Chapter 15:
A bird the size of a raven alighted upon his knee—a bird like any raven save for its white head.
For some reason, I always pictured the synthese as much bigger. I seem to have missed this line before.
Chapter 16:
Without the guidance of the Nonmen Quya, the Anagogic Schools of the Three Seas had never learned how to surpass what were called the Analogies. All their sorcery, no matter how powerful or ingenious, arose through the power of arcane associations, through the resonances between words and concrete events. They required detours—dragons, lightnings, suns—to burn the world. They could not, like Achamian, conjure the essence of these things, the Burning itself. They knew nothing of the Abstractions.
Where they were poets, he was a philosopher. They were mere bronze to his iron, and he would show them.
Probably the most straight-forward explanation of sorcery in the series.
If Serwë said she cried for Achamian, Esmenet would wonder why. Had they been lovers for more than one night?
More proof, Esmenet did see Akka with Serwë that night they lay together, meaning Akka did in fact see her.
Why did you lie with Akka? Why?
I had entertained, momentarily, that Esmenet was told by Kellhus perhaps, or mislead by him, in allowing Serwë to be with Akka. This line proves that this is not the case.
Chapter 17:
“Exemplary defectives … Specimens. We retain them for purposes of education.” The Pragma simulated a smile. “For students such as you, Kellhus.”
If the Consult (well, wait, lets go back further, the Incoroi) are damned, at least in part for their amoral "scientific" pursuits (read: the Tekne) then it would stand to reason that the Dunyain (and so Kellhus) would suffer a similar fate for reasons such as the above.
How interesting, in a way, that the chapter then ends with the revelation of Mimara's being sold by Esmenet. Perhaps a coincidence, or perhaps not that we would be shown the damnation of the Dunyain and told of what may be the savior of this, Mimara.