Chapter Summaries

Raymond secured Astar’s service by offering magical knowledge and a Lich transformation, then backed Shaan VII’s campaign to unify Calimshan with a magical fear horn. The horn shattered Suldolphor’s fleet, leaving the city vulnerable to capture and bringing the conquest of Calimshan near completion.

• Raymond blamed Astar and himself for the Magic Plague, then persuaded Astar to serve him in exchange for knowledge and a Lich transformation, with Raymond retaining Astar’s Phylactery.
• Raymond promised Isadora that he would seek a Spark to make her a Planeswalker, and she vowed not to betray his trust.
• Raymond approved Bol’s plans for airships and electric aircraft, then visited Shaan VII and discussed his secured Spark and the emperor’s campaign.
• Raymond and Shaan VII completed a magical horn that spread the Fear spell across a wide area, and Shaan VII sent a general to attack Suldolphor.
• The horn sent Suldolphor’s sailors and soldiers fleeing into the sea, allowing the Shaan Empire fleet to capture most of its ships with almost no losses.

Raymond bought Skelin's Neck Guard from Ilmer Balasklo and discovered that its clones could transfer his soul, abilities, and Planeswalker's Spark across planes and time. After placing a clone in Zendikar, he joined Nahiri at her fortress, where he began tormenting the captive Onyx to provoke him into reigniting his Spark.

• General Tyro captured Suldolphor, purged its ruling class, expanded his army with prisoners, and sailed to conquer Tumet and Yespach.
• Raymond met Ilmer Balasklo in Ankheep and paid two million gold coins for the Artifact, which Ilmer had hidden beneath a floorboard before fleeing with his bodyguards.
• Raymond tested Skelin's Neck Guard, confirmed that it enabled soul and Spark transfers across planes and time, and created five clones for different worlds.
• Raymond placed a clone in Zendikar and went with Nahiri to her fortress, where she showed him three captives, including the Sparkless Planeswalker Onyx.
• Raymond poured Refined Silver down Onyx's throat to inflict pain and drive him to reignite his Spark.

Raymond defeated Onyx, absorbed his Spark and power, and learned from Nahiri that his ability to interfere with other Planeswalkers’ Sparks could threaten Nicol Bolas. He traveled to Grixis to report Ugin’s resurrection to Nicol Bolas, received a valuable book of mental magic, and left while Bolas began verifying the report and continued plotting to drain Alara’s Root Mana.

• Raymond force-fed Onyx Refined Silver, then drained his newly reignited Spark and life force, captured his soul, and turned his corpse into legendary leather armor.
• Nahiri discovered that Raymond could control multiple Sparks and disrupt other Planeswalkers’ abilities; Raymond demonstrated the interference, explained how it developed, and asked to study Lithoforming with her.
• Raymond traveled to Grixis with the raccoon and monkey, delivered them to Nicol Bolas, and reported that Ugin had been resurrected through Sorin Markov and Sarkhan.
• Nicol Bolas ordered Raymond to gain Ugin’s trust and gave him a book of mental magic as a reward; Raymond left to study and hide it safely.
• Malfegor questioned Raymond’s reliability, so Nicol Bolas ordered Tezzeret to verify Ugin’s resurrection and continued planning to seize Alara’s Root Mana before Progenitus awakened.

Zos stripped Esper of Etherium and siphoned mana from Nicol Bolas’s scheme before retreating to Zendikar, while his other avatar, Raymond, studied New Phyrexia’s infection on Mirrodin. Raymond built a protected refugee settlement, discovered Melira could resist Phyrexian Oil, and sent her blood for urgent analysis, where he also reviewed findings about the Dragon Mother’s unusual bloodline.

• Zos stole most of Esper’s Etherium, copied the Vedalken’s research, and left the shard in chaos as Alara’s worlds merged and Nicol Bolas’s war began.
• Zos secretly absorbed white and green mana from Alara, raised his Spark level, then returned to Zendikar to study Hedron magic with Nahiri.
• Raymond established a research institute and refugee settlement in Copperchrome Forest, supplying food and water in exchange for work and enforcing defenses against Phyrexian Oil.
• A hunting party brought Raymond the red-haired girl Melira, whom he recognized as uniquely able to resist Phyrexian Oil, and he brought her into his laboratory as an assistant.
• Raymond examined Melira, took blood samples, and ordered White to analyze them at the highest priority.
• White reported that the Dragon Mother’s blood carried three additional chromosome pairs linked to House Targaryen’s distinctive traits, and Raymond said he would discuss possible uses with Vanessa.

Bernard’s grain-dumping scheme drove Selgaunt’s prices down while Sembia’s merchant elite exploited the crisis, and Utheria helped prepare for the famine and revolt that would follow. In Luskan, the Lords’ Alliance meeting exposed deep divisions before Raymond welcomed Alustriel, Vera Malandis, Lord Nasher, and Aribeth aboard his new airship.

• Bernard learned that Amnian merchants had dumped 1.7 million tons of grain and ordered another 600,000 tons dumped to deepen Sembia’s agricultural collapse.
• Utheria reported that Selgaunt’s merchant families were seizing bankrupt farmers’ land instead of questioning the falling grain prices, and he gave Bernard a list of potential rebel leaders.
• Bruenor argued with Mirabar’s representative at the Lords’ Alliance conference, prompting other delegates to expose rivalries until Alustriel, Lord Nasher, and Eric adjourned the meeting for two days.
• Eric explained to Alustriel that the Silver Marches could not become a unified nation without centralized legislative, administrative, fiscal, and military power.
• Davian escorted Alustriel, Vera Malandis, Lord Nasher, and Aribeth aboard a new airship, where Raymond greeted them at a lavish feast above Luskan.

Raymond explained how he destroyed the Sahuagin kingdom that attacked the Nelanther Isles, then formed a mutual defense alliance with Neverwinter and promoted airship routes across the Sword Coast. He warned Alustriel that enemies were fomenting conflict in the North, and the chapter ended with Alustriel and Vera Malandis urging him to join them in a bath.

• Raymond described Harlett's Ghost Ship and revealed that he had annihilated the Sahuagin kingdom that allied with Harlett to attack the Nelanther Isles.
• Lord Nasher proposed a mutual defense alliance, and Raymond agreed to protect Neverwinter's trade in exchange for its naval, commercial, financial, and political concessions.
• Raymond explained how shared enemies united the Lords' Alliance and Silver Marches, then warned Alustriel and Vera Malandis that the Zhentarim, Cult of the Dragon, Red Wizards, and Church of Bane were stirring up conflict.
• Raymond presented the airship's capabilities and proposed regular Sword Coast routes, and Alustriel and Lord Nasher supported the plan.
• Alustriel asked Raymond to join her and Vera Malandis in a bath, and he eventually stripped and entered the water after their urging.

Raymond accepted Storm Silverhand’s invitation to join a mission to rescue Waukeen from the Abyss and prepared Davian to impersonate him during the journey. Meanwhile, players entered the world of A Song of Ice and Fire, where Illyrio planned to use them to conquer the Free Cities.

• Raymond studied Phyrexian Oil and discovered that Phyrexian creations lacked souls and resisted soul magic and mind control.
• The Lords’ Alliance conference ended in brawls and a trade embargo threat against Bruenor, while Eric used Captain Harlett’s bottled soul to torment him before Raymond turned Harlett and the ghost ship into a card.
• Storm Silverhand recruited Raymond for a mission to rescue Waukeen and offered him a Shadow Energy Core as payment for joining the team.
• Raymond decided Davian would impersonate him on the journey, gave him a Spark and a mind-link device, and prepared an incarnation to accompany him.
• Players entered Pentos through the Crystal Tower, and Illyrio welcomed them as an army he could use to conquer the Free Cities.

Players spread across Essos and Westeros, while the Diary exploited their arrival to weaken Pentos and encouraged Viserys to seek power through them. In King's Landing, Jack's team prepared for the tournament and Petyr Baelish began investigating Pentos's changes and seeking contact with the Sorcerer.

• The Diary's curses turned Khal Drogo into an Undead Creature, dissolving his Horde and igniting warfare across the grasslands.
• Players scattered to Slaver's Bay and Westeros, while Illyrio's attempt to pursue them ended with most of his thousand soldiers dead or wounded in an ambush.
• The Diary urged Illyrio to pay the players and proposed that Viserys use them to seize Pentos and build a force to reclaim Westeros.
• In King's Landing, Jack, Wu Sheng, and Caroline chose to stockpile war supplies and prepare for the tournament, while Jack vowed to challenge Gregor Clegane.
• Petyr Baelish learned of the players, the Hatchling Dragons, and Illyrio's marriage to Viserys, then sent a spy to invite the Sorcerer to Westeros and set out to probe Varys's intentions.

Varys and Petyr Baelish revealed their ambitions to exploit the coming unrest in Westeros, while player Inez overheard their secrets and shared them with her team. The players chose to seek an alliance with House Lannister, and Jack stunned King Robert’s tourney audience with a lethal victory and a glimpse of his hideous face; Cersei secretly sent Inez a note.

• Robert ordered Varys to eliminate Daenerys, Viserys, the dragons, and the sorcerer in Pentos, while Varys concealed his loyalty to House Targaryen.
• Petyr Baelish confronted Varys about his hidden loyalties, and they agreed to pursue their own schemes amid the coming chaos.
• Inez overheard Varys and Petyr’s conversation, then reported their secrets to Jack, Wu Sheng, and Caroline, who decided to seek service with Queen Cersei and House Lannister.
• At the tourney, Jack killed his opponent with a single lance strike, impressing Robert and Ned Stark with his strength.
• Jack removed his helmet at Robert’s request, and his face made Sansa, Joffrey, Arya, Cersei, and several spectators vomit, faint, or flee.
• Robert rewarded Jack and dismissed him and Inez, while Cersei secretly had a note placed in Inez’s hand.

Players’ violence reshaped King’s Landing and plunged Astapor into chaos, while Raymond joined a mission to rescue Waukeen and entered the Nine Hells with the party. Asmodeus appeared in the Bronze Citadel and took Raymond away for a private conversation about a special gift for a new layer of the Nine Hells.

• Nex founded Shadow, which filled the power vacuum in King’s Landing and built a powerful criminal and intelligence network.
• Elder Brain Isadora told Diary that players in Astapor were slaughtering Unsullied for experience, and a player team raided a Good Master’s mansion before escaping with loot and slaves.
• Raymond touched the Shadow Energy Core, heard its strange whispers, and packed it away before the party opened a portal to the Bronze Citadel.
• A Pit Fiend demanded that the party attack demons, but Raymond showed him Asmodeus’s insignia and sent him fleeing.
• Asmodeus arrived, invited Raymond to sign an agreement, and took him away after Raymond mentioned a gift for a new layer of the Nine Hells.

Raymond demonstrated Phyrexian Oil to Asmodeus and proposed reshaping it into a soul-preserving force for a more orderly Devil Legion. Hell’s Planar Will created a new Ninth Layer and made Raymond its lord, while Asmodeus prepared Baator’s armies for a major campaign and the other layer lords reacted to Raymond’s rise.

• Raymond met Asmodeus in Malsheem Fortress and revealed that he planned to unleash the Eldrazi against Graz’zt during the rescue of Waukeen.
• Raymond showed Asmodeus Phyrexian Oil, demonstrated how it transformed devils, and explained his plan to modify it so it could preserve souls and create a new kind of devil.
• Raymond described using lawful evil and social influence to spread Nine Hells’ power, and Hell’s Planar Will responded by forming a new layer and naming him its lord.
• Raymond displayed his new dragon-devil form, then collected the Phyrexian experiments and asked Asmodeus to send him back to the Bronze Citadel.
• Asmodeus questioned Martinet about the layer lords’ reactions, declared his intent to make Soros crown prince, and ordered the Eight Demon Generals and Bel to prepare their armies.
• Devil legions massed at the Bronze Citadel as demons reinforced their own forces, while both sides held back and observers tried to understand the new layer and Asmodeus’s plans.

The disguised champions reached Rift Town after fighting through the Blood War’s rear lines, where Raymond bought a young succubus and made her reveal her true name. They found Afra at the Never Wake Inn and prepared to rest before planning their journey to the Triple Realm.

• Quell, Bonita, and Ilsa fought off demons as the party pressed toward Rift Town, while Davian concealed his seemingly limitless spellcasting from Storm Silverhand and Bert.
• The team entered Rift Town after killing more than forty demons at the gate, and Quell left with two succubi while the others searched for the Never Wake Inn.
• Raymond bought the young succubus Astoviel Songweaver for two Soul Prisms, renamed her Atona, and set rules that bound her to him.
• The party found the Never Wake Inn, recoiled from its stench, and discovered that the pustule-covered demon outside was Afra, their Half-Demon Rogue and guide to the Triple Realm.
• Afra explained that he burst his pustules to keep trouble away, and Storm Silverhand asked him to find a safe place for the party to rest and plan their route.

Afra guided the group through a dangerous route toward the Azzagrat Triple Realm, while Raymond experimented on Vohar and replaced the New Phyrexian creation’s oil with his own version. Vohar gained emotions and free will, then carried the new oil toward Mirrodin’s core, beginning Raymond’s plan to reshape New Phyrexia under his control.

• Afra explained that the group needed to cross the Great Abyss, reach Ferlag, and find a shifting portal toward the Azzagrat Triple Realm and the Silver Palace.
• Raymond captured Vohar and argued that Phyrexian creations lacked souls, offering him a soul in exchange for spying on the Praetor Council and checking Karn.
• Raymond used Melira’s blood to create New Phyrexian Oil, which replaced the old oil in Vohar and awakened his emotions.
• Vohar returned to his territory and, after gaining free will, lost interest in the Praetor Council and Elesh Norn.
• A drop of New Phyrexian Oil entered Karn’s heart and began transforming the Old Phyrexian Oil at Mirrodin’s core.

Raymond and his party explored a hidden passage in the Great Abyss, where cultists transformed a Frostforged Dragon named Monsato into a demon. After Raymond forced Monsato to submit, he began studying the Dragon while Atona assisted him.

• Afra led Raymond and the party through a hidden entrance in the rift into a vast underground chamber.
• Raymond identified a cult ritual to transform a chained Frostforged Dragon, and the party chose to watch rather than intervene.
• The ritual turned the Dragon into a demon, but Monsato broke free of his magical contract, devoured the cultists, and attacked the half-Demon Sorcerer.
• Raymond stopped the Sorcerer from escaping and subdued Monsato with fire magic, forcing him to agree to take part in research.
• Raymond discussed Atona's growing connection to him, then ordered her to help collect Monsato's blood and assist with his examination.

Raymond studied Monsato’s demonic physiology, let Atona absorb a dragon-transformed Sorcerer, and learned that she had gained steel wings. While Raymond pursued his investigation of the Shadow Energy Core, Diary reported the players’ violent conquests in Slaver’s Bay and uncovered a dangerous Slaad inside the Core.

• Raymond dissected Monsato and discovered how Abyssal power had transformed his body and bloodline, then reserved him for dragon-breeding experiments.
• Atona drained the dragon-transformed Sorcerer, gained the ability to turn her wings to steel, and reaffirmed her devotion to Raymond.
• Raymond discussed his search for the universe’s underlying truth with Storm Silverhand before investigating the Shadow Energy Core from his Wizard’s Tower.
• Diary told Raymond that players had devastated Astapor and attacked Yunkai and Meereen, so Raymond ordered plans to buy and settle slaves, make Viserys a faction leader, and accelerate the conflicts in Westeros.
• Diary entered the Shadow Energy Core and encountered a three-headed Slaad with separate, conflicting minds and powerful magic, then warned Raymond that the creature might trigger a catastrophic explosion.

Raymond investigated the Shadow Energy Core with an oil-contaminated Simulacrum and discovered three ancient souls trapped in one Slaad body. After learning how the Netheril Floating City of Seneid fell, he turned Agatha and Varys into loyal Servant Cards, leaving Agatha bonded to the Core and Varys in a new body.

• Raymond moved the Shadow Energy Core to a remote outpost on Mirrodin, then sent a Simulacrum contaminated with New Glistening Oil into its fissure.
• The Simulacrum found the three-headed Slaad, whose heads were Agatha, Shar K'molle, and Varys; after they attacked, the oil began corrupting their shared body and forced them to leave the Core.
• Raymond questioned the three souls and learned that Agatha's failed transformation ritual, Kemo Le's attempt to move Seneid Floating City into the Shadowfell, and the Weave's collapse had combined their souls in the crash.
• Raymond offered Agatha and Varys survival and research opportunities in exchange for serving him, while the oil consumed Kemo Le and Raymond captured his soul in a gemstone.
• Raymond extracted Varys into a new Elf body and used his Spark to turn Agatha and Varys into loyal Servant Cards; Agatha's magic grew stronger after she merged with the Shadow Energy Core.

Shar learned that Soros had taken the Shadow Energy Core beyond her reach and planned to use him in her schemes, while Raymond’s team reached the Molten Iron Lake in search of a portal to the Triple Realm. After demons attacked each other, Raymond unleashed a molten-iron wave, destroyed an Iron Fortress, and killed its ruler Galishet.

• Shar learned that Soros had taken the Shadow Energy Core and Kemo Le’s soul beyond the Crystal Sphere System, and decided to let Soros keep the core as she waited for the right moment to return the City of Shade to the Material Plane.
• Raymond’s team reached the Molten Iron Lake, where Afra explained that the portal to the Triple Realm was expected to open at Sefan-Eren Fortress, ruled by Mastiphal.
• Galishet’s demons attacked Mastiphal’s forces while capturing Lava Elemental Bats, and Raymond proposed intervening so the team could gain access to Sefan-Eren.
• Raymond raised a vast wave of molten iron that swept away demons and destroyed Galishet’s Iron Fortress, then offered to spare Mastiphal’s surviving incubi if Galishet withdrew.
• Galishet attacked Raymond, who triggered another eruption that engulfed the fortress and its troops, then countered her spells until she sank into the molten iron and died.

Raymond forged a powerful red-and-black sword from the Molten Iron Lake, then followed his party to Sefan-Eren, where Mastiphal led them to Malcanthet. The Succubus Queen revealed her secret alliance with Asmodeus and warned Raymond that Afra was a spy for Six Fingers, leaving Raymond prepared to enter the Triple Realm despite the enemy knowing he was coming.

• Raymond drained much of the Molten Iron Lake to forge a formidable sword for Davian, and Afra persuaded the surviving Incubi to guide the party to Sefan-Eren.
• Mastiphal welcomed the party and led them to Malcanthet, who recognized the group and teleported away with Raymond to Shendilavri.
• Malcanthet revealed that Asmodeus had secretly supported her rise in exchange for intelligence, and Raymond showed her his true devil form.
• Raymond refused Malcanthet's seduction and redirected their conversation toward the rescue of Waukeen and the plans against Six Fingers.
• Malcanthet told Raymond that Afra was a spy planted in his party, gave him a mark that could activate spies in the Triple Realm, and warned him that Six Fingers knew he was coming.

Raymond led the rescue team into Graz'zt's Triple Realm, exposed Afra as a spy, and revealed that he planned to rescue Waukeen before unleashing a greater threat on the Abyss. In the Silver Palace, Waukeen learned that Raymond's team already knew their movements were exposed, and she prepared to warn them about her children.

• Raymond left Shendilavri with his companions, and Malcanthet ordered Mastiphal to gather troops while she considered joining the coming conflict against Six Fingers.
• Raymond explained to his team why Malcanthet had rejected Graz'zt, then identified Afra as a spy planted by Six Fingers and outlined a plan to use the enemy's expectations against him.
• Raymond said the rescue would be complete once they found Waukeen, after which he would stay behind to deliver a gift to Six Fingers and the Abyss.
• At the Silver Palace, Graz'zt left Waukeen in the dungeon when a daughter reported Afra's return and the arrival of the gods' agents.
• Waukeen's Half-Demon daughter urged her to surrender her divine power, but Waukeen refused and learned that the rescue team had been exposed.
• A Succubus allied with Malcanthet told Waukeen that Raymond already knew of the danger and asked her to tell the team about her children.

Raymond’s team entered Graz’zt’s Silver Palace, where they uncovered Waukeen’s intelligence and Raymond hunted down fourteen of her Godspawn to empower Atona. After Afra led the party into the palace’s Mirror Halls and betrayed them, Graz’zt trapped them in a life-and-soul wager as hordes of Undead attacked.

• The rescue party openly shopped in Zelatar, and Ilsa freed an Aasimar who soon left after Ilsa warned her away from the mission.
• A Succubus spy delivered Waukeen’s intelligence about the Silver Palace and her Godspawn, and Raymond revealed that Malcanthet’s spies had made contact.
• Raymond and Atona killed fourteen of Waukeen’s Godspawn, and Atona absorbed their Divine Power before falling into a cocoon-like sleep.
• Afra returned with a misleading map and led the party through the Silver Palace’s Mirror Halls, where he escaped through a teleportation portal and revealed his betrayal.
• Graz’zt challenged the party to navigate the Mirror Halls, demanding a life and soul whenever they lost their way, then unleashed hordes of Undead.