Previous
Chapter 64
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Priory of the Orange Tree, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Religion, Faith, and Knowledge
Stories, History, and Truth
Isolationism vs. Global Cooperation
Good vs. Evil
Friendship and Love
Leadership, Power, and Agency
Summary
Analysis
Tané wakes up, bound and without the rising jewel. A woman asks Tané about the jewel, Queen Sabran’s ring, and why she killed a Damsel—if Tané can’t answer, she’ll be executed. Tané says she’ll only speak with Chassar, and the woman leaves. Chassar appears a while later, and Tané says she needs an orange for Ead, who’s sick but alive. He explains that Mita has Tané’s jewel and plans to execute Tané so she can take control of the jewel. Tané asks Chassar for help. Later, when two women arrive to take Tané somewhere, Chassar intercepts them and takes Tané himself. He points her to the orange tree, which will only give fruit to someone worthy. He then gives her her other effects, not the jewel, and tells her to follow the river north.
Chassar’s help highlights his loyalty to Ead. He didn’t help her earlier, when he chose not to stand up for her to Mita, but here he shows that he believes in Ead—and in her vision of a united world. Mita, in contrast, clearly is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure her own desire to keep the Priory isolated happens. This is why she plans to kill Tané—but readers can also infer that if Mita does this, she’s essentially condemning the rest of the world to burn, since both jewels are required to bind the Nameless One. Readers can thus see the pointlessness of Mita’s position.
Active
Themes
Tané follows the stairs down, but she tumbles when Draconic creatures begin to divebomb the valley. Reaching the bottom, Tané hides in the giant tree’s roots. By instinct, she kneels at the tree’s base and holds out her hands—and an orange falls. Tané catches it before it rolls into the river, and just as she notices a bird land and turn into a woman (Kalyba). Though nobody has seen a dragon shape-shift in centuries, everyone in Seiiki knows they once could. Tané watches the women, Kalyba and Mita, circle, argue, and then fight with fire. Finally, Kalyba knocks Mita down and pulls Mita’s heart out of her chest. Tané creeps out to steal the jewel from around Mita’s neck.
The Draconic attack likely suggests to Mita that she’s correct to take Tané’s jewel to protect her own. But on the whole, it suggests once again that the Priory isn’t special and will suffer with everyone else if they don’t help the global effort to stop the Nameless One. Because of her education, Tané immediately identifies Kalyba as having the same kind of magic as Eastern dragons (sterren).
Active
Themes
Kalyba turns, notices Tané, and greets her as Neporo. She says the Nameless One will welcome Neporo. Tané introduces herself, feeling both repulsed and drawn to Kalyba, and Kalyba insists that Neporo is responsible for all of this—and that Tané is evil. Just then, a woman (implied to be Nairuj) shoots Kalyba in the shoulder and gives Tané a look. Tané dives into the river. She stays afloat until she reaches a fork and then continues on foot. Finally, a giant bird lands in front of her and takes Tané to a forest north of Ascalon. Tané walks to the palace gates, holds up Sabran’s ring, and demands to see Ead.
Active
Themes
