Three weeks after the previous chapter, the last King of Narnia, King Tirian, is relaxing with his friend and unicorn, Jewel. They discuss the news that they are hearing from around Narnia--that Aslan has been spotted several times by several different animals.
As they are talking, a centaur named Roonwit comes running to them, having traveled a long way to deliver news. Roonwit tells King Tirian that the centaurs have been studying the stars and are seeing terrible evil in them. Roonwit warns King Tirian also that the news of Aslan's return is also very likely a lie, because the stars always foretell Aslan's return, and they are not in the right formation at all.
As they are talking, a dryad (a tree-woman) comes running from the nearby forest, in hysterics that men are cutting down Talking Trees in Lantern Waste. As soon as the dryad delivers the message, she falls down dead--her tree has been cut down.
Despite Rootwit's warning of rashness, King Tirian and Jewel begin an immediate march toward Lantern Waste. Meanwhile, Tirian tells Roonwit to return to Cair Paravel and call together an army. On the way to Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel see a Talking Rat riding on a raft made of recently-felled trees floating down a river. The rat tells them that he is taking them to Calormene to sell, on Aslan's orders. Tirian and Jewel do not know what to make of this, but they realize that some horror is occurring.
Upon reaching Lantern Waste, Tirian and Jewel find a huge swath of trees already missing. They also see dozens and dozens of Calormenes cutting down trees. When Tirian and Jewel see that the Calormenes are using Talking Beasts as slave labor, they both snap. Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormenes nearest them who are using a Talking Horse as a slave.
Reflection:
In some ways I'm reminded of the opening lines of the last of the eight Harry Potter films--"These are dark times, there is no denying. Our world has faced no greater threat than it does today."
I think this is what King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn are feeling as they march to Lantern Waste to discover who is cutting down the Talking Trees. Here is what happens after they see the rat riding logs down the river toward Calormene, supposedly on Aslan's orders:
"Suddenly the King leaned hard on his friend's neck and bowed his head.
'Jewel,' he said, 'what lies before us? Horrible thoughts arise in my heart. If we had died before today we should have been happy.'
'Yes,' said Jewel. 'We have lived too long. The worst thing in the world has come upon us.' They stood like that for a minute or two and then went on" (p. 463).What a very solemn moment between the King and his friend Jewel. Between everything that has already happened in this chapter alone, we shouldn't be too surprised. By this time, I suspect that they are beginning to listen to the words of Roonwit--warning them that dark, evil times are coming.
But of course the most significant moment of the chapter, and the moment for which the chapter is named, comes in the very last paragraph. The moment, which our narrator tells us causes a significant amount of evil in Narnia, is the one where King Tirian and Jewel kill the two Calormene men who are using a Talking Horse as a slave. It is a rash moment for the King.
But what's most concerning for the reader of this chapter should be this: If you were the King of Narnia, would you have done any differently? Your people are being abused and murdered, and you know that the individuals in front of you are responsible. Who would blame King Tirian and Jewel the Unicorn? I don't know how much blame should be placed on them. The action is rash, but the action is also not at all unprovoked or without reason. Now, let's see what comes of it.
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