Chapter XV: Sunshine and Pouring Rain
Contains spoilersOverview
Gabriel and Dior join a rare feast at Château Aveléne, where brief joy and dancing give way to Gabriel’s deepening grief and anger. Gabriel retreats to the chapel, debates faith and fate with Aaron, nearly comes to blows, and hints at a traumatic event he calls "The Worst Day." The chapter ends with alarm bells sounding as Gabriel and Aaron realize Danton Voss has arrived.
Summary
The people of Aveléne gather for a makeshift feast, filling the hall with patched tables, simple food, and music. Gabriel feels guilt for bringing danger to the keep but lets himself relax as Dior eats, drinks Baptiste’s harsh vodka, and keeps her guard up by wearing Aaron’s old frockcoat instead of a dress. Gabriel and Dior banter about his age, beard, and memories of Astrid and Patience, revealing warmth and loss under the merriment.
Baptiste gallantly asks Dior to dance; she declines at first, then Gabriel offers to teach her. He likens dancing to swordplay, and they clumsily dance together, Dior showing natural rhythm despite drink and inexperience. As the celebration swells, Gabriel’s melancholy grows, and when Baptiste returns to dance with Dior, Gabriel slips out with a bottle into the cold night.
Drawn to the Chapel of Aveléne, Gabriel revisits memories of his marriage to Astrid and the birth of Patience. Aaron joins him; they share the bottle and speak beneath the spinning rowan wheel bearing the Redeemer’s figure. Gabriel questions the morbid symbolism and challenges Aaron’s faith, pointing to the cruelty of the Church and the suffering inflicted on Aaron and Baptiste for their love.
Aaron answers that men, not God, wronged them, and frames suffering as part of a larger providence that placed them where they could help Gabriel then and Dior now. Gabriel rejects the idea of divine reason, railing against a God who tests and punishes, finally hurling the bottle and partly dislodging the chapel’s wheel.
The argument sharpens when Aaron presses Gabriel about Astrid and Patience and why he left them. Gabriel vows to kill Fabién Voss after delivering Dior to San Michon, despite Aaron warning that slaying the Forever King is impossible. Tempers flare; Gabriel shoves Aaron against the altar, then releases him as Aaron’s Ilon-born predatory aura rises. Gabriel apologizes, and Aaron urges him to hold faith in something, saying he sees a shadow on Gabriel.
Pushed, Gabriel whispers a name for his trauma: "The Worst Day." Before he can explain, the clamor of alarm bells erupts outside. Aaron identifies the sound, and Gabriel, baring his teeth, names the threat: Danton Voss has come.
Who Appears
- Gabriel de León
narrator; dances with Dior, retreats to the chapel, argues with Aaron about faith, vows to kill Fabién Voss, admits to "The Worst Day," recognizes the alarm as Danton’s arrival.
- Dior Lachance
traveling companion; drinks, wears Aaron’s coat, laughs and dances (first with Gabriel, then Baptiste), lightens Gabriel’s mood briefly.
- Baptiste
blacksmith and Aaron’s partner; hosts, provides vodka, asks Dior to dance and does so, is recalled as maker of Gabriel’s troth rings.
- Aaron
Gabriel’s brother-in-arms; debates theology with Gabriel, warns against attacking the Forever King, nearly fights Gabriel, urges him to keep faith, hears the alarm.
- Astrid
Gabriel’s wife (absent, discussed); remembered from their wedding and for disliking Gabriel’s moustache.
- Patience
Gabriel’s daughter (absent, discussed); remembered from her birth and her sway over Gabriel.
- Fabién Voss (the Forever King)
antagonist (discussed); Gabriel vows to kill him.
- Danton Voss
enemy commander; identified by Gabriel as the source of the alarm, arriving at Aveléne.
- People of Aveléne
townsfolk and guards; attend the feast, creating a brief respite before the alarm.