Trial of the Sun Queen

In her dormitory in Nostraza, a prison in the northern realm of The Aurora, Lor discovers her bar of soap is missing. She remembers performing degrading sexual favors for Warden Kelava to obtain it. Her brother Tristan and sister Willow, both fellow prisoners, try to calm her. The siblings walk toward the mess hall and Tristan, who is a favored prisoner, promises to get Lor more soap. Willow and Lor both know that Tristan doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a woman inmate in the prison. To keep each other safe, the three siblings keep their family relationship secret from others.

In the hallway, Lor meets her lover Aero, another inmate, and they share a heated encounter, agreeing to meet privately later. Their enemy Jude interrupts, calling Lor a “slut” and taunting her with the stolen soap. Lor kisses Aero again to bait Jude. In the mess hall, Jude provokes Lor into attacking her. During the brawl, Lor breaks Jude’s wrist. Guards drag them before Warden Kelava, who sentences Lor to two weeks in the Hollow, a punitive pit.