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Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Andre Norton.

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

  1. Chapter 1

    The People of the Crater

    Garin and his companions are rescued by the lizard-folk of Tav, who reveal the history of the Ancient Ones and the Black Ones, setting the stage for the conflict ahead.

  2. Chapter 2

    Through the Blue Haze

    Six months after the Peace of Shanghai ends the great war, Captain Garin Featherstone, a jobless war pilot, is recruited by Gregory Farson for an Antarctic expedition to investigate a mysterious blue haze. During the flight into the haze, Garin's plane is taken over by an alien intelligence, forced to dive into a hidden green world beneath the ice. After the presence withdraws, his engine fails and he crashes into a fern-like tree.

  3. Chapter 3

    II: The Folk of Tav

    Garin awakens injured in his crashed ship and is rescued by the lizard-like Folk of Tav. They heal him with advanced technology and introduce him to their cavern society, where he learns of a prophecy that he must rescue the Daughter and confront Kepta.

  4. Chapter 4

    III: Garin Hears of the Black Ones

    Garin learns the Folk's language through a ray-enhanced lesson, discovers their advanced civilization inherited from the Ancient Ones, and hears of the Black Ones' atrocities. He is shown a vision of Thrala, the Daughter, imprisoned in the Caves of Darkness, and witnesses the plague-stricken victims of the Black Ones, learning of the mission to rescue her.

  5. Chapter 5

    IV: The Defeat of the Ancient Ones

    The chapter recounts the ancient history of the Ancient Ones, their arrival on Earth, the creation of the Folk and other races, the rise of the Black Ones from forbidden unions, and the prophecy of a sun-haired youth who will rescue Thrala and defeat evil. It describes the final battle, the sacrifice of the Ancient Ones in the Room of Pleasant Death, and the current state of the sleeping dead.

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  1. Chapter 6Into the Caves of Darkness
  2. Chapter 7VI: Kepta’s Second Prisoner
  3. Chapter 8VII: Kepta's Trap
  4. Chapter 9Escape from the Caves
  5. Chapter 10Days of Preparation
  6. Chapter 11X: Battle and Victory
  7. Chapter 12XI: Thrala's Mate
  8. Chapter 13The Gifts of Asti
  9. Chapter 14All Cats Are Gray
Short Fiction — Chapters Explained