Chapter Summaries

Soros and Fzoul Chembryl joined forces to kill Manshoon, whose soul he forged into a powerful artifact while most of his clones descended into a murderous frenzy. As Fzoul prepared to expand Bane’s influence, Atona confronted the fallen Paladin Selur and invited her to pray to her master.

• Soros gave Fzoul Chembryl the Rod of Tyranny and outlined a plan to invade the Western Heartlands before presenting himself as its liberator.
• Soros, Fzoul Chembryl, and Nemetona ambushed Manshoon in Bane’s temple and prevented his escape.
• Nemetona’s arrows crippled Manshoon, and Soros killed him and forged most of his soul into Manshoon’s Skull.
• Soros and Fzoul found Manshoon’s clones fighting one another after fragments of his soul entered them, and they decided to try rebuilding one as a loyal assistant.
• Atona confronted Selur about her actions during Zhentil Keep’s uprising, causing the Paladin to lose her faith in Tyr and accept Atona’s invitation to pray to her master.

Raymond sealed a newly created Eldrazi-twisted Beholder and rescued the final Manshoon clone, then converted the fallen Paladin Syril Darkhope into his follower and empowered her as a Darkguard. He left Zhentil Keep with Atona and Vermees and traveled to the Fugue Plane to investigate Jergal.

• A Wild Magic Zone caused a summoned Beholder infused with Eldrazi power to transform six Manshoon clones into grotesque thralls, and Raymond captured the Beholder and its creations in a card.
• Raymond and Fzoul Chembryl discovered that the surviving Manshoon clone had lost much of his memory, so Raymond injected ectoplasm into his soul and left Fzoul to care for him.
• Raymond learned that Syril Darkhope had fallen after her attempt to organize freed slaves in Zhentil Keep ended in a violent riot, and he explained how she could impose order on a rebellion.
• Syril rejected Tyr's holy symbol, became Raymond's devoted follower, and received infernal power as a Darkguard before riding away to seek a ruler who could spread her new teachings.
• Raymond returned to Athkatla with Atona and Vermees, then set out for the Fugue Plane to investigate Jergal.

Renal Bloodscalp learned that Bodhi and her master were purging Cyric’s faith across Faerûn, while Raymond secured Jergal’s promise of divine portfolios in exchange for finding him a world where he could be reborn as a mortal. Kelemvor then helped Raymond transform Manshoon’s Skull into a powerful Death Messenger before Raymond left the City of Judgment.

• Bodhi killed Malik at the docks, warned Renal Bloodscalp to end the Shadow Thieves’ ties to Cyric, and claimed the Graveyard District for herself.
• Renal Bloodscalp learned that Cyric’s temples and followers were being destroyed across Faerûn, then recruited adventurers to weaken Cyric-worshipping leaders within the Shadow Thieves.
• Bodhi built up her vampire forces and agreed with Irenicus to use the conflict to weaken the Shadow Thieves, while secretly reporting their plans to Raymond.
• Raymond agreed to find Jergal a world beyond Toril where he could be reborn within fifty years, and Jergal granted Raymond several portfolios.
• Kelemvor empowered Manshoon’s Skull with Jergal’s help, creating a Death Messenger that Raymond could summon.

Raymond returned seven portfolios from Jergal to Talona and Loviatar, then went back to Athkatla and turned the captives from the campaign against Luskan into Phyrexian servants. He uncovered the truth behind the evil Brass Dragon Kurlemos’s account of killing his family.

• Talona and Loviatar discussed the rise of Kelemvor and Bane before Raymond arrived with seven portfolios; Talona claimed Decay, Parasites, and Old Age, while Loviatar took the rest and received Raymond’s advice about Dusk and Autumn.
• Loviatar gave Raymond the artifact Loviatar's Reward, a whip that could inflict pain while granting temporary boosts and other benefits.
• Raymond returned to the Wizard's Tower, heard that Atona and Vermees had attacked Cyric's followers, and reviewed the Book of Cyric and the True Teachings of Cyric.
• Raymond offered the captured dragons, monsters, and Barbarians a chance to swear loyalty; after Kurlemos accepted, Raymond infected the others with the Lycanthropic Curse and transformed them with Phyrexian Oil.
• Kurlemos claimed that he had accidentally killed his sister and mother over a gem, but Raymond read his memories and revealed that the Brass Dragon was far less innocent than he claimed.

Raymond recruited Kurlemos by transforming him into an Infernal Brass Dragon, then traveled to Zendikar, where he strengthened two dragons and befriended Nissa. Back on Mirrodin, he found Glissa infected with Phyrexian Oil and arrived to decide her fate amid a dispute between refugees.

• Kurlemos confessed to murdering his mother and sister for their territory and treasure, and Raymond judged him a useful but dangerous ally.
• Raymond forced Kurlemos to accept power from the Nine Hells, transforming him into an Infernal Brass Dragon, then took him and Vermees to Zendikar.
• Nahiri admitted she had knocked out Nissa after the Elf attacked her, and Raymond explained the misunderstanding and encouraged Nissa to explore other planes.
• Nissa formed a Partner Contract with Raymond, gave him a Summoning Creature Card, and left Zendikar; Raymond then extended the dragons’ lives and captured and Compleated giant beasts.
• Raymond returned to Mirrodin and found refugees arguing over whether to kill the oil-infected Glissa, while Melira and Elspeth Tirel stood nearby.
• Raymond reassured Melira and walked toward Glissa to take charge of the decision.

Soros examined Glissa and discovered that several strains of Phyrexian Oil were fighting within her while the Mirari preserved her fragmented soul; he recovered the artifact and absorbed the Spark inside it. He welcomed Elspeth to the City of Iron and drove off Tezzeret when he demanded Melira for experiments, leaving Nicol Bolas unaware of Soros’s secret plans.

• Soros found that Glissa was almost completely Phyrexianized, but her soul remained attached to her body as different strains of Phyrexian Oil competed within her.
• Soros removed the Mirari from Glissa, identified its power and the Spark within it, and absorbed the Spark after arranging for Glissa to be confined in his laboratory.
• Soros explained to Elspeth that the City of Iron had no ruler and that its order depended on refugees exchanging labor for necessities, then invited her to a magically created feast.
• Tezzeret demanded that Soros hand over Melira for experiments, but Soros refused and challenged him to fight.
• Soros used an Etherium structure and a powerful red-mana blast to destroy Tezzeret’s defenses, forcing him to flee Mirrodin with his Spark.

Nicol Bolas sent Tezzeret to steal Kaladesh’s Planar Bridge after learning that Soros had driven him from Mirrodin and discovered Melira’s immunity to Phyrexian Oil. Meanwhile, Raymond persuaded Elspeth to lead the refugees in the City of Iron, then returned to Faerun and sent Kurlemos and Vermees to clear the Sword Coast of threats to his trade routes.

• Nicol Bolas inspected his Immortal army and planned to seize the Planar Bridge and the Immortal Sun to launch the War of the Spark.
• Tezzeret arrived badly injured and told Nicol Bolas that Soros had attacked him after he demanded Melira for experiments; Nicol Bolas healed him and ordered him to steal the Planar Bridge from Kaladesh.
• Soros reassured Elspeth that Tezzeret would not return, then offered her authority to shape the City of Iron into her ideal society; Elspeth agreed to lead the refugees and lent Soros the Chengyang Sword to reforge.
• Raymond returned to Athkatla and ordered Kurlemos and Vermees to control or eliminate dragons, Monsters, and Barbarian tribes threatening trade across the Sword Coast.
• Kurlemos chose the northern region, while Vermees took the south and vowed to bring back Balagos “the Flame” within a month.

Raymond planned to reforge the Chengyang Sword with the power of Pandorym and an Eldrazi Titan while his agents advanced their plans across Faerûn. The chapter ended with Alustriel welcoming the airship delegation to Silverymoon and receiving Soros’s proposal for the Silvermoon Confederation to join his Trade Alliance.

• Raymond ordered Ximmon to support both Vermees and Kurlemos, then began planning a long-term reforging of the Chengyang Sword using Pandorym and an Eldrazi Titan’s power.
• Vermees conquered Todak Haudehek’s Dwarf clan in the Starspine Mountains, and Ximmon met with her to offer intelligence on Balagos and the Bhaalspawn unrest.
• Vermees rejected Ximmon’s suggestion to intervene in the Bhaalspawn conflict and chose to focus on capturing and killing Balagos the Flying Flame.
• Ximmon and Kurlemos agreed to cooperate against the Harpers and planned to manipulate the Harpers and Klauth into fighting each other.
• Davian escorted the airship safely to Silverymoon, where Alustriel and Vera Malandis welcomed it and learned about its defenses and affordable fares.
• A Waukeen Cleric invited Alustriel and the Silvermoon Confederation to join Soros’s Trade Alliance, offering trade airships as an incentive, and Alustriel welcomed the delegation to a banquet.

Raymond helped establish a Trade Alliance across much of Faerûn, then secured the gods’ approval for a divine war against Cyric and joined it as lord of Baator’s Ninth Layer. Asmodeus granted Raymond command of thirty Devil Legions, and Raymond went to inspect Zariel’s Phyrexian Oil forces before the campaign began.

• Alustriel and Vera Malandis celebrated the Trade Alliance’s establishment and discussed Soros’s reported role in destroying Cyric’s avatar.
• At the Pantheon, Raymond presented the Book of Cyric as evidence of blasphemy, and more than four-fifths of the gods approved a divine war against Cyric.
• Raymond offered the Devil Legions in exchange for Cyric’s Petitioners, and the participating gods signed a binding contract with him.
• Asmodeus praised Raymond for securing the agreement, gave him command of thirty Devil Legions, and ordered him to demonstrate their strength.
• Raymond visited Karakatus and watched Zariel’s Phyrexian Oil troops conduct a brutal combat exercise; Zariel landed before him and saluted.

Raymond mobilized Zariel’s forces for the war against Cyric while directing Malcanthet to expand the Ninth Layer’s corrupting entertainment empire. After learning that Lady Firna planned to sacrifice Gramill, Raymond revealed that he had allied with both Firna and Archduke Belial and made Gramill choose whom to support; he then led his assembled army through a portal to join the gods’ coalition in the Shadowfell.

• Raymond gave Zariel command of a scepter representing thirty Devil legions and ordered her to prepare for war, while Malcanthet’s forces remained behind to corrupt visitors and develop the Ninth Layer’s city.
• Malcanthet reported that a high-ranking Angel from Celestia had established a headquarters in the city, and Raymond ordered her to lure more Celestials in before gradually corrupting the Angel.
• Raymond showed Gramill Lady Firna’s request to sacrifice her in a ritual against Archduke Belial, then revealed that he had allied with both parents and let Gramill decide whom she wanted to support.
• Zariel assembled her army, and Raymond led her million-strong Mechanical Angel Legion and thirty Devil legions through a cross-planar portal to the Shadowfell to join the gods’ coalition.
• Oghma recognized the Mechanical Angel Legion, and Tempus arrived, sensed Zariel’s battle fervor, and laughed as the two warriors faced each other.

Raymond’s forces routed Cyric’s armies in the Howling Void, but Cyric unleashed the Chaos Hound, Kezef, against the allied gods. After the gods hesitated to confront Kezef, Raymond attacked him with overwhelming force and trapped him with the Chengyang Sword, leaving Kezef helpless as Raymond began dissecting him.

• Tempus declared the Divine War, Shar opened portals to the High Throne, and Zariel led the Mechanical Angel Legion and thirty Devil Legions into the Howling Void.
• Zariel’s disciplined vanguard and the Devil Legions broke through Cyric’s defenses, while Raymond’s railguns devastated the enemy forces.
• Bane joined Raymond and discussed how Raymond’s ideas had expanded Bane’s understanding of tyranny and strengthened his divine power.
• Cyric appeared before the allied gods, rejected their judgment, and summoned Kezef before vanishing from the battlefield.
• Kezef attacked and devoured petitioners while the gods hesitated, prompting Raymond to blast him with the Divine Power Shock Scepter and condemn the gods’ inaction.
• Raymond struck Kezef with meteors, then used a time-accelerating field and the Chengyang Sword to immobilize him and begin removing his eyes and other body parts.

Lesso dismembered and sealed Kezef, then received the Dogslayer Sword from Midnight as the allied gods continued their assault on Cyric’s realm. When Yan-C-Bin joined Cyric’s forces and Cyric ambushed Raymond, Zariel intercepted him and unleashed her overload form, ending the chapter with Cyric pinned to a wall by her sword.

• Lesso trapped Kezef in a time-stopped space, dismembered the Chaos Hound, and sealed its pieces in separate containers.
• Midnight gave Lesso the Dogslayer Sword, while the allied army pressed its attack and Zariel’s Mechanical Angel Legion devastated Cyric’s reinforcements.
• Raymond and the gods identified Yan-C-Bin as an evil Wind Elemental Prince who had joined the battle after reading the Book of Cyric.
• Raymond tried to use True Teachings of Cyric to free Yan-C-Bin from the book’s influence, but Cyric ambushed him with an Artifact blade.
• Zariel struck Cyric aside, then stabbed herself with a holy sword and transformed into her blazing overload form.
• Zariel charged Cyric and pinned him through the abdomen to a wall with her flaming sword.

Zariel battled Cyric in the Howling Void, drawing power from divine blood, Phyrexian Oil, and the gods who supported her. After Yan-C-Bin regained her sanity and Cyric’s forces collapsed, Mystra Midnight, Kelemvor, Bane, and Shar took over the fight, while Soros considered how the evolving oil might threaten gods.

• Cyric unleashed a Divine Power Storm, then struck Zariel down in a direct clash, leaving her badly damaged.
• Tempus and Bane granted Zariel Divine Power, and she absorbed corpses and Cyric’s spilled blood to transform into a stronger bone demon.
• Zariel wounded Cyric in their renewed battle while Raymond recited the True Teachings of Cyric, freeing Yan-C-Bin from the Book of Cyric’s influence.
• Yan-C-Bin turned her Wind Elemental forces against Cyric’s legions, and Soros secured her aid and a secret agreement before she departed.
• Mystra Midnight and Kelemvor joined the battle, followed by Bane and Shar, and the gods beat Cyric while Soros recorded the spectacle.
• Zariel told Soros that Phyrexian Oil was evolving through the absorbed divine blood and power, while Soros ordered her to provide samples after it stabilized.

Raymond helped the gods try and convict Cyric, then maneuvered the division of Cyric’s portfolios to weaken him and strengthen his own position against Shar. After collecting his rewards and making plans to oppose Shar, Raymond encountered Eilistraee, who invited him to dance.

• The gods bound Cyric, and Raymond read the True Teachings of Cyric aloud until Cyric regained his senses and faced Tyr’s trial.
• Mask exposed Cyric’s authorship of the Book of Cyric, and the gods convicted him and stripped away every portfolio except Lies.
• Raymond hosted a rigged contest between Mask and Shar, allowing Mask to reclaim Intrigue, while other portfolios went to the Crimson Knight, Malar, Shar, and Auril.
• Raymond left Cyric bound in his ruined realm, warned him that the gods might kill him, and removed his enchanted rope before departing with Zariel.
• Raymond collected gifts from Malar, Auril, and the Crimson Knight and secretly contracted with Mask to oppose Shar.
• Raymond emerged from the Shadowfell and met Eilistraee, who danced for him and asked whether he liked dancing.

Raymond agreed to help Eilistraee establish a Drow refuge at Dragonspear Castle, then expanded his Ninth Layer operations and pledged to bolster the Nine Hells in the war against the Eldrazi. Asmodeus gave Raymond authority over Glasya’s affairs, and Glasya learned that he could take control of the Sixth Layer.

• Eilistraee asked Raymond to help her followers settle on the surface and make Liriel Baenre her Chosen.
• Raymond proposed a semi-underground Drow city at Dragonspear Castle, and Eilistraee agreed to send Qilué Veladorn to lead its construction.
• Raymond oversaw mass Devil promotions and ordered the Cyberpunk City to grow to ten billion residents while Gramill prepared to visit the Fourth Layer.
• Raymond discussed his addictive drugs and plans for the Demons with Asmodeus, then agreed to send Lemures to fight under Zariel as the Blood War resumed.
• Asmodeus gave Raymond authority to discipline Glasya, and a Scorpion Devil warned Glasya that Raymond could take over the Sixth Layer.

Glasya reacted to Asmodeus’s binding document by ordering spies to learn Soros’s position, while Raymond met Mordenkainen and discussed Sparks and magic. After learning that Sarevok had killed Gorion, Raymond sent the transformed Atio to await the Bhaalspawn, as Abdel and Imoen fled toward the Friendly Arm.

• Glasya ordered her Scorpion Devil spymaster to investigate Soros and invite him to her court before the other Lords of the Planes learned of the dispute.
• Mordenkainen visited Raymond, examined a Spark, and traded magical knowledge with him before receiving news that Sarevok had killed Gorion.
• Raymond declared that he would claim Bhaal’s Death Portfolio for Talona and take the rest of Bhaal’s divine power, then chose Atio to approach the Bhaalspawn discreetly.
• Raymond used Malar’s collar to turn Atio into a humanlike Beast King vessel, tested his abilities, fitted him with a controller, and sent him to a forest near the Friendly Arm.
• Abdel and Imoen escaped a troll in the woods near Candlekeep, then argued over whether to seek help from Soros or go to the Friendly Arm as Gorion had instructed.

Mordenkainen warned Elminster that Soros was reshaping the Sword Coast through alliances, trade, and airships, but Elminster remained determined to restrain him. Meanwhile, Raymond brought the Cowled Wizards Guild under his control, coordinated with Shaan VII, and watched Atio’s fight against Sarevok’s bandits as an unknown figure searched the bodies.

• Mordenkainen showed Elminster and Storm Silverhand images of the Ninth Layer of Baator and argued that Soros’s rule could improve life and trade across the Sword Coast.
• Elminster accepted that Soros was a powerful builder but resolved to oppose some of his plans, beginning with the Bhaalspawn crisis.
• Raymond compelled the Cowled Wizards Guild’s archmages to submit and ordered them to stop enforcing Amn’s ban on Arcane Magic.
• Raymond and Shaan VII discussed the Bhaalspawn, Shaan’s planned campaign against Mannon and Tethyr, and the limits imposed on powerful players in the conflict.
• Raymond watched through Atio as the polar bear cub rested among Sarevok’s slain bandits while a small figure searched the bodies for coins.

Imoen and Abdel escaped a Dire Ape attack with help from Atio, then continued toward Friendly Arm, unaware that bounty hunters awaited them. As Zhentil Keep’s invasion advanced and Cormyr was weakened by a grain crisis, Ximmon revealed that Soros’s broader plan may encompass the war, Sarevok, and control of the Sword Coast.

• Imoen was caught stealing from the dead Rogues when Atio woke, but the Polar Bear cub protected her and Abdel by slaughtering most of the Dire Apes pursuing Thrall and Montaron.
• Atio failed to keep the group with him, so Raymond took control of his body, shrank him, and ordered him to track Imoen and Abdel as they continued toward Friendly Arm.
• Imoen and Abdel celebrated their stolen treasure with Thrall and Montaron, not realizing that the Zhentarim scouts and other powerful factions were watching them; Tarnesh was waiting at Friendly Arm while Jaheira and Khalid awaited the Bhaalspawn.
• A Harper messenger told Khalid that Fzoul Chembryl had led Zhentil Keep’s forces in an invasion, while Cormyr was too troubled by collapsing grain prices and internal unrest to intervene.
• At Eversult, Ximmon explained to Fzoul that Soros’s plans might use the invasion and Sarevok’s ambitions to weaken Baldur’s Gate and bring the Sword Coast under Soros’s control.
• Ximmon warned Fzoul against disrupting Soros’s plans, then left as Manshoon arrived and embraced Fzoul, grabbing his buttocks.

Fzoul Chembryl’s invasion advanced while Sarevok secretly sabotaged Baldur’s Gate’s response and pursued his half-brother’s Bhaalspawn power. In Waterdeep, a Trade Alliance crisis exposed deep political divisions, and Soros and Elminster agreed to keep their conflict from harming commoners before Soros condemned Elminster’s resistance to his plans, leaving the old wizard visibly angry.

• Fzoul Chembryl sent Manshoon’s clone to lead Zhentil Keep’s army toward the Greenfields as Baldur’s Gate’s dukes agreed to seek reinforcements.
• Sarevok’s men ambushed and killed Baldur’s Gate’s delegation, and Sarevok ordered the bodies and evidence hidden while directing his followers to infiltrate the city and hunt his half-brother.
• Waterdeep’s leaders debated joining Soros’s Trade Alliance as declining trade and the cost of competing with Airships threatened the city’s prosperity.
• Kelben told Leira that he had left the Harpers, aligned himself with Soros, and made a secret agreement with Fzoul Chembryl.
• Soros and Elminster discussed Zhentil Keep’s invasion, Soros’s methods of rule, and their opposing visions for Faerûn, then agreed their conflict would not involve innocent commoners.
• Soros defended his plans for a unified Imperium and dismissed Elminster as an old man resisting change, provoking anger on the wizard’s face.

Raymond argued with Elminster about his plans for a unified Imperium while Abdel and Imoen survived a deadly attack at the Friendly Arm Inn. Raymond secretly helped Imoen revive Montaron and equipped her with a powerful ring, as the party set off toward a more dangerous future involving Irenicus.

• Raymond told Elminster that he wanted to build an Imperium to show Faerun's people the possibility of a better life, while Elminster remained opposed to his plans.
• Tarnesh attacked Abdel's party outside the Friendly Arm Inn; Abdel overcame a magical fear spell and killed Tarnesh, then beheaded the Charmed Montaron when he attacked Imoen.
• Jaheira and Khalid met Abdel and Imoen at the inn, confirmed their connection to Gorion, and warned Abdel against joining the war between Zhentil Keep and Baldur's Gate.
• Imoen recognized Raymond by his Ring of the Ram, followed him to his room, and received the ring after agreeing to keep his presence secret.
• Raymond gave Imoen advice about learning magic and an item that could revive the dead; she secretly used it to resurrect Montaron, while Jaheira grew suspicious of the Zhentarim spies.
• Abdel's party set out on a different course than before, heading toward a more complicated situation with Irenicus watching from the shadows.