Chapter Summaries

Whitemane and Unas confronted Todd over his retrieval of the condemned shadow priest, and Unas persuaded Whitemane to end her deal with the executioner. As Todd offered to smuggle Unas out, guards arrived, leaving Unas stuck in the dungeon for the moment.

• Todd admitted he had retrieved the shadow priest because another lord, Greer, wanted to see her, and explained that she had nearly escaped after her injuries healed.
• Todd offered Whitemane a replacement prisoner within three days, but Unas rejected the deal and urged Whitemane to cut ties with him.
• Whitemane ended the deal, let Todd keep her advance gold, and warned him not to reveal their arrangement.
• Whitemane asked Todd to help get her friend Uther out of the dungeon, and Todd offered to use his own channels that night.
• A boy warned them that Kent was coming with guards, so Todd said Uther would have to stay a little longer.

Unas was locked in the Anti-Magic Room, where the Shadow Priest he had resurrected contacted him through their minds. She revealed that Isillien had framed her for murder, leaving Unas to hear the truth about her sentence.

• Captain Kent arrived with Meatball and guards, and Todd agreed to transfer Unas to the Anti-Magic Room.
• Todd opened the room, and Kent shoved Unas into an empty cell before Whitemane left without meeting his gaze.
• Unas tested his magic and found that the room weakened spell effects, while a woman's song soothed the prisoners before a mental chill struck him.
• The Shadow Priest told Unas she had recognized him and Whitemane through their mental signatures and had heard their conversation after her resurrection.
• The Shadow Priest said Greer would not rescue her and revealed that Isillien had framed her for the murders she was sentenced to die for.

Natasha Kings told Unas how Isillien had framed her for a failed summoning ritual, then proposed they escape together. When Todd arrived without guards, Natasha took control of him and began freeing the prisoners, leaving Unas to prepare for the chaos.

• Natasha told Unas that Isillien had blamed her for summoning a Hellhound after the ritual killed two Shadow Priests and her five companions.
• Natasha said Isillien would have Greer execute her the next day and proposed that she and Unas escape together.
• Natasha revealed that her Shadowfiend had weakened Todd’s mind and that she might control him when he brought the keys.
• Todd arrived with the boy, whom he struck down before Natasha took control of him.
• Todd opened the cell doors, and prisoners began rushing out as Unas hid a sword beneath his robe.

Unas and Natasha escaped the Anti-Magic Room during a jailbreak, using Todd’s stolen memories to find a secret passage. They broke through its locked iron door, and Unas declared that he would become a Flame Knight.

• The freed prisoners attacked Todd, and Natasha told Unas to leave him behind and carry her out of the cell.
• Unas found Todd dead, while Natasha sent her Shadowfiend to steal his memories and guide them through the dungeon.
• Unas followed the Shadowfiend past the freed prisoners and guards to Todd’s hut, where Natasha revealed the secret passage.
• Unas opened the passage by pressing loose bricks in Natasha’s specified order and descended with her.
• Unas used Firekiss to break the iron door at the bottom of the passage, then told Natasha he would become a Flame Knight.

Unas and Natasha searched Todd’s hidden room, where Unas found a trove of treasure and rescued a bound Gnome named Emily. Though he warned her that escaping with him was dangerous, Emily chose to follow him.

• Unas followed Natasha through the tunnels and found Todd’s secret room after learning it held a few gold coins.
• Unas discovered sacks of coins, jewelry, black armor, and a bound female Gnome in a chest.
• Natasha identified the Gnome as someone Todd had left behind, and Unas freed her and learned her name was Emily.
• Unas told Emily she could stay and await rescue or risk escaping with him, and she chose to follow him.

Unas escaped the Monastery sewers with Natasha and Emily after looting Todd’s hidden safe, then concealed the women in a cemetery tomb. He returned to Gordon’s cabin and fell asleep just as the cathedral bell announced a lockdown.

• Natasha pointed out Todd’s hidden safe, and Unas took it before fleeing through the secret passage with her and Emily as prisoners followed.
• Unas carried the injured women through the sewers and brought them to the cemetery tomb where Natasha had once stayed.
• Unas left food and wine with Emily, promised to return, and headed back to Gordon’s cabin alone.
• Unas disguised himself as a drunk, returned without attracting attention, washed up, and went to bed.
• The cathedral’s warning bell rang to announce a lockdown, and Unas covered his ears and drifted toward sleep.

After escaping the Inquisition, Unas reassured Whitemane with a false account of the prison riot and stayed hidden during a citywide search. He uncovered Todd’s ledger of illegal prisoner sales, destroyed entries involving people he knew, and then settled down to meditate.

• Whitemane visited Unas after learning Todd was dead and prisoners had escaped, and warned him to stay inside while the Inquisition searched the city.
• Unas falsely told Whitemane that prisoners had killed Todd and that he had escaped through Todd’s secret passage.
• Soldiers searched Gordon’s cabin, but Unas sent them away without incident.
• Unas opened Todd’s safe and found gems and a ledger detailing illegal prisoner sales, including transactions involving Whitemane, Holiya Teu, and Brother Erigor Nicholas.
• Unas cut out and burned the ledger entries for Whitemane, Holiya Teu, and Brother Erigor Nicholas, then kept the rest as possible leverage.
• Unas began meditating to recover from the effects of absorbing negative energy.

Unas attended the returning army’s arrival and realized that Dathrohan had noticed Bessarius inside him, likely because Balnazzar possessed Dathrohan. Back at Gordon’s cottage, Bessarius began explaining the danger to them, but had only started to reveal the secret when the chapter ended.

• Unas joined Darian at the Monastery’s subdued welcoming party despite the lockdown.
• Unas watched the Ashen Verdict Knights, the Silver Hand forces, and the North Maple Legion return to the Monastery.
• Dathrohan met Unas’s gaze, and Unas felt Bessarius react, concluding that Balnazzar had detected the demon inside him.
• Unas returned to Gordon’s cottage, where Bessarius apologized and said he had discovered a secret that threatened them both.
• Unas pretended to be eager to hear the secret, and Bessarius began explaining what Unas already knew.

After Bessarius told Unas to contact Balnazzar, Unas decided to play along and try to enter the enemy’s ranks. At the Council of Five meeting, the leaders ended the lockdown and approved Tyrosus’s nomination of Unas-Lawugade for the Silver Hand, while Abbendis and Isillien opposed it.

• Unas decided he had to contact Balnazzar and adapt as he went, despite the danger of exposing himself as a demon.
• The Council of Five met after the prison break, and Abbendis blamed Isillien for mishandling the escape.
• Tyrosus demanded that the lockdown end so the Monastery could prepare for war and the Consecration Ceremony, and the council approved using any means necessary to close the case.
• Abbendis and Isillien opposed Tyrosus’s nomination of Unas-Lawugade, citing his origins and bloodline, while Alexandros defended him.
• Tyrosus called for a vote, and with Dathrohan’s support the nomination passed; Abbendis stormed out, and Isillien left to oversee the search for fugitives.

Unas learned how to contact Balnazzar with a Dreadlord communication spell and received a warhorse from Alexandros Mograine for saving Darian. With martial law lifted, he and Darian headed to the training grounds, while Abbendis remained hostile and Unas wondered how Balnazzar would react to Bessarius's presence.

• Abbendis and an old man agreed to keep Unas under watch and use him to undermine Tyrosus.
• Bessarius explained the Dreadlord communication spell to Unas, who considered sacrificing a sheep to supply the required Fel.
• The Inquisition announced that most prison escapees had been recaptured, and martial law was lifted.
• Darian gave Unas a black warhorse that Alexandros Mograine had originally intended for Renault, and explained how Unas had saved Darian's life.
• Darian told Unas that their nominations for the Consecration Ceremony had been approved and warned him that Abbendis was unhappy with him.
• Unas and Darian settled the horse in the stable and then went to the training grounds.

Unas and Darian were targeted by North Maple Legion soldiers at the training ground, but Erigor and Korfax arrived and helped them win the fight. Afterward, Erigor warned Unas that Abbendis’s hostility had spread through the Monastery and that the Legion might retaliate.

• Unas and Darian refused to leave their usual training spot when a group of North Maple Legion soldiers claimed it as theirs.
• The bald leader provoked Darian and challenged Unas to spar, then surrounded the two with his soldiers.
• Erigor and Korfax joined the fight, helping Unas and Darian defeat the North Maple soldiers.
• The four stopped fighting before the clash could grow into a larger brawl, and the guards dispersed the spectators.
• Korfax warned Darian to stay alert, while Erigor told Unas to avoid North Maple Legion members because Abbendis had turned against him.

Erigor recruited Unas and Darian into the newly formed Brotherhood of the Light, which had only three members. That night, Unas sacrificed a lamb to contact Balnazzar and overheard him give Bessarius a new assignment.

• Erigor invited Unas and Darian to join the Brotherhood of the Light; Unas accepted, while Darian said he would think about it.
• Unas learned that the brotherhood consisted only of Erigor, Korfax, and himself.
• Unas secretly arranged to buy a live lamb from the tavern owner and took it home that night.
• Unas marked and sacrificed the lamb, then used its blood and Fel to send a message to Balnazzar.
• Balnazzar spoke with Bessarius through the water mirror and told him to go to Venomspider Gorge.

Unas learned that Balnazzar wanted him appointed commander of the garrison at Venomspider Gorge, leaving him unable to join the Argent Dawn’s campaign or protect Alexander. At the cathedral rehearsal for the Consecration Ceremony, he met the noblewoman arriving for promotion and saw that she wore the Judgement Armor.

• Balnazzar told Unas to join the Argent Dawn after the Consecration Ceremony and seek command of the garrison at Venomspider Gorge.
• Unas worried that taking the post would prevent him from disrupting Alexander’s murder, and he considered sending anonymous warnings instead.
• Bessarius offered to teach Unas demonic spells to control the forces at Venomspider Gorge, but Unas resolved to win people over without Fel magic.
• Darian and Erigor escorted Unas to the cathedral rehearsal, where a Red Maple Legion member mocked Darian and Unas stepped between them.
• A noblewoman from Tyr's Hand arrived late wearing the Judgement Armor, and Darian greeted her as someone he already knew.

Unas attended the Consecration Ceremony after secretly planting anonymous warnings for Darian and the two Mograines. The ceremony reached the Paladins’ blessing, where Erigor presented Unas with a Verigan’s Fist and recited the blessing.

• Unas met Marlan Waldemar, rehearsed the ceremony, and slipped a prophetic letter warning Darian about his brother into Darian’s coat.
• Unas planted separate letters for Renault and Alexander, warning them about Dathrohan and hidden danger.
• Dathrohan opened the public ceremony, and the ten candidates rode to the cathedral before the gathered clergy and Paladins.
• Isillien led the candidates through the prayers, and priestesses draped them in cloaks and anointed their foreheads with holy oil.
• Erigor approached Unas with a Verigan’s Fist and bestowed the Paladins’ blessing.

During the Consecration Ceremony, Unas absorbed the Holy Light Infusion until an unexplained surge of energy targeted him, forcing him to invent a way to circulate power around his demon-inhabited heart. After the attackers withdrew their beams, he discovered he could draw in the remaining Holy Light himself and began absorbing it at full force.

• Isillien led ten apprentice Paladins, including Unas, through their vows and the Holy Light Infusion ceremony.
• Unas absorbed the infused power, which healed his injuries and cleansed the Fel traces from his hands, while he kept Holy Light from entering his heart.
• Several golden beams struck Unas directly, overwhelming his control and threatening the sealed sphere around his heart.
• Unas used Divine Shield to block the beams briefly, then turned the sphere around his heart into a spinning vortex that let energy circulate through his body.
• Unas stabilized the energy surging through him as the beams targeting him were withdrawn.
• Unas drew the remaining Holy Light into himself, increasing the flow until it became a rushing river.

Unas completed the Silver Hand induction and gained a powerful Holy Light Energy Pool that trapped Bessarius. After learning that Dathrohan’s infusion test had secretly tested whether Bessarius could control him, Unas returned home with his new status, gifts, and love letters.

• Unas emerged from the Holy Light infusion with greatly enhanced senses and attributes, and the ten inductees were welcomed into the Silver Hand.
• Unas rode in the celebration parade, admired the attention from the women, and discovered that the vortex in his chest continuously circulated Holy Power while imprisoning the Dreadlord.
• Unas attended the feast, where Paladins apologized for making his infusion more intense and he learned Dathrohan had tested whether Bessarius could control him for Balnazzar.
• Unas returned to his cottage with a Paladin’s hammer, Erigor’s arm shield, his Silver Hand badge, Tyrosus’s medal, and several love letters.

Unas reported for duty with the Argent Dawn and asked Tyrosus to appoint him garrison commander of Venomspider Gorge. Tyrosus approved his posting to the gorge but left the command appointment undecided.

• Unas exercised, donned his new Argent Dawn armor, and went to report to Tyrosus.
• Tyrosus approved Unas's request to go to Venomspider Gorge but warned that three Paladin commanders had died there in seven months.
• Unas told Tyrosus he wanted to protect his friends Beryl and Stonebrow and argued that his ties to the prisoners, Dwarves, and Elves made him the best candidate to lead the gorge.
• Tyrosus said he would consider Unas's case, leaving Unas without a definite answer about the command position.

Unas met Erigor and discussed his planned transfer to Venomspider Gorge before testing his newly improved strength in a training match. After losing to Unas, Erigor acknowledged his training was complete, leaving Unas victorious and ready for his new post.

• Unas visited Erigor, denied that his transfer to Venomspider Gorge was motivated by a Night Elf lover, and agreed to recruit three elite members for the Brotherhood of the Light.
• Erigor invited Unas to test the results of his Sanctification at the Argent Dawn training grounds.
• Unas trapped Erigor's wooden sword beneath his arm and gained the advantage in their first round, but Erigor refused to count the result.
• Unas taunted Erigor until he attacked recklessly, then dodged his strike and knocked him down to win the second round.
• Erigor admitted defeat and told Unas that he had completed his training.

Unas was appointed acting garrison commander of Venomspider Gorge and learned that Tyrosus wanted him to investigate Holiya’s suspicious death. He told Natasha and Emily they could escape the tomb by joining his party when he left for his new post.

• Erigor praised Unas’s rapid improvement during their sparring, and Unas avoided another bout by asking for more sword training.
• Tyrosus appointed Unas acting garrison commander of Venomspider Gorge and promoted him to second lieutenant after political pressure forced a compromise over the garrison.
• Tyrosus asked Unas to discreetly investigate Holiya’s suspicious death once he reached Venomspider Gorge.
• Unas visited Natasha and Emily in their hiding place and explained his appointment and their chance to escape with his party.
• Emily celebrated the plan to leave the tomb, while Natasha appeared relieved.

Unas struggled to recruit guards for his new command in Venomspider Gorge, but Erigor’s help and Whitemane’s unexpected decision to join him brought his force together. He assembled eighteen men and prepared to leave the Monastery the next day.

• Unas posted recruitment notices and waited all morning without attracting any applicants.
• Erigor brought his cousin Raphael Pike, who swore to serve Unas, and helped him recruit seven people by dusk.
• Whitemane told Unas she was going to Venomspider Gorge with him.
• Unas registered the recruits, filed a false record to conceal Natasha’s identity, and collected supplies for ten people.
• Tyrosus’s ten assigned men arrived, and Unas appointed Raphael captain of the guard before housing the eighteen men in an empty barracks.