#jadriga

[percontaion-points]

Ghost in the Surge chapters 23 & 24

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Chapter 23

She had been only fifteen years old when Rhames killed her...

Wait, what? Literally this entire time, I was picturing her as somebody who was like... 30 something. BECAUSE LITERALLY NOTHING IN THE NARRATION SAID OTHERWISE.

Caina started to run at the Moroaica, but Jadriga whirled to face her, green fire blazing around her free hand.

Chapter 23 summary: They go to Jadriga, and they have this long conversation in which they beg her to stop. Jadriga plans to remove all “evil” from the world, but Caina points out that Jadriga hasn't seen the chaos she's creating in the mortal world. That the undead are relentlessly killing everything, and when everything around them is dead, they turn on each other, each blow making the more and more corrupted. That's not a new world order... that's garbage.

Caina eventually uses the info Jadriga's father had given her at the end of the previous book. Jadriga doesn't believe Caina, but Caina keeps going anyway. That Jadriga is literally unable to stop, because her heart and soul were frozen in the moment when she was turned undead... right after witnessing the murder of her father. Everybody that she seeks vengeance against has literally been dead for so long that they've turned to dust. But she can't stop, because that's what was on her mind when she died.

They start to fight, and Caina knows that Corvalis has to be the one to make the killing blow. That thanks to the year Jadriga spent inside of Caina's head, Jadriga is madly in love with Corvalis. (Because Caina is madly in love with him.) But Jadriga was literally a child who had never experienced such intense emotions before, and doesn't know what to do with them. So she would never actually hurt Corvalis.

Jadriga kills Talekhris.

Chapter 24

The spire shuddered, its massive length splintering, and Caina lost her balance and fell, the Agora of Archons rushing to meet her.

Chapter 24 summary: The fighting paused for a brief moment after Jadriga killed Talekhris. Eventually, Caina realizes that Jadriga is so desperate that she's going to kill Corvalis, too. So the two of them embrace as Jadriga launches a spell at them, but at the last moment, Corvalis shoves Caina away to save her.

He dies, and Jadriga is grief-stricken, despite the fact that she's the one who set out to kill him in the first place. While she'd distracted with her grief, Caina comes up behind her and kills her for the final time.

Around them, Jadriga's memories play out, until the only thing that's left is the spirit that Jadriga originally was, named Malifae, reunited with her father, who has also been freed from his daughter's imprisonment. They ask her to come with them, but Caina thinks about all she has waiting back for her, all of the people who would be sad to hear about Caina's death, and refuses. They tell her to hurry back, or else the gate will close.

She says a final goodbye to the spirits of Halfdan and Corvalis before she runs for the gate, but she isn't sure that she's going to make it...

[percontaion-points]

Ghost in the Mask chapters 25 & 26

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Chapter 25

She heard Rhames laughing in triumph, and then everything went dark.

Chapter 25 summary: They go into the central area, which had previously been warded. But now, it's full of more shades, and a giant bloodcrystal. Jadriga and Rhymes trade barbs for a while, which is beyond tedious. Rhymes eventually attacks, and it's unlike anything that they've ever encountered before. Those shades also attack, blah-blah-blah... let's skip ahead to the actual plot again, shall we?

In the end, Rhymes overpowers Jadriga, which naturally leaves Caina with an immense sense of dread. If the most powerful magi was unable to defeat him, what chance does somebody like Caina have with her ghostsilver dagger? Jadriga's spirit goes back into Caina's body, and Caina panics because she thinks that Jadriga must have figured out some way to control her now. But Jadriga seems intent only on destroying Rhymes.

Chapter 26

Caina opened her mouth to answer, and the world shattered around her.

Chapter 26 summary: Caina has an intense vision in which she talks to Jadriga's father, Horemb. He says that his soul was unknowingly chained to an undead, and he's been around for centuries. Forced to watch as his daughter became more and more unhinged. When she was turned into an undead, she was filled with thoughts of rage. She has no more free will, and will endlessly go around and kill anything that reminds her of Rhymes. Horemb says that she's a lot like Caina in a way, but lacking direction.

He tells Caina where the final horcrux is, inside of the bodyguard's chest cavity, and that she has to destroy it to end this once and for all.

Just then, Caina's mother shows up. Horemb says that it's the soul of the bloodcrystal. It's taken in so many spirits that it's literally taken a spiritual form now. And it chose Caina's dead mother. She threatens to destroy the world yet again, and then Caina “wakes up”.

[percontaion-points]

Ghost in the Ashes chapters 21 & 22

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Chapter 21

She heard herself laughing, and could not make herself stop.

“Yes,” she said. “Yes. Quick.”

Chapter 21 summary: With Jadriga by her side, the spirits leave Caina alone. They go until they reach the big house where the phoenix is, where Jadriga cannot enter.

Caina goes in alone, where she comes face to face with herself. However, the thing is quick to introduce itself as “Keeper”, and says that it has to use metaphors in order to talk to humans, since their minds are so simple. She then gives Caina three tasks.

The first is that she literally fights Caina. The fight ends when Caina drops a chandelier on her head. The entire thing is so stupid easy even Caina is surprised by it. The second is that Caina has to walk down a hallway to another room, but all of the side rooms are full of either her memories (her father) or what might happen (getting married to Corvalis and having his baby). But she resists, and when she gets to the end, she notices a pile of bones. The keeper says that they are the people who didn't resist, who got stuck in their memories and literally wasted away.

The third and final test is that the keeper pointedly asks Caina if Corvalis did something to betray her or the ghosts, could Caina kill him? Caina barely thinks about it, but eventually says yes.

She then goes to collect the ashes, and leaves. Jadriga is gone, and so are all of the spirits. But as Caina runs towards the mirror exit back to the real world, she's set upon by more spirits. She makes it through unscathed, where Sinan is surprised to see her.

Chapter 22

Caina snatched a throwing knife from her belt and drew back her arm, ready to fling it at Sinan.

And as she did, the skylights overhead exploded.

Chapter 22 summary: The immortals grab Caina and take the phoenix ash from her. Caina then basically calls Sinan a chicken-shit coward who can't do anything for himself, and he's going to botch the immortality elixir. But she pushes him too far, and he shoots lightning at her chest. When she comes to, she's in a world of pain, but still alive. Sinan tells the immortals to kill her if she tries to escape or to help Mahdriva or Tanzir escape.

Caina goes over to them, where she contemplates throwing a knife to kill Sinan. He gloats and says that Caina brought back so much ash that he can make the elixir for centuries to come. He turns to slice Mahdriva's baby out from her belly, and Caina throws a knife at him... just as somebody bursts in through the skylights.

[percontaion-points]

Ghost in the Ashes chapters 19 & 20

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Chapter 19

Caina was sure their intentions were not friendly.

She turned and ran.

Chapter 19 summary: Caina starts to walk through the other world. If you remember from when I read the Dark Swan quartet, the landscape keeps changing, shifting, and folding in on itself, but a single path remains the same. The world reminds Caina of when Jadriga was in her mind, and she thinks that this is actually where the two of them would talk, so she's not that scared.

Eventually, Caina comes to the body of one of the guards, but he literally fell upon his sword to end his life. She comes upon another body, and this one's throat was slashed so badly that the head is mostly off.

She then turns and sees herself as a child; the child blames her for what she's become. Then the image of Caina's broken childhood dreams: an adult Caina, but she's heavily pregnant. And finally, the fear of what Caina might become: a witch. She gets away from the three of them by reminding herself that they're not real, and she continues on her way.

She eventually comes to a figure who removes the hood, and it's a horrifying fish monster. Dead fish are a lingering fear from when Caina was quite young, and her parents still alive, so that's why. And the thing starts to chase her.

Chapter 20

“Oh,” said Caina.

They walked the rest of the way in silence.

Chapter 20 summary: Caina fights off the fish monsters with her ghostsilver, and then remembers that she can shape the area with her mind, so she does so.

After this goes on for a while, Jadriga randomly shows up. Caina is skeptical that it's actually her, since her body seems a little unstable. But Jadriga says something unexpected: after the two of them were forced apart, Jadriga ended up with 100% of Caina's memories. Something that even Caina is like “Wow, sorry about that.” She wouldn't wish her bad memories on anybody.

The two of them agree to do their usual information exchange, and Caina gives her the TLDR version of what's happening. Jadriga says that alchemists are dumb morons who play-act at being immortal in a really immature, sloppy way. But she does promise to help Caina, because she still thinks that Caina would be useful to her later. Caina is reluctant, but admits that she's up shit creek with no paddle. Jadriga promises to help her get the ashes, but says that she cannot go into the temple herself, since her immortality prevents it.