Chapter Summaries

Aaron met Jaheira and Khalid at an inn and learned they were investigating strange rats and green ore in the Nashkel Mines. After returning to his suite with Eleanor, he learned that her angelic keepsake was tied to Zariel, and promised to help her save the fallen angel.

• Aaron bought Jaheira and Khalid drinks, and they told him they were heading to the Nashkel Mines to investigate sick miners, strange rats, and green ore.
• Aaron offered to help and asked about Candlekeep, but Jaheira stopped Khalid from revealing confidential information about an old friend there.
• Jaheira and Khalid decided to rest at the inn and continue their journey the next day.
• Eleanor showed Aaron the strand of hair that Zariel had given her and explained that she hoped to redeem the fallen angel.
• Aaron embraced Eleanor and promised to hear everything about her and help her save Zariel.

The Overlord learned that Ilsensine feared Aaron Salian and his Chaos Fleet, while Aaron accompanied Eleanor to her birthplace, where she revealed how Zariel had rescued her as a child. They reached Morningwind Village, and the village chief recognized Eleanor and announced her return.

• Ilsensine warned the Overlord not to provoke Aaron Salian or the Four Gods behind him, and the Overlord ordered the fleet to obey.
• On the way to Morningwind Village, Eleanor told Aaron how gnolls killed her parents and how the angel Zariel found and rescued her.
• Eleanor explained that Zariel later fell after leading the Hellriders into Avernus, and Aaron promised to help her find a way to reach Zariel.
• Hellrider Hild brought Aaron and Eleanor to Morningwind Village, where Eleanor recognized the village chief, Uncle Bolger.
• Uncle Bolger recognized Eleanor and ran to announce that she had returned.

Eleanor and Aaron returned to Morningwind Village, where the chief’s family tried to capture them for Zariel. Zariel appeared to demand Eleanor’s pendant, and Aaron realized she was the angel Khorne wanted.

• Chief Bolger welcomed Eleanor and Aaron, and Eleanor learned that her childhood friends Cicely and Matilda had died.
• Alice lured Aaron upstairs and attacked him with infernal iron chains, revealing that she and her family served Zariel.
• Aaron escaped Alice’s chains, learned Zariel had ordered the family to bring Eleanor to Avernus, and rushed downstairs as the house collapsed.
• Eleanor and Aaron escaped the house, and Zariel appeared with devils to demand Eleanor’s pendant.
• Eleanor refused to surrender the pendant and challenged Zariel about her fall, but Zariel left orders for the devils to retrieve it and kill them if necessary.
• Aaron sensed Khorne’s power react to Zariel and realized she was the angel Khorne wanted.

Aaron, Eleanor, and Hild defeated Zariel’s devils and warlocks in Morningwind Village, exposing Elturel’s failure to protect its territory. After the battle, Hellrider captain Wittelsbach tried to contain the diplomatic fallout and conceal the truth behind Elturel’s founding, while Aaron left expecting the city to make him an offer.

• Eleanor charged the devils after a shadow vanished, while Aaron confronted Hild about the infernal tiefling family in the ruined house.
• Aaron and Eleanor fought the daemonettes and barbazu as Hild battled the warlock Bolger; Hild killed Bolger but was badly wounded, and Eleanor finished the last daemonette.
• Fifty Hellriders and more than five hundred soldiers arrived, and Wittelsbach apologized to Aaron for the attack in Elturel’s territory.
• Wittelsbach privately admitted that Elturel’s celebrated victory in Hell was a lie: Zariel had been captured, and the Hellriders had hidden the truth to preserve the city’s legitimacy.
• Aaron left with Eleanor and Hild after Wittelsbach asked him to keep the incident confidential; afterward, Wittelsbach ordered the village’s fiend-corrupted residents beheaded and warned the City Council that Aaron and Eleanor might know the truth about Zariel.

Aaron accepted the Tears of Selûne from Elturel’s councilor in exchange for keeping the Hellriders’ secrets, but Eleanor demanded the truth about Zariel’s fall. Selûne appeared and revealed that the Hellriders’ retreat had sealed Zariel’s fate.

• Aaron learned that Jaheira and Khalid had left the Eagle Inn and paid their bill.
• Vanessa and Kafka asked Aaron to introduce them to Nastya Baenre, revealing that Kafka had known his father, Manuel, and received his amulet.
• Wittelsbach apologized on behalf of Elturel’s City Council and gave Aaron the Tears of Selûne in return for his silence about Zariel and the Hellriders.
• Wittelsbach told Aaron and Eleanor that Zariel had led an expedition into Avernus, where her army was defeated, and Eleanor condemned the Hellriders for hiding the truth.
• Selûne appeared and revealed that the Hellriders had closed the portal during their retreat, cutting off the Devils pursuing them and causing Zariel to be captured and eventually fall.

Selûne confronted Wittelsbach with the truth about the Hellriders’ betrayal of Zariel, then warned Aaron and Eleanor against exposing the past recklessly. Before leaving, she revealed a possible path to redeem Zariel, cautioned Aaron about a strange power near Baldur’s Gate, and forged Eleanor a new artifact warhammer from the Tears of Selûne.

• Selûne dismissed Wittelsbach after confronting him with how the Hellriders had abandoned Zariel and buried the truth.
• Aaron, Eleanor, and Selûne discussed the costs of exposing Elturel’s history and why its leaders had preserved order through lies.
• Selûne told Eleanor that the angel hair held a final trace of Mount Celestia’s essence that might offer Zariel a glimmer of hope.
• Selûne warned Aaron about a strange power spreading near Baldur’s Gate and identified Karsus’s Magic Box as a locked artifact tied to Amaunator.
• Selûne reforged the Warhammer of the Moon’s Hand with the Tears of Selûne, creating an artifact and giving it to Eleanor.
• After Selûne departed, Aaron embraced Eleanor and carried her into the inner room.

Aaron and his companions left Elturel and set out for Moonrise Towers, while Eleanor and Charlotte clashed over their relationship with him before calling a truce. Aaron planned to meet Annomyn there and investigate records of Rogal Dorn’s legendary battle with a Tarrasque.

• Barrel told Aaron how the Solar Malkizid was disgraced and stripped of his status despite having faithfully obeyed Corellon’s orders.
• Aaron and Barrel debated the merits of human and elven systems of justice as they traveled away from Elturel.
• Charlotte used Karsus's Magic Box to restrain Eleanor, but Eleanor broke free with the Tears of Selûne and pinned Charlotte before choosing to let her go.
• Eleanor and Charlotte temporarily made peace and settled back into the carriage, each recalling the painful cold of her past.
• Aaron told Barrel they would visit Moonrise Towers, where General Ketheric’s family served Selûne and Annomyn would meet them.
• Aaron connected records of a golden giant’s battle near Moonrise Towers with Rogal Dorn, who had fought a Tarrasque for ten days until it surrendered.

Lolth ordered Nastya to investigate the new god and its Skaven forces, putting her assassination of Aaron on hold. Meanwhile, Ketheric panicked over Aaron’s planned visit to Moonrise Towers, while Aaron arrived at the Last Light Inn, where Annomyn had found records from the Shan Empire.

• Lolth heard Nastya’s report, identified the new deity and its connection to Aaron as her highest priority, and ordered Nastya to gather information while suspending the assassination attempt.
• Nastya accepted the assignment, and Zhuo proposed calling the enemy the Mouse God and wagering over who would kill the most Skaven.
• Ketheric learned that Aaron planned to visit Moonrise Towers in three days and feared the visit would expose his secret plan.
• Ketheric reread Aaron’s formal request and secretly sent someone to contact the Lady of the Night’s Night Judges.
• Aaron and his companions reached the Last Light Inn, where Annomyn reported finding records from the time of the Shan Empire.

Aaron learned that Dorn had disappeared at sea while seeking Evermeet and discovered that Be'lakor, under the name Takkus, was gaining influence in Baldur's Gate. Meanwhile, Charlotte explored the Last Light Inn and learned that General Ketheric had sent the beer seller to find out what she was planning.

• Aaron met Annomyn at the Last Light Inn, where Annomyn reported that Dorn had defeated the Tarrasque and sailed toward Evermeet, then vanished.
• Annonym told Aaron that Balduran had once acquired treasure marked with the Imperial Fists emblem, prompting Aaron to seek more information about Dorn in Baldur's Gate.
• Annonym warned Aaron that Takkus had risen to prominence in Baldur's Gate after cleansing the Winding River and intended to run for Grand Duke; Aaron recognized him as Be'lakor.
• Charlotte explored the inn's stables and crowded corridors while enjoying her freedom from palace life.
• Charlotte used Karsus's Magic Box to turn a beer seller's drink into truth serum, and he revealed that General Ketheric had ordered him to investigate her plans.

Eleanor and the Harpers investigated a strange warpstone device linked to missing scouts near Moonrise Towers, and Aaron recognized it as Skaven technology. A Skaven Tide attacked the inn, and Aaron caught a Skaven Assassin attempting to steal the device.

• Eleanor learned that Harper scouts Drake and Patrick had disappeared or been killed near Moonrise Towers, and Brusnan showed her a strange drilling device recovered from a Skaven outpost.
• Aaron recognized the device as a malfunctioning warpstone drill and warned the Harpers that more Skaven were likely nearby.
• Rats poured from the inn’s sewers, swarmed the grounds, and killed drunks and cattle as the inn’s occupants prepared to fight.
• Aaron sent Eleanor, Barrel, and Annomyn downstairs to protect civilians while he stayed behind to guard the device.
• A black-robed Skaven Assassin leaped toward Aaron, who froze it in midair and revealed it with See Invisibility.

Aaron and the defenders fought off a Skaven assault on Endglow Inn while trying to protect a Warpstone Drill Rocket. The Skaven commander Whittshik watched his attack falter, and Annomyn transformed into a Daemon Prince before confronting him.

• A Skaven Assassin killed two Harpers, but Aaron dragged him back with Witchbolt and killed him with Slaanesh's Dance.
• Skaven forces poured out of the sewers and attacked the inn as Aaron guarded the Warpstone Drill Rocket and searched for their commander.
• Whittshik revealed his plan to use Warpstone wastewater to turn Baldur's Gate into a Skaven city and ordered an assault to recover a dud rocket.
• Charlotte used her Aaron King construct and Rat Poison to destroy Skavenslaves, while Eleanor killed a charging Rat Ogre and burned Skaven troops with Flame Strike.
• Annomyn charged into the Skaven ranks, fell beneath their weapons, and transformed into a Daemon Prince, startling Whittshik.

Aaron and Annomyn helped the defenders of the End of Light Inn defeat the Skaven assault, with Aaron killing their commander, Whitskik. After the battle, Ketheric Thorm arrived and asked the survivors to accompany him to Moonrise Towers.

• Annomyn transformed into a Daemon Prince and slaughtered Skaven while Eleanor and the civilians defended the End of Light Inn.
• Aaron transformed into a Lord of Change, unleashed spells and Chaos creatures against the Skaven, and destroyed their Plagueclaw Catapults.
• Aaron used Thousand Illusions to create three versions of himself, who overwhelmed Whitskik and killed him.
• With their commander dead, the Skaven army broke apart and fled, and the Harpers and surviving defenders finished off those left behind.
• Ketheric Thorm arrived with his soldiers, introduced himself as lord of Moonrise Towers, and invited the survivors to discuss the battle there.

Aaron and his companions investigated the Skaven threat at Moonrise Towers, where Ketheric Thorm appeared to be a generous Selûne devotee but secretly served Shar. After Shar ordered him to guide Aaron toward Baldur’s Gate, Charlotte persuaded Eleanor to visit a brewery.

• Annomyn struggled with whether to avenge his mother against Selim VII after discovering that she had loved his father.
• Ketheric told Aaron about his grief over Melodia and Isobel, then asked him to help eliminate the Skaven and offered generous payment and support.
• Aaron briefed Ketheric on the Skaven, and Ketheric arranged their lodging, promised troops, and sent the recovered Warpstone Drill Rocket to Gond's Gnomes for study.
• After Aaron went to investigate the sewer, Ketheric prayed to Shar through the Mirror of Loss and pledged himself to her.
• Shar told Ketheric to manipulate Aaron, guide him toward Takkus, and send him to Baldur's Gate, where several destructive powers were gathering.
• Charlotte persuaded Eleanor to accompany her to a brewery while Aaron was away.

Aaron investigated Skaven Clanrat activity near Moonrise Towers and discovered a hidden meeting place where Shar’s followers had slaughtered the rats. He found a script linking Shar to Shade Enclave’s return, but Mysty Tanshul ambushed him and threatened to keep him from leaving.

• Aaron questioned the Mikael family and learned that Skaven had terrorized their farm, while the villagers praised Lord Takkus as a guardian of the Sword Coast.
• Aaron followed the Harpers’ markers into a tunnel, where he found Skaven tracks, warpstone traces, and evidence of fresh blood.
• Aaron discovered a hidden meeting place filled with dead Skaven and identified necrotic and shadow energy, a broken holy symbol, and a statue as signs of Shar’s followers.
• Aaron found a copy of The Return of Netheril, whose final act described Shar’s plan to bring back Shade Enclave.
• Mysty Tanshul appeared behind Aaron, wrapped her arms around his neck, and told him he would not leave.

Mysty warned Aaron that Be'lakor had joined forces with Malkizid and Malcanthet in Baldur's Gate, while Charlotte and Eleanor uncovered a letter revealing that the Waning Moon Distillery was supplying wine for a Night Judge ceremony. Charlotte decided they would pose as distillery representatives and deliver it.

• Mysty told Aaron that Be'lakor had formed the Axis Pact with Malkizid and Malcanthet, who had come to Baldur's Gate partly because of Aaron's Slaanesh divinity.
• Charlotte won a drinking contest with Ketheric's son by using Karsus's Magic Box to keep the wine from entering her stomach.
• Eleanor noticed that the distillery workers seemed numb and sensed something was wrong around Moonrise Towers.
• Charlotte and Eleanor searched the sleeping manager's office and found an order warning from Night Judge Karrassol Bartyu about a wine delivery for Shar's ritual.
• Charlotte proposed that she and Eleanor impersonate distillery representatives and deliver the wine to learn about the Night Judges' advancement ceremony.

Charlotte and Eleanor infiltrated a Shar celebration, where Charlotte entered the Night Judge trials after her divine blood stirred power in the temple. As Charlotte began the assessment, Mysty pursued cooperation with Aaron and then captured Eleanor, severing her connection to Selûne.

• Charlotte and Eleanor delivered stolen fine wine to Shar's followers, then secretly joined them on their way to a hidden temple.
• At the temple feast, the high priest announced a Night Judge promotion ritual, and Charlotte volunteered for the trials despite Eleanor's objections.
• After five candidates failed, Charlotte offered her shimmering divine blood to Shar's statue, awakening power in the temple as she entered the trials.
• Mysty told Aaron that she could help reveal Takkus's true face and urged him to consider cooperating with her.
• Mysty seized Eleanor in the temple, cut off her divine connection to Selûne, and restrained her with shadow chains while the surrounding followers noticed nothing.

Charlotte completed Shar’s fourfold Night Judge trial and learned from a pink-haired double that an unknown event had disrupted their father’s plans for her. She entered the gateway to the Shadowfell, believing it might hold the truth of her origins.

• Charlotte passed the Steady Trial and Leap of Faith by using her divine blood and shadow magic to overcome the challenges.
• Charlotte found Eleanor missing before entering the Trial of the Self and encountered a pink-haired girl who looked like her.
• The pink-haired fairy claimed to be the version of Charlotte she was meant to become, revealed that their father had made plans disrupted by an unexpected event, and urged Charlotte to beware the night.
• Charlotte passed the Silent Library trial, completed all four challenges, and received the opportunity to enter the Shadowfell.
• Charlotte wrote “Charlotte Salian” on Shar’s scroll, which recorded her as the fastest challenger in history, then approached the Shadowfell gateway seeking answers about her origins.

Charlotte traveled through the Shadowfell at Shar’s direction and found Song of Night imprisoned among ruined ruins. Song recognized Charlotte as the daughter of a legendary god and offered to reveal her origins, but a divine spell prevented her from speaking; she claimed Selûne could tell Charlotte the truth if Charlotte freed her.

• Shar marked a destination in the Shadowfell and sent Charlotte to explore ruins on a floating continent.
• Charlotte crossed the Shadowfell with Karsus’s Magic Box, resisting the plane’s curse and avoiding its shadow creatures.
• Charlotte found Song of Night bound in a shadow formation and introduced herself, asking whether Song knew her origins.
• Song recognized Charlotte as the daughter of a god and said she had met Selûne, but a divine spell prevented her from revealing what she knew.
• Song promised that Selûne could explain Charlotte’s origins if Charlotte released her, and Charlotte agreed.

Charlotte freed Aylin by shattering the Shadow Gem, unknowingly destroying Isobel’s soul, but Aaron used the Three Chaos Gods’ power to restore Isobel. Selûne then revealed that Charlotte was Amaunator’s daughter and warned that Shar’s acquisition of her divine blood threatened the Realms.

• Charlotte rejected Shar’s offer and shattered the Shadow Gem, freeing Aylin but destroying Isobel’s soul.
• Shar revealed the cost of Charlotte’s choice, and Aylin grieved for Isobel while Charlotte struggled to understand what had happened.
• Aaron arrived and used the power of the Three Chaos Gods to restore Isobel, who awoke and reunited with Aylin in Selûne’s Divine Realm.
• Selûne told Aaron and Charlotte that Shar had deceived them and obtained Charlotte’s divine blood.
• Selûne identified Charlotte as the daughter of Amaunator and warned Aaron that Shar’s blood would bring serious trouble to the Realms.

Selûne revealed that Charlotte was Amaunator’s daughter and explained how Shar had used Charlotte’s divine blood to threaten the Sun House and its power. Selûne arranged for Aaron and Charlotte to marry so he could share Charlotte’s divine protection, then restored Isobel and sent the group to Moonrise Towers to expose the truth and punish Ketheric and Shar’s followers.

• Selûne told Aaron and Charlotte that Amaunator had planned for Charlotte to inherit power connected to the Sun House and the divine portfolio of time.
• Selûne explained that Shar had maneuvered Charlotte into willingly giving her divine blood, gaining a key to Amaunator’s legacy and threatening to destroy the Sun House.
• Selûne warned that they could not yet tell Lathander and said they might still resist Shar by awakening Amaunator’s remaining power.
• Selûne declared that Aaron and Charlotte had to marry so Aaron could share the protection of Amaunator’s divine magic, and Aaron accepted.
• Selûne learned that Shar had manipulated the Thorm family, then used Aaron’s miracle to restore Isobel’s soul and began reforging her body.
• Selûne sent Aaron, Charlotte, Aylin, and Isobel to Moonrise Towers to uncover the truth and bring Dark Moon’s Wrath upon Ketheric and Shar’s followers.