Kiranrao seizes Iddawc and takes it away

Kiranrao seizes Iddawc and takes it away at a decisive turn in the confrontation surrounding the blade: Tyrus hands it over, the Arch-Rike flees, and Kiranrao departs with the weapon. The transfer appears at first to be a reversal in Kiranrao’s favor, but Annon later reads it as part of Tyrus’s intention, with the possibility that Iddawc will be turned against the Arch-Rike.

The Transfer of Iddawc

Kiranrao demands the blade, and Tyrus, visibly frustrated by the Kishion’s continued presence, gives it to him. Annon watches the exchange with fear. The scene is sharpened by his realization that the man handing over Iddawc is his uncle only in the sense Annon had always believed: the moment unsettles his understanding of their relationship even as the handoff changes who possesses the weapon.

Kiranrao turns immediately toward the Arch-Rike, threatening him and rushing across the room while leaving the Kishion unchallenged. The narrative raises the possibility that this move is meant to draw the Kishion away from its master, but does not establish that as Kiranrao’s motive. What follows is clear: the Arch-Rike’s expression changes from fury to terror, and he withdraws his cylinder and vanishes. Kiranrao laughs, nods farewell to those still facing the Kishion, and disappears in a puff of inky smoke with Iddawc.

Reversal and Immediate Consequences

The exchange divides the scene’s outcome. The Arch-Rike escapes rather than being confronted further, while Kiranrao leaves with the blade. Annon and the others remain facing the Kishion; Kiranrao’s farewell marks his departure from their immediate struggle, not a resolution of it. His acquisition of Iddawc therefore brings an immediate tactical change without securing a clear victory for the group.

The departure also creates a new danger. When Paedrin later asks what has become of Kiranrao, he points out that Kiranrao now has Iddawc and may threaten their plans. The weapon has not simply changed hands: its possession makes Kiranrao a consequential and uncertain factor in what follows.

Annon’s Interpretation of Tyrus’s Plan

Annon answers Paedrin by considering the transfer in light of Tyrus’s intentions. He believes Tyrus meant Kiranrao to have Iddawc and intended him to use it to kill the Arch-Rike. This is Annon’s interpretation, not a confirmed account of Tyrus’s plan; it reframes the apparently forced concession as a possible deliberate arrangement.

That interpretation remains qualified by the danger of Iddawc itself. Annon adds that Kiranrao may go mad before he can carry out the presumed purpose. The ending thus leaves two outcomes in tension: Iddawc might become the means of striking at the Arch-Rike, or its influence might undo the person meant to wield it. Kiranrao’s disappearance with the blade closes the immediate action but leaves both possibilities unresolved.