Chapter Summaries

Rorschach learned that the Astral Realm’s fissures could lead to a symbolic underworld and that his starship’s flight had made their paths unpredictable. Thoth offered protection for Astral travelers in exchange for a pact, while the starship escaped a nearby danger and events on the ground shifted toward new military maneuvers.

• Thoth explained that the Astral Realm contained dangerous fissures, some potentially leading to the Netherworld, and warned Rorschach that the starship’s course had made them unpredictable.
• Thoth offered to protect Spellcasters traveling through the Astral Realm in exchange for a pact, then showed interest in Rorschach’s body.
• Cavendish and the starship crew narrowly avoided an enormous derivative and decided they needed more crew to keep watch and pilot the vessel safely.
• Newspapers in Valois and the Empire focused on humanity’s launch, while the Imperial Army began digging trenches to cover its withdrawal and redeployment near the capital.
• The Holy Coalition realized the Empire might retreat and that General Galisha had turned back toward the south, leaving the coalition vulnerable without Imperial support.

The Holy Coalition prepared to attack Avignon, where Duplessis had established a rival Holy See, while the National Guard sought to enlist its forces against the coalition. As war approached, Rorschach learned that the coming battle was meant to provide an opportunity to resurrect Balan Thoth.

• The coalition's commanders argued over retreating or fighting until the College of Cardinals ordered them to attack Avignon and destroy its followers.
• The cardinals identified Duplessis as the suspected founder of Avignon's rival Holy See and declared its supporters heretics.
• General Galisha met Duplessis, who agreed that Avignon's believers would not surrender Valois to invaders, and asked him to bring his forces into the decisive battle.
• As both sides mobilized near Avignon, Rorschach surveyed the likely battlefield and recalled instructions to use the battle to resurrect Balan Thoth in a suitable vessel.

Rorschach uncovered an ancient Wine Cup dedicated to the god of wine and began a ritual with the Pearl of Balan and raw Transmutation Dust as war broke out between the allied southern forces and the Anion Holy See. The ritual’s intoxicating influence spread across the battlefield as both armies charged into the valley.

• Rorschach reached the borderland between Valois and the southern nations and used his Nature Affinity to uncover ruins beneath the valley.
• Following Hercules's guidance, Rorschach found a massive Wine Cup, an ancient Holy Relic of the god of wine.
• Rorschach charged the Pearl of Balan with magic, placed it in the Wine Cup, and added raw Transmutation Dust to activate the relic.
• The allied forces began their artillery assault, while the Anion Holy See's paladins prepared for battle under the blessing of their Living Saint.
• The activated Wine Cup spread a rich, sweet fragrance across the battlefield as the allied troops and Anion paladins charged into the valley.

Rorschach used the Wine Cup and Pearl of Balan to recreate an ancient Dionysian myth as a ritual. The ritual granted his avatar the qualifications to bear divinity, leaving Balan Thoth and Dionysus to contend for it.

• The Wine Cup's fragrance and supernatural sounds bewitched the allied soldiers and paladins, drawing them toward an illusory mountain.
• The paladins from the southern nations and the Eternal City encountered each other, joined forces, and climbed toward the mountain's summit to stop the anomaly.
• Rorschach watched the Pearl of Balan clash with the Dionysian Holy Grail, and the pearl's rhythmic strikes transformed the music of the ritual.
• The paladins reached the summit and ordered Rorschach to stop, but he told them the ritual had reached its final step.
• Rorschach's avatar reenacted the myth of Dionysus and gained the qualifications to bear divinity, while Rorschach's will returned to his hidden body with Hercules's Serpent Cane.

Rorschach used Hercules’s plan and the Serpent Cane to enter the shared dream of the sleeping paladins, where the God of Wine was devouring the Dream God. Disguised as an angel, Rorschach led the paladins into battle against the God of Wine’s forces, and the God of Wine turned to confront him.

• Hercules gave Rorschach the Serpent Cane and explained that it could help stop the God of Wine if the resurrection plan failed.
• Rorschach put the advancing paladins to sleep, linked their dreams, and entered the dream while Hercules confirmed that the real world was safe.
• Rorschach discovered that his avatar had become an ideal human form and used the Serpent Cane to appear in the dream as a sword-wielding angel.
• Rorschach showed the paladins the God of Wine devouring the Dream God, then persuaded them to join him in stopping the ancient god from escaping through the dream.
• The paladins charged the feast and fought the God of Wine’s female Treants, while the God of Wine stopped devouring the Dream God and confronted Rorschach.

Rorschach used the Serpent Cane to defeat the Wine God in a shared dream, helping Balan awaken and reclaim a body worthy of a god. Hercules then charged Balan with supporting Sardinia’s unification as the threat of Mother Earth’s revival grew.

• Rorschach empowered Molten Ray with the Serpent Cane, burning away the Wine God’s dream domain while keeping the shared dream intact.
• The Wine God attacked Rorschach, but Order prevailed, and Rorschach dissolved the dream and hypnosis after the god was defeated.
• Sunlight melted the great Wine Cup, and Hercules explained that Rorschach’s victory had disrupted his plan to reconcile Avignon and Eternal City through shared danger.
• Balan awakened in the restored body, thanked Rorschach, and promised Hercules he would not choose the wrong side again.
• Balan played music for three days and nights as the Sardinian army defeated the southern coalition, while Hercules instructed him to help Sardinia unify the southern nations and prepare for Mother Earth’s revival.
• Hercules departed for the Astral Realm to wait in ambush for the one who had taken the Serpent Cane.

The National Guard routed the southern coalition near Avignon, and the New Papacy used the prisoners to pressure the retreating army for food. After seizing command of the coalition, the Sardinian general planned an orderly withdrawal and vowed to unite the southern nations, encouraged by the bard Balan.

• The National Guard defeated the coalition in the valley, where more than twenty-eight thousand soldiers surrendered and the New Papacy offered them a chance to live in exchange for recognizing the Church of Avignon.
• Duplessis proposed that the Republic and the New Papacy demand food from the coalition in return for suspending pursuit, and their letter ordered the coalition to deliver ten days of rations by sunset the next day.
• The Sardinian general proposed handing over army supplies and organizing the retreat, then stabbed a commander who challenged him and took control of the coalition.
• The Sardinian general told Balan that he intended to unite Sardinia and the southern nations, and Balan promised to witness and commemorate his achievement.

Rorschach studied the Serpent Cane in the Boundary Land, where Hercules offered him a path to godhood through Thoth and asked him to use his holy emblem on a popular drink. After Rorschach refused, he secretly made a Law Tree-powered replica of the staff and returned to his body, believing Caroline would be worried about him.

• Hercules offered Rorschach the Serpent Cane if he could defeat him, but Rorschach returned the artifact to avoid damaging the Law Tree.
• Hercules explained how Thoth linked the powers and consciousness of multiple gods and offered Rorschach a chance to become one of them, but Rorschach refused.
• Hercules asked Rorschach to put his holy emblem on the Hercules Energy Potion so he could receive faith and bless the business, and Rorschach agreed.
• Hercules warned Rorschach that the Earth Mother Goddess's revival was inevitable and that little time remained.
• After Hercules left, Rorschach used the Law Tree to make a Serpent Cane replica that could wield its power on the Prime Material Plane, then returned his spirit to his body.

Rorschach returned after abruptly disappearing, reassured Caroline, and met Pavel Croc, a Bohemian noble who urged reform to help Bohemia and the Empire keep pace with the Republic. Pavel left the meeting arguing that the Empire’s crisis could not be solved by merely repelling the enemy.

• Andre read news of the southern nations retreating and unrest in Sardinia while Caroline worried about Rorschach’s disappearance.
• Caroline decided to search the Boundary Land, but Rorschach suddenly returned and Andre told him that a distinguished guest from Bohemia was waiting.
• Rorschach reunited with Caroline, who jabbed and scolded him, before he went to meet Pavel Croc.
• Pavel praised Bayern’s achievements and asked whether Bohemia could imitate them despite internal and imperial resistance.
• Pavel argued that the Republic’s more progressive system had inspired its citizens to fight and that the Empire needed reform to survive its crisis.

Rorschach declined Pavel's request to support the Save-the-Nation Alliance and focused on activating a Magic Weaver to secure Bayern's factories. As Pavel left, Valan approached him and offered to help the alliance.

• Pavel outlined the Empire's political and social problems and asked Rorschach to support the Save-the-Nation Alliance, whose members included the sons of prominent nobles.
• Rorschach refused to interfere in Imperial politics and told Andre to assign Valan the follow-up contact with Pavel and the alliance.
• Rorschach, Andre, and Martin activated a large-scale Magic Weaver at the Steel Mill, creating a spellcasting whitelist and a magical barrier against interference.
• Pavel rode past the Steel Mill as its lights and machinery briefly stopped and resumed, then nearly collided with a Pneumatic Car.
• Valan introduced himself to Pavel and invited him to a secret, safe place to discuss how he could help the alliance.

Rorschach planned Bayern’s preparations for war and the construction of a second starship while deciding to support the Save-the-Nation Alliance. At the Imperial Palace, William II rejected an intelligence report identifying Richard and other noble heirs as traitors, leaving the alliance’s exposure unresolved.

• Rorschach warned Andre that factory security still needed to guard against sabotage and accidents.
• Rorschach criticized the Save-the-Nation Alliance’s secrecy and lack of public support, and argued that it needed help from beyond the border.
• Rorschach ordered Bayern’s four reequipped corps to prepare for war and the Special Zone to begin planning a second starship.
• Rorschach decided to assist the Save-the-Nation Alliance because he suspected Richard was involved.
• William II received an intelligence list naming Richard and other prominent heirs as members of an unlawful group, then angrily dismissed the accusation of treason.

Gregory posed as a wandering monk before William II, offering a potion and warning that the Emperor’s army would suffer defeat. After vanishing in a staged cloud of smoke, he escaped the Imperial Palace disguised as a coachman and headed south toward the battlefield.

• William II rejected the Empress’s Calming Salt before agreeing to receive Gregory, who had supposedly offered the salt to Feodora.
• Gregory presented William II with a potion and claimed he could erase the Emperor’s childhood regret and save his army from a crushing defeat.
• William II ordered Gregory arrested, but Gregory vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind his robe and vial.
• William II’s guards found no tunnel beneath the palace, while Gregory’s accomplice helped divert the soldiers during the escape.
• Gregory paid the accomplice and left the Imperial Palace disguised as a coal-cart coachman, heading south toward the battlefield.

Paul questioned the order to continue the war after the Empire’s threat to his homeland had passed, but the Committee for National Salvation ordered the generals to destroy the Empire. As the National Guard attacked Oword, the captured south bank was suddenly engulfed by fire carried on falling ash.

• Paul told the commanders that the Guard should halt its offensive because its homeland was no longer under immediate threat, but the Committee for National Salvation ordered them to fight until the Empire was destroyed.
• The generals agreed that capturing Oword would provide a stable supply base, and the National Guard launched its winter assault on the city.
• The Guard’s giant-mech assaulters attacked Oword’s south bank despite the Empire’s Anti-Magic Domain, while Paul judged the advance to be going well.
• Paul noticed a burning smell and gray ash falling over the battlefield, and the captured south bank burst into flames that ignited wherever the ash landed.

General Ilzov’s Scorched City plan devastated Oword’s south bank and transformed many of its inhabitants into rapidly regenerating creatures. As the National Guard retreated and the creatures spread, Gregory arrived, declaring that he would offer the entire nation to Mother.

• Hench punched Ilzov and condemned him for burning the south bank while civilians were trapped there, but Ilzov defended the plan as necessary to stop the National Guard.
• Paul ordered Pascal to lead Spellcasters in trying to quench the unnatural fire while Paul searched for Anti-Magic Devices, but the blaze burned for a day and night and the National Guard suffered devastating losses.
• After the fire subsided, Paul ordered a retreat, but survivors crawled from the ruins as flesh-covered creatures that bullets and Fireball spells could not stop.
• Gregory arrived from the Imperial Capital, praised Ilzov’s sacrifice to Mother, and vowed to offer her the entire nation.

The Imperial Army and National Guard called a truce to fight the granulation monsters and discovered which spells could stop them from regenerating. As the armies argued over whether to reinforce the northern bank, Major General Richard arrived with Imperial reinforcements and joined the fight.

• Pascal and an Imperial Army Mage tested spells against the monsters, finding that lightning hurt them, Magic Missile did not, and thoroughly burning their remains stopped them from regenerating.
• The Spellcasters learned that burning the monsters left white ash drifting into the sky, while Paul and Imperial Mages tried to prevent another Ash Rain.
• Valoisian and Imperial forces argued over whether to cooperate in defending the northern bank, fearing the other side would exploit any withdrawal.
• Major General Richard led Imperial reinforcements through the monsters with Lightning Magic and reached the assembled forces.
• Richard dismounted, apologized for arriving late, and bowed to soldiers from both armies.

Richard accepted Paul's offer to let the National Guard withdraw while its mages stayed to help investigate and contain the disaster in Oword. As the Imperial Army and Valois mages entered the city, Gregory joined Ilzov at the Mage Tower, where the second ritual was about to begin.

• Richard ordered the spellcasters to stay behind and allowed the National Guard to retreat safely for twenty kilometers.
• Paul explained that the mages would remain to investigate the catastrophe and prevent the Empire from controlling the account of what happened, while Pascal began sending a report to the outside world.
• Paul, Pascal, and the mages crossed the Oder River and heard gunfire as they entered the contaminated city.
• Gregory crossed the blood-covered streets and met Ilzov at the former resident Mage Tower, where the garrison's command post was located.
• Ilzov told Gregory that the second ritual would permanently anchor the Mother Goddess's power in Oword, and Gregory warned him that unwelcome guests had arrived in the north of the city.

Ilzov began a second ritual at the Mage Guild outpost while Richard and Paul led Mages through Oword, trying to locate the ritual’s source. The city’s flesh-and-blood monsters ambushed them, and Paul, Richard, and Pascal all raised blue barriers to protect their guide.

• Ilzov asked Gregory to speed up the ritual, then chose the Mage Guild outpost as the center of the second ritual formation.
• Ilzov chanted from a scroll, causing the flesh and blood in the streets to burrow underground and gather beneath the city.
• Richard and Paul’s group fought through Oword, debated the source of the ritual, and headed back to the garrison’s temporary encampment.
• The Mages found the camp destroyed and encountered monstrous cavalry made of blood and flesh, which vanished into the ground before bursting out to attack.
• Paul, Richard, and Pascal each raised a blue barrier to shield the Army Mage guide, and one of them exclaimed, “So you too.”

Richard, Paul, and the Mages fought off a Blood Cavalry ambush, then learned that Healing Spells had become dangerous and planned to seek an old machine near the Mage Guild. Ilzov drove more monsters and survivors toward the Guild Outpost as another wave of ashes fell, while Rorschach awoke in the night.

• Richard and Pascal fought the Blood Knights at close range while Paul shielded Pascal from their splattering remains.
• A Mage used a Healing Scroll on an injured companion, causing granulation tissue to spread and kill him.
• Richard and Paul warned the Mages against using Healing Spells and discussed activating an old machine whose power supply had been removed.
• The Mages spotted fleeing civilians followed by monsters and headed toward the Guild Outpost to find help and contact the outside world.
• Ilzov ordered his monsters to drive survivors toward the Guild Outpost, then released another wave of ashes.
• Rorschach woke from his sleep and could not fall back asleep.

Rorschach joined an impromptu late-night meeting with the Archmages through a new communications system, where they discussed expanding the network and recruiting ordinary workers. The meeting uncovered several strange coincidences and communication failures, and it ended when daylight appeared before dawn.

• Rorschach contacted Kouber through an experimental communications device, and nearly every Senate member soon joined the call.
• The Archmages discussed atmospheric relay airships, virtual transmission, and whether ordinary people should help maintain and expand the network; Rorschach and Kano argued that more workers should be trained and recruited.
• Rorschach reported that he and several other Archmages had woken suddenly at the same time, prompting Kano to suspect an omen.
• Kano, Kouber, and another Master mentioned recent irregularities, including a flickering Transmutation Dust Layer Flow, an interrupted Starship signal, the National Guard reaching the Oder River, and Oword's communications node going offline.
• Several Archmages saw pale daylight outside shortly after four in the morning, and Rorschach confirmed the time on his clock.

Rorschach investigated the sudden worldwide daylight and found that oily, foul-smelling sludge was rising from a mine near Kempston. As strange phenomena began appearing across the world, buried remains on old battlefields started moving.

• Caroline told Rorschach that the sky was white and featureless, and he sent her to notify Andre and ordered emergency precautions at the factory.
• Rorschach inspected the coal mine near Kempston, where a pump was spewing black, sticky sludge instead of groundwater.
• Rorschach met the apprentice who had been summoned to the mine and took him down to inspect the water inlet.
• The mine crew began evacuating workers and equipment as more sludge bubbled up from below.
• Grey Elves searching old battlefields saw the shallowly buried remains of soldiers begin to move.