The Poppy War

A Federation ship called the Emperor Ryohai has been patrolling the sea between Nikan and the Federation for 12 nights. Unbeknownst to the crew, the Cike’s commander, Tyr, is hiding on the ship. This was an unusual mission: normally, the Cike work within the Empire, not against foreign enemies. Tyr thinks about how, decades ago, his master took him into an underground labyrinth and abandoned him to find his “goddess.” Now, a schooner sails out to meet the Federation ship. As Tyr watches it, he feels sudden vertigo. Soon, he knows, he’ll lose control and become “a spouting, unstoppable conduit for the gods, a gate to the spirit realm without a lock.” Then, someone will lock him in the Chuluu Korikh, just as Tyr did to his master and has done to his subordinates. This happens to everyone in the Cike eventually.

The schooner’s passenger boards the Ryohai: it’s Empress Su Daji herself. Tyr is shocked. The Empress calls to him, but her eyes turn into snake’s eyes, and she carries out a “psychospiritual assault” on him, making it so he can’t reach his goddess anymore. In the spirit world, she tells him not to question her and pushes his mortal body into the water, where Tyr drowns. Everyone who can access the spirit world feels his death. Chaghan, the Seer of the Bizarre Children, tells Altan Trengsin that Altan will command the Cike now. The Gatekeeper feels it; though he’s mostly forgotten who he is, he’ll never forget “the stain of the Vipress’s venom.” Rin feels it while she meditates and wonders what would happen if she took poppy seeds and brought a god to Earth. The Phoenix has been calling to her, promising to make her a “legend.”

That summer, Federation and Nikara soldiers engage in a skirmish, and the conflict expands until, seven days after the fight, the Federation of Mugen declares war on the Empire of Nikan. After looting a port city, a Federation battalion begins to march for Sinegard. Kitay tells Rin he’s actually excited—they have job security now—as they help evacuate civilians. They’re loading the Magistrate’s wagon with heavy crates, which the Magistrate reveals contain his prized teapot collection. Incredulous, Kitay smashes the teapots and tells the Magistrate to do his job and help them reassure people that things will be okay. The Academy’s campus becomes a military encampment and now houses Eighth Division soldiers. Students join the unit’s ranks. The soldiers aren’t thrilled about the students, but on the plus side, Raban returns.

Rin and Kitay wonder what Federation soldiers look like. They agree the soldiers probably look “more human than [they] realize,” though Rin insists they still have to win. Masters are constantly busy, though Rin manages to catch Jiang for a conversation one day. She suggests they call the gods, like the Speerlies used to, and asks what Lore’s purpose even is if they can’t weaponize the gods. Jiang insists that the Speerlies were “collectively deluded” and were bloodthirsty, thanks to the Phoenix’s power. He suggests Rin is too young to understand the consequences of what she suggests. Rin is angry, and she feels like he’s treating her like a child—though war is now forcing her to grow up too fast. To allay her fears, Rin sneaks a handful of poppy seeds.