Motif · Book 7, This Inevitable Ruin
The river of souls
What the river in Carl's head turns out to be: not water, never a river — voices, screams, nightmares distilled to light, souls, flowing always down and always loud. A dwarf's voice in it says he is family now; Eris's laugh stays in it after the ring is gone; Diah says one runs through the children's room and hurts to touch.
Segment appearances
Progression
Not a river; voices, screams, nightmares distilled to light, souls flowing down (ch. 65); a dwarf's voice in it, and 'She would be proud of you' (ch. 65); a river through a room that hurts to touch and says sad things (ch. 72); a laugh in it that sounds like Eris (ch. 86).