Chapter Summaries

Grak the Gnoll spotted Garos hovering over Weeping Cliff and fainted from fear as Garos’s Dragon Might overwhelmed the Red-Eye Clan. Bloodfang emerged to greet the dragon respectfully, while secretly assessing his strength and considering what to do.

• Grak kept watch over Weeping Cliff in the rain, wary of the punishments Bloodfang and Rotclaw inflicted on disobedient Gnolls.
• Garos appeared above the clan’s territory and released Dragon Might, frightening the Gnolls and causing Grak to faint.
• The Red-Eye Clan’s Gnolls gathered outside the caves, armed but hesitant to attack Garos.
• Bloodfang approached Garos and asked why he had come to Weeping Cliff, while secretly sizing him up.

Garos faced the Red-Eye Clan’s warlord and a powerful priest devoted to Yeenoghu, whose allegiance to a Deity made him wary. After refusing to land when Bloodfang Warlord invited him down, Garos soared into the sky and began a thunderous dive toward the Gnolls.

• Priest Rotclaw arrived with two Gnoll Guards created through Yeenoghu’s blessing, and Garos recognized the danger of provoking a high-faith priest.
• Garos noticed the hostility between Priest Rotclaw and Bloodfang Warlord and considered how to use their rivalry.
• Garos demanded the Red-Eye Clan’s allegiance, and Bloodfang Warlord and the Gnolls knelt while Priest Rotclaw refused to kneel before anyone but Yeenoghu.
• Bloodfang Warlord invited Garos to land, intending to trap him with the clan’s warriors, but Garos flew upward instead.
• Garos dived through the rain with blazing wings and thunderous force as the Gnolls watched his approach.

Garos landed among the Red-Eye Clan and won the Gnolls’ loyalty by displaying his power. He demanded that the clan abandon its deity and ordered Hodge to prove his allegiance by killing Rotclaw, leaving the warriors attacking the priest.

• Garos crashed into Weeping Cliff, knocking out more than a dozen Gnolls and frightening the Bloodfang Warlord into pledging the Red-Eye Clan’s service.
• Garos asked Hodge whether the Gnolls truly believed in deities, and Hodge admitted that the clan’s faith was conditional and pledged its loyalty to Garos instead.
• Rotclaw rebuked Hodge and insisted that the Red-Eye Clan could not abandon its faith, but Garos declared that no deity’s believers would serve under him.
• Garos ordered Hodge to kill Rotclaw to prove his valor and loyalty, and Hodge rallied the Gnoll warriors with Hunt Pack Command.
• The Gnoll warriors attacked Rotclaw while Hodge stayed behind them, explaining that his strength lay in commanding the warriors.

Garos watched the Bloodfang Warlord's gnolls kill the Rotclaw priest, then destroyed the priest's regenerating Gnoll Guards after they submitted to him. The Bloodfang Warlord admired Garos's ruthless strength, and Garos remained wary of the power granted by divine rituals.

• The Rotclaw priest cursed the charging gnolls, but the Gnoll Guards protected it until Garos's explosive scales blasted them apart and the gnolls killed the priest.
• The Gnoll Guards regenerated and charged Garos, so the Bloodfang Warlord ordered them to submit to the Dragon Lord.
• Garos learned that the Guards would obey the Bloodfang Warlord and decided they were too dangerous to spare.
• Garos crushed the kneeling Gnoll Guards, then burned their regenerating remains to ash with his Flame Dragon Breath.
• The Bloodfang Warlord admired Garos's display of dominance, while Garos considered the extraordinary vitality of creatures empowered by a Deity.

Garos declined to transform the Red-Eye Clan's leaders into Dragon-Vein Kin for now, instead promising Hodge a chance to earn the honor through service. As he set his clans to raid caravans and gather resources, Dragon Sleep came early, forcing him to abandon plans to subdue more clans and return to Conifer Valley to prepare for evolution during his slumber.

• Garos decided that the Bloodfang Warlord and the other nearby clans lacked the potential to justify Dragon Vein Conversion, but told Hodge that a clan leader who performed best could earn the opportunity.
• Garos ordered the Red-Eye Clan to coordinate its raids with the Howling Moon Clan and instructed both to gather resources and control merchants while he was away.
• Garos left Weeping Cliff without telling the clan leaders when or where he would return, explaining that their performance would determine their rewards or punishments.
• On the way to subdue the Rending Claw Clan and the Jawbone Clan, Garos felt the signs of Dragon Sleep and realized it had come years earlier than expected.
• Garos returned toward Conifer Valley, planning to use his Dragon Sleep to evolve wings capable of jet-like acceleration.

Garos prepared to enter Dragon Sleep for at least five years and chose the hostile Steam Rift as a secluded place to evolve. He fell asleep after poisoning and injuring his wings, leaving his allies to guard Conifer Valley while he awaited his next awakening.

• Garos told the Dire Bears, Red Dragons, and Fairy Dragons that he would enter Dragon Sleep and ordered them to guard Conifer Valley.
• Garos warned Samantha and Vera to stay safe, improve their skills, and collect Fairy Scale Powder while he slept.
• Garos retrieved the Cliff Serpent Dragon's venomous heart and flew to the Steam Rift, a harsh place he had selected in advance.
• Garos smeared poisonous blood over his wings and endured the scalding steam as it aggravated his wounds.
• Garos entered Dragon Sleep in a hidden rock crevice, while the rift fell quiet around him.

After losing their leaders in the war against the Blue Dragon Clan, a group of Stone Giants traveled through the Wilderness in search of a new home. Meanwhile, Karu Jawbone killed his father during the Jawbone Clan’s Divine Banquet, awakened the Gluttony Talent, and became chieftain, then led the Ogres out to hunt.

• Eleven Stone Giants from the Stoneheart Clan pressed through the rain as their elder led them toward safer territory.
• The Jawbone Clan held a Divine Banquet to choose a successor, and Ugo Jawbone, Karu Jawbone, and their old chieftain outlasted the other contestants.
• After the clan ran out of food, Ugo claimed victory, but Karu killed the old chieftain and ordered his body served to him and Ugo.
• Karu continued eating after Ugo collapsed, awakened the Gluttony Talent, and was recognized as a Glutton Demon destined to lead the clan.
• Ugo accepted defeat, Karu declared himself the new chieftain, and he led the hungry Ogres out to hunt nearby beasts and monster clans.

After six years of Dragon Sleep, Garos emerged from the Steam Rift with a dramatic wing-focused evolution and hunted down a Gale Giant Eagle. Having examined his new abilities and recovered from his hunger, he set off to see how Conifer Valley, Crescent Moon Valley, and Weeping Cliff had changed.

• A Gale Giant Eagle flew into the Steam Rift and challenged its dangerous steam columns for fun.
• Garos erupted from the rift, chased down the eagle, and killed it with his newly evolved wings.
• Garos named his wings Celestial Comet Wings and noted that their powerful bursts consumed too much Magic Energy.
• Garos examined his growth to Life Level 9, his changed body, and his newly awakened Flame Claws and Hardened Body abilities.
• Garos hunted for a day to satisfy his post-evolution hunger, then flew toward Conifer Valley to see what had changed.

Samantha struggled to make Flame Orbs while guarding Conifer Valley from the growing threat of the Jawbone Clan during Garos’s long absence. Garos returned after six years, and Samantha and Vera welcomed him as he arrived with a fiercer appearance and a new skill.

• Samantha repeatedly failed to make Flame Orbs, then succeeded in creating her first one as she prepared to defend Conifer Valley from the Ogres.
• Garos returned to Conifer Valley at high speed using his new Jet Acceleration skill, and Samantha recognized him and flew out to greet him.
• Garos observed that Samantha had grown, while Samantha insisted she would not fall behind him.
• Vera rushed to greet Garos but stopped to remark that he looked fiercer than before.

After awakening from six years of Dragon Sleep, Garos learned that the Jawbone Clan had expanded into territory he considered his own. He ordered Conifer Valley's defenses strengthened and flew to investigate the Ogres himself.

• Garos returned to Conifer Valley and noticed that his fiercer appearance made him look increasingly like an Evil Dragon.
• Samantha explained how she had reinforced the valley with Fire Salamanders, Giant Fire Ants, and Flame Orbs.
• Vera and Samantha told Garos that the Jawbone Clan had grown rapidly and occupied the Thunderhorn Sheep Pasture near Conifer Valley.
• Garos suppressed his urge to attack immediately and ordered Samantha to strengthen the defenses and prepare the servants for an Ogre assault.
• Garos hunted to restore his strength, then flew toward the Jawbone Clan's territory to investigate.

Garos decided to test himself by attacking the powerful Jawbone Clan alone, hoping to claim its Glutton Demon chief, Karu, and the ogres as his core thralls. After luring the clan into expecting a direct landing, he unleashed a devastating aerial bombardment, leaving Karu and the clan’s warriors engulfed in explosions.

• Garos surveyed the Jawbone Clan and identified its chief, Karu, as a Glutton Demon who could become a powerful core thrall.
• Garos rejected his cautious plan to gather allies and decided to defeat the clan alone.
• Karu and the Jawbone Clan noticed Garos and eagerly prepared to fight and eat the dragon.
• Garos feigned retreat, then accelerated into a dive before veering away above the ground.
• Garos’s Explosive Scales rained down on the clan, engulfing Karu, the elite warriors, and the warlocks in blasts of flame.

Garos attacked the Jawbone Clan from the air to force the Ogres to submit, while Glutton Demon Kalu refused and led their defense. After seven waves of bombardment, the clan’s formation broke, its shamans collapsed, and Kalu was wounded and exhausted.

• Garos warned the Jawbone Clan to submit, but Kalu rejected him and declared that the clan would not bow to a weak Dragonkin.
• The Ogres and their two-headed shaman attacked Garos with weapons and spells, but he dodged their strikes and resisted the curse.
• Garos launched a second wave of Explosive Scales, which the Ogres repelled with a shield formation while Kalu swallowed the blasts.
• Garos continued his aerial bombardment, and the Ogres struggled to counterattack as their defenses weakened and their shamans exhausted their magic.
• By the seventh wave, the shield formation shattered, the shamans collapsed, and Kalu could no longer swallow or evade the blasts, leaving him wounded.

Garos devastated the Jawbone Clan with aerial bombardment, then accepted Kalu the Glutton Demon's challenge to fight at close range. Garos overwhelmed Kalu with his strength and close-combat attacks, leaving the demon pinned beneath his foot in a crater.

• Garos's seven rounds of bombardment crippled the Jawbone Clan, leaving only Kalu standing.
• Kalu taunted Garos to land and fight up close, and Garos agreed to prove the difference in their strength.
• Kalu fired a surprise projectile at Garos, but Garos evaded it and overpowered Kalu in their first clash.
• Garos threw Kalu across the battlefield and battered it with his head, wings, and tail as the other Ogres fled.
• Garos accelerated into a diving attack and stomped Kalu into the bottom of a massive crater.

Garos defeated Kalu and the Jawbone Clan, then secured their loyalty with threats and the promise of Dragon Vein Conversion. After learning how the Ogres’ raids had disrupted trade and scattered nearby clans, he ordered them to stop raiding and flew toward Crescent Moon Valley in search of Black Oil.

• Garos pinned Kalu down and offered death or submission, promising to reward loyal service with a Dragon Vein.
• Kalu offered Garos a piece of its own flesh, pledged loyalty as king of the Jawbone Clan, and watched the other Ogres kneel as well.
• Garos questioned Kalu and learned the Ogres had driven off or attacked the Lizardfolk, Gnolls, and Gray-maned Werewolves without occupying their territories.
• Garos realized the Ogres’ raids had reduced trade along the Scale-Earth Rift Road and might have drawn the attention of garrison troops.
• Garos ordered Kalu and the Jawbone Clan to stop raiding trade routes, then flew to Crescent Moon Valley to look for Black Oil.

As Mane Fire prepared to challenge Russell for leadership of the Howling Moon Clan, the old Shaman prophesied that the Dragon Lord would soon arrive and urged Russell to remain loyal. A thunderous sound approached, and Russell and the Shaman recognized it as a sign of the Dragon Lord’s return.

• Russell learned that the Jawbone Clan’s Ogres were still expanding and heard that Mane Fire had scratched away part of his record totem.
• Mane Fire told his followers he would challenge Russell at the next Full Moon Rite and become chieftain.
• Russell visited the aging Shaman, who said he had glimpsed the future and warned Russell never to waver in his loyalty to the Dragon Lord.
• A thunderous sound rolled toward the territory, and the Shaman asked Russell to help him up as they realized the Dragon Lord had arrived.

Garos returned to the Howling Moon Clan after six years and accepted Frost Fang’s oath to succeed the dying Shaman. He was then confronted by Mane Fire, who challenged Russell for the position of chief and claimed to be the strongest.

• Garos arrived at Crescent Moon Valley, where Russell and the Werewolves welcomed him after six years and four months away.
• The elderly Shaman introduced Frost Fang as his successor, and she swore that the Howling Moon Clan would serve Garos for generations.
• Garos reflected on the end of a dragon’s lifespan and his goal of attaining Immortal Life and becoming a Primeval Dragon.
• Mane Fire interrupted the gathering and challenged Russell’s position as chief, dismissing the tradition that challenges took place on a full moon.
• Mane Fire claimed that Garos would want to see who was truly strong, and Garos questioned his confidence.

Garos crushed Mane Fire’s challenge, secured the Howling Moon Clan’s submission, and learned how the clan had survived the past six years. After drinking a barrel of Black Oil, Garos erupted into even more powerful flames and shot into the sky.

• Garos challenged Mane Fire to wound him, then knocked him into a cliff and killed him when he attacked again as a Giant Wolf.
• The Werewolves prostrated themselves before Garos, who let Russell spare Mane Fire’s trusted followers and asked for news from the past six years.
• Russell explained that the Howling Moon Clan had evaded the Ogres, preserved its Black Oil, and stayed in contact with Nick through a Communication Stone.
• Garos revealed that the Jawbone Clan had already submitted to him, and Russell brought him a barrel of Black Oil.
• Garos gulped down the Black Oil, burst into fierce dark red flames, and rocketed into the sky.

After drinking Black Oil, Garos flew so fast that he lost control and crashed into a cliff, where he discovered a valuable Purple Copper Ore vein. He left Frost Fang and the Howling Moon Clan to mine and guard it, then flew back toward Crescent Moon Valley.

• Garos poured Black Oil's energy into his wings, lost control of his speed, and crashed into a cliff, injuring himself.
• Garos considered using Fairy Scale Powder to improve his reactions and turn the extreme speed into a future combat trump card.
• Garos found a Purple Copper Ore vein exposed by the crash and decided it could be traded for Black Oil once merchant routes reopened.
• Frost Fang rushed to check on Garos, and he claimed the crash had been a precise mining operation.
• Garos ordered Frost Fang to organize the Howling Moon Clan to mine the ore and guard the site before he flew back toward Crescent Moon Valley.

Garos strengthened his control over the wilderness clans, expanded plans to restore trade along the Scale-Earth Rift Road, and trained his resistance to lightning. The chapter ended with him hiding near the Jawbone Clan’s territory to observe a Stone Giant whose arrival he had ordered Kalu to investigate.

• Garos assigned Russell to mine Purple Copper Ore and reconnect with the Nick Caravan, then declined to accept Frost Fang’s offer of her first night.
• Garos brought the Red-Eye and Rending Claw Clans under his command and arranged for the four clans along the Scale-Earth Rift Road to raid caravans in an orderly way.
• Garos combined Black Oil training with Fairy Scale Powder and continued strengthening his own abilities.
• Garos let Ogre sorcerers strike him with Lightning Chains and sensed that his next evolution might involve lightning.
• An Ogre sentry reported a Stone Giant outside the Jawbone Clan’s territory, so Garos sent Kalu to investigate while he hid nearby.

Targon, a Stone Giant from the Stoneheart Clan, tried to recruit Kalu’s Jawbone Clan with promises of plentiful prey, while Kalu demanded concrete resources before pledging loyalty. Hidden nearby, Garos learned that more Giants might arrive and feared they would discover and kill him.

• Targon approached the Jawbone Clan camp and offered Kalu’s warriors abundant prey if they joined the Stoneheart Clan’s army.
• Kalu identified himself as king of the Jawbone Clan and demanded food, equipment, or other resources before considering loyalty.
• Kalu asked why Targon had left the rich western territory, and Targon claimed his clan planned to expand into new lands.
• Garos watched from the shadows and suspected that Targon’s clan might send more Giants to the region.
• Garos felt alarmed by the threat of the Giants but suppressed his instinctive hatred and desire to attack Targon.