The Last: Endling #1

“Dairnes do not lie. There would be no point, since we can always detect an untruth, not just from our own kind, but from anyone.”

Dairnes have an innate gift to tell when someone is lying. This gift is seen as both a blessing and a curse because it makes dairnes a target of humans who do not wish to have their lies exposed. While Byx has grown up believing that humans kill dairnes only for their soft pelts, it quickly becomes clear that dairnes are hunted because no one wants their enemies to have a dairne present at any type of negotiation, including the Murdano who rules the land.

“Dairnes cannot fly.

We can glide, but we can’t defy gravity. We can only soften it, turning plummeting falls into slow arcs.”

Another skill of dairnes is their ability to glide, a gift that allows Byx to escape from the poachers and save Tobble. She uses this skill later, as well, to escape constables in the attic of a building closed for renovations that leads to Araktik sending a Knight of the Fire after her. This ability is quite useful and will likely be used many times throughout the series, allowing Byx to escape many difficult situations. In this way, Byx’s ability often serves as a deus ex machina to allow the author to slip her character out of difficult situations with relative ease.

“‘You do realize you cannot eat me until I return the favor of saving your life?’

Despite myself I smiled. ‘You’re going to save my life?’

‘What I lack in stature I make up for in spirit.’ Tobble dusted wet dirt off his rear end. ‘Besides, it’s Wobbyk Code. You saved my life; I must save yours three times.’”

After saving Tobble’s life, Byx learns about the Wobbyk Code. This moment leads to a great deal of amusement at first because Tobble is a very small creature. However, as the plot continues to develop, Tobble’s adherence to his species’ code keeps him close to Byx, even leading to him rescuing her from what she believes to be her captor. This code creates a situation that allows a strong friendship to develop between Tobble and Byx, as well as Tobble and Khara, and leads to Tobble earning his stibillary for bravery.

“They lay in a mound, as if they’d been too late to scatter, my parents on top, protecting as always.”

This is the sight Byx finds when she returns to the mirabear hive where her pack has been living. Her observation that her parents are on top, protecting the rest of the pack to their last breath, demonstrates the fierce protectiveness that her parents have always been shown toward the family. While admirable, such a trait also leads to Byx’s sheltered existence and relative ignorance about how the world of Nedarra truly works. Byx will also be haunted by her parents’ concerns over her dying in an attack or surviving, and this comment allows the understanding that their concern comes from a place of love and a need to protect.

“Yesterday, again, I heard voices like theirs: guttural, deep in the chest, booming.

But this boy’s voice was different. There was hidden music in it, like a lark’s call from a faraway tree.”

Byx’s ability to know truth from lies isn’t just in the words but in the sound of someone’s voice as well. This moment demonstrates how Byx’s discernment functions on a practical level. Byx recognizes that there is something wrong with Khara’s voice, something that doesn’t quite ring true, but she doesn’t understand what it is until Khara reveals that she is a girl, not a boy. This moment also shows how inexperienced with lies Byx is, but she will soon overcome that fault.

“‘This sword,’ she said slowly, ‘has been in my family for generations, and I am the first woman ever entrusted with it.’ She shoved the sword back into its worn leather scabbard. ‘It will stay safe while in my care, even if that means my death.’”

The Light of Nedarra proves to have historical value to all of Nedarra and becomes an item of envy throughout the novel. The sword is connected to a great heroic battle, but it is also a family heirloom for Khara and is one of a few things left from a time of great wealth and respect for her family. The sword’s true significance will be revealed later in the novel, as well as the hope and the respect that it symbolizes for Khara.

“‘The story goes that all species gathered there on high ground as a flood swallowed much of the land.’

[…] ‘There the ancients decided on how to organize the world once the flood receded. They decreed there would be governing species, each with its own domain and its own rights.’”

The story of the six governing species gives insight into why some of the species might be a problem for humans attempting to wage war or conquer new lands. While humans control most of the world, they do not hold power over the water, the underground mines and rivers, or the north forest. This will become an issue for the Murdano, who is attempting to wage war on the northern country of Dreyland.

“I saw no terraments, and to be perfectly honest, I was relieved. The sight of felivets lying within a single great leap of me was disturbing enough. Raptidons, creatures that could easily snatch puppies or badgers to their nests for a quick meal, preened far too close for my comfort. And I was still unsettled by my introduction to the natites. I didn’t need any carnivorous insects to make me nervous. I was plenty uncomfortable already.”

As a sheltered dairne, Byx has never seen other members of the governing species. In the first moments on Cora di Schola, she sees all of them together, and her preconceived notions of them fill her with fear. Her teacher and parents taught her to be frightened because in certain circumstances, all of these creatures might mean her harm, particularly the felivets and the raptidons. In this moment, Byx’s reaction to Cora di Schola is like that of a tourist visiting a foreign country for the first time.

“I saw the truth.

I was an endling.”

Byx learns about the eumony and comes to the conclusion that she is the endling of her species—the very last member. This realization compounds all of Byx’s doubts about herself because of her father’s fear that just such a thing would happen. Byx does not believe herself to be an adequate representative of her kind, and this creeping doubt will stick with her until she finds hope that there might be other dairnes left in the world.

“I took a breath and crossed the threshold, knowing my life was about to change again, and that I had no control over the outcome.”

As Byx arrives at Ferrucci’s door, she recognizes that her life is about to change, but she has no idea how. Although Byx believes that she is not brave, it is a brave act just for Byx to walk through that door. Her life does change, but it is not a bad thing. This moment marks significant growth for Byx as she begins maturing into a stronger character, one who faces her fears and embraces the process of Overcoming Prejudice.

“There are many scholars, but few seekers after truth. Humans believe things that make them feel safe. They care little for difficult facts.”

Gambler’s view of humans is truthful as far as his experience goes. Gambler believes that humans are power-hungry creatures who will do anything to gain more power, including the atrocity of exterminating whole species of creatures. Gambler’s statement allows Byx to see that not every individual of a certain species is exactly the same. This touches on the theme of Overcoming Prejudice, for Byx overcomes her fear of Gambler and truly listens to what he has to say.

“I saw the moment she realized what I was: a dairne zooming above the funeral for her own species.”

When Araktik sees Byx flying down toward her during the eumony, it is a turning point in the novel because, at this moment, Araktik realizes that she was wrong about the extinction of the species and knows that she must send the Knight of the Fire after Byx and her friends. As long as Byx is alive, Araktik’s reputation is at risk, as is her position with the Murdano. This moment will be lied about by many, including Araktik when she tells the Murdano that the dairne sighting was only a kite.

“‘Long ago, when the first Murdano came to power, three clans rose up against him: the Corplis, the Rantizzos, and the Donatis,’ Luca said. ‘The war lasted ten years.’

‘Yes, and we lost,’ Khara added. ‘At the most important battle of the war, the Corplis turned traitor and the Rantizzos and Donatis were defeated—’

‘Although,’ Luca interrupted, ‘historians say their defeat was inevitable, regardless.’”

The story of the war is important for several reasons. First, it establishes why Khara has the Light of Nedarra and reveals her connection to the Donati family and her desire to repair their broken reputation. Second, it reveals the names of the other three clans involved. Finally, Luca’s interjection also foreshadows his connection to the Corpli family. The conversation also gives Khara reason to distrust him, which causes her to lie about the fact that she carries the Light of Nedarra.

“They’re called rooklets, islands created in long ago times. They’re not rock and earth, but ancient living beasts of enormous size. The rooklets move slowly over the ocean, attracting debris—anything that floats. Over many thousands of years the creature practically disappears beneath layer upon layer of dirt, floating trees, and seeds borne on the wind.”

Khara tells Byx that the sentient island in the myth about Dairneholme is real. She describes what the islands are and why they move the way they do. This lends credence to the myth that Byx has been taught since she was a pup and gives hope that her dream of finding the First Colony of dairnes might be a possibility. It also foreshadows the companions’ ultimate goal.

“The blaze moved with unnatural speed, not driven by the breeze, not burning randomly, but moving as if with a will, faster and faster, faster even than Gambler.”

Byx describes the fire she sees coming from the spear of Knight of the Fire. This fire moves as though it has thoughts of its own, making it very dangerous and adding to the legend of the Knight of the Fire. From the first meeting forward, Byx understands that this knight is a foe who will not be easily defeated, but she fights just the same, showing her growing bravery in the face of adversity.

“It was carefully worded—not a denial that he knew someone in Saguria, merely a statement that he knew no one who could help us.”

Byx’s doubts regarding Luca continue to pile up as Luca continues to answer questions with half-truths. In this case, Luca denies knowing anyone in Saguria who can help the group, but Byx suspects that there is more to the situation than Luca is telling. This makes her suspicious of his motives, but she has no concrete reason for her suspicions as of yet. This moment foreshadows Luca’s betrayal and the revelation that he is part of the Corpli family that betrayed the Donatis and the Rantizzos so many generations ago.

“Tobble hurled himself with mad fury on the guardsman who had struck Khara, dug his claws into the man’s ears, and began ripping at his nose.”

Tobble has warned his friends multiple times that they should beware an angry Tobble. During the fight with the Pale Guard in the streets of Saguria, Tobble shows them exactly why this might be. Tobble displays bravery and great worth as a fighter when he steps in to help first Khara and then Gambler during this fight. This moment will earn Tobble his coming-of-age ritual, the stibillary, even though he continues to believe that he is not brave.

“Dairnes are dangerous if everyone has them. They are useful when only one person has their power available.”

Araktik expresses this opinion to the Murdano to explain her lies about the dairne eumony. These words explain the motive that lies behind Araktik and the Murdano’s obsession with exterminating the dairnes. It also gives the Murdano an idea of how to use Byx and her kind, which in turn shows Khara and Byx how to manipulate him into allowing them to go in search of the Lost Colony of dairnes.

“The knight spurred his horse and galloped to cut us off.

The Pale Guard was hot on our heels.

And joy of joys, the knight and the guards were going to run into each other before either could reach us.”

Byx comes up with a plan to use the Knight of the Fire to fight the Pale Guard for her. The Pale Guard has been following them on instructions from the Murdano, but the protagonists cannot complete their intended mission with the Pale Guard so close. For this reason, Byx tricks them into fighting the knight, distracting them both from Byx and her friends until they can escape the area. This again shows how good Byx is at strategizing and coming up with fresh plans.

“Renzo proved useful—even Khara had to admit that. He knew the countryside in ways that we did not.”

Renzo has rejoined the group, much to Khara’s chagrin. She does not trust him mostly because he is a thief, but possibly partly because of Luca’s betrayal. However, he proves himself useful to the group with his knowledge of the area, and the angst between himself and Khara begins to shift into something more positive that might foreshadow a romance in the next book.

“I watched the distant, indistinct shape move.

I watched its familiar grace.

I watched it spread its glissaires and glide.”

Byx sees the island and on it what she believes is a dairne. This sighting gives Byx hope that she might have found another dairne, proving she is not the endling of her species after all. However, Byx is faced with a choice of gliding to the island or helping her friends defeat the knight. Byx chooses her friends, giving another plot element that will be explored in the next two books in the series.

“The knight and his charger ran at the burning net, and to my amazement, the fire moved aside. He crashed through the crisped and weakened vines.

I heard him cry out in triumph.

But only the fire had moved. The smoke of the fire had not.

The smoke that concealed our trap.”

While the overarching conflict in this novel focuses on the protagonists’ desire to prove the Murdano’s attempts to eradicate the governing species and to find surviving dairnes, the continuous danger represented by the Knight of the Fire provides a much more immediate, action-packed threat. The knight appears to be impossible to defeat, but Khara comes up with a plan that works just as she envisioned, and with the knight’s dramatic downfall, the protagonists’ path to the sentient island and the next stage of the quest is assured.

“And then Renzo did the last thing I would have expected of a glib thief. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head.”

Renzo proves his loyalty to Khara by taking a knight’s oath. This act shows that Renzo’s character is more complicated than that of a simple thief. It also shows that his actions have been honest. At the same time, Renzo tells a story of how the Light of Nedarra saved his grandfather during the decade-long war, hinting that Renzo might be a member of the Donati or Rantozzi family. This also foreshadows more conflict between these once-united clans and their betrayers, the Corpli family.