Chapter Summaries

A staged sky miracle converted many Maya tribespeople to the Main God as the Maya clans divided into rival Mayapan and Xiu camps, leaving the jungle war at a stalemate. Black Wolf longed to leave the Maya front for the fight against the White-Skinned Demons, while Ah Ding began another attempt to salvage an 8-pounder Cannon off Haiti.

• Bertad and the Main God priests used a Hot Air Balloon's blood-red eye to stage a divine apparition that terrified thousands and sparked conversions among the Maya tribes.
• Black Wolf learned that the Corn Clan had joined the Xiu side and the Reed Sea Clan had backed Mayapan, confirming the split between the coastal and inland camps.
• Black Wolf reflected on the growing Maya conflict and wished he could cut through the jungle, but decided to keep consolidating the Kingdom's loyal tribes.
• Black Wolf gave Ox-Wolf a demon Scimitar and dagger, then declared that he wanted to cross the sea and fight the White-Skinned Demons.
• Ah Ding directed the ninth attempt to salvage an 8-pounder Cannon as divers lowered an ironwood bell into the sea off Haiti.

Red-haired Chabo led a painstaking salvage operation to recover an 8-pounder Cannon from the seabed using a Diving Bell and twelve ropes. The cannon was hauled ashore at the Marien Great Tribe, where Chabo proudly claimed the achievement.

• Chabo directed Pearl Divers working in shifts to tie ropes around the submerged Cannon and a long timber.
• Ah Ding kept track of the divers’ time underwater while Chabo ordered the Diving Bell hauled up and replenished between dives.
• After a day and a half of work, the Sailors tightened all twelve ropes and dragged the Cannon up from the seabed behind the ship.
• Ah Ding celebrated with the crew, relieved that the salvage had succeeded and his life was safe.
• Chabo sailed east to the tribal harbor, where strong tribesmen hauled the Cannon onto the beach and cheered.

Xiu Maoying witnessed the power of the 8-pounder cannon and praised Ah Ding for his inventions, then asked him to predict the next European expeditions. Ah Ding warned that Portugal would send a limited fleet soon, while Castile would send a much larger force, leaving Xiu Maoying bracing for an even greater war next year.

• The cannon smashed a Guaiacum Tree, and Taino Militia and Kingdom Warriors marveled at its power while tribesmen collected the medicinal resin.
• Xiu Maoying appointed Old Sea Turtle to lead a diving team, recognized Chabo for salvaging the cannon, and rewarded Ah Ding for designing the diving bell and rope pulley.
• Ah Ding recalled how prophecy, rituals, and the Temple had transformed him from the Catholic scholar Martin into a priest apprentice devoted to the kingdom’s god.
• Xiu Maoying asked Ah Ding to teach apprentices, and Ah Ding agreed to teach children and select the cleverest as attendants.
• Ah Ding predicted that Portugal’s second fleet would arrive in autumn with limited numbers, while Castile would send a much larger force this autumn or next autumn.
• Ah Ding explained that Castile would send its unemployed Crusaders and mercenaries overseas to plunder, and Xiu Maoying concluded that next year’s war would be larger.

Captain Bruno returned to Sierra Leone Port after leading a battered ship and its surviving crew across the newly explored jungle continent and back to West Africa. He celebrated the voyage’s discovery of a vast New Continent close to the African coast, then went to report to the harbor’s mayor.

• Bruno and the surviving sailors reached Sierra Leone Port and rejoiced at returning safely to Portuguese territory.
• The crew’s voyage had begun with two ships and fifty men, but attacks near Haiti left only one ship and eight survivors.
• Bruno recruited six Taino sailors at Puerto Rico, repaired the damaged ship for two months at a river mouth, and continued east along the South American coast.
• The crew reached the continent’s easternmost cape, named it Cape São Roque, and raised a wooden pillar claiming the land for Portugal.
• After a difficult month-long voyage northeast, Bruno estimated that the new continent lay only three or four thousand kilometers from West Africa.
• Portuguese boats escorted the exploration ship into port, where Bruno offered the crew two days of celebration and went to meet the mayor.

Bruno returned to Sierra Leone and told Miguel de Sintra about the New Continent, its vast coastline, and the dangers his expedition had faced. Miguel and Bruno discussed the riches and colonial opportunities it offered, while Bruno concealed his gold and pearls and described the Cipangu Natives’ ambush and prophecy.

• Bruno reunited with Miguel in Sierra Leone and said Knight Silveira had died during the voyage.
• Bruno convinced Miguel that he had discovered a New Continent with a Great River and five thousand kilometers of coastline.
• Miguel and Bruno discussed the costs of developing the tropical land and the prospect of forcing local tribes to work on plantations.
• When Miguel asked about gold, Bruno hid the gold and pearls he had acquired through trade and claimed he had obtained none.
• Bruno told Miguel that Cipangu Natives had ambushed his fleet with Caravels and killed Silveira and the crew of another ship.
• Bruno said the Natives had foretold the arrival of white-skinned, bearded Demons and planned a holy war, alarming Miguel.

Bruno visited the Sierra Leone colony, where Anger offered him ivory gifts and proposed a Portuguese attack on a wealthy Mali town. Bruno studied the colony’s fortified defenses and Anger tried to win him over, while Anger privately recognized Bruno’s growing importance after his return from exploring the Atlantic.

• Miguel promised Bruno ivory wares for Steward Nuno and himself, hoping to maintain the Sintra Family’s ties with the Portuguese court and navy.
• Anger proposed using Portuguese ships and colonial troops to seize a wealthy Mali town upstream along the Rokel River, and Bruno reacted greedily to the promised riches.
• Anger explained that mixed-blood soldiers and local tribal levies could expand Sierra Leone’s small garrison into an army of a thousand.
• Bruno examined Sierra Leone’s fortress-like buildings and defenses, considering how to establish future colonial strongholds.
• Anger offered Bruno five mixed-blood girls and left him in the reception hall, then privately decided Bruno was worth cultivating because he had returned with news of the New Continent.

Bruno returned to the Sierra Leone Port colony and learned that Guide Rat and other captured Sailors had fallen ill, with two dead. Haroldo feared punishment over Martin’s disappearance, so Bruno agreed to leave him behind under a new identity until the next voyage.

• Bruno entered the tavern and found quartermaster Martim with a pearl stolen from Guide Rat.
• Haroldo told Bruno that Guide Rat and the other captured Sailors had fallen sick, two had died, and Ivo was caring for Guide Rat with help from a local Shaman.
• Bruno ordered Haroldo to gather the crew and recruit forced-labor Sailors, then heard Haroldo ask to stay behind because he feared Governor of Azores would punish him over Martin’s disappearance.
• Bruno agreed to report Haroldo dead and take him aboard on a future voyage under a changed identity.
• Haroldo said that boatswain Haroldo would die that day and that he would return as Ado, Bruno’s loyal cook and follower.

Bruno Cao returned to Portugal with a chart and news of a vast New Continent southwest of Sierra Leone, which he claimed was unclaimed and belonged to Portugal. King John II reacted with astonishment and seized the chart.

• Bruno Cao sailed north from Sierra Leone, stopping at Portuguese ports along the West African route and receiving two ships as an escort at Cape Verde.
• At Madeira, Bruno learned that France was preparing to invade Italy and noticed an Azores ship entering the harbor, so he hurried onward to Lisbon.
• Bruno arrived in Lisbon and was summoned immediately to Pena Palace to report to King John II.
• Bruno presented his Atlantic chart and an eastern document, reporting that he had reached Cipangu and obtained the scroll after a native fleet attacked his expedition and Silveira died.
• Bruno told King John II that he had discovered a vast New Continent with a great river and no powerful native kingdom, and claimed it as ownerless Portuguese land.
• King John II rose in shock and grabbed Bruno's chart after hearing of the New Continent.

Bruno reported his exploration to King John II and Steward Nuno, emphasizing the hostile natives around Cipangu and the wealth and vulnerability of the newly discovered continent. Hoping to earn authority to lead another expedition, he waited anxiously for Steward Nuno’s response and prepared to visit him after dark.

• Bruno showed King John II and his advisers the chart and described the dangers around Cipangu, including the ambushes, hostile native forces, and deaths among his crew.
• Bruno recounted his discovery of a vast, fertile New Continent with a long coastline and great rivers, claiming its native settlements would be easy for Portugal to conquer.
• King John II and Steward Nuno questioned Bruno about the New Continent, then dismissed him after his two-day report.
• Bruno ignored an invitation from the Venetian merchant Eleazar and ordered his servant to watch for Steward Nuno’s carriage.
• After hearing that Steward Nuno had returned, Bruno gathered ivory and pearls, then decided to travel to Nuno’s residence after dark.

Steward Nuno arranged for Bruno to lead Portugal’s second Atlantic exploration instead of risking the India route around the Cape of Good Hope. He offered Bruno a contract tying him to the Nuno family’s investment, and Bruno agreed after discovering that he had been elevated to baron.

• Steward Nuno told Bruno that the king planned to send him on an India expedition across the Cape of Good Hope.
• Bruno pleaded to lead an Atlantic expedition instead, citing his experience with the New Continent and Cipangu.
• Steward Nuno revealed that Bruno would command five ships on a second Atlantic exploration, departing in a month and a half.
• Steward Nuno asked Bruno to sign a contract granting the Nuno family thirty percent of his seafaring enterprise’s future returns in exchange for five thousand gold ducats.
• Bruno saw that the contract named Count Nuno and Baron Bruno, then eagerly agreed to sign.

Bruno learned how Chief Steward Nuno had secured his barony and command of a much larger colonial expedition, while Nuno concealed the king’s sudden illness and credited the decision to events in Europe. The chapter ended with Nuno revealing that King Charles VIII had invaded the Alps with forty thousand soldiers, threatening northern Italy.

• After signing a contract for five thousand Ducats, Bruno and Chief Steward Nuno became godfather and godson.
• Chief Steward Nuno explained that Bruno’s discovery of the New Continent had let him overcome the barriers of noble birth and win a hereditary barony.
• Chief Steward Nuno told Bruno that King John II had approved a five-ship, two-hundred-person colonial fleet under Bruno’s command, with Bruno choosing where to establish its first stronghold.
• Chief Steward Nuno concealed King John II’s renewed illness and claimed that a European crisis had persuaded the king to promote Bruno rather than appoint senior naval officers.
• Chief Steward Nuno revealed that King Charles VIII had marched into the Alps with forty thousand soldiers and could invade Lombardy.

Steward Nuno revealed to Bruno that Portugal planned to seize a wealthy Venetian Jewish merchant’s property and enlisted Bruno to lead the operation. He also gave Bruno political instructions for his next voyage, while hinting that two people were trapped in a dangerous web of intrigue.

• Nuno told Bruno that the king and court planned to confiscate the Jewish merchant’s wealth, and assured Bruno his own private trading would be protected.
• Nuno said he had suppressed the Azores governor’s complaint about Martin’s death and questioned Bruno about Boatswain Haroldo, whom Bruno claimed had died at sea.
• Nuno told Bruno his promotion to baron would happen in twenty days and ordered him to lead the seizure of the merchant’s property, with the proceeds divided among the Church, court, and king.
• Nuno instructed Bruno to establish a foothold in the New Continent, release Columbus to Castile, and watch the Castilians’ progress, potentially supplying them weapons or revealing their location to Cipangu.
• Nuno pointed out two people caught in a web of danger, calling one an oblivious moth and the other a moth flying into a flame.

Columbus received a lavish meal in prison and learned that Eleazar had arranged it and forgiven interest on his debt. He convinced himself that the Queen had arranged his imminent release and that he would soon command another fleet to Cipangu.

• The jailer brought Columbus roasted meat, white bread, milk, and wine, and Columbus feared the meal was his last before execution.
• The jailer told Columbus that a great merchant had provided the food and that he would be released in a week.
• The jailer relayed Eleazar’s message that Columbus’s debt would remain at 2,000 gold coins without further interest or pressure for repayment.
• Columbus realized Eleazar had arranged the meal but guessed that the Queen had sent an envoy to secure his release.
• Columbus shouted that he would return to freedom, lead Castile’s navy, and conquer Cipangu.

After his release from a Portuguese prison, Columbus sought help from Eleazar and publicly begged for supplies by promising riches along his route to the East. Bruno followed them to the harbor, where Columbus’s loud appeal drew a crowd and exposed his presence to the Portuguese.

• Eleazar met Columbus at the prison gate and revealed that no Castilian envoy had come to collect him.
• Columbus reluctantly accepted Eleazar’s help after Eleazar reminded him of the two thousand gold Ducats he owed.
• Bruno and Portuguese naval guards followed Columbus and Eleazar toward the harbor, intending to arrest the Jewish merchant.
• Columbus climbed onto harbor goods and told the crowd he had reached India and Cipangu by sailing west, asking for mounts and supplies in exchange for the route.
• De La Cosa reminded Columbus to ask for food, clothes, and money, and Columbus added them to his public appeal.

Bruno drove Columbus out of Lisbon, while Columbus turned his release into a tale of Portuguese persecution and won an audience with the Castilian monarchs. Queen Isabella and King Fernando approved another voyage, authorizing Columbus to set sail again.

• Bruno received the steward's order to give Columbus mounts and drive him out, then cleared the harbor and sent Columbus away with donkeys and mules.
• Columbus fled east with De La Cosa, proclaimed that the Portuguese had persecuted him, and gained a thirty-man Castilian cavalry escort.
• Columbus reached the Alhambra and persuaded Queen Isabella and King Fernando that his new route promised great riches and conquests.
• Bruno visited Eleazar with armed soldiers and Inquisition officers as Columbus addressed the monarchs and received approval to sail again.

As the southern campaign strained the Alliance’s grain supplies and manpower, Sintel secretly met with Izel and revealed that hidden figures within the Divine King’s Secret Guard had arranged contact with them. The two chiefs realized they were being recruited as blades against an unnamed target, and the chapter ended with their conspiracy taking shape.

• Izel lamented the campaign’s enormous grain and labor costs as Sintel secretly entered his tent.
• Sintel told Izel that the Divine King’s interference had weakened his command and that Zapotec ambushes had wounded him.
• Sintel asked about Izel’s recent meeting with acquaintances from the Southern Two States and revealed that the meeting had been secretly arranged.
• Sintel claimed that Secret Guard insiders were passing messages to him, though their allies intended to use the chiefs as tools.
• Izel and Sintel reasoned that powerful figures with ties to the Lake Capital and Royal Warriors were behind the plot, then wondered whom they meant to target.

Mountain Clan Chief Izel and Reed Clan Chief Sintel discussed a conspiracy by resentful nobles to assassinate the Divine King and the Prophet during the southern campaign. Sintel pressed Izel to join the plot, arguing this was their only chance to kill both leaders at once.

• Izel and Sintel weighed whether to become tools in a plot against the Divine King, with Sintel insisting their vengeance knives would be compelled to act.
• Sintel revealed that Spruce Clan Chief Xochicalo had joined their faction after losing territory, subjects, and resources to the Divine King's policies.
• Sintel named Flower Tree Clan Chief Xochicua and Coiled Python Chieftain Moyahualo as nobles likely to join an uprising, though they had not formally committed.
• Izel challenged Sintel over the faction's limited strength and asked whether Sintel was hiding other plans.
• Sintel disclosed that envoys from Axayacatl's royal line had contacted him and explained that multiple factions wanted the Divine King and Prophet removed.
• Sintel urged Izel to seize the southern campaign as their sole opportunity to assassinate both leaders while they remained together.

Sintel and Izel discussed the threatened decline of their noble houses and assessed the Alliance’s military factions while plotting against the Divine King. They decided they could only act after the Divine King’s forces were further divided by conflicts with Axayacatl’s faction, the High Priest Council, and the great nobles.

• Sintel raged that the Divine King’s centralization reforms were stripping the Reed clan of its taxes, armies, and lands, while Izel urged him to stay calm and avoid a reckless move.
• Izel counted the Alliance’s military forces as Cacao beans and explained that the nobles had too few troops to challenge the Divine King unless an assassination succeeded.
• Izel warned Sintel that they must not bear responsibility for the assassination and should first draw Axayacatl’s faction or the temple elders into the conspiracy.
• Izel identified the Divine King’s desire to conquer as his weakness and outlined growing conflicts over campaign logistics, conquered territory, and religious authority.
• Izel concluded that Sintel and their allies should wait until these conflicts scattered the Divine King’s forces before striking.

Sintel and Izel planned to wait for the Divine King’s southern campaign against the Zapotec to stretch his forces and supply lines, creating an opportunity to assassinate him or the Prophet. They agreed to draw Axayacatl’s faction and the High Priest Council into the plot, then Sintel revealed that a trusted Priest Elder was involved.

• Izel argued that conquering the Mixtec would lead the Divine King to invade the Zapotec, stretching his supply lines and intensifying political conflicts.
• Sintel and Izel reasoned that garrisons, divided armies, and grain-route disruptions would leave the Divine King increasingly vulnerable deep in Zapotec territory.
• They agreed to wait for the Divine King’s forces to weaken, encourage Axayacatl’s faction to act, and use rumors to provoke the High Priest Council.
• Izel asked Sintel whether he knew which Priest Elders were involved, and Sintel named one whom Izel recognized from his past connections.
• Sintel and Izel agreed to proceed cautiously and keep waiting rather than enter the conflict first.

Divine King Avet weighed Yodzocahi’s surrender terms against the immense cost of continuing the Southern Campaign. He accepted the possibility of sparing the city’s God-descendants, but assigned Xolotl to negotiate a fief for them on the Northern Continent, leaving Avet resolved to pursue further conquests.

• Shadow Dagger told Avet that Yodzocahi’s God-descendants would surrender the city if their lives and property were protected and they received a hereditary fief, with an Alliance dignitary swearing an oath to guarantee the terms.
• Avet considered the city’s food stores and the crushing logistics burden of besieging Yodzocahi, concluding that a two-year siege would force the Alliance to halt its southern advance.
• Avet decided that splitting the conquest into separate campaigns would undermine his ambitions to conquer the Mixtec and Zapotec lands in one push.
• Avet marked a proposed fief north of the Lerma River on a map of the Northern Continent and accepted Yodzocahi’s conditions on the basis that the fief could not be in the Cloud Land or plateau world.
• Avet ordered Shadow Dagger to deliver the terms and map to Xolotl, who would lead the negotiations, and told him to use a divine prophecy to make the surrender acceptable.
• Avet gazed south and declared his ambition to live for fifty more years and conquer the vast lands of the world.