The Stone Sky

The day after their excursion, Houwha feels completely changed. He can no longer see beauty or feel pride in anything produced by Syl Anagist. After two days, the tuners’ rage boils over. They plan to sabotage the launch of the Plutonic Engine by causing a power surge that will destroy the obelisks, render all Syl Anagist’s magic-based technology useless, and destroy the briar patch. Doing so will kill them as well, but they view death as better than whatever post-geoarcanity existence they will be forced to live. Houwha secretly harbors some reluctance to go through with the plan when he thinks about Kelenli.

It is Launch Day, and Houwha explains how the Plutonic Engine works. The fragments, which have sat in their sockets for decades channeling magic from each node of Syl Anagist, are now fully charged and ready for launch. When the tuners summon them, they will rise from their sockets and form a network that will pour energy into the onyx, which will redirect it into the earth’s core. This will cause an overflow, which the onyx will distribute to Syl Anagist’s conduits, creating an unlimited and self-perpetuating source of energy.

Because this process involves sightlines and the target is the earth itself, the tuners are sent to site zero, which is on the moon, to initiate the process. As they prepare to start, Houwha notices a stasis column toward the back of the room. One of the leaders, a condescending, tall lady, takes him to see it and explains that it is a sample taken from the earth’s innermost core and that the richness of the magic within it is the reason they built the fragments, tuners, and Corepoint. When Houwha tries to perceive the object, its magic is blindingly bright and thrashing about. Houwha tells the lady that it is furiously angry, but she ignores him.

Before they begin, Houwha learns that he will hold the onyx instead of Kelenli. He realizes that this is Gallat’s attempt to hold onto Kelenli—an effort to prevent her from being seen as a tool like the other tuners—and wonders if they will let him keep her after geoarcanity has been established. From the moon, they begin creating the network of fragments, assembling them one by one until they have all been activated. Houwha is finally able to connect to the onyx—previously it has rejected him and the other tuners—and he realizes it is because the onyx is not only alive but also judging him. It accepts him now because he understands his own pain, suffering, and exploitation, and because he is determined to do something about it.

However, before the tuners can turn the Plutonic Engine back on itself to destroy Syl Anagist, they notice a presence inside the network with them. It calls them enemies and wrestles control of the engine from them. Twenty-seven of the fragments have gone offline but are still active and being used by a subnetwork that has taken control. Back in the command center, the iron sphere from the earth’s core explodes, and sharp iron needles penetrate and kill the conductors, engineers, and everyone else in the observation chamber. Through the confusion, Houwha is able to regain control of the onyx, but the tuners cannot regain the offline fragments. While stuck in this stalemate, Father Earth speaks to them again and says, “Burn for me.”

Because what happened next was instantaneous, Hoa was only able to deduce what transpired in the decades that followed. He believes that the first test that yielded the magic-filled iron from the earth’s core alerted Father Earth to humanity’s intentions. The earth then sent splinters of itself to further explore and infiltrate some of the fragment sockets. It intended to use these to destroy all life on earth, but the tuners, with Hoa leading them—and he is clear that he made the decision because he did not want Kelenli to die—worked to stop this from happening. They redirected the built-up energy toward the moon, which pushed it out of orbit. They were not able to stop the catastrophic process initiated by the 27 fragments under Father Earth’s control, but they were able to initiate a delay of 100 years—nothing to the earth, but enough time for humanity to prepare for it. This is what enabled humanity to survive the first Season. As punishment for their role in sending the moon out of orbit, Father Earth turned the tuners into stone eaters.

Nassun decides it is time to end the world. She spends her final day taking care of Schaffa before reaching up to activate the network. She has learned how to use a smaller network of obelisks as a “spare key” from Alabaster’s notebooks. Before leaving, she tells Schaffa she cannot make things better, but can make the bad things stop.

Essun prepares to make the journey to Corepoint. She has informed everyone she is going but has not asked anyone to join her—she wants to leave that decision entirely to them. She is surprised to learn that Tonkee, Hjarka, Danel, and Lerna all decided to come. Ykka wants to join them as well, but cannot because she has to stay with Castrima. Maxixe comes to say goodbye. Essun is overwhelmed but thankful for all the support.

Nassun stands near the massive hole at the heart of Corepoint and begins connecting to the 27 obelisks she has summoned. She arranges them in a three-by-three-by-three grid. Once she has finally gotten them all in sync, Schaffa appears stumbling toward her. She calls out to him, and the world around her reverberates as he replies “hello, little enemy” (245). He enters one of the nearby buildings, and Nassun chases after him.

As Hoa transports Essun, Tonkee, Hjarka, Danel, and Lerna through the earth to Corepoint, they are attacked by stone eaters who oppose their goal. Hoa dodges attacks, and Essun tries to fight back. When they arrive at Corepoint, Essun realizes that Lerna is not with them, and Hoa apologizes, telling her he did not anticipate an attack. Essun begins looking around for Nassun, and Hoa informs her that she has entered Warrant, the place Guardians go during a season.

Nassun runs through Warrant trying to catch up to Schaffa. She realizes that there are hundreds of other Guardians here that will be a threat to both her and Schaffa, but she resolves to protect him. She enters a large room lined with stacks of square holes, each one containing a sleeping body. When she finally finds Schaffa, he is lying face down in a wire chair contraption that has just removed his corestone. Schaffa opens his eyes and says her name, and she knows that he is himself again. He is no longer in pain and smiles genuinely for the first time. However, Nassun cannot help but notice that the silver inside of him is fading, which means he will soon die. She realizes that Father Earth wants to live, and it has done this because it knows that if Schaffa is alive and no longer in pain, she may not want to destroy the world anymore. Nassun rethinks what Steel told her about turning Schaffa into a stone eater and decides humanity is a small price to pay for Schaffa’s future.

Essun, still panicking as she looks for Nassun, sees a building that has an opening cut into it. As she approaches, she sees Nassun climbing out of it.

Hoa narrates what happens next from a first-person perspective.

Essun and Nassun spend a moment observing each other. They have both changed so much since they last saw one another. Essun, unsure of how to proceed, awkwardly tries to talk to her, but Nassun is uninterested and simply wants to help Schaffa. Essun finally realizes that their relationship is broken beyond repair, and in an attempt to get Nassun to respond, offers to help her. However, when Nassun tells her she needs to use the Obelisk Gate, Essun reverts to commanding her, telling her she cannot.

In response, Nassun melds magic and orogeny in a way Essun has never seen and creates a wall of obsidian between her and Essun. She then begins to open the Obelisk Gate using her “spare key.” Essun, knowing that this will kill Nassun, uses the magic of the thousands of Guardians in Warrant to create a network that allows her to access the onyx, killing the Guardians in the process. The onyx recognizes her fears and her desire to make the world better and grants her control.

Once Nassun has opened the gate, she hesitates briefly, considering if there is no one else in the world besides Schaffa who cares for her. In this moment, Essun uses the onyx to battle against Nassun for control of the Obelisk Gate. Their powers are deadlocked in stalemate, and Essun feels that Nassun is starting to turn to stone as well. Knowing that they cannot keep up the fight for much longer, and not wanting to watch another one of her children die, Essun gives up. She looks at Nassun and smiles at how powerful and strong her daughter has become. Seeing her mother crying, smiling, and turning almost entirely to stone makes Nassun pause. She understands how much the world has taken from Essun—because it has done the same to her—and is astonished that she still wants to fix it. At the last moment, she changes her mind and uses the onyx to catch the moon.

With their task complete, all the obelisks dematerialize, except the onyx, which drifts out over the sea and gently descends into the water. Tonkee goes to find Nassun, who is still sitting by Essun’s stone body. Using the gate has turned Nassun’s hand to stone as well, and Tonkee sits with her to grieve. Later, Danel goes with Nassun to collect Schaffa. He is disoriented, weak, and already showing signs of aging.

Elsewhere, Hoa finds Gaewha and Remwha, another original tuner, who has been going by the name Steel. Remwha tells them he just wanted it to end. Gaewha responds that that is not their purpose and that they were made to make the world a better place. Hoa extends a hand in truce, and all the stone eaters in Corepoint descend into the earth. They approach Father Earth and offer their terms: The earth can keep its life magic without interference, and they will keep theirs. They also offer the return of the moon and the dismantling of the obelisks. All they ask for in return is that the Seasons stop. After several days, the earth accepts.

Hoa returns to Nassun and the rest to give them the good news. Nassun is sitting by Essun’s body again. Schaffa has died, and Nassun asks if Hoa can take them back to the Stillness. Hoa tells her they can use the vehimal and offers to power it because Nassun can no longer use orogeny without turning to stone. Hoa takes Essun’s stone body as he goes to leave, and Nassun expresses concern over what the future holds for orogenes now that they will no longer be needed. Hoa points out that the way things were was never inevitable, but the result of choices. He also suggests that, if necessary, people can choose differently.

Hoa enters the mountain beneath Corepoint to start the process of turning Essun into a stone eater. He claims he does not want to rush, despite the fact it could be done almost instantly because he wants to ensure the preservation of her essence. It is here that he tells her this story, with the intent not to shape her in a particular way, but to ensure she knows where she came from. After an indeterminate amount of time, Essun emerges from the geode she has been gestating in. Hoa tells her he wants to be with her because the only way to survive eternity is with friends and family. She tells him she wants the world to be better, and, satisfied that she is still Essun, they look to the future.