Emperor Mapidéré had chosen the site for his capital, the Immaculate City, not because he wanted to live there, but because he wanted to die there. He wanted the Imperial Tombs, planned around his Mausoleum, to tap into the ground energy of the great volcanoes: Mounts Kana, Rapa, and Fithowéo. He thought that the vitality of the mountains, forever young because they constantly remade themselves with fresh lava in violent explosions, would similarly renew the strength and vitality of the Imperial family and therefore the empire itself. Mapidéré’s spirit, if it still was around, must now be wondering why his plan had not worked out. Kuni Garu accepted Erishi’s surrender as the latter was curled in his bed in the fetal position, the sheets and his clothes soaked with his urine. Luan Zya came to say good-bye. “You won’t stay with me?” Kuni asked. “I would not be the master of Géfica without you.”
