Chapter Summaries

Aaron recruited Edward Teach to become a leader in the Dragon's Tooth Gang and gather intelligence on the Snow Elves, then discussed political threats with Alusair before visiting the growing War Wizard Academy. The chapter left Alusair increasingly concerned that another power might lure Aaron away from Cormyr.

• Edward Teach told Aaron that he had rejected Dagon's offer, then asked to become Aaron's subordinate.
• Aaron required Teach to rise to second-in-command of the Dragon's Tooth Gang within three years and to escort the Snow Elves' goods while gathering intelligence.
• Alusair sent Gang Leader Marlon flying after he offered to smuggle goods and deal with cats, then discussed Mannacorn Anaheim and the possibility of a coup with Aaron.
• Aaron explained why human-supremacist and national-superiority ideas appealed to people, and Alusair thanked him for the insight.
• Aaron and Alusair visited the War Wizard Academy, where Astral magic had attracted many apprentices and mages from abroad.
• Alusair watched Aaron's influence grow and wondered whether she should tighten her control to keep him from joining another power.

Aaron and Alusair visited Charlotte at the War Wizard Academy, where they discussed training Battle Mages and Charlotte teased Alusair about her feelings for Aaron. After they left, Alusair tried Aaron’s new baklava and tea, but her primordial dragon blood began acting up on the way back.

• Charlotte told Aaron and Alusair that Vangerdahast had been absent from the academy for months because he was pursuing a romance with Lady Laeral.
• Alusair asked Charlotte how long it would take to train a qualified Battle Mage Corps, and Charlotte estimated three to five years, depending on Aaron’s later books.
• Charlotte recounted an embarrassing memory from a picnic with Alusair, then sent Aaron outside so she could ask Alusair whether she was ready to make up her mind about him.
• Aaron secretly mixed a colorless substance into his tea bags while waiting outside Charlotte’s office, and Alusair later reminded him that she would remember his promise that everything of his was hers.
• Alusair sampled Aaron’s baklava and black tea at the academy and asked him to teach the palace chefs the recipe.
• As Aaron and Alusair left the academy, Alusair stumbled and began trembling as her primordial dragon blood acted up.

Alusair suffered a sudden flare of her draconic blood, and Aaron took her to Charlotte’s office, where he helped her through it and the two became intimate. Afterwards, Alusair warned him to remain loyal and offered him a path to even greater rank; Aaron returned home dazed, and Eleanor noticed a golden hair in his brown hair.

• Alusair’s draconic blood flared while she was with Aaron, and she ordered him to take her to Charlotte.
• Aaron found Charlotte absent and brought Alusair into her office, where he attended to her despite her protests.
• Two hours later, Alusair threatened Aaron with punishment but told him she would keep the decree unless he betrayed her or Charlotte.
• Alusair offered Aaron promotion and a ducal title if he continued serving Cormyr loyally, and Aaron understood her expectations.
• Aaron escorted Alusair back to the Royal Palace, then returned home and collapsed on his bed.
• Eleanor noticed a golden hair among Aaron’s brown locks and grew suspicious.

Aaron concealed the golden hair from Eleanor and reflected on his encounter with Alusair, while she wrestled with her feelings about him. After choosing Sunset as his fief, Aaron used his new Salian's Exchange ability to summon a high-ranking Tzeentch daemon and begin forcing Mannacorn Anaheim to act.

• Aaron persuaded Eleanor that the golden hair in his own hair had come from Queen Dowager Filfaeril's golden retriever, then savored his encounter with Alusair and plotted to deal with the Bane Godspawn.
• Alusair replayed her encounter with Aaron and questioned whether she truly meant her warning that there would be no next time.
• Aaron arranged for the injured Eleanora to recover in Selûne's temple and chose Sunset as his first domain after his allies debated the three fiefs.
• Aaron reviewed his unfinished plans and focused on Mannacorn Anaheim, who was protected by his status, lack of incriminating evidence, and ties to Duke Caspar.
• Aaron manifested Tzeentch's Crystal Labyrinth and used his new Salian's Exchange ability to negotiate a contract with Tzeentch, who sent a high-ranking daemon to serve him.

Aaron hired the Changeling through a costly bargain with Tzeentch and sent it to infiltrate the Blackhook Gang in Suzail’s Dock District. The Changeling took the place of gatekeeper Dak and prepared to approach the gang’s leader, Hrafinberch.

• Aaron summoned the Changeling, which agreed to serve him under the terms of its contract with Tzeentch.
• Aaron left Eleanor and went to the Dock District with a nut that would help the Changeling begin its infiltration.
• Two Blackhook Gang members discussed falling dock business and the possibility of moving to Aaron’s prospective fief in the Sunset Hills.
• A seabird swallowed the nut, transformed into a monstrous creature, and fused with Dak after attacking him.
• The Changeling assumed Dak’s appearance, dismissed the guards’ questions about the gunshot, and headed to the Blackhook Gang headquarters to replace Dak and approach Hrafinberch.

Aaron used the Changeling to infiltrate the Blackhook Gang and learned that the Zhentarim planned to smuggle troops into Suzail. He manipulated events to pressure the hidden Bane Godspawn, Mannacorn, into activating his coup plan.

• The Changeling replaced Old Dak, infiltrated the Blackhook Gang, and assimilated its leader, Hrafinberch.
• Hrafinberch revealed to Aaron that the Zhentarim planned to bring an army into Suzail through the gang’s smuggling routes.
• Aaron decided against warning Alusair directly and devised a plan to force the Bane Godspawn to act before Aaron left for his fief.
• News spread that Cyric’s followers were purging Bane’s remaining worshippers and hunting Bane Godspawn throughout the Moonsea.
• Hrafinberch went to the Queen’s Blade with an accusation but died mysteriously, prompting Alusair to order a citywide search.
• Mannacorn, fearing pressure from Cyric, Alusair, and Aaron, finally activated his plan to usurp the kingdom.

Mannacorn purged suspected traitors while preparing a political celebration, and Aaron and Eleanor examined a legendary assassin’s ring and discovered a marked treasure site near Evereska. They left the treasure’s nature unknown and considered searching for it in the future.

• Erich Dönitz passed his imprisoned former colleagues without helping them, while Mannacorn justified their torture as necessary to restore Bane’s power.
• Mannacorn arranged a victory celebration with Duke Caspar and planned to invite Duke Marelli and the Princess Regent.
• Aaron and Eleanor discussed visiting their fief and then inspected the legendary assassin’s recovered spatial ring.
• Aaron found the assassin’s equipment and a map marking a site near Evereska with the words “Primordial gold dragon.”
• Aaron and Eleanor concluded that something valuable was hidden near Evereska, though the elves’ mythal and Meteor Swarm made the site dangerous.

Aaron formed the Silver Dragon Knights to prepare for the Bane Godspawn’s conspiracy and gathered intelligence and magical resources. He then asked Princess Regent Alusair to spar, and she agreed while setting a wager that would leave him owing her favors if he lost.

• Aaron briefed his companions on Mannacorn Anaheim’s suspected plot and assigned them roles while they prepared to contain an uprising; Samir suggested a name, and Aaron called the group the Silver Dragon Knights.
• Aaron identified the assassin Fearblade’s employer and examined his treasure, giving Wind Whisper and the Quiver of Ehlonna to Maximian and learning that the Horn of Valhalla could summon berserker spirits.
• Aaron researched Evereska, Minauros, and Azzagrat, prompting Slaanesh to demand that he offer Graz’zt as a gift; Aaron agreed but rejected Slaanesh’s proposed kiss.
• Aaron continued training and prepared for a grand banquet proposed by Duke Caspar and Duke Marelli, which the Princess Regent had agreed to attend.
• Aaron asked Alusair to spar with him, and she agreed on the condition that each loss would make him serve her, with five losses obligating him to grant her one request.

Alusair challenged Aaron to a sword duel and defeated him, then began teaching him Purple Dragon Swordsmanship and close-combat techniques in exchange for his losses. After a week of training, Aaron learned Blind-Fighting, but Duke Kenness Irlingstar arrived in Suzail and asked to see him.

• Alusair and Aaron fought with wooden swords, and Alusair defeated him after he used his Keeper of Secrets transformation.
• Aaron recognized that Alusair had lured him into her defensive trap, and she advised him to use his agility and choose his own rhythm.
• Alusair agreed to teach Aaron Purple Dragon Swordsmanship and close-combat techniques, with a condition tied to his defeats.
• After a week of intensive training, Aaron improved his swordsmanship and acquired Blind-Fighting, while owing Alusair a promise after five defeats.
• Duke Kenness Irlingstar arrived in Suzail and requested a meeting with Aaron.

Aaron discussed the northern campaign and his plans for his fief with Duke Kenness, who warned him to be quiet before moving their conversation elsewhere. Aaron then distributed gifts and arranged paid publicity for his deeds, while the Bane Godspawn prepared to act at a victory banquet in three days.

• Aaron gave Duke Kenness information about the Battle of Arabel and predicted there would be no northern war soon, then described his plans for his barony.
• Duke Kenness praised Aaron's ambitions but stopped him from discussing the problems he intended to help Alusair resolve and led him away for a private conversation.
• Aaron followed Duke Kenness's advice and distributed gifts to the Purple Dragons, the Queen's Blade, parliament, temples, War Wizards, and other influential groups.
• Aaron arranged for Varo to help scholars polish his exploits and asked Samir to spread his reputation through the Realms.
• Aaron joked with Eleanor about marriage after she objected to his spending, and the Bane Godspawn concluded that someone was advising Aaron and planned to act at Lavilette Manor's victory banquet.

Mannacorn prepared a coup against Cormyr while Aaron made plans to stop him and attended a banquet with Alusair. As the banquet began, Cyric’s assassins waited nearby to kill both Mannacorn and Aaron.

• Mannacorn sacrificed former allies to devils as payment to Bael, then gathered his supporters and vowed to change Cormyr.
• Mannacorn’s forces assembled for the coup, though Disma was absent.
• Aaron finished preparing for the evening’s operation and changed into Azoun IV’s formal clothes at Alusair’s command.
• At Lavilette Manor, Aaron met Duke Caspar before Alusair arrived and joined him at her side.
• Pick led six assassins serving Cyric in an alley near the manor, where they prepared to kill Mannacorn and Aaron.

At Lady Lavilette’s victory banquet, Aaron prepared for a plot involving Duke Caspar and Mannacorn while Alusair rejected Walter Kruger’s demands to lift restrictions. The banquet erupted when Dennitz shot Alusair and Duke Caspar, leaving the conspirators’ plan unclear.

• Aaron learned Charlotte had gone to Arabel and arranged for Norrington and Fiolena to be ready for a fight.
• Duke Caspar rallied young officers with a speech about restoring Cormyr’s glory, while Gordon grew suspicious of his remark about Azoun IV.
• Alusair rejected Walter Kruger’s requests, threatened him with her sword, and threw him out; Kruger then agreed to cooperate with House Anaheim.
• Aaron refused Mannacorn’s offer to leave Cormyr and rejected his plans to seize power and ascend to godhood.
• At the banquet, Mannacorn served drinks, and Dennitz suddenly drew a pistol and shot Alusair in the shoulder and Duke Caspar in the abdomen.

At Lavilette Manor, Aaron and Mannacorn’s competing plots collapsed into a public crisis when Alusair transformed into a rampaging dragon and Duke Caspar was wounded. Devils then invaded the banquet, forcing both factions to retreat and setting the stage for a battle over Cormyr’s future.

• Aaron’s plan to expose Mannacorn and Duke Caspar appeared to succeed when the disguised Changeling shot Alusair and wounded Duke Caspar, but Alusair suddenly transformed and attacked the banquet guests.
• Aaron restrained Alusair with Chaos chains as he and Mannacorn accused each other of treason, and the guards split into factions protecting the Princess and the Duke.
• Aaron’s group retreated with Alusair while Mannacorn arranged for the cursed, bleeding Duke Caspar to be taken to Lady Yew’s Club.
• Legion Devils, Abishai, and other Devils burst into the banquet hall and slaughtered guests, prompting Aaron and Mannacorn to order the city’s people to stay indoors.
• Aaron ordered Norrington to alert Reynard and the Church of Justice, then led his group toward the Dragonrider Club as Mannacorn prepared to confront him.

Devils attacked Suzail during the banquet, and Aaron fought his way with Alusair and the Queen’s Blade to the Dragonrider Club. There he suppressed Alusair’s dragon-blood frenzy through the final stage of the King of Hunters Plan, which he and Charlotte had devised.

• Lady Lavilette fled as devils overwhelmed her manor, then signed away most of its ownership and her soul to a bald singer who promised her safety.
• Aaron escorted the frenzied Alusair toward the Dragonrider Club while devils attacked Suzail and the Queen’s Blade tried to mobilize.
• Aaron, Fiolena, and the Queen’s Blade fought through legion devils and reached the Dragonrider Club, where Yuri Bakov organized defenses.
• Aaron sent Yuri to protect the Queen Mother and ordered Doherty to lead Khorne’s followers against Anaheim’s forces.
• Aaron restrained Alusair with chains of Chaos and suppressed her dragon-blood frenzy; she agreed to his proposed method, completing the King of Hunters Plan’s third stage.

As Suzail burned, the Bane Godspawn forced Duke Caspar to sign an arrest warrant for Alusair and ordered a coup. Alusair signed Aaron’s request to mobilize Cormyr’s churches, and Aaron’s Starry Signature brought their forces into the battle as he headed to confront the Zambian army.

• Keel attempted to kill the unconscious Dennitz, but a tentacle burst from Dennitz’s chest and seized him.
• The Bane Godspawn and his allies pressured Duke Caspar into signing a warrant to arrest Alusair, then ordered forces to seize the palace, city defenses, and key figures.
• Keel led Duke Caspar away, revealed his body had transformed into a mass of flesh and faces, and silenced the duke.
• Aaron dressed Alusair in a military uniform and obtained her signature on a request for aid from Cormyr’s churches; he told her the Zambian army was about to land.
• Aaron left with Gordon and Fiolena for the Dock District, then used Starry Signature to summon the major churches to battle.
• Reynard, the churches’ forces, and Eleanor led their followers out to fight the devils in Suzail.

Suzail’s defenders fought back the devil invasion as Aaron and his companions raced to stop Zambia’s troops from landing. When Cyric’s assassins threatened Aaron’s home, Kong defended the Sallyan Residence, while Aaron chose to continue toward the Dock District.

• Reynard and the Paladins rescued Clark’s watch post, while Eleanor and the Clerics of Selûne destroyed a Legion Devils formation with Heavenly Meteor Burst.
• Aaron, Fiolena, and Gordon hurried toward the Dock District to stop the transport ships carrying troops from Zambia from landing.
• Fiolena and Gordon killed two assassins, while Aaron exposed and defeated a servant of Cyric and learned that attackers had been sent to his family’s home.
• Aaron ordered Fiolena and Gordon to continue toward the Dock District despite the threat to his family, so Zambia’s army could not land.
• Kong defeated three assassins outside the Sallyan Residence and counseled Maximian to keep his heart steadfast and his hands clean.

Aaron used a Khorne sacrificial ritual to slaughter the Zambian troops landing at Suzail while Alusair coordinated the kingdom’s defense against the rebellion and devil attack. After contacting Queen Mother Filfaeril for help, Alusair summoned Khelben Blackstaff, and a dragon and the young Aegir prepared to answer the invitation.

• Aaron opened a Chaos Sacrificial Ritual Circle in the Dock District, where Khorne daemons massacred the first Zambian soldiers to land.
• Aaron persuaded General Powell, with Gordon’s help, to guide incoming Zambian troops into the ritual circle, where they were killed.
• Alusair ordered Suzail’s defenders and allies to mobilize as reports arrived of the Marine Corps, a devil siege, disrupted teleportation, and an Anaheim private army.
• Robert revealed that Aaron had bribed Ian Hutson and sent Doherty’s half-orcs through the Purple Dragon Knights’ sector, enraging Alusair.
• Alusair contacted Queen Mother Filfaeril and asked her to reach Khelben Blackstaff, prompting a pillar of light and dragon emblem to appear above the palace.
• A great dragon and the young Aegir noticed Blackstaff’s invitation and prepared to go, with Aegir eager to claim treasure.

Doherty’s Khorne half-orcs attacked Anaheim Manor, where the Anaheim Private Army nearly killed him before his Blood Tornado erupted. Aaron and his allies fought through the devils attacking Suzail, then regrouped at the Dragonrider Club as the city’s defenses rallied and the remaining threats came into view.

• Doherty led Khorne half-orcs into Anaheim Manor, killed the Anaheim mages, and unleashed supernatural skull blasts that devastated the private army.
• Andreas and the Anaheim guards pinned Doherty down and riddled him with bullets and spears, but Doherty survived and began summoning a Blood Tornado.
• Aaron, Fiolena, and Gordon fought off a devil swarm, then defeated its Pleasure Daemon commander with Aaron’s Slaanesh’s Allure.
• Eleanor and Lady Silverstar reached Aaron as the devils began fleeing, and Eleanor reported that the city defense battalion had gathered while the Royal Palace remained under siege.
• Aaron learned that Samir had gone to stop the Marine Corps and that the Hand of Dawn had headed to the Royal Palace, then resolved to face the remaining threats from Bael, the Cult of the Dragon, and the Bane Godspawn.

Samir Morningstar persuaded the Cormyr marines to withdraw rather than enter Suzail, while two Force Dragons destroyed the Cult of the Dragon’s reinforcements outside the city. Mannacorn learned that the army had been annihilated as fireworks burst over the burning city.

• Samir Morningstar blocked the Cormyr marines and warned that entering Suzail would turn the city’s crisis into a slaughter.
• A vision of a fiery red angel carrying the queen’s decree appeared to the marines, and their captain ordered them to withdraw.
• In Hulek Forest, the sage directed Faenor and Aegir toward the Dracolich Agrolyosa and his treasure.
• Faenor and Aegir attacked the Cult of the Dragon’s forces, destroyed the Half-Dragon legions, and shattered Agrolyosa’s body.
• Mannacorn ordered fireworks fired as a signal to the Cult of the Dragon, then learned its army had been defeated by the Force Dragons.

Bane Godspawn’s coup collapsed as Alusair’s forces and their allies surrounded Lady Yew’s Club, leaving him to face Aaron Salian. After explaining why he chose to serve Alusair rather than Caspar, Aaron accepted Bane Godspawn’s request for a final duel.

• Bane Godspawn watched the battle turn against him as the Hand of Dawn, Alusair, and allied armies converged on Lady Yew’s Club, while Aaron and Eleanor strengthened the attackers.
• Bane Godspawn attacked the advancing forces, but Aaron charged him and struck him with Slaanesh True Silver Slash, burying them both in a collapsing building.
• Alusair ordered her forces to take Bane Godspawn alive, while Reynard and Eleanor’s troops surrounded the club and the remaining defenders held their ground.
• Aaron emerged from the rubble, and Bane Godspawn admitted his defeat before denouncing Alusair’s rule and warning Aaron that he would suffer the same fate.
• Aaron explained that he chose Alusair because he was willing to help temper her, and contrasted his own sacrifices with Bane Godspawn’s willingness to sacrifice others.
• Bane Godspawn demanded a duel with Aaron and promised to order his subordinates to surrender if Aaron accepted; Aaron agreed.