38. The Claw

Triumphant over the giant, the islanders loot the castle.  Dejected, Severian sleeps in the forest at the lakeside with his broken blade.

Severian retains the hilt of Terminus Est but tosses its fragments into Lake Diuturna.  He searches the shoreline for the Claw of the Conciliator for the balance of the day and into the night.  Disturbed by its absence, Severian reflects on the infinite value of the Claw and on the nature of divinity.  He contemplates suicide should he not recover the relic.