Chapter 57: Fifty-Three: Caspia – The First Kill and a Broken Bond
SPOILER NOTICE
This page contains detailed plot points and analysis for Chapter 57 of Rites of the Starling. If you have not read this chapter, proceed with caution.
Summary
Caspia travels with Andreas’s expedition toward the Evon ravine to search for the orbits. Cramped in a carriage, she feels trapped and steps into a field for air. A sudden lionwick attack kills a soldier and wounds Andreas across the chest. Caspia severs a second lionwick’s head with Andreas’s sword—her first kill. The healer stitches Andreas’s wounds, and Caspia keeps his blood on her hands as a reminder of the stakes. She reflects on the unnatural bloodlust of the beasts and wonders if the broken bond between Starlings and animals fuels the violence.
Key Events
- Caspia exits the carriage in frustration and walks into a field despite the driver’s protests.
- Andreas joins her but is interrupted by a scream; a lionwick attacks.
- A barbed tail narrowly misses them; Andreas kills the first lionwick with a crossbow bolt.
- A second lionwick’s tail slashes Andreas’s chest before Caspia beheads the creature.
- The healer tends to Andreas; the wound is not deep but requires stitches.
- Soldiers confirm no more lionwicks are nearby; one soldier was killed.
- Caspia keeps Andreas’s blood on her hands as a conscious reminder of the danger.
Character Development
- Caspia: This chapter marks her first killing—a violent, instinctive act that shakes her. She moves with “speed not her own,” showing latent Starling training or power. Her decision to keep Andreas’s blood on her hands reveals a growing sense of responsibility and willingness to bear the emotional weight of their mission.
- Andreas: Though wounded, he downplays his injury and refocuses on their goal: “Saving the realm from monsters far more deadly than the lionwick.” His calm leadership contrasts with the chaos, reinforcing his role as a stabilizing force.
- The healer: A brief appearance but notable for her efficiency and blunt comment that “the Six spared your life,” which Caspia silently rejects.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
- The Broken Bond: Caspia ponders the severed connection between Starlings and beasts. The lionwicks attacked with bloodlust, not hunger, suggesting the loss of harmony has made creatures more dangerous.
- Blood as a Reminder: Caspia chooses to let Andreas’s blood dry on her hands rather than wash it off, symbolizing her commitment to the cost of their quest.
- Confinement vs. Freedom: The carriage represents constraint; Caspia’s need to breathe fresh air nearly costs their lives. This tension mirrors the larger choice between safety and the open, dangerous path they must take.
- The Six vs. Human Agency: The healer credits divine intervention; Caspia silently curses the gods, asserting that their fate is in their own hands—or their own blades.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter accelerates the physical and emotional stakes of the expedition. Caspia’s first kill moves her from a reluctant participant to an active defender. Andreas’s injury reinforces the constant peril of their journey. The lionwick attack also provides concrete evidence of the realm’s deterioration: monsters act unnaturally aggressive, and the broken bond may be the underlying cause. Caspia’s reflections tie the violence directly to their mission to restore the orbits, making this a pivotal moment of resolve.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Caspia refuse to wash Andreas’s blood from her hands?
She wants the blood to remain as a “reminder of everything at stake.” It is a deliberate act of bearing witness to the cost of their mission and her own capacity for violence.
2. What does the lionwicks’ attack suggest about the state of Calandra?
The beasts attacked not for food but for bloodlust, which Caspia notes is unnatural. This aligns with the idea that the broken bond between Starlings and animals has made creatures more vicious, hinting at the consequences if the orbits are not restored.
3. How does Caspia’s reaction to killing differ from a typical soldier’s?
She is shocked and unsettled, trembling afterward, whereas the soldiers treat the attack as routine. Her introspection about the bond shows she carries a deeper understanding of the magic behind the violence.