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The Great Edict
The Great Sorrow, or the Grief of Ages, occurred about 500 years before the novel’s present. During this time, the Dreadmount birthed the High Westerns, which bred the Draconic Army. It ended when the Long-Haired Star passed overhead, raining sterren, which kept Draconic creatures in check until not long before the novel begins.
The Great Sorrow/Grief of Ages Quotes in The Priory of the Orange Tree
The The Priory of the Orange Tree quotes below are all either spoken by The Great Sorrow/Grief of Ages or refer to The Great Sorrow/Grief of Ages. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 43 Quotes
‘There has not been a meteor shower since the end of the Grief of Ages—and understand, Eadaz, that the shower was the end of the Grief of Ages. It was not coincidence that it came when the wyrms fell. The Easterners believe the comet was sent by their dragon god, Kwiriki.’ Kalyba smiled. ‘The shower closed an era when siden was stronger, and forced the wyrms, who are made of it, into their slumber.’
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The Great Sorrow/Grief of Ages Term Timeline in The Priory of the Orange Tree
The timeline below shows where the term The Great Sorrow/Grief of Ages appears in The Priory of the Orange Tree. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 3
...undergo the water trials to become dragonriders. This has happened every 50 years since the Great Sorrow . Niclays responds derisively. In Virtudom, all dragons are considered evil like the Nameless One,...
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Chapter 5
...dragons’ power is waning these days, they reached the height of their powers after the Great Sorrow , when a comet passed over. Still, they remain immortal.
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Chapter 6
...and wolves to create the Draconic Army. During this time, an era known as the Grief of Ages , Fýredel attempted to subjugate humans. Inys still stood when a comet passed, and wyrms...
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...her private room, undresses, and studies Truyde’s Eastern book. It must’ve been published before the Grief of Ages , given that such books were made illegal after that time. The name “Niclays” is...
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Chapter 20
...room recovering from her shoulder injury. She flips through an illustrated book, Recollections of the Great Sorrow . One illustration depicts the comet passing, while the Draconic dragons flee and the Eastern...
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Chapter 25
...positive relationships, and Snow-Walking Maiden and her descendants ruled Seiiki until they died in the Great Sorrow . Then, Nayimathun asks what’s bothering Tané. Tané lies that she’s never been happier, certain...
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Chapter 33
...in his research, trying to fill the gaps left when many libraries burned during the Grief of Ages . Niclays, meanwhile, is upset that someone found a wyvern nearby (it killed several people...
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Chapter 34
...research, she discovered that the comet that strengthens Eastern dragons (and which arrived during the Grief of Ages ) comes regularly. That comet, Truyde says, keeps at bay the fire that fuels wyrms....
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Chapter 38
...to distract from the earthquakes. He asks to tell Tané a story now. Before the Great Sorrow , Elder Vara says, a “fire-breather” stole the pearl from the Spring Dragon’s throat. Though...
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Chapter 39
...cycles through giving lots of fruit and giving less, and it gave less after the Grief of Ages . Mita asks Ead to continue, so Ead tells her about Sabran’s marriage to Aubrecht,...
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Chapter 43
Kalyba continues: the meteor shower ended the Grief of Ages . It wasn’t a coincidence. It ushered in an era of stronger sterren and weaker...
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Chapter 56
...West because of the Draconic plague. Promising them world peace won’t be convincing enough—since the Grief of Ages , people everywhere have taken care of their own and hoped that while evil forces...
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