Chapter Summaries

As Cecil prepared to establish the empire, Rebecca led a real-world test of an anti-gravity ring that ended with the device embedding itself in the laboratory ceiling. She ordered the team to investigate the failure and went to tell Master Camil that the experiment had not exploded.

• Rebecca arrived at the laboratory, learned that she would soon be a princess, and worried about having to study etiquette and new imperial rules.
• Rebecca and the researchers tested the Anti-gravity Ring, which rose steadily and supported a load of two hundred and twenty kilograms.
• When Marlin attempted to move the ring sideways, it surged upward, broke its safety cables, and embedded itself in the ceiling.
• Rebecca stopped the magic field and ordered the team to clean up, study the failure, and consider safer alternatives.
• Rebecca asked Korn to find a way to remove the ring and went to tell Master Camil there had been no explosion.

In Stone City, ordinary southerners discussed the end of royal rule and the changes brought by new technology, while a bard found new work recording music and pursuing a broadcasting job. Bard Wendell, an outsider who had secretly burned a newspaper, was arrested for unauthorized spellcasting and learned that he needed a permit.

• Tavern patrons in Stone City toasted Gawain Cecil and talked about the royal family’s abdication, while Potter was thrown out after trying to kick a Kord phonograph.
• A tall, thin bard revealed that he had recorded two songs for the phonograph and planned to seek storytelling work at a Magic Net Broadcast station in Carrol City.
• Bard Wendell read a newspaper report about the imitation god and the fallen Nature God, then burned the paper with a spell and left the tavern.
• Security Team Members surrounded Bard Wendell in the street after detecting his unauthorized spellcasting, and he surrendered his weapons.
• The security officer arrested Bard Wendell under the Supernatural Being Regulation Act when he could not produce a Spellcasting Permit.

Pittman and his team studied the Artificial God’s remains at Godfall Crater while learning that its underground origin lay in a dangerous, ancient complex. In Saint Suniel, Jenny visited her former Mage Tower and told Mark to inform her mentor that she had returned.

• Pittman supervised apprentices collecting samples from the Artificial God’s remains, while Tir sampled the flesh despite being asked not to interfere with the research.
• An officer told Pittman that the giant deer had emerged from an ancient underground complex in the Western Region of Thorinburg, and Pittman warned that its traps and mechanisms made exploration dangerous.
• Jenny traveled through Saint Suniel under military escort and reflected on how the city and its people had changed since she left.
• Jenny arrived at her mentor’s Mage Tower, where Mark recognized her and reacted with surprise.
• Jenny told Mark to inform her mentor that she had returned.

Jenny returned to the Mage Tower, confronted her dying mentor William Boken over his refusal to apologize, and chose not to seek revenge before leaving to help Gawain. Meanwhile, Amber searched the Morn Royal Family’s archives for the mysterious Salilendorf and learned the Royal Shadow Guard’s secret files might hold clues.

• Jenny entered the Mage Tower and found her mentor, William Boken, near death beside the Magic Power Nexus.
• Jenny told William that her work had used Rune Logic and the Ravenkase Constant, but he refused to apologize to her and Mr. Ravenkase because he would not apologize to slaves.
• Jenny left without taking revenge, ordered the Mage Tower nationalized after William’s death, and told its apprentices to adapt to the New Era.
• William died and apologized after Jenny had left, while Jenny met Gawain at Silver Castle and prepared to study its books on classical Spell Models.
• Amber searched the royal library for the unknown nobleman Salilendorf, and Dark Raven suggested that secret Royal Shadow Guard files might offer clues if he was a Hidden Knight.

Amber discovered that her foster father, Salilendorf, had been a Royal Shadow Guard who disappeared during a mission to the Dark Mountains, and she hurried to tell Gawain. Meanwhile, Gawain turned from Veronica/Ophelia’s report on church reforms to question her about the Defiance Plan.

• Dark Raven explained that Hidden Knights were secret nobles, and Amber asked him to search their registries for Salilendorf.
• Amber and her subordinates found Salilendorf’s entry, which identified him as a Royal Shadow Guard struck from the rolls as a suspected defector or missing person.
• Dark Raven retrieved Salilendorf’s final mission record, which said he had gone to the Dark Mountains in Year 690 to search for Gondor relics and never returned.
• Amber suspected Salilendorf’s fate was connected to the Fortress of Defiance and ran off to find Old Mummy.
• Veronica/Ophelia briefed Gawain on church reforms, and Gawain began questioning her about the Defiance Plan.

Gawain questioned Ophelia about the Defiance Plan and learned that its purpose went beyond resisting the Magic Tide: the gods had once protected civilizations from the disaster, but survivors were later destroyed by them. Ophelia revealed that a disastrous expedition into the Divine Realm Boundary uncovered the threat that began the Defiance Plan.

• Gawain asked Ophelia about the Defiance Plan, and she explained that some projects could not be discussed because doing so might draw the gods’ attention.
• Ophelia said she had studied the gods’ nature and managed several Defier bases, including the Fortress of Defiance, while other bases lay in the Gondor Wasteland.
• Gawain asked why the Defiers opposed the gods, and Ophelia said humanity would eventually be destroyed as long as the gods existed.
• Ophelia explained that the gods had helped ancient civilizations withstand the Magic Tide, but those surviving civilizations were later extinguished.
• Ophelia recounted how a Gondor exploration team crossed into the Divine Realm Boundary, where most members died amid maddening malice and terrifying truths.
• Ophelia said the two survivors’ final words—“They want to destroy us” and “This is a countdown”—marked the beginning of the Defiance Plan.

Ophelia explained that the Defiers had launched their plan after finding evidence that gods destroyed civilizations when their systems of belief changed. She outlined how Church reforms could weaken the gods and prepare mortals to resist them, then raised the awkward position of female clergy as the next issue to address.

• Gawain questioned whether contact with gods caused madness through overwhelming knowledge, and Ophelia said the Defiers had investigated that possibility alongside evidence of ancient civilizations' destruction.
• Ophelia explained that past collapses coincided with major changes in belief, including shrinking temples and records warning that gods had descended.
• Gawain realized Ophelia had used reforms within the Holy Light Church to test the God of Holy Light's response, and she confirmed she monitored the god with the platinum scepter.
• Ophelia said the Defiers planned to transform every faith, weaken the gods by cutting off mortal faith, and help mortals reclaim the power of divine arts.
• Gawain ended their discussion of the Defiance Plan, and Ophelia raised the awkward position of female clergy in the Church.

Gawain discussed the northern church’s restructuring with Ophelia, then heard Amber’s thoughts about the gods and her faith in the Goddess of the Night. Amber also revealed that her foster father, Salilendorf, had been a defected Royal Shadow Guard searching for Gondor’s legacy in the Dark Mountains, leaving Gawain to wonder what had prompted his defection.

• Ophelia told Gawain that the White Knights’ militarized image discouraged people from confession and that their gear did not suit female clergy; Gawain asked her to work with Light on a new structure and commissioned suitable equipment.
• Amber revealed that she had overheard Ophelia and said she would not accept Veronica’s claims about the Goddess of the Night without concrete evidence, though she would cooperate with the Defiers.
• Gawain considered whether the gods might periodically descend into madness and whether an unknown countdown could lead to their destruction of the world.
• Amber told Gawain she had found records identifying Salilendorf as her foster father and a former Royal Shadow Guard secretly ennobled by Francis II.
• Amber explained that Salilendorf had defected while searching the Dark Mountains for clues to Gondor’s legacy, and Gawain wondered whether he had been seeking Fortress of Defiance and why he had defected.

Gawain and Amber discussed the mystery surrounding her foster father, Salilendorf, and prepared to counter Typhon while Cecil recovered from the war. Gawain also agreed to hold his coronation in Saint Suniel, where Ansu’s Royal Authority had ended.

• Gawain speculated that Salilendorf may have deserted the Royal Shadow Guard because he was ordered to find or kill Amber, whose unknown maternal bloodline and Shadow Seal Ring might connect her to Ansu’s former dynasty.
• Amber agreed to ask Pittman what he knew about Salilendorf, then accepted Gawain’s reminder that the old royal family’s fall freed her from its past purpose.
• Amber reported on eastern defenses, railway repairs, and the Iron Throne’s damage, while Gawain warned that Typhon might attack before Cecil had recovered its strength.
• Gawain ordered Amber to help mislead Rosetta Augustus by portraying Cecil as victorious, well supplied, and able to sustain expanding trade with Typhon.
• Amber proposed a grand coronation, and Gawain agreed to begin preparations for holding it in Saint Suniel after special cargo arrived from the White Sand Hills.

Pittman and Margarita oversaw the False God's Body's skull being loaded onto a train bound for Saint Suniel, while Hom planned to turn the resulting sinkhole into White Sand Lake. On the beach, Petia's sea monsters adapted to new energy and began sensing magic power, and Petia raised Cecil to second-level contact status.

• Pittman spoke with Margarita about knightly duty and remembered an old friend who had once expressed similar pride in his identity.
• Soldiers secured the False God's Body's skull on the freight train, which departed for Saint Suniel as Pittman reflected that the Imperial Era had ended.
• Hom told his assistant that the White Water River would be diverted into the sinkhole to create White Sand Lake and support expansion of the mining area.
• Petia and the sea monsters discussed how new food and Arcane Energy were helping them adapt to the world and sense magic power.
• Petia instructed Hathaway to tell Tir that Cecil had been raised to second-level contact status.

Sam struggled to support his family after selling his farm, while his daughter worked at a dangerous industrial plant and hoped for smoked meat. In Alderan, Daniel warned Viscount Hermil that southern nobles were moving to control the railways, then left with his apprentice Mary, saying he had helped His Majesty Augustus avoid a few detours.

• Sam ate breakfast with his daughter and told her that dock work near the railway construction might let him afford smoked meat next week.
• Sam watched his daughter leave for work at the Burning Stone Acidification Plant, then headed to the docks and recalled how Count Duller had bought his land.
• Viscount Hermil read the Imperial Gazette’s praise of the age of harvest and discussed investing in the Magic-Powered Train with Daniel.
• Daniel told Viscount Hermil that southern nobles were raising funds to secure participation in the railways, threatening the northern cotton plantations’ advantage.
• Viscount Hermil hurried off to protect his investment, while Daniel left with Mary and said he had helped His Majesty Augustus avoid a few detours.

Daniel used his Sleeper Cult network to advance the cult’s interests in Typhon as its bishops gathered to discuss the future after Ansu’s civil war. Meanwhile, Rosetta prepared Typhon’s forces for possible conflict, and Gawain made final preparations before his coronation by asking Melitapornia to store something.

• Daniel met Viscount Wegel in Dream City, credited Duke Seven’s investment in the southern plantations, and warned Wegel to alert the southern nobles about northern interest in the railways.
• Daniel entered the Sleeper Cult’s Central Temple, where Selina Gelvin opened a council meeting about the cult’s plans after Ansu’s civil war.
• Ferdinand Wendell told Rosetta Augustus that Typhon’s First and Second Mage Corps and Winterwolf Knights were ready, while Rosetta ordered Andesa to assess the force at Longwind Fortress.
• As Saint Suniel prepared for Gawain Cecil’s coronation, Amber teased him about writing what looked like a will, and he made her leave on patrol.
• Gawain rubbed his mithril ring, summoned Melitapornia, and asked to store some things in the Mithril Treasury.

Gawain prepared to entrust the Mithril Treasury with knowledge to be spread at a later time as the empire’s founding ceremony approached. The coronation began before a packed crowd, and Gawain appeared atop a giant skull as the soldiers prepared to salute him.

• Gawain asked Melita whether the Mithril Treasury could preserve and later spread knowledge, then gave her a manuscript to review and price.
• Heti and Victoria confirmed the ceremony’s preparations and arranged for the gathered nobles to sign rather than face punishment.
• Citizens packed the square outside Silver Castle as soldiers emerged in disciplined formations.
• Gawain rode out atop a colossal skull mounted on a vehicle, with Guard Chariots and Sword and Plow banners accompanying him.
• The infantry stopped, drew their Melting Cut Swords, and prepared to light their blades and salute Gawain.

Gawain oversaw the Cecil Empire’s founding ceremony, presenting its military forces and pledging that the new nation would protect and rebuild the land. The public celebrated the beginning of the Imperial Era, and Melitapornia congratulated Gawain afterward.

• Gawain watched the Iron Rangers, war chariots, and church forces march through the square as nobles recognized the strength behind his new empire.
• Veronica declared that God’s army was undergoing the Emperor’s review, while Melitapornia watched the ceremony and considered the final page of a manuscript.
• Gawain ordered the Magic Power Combat Soldiers to salute the citizens, then showed Holographic Projections of the war against the Crystal Cluster army.
• Gawain addressed the people, declared the Cecil Empire established, and promised to overcome hunger, plague, ignorance, and other threats.
• Rebecca Cecil cast a huge fireball into the sky, and the crowd cheered as ceremonial cannons fired.
• Gawain returned to his room, where Melitapornia congratulated him on the beginning of the Imperial Era.

Gawain entrusted Melita with manuscripts meant to help future generations recognize and overthrow a corrupt empire, while admitting he might resist rebellion if he lived to see the empire decay. After Melita accepted the commission on the condition that Gawain advance education, she confirmed that revealing the skull’s origin would help humanity escape the Black Trap, leaving Gawain to conclude that the problem lay with the gods.

• Melita questioned why Gawain had written manuscripts that could inspire people to challenge his empire, and Gawain explained that he wanted to leave an answer for a future generation facing imperial corruption.
• Gawain admitted he might cling to the throne and suppress rebels if the empire became corrupt, and he hoped that any future rebellion would have powerful ships and cannons.
• Melita agreed to safeguard the manuscripts, making their eventual release depend on Gawain advancing education and transforming society.
• Gawain asked whether publicizing the giant skull’s origin and The End of All Things’ plans would help humanity escape the Black Trap, and Melita strained against an alien force before answering yes.
• Melita returned to Tarlonnd, and Gawain watched her depart before concluding that the Black Trap’s problem lay with the gods.

After confirming the Black Trap was linked to the gods, Gawain reflected on how his responsibilities and ambitions had grown beyond simply surviving. A conversation with Amber about her unanswered prayers and strange Divine Oracles eased his worries, and he invited her to enjoy the coronation celebrations.

• Gawain considered what the Black Trap meant for the dragons and the dangers of the Defiance Plan.
• Amber emerged from hiding after eating sunflower seeds, and Gawain told her to clean up the shells.
• Gawain explained that protecting the people and society who depended on him had become part of why he wanted to live and pursue greater goals.
• Amber told Gawain that the Goddess of the Night had not answered her prayer but had left her a recipe to study.
• Gawain questioned whether Amber was truly a Shadow Chosen, then laughed at her claim that demonstrating her powers would involve getting beaten by a Shadow Dweller.
• Gawain opened the curtains, looked out at the celebrations in Saint Suniel, and invited Amber to get some air in the courtyard.

At the post-coronation banquet, Gawain found Rebecca and Betty playing in the courtyard before he led Amber to Pittman. Pittman gave Amber a notebook left by her foster father, Salilendorf, and promised to explain their past after she read it.

• Rebecca summoned Betty with a magical fireball message, and they made leaf whistles together.
• Gawain told Rebecca that Maggie was a black dragon and cautioned her not to pry about Maggie's bloodline.
• Gawain encouraged Amber to speak with Pittman and led her through the crowd to him.
• Pittman gave Amber a worn notebook that Salilendorf had left for her and said he would explain how he had known her foster father after she read it.

Amber read Salilendorf’s diary about becoming trapped in the Shadow Fortress, surviving its dangers, and discovering her as a living child inside an ancient container. Gawain translated the label copied into the diary, revealing that Amber’s original designation was Artificial Human No. 36.

• Amber invited Gawain to join her and Pittman as she opened Salilendorf’s notebook in Silver Castle.
• Amber learned that her two Shadow Seal Rings had been used to enter the Shadow Fortress, but the ring Salilendorf carried could not be recharged.
• Amber read how Salilendorf survived by finding moss and water, and how Shadow Dwellers watched him without attacking.
• Amber discovered that Salilendorf had found a room of containers holding tiny skeletons and one living girl in an intact container.
• Amber read that Salilendorf had named the girl Amber and copied the letters on her container.
• Amber asked Gawain to translate those letters, and he told her they meant Artificial Human No. 36.

Amber and Gawain read Salilendorf’s diary, which recorded how he survived with her in the Shadow Fortress and helped her escape. Pittman recalled finding the two of them years later and revealed that Amber was an Artificial Human whose soul had been synthesized.

• Salilendorf’s diary described his isolation in the Shadow Fortress, his declining health, and the moment Amber first moved and emerged from her crystal container.
• Salilendorf fed Amber moss, cared for her, and discovered that she could communicate with Shadow Dwellers and wield powerful Shadow abilities.
• Amber opened a rift to the outside world, and Salilendorf recorded his hope of escaping the fortress with her.
• Pittman recalled finding a weakened Salilendorf and a young Amber in the wilderness, where she offered him moss to persuade him to save Salilendorf.
• Pittman told Amber that her memory had taken years to stabilize because her soul was synthesized, making her an Artificial Human.

Amber learned that Pittman and Salilendorf had lied about finding her in the forest and that she was Artificial Human No. 36, but she decided to keep searching for the truth. Gawain planned to investigate Salilendorf’s stolen book and Shadow Fortress, and Veronica revealed that she knew the fortress as a project she had personally abandoned.

• Pittman told Amber that she had been created as Artificial Human No. 36 and explained why he and Salilendorf had hidden her origins.
• Amber accepted the answer and resolved to keep searching, especially for the reason Salilendorf had risked his life to steal a book.
• Pittman explained that Salilendorf sought an ancient travelogue containing clues about Shadow Fortress, and Gawain proposed searching the library at Luan Grand Cathedral.
• Gawain connected Shadow Fortress to the Defiers and suggested that Ophelia Norton might know about it.
• At the New Empire’s banquet, nobles recounted their awkward attempts to impress Princess Rebecca, while Veronica observed their troubles.
• Gawain asked Veronica about Shadow Fortress, and she said she knew it because she had personally abandoned the project.