Blood and Ash Chapter 36 Summary: The Horror in Stonehill
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
As the party prepares to ride to Stonehill, Poppy shocks Casteel and Kieran by revealing that his horse, Setti, is actually a bloodsteed—the former vellám of the Primal Attes. She senses eather within him that neither of the others can feel. They meet Malik, who discovered the first bodies. In Stonehill, they find an entire block where every home holds dead mortals—about fifty in total. All wounds are self-inflicted, including those of young children. The victims wear peaceful smiles. Casteel struggles to accept that the children could have done this willingly. Poppy uses her vadentia and declares that while their hands performed the act, the will behind it belongs to Kolis.
Key Events
- Setti’s true nature revealed: Poppy perceives that Setti is a bloodsteed, the same vellám once belonging to the Primal Attes. Casteel and Kieran cannot sense the eather.
- Travel to Stonehill: The group of five—Casteel, Poppy, Kieran, Delano, and Emil—ride through the night to investigate reports of deaths.
- Discovery of mass suicide: Malik guides them to a house where a man lies dead with a smile, a knife in his hand. Two girls, also smiling, have killed themselves with broken glass.
- Scope of the tragedy: Naill reports about fifty bodies, fifteen of them children under ten. All wounds appear self-inflicted.
- Poppy’s reading: Using the vadentia, Poppy confirms that Kolis’s will compelled the victims; their hands were not acting of their own volition.
Character Development
- Poppy: Her powers have grown since Ascension. She can now perceive eather in creatures like Setti and read the residue of Kolis’s influence on death. Her resolve hardens as she faces the atrocity.
- Casteel: His protective instincts war with his respect for Poppy’s agency. He is deeply shaken by the sight of dead children, yet maintains focus.
- Malik: Appears gaunt and restless. His discovery of the bodies and his reaction show guilt and a desire to help, a shift from his earlier antagonism.
- Kieran and Delano: Both react with shock and sympathy, with the wolven Delano pressing close to comfort Poppy.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- Coerced suicide as weapon: The mass suicides illustrate how Kolis twists faith and loyalty into instruments of horror. The victims’ peaceful smiles are a grotesque symbol of his control.
- Eather and perception: Poppy’s ability to see the truth of Setti and the death scenes reinforces the theme of hidden realities only the Primal senses can uncover.
- Loss of innocence: The dead children represent the ultimate violation of trust—parents and community turning on their own under supernatural compulsion.
- The weight of rule: Both Casteel and Poppy confront the burden of leadership as they must witness and respond to tragedy without turning away.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter marks a turning point in the second half of the novel. It shows Kolis’s influence penetrating the mortal population in a way that cannot be ignored. Poppy’s direct identification of his will escalates the conflict from political rebellion to a war of wills between Primals. The horror of the Stonehill massacre also tests Casteel and Poppy’s resolve, foreshadowing the difficult choices they will face. Additionally, the revelation about Setti deepens Poppy’s connection to the Primal lineage and hints at hidden allies.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Poppy believe Setti is a bloodsteed, and what does that reveal about her abilities?
Poppy senses eather in Setti that neither Casteel nor Kieran can perceive. She understands that Setti is not a normal horse but the vellám of Attes, a Primal god. This demonstrates that her Ascension has heightened her perception far beyond that of other Atlantians, giving her access to knowledge others lack.
2. How does the discovery of the children’s deaths affect Casteel’s understanding of the threat?
Casteel is horrified that children could be made to kill themselves. He initially believes no child could do that voluntarily, which forces him to recognize that Kolis’s power is not merely political—it can override the most fundamental bonds of family and self-preservation.
3. What does Poppy mean when she says, “It was not their will. This…is his will. Death’s. Kolis’s”?
Poppy uses the vadentia to feel the truth of what happened. The victims acted with their own hands, but their minds were not free. Kolis exerted direct influence, compelling them to suicide. Her statement establishes that Kolis is actively attacking the mortal population, not just through Revenants, but through psychic coercion.