In the wake of the Parish's attack, Carpenter tries desperately to get Hayward out of Glottage. Carson attempts to find a useful spin on recent events. Paige gathers the Children of the Woundtree together to agree on their next course of action. The condition of the High Prophet Faulkner worsens.[2]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Description[]
Escape From GGR[]
Glottage is changing. Carpenter, carrying Hayward, and Cross wade through the street to Cross’s car. Once inside, they veer off to the western highway out of Glottage. Carpenter tries to keep Hayward awake.
The Effect Of The Wither Mark[]
Hayward and Carpenter narrate. Hayward has never seen anything like this before, Carpenter has and used to pray for it. Cross manages to get them to high ground and they can see out over the city. They dodge cars, pedestrians and mayfly angels. Glottage is drowning. The glass temple of the Saint Electric is visible, an angel with a rainbow spiral-shell is climbing it. The city’s gods are fighting back against it, with beasts of concrete and wind-saints stalking down the streets amongst the carnage. Despite sitting up in shock, Carpenter doesn’t let go of Hayward’s hand at any point. Hayward doesn’t feel pain anymore, he feels giddy. He feels gratitude in seeing the city crumbling. He also realises that he’s dying.
The Western Highway[]
GGR and Harmonious Chords are down. Carpenter pleads with Hayward to stay still and yells at Cross to find somewhere for them to treat Hayward. Mellow Moves FM is also down. Cross asks Carpenter what their people did. Carpenter retorts that it was the Parish. Cross, shaken, states that he thought they’d won. Cross finds a working radio station: it’s Sam Kincannon. She announces that the death toll is in the thousands already, and climbing. Glottage is now in quarantine. Temporary camps have been created on highway G12. She’s shaken too, with family members still in Glottage and unaccounted for. Cross begins to panic - Carpenter tells him to calm down. Hayward spots an ambulance, and they follow it.
Hayward tells Carpenter that they made a huge mistake - that the Peninsulan’s will be going after Paige and the Grace by now. He acknowledges that their efforts were ultimately futile. He asks Carpenter if she can see the Maiden. She doesn’t respond.
Zephyr-In-Mourning[]
The ambulance turns into the Zephyr-In-Mourning - a private airfield used by the Saint Electric and the Peninsulan High Command. Cross relays this information to Carpenter and Hayward.
On the plane, Captain Patrick Marshall attempts to gain permission from the Peninsulan High Command to take off and leave Glottage. No one responds to him. On the airfield, a bodyguard tries to contact the Control, and also fails to receive a response. He walks over to a vending machine, and he leans down to pick the item he bought up. As he does so, Cross whistles to get his attention and Carpenter pistol-whips him from the other direction.
The Britomart[]
The High Adjudicator is hooked up to an ECG machine. A Pox Monk prays over him. It doesn’t work, and the Pox Monk wonders aloud what he did to himself. Carpenter enters and cocks her rifle. She announces that this is a good old-fashioned religious hijacking. She asks Cross if the man on the gurney is the High Adjudicator. Cross confirms that it is. Carpenter orders them to heal Hayward, and she then tells Cross to watch them. Cross shepherds the doctors to get to work. The Captain was calling in the hijacking but begs for his life when Carpenter enters the cockpit. Carpenter tells him to get the plane in the air. The Captain tells her that he doesn’t have permission. Carpenter reminds him of the situation in Glottage, and to keep hailing the High Command on the radio. The pilot tells Carpenter that she can take the other chair in the cockpit. He tells her that the Peninsula has been systematically using militarised wind-gods to secure their air defences and that she’ll want to be buckled in when they hit turbulence. He’s sympathetic to the fact she’s never flown before, she is not amused.
Cross begins to speak to the High Adjudicator. He takes off his necktie and then cheerily tells him that he is resigning on behalf of himself and Adjudicator Shrue. He takes some of the champagne on the flight.
The plane takes off.
Political Damage Control[]
Carson is in a hastily-erected government field camp. He is on the phone to Greg, one of the Grindinglord’s people. They are not happy. Carson has decided that he has not even considered telling the truth about the situation, out of fear of becoming a laughing stock. He tells the Grindinglord’s people that Greve loved their idea. Carson is informed that the Saint Electric’s people are horrified, and Carson calls them hypocrites for having their dam on the White Gull. Carson hangs up, complaining about the list of problems he has to deal with. He opens a can of Tranquili-Tea Seven and dials Hawthorne. He enquires after the field office. Everywhere has taken a lot of casualties. The coastal defences are being sent west to deal with the Woundtree’s people out in Bellwethers. Carson wants the people there taken alive. After that, Carson wants Hawthorne to get in touch with Val. She needs to make it so that the Children of the Woundtree were responsible for all of this. He is willing to be accommodating to Val if she can do that - they need to remove the real threat. He hangs up ahead of his interview with GGR. As he leaves the room, a parade attendee gurgles in pain. Carson tells them to hang in there, before the hallowed patient is audibly killed by a flamethrower.
In the hospital ward of the field camp, Carson greets Sam Kincannon. Sam is shaken by the situation. Carson responds sympathetically. Sam runs a take. Carson practises his speech - he says there will be all kinds of false stories and accounts. He says that they already know who was responsible: it was Adjudicator Shrue. He uses their last radio broadcast to support the idea that the Children of the Woundtree were behind the attack. Confused, Sam asks for clarification on whether the CLS was involved. Carson says they were, as if just remembering that they are a more likely scapegoat for the situation. According to Carson, the High Adjudicator was present at the parade and killed during the attack in Glottage. And then we hear the speech on the radio. In this version of the truth, GGR’s security team killed Shrue and their accomplices. He gives credit to the Parish of Tide and Flesh, for the sacrifice of their leaders flooding the streets of Glottage to prevent the spread of the attack. He says “the river rises”.
Outrage At The Grand Aquifer[]
The Faulknerian fanatics break out into anger and outrage at Carson's broadcast. Sibling Rane tells Sister Cull to turn off the radio broadcast, and attempts to control the situation. Now, Rane is also unable to make themselves heard. Faulkner begins to cackle manically. Rane asks Faulkner to stop laughing amongst the chaos.
Carpenter And Hayward[]
Carpenter asks if it’s always this rocky, and the pilot retorts that he told her the winds were getting worse. The pilot attempts to contact the Peninsulan High Command again and fails. Carpenter attempts, and also receives no response. Hayward calls out for Carpenter. She switches with Cross, telling him to keep paging the Peninsulan High Command. He does so.
Carpenter re-enters the plane cabin. Hayward is stable, but out of it. Hayward asks Carpenter again if she can see the Cairn Maiden. She tells him that it doesn’t matter, because he won’t die here. He dismisses that statement, telling her that if she’s been following Carpenter for longer than a year, then maybe she’s showing her the way to keep on living. Carpenter tells him that he can find meaning in anything if he tries hard enough. This makes him laugh. Carpenter tells him that it’s not his fault. He responds, cynically, that it never is. She tells him that they’ll head somewhere else, somewhere the government won’t find them. They can go on living. Hayward doesn’t respond. Carpenter tells the story Brother Wharfing once told her, a barber’s temple where you get your haircut in silence.[3] She suggests that her, Hayward and Paige can go there together. Hayward responds that it sounds terrible, that half the fun of getting your haircut is talking. Carpenter gives up. She asks Hayward if he’s ever flown before. He hasn’t either. She wonders if looking out over the Peninsula like this is how the Trawler-man feels when he looks up at them from his garden. After a short pause she adds that she failed Paige too. And that she failed Hayward. She looks back, knowing how close they came. She wishes that they left a day earlier, or got to Shrue earlier, or that she’d been faster when it mattered, or that she hadn’t spent half her life wishing that Glottage would be drowned only to witness it after she could no longer appreciate it. She wonders why the gods don’t have a better plan for them, if they have a plan at all. Hayward comforts her. Apparently country folk put too much faith in their gods. If he has to put his faith in anyone, he’d put it on Paige. Carpenter hopes she’s been keeping up with the radio.
The Grace, Elgin and Paige[]
We can hear the end of Shrue’s final broadcast playing on the radio. Elgin turns the radio off, informing Paige that it’s the last thing they heard. After this moment, Glottage goes black. When they get power again, they talk about a major attack. Elgin says they’re saying it was them, which has shaken her. Paige tells her that it wasn’t them. They can hear music faintly from outside. Elgin says that some of the disciples have begun celebrating. Paige, outraged, tells Elgin to send them away. It suddenly dawns on her that Hayward and Carpenter are still in Glottage. She asks Elgin if they have heard from Hayward. They haven’t. That, according to the radio, Shrue and their accomplices were all killed on the scene. It’s a lie, but neither of them could possibly know that. Elgin believes Paige when she says it wasn’t them, but she is also aware that the Legislatures are declaring war on their people. She doesn’t know what to do about it. Paige is grieving, but she knows what they should do. She turns the tape on, calling the community to one last meeting in the Grace.
The Plane Crash[]
Carson is asleep at his desk. Hawthorne calls him and tells him that the High Adjudicator’s plane has been spotted. He is angry that his lies are not matching with reality. He needs things to be kept consistent. He tells them to shoot the plane down.
In the Peninsulan countryside, a soldier runs to her position setting up an anti-aircraft gun. A superior officer gives her the order, and the guns fire.
The doctors and cabin crew scream as the plane is hit. Carpenter hits the ground. She tells Hayward to stay put, who retorts that he doesn’t really have a choice. She runs to the cockpit. Carpenter asks what the situation is. The pilot responds that they’re firing at them. Cross tries to contact High Command again. He is forceful and compelling, and the speech he gives is reminiscent of Shrue’s speech from the last episode. He tells them that their leaders are broken and desperate and afraid that they are just as disposable as they are. He tells them to call them on their bluff and refuse to fire. It is futile. Carpenter asks if they were hit. Their right engine is out and the left will be soon as well. The pilot says they’ll land on the White Gull. Carpenter, annoyed by the irony of the situation, agrees with him. The pilot tells Carpenter to get everyone to the back of the plane and strap in. Carpenter asks if that makes a difference, the pilot tells her that it does sometimes. As she leaves, she thanks him.
Carpenter and Cross successfully get everyone to the back of the plane. Carpenter tells Cross that if he has any government secrets now is his last chance to share them with the public. Instead, he talks about his own wrongdoings. Carpenter, inspired by this, talks about her own past mistakes in the Parish. Hayward confesses that he still thinks about Finch[4]. The roar of the plane increases. And then they crash, loudly, terribly, into the White Gull River. We can hear the smouldering wreckage of the plane amongst the birds.
Murder In The Grand Aquifer[]
Parish members are deserting the Grand Aquifer. Cull informs Rane of a plane crash, that it was shot down by the government. Cull wants to take a patrol out. Say that any deaths were in honour of the Trawler-man. Three jeeps, a dozen disciples and a crateful of food are gone. Cull, hilariously accurately, suggests that they say the High Adjudicator was on the flight. Rane says that’s nonsense. Rane gives their permission for Cull to go and investigate the plane crash.
Rane heads to Faulkner’s chambers to speak with him. When they enter, Faulkner is nowhere to be seen. Rane walks further into his chambers to find him. They bring news that legalisation seems to be going ahead, anyway. Some of the disciples are speculating that Faulkner is a liar. They blame Brother Philly for the situation. They steal Sister Cull’s idea, and relay it to Faulkner.
Faulkner, from the shadows of his chamber, tells Rane that they killed her. When asked who he means, Faulkner tells them that they killed his sister - Carpenter. Rane, nervously, responds that the honour sits with him. They try to raise his spirits, that they can fix this by using the Wither Mark again. The sound of the chamber door being locked rings out through the chamber. Rane is audibly afraid. Faulkner says that he didn’t want it to happen, that Rane heard him say he didn’t want this. He says that disobeying him is disobeying the Trawler-man. Rane tries the door, which is locked. Faulkner replies that Rane once said they didn’t want to be him. Faulkner, outraged, asks why Rane believed they had the right to speak for him. Rane attempts to placate Faulkner. Faulkner says that Rane is just as selfless as he is. Rane uses his words to back up their actions. Faulkner loathes that his words from the Battle of the Gulch have been used against him. Faulkner asks Rane if they honestly would not want to be him, a better version of him. His successor, perhaps. Rane hesitates, sensing a trap. They respond diplomatically. They slip up and say they would be a High Katabasian if the faith requires it, Faulkner leaps on this asking if they think he tarnishes the title of High Prophet. Rane simply responds that they can fix this. Faulkner proposes that they fix this now.
He drops his staff, disrobes and sinks into the water of the Dreaming Pool. He tells Rane that he resented Mason for not giving him his proper dues, and that he will baptise them as a Katabasian. He also comments that he’s a bad swimmer. Rane, fearing for their life, hesitates. Faulkner continues to speak in order to convince them to join him. Reluctantly, Rane agrees. The Drowned Man’s Hearing won’t take place, because Rane has nothing to confess or be sorry for. Faulkner asks if Rane is his most faithful servant. Feebly and afraid, Rane wades into the dreaming pool. Rane, attempting to save themselves, flounders and says that he is nothing like Mason. Faulkner reveals carelessly to Rane that he killed Mason. He then dunks Rane under the water. He begins the rites, and Rane pats his arm to indicate yes. They come up gasping for air. Faulkner laughs that it’s just like back at the waterbutt. He dunks them again and continues. This time, he doesn’t let Rane up right away. He dunks them again, holding them under the water. Faulkner grabs his staff and strikes them. He tells them that they’re meant to be different. That they’re meant to be better. On the third strike from the staff, it breaks and Rane surfaces. They beg Faulkner for their life.
Faulkner forces them back under the water. This time he speaks to Rane by referring to them as Charlie. It seems like he is reliving his very first murder. He says that they’ll all be reunited in a better place - Dad, Charlie, Eddie, him and Carpenter. He says that Charlie will like Carpenter. Rane stops fighting. Faulkner says that they will find a way to laugh about all of this. He begins to laugh. He lies back in the water. His laughter is hysterical - elated and broken at once.
Trivia[]
- Adjudicator Cross resigns on behalf of himself and Shrue.
- Cross' first name is Edwin.
- Faulkner calls Rane "Charlie" as he kills them.