Chapter 64: Hail
Contains spoilersOverview
Nuclear detonations devastate Luna and fracture the Gold Armada, but Mustang seizes the moment. Displaying Octavia’s head and the Dawn Scepter, she compels the Praetorians and Senate to accept her and is hailed Sovereign after Darrow kneels. A week later, the Jackal is publicly executed, sealing the regime change.
Summary
Luna burns as multiple nuclear bombs detonate, and the Lion of Mars is destroyed under fire from both sides. The Gold Armada fractures with Octavia’s death, while riots and blackouts spread. Amid exhaustion and injuries, Darrow and Mustang resolve to rebuild together and prepare to leave the Sovereign’s sanctum with Cassius, Sevro, and Lysander, hauling the unconscious Jackal as proof of victory.
At the bunker doors, Praetorians confront them, but Mustang advances bearing Octavia’s severed head and the Dawn Scepter. The guards part and escort the group through a chaotic Citadel as more soldiers flock to Mustang’s authority. At the Senate, an elegant Praetorian captain salutes and moves to arrest the Jackal’s Boneriders, clearing the way into the chamber.
Facing a stunned Senate mid-crisis, Mustang ascends the podium. She condemns the Old Age for nuclear holocaust, proclaims a new era with the Rising and allied Houses, and offers a choice: bend or break. Darrow kneels first, prompting Cassius, Sevro, Lysander, the Praetorians, and then most Senators to follow. The chamber thunders: “Hail, Sovereign,” and Mustang’s rule begins.
A week later, after most Boneriders are executed, the Jackal is led to a public hanging in a snowy Luna square. The White hangwoman reads the sentence; no one steps forward to finish it. Mustang, torn yet resolute, pulls her brother’s legs to break his neck, granting closure to his victims and marking the grim finality of the transition.
Who Appears
- Mustang (Virginia au Augustus)
Claims authority with Octavia’s head and the Dawn Scepter; hailed Sovereign; ends the Jackal’s life at the gallows.
- Darrow
Injured but resolute; supports Mustang, kneels first to legitimize her rule; witnesses and steadies her at the Jackal’s execution.
- Cassius au Bellona
Stays close to Lysander, backs Mustang publicly, and kneels, lending Gold legitimacy to her ascension.
- Sevro au Barca
Battered and jittery; jokes through pain; wants Lysander dead but ultimately kneels to Mustang.
- Lysander au Lune
Under Cassius’s protection; his presence bolsters Mustang’s claim; kneels with the Senate.
- Adrius au Augustus (the Jackal)
Captured and displayed before the Senate; publicly hanged a week later as the regime consolidates power.
- Praetorians
Elite guards who stand down before Mustang’s symbols and then escort and support her through the Citadel.
- Praetorian captain
Elegant Gold Knight guarding the Senate; salutes Mustang and orders arrests of the Jackal’s Boneriders.
- Senate Majority Speaker
Panicked presider over an election; yields as the Senate follows Mustang and hails her Sovereign.
- The Telemanuses
Stand with Mustang at the execution, silent witnesses to the new regime’s grim closure.
- White hangwoman
Reads the sentence and conducts the Jackal’s hanging before the Luna crowd.