Caduceus: Difference between revisions
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|notable_inhabitants = The Rose-Binders | |notable_inhabitants = The Rose-Binders | ||
|music = [https://soundcloud.com/plausible-albatross/lonely-span-of-skies Lonely Span of Skies] | |music = [https://soundcloud.com/plausible-albatross/lonely-span-of-skies Lonely Span of Skies] | ||
}} | }}<blockquote>''"This is Caduceus, where devils keep a garden of roses."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Caduceus#Log_Entries|Log Entries|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote><blockquote>''"The devils were here before me. They were wearing those masks when I arrived. This temple was once something else, something important to them. They reclaimed it, though for a new purpose."''<ref name="thorn-maiden">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Thorn-Maiden|The Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote>'''Caduceus''' is a temple located in [[Eleutheria]]. It is said that this is the only place in Eleutheria where sunlight can be seen.__forcetoc__ | ||
''"This is Caduceus, where devils keep a garden of roses."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Caduceus#Log_Entries|Log Entries|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | |||
''"The devils were here | ==Where the Roses Bloom== | ||
<blockquote>''"A temple, garlanded with incarnadine flowers and wreathed with thorns, sits at the apex of Caduceus. It is drowsy with the scent of roses, though you can see none."<ref name="roses">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Place_of_the_Rose|The Place of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}}</ref>''</blockquote>Caduceus was the gateway to [[Parabola]] through which the [[devils]] escaped after their rebellion against the [[Judgements]].<ref>{{Citation|https://fallenlondon.wiki/wiki/An_Ancient_Refuge_Site|An Ancient Refuge Site|Fallen London|}}''"Once the devils were fleeing an ancient enemy, of overwhelming force, and they came here, swarming from a place called Caduceus into Parabola."''</ref> Now that they have returned millennia later, the devils use this place as grounds for a mysterious set of rituals called the '''Rites of the Rose'''.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Participate in the Rite of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}} ''"For those suitably attuned, the Thorn-Maiden is willing to perform the Rites of the Rose. It is the great mystery at Caduceus' heart."''</ref> They are joined by a ragtag bunch of [[Bohemians|bohemian]] artists, poets, and musicians<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Write a Port Report|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Poets and musicians write rhapsodies on roses that never appear."''</ref> who have found themselves greatly inspired by roses.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Investigate the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Within the space bounded by the bushes, the bohemians make their art, all of it on the subject of roses."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Talk to the Bohemians|Sunless Skies|}} ''"A louche youth [...] invites you into his little company. They sit before the throne, painting roses onto each other's bodies. [...] An elderly poet, his moustaches ringed with roses, explains that they are merely passing the time. "We are somewhat listless between the rites," he explains. "When the sunlight pours through and we may taste the rose.""''</ref> | |||
'''Caduceus''' is a | The devilish caretakers of this Grecian temple<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Explore the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Corinthian columns line the processional, though their capitals bear budding roses rather than acanthus leaves."''</ref> are called the '''Rose-Binders.''' They tend the rose bushes that surround the temple,<ref name=":0">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Investigate the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Thorn-bushes, bereft of roses, encircle the chamber. The plants are tended by devils in crimson masks. These devils are the Rose-Binders of Caduceus."''</ref> perhaps even pampering them<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Observe the Rose-Binders at work|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Only the flowerless rose-bushes are afforded mercy. These are trimmed and tended, primped and perfumed. As you watch, a deviless calls over a compatriot. They mournfully examine the coils of a bush gone grey. Eventually, and with a great deal of ceremony, they begin to uproot it."''</ref> even though they do not bloom,<ref name=":0" /> and are engaged in a constant struggle to keep overgrowth from destroying the temple.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Observe the Rose-Binders at work|Sunless Skies|}} ''"The masked devils menace the greenery encroaching on the temple with severe secateurs. Marble walls crack with creeping vines and tumbling flora – they rip and crush with equanimity. Theirs is an uncompromising battle to prevent the temple's decay. Only the flowerless rose-bushes are afforded mercy."''</ref> The Rose-Binders have also erected shrines, statues, and frescoes here<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Investigate the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Frescoes depict a troupe of musicians marching towards a slender mirror: pipers, flautists, drummers, all. Statues of serpents coil over the musicians. Thorn-bushes, bereft of roses, encircle the chamber. The plants are tended by devils in crimson masks. These devils are the Rose-Binders of Caduceus."''</ref> that are devoted to the musical [[Saints of Hell]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Investigate the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Marble statues of devils line the aisles. [...] The detail is breathtaking: their lyres and lutes, flutes and fiddles, drums and dulcimers are so perfectly carved that, but for the material, they could be real."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Explore the temple|Sunless Skies|}} ''"The temple contains a multitude of shrines, scattered throughout the complex like links on a chain. Each holds a reliquary to a single figure. One is to the Fiddler, another to the Piper, a third to the Drummer, the Chorister and the Violist. The Rose-Binders treat these shrines with a reverence that borders on fear."''</ref> | ||
There is a labyrinth of caverns under the temple of Caduceus;<ref name=":1">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Darkling_Caverns|The Darkling Caverns|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Underneath the dome of Caduceus is a warren of caverns. A labyrinth of caves, walled with slabs of volcanic black glass, burrow their way through the rock. A steady drum beat thrums through the walls, echoing from somewhere deeper."''</ref> deep within resides one of the Saints, the [[The Drummer|Drummer]]. He is contained in a gargantuan glass vessel resembling a heart,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Darkling_Caverns|Entreat the Drummer|Sunless Skies|}} ''"In the deepest nook of Caduceus, you find a glass vessel; the size and shape of a gargantuan heart. Something alive trembles within. A talon taps against the glass; the ground shivers with each subsequent tap. Your feet dance involuntarily across the rock. Your body will remember the sequence; even as your mind revolts. The steps are the message, sounded in the dance-alphabet of the infernal. Eventually, the drumming stops."''</ref> and it is he who determines who is worthy to participate in the Rites. His drumbeats can be heard reverberating throughout the cavern,<ref name=":1" /> and sometimes during the Rites of the Rose. | |||
Caduceus | |||
In a typical diabolical fashion, individuals with "aesthetically displeasing" [[souls]] are ignored by the residents of Caduceus. Those that have cold or "dull" souls are advised to improve their soul in [[Carillon]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Try to speak with the Thorn Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"It's your soul, you see. The Rose-Binders are devils, yes? They have ways of knowing these things. You must have damaged your soul somehow. Made it aesthetically displeasing. [...] You should go to Carillon. In the Reach. They'll put you right."''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/A_Moonlit_Pool|A Moonlit Pool|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | |||
In a typical diabolical fashion, individuals with "aesthetically displeasing" souls are ignored by the residents of Caduceus. Those that have cold or "dull" souls are advised to improve their soul in [[Carillon]].<ref | |||
==The Thorn-Maiden== | ==The Thorn-Maiden== | ||
[[File:Thornmaiden.png|thumb|The Thorn-Maiden]] | |||
| | <blockquote>''"I found Caduceus not long after I arrived in Eleutheria. I was frustrated with the methodologies of Winter's Reside. Where was the poetry? Where the beauty in all the horror?"''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Caduceus#The_Thorn-Maiden|Ask about Caduceus|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote>The ritual leader of the Rite of the Rose is the '''Thorn-Maiden''', crowned in leaves and thorns, adorned with jewels, and carrying a stave coiled with snakes.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Place_of_the_Rose|Talk to the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Her crown is thorned, her stave coiled with snakes. Her eyes are quiet as an ox's. As you approach, she raises a hand, bedecked with rings of white sapphires."''</ref> Her voice expresses no emotion,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Thorn-Maiden|Ask about Caduceus|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Her voice is without any affect. The intonation is hollow."''</ref> and she speaks cryptically of alliances between great powers,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Thorn-Maiden|What is going on here?|Sunless Skies|}} ''"She whispers: "There is a gate behind the glass. There is a kingdom that is not. There is a sky more sunless. There are promises that beguile and dreams that do not lie. All impossible. All attainable. This was once an escape; now it shall be a union. Three powers conjoined, like serpents on a staff." She leans back and looks away."''</ref> but her impatient personality certainly remains her own.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Thorn-Maiden|How is she?|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Is it obvious?" Her tone doesn't change. "The waiting between rites becomes more intolerable. All these people [...] venerating me, but all they care for are the roses. I am a link in the chain, not the pearl in the crown."''</ref> | ||
The | The Thorn-Maiden is a former [[Revolutionaries|revolutionary]], who left [[Pan#The Calendar Council|Winter's Reside]] due to ideological differences with the [[Calendar Council]]; she could not see beauty and poetry in the [[The Liberation of Night|Liberation]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Thorn-Maiden|Ask about Caduceus|Sunless Skies|}} ''"I found Caduceus not long after I arrived in Eleutheria. I was frustrated with the methodologies of Winter's Reside. Where was the poetry? Where the beauty in all the horror?"''</ref> She seems to be venerated by the devils for her role in the rites.<ref name="thorn-maiden">{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Thorn-Maiden|The Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> Interestingly, just like the devils', her sense of style is rather anachronistic; perhaps she learned a few tricks from them? | ||
==The Rites of the Rose== | ==The Rites of the Rose== | ||
''"As your eyes adjust to the illegal radiance of the sudden sunlight, you can see that the Arboretum has been entirely transformed. The statues are covered and crowned in wild roses of every possible colour. Impossible roses bloom on the throne and on the marble slabs on the ground. Celebrants run through fields of brightly-hued flowers, drinking and dancing and laughing."'' | <blockquote>''"As your eyes adjust to the illegal radiance of the sudden sunlight, you can see that the Arboretum has been entirely transformed. The statues are covered and crowned in wild roses of every possible colour. Impossible roses bloom on the throne and on the marble slabs on the ground. Celebrants run through fields of brightly-hued flowers, drinking and dancing and laughing."''<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|The Rites of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}}</ref></blockquote>'''The Rites of the Rose''' are the mysterious celebrations of Caduceus, during which the temple is bathed in [[sunlight]] and the roses start to bloom.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|The Rites of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}} ''"As your eyes adjust to the illegal radiance of the sudden sunlight, you can see that the Arboretum has been entirely transformed. The statues are covered and crowned in wild roses of every possible colour. Impossible roses bloom on the throne and on the marble slabs on the ground."''</ref> Celebrants can be seen dancing and drinking their way through the fields where the Rose-Binders tend to the flowers.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|The Rites of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Celebrants run through fields of brightly-hued flowers, drinking and dancing and laughing. "''</ref> Hissing can be heard from the bushes, and celebrants cavorting near them often have their fingers bitten.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|The Rites of the Rose|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
'''The Rites of the Rose''' are the mysterious celebrations of Caduceus, during which the temple is bathed in sunlight and the roses start to bloom. Celebrants can be seen dancing | |||
[[File:Rose skies.png|thumb|100px|left|A Caducean Rose.]] | [[File:Rose skies.png|thumb|100px|left|A Caducean Rose.]] | ||
When the roses fade and the sunlight dims, celebrants gather in '''the Hall of the Fiddler''' to participate in the '''Mystery of Beholding'''.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Participate in the Mystery of Beholding|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> They are then guided to pick a rose, which will show them a specific future. Celebrants that pick a certain rose are then allowed into the higher mystery called the '''Mystery of Indulgence'''. In this rite, the Rose-Binders gather in '''the Hall of the Pipers''' and offer a choice of indulgences to the revelers: wine, dance, love, or sorrow.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Participate in the Mystery of Indulgence|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> After this rite, the celebrants sacrifice something significant to the roses in ''' | When the roses fade and the sunlight dims, celebrants gather in '''the Hall of the Fiddler''' to participate in the '''Mystery of Beholding'''.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Participate in the Mystery of Beholding|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> They are then guided to pick a rose, which will show them a specific future. Celebrants that pick a certain rose are then allowed into the higher mystery called the '''Mystery of Indulgence'''. In this rite, the Rose-Binders gather in '''the Hall of the Pipers''' and offer a choice of indulgences to the revelers: wine, dance, love, or sorrow.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Participate in the Mystery of Indulgence|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> After this rite, the celebrants sacrifice something significant to the roses in the '''Hall of the Drummer''':<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Leave a gift for the roses|Sunless Skies|}} ''"As the roses begin to fade, a Rose-Binder approaches. "Come, give a gift to the insatiate rose.""''</ref> a crew member,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Leave a gift for the roses|Sunless Skies|}} ''" They do not speak to you, but have, apparently, divined the crewmember you'd have chosen. They are masked in crimson and bound in silk."''</ref> a piece of their own flesh or mind,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|A sacrifice |Sunless Skies|}} ''"When you are reduced, your flesh is placed in the mouth of the rose, which closes and slowly,"''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|A sacrifice |Sunless Skies|}} ''"You do not remember what happens there; you wake, covered in nectar. Your eyes have to pried open from the pollen. There is an aching darkness behind your eyes. When you sleep, you will go there again."''</ref> perhaps even one's entire personhood.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Leave a gift for the roses|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
Finally, | Finally, full initiates are directed to the marble wall behind the Thorn-Maiden's throne, where the sunlight shines the strongest.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"She leads you behind her marble throne to where the sunlight is strongest, radiant as a new-born star."''</ref> The marble "wall" is in fact a mirror and thus a gateway to [[Parabola]].<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"You touch the wall to discover it is not cold marble, but glass – then your hand passes through entirely. The heat of sunlight is on your hands. The cloying scent of roses is almost overwhelming."''</ref> Behind the glass is a garden where the Rose-Binders and many-armed devils tend wild roses,<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"You stand in a garden beneath an amber sky .Wild roses cover arbours. Rose-Binders tend hedges. Larger shapes, akin to the devils, but much longer and with many more limbs, assist them. "''</ref> and something [[The Fingerkings|slithering]] can be seen in the shadows.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"Something slithers through the shadows. The Thorn-Maiden places her hand on your shoulder. "No closer.""''</ref> Not all celebrants return from behind the mirror...<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus#The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}} ''"The Thorn-Maiden returns without your signaller. "I'm sorry," she says, "Sometimes they decide to stay.""''</ref><ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.fandom.com/wiki/Caduceus|Return to the Ebullient Decadent|Sunless Skies|}} ''"The flautist frowns. "He did say something about new pastures. And then the Thorn Maiden chose him to attend her at the next rite." The flautist shrugs."''</ref> | ||
One day, the Thorn-Maiden says, she will bring this dream-garden and its roses into Eleutheria.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | One day, the Thorn-Maiden says, she will bring this dream-garden and its roses into Eleutheria.<ref>{{Citation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Rites_of_the_Rose|Approach the Thorn-Maiden|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== |
Revision as of 04:38, 11 October 2024
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"This is Caduceus, where devils keep a garden of roses."[1]
"The devils were here before me. They were wearing those masks when I arrived. This temple was once something else, something important to them. They reclaimed it, though for a new purpose."[2]
Caduceus is a temple located in Eleutheria. It is said that this is the only place in Eleutheria where sunlight can be seen.
Where the Roses Bloom
"A temple, garlanded with incarnadine flowers and wreathed with thorns, sits at the apex of Caduceus. It is drowsy with the scent of roses, though you can see none."[3]
Caduceus was the gateway to Parabola through which the devils escaped after their rebellion against the Judgements.[4] Now that they have returned millennia later, the devils use this place as grounds for a mysterious set of rituals called the Rites of the Rose.[5] They are joined by a ragtag bunch of bohemian artists, poets, and musicians[6] who have found themselves greatly inspired by roses.[7][8]
The devilish caretakers of this Grecian temple[9] are called the Rose-Binders. They tend the rose bushes that surround the temple,[10] perhaps even pampering them[11] even though they do not bloom,[10] and are engaged in a constant struggle to keep overgrowth from destroying the temple.[12] The Rose-Binders have also erected shrines, statues, and frescoes here[13] that are devoted to the musical Saints of Hell.[14][15]
There is a labyrinth of caverns under the temple of Caduceus;[16] deep within resides one of the Saints, the Drummer. He is contained in a gargantuan glass vessel resembling a heart,[17] and it is he who determines who is worthy to participate in the Rites. His drumbeats can be heard reverberating throughout the cavern,[16] and sometimes during the Rites of the Rose.
In a typical diabolical fashion, individuals with "aesthetically displeasing" souls are ignored by the residents of Caduceus. Those that have cold or "dull" souls are advised to improve their soul in Carillon.[18][19]
The Thorn-Maiden

"I found Caduceus not long after I arrived in Eleutheria. I was frustrated with the methodologies of Winter's Reside. Where was the poetry? Where the beauty in all the horror?"[20]
The ritual leader of the Rite of the Rose is the Thorn-Maiden, crowned in leaves and thorns, adorned with jewels, and carrying a stave coiled with snakes.[21] Her voice expresses no emotion,[22] and she speaks cryptically of alliances between great powers,[23] but her impatient personality certainly remains her own.[24]
The Thorn-Maiden is a former revolutionary, who left Winter's Reside due to ideological differences with the Calendar Council; she could not see beauty and poetry in the Liberation.[25] She seems to be venerated by the devils for her role in the rites.[2] Interestingly, just like the devils', her sense of style is rather anachronistic; perhaps she learned a few tricks from them?
The Rites of the Rose
"As your eyes adjust to the illegal radiance of the sudden sunlight, you can see that the Arboretum has been entirely transformed. The statues are covered and crowned in wild roses of every possible colour. Impossible roses bloom on the throne and on the marble slabs on the ground. Celebrants run through fields of brightly-hued flowers, drinking and dancing and laughing."[26]
The Rites of the Rose are the mysterious celebrations of Caduceus, during which the temple is bathed in sunlight and the roses start to bloom.[27] Celebrants can be seen dancing and drinking their way through the fields where the Rose-Binders tend to the flowers.[28] Hissing can be heard from the bushes, and celebrants cavorting near them often have their fingers bitten.[29]

When the roses fade and the sunlight dims, celebrants gather in the Hall of the Fiddler to participate in the Mystery of Beholding.[30] They are then guided to pick a rose, which will show them a specific future. Celebrants that pick a certain rose are then allowed into the higher mystery called the Mystery of Indulgence. In this rite, the Rose-Binders gather in the Hall of the Pipers and offer a choice of indulgences to the revelers: wine, dance, love, or sorrow.[31] After this rite, the celebrants sacrifice something significant to the roses in the Hall of the Drummer:[32] a crew member,[33] a piece of their own flesh or mind,[34][35] perhaps even one's entire personhood.[36]
Finally, full initiates are directed to the marble wall behind the Thorn-Maiden's throne, where the sunlight shines the strongest.[37] The marble "wall" is in fact a mirror and thus a gateway to Parabola.[38] Behind the glass is a garden where the Rose-Binders and many-armed devils tend wild roses,[39] and something slithering can be seen in the shadows.[40] Not all celebrants return from behind the mirror...[41][42]
One day, the Thorn-Maiden says, she will bring this dream-garden and its roses into Eleutheria.[43]
References
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