Chapter Summaries

Lux questioned Jeka about the Black Rose mages who had passed through the Shadow Realm and set the Seventh Sequence to watch the fortress. LeBlanc and Vladimir returned with a plan to seize it, but Lux arrived as they began the ritual to free Jeka.

• Lux visited her uncle Jeka, who had forgotten her again, and learned that a group of dangerous mages had tried to take the fortress before retreating.
• Lux suspected Vayne had drawn attention to the intruders and ordered the Seventh Sequence to patrol near the fortress and wait for them.
• The Black Rose mages reported the fortress to LeBlanc and Vladimir, who prepared materials to release Jeka from the Sacrifice Ritual and claim the outpost.
• LeBlanc and Vladimir arrived, took control of Jeka, and began setting up the Sacrifice Release Ritual while planning to question him about Vayne.
• Lux appeared behind the Black Rose and shouted that the villains would face the judgment of the light.

Lux and the Seventh Sequence ambushed Black Rose in the Shadow Realm, where she confronted Vladimir and forced him into a disastrous use of blood magic. As Lux struck at him with Pure Light, the Pale Lady appeared behind her and attacked with a cursed chain.

• Lux blinded the Black Rose attackers, and the Seventh Sequence trapped many of them in a shadow net before she ordered the Noxians killed.
• Lux identified Vladimir as the enemy leader and disrupted his blood magic with close-range sword attacks.
• Vladimir transformed into Crimson Pool to escape Lux, but the Shadow Realm’s dense Tears of Shadow corrupted him.
• Lux used an exploding Light greatsword as a decoy and formed a Pure Light blade to strike Vladimir.
• The Pale Lady appeared behind Lux and lashed at her with a cursed chain as Vladimir tried to evade the attack.

Lux defeated the Black Rose force in the Shadow Realm, while Vladimir and LeBlanc escaped after recognizing her as Luxanna Crown Guard. The pair planned to take new identities in the Gothin and Davier families and begin a scheme that would turn Lux against Jarvan IV.

• LeBlanc ambushed Lux with a cursed chain, but Lux’s triggered light shield deflected it and let her evade the attack.
• Vladimir and LeBlanc abandoned their troops and let Lux cut down what appeared to be their bodies before escaping the Shadow Realm.
• Lux ordered the Seventh Sequence to keep the operation secret, promised compensation for casualties, and vowed that the plotters would pay.
• Vladimir identified Lux as a Summit person and proposed seeking outside help by taking a new identity within the Gothin Family.
• LeBlanc and Vladimir devised a romance between the Gothin and Davier families that would win the King’s trust and set him against Lux.

After Hextechs died in battle, Lux arranged for their compensation and honors to pass to orphaned children. Mori offered Pand the chance to become Uno Parsons’s adopted son, and Pand accepted, leaving behind the Crownguard name as he looked toward a new life in Freljord.

• Lux arranged compensation for the fallen Hextechs and sought children to inherit the names and honors of those who had no relatives.
• Mori dismissed his students for a three-day break and asked Pand to come to his office.
• Mori offered Pand a contract to inherit Uno Parsons’s surname, compensation, and glory.
• Pand recalled his hardship in Silvermine City and reconsidered his attachment to the Crownguard name.
• Pand signed the contract and pressed his fingerprints onto it, becoming Pand Parsons.

Karya helped Lux infer the Black Rose’s likely purpose in the Shadow Realm and used the Battle of Tobicia to teach her how to analyze political power and policy. Lux concluded that Demacia could draw nobles into profitable northern trade, while Jarvan IV independently considered exporting grain to Shurima.

• Karya returned to Freljord, learned from Lux about the outsiders in the Shadow Realm, and identified their bloodstained magical items as evidence of a ritual connected to eternity.
• Karya guided Lux through reviewing Jarvan IV’s actions at Tobicia and examining the limits of reform within Demacia’s noble system.
• Lux proposed that Demacia could use the profits from Freljord’s northern trade to bring nobles into foreign commerce, and Karya praised her political reasoning.
• Jarvan IV considered opening Demacia to large-scale trade by exporting grain to inland Shurima, where food was scarce and prices were high.

Jarvan IV developed a plan to sell Demacian grain in Shurima and sent Taric to investigate the desert. Meanwhile, Kayle and Morgana discovered that Mordekaiser had escaped the Shadow Realm and mistook its compost piles for evidence of an evil ritual.

• Jarvan IV realized Demacia needed new revenue and proposed selling its surplus grain in Shurima, where inland prices were far higher than at the northern ports.
• Barret Buweier endorsed the trade plan, and Garen Crownguard volunteered the Fearless Vanguard to protect caravans from bandits.
• Taric asked to travel to Shurima to study its people and hidden power, and Jarvan IV approved his expedition as Demacia began preparing grain stocks and ships.
• After recovering from their battle with Aatrox, Kayle and Morgana searched the Shadow Realm and found its fortress empty, realizing Mordekaiser had escaped.
• Kayle mistook the Shadow Realm's neatly stacked Hextech compost for an evil ritual and urged Morgana to find a rift so they could purge the supposed demon worshippers.

Kayle and Morgana tracked the Black Rose’s ritual waste to northern Demacia, where they discovered that the marked compost led to the area around Silvermine City. There, they encountered teacher Mori reprimanding children for skating on dangerous lake ice, and boarded a carriage with his class to Freljord City.

• Kayle and Morgana observed the Seventh Sequence Hextech mages and decided to mark their ritual waste to find the group’s lair.
• After marking the finished compost, the Winged Sisters left the Shadow Realm and followed Morgana’s mark west three days later.
• Kayle and Morgana reached a frozen lake near Silvermine City and saw Mori scolding children who had ventured onto the ice.
• Norsena revealed that she could thicken ice with her newly awakened magic, but Mori rebuked her and the other children for using magic recklessly.
• Mori took the children to a public carriage bound for Freljord City, and Kayle and Morgana boarded behind them.

Kayle and Morgana investigated the Hextech office in Freljord, mistaking its civic work and mage training for the plans of a sinister organization. After they slipped inside and overheard Mori discussing safety lessons and new recruits, a magical surge revealed their presence, leaving the sisters convinced that the Hextech were tied to the demon behind the Darkin.

• Kayle and Morgana arrived in a transformed Freljord and struggled to navigate its altered streets toward Morgana’s mark.
• The sisters found a long queue outside the Hextech office and learned that Mori was a respected teacher who could bypass the line.
• Morgana detected and erased magical alarms near a side entrance, and the sisters quietly entered the building.
• Kayle and Morgana overheard Mori and a Hextech representative discuss student safety, newly awakened mages, and the organization’s shortage of staff.
• A magical surge exposed the sisters, so Kayle and Morgana spread their wings and concluded that the Hextech were connected to the demon who had controlled the Darkin.

Kayle and Morgana mistook the Hextech for the kind of ruthless mage organizations they had fought during the Rune Wars and tried to rally Demacian forces against them. After the Northern Wanderers turned their weapons on the sisters, Karya and Anivia subdued them, leaving them unconscious.

• Kayle and Morgana recalled how World Runes had driven the Rune Wars through conflicts between nations, rune-wielders, warlords, and mages seeking other supernatural powers.
• When First Sequence Hextech gathered around the destroyed breeding Magic Array, Kayle and Morgana took them for a dangerous secret mage organization and prepared to fight.
• Kayle and Morgana fled toward Galio and the Northern Third Legion, but the Northern Wanderers stationed there aimed their weapons at them.
• Galio trapped the sisters in his hand, but Kayle and Morgana broke free with their shields before Shyvana arrived with Karya.
• Karya and Anivia overwhelmed Kayle and Morgana, who lost consciousness.

Karya captured Kayle and Morgana and used their conversation to uncover why they had come to Freljord. He provoked their unresolved disagreement about divinity and humanity, leaving the sisters facing the argument they had long avoided.

• Kayle and Morgana woke trapped in Karya’s quicksand seal and refused to answer his questions about their arrival in Freljord.
• Karya revealed that he had multiple demons at his disposal, including Rammus, then freed the sisters and displayed power from the Heavenly Realm.
• Kayle recognized Karya and defended her path to godhood, while Karya challenged her belief that divinity could coexist with humanity.
• Karya pressed Morgana to explain whether Kayle’s path to godhood would strip away her humanity, and Morgana could not deny it.
• Kayle preached the Deities’ greatness until Morgana finally snapped and called her words nonsense, after which Karya left the sisters to confront their disagreement.

Karya persuaded Kayle and Morgana to project themselves into statues so they could leave his small world and observe Fosberon, while he contained their physical bodies. In Fosberon, Kayle tried to preach to Grandma Ling, but learned that the old woman’s past connection to wild deities made her unimpressed by the Heavenly Realm’s power.

• Karya exploited the Winged Sisters’ disagreement and offered them a chance to preach and observe Fosberon through statues.
• Kayle accepted Karya’s offer, and Morgana agreed to join her rather than leave her sister to him.
• Lux made miniature statues of Kayle and Morgana from Pure Element, and Karya entrusted them to Grandma Ling.
• Kayle preached to Grandma Ling and granted her an angel’s blessing, but the old woman remained calm.
• Grandma Ling explained that the blood of wild deities had once flowed through her, and Morgana urged her to take the sisters out to see Fosberon.

Morgana and Kayle toured Freljord with Asan, where evidence showed that the Hextech mages used magic for practical purposes such as preserving fish and growing mushrooms. The sisters began to question their assumptions, while Karya hoped Morgana might side with mortals and disrupt the Celestials’ plans.

• Grandma Ling assigned Asan to guide Morgana and Kayle around Freljord after Kayle offended her.
• Asan explained that Freljord’s crowded streets were filled with people buying seafood before New Harbor’s winter fishing expedition.
• At the fish market, Asan described how Freljord used True Ice and Hextech magic to preserve fish for transport.
• Asan brought the sisters to the humus warehouse, where they found Morgana’s mark and saw that the material came from the Shadow Realm.
• Asan showed them families growing valuable Hazelnut Mushrooms with the humus, leaving Kayle and Morgana stunned by their discovery.
• Karya told Lux that Morgana might choose humanity and suggested the Celestials could be surprised through her.

Over four years, Lux and Freljord used canal construction, trade, and industry associations to connect northern fiefs and expand Freljord’s influence. By the summer of Freljord Calendar Year Five, the northern waterways and major industries had been integrated, laying a foundation for Northern Unity.

• Freljord’s shipyard began trial operations, producing river cargo boats with a large workforce trained by experienced shipwrights.
• Magu Zuka allied with Luxanna, raised dairy taxes, and let the Freljord Mining Association absorb Verlos’s tax-evading mining magnates.
• Luxanna helped the Nidu Family’s main branch trade textile techniques for Freljord’s grain orders and cash, weakening its powerful collateral branches.
• Freljord’s industry associations persuaded northern merchants to establish shared standards for goods, using the success of Freljordian fur as an example.
• In spring of Freljord Calendar Year Five, the artificial lake’s gates opened and completed the northern waterways; that summer, major industries completed their integration.

Taric arrived in Kalamanda with a Demacian survey team and investigated the city’s prospects for trade. His observations revealed how Shurima’s close local control and customs differed from Demacia’s, leaving him with a clearer understanding of the challenges Demacian merchants would face.

• After Noxus’s defeat at Tobicia, its retreat strengthened Demacia’s influence and allowed Shuriman city-states to reclaim their ties to Shuriman identity.
• Taric arrived in Kalamanda with a team assigned by Jarvan IV to assess trade and record the city’s conditions.
• Taric noticed that Kalamanda’s people seemed more at ease with Zaunites than with him and, after listening and observing, recognized a cultural divide.
• An expert steward explained that Kalamanda’s market arbitrators reviewed contracts and enforced their terms, prompting Taric to investigate the city’s extensive official control.
• Taric recorded that Kalamanda’s female Kourazan governed the city closely and was revered by its people, whose expectations of leadership differed from Demacian ones.
• Taric concluded that Shuriman lords held deep influence over local society and that examinations, first established by Karya, remained an important way to select talent.

After Eno returned to Freljord early, she told Lux and Karya that Shen of the Order of the Balance had warned her the World Runes might be stirring and that her teacher and sisters were also involved. Karya began to suspect a kindhearted celestial was behind the prophecy, but a commotion at the Shadow Realm exit interrupted his explanation.

• Eno returned to Freljord early and reunited with Lux at a welcome ceremony attended by the returning envoys.
• Eno told Lux that Shen had visited her in Ionia and shared a prophecy about the awakening will of the world, which she suspected referred to the World Runes.
• Shen showed Eno records linking earlier prophecies to the Darkin War and Rune Wars, then warned that Karya and Eno's sisters were also involved.
• Eno explained the prophecy to Lux and Karya, and Karya wondered whether a kindhearted celestial was behind it.
• A commotion broke out at the Shadow Realm exit as people shouted for someone not to escape.

Eno captured Akali after she used the Shadow Realm to travel, then questioned her about her ties to the Order of the Balance. Akali revealed that she had left the order and come to Freljord out of curiosity, and Sona calmed her after Eno’s taunts.

• Karya recognized that the Order of the Balance’s prophecy about the World Runes came from an old friend, but Lux, Eno, and Sona went to deal with an intruder first.
• Eno froze the smoke-filled area, reinforced the barriers between planes, and helped the Hextech mages trap Akali in a cocoon.
• Akali introduced herself as a former genius of the Order of the Balance, and Eno took her away for questioning.
• Akali said she had left the Order of the Balance because she disagreed with its beliefs and hated organizations like the Shadow Order.
• Eno provoked Akali over her views on Ionia and her grudge against Zed, while Sona eventually soothed her.

Karya explained why he was not worried about the prophecy, recounting Soraka’s decision to walk among mortals and how she recognized him as a prophet after his prediction about Shurima came true. He concluded that Soraka had likely given the Order of the Balance its prophecy, though the others still had questions about its wording.

• Lux and the other northern leaders concluded Akali was harmless, assigned her twenty hours of community service, and arranged room, board, and possible part-time work at New Freljord Port.
• Karya told Lux, Sona, and Eno that he believed Soraka had guided the Order of the Balance, then explained why she had left the Heavenly Realm to understand mortals firsthand.
• Soraka met Karya in Shurima after hearing he was a prophet, and Karya predicted that Shurima would unite the continent within fifty years.
• Soraka later saw Karya’s prediction come true and recognized him as a prophet.
• Karya connected Soraka to the Order of the Balance’s prophecy through the timing of her travels and the prophecy’s linguistic roots, but Lux remained confused.

After considering Soraka’s prophecy, Lux and her companions decided not to let its uncertainties distract them, while Karya privately believed it was accurate. Lux then received Jarvan IV’s invitation to his engagement celebration and learned that he planned to marry Lanfu Davier, though his memories revealed an earlier attraction to a traveler from Zaun.

• Lux, Eno, Sona, and Karya discussed Soraka’s prophecy and concluded that they should not take its unclear predictions to heart.
• Eno stayed overnight with Lux and Sona, then visited her family the next morning while Sona went to coach Fosberow’s musical theater troupe.
• A Dragon Rider delivered Jarvan IV’s letter inviting Lux to his engagement party, and Lux learned that his fiancée was Lanfu Davier.
• Jarvan IV reflected on his reluctance to marry and remembered being attracted to a traveler from Zaun, but agreed to an engagement to quiet the Noble Council.
• Jarvan IV recalled that Lanfu had proposed they work together while he attended matchmaking banquets.

Lanfu Davier persuaded Jarvan IV to make her his fiancée so she could escape her family’s opposition to her love and help him bypass noble matchmaking expectations. After agreeing to her proposal, Jarvan IV left her with access to the Noble Council, unaware that Lanfu and Cuiwei Gothin were acting out a scheme involving the coming engagement ceremony.

• Lanfu told Jarvan IV that becoming his fiancée would give him freedom from matchmaking and let her eventually leave her family to pursue her beloved.
• Jarvan IV questioned Lanfu about her plan, then invited her to dinner at Dawn Castle after realizing her beloved came from the Gothin Family.
• After several meetings, Jarvan IV agreed to let Lanfu act as his fiancée and gave her access to disputes within the Noble Council.
• Jarvan IV returned to the Noble Council to carry out his plans, while Lanfu secretly met Cuiwei Gothin and discussed their role-playing scheme for the engagement ceremony.

Lux returned to Demacia City with Sona for Jarvan IV and Lanfu Davier’s engagement banquet, while Karya advised them on life as Transcendents and had them model Freljord’s luxury furs. At the ceremony, Lux was impressed by Lanfu’s commanding presence and suspected the future queen was as shrewd as she was.

• Lux and Karya discussed how she should present herself in Demacia City, and Lux joked that Garen would face their mother’s marriage pressure in her place.
• Jarvan IV agreed to Lanfu Davier’s request to spend the Nullstone statue funds on compensation for soldiers wounded or killed at Tobicia, earning her public praise.
• Sona told Lux that Lestara’s hopes for her happiness made her feel different from her peers, and Karya explained how a Transcendent’s long life could change her perspective.
• Lux and Sona tried on fur-trimmed formal gowns from the Art Support Association to promote Freljord’s luxury fur trade.
• At the engagement ceremony, Lux saw Lanfu arrive beside Jarvan IV and admired her regal bearing, while Karya pointed out the Davier Family’s Lapis Lazuli wealth.