Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of gender-based discrimination and death.

A little girl, Tenar, runs through an orchard while her mother calls for her. Tenar hears her but does not immediately respond, preferring to run. In their home, Tenar’s father warns her mother not to cling to the little girl because she has already been claimed as the Priestess of the Tombs. People will arrive to take her away in a month, and the mother should focus her energy on their four other children. The mother promises to let Tenar go when the time comes. The mother, whose hair appears gold in the firelight, greets Tenar at the door, kissing her daughter’s black hair. The father looks away in grief.

Black-robed women in a long line walk in time with drum beats as they enter the Hall of the Throne. Outside, men stand guard, but only women and eunuchs are permitted inside. Two priestesses step forward, guiding a small girl toward the throne. The throne is black, massive, and empty. The girl walks up the steps and stops. No mortal feet have ever touched the last three steps to the throne, which are covered in centuries’ worth of dust.