The Poppy War:  Chapter 26 Summary & Analysis

Rin wakes in a strange bed and quickly realizes she isn’t restrained. She’s on a boat, and after vomiting and realizing she’s now wearing Cike robes, she lets herself out of the room. Up on deck, Ramsa waves and then hugs Rin. He says that Rin’s eyes look like Altan’s now, and he explains that the Cike is all on the ship. “Things are getting messy on the mainland,” he explains. They saw Altan burn the research facility, and Rin confirms that he’s dead. Ramsa explains that Rin’s “friend” suggested they sail to Speer, where they found Rin on a sheet of glass. She’s been out for three days. As Rin asks what she did, Kitay appears and asks her to explain. He looks suddenly ancient, and Rin again asks what happened.

Ramsa leaves Rin and Kitay alone, and he leads her to the railing and points. In the distance, a huge mushroom cloud billows up from the sea. Kitay explains that he felt the blast from Nikan, and the smoke has hidden the sun for days. The cloud is over Mugen—the volcano under the island erupted. Everyone likely died instantly. Kitay’s voice is flat. Rin can’t fathom that she actually did it. Kitay remarks that it was miraculous that Rin, on nearby Speer, survived—but Rin notes that the gods protected her. She doesn’t understand why Kitay looks so upset. She’s alive, after all.

Rin explains how she asked the Phoenix to destroy Mugen. Kitay is enraged: Rin did to Mugen what Mugen did to Speer, and the fact that they tortured Altan doesn’t justify murdering innocent civilians. She insists that the Mugenese aren’t human, but Kitay observes that the Mugenese think the same of the Nikara. Upset at Kitay’s lack of support, she tells him to leave her alone. Mugen is gone now, but she wants to start a war with the Empress and make her suffer. Kitay is incredulous, and he says this isn’t Rin.

Rin returns to her cabin and cries alone. Enki visits later with food, and Rin demands opium: she needs a break from the Phoenix’s desire for more destruction. She knows Jiang would tell her to immure herself in the Chuluu Korikh—and she realizes she belongs there—but she can’t give up until the Empress and Feylen are dead or contained. She knows now that Altan was weak, because he was taught to become angry. Rin, on the other hand, chose the Phoenix and her anger. As she smokes opium, she wonders if she’s a goddess, a monster, or both.

Qara and Chaghan enter Rin’s room while she’s sleeping. Rin admits to burning Mugen, shares the news of Feylen’s escape, and says Altan is dead. The twins felt Mugen burn and Feylen escape—but Chaghan didn’t feel Altan die, so he believes Rin is lying. Chaghan leaves, and Rin asks Qara what she and Chaghan did. Qara said they did something Rin suggested in her first-year Strategy class: breaking a dam. They didn’t evacuate the villages first. Trembling, Rin has second thoughts about what she did. Qara insists they must believe they did what they had to do: they won a war, and they avenged Altan. It might be a lie, but they have to believe it. Rin knows that this fight isn’t over. There are still Federation troops in Nikan, and the Empress is still sitting on a throne somewhere. The Cike are now free agents.

The Cike gather for a Speerly ceremony to say goodbye to Altan. Rin and Chaghan sit together far away from the group, and Rin shares with him that the Empress betrayed Altan. Chaghan says that based on Rin’s Hexagram, that makes sense. Rin knows she’s being unfair, but she accuses Chaghan of not doing more to stop Altan from going to the Chuluu Korikh. But Rin remembers that the future isn’t set in stone: Altan made his choices. Chaghan suggests that they should worry about Feylen before the Empress, as the God of the Four Winds is strong and unpredictable. He then reveals that Altan named Rin the Cike’s commander before he died. He agrees to help Rin avenge Altan’s death. Rin realizes that she’s fully in control of the gods—and she’ll make them “do such terrible things.”