Ship of Destiny - Book Summary, Info & Review

Ship of Destiny
Robin Hobb
The Liveship Traders #3

Ship of Destiny Summary

Start at the end of summer. She Who Remembers (the serpent) is travelling with Vivacia, confused as to why a ship smells like a serpent. She finds a white serpent and restores his memories to him, but he fears it is too late for their kind and resents her for it, leaving her alone again.

Malta continues to paddle Satrap Cosgo and Companion Kekki back down the rain wild river towards Trehaug, but they get caught in the current and swept past, all of them losing hope. In Trehaug, everyone is trying to unearth the buried Elderling city that collapsed in the earthquake, but no one can find Reyn, Selden, or Malta. However, watchers bring news that they saw a dragon arise and fly away earlier. Reyn and Selden are still trapped in the chamber they freed Tintaglia from.

Ronica, with the help of the freed slave Rache, is trying to salvage what she can of their home in Bingtown. People accused them of being traitors since they were close to Davad Restart, and looted their home, along with the Chalcedeans who are burning and taking loot. Ronica goes to meet with Companion Serilla, who is desperately trying to amass and hold onto power. Ronica tells her that she is no traitor and that Davad Restart wasn’t one either, just a foolish man who traded with the new traders. Some other traders, especially Roed Caern, don’t believe her and look to Serilla as a way to expel the new traders and grow their power.

Wintrow is dying from the injuries he incurred freeing She Who Remembers. Kennit and Etta fret over him and Kennit, believing he has some power, goes to try to heal the boy. Wintrow is barely alive, hiding in his subconscious from the pain. In this state he is close to Vivacia, or actually the dragon that she is made of. Since wizardwood is chopped up dragon cocoons, Wintrow talks to the dragon living under Vivacia’s personality. The dragon teaches him how to heal himself rapidly by controlling his body's energy, but when Wintrow comes back to himself he allows the dragon to take control of Vivacia’s body.

Tintaglia, after feeding herself, returns and frees Reyn and Selden and brings them to Trehaug. Everyone sees her and knows Reyn was correct about a dragon existing, however many can not understand her speech. Reyn begs her to help him save Malta and they fly along the river until they see her small craft, then return to Trehaug where Tintaglia leaves. Reyn and some others take off on the liveship Kendry to try and catch Malta.

Amber, Jek, Althea, and Brashen travel on the liveship Paragon, trying to find and rescue Vivacia. Althea and Amber are having problems with the first mate Lavoy. He is a brute and keeps beating the sailors, including the ship’s boy Clef. Brashen and Althea worry they will have to get rid of him.

Serilla and Ronica continue to butt heads. Serilla was clearly damaged when given to the captain of the Chalcedean ship by the Satrap and that is part of why she clings so hard to power. Serilla and Road Caern receive word that the Satrap and Kekki died in an earthquake, and Roed begins to seize more and more control of Serilla those around him using his strength. Ronica and Rache begin planning to reach out to other people in Bingtown, such as the Three Ships folk, new traders, and tattooed (Ex slaves). Ronica arranged for a traders council to be called and they attend that. Ronica is ignored but Grag gets them to look into whether Davad Restart was actually a trader, and they plan how to rebuff the Chalcedeans and reclaim control of Bingtown.

Wintrow is awake again but Kennit is concerned over what has happened to Vivacia. She is clearly no longer the same “person”, and now asks to be called Bolt, claiming Vivacia is dead. Bolt promises Kennit she can make all his dreams come true if he agrees to do a favor for her in the future, to which he agrees.

Tintaglia regains her strength and remembers the past, seeing how much the world has changed in her time asleep. She goes and visits an ancient Elderling city, the same one Fitz visited in Assassin’s Quest. She worries for the serpents since there are no more accessible cocooning grounds due to the Earth changing. Some serpents have actually made it this far up the Rain Wild river but they get stranded and die when the water gets too shallow.

Malta fears she will die. Companion Kekki drank some water from the toxic river in her thirst so she will soon die. Luckily, they see a ship and are brought aboard, however it is a Chalcedean ship. The Satrap thinks this a good things since they are his “allies”, however Malta assumes they will sell him to the highest bidder, and thinks his nobles in Jamaillia want him dead. Kekki begins to convince Malta that if she wants to live she must care for the Satrap and treat him as important so others will see his value and not harm her.

Paragon gets attacked by pirates and they all have to defend themselves. Lavoy feeds into Paragon’s madness and anger, not directing the men to fight as he should. They manage to repel the pirates but sloppily and many are injured. Later they interrogate a hostage and Lavoy lets Paragon rip him apart brutally, which Amber hates. Paragon still wars with the two dragons inside him (since he was made from separate wizardwood logs).

Ronica spies on Serilla receiving word that the Satrap is alive. Roed is starting to overpower her and Serilla is scared of him, but she notices Ronica and tries to warn her and give her time in her conversation with Roed. He wants to keep Ronica hostage to force Rain Wilders and Traders to do what he wants, so Ronica and Rache flee. They go to hide with Sparse and his daughter Ekke of the Three Ships families, who agree to help them and try to organize others to their cause.

Wintrow continues to argue with the figurehead who is now Bolt, but Bolt hates him for his connection to Vivacia, who seems to still be alive just hidden somewhere. When the dragon taught Wintrow to heal himself, he also healed the tattoos Kyle Haven had put on his face marking him a slave. Bolt talks to Etta and convinces her to remove her charm keeping her from getting pregnant. Kennit has a strange fascination with this new persona and tries to impress and flatter it. Kennit and Etta both like Bolt but Wintrow is more and more miserable. Bolt talks in serpent speech to She Who Remembers. The tangle of Maulkin and others encounters the white serpent She Who Remembers gave memories too, but he warns them it is too late and they will die, however Maulkin stays positive and they continue on.

Winter

Paragon’s crew continue their search for Vivacia. Brashen and Amber work hard to try and help Paragon in their own ways, but he remains lost mentally. Lavoy is still bad. Althea and Brashen sleep together again, which amuses Jek and Amber, who are happy for Althea.

Reyn and his mother Jani Khuprus return with Keffria and Selden to Bingtown, where they are reunited with Ronica. Malta is forced to serve the Satrap and has to use her wiles to avoid the lecherous Chalcedean men, then Companion Kekki finally dies, leaving her alone. Serilla receives word from the new traders and has to figure out how she wants to handle the Bingtown conflict. They hold a traders council but invite everyone, hoping to find a peace between the different factions and work together to fight back against Chalced, but internal strife keeps blocking them. Selden and Reyn tell of the dragon, and Selden believes Tintaglia may help them.

Paragon reaches Divvytown, and Brashen and Althea go to shore to try and learn about Vivacia and Kennit’s whereabouts. Althea learns more about Brashen’s pirate past, after his father disowned him and before he began working for Ephron Vestrit. They learn about how Wintrow now seems to serve Kennit and how Kyle had Wintrow tattooed as a slave. Etta and Kennit are half legend in Divvytown, as people see them as heroes. Paragon is struggling more and more the longer he stays in Divvytown. Some nearby sailors say that Paragon looks like Igrot’s (infamous pirate from a few decades ago) liveship. Paragon goes crazy when they seem certain of this and starts screaming, causing everyone to run back to him. Brashen says they have to leave now, since people were already getting suspicious of him and Althea, but Lavoy says that is crazy in the dark. Brashen grabs him and could stab him but says they will talk about this later, but then Lavoy stabs him in the back and jumps off the boat, with some of the men loyal to him following. Paragon flees Divvytown.

Maulkin, Shreever, and Sessurea lead the serpents, until eventually they find She Who Remembers. All the serpents are overjoyed, and She Who Remembers sprays her toxins to share her memories, spreading knowledge of how to become dragons to all the serpents. Kennit and his crew aboard Vivacia/Bolt see all the serpents and are nervous but Bolt seizes the opportunity. After making sure Kennit owes her a favor, she speaks to the serpents and basically makes them slaves to her / Kennit in exchange for her eventually leading them to the cocooning ground, saying the memories they have won’t be accurate due to the world changing. Wintrow is starting to have feelings for Etta and misses Vivacia, and Bolt really hates him.

Grag Tenira, Reyn, and the other people of Bingtown are preparing to assault the Chalcedeans and try to force them out of Bingtown. It is a last desperate gamble, and their odds are not good. Tintaglia was rudely received by the people left at Trehaug but they told her Reyn was in Bingtown so she flew over. When Chalcedean ships shot arrows at her she destroyed several of them. Selden starts calling to her, speaking like an Elderling of old. Being young he seems to have absorbed some of their memories from the time he spent with the dragon and now has started the same change Rain Wilders undergo, growing a few scales and stuff like that. Tintaglia demands that the humans help her deepen the Rain Wild River so dragons can reach new cocooning grounds. Many are entranced by her and agree but Reyn, still furious about Malta’s supposed death, is unphased and forces Tintaglia to bargain. With the help of Selden and a full traders council they begin negotiation terms between dragon and human, where Tintaglia will rid Bingtown of Chalcedean ships then help Reyn go rescue Malta, who he finally realizes is alive. In exchange the humans will prepare space for and watch over the serpents as they turn into dragons.

The humans also bargain among themselves, trying to sort out what Bingtown will look like now. The Three Ships people are welcomed and given the land they have lived on, but many still want the New Traders and the land grants given them by the Satrap gone. The tattooed mostly agree to travel up the river to help Tintaglia, and will be given land there in exchange for their hard work. Many of the new traders will leave Bingtown, and more people will be given votes and a voice in the council. Serilla is not entirely sure about her place, but she does shove Roed off a tall dais and he is arrested and stripped of power. Most people seem content with the new agreement. Selden is instrumental in making Tintaglia agree to a contract, and wants to go up the river to help prepare the way for new dragons. Tintaglia and Reyn begin flying in search of Malta, still on a Chalcedean ship somewhere.

Kennit receives word of Paragon, as well as Brashen and Althea reaching Divvytown. This upsets him greatly since it seems Paragon is a part of his past he wanted forgotten by everyone. We slowly learn more, but Paragon was the ship of Igrot the pirate and it seems Kennit was on that crew as a boy. Malta and Satrap Cosgo are being kept in poor conditions on a Chalcedean ship, which the Satrap complains about constantly. Malta takes matters into her own hands and negotiates with the captain to get them better treatment, reminding him that Cosgo is worth a lot of money to ransom.

Serilla works with the people of Bingtown, and argues against Mingsley, leader of the new traders. She has decided to side with the others and basically forces the new traders out and returns their land to its rightful owners, as well as outlawing slavery.

As construction and repairs on Bingtown begin, Reyn and Tintaglia are able to track Malta somewhat through a dream-like connection Reyn and Malta have through Tintaglia. Malta is able to tell Reyn where she is headed (Jamaillia bound) but she thinks it is just dreams. Malta has continued to ingratiate herself with Cosgo and work with the captain of the Chalcedean ship to get them more amenities. She is becoming a stronger negotiator and bargainer. She is still ashamed of the large scar on her head from the night Davad Restart’s carriage was attacked. Then the ship she is on gets attacked by pirates, and she now has to do the act all over again to make Captain Red (who is a part of Kennit’s fleet) realize the value of the Satrap and through him, her own value.

Paragon finally sights Vivacia, and Brashen puts up a truce flag to try and negotiate with Kennit. Kennit however is still terrified of Paragon and the memories of his past. He fears Paragon has told his new crew stuff about Kennit that would strip his power and the respect people have for him. Paragon agreed to take Kennit’s pain as a boy and sink himself, so it would never surface again. Wintrow asks Kennit to promise that he will not kill his Aunt Althea, which Kennit agrees to. Kennit sends Etta and Wintrow to Sorcor’s ship, the Marietta. Kennit asks Bolt to have the serpents sink Paragon, but in exchange he must spend the rest of the year helping the serpents migrate up the river and cocoon themselves to become dragons. Kennit agrees, but the serpents do not all initially do what Bolt wants, they have become suspicious of her after a time without her helping them, but they do eventually go to sink Paragon. Althea and Jek had been on a small boat coming over to negotiate with Kennit, and get capsized in the rush of serpents. Paragon tries to negotiate with the questioning serpents in defense of himself, but they have an internal battle and Paragon suffers in it, with Amber taking a blast of serpent venom that scale half of her body. Since the serpents didn’t do it, Kennit prepares to board Paragon himself.

Kennit and his men trap the remaining crew members below decks and spread oil over Paragon. Kennit and Paragon talk and we learn a lot about Kennit. Kennit was ship’s boy when Igrot was captain and Kennit and Paragon loved each other. Igrot made Kennit chop out Paragon’s eyes to keep his secrets safe, and Paragon kept taking pain from Kennit to protect him. At some point Kennit asked Paragon to sink himself, which he did before eventually returning to Bingtown harbor where he was left on the beach as a mad ruin. Paragon seems to have gone mad keeping Kennit’s pain and secrets. They still love each other, and Kennit agrees to burn Paragon to kill the sailors if Paragon will then sink again. They light the fire and Kennit returns to Vivacia, where they find Jek swimming with an unconscious Althea, who they haul up. Kennit has strange feelings for Althea, since she looks like Wintrow and is a member of Vivacia’s family. He says to leave Etta and Wintrow on the Marietta for a while longer.

Etta tells Wintrow that she is pregnant with Kennit’s child, and that she will tell him when the time is right, but Wintrow worries for them both. The crew of Paragon seems like they are going to die, but Amber is able to reach out to Paragon and persuade him to help them live, and she connects with the two dragons living inside Paragon, helping him become a more unified being. She reminds the rest of the crew of a old trapdoor in the captains cabin she carved when Paragon was beached, and they are able to ram it open and escape. With the efforts of Paragon and the crew they manage to save the ship.

Kennit helps Althea recover in Wintrow’s old room and gives her Wintrow’s dry clothes. He is very attracted to her, but the wizardwood charm he wears at his wrist tells him he only likes her because she looks like Wintrow, who in turn he wants because apparently when Kennit was a boy Igrot forced him to his bed and raped him. The charm tells him that he better not do anything to Althea or it will tell everyone, since dragons abhor rape. The charm also makes him bring Etta and Wintrow back, which he does.

Reyn and Tintaglia continue their search for Malta. It is uncomfortable for both of them since Tintaglia is used to landing by crashing down but can’t do that since Reyn would be smushed. They grow closer and work together for food and warmth, but Reyn progresses further in his Rain Wild transformations, growing more scales and gaining copper eyes. Tintaglia says he is becoming the first of a new race of Elderlings, who change and gain long life spans due to their association with dragons. Malta continues to use her wits and trader skills to not be harassed and have good conditions for her and the Satrap as Captain Red (they are on the ship Motley), brings them to Kennit to discuss the Satraps ransom / release.

Keffria and Ronica prepare to let Selden go up the Rain Wild river to prepare the way for serpents. He has continued the same dragonish transformations Reyn and other Rain Wilders have so he will fit in better there, but it is sad for Keffria to let him go. Jani Khuprus offers to make Keffria and Ronica the voices of the Rain Wilds in Bingtown, which they agree, hopefully leading to closer ties between their people.

Paragon tells Brashen and Amber that Althea and Jek live, which makes them very happy. They work hard to fix the damage to him and he agrees to take them to Key Island, to get the key to Kennit’s heart.

Kennit continues to try to win Althea over and make her love him, but continues to drug her drink with poppy to keep her tired and pliable. Althea thinks Brashen and Paragon’s crew all dead and is overcome with grief, and tries to go to sleep. But as she is fading off Kennit gets on top of her and forcefully rapes her, making Althea think of Devon, a sailor in her fathers crew who raped her when she was 14, and how Keffria blamed it on Althea. She tries to make herself pass out to hide from the pain and wants to die. Kennit tries to figure out why he did it, and the charm on his wrist accuses him of terrible things and rebuffs Kennit’s excuses saying she wanted it. The charm tells him he has become a monster.

Wintrow and Etta are together and Wintrow basically tells Etta he loves her and would care for her better than Kennit, so she tells him to leave. Althea, in a state of unconsciousness, is able to communicate with Vivacia who is trapped deep down by Bolt. They remind each other of their friendship and love for each other, and Vivacia basically gives Althea the will to live again and continue on, giving Althea all the strength she has left. Althea returns to her body but Vivacia is still not back.

Paragon leads Brashen to Key Island, where they go ashore and find Kennit’s mother and the slave family Kennit left there. His mother wants to go with them to see her son, and the slaves also bring them a raggedy man, who they realize is Kyle Haven. Mother also brings Paragon’s old ship logs and spends time with him, confirming that Kennit is a Ludluck (the family who used to own Paragon) and Mother is the widow of Lucky Ludluck. They set out to find Vivacia again.

Malta and Reyn continue to meet in dreams, although Malta still thinks them just dreams. Tintaglia believes Malta is worthy to be a queen of a new generation of Elderlings. Malta is finally able to get through to Cosgo and he asks for her help figuring out what to do. They begin to make a plan to get him back to his throne in Jamaillia without his nobles killing him on the way. They decide they should make Kennit king of the pirate isles and have his fleet guard Cosgo on the way home.

The serpents, led by Maulkin and She Who Remembers, still argue and worry about surviving the winter. Kennit returns to Althea’s room with food, but she attacks him as soon as he enters, then flees into the ship, screaming that Kennit raped her. Most people don’t believe her due to Kennit’s suave personality, but Etta tackles her and tells her to shut up, allowing some crewmates to lock her back in her room. Wintrow originally does not believe Althea, but Etta is crying and tells him that she knows it is true, and Wintrow trusts her. Etta returns to the Marietta to have space from Kennit. Kennit goes to speak to the figurehead, who says she knows what he did but he lies to her and says it was Althea having a nightmare induced by the poppy syrup she drank. He brings Jek and Althea to the figurehead, and Vivacia kind of returns, finding a version of herself that is a combination of Bolt and Vivacia and Althea’s memories. No one on the ship seems to believe Althea because Kennit has spent so long lying to them and acting like he would never do such a thing.

Amber recarves Paragon’s figurehead to give him back his eyesight. We get more clues to this later but it seems Amber carved him to look like Fitz Chivalry, which seems to confirm that Amber is in fact the Fool. Paragon seems to be more at peace with himself, especially after Mother read to him and spent time with him. They continue the hunt for Kennit, Althea, and the Vivacia.

Malta and the Motley reach Vivacia and the Marietta. Captain Red brings Malta and Satrap Cosgo to Vivacia to bargain with Kennit. Althea is working to reconcile her emotions and find peace with the new Vivacia, although she still disdains Wintrow and obviously hates Kennit. Malta, Wintrow, and Althea are all shocked when Malta arrives with the Satrap of Jamaillia. Vivacia greets Malta as a dragon-friend.

Vivacia still desires to help the serpents, but has no way to force Kennit to help her now, since Bolt overplayed her hand. Malta and Wintrow are both forced to stick to their roles supporting Kennit and Cosgo, and they all gather to discuss and bargain for the Satrap’s release. Kennit tries to throw off Malta by saying that her father is still alive. Paragon and Brashen sight a Jamailian Fleet sailing north. Kennit and Malta spend all night negotiating back and forth, and settle on something along the lines of Kennit is recognized as king of the newly recognized Pirate Isles. They will get tolls for ships going back and forth from Bingtown, and the Satrap will recognize Bingtown’s independence also. In exchange Kennit will use his fleet of ships to escort the Satrap home and force his nobles to accept him. They then also sight the fleet of Jamaillian ships and Kennit is excited to set the serpents on them.

The Vestrit’s (Malta, Wintrow, and Althea) all meet to share their stories since they last were together in Bingtown and explain how this situation came to be. Wintrow tells Althea he believes she was rape, due to what Etta said. Vivacia then calls to the serpents to attack. Vivacia forces Kennit to say that if the serpents attack the very next day they go north to the cocooning grounds, which Kennit agrees to although he is lying. Only some of the serpents listen and go to attack, however a stone from a catapult hits a serpent and the rest become enraged and begins tearing the jamaillian ships apart. Kennit calls for Etta to return to Vivacia.

Tintaglia and Reyn are flying when Tintaglia hears Vivacia’s serpent call and they head to the fight. When the serpents see Tintaglia they all leave the ships and flock to follow her. She drops Reyn in the water by Etta’s small boat before flying away to lead the serpents north. Reyn and Etta are brought on board, and Malta is initially excited but then flees, for she worries that Reyn will no longer want to marry her due to her scar and what she has been through, although she still loves him despite his scales.

Ship of Destiny. Etta tells Kennit she carries his child, which terrifies him. Kennit, originally Kennit Ludluck, son of Lucky Ludluck and his wife, had promised Paragon that he would name a son Paragon. Igrot had stolen everything from Kennit’s father Lucky and basically kept Kennit as a hostage so Paragon would behave. His father’s nickname is probably part of why Kennit always says to trust to his luck throughout the series.

Malta and Reyn both greatly desire each other but both fear how the other will think about their physical changes, plus Reyn thinks Malta must be with the Satrap now, since she still cares for him trying to secure Bingtown’s future. The Jamaillian ships, hurt but still formidable, send over an envoy to discuss peace. Malta is first to recognize the plot but is too late and the jamaillian “Envoy” draw weapons and begin attacking everyone. Malta and the Satrap are caught in a corner of the ship and men keep trying to get to Cosgo, but Reyn shows up and kills a man to save Malta. Everyone is battling and Brashen, Amber, and Paragon charge into the melee. The Jamaillians are winning due to sheer numbers, and when one grabs the Satrap they all start retreating, but Reyn appears to get stabbed and brought down in the conflict.

Kennit, refusing to let his prize be taken, leads a few pirates and despite his peg leg jumps across the gap to the Jamaillian ship to continue fighting. Kennit is disarmed and kept with the Satrap. Paragon (who is still closing his eyes despite them supposedly working again) hears Kennit is in danger and charges into the Jamaillian ship to help him, when Althea and Jek see Brashen and Amber are still alive they also rush to help.

The Marietta and Motley hold off the other Jamaillian ships. Aboard Vivacia, Malta finds Reyn and he is ok, his new scaling helping to protect him. They confess their feelings for each other and Reyn says how her scar has begun to scale over, the mark of a dragon queen. They are happy and stay together. Wintrow has taken command of the Vivacia and the crew jumps to his commands. The white serpent (The first one to get memories from She Who Remembers who has been a big pessimist) is hanging out around Paragon and attacks the Jamaillian ship, so they try to kill the Satrap before sinking. Kennit tries to protect him but gets stabbed multiple times protecting Cosgo. Wintrow and Etta see this and are devastated. They get him back to Vivacia but know it is too late for Kennit. They get him to Vivacia who gives him to Paragon, saying Kennit is his, being a Ludluck. Paragon takes him as Kennit dies, then finally opens his eyes which are pale blue, just like Kennit’s. Kennit sees his death coming and lets himself be absorbed by Paragon as he dies.

Althea trusts the liveships, and Vivacia throws her to Paragon who catches her and reunites her with Brashen. Etta is sad about Kennit, but has the wizardwood charm that used to be around his wrist. Malta and Reyn care for the Satrap and mend his minor wounds. Althea sees Kyle is on Paragon, and he is crazy and awful as usual and says he curses them all for bringing him here and blames Althea for him failing as a captain. Wintrow grabs the Jamaillian Nobles from their sinking ship to keep as hostages, then plans to get all four ships free from the Jamaillians. The white serpent helps them break a hole in the ring of ships, but takes an arrow and dies in the process. They all manage to escape although Paragon goes a little crazy and smashes some ships in the process after the serpent dies. As they are leaving however Kyle is shot by Jamaillian arrows and dies, and Amber and Althea push him overboard so Malta and Keffria would not have to see what he had become.

Everyone tries to work through their emotions, with Paragon comforting Etta and Althea and Brashen trying to reconnect but Althea is still hurt by what Kennit did to her. Wintrow summons all the leaders together to talk. The Satrap, Malta, Reyn, Etta, Brashen, Althea, Amber, and Captain Red and Sorcor are making plans for how to proceed, when Tintaglia shows up weak and hungry and they have to go to a nearby beach and build fires to help her land and she tells them what will happen, despite some arguments they finally settle on a course forward. Amber is also kind of obsessed with Wintrow since he is clearly the nine fingered slave boy from her prophecy.

Wintrow makes it clear to Etta that she will not have to raise her child alone, and they start growing closer slowly. Brashen and Althea have a stange distance between them because Brashen assumes Althea will go with Vivacia and leave him, while Althea still is scared to be touched because of Kennit, but the next morning She tells Brashen she wants to marry him and stay on Paragon, since Vivacia is clearly Wintrow’s ship now, making Brashen very happy.

Spring

Malta and Reyn have spent time with the Satrap in Jamaillia city, where they finally negotiated Bingtown and the Rain Wild’s independence. Many people are obsessed with them as they start to look more like Elderlings, with scales and other dragon features. Wintrow and Etta are also there, and the pirate isles will be recognized and hopefully help facilitate more non slave trade in the future. They are all planning to return home soon. Etta sometimes feels like Kennit still talks to her, which is actually the wizardwood charm helping her.

Serilla receives word from Jamaillia detailing what Malta negotiated, and says Keffria could be the voice of Jamaillia city in Bingtown, but her and Ronica refuse and say that they could hire Serilla to do it for them, and basically invite her into their home to help manage Bingtown.

Paragon, with Brashen, Althea, and Amber is navigating up the Rain Wild river. Wintrow’s old mentor, Berandol, helped Selden and others design and build a ladder so the serpents could go further up the river to the cocooning grounds. Only 59 serpents are surviving thus far but dragons should still return to the world. Paragon brings them Igrot’s old treasure hoard, so they will be super rich now. At night, Althea is still struggling with her mental and emotional pain, but Paragon calls to her and she “sleepwalks” out to him, where he takes some of her pain from her since he says it was originally Kennit’s and belongs to him anyway. After this Althea, although still hurt by the memory, is able to be honest with Brashen and be with him again. Amber says she must go north and meddle with her friends' lives again.

Shreever, Maulkin, and Sessurea all made it to the end and cocooned themselves. The lords of the three realms have returned. THE END.