Emperor of Thorns (The Broken Empire, Book 3)
Chapter 43
by Mark, Lawrence,Chella and Kai arrive in Allenhaure, only to find the town overcrowded with King Jorg’s escort. Despite Kai’s warnings about discontent among the guards, Chella insists on moving on, but a sudden sense of wrongness stops her. She detects the presence of a lichkin, Thantos, a harbinger of death that unsettles them both. Realizing the Dead King’s plan is still in motion, Chella resigns herself to her role and instructs Kai to procure ale laced with Styx water, a poison that will incapacitate the guards. The tension is palpable as they prepare for the grim task ahead.
As night falls, Chella and Kai reflect on their circumstances while the poisoned ale takes effect. Kai shares a haunting memory of nearly leaping from a cliff, symbolizing his desire to escape his past. Chella, meanwhile, muses on the impossibility of fleeing one’s identity. Their conversation is interrupted by the eerie silence of the camp, where the guards lie dead or dying, their bodies soon to be reanimated by necromancy. The lichkin’s presence looms, and the air thickens with dread as the dead begin to rise, their movements unnatural and unsettling.
The horror escalates as the dead guards, including Captain Axtis, reanimate, their eyes unblinking and their bodies eerily lifeless. Chella explains that the Dead King’s forces will absorb the remaining survivors, though Kai questions the logic behind such a blatant act of terror. Chella avoids revealing the Dead King’s true motives, hinting at her own discomfort with the plan. The scene is suffused with a sense of inevitability, as the mist rises and the rain pours, underscoring the unnatural reversal of life and death.
As the reality of their actions sinks in, Kai expresses fear of the consequences, knowing discovery will lead to brutal retribution. Chella remains cryptic, emphasizing the Dead King’s inscrutable reasons. She decides they must leave immediately, preferring the open road to sharing a carriage with the malevolent Thantos. The chapter closes with a chilling atmosphere, as the pair prepares to flee, leaving behind a field of the undead and the lingering weight of their complicity in the Dead King’s dark designs.
FAQs
1. What is the significance of the “wrongness” Chella and Kai sense, and how does it manifest physically and emotionally in the characters?
Answer:
The “wrongness” signifies the presence of Thantos, a lichkin—a supernatural being associated with death and necromancy. Physically, it manifests as a “dry sharp sense of wrong, like grit behind [Chella’s] eyeballs,” a drop in temperature, and an unsettling silence (e.g., the rain making no sound). Emotionally, it evokes dread and raw nerves, stripping Kai of his usual poise. The sensation escalates into horror as the dead rise, creating a visceral feeling of “everything flowing the wrong way,” as if reality itself is violated. This wrongness underscores the chapter’s themes of unnatural forces and the characters’ moral unease.2. Analyze the symbolism of Kai’s anecdote about almost flying. How does it reflect his internal conflict and the broader themes of the chapter?
Answer:
Kai’s near-flight symbolizes his desire to escape his past and identity (“fly away from everything I knew. From me”), mirroring Chella’s wish to flee her current role (“what wouldn’t we give to fly away from being us right now?”). The cliff’s edge represents a threshold between transformation and stagnation—his inability to “let go” reflects his trapped state, paralleling their complicity in the Dead King’s horrors. The imagery of wind and waves evokes impermanence, contrasting with the chapter’s focus on death’s unnatural permanence (e.g., reanimated corpses). This moment underscores themes of agency, regret, and the cost of survival.3. How does the Styx water function as a tool of betrayal, and what does its use reveal about Chella’s moral ambiguity?
Answer:
The Styx water—a poison disguised in ale—betrays King Jorg’s guard by inducing paralysis and agonizing death, enabling their reanimation. Chella’s instruction to add “one drop per cask” shows calculated cruelty, as she knows the victims will suffer (“an agony of tortured muscles fighting and failing”). Her necromantic connection to their pain (“echoed in her”) hints at conflicted morality, yet she steels herself, blaming Jorg for her actions. The poison’s subtlety (leaving no marks) mirrors her pragmatic evil: she avoids overt violence but facilitates mass murder, revealing her as both victim and perpetrator in the Dead King’s schemes.4. Contrast the reactions of Chella and Kai to the lichkin’s presence and the undead army’s rise. What do their differences reveal about their characters?
Answer:
Chella responds with resigned resolve, masking fear with action (ordering the cart, planning their escape). Her awareness of the Dead King’s plans—and her reluctance to question them—shows her fatalism. Kai, however, vocalizes terror (“lichkin drew near… Keres had terrified him”) and skepticism (“I still don’t understand”), clinging to pragmatism (worries about discovery). His empathy for the dead camp-girl and drowned homeland contrasts with Chella’s detachment. Their dynamic highlights Chella’s hardened necromancer’s mindset versus Kai’s lingering humanity, emphasizing the chapter’s exploration of complicity and survival.5. Evaluate the chapter’s portrayal of necromancy. How does it subvert or reinforce traditional fantasy tropes about raising the dead?
Answer:
The chapter subverts romanticized undead tropes by emphasizing visceral horror: corpses reanimate with “wrong” movements (Axtis not blinking, rain-filled eyes), and their creation involves betrayal and torture. The process feels unnatural (“hell itself vomiting them out”), not a neutral magic. Unlike mindless minions, these dead retain echoes of pain, and their use is tied to political manipulation (“spread terror”). Chella’s discomfort humanizes necromancy’s cost, contrasting with typical villainous portrayals. This gritty, morally fraught approach reinforces necromancy as a violation of natural order, not a mere tool.
Quotes
1. “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes … ‘Just wait.’ She held up a hand.”
This quote captures Chella’s supernatural intuition and the ominous foreshadowing of the lichkin’s approach. The Shakespearean reference heightens the sense of impending doom, marking a turning point where the characters realize their dark mission is beginning.
2. “‘How can you almost fly?’ Chella shook her head. ‘How can you almost love?’”
This poignant exchange between Chella and Kai reveals their shared existential longing and regret. The metaphor of almost-flying parallels Kai’s inability to escape his past, while Chella’s bitter retort about love underscores their trapped circumstances in service to the Dead King.
3. “When the dead return there’s a feeling of everything flowing the wrong way, as if hell itself were vomiting them out.”
This visceral description of necromancy’s unnatural reversal of death exemplifies the chapter’s dark fantasy themes. Chella’s observation crystallizes the horror of their mission as the poisoned guards begin rising, serving as the chapter’s climactic moment of supernatural terror.
4. “‘But Thantos will be in there, and lichkin aren’t the best of travelling companions.’”
Chella’s darkly humorous understatement about the lichkin concludes the chapter with grim irony. This line encapsulates the story’s blend of horror and wit while emphasizing the characters’ precarious position between human morality and supernatural forces.