Chapter Summaries

Aaron bought Miss White Dove’s Dreamwalking Notes for 100 pounds, then inspected spiritual materials offered by Beast and discovered they were dangerously contaminated. The chapter left Aaron confronting Beast over the worthless materials.

• Aaron considered whether Age Controllers had become less insane as the divine era and occult knowledge changed.
• Aaron met Miss White Dove in the Rose Room and read the first page of her ancestor’s Spirit Language journal about the Dream Realm and mysterious beings.
• Aaron negotiated with Miss White Dove and bought Dreamwalking Notes for 100 pounds.
• Aaron met Beast in the Iris Room to inspect spiritual materials related to Yao.
• Aaron used the Radiant’s ability to identify the materials and told Beast that their contamination made them worthless.

Aaron acquired Beast’s contaminated spiritual materials and tested whether the Spirit of Void could purify them, but the attempt failed. He also explored his spirit’s unusual presence in the Dream Realm and wondered if he could possess a vengeful spirit.

• Aaron traded several vials of Sleeping Potion to Beast for his contaminated spiritual materials.
• Aaron returned home, examined a bloodstained stone, and used the Radiant’s power in an unsuccessful attempt to purify it.
• Aaron prayed to the Spirit of Void and left his body as a spirit to investigate his abilities.
• Aaron entered the Dream Realm and found that the Ghost Winged Horse could not sense or touch him while he remained insubstantial.
• Aaron used mystical energy to make himself more tangible, causing the Ghost Winged Horse to flee, and considered possessing a vengeful spirit.

Aaron purified polluted spiritual materials and discovered that he could safely draw spirituality from them, accelerating his path toward becoming a Light Shepherd. After overloading himself with spirituality and estimating that he could advance in ten days to half a month, he considered how to build connections in the mysterious world and prepare to fit in with his neighbors.

• Aaron returned from the Dream Realm to his bedroom and purified the polluted stones, iron fragment, and parchment.
• Aaron found that the purified stones held abundant spirituality and drew some into himself, while resolving to remove mental pollution before absorbing spiritual items.
• Aaron weighed his slow advancement against acquiring a powerful Strange Object and recalled how Lin had used the Scepter of Flesh to defeat the High Priest.
• Aaron cleaned up the ritual and went to sleep, then gathered more spirituality from a translucent stone the next morning and felt the strain on his body.
• Aaron estimated that he could advance to Light Shepherd in ten days to half a month and considered building connections beyond Clark Das and preparing for his neighbors' visits.

Percy Anias reported the Benjamin murder investigation to Sinderson Kappler, who directed him to focus on Jack’s mysterious mentor. At home, Aaron worried about money and considered pursuing the same mentor’s trail before going out to enjoy the life of a wealthy gentleman.

• Percy Anias told Sinderson Kappler that Hark Benjamin had been killed in a flaying ritual by a Beyonder, and that the suspected robber had violet eyes.
• Percy explained that Jack had been dismissed, fallen into debt, and met many people before his death, making his contacts difficult to trace.
• Sinderson told Percy to investigate the robber discreetly but prioritize finding Jack’s mysterious mentor, and rejected Percy’s suggestion to request a diviner.
• Aaron counted his remaining money and worried that he might not be able to pay Sylvia’s wages next month.
• Aaron considered selling Secret Lore or investigating Jack’s mentor, then dressed to go to the opera and enjoy an afternoon out.

Aaron studied Dreamwalking Notes, learned more about the Age Controller Lord of Corpse Collection, and fashioned a cane sword for self-defense. After accepting an invitation to William Mark’s party, he encouraged Sylvia to train for a future as a housekeeper.

• Aaron read and summarized the chaotic Dreamwalking Notes, which described Lord of Corpse Collection, the Great Serpent worshipped by Ghouls.
• Aaron considered the Great Serpent’s power and the hidden beings mentioned in the notes, then put the book away.
• Aaron tested the cane sword he had crafted with his Radiant abilities, using a blade Clark Das had given him.
• Sylvia told Aaron that William Mark’s butler had invited him to a party, and Aaron accepted the invitation.
• Sylvia advised Aaron on choosing a suitable gift and preparing for high society, and Aaron urged her to study for a housekeeper’s career.

Aaron attended William Mark’s banquet and reflected on the stark divide between the wealthy and the poor, as well as the powerful mysteries held by noble families. After dancing with Liliat Thorne, he discovered that her glasses were an extraordinary item.

• Aaron arrived at William Mark’s mansion and joined the lavish banquet.
• Aaron considered the suffering of the poor and how the upper classes kept extraordinary power from common people.
• William Mark recommended that Aaron ask Liliat Thorne to dance, and Aaron accepted her invitation.
• Aaron danced with Liliat, who explained her family’s lower standing at the banquet and insisted that no one could dictate whom she married.
• After the dance, Aaron touched Liliat’s glasses under the pretense of fixing her earring and identified them as an extraordinary item.

Aaron met Green Forest Cathedral’s cleric, Chris Toya, at a banquet and used divination to locate the person connected to the Secret Lore of Song of the Worker Insect inside the cathedral. The next day, Chris showed Aaron around, where Aaron sensed something unusual about the choir’s cleric, Nicholas Inam.

• At William Mark’s banquet, Aaron met Chris Toya and agreed to attend a service at Green Forest Cathedral.
• After the banquet, Aaron used the Secret Lore of Song of the Worker Insect to divine its source and discovered that the person was hiding at Green Forest Cathedral.
• Aaron reflected on his conflicted feelings about his former land and its people before visiting the cathedral the next morning.
• Aaron attended Chris Toya’s service, donated ten pounds, and accepted Chris’s offer to tour the cathedral.
• During the tour, Chris introduced Aaron to choir leader Nicholas Inam, whose presence stirred Aaron’s spirituality.

Aaron suspected Nicholas Inam was the mysterious man who had tried to buy the Secret Lore of Yao, then received an invitation from Clark Das to protect him and Bruce Field on a trip to an abandoned ruin. After an inconclusive first divination, Aaron asked whether the trip would be very dangerous, and the coin indicated it would not.

• Aaron recognized Nicholas Inam as a possible match for the mysterious man from the secret gathering, then saw Archbishop Roberts John Schaller arrive.
• Aaron received Clark Das's invitation to visit the Das House and postponed his plan to collect religious taxes.
• Bruce Field congratulated Aaron on being one of the occultists and thanked him after Aaron congratulated him on becoming Clark's Apprentice.
• Clark Das offered Aaron 200 pounds to protect him and Bruce during an expedition to an abandoned Esoteric Sect ruin in the Tangila Mountains and help with Bruce's ritual.
• Aaron deferred his answer so he could divine the danger, and his revised divination indicated the trip would not be very dangerous.

Aaron, Clark Das, and Bruce traveled to the Tangila Mountains to investigate an abandoned village that had once been the Lotus Eaters’ birthplace. They reached the forest and began their journey toward the ruins, while Clark prepared to explain the Secret History Scholar ability of Historical Retrospection.

• Aaron agreed to accompany Clark Das and Bruce by train to the Tangila Mountains.
• Clark explained that the ruins were the Lotus Eaters’ ancient birthplace and showed Aaron a letter linked to the Rainy Night Butcher case.
• Clark said he had located the abandoned stronghold through archaeological expeditions and believed it was relatively safe, though vengeful spirits and Ghosts might remain.
• The three arrived at the edge of the Tangila Mountains and followed Clark into the woods after he used birds to check the path.
• Clark told Bruce that Historical Retrospection was the core ability of the Secret History Scholar lineage and began to explain it.

Clark Das explained how Secret History Scholars used Historical Retrospection to gain abilities from historical events, then described the dangerous ruin he planned to investigate. Bruce asked about gaining the Count of Green Forest’s abilities, but Clark said the ritual’s requirements were nearly impossible.

• Clark explained that Historical Retrospection required recreating an event’s key elements and that a scholar’s Primordial power and Secrecy affected the abilities gained.
• Clark recounted how the Marshal’s Rostrum ritual granted Heroic Charisma, which weakened after its elements became widely known.
• Clark said he planned to investigate a ruin he suspected was the birthplace of the Lotus Eaters and the first supernatural Ghoul.
• Bruce asked whether he could imitate the Count of Green Forest, and Clark explained that the ritual would require elements such as fratricide, imprisoning one’s father, and forbidden love.

Aaron accompanied Clark Das and Bruce Field to the ruins of Tata Village, where Clark discovered a hidden underground gathering place of the Lotus Eaters. The chapter ended with Clark preparing to examine an ancient altar while Bruce stood ready to awaken his Secret spirituality.

• Clark Das explained that he had settled near Green Forest City to search for ruins and described the history of Tata Village and the Lotus Eaters.
• Aaron, Clark, and Bruce reached the abandoned village, where Clark used an archaeological report to locate a concealed passage beneath a bull skull.
• Aaron led the group down the passage and lit the torches, revealing an underground chamber supported by pillars built from skulls.
• Clark used his historical ability to identify the chamber as a Lotus Eaters gathering place and the birthplace of the first supernatural Ghoul.
• Clark raised a ruined altar and told Bruce that its spiritual and historical accumulation could help him complete the Archaeological Meditation Method, then asked Aaron to protect him.

Aaron helped Clark Das and Bruce explore ancient ruins, where Bruce gained Secret spirituality and was possessed by a vengeful spirit. Clark discovered how to perform Historical Retrospection, but the required element was corpse eating, which he had brought in his backpack.

• Aaron watched Bruce draw Secret spirituality from the ruins, then struck him as a vengeful spirit possessed him.
• Aaron drove the spirit from Bruce with light and purified it, collecting the glowing dust it left behind.
• Bruce woke up, and Clark Das told Aaron he had found an imprint and the element needed for Historical Retrospection.
• Clark Das revealed that the ritual required corpse eating and said he had packed it in his hiking backpack.
• Bruce realized he had been carrying the corpse-eating element and looked ready to vomit.

Clark Das performed the Historical Retrospection ritual to trace the Lotus Eaters’ past and gain power from its history. After discovering that the ritual required self-cannibalism, he ate his little finger and gained a strong body and the ability to heal by devouring flesh and blood.

• Clark Das prepared a placenta and began the Historical Retrospection ritual while Aaron and Bruce watched.
• Aaron observed the Mist of History reveal the Lotus Eaters’ origins, their flesh-eating rites, and the hunter’s transformation into a supernatural Ghoul.
• Clark Das discovered that the ritual had been missing the element of self-cannibalism and ate his own little finger to complete it.
• Clark Das ended the ritual and told Aaron that he had gained a strong body and the ability to heal by consuming flesh and blood.

Aaron returned to Green Forest City after completing his job for Clark Das and Bruce, then explored the new subway and found a coded message announcing a gathering. When two Iron Fist Gang thugs tried to attack him, he knocked them down and left the area without drawing attention.

• Clark Das paid Aaron the remaining 180 pounds and asked him to keep Tata Village's history secret.
• Aaron said goodbye to Clark Das and Bruce at the station, then rode Green Forest City's new subway to the Iver Bridge District.
• Aaron spotted Clark Das's coded symbols on a wall and learned that a gathering would take place the next night.
• Two Iron Fist Gang thugs followed Aaron into an alley and attacked him with daggers.
• Aaron knocked both thugs unconscious with his white crystal cane and left without robbing them or revealing where he lived.

Aaron attended a gathering where Clark Das introduced Bruce Field as Apprentice, and Beast recruited help for an expedition into a Sothoth family tomb. Aaron sought materials to advance to Light Shepherd, but no one showed interest in his request.

• Aaron arrived at the underground gathering and recognized The Cleric as Nicholas Inam.
• Clark Das brought Bruce Field to the gathering as the newcomer Apprentice, and Beast teased the nervous newcomer.
• Jazz opened the gathering by offering Spirit Repellent Oil, and the attendees took turns trading materials and knowledge.
• Beast revealed that he had found a secret tomb belonging to the Sothoth Family and invited others to join his next expedition.
• Miss White Dove offered to help determine the tomb's age, while Clark Das appeared tempted but held back.
• Aaron requested Sunbird feathers, Sun God Stone powder, or blessed holy water to advance to Light Shepherd, but no one except Beast reacted.

Aaron bought contaminated spiritual materials from Beast at the secret gathering, then realized Beast had tampered with them and followed him along the Mother River. Beast confronted Aaron in a transformed, predatory state and demanded to know how he benefited from contaminated materials.

• The Cleric reported that a priest at Green Forest Cathedral might have become mystically corrupted, and Aaron advised him to investigate quietly or pretend he knew nothing.
• Beast offered Aaron several contaminated spiritual materials in the Rose Room for a hundred pounds, and Aaron accepted while asking about the creature whose blood had stained earlier stones.
• After the gathering, Aaron left alone and waited by the Mother River for Beast, accusing him of tampering with the materials.
• Beast emerged from the darkness in a larger, more savage form and demanded Aaron reveal his secret; Aaron tossed a Gold Pound into the air as Beast lunged at him.

Aaron killed the Beast, took his Strange Object, and divined the location where the human-headed statue had originated. A newspaper report about an auction of Fabri Dynasty artifacts led him to suspect the collection might attract descendants of Sothos, and he considered investigating its source.

• Aaron saw through the Beast’s illusion with his danger sense, killed him with his revolver, recovered his money, and took a ruby of condensed Crimson spirituality from the corpse.
• Aaron examined the Beast’s iron-black ring through divination, learned it could create a harmless illusion and help its wearer hide in darkness, and named it the Shadow Ring.
• Aaron used the human-headed statue and a pendulum to divine the statue’s original location on the edge of a map, identifying a place that might contain Yao spirituality.
• Aaron read that Auguf Auction House would auction rare Fabri Dynasty artifacts on August 20 and wondered whether the collection might draw descendants of Sothos.
• Aaron considered hiring a detective to investigate the artifacts’ suspicious source.

Percy investigated the death of Elranchi, a former contact of Jack’s, and found that the young man had died after illness and poverty left him unable to seek treatment. The coroner confirmed Elranchi was a low-level supernatural being, but Percy suspected someone had killed him with an illness-related ability and turned his attention to a lead involving a mysterious mentor.

• Percy witnessed a bankrupt man jump to his death in the slums and mourned the hardship that had driven him there.
• Percy questioned landlord Delion about Elranchi and discovered the young man’s corpse in his room.
• Percy read Elranchi’s diary, which recorded his struggles in Green Forest City, his friendship with Jack, and his worsening illness.
• The coroner determined that Elranchi had opened his First Primordial and died of an illness, with his spirituality dissipating after death.
• Percy doubted the death was natural and suspected an illness-related supernatural attack, possibly connected to the mysterious mentor.

Aaron avoided Green Forest Cathedral after divination warned him of danger, then went to the Iron Fist Gang’s warehouse looking for money. He used an apparition to scare off the Blood Hand Gang’s attackers and agreed to become the Iron Fist Gang’s patron in exchange for payment.

• Aaron divined that Green Forest Cathedral was dangerous and left without entering.
• Aaron went to the Iron Fist Gang’s warehouse and found Scarface and his men fleeing the Blood Hand Gang.
• Aaron used a Raven Mask apparition to frighten the pursuers into retreating.
• Scarface told Aaron that the Iron Fist Gang’s mysterious patron, Beast, had been reported dead, prompting rival gangs to attack.
• Aaron agreed to support the Iron Fist Gang for £20 a month and arranged to collect £300 as his first payment.

Aaron attended the Auguf Auction House’s sale of artifacts from the Fabri Dynasty, hoping to find spiritual materials needed to advance Yao into a Light Shepherd. At the auction’s start, Clark warned him that the Investigation Bureau had likely inspected the artifacts, especially the books.

• Aaron sensed that the Shadow Ring’s backlash carried a hint of the danger of Secrecy and considered trying to tame it with his spirit body.
• Aaron traveled to the Auguf Auction House on August 20, reflecting that Yao’s spirituality had reached its limit and that he needed materials to advance.
• At the auction house, Aaron greeted Clark Das and joined William Mark’s circle, where Chris Toya invited him to a private box; Aaron chose to sit in the main hall.
• Lord Rake arrived and drew the attention of merchants and officials, while William Mark remarked that the high-society crowd would make bidding fierce.
• Aaron took a seat beside Clark and Bruce as the auction began, and Clark quietly told him the Investigation Bureau had likely inspected the artifacts, especially the books.