Plot Summary
The novel begins on a Family estate at Kethiuy on Cerdin, where the Sul sept of the Meth-maren House is attacked by the rival Ruil sept, with the help of Red and Gold Majats. The Ruil sept is seeking to wrest control of the Blue Majat from the Sul sept. A young Raen a Sul hant Meth-maren is the only survivor, and she seeks refuge in the nearby Blue Majat Hive. There she persuades the Blue Queen to help her regain control of Kethiuy. The Blue Warriors and their azi succeed in destroying the Ruil sept, but the Blue Hive is decimated and Raen is captured and brought before the Kontrin Council. Moth, the second oldest Kontrin, protects Raen from the Kontrin conspirators seeking to destroy her, and Raen is banished from Cerdin.
Raen adopts a low profile and drifts from planet to planet in the Reach. She survives several assassination attempts but never gives up her desire for revenge against the Kontrin Council and those who destroyed her family. After Council Eldest Lian is assassinated, Moth takes control of the Council. She watches Raen's movement but does not interfere. Raen's final move is to board a Beta passenger spaceliner, Andra's Jewel bound for Istra, the only planet in the Reach accessible from the Outside. Istra has no permanent Kontrin presence, only Betas, who deal with Outsiders and the Majat, who were brought here by the Kontrin hundreds of years previously. To amuse herself on Andra's Jewel's long voyage, Raen plays Sej, a dicing game every night with a ship azi named Jim. They agree that at the end of the voyage Raen will buy his contract, and if Jim is the overall winner, he will be a free man, but if he loses, he will become her azi. Jim narrowly loses and serves her for the remainder of the story.
On Istra, Raen and Jim, now her second in command, establish a presence on the planet. She manipulates the Betas and gains control of their affairs. She also allies herself with the local Blue Majat Hive. But the Majat Hives are restless and soon turn on each other. The Blue, Green and Red Queens are killed and the surviving Gold Queen unites all the Hives under her. The Hive revolt spreads to all planets of the Reach and all the Kontrin perish, except for Raen, who now lives with the Majat on Istra. With the Kontrin Company no longer in control, the Betas take charge of the Reach. All the azi are gone, having self-terminated at their maximum age of 40, and no new azi are created. Jim, however, at Raen's request, is given immortality by the Majat and lives with her in the Gold Hive.
Read more about this topic: Serpent's Reach
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