gender-and-language

The chapter opens with the protagonist discovering a familiar but long-thought-dead former officer, Seivarden Vendaai, injured and barely alive in a remote, icy town. Despite no longer feeling responsibility for Seivarden, the protagonist takes immediate action to save her, navigating the hostile environment, local distrust, and limited resources to provide basic medical aid and shelter. The narrative reveals the protagonist's complex identity as both a non-human entity and a former commanding presence, struggling with autonomy and unfamiliar social dynamics.