A build up episode, with the passing away of Saggum. Without a royal heir, the whole plot would have no choice but to focus back on Chagum.

Soon Saggum will undergo the ritual to become an adult, after which he would be able to carry a sword in court. In celebration of the occasion, the king offers him a sword as a gift.

Meanwhile, Torogai finally reveals that a egg hunter would probably end up killing Chagum. Still, nothing will probably happen to Chagum until nearer the time when the egg would hatch. Final decision to visit one of the villages to see if they can learn anything more from the legend stories.

Shuga meanwhile has managed to learn more about the water spirit and the egg though. The drought sign does not indicate whether Chagum is alive. However, a cloud that offers blessings to the egg would tell if Chagum is indeed alive.

However, Shuga is still trapped though, in the vault. The servants of Holy Patriarch end up risking their lives and jobs to obtain the key to the vault, with one of them losing the his job position which he had held for the past ten years. All because of their dedication to Chagum.

Saggum indicates his maturity, by talking about how a gift depends on the attitude of both the giver and the reciever.

Shuga spots the cloud formations that indicate that Chagum is alive, but finds Saggum in a melancholic mood when he rushes to tell him. Saggum talks about how tired he feels, and how compared to Chagum, he lacks the charisma needed to lead and dedicate. Hearing this, Shuga decides to delay telling Saggum about Chagum until he has concrete proof.

Shuga sets off to where the cloud formations were gathering, but not before being spotted by one of the assassins from previous.

Meanwhile, Chagum seems to be adapting well to life outside the palace, and talks about his dreams of becoming a teacher next time. Balsa is left with the dilemma of whether to tell him about the egg eater and Chagum possibly dying.

The episode ends with Saggum showing signs of tiredness, and choosing to release to freedom the bird that he keeps. But it’s all just signs that point towards him passing away just before the episode ends.

Thoughts

The plot is building up very nicely, and I thought the passing away of Saggum was prepared for and presented very nicely. But I definitely can’t wait for the action to focus back on Chagum, and possibly chasing action. It has been a long time.

Seems as though Shuga would hold the key to everything. He has access to most knowledge at the moment.