Chapter Summaries

Goria and the Fallen Witch successfully tested a replica of an Arcane Empire Floating Ring, which could lift a one-ton Steel Golem. As Goria left to rest, she noticed a surprising change in her abdomen and went to her room to confirm what was happening.

• The Fallen Witch returned to the Laboratory and found that Goria had crafted a replica of a Floating Ring.
• Goria and the Fallen Witch attached the ring to a Steel Golem and tested it, finding that the small device could lift roughly one to three tons.
• Goria recorded the experiment’s initial data and noted that a Wizard Tower would need a Large Floating Ring, while a Floating City would also require a complex blueprint and a powerful energy source.
• The Fallen Witch urged Goria to rest after she had worked for three days without sleep.
• Goria felt something unusual in her abdomen, concealed her concern from the Fallen Witch, and left to confirm what she suspected.

Goria suspected she was pregnant with Soren’s child and decided to keep her suspicion secret until she was certain. Meanwhile, Soren managed the Half-Elves’ migration and learned from Lady of Silver Moon that the Lord of Shadows coveted his Rogue and Tracking Portfolios.

• Goria sensed a possible pregnancy, considered whether it could produce a dangerous Godspawn, and decided not to tell Soren yet.
• Soren ordered the Half-Elves’ migration from Falling Leaf City to continue despite reports that Orcs were scouting the border.
• Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru to arrange housing for the migrants in the surrounding towns under development.
• Lady of Silver Moon visited Soren’s city, praised his efforts, and asked what he hoped to achieve.
• Soren explained that he wanted people to build better lives, and Lady of Silver Moon warned him that the Lord of Shadows was plotting to take his Rogue and Tracking Portfolios.

Soran launched an assault on Gurumba Arena and defeated the Demon Goblins, gaining a powerful new form as they surrendered. Meanwhile, Soren prepared to retrieve Vivian while watching for the Lord of Shadows.

• Soren decided to bring Vivian back to Port Nyanzaru and warned Goria and the Fallen Witch to stay alert.
• The Time of Troubles disrupted The Abyss, sealing the Sea of Blood and leaving many armies without their leaders.
• Soran began his attack on Gurumba Arena with artillery, then led his Demon Legion and Fiend Mercenaries against the defenders.
• Soran and his Fire Demon ally broke through the Demon Goblins' lines, and Soran's power advanced after he killed a Nalfeshnee.
• The Demon Goblins surrendered to Soran, and their Goblin Demon Sorcerer lowered his staff and approached him.

Soran secured the Gurumba Arena by enslaving weaker captives and forcing high-ranking Demon Goblins to fight for survival, while dividing nearby territories among his fiendish allies. On the Material Plane, Soren brought Vivian and Lulumiao back to Port Nyanzaru as Falling Leaf City’s half-elf migrants arrived and preparations began for the city’s next expansion.

• Soran ordered weaker captives enslaved and announced that high-ranking Demon Goblins would fight as gladiators, with victors regaining status and losers dying.
• Soran divided three prosperous streets outside the Gurumba Arena among a hag, a night hag, and a Yugoloth, while planning to turn the arena into a major extraplanar venue.
• Soren brought the reluctant Vivian and the joyful Lulumiao back to Port Nyanzaru to protect Vivian from the Lord of Shadows.
• The first residents from Falling Leaf City arrived in Port Nyanzaru and were settled in harbor tents before being assigned to nearby developing towns.
• Soren arranged for the new arrivals to begin working and announced a third expansion of Port Nyanzaru, including a highway connecting the harbor to twelve towns.

As Lane searched for Alec and Dandy near the river, Dandy reported that a demon had eaten Alec. Lane followed him and discovered a real demon, leaving the danger confronting the new town.

• Lane learned that Alec and Dandy had skipped work to go fishing and went to find them.
• Lane tracked the pair through the jungle after hearing a piercing scream.
• Lane found Dandy covered in blood, and Dandy said Alec had been eaten by a demon.
• Lane took Dandy toward the scene and saw that the creature really was a demon.

Lane killed demons that appeared near Port Nyanzaru and reported the incident to Soren, who discovered that a spatial rift connected a valley to The Abyss. After dretches emerged through the rift, Soren realized demons might keep entering the region.

• Lane killed the demons devouring Alex, rescued the shaken Dandy, and reported their unexplained appearance to Port Nyanzaru's upper authorities.
• Soren and Goria arrived at the scene, secured the area, and tracked the demons' footprints to a valley.
• Goria found no summoning circle or other traces of a summoning, while Soren and Goria sensed that the valley's space was unstable.
• Goria set up a Warding Circle, which alerted Soren and Goria when a spatial rift opened that night.
• Six dretches crawled out of the rift, and Soren crushed them before warning that the valley had to be sealed off.

The Princess investigated a stable Portal to the Dark Realm that had opened near Sir Dimorton’s village. Unable to close it, she sealed off the area and ordered it guarded while court witches prepared to examine it.

• Kelly received urgent intelligence at the Black Reef Tavern and sent it through a hidden door to the Basement for delivery to Port Nyanzaru.
• Knights arrived at the Imperial Palace with urgent news, while Sir Dimorton requested an audience with the Princess.
• Sir Dimorton told the Princess that demons had appeared near his village and that a pitch-black rift remained where they had been destroyed.
• The Princess traveled with Dimorton to the rift and discovered that it was a stable Portal connected to the Dark Realm.
• The Princess failed to close the Portal with Dimensional Lock, so she sealed off the area with a magic formation and ordered legions to guard it and court witches to investigate.

Reports of demons and devils spread across the Material Plane as cultists recruited frightened mortals. Soren put Port Nyanzaru on low-level war readiness, ordering militia training while leaving the danger to become known gradually.

• Silver Hand learned that demons and devils had appeared near the City of Radiance and ordered the Pope to be informed.
• An elven druid found battle remains and evidence of demons or devils near Falling Leaf City, then set out to report to Lord Earth Walker.
• Yugin learned that demons had nearly wiped out his hunting party and driven its sole survivor mad.
• Soren ordered covert sentries to hunt corrupted followers and decided not to announce the demonic threat publicly yet.
• Soren placed Port Nyanzaru on low-level war readiness and required every adult man to undergo militia training every three days.

Soren accumulated enough Divine Power Value to advance to Lesser Divinity, gaining greater spell immunity and the Epic Divine Power feat. As Port Nyanzaru neared the new year, a tavern owner heard a drunk describe a winged Angel flying south, and a mysterious tower briefly appeared near the city's southern ruins.

• Soren advanced his Rogue class to level 8, raised his Dexterity, and chose the Weakness Insight Legendary Feat.
• Soren reached 300 Divine Power Value and advanced to Lesser Divinity, gaining immunity to level 1–4 Spells and the Epic Divine Power feat.
• As the new year approached, the chapter noted that Vivian neared the Demigod realm, the Demon Avatar recruited troops, and Goria pursued a breakthrough in her Floating Ring research.
• A drunk in a Port Nyanzaru tavern claimed he had seen a beautiful Angel with snow-white wings fly south, and the tavern owner left after questioning him.
• In late December, a tower appeared among the Man-Eating Plants in the ruins south of Port Nyanzaru, then vanished after a few minutes.

Soren and his companions defeated the Wizard Tower’s Magical Powered Armor and explored its fourth floor, discovering supplies and altered Astral Sand that could help build Floating Towers. Soren cautiously reached the fifth floor, where he found a vast library and left the group poised to explore the tower’s more dangerous levels.

• Soren used Vivian’s Time Stop to disable the tower’s energy supply, then defeated the Magical Powered Armor after it ran out of power.
• Goria warned that the tower’s dormant Golems needed their internal programs changed before they could be safely activated, and the High Tower Phantom briefly appeared south of Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren disarmed the fourth floor’s Spell Traps and found a storeroom filled with preserved materials, including silver-white metal and expired potions.
• Goria analyzed the metal and powder, discovered they were altered forms of Astral Sand, and hoped to use the material to build a Floating Ring or trade it for resources.
• Soren went up to the fifth floor and found rows of bookshelves holding thousands of books.

Soren and his companions explored the Wizard Tower’s library, where most books had crumbled but a few enchanted volumes survived. A deadly trap on the sixth-floor stairs wounded Soren, and after testing it, he chose to leave the tower and wait for Goria to learn a safer way through.

• Soren found the fifth floor free of enemies, and Goria and the others joined him among the surviving enchanted books.
• Tower Spirit 1 persuaded the other tower spirits to delay activating the Arcane Guards to protect their master's books.
• Vivian urged Soren to continue upstairs, but a fast ray from the sixth-floor stairs sliced off half of his hand before he retreated and healed himself.
• Soren warned the others about the trap, then tested it with metal pieces and a Demon Stone, discovering that the ray could not cut through the stone.
• Soren decided not to spend Divine Power Value forcing his way past the trap, and the group left the Wizard Tower to recover and study what they had gained.

As Port Nyanzaru prepared for the new year, a gigantic waterspout threatened to destroy the city, and Soren used his divine power to erase it. Afterward, he and Goria spotted another tornado near the Amazon Jungle, and Soren realized the Lord of Storms had fallen to the mortal world.

• Soren worried about finding a suitable portfolio to help Vivian ascend to godhood while Port Nyanzaru prepared for the new year.
• A gigantic waterspout formed off Port Nyanzaru, destroying boats and threatening to sweep through the city.
• Soren took Deity Form and used Miracle and Alter Reality to crush the tornado, exhausting himself and leaving casualties behind.
• Soren and Goria flew above the city and saw another enormous tornado raging near the Amazon Jungle.
• Soren concluded that the Lord of Storms had fallen to the mortal world.

Soren investigated the disasters caused by the Lord of Storms falling into the mortal world and considered how the resulting loss of divine power had affected the Overseas Regions. After a Banshee Bird appeared at Port Nyanzaru, Soren scared it away and wondered whether the Time of Troubles had disturbed the Netherworld.

• Soren concluded that the Lord of Storms’s lost divine power had caused the tornado and might have triggered further disasters across the Overseas Regions.
• Port Nyanzaru counted severe losses from the tornado, while donations and worshippers at Soren’s temple increased.
• A Banshee Bird appeared near the harbor as soldiers recovered bodies, and Goria recognized it as a creature linked to death and the God of Death.
• Soren used Divine Perception to inspect the Banshee Bird and found no God of Death or servants nearby.
• The Banshee Bird recognized Soren as a deity and fled, leaving him to wonder whether the Time of Troubles had affected the Netherworld.

Rexon encountered a ghost near Port Nyanzaru’s docks, and reports of hauntings spread through the city before the New Year. On New Year’s Day, Soren learned that the Goddess of Magic had appeared in the Eastern Realm and immediately set out to follow her trail.

• Rexon went to the docks to relieve himself, saw a ghost, and fell into the sea as he tried to flee.
• Patrol members investigated further reports of ghosts, and hidden rogues later confirmed that several pale figures haunted the docks.
• Port Nyanzaru’s temple found no ghosts, and the sightings stopped before the city’s New Year celebration.
• Soren received news that the Goddess of Magic had appeared in the Eastern Realm after an extraordinary event revealed her trail.
• Soren abandoned the celebrations and set out with preparations he had made earlier to follow the Goddess of Magic.

Soren followed the Goddess of Magic’s trail from the Eastern Desert to a forest near Misty Forest, where the trail vanished. He encountered Ildis, a Wizard from Wizard City who Soren recognized as a future powerful mage favored by the Goddess.

• Soren investigated the Mana Storm’s traces in the Eastern Desert and used his [Tracking] Portfolio to follow the Goddess of Magic’s trail.
• Soren traveled northwest for three days, and the trail abruptly stopped near Misty Forest.
• Soren triggered a Wizard’s alarm Spell and emerged from the shadows, identifying himself as Soni.
• Ildis confronted Soren, and Soren recognized him as a future famous Wizard who would gain power after becoming intimate with the Goddess of Magic.

Soren persuaded Ildis to cooperate by revealing a secret connected to the Staff of the Magi, hoping to follow him to the Goddess of Magic. Ildis became eager to learn more, leaving the two poised to pursue the Artifact together.

• Soren decided he could not leave Ildis because he hoped the Wizard would lead him to the Goddess of Magic.
• Soren offered to help Ildis explore a hidden treasure linked to the Staff of the Magi.
• Ildis cast Detect Thoughts and confirmed Soren was telling the truth.
• Ildis invited Soren to the campfire and asked where the Staff of the Magi was hidden.
• Soren considered the Artifact’s dangerous seal and recalled how the Staff and the Goddess of Magic’s power would later help make Ildis the most powerful Wizard.

Ildis waited for a Northern Witch but instead met Soren, who offered him a lead on a secret treasure possibly connected to the Staff of the Magi. Soren planned to use Ildis to locate the Goddess of Magic and hoped to prevent the coming collapse of the Weave from devastating his allies.

• Ildis recalled how a Northern Witch had helped him break through his mental barrier and become a quasi-legendary spellcaster.
• Ildis met Soren instead of the witch he had been expecting, and Soren told him where to find a secret treasure that might seal the Staff of the Magi.
• Ildis used Detect Thoughts on Soren, unaware that Soren recognized the spell and allowed him to believe the treasure lead was credible.
• Soren considered how the Weave’s collapse would cripple spellcasters, devastate the Northern Witches, and weaken Goria and the Fallen Witch.
• Soren decided to try contacting the Goddess of Magic, hoping to alter the course of history and delay the Weave’s collapse.

Soren wondered why the Goddess of Magic had chosen Ildis, then watched her appear disguised as a witch after Ildis nearly left. The disguised Goddess recognized Soren, but a Banshee Bird interrupted them, forcing her to urge everyone to flee.

• Soren judged Ildis competent and handsome but found no obvious reason the Goddess of Magic would have chosen him.
• When the Goddess did not appear by dawn, Ildis prepared to pursue a lead on the Staff of the Magi, but Soren persuaded him to wait longer.
• The Goddess of Magic appeared disguised as a witch, and Ildis introduced Soren as Wizard Soni.
• The Goddess recognized Soren and reacted with surprise and tension, while he realized she had seen through his identity.
• A Banshee Bird appeared, and the Goddess urged Soren and Ildis to leave before they spoke further.

Soren followed Midnight, the Goddess of Magic in disguise, and suspected a Banshee Bird’s unexplained appearance signaled danger around her. At their nighttime meeting, he warned that every Goddess of Magic had met the same fate, and Midnight reacted with alarm.

• Soren wondered whether the Banshee Bird had been sent by Kelemvor or Naram and concluded that Midnight’s fall would not be simple.
• Midnight told Ildis to call her by her mortal name, then stopped with Soren and Ildis in a war-damaged town for the night.
• Midnight visited Soren’s room, where he said he had been looking for her and hoped to help.
• Midnight identified Soren and explained that the gods had watched his rapid rise to godhood and considered him a threat.
• Soren told Midnight that the Goddesses of Magic seemed unable to escape a fate of death, and her expression changed drastically.

Soren chose to try to save the Goddess of Magic, accepting that changing history could cost him his foreknowledge. He joined her and Ildis on a journey to the Misty Forest, where she planned to visit the Father of Oaks’ temple and retrieve something important.

• Soren weighed the cost of preserving his foreknowledge against the devastation that the Goddess of Magic’s death would bring, then resolved to try to save her.
• The Goddess of Magic left Soren’s room at dawn, and Ildis offered to postpone the search for the Staff of the Magi to help Lady Midnight.
• Soren, Ildis, and Lady Midnight set out for the Misty Forest, where Lady Midnight said she needed to retrieve something from the Father of Oaks’ temple.
• Soren recalled that Silvanus had sacrificed himself to halt the destruction of nature after the Arcane Empire fell, and that his druids still hoped to restore nature and bring him back.