![]() Xan knows this means she can’t leave the baby with anyone else, so she names her Luna and decides to keep her. She takes her time traveling with the baby, and after 10 days accidentally feeds the baby moonlight. This year, Xan discovers a baby with a crescent moon birthmark. Xan takes them to the Free Cities after feeding them on starlight, which is why they’re called Star Children. She doesn’t ask why their mothers abandon them, but she feels it’s her responsibility to rescue them. But unbeknownst to Gherland, a kindly witch named Xan has been saving abandoned babies for the past 500 years. The Witch is a convenient narrative to keep the population sad and under control. The narrator says that this is because, as far as Gherland is concerned, there is no Witch. ![]() It’s horrific: the mother refuses to hand over her baby, and Antain’s uncle Gherland doesn’t even stay in the woods to make sure that the Witch gets the baby. In the novel’s present, young Antain, an Elder-in-Training, is participating in his first Day of Sacrifice. According to the parent, it’s pointless to stand up to the Witch. She poisoned the forest and the Bog that was once life-giving. Long ago, the Witch forced dragons to make the volcano explode, and killed a wizard. The parent lost a baby to the sacrifice years ago, and they say that an evil Witch demands an infant every year. ![]() Throughout the novel, an unnamed parent tells their child about the history of the Protectorate and the Day of Sacrifice. ![]()
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