Motif · from book 7
The Inevitable Ruin
The moment you recognise a lost cause, after which nothing you do changes the outcome — the name a sward mantis's queen used for it, and a curse on the mind of the Hunter Wraith that ruins something pure by telling the truth. Carl knows the phrase in his bones without knowing from where — 'Do you remember the circus?' — and calls it hopelessness in another form.
First appears: Book 7
Series arc
As of book 8. A sward mantis queen's phrase, a curse on a Hunter Wraith, hopelessness in another form; in book 8 the Unwashed stands on the Vengeance float as the Inevitable Ruin, and Sydnee Iglacia names it as the third of the nine-tier attack's social attacks, after Control and A Parade of Horribles.
Through book 7
Through book 8
Where they appear
| Book | Chapters they are in (of the book's) | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 7 — This Inevitable Ruin | 3/89 | Ch. 16, Ch. 43, Ch. 82 · the book's own page |
| 8 — A Parade of Horribles | 2/99 | Ch. 92, Ch. 99 · the book's own page |
By book
The Inevitable Ruin in book 7 — This Inevitable Ruin
Everly's mother named it: hope gone, nothing left but to reflect (ch. 16). Carl thinks the words when Juice Box walks through a wall (ch. 43). Juice Box explains it: a curse on the Hunter Wraith that ruins something pure by telling the truth; Carl knows the phrase in his bones without knowing from where — 'Do you remember the circus?' — and calls it hopelessness in another form (ch. 82). 'Maybe it's not inevitable, like you say' (ch. 16).