"Golden Ships" by Maria Semenova and Anna Gurova, summary Automatic translate

This book is an epic Slavic fantasy novel published in 2023, concluding a large-scale series about a fictional world on the brink of a global flood. The disparate destinies of many heroes are united against the backdrop of catastrophe, and the salvation of entire nations depends directly on mastering the long-forgotten magic of ancient celestial courts. This work is part of the "Aratta" literary series. Previously, this series included the novels "The Great Hunt," "Eclipse," "The Serpent’s Sun," "The Song of the Werewolf," "Winter Sacrifice," and "Black Wings." This novel is the seventh and final book in the series.

The Missing Tower

The novel’s exposition opens in the capital of Aratta. The young ruler, Ayur, attempts to unravel the secret of a newly discovered singing gusli — the so-called "golden ship." He senses the artifact’s hidden magic, but the means to control its magical power remain a mystery. Meanwhile, the high priest, Tulum, receives terrifying news. Floods are raging in the north, and the local population of Bjarma has rebelled against the ruling Aryans. The priest, Hasta, sends a message about the blind prophet, Zarni Zien. The message reads: the main tower of the Northern Temple in Belazor has inexplicably lifted from the ground and ascended into the heavens.

Hasta, disguised as a respectable widow, arrives in the flooded city of Belazora with the young Aryan Anil and the boy Metta. The streets are littered with the severed heads of Aryans, from which white flowers sprout. The guards share dire news: the blind singer Zarni, with his songs, has convinced the crowd that the Aryans are reptilian monsters who brought on the flood. The fugitives stop in a forest village. The local foreman betrays them for the bounty on Anil’s head. Hasta uses a blinding priestly potion, repels the guards, and the trio escape.

Fleeing pursuit, the travelers head to the Zamarova Pad tract to see the healer Linta. However, her house is already occupied by Zarni Zien. The guslar takes Hastu captive. The storyline reveals Zarni’s past: he was a former court singer, a Surya by blood, who was blinded by Tulum himself many years ago for his love for the Aryan queen. Zarni tortures the maddened Linta, extracting the secrets of the immortal sorcerer Zamara and the mystery of the flying ships.

Anil hides in the forest and seizes Zamara’s magical gauntlet. The artifact (an object crafted by ancient masters) radiates a golden light. The young man enters the courtyard, breaks the chains, and rescues Hasta. A distraught Linta commits suicide, and the friends retreat into the snowy mountains to Zamara’s tomb. There, Anil finds the Helm of Isvarha. Donning the helmet, the protagonist transforms into a radiant being and commands the ancient relic to transport them to the missing white tower.

Magic casts the heroes onto the icy Serpent’s Tongue Glacier. Anil finds the fallen tower, enters, and discovers the bodies of the dead priests. Only the blinded Luminary remains alive, lying in a special bed. The Elder declares Anil "Walker of the Stars" and forces him to stand at the golden helm. The tower soars into the sky again. Hasta is left alone amidst the crumbling glacier. A huge chunk of ice falls into a waterfall, carrying the priest into the icy abyss.

Angry Sun

Having survived the fall, Hasta makes it to the riverbank in the snowy tundra. He manages to make fire from dried mammoth dung, saving himself from frostbite. After several days of travel, the priest is blinded by the bright sun and collapses. He is saved from death by a powerful shaggy woman on a fierce bicorn. She brings Hasta to a hunters’ camp, where it is revealed that this woman is the leader of the shaggy people, and the priest himself will now be reunited with his betrothed, Aikha.

Meanwhile, Zarni realizes that the golden harp is in the hands of the ruler of Ayur. The antagonist travels to Yargara, subjugates the local warlord, Kargai, and gathers an army of fanatics for a march on the capital of Aratta. The ruler of Byarma, Arshalay, hides in a mobile Gulay Fortress. Spring floods breach the Great Moat he built, and all the servants and warriors flee. Nakh Shiram attacks the governor at night, seeking revenge on Arshalay for the murder of Chieftain Danhar. Shiram spares the coward in the face of the elements. A raging torrent of icy water sweeps away the Gulay Fortress.

The diva girl Kirya, daughter of Zarni and the Aryan queen, flies on a huge spirit to the Alaun Mountains. There, she meets the sorceress Kalma. The old woman shows the girl a flying ship that crashed millennia ago and a shining mirror at the bottom of a lake, whose magic creates monsters. Kalma explains: Zarni intends to drown the entire continent. Kirya accepts responsibility and prepares to join the fight for Engri-maa. The wolf shepherd Mazaika, guided by spirits, reaches the Wind Rock and finds Kirya. With ancient songs, she causes the waters to retreat from her native lands.

In the south of Aratta, the former priest Aorang flees a flood. He finds shelter with the Sakon blacksmiths in the Mendi-Sakona Valley. There, he helps defuse a golden disk — a part of an ancient celestial chariot hidden in Thunder Mountain. It turns out the disk reacted to the sun’s rays, causing waterspouts. Continuing on, Aorang encounters a catastrophic flood of the Rathi River. In the murky waters, he finds a half-submerged stretcher and pulls out his beloved Ayuna. The princess was leading refugees from the capital, but they were intercepted by Prince Tilla’s suryas.

Tilla, intoxicated by Zarni’s sermons, declared a merciless war on all Aryans. The Suryas sacrificed the settlers to the god Tigna Kara, using their skins to make cloaks for the idol. However, they spared Ayuna, considering her journey sacred. Aorang finds the princess in the abandoned temple "Nest of Dawn," where only royalty is permitted entry. Ayuna has merged with an ancient golden tree and is in a mystical slumber. Aorang’s presence awakens her. They are reunited, and the furry one learns of the birth of Dani’s son.

Golden ships

In the capital, Tulum and Ayur discover a clay brick and a crumbling scroll in a secret library, revealing the truth about the golden ships. The temple’s dungeons conceal two dozen dried-out boats and a gigantic metal mirror. To awaken ancient magic, Ayur directs flames from Isvarhi’s altar into the dungeon. The experiment triggers a monstrous catastrophe — the temple explodes from a surge of uncontrolled energy. Tulum perishes in the flames, but the young monarch is thrown into the palace garden by the blast.

Zarni approaches the walls of the capital with a huge crowd of followers. The blind man offers Ayur a deal: he will stop the flood if the sovereign gives him the golden harp. Ayur, having lost his temple and his mentor, agrees. Zarni begins to play and sing, but his words turn out to be a spell of destruction. Somewhere far away, glaciers collapse, and a gigantic waterfall rushes onto the plains. Ayur uncovers the deception, takes the instrument away, and violently breaks the strings.

In a mystical vision, the protagonist hears the voice of his sister Kirya and fires a glowing arrow from the materialized Bow of Isvarhi at the gusli player. The arrow pierces Zarni’s arm. Panic ensues, the crowd rushes to the guards, and the Aryans lock themselves in the Upper City. The Ratha River overflows its banks and rapidly floods the lower residential areas. Meanwhile, Shiram enters the sacred oak grove to finish off the wounded Zarni. There, he encounters the winged Kirya. Nakh plunges a dagger into the sorcerer’s heart, but is himself fatally stabbed by the poisoned blade.

Kirya takes the golden harp and carries the dying warrior to the Azure Palace. She leaves Isvarhi’s bow with her brother and returns to her native forests to restore the fabric of the universe. Ayur sees that he is left completely alone. The waters rise to the very walls of the citadel. The climax of the novel occurs when the sovereign descends into the surviving temple dungeon. The light of the divine bow reflects in a colossal metal mirror and awakens dormant magic. The dried-out wooden boats are transformed into shining flying vessels.

Ayur lifts his flotilla (a collection of ships) into the air. A massive tidal wave from the Serpent Sea is about to crash onto the remaining rock. The Sky Archer fires a blinding arrow from the ship’s deck, completely destroying the wall of water, saving the capital of Aratta. With this, the battle for survival ends. The main conflict is resolved, and the surviving people can begin rebuilding the devastated world.

The epilogue concludes the grand story. The surviving heroes try to build a new life. Hasta, along with his wife, Ayha, decides to leave the nomadic shaggy people and return to the transformed capital. Kirya and the boy, Mazaika, restore the natural beauty of their native land. Aorang and Ayuna live peacefully in the valley of the Nest of Dawn with their young son, Dani. The four-year-old boy discovers the gift of a true Aryan — he effortlessly lifts a skyboat into the boundless sky. People gain hope for a peaceful future, and ancient magic once again serves for good.