Episode Guide
Sixty-six episodes, told in two voices. Sein’s chapters tell the complete story. Zeya’s chapters revisit some shared moments, expand the world beyond Sein’s view, and reveal everything he couldn’t say aloud.
Cebolla Cho
17 mins read
How to read this page
- Start at the Prologue if you are new.
- Skim the blurbs to find your place if you are returning.
- The finale is signposted so you can avoid spoilers if you scroll ahead.
The chapter list
Prologue
She doesn’t know who she is. But somewhere in everything she has forgotten, she senses there is something worth remembering.
Sein’s story begins here.
Chapter 1: Cloth Power
She discovers she actually has power. But as Spirit of Cloth, what exactly is she meant to do? Laundry? Hardly.
With a bit of creativity, she starts granting wishes in her own unexpected way. And somehow, she ends up with actual devotees.
Then she sees a pair of pale eyes. And her heart stops.
She remembers.
Chapter 2: Palace Archives
She already knows who he is. Crown Prince, admired by everyone, promised to another.
She’s not particularly impressed.
But those pale green eyes follow her out of the Archives anyway.
Zeya · Palace Archives follows, the same moment, his perspective. Listen on or follow Sein’s chapters alone. Either way, the story is complete.
Zeya · Palace Archives
She left without a second glance. He’s certainly not used to that.
He tells himself it’s only curiosity. That a lady who doesn’t look twice at a Crown Prince is simply… unusual.
Then he arrives at sword training. And discovers exactly who she is.
Sein’s chapters tell the complete story. Zeya’s chapters add his perspective. Listen to one or both.
Chapter 3: Crown Prince
A murdered prince. A hidden message. She’s not looking for company… only answers.
The Crown Prince wasn’t supposed to be there. And yet.
This time, there is no walking away.
Zeya · Sein
He went to the Archives to cram history. He didn’t expect to find her there.
Before she can leave, he stops her. As it turns out, she’s exactly the person he needs.
Besides… her eyes are decidedly more interesting to look at than ancient text.
Chapter 4: A Missing Scroll
She wasn’t expecting kindness. She was certainly not expecting to laugh.
But somewhere between a missing scroll and an unguarded smile, she finds herself seeing him differently.
And that is precisely the problem.
Zeya · A Missing Scroll
He told himself he was only being helpful. The scrolls needed sorting. She happened to know the history.
Then she laughed, unexpected and unguarded, and he said something he would rather forget.
When he sees her cornered in the palace garden, he doesn’t stop to think. He simply acts.
Chapter 5: Murdered Prince
A thousand year old murder mystery was never supposed to feel like this.
Conversations that linger. A shared purpose that keeps drawing them back to the Archives.
She cannot quite explain what’s growing between them, but then, she hasn’t tried to name it yet.
Zeya · Murdered Prince
His future has been decided. Two years, a princess, a date set by the royal spiritual advisor. This is simply how things are.
And yet he finds himself in the Archives again. Watching her determination. Wondering why making her happy feels like nothing else in his world.
He’s not ready to answer that yet.
Chapter 6: Spirit Medium
The plan is bold. Find a spirit medium. Ask the murdered prince himself.
But somewhere between the impromptu outing and a cup of tea, he asks her something that has nothing to do with ancient history.
She accepts. Composure intact. Mostly.
Zeya · Spirit Medium
He told himself it was simply friendship. Friends share a meal. Friends talk until the city grows quiet around them.
He was perhaps more nervous than he would like to admit. And perhaps he noticed the way other men looked at her a little more than a friend would.
But the street food was good. The conversation was easy. And he told himself that was all it was.
Chapter 7: Seen by a Mortal
He told himself it was simply friendship. Friends share a meal. Friends talk until the city grows quiet around them.
He was perhaps more nervous than he would like to admit. And perhaps he noticed the way other men looked at her a little more than a friend would.
But the street food was good. The conversation was easy. And he told himself that was all it was.
Zeya · I am Happy
The evening is over. He’s back in his own world… duties, obligations, a future already written.
And yet something lingers. Not satisfaction. Something quieter and considerably more unsettling.
She had looked at him all evening. Not at the Crown Prince. At him.
Chapter 8: Rural Life
Village life is nothing like the palace. She wants to contribute but her hands have other ideas.
In the aching, she discovers something unexpected about her powers.
And for the first time since waking, she senses the faint beginnings of roots.
Zeya · Eighteenth Year
It’s his birthday. The party is everything he is tired of.
She’s in the garden. For a little while, standing beneath the stars, he is content.
Then his aunt appears. He obliges, as he always does.
He doesn’t look back. He names things instead. The path. The petals. His aunt’s bracelets.
It’s easier than naming what he is feeling.
Chapter 9: Growing Season
A chance remark from Maiah’s father-in-law sends her somewhere else entirely.
The palace vegetable garden. Zeya. A friendship warm but restrained.
Until a stinger plant. Until her hand catches his.
And then, quietly, deliberately, he places something in her palm.
She keeps her composure. Her pulse does not.
Zeya · Vegetable Garden
Away from the palace, with his uncle and a plate of dumplings, he’s simply himself.
Then the palace vegetable garden. Sein. Something about her makes him forget to be guarded.
When her hand catches his, he stills.
He doesn’t let go.
Chapter 10: Han Min
Ungyi’s passing remark. And suddenly, the answer she and Zeya spent months searching for.
The truth isn’t what she expected. Neither is the ache of him not being there to share it.
But the afternoon brings something else. A chance to use what she is.
Zeya · Blue Lake
He’s been telling himself it’s merely friendship. It’s becoming harder to believe.
The longing has been quiet until now.
He composes himself before heading to the Combat Hall. Some things cannot be seen.
His uncle smiles. Shall we engage in a spot of elegant violence?
The emotions drift away. The water stills. For now.
Chapter 11: Fish Soup
A bowl of fish soup. A memory she’s not willing to let go of.
She helps Khin La find her way to the boy she loves.
Perhaps when two people are fated to be together, love grows this easily. This naturally.
She wonders if her fate is sealed. And decides it may not be.
Zeya · Fish Soup
He has power and knows how to use it. He also knows it cannot buy everything.
Watching a child and his father. A pang of something he has never had and cannot name.
She sees the man behind the princely mask. That matters more than he will admit.
His mother calls. He obliges. This is his life.
Chapter 12: Festival of Spirits
Music. A festival. And she remembers.
The closeness of his touch, his fragrance, his eyes.
The rice wine doesn’t help.
Zeya carries her home. She is content.
Zeya · Festival of Spirits
He recognises the ancient words the spirit dancer is chanting.
Together. Forever. Unbreakable union.
He looks at her. She has no idea. He decides to breathe.
When their eyes meet in the crowd, he dares to wonder.
Chapter 13: Spirit of Harvest
On the way home from the festival, a family friend walks beside her.
He is Spirit of Harvest. He has a wife. Children. A life woven into the mortal world.
That night, she dreams of a child. She recognises the voice of the father.
The next morning she is needed. She’s not sure she can heal a serious injury. But she must.
Zeya · Court Assembly
The Southern Delta’s delegation arrives with gifts. Each one a reminder.
He knows what he must do. He has always known.
He decides not to see her for the rest of the week. He doesn’t deserve those moments of joy. Not him.
He trains until he cannot think. It’s the closest thing to peace..
Chapter 14: A New Path
She remembers his bedchamber. The ointment she made. The things he said that she tried not to read too much into.
Now the capital is under siege. Her mind won’t stop conjuring what that means for him.
Maiah tells her to follow her instinct. Not to have regrets.
She must leave Sagyo. She’s going for him.
Zeya · Healing Balm
He trains to forget.
The red cord. Two hands bound. He lets the image fade.
When she comes to his bedchamber with a healing balm, it stirs something. Then his uncle’s arrival reminds him why there is no hope.
Then she tells him a story. And something shifts.
Perhaps the stars aren’t everything.
Chapter 15: Becoming Bayin
Hair cut. Trousers. A different name.
She falls in with two young men heading to join the legendary General. It seems straightforward enough.
Then she sees him.
The voice. The pale eyes. Khin Yu standing by.
Still, she tells herself it may not be him. She’s not entirely convincing herself.
Zeya · General Min
He is General Min for now. He has his reasons.
Then a young man steps forward to be assessed.
He doesn’t react. He has had years of practice.
He sets the sequence, the one he once watched her learn from her brother. She completes it without hesitation.
It is her. He’s certain.
Whether she knows who he is… that’s another matter entirely.
Chapter 16: Temple Ruins
General Min fights with a precision that’s difficult to look away from. She’s not entirely sure she wants to.
Then his blade finds her arm. The cut is clean. Too clean to be accidental.
Saw Win tends to the wound. She recognises him too.
It is him. She is certain now.
Whether he knows who she is… she’s less sure.
Zeya · Final Test
He already knows what he must do. His uncle told him once.
He doesn’t hesitate. He must be certain she is real.
He goes back to the moment he decided. The puppet was gone. He had reached for the life he desired.
His mind was made up.
Chapter 17: Respect, Admire, Love
Three words he once used to describe the person he wished to marry.
The memory surfaces. She turns it over and over.
She hadn’t thought to apply it to herself.
She lies awake wondering. Then she senses it. A presence.
Zeya · Resentment
He had prepared his case carefully. The King didn’t let him finish.
The resentment settles quietly. It starts to fester.
Beside her, he reveals the woman he wishes to marry… someone he admires, respects, loves.
He knows exactly who he means.
He cannot say her name.
Chapter 18: Black Arrows
He’s already gone when she wakes. She knows where.
She finds him. Watches. Stays hidden.
Then something unseen approaches.
There’s no hiding now. She must act.
Zeya · Black Arrows
Cetan has been beside him since the beginning. Today is no different.
The plan unfolds. The fight is swift and disciplined.
Then the arrow. The cold reaches him before the pain does.
He hears footsteps. He sees her.
He’s not sure he can trust what the poison is showing him.
Chapter 19: Northern Borders
They’re sent to the North without warning. Without goodbye.
She spends the winter counting down to a day she dreads.
When her father disappears, she insists on going with the search party.
They find him. And she learns what a black arrow does.
Zeya · Spirit of Destiny
The poison pulls him under. Someone is speaking.
A spirit. The one responsible for the arrow. She has a story of her own and she wants him to hear it.
He’s not sure how much of this is real.
But her voice is very clear.
Chapter 20: Shwe Waters
She saved him. He is alive. That’s enough for now.
Around the campfire, the disguise grows harder to maintain.
He is watching her. She is watching him watch her.
Then Kyaw and Soe say something that makes her choke on her rice.
Zeya · Shwe Waters
He’s recovering. His men regroup. He remains General Min.
Around the campfire he watches her carefully. Asks questions. Notes the answers.
Then the spiritual marriage comes up. Her reaction tells him something she didn’t mean to reveal.
He’s not certain. But for the first time in a long time, he allows himself to hope.
Chapter 21: Water Festival
The waterfall is spectacular. The heat is not.
He takes his shirt off. She takes the first watch.
Alone, she remembers the Water Festival. The crowd. Him with wet clothes. The moment just before.
They never did finish that.
Zeya · Waterfall
A potential threat assessed. General Min handles it efficiently.
Then the waterfall. His men in the water. He waits for her to arrive.
When she does, he cannot help himself.
He takes his shirt off. Notes her reaction. Says nothing.
He’s quietly pleased.
Chapter 22: Campfire Cooking
She offers to cook. He offers to help. The others disappear into the background.
By the waterfall, with the fire between them, it should be simple enough.
It isn’t simple at all.
She’s running out of ways to be Bayin. He’s running out of reasons to keep his distance.
Zeya · Campfire Cooking
Most ladies wouldn’t cook. But she’s no ordinary lady.
He finds himself watching her. Admiring what he already knew… that she has never done anything by half.
The pull is difficult to ignore. He has ignored it before. Mostly.
They end up talking about nothing in particular. It’s, somehow, the best part of the evening.
Chapter 23: Journey to Madaya
A birthday gift. A necklace. The royal crest is his mark.
She doesn’t quite know what to make of it. He doesn’t explain.
In the present, he leads his men forward. She’s told to remain.
She has seen this play out before. It did not end well.
Zeya · Freeing Madaya
The plan is sound. Plans rarely survive contact with the enemy.
He adapts. His men follow without question. This is who he is when it matters.
One moment. One chance. Silence is everything.
Chapter 24: The Last Breath
After her father, the family turns for home. She’s dreading what waits there.
The floods force them through the forest.
She never reaches the capital.
Zeya · Instinct
The threat is neutralised. His men regroup.
Then it comes: the nausea, the racing pulse, the cold that has no business being there. He has felt this before.
He knows what it means now.
She is in danger.
Chapter 25: Stinger Plant
Kyaw is down. She does what she can. It has to be enough.
Then a pair of hands. The broadleaf plant rubbed against her burning skin.
He remembered. After all this time.
Zeya · Stinger Plant
He tears through the forest. He’s too late to be the rescue.
But her hands are burning. He knows what to do.
In the quiet that follows, he tends to her. Neither says what they are thinking.
Then she sees it. A sash in his bag. One she made for him.
He kept it.
Chapter 26: Feast at the Inn
A feast. A thank you. And a woman who has no business looking at him like that.
She returns to the bridge. He follows.
They’re very close to saying something true.
But he is called away.
Zeya · Feast at the Inn
He wraps things up quickly. He wants to get back to her.
He’s not as focused as he should be.
Then someone calls his name. His real name.
Chapter 27: Forgive Me
In the chaos that follows, they’re very close to repeating the moment.
Then the past surfaces. What happened. What it cost them both.
He asks for her forgiveness.
She hears the wrong thing entirely.
This episode, and all those that follow, contain spoilers. We recommend starting from the beginning for the full experience.
Zeya · The Kiss
The Lightning Festival. Another man. The moment he understands what jealousy feels like.
He gives into it. Just once.
The morning after, she is sent away. He knows why. He closes the door on it and doesn’t open it again.
Until now.
Chapter 28: Reinforcements
Khin Yu tells her what the Crown Prince did. What he went through. How long he searched.
It is bittersweet. There’s grief woven into the joy of knowing.
Then she runs back into his arms. And they finally say what has always been true.
“What matters to me is who you are, not what you are.”
Zeya · Rescue
He hears she’s in danger. He doesn’t hesitate.
This is the moment he never went south. Never married. Never stopped.
In the lowland forest, they tell him she is gone.
He doesn’t believe it. He can still sense her.
Chapter 29: Three Rivers
The enemy isn’t who they thought. Tomorrow they return to the capital.
Tonight is theirs.
They get a little carried away. End up laughing. End up talking until dawn.
It turns out they still have a lot to say.
Zeya · The Southern Borders
There’s a scar on his shoulder. This is how it got there.
He broke the betrothal. The South didn’t accept it gracefully.
He paid for his decision with blood. He would pay it again.
Chapter 30: Homewards
She says farewell to Kyaw and Soe. Then they’re on the boat, heading towards a future she cannot quite picture.
He is hers. That part she’s certain of.
What comes next… that’s the question neither of them can fully answer yet.
Zeya · Homewards
The journey home feels lighter with her.
She finally tells him what she discovered from Ungyi. The pieces fall into place.
But his mind keeps returning to something else entirely.
He has waited long enough.
Chapter 31: Exchanging Vows
The palace is not home anymore. She feels it the moment she arrives.
But he is here. And tonight, for the first time, she stops waiting.
Zeya · Exchanging Vows
He has thought about this. Planned for it. Rehearsed it carefully.
Then the moment arrives and he sets aside everything he prepared.
What he says instead is entirely his own.
Woven
Some moments belong only to them.
This is one of them.
This episode is intimate in nature. Suitable for adult listeners. It’s optional and the story continues fully without it.
Chapter 32: Spirit Realm
He has gone to speak with his parents. She waits, warm from the night before.
A visitor arrives at the apartment.
Before she can cry out, she is gone.
Zeya · Betrayal
He’s telling his parents about her when he hears it.
Something is wrong.
What follows changes everything he thought he knew about himself.
He must go to her. The only question is how.
Chapter 33: Supreme Spirits
Some connections cannot be severed. Not by death. Not by spirits. Not by anything.
He came.
The story is complete.
If you’re not quite ready to leave Sein & Zeya behind, the ebook is available now and includes a quiet final scene that lingers a little longer with them after the story’s end. It also includes a map of the kingdom and illustrations by Tamanegi Aane, with more being added over time.