Strange the Dreamer

Feeling threatened by the presence of Godslayer and his delegation below, Sarai and the other children plan a way to defend themselves. They are at a disadvantage because none of them can manipulate mesarthium, the magical metal from which everything in the citadel is built. Minya is especially bitter that she did not inherit this signature ability from her father, Skathis. Skathis had the power to create metal monsters out of mesarthium and control them, evoking terror in the people of Weep below. If the children could only control mesarthium, they could move the citadel anywhere they wanted and be free of the human threat. Minya, in sharp contrast to the other children’s desire to flee, appears excited instead by the chance to fight and tasks Sarai to gather intel that night via her moths. As she readies herself, Sarai regards herself in the mirror and realizes that humans see her only as a monster—as “godspawn.”

Sarai explores the newcomers’ minds and dreams via her moths. Azareen reflects on her past with Eril-Fane; they were married only five days before the gods abducted Eril-Fane. Afterwards, he was so profoundly changed that he released Azareen from their marriage vows. However, she still can’t let go of him. Sarai also discovers that Lazlo is shocked to learn of Eril-Fane’s nightmares; it had not occurred to him that even someone as renowned and seemingly invincible as the Godslayer carries hidden vulnerabilities.

Sarai sends her moths to the Godslayer to find out his plans. She reflects on how she has tormented him so many times before but has never been able to break his mind, for the simple fact that the shame and other emotions he harbors from his real-life experience with Isagol are worse than anything Sarai could possibly conjure in dreams. Observing his suffering all this time has eradicated her hatred for her father. This time, however, when she psychically “arrives” at the Godslayer’s house, she finds Lazlo instead.

Sarai uses her moths to enter Lazlo’s dream and is filled with wonder at what she finds: an idealized version of the city of Weep, constructed from all the fairy tale fragments that Lazlo has collected over the years and imbued with the awe and wonder with which he has always regarded it. Sarai is fascinated by Lazlo, by the sweetness in his face and the fluency of his speech in the Weep language. She is shocked when he perceives her presence in his mind, for it is usually impossible for her to be seen in dreams. Lazlo appears to like what he sees. When he wakes, however, he forgets his dream.

Sarai does not tell the other children about Lazlo’s ability to perceive her presence while in his dream-state. Meanwhile, Lazlo learns the dark history of the conflict between Weep and the gods. The gods (Skathis in particular) came down from the citadel and took people from Weep as they pleased with the goal of sexually enslaving them. Afterwards, the people’s memories were erased, and they were returned to the city. Isagol used Eril-Fane as a lover for three years, but he still retains all his memories of that time, for after he succeeded in slaying the gods, no one was left to erase his memories, and now he is constantly tormented by his experiences in captivity.

Minya reveals that she has been collecting an army of ghosts for the past 10 years, which she will now set loose upon the citizens of Weep unless Sarai will agree to an alternative plan: using her moths to kill the Godslayer. Faced with this choice, Sarai advocates for mercy, but Minya plays the ultimate trump card as she always does and describes the moment during the Carnage when the humans came with kitchen knives and slaughtered all the infant godspawn in the nursery. While Sarai always feels lucky and grateful to Minya for rescuing her and the others from the massacre, she now begins to feel that there must be some other purpose to life than mere survival and starts to question Minya’s methods and motives.

After much deliberation, the delegates conclude that they must find a way to erode mesarthium and thus destroy the citadel. When Lazlo sees a mural of the Godslayer laying waste to the gods, he is startled to learn that the gods were blue-skinned; this jogs his memory of the blue girl he previously saw in his dream: the enigmatic scene from the prologue of the novel. Lazlo is even more shocked to realize that in the mural, Isagol looks just like the girl from his dream.

Sarai longs to slip back into Lazlo’s dream, where she felt safe. Minya grieves the day of the Carnage, lamenting that she could only save so many babies. She punishes herself for feeling so frozen in that moment, repeating over and over to herself, “They were all I could carry” as she loses herself in her memories.

After another night plagued by nightmares, Sarai realizes that Minya has sabotaged her lull potion in order to extort Sarai into killing the Godslayer. To escape the conflict in her head and the escalating tension with Minya, Sarai enters Lazlo’s dream to immerse herself once again in his idealized vision of Weep.

The delegates plan to use a flying contraption to conduct a reconnaissance on the citadel. The people of Weep are all afraid to return to the dreaded citadel, even though they believe that nothing of the gods remains. Eril-Fane explains to Lazlo that the citizens of Weep are all like children in the dark, frightened despite their objective knowledge that nothing there can hurt them.

As a renowned alchemist, Thyon has been tasked with developing an alchemical agent to fight against the mesarthium. When Lazlo checks on Thyon’s progress at Eril-Fane’s request, Lazlo discovers that Thyon has been using his own spirit to fuel his experiments, an act that has weakened him to the point of debilitation. In a continuation of the altruistic tendencies established early in the novel, Lazlo volunteers to use his own spirit, and Thyon, who has no other option, begrudgingly accepts his help. Lazlo wants to aid Thyon both because it’s the right thing to do and because he wants Weep to be saved, even if Thyon will receive credit for the deed.

Minya continues to sabotage Sarai’s “lull,” but Sarai refuses to give in to her plans to bring about the Godslayer’s destruction.

Sarai visits Lazlo’s dream again and is shocked to find that a version of her already exists there, for Lazlo has dreamt of her. Lazlo assumes that his dream-conjured version of Sarai is actually Isagol, although he doesn’t seem to think of her as a monster. Sarai is jealous that he looks at this person he assumes to be Isagol—but is actually based on Sarai herself, though Lazlo doesn’t know it—with such open admiration. Sarai dissolves her dreamt doppelgänger and puts herself into its place instead so that she can take a more active role in Lazlo’s dream.

Lazlo shares his identity as a librarian with Sarai. He also shares the story of the mahalath with her, a magical mist that is said to turn one into either a god or a monster. Lazlo does not regard Sarai with revulsion but instead beholds her with a sense of wonder and awe. The two hold hands, and both feel the connection as a kind of “collision,” both in their physical bodies in real life and in the dream-world. When Sarai asks him about Eril-Fane’s plans, Lazlo begins to suspect that Sarai is not truly a dreamt creature. Disoriented, he tells Sarai that Eril-Fane will fly to the citadel tomorrow; Sarai then transforms herself into a horrifying, gruesome image of Isagol and warns Lazlo not to come or else everyone will die.

Lazlo joins Eril-Fane and Azareen as they make their ascent up to the citadel. Sarai, despairing, watches the group approach, knowing that Lazlo is among them. She wonders whether she could have done something different or used her gift for good in order to prevent all this hate from building. She despairs further when she considers that this conflict first began long before she was born and is perhaps a cycle that cannot be escaped. Sarai takes a risk to warn the approaching humans, exposing herself to Eril-Fane, Azareen, and Lazlo.

Lazlo saves Azareen’s life when Minya’s ghost army attacks, and the white eagle appears in the sky again after the humans escape. Lazlo recognizes Sarai from his dream, but Eril-Fane seems particularly shocked by the appearance of the blue-skinned girl who warned them away earlier. The anguish he appears to feel at her appearance tells Lazlo that the Godslayer is still hiding something significant.