Chapter Summaries

Odovish used the Eye of Omniscience to spy on Terrence and learned that the Holy See was preparing to locate the Council and had created two Corrupted Crystals. After leaving the temple, he returned to Golden Apple Town, where he found Elufiel and Eugene at the inn.

• Odovish watched Terrence discuss the search for the Council and order his forces to focus on finding its location.
• Terrence inspected two Corrupted Crystals and said they might be needed against the Council’s ninth-rank mages.
• Odovish learned that the Holy See remained concerned about the Temple of the Stars and left the temple after hearing enough.
• Odovish left a wind elemental to monitor Terrence and returned alone to Golden Apple Town.
• Odovish found Eugene answering Elufiel’s door and joked with Elufiel about arriving too late for lunch.

Elufiel and Odovish separated after he decided to handle personal matters, but Elufiel secretly used Mind Vision to follow him. Odovish reached Terrence’s group along the Feiyin River, while Elufiel searched for their location and Terrence’s group found a boat.

• Odovish told Elufiel to travel to Lake Inoma with Eugene while he dealt with personal matters, and Elufiel left, saying the Judgement Tribunal had already noticed them.
• Elufiel cast Mind Vision on Odovish as he left, then gave Eugene a sphere and told him to use it if he encountered the Judgement Tribunal before shutting the door on him.
• Odovish Blinked to Yano’s side as Terrence’s group traveled upstream along the Feiyin River.
• Elufiel watched through Mind Vision but could not identify the location, so she flew out on a windrider to search for Odovish.
• Terrence’s group stopped at a remote riverbank, where a Paladin found a small boat hidden in the reeds.

Elufiel joined Odovish in fighting Terrence and the Paladins beside the Feiyin River, making clear she had chosen to help the mage of her own accord. As Odovish prepared a powerful spell, Elufiel’s Holy Nova knocked down the charging Paladins.

• Odovish attacked Terrence’s group with wind and fire spells while the Paladins advanced under divine buffs.
• Elufiel flew to the riverbank, landed safely with the mage’s help, and shielded him before striking Terrence with Shadow Word: Pain.
• Terrence accused Elufiel of joining forces with the mage, but she said she simply wanted to help him.
• Terrence began chanting an offensive spell as the Paladins charged Odovish and Elufiel.
• Elufiel cast Prayer of Mending on Odovish and released Holy Nova, causing the nearest Paladins to fall in unison.

Odovish and Elufiel fought Terrence and the Paladins after Odovish unleashed a massive water spell, and they defeated Vincent while injuring Terrence. Odovish froze Terrence temporarily and examined a corpse by the river, warning Elufiel that the Holy See would soon send a rescue party or purge.

• Odovish summoned the river into a giant hand that crashed down on Terrence and his companions, badly injuring Vincent despite Terrence's healing.
• Elufiel restored Odovish's Arcane energy, and she and Odovish coordinated their attacks against Vincent and Terrence.
• Elufiel silenced Terrence, helping Odovish strike Vincent with Arcane Missiles and knock him down.
• Elufiel wounded Terrence with Penance and Shadow Word: Pain, but Odovish stopped her from finishing him and trapped him in an Ice Bind.
• Odovish examined a corpse by the river and told Elufiel that the Holy See would soon learn of the attack and send a rescue party or purge.

Odovish and Elufiel escaped with the captured Terrence and the black crystals, leaving the Holy See’s pursuit behind. As they flew over the Feiyin River on Elufiel’s Northwind Whelp, Odovish recalled the lost dragon traditions of Pandor and the legendary Dragon Valley.

• Odovish identified the petrified man as a living experimental subject corrupted by death energy and persuaded Elufiel to let him take Terrence alive.
• Odovish freed Terrence from the ice, bound him with wind chains, and found two black crystals in a mithril box.
• Odovish placed the petrified man in a spatial ring and had the wind elementals knock Terrence unconscious before they departed.
• Elufiel summoned her Northwind Whelp, and she and Odovish flew away over the Feiyin River.
• Odovish stroked the dragon, and Elufiel told him to stop flirting with her young male companion.
• Odovish remembered that dragons had become rare and that no one had found the legendary Fallen Star Lake or Dragon Valley.

Elufiel and Odovish fled across Lake Inoma aboard a crowded ferry pulled by aquatic beasts, with Odovish using wind magic to ease the stench. The boat’s violent rocking left Elufiel seasick as their journey across the lake began.

• Elufiel offered Odovish her other dragon mounts after mistaking his expression for loneliness, and he clarified that he had no intention of cutting up a dragon for alchemy.
• Odovish directed Elufiel to a mulberry grove near the dock, then explained that Lulus would pull their ferry across Lake Inoma.
• Elufiel complained that they had to flee in a hurry, but she and Odovish paid one silver coin and boarded the first departing boat to avoid being caught by the church.
• Odovish stood close to Elufiel and used a current of wind to give her fresh air inside the foul-smelling, packed cabin.
• The Lulus hauled the ferry across the lake at high speed, and Elufiel and Odovish climbed onto the swaying cabin’s makeshift upper level.
• Elufiel discovered that she suffered from seasickness and endured the rough crossing while longing for the gnomes’ airships.

Elufiel and Odovish traveled to Moonglade, where they met Eugene and used the Orb of Deception to pass the Holy See’s guards. They entered the forest after Odovish explained that the stationed Paladins were mostly ordinary knights, not true Paladins.

• Elufiel woke from a dream leaning against Odovish and felt embarrassed that she had slept on his shoulder.
• Elufiel and Odovish reached the northern shore of Lake Inoma, where Odovish explained the dangers posed by Moonglade’s magical beasts.
• A man dressed like a member of the Judgement Tribunal approached them, and Elufiel took the Orb of Deception from him.
• Eugene warned them that the area was unsafe because many Paladins were nearby and a routine patrol was approaching.
• Odovish arranged for an ordinary-looking carriage to enter Moonglade after its driver distracted the stationed Paladins with a boar leg.
• Odovish explained that the guards were mostly ordinary knights who had failed Paladin selection, rather than actual Paladins.

Odovish explained how Paladin armor revealed their tiers and warned Elufiel that her Saint-tier strength did not make the world safe. Elufiel recognized that she had grown complacent and resolved to regain her vigilance as the carriage continued toward Everlook Canyon.

• Odovish drew the armor patterns that distinguished lower-tier Paladins and explained the enchanted equipment and greater power of high-tier knights.
• Odovish told Elufiel that she was at least Saint tier by Kanado's standards but cautioned her about unknown powers, ruins, and dangers beyond the Holy See's conflict with Arcanists.
• Elufiel realized she had lost her caution and agreed that she needed to regain it.
• The carriage continued onward, and Elufiel discovered that their seemingly ordinary driver was a sixth-tier greatswordsman who killed magical beasts along the way.

Odovish brought Elufiel and Eugene through a spatial gate into Moonglade, where they arrived at the Lista Council’s inner city. After Eugene left to stay with the visiting mages, Odovish took Elufiel to his manor.

• Odovish explained that non-spellcasters helped connect Everlook Canyon to the outside world, and Arle said his forest guards traded with the Paladins stationed in Moonglade.
• Elufiel learned that members of the Holy See served for life and could not leave without committing apostasy.
• Odovish had Eugene help open a spatial gate at temple ruins, and Arle drove the carriage through it into Moonglade.
• Arle’s companions recognized Weston’s name when the group arrived, and Odovish appeared to hide his reaction.
• Odovish told Eugene that visiting Arcane mages could stay in town for free until the gathering began, and Eugene thanked him before departing.
• Odovish took Elufiel to his manor near the northernmost mage tower in the Lista Council’s inner city.

Elufiel stayed at Odovish’s manor in the Lista Council mage tower and filled its courtyard with birds and other pets while they barbecued and talked. As the night sky appeared over the valley, Odovish asked whether all the animals were hers.

• Odovish showed Elufiel his Golden-crowned Thunder Eagle, Sandel, and led her to a room in the manor.
• Elufiel explored the spotless but foodless house, then roasted old wolf meat in the courtyard.
• Elufiel summoned a flock of birds and other animals, and Sandel joined them to eat the roasted meat.
• Odovish returned and sat with Elufiel among the animals as they barbecued and talked.
• Odovish called Elufiel by name and asked whether all the little animals were her pets.