Chapter Summaries

Aaron’s forces crushed the Gnolls and offered the Lizardfolk peace or safe passage, then advanced toward the Druids’ Sacred Grove. Daba Thorns called on allies in the Feywild and began the Wild Hunt against the Cormyrians.

• Aaron’s troops killed the Gnolls throughout Hulek Forest and confronted Lizardfolk settlements.
• The Shepherd Legion, adventurers, Dwarves led by Kimgon Firepattern, and Snow Elf archers attacked the Lizardfolk, whose high shaman considered negotiating peace.
• Aaron halted the battle and offered the Lizardfolk a swamp reservation or safe departure with food, and they accepted his terms.
• At the Sacred Grove, Tieflings and Druids warned Daba Thorns that the Cormyrians had defeated the Gnolls and secured the Lizardfolk’s surrender.
• Daba ordered Bardin to notify Bishop and their allies, then summoned the Wild Hunt against the Cormyrians.
• The Winter’s Wild Hunt received the call, and its general ordered the army to move out.

Aaron’s army encountered the Wild Hunt while advancing through Hulek Forest, and Eleanor’s divine magic helped the soldiers resist the blizzard and meet the hunters’ charge. As fighting spread and enemy forces appeared ahead and behind, Aaron ordered his troops to hold their defenses and declared that Cormyr would reclaim sovereignty over the forest.

• Barrel Moonflower warned Aaron that the Wild Hunt, Feywild elves serving the Court of Wrath, were coming for him because he was the Fairy Princess’s Flower Knight.
• Aaron ordered his army to stay alert as the Wild Hunt brought a blizzard down on the advancing troops and Karius led more than a hundred knights in a charge.
• Eleanor strengthened the soldiers with her Aura of Power while Rellta’s Arcane Archer Company and the Dwarf Gunner Company struck down many Wild Hunt knights and hounds.
• The remaining Wild Hunt knights broke through the Sunset Lands’ spear formation, and their hounds attacked the wounded soldiers.
• Karius sent for allied forces as reports came that enemies had appeared ahead of and behind Aaron’s army.
• Aaron ordered every unit to hold firm and declared that Cormyr would reclaim Hulek Forest.

Aaron’s army repelled and annihilated the Wild Hunt, with Doherty killing General Karius and Aaron sealing the battlefield to prevent survivors from escaping. As the fighting ended, the Glyphfolk Bishop arrived preaching salvation, and Aaron recognized him as a Word Bearers Dark Apostle.

• Ramsay and the Selûne Clerics strengthened the Sunset Lands army, whose shield walls, spears, muskets, and magic stopped the Wild Hunt Knights and Hounds.
• Karius led a concentrated assault toward Aaron’s Sky-Chariot, but the Black Eagle Guard and Fiolena held the line until Doherty charged in.
• Doherty used Blood God's Wrath to draw the Wild Hunt to him, killed Karius, and broke their morale.
• Aaron ordered his forces to kill every Wild Hunt member and used Tzeentch's Power to seal the area, leaving more than eight hundred Wild Hunt dead and over three hundred casualties among his own forces.
• The Glyphfolk Bishop arrived preaching unity and salvation, and Aaron recognized him as a Word Bearers Dark Apostle.

Aaron confronted Bishop Mozgov, a Word Bearer Dark Apostle whose Chaos corruption had turned the Glyphfolk into his murderous followers. After Aaron defeated them, Lorgar Aurelian manifested from Mozgov’s book and revealed that he had truly arrived in the Realms.

• Bishop Mozgov crossed the battlefield, killing adventurers and a Purple Dragon Knight with his sacred power as he advanced toward the Sky-Chariot.
• Aaron challenged Mozgov and recognized him as a Word Bearer, then learned that Lorgar Aurelian was involved.
• Mozgov’s Chaos Glyphfolk attacked Aaron, who used his staff, magic, and Tzeentch’s Disc to kill them and overwhelm the bishop.
• Aaron demanded that Mozgov reveal Lorgar’s location, but Lorgar appeared from the Book of Thick Covers and introduced himself to Aaron.
• Lorgar cradled the weeping Mozgov and told Aaron that he had brought him to a vast, beautiful, unenlightened world.

Aaron confronted Lorgar, who revealed that he had used Mozgov’s adopted children as Ammunition Packs to cross the crystal sphere. After a fierce duel, Aaron turned Lorgar’s own Chaos Voice against him and brought the Daemon Primarch down.

• Lorgar praised Mozgov, opened a portal for him to leave, and challenged Aaron to join the masters of the primordial truth.
• Lorgar explained that he had crossed the crystal sphere using children whose bodies had been turned into Ammunition Packs, and Aaron realized Mozgov had abducted and indoctrinated them.
• Aaron denounced Lorgar for disguising atrocities as holy work, provoking the Daemon Primarch into attacking him.
• Aaron and Lorgar fought in a magical duel until Lorgar shattered Aaron’s Golden Spell Ring and prepared a finishing blow.
• Aaron’s Chaos Holy Symbol seized Lorgar’s Chaos Voice and turned it against him, knocking Lorgar to the battlefield.
• Aaron planted a foot on Lorgar’s face and ordered him to kneel.

Aaron forced Lorgar’s projection to kneel and killed it, then led his troops back into battle while Eleanor rallied Selûne’s forces. In the Astral Plane, a red-cord-bound man destroyed another of Lorgar’s projections, but Lorgar’s true self concealed the loss and resolved to make more Ammunition Packs.

• Aaron invoked the Chaos Gods’ combined authority, humiliated Lorgar, and beheaded his projection with Drach’nyen.
• Aaron ordered his forces to counterattack, while Eleanor strengthened Selûne’s soldiers and led them against the Druids’ Sacred Grove army.
• Lorgar’s projection reappeared in the Astral Plane and vowed revenge, believing his surviving schemes and Ammunition Packs would eventually defeat Aaron.
• Red cords bound Lorgar’s projection, and a grieving middle-aged man killed him while condemning him for what he had done to children.
• Lorgar’s true body vomited black blood in the City of Fanatics, hid the projection’s destruction from his followers, and decided to manufacture more Ammunition Packs.

Aaron’s forces forced Daba-Thorn and the Sacred Grove army to retreat, allowing Cormyr to reclaim Hulek Forest. After declaring victory, Aaron sent troops to secure the forest’s key locations while Aegir carried him above the trees to celebrate.

• Aegir kept Daba-Thorn at bay from the sky while Aaron’s display of divine might terrified the Tiefling Samurai and unsettled the Sacred Grove army.
• The Black Samurai urged Daba-Thorn to retreat, and Daba cast Storm of Vengeance to block the pursuit before withdrawing from Hulek Forest.
• Aaron ordered his soldiers to stop pursuing the retreating Druids and proclaimed that Hulek Forest had returned to Cormyr.
• Aaron sent Eleanor to seize the Druids’ Sacred Grove and Nastya to secure the Glyphfolk Monastery with their troops.
• Aegir lifted Aaron above the forest and breathed into the night sky as they celebrated their victory.

Aaron and Eleanor found the imprisoned moderates in the Druids' Sacred Grove and negotiated with Halsin to develop Hulek Forest together. As Halsin reunited with Fina, he revealed that the brown bear was his human girlfriend, a Druid who preferred that form.

• Eleanor led Aaron to the dungeon beneath the Sacred Grove, where they found starving prisoners and met Halsin, its imprisoned former guardian.
• Halsin explained that Daba-Thorn had seized control of the Druids after becoming more extreme and had imprisoned him and his supporters.
• Aaron freed Halsin and offered the Druids either autonomy in a Circle of the Moon reserve or help traveling to the Emerald Enclave; Halsin agreed to cooperate.
• A brown bear rushed toward Halsin, and he stopped the guards from attacking her before embracing her.
• Halsin told Aaron and Eleanor that the bear, Fina, was his human girlfriend and a Druid who liked taking bear form.

After securing Halsin’s cooperation at the Sacred Grove, Aaron joined Nastya at the Glyphfolk Monastery and learned how its pursuit of godhood made it vulnerable to Lorgar’s corruption. The Master of Mankind appeared before Aaron in the library, and Aaron asked him for help.

• Halsin asked Aaron to help a moderate Druid travel while retaining the right to return, and Aaron agreed to fund the Sacred Grove’s renovation and development.
• Aaron learned that Nastya’s people had seized the Glyphfolk Monastery and traveled there with Eleanor and Maximian.
• Aegir claimed the Monastery’s treasure and argued with Aaron over their agreed shares before Aaron entered the library to study the Glyphfolk’s writings.
• Aaron learned that the Glyphfolk’s rigid hierarchy and obsession with ascension had allowed Lorgar to corrupt the Monastery, including its children.
• After Aaron dismissed his companions, the Master of Mankind appeared and asked whether he understood why He had destroyed Terra’s temples; Aaron asked for His help.

Aaron asked the Emperor for Space Marine creation technology, and the Emperor used Lorgar’s fall to warn him against letting faith and ambition corrupt his purpose. After receiving the knowledge, Aaron returned to his victorious army, celebrated the conquest of Hulek Forest, expanded his legion, and led the troops home to Sunset Town.

• Aaron asked the Emperor for Space Marine creation technology, and the Emperor showed him Lorgar writing the Lectitio Divinitatus before explaining how faith and ambition had led Lorgar to atrocities.
• Aaron recognized the danger of arrogance and religious zeal, reaffirmed his purpose, and received the Space Marine creation method from the Emperor.
• Aaron declared the Autumn Offensive a complete victory and raised the Purple Dragon Banner over the Monastery as his troops celebrated.
• Aaron’s army returned with 3,500 square miles of territory, 90,000 acres of farmland, and spoils worth 85,000 Golden Lions, while Aaron reorganized the Ninth Shepherd Legion to approximately 1,600 troops.
• In late November of 1362 Dalereckoning, Buer and Robert held a triumphal parade in Sunset Town, where Aaron announced that the victory report had been sent to Suzail and ordered the troops to collect their pay the next day.

After Aaron paid and rewarded the soldiers who conquered Hulek Forest, Cormyr’s Kingdom Council debated how to respond to his growing power. Alusair approved honoring Aaron’s relatives and postponed deciding his own reward until she could inspect the forest herself.

• Aaron paid the troops, compensated the fallen and disabled, and Buer restored the limbs of 180 Shepherd Legion soldiers.
• Aaron promoted distinguished soldiers, established the Silver Dragon Knights, and began absorbing the divine rank crystal taken from Lorgar’s projection.
• Duke Kenness, Duke Gordon, and Lady Laeral gathered in Suzail as the Kingdom Council convened to discuss Aaron’s conquest of Hulek Forest.
• The council split between Kenness’s faction, which supported rewarding Aaron, and Prime Minister Sir Arnold’s faction, which urged caution and restraint.
• Alusair approved honorary titles and gifts for Aaron’s uncle Lothair and aunt Mellie, and said she would decide Aaron’s reward after personally inspecting Hulek Forest.

Aaron analyzed Lorgar’s divine rank crystal and unlocked the Word of Truth, gaining the ability to alter reality through spoken words. After testing the new magic on Annomyn, he resisted Lorgar’s corrupting influence and realized the Weave limited how far its power could reach.

• Eleanor left Aaron a note explaining that she had gone to preside over an adoption ceremony for war orphans.
• Aaron found Annomyn training at the grounds and began analyzing Lorgar’s divine rank crystal.
• The crystal opened, and Aaron uncovered Lorgar’s Word of Truth ability and learned the Words of Truth: Shield and Pain.
• Aaron tested the Words of Truth on Annomyn, shielding him and then causing him intense pain.
• Lorgar’s influence drove Aaron toward fanaticism, but thoughts of Eleanor and the Emperor helped him regain control.
• Aaron recognized that the Weave restricted Word of Truth’s reality-altering power and told Annomyn they would soon have new magic to learn.

Aaron consulted Barrel Moonflower about the weave and epic magic after learning that he had sensed its sealed regions above the ninth tier. Barrel explained the restrictions and suggested the Shadow Weave as a possible alternative, then sent a report urging the elven royal court to seek Aaron’s support.

• Cormyr’s envoy Jim Harker made Lothair an Honorary Lord and Honorary Master of the Royal Stables, while Mellie eagerly accepted her title as a Lady.
• Aaron celebrated Lothair’s promotion by composing “The Legend of the Prancing Horse,” which became Cormyr’s official horse-racing song.
• Aaron asked Barrel about the weave and epic magic, and Barrel explained how Netherese greed had led the Second Goddess of Magic to seal the weave above the ninth tier.
• Aaron challenged Barrel over the consequences of the elven Great Sundering, and Barrel admitted that its effects remained unresolved.
• Barrel suggested that the Shadow Weave might bypass the restrictions on epic magic, though he warned that Shar’s control made it difficult for Aaron as a Chosen of Selûne.
• Barrel reported to the elven royal court that Aaron could help restore Myth Drannor and bring the Sun Elf Crown King home.

Aaron established the Silver Apostle class and prepared to market Buer’s healing potion as Life Cola, while Buer worried that Aaron was too busy to spend time with her. The chapter left Anna urging Buer to approach Aaron by catering to his preferences.

• Aaron taught Robert the Word of Truth, and Robert learned to cast Word of Truth: Shield and Word of Truth: Pain through his faith in Selûne.
• Aaron established the Silver Apostle class for believers with mediocre talent who could cast a few elementary Words of Truth.
• Anna told Aaron that Buer had completed the Water of Life, which immediately healed drinkers and temporarily boosted different attributes depending on its flavor.
• Aaron named the potion Life Cola, warned his partners about its mutation risks, and planned to send samples to the Silver Trade Company and other allies.
• Buer arrived with Espresso for Aaron, learned that he had already left, and worried that her strength and status might frighten him or upset Eleanor.
• Anna encouraged Buer to take the initiative and appeal to Aaron’s preferences so she could grow closer to him.

Aaron turned the Sacred Grove’s hot springs into a magical sanatorium and arranged to talk with Halsin over dinner and a bath. Meanwhile, Aegir was asked to receive Princess Regent Alusair and responded by inviting the women connected to Aaron to compete for the title of mistress of the Sunset Lands.

• Aaron’s renovations won the remaining druids’ reluctant approval, and Halsin agreed to meet him for dinner and a soak.
• Aegir reveled in the growing wealth of his Hoard while his half-dragon attendants reported that Alusair and Charlotte had arrived in the Sunset Lands.
• After Robert asked Aegir to receive the visitors on Aaron’s behalf, Aegir decided to invite the women connected to Aaron to the Sacred Grove.
• Aegir ordered invitations for Eleanor, Alusair, Charlotte, Nastya, and the Fairy Princess, proposing they settle who was the true mistress of the Sunset Lands through strength of arms.

Aegir invited several women close to Aaron to a hot spring gathering, presenting the invitation as a challenge that stirred their rivalry. Eleanor, Alusair, Charlotte, Nastya, and Buer accepted, and the group set off with tensions rising.

• Eleanor read Aegir’s invitation at the Lady of Silver’s chapel and confidently accepted, promising to show who the real lady of the house was.
• Alusair and Charlotte received Aegir’s invitation from Robert, interpreted it as a challenge, and agreed to attend.
• Nastya considered Lolth’s interest in Aaron’s hot springs before accepting the invitation.
• Buer hesitated, but Anna encouraged her to accept and suggested seeking help from her father; Buer agreed to attend.
• Aegir welcomed the assembled women at Sallyan Castle, and Eleanor questioned why the gathering required an overnight stay at the hot springs.
• Aegir taunted Eleanor about her figure, intensifying the women’s rivalry, then announced that the gathering was beginning.

Aaron learned that the Great Desert of Anauroch could not be restored until the Phaerimm’s Magic Drain spells were stopped, and he set his sights on claiming the desert. Meanwhile, Aegir’s party arrived at the hot spring retreat, where the women competed over their relationship with Aaron and prepared to bathe together.

• Halsin explained that the Phaerimm’s legendary Magic Drain continually consumed water and life, making it impossible for Druids to restore Anauroch while the spells remained active.
• Barrel said they would have to deal with the Phaerimm, while Maximian suggested easier lands and Aaron insisted that Anauroch was necessary for his plans.
• Arien proposed that Aaron establish a rightful claim to the land through the Bedine, descendants of Netheril who still lived in the desert.
• Aegir’s party approached the retreat as Alusair, Nastya, Eleanor, and the others traded barbed remarks beneath a show of politeness.
• The women entered the shared king suite, where Eleanor and Alusair each acted as though she were the lady of the house, and Aegir announced that they would discuss who owned Aaron after dinner.
• The Druids announced that the Rose Purple Pool was ready, and Aegir urged everyone to get changed.

The women gathered at Aaron’s hot spring resort competed and teased one another before Nastya provoked Alusair over her plan to marry Aaron and claim the Cormyr throne. The dinner erupted into a fight, and Aaron stopped Halsin from investigating as the chapter ended.

• Aegir and Eleanor faced off over their figures, while Nastya stirred the group by asking how they would punish a hot-spring peeper.
• Alusair brought her sword to the bath, then fled to the toilet after Nastya hinted at the sword’s connection to her sexual history.
• Aegir harassed Eleanor in the pool as Charlotte teased Alusair about secretly visiting Aaron, and Nastya questioned Buer about Eladrin life.
• At dinner, Nastya asked when Alusair would take the throne and exposed her plan to marry Aaron, turning the other women against the Princess Regent.
• Aegir overturned the table, Eleanor began casting divine magic, Charlotte sided with Alusair, and Nastya drew her weapons as an explosion shook the Sacred Grove District.
• Halsin offered to investigate the disturbance, but Aaron told him not to go.

Aegir fought Alusair and the others in the royal suite over who would claim Aaron, defeating several challengers before Buer suddenly blasted her away. The chapter ended with the injured Aegir stunned by the Fairy Princess’s unexpected power.

• Aegir attacked Alusair, while Charlotte and Eleanor began dueling and Yuumi shielded the Princess.
• Alusair distracted Aegir so Yuumi could bind her, but Aegir summoned astral serpents, broke free, and defeated Alusair.
• Nastya ambushed Charlotte and Eleanor, bound them, and then tried to surprise Aegir, who trapped her in a Forcecage.
• Aegir declared herself the winner, but Buer challenged her and blasted her through buildings and trees with Forest’s Wrath-Thunderclap Bomb.
• Aegir recovered enough to wipe blood from her mouth and wondered who Buer was.

Aegir and Buer’s hot spring fight wrecked Aaron’s resort, so he sent them into the Chaos Domain to settle their rivalry in a duel with a reward for the winner. As Aegir pressed her attack, Buer summoned the Avatar: Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, and the battle continued.

• Aegir and Buer traded powerful attacks until Aaron arrived and found Eleanor, Charlotte, and Nastya caught up in the chaos.
• Aaron opened a portal to the Chaos Domain and promised the winner of Aegir and Buer’s duel one reasonable request.
• Aegir transformed into her Force Dragon form and attacked Buer with Force Dragon Breath, but Buer’s Oberon Wooden Avatar caught and returned the blast.
• Aegir and Buer exchanged heavy blows, and Aegir’s tail sent the damaged wooden avatar crashing into ruined buildings.
• Buer announced that she would awaken Isha’s power and summoned Avatar: Greater Lord Rukkhadevata, a towering divine colossus.