Chapter Summaries

Favia’s condition worsened, and he died in the dungeon after blessing Edmond and asking him to deliver a letter to Baobhan Sith. Abigail stopped Edmond from giving up and urged him to escape Château d'If, prompting him to consider a plan.

• Favia wrote a letter to Baobhan Sith and reassured Abigail that she was his sister and that he had never forgotten her.
• Favia told Edmond that he was dying, blessed him, and asked him to escape and deliver his letter to Baobhan Sith.
• Edmond stayed beside Favia until his heart stopped, then hid in the tunnel as the jailers and governor removed the body.
• The governor recalled helping Favia escape years earlier, but Favia had refused to leave the dungeon and had asked him to treat innocent prisoners better.
• Edmond returned to Favia’s cell and considered provoking the jailers into executing him so he could die and join his teacher.
• Abigail rebuked Edmond and ordered him to live and escape Château d'If, and he began to consider playing dead.

Edmond escaped the Château d'If by taking Father Faria's place as the corpse, while Abigail used the Silver Key to send Favia through the Door. Favia washed ashore near Rome, where Da Vinci found him, and later awoke in Da Vinci's room able to use magecraft again.

• Edmond put Faria's body in his dungeon, hid in the sack, and escaped from the Château d'If by swimming to an island.
• Grieving for Faria, Edmond vowed to carry out vengeance for himself and his father figure.
• Abigail kissed Favia and used the Silver Key to open the Door, which enveloped Favia and vanished in golden light.
• Da Vinci found Favia washed ashore near Rome, nearly three years after he had gone missing.
• Favia awoke in Da Vinci's room, discovered that his magical energy had returned, and accepted a cup of coffee from Da Vinci.

Favia learned that Paracelsus had been arrested by the Clock Tower for publishing magecraft secrets in his writings. The chapter recounted Paracelsus’s calm surrender and left Favia considering the news without revealing whether he would intervene.

• Favia learned that three years had passed, that Da Vinci had found him alone, and that the incomplete Silver Key now guided him toward a voyage overseas.
• Da Vinci told Favia that Baobhan Sith had finished building his ship and that it was waiting in Spain.
• Da Vinci revealed that Paracelsus had been arrested by the Clock Tower a month earlier.
• At a Grand Assembly, Lord El-Melloi agreed to Paracelsus’s arrest and ordered that he be investigated and interrogated.
• Paracelsus peacefully surrendered to the Clock Tower’s arresting magi, saying he would not harm them and urging them to cherish children.
• Favia accepted Da Vinci’s account without anger and acknowledged that Paracelsus would not have abandoned his cause to avoid arrest.

Favia left Da Vinci’s home for London after refusing Julius’s offer to join the Church and reaffirming his promise to help Paracelsus. In London, Makiri prepared to leave while Baobhan Sith and Scottish hunters gathered to attempt a rescue, and the chapter ended with Makiri acknowledging that he planned to leave the city.

• Favia told Da Vinci that he would return to the Clock Tower to fulfill his promise to Paracelsus, and the two discussed Da Vinci’s unfinished Mona Lisa.
• Favia caught Pope Julius eavesdropping, and Julius asked him to join the Church.
• Favia criticized the Church’s past actions, refused Julius’s offer of help, and said he was going to London before leaving the continent.
• Scottish hunters arrived in London hoping to help rescue Paracelsus, but Makiri told them they lacked the skills to challenge the Clock Tower.
• Makiri admitted that he planned to leave London, despite Baobhan Sith asking him to help rescue Paracelsus.

The old hunter, Makiri, and the hunters joined Baobhan Sith to rescue Paracelsus from the Clock Tower, but Barthomeloi arrived and overwhelmed their defenses. After Paracelsus held him back for two seconds with the Philosopher's Stone, Barthomeloi turned his attention to Baobhan Sith.

• The old hunter chose to save Paracelsus, and the hunters followed him; the Nameless King restored its power and concealed them.
• Makiri joined the hunters, and they met Baobhan Sith, whose mage accomplice helped them plan and carry out the rescue.
• The rescuers reached Paracelsus in the Spirit Tomb, but Barthomeloi appeared and shattered Baobhan Sith's fairy power.
• Paracelsus used the Philosopher's Stone to resist Barthomeloi and protect the others, holding him off for two seconds before being overwhelmed.
• Barthomeloi declared that the Clock Tower members would be dealt with under its rules, then turned his whip toward Baobhan Sith.

Favia returned to the Spirit Tomb, rescued Baobhan Sith and Paracelsus, and killed Barthomeloi with the power surging through the tomb. The Clock Tower convened an emergency Grand Council meeting, where its Lords disputed who was responsible and what to do next.

• As Barthomeloi advanced on Baobhan Sith, she remembered Favia and called his name.
• Favia appeared in the Spirit Tomb, embraced Baobhan Sith, and confronted Barthomeloi.
• Favia drew on the Spirit Tomb's immense Od and killed Barthomeloi with a colossal phantom beast.
• Favia freed Paracelsus from the Clock Tower's restraints and left London with him, Baobhan Sith, and their companions.
• The Clock Tower convened an emergency Grand Council meeting, where Barthomeloi and El-Melloi argued over responsibility and the Lords debated how to respond.

The Clock Tower concealed Barthomeloi’s death and publicly expelled Paracelsus, while the El-Melloi Lord quietly accepted that he remained hers. Three months later, Favia and Baobhan Sith sailed from Seville toward the far side of the Atlantic, and a year into the voyage, Baobhan Sith tried to tease Favia about their closeness.

• The Lords agreed to pretend Barthomeloi’s death had never happened and announced Paracelsus’s expulsion from London and the Clock Tower.
• The El-Melloi Lord reflected that her gamble had succeeded and decided to leave Paracelsus alone as long as he remembered he belonged to El-Melloi.
• Three months later in Seville, Favia and Baobhan Sith boarded their magically powered ship and set out across the Atlantic while Paracelsus, Da Vinci, and Makiri saw them off.
• Paracelsus chose to pursue medical research without the supernatural, while Makiri decided to travel and explore his developing beliefs about people and suffering.
• A year into the voyage, Baobhan Sith complained that they had not reached land and sat on Favia’s lap, but he teased her about the possessive romance stories she had brought aboard.

Favia and Baobhan Sith reached the coast of Central and South America, where an Aztec girl attacked their ship to stop the outsiders from landing. Favia fought through the storm with Odin’s Rune Magecraft and summoned Yggdrasil, which overcame the rain, but the confrontation remained unresolved.

• Several months after leaving, Favia and Baobhan Sith saw land shrouded in mist and discovered that the Left Hummingbird and a storm were blocking their approach.
• An Aztec girl, acting against the oracle of Tezcatlipoca, vowed to stop the stranger she believed would bring the Aztecs’ destruction.
• Favia ordered Baobhan Sith to power the ship’s magecraft, then leaped across the whirlpools toward shore despite the storm’s crushing pressure.
• Favia endured the attacker’s magical assault as the storm intensified and tremors shook Central and South America.
• Favia invoked Odin’s Rune Magecraft and summoned a phantom Yggdrasil, whose expanding branches and leaves blocked the rain.

Favia fought Tlaloc on the coast and defeated her before she vanished, then met the Aztec people and was mistaken for an emissary of Quetzalcoatl. The story shifted to Moctezuma II, whose hope for Quetzalcoatl's return was tied to his opposition to human sacrifice and fear that the empire would be destroyed by its enemies.

• Tlaloc attacked Favia with her whip and magical beam, but he countered her attacks and cracked the weapon's blue stone tip.
• Favia kicked Tlaloc into the air and gravely wounded her before nearby tremors interrupted their fight and she disappeared, promising to return and kill him.
• Baobhan Sith brought the ship to shore, where Aztec people approached Favia and their leader asked whether he was Quetzalcoatl's emissary.
• Moctezuma II surveyed Tenochtitlan and reflected on the Aztec Empire's expansion under his rule and the sacrifices demanded by its traditions.
• Moctezuma II recalled pardoning a captive warrior who later fought for the Aztecs before choosing an honorable death, and feared the hatred the empire had earned through war.
• Moctezuma II hoped Quetzalcoatl would return to end the empire's reliance on human sacrifice, remembering her departure for Tlapallan and the Aztecs' origins.

Moctezuma II welcomed Favia as Quetzalcoatl’s emissary, hoping his arrival would let him end human sacrifice and avert conflict with neighboring city-states. Favia confirmed that purpose and began considering how to spread faith across the region, though the coming Spanish invasion still threatened the Aztec Empire.

• Moctezuma II received an oracle from Huitzilopochtli demanding that the unknown visitor be killed, but chose to investigate whether Quetzalcoatl had returned.
• Moctezuma II led the priests and officials to the coast, where he met Favia and Baobhan Sith and recognized Favia as a powerful emissary.
• Favia quoted scripture to Moctezuma II and was welcomed into the palace as Quetzalcoatl’s emissary.
• Moctezuma II told Favia he hoped to end human sacrifice before the surrounding city-states united against the Aztecs, and Favia agreed that Quetzalcoatl opposed it.
• Favia planned to use Moctezuma II’s trust to abolish human sacrifice and spread faith, while recognizing that the Spanish invasion would still threaten the empire.

Favia went to the Great Temple to claim the Sun Stone and end human sacrifice, confronting Tlaloc behind its sealed door. He explained why he wanted to change the Aztec world, leaving Tlaloc silent as he mourned the fall of Constantinople.

• Favia asked Moctezuma II to let him enter the Great Temple and hear the gods’ revelations, and Moctezuma appointed him High Priest and led him there.
• Tlaloc returned to the Sun Stone chamber wounded, discovered Tezcatlipoca was gone, and raged about Favia before hearing him at the door.
• Favia opened the door by using Tlaloc’s blood and approached the Sun Stone, while Tlaloc tried to stop him from abolishing human sacrifice.
• Favia said the Aztec people suffered under a world of constant sacrifice and disease, though he understood Tlaloc’s love for Tenochtitlan.
• Favia recalled Constantinople’s destruction and Constantine XI’s final struggle, leaving Tlaloc unable to answer.

Favia planned to end human sacrifice among the Aztecs by establishing a new sun, but learned that the Fifth Sun Era had no sun god. Half a month later, he addressed the Aztecs during a scheduled mass sacrifice and raised an obsidian knife to his own chest, leaving his next action unresolved.

• Favia learned from Tlaloc that the present Fifth Sun Era had no sun god, so he declared that he would become a new sun for the Aztecs and their world.
• Half a month later, Favia stood before the Great Temple in Tenochtitlan as priests brought captives from Tlaxcala and Aztecs forward for the annual sacrifice.
• Favia quoted the words used in past sacrifices and told the crowd that Quetzalcoatl grieved over the lives lost in the rituals and had sent him to punish them.
• Favia said his mission was to restore peace and apologized for not coming sooner.
• Favia raised the Obsidian Sacrificial Knife and placed it against his own chest.

Favia proclaimed himself Quetzalcoatl’s emissary and atoned for the Aztecs’ human sacrifices by stabbing himself, then called on the peoples of the Aztec and Maya world to follow him toward peace. He secured Tlaxcala’s allegiance and forced the Purépecha Empire to surrender, leaving Teotitlan as the remaining major target.

• Favia addressed the Aztecs, stabbed himself with the Obsidian Sacrificial Knife, and declared that he would bear the sins of those who followed him.
• Favia waited outside Tlaxcala for its response while Tlaloc questioned his plans and warned that ending sacrifice could plunge the world into darkness.
• Tlaxcala’s four leaders pledged to follow Favia and abolish human sacrifice.
• Favia led ten thousand Tlaxcalans and ten thousand Aztecs against the Purépecha Empire, which surrendered after his devastating attack.
• Comala, Jalisco, and other small city-states offered to follow Favia, bringing valuable saltpeter deposits under his influence.

Favia united the Maya states with the Aztec-aligned nations and continued his reforms before following a jaguar’s trail to the Kukulkan Pyramid, where Tezcatlipoca revealed himself. Tezcatlipoca showed Favia a god’s perspective on the First Sun Age and began revealing events from the Second Sun Age.

• The Itza, Kʼicheʼ, and Chʼortiʼ submitted to Favia, completing the union of Central and South America.
• Favia established a central legal code, began training judges, relaxed restrictions on luxury goods, and banned human sacrifice.
• Favia followed a spotted jaguar’s presence to the Kukulkan Pyramid, despite Tlaloc questioning why he had come there.
• At the pyramid’s summit, a black serpent-shaped shadow swallowed Favia and carried him to a foggy realm, where Tezcatlipoca introduced himself.
• Tezcatlipoca gave Favia a god’s perspective, showing him the First Sun Age and the destruction of its people before revealing a conversation from the Second Sun Age.

Favia told Tezcatlipoca he would become the Fifth Sun and abolish human sacrifice, even if he had to shoulder the consequences and fight the gods. Tezcatlipoca rejected the proposal for now but became excited by Favia’s resolve, offered him counsel, and prepared to leave Mictlan to investigate why the world had summoned him.

• Tezcatlipoca explained that he had foreseen the destruction of the Aztec world but could not see Favia in any of the possible futures.
• Favia declared that he would become the new Fifth Sun, take responsibility for the dimming sun, and reject the world’s cruel rules.
• Favia argued that the people of Central and South America should fight for their land and future rather than die merely as sacrifices.
• Tezcatlipoca said Favia could not simply defy the world’s rules, but grew excited when Favia claimed he would become the land’s sole god.
• Tezcatlipoca advised Favia not to forget the need for weapons and battle, then explained that the Shadow of the Feathered Serpent had been his Thunder Serpent guise.
• Tezcatlipoca learned that Favia knew of the eagle warriors, then said he had to leave Mictlan to discover why the world had called him.

Favia returned from the Underworld with Tezcatlipoca’s mask and a gift, then tricked Tlaloc into believing he was her brother before revealing himself. Months later, Baobhan Sith worried about her closeness to Favia and asked Tlaloc what she thought of him; both girls admitted they wanted to cut him down, though for very different reasons.

• Favia asked Tezcatlipoca to help find the missing piece of the Silver Key, and Tezcatlipoca agreed before giving him the Jaguar Man mask and a shadowy power.
• Tlaloc mistook the masked Favia for Tezcatlipoca, and Favia let her believe he had died before revealing himself and provoking her fury.
• Nearly three months later, Baobhan Sith asked Tlaloc what she thought of Favia, and Tlaloc said she wanted to cut him down.
• Baobhan Sith explained that she feared Tlaloc might be close to Favia, then complained that he exploited his workers, made Da Vinci paint, and owed her money.
• Tlaloc realized Baobhan Sith still cared deeply about Favia and privately reaffirmed that she wanted revenge on him.

Tlaloc saw Favia inspire a child named Cuauhtémoc to imagine a peaceful future in Tenochtitlan. Half a month later, Hernán Cortés’s expedition reached the Aztec Empire’s eastern coast, with Bartolomé de las Casas warning him that the people there had souls.

• Tlaloc admired Tenochtitlan after the rain and sensed the changes Favia’s work had brought to the city.
• Tlaloc asked Cuauhtémoc what Favia had told him, and the child explained that Favia wanted him to write his own story rather than become a warrior for him.
• Tlaloc praised the name Favia had given Cuauhtémoc and felt that the city was moving toward a new future.
• Half a month later, Hernán Cortés arrived on the eastern coast with eleven ships and more than six hundred men, intent on seizing wealth and glory.
• Bartolomé de las Casas warned Cortés that the people of the continent had souls, but Cortés dismissed them as inferior.

Hernán Cortés landed with six hundred Spaniards and met Favia, the Aztec envoy, whose warriors attacked them after he announced their arrival. As Bartolomé watched the battle, the chapter shifted to his past and the sermon that first challenged his acceptance of Spanish colonial rule.

• Hernán and his men landed on the shore, where Aztec warriors quickly surrounded them.
• Hernán fired his gun to intimidate the warriors, but they stood firm because they trusted Favia.
• Favia identified himself as the Aztecs’ Second Sun’s envoy, named Bartolomé as a Church priest, and led the Aztecs into an attack on the Spaniards.
• Bartolomé watched the fighting and saw an image of the archangel Michael as he struggled to use Magecraft.
• The narrative recounted how Bartolomé encountered an Indian boy, joined the colonists, and became an encomendero and priest.
• Antón Montesinos denounced the colonists’ enslavement and abuse of Indians in his 1511 sermon, challenging Bartolomé and the other Spaniards to recognize their humanity.

Favia convinced Bartolomé to join him in rescuing the enslaved Indians of Cuba, with Tlaloc and Coti accompanying the expedition. The story then followed Geronimo, a young Cuban Indian enslaved by the Spaniards, as he learned from an elder that the sun watched over his people.

• Favia praised Bartolomé and invited him to help bring the Indians of Cuba back; Bartolomé agreed.
• Coti appeared, and Tlaloc decided to join Favia because the Cuban Indians deserved the sun’s protection.
• Eight-year-old Geronimo was branded as a slave by the Spaniards.
• During the 1513 uprising, a stranger urged Geronimo to flee, but Geronimo returned to his hut; Spanish forces crushed the revolt and forced enslaved Indians to watch captured rebels being scalped.
• Geronimo asked an elder why the rebels had cried out “Sol,” and the elder explained that the sun was called “Apo” in their language and had long watched over them.

Favia rescued the Cuban natives and persuaded Geronimo to trust him and join his effort to become a sun for the people of the Americas. He then worked to unify Central and South America against the Spanish, while Baobhan Sith arrived exhausted from learning the Aztec language.

• Favia led Aztec warriors to Cuba, defeated the Spanish authorities, and opened a path for the surviving natives to leave.
• Geronimo stayed behind because he felt his Spanish-influenced understanding of the sun separated him from his people, but Favia urged him to trust him and offered to become his sun.
• Geronimo accepted Favia's appeal, and Favia declared he would challenge the world's cruel rules; Tezcatlipoca sensed that North American forces had also made a decision and set out to find something for the Fifth Sun.
• Favia used Bartolomé's help to romanize writing, enlisted priests and Geronimo's people to spread it, and promoted unity against the expected Spanish invasion.
• Baobhan Sith visited Favia with Tlaloc, worried about his workload and revealing that she had stayed up nights learning Aztec; she wondered whether changing languages meant she would have to start over.