Podkin and the singing spearPodkin is now Keeper of the Gifts which is a tremendously important job and just a tiny bit boring. It doesn't help that there are still three gifts missing Podkin can't stop himself from thinking about that. So when the Godseye Mirror begins to shimmer and shift revealing a motley crew of travellers is approaching, Podkin sees it as a sign that his world is about to be upended all over again. It's not long before Podkin and Uki finally meet united in

small households

But once upon a time

romantic and hopeful

he had just mourned the death of his father

Half a century later

sets fire to his house and departs the state

he relates the experiences of an unlikely few days on the Eastern Front - at a moment when he knows not only that Germany is going to lose the war

and those who lied and betrayed them

His claim will carry him to Bosworth Field

relax on board Hideo Shima's speedy bullet train

Martial law has been imposed

against all odds