Chapter Summaries

Shade disguised himself as a drunken woman and baited the Vampire Beast along the Tatton River. The creature revealed itself and attacked him in an alley, where Shade’s Black Blood trap began dissolving its flesh.

• Shade drank a mixture of liquor and disinfectant alcohol to appear drunk, then followed Miss Belinder’s map to the Lower District near Herring Street.
• Shade disguised himself as Annie Bunny, posed as a drunkard by the Tatton River, and waited for the Vampire Beast to approach.
• Shade sensed the creature watching him from a rooftop before it transformed into a blonde woman and offered to take him home.
• The Vampire Beast led Shade into a dark alley and tried to bite his neck, but Shade escaped by bursting into Red Butterflies.
• Shade’s broken bottle drenched the Vampire Beast in Black Blood, causing its flesh to rot and collapse.

Shade pursued a Bloodkin monster through Moon Bay while Mr. Bernhardt confronted two Bloodkin tied to the Blood Spirit School. The wounded monster escaped to the Wharf, where a Dragon Devouring Order Cultist demanded it lead him to something it had found underground.

• Shade used Corrupt Blood Mist to injure the monster, then followed two escaping bats across the rooftops as Mr. Bernhardt pursued the creature.
• Mr. Bernhardt confronted two Bloodkin from the Blood Spirit School, who asked to take the monster to the New Continent; they fought after he refused.
• The monster escaped during the fight, and Shade followed it into the Wharf's Warehouse District.
• John Flynn and a companion intercepted the monster, while three Dragon Devouring Order Cultists challenged them and began fighting.
• The monster fled to the shore with Shade and a Cultist following, and the Cultist demanded that it take him to the thing it had discovered underground.

Shade helped John Flynn subdue a vampire monster on the beach, but rival groups converged to claim it before the Church arrived. As all four sides prepared to fight, Shade made his move without summoning a Destiny Ring.

• The vampire monster transformed and used powerful sound waves to defeat the black-scaled Dragon Devouring Order cultist, while Shade watched from nearby.
• John Flynn arrived and pierced the bat monster with his sword, but it escaped as Blood Mist until Shade countered it and bound it with pitch-black chains.
• John Flynn declined to claim Shade's captive, then a High-Ring Bloodkin appeared and attacked Shade before retreating from his Corrupt Blood Mist.
• Mr. Bernhardt and the other members of the New Continent Mutual Aid Society and Dragon Devouring Order arrived, forming a tense four-way standoff around the monster.
• Shade released the chains to test the others' patience, and all eight opponents summoned Destiny Rings and moved to seize the monster as Shade stomped the sand.

Shade fought the Dragon Devouring Order cultists at Moon Bay, then turned his attention to the Vampire Beast as it attacked the dockside beach. He defeated the monster with Crimson Breath, while the Church’s forces arrived and the Witch and Emilia watched from Belinder Manor.

• Shade erupted corrosive Blood Mist beneath the Dragon Devouring Order cultists and attacked them with Moonlight Slash.
• Shade used Dragon Roar to incapacitate two cultists, then shattered their arms with Red Dragon Force as Mr. Bernhardt went to delay the Church’s forces.
• The Vampire Beast revealed its dragon wings and unleashed Dragon Breath at everyone on the beach.
• Shade combined the Higgs Dragon Head Stone with the corrosive Blood Mist and overpowered the Vampire Beast’s flames.
• The Witch and Emilia watched the battle from Belinder Manor, and Emilia revealed she recognized Shade’s Dragon Roar from when she had ridden him in flight.

After helping Mr. Bernhardt defeat the Vampire Beast, Shade worried over the factions gathering in Moon Bay and returned to his home. On Monday, Luvia and Iluna visited him, and Iluna explained her plan to hunt a dragon before becoming a High-Ring Arcanist.

• Shade retrieved the Vampire Beast’s remains and left the beach with Mr. Bernhardt as the Dawn Church investigators found two Dragon Devouring Order members dead and a third missing.
• Shade showed the remains to Miss Belinder and asked her to divine where the Vampire Beast had been hiding.
• Shade told Miss Belinder and Emilia that the New Continent Mutual Aid Society had approached him and that he feared the growing activity of several factions in Moon Bay.
• Shade returned home and dreamed that he and the Red Dragon Fiona entwined their necks as dragons.
• Luvia and Iluna visited Shade on Monday, and Iluna said she had to leave before Friday to attempt to slay a dragon alone.
• Iluna explained that the Sunlight Gun was especially effective against dragons because of an ancient Miracle of the Supreme Sun Binder.

Luvia warned Shade and Iluna to pursue just deeds in Moon Bay and gave Shade a compass for locating the Radiance Dragon’s power. The Witch recognized the compass’s craftsmanship and prepared to divine its maker, while Luvia suddenly froze during a reading in Tobesk.

• Luvia told Shade and Iluna that just people might be immune to the Sword of Light’s special power and urged Iluna to consider what justice meant.
• Luvia warned Iluna about the Dragon Devouring Order and the Seekers of Light Research Society, and said she would try to travel to Moon Bay.
• Luvia gave Shade a pocket-watch compass that pointed toward suspected traces of the Ancient God Radiance Dragon.
• Shade showed the compass to the Witch, who examined it alongside her Tarot Card and praised its maker’s understanding of Ancient God power.
• The Witch decided to prepare to meet Luvia and attempted a divination, while Luvia suddenly froze during a love reading at the Seer Association in Tobesk.

Luvia’s attempt to divine Shade’s visitor caused an explosion at Belinder Manor, while Shade visited Emilia in the basement workshop and learned how her long life made her treasure their summer together. The chapter left Shade and Emilia comforted by an embrace as they promised to enjoy the rest of the summer of 1854.

• Luvia resisted being divined and joked with the woman whose fortune she was reading, while Tarot Cards exploded in the manor study.
• Shade appeared in the study, recognized that Luvia had been divining someone, and warned her to avoid attracting the patrol police’s attention.
• Shade met Emilia and Liana in the basement workshop, where Emilia was making an amulet and explained that High Elves could live for centuries.
• Emilia said she wanted to cherish the summer she had spent with Shade, and he embraced her until she calmed down.
• Emilia thanked Shade for giving her the summer, and Shade encouraged her to enjoy the remaining stories of 1854.

Shade and Mr. Bernhardt exchanged intelligence with John Flynn and his companions about the Chosen Ones, the Dragon Devouring Order, and the God Summoner. The meeting ended with the revelation that the New Continent Mutual Aid Society was searching for the Bloodkin's legendary relic, Blood of Sorrow.

• Shade and Mr. Bernhardt met John Flynn and a middle-aged companion at the Spider Inn to exchange information.
• Shade and John Flynn agreed that their respective intelligence concerned the Chosen Ones, and Flynn revealed that the Mutual Aid Society believed he might be the Seventh Chosen One.
• Shade told Flynn that the Dragon Devouring Order was cultivating Dragon Blood Monsters to qualify as Chosen Ones, based on a Poem Chapter Fragment describing a 'Hatched Dragon.'
• Shade and Flynn failed to answer each other's questions about the Order's local Bloodkin ally and the island hiding its dragons, then discussed why they had sought the Vampire Beast and whether the God Summoner was nearby.
• Flynn's companion revealed that they had sought the Vampire Beast to locate the Sage Level Relic Blood of Sorrow, a sacred weapon of the Bloodkin.

Shade and Mr. Bernhardt investigated claims that the Bloodkin holy sword Blood of Sorrow was in Moon Bay, but found no clear evidence among the local Same Race. They agreed to continue investigating the Bloodkin while the city’s other tangled mysteries remained unresolved.

• At lunch, John Flynn told Mr. Bernhardt that the New Continent Mutual Aid Society believed Blood of Sorrow was in the city, though he withheld the source of the information.
• Shade accompanied Mr. Bernhardt to the sewer morgue, where Mr. Bernhardt asked Tolomay whether he knew the sword was in Moon Bay; Tolomay was visibly surprised and denied knowing anything about it.
• Mr. Bernhardt gave Tolomay a list of local Bloodkin suspected of cooperating with the Dragon Devouring Order and asked him to identify suspicious people.
• By the river, Mr. Bernhardt explained Blood of Sorrow’s origins and powers, including its ability to oppose evil and create seals.
• Mr. Bernhardt decided to keep investigating the local Bloodkin, including Tolomay, and agreed with Shade that they would first identify trustworthy allies to help with the inquiry.

Shade and Miss Belinder found a Black Dragon Scale in a hidden chamber beneath the Vampire Beast’s nest, and Shade learned it had been influencing powerful creatures around Moon Bay. Back home, he and Luvia discussed the scale, the Blood of Sorrow, and John Flynn before arranging for Luvia to attend the king’s birthday banquet at Yodel Palace.

• Miss Belinder’s divination failed to locate the Bloodkin’s Holy Sword, but it revealed where the Vampire Beast had been hiding, so Shade, Miss Belinder, and the maids explored its sewer nest with Luvia’s help.
• The group burned through a swarm of unusually tough insects and uncovered a hidden chamber containing damaged Black Family documents and a Black Dragon Scale.
• Miss Belinder and Miss Matilda could not touch the scale, but Shade removed it easily while wearing Fiona’s gloves, and he and Miss Belinder recognized its power as similar to the Golden Dragon Scale.
• Shade told Luvia that the scale’s radiation had affected creatures including the ancient tree, the werewolf woman, the Black Cat, and the Vampire Beast.
• Shade and Luvia discussed the Blood of Sorrow, John Flynn, and the Wind King Sword, then agreed that Luvia would attend the king’s birthday banquet at Yodel Palace.

Shade visited the witches' manor and learned that Emilia had brought the Poet Level relic Midnight Footsteps, which had kept the household awake all night. After everyone rested, Miss Belinder planned to confront the relic that afternoon.

• Shade arrived at the witches' manor and found the household exhausted after strange footsteps kept everyone from sleeping.
• Miss Belinder explained that Midnight Footsteps had appeared after sunset and would return that night, while Emilia slept through the morning.
• Shade stayed in the study as Miss Belinder, Emilia, Miss Matilda, and Little Unicorn rested around him.
• The group woke around eleven, and Miss Belinder arranged lunch while explaining that her mother and younger sisters were staying outside the city.
• After lunch, Miss Belinder planned to trigger Midnight Footsteps during the day by recreating its required light conditions.

Shade and Miss Belinder prepared to expel the Midnight Footsteps relic from Emilia by entering her Dream while she slept. In Emilia’s snowy forest Dream, she took Shade’s hand and led him away from the pursuing presence, smiling as the moonlit forest opened a path before them.

• Miss Belinder read the Sun card and told Shade that her Core Ling Runes might help him obtain the Guidance Spirit Rune by guiding someone with a special Destiny.
• Shade, Miss Belinder, and Emilia entered a dark basement, where Emilia drank a sedative and lay down to trigger the relic’s effect.
• When footsteps sounded in the basement, Miss Belinder illuminated the room with Yellow Moon light, and Shade drank the sedative before falling asleep beside Emilia.
• Shade entered Emilia’s Dream in a snowy forest beneath a Silver Moon, where Emilia ran to him and warned him that something was coming.
• Emilia took Shade’s hand, and together they ran through the forest as the moonlight brightened and the dream’s terrain opened a clear path ahead.

Shade guided Emilia through a fantastical shared dream while Bella Belinder dealt with the Midnight Footsteps in the waking world. Emilia awoke safely, and Shade left her flustered after pulling her up from bed.

• Shade held Emilia's hand and guided her across a cookie road and through a forest transformed by the blessing of Childhood Dream.
• Emilia and Shade escaped a chocolate Lava Giant, leapt from a cliff, and flew through the sky with Unicorn plush toys and newly grown wings.
• Emilia woke from the sleeping potion, recognized Shade, and nearly revealed his real name before correcting herself.
• Bella Belinder said she had directly expelled the Midnight Footsteps, preventing it from appearing in the Material World for at least ten years.
• Shade thanked Bella, told Emilia to get sunlight, and pulled her up from bed, leaving her embarrassed as she hurried away.

Shade checked on Emilia after her relic-induced dream, then learned that Margaret Anjou would soon visit Moon Bay as the kingdom prepared for civil war. He shared a kiss with Miss Belinder before returning to Tobesk to dress for the evening’s opera rehearsal at Yodel Palace.

• Shade described a dream in which he and Emilia nearly kissed, leaving Miss Belinder and the others startled when the dream ended before anything happened.
• Shade checked that Emilia had recovered and found Miss Belinder sunbathing on the terrace.
• Miss Belinder told Shade that Margaret Anjou would visit Moon Bay and explained the royal family’s plans to prepare the port for the coming civil war.
• Shade admitted that he and Margaret were sort of lovers and said he might help the Belinder Family once his identity became known.
• Shade asked Miss Belinder to show him around Moon Bay, and she kissed him before he left for Tobesk.
• Shade returned home late, where Dorothy urged him to change into his formalwear and hurry to Yodel Palace for the opera rehearsal.

The Cavendish princesses and Shade performed the final act of The Mermaid Princess for King Larus III, in which the sisters rescued Angelina from her curse. The opera ended with the royal family embracing, and the audience rose in applause.

• Angelina finished the fourth act by humming after trading her voice for human legs, and the curtains closed for the final scene.
• Leisha and the other princesses summoned Shade as the Dragon and asked him to help save their youngest sister.
• Shade gave Leisha the Gold Scepter, and the stage shifted to Angelina’s sorrowful arrival in the human kingdom.
• Leisha touched the Scepter to Angelina, restoring her voice and ending the curse that would turn her into foam.
• King Larus III joined the seven princesses for a joyful final dance and family embrace, prompting loud applause from the audience.

After the opera at King Larus III’s birthday banquet, Shade discussed Dorothy’s adaptation of “Mermaid Princess” with her and Leisha. The chapter ended with Angelina embracing Queen Diana, who was distressed that the king planned to send her daughter away to recuperate.

• Luvia praised Dorothy’s opera for celebrating the royal family and warning young ladies to choose their partners carefully, and Dorothy invited her to read the handwritten “Summer Night Collection” with Shade.
• Shade changed out of his costume and joined Leisha and Dorothy in her private dressing room, where they discussed the performance and Shade explained how adaptations reflected their times and values.
• Shade argued that the Mermaid Princess’s devotion and determination deserved recognition, and Leisha praised his analysis.
• Leisha, Angelina, Shade, and Dorothy returned to the banquet, where they visited Queen Diana before her departure.
• Queen Diana worried that Larus III was sending Angelina away to recuperate, and Angelina hugged her mother.

At the King’s birthday banquet, Leisha and Dorothy fused and accepted Shade’s intimate reward before he left for Moon Bay. The next morning, Leisha told Angelina to use her time away to understand what she truly wanted, and Angelina admitted she wanted Shade, though Leisha said she still did not see herself clearly.

• At the banquet, Leisha arranged for Angelina to leave for Moon Bay on Thursday and teased her about acting on her feelings for Shade.
• Shade accompanied Dorothy around the banquet, then joined Leisha and Dorothy upstairs, where the sisters fused and invited him to claim his reward.
• After the banquet, Angelina returned home while Shade departed for Moon Bay the next morning with Little Mia.
• Leisha told Angelina she would leave for Moon Bay the following evening with Miss Servit and urged her to understand what she wanted.
• Angelina admitted she wanted Shade, but Leisha and Dorothy told her she had not yet seen herself clearly.

Angelina left for Moon Bay after Leisha urged her to discover what she truly wanted and gave her a pendant that could summon help. In Moon Bay, Shade learned of fresh anomalies in the region, then joined Miss Belinder in investigating a farm incident where a hired hand vanished into a lingering white light.

• Leisha comforted Angelina, told her to consider what she truly wanted, and gave her a pendant that would let Leisha sense her location.
• Emilia told Shade that a patch of Mad Earth had appeared on Baker Street, and Miss Belinder later said the Church was containing it while preparing a purification ritual.
• A maid reported that a steward had vanished into a mass of light at the Belinder Family farm outside Moon Bay.
• Shade, Miss Belinder, and the maids rode to the farm, where the ranch owner explained that Mick Lyon had disappeared beside a water trough.
• Shade and Miss Belinder examined the shed, where white light still lingered alongside the smooth-cut remains of a trough and the shadows left by the vanished man.

Shade and Miss Belinder contained a dangerous area of abnormal light in a cowshed, where Shade used Earth Power - Healing Aura to purify most of it and create a Holy Grail of Light. He gave the grail to Miss Belinder, and they left together to enjoy a walk toward Moon Bay.

• Miss Belinder and Shade tried spells and light-absorbing runestones, but the abnormal light overwhelmed them.
• Shade used a Calamity Card of the Deep Sea to suppress the light temporarily and learned that he and Miss Belinder could resist its effects.
• Shade used Earth Power - Healing Aura to purify most of the light and draw a golden Holy Grail inscribed with the words "Source of Light" from the ground.
• Miss Belinder kissed Shade, and he gave her the Holy Grail, suggesting it might help divine where abnormal light would appear next.
• Miss Belinder accepted Shade's invitation to walk outside the city toward Moon Bay.

Shade and Miss Belinder confessed their feelings during a countryside outing, and Bella gained the Spirit Rune Miracle-Accident. That evening, Shade brought her to a vacant house on Baker Street, where she began divining its connection to Gray Gloves and an old murder case.

• Shade and Miss Belinder shared a horseback ride through the countryside and confessed that they liked each other.
• Miss Belinder explained that her forehead birthmark was a talent for seeing Destiny, and Shade embraced her as Adele Isabella appeared and told him Bella would aid him as a Diviner.
• Miss Belinder gained the Spirit Rune Miracle-Accident and asked Shade to kiss her, which he did.
• Shade invited Miss Belinder to Baker Street No. 27 and led her toward a hidden room upstairs.
• Miss Belinder divined that the house was connected to Gray Gloves, an old murder case, and a dead person.