Irisa wakes up.
At the top of the arch Alak is broadcasting his radio show with Christie but they're interrupted by Amanda complaining about him not playing her record - and threatening to fire him if he doesn't play Shiny Happy People. Oh dear Amanda, I didn't think much of you before but I assumed you had some limits. And Christie wants to talk about a Castithan ritual Alak's mother brought up - where after a wedding the whole family has a bath together. (Bathing seems to be important in Castithan culture and collective nudity not taboo). Christie is all kind of weirded out by it and not very reassured by Alak's assurance she'll have beads to wear.
And at the police station Nolan arrives in time to see Irisa packing and leaving to go save Sukar. She says she has a vision and leaves. Nolan mopes around for a couple of seconds before Irisa asks if he's coming (awww, she forgives him)
At the McCawley household, Quentin is all mopey because he murdered someone. And Nicky arrives - that's former-mayor-secretly-evil Nicky, claiming her car broke down and she needs shelter from the storm (but really because she's after the shiny thing Quentin has that Luke once had). She babbles on about her man "Birch" and the biiiig family he has - that would be the man Quentin murdered, eventually making him run off, possibly to be sick.
At Need Want, Stahma Tarr arrives to see Kenya - not to collect her husband's protection money, but to hire Kenya to teach Alak how to have sex with a human woman. Kenya looks bemused as Stahma describes how hard it can be ("it took centuries for your own scientists centuries to discover the G-spot") and adds that she wants Christie to tell her father how wonderful it was. At which point Kenya cracks up at the idea of any human girl - especially Christie - talking about wedding night sex with their father. But Stahma takes offence at Kenya's laughing at her - she recites a Castithan saying "seeming is being" by treating Stahma like a fool, it makes Stahma a fool. Kenya hurries after her and apologises and offers (well sorta demands) to buy Stahma a drink. Kenya's extremely good at charming people.
In the Badlands, Nolan and Irisa find the Spirit Riders but after some posturing with guns, one of them recognises Irisa - and tells her that Sukar is dead. They offer to let Irisa attend the funeral - but not Nolan. But Irisa notices a shard of metal on the floor and realises the storm is Razor Rain - everyone in Defiance thinks it's just a normal storm. Nolan realises he has to warn the town but Irisa wants to stay for Sukar's "Sinking Ritual".
At the Sinking Ritual there's music, holy words and Sukar's belongings are dropped into acid, before his body is lowered in - expected to be stripped down to its bones, the "three elements of the body". Someone's put a lot of work into designing the Irathient culture.
Sukar ruins the whole thing by sitting up in his acid bath - which has burned off his clothes but left his skin untouched. He roars and tells the crowd that "through this body flows the path to Irzu" an Irathient god. The gathered Irathient kneel, except for Irisa.
Back in the arch, Alak and Christie are still arguing about the bathing ritual, human modesty and who has to tell Stahma no. Their argument is interrupted - again - but a call, this time from Nolan who uses Alak's radio broadcast to spread a warning about the Razor Rain. Amanda gets to work organising the town
At the Irathient camp not everyone's accepting that Sukar is divinely inspired, some calling it a curse others questioning what is possible on the new planet. Sukar himself tells Irisa that they're both on Irzu's path and she needs to follow him; but she delays so he says he'll go alone She follows asking where he's going - and he says Defiance. Irisa follows
In defiance, the storm arrives, spreading a fair amount of destruction - and Nicky continues to pursue the avoidant Quentin. Quentin leaves again and Rafe is suspicious - not trusting Nicky. Nicky comes clean (sort of) and tells Rafe she's looking for Birch who she sent to break into Rafe's house to look for evidence that Luke was connected to the Volge attack. She adds that she thinks Rafe walked in on Birch and killed him. Then she tries to pass it off as a joke
Quentin examines the artefact while his hallucinations of Luke encourage him to kill Nicky. And Rafe comes in demanding answers. Quentin tells Rafe what happened, though eh claims he destroyed the artefact. Rafe is convinced Nicky has no proof - and Rafe has no sympathy for someone who broke into their home and tells him he's proud of Quentin for defending their home and their family.
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Origin: magic-and-spells.blogspot.com
