Chapter Summaries

Odovish told Elufiel about his family, the fall of Italigis, and the losses he suffered in the war against the Holy See. After dinner, he took her on a nighttime tour of Gryphon City, where a young ranger watched them pass.

• Odovish recounted how betrayal and the Holy See's attack breached Falan, killing his parents and forcing the arcanists underground.
• Odovish explained that his mentor had imprisoned him after he committed cruel acts, and that his cousin Goliath and her husband had died fighting barbarians two years earlier.
• Elufiel learned that the Holy See had been involved in Goliath's death, then encouraged Odovish to think of himself as a hero rather than a failed supporting character.
• After dinner, Odovish showed Elufiel Gryphon City at night and explained that the Adventurer's Guild burned the alchemical fuel called Burning Dust despite the magic ban.
• Elufiel stroked a passing griffin and explored a lantern stall while Odovish followed her, and a young ranger named Eli watched them before his companions called him away.

Gwendolyn explained how Eugene, an Arcane caster, had saved her from a Drow night hunt years earlier and how they had stayed in contact. She admitted that she had fallen in love with him, while the Lionheart Guild faced the immediate problem of the badly wounded Eugene lying in their headquarters.

• Eli returned to the Lionheart Guild base with Nagg and Winnie and sensed something was wrong inside.
• Eli, Nagg, and Winnie heard Charles arguing with Gwendolyn about keeping an Arcane caster at the base.
• Nagg opened the room and found Eugene unconscious and badly wounded on Gwendolyn's bed.
• Gwendolyn told the guild members that Eugene had rescued her from a Drow night hunt during an escort mission near Raven Hill.
• Gwendolyn explained that she had visited Eugene over the years, learned his name recently, and fallen in love with him.

Gwendolyn explained how Eugene saved her from the curse in the Green Forest and asked Nagg to let her treat him, while Eli offered to seek help from a divine spellcaster outside the Holy See. The story then shifted to Elufiel waking at Odovish's home and meeting his nervous niece, Goliath.

• Gwendolyn told Nagg and the others that Eugene had protected her from infected beasts and had been gravely wounded by Wind Wolves.
• Nagg gave Gwendolyn three days to treat Eugene, and Eli offered to connect her with a divine spellcaster who was not from the Holy See.
• Elufiel woke to the sound of armor and weapons, and Odovish sent her back to change her nightclothes.
• Elufiel joined Odovish, Goliath, and a swordsman downstairs as Odovish warned Goliath against challenging Vampire Bats before advancing.

Elufiel watched Goliath recover from the Vampire Bat attack and learned why Odovish wanted her to become a swordsman rather than a mage. On their third day in Gryphon City, Elufiel asked Odovish to walk with her and see the city's famous buildings.

• Sharon treated Goliath's wounds while urging her to study music and etiquette, and Odovish introduced Elufiel to Goliath's instructor, Gabriel.
• Odovish explained that Goliath had chosen the swordsman's path because he wanted her to avoid the hatred and danger of the Arcane-Divine Conflict.
• Elufiel healed Goliath's wounds with a Healing Spell, alarming Gabriel, while Goliath questioned her about gods, priests, and healing magic.
• Elufiel asked Odovish to accompany her on a stroll through Gryphon City to see its famous buildings.

Eli and Gwendolyn searched Gryphon City for a high-grade antidote to save Eugene, but found only one overpriced bottle before encountering Elufiel. They brought her to the Lionheart Guild headquarters, where Odovish questioned whether the unconscious Arcane caster deserved her help.

• Eli and the others discussed the worsening condition of the poisoned Arcane caster, while Nagg urged Gwendolyn to leave the bedside and take a walk with Eli.
• Eli and Gwendolyn found a potion shop with the only high-grade antidote in Gryphon City, but the owner demanded 120 gold coins more than they expected.
• Eli recognized Elufiel when she entered the shop with Odovish, and Gwendolyn pleaded with her to save someone, offering even her life in return.
• Eli, Gwendolyn, Elufiel, and Odovish spoke in a private tavern room before Elufiel agreed to see the patient at the Lionheart Guild headquarters.
• Elufiel recognized the patient as an Arcane caster and asked whether the guild feared she might report them to the Holy See.
• Odovish challenged Eli's claim that the unconscious caster was kind, pointing out that the witnesses were all members of the guild.

Elufiel and Odovish worked together to dispel Eugene’s fatal curse, and Elufiel restored him before he could die. After the Lionheart Guild gathered downstairs to discuss payment, Odovish demanded Eugene and a promise from the group, producing an ancient magical parchment.

• Elufiel agreed to save Eugene, and Odovish confirmed that dispelling the long-lasting curse would cause his life force to drain.
• Odovish began dispelling the curse while Elufiel used Chakra: Blessing and the Holy Hymn to keep Eugene alive.
• Gwendolyn checked Eugene and saw that his complexion had improved; Elufiel told her he would wake soon and urged her to use a Healing Spell.
• Odovish asked the Lionheart Guild to discuss payment downstairs and demanded Eugene as payment along with a promise from everyone.
• Odovish placed the Shielding Crystal on the table and produced a weathered, magic-filled parchment.

Odovish secured the Lionheart Guild’s silence about the arcanists and took custody of Eugene, then revealed his connection to Lista’s Inner Ring. Eugene awakened and faced a contract for Gwendolyn, who had promised to pay any price.

• Odovish demanded that Nagg and the Lionheart Guild members sign a contract denying they had seen an arcanist during Frostmoon and placing Eugene in his custody.
• Nagg reluctantly agreed, and the guild members signed the contract before Odovish led Elufiel upstairs.
• Eli watched Odovish take Elufiel by the hand, and Charles told Eli that he had no chance with her.
• Odovish and Elufiel found Eugene awake with Gwendolyn, and Odovish asked Gwendolyn to leave them alone before explaining that the guild had signed a contract.
• Eugene recognized Odovish as someone from Lista’s Inner Ring and formally saluted him.
• Odovish presented Gwendolyn with another scroll, and Elufiel reminded Eugene that Gwendolyn had promised to pay any price.

After Odovish and Elufiel questioned Eugene about his curse, Eugene refused to trust them at first, but Odovish left a message that drew him toward their offer. Later, Elufiel grew restless during a quiet evening at Odovish’s home, and he teased her about her elegance.

• Gwendolyn left after Eugene’s contract with Odovish was sealed, and Odovish invited Eugene to explain himself to Elufiel.
• Eugene said he had come from near Raven Hill after his teacher died, then revealed that the Holy See had cursed him.
• Eugene questioned whether he could trust Odovish, who said he would take Elufiel to Everlook Canyon for the Circle Gathering and left without giving Eugene another chance to speak.
• Gwendolyn asked Eugene what he would do, and he picked up the Shielding Crystal, saying Odovish had left him a message and would expect him to come to them.
• That evening, Elufiel grew bored while Odovish read at home, and he teased her for no longer acting like an elegant lady.

Odovish, Elufiel, and Eugene agreed to travel together to Everlook Canyon, and Eugene revealed the history behind a ring connected to Spell Saint Darren. He explained that Darren had become a Lich after the Emerald City fell, but a Black Crystal drove him mad and his remaining spiritual power eventually dissipated.

• Odovish urged Elufiel to change into a more modest dress before their guest arrived, and she teased him before agreeing to wear Goliath's clothes.
• Eugene arrived and thanked Elufiel for saving him, then asked Odovish and Elufiel to travel with him to Everlook Canyon; Odovish agreed.
• Eugene produced a rose-shaped ring and explained that his teacher had been Spell Saint Darren's youngest disciple.
• Eugene said Darren became a Lich after the Holy See destroyed Emerald City, and that his teacher used a trace of Darren's power on the ring to make a simple Phylactery.
• Eugene explained that a strange Black Crystal drove Darren into madness, and that Darren's damaged soul and Lich body eventually perished while his teacher preserved the clues in the ring and fled the Holy See.

Odovish learned that Eugene was being hunted by the Holy See after his teacher sacrificed himself, and the group prepared to leave early. They traveled toward the Eastern Plains, where Odovish and Eugene opened a portal while Elufiel watched.

• Eugene told Odovish that three Holy See archbishops had attacked his teacher, who shattered his Soul Core to help Eugene escape.
• Odovish identified the attackers’ iris-shaped Saint Insignias as marks of the Inquisition’s Judgement Tribunal and said they likely answered to the Pope.
• Eugene chose not to say goodbye to Gwendolyn, while Elufiel and Odovish said goodbye to Goliath.
• Odovish explained to Elufiel that Voidlings, once used to draw portal arrays, had become rare since Alchemy City fell.
• Odovish and Eugene chanted over the completed array, opening a square-shaped portal as Elufiel watched.

Elufiel, Eugene, and Odovish entered a lavish house hidden within a ruined relay station, which Odovish had created with spatial magic. When they discovered the house lacked dinnerware, Elufiel asked Odovish to make wooden bowls, and he returned with a stack.

• Odovish invited Elufiel through the door and explained that the teleportation circle would leave no traces.
• Elufiel inspected the house and realized its luxurious interior existed in a separate space behind the broken exterior.
• Eugene recognized the house as an extravagant spatial creation, while Odovish reflected on the mysteries of the Divine Ruins and his isolation among Arcane practitioners.
• Elufiel found that the kitchen and dining room had no plates and asked Odovish to make wooden containers for their meal.
• Odovish went outside and returned with a stack of small wooden bowls, which Elufiel examined.

Odovish took Elufiel into the forest to investigate the strange visitor, and they raced toward a marsh on the way. Elufiel recognized bloodthistle growing beside the path, leaving them to discover what else awaited in the woods.

• A huge, lifeless-looking creature knocked at the window, and Odovish invited Elufiel to see it outside.
• Eugene recognized the visitor as an Earth Bear puppet and realized the council’s power was greater than he had thought.
• Odovish opened a path through the forest and told Elufiel about a marsh surrounded by year-round pink irises.
• Elufiel summoned her Spectral Tiger and raced Odovish toward the marsh, with the two repeatedly overtaking each other.
• Elufiel caught the scent of bloodthistle and spotted the familiar red-flowered plants along the road.

Odovish rescued Elufiel from her magic addiction by letting her drink his blood, but she fell asleep after taking in too much magic. At a stream, they encountered Fendli, an alchemist who emerged from the shadow of his Earth Bear Golem.

• Elufiel recognized that the Bloodthistle and Felweed were dangerous, and Odovish realized the Felweed had likely triggered her magic addiction.
• Odovish climbed onto the Spectral Tiger with Elufiel and let her drink his blood to ease her symptoms.
• Elufiel drank until her magic addiction subsided, then fell asleep from the excess magic.
• Odovish guided the Spectral Tiger toward the sound of water and encountered an Earth Bear Golem.
• Fendli revealed himself and asked whether the Spectral Tiger was Odovish's new pet, and Odovish told him it belonged to Elufiel.

Fendli showed Odovish evidence that Holy See forces were traveling north, and Odovish suspected they were targeting the Council near Everlook Canyon. Elufiel woke beside the Spectral Tiger after receiving Odovish’s healing magic.

• Fendli asked Odovish who Elufiel was, and Odovish said she was his student.
• Fendli reported that Templar Knights and divine casters had headed north, and Odovish asked him to show where they had gone.
• Fendli used Shadowtrace Powder and a world map to reveal the Holy See’s route, but Odovish dismissed the Guiding Butterflies as useless in winter.
• Odovish noted that the troops could have passed through Moonglade and reached the area near Everlook Canyon, raising the possibility that the Holy See had found the Council.
• Elufiel woke and recalled the comfort of the gentle magic that had flowed through her body.

Elufiel learned more about Felweed and the mage’s mana potion before traveling with Odovish through the muddy countryside of Alanka Duchy. They headed toward Golden Apple Town, still puzzled by the complete absence of people.

• Elufiel called for Odovish and explored the area around the cabin, then Odovish appeared beside her and asked how she felt.
• Odovish explained that Felweed could cause addiction and that Glimmering Herbage and processing reduced its side effects in potions.
• Odovish offered Elufiel a Lesser Mana Potion, and Fendli was astonished that she could drink such an expensive item casually.
• Elufiel and Odovish trudged through muddy fields toward Golden Apple Town and wondered why they had encountered no one.
• Elufiel complained about the wet road and Odovish teased her, prompting her to remark that his mage habits and sense of humor were returning.

Odovish, Elufiel, and Eugene arrived in Aikalan and learned that the Holy See’s archbishop would soon preach there. They stayed at Old Pan’s Inn, where they heard the archbishop was arriving two days earlier than expected, leaving Eugene concerned that the Holy See might have discovered something.

• Eugene reflected on Gwendolyn’s choice to leave the Holy See’s teachings for him and hoped Odovish’s plans would not lead to another tragedy like Darren and Susan’s or the fall of Emerald City.
• Odovish, Elufiel, and Eugene reached Aikalan and found the town preparing for an archbishop’s visit to preach.
• Old Pan invited the three to attend the preaching and offered a free roasted apple pie with a night’s stay, so they took rooms at his inn.
• Eugene worried the Holy See might have learned of their plans, but Odovish decided they should stay and see which cardinal had come.
• Old Pan told Odovish and Eugene that the archbishop would arrive the morning after tomorrow, two days earlier than expected, and townspeople speculated that it might be Archbishop Humphrey.

Odovish brought Elufiel and Eugene to Archbishop Terrence’s sermon in Golden Apple Town, where the crowd gathered for the divine prayer afterward. Odovish spotted crystal spheres set up to detect Arcane casters, suggesting the Holy See’s visit posed a danger to them.

• Terrence’s arrival drew a festival-sized crowd to Golden Apple Town, with Templar soldiers and troops from the Alanka Duchy managing the gathering.
• Elufiel complained about being dragged to the sermon, while Odovish explained that she had wanted to learn about divine casters and the conflict between casting systems.
• The crowd pressed forward as Terrence began his sermon, and Odovish steadied Elufiel.
• Odovish noticed transparent crystal spheres beside Terrence and warned Elufiel that they could detect Arcane casters by their magical fluctuations.

Odovish and Elufiel watched Terrence’s public blessing while Odovish concealed them from the Holy See’s crystal ball, then Odovish sent Eugene away and remained behind with an undisclosed plan. Elufiel wandered through the crowded market, buying trinkets and snacks as Eugene followed her.

• Odovish used an isolation barrier to hide himself and Elufiel from the crystal ball while Terrence inspected the crowd.
• Terrence approved the crystal ball’s display, led the blessing, and left town with an escort of temple knights.
• Elufiel asked Odovish about his plans, and he promised to return for lunch with roasted potatoes and lamb chops.
• Odovish told Eugene to return alone and watch for members of the Judgement Tribunal without exposing himself.
• Elufiel shopped through the packed streets, filling her arms with souvenirs and treats while Eugene followed.

Eugene spotted Judgement Tribunal members searching for him in Golden Apple Town, so Elufiel used a magical trinket to disguise him as an elf. Their story convinced the Tribunal to let them go, though the search for Eugene remained unresolved.

• Eugene saw a Judgement Tribunal poster with his likeness and realized the Tribunal was hunting for him.
• Elufiel gave Eugene a purple sphere that temporarily transformed him into an elf.
• When Tribunal members ordered Eugene to remove his hood, Elufiel revealed his pointed ears and claimed he was her elf friend.
• Elufiel invented a story about her upbringing and demonstrated her Holy Light magic to explain their presence.
• The Tribunal members hesitated to detain the pair without a reason and let them leave.

Eugene asked Elufiel about the Sin'dorei Orb’s disguise before Odovish followed Terrence’s party to an ancient Nature Temple now held by the Holy See. Odovish secretly entered the temple and activated a hidden mechanism that revealed a blurry image and faint voices.

• Elufiel told Eugene his transformed appearance would last about ten more minutes, then sent him out of her room.
• Odovish used Yano to track Terrence’s carriage as it left the city and entered a secluded forest.
• Terrence led clerics and Paladins into an ancient Nature Temple, and Odovish used Blink to enter the temple unseen.
• Odovish discovered a concealed passage by turning a book on a dusty bookshelf and descended into the temple’s hidden chambers.
• Odovish pressed the eye-shaped rune on a wall, causing a blue light to reveal a blurry image and faint voices.