Chapter Summaries

The Argonauts celebrated Ye Ting’s relationship with Medea because they believed she could help them overcome the Dragon guarding the Golden Fleece. At Aeetes’s first trial, the heroes faced two formidable fire-breathing Volcanion, and Idas stepped forward to challenge them.

• The Argonauts praised Ye Ting for winning Medea’s affection, while Jason forced himself to congratulate his romantic rival.
• The heroes traveled to the fields by the Phasis River to attempt Aeetes’s first two trials before the king, Colchian nobles, and Mystra Academy mages.
• Aeetes revealed two powerful artificial Volcanion modeled after the legendary Pokémon, and their heat and flames frightened the Argonauts.
• Aeetes urged the heroes to abandon the trial, but Idas declared that he was unafraid and volunteered to face the beasts.

Lynceus tried to defeat Volcanion by dodging their charges and tiring them out, but they blinded him with smoke and killed him with fire. Nauplius then entered the field, confident that his command of water could defeat the exhausted beasts, while Ye Ting doubted him.

• Lynceus harassed Volcanion with stones and dodged their physical attacks, intending to wear them down before striking.
• Volcanion filled the field with Smog, blinding Lynceus, then engulfed him in Flamethrower and killed him.
• The Argonauts watched Lynceus die and wondered how they could defeat the fire-breathing Volcanion.
• Nauplius claimed he could use his father Poseidon's power of water to extinguish Volcanion's flames and entered the field.
• Ye Ting inwardly dismissed Nauplius's plan to defeat Volcanion with water.

Nauplius used his power of water to counter the Volcanion’s fire attacks and flood them until they seemed weakened. As he charged in to finish them, the Volcanion suddenly sprang up, appearing fully refreshed.

• The Volcanion attacked Nauplius with Flamethrower, but he neutralized the flames with a torrent of water.
• Nauplius summoned spring water to form a shield that withstood the Volcanion’s Fire Blast without harming him.
• Nauplius fired water arrows at the Volcanion, then flooded the field when the arrows had little effect.
• The flood cooled the Volcanion and stopped them from producing steam, making them appear listless.
• Nauplius charged at the seemingly weakened Volcanion, but they suddenly sprang up with bright eyes and no sign of exhaustion.

Volcanion killed Nauplius by absorbing the strength of his water attacks and unleashing Steam Explosion, leaving Jason devastated by the deaths of three companions. Ye Ting urged the Argonauts to keep sacrificing lives, but Jason finally said they should abandon the quest for the Golden Fleece.

• Volcanion recovered its strength from Nauplius's water attacks and killed him with a close-range Steam Explosion.
• Ye Ting explained Volcanion's resistance to water and told Jason that the Argonauts would have to exhaust it by sending more fighters against it.
• Ye Ting planned to use the Argonauts' losses to turn them against the gods and was confident the gods would not let them abandon the trial.
• Jason grieved over the deaths of Idas, Lynceus, and Nauplius, then said he wanted to give up the quest.
• The gods' attitude remained that mortals were merely chess pieces and could not choose to abandon their plan.

The Argonauts continued the trial against the Divine Bulls despite Jason wanting to withdraw, and paid for victory over the two Volcanion with six dead heroes and two severely wounded. As the surviving heroes prepared to finish the defeated beasts, robed mages captured them inside strange red-and-white balls.

• Erginus and Antaeus urged the Argonauts to continue the trial and avenge their fallen companions, and Erginus volunteered to fight Volcanion.
• Erginus died after fighting Volcanion for five minutes and thirteen seconds, but weakened the beast enough for Antaeus to survive its next attack, though he was gravely wounded.
• Peleus fought Volcanion and died after its flames and charge left him broken and burned.
• The Argonauts sent more heroes against the two Volcanion, losing four more while two others were severely wounded, until Atalanta wore the exhausted beasts down and secured victory.
• As the Argonauts moved to kill the defeated Volcanion, robed mages used red-and-white balls to capture both beasts.

Ye Ting’s Poké Ball-like tools stored and recharged energy-materialized lifeforms so ordinary people could use them. After Hermione Granger’s mages retrieved Volcanion, Jason was left wondering why Hecate’s creation had appeared in Aeetes’s trial.

• Ye Ting devised Poké Balls that stored energy-materialized lifeforms as spirit cores and supplied them with magical power, allowing ordinary people to use them.
• The Argonauts confronted the mages as they took Volcanion, and the mages raised an ice wall while Colchis’s guards separated the groups.
• Jason demanded that the mages leave Volcanion behind, but Hermione Granger claimed it belonged to Mystra Academy and had only been lent to Colchis.
• Hermione shoved Jason back with magic, then left with Volcanion as the mages vanished through an invisible barrier.
• Jason lamented his failure to stop them and began to suspect something was wrong with Aeetes’s trial.

Jason questioned Ye Ting about Hecate and Mystra Academy, learning that the goddess rivaled Zeus and that the academy was hidden on the island. He also discovered that Medea was Hecate’s student and began to suspect that Colchis was protected by both Hecate and Helios.

• Jason sought out Ye Ting to learn about the hidden powers behind Colchis.
• Ye Ting explained that Hecate was the goddess of magic, rivaled Zeus in power, and was little known outside magical circles.
• Jason asked about Mystra Academy, and Ye Ting said it was a secret institution whose location on the island he had recently learned from Medea.
• Ye Ting revealed that Medea was Hecate’s student, leaving Jason regretful that he had lost the chance to win her over.
• Jason connected the new information to the bartender’s claims and asked whether Colchis was protected by Hecate as well as Helios.

Jason decided the Argonauts had to continue their quest despite learning that Hecate backed Colchis, and the heroes returned to face the second trial. They confronted a hundred Dragon Tooth Soldiers, whom they mistakenly believed would be easy opponents.

• Jason resolved to continue pursuing the Golden Fleece, fearing that retreat would leave him opposed by both Hecate and the gods of Olympus.
• The Argonauts returned the next day to face the second trial against Dragon Tooth Soldiers made from the Colchian Dragon's teeth.
• The narration explained the origins of Dragon Tooth Soldiers and distinguished the magical, human-shaped warriors from weaker skeletal pseudo-soldiers.
• The heroes saw the hundred Dragon Tooth Soldiers and assumed they were ordinary, manageable opponents.
• Still frustrated by their defeat against the Sacred Bull, the Argonauts prepared to vent their anger on the soldiers.

Potes took on the dragon-tooth soldiers, discovering that their strength and coordinated formation made them far more dangerous than he had expected. He charged their ranks but failed to break through, leaving himself in a difficult position.

• Potes volunteered to fight the dragon-tooth soldiers, while Jason warned him not to underestimate them.
• Potes charged through the archers’ heavy volleys, dodging and deflecting arrows as Atalanta recognized the danger.
• Potes approached the soldiers’ melee ranks and used his curved shield to deflect their spears.
• Potes crashed into the formation with a shield charge, but the hundred soldiers held their ranks and stopped him.
• Potes realized that the disciplined formation had turned the failed charge into a disadvantage for him.

Potes fought the Spartoi alone, killing several before their coordinated formation surrounded and killed him. His death shocked the Argonauts, who realized the Spartoi were a formidable army rather than ordinary fodder.

• Potes killed a Spartoi with a concealed thrust, then blocked the enemy’s attempt to surround him as he retreated.
• Potes charged forward, killed another Spartoi, and used two spear-wielding enemies as weapons to disrupt the formation.
• Potes hurled the spears ahead, picked up a fallen Spartoi’s sword, and charged through the opening, cutting down several more enemies.
• The Spartoi restored their formation and surrounded Potes, who killed several with a low attack before spears pierced his chest and killed him.
• The Argonauts were shocked and furious at Potes’s death and recognized the Spartoi’s strength and coordinated tactics.

The Argonauts faced Ye Ting’s enhanced Dragon Tooth Soldiers, commanded by Cho Chang, and lost several heroes as they tried to reduce their numbers. After Periclymenus inflicted heavy casualties, Atalanta entered the battle against the remaining forty-four soldiers and began using her speed and archery to evade their formations and pick them off.

• Jason, Telamon, Meleager, and Orpheus realized that the Argonauts might have to sacrifice lives to overcome the hundred Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
• Cho Chang coordinated the soldiers’ attacks as Phalerus fought and died, killing seven of them.
• Eurytion and Eribotes fell after killing eight and nine Dragon Tooth Soldiers, while Periclymenus transformed into beasts and killed nearly twenty before being severely wounded by arrows.
• Atalanta entered the battle when forty-four Dragon Tooth Soldiers remained and used the Boots of Swiftness to kite them with her bow.
• The Dragon Tooth Soldiers broke into small squads to surround Atalanta, but she repeatedly escaped their encirclements and continued attacking them.

Atalanta killed the last forty-four Spartoi, completing Colchis’s second trial for the Argonauts. As the survivors prepared to face the Dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, Jason blamed fate for the deaths and losses that had brought them there.

• Atalanta used the Bow of Heaven to kill the final Spartoi and returned to Ye Ting for praise.
• Ye Ting praised Atalanta and stroked her hair, pleasing her despite her proud reply.
• Aeetes announced that the Argonauts had passed the second trial and could proceed to the sacred grove for the Golden Fleece.
• The surviving Argonauts remained numb and feared the Dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, even though Ye Ting said Medea would hold it off.
• Jason regretted organizing the voyage and blamed fate for the deaths of more than half the Argonauts.

The Argonauts entered Colchis’s sacred grove and found the Golden Fleece guarded by a dragon, then waited for Medea to arrive with help. Medea appeared riding Larey, a legendary Unicorn whose combat strength nearly matched the dragon’s.

• The Argonauts followed the dragon’s might and the Golden Fleece’s glow to the great oak, where they found a vigilant dragon guarding the treasure.
• Jason asked Ye Ting when Medea would arrive, and the Argonauts waited while Atalanta watched the dragon from the trees.
• Atalanta spotted someone approaching, and the Argonauts hid and watched as Medea rode a silver-white Unicorn into the grove.
• Ye Ting revealed that the Unicorn was Larey, his legendary mount, whose power nearly equaled the dragon’s.

Medea sang the Dragon to sleep, and Ye Ting kept the Argonauts safe from her hypnotic song. After waking them and casting a Deafening Spell on Atalanta, Ye Ting prepared her to approach the Dragon and take the Golden Fleece.

• Ye Ting stopped Jason and the heroes from approaching Medea and told them to listen as she sang to the Dragon.
• Medea's magical song lulled the Dragon and the Argonauts into a deep sleep.
• Ye Ting woke Jason and the heroes after ten minutes, explaining that he had used a soundproof barrier to keep them from hearing the song.
• Jason asked Atalanta to retrieve the Golden Fleece, and she agreed.
• Ye Ting cast a Deafening Spell on Atalanta, who then began carefully approaching the sleeping Dragon.

Atalanta stole the Golden Fleece from the sacred oak while Medea’s lullaby kept the Colchian Dragon asleep, and Jason led the Argonauts back toward the Argo. As the Fleece left the grove, the Dragon sensed its comforting influence fading and began to stir.

• Medea’s lullaby put the Colchian Dragon to sleep while Atalanta quietly climbed the oak and took the Golden Fleece.
• Atalanta leaped from the tree and glided safely down with her enchanted boots, then handed the Fleece to Jason.
• Jason thanked Atalanta, and Ye Ting restored her hearing after revealing he had left a Deafness Spell on her.
• Jason led the Argonauts toward the Argo, while Ye Ting said Medea would catch up with them using magic.
• The Golden Fleece’s influence faded as it left the grove, and the sleeping Dragon sensed that something was wrong.

The Dragon discovered that the Golden Fleece had been stolen and pursued the Argonauts, catching them in the forest. As Jason braced for a fight, the Dragon spoke in a cold female voice and demanded the fleece.

• The Dragon woke, sensed the Golden Fleece moving, and roared when he found it missing.
• King Aeetes realized the Golden Fleece had been stolen, while Medea completed her task and vanished from the sacred grove.
• The Dragon followed the Golden Fleece’s aura and flew after the fleeing Argonauts.
• Jason and the Argonauts heard the Dragon approaching, and Meleager explained how the fleece revealed their location.
• The Dragon caught up with the Argonauts, fixed his gaze on Jason, and demanded that he hand over the Golden Fleece.

Jason and the Argonauts faced the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, but Jason tried to avoid a deadly battle by negotiating with her. After learning that she served Hecate and Mystra Academy rather than King Aeetes, he offered her greater benefits in exchange for letting them leave with the fleece.

• The dragon revealed that she could speak and threatened to kill the thieves unless they surrendered the Golden Fleece.
• Jason stepped forward and tried to negotiate, but the dragon dismissed his royal status and demanded the fleece.
• Jason argued that the dragon was not Aeetes's subordinate and reasoned that Mystra Academy and the Colchis royal family were separate powers.
• The dragon confirmed she served Hecate and Mystra Academy, and Jason offered her greater benefits if she let them leave with the Golden Fleece.

Jason tried to persuade the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece with promises of wealth and divine favor, but she rejected his offers and revealed that Hecate had once defeated the Olympian gods. The dragon remained unmoved by Jason’s appeals, leaving him to continue negotiating with her.

• Jason offered the dragon wealth and goods in exchange for the Golden Fleece, but she refused because mortal benefits meant nothing to her.
• Jason offered to seek divine artifacts and heavenly treasures for the dragon, but she said she needed something he could not provide.
• Jason claimed that Hera, Athena, Apollo, and Poseidon supported his quest, hoping the gods’ favor would persuade the dragon.
• The dragon grew angry at Jason’s mention of the Olympians and revealed that Hecate and her master had defeated the Twelve Olympians in a divine war.
• Jason reconsidered his approach and gently insisted he had meant only to offer the dragon and Hecate a benefit, but the dragon dismissed his appeal.

The dragon revealed that the gods of Olympus had sent Jason and the Argonauts to steal the Golden Fleece and drive a wedge between Hecate and Helios, leaving Jason to recognize that the heroes were pawns in a divine conflict. Negotiations failed, and the Argonauts began fighting the dragon, but their weapons barely scratched its scales.

• The dragon accused Jason and the Argonauts of serving the gods of Olympus in a scheme against Hecate and the Colchis Kingdom.
• Jason realized that the gods treated the Argonauts as expendable pawns and reconsidered the meaning of their voyage and their fallen companions.
• The dragon refused to surrender the Golden Fleece and lunged at Jason, but Telamon pulled him out of the way.
• Meleager and the Argonauts attacked the dragon while Atalanta's archers fired arrows, Orpheus sang a battle hymn, and Asclepius stayed ready to heal the wounded.
• Ye Ting and Circe stayed back and cast buffs as the Argonauts discovered that their weapons could barely scratch the dragon's scales.

The Argonauts fought the enormous dragon, struggling to adapt to her massive attacks while Asclepius treated their wounded. They learned to evade her more effectively and found a vulnerable patch beneath her abdomen, but their repeated strikes only angered her further.

• The dragon counterattacked the Argonauts with her claws, tail, wings, and jaws, overwhelming the heroes’ usual fighting techniques.
• Asclepius rescued and treated the injured heroes, while one demigod was bitten apart after tripping in the dragon’s path.
• The Argonauts learned to read the dragon’s movements, avoid her attacks, and approach her blind spot, reducing their injuries.
• The heroes discovered the dragon’s lower-abdominal scales were relatively soft and repeatedly attacked the same spot, provoking her rage.