50 pages • 1 hour read
Sailing to Sarantium
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Part 2, Chapters 8-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 2
Chapter 8 Summary
Strumosus of Amoria is a famous chef working for the Blues. Kyros works for him. Scortius bursts into the kitchen with two men who prove to be Carullus and Crispin, yelling that they are under attack. Carullus is injured, and the men outside say they only want “the Rhodian.” They have foolishly chased the men into the Blues’ compound. Another cook-in-training rouses the Blues, who promptly kill the intruders. The corpses are piled up by the gate for the Urban Prefect’s officers to sort out on Astorgus’ orders.
Earlier in the night, Scortius received a note from a married woman he is longing for. He enjoyed the assignation, but finds himself vulnerable in longing for intimacy, though he knows he is just a toy to the higher-class women. He sees swordsmen surround two men outside the Great Sanctuary. Against his own interests, he yells to warn them of the attackers and sprints to their side, drawing his knife. In fact, the soldiers are not there to kill the men—Crispin and Artibasos—but rather are Carullus and his men, there to guard them.
Earlier in the night, Crispin is brought to the Empress’ rooms and is impressed by a delicate, golden rose which denotes the “impermanence of beauty” (314). The Empress wants a mosaic of dolphins, which are now considered a heretical image. Crispin is afraid to say no to the Empress, but also afraid of being burned for heresy. The Emperor appears and tells her that her wants must wait until the Sanctuary is complete, if Crispin wants to do it at all. Leontes’ secretary, Pertennius, appears and the Emperor states that he is winning a bet with his wife before disappearing. The secretary brings Styliane’s opulent pearl necklace as a gift from the lady in question. The Empress is annoyed to lose the bet and says that Pertennius can tell Styliane that, as she hoped, Crispin witnessed the gift and that her hair was unbound when he arrived to deliver it. After sending the man away, she curses the Emperor for winning the bet. He laughs and they share yet another noticeably intimate look.
The Emperor is in a cautious mood, stating that the necklace should be checked for poison before she touches it. Upon her query, he goes on to say that he has named a guard for Crispin for the next few days—Carullus and his men. Crispin is struck by the fact that the Emperor should not have remembered anything Crispin had mentioned about the man and is impressed and intimidated by his memory. The Emperor announces that he will take Crispin to go visit the Sanctuary shortly despite the late hour. As the Empress leaves, she asks about Gisel’s message. The Emperor teases that, obviously, she is not supposed to hear the message. He explains to Crispin how his spies had given them enough information to lead them to the correct conclusion. The Empress announces the contents of the message correctly, making Crispin fearful both for himself and for Gisel, who he recognizes is “brutally overmatched” by the pair in front of him. The Emperor grumbles that though he has won a wager that evening, the Empress has won a larger one. Given the calm, unoffended tone of the conversation, Crispin states that he does not feel that Batiara can be reclaimed by the empire. Alixana agrees, but Valerius II does not and clearly states his ambitions for his legacy:
I will be dead one day and lying in my tomb, and I would have it said of Valerius II that he did two things in his days beneath Jad’s sun. Brought peace and splendor to the warring schisms and sanctuaries of the god’s faith, and restored Rhodias to the Empire and to glory. I will lie easy with Jad if these two things are so (324).
The Empress asks what he will do if it is “otherwise.” He answers that, as a rule, he never thinks in terms of “otherwise.” The Empress tells him to marry Gisel, then. He reiterates that he is married and has no thought as to “otherwise,” even if it costs him his legacy and peace in the afterlife. The Empress says that, in that case, they should invite Gisel and use her as a tool against whoever usurps the throne in her absence. The Emperor announces that he has already done that. Crispin is frustrated by the Emperor’s treatment of the Queen of the Antae, the Rhodians, and his own armies as puzzle pieces. Valerius points out that Crispin’s mind works in much the same way, but Crispin says he does not with do so with human lives. Valerius’ answer chills Crispin’s blood: “True enough, but then, you aren’t an Emperor. The pieces change when you rule. Be grateful your craft spares you some decisions.” (326).
The Emperor states that he will show Crispin a wonder of the world. Crispin privately thinks he has already seen one—the Empress. Observing the Great Sanctuary, however, proves to be a life-altering experience: “Crispin understood that here was the place where he might achieve his heart’s desire, and that this was why he had come to Sarantium” (327). He observes to the Emperor that the glory of such a place would serve as enough immortality that retaking Batiara was not necessary for his legacy.
The Emperor introduces Artibasos, the petulant but brilliant architect of the rebuilt Sanctuary. Artibasos is dismissive of Crispin as a mosaicist, focused on “dressing” his creation, but also acknowledges his cleverness. As the two leave together, Scortius appears, warning them about the soldiers who are actually Crispin’s guards. As they go to the Blues’ compound at Scortius’ invitation, Crispin considers how the Emperor and Empress outclass everyone else in their schemes: “He hadn’t actually done that [revealing Gisel’s message] himself, he supposed. But alone with Valerius and Alixana he had been made to see that they were so far ahead of anyone else in this game of courts and intrigues that…it wasn’t really a game at all” (334).
Crispin also considers the situation with Styliane Daleina, her necklace, and the apparently intentionally crafted perception that he had been alone with the Empress in her room while her hair was unbound. Three soldiers escort Artibasos home, leaving two plus Carullus to escort Crispin and Scortius. While Crispin considers the work ahead of him in the Sanctuary, they are attacked. After the attack, Carullus seems unfussed about his injuries, which are more “showy” than dangerous despite the fact that he had singlehandedly fought off six men, killing two. Instead of acknowledging his wounds, Carullus is irritated with the fact that their dead attackers will not be able to provide information as to who hired them. Kyros considers the man’s resilience and is honored when the great Strumosus praises him, saying he has “the makings of a cook” (337). After the sun rises, Carullus and Crispin go back to the inn. As Crispin tiredly enters his room, he realizes that someone is on his bed and a blade is drawn.
The Emperor considers his legacy and lack of heirs. He internally acknowledges that he only holds his throne due to his wife’s intervention at the Victory Riot as he had been prepared to flee before her iconic words. Valerius considers how Gisel might bear him a son, but even if she did, the Antae would rebel against her. Still, he acknowledges that she was right in what she thought she was offering him—legacy by way of heirs and the reclamation of the full Rhodian Empire. He makes his way to his wife’s chambers, guided by her handmaiden through the labyrinthine passages. He is greeted by “his life,” who jokes about her impending exile and murder when he sets her aside for Gisel. The years between them have not dulled the intimacy of their relationship, which is shown as playful and wholly trusting as they discuss the recent events, including Leontes’ marriage to Styliane, of which the Empress does not approve. The Empress reminds her husband that Gisel could bear him children. He responds by asking her not to leave him. She agrees, promising, “not in life” (346).
Chapter 9 Summary
Kasia considers how quickly her life and each person’s relationship with Carullus has changed. She tries to assure herself that her life will go on, even if she does not know how: “She was free. A citizen of the Sarantine Empire. Had been a slave less than a year. It did not define your life, she told herself” (349). Hearing of the attack, Kasia worries, but trusts that Crispin is safe as the other voice in his room is female. She goes to check on the wounded Carullus.
Styliane is the woman in Crispin’s chambers. After insulting the Empress and implying an intimate relationship exists between Alixana and Crispin, she attempts to seduce him. Crispin is unresponsive to her attempts and demands to know what game she is playing. Styliane clarifies that it was not her who hired the attackers, nor was it Siroes, though Crispin had indeed ruined the man’s career. When Styliane makes another crude remark intending to degrade the Empress, Crispin disabuses her of the idea that the Empress could have engaged in any impropriety with him, pointing out that the Emperor was in the room when he met with her. After multiple advances are rebuffed, she explains that she hates the Emperor for killing her father with Sarantine Fire, and does not want there to be a Batiaran invasion. She implies that Crispin could help her prevent such an outcome.
Crispin refuses to be a “piece in a game,” though she insists that everyone is, regardless of their wants. Styliane laments that he has already been enchanted by the Empress. When Crispin insists that he is just an artisan, she rebukes him: “That is a coward in you, hiding from the truths of the world, Rhodian. All men—and women—are more than one thing. Or have you willed yourself to be limited in this way? Will you live on a scaffold above all the dying?” (357). Crispin marvels at how clever Styliane is, much like the Empress, and wonders whether he would have agreed with her if he had not met the Empress first. Eventually, she leaves after warning him not to get too attached to his work. When he finally sleeps, he dreams of the zubir and of one unspecified woman.
Vargos is determined to discover who hired the men who attacked Crispin. He first goes to the rough caupona, trying to get information, but no one will speak to him as an outsider. Next, he goes to the Courier’s Rest, an inn, in the hopes of running into people he knows and gaining information that way. Pronobius Tilliticus is there, having been fired five days earlier for being late in a delivery, for destroying posted mail, and for spreading disease. Drunk and ornery, he blames Crispin for being fired. Vargos informs the nearest Urban Prefect that Tilliticus is responsible for the attack, then goes to pray. After praying to Jad, he feels a foreboding awareness of the zubir, despite refusing to pray to it.
Crispin is unsure of what to do about Kasia beyond enlisting Gesius’ eunuchs in dressing her properly. He goes to the baths and runs into Leontes in the sauna. Leontes is a devout follower of Jad and presses Crispin for his plans for the Sanctuary—specifically, whether he will include an image of the god, which Leontes considers heresy. Leontes is firm, but amiable, inviting Crispin to dinner at his home. A third man enters the sauna with a hidden knife. Leontes points it out, causing the man to attack Crispin. Crispin subdues the man, though Leontes frustrates him with his flat inaction. He insists that Crispin should feel satisfied that he was able to defend himself and points out that they will surely get the name of the employer from the man. Crispin and Leontes go on to have a philosophical debate regarding war and the arts. Ultimately, Leontes makes good points, though Crispin is loath to admit it. Leontes points out that art cannot survive without protection, nor can artists do their jobs if they are dead: “What you do depends on what I do”; “What we build—even the Emperor’s Sanctuary—we hold precariously and must defend” (374).
Crispin is annoyed that Leontes was right about finding satisfaction in protecting himself personally. He decides to go to the Sanctuary before returning to the inn, then changes his mind to visit Shirin per Zoticus’ instructions. When he arrives, Shirin kisses him on the mouth and begs him to pretend to be her lover to help her avoid an uncomfortable situation with an aspiring suitor, Pertennius—Leontes’ secretary. Crispin startles the other man by mentioning spending time with Leontes in the baths and an upcoming dinner at his home. He goes on to explain his presence as delivering a message from Shirin’s beloved father. Pertennius is confused, but leaves without a fight. Shirin and Crispin get to know each other as she explains her childhood and current occupation. Though she only dances, others still expect her to sell her body. Crispin finds the dancer to be very clever and mutters about how unreasonably intelligent Sarantium’s women are. As unsettling as he finds this, it is more disconcerting that he can hear her mechanical bird speak—with the same voice Linon had. He decides not to tell her, but when he leaves, he swiftly returns, telling Shirin that he can hear her bird and that they have matters to discuss.
Tilliticus immediately confesses to hiring the men to kill Crispin before the torturer begins his work. The judge quickly determines that he is to lose an eye, have his nose sliced open, and be sent into exile. Later in life, he would become a beggar, then find himself a convert to Jad living as a hermit on top of a spire in the Soriyyan desert, offering prophecy and wisdom to pilgrims. He is eventually killed, but considered to be a martyr to the faith. Books are written about his life, which do not mention Crispin or any of his misdeeds.
Part 2, Chapters 8-9 Analysis
Tensions finally come to a head when Crispin’s life is directly threatened in two separate attacks. Surprisingly, the famous yet noble Scortius risks his life to protect two strangers from a perceived attack. In fact, the supposed attackers prove to be Crispin’s protectors. Ironically, Crispin and Scortius would go on to be attacked moments later. This illustrates the fact that just because one danger has been proven inert does not mean that other, more dangerous perils are not lying in wait. After killing two of the guards, the very same attackers foolishly follow their prey into the Blues’ compound, finding themselves overwhelmed and killed as a result of their naivete. Even after this, Crispin considers himself safe in the bathhouse only to be attacked by a knife-wielding assassin. In Sarantium, naivete is reliably rewarded with danger, if not death.
These chapters continue to reinforce the perception of an idealized relationship between Emperor Valerius II and Empress Alixana, or as they call each other in private, Petrus and Aliana. Their relationship is characterized as trusting, playful, and completely committed, so much so that Emperor Valerius is willing to risk his desired legacy to keep the woman he considers “his life” at his side. Similarly, Alixana promises that as long as she has life, she will not leave him. This relationship is contrasted with Leontes and Styliane, in which one party is pious and loyal and the other is adulterous and scheming. It is likely due to this that Styliane finds herself unable to imagine that the relationship between the imperial couple is as perfect as it seems. She is perfectly willing to assume that Alixana is just as unfaithful to her husband as Styliane is to hers.
In fact, Styliane becomes yet another in a line of clever, beautiful women who flirt with, attempt to seduce, or even sleep with Crispin. From early on in the story, a Senator’s wife attempts to seduce him. Gisel intentionally attempted to inspire his affection through “longing” and running her fingers through his hair. Kasia eventually offers comfort sex. Styliane is aggressive in her seduction attempts, going so far as to grope his genitals. After Styliane, Shirin kisses Crispin to convince him to pretend to be her lover. No matter where he goes, Crispin is best with brilliant, beautiful women after his heart and/or body.
Some of these women have more than beauty and brains in common. Shirin and Alixana share similar experiences in their youth, both principal dancers for one of the two main factions. Their comradery is highlighted by the Empress’ permission for Shirin—and only Shirin—to use the same blend of perfume as her. On the other hand, Alixana and Styliane have political power and scheming in common, though their origins are different. Unlike the former dancer, Styliane comes from a formidable, wealthy family.
The increasingly apparent parallels between Emperor Valerius and Crispin are also explicitly addressed. The two men are both hardworking perfectionists with a taste for the arts as well as dedicated monogamists who wholeheartedly love their intelligent wives. Both choose to cultivate their own underestimation for strategic purposes: Petrus before taking the throne and Crispin in multiple situations—feigning drunkenness to appease the ego of a tribute and insisting that he is “just” a mosaicist to both Gisel and Styliane Daleina in the hopes of avoiding being entangled in political intrigues. Both men see the world around them as a puzzle to solve through the manipulation of various “pieces.” However, Crispin states that he draws the line at considering human beings to be pieces and even rebukes Styliane for such a perspective.
This, however, may be hypocritical as he has manipulated situations with little regard for the lives of others on at least one occasion: orchestrating the attempted robbery by the merchant’s nephew as a means of saving Kasia. Not only did he beat the boy badly, but he also acknowledged, at least internally, that, as a thief, he might be hung and perhaps even used as a replacement sacrifice in Kasia’s absence. In full consideration of this possibility, Crispin executes his plan and decides that Kasia’s life is worth the life of one would-be thief. The Emperor conducts similar manipulations, albeit on a grander scale, proportionate with his empire and responsibilities. Further, both men are driven by the thought of achieving immortality through a powerful legacy of works in their lifetimes.
The theme of legacy continues as Crispin considers the opportunity to create a mosaic in the Great Sanctuary both his means of immortality and the reason he has come to Sarantium. The Emperor considers his legacy in terms of reuniting the Jaddite faith and the Rhodian Empire as well as with regard to heirs. Finally, Pronobius Tilliticus, the selfish courier, is deliberately shown as having been brought low by his dismissal from the Imperial Post and his punishment for his attempts on Crispin’s life. Still, after becoming a disfigured beggar, he converts and is recorded as having died with a respected legacy as a holy man.
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