“ | You have to learn to love the small things in life, like a hot bath. You have to love the small things, when you’ve nothing else. | ” |
The Morning Ritual is the eighth chapter in The Blade Itself.
Chapter Summary[]
Glokta has a wishful dream, where he kills Jezal in front of Ardee. When Practical Frost wakes him up, he is in agony. His crippled body has twisted on itself over the night, and he's fouled the bed. The Gurkish stole more than his strength with their torture, they stole his dignity. Helped to the bath by his old manservant, Glokta readies himself to go before Arch Lector Sult.
At the Arch Lector’s office, Glokta unleashes some vitriol on the Arch Lector’s pompous secretary. Quickly ushered into Sult’s presence, Glokta finds him meeting with sour Surveyor General Halleck. The reason for the forced confession of Sepp dan Teufel is made clear. With Teufel disgraced, the Arch Lector plans to make Halleck the new Lord Chancellor. Teufel was supported by his arch rival on the Closed Council, Marovia.
After Halleck leaves, Sult discusses the state of the Union. In the north, war is brewing as Bethod threatens Angland. In the south, the Gurkish have a new and vigorous Emperor, Uthman-ul-Dosht, who threatens Dagoska. At home, the Closed Council fights itself to fill the void created by the death of powerful Lord Chancellor Feekt. All the while, the nobles in the Open Council threaten the supremacy of the Closed Council, and the merchants threaten the dominance of the nobles.1 He wants Glokta to help him consolidate power as Inquisitor Exempt reporting exclusively to him. He is assigned the task of destroying the Guild of Mercers, weakening the nobles, and taking the Mercers' resources as his own.
Characters[]
Introduced | Appeared | Mentioned |
---|---|---|
Surveyor General Halleck | Sand dan Glokta | Jezal dan Luthar |
Arch Lector Sult | Ardee West | |
Sepp dan Teufel | ||
High Justice Marovia | ||
Bethod | ||
Uthman-ul-Dosht | ||
Lord Chancellor Feekt |
Locations and Terms[]
Adua | The Union | The Gurkish Empire | Closed Council | Open Council | Guild of Mercers |
Angland | Inquisition |
References[]
- We are in a time of change in Adua. The Arch Lector wants to cement his own power, and preserve as much of the old order as he can.