Chapter Summaries

Shade and Priest Augustus discovered that they could reach through the oil painting to retrieve objects, but the Bandage Puppet grew more dangerous as the Relic threatened Shade and the Freeman boy. Priest Augustus returned with Mia, whom Shade hoped could help him reach the model house.

• Shade sent a revolver and identification into the painting, but his armed puppet failed to defeat the Bandage Puppet and retreated after running out of bullets.
• Shade discovered writing on the painting that let him and Priest Augustus reach through it and remove objects, though neither could touch the model house.
• Shade asked Priest Augustus to fetch Mia, while Mrs. Freeman and her son promised to keep the supernatural incident secret.
• The Bandage Puppet sped up and cornered the puppets, badly injuring Mister Freeman's puppet as it protected the boy.
• Priest Augustus returned with Mia, and Shade welcomed the cat and held her.

Shade used Mia the cat to push the house model out of the oil painting, ending the relic’s hold on the Freemans and freeing Mister Freeman’s soul. After the Bandage Puppet escaped and was destroyed, Shade took the painting and stayed behind to help Mister Freeman move on.

• Shade put Mia into the painting and coaxed her into pushing the house model off the table.
• The house model crashed outside the painting, breaking the link that had shared the puppet’s injuries with Shade and the boy.
• A bandaged monster emerged from the painting and attacked the boy, but Mister Freeman’s soul blocked its strike while Shade and Priest Augustus destroyed it.
• Shade and Priest Augustus reassured Mrs. Freeman, who let them take the painting away.
• After Priest Augustus left with Mrs. Freeman and the boy, Shade stayed with Mister Freeman’s soul to persuade it to move on.

Shade helped Mister Freeman’s family by recovering his hidden savings, then submitted Madman Sean’s Painting Home to Saint Byron’s Academy. The Academy identified it as a Document Level, Level 4 relic and explained its puppet requirements, containment method, and the danger of its complete monster.

• Mister Freeman asked Shade to retrieve 50 pounds hidden beneath the attic floorboards and deliver it to his family, allowing Shade to keep a small fee.
• Shade placed the recovered money in the Freemans’ moving crate, then met Mrs. Freeman and her children outside Doctor Schneider’s clinic.
• Shade showed the painting to Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus, and they sent it to Saint Byron’s Academy for assessment.
• Saint Byron’s Academy identified the painting as a known Document Level, Level 4 relic and explained how crafted puppets could free people trapped inside it.
• Shade read that the painting could be contained by leaving it untouched, and that a complete bandaged monster was a powerful evil entity requiring at least an 11 Rings Ring Arcanist to defeat.

Shade completed the recovery of the Endless Mercury Bottle and expected Academy credits and reward money, then spent the evening writing his report and worrying about expenses. On Friday, Iluna explained the powers and knowledge she gained as a Chosen One, leaving Shade and Luvia with new information about how the Chosen Ones were connected.

• Shade discussed his expected Academy credits and reward for recovering the Endless Mercury Bottle with Doctor Schneider and Priest Augustus, then thanked the Priest and went home with Mia.
• Shade treated Mia to dinner, wrote his relic recovery report, and worried about tuition and other expenses.
• Shade read about honorary degrees and told Luvia and Iluna he hoped to obtain an educational credential, but he remained concerned about the cost.
• Iluna demonstrated that her power of Balance could suppress or enhance Ring Arcanists, including High-Ring Arcanists, and said her abilities would grow as she advanced.
• Iluna told Shade and Luvia that Chosen Ones could sense one another, that their perception could be blocked after they received the relevant knowledge, and that every Chosen One had to be a Ring Arcanist with a unique ability.

Iluna explained the rules of the Chosen Ones and described the Judge’s Court, a White Fog space where people could trade what they possessed to alter themselves. Shade and Luvia learned how to enter and what the court could do, but the consequences of using its scales remained to be explored.

• Iluna told Shade and Luvia that if a candidate died, another would appear, but only one official Chosen One could exist for each Ancient God in the Sixth Epoch.
• Iluna explained that opening the Final Door would bring power and great changes, and that all the Chosen Ones would have to make one world-changing decision together.
• Iluna revealed that she could sense a White Fog space, and Shade recognized it as a place connected to the Ancient God of Balance, the Upside-down Judge.
• Iluna said the space was called the Judge’s Court and could be entered with a specific incantation and the Ancient God’s Holy Emblem, though she needed only the incantation.
• Iluna described how kneeling inside the court summoned a set of Dark Gold Scales, which let a person trade possessions such as power, memory, or lifespan to change their present and future, provided both sides were balanced.

Shade learned more about the Judge's Court and the Space Labyrinth from Iluna, then accepted three investigation commissions she brought from Blackstone Security Company. He began with a reportedly haunted vacant house at 6 Squirrel Alley, where the boarded-up windows and empty mailbox suggested someone had recently returned.

• Iluna explained that using the Judge's Court required three people, including someone with the Balance Spirit Rune, a judge bearing a holy emblem, and an audience member.
• Shade took Iluna to the basement idol, where she entered the Space Labyrinth but saw only the signpost for Saint Derain Square; Luvia speculated that only Shade could create new signposts by sacrificing White Stone Crystals.
• Iluna gave Shade three backlogged commissions, and he agreed to investigate a haunted vacant house, a mysterious person seen at noon, and a spice merchant while Iluna gathered information about the Coldwater Port Incident.
• Shade and Iluna failed to persuade Little Mia to leave with Iluna, then parted ways with Luvia and Iluna.
• Shade went to 6 Squirrel Alley to investigate the vacant apartment where Sal Hark had died, and noticed that its windows were boarded up while its mailbox was empty.

Shade investigated reports of a haunting and met Sal Hark, a lonely student who had died in his apartment and lingered as a soul. After helping Sal settle his affairs, Shade left with the dead student’s money and belongings, shaken by the reminder that he, too, was an Outlander with no one to inherit his estate.

• Shade searched Sal Hark’s apartment and learned from the soul that loose floorboards had caused the noises neighbors heard.
• Sal explained that a damaged bone necklace and unfinished business had kept him in the apartment, then asked Shade to retrieve items hidden beneath the floorboard.
• Shade found pornographic magazines, family photographs, a damaged bone necklace, and money; Sal asked him to destroy the photos and take the magazines and money.
• Sal told Shade that his family had died in a plague, he had no friends, and his school had handled his corpse before his soul vanished.
• Shade burned the photographs, carried the remaining belongings away, and reflected on having no one to inherit his estate.

Shade collected his salary from Military Intelligence Section Six and learned he had been promoted to major, then went to Lewis Street to investigate a man who had been watching Lady Swann. He spotted the black-clad voyeur as Lady Swann arrived, but the chapter ended before he could act.

• Shade paid the Steam Bird Daily and visited the Gas Company before collecting his salary from Mr. Giles Johnson at the Military Intelligence Section Six outpost.
• Mr. Johnson told Shade he had been promoted to major and raised his weekly salary to five pounds, then discussed Kasonlik's Gray Gloves and the elusive spy known as the Gray-headed Eagle.
• Shade learned that Lady Swann had reported a mysterious man watching her on Lewis Street and went there to investigate before noon.
• Shade waited on Lewis Street for Lady Swann, then saw a man dressed entirely in black emerge from the shadows of an alley as she arrived.

Shade investigated the man who had been watching Miss Swann and discovered he was an ordinary, disfigured local who admired her. After warning him to leave her alone, Shade headed to the North District Tax Bureau and planned to tell Iluna what he had learned.

• Shade followed the watcher into Black Corner Alley and deduced he was hiding in the second building on the left.
• Shade tricked the man into opening his door and confirmed through a handshake that he was not a Ring Arcanist.
• The man admitted he had watched Miss Swann because he admired her, and Shade warned him not to disturb her or let his feelings turn into harmful actions.
• The man promised to stop watching Miss Swann, and Shade left the alley after warning that the police would intervene if he harmed her.
• Shade ate lunch, then took a carriage toward the North District Tax Bureau to settle his taxes and tell Iluna about the investigation.

After filing his taxes, Shade visited Iluna and then traveled to Saint Song Square to find a spice merchant for her final commission. The Outlander took in the Lower District’s crowded, impoverished trading center, gaining insight into the unfamiliar world.

• Shade paid 7 pounds and 14 shillings in taxes and received a tin of malt candy as a gift.
• Shade gave the malt candy to Iluna and explained the two commissions he had already completed.
• Iluna said the Captain would handle the peeping incident and discussed how the response depended on the offender’s behavior.
• Shade left Iluna and took a carriage to Saint Song Square to look for the spice merchant.
• Shade explored the bustling Lower District square, and the Destiny Ring gathered Brass-Colored Enlightenment Element as he reflected on its people and way of life.

Shade investigated the spice seller at Saint Song Square for Iluna and discovered that the seller, Alan Madison, was a Sixth Ring Arcanist carrying out a ritual required to learn a special Thaumaturgy. The chapter ended with Doctor Schneider questioning whether Madison had been deceived by the Thaumaturgy’s unusually complicated learning requirements.

• Shade identified the scarf-wrapped spice seller at Saint Song Square as a mid-ring Arcanist and used a conversation with a grocer to learn that the seller had recently begun appearing at the square.
• Shade sold three picture books to the grocer and learned that the spice seller, Alan Madison, kept regular hours and did not come on Sundays.
• Doctor Schneider arrived and greeted Madison, then introduced Shade as a newcomer from their group and took them to the Three Cats Inn.
• Shade told Madison that the Orthodox Church had noticed his special spices and sent a subordinate Ring Arcanist Squad to investigate.
• Madison explained that selling spices at Saint Song Square was part of the ritual required to learn a special Thaumaturgy, and Doctor Schneider questioned whether he had been deceived.

Shade learned that Mr. Madison’s Merchant Instinct Thaumaturgy was real and that the spice merchant planned to leave Saint Song Square after attracting the Church’s attention. Mr. Madison also revealed the tragedy behind Doctor Schneider’s resolve to inherit a former companion’s wish and teach at Saint Byron’s, while Shade left with more questions about the academies.

• Mr. Madison explained that his Merchant Instinct Thaumaturgy revealed people’s psychological price points, and he agreed to leave Saint Song Square and let Shade report that he had vanished.
• Mr. Madison told Shade that Schneider’s original group included an Eighth Ring Arcanist and a Third Ring Arcanist, who died in a major incident more than ten years earlier after saving Schneider.
• Mr. Madison said Schneider had vowed to inherit the Eighth Ring Arcanist’s wish of becoming a teacher at Saint Byron’s, but he stopped before explaining the incident when the Doctor returned.
• Shade and Mr. Madison pretended they had been discussing Rhodes Cards, then exchanged business cards before parting ways at the Three Cats Inn.
• Shade rode with the Doctor and learned that Serkeses Higher Medical College was reportedly located in a vast water-free space beneath the sea.

Shade received a letter from Miss Mia San Goode about Mia the cat and learned that Professor Manning had found a member of the Guiding Light Club. At Professor Heink’s home, Shade showed him a symbol linked to his investigation and noticed the professor’s reaction.

• Shade received Miss Goode’s letter, which included money for Mia’s upkeep and explained that her family troubles and health problems would keep her from retrieving the cat this year.
• Shade read Professor Manning’s letter identifying the Guiding Light Club as a doomsday organization supported by the Guiding Light Hermitage and arranging a meeting with Professor Heink.
• Shade met Professor Heink at Professor Manning’s home and confirmed that the philosophy professor was an ordinary person.
• Shade described his client’s search for the origins of mysterious symbols and showed Professor Heink a triangle symbol containing a winged person.
• Shade noticed Professor Heink’s eyes widen when he saw the symbol.

Shade persuaded Professor Heink to contact the Hermit Order and learned that the Academy had promoted him to second year after awarding him credits for the Mercury Vial. He received his new curriculum and paid the fees, while the group's off-campus practice was postponed until later in August.

• Shade showed Professor Heink the symbol and offered him money, then convinced him to arrange a meeting with the Hermit Order.
• Shade submitted the Mercury Vial through the Poetry Manuscript Paper, and the Academy awarded him five credits, bringing his total to fifteen.
• Shade paid 325 pounds for his second-year tuition and books, leaving him with just over 200 pounds in usable savings and money still owed to the group.
• The Academy sent Shade over forty books and a list of twenty-one required second-year courses, while Priest Augustus and Dorothy chose new electives.
• Doctor Schneider learned that the Academy had postponed the summer off-campus practice in Tobesk until the latter half of August.

Shade learned that the Guiding Light Hermitage had agreed to meet him for a transaction, and he met its representative, Sivor Rendall, at the White Swan Restaurant. The chapter ended with Sivor asking who was really seeking the Hermitage and what they wanted.

• Dorothy announced that her detective novel, Detective Hamilton Story Collection, would begin serialization in the Steam Bird Daily, while the others discussed their plans and Shade celebrated his promotion to the second year.
• Shade received Professor McKain’s letter saying that local Ring Arcanists from the Guiding Light Hermitage had agreed to meet him at the White Swan Restaurant.
• Shade arranged for Dorothy to watch from outside and went to the restaurant, where he used a box of Candle Brand matches as the meeting token.
• Shade met Sivor Rendall, a fourth-ring Ring Arcanist who worked as a secretary for the University Federation, and they ordered only light meals.
• Sivor asked Shade what he wanted from the Hermitage and suggested that someone behind him was actually seeking them.

Shade negotiated with Mr. Randall of the Hermit Order for a god-summoning ritual and learned the price of its records. He planned to raise the money before their exchange the next evening, then continued studying Tree's Kiss with Dorothy.

• Shade told Mr. Randall that the Time Key had revealed the Hermit Order to him and asked for help finding a ritual.
• Mr. Randall consulted his companions and returned with information about the ritual, offering the complete records for 1,300 pounds or limited details for 430 pounds.
• Shade agreed to buy the complete records but could not pay immediately, so he and Mr. Randall arranged to exchange money and goods beside the Saint Derain Square fountain at sunset the next evening.
• Dorothy caught up with Shade after he left the restaurant, and he thanked her for helping with the negotiation.
• Shade and Dorothy studied versions of Tree's Kiss, while Dorothy also practiced controlling The Little Match Girl's power through Shade's Spirit Rune.

Shade spent Sunday with Dorothy, washed Mia, and sold Miss Galina an ancient Fishman potion before hearing that a Witch had gone to Coldwater Port to search for the second Chosen One. He asked Miss Galina which Witch had been sent, while trying to conceal his interest.

• Shade sent Miss Galina a letter, and Dorothy visited to return and borrow detective files while discussing the stories she had written.
• Dorothy helped Shade wash Mia, leaving him soaked and the cat sulking at home.
• Shade showed Miss Galina the Ancient Fishman's Elixir of Immortality, and she confirmed its effects by giving a drop to an old cat.
• Miss Galina offered Shade 3,300 pounds for the potion, and Shade accepted payment in cash.
• Miss Galina told Shade that a Witch had gone to Coldwater Port to search for the second Chosen One, and Shade asked for her identity.

Miss Galina warned Shade about Sivie Aurora, the powerful witch heading to Coldwater Port, and explained how witches could detect him. Shade returned home with cod liver oil for Mia, and Dorothy asked him to save her a Youthful Immortality Leaf if he found one.

• Miss Galina told Shade that Sivie Aurora, the Council’s Third Seat and a powerful witch, was traveling to Coldwater Port and might resent him.
• Miss Galina explained that witches could sense Shade at close range, advised him to stay near other men, and promised to protect him in Tobesk.
• Shade bought Mia cod liver oil with money Miss Goode had provided and returned home to find the cat still angry with him.
• Shade offered to let Dorothy watch him enter the past to investigate Miss Feliana’s history, but she declined and asked him to save her a Youthful Immortality Leaf.

Shade learned that the dangerous God Summoning ritual’s second stage was the fairy tale “Tree’s Kiss,” then returned to Thousand Tree Forest to meet the three Witches. He noticed a troubling detail about their camp: there were three Witches but only two tents, a contradiction they had never recognized.

• Shade exchanged money and ritual documents with Mr. Randall, who warned him that the God Summoning ritual had two stages and that forgetting something important could bring terrible consequences.
• Mr. Randall confirmed that the ritual’s second stage was the fairy tale “Tree’s Kiss,” and Shade realized the Complete Collection of Ancient Fairy Tales of Delarion might explain the mystery.
• Shade used the cracked key to travel to Fifth Epoch 3002 and entered Thousand Tree Forest, where he followed the Witches’ guidance to reach their clearing.
• Shade found Miss Feliana singing beside the bonfire with the Moon Witch and the Giant Tree Witch, whose spirits appeared increasingly worn down by the forest.
• Shade showed Miss Feliana the Complete Collection of Ancient Fairy Tales of Delarion and asked why three Witches had only two single-person tents; all three looked confused, having never noticed the discrepancy.

Shade realized that Miss Feliana and the Moon Witch had already begun the God Summoning ritual and had forgotten summoning the Old God, the Radiance Doorway. He identified “Tree’s Kiss” as the ritual’s final step, then asked whether the god had once been mortal.

• Shade questioned Miss Feliana about the missing ritual materials and the relics whose power the forest had absorbed.
• Shade concluded that the Giant Tree Witch was Princess Tavel and the Old God, the Radiance Doorway, whose true form was the giant tree.
• Shade explained that Miss Feliana and the Moon Witch had completed the ritual’s first stage but still needed to perform its second stage.
• Shade identified “Tree’s Kiss” as the final ritual step and said Princess Tavel needed to enter the giant tree.
• The Old God turned Shade’s question toward whether It had once been mortal, leaving the witches shocked and without an answer.