Motif · Book 5, The Butcher's Masquerade
The Crown of the Sepsis Whore
Donut's first legendary prize, a cat-sized tiara of smoky gems she puts on before anyone can read the warning: whoever wears it is placed permanently in the Blood Sultanate's royal line and must slay the Sultan and every other royal before leaving the ninth floor; fleeting, so that another crown appears elsewhere if it comes off. 'It's purple. Purple is my color.'
Segment appearances
Progression
Donut no longer has it, but it still means she cannot leave the ninth floor until every other member of the Blood Sultanate's royal family is dead (ch. 12); Carl recites the description from memory (ch. 42); a decoy wears a crown (ch. 35); Donut's royalty is flagged (ch. 77); and at the end the Crown of the Sepsis Whore is on Katia's head (epilogue).