Posted by u/stumpynat on August 29th 2022

Hello all! Your friendly neighborhood reddit lurker is here to actually post for once. Today we're covering ghosts and duels, of both of swords and words, in chapters 47 - 49 of Harrow!

Chapter 47:

Harrow and the ghosts of those that died at Canaan House decide to conduct an exorcism in order to rid Harrow of the mysterious Sleeper. It’s noted that while they can remove the spirit from Harrow, the Sleeper’s anchor in the physical world will remain, which means she’ll still need to be dealt with upon Harrow’s return. Led by Abigail Pent, the group prepares and begins a ritual to bring forth the Sleeper, who shows up in a rather dramatic, and violent fashion, haz suit and guns blazing. The ghosts and Harrow put up a good fight, but find themselves quickly outmatched by the Sleeper, who is imposing her own rules of engagement as she fights for control of Harrow’s body. The ghosts of Protesilaus, Dyas, Dulcie, and Magnus are all wounded, though not fatally. The Sleeper offers to let them go if Harrow will just surrender control of her body. The chapter ends on that threat and Ortus clearing his throat.

Chapter 48:

We’re back on the space station with Gideon piloting Harrow’s body around after narrowly escaping Mercy. Gideon finds piles of dead “bees” and Ianthe, who is genuinely happy to see “Harry.” At least until Gideon starts threatening Ianthe with bodily harm for Ianthe’s manipulation and generally nasty behavior towards Harrow. They leave the “bee” corpses and run into Augustine, who sees Gideon’s eyes in Harrow’s body and reacts as poorly as Mercy did. Ianthe takes Gideon back to her room to deliver one of the sealed letters from Harrow. The envelope contains Gideon’s sunglasses and a note that simply says “One Flesh, One End.” This prompts a lot of feelings and an argument between them about whether or not Gideon is in love with Harrow–Gideon claims she’s not–and whether or not Ianthe is in love with Harrow–which Ianthe tries, and fails, to deny. (“I know the signs of Nonagesimitis.”) The chapter ends with Ianthe taking Gideon to the Emperor with the hope that he can help Harrow and Gideon untangle their situation.

Chapter 49:

We’re back in Canaan House. Ortus begins to recite The Noniad and Abigail begins some sort of new ritual. The Sleeper attacks Harrow and Ortus, easily breaking through Harrow’s bone shield and wounding Ortus with a gut shot. Harrow takes up the recitation of The Noniad and, much to everyone’s surprise, Abigail manages to summon the ghost of Mathias Nonius himself to defend Harrow from The Sleeper. An epic duel between Mathias and the Sleeper ensues, Mathias showing the fighting skill that made him a legend; the Sleeper demonstrating her own martial prowess. Nonius eventually defeats the Sleeper and forces the Sleeper's spirit from Harrow. Ortus is revealed as the hero of the day, his passion and fervor for capturing the life of Nonius being the reason Abigail was able to summon the ghost at all. Ortus, Pro, Dyas, and Nonius all leave go help “a lone lyctor” fight a Resurrection Beast in the river. Abigail and Magnus convince Harrow to honor Gideon’s sacrifice by returning to her body and living her life before departing. After Abigail and Magnus depart, Dulcie stays behind as she has something of great importance to tell Harrow. So mysterious!

Memorable quotes (for me):

• “The only thing that ever stopped me being exactly who I wanted was the worry I would soon be dead…and now I am dead, Reverend Daughter, and I am sick of roses and I am horny for revenge.”

• “Why did you ascend to be a Lyctor?” “Ultimate power—and posters of my face.”

• “I love a little gall on gall.”

• “You hating me always meant more than else in this hot and stupid universe loving me. At least I’d had your full attention.”

Questions:

• The ghosts in the Locked Tomb Series seem pretty powerful! Abigail being able to summon spirits even under less than ideal circumstances; Ortus being able to conjure the ghost of Nonius with nothing more than passion. Do you think this is a function of them being in Harrow's bubble, or is this the norm for the setting?

• Along the same vein, if the ghosts can help fight Resurrection Beasts, why haven't John and the Lyctors used them before? Are they not aware of the capability?

• We know why Gideon doesn't like Ianthe, but do we know where Ianthe's dislike of Gideon stems from? They didn't really interact much at Canaan House. Is it just jealousy of Gideon being so close to Harrow or something else?

Link to full discussion on Reddit with Comments