At the river’s wellspring, a prophet realises that he’s come to loathe his station, his followers, his faith - and himself. In Glottage, three renegades plot to overthrow the government. Across the channel, a saint attempts to become a god.[2]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Description[]
Journey To The Grand Aquifer[]
Faulkner monologues to himself. He has nothing and nobody left. Sibling Rane and his disciples take him home, to the Grand Aquifer. He has been wrapped in a towel. He tells Sibling Rane that they must leave his father’s cabin intact, in case he returns some day, and a note left to tell Eddie what has happened. Rane tells someone quietly that the cabin should be burnt once they’re out of sight of it.
They drive for two weeks to the Grand Aquifer. They spend their nights in abandoned churches of the Parish and in basements of worshippers of the faith. They beg for Faulkner’s forgiveness and for his reassurance that they will defeat Greve. He tells them that they will prevail. He is losing his faith. Rane is insistent that they are winning their civil war in public. In private, they admit that they’re exaggerations and lies. Brother Philly and his task force are in Glottage to assassinate Adjudicator Shrue. His people are starving, yet offer him everything they have. Faulkner is consumed by guilt. Sibling Rane is watching Faulkner incredibly closely. He slowly realises that everyone else is behaving the same way. It dawns on him that he is under observation, suicide watch. He does not seem to trust any of them. He is dealing with nightmares. He knows that he is not more important than the performance. He knows his father was wrong about his courage. He sees the reflection of his failure in the eyes of everyone around him. So he plays his part. They arrive in the polluted lands, and climb up to the Aquifer with gas masks on. Sibling Rane tells him that to the South-East there is a gathering of false-faith acolytes in Bellwethers. We know that this is Paige and the Woundtree’s camp, but Faulkner does not. Faulkner is struck by how desolate the place is, how much this looks like their faith’s final resting place.
The Grand Aquifer[]
Faulkner enters the Aquifer and is struck by the response from his disciples. He is not comforted by them, but instead is unsettled by them. Rane leads him to his room, which he sees himself as a prisoner of. A sleeping area has been created for him in a darkened alcove behind the throne. He muses that it is shameful that he must sleep. There will be a welcoming feast in honour of his arrival, a historic moment. The rest of his life will be historic moments. They leave and Faulkner sits on the chair, gazing at the water. Nothing looks back but his reflection, which he can’t stand to look at. This place isn’t grand, it can’t be reclaimed. He sees that there is no more potential to be found here than there was in him. He accepts the meaninglessness of his actions. His father is dead and so is his cause. His only hope is that his one last friend might live on to hate him. He endlessly curses the Trawler-man. His guards won’t say anything to him about it. He is only screaming at himself. He switches between cursing the Trawler-man and himself, equally.
As he does so, Sibling Rane enters. Faulkner tells them that he is busy. They ask if he has tried on his new cassock. They want him to wear it tomorrow for the feast, but it is too big for him. Rane says they’ll pad his shoulders, and then comments that they’ll tell the disciples he appreciates their offering. The river’s flow has been fine. Faulkner says it's all the rain. Some of the Aquifer’s lower levels may have to be evacuated if flooding occurs. Rane wants his counsel - Sister Cull is manning the radio. They’ve had trouble with signal, but they're through to Glottage. They want to know how to address the faithful on the topic of the war. This shakes Faulkner awake, who asks what’s happening with the war.
The Radio Room[]
Sam Kincannon’s broadcast plays on the radio. They are speaking to Press Secretary Carson. The Linger Straits are in disarray. A national holiday is announced. The story that Carson alludes to is that the events at Mal-Retour were a result of Shrue’s faith - he ends by saying ‘The river rises’.
Sister Cull is astounded and asks why Carson has said that. Cull wonders if the Trawler-man helped them win the war. Rane says he is lying and they need to address it in their next broadcast. Cull says that their disciples are forbidden from listening to external broadcasts, Rane says that it doesn’t stop people from doing so. Cull says they cannot mention the enemies’ propaganda, even to denounce it. Rane appeals to Faulkner to address this publicly. Faulkner tells Rane that the words can’t save them. He announces his exhaustion and leaves. Cull is shocked by this. Rane tells her to forget she heard that and runs after Faulkner. Cull turns the radio back on and Sam Kincanon’s broadcast continues.
The Floating Market In Glottage[]
The market is busy and bustling. Carpenter examines a stall. It seems this is where the missing equipment has ended up. Shrue comments that they won the war but they were still plundered. Hayward asks what happened. Shrue says the official story is that a new task force, operating in secret, took out the battalions at Mal-Retour. They comment that there’s this false faith they’ve been bringing back into the fold. Now that the news is out it was them who contributed to the victory. They say it's bullshit. Carpenter asks how it really went down. Shrue thinks of Val, and admits they’re afraid. They say Carson and the Adjudicators are not in control of the situation, that everyone is in danger. They say Nesh is probably no longer standing, no longer in a recognisable form. They say there will be reckoning for this. Carpenter comments that it’s more of a reason to get Shrue out of Glottage.
Shrue asks where they’ll take them. Hayward says it’s not comfortable or safe yet. Shrue muses that they’ve had decades of comfort, and that it hasn't made them safe. Carpenter tells them they’re headed North-West. Shrue offers to take their turn at driving. Shrue can broadcast from their refuge there. Hayward asks if there’s anyone who needs to come with them. Shrue says that if they do then they’re safer away from them. Carpenter says it makes things easier. Hayward tells them he has a contact in town that can get them identification. Shrue realises that they want to bring Cross with them. Shrue thinks they deserve a chance to become a better person. Hayward understands the sentiment. Carpenter agrees. As they keep thinking, Shrue realises that they want to give their speech the following day on the radio. A live slot could bring more traction to their movement. Victory changes the public mood to patriotism. Paige has succeeded in stirring up anger across the Peninsula, but the anger can’t outlast this. They need to act before victory sinks in and they lose momentum. On the radio Shrue tells the country the truth. Maybe they get cut off before anyone can hear it. But they’ll never have another chance like this again. Then they leave Glottage and drive. Carpenter asks if people will listen. Shrue says if they won’t listen today then they won’t listen tomorrow. It’s risky, but it’s time that Shrue took one. Hayward asks what the god Shrue has been working to legalise is. Shrue tells them it’s the Trawler-man. Carpenter is astounded. She is amused by the thought of Faulkner’s plight.
Carson's Office[]
Carson listens to his interview with Sam Kincanon on the radio. Fireworks are going off in the background. He turns the radio off and attempts to speak to Val. We can only hear static. He tells her that they need the citizen population taken alive in Nesh. A merciful military victory.
Val's Walk Through Nesh[]
Val wanders through Nesh with Charles. She breathes heavily, strained. There’s screaming, sirens, gunfire. There’s not much resistance. Frightened faces look down at her. She is reminded of the observation room. She tells Charles that her observers are not there, and they vanish. Charles looks at her with fear, before turning away. She regains control of herself. She must find the calm of a god. She tells herself that it is fine that the faces are gone because she will bring them back. She tells Charles that the city is silent, and so it is. She staggers, and it hurts. They’re climbing the steps to the palace. She will bring those people back too. She can hear Carson in her ear. She tells Charles that she can destroy Carson. She acknowledges that there would be satisfaction in killing him. But she worries that she can’t bring him back, and if she can’t then she can’t find her mother. Politicians are hiding and barricading themselves in the office. Charles continues to film. This isn’t a miracle, it is for Carson. To make him aware of what she can do. Once she has her mother, she needs to rule over her territory alone. Her first miracle is yet to come. She will make a throne in the heart of the Conclave. She will become her true self, not a liar but a truth-teller. A creator. She will transform the CLS into a paradise even if they don’t thank her. She will bring the dead back to life, she will return Nesh to its former glory, she may even show her mother mercy. She will show them all that she is not the atrocities she has committed because she can undo it.
The Conclave Falls[]
In the Conclave, Charles brings Val back to herself. Charles tells her that the politician inside the office is Emissary Stern of the Seven Peaks. He has barricaded the door. Val says that he hasn’t and they enter the office. She tells him that his insides were always on the outside, and he dies horrifically. Charles helps her walk on. Val stumbles and coughs and spits up blood. Charles asks if she needs to rest. Val says that she can’t be tired because she no longer needs sleep. Her lies aren’t working. Emissary Clutch's office is also locked. She has her baby with her. Val asks Charles to come up with a lie for her. Charles suggests that she shot herself. Val rejects this. Clutch begs for her life. He says that her baby has developed a hunger for human flesh. Val uses this lie and they continue onwards. Val struggles onwards. She asks how much further they are to the Conclave chamber. She can’t make it, so she lies that they already have. That she massacred all the guards and politicians. She stumbles and we hear the sounds of the deaths of the Conclave. Val falls onto the chamber floor, the walls drip with gore.
Val tells Charles to bring the camera up and he does so. She asks if he’s filming this live. She tells him this must go out live. She assures Charles that she won’t hurt them. She practises her speech, pained and breathless. She tries to announce herself as a new god. Eventually she gives up. She can’t announce her victory like this. Charles says they can try again in a moment, that she’ll feel better in a moment. Val says that she only feels worse and worse. She wonders why the pain hasn’t ended, and Charles says he doesn’t know if the pain ever does. Val asks why Charles hasn’t tried to kill her or tried to flee. Charles says that she is the one in charge. She asks if there is any power that he won’t bow down to. Charles says he doesn’t know how to answer her. Val asks if he has a family, and he says he does. She asks if he’s lying, and he says he is. He confesses that he doesn’t want a family, that he wants a large pack of dogs that he can take care of and take out on walks out into the hills. His job got in the way. Val tells him that he has this. Everything he wants. We can hear it, and he disappears. With that, Val is alone.
She speaks to Carson and tells him that they have won. That the Conclave has fallen. Carson responds with excitable glee, and offers her the chance to speak to her mother now. Val tells him that she doesn’t want to speak with her. She takes out her earpiece and destroys it.
Trivia[]
- Val wins the war but it brings her no satisfaction.