Bechimo

In which Theo encounters an old friend of the family.

A nice moment of cross-purpose: on hearing the message saying that Spiral Dance is out from Solcintra, Kara and Win Ton both think immediately of Solcintra City on Liad. After all, what other Solcintra is there?

I am not entirely sure what to make of Spiral Dance‘s reappearance. It could be considered as the end of something, with ship and passenger returning to yos’Phelium. But it could also be the forerunner of something: if they can make it through, what else might follow?

(The answer to that might depend on how, exactly, Spiral Dance found its way through. If it was only possible because of having a ssussdriad assisting the navigation, that’s probably an end of it, as there are no sussdriads left in the old universe. On the other hand, if the key event was Bechimo‘s haunted Struven Unit calling out in a way audible to old tech, that means the way is potentially still open – although even then, I suppose it’s unlikely that there’s going to be another ship with a haunted Struven Unit sitting in the wyrd space any time soon.)

It’s not clear how much time has passed for Spiral Dance since the Rising of Solcintra: that its passenger is now a tree and not just a seedling suggests it’s been a while, but the fact that it still fits in its planter shows that it’s been considerably less than the centuries it’s been for everyone else.