Chapter Summaries

After the Weave collapsed, Soren considered backup plans to restore magic and preserve his Floating City project. He focused on acquiring a magic-related domain so he could create a regional [Shadow Weave] around Port Nyanzaru and the Shadow Plane.

• Soren reflected on how the collapse of the Weave would make maintaining the Floating City and other civilizations difficult.
• Soren concluded that his plan A, saving the Goddess of Magic, had failed because the Weave had already disappeared, though the Goddess remained missing rather than dead.
• Soren weighed plan B, helping the Lady of Silver Moon inherit the Goddess of Magic's power, against plan C, helping Goria or the Fallen Witch claim the magic portfolio.
• Soren considered using his [shadow] portfolio and control of the Shadow Plane to build a small regional [Shadow Weave].
• Soren realized he first needed a domain connected to magic, the Weave, or mysteries before he could attempt to create it.

After the Weave’s collapse revealed exceptionally talented spellcasters, Soren proposed opening a universal technical school in Port Nyanzaru to train workers for the city’s growing needs. He appointed Saruman as its president and planned to enroll about three thousand trainees.

• The Wizard Union, the Northern Witches Council, the Ice Witches' Coven, and Port Nyanzaru made progress restoring spellcasting, while newly revealed geniuses became recruitment targets.
• Goria took several unusually intelligent witches from Port Nyanzaru as apprentices to train them as future arcanists.
• Soren told Goria, Saruman, the Fallen Witch, and others that he wanted to open a technical school for ordinary residents.
• Soren explained that short courses would teach practical skills such as water management, forging, engineering, and alchemy, preparing graduates for jobs in Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren appointed Saruman president and proposed recruiting around three thousand trainees for work in the arsenal, laboratory, and City Hall.

News of Port Academy spread through Port Nyanzaru, prompting families to prepare their children for practical training and possible tests for class-holder aptitude. The chapter left the city’s promising young people gathering in response to Soren’s plan, strengthening Port Nyanzaru’s future workforce and leadership.

• Customers at Thresh Tavern discussed City Hall’s announcement that Port Academy would offer practical instruction with tuition that struggling families could repay after graduation.
• Port Nyanzaru residents decided to send younger relatives to learn trades such as shipbuilding so they could find steady work in the city.
• A patrol sergeant said the city would search for people with the aptitude to become Wizards and other class holders, prompting patrons to consider bringing relatives from Shipwreck Bay for testing.
• Families across Port Nyanzaru eagerly prepared talented young people to attend the academy after hearing that Soren had personally decided to establish it.

The High Priest’s party searched Pirate Isle for the Anti-Magic Prison and found a submerged passage near a lair of powerful shark-men. They prepared to confront the shark-men and interrogate their priest while investigating whether the passage led to the prison.

• Lulumiao killed a mutant lizardfolk, and the High Priest reminded her and Milan to keep training and stay alert.
• Ugly Monkey reported finding shark-men and an underwater passage near the island’s northern coast.
• The High Priest ordered Ugly Monkey’s group to wait and avoid provoking the shark-men until the others arrived.
• The High Priest’s party reached the shark-men’s coastal lair and saw a passage leading toward a fissure in the seabed.
• The High Priest told the group to spare the shark-men’s priest for questioning, and Giant advanced with his anchor.

The High Priest’s party defeated the Shark-men and learned that their target lay in an undersea canyon guarded by terrifying monsters. In Port Nyanzaru, Soren built an incentive system for the city’s Library and Academy, but a plea for help from the High Priest forced him to open a portal to the Anti-Magic Prison.

• The Giant led the defense while Ugly Monkey, Lulumiao, Milan, and the Drow Warriors helped rout the Shark-men, capturing their Shaman Priest.
• The High Priest healed and controlled the Shaman Priest, learned that the target was in an undersea canyon, and planned to investigate that afternoon.
• Soren developed Port Nyanzaru’s Library access system, offering Wizards contribution credit and access to powerful spells and knowledge in exchange for service.
• Soren appointed Saruman head of Port Academy and prepared to check on Goria’s research.
• Soren received a request for help from the High Priest, recognized the danger of the Anti-Magic Prison, and opened a portal.

Soren answered the High Priest’s distress signal and found the party battered by a true Son of Dagon in the Anti-Magic Prison. After healing the wounded giant, he descended into the sea, routed the Son’s manta rays with Intimidation, and charged through its tentacles to confront it.

• Soren teleported to the underwater battlefield after the High Priest’s distress signal and healed the giant’s severed arm with [Greater Restoration].
• The High Priest told Soren that a true Son of Dagon controlled the manta rays and had overwhelmed the party with a powerful psychic field.
• Soren descended toward the Anti-Magic Prison and resisted the Son of Dagon’s Chaos domain and several control spells.
• The Son of Dagon sent hundreds of manta rays after Soren, but Soren’s Intimidation drove them away.
• The Son of Dagon attacked with enormous tentacles, and Soren charged forward, severing them with his artifact.

Soren killed the Son of Dagon and entered the Anti-Magic Prison, where he discovered a device that appeared to enable Elemental Fission. After finding the ruins badly damaged and their Mythal core missing, he prepared to return to the Pirate Isle and bring in experts and supplies from Port Nyanzaru.

• Soren blocked the Son of Dagon’s mental attack and killed it, gaining 8 Divine Rank Value.
• Soren purified the seawater, moved the Son of Dagon’s corpse, and sent the High Priest to arrange for its parts to be transported.
• Soren entered the Anti-Magic Prison with the High Priest, Milan, and Giant, and cleared a path through the ruins.
• Soren discovered a device that he identified as a possible Elemental Fission device and planned to have Goria study it.
• Soren found only a damaged Puppet Golem and a few weak Guardian Golems, but could not locate the Mythal core.
• Soren decided to return to the Pirate Isle and establish a Teleportation Circle so Port Nyanzaru could send people and equipment to the ruins.

Soren left Goria and the Fallen Witch to study the Anti-Magic Prison’s dormant Mythal and returned to Port Nyanzaru, where the Demon Lord of Fear attacked Vivian as she neared becoming a demigod. Soren entered Vivian’s mental realm to stop him, but found two identical Vivians on the Demon Lord’s throne.

• Goria determined that the Anti-Magic Prison’s Mythal had shut down and that salvaging it would require a large workforce.
• The Fallen Witch examined a device that might be an advanced [Elemental Fission] apparatus, while Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru to send more people to the site.
• The Demon Lord of Fear’s will attacked Vivian during her attempt to become a demigod, trying to seize her body through the seed planted in her soul.
• Soren entered Vivian’s mental realm and confronted the Demon Lord of Fear’s prison world.
• Soren found two identical Vivians seated on a throne made of divine power.

Soren discovered that Lillian, the Witch of Fear, had always shared Vivian’s body as a second soul, and learned how his actions had prevented her from being controlled by the Demon Lord of Fear. He prepared to break space and escape the Throne of Fear’s spiritual world with both girls.

• Soren realized he was inside the spiritual world of the Throne of Fear, where the Demon Lord of Fear’s will watched them.
• Lillian introduced herself to Soren, and he asked Vivian whether Lillian had awakened inside her body before.
• Vivian admitted that Lillian had been within her since birth, and Lillian explained that she gradually gained awareness before fully awakening after the Godsbane of Fear appeared.
• Soren concluded that his actions had erased the Demon Lord of Fear’s influence and changed Lillian’s fate, leaving her with Vivian’s memories rather than madness.
• Soren told Vivian and Lillian to hold onto him while he tried to shatter space and return them to the real world.

Soren fought the Demon Lord of Fear’s will inside the Fear God's Realm and tried to escape with Vivian and Lillian. As successive waves of dead Fear God Children obstructed them, the resurrected Vampire God Child Reinhard appeared, setting the stage for Soren’s first direct clash with the Demon Lord’s will.

• Soren used divine power to dispel the fear and evil energy affecting Vivian and Lillian, while the Grand Temple in Port Nyanzaru channeled faith to support him.
• Soren opened a rift with Alter Space, but a puppet-like Fear God Child confronted Lillian and demanded that she resurrect the Demon Lord of Fear; Lillian killed her and rejected that destiny.
• An elf ranger Fear God Child attacked, and Soren killed him, but increasingly powerful waves of dead Godsbane appeared to prevent their escape.
• Soren fought through seven waves of Fear God Children, then saw blood-red bats gather into the Vampire God Child Reinhard.
• Reinhard ordered Soren to leave the others behind, and Soren struck him with a Divine Power Shockwave as he prepared for the Demon Lord of Fear’s will to manifest.

Soren defeated the Demon Lord of Fear’s avatar and shattered the Throne of Fear, but emerged in soul form in the Netherworld instead of returning to his body. He found himself near the River Styx and wondered how he had arrived there.

• Soren killed the Vampire God Child, who revived within the Throne of Fear and attacked him again.
• Soren teleported Vivian and Lillian out of the mental world, but the Vampire God Child transformed into the Demon Lord of Fear’s Slayer avatar and trapped him.
• Soren used his Slaughter, Death, and Shadow powers to kill the Slayer, after which the Demon Lord of Fear’s phantom tried to possess him.
• Soren entered deity form and crushed the Demon Lord of Fear’s will as the Throne of Fear shattered and the mental world collapsed.
• Soren appeared in soul form beside the River Styx in the Netherworld and realized he had not returned to Port Nyanzaru or his body.

After Soren’s teleportation was diverted to the Netherworld, he realized that Jergal had summoned him. Soren followed Jergal’s attendant toward the Styx Boat, curious about why the ancient God of Death wanted to meet him.

• Soren defeated the Demon Lord of Fear’s spirit and prepared to teleport back to Port Nyanzaru.
• Someone redirected Soren’s Plane Teleportation to the Netherworld, and he recognized Jergal as the likely cause.
• Jergal welcomed Soren as a newly ascended God of Shadows who stood beyond destiny.
• Jergal’s attendants and a necromancer appeared, and the necromancer invited Soren to meet Jergal.
• Soren followed the necromancer toward the Styx Boat while considering Jergal’s history and wondering why he had been summoned.

Soren met Jergal in the Netherworld and learned that the ancient death god wanted him to destroy the Demon Lord of Fear and help correct changes to death’s laws. Jergal also suggested that Soren might take over part of the Death Portfolio, then hinted that another unavoidable destiny awaited him.

• Soren met Jergal aboard the Styx Boat and asked why the ancient god had summoned him.
• Jergal explained that the Demon Lord of Fear had defied death and turned it into destruction and fear, disrupting its proper order.
• Jergal asked Soren to destroy the Demon Lord of Fear and, if possible, take over part of the Death Portfolio from Kelemvor.
• Soren said he already intended to kill the Demon Lord of Fear to protect Vivian.
• Jergal hinted that he had another matter for Soren, one that was also an inescapable destiny.

Jergal explained Cyric’s rise, his seizure of divine portfolios, and his imprisonment, revealing why Cyric would threaten Soren. Soren realized the Demon Lord of Fear’s vacant power would decide their future conflict, and that Jergal wanted him to prevent Cyric from claiming it.

• Jergal told Soren how Cyric rapidly ascended, took portfolios from Myrkul and Bhaal, and later killed Bane.
• Jergal explained that the Gods united to punish Cyric, who was banished and sealed away after his ambitions alarmed them.
• Soren recognized that Cyric’s murder portfolio and his own Slaughter Domain would make them enemies if Cyric escaped.
• Soren concluded that the Demon Lord of Fear’s power would determine whether he or Cyric prevailed, and considered securing it for himself or Vivian.

Jergal gave Soren death divine power and partial knowledge of the Death portfolio, then sent him back from the Netherworld. After reuniting with Vivian, Soren decided Cyric had to die before he could target her and began considering how to turn another's strength against him.

• Soren worried that Cyric's power and history of surviving danger would make him harder to defeat than the Lord of Shadows.
• Jergal gifted Soren death divine power and partial information about the Death portfolio.
• Jergal warned Soren not to remain in the Netherworld during the Time of Troubles, and Soren returned to Port Nyanzaru.
• Vivian welcomed Soren when he returned to his body and told him that she was controlling it, while Lillian usually took over in the afternoon or at night.
• Soren concluded that Cyric had to be killed to protect Vivian after she inherited the Demon Lord of Fear's power, and he began thinking of ways to use Cyric's enemies against him.

Soren learned of divine upheavals across the world as followers of Lliira, the Goddess of Joy, arrived in Port Nyanzaru. He welcomed them and granted them land for a temple, hoping to use the connection to find Loviatar and secure a portfolio for Vivian.

• Goria returned to Port Nyanzaru with alchemical devices and resumed her research, while Vivian awakened in demigod form and still lacked a portfolio.
• Soren followed reports of the Goddess of Fortune, renewed elf-orc fighting, Drow unification, the Queen of Succubi's ties to Asmodeus, Yondalla's appearance, and Angharradh's divine visit to Death Valley.
• Followers of Lliira arrived in Port Nyanzaru and brought music and dancing to the city as the Time of Troubles spread hardship and conflict.
• Soren gave Lliira's performers land to build a small temple, hoping to learn where Loviatar was so Vivian could obtain a portfolio.
• Soren decided he would approach Lliira himself when the opportunity arose.

Soren welcomed the Goddess of Joy’s church to Port Nyanzaru while warning her that the city’s order would not tolerate hedonism or chaotic freedom. He then sought her knowledge of Loviatar, appealing to their long rivalry and leaving the Goddess of Joy silent as old grievances resurfaced.

• The Goddess of Joy’s worshippers completed an altar ritual, established a small temple, and began a celebration in Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren visited the temple and told the Goddess of Joy that her church could bring happiness to the city but had to respect its order.
• Soren offered her church the chance to host an upcoming large celebration in Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren revealed that he knew Loviatar’s whereabouts and asked the Goddess of Joy for information about her rival.
• Soren reminded the Goddess of Joy that Loviatar’s worshippers had killed several of her priestesses, and she fell silent.

Soren studied the Church of Loviatar and found a way to frame pain as a trial that could strengthen the spirit. He planned to use the pain portfolio to support Vivian’s and Lillian’s portfolio development, giving it a good-aligned path for Vivian and an evil-aligned path for Lillian.

• Loviatar’s worshippers in Tantras completed a ritual of self-flagellation, candle burns, prayers, and healing.
• The chapter described Loviatar’s church, its deceptive methods, and its doctrine of inflicting pain while sometimes offering mercy.
• Soren reviewed intelligence about Loviatar’s church gathered by Port Nyanzaru’s agents.
• Soren decided that pain could be converted from an abusive portfolio into a useful foundation for both good- and evil-aligned deities.
• Soren identified Vivian as the good-aligned path and Lillian as the evil-aligned path for the pain portfolio.

After Vivian returned to her daily walks in Port Nyanzaru, Soren considered how to prepare her ascension while tracking dangers during the Time of Troubles. He learned that Sharess was traveling toward Port Nyanzaru and sent the intelligence to Sune’s Temple.

• Vivian took Lulumiao and her wyvern Little Black for a walk through Port Nyanzaru as citizens and guards watched.
• Soren compared the Vampire God Child’s ascension with Vivian’s plans and continued investigating the Maiden of Pain and Loviatar.
• Soren received intelligence that Sharess had traveled from Arendelle and boarded an airship bound for Port Tyler, apparently intending to visit Port Nyanzaru.
• Soren decided to pass the information about Sharess to the Temple of Love.

As the third wave of impact began, Soren investigated a village in the Wind Spear Hills where residents had turned into zombies after eating tainted grain. He identified the surrounding land as magically contaminated and ordered a search for the altar behind the undead plague.

• Signs of the third wave appeared as devils spread across the mainland and tainted grain made people sick.
• An archbishop told Soren that the grain carried malicious spells that would turn those who ate it into undead.
• Soren inspected the River Valley, where an entire village had become zombies, and detected foul power contaminating the land, plants, and water.
• Soren ordered the High Priest to search for a secret altar and warned his people not to consume anything from the area.
• Soren suspected devils had joined forces with liches and undead lords, and decided to find the altar and purify the land before the plague spread.