Chapter Summaries

Theus explained to Alexei why people across Castel were eager to enlist: they had come to identify with Castel as a shared idea and community. He ordered Alexei to begin recruiting for the expeditionary force, with a Banshee assigned to keep him safe from the crowds.

• Alexei told Theus that enlistment applications had overwhelmed his office, and that workers and veterans were volunteering for the expeditionary force.
• Theus told Alexei that Zoe and Josh were arriving and hoped to reserve more expeditionary slots for the Mystic Society.
• Theus explained that Castel's centralized rule had helped its people develop a sense of belonging to the territory.
• Alexei discovered that former Rhine workers had volunteered to avenge Nora, despite many never having visited Castel or the Northern Territory.
• Theus told Alexei to recruit for the expeditionary force and take a Banshee along to protect him from the crowd.

Theus inspected Castel Shipyard’s newest warship design, which Ken presented while Tata oversaw construction. The ship was nearing launch, but its unusual weapons and airship deck prompted Theus to suggest changes and question the design.

• Ken struggled to identify which of Tata’s many overnight blueprint revisions was the newest before Theus arrived to inspect the design institute.
• Ken showed Theus the latest warship plans and said the ship had completed basic construction and could launch within a week.
• Ken explained that the ship had heavy armor, a ram, explosive-pack launchers, and an upper-deck platform for airships.
• Theus questioned the ram and launcher, then suggested adapting Gatling Guns into larger-caliber autocannons for ships.
• Theus learned that the ship’s flight deck was meant to park airships and remarked that the design combined an aircraft carrier with a ram and other weapons.

Theus examined Ken’s enormous warship design and condemned its impractical scale, then secretly asked for a copy of the blueprint to study further. Meanwhile, Jeremiah prepared to enlarge and decorate the Black Pearl, leaving the workers watching as he performed rituals for the ship and posed beside it.

• Theus was stunned by the proposed ship’s 1,100-meter length and learned Ken’s design was meant to ram ports, following [Loving Mother]’s fighting style.
• Ken revealed Tata had designed the ship and had once proposed an island-sized vessel that could carry all of Castel.
• Theus rebuked Ken for the design’s impracticality, but returned after leaving to request a copy of the blueprint.
• Jeremiah kissed the Black Pearl’s deck and told the workers he had salvaged steel from a wreck to give the ship good luck.
• Jeremiah asked Finier to paint the Black Pearl, then posed beside it with his sword and flintlock as construction was about to begin.

Jeremiah received a painting of the Black Pearl while Theus visited Richard’s artillery test. Richard demonstrated handheld weapons that used Pollution to unleash devastating blasts, leaving Theus astonished by the result.

• Finier finished painting Jeremiah beside the Black Pearl, and Jeremiah praised the painting before sending the workers to modify the ship.
• Theus visited Richard’s laboratory after assigning him to develop artillery, and Richard explained that he was testing a smaller prototype.
• Richard showed Theus that banshees could hold the heavy weapons, then had two banshees fire thick cylinders mounted on their arms.
• The blast incinerated the target and carved a trench, stunning Theus with its destructive power.
• Richard explained that he had added Pollution to the formula after Monica’s use of it inspired the researchers.

Richard demonstrated the Dragon Breath Cannon, a hand cannon that used solid Pollution and a Machine Soul to unleash a sweeping jet of flame. Though Theus approved the weapon for the Faithguard Army, he learned that its 300-kilogram weight and requirement to fire it by hand made it impractical for ordinary soldiers.

• Theus reconsidered his rejection of Nini's nitroglycerin engine proposal after Richard explained that Pollution could fuel explosives.
• Richard credited Monica's research with inspiring him to summon a Machine Soul for a cannon and demonstrated the Dragon Breath Cannon's fiery attack.
• Richard explained that the cannon's Pollution-to-gunpowder ratio could be adjusted through coordination with its Machine Soul, though only he could do so for now.
• Theus praised the weapon and asked whether Castel could mass-produce it, and Richard said production was possible but battlefield effectiveness was limited.
• Theus tried to lift the cannon and discovered it weighed roughly 300 kilograms.
• Richard revealed that the cannon had to be fired while held by hand to communicate with its Machine Soul, making wheels or a gun carriage unusable.

Theus and Richard discussed the Dragon Breath Cannon’s dangers and Richard’s plans to adapt it for human use. Richard’s wall-mounted designs could defend churches, and Theus ended the chapter considering whether Tata’s enormous ship could carry a church for mobile artillery.

• Richard explained that the Dragon Breath Cannon had to be held by hand so its Machine Soul could suppress Pollution and prevent the weapon from self-destructing.
• Richard proposed using steel to support and protect human bodies, then revealed designs for cannons mounted on permanent fortifications.
• Theus learned that Richard’s group had private ties to the Mechanical Society, the predecessor of the Mechanical Cathedral, which had poor relations with the Candlelight Society.
• Richard said mobile mechanical armor was beyond his group’s abilities, and Theus dismissed the idea of making a church stand up and charge.
• Theus looked at Tata’s enormous ship design and wondered whether they could build a church on top of it.

Theus considered how to use the oversized Dragon Breath Cannon, while Monica and Nini realized that Nora’s immortality could make a Symbiotic Pact mutually beneficial. The chapter left Nini rushing to Theus to demand that their pact be terminated so another Banshee could bond with Nora.

• Theus proposed producing Dragon Breath hand cannons for the Banshees and considered mounting the weapon on trains or other large platforms.
• Monica, Nini, and Nora discussed Nora’s immortality and her inability to regenerate after decapitation.
• Monica suggested that a Banshee could use a Symbiotic Pact to supply Nora with life force, while Nora’s immortality would prevent the Banshee from being drained to death.
• Nini realized the pact could let Nora recover endlessly and allow the Banshee to live forever, then decided to ask the Banshee group who might volunteer.
• Nini ran to Theus’s office and demanded to terminate their pact.

Grisha grieved for Lady Nora and the resistance’s worsening prospects after her death, then encountered a headless armored figure carrying Nora’s weapons and clung to her. The figure comforted him, leaving Grisha convinced that Nora had returned despite her missing head.

• Grisha remembered how Lady Nora had died covering the resistance’s retreat and blamed himself for fleeing in fear.
• He mourned Nora and reflected on how the resistance had fallen into silence as the nobles’ sweeps captured and scattered its people.
• After wandering through the snow, Grisha heard metal clash and narrowly avoided being struck by a flail.
• Grisha recognized Nora’s armor and embraced the headless figure, believing it was her.
• The figure lowered a cold armored hand onto Grisha’s head as he held on and wept.

Theus and his officers debated how to send the Faithguard Army from Castel to the Northern Territory, weighing dangerous sea voyages against airship limits and overland supply problems. Theus proposed building a railway from Blood Port to the Northern Territory, and Alexei recognized how it could transform military logistics.

• Nini argued that ships were the best way to transport the expeditionary force, while Alexei objected that the ironclads were too unreliable to risk his men.
• Alexei proposed flying a combat-ready force from Blood Port to Count Bazel's lands aboard the Skyveil Behemoth, but Theus and Nini questioned the plan's capacity and support.
• Monica suggested using Banshees to rescue survivors from sinking ships, but Theus and Richard rejected the idea as impractical and dangerous for the Transcendents.
• Theus rejected airships and announced that Castel would build a railway from Blood Port to the Northern Territory.
• Alexei realized a railway could make overland supply far more efficient and allow the Faithguard Army to advance with armored trains.

Isabella and the prince’s soul reviewed the Mother Goddess Church’s downfall and learned how Mira’s attempt to save her believers led to the [Loving Mother] controlling them and destroying Blood Port. Galahad reported that Count Theus was preparing to attack after receiving Lady Nora’s head, while Castel was considering a major project.

• Isabella and the prince’s soul discussed how they had convinced Ewan that the prince was no longer an impostor, then turned to the Church investigation.
• The prince’s soul explained that Mira fed souls to the [Loving Mother] to help her believers, but the evil god assimilated and emotionally influenced them.
• Isabella realized that Mira had planned to send the believers to Castel and sacrifice herself, unaware that the [Loving Mother] had already controlled her.
• Galahad reported that Count Theus began mobilizing after receiving Lady Nora’s head and that Castel had a major project under feasibility review.
• The prince offered Castel some of Blood Port’s vessels, then dismissed the project as merely a ship he could build himself.

The prince learned that Castel was considering a railway from Blood Port to the Northern Territory and eagerly offered land, support, and help clearing the route. He hoped the project would bring factories and skilled workers to Blood Port, leaving him to envision a future with countless Castels.

• The prince heard that Castel had developed a building-mounted defensive weapon and was considering railways for wartime transport.
• Galahad told the prince that Count Theus might build a railway from Blood Port to the Northern Territory but was concerned about local obstacles.
• The prince ordered Galahad to assure Count Theus that Blood Port would support the railway and clear land wherever necessary.
• The prince agreed that Count Theus could own the railway and land-use rights along its route in exchange for bringing industry to Blood Port.
• The prince explained to Galahad that railway construction could establish factories and train local workers, giving Blood Port an industrial foundation.
• The prince concluded that with Castel as a model, many cities could become industrial centers.

Theus prepared the expeditionary force and railway project for the Northern Territory, but recruitment numbers and the Banshees’ applications created unexpected complications. He then considered whether Josh and Zoe’s Mystic Society should receive expeditionary quotas despite lacking military training.

• Theus planned to build a railway north using trained workers, Faithguard Army soldiers, and armored trains for security and supplies.
• Alexei told Theus that sign-ups reached 135% of the population because many workers and Faithguard Army soldiers had registered in multiple roles.
• Theus questioned Nini about the Banshees’ applications for twenty war correspondent teams and numerous Dragon Breath Cannons, then approved twenty teams with one Banshee and a supervising Faithguard Army soldier in each.
• Nini left dejectedly, then hurried away after apparently thinking of something, while Theus turned to the Mystic Society’s expeditionary quotas.
• Alexei explained that Josh and Zoe had applied to avenge the Northern Territory’s people, and Theus told him his concerns about their lack of training were misguided.

Theus explained that workers’ education and practical knowledge helped stabilize cognition after a craftsman’s mistaken beliefs about rifled muskets caused Pollution near Blood Port. He and Alexei considered using Mystic Society members as laborers and decided to limit expeditionary army recruits by lottery.

• Theus told Alexei that he had planned to recruit workers, not soldiers, and connected labor and scripture-based industrial knowledge to stable cognition.
• Theus recounted how a Blood Port craftsman misinterpreted rifling as a divine blessing, built an improperly designed musket, and triggered Cognitive Interference that polluted wilderness and turned coyotes violent.
• Theus concluded that education in subjects such as physics and chemistry could correct mistaken beliefs, while Alexei recognized the purpose of having Mystic Society members work as laborers.
• When Alexei pointed out that 135% of the island’s subjects had volunteered for the expeditionary army, Theus proposed selecting one in ten by lottery under the Eleven Lottery Law.

Theus organized railway construction in Blood Port with support from the Prince and the Mystic Society, while expeditionary force recruitment quickly filled up. He discovered that Alexei had adapted Imperial departure rituals around Nora, who would be marching to war with the force herself.

• Galahad secured the Prince’s approval for railway materials and stayed in Castel to coordinate future cooperation with Theus.
• Theus planned a rail line from Blood Port’s docks through an industrial zone and barracks, then north toward the Northern Territory.
• Josh mobilized Mystic Society believers to help with preliminary construction and connect with Castel’s Faithguard Army.
• Alexei told Theus that recruitment had attracted bribes and explained that he had planned ceremonies asking Nora to judge the coming battle and read soldiers’ letters.
• Theus pointed out that Nora would be going to the battlefield too, leaving Alexei surprised.

Theus and Alexei planned to bring Nora north to help the Faithguard Army navigate the Northern Territory and rally its people. Meanwhile, Nini exploited a loophole to organize an armed Banshee medical regiment, leaving Theus alarmed when Monica stayed behind.

• Theus explained that Nora could advise the expedition in the Northern Territory and help gather refugees and local residents, and Alexei agreed.
• Nini told the Banshees they could join the expedition as doctors despite the limit on war correspondents, using shared battlefield medical manuals to pass Richard's assessment.
• Eighty Banshees qualified as battlefield physicians, but Nini's application also requested five hundred Dragon Breath Cannons and an independent regiment for group charges.
• Theus dubbed Nini's proposed unit the Hospital Knights, then grew suspicious when he learned Monica had not applied to go north.

Yami registered himself, Granny Penny, and her granddaughter for Blood Port’s free-meal literacy class. At the hastily built school, Zoe discovered that Yami could solve multiplication by counting and pressed him to explain his method.

• Yami registered himself and asked the literacy class staff to enroll Granny Penny and her granddaughter as well.
• Yami learned that many Blood Port residents had been called to work, then told Granny Penny about the class and shared part of her salted fish with a stray cat.
• Yami arrived early at the school the next day, where Zoe asked him to help organize lesson materials.
• Yami worked out that Zoe needed seven boxes of Holy Scriptures and correctly calculated how many ears thirty-five coyotes had.
• Yami explained to Zoe that he solved multiplication by repeating the count the required number of times.

Yami attended a literacy class and learned that Castel planned to recruit workers for a new factory, while Zoe investigated his background before deciding whether to recruit him. The investigation revealed that Yami had visited several cults only to eat their free meals, leaving Zoe unsure whether he was clever or foolish.

• Yami met Castel residents who kept coyotes, received grain for his help, and attended a literacy class.
• Granny Penny thanked Yami for signing them up for the class and told him Castel planned to select factory workers from its students.
• Zoe reviewed Yami's initial background investigation and arranged further inquiries into his connections in Blood Port.
• Grandma reported that Yami had visited the Mother Goddess Church, the End Truth Church, the Blood Cup Society, and the Mystic Society without joining any of them.
• Zoe learned that Yami had mostly visited the groups to eat their free meals, despite the Mystic Society offering him work.

Grisha met Isaac, who claimed to come from Castel and said the settlement would soon send for the refugees. When Grisha realized that the apparent Nora was an impostor, Isaac’s illusion vanished, leaving him silenced and the real Nora’s whereabouts uncertain.

• Grisha watched over the resistance camp and saw that Nora’s presence had eased the refugees’ fear.
• Isaac approached Grisha and claimed he was from Castel, asking him to alert the camp.
• Grisha tested Isaac’s story by asking for soap, French fries, and fried fish, and Isaac produced them.
• Nora appeared and recognized Isaac, who said Castel had sent him to coordinate the refugees’ pickup.
• Grisha noticed the fried fish had become a dry biscuit and recognized that the woman was not Nora.
• Isaac’s illusion scattered in the wind after Grisha tried to warn the camp, and Isaac asked how he had seen through it.

Isaac infiltrated Nora’s resistance camp to seek an alliance and information about Castel, but discovered that Nora had no head. He stopped her attack by presenting a letter from Count Theus.

• Isaac realized his hypnosis failed because Grisha recognized that Nora had no head, then claimed he had come to contact the resistance rather than on the lord’s orders.
• Isaac followed Grisha’s tracks past the sentries and reached the resistance camp, where he assessed its people and defenses while waiting for Nora.
• The resistance members avoided answering when Isaac asked where Nora was, and he discovered her sitting silently by a campfire in heavy armor.
• Isaac revealed himself beside Nora, confirmed she had no head, and dodged her flail attack.
• Isaac held up a letter from Count Theus, causing Nora to lower her weapon as he prepared to discuss an alliance and ask about Castel.

Isaac found Nora alive only in the sense that her headless body still moved, and he brought Theus’s letter to the resistance camp on Castel’s behalf. Nora acknowledged the letter, and Isaac met the camp’s influential young leader, who confirmed the refugees could not contact Castel or learn what had happened in the Storm Ocean.

• Isaac questioned the headless Nora and concluded that she was dead, despite her body’s movement.
• Isaac announced that he had come from Castel with a personal letter from Theus and an offer of shelter for the refugees.
• Nora approached Isaac, pressed Theus’s letter to her chest, and acknowledged him with a Northern Territory warrior’s ritual.
• A stern young woman cleared the crowd and took Isaac to speak with her about the camp.
• Isaac introduced himself as leader of the Ashen Alliance and asked whether the camp could contact Castel.
• The young woman said the camp had failed to reach Castel or the Silent Temple and had only heard vague reports of major events in the Storm Ocean.