Chapter Summaries

Shade reviewed the Academy’s elective courses and discovered a hidden midnight summons from two professors, then received a dangerous Keeper of Secrets relic from the History College. The chapter left him warned not to throw the relic’s Dice of Destiny, whose likely low rolls could bring terrible consequences.

• Shade studied the elective course list as Doctor Schneider, the Old Priest, and Miss Louisa advised him on choosing courses.
• Shade found a concealed message summoning him to meet Hames Jane Sanchez and Hessinger Garcia at midnight, though Miss Louisa could not see it.
• Shade received the Keeper of Secrets relic Whisper from the History College and opened its bronze box to reveal a twenty-sided die.
• Miss Louisa explained that the Dice of Destiny could interfere with divination but would lower its bearer’s luck over time.
• Miss Louisa warned Shade that the die’s daily throw usually produced a number below ten and could cause horrifying misfortune.

Shade joined the Academy and rolled the Relic die, which landed on 20, while keeping the whispering woman’s guidance secret. He learned he had inherited Sparrow Hamilton’s house at 6 Saint Derain Square, but Doctor Schneider warned that the property had been sold for a suspiciously low price.

• Shade followed the whispering woman’s suggestion and rolled the die, which landed on 20.
• Doctor Schneider and Miss Writer warned Shade that the lucky result might consume his luck, while Shade kept the voice in his mind secret.
• Shade celebrated his admission to the Academy with Doctor Schneider, Miss Louisa, and Priest Augustus, and received a book to help inscribe his first Spirit Rune.
• Shade used the four pounds offered for information about God's Box and the Blood of Mercury to repay part of his debt.
• Doctor Schneider told Shade that he had inherited the entire building at 6 Saint Derain Square from Sparrow Hamilton, then revealed that Sparrow had bought it for only 300 pounds.

The old priest explained the deadly history of 6 Saint Derain Square, but Shade decided to keep living there for now. After the Church arranged Sparrow Hamilton’s death certificate, Shade learned more about his fellow Ring Arcanists’ strange behavior as he left the meeting.

• The priest told Shade that two Nine-Ring Arcanists had died in a battle at 6 Saint Derain Square, and later occupants who stayed after hearing strange sounds or seeing shadows had also died.
• Shade chose not to sell the house, while the priest offered to retrieve its ownership documents and obtain a genuine death certificate for Sparrow Hamilton.
• Shade asked about the Blood Ring, and Doctor Schneider offered to inquire about it through the Academy Library and advised Shade to learn defensive magic before reading The Mad Light Chaser.
• After the meeting, Augustus and Louisa reassured Shade about Doctor Schneider’s strict manner, and Augustus said Louisa’s occasional odd behavior was not yet cause for alarm.
• Shade noticed Louisa repeatedly touching her bare earlobes and learned from Augustus that she had shown unusual behavior since the previous year.

Shade brought his new textbooks home and learned three basic spells and the offensive Thaumaturgy Silver Moon Slash. He left the day with a first grasp of his new powers and planned to pursue further Thaumaturgies as he obtained the needed materials.

• Shade rented a cargo carriage, moved his books to No. 6, St. Derain Square, and stayed home to study through the Great Fog.
• Shade learned ignite, Summon Water, and Move Object, startling Mia with their effects.
• Shade read that Sense Time required a Four-Leaf Clock Flower he could not obtain until next month, and studied three Academy Thaumaturgies tied to Silver Moon.
• Shade attached Silver Moonlight to a broken silver knife thirteen times and learned Silver Moon Slash when the blade vanished into light.

Shade practiced Silver Moon Slash and resolved to build his detective agency to earn money for more occult knowledge. At midnight, he performed a ritual that summoned three Saint Byron's representatives, who appeared to meet with him.

• Shade practiced Silver Moon Slash and found that its elegant light trails fascinated Miya, though they were too weak to mark the walls.
• Shade concluded that he needed gold pounds to buy more Thaumaturgies and planned to earn them through his Detective Agency.
• Shade prepared four chairs and a basin of water, then burned his elective course list at midnight and cast it into the basin.
• The ritual transformed the scroll into blue lights, stirred wind through the room, and summoned three translucent figures.
• Hames Sanchez, Hesseng Garcia, and Lakes Jones introduced themselves, and Shade greeted them and offered tea.

Shade met with Professors Garcia and Sanchez, who explained his priority trainee status and prepared to begin his time-travel training. Their discussion was interrupted by a mercury mist invasion linked to the Old God statue, and Professor Garcia prepared to confront the intruders using spatial power.

• Professor Garcia told Shade that he would receive priority training, including time-travel practical training that would begin that night.
• Professor Sanchez asked Shade to keep their discussion secret and warned that Shade's group of five had serious problems.
• Mercury mist seeped into Shade's living room, and the professors recognized that someone was trying to invade.
• Shade told the professors about the Old God statue, and they concluded that the buyer had mostly removed Blood of Mercury's tracking but faint traces remained.
• Professor Sanchez explained that Blood of Mercury was a declining ancient organization tied to the hunted Blood Spirit School.
• Professor Garcia said he would confront the intruders and told Shade to watch as he demonstrated the power of space.

Professor Garcia and Professor Sanchez used spatial magic and truth-compelling magic to uncover and kill Dwarf Rat Peter, who had been trying to poison Shade. After Shade discovered evidence linking Blood of Mercury with two other organizations, the professors returned to their discussion of his five-person group and revealed that “Another Me” posed a major hidden danger.

• Professor Garcia merged Shade’s living room with Dwarf Rat Peter’s apartment, and Professor Sanchez forced Peter to explain that he was trying to kill Shade with mercury poison.
• Peter revealed that Blood of Mercury had lost the statue of the Old God Vampire Duke Lawell and had sent him to find and kill the person who stole it.
• Professor Sanchez killed Peter, and Shade searched the apartment for documents while the professors remained seated to maintain the spatial ritual.
• Shade found an unfinished letter describing Blood of Mercury’s dealings with the cultists of Lord of the Blood Feast and the Blood Spirit School, then reported what he had read.
• Professor Garcia dispelled the spatial anomaly, and Professor Sanchez warned Shade that “Another Me” in his five-person group was a serious hidden danger.

Professor Sanchez explained the problems the Academy had identified among Shade’s group and asked him to report any alarming changes in Bill Schneider or Latt Augustus. Shade learned that the Academy considered him trustworthy, though he privately remained burdened with secrets.

• Professor Sanchez told Shade that Bill Schneider might lose control because of an unidentified danger within him, and asked Shade to monitor him.
• Professor Sanchez revealed that Latt Augustus had survived an Unknown Level relic containment breach and might have recovered erased memories, so Shade could monitor him too.
• Professor Sanchez explained that Luvia Annette’s unusually accurate divinations concerned the Academy, while Dorothy Louisa was suspected of spying for Zaras Academy of Literature.
• Shade summarized that the Academy wanted him to report problems among his group, and Professor Garcia clarified that Shade himself had passed the Academy’s investigation.
• Shade claimed he had no problems while the woman’s voice in his heart laughed at him.

Professor Sanchez told Shade that his family had died during a famine and that Sparrow Hamilton’s secret involved no supernatural forces, then gave him a prophecy warning him about blood. Professor Garcia began Shade’s lesson and revealed that the key would send Shade through time alone.

• Professor Sanchez explained that Shade’s family died while fleeing a famine when Shade was sixteen, and said the Academy would let Shade investigate Sparrow Hamilton’s ordinary secret himself.
• Professor Sanchez gave Shade Poet Cohen’s Manuscript for emergencies and read a divination that showed Shade holding a Rhodes Card and warned him to avoid places filled with blood.
• Shade decided to visit the Seer Association the next morning to have his Rhodes Card appraised.
• Professor Sanchez and Miss Jones left, and Professor Garcia told Shade he was about to travel through time.
• Professor Garcia revealed that the key allowed only one person to travel through time, and only once.

Shade received a wooden Time Key from Professor Garcia and learned how it enabled a journey into the past. He opened his bedroom door into White Fog and stepped through, beginning his first investigation in Fifth Epoch 1068.

• Professor Garcia explained the Time Key’s rules, its connection to the Father of Infinite Tree, and the investigators’ role in observing the past.
• Shade retrieved a tiny wooden key from the basin and read its inscription invoking the World Tree.
• Professor Garcia told Shade the key led to autumn of Fifth Epoch 1068 and explained that it could be used to travel there for up to three hours.
• Shade placed the key in his bedroom door, recited the incantation, and opened it to find a passage filled with White Fog.
• Shade gathered his courage and walked through the fog door.

Shade entered the Time Corridor and was sent to Hope Town in the Fifth Epoch to witness the Innocent Creator’s final wish. He met the Old God’s Saint, who healed him but said Shade was too weak to witness the wish, and Shade asked what an Ancient God was.

• Shade learned that Father of Infinite Tree was watching him and that the Ancient God of Time had given him a trial to witness the Innocent Creator’s final wish.
• Shade stepped out of the white fog into Hope Town and entered its Toy Store after the townspeople noticed him.
• Shade was overwhelmed by the Innocent Creator’s divine presence, but the Saint healed him and protected him from the god’s essence.
• The Innocent Creator told Shade that he was too weak to witness the final wish and said he needed God’s Radiance, which It could not explain.
• Shade asked the Innocent Creator what an Ancient God was.

Shade traveled to 1068 of the Fifth Epoch and encountered the Old God Innocent Creator during the fall of the Old Gods. He returned to the present with a new spell and a damaged Time Key, then told Professor Garcia about the dangerous journey.

• The Old God explained that the Ancient Gods had fallen and offered Shade a story before sending him back to the present.
• Innocent Creator told Shade about creating an Eternal Fire and springs for a Witch Princess, then granted him the spell False Immortality.
• Shade returned to Room Number One at 6 Saint Derain Square and learned that his mission was incomplete and the Time Key was damaged.
• Shade told Professor Garcia that he had traveled to 1068 of the Fifth Epoch and encountered a shop in Hope Town.
• Professor Garcia realized the year was not safe, promised to report the incident to the Academy, and urged Shade to rest.

Shade recovered from his encounter with the Old God Innocent Creator, learned he had gained the spell False Immortality, and reported the incident to the Academy. He decided to preserve the damaged Time Key’s two remaining uses until he understood God's Radiance, then set out for the Seer Association.

• After Professor Garcia left, Shade found the water gone and the Time Key cracked, while the woman in his head explained that their unusual abilities came from his soul’s peculiar nature.
• Shade reflected on the thirteen Old Gods and his failed mission, and resolved to seek Priest Augustus’s thoughts about God's Radiance.
• Cat Mia joined Shade, and petting her helped him recover from the encounter’s lingering mental effects.
• The next morning, Shade sent the Academy his own report, and Professor Garcia replied that the mission’s rewards would be decided after the History College assembly.
• Shade locked away the cracked key, considered his new spell False Immortality, and chose not to use the key’s remaining chances before understanding God's Radiance.
• Shade prepared to visit the Seer Association while the woman in his head affirmed that his soul was special.

Shade visited the Tobesk Branch of the Seer Association to have his Founding Series Silver Moon card authenticated. He waited in the crowded first-floor reception room, unaware of the result as the chapter ended.

• Shade went to the Seer Association and studied its building, its Genesis Series Rhodes Card paintings, and notices about a major tournament.
• Shade asked the receptionist to authenticate his Silver Moon card and learned that the association destroyed cards it judged to be counterfeit.
• Shade insisted on proceeding, paid the fee, and received a number for the authentication queue.
• Shade entered Waiting Room 13 and waited among other people seeking card authentication.

While waiting at the Seer Association, Shade watched a Rhodes Cards game and accepted Mr. Lavende’s invitation to play one round without money. Shade won with exactly 21 points, and Mr. Lavende asked him to play again.

• Shade listened as a group discussed war between Delarion and Kassenric, trade with the New Continent, and Rhodes Cards.
• Mr. Lavende invited the gathered men to play Rhodes Cards for small stakes, and Mr. Pangdun won one round while Mr. Luke and Captain Severell lost.
• Mr. Lavende asked Shade to play a money-free round, and Shade introduced himself as Detective Shade Hamilton.
• Shade drew Sun 13, Stars 7, and Stars 1 to reach 21 points and defeat Mr. Lavende.
• Mr. Lavende expressed surprise at Shade’s beginner’s luck and invited him to play another round.

Shade brought the Founding Silver Moon, Sun 3 to the Seer Association for appraisal, and its appraisers recognized it as a potentially genuine card missing from their records for 127 years. The association began a formal examination while Shade asked them to keep the discovery confidential.

• After his number was called, Shade left the card-game gathering and entered the appraiser's room with his Founding Silver Moon, Sun 3.
• The first appraiser inspected the card, became alarmed, and hurried to fetch help from the Seer Association.
• Cindyia Mark, vice president of the Tobesk branch, brought Shade to a reception room and arranged a more thorough appraisal in his presence.
• Shade asked whether the association would publicize the card, and Cindyia Mark assured him that it would protect his interests.
• Cindyia Mark told Shade that the association had last seen the card 127 years earlier, when Stiwell Byron Baron used it in a tournament final, and asked where it had been since.

Shade learned that the rare Origin · Silver Moon card was likely genuine and arranged for a final appraisal and a possible sale through the Seer Association. As he left, Mr. Lavende approached him with a detective commission and led him to a reception room upstairs.

• Three appraisers concluded that Shade's Origin · Silver Moon, “Sun 3,” was most likely a genuine Founding Series card, though headquarters would need to confirm it in a week.
• Mr. Mark gave Shade a provisional appraisal certificate, warned him not to use the card casually, and explained that the association would not buy it but could broker a sale.
• Shade accepted a free ten-year Seer Association membership and received the association's brokerage rates.
• Shade returned to the first-floor hall intending to leave, but Mr. Lavende offered him a commission.
• Shade sensed that Mr. Lavende was an ordinary person and followed him to a reception room on the association's second floor.

Shade accepted Baron Lavend’s commission to play Rhodes Cards against Baron Rwanda at a banquet, relying on a lucky draw despite his lack of experience. After arranging the details, Shade redeemed his cane and sold it to Old John for ten pounds.

• Baron Lavend asked Shade to help him defeat Baron Rwanda in a Rhodes Cards game at Lake View Manor’s Sunday banquet, offering payment even if Shade lost.
• Shade initially declined because he did not know how to play, but agreed after drawing three cards totaling six and signing a commission contract with Baron Lavend.
• Baron Lavend planned to mail Shade an invitation and asked them to pretend to meet by chance at the banquet.
• Shade visited Old John Pawnshop to redeem his cane, then sold it to Old John for ten pounds.

Shade settled his debts, learned Moon Shadow Illusion, and agreed to keep caring for Little Mia after her owner sent money and delayed her return. Before he left for a study gathering, Mrs. Lawrence arrived to discuss the investigation of her husband’s mistress, and Shade gave her the report Sparrow had prepared.

• Shade sold the antique walking stick to Old John for twelve pounds and five shillings and received a new stick.
• Shade learned Moon Shadow Illusion and tested it on Little Mia, frightening the cat before comforting her.
• Miss Mia Goode wrote to Shade, asking him to care for Little Mia for at least six more months and sending ten pounds for the cat.
• Shade received the household bills and planned to attend the study gathering at Doctor Schneider’s Clinic.
• Mary Lawrence arrived seeking Sparrow Hamilton, and Shade told her Sparrow had died and handed her the report he had prepared.

Shade warned Mrs. Lawrence that Lady Lasoya was dangerous, but Mrs. Lawrence insisted she had powerful connections and planned to use Sparrow Hamilton’s report to keep track of her husband and Lasoya. After Mrs. Lawrence left, Shade worried that she might bring Misfortune upon herself.

• Mrs. Lawrence read Shade’s report and asked why he had delayed giving it to her.
• Shade said he had ended the investigation because Lady Lasoya was connected to dangerous illegal organizations.
• Mrs. Lawrence rejected Shade’s warnings, saying she knew powerful people who could help her.
• Mrs. Lawrence paid Shade two pounds, took the report, and said what happened next would not involve him.
• Shade warned Mrs. Lawrence again as she left, then watched her carriage disappear and worried about her safety.