# V: The Sea explained — The Moon Maid

> Chapter companion for The Moon Maid by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

## What happens

Julian, imprisoned with an Or-tis, overcomes hereditary hatred to form a truce and escape together. They stealthily evade Kalkar guards, descend a tower, and steal horses. Julian rides Red Lightning through the night, eventually reaching a cliff overlooking the vast, mysterious sea—a sight no Julian has seen before.

## Themes in this chapter

### Honor, Loyalty, and Betrayal

Julian struggles with hereditary hatred but chooses honor and truce with an Or-tis, prioritizing survival over ancestral vengeance.

### Survival and Resilience

The escape from captivity and the arduous journey to the sea demonstrate the characters' determination to survive against overwhelming odds.

## Character check-ins

### Julian

Narrator and protagonist; escapes captivity with an Or-tis, reaches the sea.

### Orthis

An Or-tis who forms a truce with Julian and escapes with him.

### The Kalkars

Captors and enemy; guards are overpowered during the escape.

### Red Lightning

Julian's loyal horse; carries him through the night to the sea.

## Key lines

> It seemed strange indeed to me that I stood conversing thus amicably with an Or-tis. I should have been at his throat, but there was something about him that disarmed me, and after his speech I felt, I am almost ashamed to say, something of friendliness for him.

Julian is surprised to find himself talking peacefully with an Or-tis, despite his ingrained hatred, and even feels a reluctant friendliness.

_Highlights the theme of overcoming hereditary enmity._

> Before me was a sheer cliff dropping straight away at my feet, upon the very verge of which Red Lightning had halted the previous night; and beyond, as far as the eye could reach, water⁠—a vast expanse of water, stretching on and on and on⁠—the sea! At last a Julian had looked upon it!

Julian wakes to find himself at the edge of a cliff overlooking an endless ocean, a sight no Julian has ever seen before.

_Climactic moment symbolizing discovery and the unknown._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters/v-the-sea
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_maid_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_moon_maid_se/chapters