Recaps

Fran’s changes transformed the mine, expanding production and spreading belief in the Lord of Radiance as she began building an organized following. She completed her Composite Spell, Steam Concerto, and noticed that the Panel had listed a new Profession: Arcane Mage.

• Anna found the mine’s storeroom overflowing with ore and saw that Fran’s tools and metalwork had rapidly changed the mine.
• Fran and the followers increased the miners’ work hours but provided food and fairer treatment, leading many miners to openly believe in the Lord of Radiance.
• Fran used the miners’ conversion as a first step toward organizing the followers into a coordinated system capable of supporting her larger plans for Antir.
• Fran tested a Steam Engine, cast her Composite Spell, and felt it draw power from the machines around the mine.
• Fran saw Steam Concerto listed as a mastered spell on her Panel and estimated that improving it could strengthen her physique and help her advance as a Specialized Mage.
• Fran noticed a new Profession listed on her Panel: Arcane Mage (One and a Half Stars).

Fran gained the Arcane Mage Profession and discovered that its Arcane Familiar trait greatly enhanced her spell-creation ability. She planned to return to White Flower City for food and workers while preparing to develop her territory openly, despite the many political and practical tasks ahead.

• Fran realized [Hydraulic Power] had not earned her the Arcane Mage Profession because it adapted an existing spell structure rather than creating a dedicated one.
• Fran gained the Arcane Mage trait [Arcane Familiar] and spent three hours finding improvements to [Steam Concerto].
• Fran concluded that Arcane Familiar greatly boosted her creativity with spells, though it did not help her develop machines.
• Fran decided she could not hide the mine's growth from the lord of River Valley Territory and would need a new food supply once the delivery man was captured.
• Fran planned to return to White Flower City to ask Finley for food, bring a hundred workers to the mine, and check on the believers spreading the faith.

Lucy arrived in White Flower City to investigate Mage Lai, who was accused of posing as a Transmutation School mage while preaching about an unnamed god. Unable to confront Lai or determine her motives, Lucy met Maeve and learned Lai had been gone for days, just as Lai rode back to the city.

• A guard told his companion that Gray Robes members had kept him up all night preaching about their great lord.
• Lucy questioned the guards, using her voice to make them reveal what they knew about Mage Lai and the Gray Robes.
• Lucy concluded Lai was likely not a Transmutation School mage and worried that she might be a Second Order Mage too powerful for Lucy to confront alone.
• Lucy met Maeve, who explained that Mage Lai had left several days earlier while her followers continued preaching.
• Lucy and Maeve heard a horse approaching, and Maeve identified the returning rider as Mage Lai.

Fran met Lucy, the head of the Transmutation School in Grey Soil Province, and revealed that she belonged to the Ocean Society. Fran then proposed extending the forbidden Mage’s Skull research to other Professionals, leaving Lucy frightened but acknowledging the idea.

• Fran identified Lucy as the head of the Transmutation School, and Lucy asked how Fran had chosen her organs.
• Fran used a Siren’s vocal cords to control Lucy briefly, and Lucy recognized the organ and apologized after concluding Fran was a Second Order Mage from the Ocean Society.
• Lucy asked why Fran had come to Grey Soil Province and reminded her that The Alliance required registration.
• Fran asked Lucy about the prohibited Mage’s Skull, which could increase a mage’s Divine Power.
• Fran suggested testing whether the skulls of other Professionals who used Divine Power had similar effects, and Lucy swallowed in fear before agreeing.

Fran explained to Lucy her experiments into how believers gained power from Deities, proposing that spirit bodies in their souls were responsible. Lucy recognized the value and danger of Fran’s idea, promised to keep it secret, and left while Fran wondered why she could not stop herself from sharing her thoughts.

• Lucy initially doubted that Fran was a Transmutation School mage, but Fran’s Siren organs and experimental work changed her view.
• Fran told Lucy she had examined dead believers and found that their power came from spirit-body reactions associated with their souls.
• Lucy recognized that Fran’s proposal could transform the Transmutation School, but feared Fran might kill her for learning sensitive research.
• Fran reassured Lucy, demanded that she keep the experiment secret, and let her leave.
• After Lucy departed, Fran wondered whether a trait made her instinctively voice her ideas.

At Horn Pass, Cliff warned himself that the coming war against Lorinvik would be deadly, while Sam mocked his past surrender. When Cliff discovered that soldiers guarding the alarm bell were hiding a secret, they killed him on Marquis Crawford’s orders to prevent anyone from sounding the alarm.

• Sam mocked Cliff for surrendering to Finley, but Cliff calmly explained that fighting Finley and his formidable squire might have killed him.
• Sam told Cliff that they had been ordered to guard Horn Pass’s wall overnight as Lorinvik’s forces were expected to attack.
• Cliff recognized that Lorinvik would likely kill captured enemy knights and decided he needed to survive by holding out at the fortress.
• Cliff went to the alarm tower and found soldiers blocking him, despite his assignment to guard it.
• Cliff began to leave, but a soldier stabbed him in the neck, and another revealed that Marquis Crawford had ordered them to stop anyone from sounding the alarm.

Anna caught three miners trying to escape from the railway worksite and sent them to Brian, who said the Proxy had forbidden executions and would put them to work. The captured miners were taken to a construction site where a hundred people obtained from the lord were being gathered, though few had accepted the faith of the Lord yet.

• A miner tried to flee while Anna’s workers laid railway tracks, and two others joined him.
• Anna’s group stopped the three escapees with an arrow and brought them before her.
• Anna had the captives tied together and sent them away with a Gray Robes follower.
• The follower delivered the three men to Brian at a construction site where a hundred people from the lord were gathered.
• Brian said the Proxy would not allow the escapees to be executed and planned to assign them work.

Fran learned that Lucy planned to hunt a protected Earth Spirit using Duke Theodore’s Territory Destroyer, and agreed to wait until her experiment ended before Lucy acted. Fran then considered helping Duke Theodore as a way to counter Lucy’s plan and the Kingdom of Lorinvik.

• Fran heard Lucy explain that a Second Order Mage from the Ocean Society had hired her to obtain living First Order land monsters, including a protected Earth Spirit.
• Lucy revealed that Duke Theodore had requested a Territory Destroyer, which she planned to use to damage the territory and conceal the Earth Spirit’s death.
• Fran recognized that Lucy’s plan could ruin a fifth of White Flower Territory and expose Fran to an investigation, but agreed not to interfere until her month-long experiment was over.
• After Lucy left, Fran rejected killing her as too troublesome and decided to give Duke Theodore some help.

Fran reassured Finley that her followers were not preaching a known continental religion, then revealed she had obtained the Territory Token he needed to become a true lord. Finley agreed to keep it secret and estimated that it would take him about a month to claim his territory.

• Fran told Finley that the Deity her followers preached about was unknown elsewhere on the continent, though her explanation did not fully ease his worries.
• Fran asked Finley about his friendship with Elan and confirmed that Finley had won his title only three or four months earlier and still lacked the Territory Token.
• Finley explained that Duke Theodore had misplaced the Territory Token and that finding it could have ended the war.
• Fran opened a box containing the Territory Token, and Finley recognized it and thanked her for arranging to obtain it through Elan.
• Fran warned Finley not to tell anyone, including Count Ian and Theodore, about the token before he became a lord.
• Finley estimated that the Territory Token would allow him to become a true lord in about a month.

Fran spent half a month organizing workers and building the Base Camp’s railway and coal by-product factory, then headed to White Flower City to address shortages of skilled workers and teachers. Meanwhile, a Knight Attendant reported to Lord Morris that the mine had been attacked and its guards had disappeared.

• Fran found that Brian had assigned nearly everyone to work and ordered him to free up at least half the workforce.
• Fran realized the Base Camp lacked a railway and Ore, so she designed a freight train, led workers to finish the track, and established procedures for hauling and inspecting Ore.
• Fran oversaw the construction of a coal by-product production line and trained workers to make tools, but faced shortages of labor, literacy, and materials.
• Fran decided to return to White Flower City to find a literate teacher, said goodbye to Brian, and rode off on Black Horse.
• A Knight Attendant told Lord Morris that he had found the mine gate open, its guards missing, and two gray-robed people who attacked him.

Morris ordered a guard squad to investigate the mine after a Knight Attendant described strange gray-robed attackers and an iron-and-wood structure, then suspected the Shadow Cult. In White Flower City, Lucy met Count Ian and Mage Maeve, who had come to ask about the Territory Destroyer.

• A Knight Attendant told Morris that two Gray Robes with glowing ranged attacks had overwhelmed him near the mine, and Morris ordered him to lead a guard squad reinforced with five Knight Attendants.
• The Knight Attendant described a long, cleared patch of ground, a strange iron-and-wood object, and a brief humming sound near the mine.
• Morris suspected the Gray Robes belonged to the Shadow Cult but decided to wait for the investigators' report before taking further action.
• Finley had a damaged house repaired and prepared for Lucy, who had spent ten days there without raising any complaints.
• Lucy considered how Maeve might affect her plans, then received Count Ian and Mage Maeve and confirmed they had come to ask about the Territory Destroyer.

Count Ian asked Lucy to authorize using the Alliance’s Territory Destroyer as Antir’s forces struggled at Horn Pass, but Lucy delayed while waiting for Lai and pursuing her own plans. She told Ian the device might be needed in half a month to two months and promised to stay until matters were settled.

• Count Ian explained that Marquis Crawford had reported heavy losses at Horn Pass and asked Lucy to let Antir use the Territory Destroyer.
• Lucy reflected that Ian’s advancement to the Second Order depended on surviving the war, while his strong ties to Duke Theodore left him with few alternatives.
• Lucy recalled that Marquis Crawford had defected to Lorinvik after Duke Theodore favored Ian with most of the available territory, and that she had helped arrange the defection.
• Lucy said she had not finished handling the matter and could not activate the device without implicating herself.
• Count Ian pressed Lucy for a timeline, and she estimated that events might unfold in half a month to two months while promising to remain in White Flower City.

Fran sought literate helpers and more laborers from Finley in White Flower City, then received a letter from Harbos delivered by an Alliance messenger. She planned to recruit farmers from distant farms and prepare muskets for Anna's next expedition, while arranging to send a reply to Loderis.

• Finley told Fran that local nobles could refuse conscription, but he could find literate people who had been pushed out of noble circles and hire them.
• Finley offered farmers from his distant farms, who would take half a month to arrive, and described a nearby refugee settlement that Fran rejected as too difficult to control.
• Fran decided to ask Anna to lead a small group to bring back people and planned to make muskets to strengthen their escort.
• Fran met an Alliance messenger outside the castle, accepted Harbos's letter, and said she would send a reply to Loderis.

Fran received Harbos's letter about her Second Order advancement and the apprentices traveling to Antir, then prepared to receive them and asked Harbos how to work with a Black Shadow Wolf claw. At the mine, a group from River Valley Territory mistook Fran's train for an enemy and attacked it, prompting a white-robed girl and the Gray Robes to respond.

• Fran learned that Elan and the apprentices had set out for Antir and arranged for Finley to receive them.
• Fran decided to ask Harbos how to work with the Black Shadow Wolf claw, sent her reply, and headed back to the lord's castle and Base Camp.
• A group of armed Knight Attendants arrived at the mine and were confused by its expanded slopes, altered entrance, and railway.
• The Knight Attendants mistook the descending train for an enemy and attacked it, but one man's sword bent against its steel body.
• Several guards stood on the tracks and were struck down or swept beneath the train as a white-robed girl asked the Gray Robes about the group.
• The Gray Robes identified the attackers as people from River Valley Territory, and the girl said they should deal with them.

Fran continued developing Base Camp while waiting to use Finley’s rise to lord to counter Lucy, but a message from the Lord of Radiance summoned her to the Spirit Realm. She arrived at the Alliance’s gathering with Una, Tristan, and Ophelia, where Tristan told her it was her turn to take the stage.

• Fran planned to delay her agreement with Lucy until Finley became a lord, then prevent Lucy from using the Earth Spirit against her.
• Fran organized ore smelting at Base Camp and prepared to make steel parts and processing equipment.
• A glowing Notebook summoned Fran to the Spirit Realm with a warning that the Alliance was about to attack a Domain.
• The Lord of Radiance told Fran to meet her at the Divine Temple and chose Una to become the Domain Lord of the target place.
• Fran arrived with Una at the gathering, where she met Tristan and Ophelia.
• Tristan told Fran that the group was ready and that it was her turn to take the stage.

Fran saw how quickly the Alliance had prepared to seize the Ancient Domain, then entered it with Una to make her its lord. As light began shining from Una, Fran was left waiting to see what would happen next.

• Fran learned that the Alliance had waited for her approval before beginning its operation and was impressed by its speed and power.
• Tristan explained that the Alliance called the occupied territory the Three-God Domain, though its records named it the Ancient Domain, and showed Fran the three Divine Statues there.
• Fran and Una followed Ophelia through a portal into the domain, where Fran saw that its buildings were intact and its followers appeared to have vanished.
• Ophelia led Fran and Una to an empty hall and told Fran to begin making Una the domain's lord.
• Una looked to Fran for help, but light suddenly began shining from her body.

Una became Lord of the Domain, and its power began helping her advance toward the Second Order. Fran then confirmed that she would honor the Alliance’s request to occupy three designated areas, leaving the next steps of their cooperation to begin.

• Fran watched Una merge with the Domain as the power of three Deities surged through it, overwhelming Tristan and leaving Ophelia unconscious.
• Una became Lord of the Domain, and Fran sensed that the Domain’s power could help Una advance toward the Second Order within three months.
• Una confirmed to Fran that the process was over and that she was now the Lord of the Domain.
• Fran asked Tristan and Ophelia whether the Alliance was ready to proceed with its task, and Tristan handed her a map marking three areas for the Alliance to occupy.
• Fran agreed to the Alliance’s selections and confirmed that her side would not claim the unmarked districts for a month.

After Fran left the Ancient Domain, Una approved The Alliance’s request to enter, and Charles led Astrology School mages there to seek a clue through prophecy. Their prophecies pointed toward a matter so important that Charles feared it could rival the Calamity of the Blood Elves, and he decided The Alliance must be informed.

• Fran left the Ancient Domain after arranging matters with The Alliance and Una, trusting the Lord of Radiance to protect Una.
• Una examined and approved The Alliance’s application, allowing Tristan, Charles, and other Astrology School mages to enter the Ancient Domain.
• Charles warned the mages to act cautiously and began their search by casting a Prophecy Spell.
• Charles’s prophecy pointed toward the territory of the Goddess of Ocean Currents, but the mages’ follow-up prophecies produced vague information.
• Charles recalled the Astrology School’s failed attempt to foresee the Calamity of the Blood Elves and realized the current matter might be just as significant.
• Charles decided to report the discovery to The Alliance when the mages returned.

Charles and the Astrology School’s mages gathered prophecies about a powerful, long-hidden object whose discovery would trigger continent-wide conflict and threaten The Alliance. Charles ordered the participants into protective detention as the revelations pointed to the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents’ territory, a fallen Floating City, and the dissolution of the Alliance Council.

• A mage prophesied that the object would be obtained when the sun rose, and another said a living creature would find it after it saw daylight again.
• A mage said news of the object would spark a conflict across the continent, so Charles invoked The Alliance’s confidentiality ordinance and ordered the prophecy participants detained.
• Tristan prophesied that the object would remain in the Material Realm forever, and Charles noted that it was within the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents’ territory.
• Another mage revealed that a Floating City would fall because of the object, prompting Charles to make no further arrangements until they returned to The Alliance.
• A mage prophesied that the object’s discovery would be the prelude to the dissolution of the Alliance Council.

Charles and the mages confirmed a prophecy that the Alliance Council’s dissolution would precede the Alliance’s collapse. He ordered Tristan to remain in the Law Domain and negotiate a powerful contract with the Lord of Radiance’s Proxy to secure the Ancient Domain.

• A mage prophesied that the Alliance Council would be dissolved, and Charles ordered two mages to verify the prediction.
• The three mages confirmed that the prophecy was a precursor to the Alliance Council’s dissolution.
• Charles told the assembled mages to keep their accounts consistent and instructed them to guard one another.
• Charles ordered Tristan to stay in the Law Domain, contact the Lord of Radiance’s Proxy, and negotiate an Abyss Contract restricting access to the Ancient Domain for ten years.
• Charles promised Tristan’s family a reward if he succeeded, reminded the mages that the Alliance’s fate partly rested with them, and teleported the group to the Law Domain.

Fran completed a precise lathe and arranged for Elan and three apprentices from the Forge School to come to her base camp so they could help train workers. When Elan arrived, Fran’s changed appearance made him doubt her identity until she reminded him of their shared history selling Energy Potions.

• Fran finished building the lathe, tested it by making three components, and realized workers would need specialized training to operate it.
• A Knight Attendant delivered Finley’s message that the Forge School group had arrived, and Fran rode her Black Horse to meet them.
• Finley received Elan and three apprentices outside the city, while Elan mistakenly thought Fran was using Lai as an alias and heard about an adventurer named Elan who worked for her.
• Fran arrived, but Elan, Kahn, and Ocien did not recognize her because her appearance had changed.
• Fran reminded Elan that they had sold Energy Potions to the Pharmacist Association, confirming who she was.

Fran reunited with Elan in Antir and explained that she had not advanced to Second Order, though she had obtained a method for doing so. She shared the method with Elan and the apprentices, then asked what they had learned.

• Elan confirmed that the disguised woman was Fran by recalling details only she could know.
• Fran explained that Iris had helped conceal her identity and that she was in Antir preparing for an experiment to advance.
• Elan asked about reaching Second Order, and Fran described a method she had obtained from the Northern Lands Society.
• Elan and the three apprentices listened as Fran shared the advancement knowledge.
• Fran stopped speaking and asked the apprentices whether they had learned anything.

Fran brought Elan and three apprentices to her Base Camp, where she planned to put them to work supporting its expanding production. Elan agreed to help make parts, then learned Fran wanted as many chain-like components as he could produce.

• The three apprentices apologized to Fran for eavesdropping on her discussion with Elan, and she told them they could make amends by working at her site.
• Fran invited Elan to help because she was short-handed, and he agreed to make basic parts.
• Fran, Elan, and the apprentices arrived at the Base Camp, where the apprentices and Elan were astonished by its machines and production lines.
• Fran led Elan into her workhouse and gave him a blueprint for a chain-like component.
• When Elan asked how many components he had to make, Fran told him to make as many as he could because she had plenty of materials.

Fran delayed her experiment for another half month, prompting Lucy to make plans to finish the dangerous commission without her. Lucy also delayed Count Ian’s Territory Destroyer operation, while Mage Lai warned Finley not to become a lord yet and asked him to hand over his Territory Token.

• Fran asked Lucy for another half month to finish her experiment, and Lucy reluctantly agreed.
• Lucy planned to prepare Count Ian’s side, check the Earth Spirit’s restraint device, and seek help from the Ocean Society while figuring out how to deal with Lai.
• Count Ian asked Lucy about the overdue Territory Destroyer operation, and she promised it would be ready in half a month.
• Fran visited Finley, warned him that Lucy would kill him if he became a lord now, and asked him to give her his Territory Token the next day.

Fran’s lathes helped establish basic industrial production at the Base Camp, and she prepared to start a musket production line. She also planned to produce smokeless powder, but needed cotton that grew far beyond the Antir Region, so she considered using the Spirit Realm to obtain it.

• Fran made several lathes and gained Foundry Studies proficiency while Kahn learned to use one and struggled to teach workers its basic operation.
• Fran required the apprentices to teach workers how to operate lathes, assigning failed production quotas to the apprentices who could not teach them.
• With the workers and apprentices helping, Fran judged the Base Camp ready to begin building a musket production line.
• Fran planned to produce smokeless powder because she could not make enough of the magic-based propellant by hand.
• Fran found that cotton grew about five hundred kilometers beyond The Alliance, and she considered using the Spirit Realm to solve the supply problem.