Ep 5 Heat of the Everflame: Chapter 42-55

Summary

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Fantasy Fangirls – Ep 5 Heat of the Everflame: Chapters 42–55

Date: September 1, 2025
Hosts: Nicole & Lexi

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Fantasy Fangirls Nicole and Lexi (sisters; Nicole is the romantic, Lexi the lore nerd) take a deep dive into chapters 42–55 of Spark of the Everflame by Penn Cole, the third book in the Kindred's Curse Saga. The main focus is the fallout from Luther's godstone wound, the intense political intrigue in Lumnos and Fortos, DM’s (the protagonist) struggle to save both her loved ones and her realm, and the explosive events leading to her becoming Queen of a second realm. The sisters analyze character arcs, key themes (balance, sacrifice, power, legacy, and justice), major plot shocks, and foreshadowing for the next book.

Spoiler Warning: Full spoilers for Book 3 — Heat of the Everflame — including the ending, as well as series-wide discussion.

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Chapter Summaries (Consulting Our Royal Advisors)

[06:08]–[14:37]

• Chapters 42–44:
  The crew returns to Lumnos. Luther’s godstone wound worsens; DM is desperate for a cure. She reads her mother's cryptic godstone notes (“Godstone = death. Life = ?”), offers a blood oath at Lumnos’ shrine, causing it to cry blood — hinting at divine intervention. DM’s blood (mixed with an Arboros potion) miraculously cures Luther after all hope is lost.

• Chapters 45–55:
  Luther survives — celebratory, heartfelt, and then hilariously "please-just-let-them-bang" moments ensue. DM confronts palace politics, clashing with Regent Remus and the Hanovers. She discloses her accumulating magical powers to her brother, Teller. Upon learning her mother is a political prisoner, DM flies to Fortos to break her out, triggering a series of desperate battles, an iconic prison break, and a shocking double-crowning: DM becomes Queen of Fortos (unheard-of for a woman). The episode concludes with DM, battered and burned out, orchestrating a mass escape as the soldiers of Fortos, on patriarchal principle, refuse her rule.

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Reach for Our Forging Magic: Key Insights, Discussions & Theories

1. Luther’s “Death” and DM’s God-Blood Heals

• [21:36]–[46:19]

  • DM’s healing skills and the helpless agony of almost losing Luther form the emotional heart of the episode.
  • Nicole: “Moira tries her best, but the hopes are too low for an outcome where Luther lives.” [22:00]
  • Divine intervention and the “bonded bargain” hypothesis: DM’s blood (partially from a deep, still-bleeding wound) mixes with her prayer and the Arboros potion — Linked to a miraculous, religiously symbolic healing.
  • Lexi on Pen Cole’s writing: “Characters’ godhoods are alive within them and have become their own characters.” [36:53]
  • DM offers herself, blood and soul, in a desperate bargain: “His life in exchange for whatever you want. My life, my soul. I’ll fight this war in your name... Any price.” [34:31]

• Thematic Discussion:

  • The blood-magic-bargain scene ties religious symbolism (weeping statues), DM’s unique ancestry, and foreshadowing of sacrifice.
  • The repeated motif of “balance”: Is DM both life and death? The foreshadowing that she (and perhaps Luther) may eventually have to die as an ultimate price.

2. The Shifting Politics of Lumnos

• [47:39]–[59:40]
  • Discontent in the realm: More Amarian (Fortos) troops occupy Lumnos as Remus clings to power, citing DM’s lack of formal coronation.
  • Lexi: “A big theme in this stretch…is the old generation gripping onto power in whatever means necessary.” [70:30]
  • Younger descended start questioning tradition and showing sympathy to mortals, giving DM new hope for allies.
  • Nicole commends Eleanor for sowing seeds of change: “Three cheers for Eleanor and how she’s been planting the seed of change while DM is gone.” [59:19]

3. DM’s Relationships: Betrayal and Growth

Aemond Arc

• Aemond, torn between old loyalties (and toxic father Gareth) and DM’s vision, betrays DM’s plans under pressure, but both sisters agree he’s heading for an eventual, messy redemption arc.
  • Lexi: “I think in Burn, he will start to move over to DM’s side, but…it will be messy.” [65:09]

Henry Arc

• The explosive Henry confrontation: Closure, not clean, as Henry has already moved on with Lana. Both he and DM emotionally cheated before the break.
• Deep rift: Henry withheld the truth about DM’s mother’s whereabouts, repeatedly choosing Guardian priorities over DM. Nicole: “This is the slap in the face to end all slap us in the faces.” [94:46]
• Nicole’s “L’s for Henry” and the famous Henry Hat segment — comedic gold, but rooted in sharp emotional insight.

Sibling Strain

• DM’s secrecy and Teller’s feeling of helplessness culminate in vulnerable, fraught exchanges. Both hosts praise the realism of this family dynamic.

4. Fortos Prison Break & the Queen of Two Realms

• [102:43]–[149:25]

  • The plan is flawed, but love/family overrules; DM and Luther infiltrate.
  • Fortos’ prison: Godstone, blood locks, inhumane conditions for mortals and Descended alike (flameroot drugs, torture, and squalor).
  • DM heals Aurelie (her mother), who still sees DM as just a child, prioritizes Guardian cause, and nearly botches the escape.
  • Nicole rants: “Did you really have it under control on the island when you all blew up a crown and got all captured? And it looks like I'm here saving your asses right now.” [121:19]
  • DM battles the King of Fortos, ultimately defeating him not through raw violence, but with her unique, Kindred-rooted balancing magic.
  • Key Magical Insight: Silvery light (Kindred blood) balances/merges with Godstone — only DM can do this. She may be a new Kindred herself.
    • Lexi: “Her godhood is the realm…her blood…Kindred…that is something completely new and different that nobody else has.” [128:41]

• Double Coronation:

  • Dazzling magical explosion signals that DM, already Queen of Lumnos, is now crowned Queen of Fortos — an unprecedented event. The Fortos patriarchs refuse to accept her as their ruler.
  • Luther’s view: “You may not be the queen anyone expected, but you are the queen they need... Don’t mistake the pain of change for failure.” [147:47]

5. Balance, Judgment, and the Endgame

• [129:02]–[133:26]

  • The ever-present language of “balance,” “debt,” and “judgment” builds toward the theory that DM and Luther, as mates or “two halves of one soul,” may need to die in order to restore balance — or pay the final sacrificial price.
  • Nicole: “This is foreshadowing for mates. But when your partner is on the brink of death and you feel so helpless, it does tear your soul apart.” [32:22]

• Political Intrigue Post-Prison Escape

  • DM’s refusal to kill mortals, her creative tactics to delay pursuit, and her principle of offering even her enemies a choice fuels both enemies and potential alliances among the marginalized.

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Lore Drop: Fortos & the Amarian Army

[176:36]–[183:36] (see longer, in-depth discussion in transcript)

• Realm of Fortos: Power, strength, and absolute patriarchal tradition; only realm never to have a queen.
• Fortos sigil: Sword crossed with a human bone.
• Magical split: women heal, men kill (exceptions exist for nonbinary individuals — rare).
• Army HQ’d here; mortals and descended from all realms serve (except Umpros).
• In-world lore: Blood, lineage, and magical inheritance are deeply tied to culture, gender, and growing unrest, with cracks beginning to show.
• The Godstone Prison: Ingenious, horrifying pan-magic suppressant. The hosts theorize it’s constructed by the original Kindred and will be critical again.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On DM’s Bargain for Luther’s Life:
  “His life in exchange for whatever you want. My life, my soul. I’ll fight this war in your name... Any price.” — Nicole as DM [34:31]
• On Aemond Redemption Arc:
  “He wants to be a better person, but it’s like he’s already chosen his father’s side. He can’t get back to the other side. He doesn’t even know the path to it.” — Lexi [64:13]
• On Henry’s Betrayal:
  “This is the slap in the face to end all slap us in the faces.” — Nicole [94:46]
• Blood and Balance:
  “The magic isn’t like her usual magic…the silvery power is imbued into her blood itself.” — Nicole [128:41]
• On Queenhood:
  Luther: “You may not be the queen anyone expected, but you are the queen they need.” [147:47]
• On Leadership and Change:
  “Don’t mistake the pain of change for failure.” — Luther (paraphrased by Lexi) [147:47]
• On DM’s Tactical Empathy:
  “It’s not ‘welcome to my side.’ It’s ‘do you want to come—yes or no?’” — Nicole [161:44]
• The Henry Hat Segment:
  “Well, I’m gonna dish out some big old round of L’s…L for saying that she’s out of town…L number two…L number three for getting in DM’s head and telling her she’s incapable of loving someone…” — Nicole [87:45]
• On Fortos Patriarchy:
  “Touch her and I’ll peel every last vein from under your flesh and strangle you with them.” — Luther, threatening the King of Fortos [184:52]
• On Aurelie’s Flawed Priorities:
  “Way to pick the Guardians over your family a-fucking-gain.” — Nicole [136:26]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Content Segment | |------------|---------------------------------------------------| | 06:08–14:37 | Chapter Summaries (~Ch.42–55) | | 21:36–46:19 | Luther's near-death/healing discussion | | 47:39–59:40 | Lumnos politics/Eleanor/allies | | 59:40–66:47 | Aemond arc, betrayal, and redemption theorizing | | 76:35–98:49 | Henry closure, Henry Hat—major character analysis | | 101:00–102:43 | Sibling tension—DM and Teller | | 102:43–149:25 | Fortos prison break, Kindred magic, new crown | | 176:36–183:36 | Lore deep dive: Fortos & Amarian army | | 184:05–187:45 | Favorite moments, character banter wrap-up |

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Style and Tone

• Fierce, snarky, loving, and deeply knowledgeable.
• In-character rants against patriarchal systems, and genuine empathy for suffering characters.
• Playful segment names (Henry Hat), emotive debates, and soft launches into deep meta-lore.
• Interplay of humor and fan passion: “I am so happy, thank you, Luther. My boy.” [48:27]

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Predictions & Foreshadowing for “Burn”

• The motif of “balance” points to a likely sacrifice and resurrection arc for DM, and possibly for Luther.
• DM’s power to merge/destroy Godstone foreshadows a pivotal role in the series’ magical endgame.
• The mass prison escape establishes a proto-army of justice-minded mortals and Descended (Runa and Ennis notably foreshadowed for bigger roles).
• Ongoing divisions among the Descended (generational, political, gendered) are about to explode.
• Remus, Hanovers, and especially Gareth will become decisive antagonistic forces.
• Aurelie’s Guardian loyalty and secrecy look likely to cause continued heartbreak.
• The question of DM’s Kindred status (or descendant thereof) will define her magical limits and narrative destiny.
• The “gift” referenced by the Kindred likely has not yet occurred, foreshadowing a climax in the next book.

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Favorite Moments

• The religiously charged healing scene at the Lumnos shrine (DM’s blood/marble bust cries).
• Nicole’s delight at Luther’s return and hot banter.
• Eleanor’s political maneuvering and the meme-worthy “Clutch pearls” [14:37].
• Humorous burns: “Knuckles that don’t drag when I walk. The ability to breathe through my nose. A neck.” — DM’s dig at the King of Fortos [186:17]
• The Henry Hat bet: will Aemond kill Gareth?
• Emerging ships: Runa (moon/secret) and Ennis (island) from the prison escapees.
• Luther’s unapologetic support: “A phoenix isn’t meant to be caged, it’s meant to fly.”

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Conclusion

This episode skillfully combines plot recaps, character analysis, and deep lore commentary with punchy quotes, speculation, and passionate sisterly debate. The stretch from Luther’s death throes to the harrowing prison break is a rollercoaster of emotion and world-shaking consequences, setting the stage for a showdown with the old order of Fortos and the looming final act of the saga. The hosts’ predictions and repeated focus on “balance,” judgment, and sacrifice suggest the story’s heart lies in DM’s ultimate choice — and what she’s willing to give — to save both her people and herself.

Next episode: Heat of the Everflame, Chapters 56–64, including the highly anticipated confrontation with Ophiuchai!

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For more events, merch, and in-depth fandom, join the Fantasy Fan Club at fantasyfangirls.com/fanclub, and don’t miss the after-show Q&As and Discord discussions!

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Transcript

[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]

I don't know how our household functioned before Skylight. Between my hectic work schedule, caretaking schedules, appointments, school fast approaching again, managing the Skylight centralizes all of it. It's where we put our meal planning to do lists, grocery lists that yes, you can access from the grocery store on your app, and of course all of our calendars that sync in real time. It actually makes me excited as we head into the school year now with two kids in school because all the busyness actually feels manageable and I love a good color coding system.

[Nicole]

Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners $30 off their 15 inch calendars by going to skylightcal.com fantasy go to skylightcal.com slant fantasy for $30 off your 15 inch calendar. That's s K Y L I G h t c a l.com fantasy welcome, welcome, welcome to the Fantasy Fangirls podcast where two sisters dive deep into beloved fantasy lore, characters, themed 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 is Episode five for Heat of the Everflame by Pen Cole, where we're covering chapters 42 through 55. Before we begin this Heat episode 5, please listen closely to our spoiler warning because all of these episodes have spoilers for all of Book three of the Kindred's Curse saga. Heat of the Everflame. Yes, that includes the ending.

[Nicole]

So if you don't know why today the Patriarchy of Fortos is going to get rocked, then please go finish the series. We will be here when you're done.

[Lexi]

Next, we a fantasy fan girls are adults who say adult things about adult books. In other words, friends, this podcast, it.

[Nicole]

Is rated R. All of the R ratedness today will be me screaming at the King of Fortoes, maybe Arleigh too. And also probably several profanities for relief for my boy Luther. So please be mindful of those little listening ears.

[Lexi]

Additionally, we are so excited to see you at upcoming live events. We're interviewing Rebecca Ross, author of Divine Rivals and wild reverence, on September 5th in Denver, Colorado.

[Nicole]

We will also be back at the Dragon Gauntlet in Boyne City, Michigan September 12th through 13th.

[Lexi]

Then Romanecy Bookcon in Orlando, Florida October 23rd through 25th where we're interviewing Rebecca Yarros again at Disney world. And on March 6th through 8th in Dallas, Texas, we'll be podcast partners at Dreamers and Readers Festival.

[Nicole]

Check out our website or the links below for more information to all of these events. Plus discount codes for some of them as well.

[Lexi]

Last thing before we jump into this Heat of The Everflame Episode 5 if you love Fantasy Fangirls and want more events, more content, more community and so much more, please check out Fantasy Fan Club.

[Nicole]

We have three membership tiers that you can join. Number one, the Descended, which includes access to our Boppin Discord, live Q&As from Lexi and myself, a book club, exclusive author interviews, community events like trivia, promo codes for live events, plus exclusive designs and 20% off all merch. That is for $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 for $10 a month. And last but not least, we have the Crowns Council which includes everything from the previous two tiers, plus more behind the scenes content. A welcome gift Giveaways Private Discord Channel your name shouted out on the pod. That is for $25 a month.

[Lexi]

Join the party at fantasyfangirls.com fanclub. The link is also in the show notes and as always, thank you so much for supporting us as we've turned this podcast into our dream come true. It's all because of you.

[Nicole]

And now it is time to heal my boy Luther.

[Lexi]

Finally, 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 chapters 42 through 55 of Heat of the Everflame. Good luck today, Nicole.

[Nicole]

Chapter 42 hours later the crew has finally made it back to Lumnos, and just in time because things aren't looking so good for Luther. Moira arrives and she's frantic. Damn, where are you hurt? Oh wait, no. Alix just lied. But sadly, there's nothing she can do for Luther either. Suddenly, the door bursts open and Remus, Ivana and Lily and Teller enter the room. Insert drama stage left after being convinced not to kick Remus Ivana's butts to the curb, DM and co sit back and wait for a miracle. Chapter 43 to keep herself busy, DM looks through her mother's notes, only to end up with all the questions and no answers. Well, maybe a talk with her brother will provide some comfort. Welp, that didn't help either. Since DM spills some beans. Or all of the beans. Like pretty much everything she hasn't told her little brother Beans. He is not too happy at his sister for keeping literally everything from him. Taking a moment to herself, DM heads to Luther's room, only to be stopped by a man in the hallway. Not wanting to deal with his bullshit forever, she gives him a choice. A chance to change and do the right thing for once. Really, like for thrice. Because she's given him a lot of chances. Chapter 44 Inside Luther's chambers, DM lets out all of her frustrations, shouting at the chunk of marble, AKA the Lumnos shrine. Desperate to cure her love, DM takes out a blade and offers up a blood oath. Just tell me what you want. What you really, really want. Lumnos and Lumnose's tits. The bust starts crying blood tears. But there's no time to think about what the fuck that just was because Lily KN knocks on the door. There's something wrong with Luther. No, just When DM is about to give up and give Luther a sleeping draft to end his suffering, the conference room gods speak up. Grabbing Amira's compass, DM follows the arrow to the totally correct direction and grabs a cure all potion from Arboros. It totally was not the blood seeping out of her cut or anything like that. Dumping the vial into his mouth and dripping blood onto his skin, DM and CO sit back yet again and wait for a miracle. Chapter 45 Let Diem keep sleeping. But wait. Was that Luther's voice? He's alive and his Godstone veins are shrieking.

[Lexi]

Shrieking. Huzzah. Huzzah. Huzzah.

[Nicole]

Luther lives.

[Lexi]

And Nicole is just as happy as dm.

[Nicole]

Hours of laughter and joy spent among the family is wonderful. But after all that talking, Luther's feeling quite tired. Tired of not being alone with dm that is alone at last. Luther tells Diem those three special words and I swoon. So it's time for these two to finally bang right wrong. Too bad Luther's too busy healing. Can't these two just stop trying to die for one moment and fornicate, please? Chapter 46 Taking a walk with Eleanor DM gets the TLDR on all this court gossip. Eleanor's been trying to find allies, but it is slow going. Meeting up with Leakes, DM gets some more news. That shiny black rock she made after her father died? Yeah, it's raw, unmolded Godstone. Walking up to the armory to check on this new stash of Godstone diametle. Leaks are denied entry by orders of the Regent. Well, fine. It's time to confront that limp dick anyway. Chapter 47 Marching into the room where Remus is having a meeting with the Hanovers, DM is greeted by quite the interesting sight. Remus is playing crown, Marth is about ready to drop to her knees for Remus, and Illyana is having fun pretending that Luther is in love with her. Apparently the Delulu runs deep through everyone in this room. Before she can start a new war with the Hanovers, Remus talks alone with the queen. Why doesn't she let him keep playing king and keep the other 20 houses in line and keep a war from breaking out? DM agrees on two conditions. Number one, Alix becomes High General and he cannot enforce the progeny laws. Well, good luck holding the 20 houses back without your magic, Remus. Chapter 48 Back in Diem's bedroom, Luther is trying to fight his way to Remus to kick his ass for trying to steal Diem's crown. Time to calm Luther down by telling him she's going to see Henry alone in Mortal City with no guards. Walking up to Henry's place, DM hears the sound of feminine giggles. Henry, is that you? It's Lana. After telling Lana, don't worry, she's not gunning for Henry anymore. DM and Henry finally have at it. And buckle up, buttercups, because we're about to have the Henry hat to end all Henry hats. After leaving Henry's place, DM bumps into the Forto's commander and soldiers galore. No better time than to give an impassioned speech about how she cares for the mortals. Chapter 49 knocking on Teller's door it's time for DM to show her little brother her last secret. Starting with a little flame and then some wind and then some water and some ice, Teller is shooketh. DM has been collecting magical powers like Pokemon. Before the Bellator siblings can start putting all the pieces together, a sudden pain strikes. Dm. It's not her. It's Sarai rushing through the halls. DM is cut off from her destination by a group of guards with God Stone weapons. As the guards attack Luther, DM lets out a scream. No. Unleashing her magic. And poof. Just like that, the Godstone weapons are gone. Well, no time to ponder that anomaly. Fighting their way to Sarai and knocking out Alix in the process, Diem and Luthor mounts the Gryvern, flying off to do the impossible. Make Aurelie see reason. I mean free Aurelie from prison. Chapter 50 after arriving in Fortos, DM demands to see the king. Subtle. DM. Although it doesn't work, what does? Attacking male's egos like magic. The King of Fortos appears with a bad attitude that Diem can't help but fuel. After DM is finally able to convince the King to let her talk to her mother, he begrudgingly leads DM towards the dungeon. Chapter 51 at the bottom of an endless set of stairs, the prison comes into view. And it is not a sight to behold. Besides the fancy Godstone doors and blood locks, it's pretty much exactly what you would expect from a prison. Cold, dark and shitty conditions. Literally. But what's this? No guards and only bloodlocks stopping their heist. Maybe they can do this after all. Oh no. Did I just become as DeLulu as DM? Chapter 52 when they finally reach her mother, DM is appalled by the conditions in which they have her mother. In reaching out, DM heals her mother. But shit's a secret. DM needs to talk to Arlie in private, so she convinces the king to let them talk in an empty cell on their way there. Arleigh's only thoughts are to escape and protect the Guardians. You would think after not seeing her daughter for almost a year, she would be a little bit more concerned about what the fuck is going on here. Don't wor Elves are coming for you, Arleigh. Chapter 53. Arleigh is dead set on sacrificing Luther to keep anything about the Guardians a secret. And DM is practically talking to a wall trying to get through to her mother. Back on the other side of the door, the King of Fortos informs DM that he has just had a message from the Regent of Lumnos. Yeah, that's not good. Throwing out her magic, DM is frantic to get through the door as the King is having oh so much fun killing Luther. My poor Luther cannot catch a break. Giving into her godhood. The door boofs away as DM is busy talking to the king. Arlie takes that mom to sprint down the hall. And who gives chase the almost two days in a row dead. Luther conjuring a magical sword. DM fights hand to hand with the man who trained her father. Good luck. What's this? DM gets the better of his misogynistic ass, taking a blade and jabbing it straight through to his crotch. Ouch. With more cryptic words from another dying king, DM finds herself the crown of another realm. Another one bites the dust. Ah. Chapter 54. After collecting the mortal prisoners, they start hatching a plan to get the hell out of here. Which DM totally has, obviously. Like, come on. DM would never just wing it. Oh, wait. Okay, this time, maybe she does actually have a plan. Starting with an Arboros prisoner throwing out her magic. Nothing seems to be healing him. So, tapping into her healer's training, DM guides her magic. And it worked. But shit. After healing his injuries, his magic is still blocked by flameroot. DM says, hold my beer. And pours her silvery magic in. And it worked. He has magic again. Huzzah. Chapter 55 Cell by cell, DM heals the prisoners and releases them. Now it is time to escape. Popping out her makeshift hole like a prairie dog, DM sees that they're not gonna get out of this easy. There's thousands of soldiers waiting for her, poking at the male's egos. DM plays the role of distraction, while Luther, Aurelie and the rest of the prisoners make a run for it. Convenient, since DM is running low on magic and these descended can refill her, but looks like the walnuts for brains is smarter than that. He calls off the descended fighters and sends in the mortal battalion instead. Oh Diem's weakness? Using Plan C. Ahah. There was no Plan C. There was no Plan A. Diem whips out the Fortos Lunos Montios crown in an attempt to command the army, but they aren't having it because Father Fortos would never pick a woman.

[Lexi]

Clutch pearls.

[Nicole]

Now. Tired of this guy's bullshit, DM reaches through to his mind and commands him to end himself before Luther swoops down on Sarai and plucks DM out of the fray. Telumnos we fly all right folks, I think it is time for a wardrobe refresh and I know exactly where I'll be going first. Nordstrom Nordstrom has the best transitional styles. With so many options from under a hundred dollars from brands we love Free.

[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

Long list of things we need to get done from week to week, but my least favorite thing on that list is grocery shopping. It's just such a pain to find time to plan healthy and nutritious meals every day and on top of that, then to go to the grocery store to get the food. Bleh. But fear not, that is where Hungryroot comes in.

[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

As I've gone through life, I've noticed that we all find support in different ways. Some of us lean on our family, our friends, our sisters, our hairdressers. Hey, even sometimes I love doing some nostalgic TV show therapy. Gilmore Girls for the win. But sometimes you need that professional in your corner. That's where BetterHelp comes in.

[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]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

It is time to reach for our forging magic and unravel key insights, character analysis, lore, foreshadowing theories, and oh so much more. It's been a minute since we've been in Lumnos, but now we're back. Baby. If only it was under better circumstances. After hours long flight on Sarai's back, our crew finally makes it back to Lumnos from Umbros across the sacred sea. And they're cutting it close on timing because while everyone is exhausted, Luther is getting worse from his godstone wound by the second. By the time they touch down outside seems sweet. In the Luminos Palace, Luther's pulse is weak and slow. He's completely unconscious and unresponsive. He's also got the black godstone veins enclosing around his heart. His heart itself is still strong and alive, but it is caged by darkness and it's suffocating. And important to note the skin over his heart remains the only untouched part from the spidery veins covering his body Right now, nothing short of a miracle will save him. And to top it off, more Amarian soldiers than ever are patrolling the streets in Lumnos and at the palace, which you can bet will elaborate on later. DM the healer recognizes the odds of very grim. Like she thought back in Umbros, if Luther was just another patient of hers, she would have a very different perspective here. A much more realistic perspective. But Luther is the love of her life. She cannot fathom life without him. So even against her better judgment, she is holding out hope that he will survive this. Even if that means lying to his loved ones like Lily that he's going to be fine. Because considering anything else is accepting defeat. And DM literally cannot do that, despite Taran's warnings that she does need to be realistic as DM gives Lily's hopes up that she'll be able to save her brother, everyone else. And yes, DM2, deep down recognizes and understands this is a lost cause, but they will follow DM's lead. If this is what she needs to do to cope right now, then they will do what she orders in helping Luther.

[Nicole]

Luckily we have some hope. When they arrived at the palace, DM had Elise go get Moira and literally every tincture serum etc that her mentor healer had to come cure Luther.

[Lexi]

My heart hurts for DM with the way her hands were shaking so much as she wrote down all the medicines for Moira to bring. And Alex takes just naturally understanding what DM means in her frantic state. Ugh.

[Nicole]

Moira is not DM's final hope, but it's. I'll call it her final concrete hope if you will. DM has known Moira for years and years, but to have Moira walk in the room and pause, albeit momentarily with a slight downward tick of her lips. It's all the information DM needed. Moira tries her best, but the hopes are too low for an outcome where Lutheran lives.

[Lexi]

Meanwhile, DM is reflecting on how she was able to heal Taran from his godstone wounds with the poultice and Igneous. Maybe there was healing qualities in the spring they used from Mortal City. Honestly, Fair question. Something from that particular poultice seemed to have some kind of special healing powers. Little do our characters know it was DM's blood that was accidentally mixed into the poultice, though in this moment Elix and Taran basically have to stop DM from flying back to Igneous because after all, she is needed here by Luther's side and for his sake she should not go risk her life because that's the last thing he would want. And something in her gut does tell her she needs to stay here too.

[Nicole]

But these low odds doesn't stop Moira from trying everything. She sees how much Luther means to dm. Remember the last time she saw DM and Luther together? It was at the Challenging where Luther challenged her. So this is quite a jump to see the love that DM now has for her prince in her eyes.

[Lexi]

Well, she also would have seen them kiss both before the challenging and after the Challenging. So I'm sure Moira was Moira might not know what the heck went down with the Challenging, but she's. She's a smart cookie. She's figured out, I think definitely as Moira continues her healing work on Luther to unfortunately no avail. We've already got Taryn, Elix, Teller, Lily and Eleanor there, in addition of course to dm, Luther's inner circle there to support DM and Be near Luther in this very tragic situation. But then we get another guest in Diem Suite, where Luther lays his father, Remus and Remus his wife, Ivana, who has always openly hated Luther. Luther because as it turns out, when Lily and Teller briefly left, Remus saw them coming back and followed them. Oh boy. Lily really needs to work on her sneakiness. But I'm gonna cut the poor girl some slack right now. And Remus is haunted by the scene he just walked into. His only son has been badly wounded by Godstone, and it's clear that he is going to die. However, this is DM's first time coming face to face with Remus since she learned about how he is the cause for Luther's scar. And understandably, DM is extremely pissed at him and basically tells him to fuck off. But Remus insists on staying. He and his son may have their differences, to put it mildly, but Luther is still his son and he cares for his family.

[Nicole]

So I'm curious, do you think one of the reasons that he wants to stay in the room is so that he can see where the chips fall? Like, yes, he is a father. Not a very good one, if I'm going to be totally honest. However, I also wonder if it's partly political, like, so he can know where he needs needs to spin the story for political power moves.

[Lexi]

I think that's definitely part of it. But I'm going to reluctantly give Remus the benefit of the doubt here. He thought his firstborn was going to be the most powerful, luminous descended and heir to the crown. And here he is dying. This father and son might not have gotten along, and they do have quite the history. But family is still very important in Remus's eyes. Not in the unconditional, supportive kind of way we and the mortals of Lumnos think of family. But there is that responsibility and care for his family where there is this other kind of, I don't even want to call it love, but a connection with them, right? Especially his firstborn, the most powerful Lumnos. I really don't think he wants his son to die as a father and as the head of the house. And as much as Remus is going.

[Nicole]

To suck for the rest of this.

[Lexi]

Episode, I do believe this is planting the seeds of some kind of redemption arc for him. He's definitely not a good guy in the story, but he's also not evil like his brother Gareth. Remus may be self serving and takes being the head of the house and Regent seriously, but he is still here by his son's side because he wants to be, I think.

[Nicole]

After some time, Moira begins to pack up. She has tried everything, but Luther's body is just not responding. So there's one more mixture she can give. Diem. A gold and glassy vial slips into DM's hand and she notices it immediately as a sleeping draft. When given in access to a patient, it would soothe them into a painless death. Remember, Godstone is excruciating. This isn't Moira saying it's time to give up, dear. It's almost like it's her saying, when you're ready to let him go, this will help ease him.

[Lexi]

As day passes into night, DM keeps herself busy by Luther's side as she alternates between checking Luther's wounds and reading her mother's notes that Moira brought. Remember that Orly had notes on the Descended for her healer work that DM was never allowed to read before her mother mother disappeared. Unfortunately, though, it only takes 10 minutes to read everything Aurelie had on Godstone and even less time to realize it's nothing DM doesn't already know. Desperate to find something, anything, DM persists, flipping page after page after page, hoping that somewhere in her mother's notes there will be an answer that she again so desperately needs. DM refuses to believe there is no cure, no hint of a possible solution. And this is one of the last places she knows to look in hopes of discovering some kind of new information. But instead of finding answers to the Godstone, DM finds an offhand comment scrawled and circled in the margins beside a section on possible Godstone remedies. So this is the handwritten note that her mother put in the margin. Quote, DM-Koreel Godstone equals death. Life equals question mark.

[Nicole]

Okay, so do you think that somehow Aurelie knew about the whole. Pregnant mothers going to the Isle of Kuril for the sacred power of life. And here it says life equals like. I feel like this is all so connected. I absolutely agree.

[Lexi]

I think that DM equals Koreel is obviously, obviously about her being born on Kuriel. Godstone equals death feels almost too obvious. We can't forget that Orly does think that she killed DM's father with a Godstone blade. So maybe she's playing with the idea that DM does equal life, like Orly's subconscious knows it, but she has conditioned herself so much to believe her daughter is normal that she can't quite make the connection herself. That DM equals life that's why there's like that question mark there. But it's like she kind of knows, but she's just not quite there yet. In hindsight, we know that DM's blood is the cure to Godstone. Which makes me wonder, is her blood the cure because she is a direct descendant of Omnos or because she has special powers of life from being born on the Everflame's soil? We know her father is also immune to the Godstone, fatal wounds like DM is. You know, she was cut with a Godstone plane already during the challenging by Ron. But maybe he doesn't have the same healing ability with his blood. I do think he does, because that would be really weird if he also can be cured by Godstone and. And all of that. But what do you think?

[Nicole]

Oh, well, no, because I think that the kindred aspect is the Godstone doesn't kill them because it's like they're almost gods as well. Yes. But I do think that the her being able to heal with her blood, I think that's just a DM thing. I think that's a sacred power of life on Koreel. I do not think Ophiuchai has that.

[Lexi]

I love that. I love that. So I'm going to expand on that too, because later on, when DM learns how to tap into her silver light magic, that is the balance I keep thinking about. This cryptic note is DM the balance of life and death. She can both create and destroy Godstone. Oh my God. We're talking about so much more in this episode.

[Nicole]

Literally. Like, I have never wanted to get through a Luther stretch more quickly because everything that happens in Fortos, my jaw was on the floor. So. Okay. Anyway, DM rushes to Luther's room under the guise of me to get some things. But DM really needs a moment to herself, away from the prying eyes. In her feeling helplessness, her godhood starts to thrash. Her skin begins to illuminate with that infamous silvery light. Now, question. Do you think this is partly because her extra magic, her extra special magic, it's almost like it's trying to send her a clue. It's like, use me. Use me.

[Lexi]

I hadn't thought about it that way. I've always read it as reactionary to DM's emotional anguish. She doesn't know how to control her magic, and her godhood is getting more worked up off of her distress. That's how I read read it.

[Nicole]

Given how often that happens in other sections of the book, I'm going to Lean towards your correct here. I just thought that would be a fun little extra, like nudge, nudge, wink, wink. DM can also feel that there's some type of clue that is glaring at her in plain sight. So I think a bit of her being nudged to go to Luther's room is also like she wants to feel closer to him, to this man who is larger than life and wise. Maybe by feeling closer to him, she'll get that nudge on which direction to go. He does have this inherent compass. Like, I mean, like for instance when DM and Taryn were talking and he was like, oh, you sound like Luther. And she's like, that probably means I'm right. Like he feels like this very wise being. So by her going to his room, it's almost like, guide me sweet sir, please.

[Lexi]

I think it has a lot to do with it also being like her comfort zone and she is so distressed and she is just clinging to anything and everything all kind of subconsciously, like you're saying here. And she goes to his room because yes, she is drawn to that and she needs to be in a safe.

[Nicole]

Space for her too.

[Lexi]

It's Luther.

[Nicole]

DM barely makes it into the parlor outside of the room before her knees give out and she's attempting to muffle her sobs. She's not just crying for what she's losing with Luther, she's also crying because of the conversation that she had with Lily, who shared how incredibly happy Luther was after him and DM got together. A happiness that the gods could not let him have for more than a flipping day. Because remember, she went to her coronation the next day after the challenging AKA the day after they got together. And she's been on the road with him with a godstone wound basically ever since. She is heartbroken for this man who gave everything to everyone else. But something as simple as true happiness was ripped away from him with less than 24 hours for him to really feel it. So in his room, she's able to feel this larger than life presence once again.

[Lexi]

Glancing at the bus of Lumnos, DM notes the pile of dried flowers, the glossy stones and blown out candles before glaring at the statue. One more show, don't tell way of illustrating Luther's devotion to bless a mother Lumna. But then we have dm, who hates the calm serenity sculpted on Lumnos face as the world she left behind suffers for her mistakes. DM starts shouting at the bust, pouring out her anger and pain to Lumnos, who is supposed to protect Luther Why him? Why Luther? After everything he's done for Mother Lumnos? DM demands Lumnos choose someone else. Pick one of the many pricks in Lumnose City to torture for her amusement. Pick someone who deserves it. Someone who plans to crush the mortals under their expensive healing heels. Pick dm. Let her suffer instead. She'll take it all if Lumnos just doesn't take Luther. Diem wonders if Lumnos is doing this because of her, because she hasn't bowed and worshiped Lumnos name like everyone else, wondering if this is some depraved attempt to force her in line. DM I just need to hug you right now, girl. Falling to her knees, DM opens her palms, letting her magic tumble out unrestrained. Light and shadow swirling in a twinkling fog and spread across the floor and creeping up the walls until only the bust of Lumnos and DM are both floating alone in an infinite expanse. Pleading, DM offers up her magic, willing for Lumnos to take every drop she has. Even her crown too. If that's what it will take for Lumnos to take her instead of Luther. Remember that when you give an offering to one of the kindred, you have to offer up a little bit of your magic, and you're never going to see that again. I also have to wonder if that's partly with DM being able to, quote, unquote, steal people's magic. But that's not what we're talking about right now. More magic begins to pour out of DM as she screams at her godhood to lay itself bare. Magic from all the realms start coming out. A circle of crackling fire. Snowflakes fluttering in a gust of wind. Flowering vines that push through the cracks in the stone walls. Even sounds from woodland creatures outside. DM admits that if this was all to break her, Lumnos has succeeded. DM will submit. She'll be loyal. She'll do whatever Lumnos asks, as long as she doesn't take Luther away from dm. By this point, DM has nothing left to lose. She feels as if her soul is being ripped in two. I'd say this is foreshadowing for mates. But when your partner is on the brink of death and you feel so helpless, it does tear your soul apart. Pulling out a blade DM slashes across her hand, cutting deep enough to scratch against bone. Note how deep this cut is, because that will take longer to heal, and that is very important. As the blood gushes out, out, DM offers up her bleeding palm, proposing a bonded bargain with Mother Lumnos herself. Quote, his life in exchange for whatever you want. My life, my soul. I'll fight this war in your name. I'll die for it if you wish. I'll pay any price you ask. You hear me? Any price. So, quick pause, because I have to wonder if DM does make a bonded bargain with Lumnos in this moment, especially with DM saying how she will die for it if Lumnos would wishes. I don't think Lumnos wishes for this, though. And the pay the price language is eerily similar to what Yersel warned her about in Umbros. So I don't know. Just pointing this out and keeping a close eye on this as we continue. Sort of separate from the bonded bargain, there is a gift that Lumnos told her to give her faithful heir. And we've speculated if it's DM's blood. And when the end is near, it's not the war, but actually Luther's life. More on this later in the episode. Giving into her tears, DM collapses forward, knowing her prayers will go unanswered. But an unexplainable instinct lures her gaze back up. Divine intervention. Is that you? Streaming down the smooth marble of the bust, beginning at the eyes and rolling down Lumnos cheeks, are tears of blood. Walking closer to examine it, DM reaches out and brushes a finger across the blood tears, which makes the blood trickle down her hand and mix with her own blood.

[Nicole]

Bonded bargain. Like that. That right there is bonded bargain. Now, if you were like me, you were also curious about the symbolism of mysteriously weeping statues. So allow me to share my research. Religion. Watch. It's back, baby. Often associated with the Catholic Church, weeping statues are highly coveted for being this supernatural phenomenon. Normally, these weeping statues are of the Virgin Mary. Tears include oil, like olive oil, balsam, and other scented liquids. And like we see here, blood, typically when a statue is miraculously weeping, it is associated with. With miracles and healing. It's a good thing, because we need that right about now.

[Lexi]

I also wonder if, in addition to this absolute religious symbolism, this is Luminos's way of being like, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. DM blood is the answer here. And like you were saying too, like mixed blood, their blood is mixed. That is a bonded bargain. I am convinced. Yeah, I am absolutely convinced.

[Nicole]

I am absolutely convinced. So, okay, I have a theory then. I think that when she takes the rosebane and she. She goes to talk to Lumnos and all, there's gonna be a lot that happens when she talks, takes this rosebane, if my predictions are correct. So when she takes the rosebane and goes to talk to Lumnos, Lumnos is going to basically remind her of this bargain. I think that this is going to be one part of that. Like you were saying, that sacrifice that your Sil was saying. There is so much DM dying foreshadowing in this episode alone. But I think that this is yet another point towards DM sacrificing her.

[Lexi]

Yep. Yep. This possible bonded bargain that we definitely think is a bonded bargain with Mother Luminos has barely been sealed when Lily's voice rings through the corridor. Now, I do want to let our listeners know this next part of the episode may be a little bit sensitive for some listeners as we discuss dying. So please listen to your comfort level for the next few minutes. Throwing open the door, DM finds Lily frantic. She's thinking that maybe Mother Lumnos did answer her prayer. Maybe something is finally going right after everything that has gone wrong. Wrong. But sadly for everyone, that's not the case. Inside DM's bedchamber, Luther's condition has taken the final turn for the worse. He's convulsing and struggling to breathe. It is clear to DM and everyone else in the room that this is the end. No one knows what to do or honestly, if there is anything else that they can do. The web of poisoned veins has grown up his neck and across his face. Using her Forto's healing magic, DM consents within Luther and that the poison within him is too thick, too smothering, that she can barely hear his heartbeat through the godstone's tightening cage. Even when she throws her godhead at him, she senses nothing. Now his godhead doesn't even stir this time. Earlier, when she poured her healing magic into Luther after they just arrived to Lumnos, DM could at least feel his weakened godhood rise to gratefully and desperately meet hers, clinging to it for help. I know I say this every few episodes, but I genuinely appreciate how vividly Pen writes the magic within these characters. Characters so we can get a really good, strong sense of it. Their godhoods are alive within them and have become their own characters. And I really admire how Pen infuses these magical descriptions into the story. It is in this moment of realizing his heart thumps are soft and erratic that DM finally admits defeat. Luther isn't going to die. He is dying right now. Which means it is time to eye the sleeping Jaf from Moira so he can at least leave this one world peacefully. Dean has been refusing to believe this moment would come, but she also recognizes that all hope is lost now. She tried everything, yet here they still are. So she begins mentally preparing herself for what she knows comes next. She begins saying her goodbyes to her prince, who she loves dearly with all her heart. But as she presses the vial to his lips. What's this? DM hears a jingle of metal behind her, which makes her stop her movement with the sleeping draft. But there's no one behind her. What in the world could that jingle have been?

[Nicole]

Divine intervention, that's what. You know that the Kindred are just up in the conference room watching the projection like it's the bomb episode of Grey's Anatomy and they're stressed out and they're screaming at the tv, Just do this. It's fine. I'm not scarred by that episode or anything. But their little metal jingle worked. That's what I keep hearing whenever I hear a metal jingle. Because a glimmer of metal catches DM's eyes near Luther's palm. A glimmer she was only able to see because she looked over her shoulder, searching for the metal jingle. Prying Luther's fingers open, Diem pulls out the Miro's compass and flips it open with a frantic prayer that the magic might just lead her to a last minute solution. But its quivering red dial only points towards Luther, just like every time she's looked at it since the Challenging. But suddenly the compass shudders with a strange whirring sound. Following the line of the arrow, Deam spots Luther. But wait. No, it's not pointing at Luther. It's pointing. Pointing behind Luther. DM walks over to her desk behind Luther and finds a dark emerald green vial, the Arboros Queen's gift from the Ascension ball. More on this in a moment. DM asks Remus, does Arboros have a cure for Godstone? To which Remus is like, you're just asking this now? But he does say it's unlikely, as this would give them leverage over the other crowns.

[Lexi]

I think this is an important statement that will absolutely come back and burn, because DM does have the cure, her blood and Sophos will take the credit for finding the cure. At the end of the book, Doriel tells the Igneous King that they have a cure for Godstone after the Ambrose Queen gets him on it. This is a huge deal that there is now a cure for Godstone, and Sophos thinks that they have it And I think that this will play a big role in the politics of the next book.

[Nicole]

I'm so excited for Doriel to realize that they do not have the cure and they just thought they did. And for that little smug.

[Lexi]

What if, like, they come back to get Di because they know that DM is the key to it. Because DM was the one who created the poultice in the first place, and she, like, sneakily put her blood in.

[Nicole]

I'd be like, let me free, you assholes. Like, I will do it if you let me free. Anyway, Remus is pissed that DM won't tell him what she's looking at, because DM clenches her fist, which aggravates that bone deep gash on her palm, sending a fresh wave of blood dripping from her hand. How convenient.

[Lexi]

Remember again how this was a deep gash, so this wound would not have healed fully yet, and it can still bleed.

[Nicole]

So, snatching the vial off her desk, Dean hears a click as a burst of heat shoots up her arm. And when she looks at the compass, the arrow is missing and the bloody dial, AKA the face of the compass, is now aglow with a brilliant light. Looks like she's found what she's looking for.

[Lexi]

I love that little detail about how heat shoots up her arm again. I love the magic in this world. Before we keep going, let's talk about this Arboros vial the compass was pointing toward. That must be DM's heart's desire. Which we can conclude this heart's desire has something to do with saving Luther. During her Ascension Ball, Arboros's gift to DM was an emerald hued potion they say can cure any illness, except for curses sent directly from the gods. Ah, how interesting. With that exception, curses sent directly from the gods. Since our Boros has not claimed to have the cure to Godstone, though they've been researching it with Sophos for centuries, we can assume this means Godstone does indeed fall into this category of the exceptions. It seems to be directly from the kindred who were the gods, since they were the only ones who could make it. So, yes, Godstone would seem to be a curse sent directly from the gods, but right now, I'm with dm. Try anything and everything to save Luther, especially whatever the compass points to. So DM uncorks the Arboros potion and has Luther swallow it. But then she's like, I'm unsure if you're supposed to drink that, Luther. So DM puts the final bit of potion on his skin, over his water wound she shakes the vial as hard as she can over that wound, even scraping her fingers inside the glass to press the potion against his skin to ensure she uses every last drop. And what do you know? As she is working to get this last bit of potion on his wound, her blood from her open hand wound splatters on his skin and gets in his wound. In hindsight, we know that it was not the Arborist potion that saved Luther. It was Dame's blood that got on his wound as she was getting those last drops into his injury. But this Arboris potion was her final desperate attempt to save him. And like we've mentioned, there most definitely was divine intervention. As I understand it, the gods above the Kindred, and specifically Lumnos, whose body may be gone, but her spirit lives on, directed DM to do this exact action. Not use the Arboros potion on him because that was secure, but because the Kindred foresaw the outcome. DM's wound reopening and bleeding on Luther's injury as she used the Arborist potion.

[Nicole]

Which would ultimately save him an unknown amount of time. Laid. Later, after DM has closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest to listen to his heart, she slowly falls asleep. But then she slowly wakes up to sobbing around her. DM knows the end has come.

[Lexi]

I would have thought the same thing. DM, darling. And again, I love how Pen writes her FMC's. Grief you can really feel in the moment with DM, as she clings to not wanting to accept this quite yet, but knowing that it's about to come.

[Nicole]

DM wants to see stay snuggled to this much colder bodied Luther for just a moment longer. Until she hears a voice. His voice. Luther's alive and happy and alive. And alive. And alive. And alive. And alive. The black veins that had coated his skin are remarkably shrieking. Shrieking before her very eyes. Huzzah.

[Lexi]

The fandom rejoices. Finally. Finally. How many pages are we in?

[Nicole]

Like 5, 600 pages. The relief and joy that if you can't tell, Lexi and I are feeling as well cannot be understated for dm. But she has also cured not one, not two, but three Godstone wounds in her lifetime. She is going to go down as the best healer in Amarian history. That's obviously not why she's so happy. She's happy because Luther's alive.

[Lexi]

This is nothing short of a miracle. And we don't have to tell you, dear listeners, how elated DM and us are. She said her goodbyes. She tried her absolute hardest to Help Luther. And it worked unbelievably well. The cage around Luther's heart is gone too, and their godhoods are practically dancing together. She's using her Fortress magic to soothe him now, with the traces of remaining Godstone shrinking from her magic. Like Luther says, quote, around you, impossible seems merely a suggestion. And his continual reminders as he holds her close, reminding her that he is here and alive.

[Nicole]

Oh, my goodness, my heart. Now, she does have this moment where she's inspecting the cut, and then she inspects her cut and she feels, quote, a faint pressure tingling around her wrist. What does this mean?

[Lexi]

Think it's the Kindred or something within her hinting that this was actually her doing? We know that her blood already cures Godstone wounds, but maybe it's also some kind of reaction to her possible bonded bargain with Mother Lumnos.

[Nicole]

Maybe.

[Lexi]

I don't know. As happy as DM is to heal three Godstone wounds, one for Luther and two from Taran, she inwardly worries that there is an imbalance she will be called to repay. And she thinks, quote, I'd offered up my soul for his and I had no regrets. If the gods came calling, I'd be ready to answer. I'm waving my hands in the air, saying, this is very important. Important. This book has so many mentions of souls, DM having to pay the price and how the gods play into it that I just know this is a big piece of the puzzle. Whether it's because of who DM already is destined to be to right an ancient wrong, or she's paving her own path in real time, I'm not sure. Although, honestly, I do think that it's a little bit of both. Both fate and the journey to the destination can coexist, much like the Umbras Queen was saying.

[Nicole]

Well, and I keep on thinking how important the word balance is going to be in the next few episodes. And the fact that she. She says imbalance here, I feel like we pay the price here is again, another DM is going to die, foreshadowing she is the price that has to be paid in order for there to be balance again, because she is the imbalance. I'm going to talk about this later, but she has to be almost judged worthy to be the balance.

[Lexi]

What if she is the balance, but she is creating imbalances around her? Oh, so it's almost like the internal versus external. External. Internal is balance, external is imbalance.

[Nicole]

I like that. I like that a lot. We're going to talk a lot more about that later. Don't worry, we're just getting started over the can we have we told you Four Toes is fascinating on a reread. Over the course of the next few hours, we feel a really big shift with DM and Luther after snuggles. Surrounded by their friends and their family where they cannot seem to get enough of each other. DM and Luther finally alone. Alone. Finally have like their third moment since getting together. First thing I want to highlight here is that Luther does profusely apologize for what happened. How he didn't tell her about his injuries, how he lashed out because of the Godstone temper, even though he doesn't put the excuse on that and everything else that we have been giving Luther Elsabout for the last like three episodes. Oh my God. I'm so happy. Thank you, Luther. My boy.

[Lexi]

You are forgiven, Luther. Thank goodness we have our boy back. I mean, sorry, Nicole. Your boy. I know he's yours.

[Nicole]

He's my boy. No, it's okay. We. We're. We're deep diving him. We can share him in these moments. I am just so happy Ian forgives you, Luther. So long as you promise to never almost die on her again. Honestly, that seems like a fair trade off. Secondly, these two finally get to tell each other, I love you. You. Oh my heart. I love that Luther stands up the moment everyone leaves so that he can tell her. He's like, I cannot wait a moment longer. My flipping heart. Honestly, this just whole scene between Luther and DM and finally getting to Professor Love for each other, getting to like just be all playful and kiss and just explore each other and then DM putting on the lingerie and making Lutheran or really regret all of his decisions. It's just one of my favorite moments in the entire series. But a thirdly and in my opinion, I guess the most importantly thing happens in this scene. After four episodes and honestly, two books of trying to constantly sacrifice themselves for the other person to keep the other person safe. To the point where we literally had a count going of tallying how many times they did this. Luther admits. Note that it's not both of them. It's Luther admitting that while yes, he does want to keep her safe, he knows that quote, a phoenix isn't meant to be caged, it's meant to fly. From now on, he promises he won't try to keep her from danger. All that he asks is that she doesn't go into it alone and that he is right there by her side. If you have been listening to fantasy fangirls for a while you know, one of my favorite things is when a book pop partner stands not in front of the other but to the side. They stand as a partner. They stand as a confidant. They say I am facing whatever you are fighting with you together. This is something these two have been clashing heads about for so long. And this is finally again, Luther saying that that strategy did not work and he trusts her to face the danger alone. Huzzah. But it's time to get back to Polly. Yay. It's been roughly 22ish days since DM left for the coronation and wow, a lot's happened in Lumnos in just shy of a month. Ever since their flight into the city, there has been a noticeable increase of soldiers in the realm, in mortal City and in the palace itself. And these aren't just guards that we're used to in Lumnos. The majority of them are Amarian army soldiers, AKA sent from Fortos, where the Amarian army is headed headquartered. How wild for a nation to deploy its own army on its own people anyway. Why are there so many people here, you ask? Well, there's multiple reasons. One, we know that when power is up in the air, which is how people are viewing it, in Lumnos, despite literally DM having the crown, there's bound to be unrest. So Remus ordered more soldiers into the realm to prevent more unrest and uprising. As we will discuss more in a moment. It does make me giggle just a little bit that the Fortos king describes it as Marian soldiers need to come in and babysit Remus. But anyway. But we also have to wonder if Remus has a second motive. He has no power. Diem has a lot of power. If he has a lot more bodies, people, soldiers who are against her, she would have a harder time overthrowing him. Overthrowing being in his eyes. Given that he's not the crown indulmna else, it's fine.

[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]

I have been using Olive and June for years since my sister in law got me a full blown mani pedi system kit and it has been my go to. I have have more nail polish from Olive and June than a human should. But honestly I don't even mind because I just got three more. Huzzah.

[Lexi]

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[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

I just got my Panoxyl a few days ago and I'm so excited to keep using it. It's such a great feeling to know that quickly applying panoxyl kills 99% of acne causing bacteria in just 15 seconds. I already feel like myself again, tackling each day with just a bit more confidence.

[Nicole]

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[Lexi]

Hey there.

[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]

He knows that if DM tries to take the power, the army will invade in full force, the houses will revolt and a lot of people will die. So sure, DM can remove him from power, but at what cost with everything that he has put in place to support his reign. It's also known now that Aurelie, who lived in Lufthansa most, is the Guardian leader. So I think that the soldiers are here to monitor this area where the Guardians are now known to be quite active. I think he's also scared about how the other houses rose up against DM and thus house Corbois in its own Way at the Challenging. And again, he is terrified now without his magic. So this extra reinforcement is how he can keep the other Houses from punishing the mortals and killing them. Plus he's shielding himself from the Lumnos descended enemies that DM has made.

[Nicole]

We learn from Eleanor that even with Remus running around still declaring himself as Regent, she has managed to get some headway. It turns out a lot of the younger descended agree that the system is unjust and they even respect Diem for trying to save Ron's life. For instance, at the Challenging. You all, we cannot state enough that this is huge. We really only know the descendant to be ruthless, bloodthirsty and unjust. Do we remember the Challenging? All of the challenging. But if it turns out that for the majority it's just the older generation of descendants, that gives a lot of hope. Remember last book at the cousins dinner when Ileana left and suddenly all the cousins were asking Diem about growing up as a mortal and we talked about how that that was really prominent that gave so much hope. We are seeing that curiosity right now. Beat out the hate. And here we're seeing that type of behavior and wish for change. Now the good news is that this means Eleanor is finding allies for dm. The bad news is that while she's finding allies allies, it's the older generation who currently holds all the power. We also learn from Eleanor that many of the Houses do not blame DM for what happened at the Challenging despite literally having challenged her. Nope. They blame House Hanover for orchestrating the whole charade. Like we talked about during those episodes, it turns out that Marth Hanover forced them with threats to comply for the Challenging. How shocking.

[Lexi]

I do find it very interesting that House Keys lane is the of one, one of the most sympathetic to DM's cause. And I could see. I don't want to say full circle moment, that's not the right word. But in Burn how Housekeep Slain really does rise to the occasion. They are the lowest house right now. They don't have much to lose and they're extra pissed off at Hanover for what happened with Ron. They don't blame DM for that. So I could see them really gravitating toward DM and her having quite the alliance with House Key slain because they are separate from from him.

[Nicole]

I could not agree more. Yes, yes, yes. Now I know that we of FFG have been quite hard on Eleanor. Only one episode. Why do you think one so much more? Oh, because I had the whole runnings joke about Eleanor is Evil, which I'm still not opposed to. But anyway, three cheers for Eleanor and how she's been planting the seed of change while DM is gone. Woohoo.

[Lexi]

This is Agent who's ready to talk about Aemon again. First, let's rewind to earlier when Luther was on his deathbed and DM ran toward his room to escape everyone and have that moment of grief and solitude. Because she ran into Aemon and had quite the interesting conversation we did not touch on earlier. And by interesting I also mean heated conversation because DM brought up the last time they talked and she almost took his arm off when he touched her at the house receptions. Not to mention he threatened to send all her allies away now that he has Luther's titles. Aemond swore he was just trying to warn her. And he even admitted that sending Alix away would have been a mistake. But he held firm that DM would be better off without Taran and that she should ally with Aon instead. Dead. So therefore she should tell him her plans didn't help either. That he referred to Luther in the past tense. In her frantic grief, Diem did in fact tell him her plans, including breaking her guardian leader mother out of prison and taking on the crowns and the Amerian army. You know those plans. But as she began to walk away after telling him he could be a great man, if only his loyalty wasn't so one sided, Amon said something unexpected expected. He has not been enforcing the progeny laws, insisting on delaying the executions until DM returns to Lumnos. He said he is not a man who murders innocent children. So what does that mean for the boy? That Henry saw him kill. And Eamon says it was an accident. After she had to remind him about what? What she's talking about. The boy was running in the street and Eamon did not see him until it was too late. And he never meant for it to happen. Dame pressed him why didn't he call for a healer, dismount his horse, do anything to try to save the child? And Aemond's answer? Because of the immense pressure Gareth puts on his children. Aemon was brought up to believe that showing weakness is a flaw and one must always be perfect. And to never show weakness and trying to help that mortal boy would have come off that way. As much as this is absolutely 100% not an excuse for killing an innocent, I do believe a man here, and I think he shared this truth in a vulnerable moment with DM to make up for his shitty choices in the past. In this conversation DM gave Aemon one final chance to prove that he is not the bad person she has come to believe he is. He does not have to be perfect, just honorable.

[Nicole]

And then he takes that third, fourth, however many chants and stomps on it. Because when it comes to the meeting with Marthe. Oh God. It comes clean that he shared info with Ileana about DM and Henry's proposal, AKA something that definitely now the Han of heirs can use to turn everyone against Diem. Diem. And just to add insult to injury, he also then blabbed to Remus and Gareth about Luther and DMs plan to go to Fortos, which DM told him when she was in utter distress while Luther was dying.

[Lexi]

Bro, not cool. Not cool.

[Nicole]

Oh my God. But the way that he says it when DMs like, Dude, what the fuck? He says, quote, you had me replaced as high General. Why should I be loyal to you now? I don't feel like these are his. His words. I mean, yes, they are coming out of his mouth. He has responsibility for that. This does not negate the fact that DM gave him another chance and he stomped on it. And yet I do feel like those are Remus and Gareth's words that they used to twist his thoughts around DM and wrangle information out of him. He's not that different from Henry, I'm realizing, which is a wild thing to say. So I do feel like Damon wants to be good when he talks to someone like dm, who is brave and stands up for what's right. It's like it gives him hope for what he can be for himself. Even in the Hanover meeting, he alone stood up when DM entered. That is a sign that he does recognize her as his ruler. But the moment he's back with Gareth or with the Hanovers, he's that scared child again who just wants to be accepted by his father. And that means telling his father and Rhaenus information or being on the Hanovers good side.

[Lexi]

I think it's Luther who says to him, dm is the only one who has seen good in a Aemon, and this is how he repays her.

[Nicole]

Yeah, it's a head scratcher, that's for sure. But because this is the last time we see Aemon on the page before burn, it is time for our final FFG check in. Most notably, where do you think Aemond's arc is gonna go? So, Lexi, do you think he's going to have a redemption arc? Final answer?

[Lexi]

Yes, I do.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Lexi]

I keep thinking of Pen's reoccurring theme that it's not always bad versus good, black or white with these characters.

[Nicole]

Characters.

[Lexi]

Henry, like you said, is the best example. There is so much gray and imperfection, and she explores that so well with her characters. Aemon is definitely another one of those characters that she does that a lot with. So, yes, Aemond falls in this category. He wants to be a better person, but it's like he's already chosen his father's side. He can't get back to the other side. Like, he doesn't even know the path to it. So I think in Burn, he will start to move over to DM's side, but it. It will be messy.

[Nicole]

See, I think that he is going to have a moment with Gareth where maybe it's like, Gareth, Aon, and Remus against dm, Taran, Luther, Zeller, all of that crew. And DM is, like, looking at Aon and he just, like, turns on Gareth and stabs him. It's like something like that where I feel like I just see that moment so clearly. So I definitely think he's going to have a redemption arc, but I think he is going to fully choose DM's side in burn.

[Lexi]

Okay. So I like that. I think, yes, he will play a big role in the Lumnose side of things with helping the younger generation rise to power. He has a lot of clout. He might not be magically powerful, but he is politically powerful. And I think that he will really be an asset to dm, even. Maybe when she doesn't even think that he's on her side.

[Nicole]

Right.

[Lexi]

He does still have his own prejudices, though, so it's. I have a hard time believing it's going to be a clean break from the side that he is currently on. And I think it's going to be a little bit closer to the 11th hour.

[Nicole]

I'll say anywhere between the 9th to 11th hour. Like in that last.

[Lexi]

The 10th hour, maybe?

[Nicole]

Yeah, like maybe the 10th hour. Okay, so then. Wait. I don't think I heard this from you. Do you think that he's gonna kill Garrett?

[Lexi]

I don't agree to disagree.

[Nicole]

Agree. I think we agree to bet is what we're talking about.

[Lexi]

Because I could see him not stopping his father's death, but I don't think he will be the one to kill his father.

[Nicole]

I am so excited for this bet. Absolutely. Here we are. I bet you that Eamon is going to be part of Gareth's death. And I mean, like, directly, like, I mean, so When I say directly, I mean it could be him and Taryn, or it can be him and Tara Zellerik. But it is Eamon. Partly, but not like him passively. Okay.

[Lexi]

I think that it will be him not stop being it. So more like passively accepting his father's death and like letting it happen. Like in that case it would be like this. Not what I actually think is gonna happen, but like him stepping aside or his father telling him to kill them as he's getting attacked and he's like, no, okay, something like that.

[Nicole]

Yeah, I see. See, I see that as well. But I'm going to hold true because we're finally going to make a bet and stick to it and not have one of us go to the other side. Okay.

[Lexi]

All right.

[Nicole]

First bet of burn. Wow.

[Lexi]

All right, I will say this. After DM's showdown with Gareth here after the Hanovera meeting, and how unmovable he is in his ways, I definitely don't think Gareth is making it out of the series alive. Whoever kills him.

[Nicole]

No.

[Lexi]

Currently in Lumnos, it is well known that DM is is not the one calling the shots. Remus, as the reigning regent, is holding all the power between holding meetings with the other houses to try to ease tensions following the challenging to locking DM out of the armory. DMs in quite the pickle. Remus believes that he is doing what's best for the realm. And what's best for the realm includes not involving Diem and those closest to her, including his son Luther. The King of Fortos has declared that Diem is not actually queen because she was is not properly coordinated. Which we will get to more in a minute. So here Remus is trying to keep the peace within their realm, since he's under the impression that keeping an uncoordinated crown DM from ruling is actually keeping the realm from storming the castle, if you will. Remus knows that the other houses will only follow DM after her coronation is complete. Now, I will also say this. He is certainly peddling this narrative as well and holding onto it for dear life because that is his claim to power. It does not matter to the people of lumnos and that DM1 the challenging. If the coronation is not complete, then she's not queen yet. And like I mentioned, you can bet your booty that Remus is taking full advantage of this to hold on to his power. We all know how power hungry he is, so of course he's going to emphasize this technicality that she is not coronated DM is not the crown yet. He still is. And he is determined to keep it that way. He says it's for the good of the realm because he thinks DM is a walking disaster. But we have spent all of glow analyzing Remus and know his selfishness motives. He is also like, this is only temporary. And Luther is going to be like, you gave up your power for this guy.

[Nicole]

He's not going to give this back to you.

[Lexi]

Burn the Everflight baby. It's going to be so delicious with the politics. Not to mention DM's mother is the leader of the Guardians and DM was taken by the Guardians. The other houses do not trust dm, plain and simple. No matter how much power she exuded at the challenging. So from Remus's perspective, he is preventing a civil war from breaking out. The 20 houses all have demands after the attack on Kuril. Including the Hanovers, who want to burn Mortal City to the ground with everyone in it. And Remus is the one who stopped it. Those extra soldiers DM saw when they were flying over Lumnos were brought in by Remus to keep the peace. According to him here. Because believe it or not, Remus says that he does not want to see any mortals slaughtered and is actually are saying that again. They're not burning Mortal City down. So we are going to take that as the unfortunate win that that is granted. Yes, this is because he does not want to cook his own food or, you know, wash the floors. But Remus does understand that without the mortals, Lumnos will struggle to function. So that is what he is holding onto here. He sees immortals as necessary. Maybe not as like, you know, human beings who deserve equality, but at least better than nothing, right? According to Remus, until things calm down, him ruling is for the best. If DM isn't in power, crowns and the 20 houses may stay their hand. And with the war looming, the realm needs a strong leader. Which Remus has convinced everyone is himself. Which is ironic since he does not have any powers. But with his strong connections and this hush hush secret of him not having magic, I can see how the other houses can be persuaded into falling in line under him. Especially if the alternative is Diem, who might be powerful, but she is an uncoordinated rogue Crown who is a Guardian sympathetic.

[Nicole]

A big theme in this stretch of books is the old generation gripping onto power in whatever means necessary. The King of Fortos, who is pissed at DM for believing that she has something to do with the attack on Kuriel. He has blabbed to literally everyone he can that diem is not actually coronated. Therefore they have a golden ticket to not follow her and not be punished for it. She is unpredictable, uncontrollable. And because of that, Remus, Gareth and many others in the realm of living. Lumnos, plus the King of Fortos, they don't want others following her. So this is an easy way for them to diminish her power, her word and her command. Also the people she wants to help. Yeah, why not turn them against her too? By putting more and more soldiers into Mortal City. This reflects poorly on the queen. She also hasn't been around for them since the challenging. They don't know that she's been traipsing across half the realm because because she was captured. They just see it as her abandoning them. What is so infuriating about this, other than the fact that they're trying to silence her and keep her from power, is that in other realms, this shit doesn't matter. Lumnos is the only realm with a period of challenging. In the eight other realms, the crown rules immediately after receiving it from their successor. There is no 30 days where the Regent rules and shuts down the crown. DM has had the literal crown on her head for almost two months now. She has a Gryvern. She has access to the foraging magic. She is queen. But the people in power see this as an opportunity for them to stay in power. And they're gonna take it. But even still, DM is not going to take this sitting down. This is one of the reasons I love her so much. Jumping ahead a little bit. But when DM is in the square in Mortal City, this is right after her talk with Henry. Which yes, I can't wait to get to. In a moment, she has has an abundance of soldiers ready to attack her, but she does not address them. She addresses the mortals in the square. And I think this is so smart on her behalf. She does not come in with her crown aglow and say, I am your queen, damn it, I was for the past month. And da, da, da, da, da. Because that's what the other descendant would have done. They would have grasped to power. She tells them instead not to kneel for her. She tells them about how she grew up in the the streets, just as they did. She tells them about the struggles she faced, just as they do. And she is fighting for them until her dying breath. She is saying, I am here for you. I am one of you. Fuck them. I love her.

[Lexi]

And then she follows through with her Words with actual actions by protecting them. As she takes on the Omarion soldiers, showing off her power and more importantly, her ability to fight back and fight for the mortals. She's not afraid of these dispositions descended soldiers. She stands up to the fortress commander and his men, completely unbothered, and leaves it with a declaration that if her people suffer, so will anyone who spills blood against them. The mortals witnessing this have never seen a descended, especially a crown, stand up for them like this before leading them to look at her with new eyes. Maybe she is not the traitorous scum they've believed she is since taking the crown. She has a long road ahead of fighting for the mortals and I'll say proving her worth to them. But this is a big moment for the people of Lumnos Mortal City. And I bet it's going to spread around like wildfire.

[Nicole]

Well, I'm going to say this like just like it's going to be later. That huge win for DM with breaking the people out of prison in Fortos. I would not be surprised if this speech here in Mortal City Diem gets a lot, a lot more people, a lot more followers who are just waiting for the moment to join her army because. Because of what she did here.

[Lexi]

Especially because as we'll learn from Henry Vance was just in here. And while I'm not saying he's like, you know, stand into all of the mortals, he has been very vocal about how terrible of a person DM is and how anti mortal she is. And so between him and her seeming to have abandoned the mortals here, I can understand where they're like, but she's not one of us. And here she is being like, yes, I am. And here I'm gonna prove it to you. I might not be one of these you as a mortal, but I share your values and I will fight for you.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

DM has two conditions for Remus if she agrees to let him temporarily stay in power. Number one, Elix is the new High General instead of Aemond or Luther. And number two, suspend the progeny laws and make no move against the mortals when it comes to Elix. This position for her makes absolute sense. Like we've talked about in previous episodes, DM knows that Elix will serve the realm first and foremost, even when it puts her in a compromising position. Position like she will hate having to chain up Sarai. And she does not condone Sarai getting hurt, though let's be very clear on that. But Elix does know that she will have to take orders from Remus, for the sake of the realm at this time, and at the same time, Elix's higher orders are from her. Protect the mortals and the realm at all costs. DM trusts her to have to make those tough calls and always hold the people's best interests at heart.

[Nicole]

If you thought Remus or Aemond were going to be the most difficult men we talked about this episode, well, that would be incorrect because it's time to go see Henry. The last time DM saw Henry was, get this, him running away from her at the docks in Glo. Yes, he was on Korea for the attack, but she did not see him. And as far as we know, he did not see her. So it's been around a month and a half since she saw her best friend last. DM knows that once they break her mother out of the Fortress prison, all hell is going to break loose for the Guardians. Understandably so. They are going to see this as like a new declaration of warfare fair. The Amarian army is going to hit 10 times as hard, so on and so forth. And DM feels like she owes it to Henry to warn him before this, you know, big act of warfare happens. Not that he gave her that courtesy with the Creel attack, or, you know, letting her know that she was going to be captured, but whatever, be the bigger person. DM and she and Henry, they both need closure. They were childhood best friends, virtually inseparable only up until two months ago when DM got the copy crown. They still technically also haven't formally broken off their engagement yet. They need to talk. They did. In so many words, but not formally.

[Lexi]

Yeah, it's like they both separately knew that they were no longer engaged, that they did not communicate that to each other.

[Nicole]

It's like they both individually decided that they were gonna ghost each other and that's how they decided the breakup was gonna go. It looks like though, Henry is already with someone. Someone talking and then kissing. Oh, hello, Lana. In case you don't remember, Lana was an apprentice healer when DM was made Queen. Was promoted to be full healer. She's got this long, beautiful ringlet hair. She's very demure, very mindful. She's very sweet, very sensible. Everything DM thought Henry wanted slash deserved.

[Lexi]

In a partner and everything DM is not.

[Nicole]

But decided despite this very well matched pair. DM is pissed. I'd be pissed.

[Lexi]

It's more of the principle of the matter.

[Nicole]

It's a relieved piss.

[Lexi]

Yeah, she's very relieved. I really do love her reaction of realizing Henry is with Lana. And she just bursts out laughing from relief.

[Nicole]

This would have been my reaction, too.

[Lexi]

Laughing while simultaneously being like, what the fuck is going on here? Not out of jealousy, but just like the whole situation.

[Nicole]

Because as it becomes more and more relevant, Lana and Henry were not just started last week. New. When DM asks if this thing between them started before or after the challenging, Henry doesn't answer, so that's a yes. They started before this challenging. He says that DM was never around. She was pushing him away and avoiding him. And he took that to mean that she didn't want to marry him. I mean, he's not wrong. But there's a big but there now, before, you're like, well, DM and Luther started before the challenging, and duh, duh, duh, duh. Yes. And while she, duff dove, kind of.

[Lexi]

Started at the challenging, they started at the challenging.

[Nicole]

But I will say, she definitely emotionally cheated on Henry prior to the challenging.

[Lexi]

100%. Yes. Before she was a crown. Yes.

[Nicole]

Yes. Oh, that's true. Yeah. I forget. They did kiss then. Well, that was actually before they were engaged, but they were true. Yes. So that definitely still counts. They were. As far as I know, they were exclusive. Anyway, DM tried to come and break things off with Henry, though, the night before the challenging. But just as much as he says she was pushing him away, he, Henry, was pushing her DM away. He was constantly choosing the guardians over her time and time again.

[Lexi]

He also wrote her a note as well, you know, being like, you know, we're on the same side and all that. He was with Lana by that point, and I'm not saying he should have included that in a note, but, yeah.

[Nicole]

How dare you bring up the note right now. I was trying to make it through this without absolutely obliterating Henry, but, yeah, there was a fucking note as well. But I will say neither is faultless in this situation. Yes, as much as I hate to say that neither is faultless, but to say that he started up with Lana only because DM was pushing him away is just fucking not true. How dare he say that? That is the reasoning. Anyway, this does leave the question, though. When did they start? We both believe, correct me if I'm wrong, that it was after DM's father died, since he did still act like they were together at the dock scene. And I genuinely don't think that was him just playing dm.

[Lexi]

I agree. I do think that he was starting to have something more emotionally with Lance up at that point, just like DM was with Luther. If we're going to point this out with Henry, we got to point it out with DM as well. And I do think that after what went down at the docks, that was when he completely emotionally shut the door on dm because he was like, oh my gosh, like we're better than we've ever been and blah, blah. So I think that was like his version of his last hope with dm. And when that imploded with the doc scene and especially with Vance talking to him in his mind and all of that, where it's like, oh, like she won't even, even kill the descended, like to, you know, all that kind of stuff. Then I think that's when he officially closed the door on her. And even like when he's like, lana, we didn't do anything wrong. She's like, yeah, we did.

[Nicole]

Yeah. So I think that I, I agree with you completely. And I'll add another layer to this. I think that in that time between the docs and the challenging and the like, Kuril attack, there were probably a lot of Guardian meetings where it was like, yes, what's going to happen at the Kuril attack? Here's what's gonna happen in Arboros and da, da, da, da, da. I think that's where him and Lana got together together. I think that probably on a walk home one night, they, he looked into her eyes and kissed her goodnight or whatever the like. I, I'm assuming that happened. And then at Arboros, right before the attack, that was them, like fully together. Fully together.

[Lexi]

Are your eyes closed?

[Nicole]

I, I, my eyes are closed.

[Lexi]

Okay. Keep them closed.

[Nicole]

Right? Am I allowed to open my eyes?

[Lexi]

Friends, it's time for our final Henry Hat of us deep diving the Kendrick's Curse saga. At least until burn.

[Nicole]

Oh my God.

[Lexi]

There is a reason I am literally dressed up like a clown right now.

[Nicole]

And the cold might be dying down there. My favorite part is that you had no idea how to do a clown makeup or anything. And this is really good. I'm like, scared of myself here. I'm a little scared of you.

[Lexi]

Anybody who has a clown phobia, please be mindful if you're watching this on YouTube. All right, Henry Hat. Where do we begin? With fans back in town, of course. He has shared his version of events with Henry and probably the rest of the Guardians, and further poisoned him against dm. As far as Henry has been concerned, as soon as DM got the crown, she left the mortals behind and abandoned them. Meanwhile, the Guardians, as always, are willing to sacrifice everything. Remember how Pen has Told us Henry feels so betrayed by DM because they used to hate the descendant to get together and now. What the. She's one of them. She loves being a descended and he doesn't even recognize her anymore. The descendant have already taken loved ones from him and now they're taking DM too. What would diem a powerful crown with all the riches in the world. What would she know about sacrifice? This goes right back to what we discussed throughout Glow with how Henry cannot fathom the struggles DM the queen might have because all he sees is the power of the cross crown. Not the political games or the descended ways. Only strength and power that is unimaginable for a mortal. Now that someone who claims the mortals are her priority, she's not taking swift action must mean that she doesn't care at all. Henry, as always, looks at this as black and white. If she's not willing to align with the guardians violent ways of achieving goals where they're willing to do anything to achieve their goals, then she's against against them. Nuances and morals about innocence, it doesn't matter when it comes to fighting for mortals rights. And that's of course like Henry's perspective here. And so he's coming at this like of course I don't. You're. You're. We're not friends anymore kind of thing. We do have to remember Vance walked in on DM and Luther all over each other and he really rubbed salt in the wound with that. No pun intended. We can bet Vance had a lot to say to Henry about her new descended lover. Which is why Henry is harping on DM's new lover. Even she would never have imagined herself with a descendant just a few months ago. And now she's with one of them again. It goes back to she is one of them. She loves being them. She loves being in love with one of them. And here's the real kicker though. She would not give that kind of love to Henry, who had been with her all their lives together. She's giving her love that he tried for so long to get. That he tried so hard to prove his love for her to some descended prick who by the way is in charge of the progeny laws. He has no idea that Luther is actually a good guy like this kind of up. Vance also doesn't have an arm now because of Sarai. Of course when he was telling the story to Henry and probably a lot of other people, of course he did not mention that it was his own fault for not leaving the area when DM begged him, him too, so that she could try to save his life. Of course, it was irrelevant that DM told Sarai to go before more damage was done. But absolutely, Vance went on and on about how DM murdered mortals at the camp. And of course, Vance did not share how he forcibly held DM down to get her blood so he can storm the palace. Like we talked about in episode one of Heat, Vance has his own agenda and he only shares the story he is peddling. And now he can poison more people against dm. And Henry has proved time and time again to be very receptive to that. As Henry says, he feels like all he has left is violence and hate, just like Vance. But I will actually counter that because there is happiness and love with Lana. He is fighting for a better future in addition to revenge. Whereas Vance, Vance, he is consumed with only Vance vengeance. He most certainly does not have a love interest he genuinely cares about, like Henry does. I do worry that Vance will use Lana to manipulate Henry though, later on, if he's not already. Henry even mentions how Vance has now gone to Monteos. And I'm very curious about what Henry is going to be up to for the rest of Heat. Like, is he staying in Lumnos? Is he going somewhere? Is he going to be meeting up with Del and Arlie and all of them? And then he and he and Luther are gonna have their own run and.

[Nicole]

I don't know, I'll be talking about that more in a moment.

[Lexi]

Let's move on now to how Henry knew Diem was going to be kidnapped by the Guardians. Ugh, really having to dig deep here for this, Henry.

[Nicole]

Hat here.

[Lexi]

Well, you see, DM is an Amarian crown. She is a descendant. And she has proved from Henry's perspective that she is not actually an ally to the Garden Guardians. She says that the mortals are her priority, but like Vance pointed out. Well then what about the mortal that you killed for the descendant? Oh, and by the way, Henry's like, we were gonna make sure that you weren't gonna be hurt in the whole process. So there you go, dm. Yes, you were gonna be kidnapped, but you weren't supposed to get hurt. You weren't going to be hurt. That was not part of the plan. And at the end of the day, this is war. And this was part of the myth mission. It was necessary for the mortals mission as a whole. And quite frankly, DM is one person and her getting kidnapped. And if he was to tell her about any of that, that would have absolutely jeopardized the mission. And what does Henry prove to us? Time and time again, the Guardians are his priority over dm. Every single time. All right, finally, let's bring up Lana. As Henry says he wanted to tell DM that he is now a summer someone else. But you see, DM was out of town. It wasn't his fault.

[Nicole]

Oh my God.

[Lexi]

And you know what? She's dead to him now anyway. She's with someone else. She pushed him away and right into another woman's arms. Who is mortal and a Guardian that can be trusted. And that's all I have there with Lana.

[Nicole]

All right, well, I'm gonna dish out some big old round of L's. Wonderful job putting yourself in Henry's shoes. Very good. I am going to see reason now and just dish out every L I possibly can. L, Number one for saying that she's out of town. Technically that was Lana. But that's how they've been justifying it. Because the truth is, she was not out of town. She was chained up and drugged as a prisoner of the Guardians. A organization they both are working for. Number two, him saying that DM might as well be dead to him. Why? Wow. Dude. That is a lot. I know you're mad because of everything Vance has said and poisoned your mind with and all about him losing an arm and her being with Luther and honestly about how all your plans in life have gotten derailed. But to say that your best friend and your ex fiance is dead to you. That's a stretch. So l number two and l number three for him getting in DM's head and telling her that basically she's incapable of loving someone. And how she needs to warn Luther that she's incapable of giving more in a relationship pause. Because more to Henry meant marriage, a family, her leaving work to become his wife. It's what he wanted. And don't get me wrong, she didn't say no. And there's nothing wrong with that. But both parties have to want it. And that was more for him. Just because I. I need to cool my blood down just a little bit. Allow me to share what Luther says in response to dm when she feels like she needs to warn him based off of Henry's getting in her head about wanting more. First off, Luther isn't fucking surprised. She's the most independent person he knows. It's like he's been paying attention or something. So it's 0.000% surprising to him that marriage isn't something that is on the height of her. Her List. It's not on the top of his list either. Especially since he's always equated marriage to an arranged marriage with Ileana. Secondly, quote, I know what I'm getting with you, and it's more than enough for me. You see, more to Luther does not mean commitment via marriage. More means getting all of her. Which means he sees D.M. the queen and D.M. the woman. He is, the one she comes to when she's running raw, sad, happy, doubtful, excited, and every emotion in between, because there's no part of her that he wants her to feel like she has to shield from him. Cough. Cough, Henry, cough. Henry is saying, give me all of you. And Luther is saying, you are already enough for me. Those are very different. And as he says, quote, show me your worst, my darling, and I'll show you how far my love can go.

[Lexi]

Diem shares her plan with Henry. She's really sharing her plans with everybody here, right? But she tells Henry that she is going to break her mother out of Forto's prison. And she tells him this for several reasons. Number one, exactly what she says to him. She's warning him that things might get worse in Lumnos afterward, and there's no telling what the army will do in retaliation. And number two, I think, subconsciously, DM wants to show Henry once again that they really are on the same side. She needs to get her mother out. Not because her mother is the Guardian leader, maybe, but because it's her mother. So of course she can do everything she can to save her, no matter how reckless. And it so happens to work very well in Henry's favor because she is the leader of the Guardians.

[Nicole]

Well. And remember what we talked about at length in glow, where it's like, whenever she feels like Henry is slipping away from her, she grasps onto him however she can, which is Guardian information. Now, do I think she's clinging onto him in the same way that she was in Glow? Absolutely not. No.

[Lexi]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

But this is her saying, hey, we're on the same side. Like, we can still be friends. Here's this information. Everything's okay. And as I've seen time and time and time again from Henry, he says, oh, that's interesting. And then it's just like a ticking time clock before it goes back to, oh, I hate you.

[Lexi]

Yep, Yep.

[Nicole]

Exactly.

[Lexi]

As the pattern goes, like it always does when Diem shares his glimmer of hope with Henry, Weeks experience. Such a shift in his demeanor, he perks up with excitement.

[Nicole]

Oh, wow.

[Lexi]

DM is back on the Guardian side. What a surprise that he's like, oh, I'm listening now. From his perspective, he and the Guardians need Orly back because they have fallen apart without her. As we learn about in Arboros with Del. Yeah, Vance is not the leader that everybody wants, right? He has been resigned to the fact that Orly is as good as dead. But now she might come back and reunite them. Yes, I gotta point out, no regard for DM's safety like everyone else has been worried about, but yep, this is pretty on brand for Henry.

[Nicole]

I was gonna say that checks out entirely. That to the point that I didn't even think twice about it. With this information from dm, there is that tentative truce between these two, which in this tentative truce, Henry, maybe realizing that DM isn't so bad as he's been led to believe by Vance, starts talking to her like she's his best friend again. Until he realizes that maybe his mouth went a little too lax with information. Quote with Aurally, we might win this war. When Vance told me she had gone to the island, I. Oh, you done fucked up, sir. We have been discussing on FFG for a while now that Henry knew Arlie's whereabouts way back in Spark, but because of the Guardian Oath, an oath for a cause he believes in. With this whole chest, he felt like he couldn't tell his best friend slash girlfriend.

[Lexi]

He prides himself on his involvement in this greater mission. And even for dm, he would not jeopardize the Guardian secrecy.

[Nicole]

So instead he would share about how the old God showed him that Arlie was alive and he was sure she's fine. Thinking that that offer would just bring DM so much solace and hope.

[Lexi]

I don't even know what to say about that reasoning that has not already been said into the microphone.

[Nicole]

Ret. Tweet. But this here, him admitting that he knew where Arlie was this whole time, that is the nail in the coffin for dm. Holy shit. Finally, she has for years been the last to know everything. Whether it's about her own abilities, her family secrets. And now her best friend knew where her mother was when she was mourning her and she didn't. This is the slap in the face to end all slap us in the faces.

[Lexi]

Now we know Luther also knew about her mother and did not tell dm. But where the difference is, in my opinion, is that Luther at least explained why he could not tell dm. He acknowledged that he had this information and he was sorry that he couldn't share. And DM really did believe him. And trust him that he meant that. Whereas Henry pretend pretended like he did not know, he outwardly lied to DM about that or lied by major omission there for months and months when DM was sobbing and wondering whether her mother was alive or dead.

[Nicole]

DM has been trying with Henry, trying to be honorable or honest since she knew things weren't right with them. Has she been perfect? No, absolutely not. Has she been trying to. Yes, definitely. She. The night before the challenging was like we need closure, like we need to call off the engagement, we need to talk. Before that she was wanting to help him with the guardians in every which way. That drove us insane. This right now is DM realizing just how one sided that respect truly was. Remember, DM values honesty over everything. So I guess this is goodbye, old pal. I don't think it's for long because I think Henry's gonna have some kind of return redemption or I can burn or whatever. But at least for now it's goodbye. Smite you sir.

[Lexi]

We are left with DM's parting words that just send chills down our spines for what's to come with DM and Henry. DM says, quote, I'll see you on the battlefield, Henry. I pray we'll still be fighting on the same side. So first of all, I love how she says still be fighting on the same side. She is right now saying we are on the same side. But she's also saying in so many words, if you go with Vance, that's not the same side anymore. That is if you are going to be on the side of hate and violence and vengeance, then that is not the side that I will be on. As we wrap up with Henry on the page for now, I'll share my final speculations for what side I do think he's going to end up on. Because I believe that he will get a redemption arc. I think that his redemption arc is going to be very messy and I don't know if he is going to make it out alive. But I do think at the end of all of this he will not choose this hate and violence. Ultimately maybe he will finally see what DM is accomplishing with bringing descended immortals together to fight for equality. He has said like that won't work. So all we have left is hate and violence. And if she is able to demonstrate there is another way, maybe that good hearted person that he is can want to rise to the surface. Maybe he'll be like, wow, there is another path than what I have been led to believe believe. Maybe Vance will betray him. And that is really where he'll pull that out of his ass in that way, with that violence and stuff like that, and redirect his energy into, yes, fighting for change, but in a different, I say more protective way. And we're still waiting to kind of see that with how DM is doing it too.

[Nicole]

Right.

[Lexi]

I will say, I think that they will be on opposite ends of the at least metaphorical battlefield for part of the burn. Maybe not the literal battlefield, but something along those lines. Or Henry will save DM's life from Vance. Maybe he'll find out Vance killed her father and that'll be what finally makes him see the light. Or Vance is about to kill DM and he jumps in front of her or something like that.

[Nicole]

I definitely think there is a chance that Henry will find out that Vance killed Andre and that is going to be what makes him, like you said, see the light. I do have a question for you because right after this scene with Henry and dm, Diem addresses Mortal City with her big and passion speech. Do you think Henry heard any parts of that speech? No. Really? Okay, so we can assume that he is not with Vance and Afia Kai for the rest of this book, because I feel like he would be in Sophos. It would have been noted that he was in Sophos. Yeah, yeah. Or Vance.

[Lexi]

Vance would have taunted her. Yes. And would have been some kind of evidence that he would have been following Vance.

[Nicole]

So because of that, I have to think that he's in Lumnos, still working with the Guardians there. Or maybe he's an Arboros working with the Guardians there. But it does come back to, like you were saying, is his arc in Burn? Good, open up with him on the side of reason or on the side of Vance. And I agree with you. I do think that he's going to be on Vance's side, like still pointing, poisoned by his line of thinking for a while and then it's going to switch over. Definitely.

[Lexi]

As far as with hearing DM's speech, I definitely don't think he was like present to hear it, but I'm sure he will hear about it.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Lexi]

And maybe it'll plant a seed for him where he's like, oh, she, she.

[Nicole]

Might have been telling the truth.

[Lexi]

Or maybe even without Vance around, like he'll be influenced by somebody else or. I, I don't know. But yeah, I, I am assuming that he's around Lumnos because then even in the first few chapters of Burn, that pen is shared he's nowhere on the page with those Guardians either, so.

[Nicole]

And they're in Arboros as far as.

[Lexi]

Yeah, yeah, in Arboros, so I am definitely leaning toward he is still in Lumnos. And I'm going to be very curious to see what is going on in Lumnos here too. Like, what if Elix has had to have some not so pleasant run ins with him? I don't think that much would happen off the page.

[Nicole]

But do you think that, like, Elixir would come and protect him? Like, Henry or Taryn would come and get him and like, take him to the Palace? Okay, cool.

[Lexi]

I think if anything, they would be like, I should not kill you.

[Nicole]

Yeah, I feel like Taran wouldn't even have that thought. He would be like, ah, I'm okay if you die.

[Lexi]

Yeah. Okay. Well, I guess this is time to officially say goodbye to Henry for the deep dive. At least again until both burn.

[Nicole]

You went out with a bang.

[Lexi]

Before we move on to Fortos, I want to quickly address one more thing that we haven't brought up yet from Lumnos, and that is DM and Teller's relationship. We'll dive more into it when we are in sophos. But upon DMs return, and these two siblings finally getting reunited, we're seeing just how hard all of this has been on Teller and how it's causing a crack in his trust and his relationship with his sister. Sister? Like dm, he never asked for any of this. But unlike dm, he feels like he's just a pawn in everyone else's game. He feels like he's in the dark. He's learning all these secrets about their mother, and also what DM herself has been hiding from him. We know how much DM agonized over the secret keeping these past few books, and now we're seeing it for Teller. He may be the most level headed of the Bellator's, but even he has a breaking point. And with all that DM has kept from him and how his life has flipped on its head from him feeling like he has no control. And over it, my heart goes out to tell her. Because he's right. And while I love our girl dm, she is not doing the best job of putting herself in his shoes. Even though she's been there in her own way.

[Nicole]

Well. And Teller spent how long? Almost 22 days, feeling like everyone had abandoned him. And now DM comes back and it's like, oh my God, thank God my sister's okay. Yay. But then it feels like, oh, you've abandoned me long before you're probably presence was not here. Like, it's like her trust abandoned him. And this is the final straw before he's like, you know what? Everyone's keeping something from me. I'm gonna go off and do something on my own. Where he goes to Sophos.

[Lexi]

Well, and he has his own falling out that he's having to deal with from what everyone else has left him. He's left with a mess. Like, you know, his school, he goes to a descended school and they all think that he's guardians now. When he had no idea that his family was involved in in the guardians. And now he's being pressured to in school early. And Dean's like, no, no, no. Like I'll take care of it. And he's like, I don't, like, stop. I. I need some control over my own life. And it's what, 17 years old too? Like, oh my gosh.

[Nicole]

I feel for like, Teller is the unsung hero of this episode, honestly. Oh. But moving on from Teller, because with Luther saved, Henry warned, it is finally, finally time to venture to Forto's. Fuck yes. I'm so excited. Remember, Aurelie is a prisoner of the Crowns for her role on the attack in Kuril. And in order for her to either be freed from the prison or executed, the Crowns need a vote of six, one way or the other. Right now there's one vote, Yersel for letting her free, and there's five votes calling for her execution. With DM having ditched Yersel back in Umbros, she is expecting Yersel to change her vote, which means she might have already a vote of 6. It is time to go break her mother out now. But this might not be the best idea.

[Lexi]

That's putting it mildly, as pretty much everyone tells DM, especially with DM's insistence that she returned to Lumnos with her mother and hide her in the palace. Like, sorry, I gotta say this. Did we learn nothing from Luther's past with hiding his mortal mother? Okay, I said it there. Me. DM is already on the thinnest of thin ice with the other Crowns and the descendant in her own realm. Like, no, actually the ice has already cracked, but you get what I mean. If she bypasses the other Crowns and breaks her mother out of prison, that is really, really bad for her image. Even Teller was like, do we really need a break mom out? Like, that's not necessarily an F you to his mother, though. Let's be honest, he's not happy with her at all. It's him being that level headed and reasonable, realistic person that DM admires so much. Is their mother worth the inevitable disaster for DM in times of war? But DM is as stubborn as they come and this is their mother. So no ifs, ands or buts. She has to break her mother out of prison. Non negotiable, no matter the outcome. I think this is also DM on a bit of a power high. She knows how magically powerful she is and she's willing to take the risk because she is beginning to think she's unbeatable. And I'll also say this too, that she has been desperate for these secrets that her mother has been keeping from her. And she has a way to get those answers now that she sees.

[Nicole]

Yeah.

[Lexi]

And she's willing to take that risk for her own knowledge and what she needs for herself as both the daughter and as this very powerful descendant, that she has no idea what, how this happened.

[Nicole]

Well, speaking of that, like, next episode we're going to talk about this, but when they go to Afia Kai, there's this line that her inner monologue says, and it's basically, this is the aura of someone who is not used to being bested. That's quite rich coming from DM who has gotten this, like you were saying this a little bit of a power high. She's used to not being bested at this point. So yes, this is absolutely not the best idea to go in all willy nilly with just a half, half baked plan to get her mother out. The logistics of breaking into a prison, as well as being able to break her mother out unnoticed is not only a big risk, it's next to impossible. Neither Luther nor DM have ever been inside the prison. If I've learned one thing from Ocean's Eleven, you need the blueprints, you need the layout. So they have no idea what to expect for anything, including what's security like, what's the floor plan, what's the exits, nothing. And if DM is successful at bringing her mother back to Lumnos, that's also not a safe option. The Crowns will make it a bloodbath of the realm, her realm. They won't stop until DM is on the gallows. So would it be smart for only Luther to go that way? If the Crowns declare him an enemy, she can at least say he acted of his own accord. She can save face. Luther. You know Diem better than that, you silly for fool. Would we count this as a Point towards dm. I don't know if I do, actually. She's not putting herself.

[Lexi]

It's more of, like, him trying to take the fall for her. And she's like, nope, it's got to be me.

[Nicole]

Yeah. And I love that she and he. Because at first she's like, no, you literally just said, we're not doing this anymore. She, like, goes back to this being Luther's pattern of putting himself in harm's way. And he's like, no, no, no. I'm not thinking like that. I'm thinking about straight strategy. And I believe him. I believe him. Definitely.

[Lexi]

I would have come up with, somebody needs to have a better plan here.

[Nicole]

Think for 2 seconds and not rush into danger. But again, it goes back to that power high. DM has been very impulsive and it's worked out for her, let alone the fact that she's almost died multiple times and her boyfriend almost died. Anyway, the team knows the crowns can't hurt her, so she sees this as no matter what, it'll be fine. But as Remus points out, that doesn't mean they can't look towards those they can hurt, like Teller or Luther. So if she wants to go through with this, she better do everyone she loves a favor and not return back to Lumnos.

[Lexi]

As much as we don't like Remus, he has a point, as DM knows that he has a point. She admits that inwardly to herself. But again, she is so stubborn and has tunnel vision right now. Reunite her family in Lumnos at whatever cost. Cost. And I do wonder about how that's going to play out. And burn. Because she's going to return to Lumnos. We know that. We've gotten confirmation from Pen that there is going to be a good chunk in Lumnos. And I'm going to be very curious to see how that's all navigated and all that, especially considering what has happened after Sophos and Koreal. And maybe she won't be reunited with her mother, and her mother won't be there and tell her won't be there anymore either. So. Or maybe, I don't know. This does not stop Remus from trying to stop DM from going to Fortos and ordering Sarai to be held down. L for you, Remus, and capital L for all the guards hurting Sarai. You were not supposed to do that. And no L for you, Alix, because you are doing what you were told by your queen. And you get mad at all the people hurting Sarai because they weren't supposed to do that.

[Nicole]

So the people risking dm, it stops there, right? No, because even Eleanor has something to say to her. She has been working to get DM allies in her own realm, something DM pretty desperately needs. And if DM goes to not only break her mother out of Fortos, but break a rebel leader out of prison, it looks bad. It. That will surely cost DM some, if not all, of her allies that she desperately needs right now.

[Lexi]

Yeah. Eleanor gives DM this warning a lot more nicely than I would have, let's just say. I have a question for you, Nicole. Would you have broken mother out of prison? I'm not saying our mother. I'm just saying this fictional mother.

[Nicole]

Thank you for clarifying that. It's not our mother. I appreciate this, Mom. If you're listening, I'm very glad. I would have thought about it a little more. I think I like. But that's the other thing. There's this ticking time bomb where it's like she doesn't know if your cell has changed her vote, and the second she does, the King of Fortos will go in and kill her. So, no, I still don't think I would have, because, like, DM needs allies to win the war and she is all about, like, who can I help for the greater amount of people. And this is helping one person while damning hundreds, if not thousands.

[Lexi]

Yeah. I think if I was dm, I would have gone too, for toast, because I am a crown and I'm allowed to do that. She has some good reasoning that we'll talk about here soon. But as far as straight up breaking her mother out of prison, it's more of like, I would need more information before making is that big impulse. Yeah.

[Nicole]

I would have gone to Forto's, talk to mom, see if I could. Not mom, not our mom. See if I can get some more answers as to, like, what's really going on here. But I will say this. It's dm. If she even just did that, she would have seen her mother and the condition she was living in and she would have burn her out. Which. Which is fair. Fair. Yeah. Anyway, there's no winning in.

[Lexi]

In this situation. Bottom line. Yeah.

[Nicole]

So that's the end of the risks, right? Right. No, because there's still more. DM is also under an edict from the other Crowns. They have summoned her to be questioned under the, you know, plausible, very plausible outcome that they believe that she was sided with the Guardians in the Kuril attack. And on top of that, going to any realm at this point, point is just not a safe idea because crowns need to be invited. Now I do love that your cell has given her that. That training, if you will, where it's like a crown has no authority over other crowns, which just basically negates that whole if you're in another realm uninvited, you can be killed. And I just love that. Anyway, so let's also not forget that Fortos has an entire vault of Godstone weapons at their disposal, which Luther was just cured from a Godstone wound. So have I made myself clear? This is a risk.

[Lexi]

So here is DM's half baked plan. As a crown, she has the right to see her mother. Once DM can confirm Aurelie is alive, she will pretend to leave for Lumnos. Then she'll sneak back into the prison later tonight. And that's her plan. Girl, the oven is not even preheated yet. Like let alone a half baked plan. Diem and Luther land with Sarai in the middle of Fortos training field and she demands to see the king. Not subtle whatsoever, but I do get her reasoning. She does not want to show that she has anything to hide or be afraid of. And soon enough, the king of Fortos arrives.

[Nicole]

Boo. You suck. King of Fortos.

[Lexi]

He may accuse DM of coming here without an invitation, which remember he can kill her on sight for. But DMs like yeah, I do have an invitation because the soldiers and Lumnos said that this king wants to talk to her. I know we've been giving DM a bit of a hard time for her almost preheated oven plan earlier, but this is a smart workaround. Risky, but still smart with how she leveraged the soldiers confrontation back in Lumnos to her advantage. Here in Fortos, she's still holding onto what Yersel told her too. A crown answers to no one, not even another crown. The Fortos king is a massively built man over swollen with muscle and no neck. Forto's values strength more than anything makes sense considering the Latin root for strength is fort. And based off what the king says with how he used to be called child. 159330 that does indeed give us some more insight into how at least descended men are raised in this realm. They are soldiers, not treated like actual people. Like I have a lot of questions around the fortress culture after this revelation, but I'll save that for another time so we can see how giant of a man this can king is. But what's interesting is that his aura is weaker than Luther's that's two crowns now, Igneous and Fortos, who are noticeably weaker than Luther, who is not a crown. Igneous and Fortos are also two realms that do not think highly of the mortals. Though Fortos does see the use immortals, but that's not to be mistaken with compassion or acceptance whatsoever. It reminds me of what Yersel said about how Father Ambrose tells her quite a bit because she treats the mortals well. Could there be a correlation with their powers too? And your cell has more mortal blood in her lineage than these two tough guys. This is a little bit of a stretch, but I just really do believe that bloodlines will be a big part in burn with how the half mortals often seem to be more powerful, for instance, or the more diluted across generations, the less powerful the descended are.

[Nicole]

Here I was just thinking that those were the two male leaders that we've come across and it's just very on brand that they think that they're so much more powerful and the females are much quieter about being powerful. But they're powerful. Er, yes.

[Lexi]

Yes indeed.

[Nicole]

Anyway, into the prison we go. Down and down and down they go until they finally reach a glittering black gate with a long vaulted hallway behind it. We know from the King of Fortos that there has never been an escape from this prison. And here we can see where why. 1 the gate is only openable by bloodlock, so the King of Fortos or anyone who has his blood that he willingly gave can enter the prison. I would assume this gate is not opened very often for that reason. Yeah. Then glittering black of the gate means that it is Godstone. It repels magic. Which isn't much of an issue due to the insane amounts of flame root they are given the descended prisoners, so much so that they are docile, emotionless and so very weak. Oh, that just hurts my heart. But also Godstone is impenetrable, so they wouldn't be able to break it to get out. Then of course there's the state of the prisoners. Like I mentioned, in addition to being drugged far beyond anything that DM was ever given with the flame root, they are also beaten, tortured, broken, and in at least one instance that we see rehealed to be unable to to walk. And that is only the descended cells. Then there's the mortal ones, because yes, our us versus them theme continues even in the prison. Each one of the prison bars here is made out of iron, not Godstone. Then there are buckets of overflowing waste, the room is freezing and each prisoner only has thin clothing and no Blankets. But don't worry, they at least keep the families together. This is my first official annihilating L for the King of Fortos. And even that does not feel like enough of a harsh smiting for inhumane still does not even feel harsh enough for these horrific conditions the prisoners are living in.

[Lexi]

And as we'll learn, many of these mortals in the cells were captured in rebel camps and many of the descended in this prison were caught trying to help them. The mortals. Then the moment we've been waiting two and a half books for is finally here. And no Nicole, it's not Luther and Diem. Bangity bang. Yet we hear a voice say dm. A voice that DM knows as well as her own. She is finally reunited with her mother, Aurelie Bellator. And oh boy, are we all about to have some mixed emotions about Aurelie officially entering the main story. DM is beside herself with relief that her mother is here and alive and this is real. She's been in limbo for months, almost a year now. And she has missed her mother terribly, which is completely understandable. The weight that she's been carrying about whether her mother is alive or not, if she'll ever see her again, she can feel it finally lift. And yes, they are in a major pickle right now. Yes, Orly is a complex character who we have our work cut out with analyzing. But here in this moment, I am so happy for DM and that after everything she's been through, she is reunited with her mother. The person she has been so desperate to see since the beginning of our story.

[Nicole]

It becomes quickly clear to Diem that Arleigh has been in not the greatest conditions. She has been, plainly put it tortured. And as the King states, it's his quote, moral obligation. She knows vital information on the Guardians that that could stop a war and save thousands of lives.

[Lexi]

I do not condone what happened to Orly. Let me be very clear. And she is the leader of the Guardians being tortured. In these circumstances, not exactly a surprise. Especially given what we know about the King of Fortos and these conditions here.

[Nicole]

Nope, not at all. Arlie's voice is hoarse. Her coppery red hair is hacked off into choppy bits and it's dark with filth. And she can't even lift her hand off the floor. Plus she has blood still on her face, coating her swollen shut eye and half bent nose. It takes two others lifting Aurelie up for her to stand, if you can even call it that. And even just that moment to lift her up Causes her to cry out in pain. Poor Aurelie.

[Lexi]

The King also tried to get the Guardians that are also in the cell area to turn against Aurelie, saying that she betrayed them. But they trust her and know her better than that. I want us to keep this in mind as we head into Burn. Especially with this group of mortals who will soon be sympathetic to DM's cause. And Orly starting to lose her credibility with the Guardians.

[Nicole]

Yes, as DM sneakily throws her healing magic into her mother, she can also sense Arlie's internal wounds. Broken bones galore, a punctured lung, a shattered knee. Her back has been slashed to ribbons and one tooth is missing and another loose. It's so fortunate that DM is able to heal her, especially without the King knowing. But wow. Fortunately, Toast again. She is the leader of the Guardians, but you fucking suck, bro.

[Lexi]

Within just a few minutes of being on the page with Orly, we can pick up a lot on how she views her daughter. First, I should say that yes, it makes sense for her to be relieved to see her daughter again. She's not immediately viewing her as a crown. She is her little girl. Always has been and always will be. They have missed each other so, so much. And we are all so relieved and happy that that they are together again. And I understand how she initially thinks that way. And then the way that Orly speaks to DM and how she views her daughter is going to be a theme, especially over the next few episodes.

[Nicole]

I'm gonna try to keep this section as short as possible, which is maybe not as short as I was initially planning because we are going to be going all into aurally specifically next episode, but still I'm giving you an L. Aurally. You have been on the page not even three. Three whole chapters in totality, but here we are. I understand that the last time she saw dm, her little daughter was her little girl. She was not Queen in. In Aurelie's eyes. She knew she was descended, but she wasn't a descendant to Aurelie like she. She really stuck her neck in the sand, etc. Etc. But this type of language when she knows DM is now Queen when she saw her almost get blown up because of Arleigh's actions when she left left her family eight months ago. It's a choice.

[Lexi]

Again, I will give her one pass for when she says how she missed DM because she is being reunited with her daughter. But then she turns to the other mortals and it's like I want time alone with My little girl. And that's when it's like, okay, Orly, a lot has changed. And, like, you can call DM in your initial thing, you know, like you call.

[Nicole]

It demeans her. It makes. It makes her seem small and childish and naive. And then Arlie says, it's only been a few months. No, it hasn't, Arlie. It's been almost a year, girl. You kept count on the island. You know, it's been almost eight months before the bombs went off, and then it's been another month almost since she's been captured. I know Aurally is a little out of touch with reality. Obviously, that's putting it very mildly. She does not know about Andre or everything that DM has endured as queen. But I still believe that this could have been handled better. Like, that whole thing she just said could have just been wiped away. Especially when DMs like, it's okay, Mom. It's been almost a year. And it's like, yeah, Aurally, yeah, well.

[Lexi]

And Orly thinks that part of her torture were the things said about her family, specifically Andre, and she can't believe that he's actually dead. Very sadly, DM does have to confirm this again. We'll get more into this next episode. But my heart does hurt for Orly that she just received confirmation. Her husband, who she loved with all her heart, is gone. And after her initial breakdown, she's going to have to get up and compartmentalize her grief.

[Nicole]

Speaking of things that could have been handled better, when Aurelie and DM are alone, when they're able to chat behind the Godstone door, Auralie refuses to acknowledge Diem as a dispute. Descended? Yes. Arleigh wanted to give DM a normal life. She did know she was descended. And in doing so, she did put her own head in the sand. But Cat's out of the bag, Arlie. She's got a crown on her head.

[Lexi]

I love this line because it sums orly's mindset and DMs life up so well. Quote, I may have thought it hadn't occurred to her until this very moment what she'd raised.

[Nicole]

Well, and then there's that word, what she raised. DM's language goes back to that of when she first learned that she was a descended. And it goes back into that other, this, like, untouchable, tainted other that is descended. And that just like it hurts my heart that in two seconds of talking to her mom, she's already experiencing that again. But then Arlie says Luther is expendable because He's a descendant. Oh, only to realize that that's not the thing to say to your daughter, who's a descendant. An also not to mention, that is not the way to treat your allies, Arlie. Especially considering how obvious it is that he is here with DM to help break you out. And here you are saying, it's okay, he can die. We'll get out of here. Oh, my God. And then Arlie diminishes her daughter's powers. And not even powers, like magical powers. I'll even say just like prowess, by saying, dm, this isn't like the games you and Teller played as children. This is real. Lives are at stake. Really, Mom? Really? It's like she's saying, that's cute, honey. But the Guardians, the adults here, have it under control. Did you really have it under control on the island when you all blew up a crown and got all captured? And it looks like I'm here saving your asses right now. Again, we will be discussing this at length next episode with probably just as much gusto. But right off the bat, we see Arlie's priorities and her faith is in the Guardians, full stop.

[Lexi]

Eventually, the Fortress King allows Orly to leave the prison cell under his watchful eye so she and DM can speak. And the moment here, it's kind of like, why is he letting them do this? But I think it's because he hopes exactly what happens happens that Orly tries to escape. Or DM messes up some house so he can kill her too. He may not be able to kill either of them unprovoked right now, but if they step out of line, which it's Orly and dm, that's inevitable. He has every right to send them to their death, like, right then and there. Once DM and Orly are escorted into a Godstone sealed room, leaving Luther outside with the Fortos King. We have a new development. Two Messenger Hawks have arrived with instructions to be delivered to the King directly. Well, shit, this is bad. One is from the Queen of Arborist, assumably with her answer, finally, about whether to execute Orly or not. Dm, like the King, assumes that this vote is the final one needed against or Lee, since they think the Arboros Queen was also kidnapped by the Guardians and held hostage. They have no idea that she's been working with them and it was all staged. Do we ever find out what this Messenger Hawk actually says from the Arboros Queen? I'm very curious about that.

[Nicole]

I was kicking myself that I was reading this last Night. And I was like, dang, dang it. That would have been such a good phone. A pen. No, we don't know. So I'm. I am assuming though it was her not saying. Voting in Arlie's execution.

[Lexi]

I wonder if it was her saying that she's alive. I don't know she would want to draw any attention.

[Nicole]

I don't know.

[Lexi]

I have no idea. Or maybe something with the Amarian army. Anyway, then there's the second letter from Remus, warning the King of Fortos that DM and Luther are on their way there to kill him him and break Orly out. I'll be honest, I'm a little surprised like DM that Remus was willing to do that and sign his son's death warrant like that.

[Nicole]

I think this is Remus feel like literally feeling the power slipping from his hands. He can feel DM now. She's. She was back in Lumnos. She's taking action. She's ready to kick him off his throne, so to speak. And he's now trying to grasp at once whatever he can and taking this big type of action to ideally wipe her off the map. Even if it means his son is part of the casualties. I don't think is something that Remus wouldn't do.

[Lexi]

Along these same lines here. Remus is also determined to keep his power and keep his realm as peaceful as possible. Which means not letting DM get away with breaking her mother out. And if he gets ahead of this by betraying them, then Lumnos as a whole will not be fortress's target. It proves DM was acting rogue. So with this new development of the messenger hawks, change of plans cannot wait until later tonight with that very well developed plan. Right? Gotta get Aurelie out of this prison right now.

[Nicole]

DM and Aurelie may be in a godstone fortified interrogation room, but Luther is out with the King, who is now slowly killing Luther, which. Sir. No. Stop it. DM needs to get to her prince. She just got him out of death's door. But with the Godstone nature doing its job. Other than her just not being able to use her magic, she's not able to penetrate it. It's also doing something funky with her emotions. The longer she touches the Godstone door, the more bleaker her emotions start to become. They bubble to the surface in hatred, anger, sorrow, gloom. It feels like death and wrongness given tangible form. Form. I'm doing what you were doing earlier, and I'm waving my hands here and I'm saying something's here. It makes her emotions rise almost like they're negatively bubbling up to the surface. That feels like it's almost the opposite of flame root, which I think is interesting. But then the wrongness and death given tangible form is just fucking fascinating. I can't wait to learn more about this. Hearing the grunts of pain and smell of Luther actively dying, Diem launches her godhood into action, telling her to fight. Hurling a blast of light at the door. It does nothing but shatter into splinters on impact, ricocheting in white hot sparks around the cell. That's terrifying. So that's not going to work. Let me remind you that Luthor is actively dying outside and Fortos is just all like but doing a jig around his dying body on the other side of the door, tapping into now instead her umbros. And all the while, meanwhile, Arlie is standing in front of this door being like, it's okay dm. He's just a descended prince. Let him die. So tapping into her umbros magic, DM forces her mother to move out of the way with her voice demanding move and move. Move mom, get out the way. It works. But with Aurelie now out of the way, DMs godhood is now saying destroy. And unlike every time before, DM does not surrender here to her silvery man magic. Instead, her heart does it all on her own. I love this because I feel like it's a step in the direction of DM being able to control her super cool silvery powers. Not just as a reaction, but instead control it on purpose. We're not there yet, obviously, but it's closer. And then the same odd destructive silvery light bursts from her skin. DM hones in on its essence. The magic isn't like her usual magic, the stuff that comes from her godhood. No, this power, this silvery power is imbued into her blood itself. I literally just have a row of exclamation points written in the outline here. Oh my God. We need to talk about this. I think this is the biggest clue that we have that this is from Diem's kindred magic, not the Omnos magic. Right?

[Lexi]

Right.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

So it brings me right, right back to what yourself said. This war was going to be a battle over kindred blood. And so, yes, because her godhood is the realm that she's associated with, right? Her terramere, which is omnos. And then her blood, blood like that, kindred that is something completely new and different that nobody else has.

[Nicole]

So then when the silvery light brushes against the toxin godstone it does not cower. It merges. Her silvery light power merges with the Godstone, the material that only the Kindred can make. End quote. I thought I'd been destroying the Godstone, but it was never destruction. It was balance. There's that magic word, Balance.

[Lexi]

Death equals Godstone. Life equals balancing.

[Nicole]

Along these lines, in the center of this silvery glow, DM feels this preternatural wisdom, shouts to Jess on that pred watch. A glimpse from the gods themselves at the truth too pure for human minds to understand. Human mind Kindred. This is kindred, DM's internal knowing. Saying, hey, the humans, they can't know. The humans, they can't know. But you, Kindred, you can know. But just as quickly as the understanding dawns on her that this balance is the key to everything, it then goes away. Like an answer she was not meant to know. Quote. Not until my soul has been judged. Oh, my God. I have chills up and down my whole body. We need to talk about this because this sounds a hell of a lot like one of two things. One, when someone dies and they go into the coldness of hell, they can be rejudged to see if they are worthy, being among the ever flames, eternal warmth. But more specifically, when a mated pair dies, one soul is in limbo, and then when the other dies, their souls are judged together. So DM doesn't feel like she's allowed to understand what this balance is until her soul has been judged and proven worthy. But if her and Luther are mates by the end of this book, that means that not only she has to be judged and proven worthy, they both do. Because if they're mates, which we strongly assume they are, they have to be judged as one soul together. So does this mean. Oh my God. That they're both going to have to die in order to understand what this balance is? In order to finally be let in on this secret. That they'll both have to be judged in order to be proven worthy. Oh, my God.

[Lexi]

I love how you're holding your hair. I'm even wondering if this honing in on the essence of this magic within her, not her godhood, but what flows through her blood, which we again, strongly believe is directly tied to the Kindred. If it is her connecting with the Kindred part of herself where she's unknowingly almost about to tap into this ancient wisdom, but she's not there quite yet. And I also wonder if Ophia can is not able to tap into this balance because all he cares about is destruction. And death. This whole passage here in this chapter, as seems power is imbued in her blood instead of in her godhood. Merging with the godstone feels extremely important for the rest of the story, as Nicole has very well articulated here, and part of what she will have to seek out within herself and what she is magically capable of. The balance of life and death. Anyway, here I am waving my hands in the air like, ah, this means.

[Nicole]

Something, But I don't entirely know what yet.

[Lexi]

I'm waving my hands in the air, and I really, really care.

[Nicole]

See, I feel like this is a clear and direct sign that in order to understand the balance, this thing that is going to be a huge, huge theme in the final episodes of Heat. In order for her to understand what that is, she will have to pay the ultimate price. She will have to die and have her soul be judged. But that also means Luther will have to die and have his soul be judged. So there goes my Luther is totally safe and not at all dangerous.

[Lexi]

I don't know if I'm quite there yet. I think that it's a little bit more about the magic within her versus dying.

[Nicole]

Oh, okay. Interesting. We've just seen it too many times with. After someone dies, they have to be judged.

[Lexi]

What if she can be judged when she takes the rosebane?

[Nicole]

I. I hope so. But then where would the ultimate price come in?

[Lexi]

I am leaning more and more toward she will. Will die. I do think that she's gonna come back, though. There's just so much foreshadowing for this, and I don't know if it means that her and Luther will have to go. What if it's, like, Luther who brings her, like, pulls her back or, I don't know, Something. Yeah, well, possible doesn't matter anymore.

[Nicole]

Well, I mean, especially if they are two parts of one soul. Like, then him being able to pull her back could be, like, his soul pulling her back into life or something like that. I. I agree with you that I don't think they're both gonna die.

[Lexi]

Or it goes back to the bonded bargain, where she's like, take me instead, but leave Luther. And once when there are two halves of the same hole, something with all.

[Nicole]

Of that, we're gonna put a pin in that. But that's really good, sis. Wow. All of this to say DM poofs the godstone door away. Just like her magic merges into it, just like she did with the godstone weapons back in Lumnos. And the king is naturally like, what the fuck? As she runs over to heal Luther. Thank God. Crisis averted.

[Lexi]

Once again, Luther's heart has been the only organ spared when the king was literally killing him from the inside. I think this is Mother Lumnos again, looking out for his heart as she always does. And it reminds me of DM's dream back in Lumnos when she dreamed of gold hearts. Mating bond. Maiden bond. Maiden bond. Seeing Orly try to to make a bolt with her own impromptu escape, DM gives her mother multiple warnings not to run. Do you hear that, Orly? Do not run. Which quick side note, DM communicates this with Orly using her Umbaros magic. And this shocks her mother because she's like. But I thought. And she doesn't continue her sentence there. I'm guessing her mother assumed DM's father was Limnos because she knew that DM had Light and Shadow magic after she turned 10. Though Orly also admits that DM's father was not like any mortal or descended she had ever met. So I'm very curious about what's going on in Orly's head as she discovers her daughter has multiple realm magics. I can't wait until next episode when we dive more into all of that. So what does Orly do here in the prison in front of the King of Fortos after her daughter said don't run, she runs. Why, oh why is she doing exactly what DM told her not to? Well, for one, Arlie thinks that she does know better. Better than dm. Like we were saying earlier, she does not view her daughter as knowing anything about this current situation. She's just her little warrior. She's her little girl, okay, in her eyes. So DM telling her to do something does not hold any weight to Aurelie here. Plus, Orly has been a spy for decades. She has experience in these type of things. With Orly bolting, the King of Fortos finally has his opportunity to kill her. Outright escapees can be slaughtered on sight. Can you imagine how much he hates Orly? Extra considering she used to be his best spy for the Guardians. She betrayed the King of Fortress personally. He's probably so stoked to take her out once and for all as his own vengeance against Orly Bellator, who he now understands is the leader of the Guardians.

[Nicole]

That's a great point, because I hadn't really put that together. What absolutely drives me mad is she starts running. Running. Does she seriously think that won't put her daughter in danger again? I just.

[Lexi]

Yeah.

[Nicole]

Well, since Auralie decided to run away and the King wants to kill her for it. It looks like DM has no choice now but to fight the King. Good job, Aurelie. Way to pick the Guardians over your family and fucking gen, anyway. Can you tell I'm gonna have some really strong feelings about Aurelie next episode. Oh my God. Using her magic to conjure a long dark sword, DM blocks the King's attack with only a violent ripple that rocks through her arm before the blade bounces away and. Shit. He's strong and dangerously skilled. The King of the army. Who would have thought? The two crowns dance in a violent tantrum, trading parries and thrusts. DM might be a trained fighter, but the King is giving her quite the run for her money, pushing her training to its limits. DM manages to land a few critical strikes though, and even a minor nick to his throat. But it's just not enough. Which honestly go DM first and foremost. But she definitely was about to slash his throat entirely. And then she's like, wait, no. While DM might be keeping up in skill, the King definitely is outmatching her in strength and, let's just say, willingness to kill.

[Lexi]

Hearing the footsteps of soldiers approaching, DM panics and sends Fortos hurling backward with a burst of Mero's wind. This causes his head to crack against a godstone door and slump unconsciously to the floor. She does not want to kill this man. Have we mentioned that yet? But she also needs to save her mother and get the three of them out of here unharmed. DM wraps dark vines around Fortoes and raises a veil of shadows to cover them both. Her illusion, it is sloppy, and she uses her Umbro's magic on one of the soldiers now here, influencing him to believe that both crowns left and are now in the King's office. And it works. Kinda. It takes a few tries for DM to get the soldier to convince his comrades that they now somehow miss the king. But eventually they do leave. DM may not like using her umbrous magic because it feels invasive, but she also can't deny it is extremely useful. After DM dissolves her magic, the King immediately goes on the offensive, slashing at DM's head with enough for forced to carve a gouge in the floor twice. And that's when the King puts two and two together. That DM used Miro's magic to push him back. And she was the one to use for toes magic on him. Back in the hall, he calls her not just an imposter, but an abomination. Have we Mentioned this is unheard of that DM can do all of this. He's not curious about DM's unique magical nature. He only sees her as a threat to be destroyed.

[Nicole]

The King takes another attempt at DMs neck, but DM strikes back fast, this time, crafting a sword out of sizzling white hot light and landing a blow across his wrist, causing him to drop his blade and then his hand go limp, his skin bubbling and raw from the magic. Magic is so cool. Pinning his wrist to the wall with her blade, DM demands he yield and she'll spare his life. But Fortos never surrenders. They fight until they die. The king arches his neck against her blade, ready for her to end it all. But Diem did not come here to kill him, unlike Remus's note insinuated. So she drops her weapon. Grabbing the King's sword, DM pushes her magic into it until it glows red and melts into a puddle of useless sludge. Oh, my God. The king finds DM's reluctance to kill hilarious, laughing in her face and calling her pathetic.

[Lexi]

Earlier, the King of Fortress said something about how DM has all the confidence of a man, but not the balls. And while he clearly has not met Elix, we've said something similar about DM in a much less sexist way. Though she has all the talk, but refuses to walk the walk.

[Nicole]

Yeah. The King suddenly changes his tune. He'll let dm, Luther and Aurelie go without a fight. I mean, she bested him in battle, right? Right.

[Lexi]

Like the DMs even like, oh, like she's. She doesn't really believe him.

[Nicole]

Like, did we learn nothing from. From Rangi slain in the challenging? Because he used this exact technique. And DM was like, okay, so with two hands, the King grabs either side of Diem's head, ready to snap her neck, but she twists in his arms, going slack. DM catches the King off guard for a split second, but that was all she needed. Crafting a smaller shadow blade, DM stabs the king deep into the apex of his thigh, then proceeds to kick the blade while it is embedded in his groin, burying it deeper once the King drops to the ground. Ouch. But effective because she hit quite the artery. And he starts bleeding out.

[Lexi]

Now that the King is bleeding out on the prison floor, it is time to get the fuck out of here. Looking inward, DM attempts to check on her magic reserves. And while she's still getting the hang of knowing what to look for, she does. Feels something. A hot Kind of pressure over her temples like the beginnings of a brutal headache. Oh, we know what this means. As DM Lutheran Orly are about to leave, the king stirs and he, or should I say the kindred Father Fortos speaks. He calls dm daughter of the Forgotten, and her godhood responds to him like a reunion with a long lost friend. The king's skin begins to glow, the scarlet of his. His eyes fading to a churning smoky gray. Smoky gray, you say? Like the Kindred eyes.

[Nicole]

I love this so much.

[Lexi]

Again he speaks, telling DM this is a choice Father Fortos has never made before. And it's not an easy one for him, nor will it be easy for DM checks out and reminds me of what Father Umbros has told yourself about DM as well. That the next crown will be her greatest adversary. That this is not going to be easy path for Diem. As she becomes the crown of these realms, the pressure in DM's head increases sharply. Her senses feel heightened and overtaxed. The stifling air around them becomes a sea of liquid fire that her lungs can't quite draw in. When DM asks him what choice, it's her godhood that responds. Screaming and shouting, whispering and singing all at once in a language DM D doesn't know. Okay, I have to ask. Is this a Kindred's language?

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

Like the same language that's on the scroll work and the weapon that she will have in Sophos, the same one in her visions. Will she somehow end up tapping into this language through her godhood? If that's even possible. I could see there being a piece to the puzzle that is specifically in the Kindreds language. And she has to decipher that in order to figure out maybe even what the Kindreds Cross curse is, or how to kill a Kindred or something along those lines. There.

[Nicole]

I could see that being on this. On the scroll work, on the.

[Lexi]

On the sword.

[Nicole]

Like I. I don't think we're gonna finish burn and not know what that means.

[Lexi]

By this point, the King's skin is glowing bright, and so is DMs. And with that, Fortes says his final words. Guard my people well. Remember my sister's words. Beware my brother's wrath. Paw lies. Because I'm assuming that he is referring to Lumnos as Fortos sister's words, since she is the only female Kindred who has directly spoken to dm, which was through King Ulther back in Spark. This is what Lumna said to DM when she was in King Ulther's chambers. Quote, 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 him this is my command. If these are the words fortunately is referring to about remember my sister's words, that makes me really question about how the gift cannot be DM's blood to give to Luther to save him, as we have been talking about, which that does make a lot of sense. So, like, the end has come. Let's say that it's Luther. The blood has spilled. DM's blood has just spilled. And now she has to give that gift of blood to her faithful heir, Luther. But if he's saying, remember my sister's words, that would mean that this is not happening yet. The gift has not been given quite yet. So I'm kind of leaning toward it has not happened yet. And that DM's blood to heal Luther earlier on in this episode is not what Lumnos was referring to. Then.

[Nicole]

Yes, I definitely don't think the gift has happened yet. I think that's going to be the climax of next book for sure.

[Lexi]

I think so too. Yeah. There's also, of course, the Beware my brother's wrath.

[Nicole]

That has to be Omnos.

[Lexi]

I have no idea who else that could possibly be. I think this is actually more proof that Ophiuchai is Omnos. Because it's his wrath. It's Omnos's wrath, Absolutely.

[Nicole]

So later, when they're looking at the Monteos letter, they're like, oh, this has to be Ambrose, because, you know, of all that Umbros warned your cell about. So that has to be who they're talking about. But I 100% think you're right. It is absolutely Omnos. Who? It would just make sense if that's Ophiuchai.

[Lexi]

DM collapses while the pressure on her head spikes. And excruciating pain mixed with the sweetest pleasure. Light explodes in a wave around her. And DM screams. Her godhood is the one that speaks to her this time. Claim me, daughter of the forgotten. And even if DM wanted to, she cannot ignore its call. Her soul won't allow her to. Her godhood is claiming the Fortas crown. The blinding silver light turns into a sunny gold light. The force on her head begins to eat ease. But she can still feel something heavy atop her head. The fork, toes, crown, baby. But that's not the only new thing in the room. Because that blinding light that shot into the sky, just like When DM became the Lumnose queen and her mother saw it from the island, it formed a tunnel through the prison ceiling with sunlit sky shining through.

[Nicole]

Woohoo. We've got an escape route that's very convenient. It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this book or listening to this podcast to know how big of a deal it is for DM to be made queen of this particular realm. Because they've never had a queen before, like ever. And the men of this realm have taken that to mean whether it's what Fortos intended or not. But I'm leaning yes it is what Fortos intended, especially because he divvied up magic based off of gender. They have taken this to mean that women are weaker. They are supposed to follow, not lead. And God's forbid you ever get bested by a woman. If you do, that means you are less of a man. So for dm, a woman, and not a submissive one at that, to be made queen is huge. And also I have a feeling this is going to be quite the continuous ordeal in Burn. The realm of Fortos will not follow her for the most part, as we will see later this episode. So add this to the realms that DMs will has no power over, despite being its queen. Really, she's only got monteos in the bag as of right now, considering Umbrose is not doing so hot. But I could also see her using this to her advantage. Without a clear ruler, who knows what's going to be happening in Forto's next book. Especially because they're out not only a king but also the highest commander. So if she also has the power to tap into the foraging magic though, she would also be able to take away all the the men's killing power, which would be such a cool use of that magic and may not also be the worst thing. I'm actually super pro DM doing this at some point.

[Lexi]

Also thinking about how the kindred Fortos, how he did make this decision. It really is all the Kindred besides Omnos unanimously rallying behind dm. And obviously we have not heard about, you know, Igneous or Sophos or any them, but we can gather what would happen there. And if Fortos who was very anti women being in power and women having his crown for him to agree to this I'll call it, that's a big deal. That shows how unanimous the Kindred truly are in this. But we got to talk about how this is a second crown for dm. Technically it's the third. But she does not know that yet. Now her crown has another peak. So she has three. Three peaks. One for each realm, one for each crown. And woven among the thorny star dotted vines and glittering crystal is a ring of throbbing tangled veins. DM has barely been able to wrap her head around being queen of one realm. Now she's the queen of two. She's kind of freaking out with this new completely unexpected responsibility. She can't even rule one realm right now she's in charge of Fortress 2. That has never had a woman queen. Talk about an uphill battle there. This is the moment that Luther is truly realizing how much bigger DM is than even he ever imagined. He's picking up that she will be the ruler of all Omarion. And you know, he thinks about in her vision with a crown that looks so different. He has seen this in real time play out now. And of course he says this line that you may not be the queen anyone expected, but you are the queen they need. This is exactly what the kindred believe about DM too. To right the wrongs and reshape this world. Yes, this is big and scary change. But just because it's unknown and painful doesn't mean it's a failure. I want to say this line from Luther to you, our listeners quote. Don't mistake the pain of change for failure. In other words, you can do the big scary thing. If it feels that way, it's okay. And it doesn't mean you failed at all. Keep going. You can do this.

[Nicole]

This turn of events gives DM quite the opportunity though. DM knows a war is coming. I mean for the most part it's already here really. And she does not have very many allies, let alone an army. And while maybe, maybe she'll be able to tap into the army of Fortos again. That's a big maybe because we definitely don't think so given their stance on women in power. She does at the end of the day need more people on her side. So who best than those who have been wronged, tortured and beaten? Beaten by the Descended. Looks like it's time for a prison heist. But note not just the mortals or the guardians. You hear that aurally? No. All the prisoners who are willing to remake this world is it with complete trust and no hesitations or fear? Of course not. After all, while breaking out the mortals, they don't exactly sound against the vance like Guardian mission of killing every single Descended. But as the States do you think they're going to stop at just the descended because what happens when they deem anyone who is different of unworthy of living on the same soil, be it race, gender, who they love and who they worship? What happens when the bloodlust goes beyond just the descended? When will enough be enough? And well, that shuts up the agreements rate then and there. The divide of these two peoples needs to be over, starting with this prison break. It's time to fight for a world in which all are equal. No more hate being the guiding light. Instead, let it be love, fairness and balance driving them forward. It sounds a hell of a lot better and more productive of a focus, if you ask me. Side note, I love the moment early in chapter 56, jumping ahead a little bit, where DM notes how the horses they've commented endeared in their prison break have mortals at the reins to, you know, steer and guide, and the descended on the back with their hands free to wield with magic. It is so much trust. But it's mortals and Descended working together in their strengths. This is what we're talking about, people.

[Lexi]

I envision so much of this working together in Burn. Like, I really, really see this being the central theme of Burn. And again, I think our hearts could use it. Pen, help us, please.

[Nicole]

One of the things that whenever I read the Forto section before the Deep dive, I always kind of forgot about it. I always, like, brushed over it a little. But doing this section in the Deep dive, I was like, I think that this is giving us some of the biggest thematic foreshadowing for Burn, which just like gives me so much chills.

[Lexi]

I love it. This is really setting up for the themes that we will see in Burn. While in sofos, it's really focused more on the lore that we will see and burn.

[Nicole]

Yes, exactly. But we gotta break out these prisoners first, and it's gonna be real hard with the state they're in. But wait a second. Because we have a special healer.

[Lexi]

Not only does DM physically heal the prisoners, which I love, how she uses her healer skills combined with her magic to be an absolute expert here. She also miraculously figures out how to eliminate the effects flame of root that all the descended are drugged with.

[Nicole]

Holy shit.

[Lexi]

Letting her magic rush into Ennis, the Arboros descended whose legs she just healed. DM turns her magic's focus onto his blood. There's that blood again. She can feel the flame root flowing in his veins. But like the Godstone toxin, her magic fizzles at its touch. Considering we wonder if the flame root is connected to the Everflame I find this really interesting, that it has a similar effect with magic as Godstone Stone does, but with the strange silvery light. Things are different. She is beginning to understand this other magic that she has that demands balance. Ah, so this is not her forte's healing, like with the physical injuries. This is her unique magic that can conquer the flame root in the Descended systems. Again, I believe that's what this magic is, the balance of life and death. Perhaps even kindred and mortal, hot and cold, like she continually experiences. I'm just going to quote this next next passage because it is so cool. And I can't help but think of the Everflame's Undying Fire and how DM represents the Everflame. That Undying Fire quote. A light burned frail within me like the last smoldering ember of a long extinguished fire. I held it close, cupped within my hand, the blow of my breath keeping its stubborn glow alive. I let my magic be its vessel and carry a spark through my palms the moment it hit Ennis's skin. Skin he illuminated with a fleeting burst of silver light. We at Fantasy fangirls are convinced that some of these characters from the Fortress prison will make another appearance in the next book, so let's highlight the few names that we do know. We have Runa, a mortal woman who wants to believe DM can lead them into a life of peace someday. Even if she's hesitant after everything that's happened.

[Nicole]

Is she a Guardian? I'm assuming so.

[Lexi]

I assume so, but I don't think.

[Nicole]

A high ranking one.

[Lexi]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Yeah, I think that most of them are Guardians, actually, because they were found in rebel camps and stuff like that. So yes, she is a Guardian, but like you said, not a high ranking one. And then of course, we have Ennis, who we've been talking about the Arboros descended, who before DM healed him, had not been able to walk while in this prison for decades. He got caught by the army when helping mortals get out of Faunus. So, do you want to know something interesting, Lexi? Always.

[Nicole]

I thought it would be fun. Fun to look up the meaning behind these two names, Runa and Ennis. And do you want to know what they mean?

[Lexi]

Tell me.

[Nicole]

Runa means Secret Lore or Moon. Ennis means Island. I am not joking. I wish you could have been a fly on the wall when I looked these up and I was like.

[Lexi]

I love it. Also, I am totally shipping these too. Like they even get a little blush. And I. Oh my God, I. I'm shipping them so hard.

[Nicole]

Absolutely. But I'm like, I am convinced they are going to be major players next book. Maybe not major like Taran or Leaks or stuff like that, but like major like they're going to be part of DMs army. We are going to want to know these two names. And Moon and Island. Are you kidding me?

[Lexi]

Well, I'll even say secret lore too. I love how that's.

[Nicole]

That's not as exciting as Moon.

[Lexi]

Lexi. These are just a few of the prisoners DM freed and who are interested in fighting for her. Specifically the descendant, who over the years and years in these cells have become their own family. Now to note, none of these prisoners were captured by the Umbros queen or the igneous king, who prefer to, you know, kill their targets than turn them over. And none from Limnos, thanks to Luther's intervention. But the realms that do play by the rules are Sophos, Miros, Matios and Phonos. So those are the realms that most of these descended represent here. I bet that these mortals and descended, I think that they're going to stick together and they're going to fight for DM and they're going to be like the first real example besides Ambrose, I'll say, of them really and truly working together and collaborating together. Yes, DM will be proving to these mortal prisoners too, that she is worthy of fighting for and that it is possible for them to work with the descended again. I'm jumping ahead a little bit here, but DM will lead them with saying when they're ready to fight, come find her. Maybe they'll find Luther first while DM is stranded on Creel. I'm not sure, but yeah, I could.

[Nicole]

Also see DM like finding Luther and then all of these people just like show up behind her back and she's like, I've been busy. I doubt it though. With everyone freed, it is time to get the fuck out of here. With the assistance assistance of the Arboros descended, they make ropey roots like, almost like a ladder for them to climb out of that little hole that DM made in the ceiling earlier. DM first, though, surely it can't be that bad. Popping her head out of the hole, DM comes face to face with hundreds, if not thousands of sword wielding soldiers ready to fight for their fallen king. Well, shit, it is that bad. With only having seen the blinding light after the the king's death, paired with the fact that Diem, another crown, crawled up out of the hole and Remus sending a warning that DM went to Fortos with the intent to kill the king. The soldiers are ready to put Diem behind bars. At a minimum, the High General gives Diem an turn herself in now and she won't be killed. They'll designate her a prisoner of the Crown and she'll have to beg them for her life.

[Lexi]

Needing to give the prisoners time to escape, DM throws out a wave of shadows, creating a wide wall to protect the prisoners as they tumble out of the hole. With the help of Sarai and her dragonfire, Diem is able to hold the soldiers back long enough for the prisoners to get a head start. Taking a gamble, DM pretends to run out of magic. Smart move, by the way. And mocks the High General's pride, asking if he's afraid of one weak little woman. She sure knows how to get under his skin because that does indeed get him hook, line and sinker. Switching to hand to hand combat, DM goes head to head with the General. Throwing her arm out. Diem uses her Faunos magic to cause the nearby horses to rear up and buck their riders off. But this leaves a perfect opening for the General to land a blow to DM's ribs. Diem tells Sarai to hold her position, but the General's too perceptive and picks up that something isn't right and commands the descendant to stop attacking DM with their magic. Their magic against her, weirdly, is not working, so he sends in the mortal soldiers instead.

[Nicole]

Well, shit, they found her weakness. Remember when Yircelle was like, are you willing to do anything, even kill, and you are going to be your biggest adversary? She at least said her new crown would be the biggest adversary, but we know that's dm. Here we are. This is the adversary comment coming in full stop. I do not think DM's inability to kill necessarily means that she's an adversary to herself. But it is this weakness that others are going to exploit a lot. And that's how she's going to keep getting in her own way.

[Lexi]

DM has been concealing her crown because, well, she's been accused, rightly, of killing.

[Nicole]

The King of Fortos.

[Lexi]

And these soldiers would not be too happy to learn that she is now Queen. But with the High General sending in mortal soldiers to go up against her, she has to change tactics. She would rather revenge, reveal herself as the new Forto's crown than harm these mortals just doing their job. DM reveals the crown atop her head, though it doesn't quite have the convincing effect she might have hoped for. For one, that's not their Fortos crown. It's infused with Lumnos. And little does DM know Montios. And she's a woman, Father. Fortos would never choose a woman to rule. These Fortos men are like, well, this must be a trick. Honestly, fair assumption being the crown of two realms is positively unheard of. Okay, so if it's. If it's a trick, who then opened the blood walks? And how does she have the power of the Forto's death? But these guys don't care. They will not accept her as their queen. Like you mentioned this earlier, it makes me curious about how this is all going to go down and burn, because I do not think the sentiment is going to change. Fortos will never accept a unique crown like her. They love their misogynistic rules.

[Nicole]

I will point out, however, there were several mortal soldiers who almost, almost started to bow, so I could see them changing sides. But the descended in Fortos, I don't think, at least by the majority, they're going to join DM by any means. But again, that's where it goes back to. Imagine how cool it would be if she tapped into the forging magic and nixed their power. So then it's like they can't fight her. That's what I would do if I was dm.

[Lexi]

I don't know if she can do that if they're in their home territory, but outside of their home territory, she certainly could. But I'm thinking back in Lumnos, when all that was descended were attacking her. And I know that we kind of had to skip over quite a lot because there's 200 pages to cover in this episode that some of them did, of course, have, like, the hate and all of that for her, but some were just scared and they wanted to go home. Yeah. So I wonder if she taps into their better nature. And I think that the Amari and Arameen might divide.

[Nicole]

Well, remember when Aunt Andre back in GLOW when he was at the Banette meeting, and Banette was like, well, what if you just, you know, conscript a bunch of people? And he was like, that's not a good idea. Unwilling soldiers are not a good idea for the realm. So I could see DM capitalizing on the unwilling soldiers who are like, I don't want to be here. And she's like, well, do you want to fight for this cause instead?

[Lexi]

Yes.

[Nicole]

And I love that she always gives them a choice. It's not welcome to my side. It's do you want to come yes, and I really appreciate that. Throwing her magic out, DM unleashes everything she's got. Thrashing vines mixed with watery bowels. I mean, watery torrents. Patches of slippery ice spun with bursts of churning air. While DM fights desperately to push the mortals back without taking their lives, her godhood hisses a plea to ignite a bonfire of sinew and blood. She has has to yank its bloodthirsty reigns back. It's like her most violent desires are just like, peeking its head out of nowhere. Her godhood is like, murder everybody. And she's like, I don't think that's a good idea. Which is probably right.

[Lexi]

This High General is a grade A, though, and is on a mission for DM to die. This is a guy who forced the mortals to attack her by threatening to and demonstrating that he will kill them himself in if they don't take her down. And something in DM finally snaps. If this is her end, she's taking this asshole down with her.

[Nicole]

No wonder the mortals are like, maybe this queen's not such a bad idea.

[Lexi]

Yeah, yeah, right. So she uses her Umbros magic and tells him to end himself. DM even smiles a cold, cruel smile, despite her conscious telling her to stop. As she watches the High General take a small knife that he. He has and plunge it into his own throat. Damn. That is two deaths in one day.

[Nicole]

Do you need a nap, girl?

[Lexi]

Like this time, she used her Umbros magic. The exact magic she judged the Umbros descended for using not too long ago. And she was being attacked. And caught up in the moment of defending herself all the escaped prisoners and even the mortal soldiers she did not want to kill. That the High General was forcing to attack her. She. She might not feel regret for defending herself, but here we do see what DM is capable of. This was not an accident like Ron, where he went poof. This was not even self defense in a struggle with the king. This still is self defense, but it is far more calculated. And yeah, well, you mentioned this is.

[Nicole]

The same magic she was judging the Umbros for. She was in Umbros three days ago. That is how recently she was judging them for this magic. And here she is turning it on its head.

[Lexi]

But I'm not gonna fault DM for using the tools that she has in her arsenal. And we are definitely starting to see a very different shift in dm.

[Nicole]

Luckily, though, in swoops, Sarai Luther on her back. Luther grabs hold of dm, hoisting her up, thrilled that his woman Is safe and in his arms again. It is time to get back to Lumnos. Doesn't sound dangerous at all.

[Lexi]

And jumping ahead a little to chapter 1556, the prisoner escapees eventually have the army stop pursuing them on horseback. Thanks to them riding fast and Sarai roasting anyone who followed. Oh my. That is not the same attitude DM had back in our bros at the Guardian camp. But I'm guessing she's feeling a little differently about the army soldiers. Again, I'm not faulting her, I'm just pointing out these differences. And I don't want to call it evolution because we do all still know what happens with Vance and Sophos. But yeah, interesting. Here Luther has ensured that the escapees have a map showing the royal guard patrols and how to get around them in Lumnos. And a list of safe places to hide. Go Luther. And lots and lots of gold to bribe their way out of trouble if needed. Extra gold star for you, Prince Luther. However, whatever these escaped prisoners do, do not go to Vance. You hear that? Orally. Don't go to Vance. He will kill these descended on sight. I have so much to say about Aurelie's insistence that he is the best bet and he won't harm the descendant here. But we are saving that for next episode. In this magic field segment of the episode lets tap into our Umbros magic and turn our full attention to important foreshadowing moments for the rest of this book. Including speculations for book four. Burn of the Everflame.

[Nicole]

DM talks about how the Undying Fire would receive Luther as his final resting place. Again, just all of this judging of the souls feeling worthy. This feels so pointed. Yes.

[Lexi]

I also can't help but think about how DM reflects that she and Luther were forged and fired together. There are so many pointed descriptions about burning together and being connected through fire. Maybe because they are both children of the Everflame as half mortals.

[Nicole]

What if he's a child of the Ever Flame? Because Floral was somehow connected to the Ever Flame.

[Lexi]

I think at that point it's like all mortals are connected.

[Nicole]

That's true I guess. Right? Yeah, that makes sense. While Diem is dreaming when Luther is healing, she quote, dreams of battlefields and swords and trees of fire. Dreams of blue gray eyes. Eyes and glowing gold hearts. Oh my God. Okay. Battlefields and swords. We know from the visions that she's seen with Luther. Trees of Fire. Hello Everflame.

[Lexi]

This really cements that. I think that we're gonna see the resurrection of the ever flame 100%.

[Nicole]

You know what the Godstone temple is made out of God stone. You know what? She can now destroy God stone. Yes.

[Lexi]

What she even did, like, with the flame root and the blood. Like, what if she has like her little spark of light, like. Oh, my.

[Nicole]

Yes, exactly. Right there. Yep. That. I don't need to say the rest because that's it. That's all. End of episode. We're done. Anyway, we talked about this last week, but we finally get DM throwing the Umbro's library key into the back of her wardrobe. I cannot wait to see that come back into play. Alix finally gets to tell DM about her secret project making Godstone armor for DM's side in the war. This is going to be be a crazy huge advantage. Not only will this protect her and co against all weapon attacks, but magic is also repelled by Godstone.

[Lexi]

Yes. Okay, so quick question. Alix has learned the process from someone in Umbros, and now she is going to test the process for the first time in the palace armory. We have to assume that someone else is going to learn this process too. And I guess my question is, who does Alix trust enough to pass this information along? Belong to Breck Breath.

[Nicole]

Yes. I have a question. If magic is repelled by Godstone, would that mean the wearer of the Godstone armor, wouldn't their magic be repelled?

[Lexi]

That's a really good point.

[Nicole]

Right. But I'm guessing that's not gonna happen because or else no one's gonna wear it. Like, I don't think that would make sense. So I'm assuming that there's some way to counteract it where it's only the outward facing side. That's Godstone, that is repellent. But regardless, if any magic is repelled via this Godstone armor, does that mean Ophiuchai and his type of magic would also be repelled? I don't know. And now at the end of the day, Elise says that she still needs more of it to make a full blown armory of, you know, this Godstone armor. So DM will have to figure out a way to make more. And DMs like, I don't know how I made that.

[Lexi]

Well, after seeing DM start to understand the concept of balance that Godstone is involved in when, you know, she was in the fortress prison cell, I think she's starting to tap into how this kind of magic works, and she's starting to learn the language of it, so to speak. So, yes, I definitely think she will learn how to create it, but she will want to be so careful that what she makes becomes armor instead of weapons.

[Nicole]

Well, another option is that she takes some from Godstone that already exists, like the temple on Kuril. They would need it in its raw form though. And we don't know if the temple is raw form, I'm assuming. No, just given how it's described. But what's odd is that Alix mentioned that Godstone can only be made by the Kindred. Lexi, do you still think that Diem is not a Kindred?

[Lexi]

I don't know how to describe it. Yes, I think that she is part two Kindred. I think Ophiuchai is Omnos, and she is a direct descendant of a Kindred. So you're asking, is she a Kindred? No, she's not one of those ten Kindred. But she is something entirely new and different. Her blood is not diluted through the generations, being either the second or third generation of this Kindred. And since Omnos was not part of the foraging spell, she does not have the same magical restrictions as the other Realms descended. That is what makes her not a descendant. And there is something extra special about her because she is also a descendant of the Everflame. Between a connection with the red haired man and being born on the Everflame soil, which makes her this chosen one, the daughter of the forgotten, who the Kindred have been waiting for to bring about a new era.

[Nicole]

Okay, so I'm going to actually challenge one of these things because yes, she is a daughter. Daughter of what we assume is a Kindred and a daughter of the Everflame. In orally, however, we know that the Kindred bound their immortal selves to their mortal mates and then had children, thus making the descended. But because Arlie and Ophiuchai were not bound in that same way, that means that Diem would not have had those same limitations. Also, remember in Umbros we learned that the more powerful masculine magic will overtake and become the type of person that they are. So like, we saw that with Miros and Umbro's magic. And Umbro's magic ended up prevailing. Obviously Omnos magic or Kindred magic would overpower anything even the mortals, even the Everflame, would have to offer. So I think she is a Kindred because of that.

[Lexi]

Okay. Yes. And she was born with brown eyes though.

[Nicole]

Yes. But that was like where the magic was almost duking it out for like, which one's gonna be. Yes.

[Lexi]

And then eventually once the. So it's like again, it does come Back to she is something completely new.

[Nicole]

Yes.

[Lexi]

I have not thought of that.

[Nicole]

Yes. So I think she is kindred technically because her eyes are gray. She makes ghosts.

[Lexi]

We're saying the same thing here. Yes, she is a kindred in that way.

[Nicole]

Okay.

[Lexi]

But not in a one of the kindred kind of way.

[Nicole]

I'm not unconvinced of that.

[Lexi]

Okay, we're going to talk about that next episode when that comes up. My brain just broke.

[Nicole]

Anyway, this is why I love these.

[Lexi]

Deep dives so much. During the meeting with the Hana Bears, Jaune mutters to himself that they won't make the same mistake twice about missing their shot against dm. I don't think we've seen the last of the Hanovers causing problems for DM and company. Especially now with Zaleric in the picture. I just can't wait to see how this all plays out in Burn while on the note about the Hanover meeting. The way Remus is like, I can only do so much to keep DM under control. You gotta reign your granddaughter in. He's definitely not a good guy, but he's also, in his own way, trying to be a mediator. And he's almost like, okay, you can't attack DM and just get away with it like that. You gotta be sensible here for us to continue a reasonable conversation. Nicole, I've got a moon watch for you.

[Nicole]

Oh, really? Is it as good as Runa's name is? Moon?

[Lexi]

That was really good.

[Nicole]

Thank you.

[Lexi]

When DM's magic expl explodes during her confrontation with Gareth, quote, only the light from my glowing skin remained a vengeful moon in her violent night. Just throwing that out there.

[Nicole]

When Luther and DM are leaving for Fortos and Remus is telling them how utterly insane they are, DM retorts back with a guess. We'll find out when I get back. I think that this is when Remus had the idea that if Slash when she comes back, he is going to make it near impossible for her to do so. So that's when he started getting more army soldiers and the crossbows that would kill the Gryvern and. Etc, Etc.

[Lexi]

From his perspective, he's protecting the realm from DM's antics and rash decisions to bring her mother, the Guardian leader, back to the Lumnos Palace. We touched on some of this, but we haven't brought up this particular moment yet. DM promising Teller that there are no more secrets and that she's told him everything. This will come back to bite her in the butt when he learns that he was invited to go study in Sophos. And she said no. In this moment, she honestly forgot. And as a rather forgetful person myself, I can see how this happened. And lowercase L for you, dm. I get that you have a lot going on. I do too. And that this was not on your mind. But poor Teller. Just poor, poor teller throughout this book.

[Nicole]

The moment he says, like, my dream happened and you. You forgot is just like a. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lexi]

When Luther asks DM what she would ask Lumnos if she saw her face to face, and she answers, I'd ask her what it's going to cost for us to win this war. There's this mention of cost with the war again. And didn't the Umbro's queen kind of already answer this for her, the answer is everything, which is very, very ominous if we have not mentioned that yet. And I also think this is DNA. I'll say, not accepting that as an answer. Like she's kind of keeps asking the same questions and expecting a different answer because she says, and she thinks that she can give up everything, but when it actually is going to come through, it's going to be really hard for her to do that.

[Nicole]

The Fortos king mentions how only people who are allowed to visit the prisoners are the prisoners mates. There is no way this isn't coming back into place. Somehow in the story 1 million yes.

[Lexi]

DM thinks about which order for Sarai would triumph if her life is at risk. But DM orders her to save someone else like Luther. Which one would prevail? I think that we are going to see a version of this exact scenario. And while Sarai does not confirm it, DM asks her gryvern if Luther is the next Lumno's crown. I think DM will have to die and Luther will become the crown. And like we said, she's going to come back because she won't stay dead and maybe not have the magical powers anymore. I'm still noodling on these theories, but this is another little moment with Sarai that. That really reinforces this.

[Nicole]

Right after DM and Arleigh talk about the suspects for Andre's murder quote, you must go to the Guardians. They will help you find the killer. The amount of times that you're talking about Andre and then immediately talk about the Guardians, that's sus. That's literary. Just gold right there. I am fully in die on this hill camp. It was the Guardians who killed Andre.

[Lexi]

I believe I am too. Yeah, I'm like 98% there the king.

[Nicole]

Is doing quite a good job of wink wink, nudge nudging. That Arleigh was a hell of a lot more than a healer, we hear him say. Ah yes, your mother, the healer is insinuating. She was a hell of a lot more than that. Like a spy. And last but not least, Pen is such an amazing writer. When Diem is revealing her crown for the Forto soldiers, quote it's the crown of Lumnos and the crown of Florida Quartos. My smile was frosty, frosty brilliant. Nod that Montyos is also part of her crowns. Oh so good. It is time to enter the Sophos library where each episode Lexi will guide us through a world building topic to help us deepen our understanding of this world and its magic.

[Lexi]

All right, buckle up everybody because today's Sophos Library topic is Fortos and the Amarian Army. Fortos is the realm of force and valor. The descendants eye color is red and for their two types of magic, the females have the ability to heal and the males have the magic to kill through rapid decay. In the very rare case where someone is neither male or female, they will have both types of magic. Otherwise the magic is very black and white with the women are healers, the men are killers. Fortos sigil is a sword crossed with a human bone that's absolutely on point there and it is the only realm that has never had a queen. Until of course the Fortas descended live and die by their rules. Like the last time a Fortas king broke from the law, his own men cut him up and made his remains serve as a warning to the next king.

[Nicole]

Damn.

[Lexi]

Oh man. And of course the Amarian army is headquartered here in Fortos. We don't know much about Fortos geography other than it has gray rocky flatlands for miles. Though the villages of Fortos are not nearly as segregated as Limnos, the mortals and the descended keep to their own and places for instance, like taverns as we saw in Spark. And there are heavy restrictions on mortals in Fortos. We do not have a lot more details on that. Though the port in Fortos is large and controlled by the Amarian army, its tightly regulated activity deals mainly in weapons and soldiers. Fortos has a vault of godstone weapons that date back to the Blood War when the crowns confiscated all the godstone weapons to store them because even the crowns could not destroy them. The healers in Fortas are the best healers in all of Omarion. They are the ones ones with the healer magic after all, and it is common for those with grave injuries to travel to Fortos to be healed or to assist with speeding up their recovery, like Perth experienced. It's also common for descended to visit the Fortos healers after their regular healing powers manifest as they grow up to remove any imperfections they gained in childhood like scars, since they view them as a sign of weakness. But there are cases the Fortos healers can't help. Like when King Ulther was dying, there was nothing that could be done for him once his condition declined past a certain certain point. And they also cannot heal. Godstone. The prison in Fortis holds any and all criminals the Crowns want to put in there. This includes mortals, mortal children, descended guardians, prisoners of the Crown. You get the idea. The entrance is in a small nondescript building notable only for the heavy presence of soldiers. Inside, a single hallway leads to another Godstone vault and another pack of beefy guards. But to get inside the prison itself, you have have to get past a set of Godstone doors and down a very, very, very long staircase. Once inside, its doors are made of Godstone and are sealed with blood locks that only the Fortoes Crown can open. There is also a Godstone safe room for the Crowns in Fortos in case of an attack. But I gotta say, having just the one Godstone safe house in Fortos seems mighty convenient for only Fortos. And a bit of a flaw in the backup plan for all the other Crowns. Anyway, Even the gates between sections are crafted out of Godstone. But there's no guards this far down into the the prison. No one can get past the gates. And even if they did, somehow there's only one exit and there is nothing but flatlands for miles. So any prisoner would be spotted very, very quickly. Inside the descended cells is only a flattened mat of moldy hay, a dingy bucket and a food that looks like it's been rotting for weeks. They are heavily drugged with flameroot to make their magic not only nullified, but make them docile. As for the mortals, the they are kept down in a second set of stairs. Enlarged hay covered pens. Like the other cells, they are brutally sparse. The air reeks of a putrid scent. The scattered buckets overflow with waste. The rooms kept freezing, but the prisoners only had thin tunics, no blankets. Some rules for the prison, weapons are not allowed in the prison for obvious reasons. In regards to the prisoners of the Crown, only the Crowns are allowed to talk to or question these prisoners. They can also be released if they get a voice vote of six crowns. More on this In a bit for I'll call it regular prisoners. The only visitors allowed inside the prison are the prisoner's mates. The laws of the prison apply to everyone equally, even, sadly, children. Moving on to the army. The Amarian army supplies and trades soldiers for all of Omarion and guards the island of Kuril by patrolling the waters around it. Remember, nobody but the Crowns are actually allowed on the island, though. Though led by the Fortis king, the army's ranks include mortal and descended from every realm except Umpros, who does not permit her subjects to join the army. The army can be summoned by any of the Crowns if a conflict goes beyond what the realm's own internal royal guard can handle. Guardians have placed themselves strategically within the army to divert weapons and relay plans like Breq and Aurelie have done, respectively. Descended soldiers in the army have their first allegiance for their army. Oath and loyalty to their home realm is secondary then for for the mortals in the army, they are deemed subjects of whatever realm they're currently in. Actually, I don't know if that is only for mortal army soldiers or mortals as a whole. The army is permitted to use God's own weapons only when necessary. Most of the army spies are women and all of the higher ups in command are men. We know from Andre that many of his old soldier friends bemoan that women are distractions among the infantry's rakes. Fortas does not have the resources to take on too many new soldiers. Soldiers at once. They barely have enough weapons as it is. And they do have to buy them from different places, like House Banette in Lumnos. Back before the Blood War, the army was quite different. Though Fortos was given control of the continent's army under the agreement, it would only act with the consent of all crowns. This was agreed upon during the Blood War. Because during the Blood War, the Crowns disagreed on how far the army should go to stop the rebellion. It was nearly impossible for them to come to any unanimous agreement. Agreement. So a decision was made that the army could act on a vote of six crowns instead of nine. Some concessions were given in exchange, like the use of Godstone, for example. Last but not least, let's talk about the late King of Fortos. He does not have a name like we were talking about earlier. No one. At least the men from Fortos do. Again, I have some questions about their culture and raising children and how families happen. But anyway, he is the leader of the entire Amarian army. And he is known to be a blunt bastard, a hulking giant of a Man with thighs like redwoods and a brick wall of a chest. And his body is so over swollen with muscle. His shoulders bunch at his ears. His crown is a tangled cluster of veins, rhythmically pulsing like it has a heartbeat of its own. I will say, between their magic being both healing and killing, that is so cool and creepy at the same time. And while he might be king, his aura does not even hold a candle to Luther through his power. So isn't that interesting? He has a general distaste for DM and blames her for being the reason he lost two of his most valuable assets, her parents. And then everything on Kuril happened. Now he really hates her. The Forto's Gryvern was named Baldrum, who was a male, and unfortunately he is now deceased. The Fortress Gryvern was killed during the Blood War, and the Guardians shot a bolt into its wing while it flew above the island, and he died the second he touched the soil. Fortunately, that is where we leave this off for today's Sophos Library.

[Nicole]

Honestly, it feels appropriate that you end the Forto section with something sad.

[Lexi]

Yes. Oh, and last thing I will say is that Father Fortos, because, you know, he was a Kindred and he could create Godstone. I'm guessing that he created all of that with the prison, because the King of Fortress does say, like that's been around since Father Fortos. And so anyway, it's just like so interesting to think about the impact that these Kindred have had on their respective realms. With Fortos in the prison, for example.

[Nicole]

Oh, I didn't think about that. Let us close out this episode with skipping around the apple orchard and discussing our favorite moments in this stretch of chapters. Lily telling DM that she used to play a game with Luther to see how many sentences it would be before he brought up DM in a conversation. And it never took more than three. Oh, speaking. Speaking of Luther keying the bloodlocks of his room for just him and dm, that is romance. Oh my God. Perth learning about how DM saved him because she was guilty of like being part of the armory explosion and he doesn't give a fuck. He pledges his loyalty to her yet again. Because at the end of the day, she ran into help and no one else did. Fucking love Perth.

[Lexi]

DM thinking to herself that she is the magical equivalent of a toddler with a the hammer and she just blunt forces her way through every battle. I mean, yeah, that's about right. She is so powerful. But one of those consequences is that she does not know how to use all of that power yet.

[Nicole]

But like I said earlier, we got that glimpse of her starting to figure out how to be more in control. We'll see even more of that next episode. Diem's epic burn on the King of Fortos. When a guard says that even the Fortos king couldn't take all of them at once, DM says, I didn't realize the king of Fortos was so weak. And it's just such a good dunk. But then also, like you've been saying, like, his magic is not that strong. And then, of course, we get a touch her and die. Luther's version. Touch her and I'll peel every last vein from under your flesh and strangle you with them. Another few moments were when DM is sneakily pushing Fortos magic into the king, and all of the garbage guards are like, jerking and reaching for their weapons. And DMs like, goodness, you men are so emotional. Nice little play on how women are called too emotional to lead all the time. I mean, just an Omarion, of course. And of course, when the King of Fortos asks what on earth she thinks she has that he doesn't, Diem says, quote, knuckles that don't drag when I walk, the ability to breathe through my nose, a neck.

[Lexi]

Or when she thrusts her aura out and sends everyone around her flying, and she's like, oops. Happens every time I sneeze. Best part is how Luther plays along. He is just so giddier for his girl.

[Nicole]

I know. I love it.

[Lexi]

I'm just so happy to have the Luther we know and love back again. And with that, the relationship between him and dm, we have missed it so much. Like for instance, when she's like, oh, you would have hated my rampage. And he's like, well, I actually enjoy them a little too, too much. I just miss these two.

[Nicole]

Have we mentioned that we love the magic in this world? I love that especially here. We get, like, the descriptions of the borders back in Spark. The environmental differences were stark. It was like a harsh line dividing Fortos and Lumnos, for example. But now we're seeing that bushes and trees of Lumnos are starting to creep into the Fortos border. The forging magic is breaking down more and more, and it's just so cool how we're seeing that in the environment. It's not often we get a Luther dick joke, but it's a good day when it happens as the King of Fortos is trying to murder Luther. Luther says, quote, I'm fine. Fortos is just trying to make up for his tiny dick.

[Lexi]

Here's one last Lutheran moment when he lightens the mood as DM realizes she's now the crown of Forto stone too. And he's like, you never were very good at following the rules. Luther is just so happy to be alive and with his girl. Even when they're in danger, he's just here cracking jokes. All right, thank you so much for listening to this fifth installment of our Heat of the Everflame Deep Dive friends.

[Nicole]

Next Monday, September 8th, it is Heat of the Everflame episode six, chapters 56 through 64. This is the episode we have been waiting waiting for. Let's go finally meet Ophiuchai.

[Lexi]

In case you've missed it, the next series we are covering after these eight Heat of the Everflame episodes is Quicksilver by Callie hart starting on October 6th. And yes, it will include spoilers for the whole book of Quicksilver. We'll deep dive Quicksilver in the lead up to the sequel Brimstone and then cover that through the end of the year. We will cover the fourth and final book of the Kendrick's Curse saga, Burn of the Everflam as soon as it releases. More details on the schedule when we have a release date and we would love to give the biggest warm welcome, welcome, welcome to our newest Crowns Council members.

[Nicole]

Thank you so much for joining Sarah S, Sab M, Crystal, Paige, Zoe, Sonia and Noelia. Welcome, welcome, welcome. We are so grateful and thank you, thank you, thank you for supporting the show.

[Lexi]

Yes indeed. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. And if you're like hey, I want my name shouted out on the podcast and be shouted with all the love and attention too, join our fan club@Fantasy Fangirls.com Fan Club. The link is also in the show Notes.

[Nicole]

Thank you as always to our top Sophos scholar who literally saved our butts in this 200 page deep dive. AKA our content researcher Brooke and of course our Executive producer AKA our sanity manager Hayden. We flippin love you both.

[Lexi]

We are very active on social media with weekly trivia and lots lots lots more. So please be sure to follow us on Instagram and slash or TikTok at fantasy fangirlspod. And if you're watching this on YouTube or you want to watch this on YouTube because I literally in a clown get up this episode, please hit that subscribe button to keep following along.

[Nicole]

And while you're hitting buttons, please do not forget to hit that five star rating and review button it is one of the best things you can do for any podcast that you listen to. And if you're feeling a little extra generous, write a little love note in that review section. And of course, do not forget to share this episode with your fellow Ever Flame friends. If you and your friends want to fight the Patriarchy of Fortos, this is the episode for you.

[Lexi]

And with that, friends, thank you so much. We will see you next week. Buh.

[Nicole]

Bye bye. All right. Am I allowed to open my eyes?

[Lexi]

Friends, it's time for our final Henry Hat of us deep diving the Kendrick's Curse Saga. At least until burn.

[Nicole]

This is making talking about Henry so much easier. Did you lose something?

[Lexi]

I lost my Henry hat while you were dishing out the owls.

[Nicole]

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