Chapter Summaries

Shade learned the Night Curtain Seal from Dorothy’s recorded miracle of the Silver Moon God, and tests showed it could conceal its user and resist light-based attacks, including Dangerous Radiance. The seal spread among the young ladies aboard the ship, offering Ring Arcanists a new way to survive the continuing Dangerous Radiance disaster.

• Dorothy recorded a miracle, allowing Shade to learn the Night Curtain Seal and explain its concealment and defensive effects.
• Shade tested the seal against attacks from Feliana, Fiona, Megan, and Dorothy, finding it strong against light and mental attacks but ineffective against physical ones.
• Dorothy and Megan learned the thaumaturgy after repeated attempts, and Shade discovered he could sense other users of the seal within a hundred meters.
• After the group returned to Moon Bay, several young ladies aboard learned either the Night Curtain Seal thaumaturgy or a weaker curse version by reading Dorothy’s miracle story in the Black Night Spirit Temple.
• Aurora tested the seals against Dangerous Radiance, and the group found that both versions could offer partial protection against it.
• Dorothy privately wondered whether Shade was connected to the Silver Moon God, but chose not to voice her speculation as the seal became a potential safeguard against the ongoing Dangerous Radiance disaster.

Shade and the others decided to share the Night Curtain Seal with the Church and academies, then went to Belinder Big Ben to meet Miss Danist. The chapter ended as Miss Danist greeted Headmaster Feliana and Headmaster Drago with great respect.

• Megan and Dorothy discussed how to share the Night Curtain Seal without revealing the Black Night Spirit Temple, and Dorothy said she had made the original with ink connected to Shade.
• Margaret remained in Moon Bay for at least another month to help rebuild the city, while Shade prepared to meet Miss Danist.
• Shade invited Emilia along, but she declined, so he set out with Miss Feliana and Fiona.
• Miss Feliana told Shade that his blood had shown no unusual results and had served as an anchor for their time travel.
• Shade bought flowers for Miss Feliana and Fiona before they reached the top of Belinder Big Ben, where Miss Danist was already waiting.
• Miss Danist greeted Headmaster Feliana and Headmaster Drago, and Shade invited everyone to sit and talk.

Miss Feliana and Fiona met with Miss Danist and explained that they had come to see Shade, while Shade promised to show them around during their week in the Sixth Epoch. Shade then recounted the God Summoner’s plans during the Battle of Moon Bay, leaving the details of how he chose which evil gods to summon under discussion.

• Miss Danist welcomed Miss Feliana and Fiona to the Sixth Epoch and asked how long they planned to stay and why they had come.
• Miss Feliana explained that she had come to see her apprentice Shade and would not interfere with the modern era; Shade said the visitors would likely stay for a week and lodge at his home.
• Miss Danist offered Miss Feliana and Fiona an invitation to visit Saint Byron’s, and Miss Feliana agreed to consider it after seeing Shade’s home.
• Miss Danist asked when Sianode would return to the Academy, and Shade said she and the Little Unicorn would return with her.
• Shade discussed the Battle of Moon Bay with Miss Danist, explaining that the God Summoner had known he could not defeat the Dragon Devouring Demon alone and had relied on the possibility of summoning allied evil gods.

After the Battle of Moon Bay, Shade discussed the aftermath and his studies with Miss Danist and Miss Feliana. Miss Danist gave him a ten-thousand-pound payment to host the visiting headmistresses and promised to discuss her investigation later.

• Miss Danist recorded Shade’s account, and he said the God Summoner had no plans to contact the dragons and would leave the Sacrificial Ground above Moon Bay for now.
• Shade told Miss Danist he had gained the Miracle—guidance and Miracle—Night Spirit Runes, and she recommended he learn the support thaumaturgy Radiant Moon Perception Realm.
• Miss Feliana offered to teach Shade the Arrow of Night before she left.
• Shade refrained from asking Miss Danist about her investigation into her teacher after she declined to discuss it in front of Miss Feliana and Fiona.
• Miss Danist privately gave Shade a ten-thousand-pound bill of exchange to host the visiting headmistresses and said they could discuss her investigation when he had time.

Shade spent the afternoon with Miss Feliana and Fiona, then witnessed Emilia’s tearful farewells before attending the Golden Dawn Opera Troupe’s performance. The play opened with Siris as an Evil Dragon kidnapping Vanessa’s Princess and calling on Shade to save her.

• Shade walked with Miss Feliana and Fiona after Miss Danist departed, and Miss Feliana teased him about calling her his only Teacher.
• At dinner, Emilia learned she would leave the day after tomorrow and spent the evening saying goodbye to her friends at the manor and aboard the ship.
• Angelina gave Emilia books to take to Saint Byron’s, and Shade overheard their farewell before Leisha appeared beside him.
• Siris checked Shade’s identity with a kiss and let him enter the theater for the private performance.
• Siris appeared as the Evil Dragon, defeated the adventurers, and carried Vanessa’s Princess offstage after Vanessa called for Shade to save her.

Shade took part in Siris and Vanessa’s staged rescue opera, which led him through Mirrors from the theater to Belinder Big Ben and the Dragon Devouring Sacrificial Ground. When the Dragon demanded a ring for the Princess, Shade forged one from moonlight and Moonlight Water and placed it on Vanessa’s finger, leaving her speechless with emotion.

• Siris and Vanessa staged a rescue scene at Belinder Big Ben, where Shade presented Vanessa with a bouquet and she pretended to awaken from poison.
• The troupe sent Shade through another Mirror to the Dragon Devouring Sacrificial Ground, where Siris demanded that he make a ring or she would devour Vanessa.
• Shade refused the antique Elf ring offered by the troupe and formed a ring from Silver Moonlight and Moonlight Water.
• Shade engraved the ring with the Elf Runes for “Eternal Love” and placed it on Vanessa’s left ring finger after Siris hinted which hand to use.
• Vanessa covered her mouth and could not find words as the Moonlight Ring shone on her finger beneath the stars.

Shade took part in the final scenes of Siris’s fairy-tale opera, helping Vanessa play the cursed princess before she was hidden for one last search. The chapter ended with Shade finding Vanessa at the Black Night Spirit Temple, where she stood beneath the Moon awaiting him.

• Siris pulled Vanessa away from Shade and continued the performance while Shade waited at the Sacrificial Ground, where he wondered about the Moon’s need for sacrifices.
• The young ladies prepared Shade backstage and sent him through the mirror to the Forgotten Church, where Siris declared that Vanessa had fallen under a deadly curse.
• Shade kissed Vanessa in the crystal coffin, and she woke and kissed him back as the onlookers applauded.
• Siris led Vanessa away for the opera’s final challenge, and the young ladies sent Shade through the mirror to the Black Night Spirit Temple.
• Shade found Vanessa standing beneath the Moon in the center of the Sun, Moon, and Stars Ritual base.

Vanessa offered Shade a Moon Dance at the Black Night Spirit Temple, then gave herself to him beneath the moon. At dawn, Siris found Vanessa waking alone, and someone arriving asked her how Shade had tasted.

• Vanessa welcomed Shade with a traditional Moon Dance and told him she had Luvia's permission to be with him.
• Vanessa kissed Shade, led him to the temple's stone altar, and offered herself to him beneath the moon.
• Siris watched from a distance, then left the couple alone after confirming their protective rituals were working.
• At dawn, Siris told Vanessa that Shade had been summoned away by a dangerous presence and had asked her to look after Vanessa.
• Vanessa asked Siris whether she had said anything strange in her sleep, and Siris brought her clothes and summoned a water mirror.
• An unidentified arrival asked Vanessa how Shade had tasted.

Vanessa reunited with Galina, Megan, Audrey, and Siris after spending the night with Shade, and the Witches agreed to keep their relationship secret. The morning revealed that Vanessa had opened the path to the Thirteenth Order, so they planned to seek Miss Feliana’s advice.

• Vanessa greeted Galina, Megan, and Audrey, who welcomed her as family and warned her to keep their shared secret from conservative Witches.
• Vanessa showed off the moonlight ring Shade had given her, engraved with the Elvish words “Eternal Love.”
• When Galina and Audrey touched Vanessa, they sensed that she had reached the threshold of the Thirteenth Order, though her Destiny Ring remained at the Twelfth Ring.
• Vanessa said she had still been Twelfth Order before her night with Shade, and the others suspected the encounter had triggered her breakthrough.
• Vanessa agreed to visit Miss Feliana to ask about her new path, but first requested time to wash and change.

Vanessa learned that her dance and night with Shade had activated an ancient Moon sacrifice, earning her the power to become a Thirteenth Order Great Witch. Shade received a blessing that extended Laguerre's Leap to 330 feet, while the story left him considering whether the Earth Mother God could lift the Witches' curse.

• Megan congratulated Vanessa on becoming a candidate for the Thirteenth Order, and Siris offered to recreate Vanessa's memories of the previous night.
• Vanessa told Miss Feliana and Luvia what had happened, and they concluded that her Moon Dance and sacrifice with Shade had blended the Moon's and Earth's powers beneath the Black Night Spirit Temple.
• Miss Feliana explained that the sacrifice had blessed Vanessa with power toward the Thirteenth Order and warned that the same ritual might have brought pregnancy to an ordinary woman.
• Shade learned that the Moon's gift expanded Laguerre's Leap to 330 feet, though he could cast it only once every five seconds.
• Shade considered repeating the sacrifice and asked whether the Earth Mother God's blessing could remove the Witches' curse, but the voice told him that the curse could not be undone.

Shade met the Mermaid after the Battle of Moon Bay and agreed to help her collect a debt from a man who had escaped with the wealth she granted him. She gave Shade only the surname Bennett and told him there was no time limit, leaving him to rest before pursuing the commission.

• Shade threw a bottle of Glowing Pink essence into the sea, and the Mermaid caught it and drank it.
• Shade thanked the Mermaid for helping him and asked what he needed to do to repay her.
• The Mermaid explained that a man from the Sixth Epoch had sacrificed everything, including his three children, in exchange for wealth and a chance to defeat his enemies, then escaped somewhere she could not reach.
• The Mermaid offered to release the man’s three children and let Shade keep the wealth if he collected the debt, while claiming the man was not powerful.
• The Mermaid told Shade to remember the surname Bennett and said he would encounter the man eventually, but gave no location or time limit.
• Shade agreed to remember the commission but decided to rest before investigating, knowing he could visit the Mermaid again at Earl Dalmanin's Residence.

Shade returned to the Radiance Messenger, where Megan told him that Vanessa was nearing the Thirteenth Order and that Miss Feliana had helped conceal her advancement. After lunch, Shade asked Iluna to request guidance from the gods on where he should seek more power as payment for his help in the Battle of Moon Bay.

• Megan told Shade that Vanessa was about to advance to the Thirteenth Order, and that Miss Feliana had made an Alchemy Item to hide her power for now.
• Megan and Audrey embraced Shade and asked what he had done with Vanessa the previous night, delaying their arrival at lunch.
• Iluna complained about writing sealed reports on the battle and said she had refused the Moon Bay Diocese's request to stay, though she expected to advance to the Ninth Ring.
• Iluna said she would ask Miss Feliana questions after they returned to Tobesk, while Luvia and others discussed their travel plans.
• Shade asked Iluna to tell the Five Gods Church to seek an answer from any one of the true gods about where he should go to gain power.
• Luvia advised Iluna to frame Shade's request as a plea for divine guidance, and Iluna suggested the Church might also offer him restricted historical texts.

Shade reunited with Luvia and Vanessa after the battle at the Dragon Devouring Sacrificial Ground, then met Joey Barton and Ms. Handel to learn how they had transformed life and death between themselves. The couple had sealed the Edge of Life and Death in the city, but their work guiding souls and weakening the curse remained unfinished.

• Iluna left to visit Emilia before returning to the Church, while Luvia reminded Shade to spend the evening with her and not neglect Vanessa.
• Shade visited Vanessa's room, where he found her with Siris; after Siris teased them and departed, Vanessa playfully pulled Shade into the bedroom to punish him.
• On Wednesday evening, Shade and Luvia met Joey Barton and Ms. Handel at the Spider Inn and learned that the couple could now mutually convert between life and death.
• Joey Barton explained that the couple had sealed the Edge of Life and Death in the city, but still had to guide souls and weaken the curse as more deaths approached.

Shade learned that his victory over Joey Barton in death gave him the privilege of being resurrected without a soul exchange, then discussed cooperation with Mr. Albert and reassured Luvia after his apparent death. The chapter ended with Shade dreaming of the Long-haired Girl, who whispered, "Time."

• Shade asked Joey Barton how he could resurrect him without sacrificing a soul, and Ms. Handel explained that death had granted Shade that privilege.
• Shade and Luvia discussed Sister Devlin's departure and her new insight into the First Fire.
• Mr. Albert agreed to support Shade and gave him a list of potions and Alchemy Items he could provide.
• Shade promised Luvia that he did not regret taking her hand, and she confessed how frightened she had been by his apparent death.
• Shade held Luvia as she slept, then dreamed of embracing the Long-haired Girl, who whispered, "Time."

Emilia and Little Liana left Moon Bay as the summer of 1854 drew to a close, while Shade prepared for his own departure and removed the Source of Chaos from Countess Bella Belinder. Shade later found Doctor Schneider by the Tatton River, where Little Mia chased off a blue cat.

• Emilia and Little Liana said goodbye to their friends at Belinder Manor and left Moon Bay with the Red Moon Witch.
• Shade and Matilda healed Countess Bella Belinder after Megan and Audrey removed the Source of Chaos from her shoulder.
• Shade visited the Moon Bay City Orphanage to tell Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus about his Saturday train, but neither was there.
• Shade found Doctor Schneider watching ships on the Tatton River and told him about the planned departure.
• A blue cat approached Shade, and Little Mia leapt from his arms and drove it away.

Shade and Doctor Schneider looked over Moon Bay from the unfinished bridge, and Shade recounted the adventures that had helped save the city. As they discussed justice and the hope they offered others, Shade gained a new power, bringing the summer’s story to a close.

• Shade and Doctor Schneider returned a lost cat named Little Harry to its owner, then walked onto the unfinished Moon Bay Bridge.
• Shade told Doctor Schneider about his adventures in Moon Bay and how he and his friends had helped save the city.
• Doctor Schneider said that justice meant bringing a ray of light to people in darkness, and Shade saw a golden emblem appear behind him.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider enjoyed the view while Little Mia rested on Shade’s lap, and a voice told him he had gained new power.

Before the war, Emilia, Angelina, and Iluna played a drinking game aboard the Radiance Messenger, sharing secrets and growing closer. Angelina got drunk and led them into Leisha’s room, where her tearful outburst over her sister ended in a playful chase that lasted until Shade returned after dawn.

• Emilia, Angelina, and Iluna traded drinking-game confessions about their experiences with Shade, private embarrassments, and personal struggles.
• Iluna, Emilia, and Angelina learned more about one another’s frustrations and responsibilities as the game deepened their friendship.
• Angelina got drunk, entered Leisha’s room, and cried while clutching her sister’s clothes and complaining that Leisha would not share with her.
• Leisha found the three young women in the corridor, sobered Angelina with a spell, and gave her the clothes to wear until midnight as punishment.
• After Leisha and Margaret left, Iluna and Emilia dressed in Leisha’s clothes and playfully chased Angelina until Shade returned after dawn.

Angelina and the others departed Moon Bay for Tobesk, while Shade stayed behind briefly to return home after bringing Miss Feliana and Fiona to Saint Derain Square. The chapter ended with Shade preparing to host his visitors as he reunited with the familiar comforts of home.

• Angelina boarded the train with Dorothy and the other travelers, and Dorothy comforted her about leaving Moon Bay.
• Shade said goodbye to Matilda and Tifa in their compartments before the train departed.
• Shade declined to return to Tobesk with the others, and Miss Aurora reminded him to host Miss Feliana and Fiona properly.
• The chapter recounted how Shade and Fiona had flown Miss Feliana to Galina Manor, then brought both visitors to Shade's home in Saint Derain Square.
• Miss Feliana and Fiona settled into Room Two, and Galina and Leisha hosted a banquet for them.
• Shade spent the night at home with Little Mia and ate breakfast with Miss Feliana and Fiona before setting out for Moon Bay.

Shade spent a day showing Miss Feliana and Fiona around Tobesk and the countryside, sharing a meal beside a brook under a starry display of his magic. Miss Feliana thanked him for his hospitality and said she felt increasingly sorry that Blaney could not join them.

• Shade returned home with Fiona, and Miss Feliana recognized the Mermaid painting and asked whether he had met the Mermaid.
• Shade took Miss Feliana and Fiona around Tobesk, where Miss Feliana had a love divination performed by Rachel Geller.
• At the Three Cats Inn, Miss Feliana explained that Shade’s house had unusually stable space and asked Fiona to find Relics that could expand it.
• Shade took the two Witches to a theater and then to Galina Manor, where they spent the afternoon riding horses and picnicking in the countryside.
• Shade conjured an abundant dinner beside a brook and decorated the evening with candles, Red Butterflies, and starlight in the water.
• Miss Feliana thanked Shade for the pleasant day and said she felt sorry that Blaney could not visit with them.

Shade introduced Feliana and Fiona to the special spaces in his Home, then opened the Holy White Chapel for them. The three entered the vast chapel and saw countless pedestals, some bearing the holy emblems of different gods.

• Shade shared a candlelit dinner with Feliana and Fiona, who stayed overnight at his Home.
• Shade guided Feliana and Fiona through the special spaces in his Home and explained their uses.
• Shade placed the Holy White Chapel entrance in the attic and showed them how to open it using dragon scales and an incantation.
• Shade, Feliana, Fiona, and Little Mia entered the Holy White Chapel, where they found a gigantic white structure filled with chairs and scattered pedestals bearing holy emblems.