lot.

[Lexi]

Then there's our introduction to D.M. bellator, a 20 year old mortal healer who is willing to take on any call, no matter how dangerous or unsavory, who can hold her own against violent men in an alley, and whose mother has forbidden her to interact with the descended in any way, shape or form.

[Nicole]

I will go ahead and say this up front. DM is one of my favorite female main characters because of how, in my opinion, realistic she is. She's fiery and clever. You can see that right from the opening of her back and forth with Moira about forging Day and Henry and the cavorting through the bushes but we also see from the same passage how truly big her heart is. She cares deeply for her patients and if anyone dies like the boy from this morning, it doesn't matter what the circumstances are. She sees it as her own fault. Sounds like very similar to a certain prince we will get to know very well in the next few books. She also doesn't just look at the death itself and this is what I love about dm. She looks at the reasoning behind what made this person end up in the situations that caused their death or later books near death. The little boy she lost this morning died from starvation. That's a great example. This line of thinking is why she is so hesitant to always take a life. I know one of the big frustrations is just like why won't she fucking kill Vance? This is why. The oppression that led the Guardians to fight against it.

[Lexi]

She understands.

[Nicole]

She understands what led them to that life and that choices, even if she does not agree with their actions, especially when it comes to Vance. But because of that reasoning, she doesn't view it so black and white as oh well that person's bad so they must die. It's oh, these type of situations led to them making these choices, but that doesn't mean they're a bad person. We'll see how that works out in Burn and we will be talking a lot about that throughout this deep dive. This fiery spirit and deep heart that comes from DM does come to a crossroads that can be solidified into one sentence quote. As a healer, I'd sworn a vow to help, not harm. She doesn't want to be like the descendant who play gods with other people's deaths. Even though she is very capable of dealing a lethal blow. Andre Bellator made sure of that. And while this quality will definitely get her into some sticky situations that we will discuss at length when we get there, I do want to highlight that it is not not from a place of weakness. I'm going to say that one more time. Her allowing other people to live in these moments is not from a place of weakness in the slightest. When DM is on the face off with the men in the alley on foraging day in Chapter one, for example, she isn't willing to even hurt them because she knows if she does, they will end up at the healer center and therefore they will be able to prey on other young apprentices. Which I do want to point out that when it comes to DM's temper, she can be very white hot tunnel vision, especially when that fight voice comes in. Right? But when it comes to these types of moments in the alley, she is a strategic thinker. She thinks about how she wants the fight to go, she looks at her different options and then she looks at the result of those different options. So she is very intelligent and she has that good hat on her shoulders again when she's in that strategic thinker mindset.

[Lexi]

And unless her temper gets the best of her, which it does, and I.

[Nicole]

Actually think I have multiple times in this stretch. It's like DM's temper one, DM zero. And where does she get this fiery spirit and drive for justice? From one Mrs. Aurelie Bellator, who while DM was growing up, she taught her daughter everything she needed to know how to become a healer, both in forms of medicine and aid, and in the sincere importance of the healer's vow to heal and never harm that Arlie definitely never breaks.

[Lexi]

Her mother also taught DM how to use her voice and have courage to speak her mind and hold strong to her values. DM is a very confident individual and a lot of that is reflective of how her mother brought her up.

[Nicole]

Orly is the healer in Lunos, Mortal City, and it's one of the reasons that DM rose through the healer's ranks so quickly. DM became a full healer at the age of 14, which is the age of adulthood for the mortal mortals. DM idolizes her mother and holds herself to a standard, consistently asking, what would Aurelie do? Thinking. Major, major emphasis on that word. Thinking. Thinking. That's the only side of Orly she doesn't realize that there's this whole other side, that boy, oh boy, I cannot wait to talk about.

[Lexi]

Soon we begin learning about her father, who might not be DM's birth father, but that truly doesn't matter. He's her dad through and through. He's been in her life since she was an infant. Infant. And to spend his life with her and her mother he loves so much. Andre Bellator retired from being the highest ranking mortal in the Amarian army. He has devoted these past few decades to training his children, sharpening them into warriors, and teaching them how to think smart. His words echo in DM's mind here in the alley about how the enemies to fear are the ones who hide in the shadows and wait to strike when you turn away. And he has certainly taught her how to defend herself, take advantage of her strengths and fight smart. But here's the thing about DM. When she was 10 years old, her brown eyes turned gray and her auburn hair turned white. No One else has eyes like her, though she's sometimes mistaken as a descendant. Since Lumnose descended all have blue eyes. It can be interpreted as like that blue gray that we will see with somebody else. That she is actually Lumnose descended. This strange phenomenon is explained away by a childhood illness. It's a practice phrase when the question inevitably comes comes up. But it won't be until Glow that we find out who else does have gray eyes in this world. And then not until heat for why she might have been born with mortal brown eyes. And there's still mystery around it as we head into burn. Today's blood sun is a nod to DM's uniqueness. Chosen One trope. I see you with how the Last one was two decades ago, on the day of DM's birth. At dawn today, a thick haze hung in the sky and bathed the city in an eerie scarlet glow. Then, as it keeps rising throughout the day day, it's like it's scorching. Quote. Hotter, thicker, angrier, angrier. Like the Kindred are angry because, as we learn, they're done waiting. In the old mortal religions, a Blood sun is a bad omen and a warning from the gods. The Blood War from hundreds of years ago was partially called that because there was a Blood sun on the morning the war began.

[Nicole]

So I have a quick theory. We know that Ophiuchai Diem's birth father was imprisoned around the Blood War. But we don't have a confirmation of when. During the Blood War. War. What if Ophiuchai was imprisoned the morning of the Blood War, and that's why it was a Blood Son and that's why there was a Blood Son that day.

[Lexi]

Very possibly. Or maybe that Blood Son that rose that day was like his feeling of being called. And he was way more involved in the Blood War than anybody really knows right now. Or is talking about. Because Ambrose would know. And then because he was so powerful in the Blood War against the descended, that's why they locked him away. But he saw the Blood sun as his symbol to raise his forces.

[Nicole]

Okay, I like that too. I like that too. A lot.

[Lexi]

And then there was a Blood sun at dawn when Orly was about to give birth to DM on Korea 20 years ago. She thought it might be a sign that if she made the wrong choice, she might lose her baby. So because of that Blood sun and what Orly thought it symbolized, she went back to Ophiuchai in his cell so that she could give birth. We even get a glimpse into how DM's brother Teller has always teased her for being born on the day of a bloodstream Son, quote, even the gods knew you would be a pain in the ass.

[Nicole]

I am 100% in the camp that this is a nod to what we learned from the Umbros library. In Heat that DM reads, quote, pregnant mothers would risk their lives to travel the sea once labor began, believing a child born on the Ever Flames blessed soil would be imbued with its sacred power of life. This is by the way, the soil of Korea. So I 100% believe it's because. Oh my God, there is a child, child basically of the Everflame being born on Kuriel. That's why there's a Blood Sun. But it's also a child of a Kindred or baby Kindred. It's a child of a possibly Kindred and the child of the Everflame. So she's like the first like of its kind.

[Lexi]

I love it.

[Nicole]

Oh my God.

[Lexi]

It's just like a tiny little line.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

Nestled away in heat that I remember I didn't catch it on my first read. And then when I was doing my reread for our bonus episode last year, I was like, whoa, whoa.

[Nicole]

So that blood sign on DM's birth could literally have been a message from the old gods that there is officially a daughter of both the Everflame power and the Kindred power being born. And you know, she's. I don't think a bad omen necessarily, but like I. I think it's definitely a. This woman's gonna change the world. Then of course, we have the Blood sun this morning. Which is where our story begins. There are many reasons for this particular Blood son. It's the day DM learns about, you know, she's the daughter of the Forgotten. It's the day she learns that her father is a survivor and alive. And of course the prophecy that we' about to dissect line by line, which. Pause. I wonder if your cell saw the blood son in Umbros that morning. And that's how she knew today's the day I need to go talk to the daughter of the forgotten.

[Lexi]

That's what I was thinking too. Though I will say it's also possible she knew this foraging day would be symbolic from Father Umbros since he has been talking to her about Diem.

[Nicole]

That's true, that's true.

[Lexi]

Because she had to do her own behind the scenes things to get her blood vial to kill all of that. I mean, I'm not saying it's definitely possible. This Umbros queen, I do not underestimate her. Whatso.

[Nicole]

Yeah, gone too soon. Now this is also the day that the seed is planted for DM to stop taking the flame route, which allows her powers to officially come to the surface and therefore her become queen. But I'm actually going to throw a wrench in this because I believe there's another reason this blood sun is today. Because what if the blood sun is only partly for dm, but what if it's primarily for orally? Which pause. That would mean possibly the hundreds of year old blood sun was maybe for Ophiuch, this one is for orally and the middle one was for both of. It was for the daughter of both of them, which I kind of love.

[Lexi]

So although I will say too, the blood sun, while I was wondering about it being like Ophiuchai, seeing that as his calling, also the mortals. It is so ingrained in the mortals old religion too that they saw it as a sign as well.

[Nicole]

True, Very true. So we know that the blood sun is a bad omen from the old gods, which are part of the mortal religion of the Ever. There are multiple moments throughout this deep dive, specifically in Heat of the Everflame, where we get comparisons between this mysterious man leaning against the Everflame tree with vibrant red hair, to which Luther says, quote, with hair like that, he must be related to your mother, leading Lexi and I here to believe that Aurelie is somehow a descendant from this mysterious man who is somehow tied with the Ever Flame. We don't know the answers to that yet. So with all of this said, what if the blood sun is an omen for Aurelie just as much as it is for dm? This is the day that Aurelie goes to the island of Kuril to start this chain of events that never could have been foretold.

[Lexi]

I love that line of thinking and it embodies what the prologue sets up. On the day of her mother's disappearance, a crazy chain of reactions begin. Spearheaded by diem, this episode is brought.

[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

Finds herself in Paradise Row after escaping two men with dangerous intentions and running from four more with the help of a lady of the night. Because girl power. Paradise Row is the seediest place in mortal city where you can chase any manner of sin. But DMs familiar with this part of the village because of her frequent stops here working as a healer. But then someone catches DM's attention. Her mother is in the crowd. This in and of itself is nothing surprising since her mother also treats patients in Paradise Row. But what is surprising is the person she is with.

[Nicole]

The man is a proud looking demigod with clothes of the finest material, namely a floor length overcoat edged and embroider and gold threading his muscles. Oh those muscles. He has them in abundance. His raven black hair is pulled low and tight at his nape. A scar slashes down his olive skin face over his cold emotionless eyes. His blue gray emotionless eyes. He is a descended humans of the Internet. Our first introduction to His Royal Highness Lord Luther Courbois, Most Honorable Keeper of the Warden of the Light, High General of the Guard, Esteemed Member of the Crown Council, Personal Advisor to the Crown and Prince of Lumnos, Realm of Light.

[Lexi]

And Shadow and my husband.

[Nicole]

I feel so complete right now.

[Lexi]

You know what? I take back what I said earlier. I think I'm actually most excited for this deep dive to see you with your number one book boyfriend.

[Nicole]

I'm a giddy little school girl right now. I'm so excited.

[Lexi]

I love it. That was me with Cassian in Silver Flames.

[Nicole]

Now while I might be just kicking my feet up in the air aurally, certainly is not because for now all.

[Lexi]

We know about Luther is that he is a mysterious bad descended. Which pretty much sums up all of the descendant as far as DMs concerned. Even though something stirs inside him at the sound of his low and deep voice. Quote like a yawning dragon emerging from slumber. Ah, can't fool us. We've got the MMC here for the.

[Nicole]

Fact that she sees him and thinks about a dragon just solidifies my love for this man even more. Oh my God. This meeting appears to be going in any direction but friendly. With this descendant towering over DM's mother almost like it's a weapon to use against her. And we know whatever Aurelie just asked him, it is quote out of the question. Ah yes, because we will learn later. She asked him him to sneak her onto Kuriel and she wanted time to harvest this large supply. That's at least the story she told Luther. Nope, she's actually wanting to go to Kuriel so that she can plant bombs for a Guardian attack on the Crowns.

[Lexi]

Okay. But also to get more flame rude.

[Nicole]

So she continues drugging her daughter.

[Lexi]

Yeah, no, I'm not defending her. I'm simply saying it's not completely a lie.

[Nicole]

That that is fair. You are correct.

[Lexi]

The planting of the bombs is a.

[Nicole]

Pretty big thing to leave out though. Yes indeed, that is lying by omission. But going back to the Blood Sun, I also wonder if Aurelie thinks this Blood sun is an omen. That the Crown Ulther will die super soon. So she's seeing this as her opportunity to sneak onto the island of Kuril, thinking it'll only be a little while. Like 30 days. Cause Ulther might die today.

[Lexi]

Well we know she'd have to go on a foraging day and this is her last chance to get to the sacred island before King Ulthor dies and there's a coronation. So I like to think the Blood sun is the higher powers. Whether that be the Kindred and Slash or the old gods way of warning that today is the day of the dominoes starting to fall. Because it knows Aurelie is going to do this.

[Nicole]

Aurelie does not accept this out of the question answer from this mysterious tall hot descended, sneakily saying back to him that she has the means to leak this secret of his. This blackmail that he seems to have paid ten times over for. That we will later learn is her knowing that Luther is a half mortal. Quote from or if I die, everyone will find out your secret. I've made sure of it. Hold on What? Who did Aurelie tell? What is this? What was this chain of reaction? She's not stupid enough to write this down. And is she bluffing? Like, what? What is she talking about here?

[Lexi]

That is such a good point. The only people I can think of are the Guardians. But you'd think if Vance or Cordella knew the secret, it would have come back up when they encounter Luther and taunt DM about him. I kind of think she's bluffing. Or she has his information tucked away somewhere. But then DM does end up going through all of her mother's notes. That at least she knows of. So you know what? Maybe Moira is the ultimate mastermind, holding all the secrets.

[Nicole]

No way. Moira.

[Lexi]

I know.

[Nicole]

Moira talks her loose lips away just in this stretch of chapters.

[Lexi]

There's no way I know. I'm just looking for a scapegoat.

[Nicole]

I think she's bluffing. I think she's being a little bluff. It's not unlike Aurelie Bellator to lie. So I think that that's definitely the first option. This confrontation of sorts comes to a halting stop with the blackmail Aurelie is holding over this descendant's head. Like I want to just pause and be. Imagine being DM right now. You only have known your mother to be this lawful, good mortal healer, despite, you know, her fiery spirit. And here she's seeing her mother in an alley, blackmailing a descendant and not backing down like I would be. Like, who are you?

[Lexi]

I really can't blame DM for thinking that Luther is involved in her mother's disappearance. No, because he looks so guilty here.

[Nicole]

Well, and then also her mother's words. Her, I should say her mother's blackmail causes this man to concede if he must do this sneaker into Kuril. And it has to be tonight. So, yeah, he's like, I'm being black. If I was dm, I'd watch this and be like, so my mother just blackmailed a descended. He gave in kind of quickly, and then she goes missing. Yeah, it looks like.

[Lexi]

Especially with him saying, it has to be tonight. I just realized, like, that right there in and of itself would be evidence to me that this descended person has helped her disappear somewhere.

[Nicole]

He could have also been lying and. And said. And in his mind, he could be thinking like, she has blackmail over me. Let me get her into, you know, this like, dark cave or whatever to sneak her out, quote, unquote, sneak her out tonight. But she has blackmail over me, and I'm done paying over for It. So let me kill her.

[Lexi]

But then an elderly woman tears DM's attention away from her mother, arguing with this mysterious man. She wears jewel toned rags and her age shows in the wrinkles of her face and stupa for short shoulders. She has a smooth accent that DM can't place and her eyes are so dark that they appear black. Black, you say? Ah, yes. Because as we and DM will piece together in book two, this is no elderly mortal woman. This is actually the Queen of Umbros. Yersel, the descendant of Umbros, have black eyes and can read and or control minds, which y'soul will demonstrate very shortly on dm. Because she's a crown, she can use her magic in other realms, whereas regular descendants can't. Yersel disguises herself as an old woman by creating a mental illusion. Being a master of mind control, she can trick the mind into seeing and hearing something else entirely. So she's not actually changing herself, she's changing the way that DM and I'm assuming others around them are perceiving her. That is so crazy. Yersel is secretly here in Lumnos, mortal city on Foraging Day, not on Kuril with the other crowns. She sends a vial of her blood instead for her required contribution to the annual ritual. Ritual? Because being here to give DM this advice is way more important, I feel.

[Nicole]

Like, and this is my head canon, because your cell has been reigning since the actual blood war, that is centuries ago. I think your cell has a mad case of senioritis. So she's like, I'm not gonna go to Korea. I don't want to do that.

[Lexi]

Oh, for sure. I bet with King Ulther being too sick and sending vials of blood, she's like, wait, what?

[Nicole]

Like that's an option. I love her. Oh my God. Gone too soon.

[Lexi]

She's taken a special interest in DM and as she'll admit to DMing heat quote, blessed Father Umbros has much to say about you. Plus, we'll learn that DM's mother sneaks into Umbros pretty regularly. And Yersel reads her mind, obviously. So there's all that.

[Nicole]

DM is no stranger to the hagglers of Paradise Row. So thinking that this woman is just trying to hustle her out of money, she tries to like, brush her off, brush her away, until this mysterious old woman says, quote, those eyes. A gift from your father. Aren't they your real father? Yeah, that'll get her attention. Because those are indeed Ophiuchai's very special gray eyes.

[Lexi]

The eyes of the Kindred. They only decided for their offspring to have colored eyes based on each of the realms. Going back to what Pen said during our interview about the significance of gift mentioned in chapter one. Maybe it's this a gift from your father. DM's father has gray eyes too. And we've wondered if he's actually the tenth Kindred instead of the son of the tenth Kindred. Which makes DM not the daughter of a descended, but the daughter of an actual Kindred.

[Nicole]

This is so canon in my mind that I forget regularly that this is not confirmed on the page. DM has been told her whole life that her eyes went colorless in a childhood illness, never that she inherited the eye color from her father.

[Lexi]

All she knows is that she inherited the same illness as him, which turned her eyes gray and hair white and gave her hallucinations. So this illness that does this to her eyes and hair happened to her father too, and that is what she inherited.

[Nicole]

But what else catches Diem's attention from this old crone? Oh, just saying that that mother of hers, Aurelie thought she could hide it away from the world all with the help of that powder of hers.

[Lexi]

We'll find out that Aurelie has been giving DM flameroot since she was 10 and she began getting these hallucinations where she can play with light and shadows. So yes, Aurelie has been doing her best to hide it DM's powers that prove she is definitely not fully mortal. And in addition to the flame Root Power powder, she has been peddling this lie that what turned out to be DMs magic was actually hallucinations. And this plus her eye color and hair color can be explained away by an illness. So in order for these hallucinations to not come back, DM has to ingest this flame root powder every single day, thereby hiding her powers and hiding the truth from her and everyone else. Never once has DM truly questioned her mother's honesty or intentions. For lots of reasons that we will absolutely be talking about throughout this deep.

[Nicole]

Dive in hindsight sight. This is just brilliant storytelling because reading this book for the first time you start thinking even just here in chapter one. Most people I definitely didn't. But most people started thinking in chapter one like oh, DM must be descended. But it's not until really heat that you understand. Or no, I'll say glow. Like the end of Glow when she absorbs magic, you realize how other DM is. A huge theme of our coverage will be be Aurelie. Her Choices of drugging DM with this flame root. Or maybe Aurelie's lies about how she told DM that her father had died before Aurelie even knew that she was pregnant. That's not true.

[Lexi]

But she does think that he died.

[Nicole]

She does think that she died. That timeline is not correct.

[Lexi]

That is true.

[Nicole]

So knowing that it will come up plenty again, I'm gonna hold off on my true feelings about Orly and some choices that she made here. Because this old woman looks to the sky, taking in the Blood sun, and she she states, it appears the Kindred are done waiting.

[Lexi]

Again, we have this Blood sun as an ominous sign that today is important. It has its symbolism in the old mortal religions. But by the way that the Emperor's queen looks up at it as she says the Kindred are done waiting. It reflects that there are more meanings to this Blood sun and why it makes appearances. We can't forget that this series is called the Kindred's Curse. But each book is blank of the Everflam. So here in chapter one, we already get a blending of religious and historical meanings between the old Gods of the Everflame and the Kindred. We know from heat that the Kindred's bodies perish, but they endure as we'll see them communicate through several ways. So yes, I think this is a double meaning. That it's both the old gods associated with Aurelie and with the Kindred with them being ready for this. Devourer of crowns, Ravager of realms, Herald of vengeance. And here your cell is the one who knows today is a life altering day to deliver the message and start moving the chess pieces around. She definitely has DM's attention by now with her comments about her eyes being the gift from her real father, which very few people know Andre is not her birth father. And how her mother has her taking a powder, something even fewer people know about. But then this Umbros queen disguised as an elderly woman. But then this Umbros queen disguised as an elderly woman woman hits her with quote, he knows about you. Your father. He's waiting for you. DM pushes back that he's supposed to be dead, but oh ho ho, quote should be, but he's a survivor. Another trait you inherited, I'm guessing. Here I am trying to remember this is only episode one of our series Deep Dive Journey because oh my God, where do I even begin with this? The super duper tldr about her father. And I'm just going to jump ahead to only 20 years ago here ophiuchai was locked away on Koreel. And when her mother was out there on a secret mission for a year, she found him and they became lovers. He was so happy when Orlie told him that she was pregnant, but soon became very possessive and paranoid that Orly would leave him. Orly went into early labor after he became violent with her. One day, when she tried to go outside, he apologized and she didn't want to be alone for the delivery. That's when she thought she didn't want to make the wrong choice. She didn't want to lose the baby. And so then she made sure that she was with him for the delivery. When DM was born, he was overjoyed. So there's that part about her father knowing about her. He was literally there when she was born. But one day when he insisted on or going to get fresh air, she returned to him standing over newborn Diem with Orly's Godstone knife to her chest. Why? Why would he do this to his baby? Well, because he explained he needed DM's blood to pour it on a rock, the Heartstone. Break a curse like the Kindred's curse, and unlock his chains. Ah, yes. He is waiting for dm because she is the only one who can free him. Though whether he knows she would become a crown or multiple, I'm not sure. Orly refused to let him have baby DM's blood like a good mother. And they fought, leading Orly to stab Ophiuchai in the heart with the Godstone blade. So she really has thought he's dead all these years. I will get her that. But turns out he's not. Godstone doesn't work on him like it does with the Descended. We very highly expect this to be the same for Diem. And that's how she'll survive Heat's cliffhanger when she's stabbed with Godstone. So, yes, he should be dead, but he's a survivor, just like dm. They're not like the Descended. They are so, so, so different. The Umbros queen old woman goes on to say how DM is so easy to read and control in the sad state. With her drugged up on Flame Route, she is powerless and completely unaware of what she's capable of. And of course, the Umbros Queen has the power of reading minds and telepathy, and she can control people, which she demonstrates all of these abilities on dm. Unsurprisingly, this absolutely horrifies dm. She has never been in a position like this or had Magic used on her. She's not even putting two and two together. That this person must be descended and from Umbros. That's such a foreign thought to diem.

[Nicole]

To add to this crazy list of things this elderly woman is saying to dm, she calls her, quote, daughter of the forgotten. Later, in Heat, we will learn that there is a spot in the Mantios section of the realm that is called the Forgotten Lands. This is the land that Omnos, maybe Slash Aphi, ruled over.

[Lexi]

But when Omnos reportedly died several years after the original foraging, the remaining nine Kindred Reach cast the spell and allocated that land to montios. Plus, the 10th kindred is literally forgotten to history. So I guess it's not really reportedly died, it's more of just through the rumor mill among the Sophos crowns. Only in Montios diary is there mention of a younger brother when Montios was believed to be the youngest. And like I mentioned, there's only what has been passed down among the Sophos crowns.

[Nicole]

But this is where Pencole really flexes her genius. Omnos, the forgotten Kindred in Latin means all. All of the magic, all of the crowns. God, I love it. But Ophiuchai is taken from Ophiuchus, aka the forgotten 13th star sign, which technically, Lexi, you are, because it's from November 30th through December 18th. The symbol of this forgotten star sign is a serpent bearer. Ooh, spoopy. According to the story of Adam and Eve, snakes are tempters, which Ophiuchus is naturally seductive.

[Lexi]

The disguised Umbra's queen goes on to tell DM to stop running from who she is and to stop hiding. Stop taking that cursed flameroot powder. Again, no one outside of DM's family and Henry know about the flame route. And all these years, DM has been told by her mother that she has to take it or her hallucinations and the disease will come back. DM doesn't like taking the flame route, though, because of how it makes her brain fuzzy and her emotions dull. But she relents because she does trust her mother's judgment and doesn't really push. A fact that will haunt her after Aurelie disappears. And all these revealed secrets from this elderly woman will hang in the air, leaving DM starving for more information about herself and her father. But this warning to stop taking the flame route will be a turning point for dm. It'll take several more months before she actually stops, but this encounter will stay with her, nag at her until she follows through with this mysterious woman's instructions.

[Nicole]

Okay, old lady, you've spouted enough. You have our undivided attention. And that's when she starts spitting prophecy. Quote. When Forgotten blood on Hearthstone Falls, then shall the chains be broke. Life for life, old debt requires, or eternal be his yoke. Okay, let's go through this line by line.

[Lexi]

I'll say overall, this absolutely relates to the Kindred's curse. I'm not saying that this is the curse, but this is very much tied right up into that.

[Nicole]

Let's go through this prophecy line by line. When forgotten blood, aka DMs blood as daughter of the forgotten on Heartstone Falls, aka the Heartstone in the Kuril Temple that DM will bleed on as part of the failed coronation and the failed Foraging spell, then shall the chains be broke. These are the chains that are holding Ophiuchi in the God Stone prison on the island of Kuril. All of this will happen. These three lines of this prophecy will happen at the end of Glow with Ophiuchai breaking out of the prison when DM bleeds on the Heartstone and in the chaos of the Guardian attack, he is able to flee off the isle unseen. Or maybe unseen. He also might have called his Gryvern because that guy's still alive. But all of that to say we then go into the next part. There's this line of life for life. We're in chapter one and. But between this line, Life for Life and the prologue, I am kind of nervous for DM's aliveness. Even in the prologue there's mention of because how the turn of the events occurred and stuff like that. Many lives were ended and buried in Amarian soil.

[Lexi]

I wonder if it has to do with the bonded bargain she makes with the Sofos Crown Dorial when DM agrees to kill the man who led the attack on Sophos, presumably Ophiuchai, in exchange for Doriel to do everything they can to convince the Mirrors King and recommend to the other Crowns to vote for a pardon for DM and Orly. DM really struggles with the idea of having to kill her sire when she actually wants to save him. Of course she does. And understand him. Maybe even love him. Oh, dm, honey. But perhaps this is what life for life means. It's referring back to all of that. How she has to kill her father. There are also the references to the Kindred making a great personal sacrifice to protect the mortals after the Foraging. And some Sophos Crowns have speculated that sacrifice was Omnos could This life for a life refer to the sacrifice. Did it actually happen? And the 10th Kindred omnos was murdered? Or is Ophiuchai actually Omnos? And to protect the mortals there still has to be a sacrifice.

[Nicole]

Well, even when she was reading Matthias's journal in umm. Ambrose, there's this moment where Monteos is like they only call me Monteos because of the mountains and stuff like that. So Montios and all the other Kindred had a real name and then they came to this Amarian realm and they were called the Latin name.

[Lexi]

So you think Ophiuchai could actually be his. I'll call it real name.

[Nicole]

Yeah. Oh, that is exactly what I think. All of this leads to the continuation of the prophecy with quote, Old debt.

[Lexi]

Requires this Kindred sacrifice could also have something to do with that. And slash or have something to do with that. And these are old debt requires of Omnos and slash Orificai. And somehow it ties into Diem being the daughter of the forgotten and the only one who can settle these old debts because she is the one who has to do the bleeding on the hearthstone. And how that chain's broken. And how she is part of all of this now too.

[Nicole]

Well, sort of along that same line of thinking. I wonder if this old debt has anything to do with the old gods and something that the Everflame gave to the Kindred or you know, we know that the Everflame or the mortals gave the Isle of Koril to the Kindred or something that the the old gods asked of the Kindred. I wonder if this is a. A God exchange that has an old debt still in perpetuity.

[Lexi]

I like that. Especially because Luther said that the mortal leaders gave the sacred Isle of the Everflame to the Kindred as a gift intended as a symbol of the mortals willing submission to the descended rule. What if because the descended and therefore the Kindred haven't actually protected the mortals, that is this old debt that is required. Ooh, maybe because it was. Yeah, like the morals were like, okay, we will let you rule, but this is in good faith that you're not gonna fuck us over.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Lexi]

And they have totally fucked them over over. And now this is. It's like everything culmination of it. Yeah.

[Nicole]

Oh, I love that. Yes.

[Lexi]

And finally we have the last part of this prophecy. Quote or eternal be his yoke. Now if you're wondering what the heck does yoke mean. Allow me to explain. So guess what? It has a lot of definitions. So I'm just gonna share the most likely Ones where it doesn't involve oxes and things like that. Number one, an oppressive agency. Whoo, that sounds promising. Number two, Servitude bondage. Again, that oppression that the mortals have been going through lately. Or number three, tie or link. So if I had to take a guess here in episode one of what this prophecy can be interpreted as is life for life. Old debt requires or eternal be his yoke is saying something has to be righted or omnos slash Ophiuchai will forever be written be the oppressive ruler.

[Nicole]

See, okay, that's interesting because I actually took this differently. I think it's like life for life. Like you're saying with that deal with Doriel she has to kill her father or he's trying to kill her or something like that. Old debt requires there is some kind of outstanding debt that we don't know about. Or eternal be his imprisonment. That's how I'm taking it. Like his, his imprisonment will be internal. Unless these things are fulfilled. So maybe that's the curse. It's the curse of Ophiuchai.

[Lexi]

But then that, that doesn't make sense with the first part of it, then with how his chains are broken. So it's like he has been freed from his prison and now he's going and destroying the world. And unless they can stop him, then he's going to overrule and be the all powerful ruler.

[Nicole]

Okay, I.

[Lexi]

Maybe, yeah.

[Nicole]

You never know.

[Lexi]

It's a prophecy.

[Nicole]

I don't know. It's a prophecy like, like the Queen of Umbro says. Because it's like prophecies can be interpreted in so many different ways. Helpful Ursul. And you know what else is helpful? She goes on to continue say blessed foraging. Dm, I hope it's not your last one. That's ominous, my girl. And at the top of their conversation, when DM thinks that this old woman is, you know, just a hustler of paradise row, DM says quote. Let me guess. I've already met my true love. I'm going to have a stable full of children and I'm going to live a long, blissful, hopefully happy life before I die. To which yourself says, quote no child, none of that for you, I'm afraid. And it's with sorrow in her tone and sympathy across her face, which girl not reassuring. So with this type of speaking that yourself is doing with this prophecy and with the prologue, there is a high possibility that DM might have to die in order to fulfill this end of the prophecy. But no matter what, I do not Think DM will stay dead because of this line here from this quote unquote old woman. She says quote but he's a survivor. Another trait you're inherited, I'm guessing. Now this very easily could be in reference to Diem getting stabbed through the heart by igneous at the end of Heat in the same place that Aurelie stabbed Ophiuchai with the Godstone blade. It was right through his heart so that he's a survivor. That life for life. She could have already fulfilled it because at the end of Heat she could technically die and then come back to life. But I wonder if there's more to this DM being a survivor with the life for for life.

[Lexi]

The real question is how can Omnos or Ophiuchai or Diem for that matter, die? Descended Magic doesn't work on them. Godstone doesn't kill them. And while the Kindred can be killed, how is unknown. But I don't think DM will end up dying permanently. Pin says that she loves Romanasy. It's her favorite genre and I don't know, maybe she would do it to us. But I like to think we're going to get DM and Luther winding up with her apple orchard and Taryn Jr. The goat and living happily ever after. I have no idea how they're going to get to that point at where we are in this book, but I understand Burn is a very thick boy, so yeah, he is. After DM hurries away from the strange woman in the dark alley of Paradise Row, she waits for her mother to come home so she can confront her about this crone's accusations. Quote my questions for her multiplying with every heartbeat. We may have known from the prologue that DM's mother has disappeared, but it's an entirely different experience to see it play out on the page and feel this family's distress. At first, dm, her brother and father don't let themselves outwardly worry as they debate what innocent thing might have delayed her. But as night falls, they're really getting concerned and they start searching the woods outside their house, calling her name. Her brother scours the path to and from the Healer center again and again, again, just in case he missed something. Their father searches the wilder parts of the forest and Diem looks for their mother at the shore of the Sacred Sea, especially where they often gather flowers for medications. Like possibly her mother went out to shore. Like they have no idea and they are desperate to find her.

[Nicole]

As DM is out looking for her mother, she notices A lantern hanging from a boat coming back to the Lumnos shores. Yes, this is the boat that Aurelie was on when Luther took her to Kuril so that he could deliver a vial of Ulther's blood for the foraging magic and orally snuck off. Now this boat is returning, but only Luther is on board.

[Lexi]

Knowing that today's law enforcement was lax and unruly behaviors were running rampant because of the holiday, Diem is getting more and more anxious about where her mother can be. The next day they call on all their friends, neighbors and recent patients to see if they know where she might be, but no one noticed anything amiss. They search her belongings in case she planned a trip away and didn't tell them. Pause. Because in glow, Andre will admit to DM that she was planning a trip. She wouldn't say where or why, only that she could be gone for a long time and she wouldn't be able to contact me while she was away. But she swore she would warn me before she left. When she vanished without a word, I wasn't sure whether. And he trails off. So in this search, he's wondering if maybe she did leave on her trip. But she also told him she would give him a heads up beforehand, which has him really tripped up right now. I guess either Orly lied to him about telling him ahead of her trip, which is very possible. It is Orly. Or she really didn't know it would be this foraging day because as DM overhears Luther say to her, if I do this, it must be tonight. There won't be another chance before. And while DM doesn't hear it, we can gather he finishes with before the king dies, though I don't know. No. From their conversation, it definitely feels like she's convincing Luther to take her because she knows it has to be this foraging day. So maybe she thought she would have a chance to tell Andre she's leaving after she gets Luther on board, but she didn't have a chance before leaving with Luther.

[Nicole]

Maybe I want to say that is the case because her lying to Andre doesn't feel right. Like they definitely omit information with each other that we will talk very much about in glow. Yeah, I don't think she would outright lie lie to her husband.

[Lexi]

I agree.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Lexi]

In any case, there is no sign of Orly dead or alive. And the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months and oh boy. Her disappearance and DM subsequently not taking the flame route is indeed where DM's.

[Nicole]

Story begins and that Friends is only chapter one, but now it's time to do a time jump. It's six months later and basically everything's.

[Lexi]

Changed, but at the same time, outwardly not really cool.

[Nicole]

We're all caught up. Great. Chapter one was so important not only for the info and the mystery, we got around aurally going missing, quote unquote, but it laid the groundwork of what a normal DM is like, at least in her head. Because honestly, we don't really see a normal DM again in this entire series. She was more more carefree, easy to lean towards a joke, and her values felt very clear. She had clear role models to follow, she trusted people close to her and lived in her own version of quite the bubble. But then she saw her mother talking to a descendant, the descendant, and of course this old lady spitting prophecy at her, bringing up things that not even diem knew the truth about. And now we see what this new air quotes normal looks like after six months of the dust settling, or just more like stewing is really the better term. So here we are six months later, opening chapter two with DM being accused by her father Andre of why is the flame root in my fishing box that I haven't opened in 10 days? Dam well since that day in the alley with the old woman who told her to stop taking that cursed flameroot powder, her words have really been hovering in the background of DM's mind. So finally, about a month ago. So five months into this strange encounter, DM stopped taking her daily dose because she was fed up feeling like her emotions were dull and her brain was fuzzy.

[Lexi]

On a more subconscious level, the flame root was an obligation linked to her mother. Orly made her take it. And now Orly's not here anymore. So there's this sense of who can stop DM now from taking it. And by not taking it anymore, it's a small but quite meaningful way to rebel against her mother leaving.

[Nicole]

And so she hid her supply in his fishing box, hoping to very soon dump it all into the sacred sea. Muahaha fudge you flame root. This is not without a at least believed consequence though. She was taught from Aurelie that if she does not take this crimson powder every single day, then the hallucinations, a symptom of air quotes again, disease that her father had, would return and she'd basically go crazy and lose her mind. And yes, that is far worse than a cloudy fuzzy mind. But she can't admit to her father that she stopped taking her dosage in this moment, she lies and she said that she lost the vials of powder because A, he would be worried about the hallucinations returning because that's also what Orly told him. You remember when I was like orally wouldn't lie to Andre. I take that back. And B, there's this maybe conscious or maybe it's unconscious parent guilt of Aurelie would want you to take the flame route. That quite frankly, DM just doesn't want to hear from her father and she's not ready to face yet.

[Lexi]

Like Nicole mentioned, the flame route doesn't just nullify DM's powers that Aurelie has been ensuring stay hidden. It muffles her emotions. So dm, who is already headstrong, has had a blanket over her full emergency emotions for the past 10 years. That's not to say she's been a quiet and obedient girl, because like Teller says, she's never been that a day in her life. DM has always had a hot temper that can ignite when provoked like her mother. And she knows how to use her voice and stand up for herself. She's always been confident in her skills as a healer and a fighter. Even her tall height for immortal wink, wink, nudge, nudge gives her an air of reassurance in her status. But now she reflects back on who she was before she stopped taking the flame route. And she feels like that was a quite an obedient version of herself. She went along with what she was told and was happy to live in her little bubble. And now that the fog has lifted, she's tapping into her emotions and it's like the floodgates have opened. As her brother Teller says, quote, you're angry, moody, stomping around, snapping at simple questions, treating everyone like an enemy. At first, DM attributed this change in her behavior and the short fuse of hers to her mother's disappearance. Understandable. But now she's realizing that it's actually been. Since she stopped taking the flame route weeks ago, her mind is clear and her strong emotions are no longer dulled. She's getting to know herself as she really is without the flame route. And that's a lot for a 20 year old to take on, right? Anybody would feel that way. The injustices of the world are grading on her. Things that used to not get to her are weaseling their way under her skin. She's questioning the light that she's let be built up around her because she didn't build this life that she has herself. As someone who, who is so fiercely independent she's realizing that her personality may be that way, but her life isn't, and she's questioning what that says about her. She's shifted from carefree to reckless because yes, there is a fine line she's always walked between the two, but now she is fully in reckless territory. The carefree girl, drugged up on flame root and coddled by her mother is gone in every sense, leaving her in a bit of an identity crisis as she laughs, lashes out, rebels, and agonizes over the unanswered questions she has for her mother, who she doesn't even know is alive or dead.

[Nicole]

With the flame roots suddenly lifting after these 10 years, DM also starts to hear this voice in her mind fight. Hello godhood, it's nice to meet ya. We learn in GLOW that in order to tap into your godhood, AKA the power within you that is from the kindred, it feeds off of your emotions, at least until you learn to control it. It more with DM's emotions no longer being suppressed by the flame route, all of these emotions are now flying to the surface hard and fast. Ayo but because she never learned how to deal with these intense emotions from ages 10 through 20, which are pretty big emotional ears, now anytime her emotions pop up, so does her godhood because she doesn't know how to deal with them. And the godhood is like, hello emotions, let's fucking go. No, it's scaring her because of what she feels called to do, which is fight. Like we discussed earlier, she is someone who is trained in fighting and quite frankly relishes in it. But she also doesn't want to harm. And now this voice is urging her to fight and eventually kill and destroy. And it's not only strangers, her family members are seeing the most charged sides of her. And it's like this voice is telling her to fight those she deeply loves, like it does when we first come across it as readers while she's talking with her father about taking the flame root dosage.

[Lexi]

That's so interesting because I was kind of viewing these early chapters as her godhood telling her to fight for herself. Like standing up for the fact that she's not taking her flame route or fight to save Lily. You know, I don't think it's telling.

[Nicole]

Her to fight like punch, punch like I think that's kind of one in the same. She is being told to fight back and not be this obedient child as much anymore. Even though yes, Taylor does say you've never been obedient a day in your life, but she kind of has because she has submitted to her mother's lies about her life. So I think it's this fight, it's that recklessness that you were talking about earlier. It's this ultimate cycle of feeling out of control. But there is one thing outside her family that has her blood boiling at the injustices of the world. These entitled mother effing descended. Whether it's from gossip around town, Teller's classmates making a snide comment about him, the poverty the descendants have ensured the mortals stay in, or the violence the descended guards evoke on the mortals, she is sick and tired of pretending like she doesn't care about this massive difference in ways of life or I'm going to call this DM subtext world. She's sick and tired of not feeling anything and just letting the world pass her by. So stop taking the flame root equals feeling more charged up and righteous about the world and passionate to see it change. I always go back to that line and glow of what Andre says to dm quote, does your anger actually help those people or does it make you feel righteous while the situation gets worse?

[Lexi]

Oh gosh, that line has a lot of truth to it.

[Nicole]

Oh yeah, it's like Shrek. That line's got layers.

[Lexi]

Yes, it goes right back to this us vers them mentality. So many mortals are fueled by anger at the destruction descended. Maybe not to the point where they're joining the Guardians, but they dehumanize the descended because there is so much separation between them which the descended purposefully made this way. So it's this echo chamber in Mortal City and especially in the company of Henry, who despises the descendant and wants his world to be free of them. Lumnos is one of the more mortal friendly realms and this is how they're treated. They're oppressed, they lack basic resources. Then there's the laws against the half mortals, there's abusive guards, steep hard to pay taxes just to help the descended live their lavish lives. They're not viewed as real people to the descended. And it's not until that spark of injustice six months ago on 4G Day, plus her distrust of the descended, talking to her mother the day of her appearance, and now being off the flame route, that DM gets her own wake up call about how fucked up all this is.

[Nicole]

But because of her parents, more specifically Arlie, it has been very very world pass her by for her life up until now. Her father was a respected officer in Fortos and while most descended didn't really look twice. It did help his status immensely among the mortals. And then there's her mother Aurelie, who kept DM sheltered away from the descendant all her life, not letting her know how to heal them, not letting her take descended patients, which to that point. Soon when DM sees the descended boy for the first time, she is shocked. His skin feels warm, he feels normal rather than this cold heartless thing that she's always thought to believe. DM didn't go to school because of stomach aches on the days where the descended lessons were taught, even though those descended lessons were very few and far between. Her mother didn't even let her know that Aurelie was the descendant Palace Healer and she was personally healing the King, which now that position is being held by Moira six months later. But Moira is a little more loose lipped when it comes to sharing stories of the descended and DM absorbs these stories like mad, which I wonder if her craving to absorb them is almost that subconscious part of DM that is trying to grasp onto any information she possibly can so she can feel more connected to herself because this is a huge part of her. After the almost near argument with Andre ending with DM promising to take her flame root dosage today, it's time to be the good older sister she is and walk her younger brother Teller to school. Which it is rather ironic that DM is not allowed to be near the descended. But her 17 year old brother Teller goes to the prestigious Descended Academy. There he is educated until he is 18 like the other descended rather than 14 like the mortals. Which then might just lead to an invitation for him to the realm of Sophos, for him to be at one of those fancy research institutes, but that only happens to the absolute brightest of mortals. Sadly, the descended are very clear to Teller that despite this superior education, his mortal fate of being locked in Mortal City is likely to be his future. Teller is bright and absolutely deserves a spot in this descended school and he knows that his spot in the school is conditional with or only agreeing to be the Palace Healer and thus treat the King. If Teller has the spot in this higher education now, what he does not know oh boy is a large part of aurally getting him into that school is so that she could use information from his classes to understand and spy on the Descended more Auralie, I am trying my best to defend you, but girl, this is an L. Capital L. Bad God.

[Lexi]

This is you trying to defend her.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

DM has mixed feelings about her brother attending the Descendant Academy because on the one hand, of course, she's so happy that he is getting the education his bright mind deserves. And despite the descendants warnings, he has more opportunity than probably any other boy in Mortal City. On the other hand, though, DMs worried about her brother spending too much time around the descendant, he's forming relationships with them and that almost always always ends badly. After all, the descended live for centuries and mortal lives are simply blips compared to theirs. Oh, and there's also the little fact that in Lumnos, the descended immortals are forbidden to intermarry and any children from the two races are automatically killed. On DM and Teller's walk to the descended academy he attends, who butts into I mean joins the party. But DM's longtime best buddy, her childhood stuffed animal in human form, pins number one fan. Yes, we are being serious. The biggest character analysis challenge we have ever encountered. Henry. Yay.

[Nicole]

Oh Henry, you complex shaggy blonde haired fiend you. Henry is DM's oldest and bestest friend. For as long as she can remember, they spent their childhood climbing trees and swimming naked in the sea and tied talking about their future under the stars and most importantly, bonding over their hatred of the descended. And after his mother died when he was very young, Aurelie became very close to a mother for him and he attempted to put himself in that older brother figure to tell her as well. An idea that Teller never quite warmed to, as we can see when Henry calls him kid and Teller shoots him back with a correction. But last spring, after years and years of friendship, they stripped down and went swimming naked in the sea and ended up instead doing quite a bit more than swimming. I'm talking bang bang, bangity bang. While neither of them was each other's first time, they were the first to mean something that is very important. We will be revisiting that sentence quite a bit.

[Lexi]

But then or disappeared and DM's life fell apart. She desperately needed the simplicity of a friend, not a lover. And and that's the role Henry went back to without complaint when she needed it most. And over the ensuing months the two of them changed, becoming harder and angrier. After experiencing life and loss, she's no longer the carefree girl he had fallen for, and he's not the tender hearted boy she knew so well. We'll find out that Henry has been a member of the Guardians for about a year now, which absolutely makes sense for that spark in his eyes when he speaks of taking down the descendant as he aligns himself with his his greater purpose and mission for the mortals to rise up. And then there's dm, who is transforming in real time as she gets to know herself off the flame route. Like Nicole and I were saying earlier. And that's someone Henry doesn't really know either.

[Nicole]

There's this great line, I can't remember if it's in Heat or Glow, where DM is like, at first I was running to Henry, and then we were running to each other, and then we were running side by side, but in opposite directions. Like, that line just stuck with me so hard.

[Lexi]

It was always running and it was never just been with him. Oh, yeah.

[Nicole]

Oh, that's deep, Lex. Oh. While walking Teller to school, DM is aghast to learn that her mother was treating the king of all people, who is on his deathbed. And we get an interesting line from Henry, quote, what did you think she was doing up at the palace every day? Yes, because Henry not only knew roughly what Aria Lee was doing up at the the palace, spying on them as a healer and sharing that information with the Guardians, but this whole conversation. Henry has known that Arlie is on a mission for the Guardians. Wal Teller and DM have been mourning. He's known that she's alive and well. But because of his guardian oath to never share information about a fellow member's identity and his sincere belief in the cause, that value does overtake his loyalty to DM. He has kept that secret as he's watched DM's life fall apart. This is one of the reasons I want to simultaneously punch him in the face and also marvel at the true in the grayness of his character. He knows incredibly happy and hopeful information about Arlie, and yet he does allow them to wallow, mourn and search the town, even getting laughed at. Because DM asks people if they've seen her mother because she. She was talking to a descended man and then they mocked her for not understanding that. Oh yeah, her and that descended man definitely ran off together. And like gossip spread throughout the town, he's watched all of this and said nothing.

[Lexi]

He technically says, oh, I bet the old gods will bring her back. Like, he's trying to infuse some hope in the situation, because he does know, but without actually saying it.

[Nicole]

But it's also like, that's enough.

[Lexi]

He does think that's enough. Yes, because once when DM confronts him about it in heat, he's like, I was trying to tell you. And it's like, I get it. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[Nicole]

All of this boils down to him believing in his role in the Guardians, which I can't wait to get to that next episode. Especially you. We have a surprise. So much because as we see in his introduction scene, he. He despises the descendant.

[Lexi]

And this hatred of the descendant is woven into Henry's character. He refuses to celebrate Foraging Day and believes it's the most depressing day of the year. He rightfully blames the descendant for the death of his mother, who fell ill with a rare but treatable disease. Yet the crown dismissed his father's desperate request to get the herb native to Matios, a realm where mortals are forbidden. His mother's life was in the crown's hands, literally, literally. Her mortal life was dependent on the descended. And they didn't even bother to lift a finger. Like they didn't even try. They didn't care to try. Which reflects the descendants overall perspective toward mortals. They're not really fellow people in the descendants eyes.

[Nicole]

And this is what we really want people to focus on as we dissect Henry. He has been taught since, I mean, like, what was he, 2 or 5 when his mother died? And this has happened. This has been ingrained in. In his bones since he was literally old enough to walk.

[Lexi]

Yep, exactly. And then Henry gives Teller a hard time for attending the Descended Academy as he demonstrates with his sarcastic quip, our magical overlords treating you with kindness and respect. All their lives, Henry and DM have discussed their hatred for the descendant and he has dreams of an Omarion free of the descendant and their magic. These days there's that spark in his eye when he speaks of it, which, which yes, makes sense because he's part of the Guardians. The next episode we'll discuss the incident that tipped Henry over the edge and how it led him to join the Guardians. Henry's character is a symbol of the oppressed, underestimated and angry group of people. He and many others are past seeking respect and equality from the descended because they do not believe there's such thing as a world where these two types of people can reasonably coexist. So they're ready to show the descendant that the mortals are formidable, that they're ready to take back their world, and they'll do anything to make it happen.

[Nicole]

The conversation on this preschool walk shifts to, well, if the current king is on his deathbed, then who's next in line? And the short answer is no one technically knows. Because the magic of the crown picks whoever is the most powerful descended in the realm, it is going to go to whoever that may Be. But it's not so black and white. Ah, yes, it is quite gray, DM darling. Because some descended might have a lot of flashy power, but they drain really quickly. Versus others might have the ability to last forever. Nice, but only by doing little bits of small magics. But there's one person who is at the top of the betting pool. The incredibly powerful Prince Luther Korbois. The only Lumnos descendant who can wield both light and shadow magic.

[Lexi]

And it's clear Henry doesn't like him. Inklow will be led to believe it's because Luther was the one Henry saw run a boy down. But no, Henry hates Luther because he comes into Mortal City every now and then and sulks around gathering information. In other words, Luther is invading their space and most certainly isn't trustworthy. Or as far as Henry is concerned, welcome. Even though the truth of it is that Luther is helping as much as he can. Especially with saving the half mortals and doing what he can to help with these poor conditions. Although the truth is whatever he can do as one person will never be enough for them long term.

[Nicole]

Well, and I also wonder if, because Henry is a lot more well educated in the realms of the descendant and all this stuff, I wonder if he knows that Luther is the keeper of the laws. And because of that reason, he knows that any half mortals have to be reported to Luther. Then those people who report them, they get a reward. And then he majored air quotes. Kills those half mortals. So in Henry's eyes, I 100% see why he would hate Luther.

[Lexi]

Once Teller goes to school and it's just Henry and Diem. He has a proposition for her. No, not a proposal yet. He has to make a delivery to Fortos tomorrow and will be gone for two days. Would Diem like to join him on this trip? It's pretty common for mortals to go between two realms. Fortos is Lumnos's southern border neighbor and descended don't like going into other realms because their magic only works in their own realms. Thanks to the foraging spell that keeps the realms and magic in their neat boxes. It goes against every instinct of mine not to dive into all the realms and talk about all this right now. More, more, more. But we're saving this world. Building walkthrough for next episode when we.

[Nicole]

Go to Fortos, DM's immediate answer is no, because she's unable to walk away for that long from the healer center. For six months, DM has been working herself to the bone. Helping Moira, yes, but also drowning herself in work to stay sane and more importantly, purposeful. Taking a break is, quite frankly, not something her unconscious is even willing to let her do. But one idea does pop into her head, and no, it's not the chance to jump Henry's bones.

[Lexi]

Shocking.

[Nicole]

If she goes to Fortos, the place where Aurelie spent most of her life and still has some former colleagues there, DM might just be able to sniff around for some information on her mother's disappearance.

[Lexi]

She hasn't given up investigating what happened. And the only leads that she has right now is that her mother was visiting the palace more frequently the week before she disappeared, and she was arguing with the descended man on the day of her disappearance. So DM's been searching for this man in hopes he might know something and anything to help her find her mother, to no avail.

[Nicole]

This makes me feel so much for DM. She's in her early 20s, but with her mother's disappearance, the weight of her family and the Bellator name at the healing center is just so much so on her shoulders. Even Teller will say that he feels so guilty for Moira taking over Aurelie's position at the palace because. Or was doing it without pay because the pay was getting Teller into school. And he's like, well, Moira, Moira and her wife and her family, they need to provide on their own. And there's so much of that guilt on these two children. Something I'm quite frankly positive that Orly did not think of before she left.

[Lexi]

And she had to convince herself that her family would be fine during her brief absence earlier, when we were talking about how Henry has to choose between DM and the Guardians and he chooses the Guardians, the same can be said about Orly. True, as her daughter will certainly point out to her in heat.

[Nicole]

I can't wait for that scene. Oh, my God. But the fact that the ability to dive deeper into her mother's mysterious vanishing is the thing that finally makes DM say yes to Henry's offer, it really shows the differences between her and Henry's priorities right now. Henry loves her, or at least he loves the previous dm, the flame root, dm, I'm going to call it. And he wants her to come so that they can be romantic again, so that he can open up that door with her so he can propose to her, versus DMs driving force on this is her mother and any information she can find and not really living her life. When Moira brings up later that the loves, you know, she sees between Henry and dm, DM gets spooked and only replies back with quote, love is a big word. We're taking it slow for now.

[Lexi]

After pocketing the contraceptive tonic that guys have to take. Huzzah. A panicked boy with blue eyes bursts into the healer center. Oh no, it's a white walker. Wait, no, it's a descendant. He's frantically asking for Orly Bellator to come help with the palace because there's been a terrible accident. It's interesting that even though Orly has been missing for six months, she's still known to be the palace healer. As this boy explains, he was told to go get Orly, which checks out with the way descended view the mortals. It's beneath them to stay up to date with those that they consider second class citizens. How should they know she hasn't been around for months. Moira insists DM stay back and not come with her to help the injured. But DM won't have any of that. Children are hurt and her mother isn't here anymore to enforce her rules about never going near the palace. Like we said earlier, Orly has very purposefully kept DM far away from the descended and not allowed her to learn anything about them. For one, she doesn't want to draw attention to her daughter. If the truth about what DM is ever came up, she would be killed because of the progeny laws that forbid half mortals from existing. And secondly, I don't think or has wanted her daughter to know anything about the descendant, including how to heal them, because DM's smart and would probably start putting a few puzzle pieces together about herself.

[Nicole]

I do want to point out that Aurelie is. She was very successful and for her goal she was right. Because DM is in the palace for five minutes and she already is like what the fuck did I just do with my hands? And Luther's staring at her thinking she has four toast magic. So I will straight up asking if.

[Lexi]

She'S a half mortal. The guy who is in charge of killing the half mortals. Yeah.

[Nicole]

So Aurelie for her goal was right to do what she did.

[Lexi]

Up until today, DMs only perceptions of descended have been based off myth and gossip, leading her to think of all the descended as monstrous evil beings. But here, as she is the closest she's ever been to a descendant, she realizes how normal this poor scared boy is. She'll later admit to Moira that she's surprised how much like the mortals they are. And right here, seeing this boy Elric as a fellow person is where her steadfast all descended are bad belief begins to crack. DM interacts with this descended like she would any mortal in a similar situation. Elric feels terrible for Kyle, causing the accident. He had been showing off his magic to the children and it hit the ceiling, which then collapsed. She reassures him that accidents happen and shares her own story of when she almost got her brother killed due to a harmless prank. It's notable how DM says that's what family is all about, standing by each other's side even when you make the worst mistakes. First off, oof. This is really going to be put to the test in the series. But she also doesn't understand how different descended families are yet. Their relationships are far more transactional than unconditional love, as Eleanor will have to explain to her.

[Nicole]

I wrote the same thing in my notes as I was doing this part of the read. And because we can assume this boy was at the palace, he most likely is a Courbois, and we will get all into those family dynamics next book. As the healers and Elric run to the castle, you can feel the anxiety start to rise up with each step forward. So in a rush, he asks the three women, Moira Diem and a healer in training, Lana, a question. Healers can't say anything about what they see, right? And the answer is yes, Elric, that Hippa is coming in hot. Well, great, if it's absolutely 100% confidential, right, DM? Then he's got another idea that will get them to the scene faster. Turns out there's a secret entrance into the palace in the way of an enormous wall covered in thick vines, so it's seamlessly camouflaged. But there is a hole, barely big enough for anyone to pass through, that leads them straight through, past any guards or inspections, and right into the palace. And wow, wow, wow. What a palace. The structure itself is made out of pure light, itself rising and falling in delicate shimmering waves like starlight. Given pure form, tall towers practically disappear into the heavens from the light reflecting off the blue sky. Even as the clouds pass over the sun, the light of the palace seems to follow suit. Who can make fan art of this, I beg of you. As DM notes, this palace is neither frightening or imposing, and it will soon be your home. Diem Bellator.

[Lexi]

When they get to the scene of the incident, there's a crowd gathered, and DM thinks how it was a miracle no one did died. There's a hole in the ceiling and the fallen debris caused the table to snap in half. And there are three injured children. Remember that descended, don't get their magic and fast healing until they hit puberty. So at least two of these children are very, very vulnerable. Moira, Diem and Lana immediately jump into action. Moira goes to help the youngest child, a small boy lying motionless. Don't worry, friends. He will live and be okay. Lana will go check on the other boy who is the least injured. And DM will help the oldest, whose healing abilities have kicked in. But she is still injured badly enough after getting the smaller children out of the way before the ceiling collapsed. She's about 16 or 17 years old.

[Nicole]

DM rushes to her aid, leaping into action with helping her arm that seems to be broken. Or according to the stern man who's hovering over her, it's clearly broken. Duh. Diem falls into a routine as a healer and distracting her patient from the pain, asks her a few questions, starting with what's your name? She shakily answers, Lily. To which the asshole hoverer says, you may call her Princess Lillian. Shit. This girl is not only a girl, but she is the princess niece to the king of Lumnos. But this is also the girl who her little brother Teller has a crush on at school. No pressure, but you have to heal her, dm, or else you'll have a very sad little brother. And this douche canoe might have your head. Because it's clear that while he might have time for DM right now, Lily is his absolute world. Hearing him shift to a gentle tone that he seems to use with Lily, DM's eyes rise up to meet his very blue gray eyes, his long uneven scar, his olive skin, his raw sex appeal. Oh, wait, not yet. Welcome to the story, Mr. Louver Courbois.

[Lexi]

While we may be very happy to see this, Prince DM is most certainly not. First of all, remember that she doesn't know who he is in this exchange. It's not until later that Moira reveals he is the prince, Lily's older brother and the assumed next Luno's crown. All DM knows is that this right here is the man she has been searching for in vain for six months after she saw him arguing with her mother on the day of her disappearance. She knows he is the one person with the the answers she's been so desperately seeking all these months. And maybe he's the one responsible for killing her to keep his secrets quiet. That or threatened to expose. After all. He goes deathly still when Lily offers condolences for DM and her missing mother. He knows something and he's right here, soothing Lily in her pain and guilt and snapping at dm. And all she wants to do is lunge at him and demand answers while that voice inside her head feeds on her emotions and urges her to fight.

[Nicole]

When DM first entered the scene, she felt this oddly sentient energy press on her skin, as if that energy was assessing her. We will learn that that is dear Luther's aura. And yes, assessing her. Indeed it is. I want to pause for a moment and zoom into another person's perspective. My favorite person's perspective. Years ago, Luther was visited by the Blessed Mother Lumna, who told him that he would serve the Gray Eyed Queen, knowing that the Kindred had gray eyes. Cough. Cough. That feels important. Cough. He assumed that this queen was Lumnos herself, coming back to reclaim her crown. But it is this moment for him as he looks into DM's eyes and realizes, oh shit. What if the vision I saw from Lumnos was this woman instead? Because he never saw her face, only her eyes. In DMs POV, she thinks that he seems to have a glimmer of recognition across his face. And then his eyes go wide as his stare meets hers. So imagine how earth shattering this moment is for Luther too. He didn't see her in the alley that day. This is the first time he's laying eyes on her since the attack by his father that almost killed him. He has done everything in favor of Lumnos and swearing feal tea to this mysterious Gray Eyed Queen who he believes is basically going to save the world. And here she is healing his sister, saying she's mortal. And all the while he can feel the presence of her magic surrounding him.

[Lexi]

We'll find out that after this encounter, he'll begin his search to uncover more about this mysterious gray Eyed woman who says she's mortal, but clearly isn't. DM will understandably take this the wrong way and think that he's suspiciously prying into her life. But in actuality, Luther is just trying to understand how his vision from Blessed Mother Lumnos correlates with this. Says that she's mortal healer. Turns out that yes, Lily's arm is broken. So all DM needs to do is give her silver worm to take the pain away and then reset her bone. Easy peasy.

[Nicole]

There's one small thing though. DM should not be able to set Lily's bones. As Moira later explains to Diem descended, bones are strong, strong. Stronger than iron, to the point that mortals don't have a shot. In hell at moving them, let alone setting them back into place. Which explains why, as DM goes to prep Lily for the crunch, Luther keeps interrupting her, saying that he should do it. DM takes this as a slight against her abilities as a healer and him trying to tell her to do her job. DM's temper striking again. But no, he's asking because he knows how strong you have to be in order to to set descendants, Bones. And she's immortal after all. But DM has no idea of this because yet again, this is something orally left out of her training. I love how later when explaining this to Moira, DM says, quote, I took care of it like any other patient silver worm to numb the pain, a little distraction, a sharp tug, and it's done. Just like magic. Just like magic indeed.

[Lexi]

I gotta love how she's sarcastic with how she says it, because the idea that it is actually, actually linked to magic is so far off her radar, like that would never ever even come into her brain like that. With Lily's arms set and her descended healing, ready to take care of the rest, all is well that ends well. Wait a second. Lily stands up and isn't doing so hot. DM's first thoughts are that she missed something crucial. But before she can beat herself up over it, she pushes past those thoughts and jumps back into action. But don't worry, she'll place plenty of blame on her herself with this. Soon as she beats herself up over being too wrapped up in her own thoughts with Luther and her mother to the point she overlooked something this drastic. Turns out there is a twisted metal shard snapped off from a fallen chandelier protruding from Lily's back, and it went unnoticed because she was so overwhelmed by the pain in her arm. And the large pool of blood coming from this wound was hidden by her body and covertly absorbed into her thick navy gown. I realize I'm still a little confused how to descended skin works because only Fortosian steel is supposed to be able to cut through their skin, and I'm guessing the chandelier is not made of that. But anyway, I guess we'll call this unexplainable plots that happen by the flames.

[Nicole]

By the flames.

[Lexi]

Just like how we had Cauldron Boil.

[Nicole]

Me from that guitar.

[Lexi]

There was a lot of that. In the later episodes, DM works frantically to save Lily's life. She gives her a clotting poison reason prays to whatever gods are willing to listen. She yanks the metal out of her back and packs gauze over it. But there's just too much blood and Lily is doing bad, bad, bad. Thinking of the voice that tells her to fight, DM zeroes in on that command. Come on Lily, fight this. But little does DM know this causes her to activate her godhood and use her magic. She doesn't realize it for what it is, only feeling a strange stirring in her chest and her hands tingle with both heart, hot and cold. And then now there's a soft flow coming from her palms pressed firmly against the gauze on the wound. DM even has the instinct to hide this from the others, hunching over so no one else can see. Even as she actively convince herself, sort of, that this has to be Lily's descended magic, she's consciously gaslighting herself and being like, oh, this has to be Lily. But subconsciously she's like, oh, I think I did something here. After the light beneath DM's hand flares bright silver and Lily is miraculously not just a lot, but healed completely. DM is confused and her only explanation is that this had to be Lily who healed herself, because again, DM has no idea how descended magic or their healing abilities work. So she just kind of has to make an assumption here because otherwise she can't touch that with a ten foot pole.

[Nicole]

We brought up earlier that there's this moment where DM recalls a childhood moment where she imagined shadows and light dancing in her room and being a friend to her. Well, they were very real friends because she was controlling them with her Luminos magic. But because of Aurelie's consistent gaslighting, telling DM that those aren't real and it's just you hallucinating and you should be scared of the hallucinations because that was what you know, your father went. Your birth father went crazy. Over. Over time, DM internalized this truth, limiting her own interpretation of her world and you know her very clearly using magic with within it to Aurelie's definition, AKA these are just hallucinations and it's an illness. Again, I'm trying not to dunk on orally because yes, she was trying to keep her daughter safe. And at the same time, DM trusted her mother so much, to the point that she took everything she said as truth, like many of us do when we're children. But now with this glowing light and Lily being suddenly healed, it's this doubt that starts to creep in of what's real and what's not. Is she having hallucinations again? That must have been Lily's Powers not hers. She even checks her palms to see if the blood on her hands is real. Like, that breaks my heart because this is the cracking of the trust between what DM believes is happening. In her mind, she might believe she's going crazy because of this belief in what she's capable of, and more specifically, a belief in what she's not capable of. Magic being so strong in dm, her brain literally will refuse to see what's in front of her that she just healed Lily with magic. But this is the moment where she finally starts to open this teeniest crack in her mind to maybe actually, but perhaps possibly, that something might be different about her.

[Lexi]

It's time to introduce one of our mini segments of this kindred's curse deep dive called D Lulu Diem. It's going to be very popular here in book one, where we rate on a scale from one to five, how Delulu DM is being as she is, in denial of her own magic. In fact, Pen shared on our intro episode, she once read a review that only said, you cannot spell denial without dm. I love that. I'm gonna give this palace and healing Lily incident here probably the lowest dulu rating I'll ever dish out, which is a two.

[Nicole]

Really?

[Lexi]

Yes, because number one, this is the first time in 10 years that DM has used magic, so of course it's gonna feel foreign to her and she doesn't identify these feelings as magic at work. Number two, this isn't even Lumnos magic. It's Forto's healing magic at work, which for DM would be extra unfathomable. So she's already completely unfamiliar with the descended magic because she's been so sheltered from it. And the descended purposefully do not wield their magic around mortals. But this isn't even her realm's magic. And number three, most importantly, that we decide discuss a lot in this episode and will continue to do so. DM has to be in denial for her own survival. We had a great conversation with Pen about this in our intro episode, where if DM questions even the tiniest possibility that she has magic, it shatters her entire life and this house of cards comes crashing down. She can't possibly be half mortal half to send it. For one, it's an automatic death penalty. So even entertaining the idea in her mind is incomprehensible because it puts her life at risk. And also it would mean that her mother has been lying to her whole life. DM has put her mother on a pedestal and trusted her as the daughter does with her mother. And there is already doubt cast after that encounter with the Ambrose Queen old woman. And DM just doesn't have any answers. So she has to cling to something that feels real because otherwise her world falls apart. So this is a coping mechanism more than anything.

[Nicole]

I agree with you completely. And for that reason. Reason I see your two. And I would give a two as well, if it weren't for the fact that it's so visual. It's literally her hands glow white bright, and then Lily is just miraculously healed. So you're gonna hate me. I'm gonna do a 2.25.

[Lexi]

No. Okay, hold up. I'm creating some rules. Only half points.

[Nicole]

2.5. I'll do a 2.5 here because. And I don't think that'll be my lowest rating. I think. I think next episode I'll have a lower rating. But this, I feel like, is a good middle of the road, because it's like you're. For all the reasons you're saying. It's her first time. She's been off Flame Route for now long enough where it's like, whoa, what the fuck is this? But it's also so visual, and even Luther's like, the fuck did you just like. So I'm. For that reason, I'm trying not to talk myself into a 3. I'm sticking out of 2.5. I'm sticking out of 2.5.

[Lexi]

All right, sounds good. I absolutely see what you're saying there. So while we might give DM a hard time for not recognizing the obvious, Pen did tell us during our June 2024 book club interview with her that launched all of this, that her intent wasn't to hide this from the reader. Like some plot twists can be. It's us being in DMs POV. And she is unable to fathom this herself, as she is so deep in survival mode. She needs to hold on to her normalcy as a mortal and trust that her life has been exactly what she's always thought, what her mother always told her, or everything will shatter, including her relationships, too. If Henry finds out that she's a half mortal, then he would hate her even more than anybody. And she doesn't know how her father would feel about that or her brother. And she would be rejected from her society because they all hate descended, running.

[Nicole]

Out of the room so she can wash up and feel like she. She can get a grip on herself. DM runs off to a nearby bathroom, only to be stopped by the one Person she does not want to see right now. That dude who was fighting with her mother before her mother mysteriously disappeared. Seeing Luther immediately took DM back to that blood sun foraging day afternoon. And she's furious with him. After all, in her mind, he kidnapped and slash or killed her mother because she was blackmailing him. And seeing him now in the flesh, it's as if if her self control is finally wavering. Letting her mind believe for a moment that her mom actually might not come home. Something she hasn't let herself even think about for six months. So she takes her anger out on this mysterious man. DM temper strike two. But Luther has a plan of his own in this confrontation. Figuring out what the fuck just happened. He's been feeling her magic. He is convinced she she's a half mortal. And I'm pretty sure he's also asking her these questions to see if he needs to smuggle her out of the city. And he believes, rightly, that she just used Forto's healing magic. So he asks if her father hails from Fortos.

[Lexi]

That's such a cool part because I didn't catch that.

[Nicole]

I didn't either. It wasn't until the deep dive that I was like oh my God. Because of course he knows her mother is immortal and if she just used healing magic, then her father must be a Fortos descended. So when he comes to the healer center later and asks Moira a were her eyes really brown as a child? Tell me more, tell me more. And B, if Moira knew her father. To which Moira says quote, everyone knows Andre Bellator, the great mortal war hero. Yes, you guessed it. Mortal is in italics. What I would give to be in Luther's head during that convo. Cause all he could probably think think was what the.

[Lexi]

Back at the Healers center more orally, secrets unravel. Earlier, Teller told DM that he's afraid he won't be able to attend the descended academy anymore without their mom serving as a crown healer. DM knew their mother did work at the palace, but she had no idea that their mother was treating King Ulther. And it hurt her to find out that both Teller and Henry knew. AKA seems like everyone but her knew this about Orly. And yet she she is the one who actually worked with their mother and was a fellow healer. Moira might have taken Orly's place as the palace healer, but this deal means no payment. Teller is aware that's a lot to ask of anyone who has a wife and family to care for. And he doesn't feel comfortable letting her continue to do that for him to continue going to the descended school. So to ensure her brother's education is safe and his mind is at ease, DM offers to take up some descended work at the palace until her brother finish his school next year. You know the palace, the heart of the lion's den. That OR has strictly forbidden her from. Like DM will reflect soon. Being in the descendants palace symbolizes life after Aurelie Bellator. DM is tired of living in limbo, of whether her mother will return. She wants to be ready to start leaning into a new life, even though she's not quite ready yet with her reasoning to go to Forto as a great example. And this leads to her being a little rebellious by doing the exact opposite of what her mom wanted. I think it's DM's way of releasing some of her anger that she unwillingly feels toward her mother for disappearing and leaving them in limbo. Moira very reluctantly explains to DM that it's not so simple as being one of the palace healers until Teller finishes school. Because the deal her mother made was for life. According to Moira, in exchange for Teller to receive his descended academy education, your mother agreed to serve in whatever manner the Crown requests for the rest of her life. And that requests from the Crown would be her priority. If orally broke her agreement, then she would be executed by the Crown. But that's not all the secrets. Because the person who negotiated this deal on behalf of the Crown was none other than Prince Luther Dun Dun Dun. The very same scarred and broody man Orly was arguing with and blackmailing on the day she disappeared. Ah, we're beginning to learn there's a little bit more to or Lee and her relationship with the Crown than her daughter ever thought.

[Nicole]

Much more that she doesn't even realize it. We will learn in heat that Aurelie wasn't just healing, but she was also spying on the royal family for the Guardians. Understandably learning that her mother had this whole other secret life and all sorts of secrets from her. Oh God, dm. You have no idea. It makes DM furious. She can't get answers because her mother is gone. And the other person who she would possibly able to learn anything from is quote, that abominable descended prince. Is the anger amplified by the lack of the flame root previously damping her emotions? Maybe.

[Lexi]

I think it's also DM having no idea how to process her feelings in full. Yes, this is all foreign to her and she's tangled up in her emotions that she has never felt this strongly. And it's just compounded with all of these crazy life changes and questions and no answers when she is somebody who needs answers.

[Nicole]

But she has also every reason for this anger. Her mother left after making a fool's bargain that now DM feels like it's on her shoulders to uphold. Or else Teller loses his place at school and his future is condemned to one of the mortals when he has the ability to be extraordinary. Remember, DM is not warm and fuzzy with the descended. She might not be at Henry's level, but she does hate the wealth that they have have on display in the belief that they turned a blind eye on the mortal suffering. And now with taking on this bargain, she's forced to be around them. Including the man who DM believes possibly killed her mother.

[Lexi]

This revelation about her mother's deal with Luther to be the palace healer for life is the tipping point of DMs world crashing down around her. That night she can barely get through dinner because her mind is such a mess. But what stands out is that her mother kept so many secrets. Secrets from her. Specifically her firstborn, her daughter, who at one point it was just the two of them. And when her mother was here, DM lived a sheltered life and didn't seriously question or Lee. And now, without her protection, I was being hauled toward all the truths I had been perfectly content to ignore, kicking and screaming all the way down. As a culmination of what she's learned and more so what is still lost in secrecy, DM makes a big decision. She might not have been taking the flame root powder for weeks, but she still has all the powder that her mother had. Little does DM know how rare this powder is and how illegal it is in the nine Realms. But don't worry. We will get to that Next episode. To dm, this flame root represents all of her darkest emotions in tangible form. Since the elderly woman, AKA the Umbros Queen, told her that her mother is hiding it, that her birth father is still alive despite her mother telling DM otherwise, and that she needs to stop taking the flame root, this powder represents her mother's darkest secrets that she is so, so angry about. Plus, it's been weeks and she isn't having these hallucinations her mother warned her about. She's fine without it. Tell that to the light coming out of your palms, but that's okay.

[Nicole]

Or the wolf that's about to explode.

[Lexi]

But that's why she's all of a sudden desperate to get it yeah, exactly. Which I love that right now because at that situation, she won't be able to come up up with a oh, it was a descendant magic. Like in this case, she is so consciously convincing herself that it was Lily that she does feel comfortable and confident getting rid of all the flame root. So to rebel against her mother, to say fu to her mother's secrets, and to take ownership of herself and her own body and mind, DM collects her mother's entire collection of flame root bottles and sends them sinking into the sea under the sea, never to be found, never to be used.

[Nicole]

Now all I can picture is like a Sebastian just taking flame root under the sand is like under the sea.

[Lexi]

Orly's been doing her best for her daughter not to end up like her sire. And I truly do believe that in addition to all the reasons we've been talking about for why DM has been taking the flame route, her mother doesn't want her precious daughter to be anything like her birth father, who from her perspective tried to kill his child, who is manipulative and possessive and all the rest we will discuss way later. But here in this moment for our fmc, I love how this is how her story really begins. She decides for herself she's not going to take this stuff again. Or ever. She's been dulled her whole life and this is going to lead to her becoming a bull in a china shop. Not just carefree and outspoken like she always was, but straight up reckless as she figures out her real personality, not the foggy version of herself who is still formidable in her own way. So now let's just crank that up to level 100. And this isn't even touching on the power she now has, including the healing magic from Fortress we saw on full display with Lily. But of course DM has no idea that's what all these weird incidents stem from. In this magic fueled segment of the episode, let's tap into our Umbros magic and turn our full attention to important foreshadowing moments for the rest of this book and series, including Speculations for books. Book 4 Burn DM thinks about how.

[Nicole]

Often parents hope filled dreams for their children don't exactly go to plan. Oh, that is just the mirror staring right here in the face. There's also a moment when fighting the men in the alley where the tip of one of their dagger skims along her ribs but doesn't cut her, only her clothes. I guarantee you it actually did cut her, but because of her descended skin she she didn't get cut When DM.

[Lexi]

First sees Luther in Chapter one, she doesn't feel his magic yet. And that's because she is taking the flame route that puts a blanket over her magical abilities the next time they meet at the palace. And she hasn't been taking the flame route for weeks. She can feel something in the air, but isn't quite sure what it is. It's his aura that she can now feel.

[Nicole]

In Chapter one, DM thinks about how she as a child hoped that she would be the long lost heir of a faraway kingdom, but because she felt insignificant. Well, she's not so far off because she is the heir to the Lumnos throne, but also all of the thrones in Marian. But I also want to point out that if Ophiuchai is indeed the kindred Omnos, which that'll. We'll get way more into that in a future episode, then technically she would be descended from a faraway kingdom, just maybe a faraway homeland, which we know from the Montioses journal in Heat that something happened at this faraway homeland that should have scared the younger brother Omnos, but didn't. So I don't know if it's a homeland she'd want to go back to is what I'm saying.

[Lexi]

While Orly is talking to Luther, she says that things are getting worse and quote, helping me might be the only way to stop it. Earlier, DM notes that Mortal City is like a tinderbox, one spark away from exploding. There's that word spark again. This is all foreshadowing for the building tensions, the activity of the Guardians, and the war right around the corner. Many naive mortal women get caught up in the spell of charming descended men, and DM thinks how that would never, ever, ever be her mother. But in a very unique instance, that's kind of what happened. When Orly finally tells DM the story of her birth father, she'll say, ophiuchai was unlike anyone I'd ever met. The simplest stories would fascinate him, and he spoke of his dreams to change our world for the better. He was charming, and I was lonely.

[Nicole]

On the walk to school with Teller, we get an alarm, alarm, alarm moment when DM threatens to slip some rosebane into Lily's morning tea and how it wouldn't kill her per se, just make her a tiny bit insane. Because it's rumored that when you take rosebane, you can talk directly to the gods. Rosebane, you say? Because at the end of Heat of the Everflame, your cell tells dm, quote, take the Rosebane. Use my key, Heed my warnings.

[Lexi]

I cannot wait to talk to the.

[Nicole]

Gods in book four.

[Lexi]

Me either. In this same joking conversation with Teller about, you know, poisoning the Lumnos Princess. I love how DM is like she would never actually do it. Like she really is just joking in this. But then there's Henry. Because when Teller says, try not to plot any more royal assassinations, Dia might respond with we'll take it into consideration. Like she's totally just playing around here. But Henry says, no promises. Yeah, Henry has bad intentions. I'm not saying that specifically about Lily. He'll be part of the mission to blow up Korea, where the Monteos King will die for starters. But yeah, he's definitely ready to kill some crazy crowns and make them pay for what they've done to the mortals. He very much follows Vance's lead. And Vance is a kill every single descended on the same walk with Teller. DM expresses hope for her brother to go to those fancy research institutes in Sophos. She will soon learn from Henry what this really means for mortals, albeit an exaggerated version. And she'll do everything in her power to prevent Teller from going, including declining an invitation from Sophos for him to to attend. Which will definitely bite her in the booty. Henry and Diem worry about Teller getting caught up with the princess. And DMs like, no, no, no. He's smart. He knows the consequences.

[Nicole]

Whoops. DM mentions how when she and Henry went over to the Montius border, they saw a group of secret nomadic descended. Yes, we will see a very similar group in heat who are tucked away in a cave.

[Lexi]

And when she went over over the border and onto Montyos soil, she unknowingly received the magic of the realm. But it's been stifled by the flame root, so we have no idea yet that she can wield stone and ice and snow. We'll explore where DM has already been and what this means for her magic. Next episode. Moira says to Diem about her and Henry. Quote, only an act of the gods could keep you two from falling in love. The gods you say? Like DM being the daughter of the forgotten and. Or DM being connected to the old gods and all the prophecies from the gods about her. In this same passage, DM reflects how she has run away from any boy who has looked at her with something deeper than lust. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you our slow burn.

[Nicole]

Ah, my favorite. Moira says that the descendant get jumpy whenever mortals are around, so don't go wandering off. Shockingly, DM will break this rule.

[Lexi]

We meet Lana the healer and train training. Who's going to steal Henry from dm? I'm sorry, I can't even say that with a straight face.

[Nicole]

One of my favorite moments in heat is when Lana's like, I'm sorry, you can't have him. He's mine and I don't want like. And Henry's just looking at her like.

[Lexi]

Oh my brave girl.

[Nicole]

And DMs like, can we get this fucking over with?

[Lexi]

Oh my God, she's just like laughing about it all to herself. I feel like that was like barely even scraping the surface of all the foreshadows on this first stretch.

[Nicole]

Now it is time to enter the Sophos Library where each episode Lexi guides us through a world building topic to help us deepen our understanding of this world and the magic within it.

[Lexi]

Today's Sophos Library topic is Foraging Day and the history behind it. First off, what is Foraging Day? Foraging Day is an Amarian holiday celebrating the creation of the Forag Foraging. A magical pact made by the Kindred many millennia ago that divided Omarion into nine realms. We don't know the exact date of Foraging Day, but we do know that it happens once a year in early summer on the anniversary the pact was made. Foraging Day is meant to remind everyone, mortal and descended, that this is a new age where the descended are to rule over the nine realms and usher in an era of peace and prosperity with both races living together in harmony. But as DM reminds us, as so often happens with a parent's hope filled dreams for their children, things did not go exactly to plan. Which brings us to the history of Foraging Day. Many millennia ago, nine immortal siblings known as the Kindred came to this mortal world seeking refuge following the violent destruction of their world. The Kindred each brought their own unique form of magic as well as their Gryverns. They also brought a piece of their homework world called the Heartstone. And it was when they shed their blood on this Heartstone that they forged the spell, that symmetrical pact on the date that Foraging Day is now celebrated. After arriving, each of the Kindred fell in love with a mortal citizen of Amarian. And rather than watch their beloveds wither to old age and die, the Kindred agreed to abandon their eternal youth and bind their lives to their mortal lovers. To create this pact, the Kindred created the Foraging Spell. With this spell, Omarion was broken up into nine nine realms, each named for one of the Kindred and infused with its patron God or goddess's respective magic. The Kindred had intended for the offspring of their unions, the descended to rule over these realms and live in harmony with the mortals. But like we've mentioned just maybe once or twice this episode, that didn't exactly work out. The foraging magic, among other things, enforces the realm borders. This restricts a descendant's magic while they are outside the borders of their Terra Mer, AKA their realm where their magic is rooted unless given permission from the crown of the realm they are now in. Like for instance, the Umbros Queen less descended, half mortals have access to their magic if they pay their taxes. Every year on Foraging Day, the crowns from each of the nine realms meet on the Isle of Kuril to refresh the foraging spell. This is only episode one, so I'm not going to get into how the 10th realm plays into all of this and how there's a 10th sibling. It gets a little bit too crazy. So we don't know exactly how this Flow Foraging Day ceremony works, but I'm guessing it's something like the crowning ceremony we'll experience at the end of Glow. Each ruler is required to offer their blood to renew the foraging spell. To do this, each crown takes turns cutting their hand with a jewel encrusted ceremonial blade, after which their blood must drop onto the heartstone in the center of the temple. And only after all nine realms bleed on the stone will the spell be replenished and ready to go another year. The only other occasion that requires the the nine realms to renew the foraging spell by bleeding on the heartstone is when a new crown is coronated. I believe that when there is a new crown, the foraging spell requires renewal because now there is a crown who hasn't given their blood yet to contribute to the foraging magic. So the coronation is them keeping the balance and fulfillment of the foraging spell. If this blood ritual is not performed every year, or if the new crown is not coronated, the foraging spell will begin to falter and break down. But back to Foraging Searching Day. While this holiday should be a celebration of mortals and descended coming together, that hasn't been the case for a very, very long time, leading to two groups to celebrate the day in different ways, at least in Lumnos, because that's all we know of so far. The mortals Immortal City are left to their devices. No descended guards patrolling that day as they celebrate separately and the mortals get a cart of descended wine dropped off for them to indulge in. This wine is laced with magic to keep the drinkers Spirits high for hours as they ride wave after wave of bliss. This magic has a more potent impact on mortals, with some humans spending their magic laced intoxication in pleasure houses, while others indulge in less than admirable ways. The men who indulge in these ways tend to stay intoxicated for many days, leading to an increase in trips to the healers for both the drunk and their unfortunate victims. On the other hand, it is said that on Foraging Day, the descendants spend the daytime twirling streamers and nibbling fruit to the wildflower fields. How lovely. And spend the evenings dancing in gowns and jewels at the Foraging Ball. With buffets as far as the eye can see and musicians playing from dusk till dawn. This holiday is more so a celebration of their origin and what the Kidred did to turn Amarian into what it's known today with the descended ruling instead of what the Kindred originally intended for it to be. A celebration of the new Amarian, where both the races live happily ever after. And that, friends, is Foraging Day with a little sprinkle of the foraging magic and the foraging spell.

[Nicole]

So let us close out this episode with skipping around the apple orchard and talking about our favorite moments.

[Lexi]

It's worth repeating here. I love everything about chapter one and how it sets up the story. How can you read this chapter and not need to keep reading all of the Easter eggs? I know we didn't even cover them all. It feels like there's just so many many and it shows how much the series is plotted out.

[Nicole]

I love that DM notices Luther's quote rather impractical sword on her first sighting of him and even now she's making fun of this garish piece of tin. So good.

[Lexi]

The curse words in this series is top notch and we get our first one in chapter one.

[Nicole]

Fortos Balls.

[Lexi]

I'm so excited we'll soon be introduced to Lunosis Tits and I just get such a game out of it. I'm five years old.

[Nicole]

Something I just adore is from the get go how DM and Teller interact. They love each other so unconditionally, but they also are such siblings in the way that they rip each other a new one at every given opportunity. This is less of a thing I love, it's more of like a wait. What? Only Elric bothered to thank Dean Diem, Moira and Lana when they healed the descended. And yes, I know like Luther stocked off and like you know Lily will later pull DM aside and thank her personally in the streets, but there were so many Other people there and they didn't get thanked other than the kid who ran for help. Like that's outrageous. I always love Moira but dang, I am loving her more and more on this deep dive. Especially the moment where Elric offers to carry Moira into the palace and and she smacks him with her cane. What an iconic woman. I love lines like this quote. I couldn't shake the feeling that if I brought this man into my life it would open a door I could never close again. Yeah, it's true. And lastly, I have a question and this might be on our Ask Pen list. We know from a scene at the palace that descended age like humans only until adulthood and then they're aging drastically, drastically slows down. He Luther could just as easily be 25 as 250. We don't know how old Luther is. How old is Luther? It's never stated.

[Lexi]

I feel like I've always had it in my head that he's like 200.

[Nicole]

What?

[Lexi]

Yeah. Okay, so think about, think about Zelrick. He saved Zelrick when Zelrick was much younger. Not, not a child per se, but I think he was a teenager. Is that right?

[Nicole]

That sounds right. Yeah.

[Lexi]

Yeah. And Zellrick is clearly older now too.

[Nicole]

So I need Pen to answer this.

[Lexi]

Because I do too. He's about like. If I had to guess, I would say Luther is 140. All right, friends with that. Episode one of Spark the Everflame is in the books. Huzzah. Thank you so much for listening to this first episode of our Spark the Ever film Deep Dive.

[Nicole]

We will see you again next Monday for episode two where we are covering chapters seven through 14. It's time to go fuck Henry in the forest.

[Lexi]

We're introducing my new favorite segment and I am so excited to share it with you all. I have literally been waiting I think six months for this.

[Nicole]

I'm so excited.

[Lexi]

I have some shopping to do. That's all I have. We'd love to give the biggest warm welcome welcome, welcome to our newest Crown Council members. Extra cherry on top for you to be our very first shout outs with the new tier name.

[Nicole]

Welcome, welcome, welcome to Leia D. Ashley B. Yumiko B. Marissa B. Briana C. Lydia B. Cody D. Taylor K. Osley J. Linda C. Caitlin L. Melissa H. Cheyenne W. Danielle Katie L. Andrea A.

[Lexi]

Katie D. Liz Rebecca R. Donna R. Danielle W. Natasha P. Aurora K. Crystal K. Sarah L. Ashley R. Juliana Katrina S. Sarah C. Natalie Michelle H. Candace.

[Nicole]

O. Sabrina H. Miranda M. Ananda Kira L. Kylan Stephanie M. Amanda W. Ash, Jules P. Emily I. And last but certainly not least, Karen. Welcome, welcome, welcome.

[Lexi]

Oh and if you're like, hey, I want my name shout on the podcast and to be showered with all the love and attention to join our Fan Club at fantasyfangirls.com Fanclub link is also in the show Notes.

[Nicole]

Thank you as always to our SOFO Scholar, our Content researcher Brooke, and our Executive producer, AKA our Sanity manager Hayden.

[Lexi]

We are very active on social media with weekly trivia. We're going to have some Omarion Guides coming up soon and lots more. So please be sure to follow us on Instagram, Instagram and/ or TikTok antasyfangirlspod. And if you're watching this on YouTube or you want to watch this on YouTube, I promise we're really fun to watch with all of our crazy expressions. Pretty please hit that subscribe button to keep following along.

[Nicole]

While you're tapping buttons. Go ahead and hit that five star button and write a little love note in the review section. It is so helpful not only for this podcast, but for any podcast you listen to. And last but not least, share this episode with your fellow Ever flee lame friends. If you and your friends were reading the first chapter and you're like what the is this old woman going off about? This is a great episode to send to that group text.

[Lexi]

All right friends, one more time. Thank you so much for joining us today. We can't wait to see you next Monday with episode two. Bye bye bye.

[Nicole]

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