Chapter Summaries

Shade reunited with Iluna at Lake View Manor and took her to dance in the Hedge Maze, where he used his illusion to create a moonlit wilderness. After Iluna kissed his cheek and left, Shade returned to the manor with her scarf, reflecting on the dance.

• Iluna found Shade in the courtyard after arriving too late to help at Schluch Lake, and Shade invited her to dance.
• Shade and Iluna went to the Hedge Maze, where he used Red Butterfly Illusion to give her a ballroom gown and fill the moonlit garden with butterflies.
• Shade expanded the illusion into a dreamlike moonlit wilderness, and he and Iluna danced beneath the falling snow.
• After the dance, Iluna kissed Shade's left cheek, gave him her silk scarf, and left the Hedge Maze.
• Shade pocketed Iluna's scarf beside Miss Galina's and walked back toward Lake View Manor.

Shade explained the Missing Penny riddle at the banquet, earning Princess Margaret Anjou’s respect and an invitation to meet again. Director Anlos praised Shade for connecting with the Princess and delivered the approved 280-pound reimbursement before Shade went to find Little Mia.

• Shade agreed to explain the Missing Penny after Princess Margaret admitted she could not solve it, and guests gathered around a blackboard.
• Shade showed that the three men’s thirty pennies were split into twenty-five paid to the innkeeper, two kept by the boy, and three retained by the men.
• Princess Margaret acknowledged Shade’s wisdom, gave him her handkerchief, and invited him to a Reading Salon and to visit her residence.
• Director Anlos praised Shade for establishing a connection with Margaret and handed him the approved 280-pound reimbursement.
• Shade pocketed the money and considered using language lessons as an excuse to approach Princess Margaret again.

After the Lake View Manor banquet, Shade discussed the possible fourth Chosen One and the Wise Man’s Gleaming Stones with Miss Galina, then met with Luvia to plan how to identify the Chosen One of Wisdom and secure the stones. Luvia agreed to investigate Miss Pawo, while Shade learned that the Church planned to have Iluna receive any stones it found.

• Shade woke at Miss Galina’s manor beside the sleeping Princess and Dorothy, then discussed the fourth Chosen One with Miss Galina until noon.
• Shade invited Miss Sylvia to discuss his paper, arranged with Sister Devlin to visit the Goddess in the Lake, and searched several black markets.
• Shade told Luvia about the Chosen One and the five Wise Man’s Gleaming Stones from the banquet at Lake View Manor.
• Shade suggested that Miss Pawo might be the Chosen One because she had encountered him in Huntington and Tobesk, and Luvia agreed to meet her to verify her identity.
• Luvia told Shade that the Church planned to gather the Gleaming Stones and have Iluna receive them, and they agreed to watch for the Truth Society’s actions.
• Luvia told Shade that guests at the Seer Association had been calling him the King of the Banquet after his many games, contests, and dances with royal women.

Shade brought Sister Devlin from Middlesburg to Huntington and took her to Lake Carlek, where Little Mia discovered a hidden path across the water. The chapter ended with Shade and Sister Devlin preparing to follow the cat along the invisible road.

• Shade used the Magician's Escape Box to bring Sister Devlin to White River Valley Vineyard, where they established a transmission passage using the Old Gods Statue.
• Shade and Sister Devlin rode toward Lake Carlek with Little Mia, while discussing the Fourth Chosen One and Sister Devlin's cautious plan to investigate the Evil of Pantanal.
• Sister Devlin warned Shade that the Pantanar Area was far more dangerous than Sikar Mountain.
• Little Mia stepped onto Lake Carlek and walked across its surface without leaving ripples, revealing a hidden road.
• Sister Devlin cast Glowstone to mark which parts of the lake held the invisible path.

Shade and Sister Devlin reached Lake of Cherub, where Sister Devlin walked barefoot across the water and Shade met Lady Cherub. Shade passed the first test of the Four Trials and learned that his next task was to investigate Professor Kansas Drake’s visit to the lake.

• Shade and Sister Devlin crossed the mist-covered Lake Carlek and arrived at Lake Heart Island with Little Mia.
• Little Mia scared off the revived wild wolf, and Shade picked her up while Sister Devlin led the horses ashore.
• Sister Devlin removed her boots and walked across the lake’s surface to Lady Cherub, while Shade jumped to the center using Red Dragon Force and Frog's Leap.
• Shade presented three gifts as proof of his strength, Wisdom, and Charm, and Lady Cherub declared that he had passed the first test.
• Lady Cherub tasked Shade with investigating why Professor Kansas Drake came to her, what price he paid, and what wish he made, and told him to bring a longsword next time.

Shade learned where a wisp of the Divided First Fire rested and began the Goddess in the Lake’s second Trial: investigating Professor Kansas Drake’s forgotten wish and its price. After searching Drake’s old materials together, they uncovered a diary, letters, and a worn book as their first clues.

• The Goddess in the Lake told Sister Devlin that a wisp of the First Fire rested in the Old Lighthouse on Lake Heart Island in the Pantanal Great Swamp, where it helped stabilize the swamp’s balance.
• The White Robed Lady invited Sister Devlin to become Wisdom’s agent, but Sister Devlin refused because she had devoted herself to watching over the First Fire.
• Shade returned to the lakeside with Sister Devlin and began his second Trial, then visited Professor Kansas Drake to explain that he must discover why Drake had sought the Goddess in the Lake, what he had wished for, and what price he had paid.
• Drake confirmed that he had encountered something supernatural before seeking the Goddess, retired early after an accident, and could not remember what he had been researching or what had happened that year.
• Shade and Drake searched through the professor’s old materials and found a diary, letters, and a worn old book.

Shade examined Professor Drake’s diaries, letters, and old book for clues about the professor’s past encounter, then visited Armand Bernhardt and translated part of an ancient spellbook. The chapter left Shade discussing his growing connection to Princess Margaret and his hopes of acquiring White River Valley Vineyard.

• Shade noticed Professor Drake’s diary mentioned red, swollen eyes and double vision shortly before the professor’s journey to Lake of Cherub.
• Shade found Professor Tiris Manning’s name among Drake’s letters and borrowed Drake’s old book, which bore faint traces of elements and the inscription “Knowledge is power.”
• Shade left Drake’s home and visited Armand Bernhardt’s estate, where he translated a passage about emotions from the Seven Emotions Spellbook.
• Armand Bernhardt asked Shade about Princess Margaret, and Shade said she had invited him to a Reading Salon and given him her personal handkerchief.

Shade arranged for Mr. Bernhardt to investigate unusual events in Huntington and helped Miss Danist prepare to test the Guiding Moon. He obtained the second Time Perception slab and used his Silver Moon Core Ling Rune to reveal its contents, leaving him with knowledge that might concern time.

• Shade asked Mr. Bernhardt to have his priest friend investigate strange events in Huntington and learned the results would arrive by Sunday.
• Shade told Miss Danist he had met the Guiding Moon, and she prepared an Alchemy Item to gather spirit light when the Guiding Moon revealed her Destiny Ring.
• Shade received the second slab from Mr. Edmund in Coldwater Port and realized it might respond to the power of the moon.
• Shade summoned his Destiny Ring and illuminated the slab with his Silver Moon Core Ling Rune, causing silver light and markings to appear.
• Shade touched the glowing slab and received its complex, disordered knowledge in his mind.

Shade learned that the Time Stone Slab contained fragmented knowledge for strengthening Time Perception, then went to meet Professor Manning and encountered Iluna investigating a theft. Iluna revealed that the theft involved an unseen Humanoid Relic known as the Invisible Man.

• Shade confirmed that the slab's knowledge was related to strengthening Time Perception and wondered why the Gray-Robed Sage had left it intact.
• Shade learned from Mia that the slab contained Miracle Element as pure as the Silver Moon, then stored it in the basement with the banknote printing plates.
• Shade went to Professor Manning's home, but found no one there and waited for the professor to return.
• Iluna arrived at 17 Cat Tail Alley and told Shade she was investigating a theft on Ridgewich Field's commission.
• Iluna explained that the Creation Church had warned the churches about a theft-related Humanoid Relic called the Invisible Man, whose main body no one had seen.

Shade learned about Jack the Thief and accompanied Iluna as she investigated the Relic’s theft from Professor Tiris Manning. The examination found faint traces of the Whisper Element but no sign that Manning had been infected, leaving the thief unidentified.

• Iluna explained Jack the Thief’s traits, its effects on victims, and the Church’s investigation of recent thefts.
• Shade and Iluna discussed Vinales’ Trial, the Fourth Chosen One, and why Apna Library had shared information with The Truth Society.
• Shade used Iluna’s Divine Art Item to check Professor Tiris Manning and found no indication that the professor had been affected.
• Iluna questioned Manning and inspected the living room, where she and Shade found faint traces of the Whisper Element and evidence that the thief had opened a locked window with a wire.
• Iluna collected rust from the window for the Church’s divination, and she and Shade found nothing else in the room.

Shade questioned Professor Manning about Professor Drake’s unusual inspiration and borrowed their old letters to investigate Drake’s condition. He then went to the Black Raven Library to seek lightning Thaumaturgy and recognized Margaret Anjou as the black-robed visitor he passed.

• Iluna left Professor Manning’s home after Shade mentioned his lunch plans with Little Mia.
• Professor Manning told Shade about Professor Drake’s strong inspiration and lent him their old letters, along with a sealed letter for Drake.
• Shade set out to find Thaumaturgy related to his Blasphemy—Thunder Spirit Rune at the Black Raven Library.
• Shade disguised himself and entered the library, where he passed Margaret Anjou in a black robe.

Shade visited Old John Pawnshop and accepted a Hermit Order commission to collect materials from Apna Library on Saturday night. He then accompanied Doctor Schneider to meet a patient with persecutory delusion at Three Cats Inn.

• Shade declined to buy any Thunder Thaumaturgies at Black Raven Library and later met Iluna for lunch with Little Mia.
• Shade sent Miss Sylvia an express letter asking to meet about his paper, then chose to visit Old John Pawnshop instead of reading Professor Manning's letters.
• Old John hired Shade for twenty-five pounds to collect the Hermit Order's materials from Apna Library on Saturday night, while withholding details about the goods.
• Doctor Schneider invited Shade to assess his patient, Mr. Jims, whose persecutory delusion had responded only slightly to treatment.
• Shade and Doctor Schneider traveled to Three Cats Inn, where Mr. Jims had agreed to meet them on the second floor.

Shade accompanied Doctor Schneider to the Three Cats Inn to help treat Mr. Jims, whose fear of fatal accidents had worsened over the past three months. After questioning him, Shade suggested confronting the danger directly and placed the Gun of Kindness on the table.

• Mrs. Sangmei welcomed Shade and Doctor Schneider to the Three Cats Inn and gave them fried beans in thanks for the Detective’s Penny Problem.
• Doctor Schneider brought Mr. Jims to meet Shade, and Mr. Jims described his persistent belief that ordinary accidents would kill him.
• Doctor Schneider explained that medication eased Mr. Jims’s tension but had done little to lessen his sense of impending crisis.
• Shade asked whether Mr. Jims had encountered anything supernatural before his symptoms began, but Mr. Jims could recall nothing unusual.
• Shade suggested that Mr. Jims put himself in genuine danger, then drew the Gun of Kindness and laid it on the table.

Shade and Doctor Schneider discovered that Mr. Jims’s sense of impending danger came from an inherited supernatural item linked to the Old God White Sacred Tree, which foretold a real fatal crisis. As they prepared to investigate, Margaret Anjou arrived upstairs with Mr. Alan Madison, while Shade noticed a headless woman at a table.

• Shade used the Gun of Kindness to expose Mr. Jims to danger, and the accountant’s feelings of danger diminished after he pulled the trigger twice without firing.
• Shade learned that Mr. Jims’s family worshipped the White Sacred Tree and suspected an inherited Divine Art Item was warning him of an approaching fatal crisis.
• Doctor Schneider put Mr. Jims to sleep, and he and Shade discussed the danger before preparing to alter the accountant’s memory and inspect his room.
• Mr. Alan Madison arrived on the second floor with a young girl whom Shade recognized as Margaret Anjou.
• Shade saw a woman remove her head, dislodge a peanut from her throat, replace her head, and continue drinking.

Shade and Doctor Schneider watched Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret attempt to contain a woman connected to a relic, but their attack failed and the woman’s curse trapped them together at Shade and the Doctor’s table. The chapter ended with the group gathered around the frozen woman as the Doctor demanded an explanation from Mr. Madison.

• Shade and Doctor Schneider observed the woman detach her head and sensed the Whisper Element, while Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret investigated her.
• Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret tried to subdue the woman with spellcasting and containment items, but she repelled them and cursed them with a head-waving relic effect.
• The woman fled to Shade and Doctor Schneider’s table, where her curse marked Shade, the Doctor, Mr. Madison, and Princess Margaret with black lines on their necks.
• Mr. Madison and Princess Margaret sat with Shade and the Doctor, and Princess Margaret introduced herself to Shade as Miss Mary.
• The Doctor complained to Mr. Madison about his bad luck and asked what was happening with the frozen woman.

Mr. Madison and the others tried to contain the Charles II's Beheading Curse, but its flying head escaped into the fog and revealed that it could multiply. Shade and Princess Margaret faced a swarm of hundreds of heads as the chapter ended.

• Mr. Madison explained that the parasite had infected the four Ring Arcanists, was malnourished, and needed to be subdued without attracting ordinary people's attention.
• Mr. Madison attacked the frozen woman with two engraved metal rods, causing her head to separate and split into two heads that fled in different directions.
• Doctor Schneider pursued one head while Shade and Princess Margaret chased the other through a window into a fog-filled alley.
• Princess Margaret summoned Killer Jack and used spells to slow the heads, but the heads resisted the doll's dagger and her freezing magic.
• Shade arrived and destroyed two head-shaped clones with moonlight and Mind Blast, then saw hundreds of heads advancing through the fog with Princess Margaret.

Shade helped Princess Margaret contain the Document Level Relic Charles II's Beheading Curse and remove it from its victim. After Margaret left Tobesk, Shade asked Doctor Schneider to alert him if Sir Prisha became involved in local relic-related activities.

• Princess Margaret warned Shade that the relic was losing control, but Shade resisted its curse and destroyed its flying-head duplicates with the Great Sin Chains.
• Shade subdued the remaining head and packed it away, then returned with Princess Margaret to the Three Cats Inn.
• Shade, Doctor Schneider, Mr. Madison, and Princess Margaret prepared a ritual to extract the relic from the unconscious woman.
• Princess Margaret cut off the woman's head and drew the parasitic relic into a flask, then stitched the head back on while Mr. Madison sealed the relic in its containment case.
• Mr. Madison sent the recovering woman away, and Princess Margaret paid Shade and Doctor Schneider before leaving.
• Shade told Doctor Schneider to inform him if Sir Prisha took part in relic containment or other Ring Arcanist activities in Tobesk.

Shade and Doctor Schneider cured Mr. Jims’s fear of danger through hypnosis, then Shade welcomed the Great Witch, Miss Sylvia, to his home for a late-night visit. The chapter ended with Sylvia beginning her first visit to Shade’s house.

• Doctor Schneider and Shade convinced Mr. Jims that his fear of danger had been cured by a life-and-death experience in a dream.
• Mr. Jims showed Shade and Doctor Schneider his ancient holy emblem, which Shade recognized as a Divine Art Item nearing the end of its power.
• Doctor Schneider paid Shade five pounds, and Shade treated Little Mia to dinner.
• Miss Sylvia left Princess Margaret near Saint Derain Square and went to inspect Shade’s paper and discuss Laguerre’s Leap with him.
• Shade greeted Miss Sylvia at the door, and she entered his home with Little Mia.

Luvia visited Shade and told him she had tracked down Miss Pawo, a Sixth Ring Arcanist of The Truth Society who carried the dangerous Angel Level Relic Smallville Codex. They agreed to focus on identifying the next Keeper of Secrets, while Luvia warned Shade to remember the consequences of their choices.

• Luvia arrived at Shade's home and met Emma Sylvia, who had stayed overnight after working with Shade on a paper about space.
• After Emma Sylvia left, Luvia told Shade she had found Miss Pawo by investigating Viscount Witte and The Truth Society's ties to his family.
• Luvia said Miss Pawo was not a Chosen One and revealed that her book was the Level 1 Relic Smallville Codex, an Angel Level Relic from the Second Epoch.
• Shade and Luvia agreed that they did not need to focus on Miss Pawo for now and planned to compare the next Keeper of Secrets list with the Lake View Manor guest list.
• Luvia urged Shade to get information through Princess Leisha rather than relying on Iluna, and reminded him that their decisions could affect the world's future.

Shade, Luvia, and their companions discussed a theft-related Humanoid Relic and prepared for their year-end examinations at Doctor Schneider's clinic. The Academy then announced that Tobesk's off-campus activity was canceled and offered an extraordinary bounty for information about dangerous trial-related relics, including the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone.

• Doctor Schneider warned the group about a Humanoid Relic that stole from Ring Arcanists, and Shade, Priest Augustus, and Luvia shared accounts of its unusual thefts around Tobesk.
• Priest Augustus explained that the thief possessed valuable treasures but was nearly impossible to catch because it appeared only during a theft and grew stronger against powerful opponents.
• The five group members discussed their examination plans, including Shade's application to skip directly from his second year to his fourth year.
• Doctor Schneider told the group that Saint Byron's had canceled its Tobesk off-campus activity because Princess Margaret Anjou's visit might cause trouble.
• Priest Augustus read the Academy's bounty for dangerous trial-related relics, offering major rewards for the Wise Man's Gleaming Stone, and Doctor Schneider concluded that the Academy must be desperate to obtain it.