Chapter Summaries

Ang, Dana, and Linya followed the dwarves’ old map higher up the World Tree, found the marked route, and discovered a lizardman hiding nearby. They captured him, leaving them to wonder why a lizardman was in elf territory.

• Ang, Dana, and Linya searched for the elves and climbed higher after deciding not to ask a dwarf for directions.
• Ang collected smaller World Tree branches as magical materials while the group followed the old map.
• Linya recognized a forked branch matching the map, and the group continued into an unnaturally quiet area.
• The three spotted a fleeting figure, then pretended to argue while Ang secretly tracked it with detection magic.
• Ang struck the concealed figure with the Dragon Thorn Spear, Dana battered the spear, and Linya pinned the revealed lizardman with arrows.
• Ang bound the lizardman with vines, and Dana questioned why a lizardman was in elf territory.

Ang disguised himself, Linya, and Dana as Lizardmen and questioned Cesi, a hunter guarding the World Tree, while seeking an audience with Goddess Cesili. After discovering Cesi had a god’s scale and confronting his excuses with threats and evidence, Ang pressured him to take them to the goddess, but Cesi had not yet agreed.

• Ang transformed himself, Linya, and Dana into Lizardmen, questioned the bound hunter, and found a god’s scale in his quiver.
• Ang introduced the group as hunters bearing a divine decree from God Gelongla and said they needed Goddess Cesili’s aid against an imminent invasion.
• Cesi refused to guide them, claiming the goddess was busy guarding against the Flame Lizard Dragon on Mount Maxy.
• Ang threatened Cesi and accused him of betraying the Lizardman race, using a dwarven warhammer as evidence that the group had encountered dwarves.
• Cesi denied being a traitor and said elves had killed many of his companions, while Ang insisted he fulfill his duty and take them to the goddess.

Ang led Dana and Linya to the elves’ settlement on the World Tree after killing Cesi, who had guided them there. The elves initially barred their way, but Natiya arrived and reunited with Linya.

• Ang pressured Cesi into guiding them toward the elves, then killed him when he admitted he had never entered their territory.
• Ang, Dana, and Linya reached the sea of flowers, where elven warriors stopped them and confirmed their true forms.
• Linya gave the elven mage a pendant and asked her to inform Natiya; the mage left the three under guard.
• Ang told the elves that the Empire was fighting the Lizardmen, provoking their disbelief and an archer’s anger.
• Natiya arrived, recognized Linya, and embraced her as Linya broke down in tears.

Ang and Dana witnessed Linya reunite with her mother, Natiya, on the World Tree, where Natiya revealed the fate of Linya’s father and the elves’ bond to the tree. When Natiya declared she would leave for the Elf Forest with Linya, Legolas and the other elves urged her to stay, leaving her silent and conflicted.

• Linya fell asleep in Natiya’s arms, and Natiya thanked Dana after he covered her with a warm hide blanket.
• Ang told Natiya about the Empire’s foothold on the Tasmania Continent and its war with the lizardmen, while Natiya explained that the elves on the World Tree would not leave.
• Linya woke and reunited with Natiya, who apologized for leaving her and explained that Linya’s father had been lost while helping her escape an attack by lizardmen.
• Natiya told Linya how she and her father had come to the Archipelago Plane, discovered the World Tree, and how she had been unable to leave after reaching the elves.
• Natiya said she would return to the Elf Forest with Linya, but Legolas and the other elves tried to persuade her to remain, and Natiya fell silent.

Ang, Dana, Natiya, and Linya fled the elves after Legolas accused Ang and Linya of colluding with dwarves and ordered their capture. They climbed toward the top of the World Tree, hoping to find an escape route, while the elves pursued them in growing numbers.

• Legolas accused Linya of colluding with dwarves because she carried Lucien's Elf Sword, and an elf shot at Ang after he said he had traded with the dwarves for it.
• Legolas ordered Ang and Dana to leave but demanded that Natiya stay; Natiya and Linya escaped with them after Ang and Natiya used smoke bombs to cover their flight.
• Natiya led the group upward, explaining that a route near the top of the World Tree could help them escape, while Ang used more smoke bombs to slow the pursuing elves.
• The elves' forces grew from about ten to nearly a hundred, and Ang, Dana, and Natiya were injured as they fought off repeated attempts to capture them.
• As night fell, Ang's Night Cloak concealed the group, and they continued fleeing toward the top of the World Tree, resting briefly under cover of darkness.

Ang and Natiya discussed the elves’ history, their past relationship, and the World Tree’s protection as the group continued toward its top. They reached the summit and saw the Archipelago Plane spread out below them, but had not yet found the lizardmen’s legendary powerhouse.

• Ang asked Natiya about Legolas, and she admitted they had once been lovers and that he had always controlled her choices.
• Natiya told Ang that the elves had dwindled to fewer than five thousand, that the lizardmen came from other planes, and that the World Tree concealed and protected the elves.
• Natiya explained that elves worshipped Elberis and could live for centuries, then Ang treated her shoulder wound.
• Legolas learned that Natiya and the others had neared the top, ordered his elves to withdraw and avoid the legendary powerhouse, and wondered why Natiya insisted on leaving.
• Ang, Natiya, Dana, and Linya reached the top of the World Tree and surveyed the Archipelago Plane, including Lake Grace Volcano and Mount Maxy.

Ang disguised himself as a lizardman and went to the center of the World Tree canopy to find a way down, where he encountered the lizardman god Therese. Their exchange was interrupted by a Flame Lizard Dragon approaching the World Tree, and Therese drove it back with a powerful phantom.

• Natiya admitted she did not know where the passage down from the canopy was, so Ang sent her, Linya, and Dana below while he searched the center.
• Natiya explained that her Magic Gem could imitate a lizardman’s soul aura, and Ang embedded it in his chest to conceal himself.
• Ang found a treehouse grown from the World Tree and met Therese, who recognized him as a descendant of Gronra.
• Ang lied that Gronra was gathering lizardmen to fight humans and asked Therese for directions back to the ground.
• A Flame Lizard Dragon flew toward the World Tree, and Therese summoned a huge lizardman phantom that made it turn back toward the lava.

Ang and his companions escaped the World Tree by broom, but Therese discovered their deception and attacked them as they fell. They reached Mount Maxy, where Ang collapsed from poison after disguising himself and Dana as lizardmen, and Dana carried him toward the volcano.

• Therese sent Ang back to Gronra and told him to leave the World Tree by jumping from the canopy's edge.
• Ang told Natiya, Linya, and Dana about Therese's instructions, and the group prepared to escape toward Mount Maxy using Magic Brooms.
• Natiya and Linya jumped first, followed by Ang and Dana, but Therese sensed them, swept away the clouds, and attacked them with a lizardman phantom.
• Ang dodged the phantom's strike, but Dana fell from the broom; Ang rescued him before the phantom poisoned Ang with a cloud of pink mist.
• The group landed near Mount Maxy, where Ang used Shapeshifting to disguise himself and Dana as lizardmen before losing consciousness.
• Dana carried Ang and ran toward the volcano to escape the danger.

Therese’s command sent the lizardmen into Mount Maxy, where they clashed with Petersong’s fire beasts, while Dana reunited with Natiya and Linya and brought them to Ang. Natiya suppressed the poison inside Ang, but he remained unconscious as Dana spotted Petersong circling above the distant battle.

• Therese’s summons rallied the lizardmen, who crossed into Mount Maxy and fought the magical beasts defending Petersong’s territory.
• Dana left Ang hidden in a lava cave and searched for Natiya and Linya, finding them injured near their landing site.
• Dana brought Natiya and Linya back to the cave, where Natiya discovered that a corrosive pink mist was poisoning Ang and concealed his condition.
• Natiya repeatedly investigated and burned away the poison until Ang’s breathing steadied, though he did not wake.
• Dana checked the cave’s surroundings and saw Petersong circling above the flames near Tunaxi Forest.

Ang woke after days of repairing his injuries and found Dana, Natiya, and Linya near death from hunger, thirst, and the lava cave’s heat. After rescuing them and waking again, he prepared a potion to neutralize the poison in his body, then began expelling it as Natiya stayed to help him.

• Natiya, Linya, and Dana waited in the lava cave while Natiya repeatedly treated the still-sleeping Ang, and they moved deeper inside to avoid approaching lizardmen.
• After several more days, Ang woke briefly, returned Dana to his Minotaur form, and used Ice Rune Tablets, potions, and food to save his companions before collapsing again.
• Natiya, Linya, and Dana recovered enough to revive Ang, who confirmed that poison remained in his body and said he would try to neutralize it.
• Ang and Natiya analyzed the toxin and made a potion, while Dana led Linya away from the danger.
• Ang released the seal in his body, causing scarlet toxic mist to fill the cave as Linya and Dana worried he might not survive.

After a toxin-induced crisis, Ang treated Linya and moved the group to a safer place in the lava cave. He later disguised himself as a lizardman and scouted the search perimeter, learning that the four fugitives were being hunted on orders from a legendary powerhouse.

• The red mist caused hallucinations and aphrodisiac effects, leaving Ang and Natiya incapacitated until it cleared.
• Ang healed Linya’s leg, gave her a Fire Resistance Potion, and moved the group to a concealed cave fork with fresh air.
• Ang and Natiya privately agreed not to tell Linya what had happened under the poison’s effects.
• After Linya fell back asleep, Ang disguised himself as a lizardman and left to scout the area.
• Ang found the caves thoroughly searched and discovered the lizardmen’s main camp, where he learned their legendary powerhouse had ordered a hunt for the four people who offended the gods.

Ang returned to the lava cave with the Camelback Beast and learned that more than thirty thousand Lizardmen were searching for them. After Linya recovered, Ang drew the patrols away while Natiya, Linya, and Dana slipped toward the Fett Mountains; the chapter ended with five Lizardman Great Warriors pursuing Ang toward Magma Lake.

• Ang retrieved the Camelback Beast and told Dana and Natiya that the Lizardmen were searching for them in force.
• After Linya woke and recovered, the group planned to cross the search line by splitting up and blending into the Lizardmen ranks.
• Ang drew the Lizardmen's attention with his Magic Broom and magic bombs while Natiya, Linya, and Dana moved toward the Fett Mountains.
• Five Lizardman Great Warriors confronted Ang, and he flew toward Magma Lake with them in pursuit.

Ang escaped the Lizardman Great Warriors by detonating bombs in the Magma Lake, then reunited with Dana in the Fett Mountains. After waiting two days, he found Natiya and Linya approaching through the forest.

• Five Lizardman Great Warriors trapped Ang above the Magma Lake, and one pierced his shield with a spear, wounding his shoulder.
• Ang treated his wound, detonated bombs throughout the lake, killed the five warriors, and broke through their barrier to escape.
• Petersong arrived at the Magma Lake, devoured the Great Warriors' corpses, and crushed Ang's unexploded bombs before flying back to the volcano.
• Ang located Dana with his magic mark, brought her to a hidden cave in the Fett Mountains, and explained that the territorial lizardmen would not follow them there.
• After waiting two days, Ang followed the magic compass and found Natiya and Linya making their way through the forest.

Ang and his companions crossed the Fett Mountains, fought off a pack of Green Wolves, and flew south toward Amnath City. A day later, the Flame Lizard Dragon Petersong picked up their scent and pursued them.

• Ang released the Camelback Beast, and the four travelers continued through the mountains in lizardfolk forms while avoiding the Black-winged Eagles.
• The group camped overnight, where Ang and Natiya discussed his Holy Light Power and the Church of Dawn.
• Ang told Dana they would return to Amnath City after crossing the mountains because Therese might strengthen the lizardfolk front.
• Green Wolves surrounded the group near a ridge, but Dana defeated many of them and the remaining wolves fled; Ang collected their pelts and magic cores.
• Ang and Natiya summoned Magic Brooms, and the four flew south toward Amnath City.
• Petersong arrived at the riverbank a day later, caught the travelers' scent, and flew south after them.

Therese forced Petersong to hunt Ang by offering him the Dragon Crystal, and the Flame Lizard Dragon tracked Ang and his companions into the Fett Mountains. Ang hid the group in a cave, but Petersong found their trail and burned through the entrance, forcing them to flee deeper underground.

• Therese summoned Petersong and offered him the Dragon Crystal in exchange for hunting Ang, and Petersong accepted and flew toward the Fett Mountains.
• Linya sensed an approaching danger as Ang and his companions rested, and they identified the approaching fire streak as Petersong.
• Ang led the group into a concealed cave and gave them potions that hid their magical traces for three days.
• Petersong tracked their aura to the cave and melted the rocks around its entrance with dragon flame.
• Ang blasted through blocked passages with Rock Collapse as the group fled deeper into the cave ahead of Petersong's flames.

Ang and Natiya, Dana, and Linya survived Petersong’s repeated Molten Meteorite attacks by sheltering in the cave, while imperial forces prepared to hunt the Flame Lizard Dragon. The four legendary powerhouses confronted Petersong above the Magma Lake, and battle was about to begin.

• Petersong summoned repeated Molten Meteorites, turning the Fett Mountains into a vast Magma Lake and sending lava through the cave toward Ang and the others.
• Ang carved out a shelter, blocked the cave entrance with Magic Shields, and activated an Ice Rune Tablet as the group waited for Petersong to leave.
• Augustus and Tavia received news of Petersong, and Tavia reported the threat to the Empire; Constance and Archmage Nancy later joined them on the Archipelago Plane.
• The four legendary powerhouses traveled by airship to the Fett Mountains and used the Eye of Distant Gaze’s vision to assess Petersong and its valuable materials.
• Augustus, Tavia, Constance, and Nancy confronted Petersong above the Magma Lake, and the dragon recognized the threat as they prepared to fight.

Augustus, Constance, Nancy, and Tavia killed Petersong and harvested its remains, while Therese concluded that war with the outsiders could no longer be avoided. Several days later, Ang and his companions escaped their sealed cave by following an underground river toward a passage with airflow.

• Constance confined Petersong while Augustus and Nancy attacked its wounds, and Tavia supported them as the dragon fought back.
• Nancy summoned Ice Elemental Elves to freeze Petersong’s wings, and the group brought it down onto solidified magma.
• Constance severed Petersong’s neck while it was restrained, and the three Archmages collected the dragon’s valuable remains before departing.
• Therese watched the outsiders leave and decided that war could no longer be avoided.
• Ang removed the seal from the cave entrance, found the magma outside solidified, and led Dana, Linya, and their other companion deeper underground.
• Ang sensed airflow beside an underground river and guided the group along its bank toward the likely exit.

Ang, Natiya, Linya, and Dana traveled through underground caverns in search of a way out, eventually finding a vast field of cultivated glowing mushrooms. The orderly farm suggested that intelligent beings might live underground, leaving the group to investigate their discovery.

• Ang led the group along an underground riverbank and used light and detection magic to find a route up a steep cliff.
• Ang and Natiya carried Dana and Linya up the cliff on Magic Brooms, then followed the airflow through a cavern to a narrow rock fissure.
• Ang used Rock Collapse to widen the fissure, and the group spent a day clearing it so Dana could pass through.
• The group emerged into a huge cavern where Linya noticed that the glowing fungi were arranged like planted fields.
• Ang identified the fungi as edible darklight mushrooms and agreed that someone had likely cultivated them.
• Ang sent light orbs around the cavern, revealing an immense, orderly underground farm.

Ang and his companions discovered a thriving Cave Lizardmen settlement in an underground canyon and met its commander, Keso. Keso claimed the winged Cave Lizardmen were the lizardman Royal Family and revealed their people came from another plane; after hearing Ang’s news of the surface and an approaching invasion, he invited the group to stay for a few days.

• Ang led Natiya, Dana, and Linya through glow mushroom fields and followed a worn path into a vast underground canyon.
• A lizardman patrol surrounded the group, but Ang explained their situation to commander Keso, who agreed to escort them and welcomed them to stay.
• Keso showed the group his orderly home, and Ang questioned him about the Cave Lizardmen’s society and their differences from surface lizardmen.
• Keso said the lizardman people came from another plane over a thousand years ago and claimed the winged Cave Lizardmen were the true Royal Family.
• Ang told Keso about the surface tribes, the Tasmania Continent, and the invasion of outsiders, prompting Keso to warn that a storm was gathering.
• After Keso left, Ang and the others agreed to remain in the canyon and learn more about the Cave Lizardmen.

Ang and his companions explored the Cave Lizardmen’s ordered underground civilization and learned that its people had lived for over a thousand years and were connected to the Lizardmen Royal Family. Keso refused to help the surface clans in their war and arranged for the group to leave the next day, leaving Ang uncertain whether the invaders would reach the underground world.

• Ang and his companions visited the dining area, sampled the Cave Lizardmen’s food, and explored their organized settlements and workshops.
• After Ang described the surface, a Cave Lizardman said that Therese and the others had erased the Royal Family from history and directed Ang to ask Keso about their past.
• Ang questioned Keso, who revealed that every Cave Lizardman in the Underground Space had lived for more than a thousand years and suggested Ang’s tribe had hatched from ancient preserved eggs.
• Keso said the Royal Family had no obligation to intervene in the war and believed the outsiders would not reach the underground world.
• Keso arranged for Ang and his companions to leave the next day, while Natiya worried that the powerful Cave Lizardmen would not help the surface clans.