The Last Battle

A strange creature moves toward Tirian and the others, gliding along the grass. The creature has a humanoid body with four arms and a bird’s head. It is also translucent, and everything it touches appears to wither and die. The creature pays Tirian’s group no mind, moving right past them. Once it is out of sight, the weather returns to being sunny and beautiful. Tirian explains that he saw a statue of the creature once before in Tisroc’s court. The statue was labeled Tash. Poggin laughs, thinking Shift is going to get what he deserves. Because Shift has been claiming things in Tash’s name, it seems Tash has come for him.

Then, the group discusses their next move. They need to decide between finding Roonwit and returning to Stable Hill. On the one hand, heading to Stable Hill would make everything much faster, and the enemy would not have time to cause more problems. However, on the other hand, Tirian worries that his fellow Narnians will not believe his version of the story, similar to the dwarves. Ultimately, he decides it would be best to go and find Roonwit first.

Once the plan is settled, Tirian, Jill, and Eustace decide to remove their Calormene disguises, so Narnians do not mistake them for their enemy. Puzzle asks if he can remove his costume as well, but they convince him that he must continue wearing it for the time being. They want to show Puzzle wearing the costumes as proof of Shift’s scheme. Once everyone is ready, the group sets off to find Roonwit.

On the road, Jill says that Narnia is wonderful and hopes that it never comes to end. Jewel tells her that all nations meet their end eventually, with the exception of Aslan’s country. A moment later, a large eagle swoops down from the sky with an urgent message for Tirian. The eagle, whose name is Farsight, declares himself an ally and sadly states that he has bad news. The eagle says that the Calormenes took Cair Paravel by surprise, arriving via the sea, and slaughtered all of the Narnians therein. Many noble creatures died, including Roonwit. After absorbing this terrible news, Tirian defeatedly declares, “Narnia is no more.”