Sisters of the Lizard
Sisters of the Lizard by Jackson Ford
Sayana is stuck in a tree on the side of a cliff in a blizzard. How did she get here? She can't remember right now on account of the pain of the literal tree branch stabbed through her thigh and the fact that she's probably freezing to death. She tries to lift her leg off the branch but it's no good. She reaches for her two sabres, nope, one is gone, one of her one sabres and starts to hack at the branch. And then the tree falls off the cliff.
Seven days before this precariousness, Sayana and Princess the araatan, her big ass fire breathing lizard companion, are scoping out a clan of raiders that refused to join up with the Bone Raiders when they fought the Khan to stop him from forcing everyone in the Tapestry to move into his city and be his subjects. Yeah yeah, the Khan is Sayana’s father, but so what. He sucks and she wants to live her own raider life with her friends and their lizards. Two countries outside the Tapestry have also started traipsing around so basically Sayana and her friends are never going to get to rest. The rest of the Rakada are off raiding somewhere else, so Sayana decides to try to take out this group of assholes on her own. Well, not on her own. With Princess.
Sayana and Princess fight the assholes with great saddle tricks and bows and arrows and trampling. Princess takes a big arrow to the side, not hurting her, but still, it's enough to make Sayana angry. What really pisses her off though is when the leader of this group of raiders, called the Flaming Death Skulls of all things, rides up on his own araatan. His is a tiny little thing, maybe one of Princess’s offspring, and Sayana has no doubt he's about to die a Flaming Death Skull death. She bangs her fists on Princess’s horns, the fire breathing signal, but instead of unleashing a gulf of flame… Princess coughs?
Okay so that's bad. Worse though is that the Flaming Death Skulls have managed to lasso Princess's feet and she's trapped. And also there are giant boulders about to be released on them. Luckily another araatan arrives, a scraggly one named Sponge Bath, ridden by Khunbish, who shouts that she will use their blood to cook her onions as she charges, then Hogelun arrives on Tooth Monster and Chimeg on her unnamed araatan. Phew! Unfortunately the boulders clatter down at that exact moment.
Hogelun rides Tooth Monster, the largest of the araatan, into the path of the boulders and blocks them from crushing Princess and Sayana, but unfortunately Tooth Monster starts slipping. Khunbish and Sponge Bath bite Princess free while Chimeg’s araatan spews fireballs at the chief's little lizard and chomps it. Tooth Monster falls on top of Princess, but then Princess scrabbles away and Tooth Monster falls and doesn't get back up.
Don't worry… yet. After Hogs has some fond memories of taming Tooth Monster, he gets up and is just fine. Chimeg seems more miffed than the indifference she's been giving off lately and Hogs thinks to apologize, but decides not to. She's working hard to realize her worth after Erhi, but let's not think about that bitch right now. (Please see The Bone Raiders episode for Erhi rage.) Khunbish rides up on Sponge Bath and then the chief of the Flaming Death Skulls, somehow still alive, flails at them, but Chimeg's araatan bites him in half. The lizard tried to breathe fireballs but coughed instead, just like Princess. Should they be worried? Khun doesn't think so.
Sayana is thankful that her friends came to her rescue but why did they? Oktai, chief of the Black Hands raiders, has called a council, and all of the Rakada are meant to be there, Sayana especially, because one, she and Tuya are the ones who tamed the araatan and two, she is the daughter of the Khan, so she's kind of a Big Deal™. Without her, and the araatan of course, the raider clans would not have come together like they did at the end of The Bone Raiders. There are more of them now, and there are more sneaking into the Tapestry from neighboring countries Dalai and Ngu. Something has to be done.
Erhi is in the Khan’s city of Karkorum, but not in a position of power in his army as she and Hogelun had been promised before Hogs walked away from her. Now Erhi is cleaning the floor in the barracks, getting bullied by nobodies and conversing with a beggar who she found preaching about the Weavers, Father Sky and Mother Earth. The beggar, Temujin, can sign with Erhi, which she appreciates even if she has no idea how he learned. She has had to speak with her voice lately in the barracks and does not like it. This crazy beggar though, he seems to understand, even if he is crazy. Temujin tells Erhi that one day, they will both get what they deserve from Mother Earth.
The Bone Raiders travel into the Gün Forest for the council, leaving their araatan on the outskirts before the denseness of the trees really kicks in. Khunbish stays behind with the giant lizards, not to keep watch but to hear Sponge Bath tell her the story of the tiny people that live in his knees. Probably for the best all around. When they arrive at the council, it is to find the Khan waiting for them.
The Khan has come to ask the raiders to join his army and fight against the encroaching Dalai and Ngu, claiming that all their past transgressions will be forgiven and they will have full military honors. Sayana quips back about having an army of araatan coming for him, but they don't have a lizard army, do they? All the raiders gang up on Sayana then, angry they don't have araatan of their own or that they lost good friends who were eaten trying to tame one. Chimeg wants Sayana to say something to her father, to stand up, but she leaves the meeting instead, crashing into Khun who says Sponge Bath is dying.
All the lizards are. They are coughing, they can't breathe fire, their tongues are turning black and their club tails are crumbling. The Rakada don't know what to do, but they can't let their lizards die. Erhi would have had some idea of what to do, she was their healer after all, but… we don't talk about Erhi. We also don't talk about Tuya who could also probably help because she left Sayana with a kiss and literally nothing else... except a lizard friend. Oktai, who followed the group out, tells them he saw a dead lizard about a week ago but he didn't say anything about it to them?! He has heard that the Khan has a secret plan to take out the lizards, but don't worry, it's not this. But, this plus the invading countries… there's just too much going on. Oktai and those who follow him would be able to bounce back from lizard death, but not the Rakada.
That night, all four of The Bone Raiders have the same dream. A giant araatan tells them they can save their lizards and they all see a pool of water in the desert. Luckily they all wake up and talk about it immediately, so they are mostly on the same page. They have had a vision and now they will have a quest. After some back and forth, it is decided that they will leave the next morning to find The Eye of the Desert. Chimeg knows of the area they all saw having trained there long ago, but she isn't sure there is a pool. Everyone else is though.
Khun has a momentary freak out about encountering Father Sky again, who told her she couldn't die until she created something as perfect as her son who was murdered. She tried to tend a plant, but we remember what happened with that, and if we don't, we need to revisit The Bone Raiders episode and rekindle our burning fiery rage. Sayana is certain it is Father Sky talking to them, after all, she's pretty sure she met him, too, and he kept her safe. Chimeg isn't so sure about any of this, but agrees to go. Before they go to sleep, Khunbish, in a trancy sort of way, says there should be five, not four. Hogs is immediately upset. Oh no. Not Erhi. She isn't Rakada anymore and she doesn't even have a lizard.
Erhi did indeed have the same vision and she rushes to tell her beggar friend about it. Temujin reveals to her that it is true and that Mother Earth is giving them their chance to get back at Father Sky by destroying the pool she saw in the vision. Okay... Erhi doesn't even really believe in the Weavers, much less that they are in a battle or need to get back at each other or whatever. She believes in measurements and knowledge. Temujin then reveals that he has a weird fire worm on his arm gifted to him by the Mother and can manipulate the earth. Erhi still doesn't believe in whatever this is that is happening, but when Temujin tells her that the Rakada had this vision as well and they need the pool to heal their araatan, she decides to go and destroy it to get back at them for abandoning her.
The Rakada travel into the Baina Mountains. Sayana hopes they might somehow run into Tuya because this mountain range is where she trained her eagle and where she says she was going when she left Sayana behind with only a kiss on the cheek. Chimeg kind of knows where they are going but since winter is closing in, she wants to have a guide and luckily, Khun knows someone. Unluckily, when they find him, he is a toothless skeleton. Unluckier still, when they leave his tent, there is a contingent of the Dalaian army outside.
They don't speak the same language, but one has a few words and tells them to put their weapons down. Nah dog, not going to do that. Two prisoners, one old and wiry and the other so handsome even girl-liking Sayana finds him attractive, are riding with the army and they do speak the language of the Tapestry. The very handsome one has maybe even heard of The Bone Raiders before as he calls them the renowned ladies of the bone before being backhanded. The army guy yells again, this time throw weapons, and Khun doesn't have to be told that more than once. She immediately whips a knife into that guy's head.
The fight begins and it is … weird. Sayana takes down a few soldiers and Khun frees the prisoners and the handsome one joins in. Sayana tosses him one of her two sabres and he begins a very unusual dance, mesmerizing everyone. Sayana thinks she can even somehow hear the music he is dancing to in her head. He dance fights his way through most of the soldiers before the Rakada start fighting again too. The old man uses a small wrist crossbow and takes down the last soldier, and the handsome guy waits for applause.
Erhi and Temujin, meanwhile, plus two of his acolytes, set off on their travels, Erhi seething about the Rakada leaving her behind and curious about Temujin’s fire power. Soon they are stopped by raiders and Erhi seethes some more about the Rakada instead of paying much attention to what Temujin is saying to the raider chief, something about Mother Earth. The raiders take most of their stuff and leave. Erhi asks why Temujin didn't blast them with his fire powers, but they don't work alone. Erhi doesn't understand until Temujin asks her to loose a dirty arrow into the sky. When she does, he lets the fire go, too, and it latches onto the arrow and flies straight into the raider chief.
The Bone Raiders learn that the dance fighter, Jai, is the yuvaraja of a country to the north of Dalai, Sidhu. He and his father, Arjun, were captured when they traveled out of their country that is at war and being attacked by raiders. They are pleased to learn that the Rakada are the same renowned ladies of the Bone, rebels who trained araatan and brought all the raiders together. They have large animals in their country, too, giant mammoths, tigers and birds. If they can train them, they could turn the tide in the battles in their own country. They agree to lead the Rakada through the mountains they have been traversing for quite some time to the desert in exchange for giant animal riding tips.
They travel across mountains and plains for a long time, the araatan somehow continuing their trek even though they are getting sicker. They spot a large group of people far behind them and aren't sure if they are from Sidhu and looking for Jai and Arjun or if they are soldiers or raiders or what. When they stop for the night, they are approached by another very very sick araatan, one of Princess's babies they assume, and it dies. The four bigger araatan gather together to mourn and Sayana vows to find the Eye of the Desert so the lizards can be saved.
As they sleep, they get another vision, this one worse than the first. They see the Eye of the Desert and it is the eye of a giant araatan that turns from the clear pool of water to a flaming red and then the araatan turns into a skeleton. Khun is clearly distraught by this vision and wakes them all with her screams. Sayana explains what's going on to Jai and Arjun while Chimeg calms Khun. The next day of travel isn't bad until they spot Erhi, who was part of the group they saw the day before, on a ridge above them.
Erhi is jealous that her former Rakada family has replaced her with two men so quickly. She asks Temujin if he can use his earth shattering power to delay The Bone Raiders’ progress across the mountain and he can. She doesn't want them to get hurt, any of them, but she does want them to witness her power over them and she wants them to watch their lizards die. She shoots a dirt-covered arrow straight up just like before and Temujin sends it flaming into the narrow pass the Rakada are on. It begins to crumble, which will make all of them fall to their deaths. That's not what she wanted at all!
The shelf crumbles right where Sayana, Princess and Arjun are. Sponge Bath makes a tremendous leap forward and Tooth Monster moves backward, Chimeg and her araatan behind them, somehow all still standing. Hogelun watched as the flaming arrow flew into the mountain and doesn't understand it, but she realizes the flame is the same color as the flaming pool in the vision. That can't be good. And it can't be good that Erhi is there either.
Somehow, Sponge Bath rescues Princess, Sayana and Arjun by grabbing Princess’s rotting tail with his teeth and pulling them to safety as the shelf crumbles. The group is split in two now and they have to decide what to do next. Sayana signs across the gap to Chimeg and it is decided that she, Khun, their lizards and Arjun will continue on while Chimeg, Hogelun, their lizards and Jai go around the long way to catch up and they will meet at a rock formation called Three Blades. Just as they are about to head out, Princess attacks Sponge Bath.
Erhi attacks Temujin, pulls him off his horse with a dagger at his throat. How dare he try to kill the Rakada when she just wanted them to be put in their place? Then she realizes that what she wants doesn't matter. Temujin has the power of a god and acolytes following his every move. Erhi is just one person who saw a vision. If Temujin is trying to help Mother Earth defeat Father Sky and the way to do that involves destroying the pool and killing the araatan, why not just kill the lizards here? Erhi seethes, knowing she's going to have to continue on with Temujin and his acolytes because she can't make it to the pool on her own. She's furious though. Then she notices that Temujin seems to be checking under his clothes for something around his neck. She will have to pay closer attention to find out what he has hidden there.
Sayana puts herself in between Princess and Sponge Bath and stops them from killing each other. When the panic subsides, Khun threatens to climb up the ridge like a mountain goat and track down Erhi, but that group is long gone. Arjun offers to try to heal Princess's shredded tail, but Sayana doesn't think she can handle being touched by a stranger just now. Hogelun meanwhile wants to go after Erhi to violently murder her but Chimeg insists, with disappointment at Hogs, that they need to continue on their current path. Hogs is pissed but does as her Chief says.
Unfortunately for Sayana, Khun and Arjun, they set off immediately into a snow storm. Khun finds an overhang of cliff for them to shelter under after a near treacherous fall, and Arjun steps away to relieve himself. While he's gone, Sayana decides she wants to keep going to save Princess and hopefully violently murder Erhi while she's at it. When Arjun returns, he's not alone. A small group has him hostage and Sayana, Khun, Sponge Bath and Princess attack them. The near treacherous fall becomes an actual treacherous fall as Sayana and Princess slip off the side of the mountain.
Hogelun, Chimeg and Jai travel up and up and up into the mountains but soon, Hogelun gets altitude sickness and can't stop vomiting. Jai insists they turn back and eventually they do. They make their way into a cave and Hogs starts to feel a little better, but then, the most enormous araatan they've ever seen spews fire at them and they all rush outside into the snow. While Hogs is trying to get to the giant araatan’s horns to turn it around, Chimeg is nearly eaten or crisped but Jai distracts the giant and nearly gets eaten himself, then the two smaller lizards team up to kill the giant araatan and have a great feast. Jai and Chimeg nearly come to blows about the other one dying, standing face to face for just a little bit too long, but then they step away and everyone is fine for now.
Except not. Sayana has now circled back to her page one tree dangle. She manages to clamber up the fallen tree and climb back on the cliff, somehow, and collapses in the snow. She's pretty sure Princess tumbled to her death. She hears voices and then she passes out.
Erhi and her crew meanwhile have nearly made it to the desert but blocking their path is a contingent of soldiers building what looks like giant bows. One of Temujin's acolytes, Bugural, is with him now, trying to convince Temujin to use his power to destroy the camp and they won't listen to Erhi when she tells them that won't work. She sees a large tent in the contingent of soldiers and is pleased at what she sees inside. She fake-submits to Temujin, apologizing to him and praising his greatness, knowing that that's what he wants, wants his acolytes to grovel before him, knowing that she has a plan and it's going to work.
Hogs, Jai and Chimeg make it to the Three Blades but Sayana, Khun and Arjun have not made it yet. They wait for a while, an eagle soaring overhead, Jai dancing to keep warm, Chimeg showing off exercises, but then Jai pulls a muscle and Chimeg massages it. Hogs might have thought they were going to angry-kiss earlier and now it looks like they may do something else with whatever this position is that they are in, but before that can happen, Khunbish and Sponge Bath land near them. Khun says that Sayana, Arjun and Princess have been taken. She captured one of the kidnappers, a demon she says, but, though she smelled his pee pants, she cannot tell what kind of demon he is. Maybe Chimeg can beat his identity out of him.
Sayana wakes up chained to a wall with her leg wound stitched up. She starts to call out when someone enters the room. Tuya. Only… she's pretending she doesn't know Sayana? Arjun is brought into the room too and Sayana tries to convince Tuya to let them go, but she continues pretending not to know her previous captor turned admirer and calls her a raider. She asks what Sayana is doing in the mountains and she explains the vision and the quest, but again, Tuya pretends she doesn't understand. With a pained look, she leaves.
Meanwhile, Erhi sneaks away from Temujin and the acolytes to the big tent and inside she finds the Khan. She is immediately grabbed by guards as she approaches him, but tosses a note to him telling him she knows how to kill the araatan.
Arjun offers to restitch Sayana’s wound and, to distract her from the immense pain, they talk. Sayana is worried about Jai and Arjun still helping them now that Arjun knows they are raiders, not some mystical araatan taming rebel saviors, but he doesn’t seem as worried about it. He coughs a lot and Sayana realizes he’s very sick. He tells her that he’s been sick for a long time and is dying, but can’t tell Jai, even though Jai probably knows. He also can’t tell Jai that they likely won’t be able tame any large animals and that their country is going to be destroyed. Sayana realizes they went on their journey to find them so he could help his son escape and so they could have one last adventure together. Just then, they hear a fight outside their door and then Tuya bursts in to rescue them.
After questioning their pee-pants prisoner and Khun threatening to make earrings out of his eyeballs and piercing her own ear right in front of him to make sure his optic nerve would fit through, the prisoner tells them all about the camp he came from. They escaped the Khan and took refuge in an abandoned mine here in the mountains. There are about 250 of them in the mine. He doesn't know where Arjun or Sayana are, but Sayana went over the side of the mountain with Princess, so it's entirely possible she could be dead. Hogs doesn't want to believe that and Jai just wants to find his father. They agree to try to find Arjun first and then Sayana. If she is still alive, she can fend for herself and they all know it. They plan to go to the mine.
Tuya leads a frail Arjun and an injured Sayana through a fortress that turns out to be a mine. There is a crazy battle happening all around them and Tuya fights people off left and right. Sayana tries to ask what is going on but doesn't get much of an answer from Tuya, but she learns through several people bellowing before dying violently that the fighters are Separatists and the Baina Alliance. Sayana remembers Tuya helping people escape The Khan and Karkorum… are those the Separatists? They make it out of the mine when it seems like all the fighters arrive for a standoff. There are Separatists and Baina Alliance and also some that have made a deal with Dalai. Sayana never gets a straight answer about what the fuck is going on.
Chimeg, Hogelun, Jai and Khunbish make a plan to scope out the mines before diving in, but as they approach on lizards sliding down an icy mountain, a massive fight spills out of the entrance and when they see Sayana and Arjun and Tuya, they slide right into the middle of everything. The fight stops because three araatan just arrived and everyone kind of stares. They are announced as the Rakada, which helps the staring. Chimeg talks to Tuya while Arjun and Sayana are embraced by their friends. Tuya explains that most of the people here are the ones she helped escape from Karkorum and everything was fine until they formed factions and started fighting each other. Chimeg declares they are going to rest there for the night and if anyone disagrees, the araatan, or Khunbish, will eat them. Before they go inside to rest, Sayana passes out.
Erhi is treated well by the Khan and is pleased to see that Temujin and the rest of his acolytes are treated like prisoners. Everything's coming up Erhi! She has told the Khan that Temujin can control his giant araatan killing arrows with his fire and there is a demonstration. Erhi is certain that she will become the Khan's right hand for bringing him such a weapon and Temujin, being the weapon, will maybe be put on display, yes, but he will inevitably just be a tool. After they smear the giant arrow with dirt, it is fired into the air and Temujin steers it back down to land in front of them. The Khan will be able to kill the araatan and the Rakada will be defeated and everyone will know it was all Erhi’s doing... Until the Khan doesn't even glance her away and cozies up with Temujin. Erhi is offered a regular ol’ unimportant spot in the army.
Hogs, Chimeg, Tuya, Jai and Arjun go hunting and enjoy a nice meal of goat prepared excellently by Hogelun. When Hogs briefly mentions Erhi showing her herbs to use, Chimeg is upset that Hogs is still hung up on Erhi and suggests she just stick with cooking, which rubs Hogs the wrong way. Before this can get out of hand, Tuya and Jai talk about how they came to know the Rakada and that is bad because Tuya tells him about being kidnapped, destroying his image of the Rakada as rebels and warriors for peace. Nah dog, they are murderous kidnapping raiders. Jai walks off, needing to be alone with his thoughts and Chimeg follows.
Sayana and Khun meanwhile are in the mines. Sayana wakes, confused, but then Khun pops up lamenting Sayana's lost leg. Oh wait, that was a different person. Sayana, though severely injured, still has both legs. Khun suggests they stay and let her heal and rest but no, they've got to get to the pool in the desert to save their araatan. No one has seen Princess, but still, they have to continue on. Sayana then realizes that Khun doesn't want to get to the pool because she will have to face Father Sky. Sayana calls her out on that and Khun leaves when Tuya and Arjun come in. Arjun starts tending her leg, but really, Sayana and Tuya need to talk.
The talk doesn't go how Sayana hoped, especially since she doesn't even ask what she really wanted to, for Tuya to come with them to find the pool. Instead she asks if Tuya knows how to heal the araatan and if she will help her find Princess. No to both. The first is not shocking but the second? Sayana knows that Tuya knows the mountains, she's been training her eagle here forever and helping Karkorum’s escapees, but no. The chasm where Sayana was found is hundreds of feet deep with caves all over the place. If Princess survived, there's no way they could search all the caves and find her. Just like last time, Tuya kisses Sayana on the cheek and leaves her alone.
Erhi feels more like she fits in with the army now that they've fed her double portions and have begun telling tales of her sneaking into the Khan's tent. She's pretty sure she can sway them all to her way of thinking. They'll kill the araatan either by destroying the pool or with the giant magical arrows and she will look down on the Rakada and everything will be fine. Then she sees Temujin strolling along with the Khan. The soldiers don't really trust him or his power supposedly given to him by Mother Earth, but still. The Rakada will lose and that's all that matters to Erhi.
When the Rakada plus Jai and Arjun and minus Tuya arrive in the desert, Jai announces he and Arjun are going their own way now that they've led the raiders through the mountains. Chimeg and Hogs argue about Erhi getting to the pool first and then Sayana brings up the fact that Khun doesn't want them to make it to the pool because she's afraid of Father Sky. Everyone fights and it's not pretty, but then Sponge Bath kicks sand at everyone and they all shut up. Hogs sets everyone straight, tells Khun that they are all together this time with her against Father Sky, apologizes to Arjun and Jai for being raiders, forces Chimeg and Jai to admit they have feelings for each other, and they are back on track.
Erhi decides to sneak into Temujin's tent, because of course he gets his own tent, and steal the pendant around his neck that contains the fire power, sure that he does indeed have that because she's also sure that he has made up the story of Mother Earth gifting him her power. Why would a god give her power to a beggar like Temujin? She reaches him, prepared to cut the pendant from his neck when she realizes that it's gone and someone has already killed him. Then the Khan appears with the pendant. Erhi was going to give the Khan the pendant but she doesn't say anything or defend herself. He tells her that she was a raider once and she will die with them.
The Bone Raiders continue their trek through the desert, Chimeg and Jai sneaking off for some alone time now that Hogelun has outed them and Arjun is quietly pleased that his son has a partner. Sayana stretches her leg and walks around and it seems that things are going to be okay. And then there's a sandstorm. After trudging through that, they come out and see the pool. They also see Erhi and the Khan's army.
They charge at them and then realize they have giant bows with giant arrows. Luckily the first few shots miss, but then they see the Khan and he releases the weird fire that attaches to an arrow and flies right toward Tooth Monster with Hogs and Sayana on his back. Erhi watches from a cage next to the Khan's tent as the arrow strikes Tooth Monster. Sponge Bath rushes up and bites the arrow out and they ride hard toward the Eye of the Desert.
And then Khun turns Sponge Bath and says she will fight off the army and allow the others to go on. Chimeg refuses and so Jai does, too, and her araatan. Arjun stays with his son and Hogelun decides to stay too. They make Sayana and Tooth Monster, the two most wounded Bone Raiders, continue on to the pool. Khun warns Sayana that Father Sky will offer her things and show her things, but she must keep herself strong against him. Sayana wants them all to go together, but they all know it won't work, so she and Tooth Monster ride away from their clan. Arjun gives her his tiny wrist crossbow as she leaves.
Arjun actually wants Jai to leave because he actually is upset that the Rakada are raiders, but Jai refuses to go. He sends his father to hide and kisses Chimeg, who gives out orders. Chimeg and Hogs will ride her lizard and try to destroy the bows while Khun and Jai ride Sponge Bath and try to distract the army. The remaining Bone Raiders embrace, Khun removes her empty pouch, they share their love-yous and prepare for battle.
Sayana and Tooth Monster seem to travel into a different realm outside of time. Daylight disappears as they travel through the canyon and into the dunes. After a while, Tooth Monster can't continue, so Sayana travels on alone.
Erhi escapes from her cage by grabbing her guard and slitting her throat with her own dagger. She kills a soldier and steals his horse as the army charges. Erhi is sure that the Rakada are going to die no matter what happens today and she hopes she gets to watch when Hogelun does. She would have given everything to Hogs if only she had done as she was told. She watches as a red flame bolt is released at the two araatan she can see.
Hogs and Chimeg ride Chimeg's araatan toward a bow but are soon surrounded by soldiers. Hogs drops from the lizard onto a horse, flinging its rider off. She magnificently destroys one of the bows by flying through the air, swinging her club, but the others are still in action, and then Chimeg's araatan gets hit and falls. Hogelun rushes to Chimeg but a soldier overtakes her. Just as she's about to die, a sabre plunges through the soldier's chest and Arjun is there. Together they head toward Chimeg.
Sayana arrives at the Eye of the Desert and sees the old man she knew was Father Sky when he saved her as she was trying to hitch a ride on a wagon to reunite with her friends who were captured just before reuniting with Princess back in The Bone Raiders. This is indeed Father Sky but really he, they actually, and Mother Earth are the ungendered creators of the world. Sayana wants to save the araatan and realizes that Father Sky cannot do anything to her and cannot have saved her or the lizards from afar and they needed to come here to this unknown place and time. Father Sky wants to destroy Mother Earth and be worshipped. They seem to not really care at all about anything happening to anyone, but Mother Earth made the araatan sick to tilt the balance their way and Father Sky wants to tilt it back. Sayana is pissed because Father Sky doesn't seem to give any fucks at all because no one gives any fucks about them either.
Erhi approaches Chimeg who is crushed under her dead araatan. Several other soldiers rush up as well and Erhi pulls her bow on them and speaks even though she hates her voice, telling them that Chimeg is hers. They step back. Chimeg tells her former friend that she's had a speech prepared if they ever saw each other again but laughs and says Erhi isn't worth it. Erhi asks where Hogelun is but Chimeg wouldn't tell her even if she knew. Suddenly, Jai is there. He dance-fights against Erhi but she eventually kills him. Then she sees Hogs and Arjun fighting several soldiers at once. She doesn't see Khun and Sponge Bath arrive but knows it's probably going to be bad. And then the arrows come, but they are not powered by Mother Earth’s stone. Where is the Khan?
Sayana asks Father Sky what she needs to do to save her friends and their araatan and is surprised to learn that she has to become his vessel. If she drinks from the pool, Father Sky will inhabit her body. She's about to do it because obviously she will sacrifice her life for her friends, but then the Khan arrives. Father Sky tells Sayana to stop the Khan because he has Mother Earth's stone and if he puts it in the pool, it will be corrupted forever, but she can barely move, then she remembers the crossbow. Sayana nocks an arrow and shoots it at the Khan… but misses. Suddenly he's on her with a sabre.
Hogelun and Khun have destroyed all the giant bows and are fighting practically a thousand soldiers each, but then Hogs spots Chimeg under her dead araatan and rushes over to her Chief just as she dies. It's awful. She gets up to continue fighting because what else is she going to do, but then she sees something she did not expect. Princess roars into battle with Tuya standing on her back, launching arrows all over the place. Hogs then spots Khun and Arjun, still alive and still fighting, and joins them.
Sayana knows she can't dodge the Khan's sabre so takes the stab to the shoulder and… hugs her father? Nah, she grabs the chain with Mother Earth's stone around his neck and strangles him to death with it. With that deed done, Sayana looks to Father Sky who is just as disinterested as they have been the entire time. Sayana drags herself to the pool, asking what to do next. Father Sky says all she has to do is drink, so she does. At the exact same time, she grasps the stone, calling on Mother Earth’s power and everything goes white.
Erhi has found a horse and bow and is on the lookout for remaining Rakada, but just as she almost decides to ride off and go somewhere else, the battle obviously lost, she spots Hogelun. She nocks an arrow, preparing to grievously wound, not kill, that would be too easy, and then Princess bites down.
Sayana had no idea what would happen when she drank from the pool while holding the stone, but now she's maybe inside her own head with Father Sky in old man form and Mother Earth as a giant pulsing stone. They are both furious at her but you know what? Fuck them, they can't do anything to her. Sayana tells the creators of the Tapestry that they can't just squabble like children. They can’t make something, and then control the way people treat it. It loses all value that way. They ask what she proposes they do instead.
Hogelun stops fighting. There's no one left. She tries to process Chimeg's death and Jai’s, but then she spots Erhi, dying, having been chomped by Princess. Hogs goes to her former love and Erhi signs, asking Hogs to kill her, to give her a raider's death. Hogs tells Erhi she is no raider and then Erhi flies off the handle, signing with flailing arms, screaming. Erhi could have gotten Hogs everything! But she refused her and now she's here, dying, because of her. Hogs wants to strangle Erhi to death but instead she sits down beside her and holds her hand. Erhi vocalizes, something Hogs hasn't heard in years, saying only Please. Hogelun stays with her as she dies.
Soon Khun arrives on Sponge Bath, excited that Princess is still alive, but slowly realizes that Chimeg is dead. The two remaining Rakada hold each other and cry. Then Hogs spots Tooth Monster lumbering toward them from the canyon. And Sayana is on his back! But wait, she's not just Sayana. Hogs and Khun sense something is off about their friend and then Khun realizes that Father Sky and Mother Earth are inside her. Sayana is mostly in control of them, but told them they needed to see the Tapestry, to see their creation and what it is actually like so hopefully they will stop meddling, so now here they are.
Soon, Princess and Tuya ride up and Sayana rushes to her lizard. Tuya clambers down and kisses Sayana full on the mouth and Hogs sees from her distance that it doesn't go the way Tuya thought it would. Maybe she missed her chance or maybe Sayana is literally full of gods right now and it's just not the right time. Tuya tells Sayana that she didn't feel right after they left so she went back to try to track Princess down and found her. They rode for two days straight right into a fight but here they all are now. Wait, except for Chimeg. Sayana realizes she is gone. Hogs then spots Arjun and watches as he realizes that Jai is gone, too, and crumples to the sand in despair.
Sayana, full of gods, heals the araatan and then the Rakada build funeral pyres for Chimeg and Jai, but not for Erhi. Tuya speaks first about Chimeg, knowing that the chief didn't really like her but knowing how much they all respected their leader. Hogs speaks about Chimeg always doing the hard stuff, maybe passive-aggressively, but always doing it anyway. Khun speaks about her ears, and then about how Chimeg and her araatan will ride through the grasses together forever. Hogs then speaks of Jai, how he brought Chimeg back to herself after she seemed gone for the past several months and then Arjun pledges himself to the Rakada for as long as he has left.
They all turn to Hogelun then, wondering what to do next. The Khan is dead, so warriors from Dalai and Ngu will probably storm in and the Tapestry will likely fall into chaos. Sayana has literal gods inside her head. Khun stares deep into Sayana's eyes and tells her that the Weavers will show her things that aren't real but she is strong enough to fight them. Khun has been seeing shades and evils from Father Sky for a long time now and she knows he still will not let her die. Khun goes to a sleeping Sayana that night with a dagger in hand, but only wakes her friend for her time on watch. Khun doesn't tell her, but when the day comes that Sayana can no longer control the gods, she will kill her friend to save her.
