Chapter Summaries

Key plot points and events

• Annan recounts his adventures to the freemen around a bonfire, showing them the Magic Films Let Magic Fly and Cat and Mouse. Black Mole watches intently, and Annan casually draws out the fact that the Raymond family knows about the gold mine beneath the Broken Mountains.
• A scouting party returns with news of a nearby village and mine. The mine has hired mercenaries because of the freemen’s unrest, but pressure from the workers has already forced the owner to improve conditions and shorten working hours. The scouts also report that starving wanderers attacked them.
• Annan learns from Black Mole that the wanderers serve Grand Lord Raymond. He realizes they may have been spying across the region—and possibly monitoring him since his arrival. He also worries about Deputy Captain Skeeter, who has been missing.
• In a dungeon, Raymond offers the chained Skeeter a place in his service. To secure Skeeter’s loyalty, he presents a Devil Contract. Skeeter asks for time to consider, while Raymond warns that Skeeter’s companions and employer will soon be killed.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan shows both strategic curiosity and compassion: he tests Black Mole for information, then gives a cold, poorly shod scout his own warm boots. He also frames friendship as a reason for Black Mole to share what he knows.
• Black Mole is absorbed by the films and easily persuaded to reveal that the wanderers answer to Raymond. His distraction and childlike trust make him an unlikely but useful source.
• Skeeter remains defiant despite his captivity and distrusts Raymond’s offer, but the Devil Contract puts him under serious pressure.
• Raymond reveals his willingness to recruit talented enemies while using coercion and threats to secure control.

Significant themes

• Power and exploitation: The mine owner improves labor conditions only when workers become a threat, underscoring how the powerful respond to pressure rather than appeals.
• Surveillance and control: Raymond’s network of wanderers suggests that even the displaced and marginalized can be turned into instruments of power.
• Compassion and solidarity: Annan’s generosity toward the scout contrasts with the exploitation surrounding the freemen.
• Loyalty and coercion: Skeeter must choose between resisting Raymond and risking the fate of his companions, with a Devil Contract making the choice binding.

Key plot points and events

• Annan confirms that the Wanderer works for Grand Lord Raymond, though Skeeter remains with the Wanderer. Captain Reyne supplies two of Skeeter’s belongings for Annan to try summoning him; both attempts fail. Annan concludes Skeeter may be somewhere without magic and plans to have the Ratfolk investigate.
• Joan asks what a Dragon Rider does, explaining that Illymoyas seems capable of fighting without help. Annan describes the role as something like a caretaker and encourages Joan’s growing bond with the Dragon.
• Annan tells Little Smo and Wilson that the Freemen’s work should proceed patiently: unlike Joan’s group, they should influence Civilians gradually rather than rush.
• The Grand Lord makes his move. A violent quake strikes the mine, and Annan realizes the mountain is collapsing. Black Mole leads the group toward an escape route, but a fissure blocks their way. Aga uses Mass Teleportation to evacuate Annan, the Freemen, and the Ratfolk moments before the area collapses.
• From safety, they watch the mountain sink amid dust and lightning. Annan suspects this display is one of Raymond’s trump cards, though likely not Legendary in scale. The Dragon Scale at his chest begins to warm.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan stays composed under pressure, protects the group, and warns Reyne that the Grand Lord is more dangerous than he appears. He also recognizes that Illymoyas’s flight may stem from her disorientation as Free City changes around her.
• Joan shows genuine interest in becoming Illymoyas’s companion and potential Dragon Rider. Annan believes their bond could help the Dragon feel at home.
• Captain Reyne shares information and helps Annan investigate Skeeter, while cautioning him that the Wanderer may know their movements.
• Black Mole proves crucial by guiding the group through the collapsing mine; Annan saves him from falling into a fissure.
• Wilson is discouraged by the slow pace of his work, but Annan reassures him that gradual influence is the right strategy.

Significant themes

• Belonging and companionship: A meaningful bond may help Illymoyas adapt to a rapidly changing world.
• Patience and different paths to change: The Freemen’s gradual organizing contrasts with Joan’s group’s urgent military action.
• Power and uncertainty: The Grand Lord’s devastating attack reveals the scale of the threat, while Annan remains unsure of its limits.
• Leadership under crisis: Annan’s warnings, quick judgment, and willingness to protect others help the group survive.

Plot points and events

• After surviving the mountain collapse, Annan realizes Grand Lord Raymond may be powerful enough to challenge Free City. The attack checks Annan’s growing confidence and makes him reconsider the danger he faces.
• Annan refuses to abandon the exploited people of the Broken Mountains, but pauses his recruitment operation and sends Wilson, the Freemen, and Little Smo to shelter with the Stuen Ratfolk. He and Illymoyas head into Golden City.
• The Chief Mage and two Archmages discuss the failed attack. They believe Annan survived, but hope it has served as a warning.
• Disguised as cultists, Annan and Illymoyas sneak into Golden City. Annan asks Black Mole to locate Skeeter, who may have been captured.
• They follow a pair of cloaked figures and see a wanted poster accusing Annan of numerous crimes, with a huge reward for his capture or death. The poster reveals that Raymond is actively hunting him.
• Annan is surprised to find Wealth Church cultists cooperating with the city’s authorities. He concludes that his gradual recruitment strategy may not work against the united alliance of lords, nobles, merchants, and church.
• Rather than flee or confront Raymond directly, Annan decides to visit the Wealth Church—and throws a stone through one of its stained-glass windows, beginning a plan to disrupt the Grand Lord’s power.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan becomes more cautious after recognizing that Raymond could rival Free City. Even so, his concern for enslaved and abused people outweighs his instinct to retreat. He adapts his plans and chooses covert disruption over open war.
• Illymoyas accompanies Annan into the city and briefly jokes that she could betray his location for the reward, showing her playful, greedy streak while remaining his ally.
• Wilson and the Freemen are sent to safety, while Mr. Mora is asked to protect them. Little Smo questions the change in plans but follows Annan’s instructions.
• Black Mole, grateful to Annan for rescuing him, eagerly agrees to search for Skeeter and uses the familiar nickname “Annan Thing.”
• The Chief Mage and Archmages regard the attack as a warning to Annan, though the Chief Mage remains wary of underestimating him.

Significant themes

• Power and vulnerability: Annan’s earlier victories have made him overconfident; Raymond’s attack forces him to reassess the balance of power.
• Resistance to exploitation: Memories of abused and enslaved people drive Annan to stay involved despite the risks.
• Political corruption and unequal power: In the Broken Mountains, elites control wealth and force, leaving ordinary people with little means to resist.
• Adaptation and indirect action: With open recruitment and direct war seeming ineffective, Annan turns to stealth and disruption.
• The danger of institutional alliances: The Wealth Church’s apparent partnership with Raymond suggests that religious influence may strengthen the ruling coalition’s control.

Key plot points and events

• Annan and Illymoyas flee after smashing a stained-glass window, then stop at a familiar restaurant. Over lunch, Annan asks whether Illymoyas’s dragon group has found a new home. She explains that migrating is slow and dangerous: dragons leave protected lairs, face hunters and rival claims, and sometimes lose young dragons along the way.
• Troops stream through the city toward the Outskirts. A waiter says Grand Lord Raymond has found traces of the Stuen Ratfolk and is sending forces to destroy them. Annan fears this will endanger Joan and her companions in the Broken Mining District and decides to warn them to leave.
• Before he can act, Elvis Raymond and the Chief Mage confront Annan at the restaurant. A violent blast wrecks the building, but Illymoyas shields Annan in dragon form.
• Annan considers abducting Elvis, then dismisses the idea, noting that Raymond showed little grief even after his eldest son, Kilian, died. When Aga senses a powerful malicious presence approaching, Annan and Illymoyas escape—after Illymoyas steals the roast lambs and the restaurant’s money.
• In a separate scene, Bishop Hogsius meets Grand Lord Raymond. Hogsius says he contacted Annan before Raymond warned him not to, and demands that Raymond keep his promise to let him see the Lady. Raymond leads him through a staircase hidden beneath his Throne.

Character developments

• Annan remains alert and pragmatic, thinking quickly about both his allies’ safety and how to use the conflict to his advantage. He also shows contempt for Raymond’s apparent indifference to his sons.
• Illymoyas gives Annan loyal, protective support, shielding him from the blast and helping him escape. Her account of migration reveals the hardships facing her group.
• Hogsius presents himself as cooperative but insists on reciprocity, calmly pressing Raymond to honor his bargain.
• Raymond appears confident and manipulative, using both the Church and others for his purposes while keeping the Lady inaccessible.

Significant themes

• Power and exploitation: Raymond uses institutions and allies as tools, while Annan recognizes that the Church may also be serving the Grand Lord’s agenda.
• Displacement and vulnerability: The dragons’ migration shows how even powerful creatures can be exposed and endangered when forced from secure homes.
• Loyalty and survival: Annan acts to protect his companions, and Illymoyas risks herself for him; meanwhile, the ratfolk face an impending military assault.
• Political bargaining and secrecy: Hogsius’s demand, Raymond’s hidden underground passage, and the concealed identity of the approaching threat all underscore the chapter’s atmosphere of mistrust.

Character interactions

• Annan and Illymoyas share a practical, familiar rapport: they discuss the dragons’ plight, then rely on each other during the attack.
• Annan and Elvis trade threats and taunts, with Annan refusing to be intimidated and Elvis warning that he and his people will be trapped if they stay.
• Annan’s concern for Joan and the others connects the city’s military operation to his wider circle of allies.
• Hogsius and Raymond negotiate as old acquaintances, but their exchange is guarded: Hogsius wants access to the Lady, while Raymond controls the terms.

Plot points and events

• Elvis Raymond returns to the Golden Palace to warn his father that Annan is in the city, but guards stop him because Grand Lord Raymond is meeting Bishop Hogsius.
• A Ratfolk invasion erupts beneath Golden City, including the Palace Square. As the guards rush to fight, Elvis enters the apparently empty Palace and sits on the Throne, imagining himself as its future ruler. The Throne opens a hidden passage behind it.
• Beneath the city, Grand Lord Raymond admits he knew the ratfolk were there. He and Hogsius reach a cavern containing a vast Mountain Copper Temple Fragment.
• The fragment speaks as the Lady, though it claims not to remember Hogsius. It persuades him to touch it, then drains his magic, divine power, and life, reducing him to ash.
• The fragment reveals that someone followed Raymond. Elvis appears, learns what it is, and tries to flee. Raymond does not protect him; the fragment consumes Elvis as well.
• Raymond remains devoted to the fragment and promises to bring it the Wealth Church’s believers so it can regain strength.

Character developments and interactions

• Elvis moves from impatient heir to would-be ruler, then discovers the hidden passage and the truth beneath the Palace. His pleas to his father are ignored, and he dies believing his father blames him for Kilian’s death.
• Grand Lord Raymond presents himself as a servant of the Lady but knowingly leads Hogsius to the fragment and accepts the deaths of both the bishop and his own son. His loyalty appears absolute—and dangerously unquestioning.
• Bishop Hogsius begins in reverence, addressing the fragment as the Lady, but recognizes malice as it drains him. His faith offers no protection.
• Raymond and Hogsius dispute who truly rules the Broken Mountains: Raymond claims mastery, while Hogsius insists only the Lady is sovereign. Their exchange foreshadows Raymond’s submission to the fragment.
• The fragment behaves less like a benevolent deity than a predatory power, treating people as fuel.

Significant themes

• Ambition and power: Elvis’s fantasy of rule is abruptly displaced by the hidden, lethal reality beneath the Palace.
• Faith versus exploitation: Religious devotion is used to justify sacrifice, even when the supposed deity’s motives seem malicious.
• Betrayal and family loyalty: Raymond sacrifices his son without hesitation, choosing the fragment over family.
• Hidden danger beneath appearances: The Palace’s throne conceals a passage, while the fragment’s sacred status masks its hunger.

Key plot points and events

• Annan and Illymoyas fly over Golden City and head for the Broken Mining District. Annan briefly considers intervening in fighting elsewhere but decides they have more urgent concerns.
• At the Freedom Gang, Annan learns it has grown to ten thousand people, including many fighters. Recognizing that the Grand Lord and the Wealth Church pose too great a threat, he admits his plans have failed and decides to evacuate the workers and leave the Broken Mountains.
• Annan uses five Portals to send the workers and most gang members to Free City. Joan stays with the Professionals, while Hart chooses to remain. Annan insists on joining the search for Skeeter rather than leaving it to others.
• Before departing, Annan opens a Portal to Little Smo and discovers that human troops are attacking Ratfolk. He and his companions intervene, turning the battle into a rout.
• Annan reunites with the Ratfolk Elder, who thanks him for rescuing his nephew—the Black Mole. The Elder’s complicated feelings toward Annan have shifted into relief and trust.
• Captain Reyne challenges the attacking lord’s claim that he is protecting the Broken Mountains, arguing that he serves himself and the increasingly mad Grand Lord Raymond. When the lord refuses to surrender, the Nameless One kills him with a sudden arrow.

Character developments

• Annan recognizes that his confidence in ending the conflict was misplaced. He shifts from trying to win the war to protecting people and preparing an escape, while still choosing to help the Ratfolk.
• Captain Reyne acts on Annan’s belief that character matters more than race, fighting alongside Ratfolk despite his Holy Knight’s disapproval.
• The Ratfolk Elder moves from suspicion and reluctant cooperation toward genuine relief at Annan’s arrival.
• Hart demonstrates loyalty by choosing to stay behind, while Gloria, Jody, Joan, and Illymoyas readily join the rescue.

Significant themes

• Humility and adaptation: Annan confronts the limits of his earlier confidence and changes course.
• Prejudice and moral judgment: Reyne argues that race does not determine whether someone is noble or vile.
• Loyalty and protection: Characters risk themselves for allies, while others choose to remain behind.
• Power and self-interest: The lord’s claim to protect his home is challenged as potentially masking allegiance to the Grand Lord.

Character interactions

• Annan takes charge of the evacuation despite Rofi and Reyne offering to handle matters themselves.
• Gloria turns the fight into a friendly contest with a Ratfolk Champion; Jody expresses astonishment at fighting beside Ratfolk.
• The Ratfolk Elder thanks Annan for saving the Mole, then rebuffs his questions about Ratfolk family matters.
• Reyne confronts the lord over his allegiance and his treatment of the Ratfolk; the Nameless One ends the standoff by killing the lord.

Plot points and events

• Captain Reyne’s threat to guarantee the prisoners’ safety ends the battle: the cavalry surrender, the Freedom Gang stop fighting, and the Champion Rat forces the remaining Ratfolk to stand down.
• Annan asks the Ratfolk Elder to help find his missing companion, Skeeter, intending to leave the Broken Mountains. The elder instead asks Annan to stay and help him.
• Annan realizes the Stuen Ratfolk do not know about the elder’s secret dealings. He warns that something feels wrong in the mountains and suspects the same hidden force behind Puppet Town is steering events.
• The elder offers Annan a share of a gold mine. Annan turns the offer into a broader alliance: he, the elder, and Illymoyas’s Blue Dragon Group would each receive a third of the mine.
• Annan argues that the Ratfolk cannot defeat Grand Lord Raymond alone or govern openly afterward. The Blue Dragons offer the strength and public legitimacy the alliance needs. After bargaining, the elder agrees.
• Reyne identifies the dead lord as a distant Raymond relative who had been ordered to exterminate the Ratfolk and recruited soldiers and mercenaries with the Grand Lord’s support. Annan tells Reyne to let the prisoners decide what to do.
• Annan approaches Illymoyas to persuade her to join the alliance, beginning indirectly by mentioning a gold vein in the Broken Mountains.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan abandons his plan to leave once he sees a chance to build a powerful coalition. He remains wary of the apparent manipulation behind events, but also shows himself to be a sharp negotiator, using the mine and his connection to Illymoyas as leverage.
• The Ratfolk Elder reveals that he has been acting without his clan’s knowledge. Though reluctant to give up control of the mine, he accepts Annan’s proposal because it offers a path to victory and profit.
• Illymoyas becomes central to Annan’s strategy: her Blue Dragon Group could supply decisive military strength and serve as the alliance’s public face. Annan has yet to hear her response.
• Captain Reyne secures the surrender and gives Annan useful information about the Raymond family’s campaign against the Ratfolk.
• Annan and the elder move from a narrow bargain over gold to a strategic partnership; Annan then turns to Illymoyas to try to bring the third party in.

Significant themes

• Trust and uneasy alliances: Cooperation between Annan, the Ratfolk, and the Blue Dragons depends on shared interests rather than trust.
• Power and legitimacy: Military strength alone is not enough; the alliance also needs a credible public leader to govern after the conflict.
• Manipulation and fate: Annan’s sense that events are being orchestrated casts doubt on how freely the characters are choosing their paths.
• Greed balanced by strategy: The gold mine motivates the negotiations, but Annan frames cooperation as more valuable than any one party’s individual share.

Key plot points and events

• Annan tells the Blue Dragon Illymoyas that the Stuen Ratfolk have discovered a gold mine and want his help opposing Grand Lord Raymond. He argues that the Ratfolk are valuable allies and a barrier against the rival McKinnon Rats, persuading Illymoyas to share the mine rather than simply seize it.
• To win the wider Blue Dragon Group’s support, Annan takes Illymoyas and the Ratfolk Elder to inspect the mine. The Elder leads them through tunnels to a huge cavern where Ratfolk slaves mine and smelt gold beside a lava pool.
• Illymoyas immediately gives in to her greed, scattering the Ratfolk guards and wrapping her wings around nearly half the gold bars. Annan pretends to restrain her while secretly pocketing some gold himself.
• The Elder confronts Annan over the stolen bars. Annan bluffs, then offers to draw the next volume of Cat and Mouse; the Elder lets him keep the gold, judging their alliance more valuable than the loss.
• Annan criticizes the gold’s poor quality and offers to teach the Ratfolk human smelting techniques.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan uses diplomacy, flattery, and shameless improvisation to keep the Ratfolk and Dragons allied. He recognizes that Illymoyas’s interest in the gold can be turned toward cooperation, while also opportunistically taking some for himself.
• Illymoyas reveals that her detached manner cannot withstand the lure of treasure. Though she initially agrees to share the mine, she greedily claims the gold once she sees it.
• The Ratfolk Elder is protective of its people’s hard-won mine and resents the Dragons’ and Annan’s theft, but prioritizes the alliance and Annan’s loyalty over immediate repayment.
• Annan’s bond with Illymoyas is emphasized by his belief that a Dragon’s willingness to share treasure signals affection. He also acts as mediator between her and the Elder.

Significant themes

• Greed and treasure: Gold overwhelms restraint, especially for Dragons, but it also serves as leverage in negotiations.
• Alliance and mutual benefit: Annan argues that cooperation offers the Ratfolk and Dragons more than fighting over the mine.
• Deception and pragmatism: Annan disguises self-interest as diplomacy, using lies and promises to preserve the partnership.
• Power and loyalty: The Elder accepts a loss because Annan’s allegiance may be worth far more than the gold.

Key plot points and events

• Annan and Illymoyas hurriedly take the remaining gold bars from the Ratfolk Elder, joking that the Ratfolk’s willingness to share proves their sincerity.
• Annan summons Illymoyas’s parents and pitches the Broken Mountains as a new home for the Blue Dragon Group. The site contains a rich gold mine, discovered by the Stuen Ratfolk, and Annan proposes dividing the proceeds among the dragons, Ratfolk, and himself.
• The Dragon parents object to receiving only a third and suggest taking the Ratfolk’s share. Annan argues that the three parties need one another: he coordinates, the Ratfolk work and provide warnings, and the dragons protect the territory. He also points out that excluding the Ratfolk would harm the dragons’ reputation.
• The Ratfolk Elder demands an equal division, provoking an argument with the Dragon Father. Annan warns that if the dragons refuse, he can seek other allies—including the Empire.
• Illymoyas supports Annan’s proposal. Her mother takes her aside, breaks the Portal to keep the family dispute private, and the Dragon Father angrily accuses her of siding with a human.
• Grasti, Kritalia, and Yumirs arrive for their monthly visit. After hearing the dispute, Grasti argues that moving to human-dominated Middle Earth without Annan and the Ratfolk would leave the dragons vulnerable to harassment from humans, dragon hunters, and the Church.

Character developments

• Annan acts as mediator and negotiator, balancing competing interests while reminding the dragons that they have alternatives to his offer—and that he has alternatives to them.
• Illymoyas firmly backs the practical alliance despite her father’s anger, showing greater independence and a calmer, more pragmatic outlook when treasure is not at stake.
• The Dragon Father and Mother reveal that their main concern is the division of wealth; their confidence in their strength makes them initially underestimate the costs of rejecting cooperation.
• Grasti demonstrates maturity and strategic judgment, applying what she has learned at school to explain the political risks of settling in human territory.
• The Ratfolk Elder insists on fair treatment but is insulted and largely ignored by the dragons.

Significant themes

• Cooperation versus greed: The mine can benefit everyone, but the prospect of a larger personal share threatens the alliance.
• Pragmatism over pride: The dragons’ strength alone may not protect them in human territory; survival depends on recognizing their need for allies.
• Reputation and order: Annan’s argument that cutting out the mine’s discoverers would damage the dragons’ standing carries weight because Blue Dragons value order and reputation.
• Family loyalty and independence: Illymoyas’s support for Annan creates tension with her parents, while her siblings help shift the discussion toward reason.

Character interactions

• Annan and Illymoyas share a conspiratorial, humorous moment while taking the gold.
• Annan tries to frame the proposed alliance as mutually necessary, but the Dragon Father’s contempt for the Ratfolk sparks a direct confrontation with the Elder.
• Illymoyas challenges her parents’ assumptions, and the Dragon Mother privately confronts her after the public discussion.
• Grasti supports Illymoyas’s reasoning and counters her parents’ pride with a practical account of the dangers posed by humans and other powers.

Key plot points and events

• Grasti persuades her mother to consider Annan’s offer, though her father remains hesitant. She argues that accepting a concrete opportunity is wiser than waiting for uncertain alternatives.
• Their mother takes Grasti and Illymoyas to meet the Blue Dragon Group’s ancient clan chief. The group has been migrating slowly, held back by its Gnoll, Kobold, and Beastman followers.
• The clan chief asks Illymoyas, the only blue dragon who has visited the Broken Mountains, whether the region would make a suitable home. She says it is spacious and livable, with nearby human powers Annan could help manage.
• Grasti urges acceptance. Drawing on her experience in Free City, she praises its inclusive schools and argues that its ideals and institutions may prove more durable than past alliances. The clan chief remains wary of humans’ short-lived, changeable politics, but finds her point that Annan is a Sorcerer—part of a long-lived race—compelling.
• The clan chief agrees to consider Annan’s invitation, provided he guarantees the dragons can live in lasting peace without being targeted by enemies.
• Annan proposes an alliance: anyone who attacks the dragons would become an enemy of Free City. He admits the city cannot yet command universal respect, but predicts it will soon stand equal to other powers.
• The dragons’ mother does not commit immediately. The alliance will be decided after the group reaches the Broken Mountains, expected the next day. Annan plans to settle matters with Grand Lord Raymond afterward.

Character developments and interactions

• Grasti shows confidence and political insight, using history and her firsthand knowledge of Free City to persuade the clan chief. She also supports Illymoyas when the elder’s questions place heavy responsibility on her.
• Illymoyas takes a serious role in evaluating the proposed homeland and feels the weight of speaking for her people. Her sister’s support eases that burden.
• The clan chief prioritizes the collective survival of the Blue Dragon Group over individual treasure. Though cautious about human promises, he is open to Annan’s proposal if it ensures security.
• Annan presents himself as a determined prospective ally, offering Free City’s protection despite its current limitations.
• The sisters share a teasing exchange during their flight: Grasti asks Illymoyas intrusive questions about Annan, which Illymoyas declines to answer.

Significant themes

• Trust and long-term commitment: The dragons question whether human promises will endure, making the alliance’s credibility central.
• Cooperation across species: Free City’s inclusive education and Annan’s proposed alliance suggest a future built on shared institutions and mutual protection.
• Collective survival over wealth: The clan chief treats the group itself as his greatest treasure.
• Shared responsibility: Illymoyas is asked to advise on a decision affecting her people, while Grasti helps her bear the pressure.

Key plot points and events

• After taking control of the territory and castle without harming the Subjects, Annan tells the Oskulas Mercenary Company that the Blue Dragon Group will settle the conflict. The group’s arrival should secure the Broken Mountains with little bloodshed, while preserving Annan’s share and giving him access to the region’s mines.
• Wilson worries that the Blue Dragons will be cruel and destructive. Annan reassures him that the Free City’s dragons do not eat people and promises to keep them in check. He announces that they will go to Golden City the next day.
• Annan learns that Free City is already heading for the Broken Mountains. Its newly completed Mage Tower can attack, and its arrival will strengthen Annan’s position in negotiations with the Blue Dragons.
• In Golden City, Lady Melanie confronts Grand Lord Raymond about their missing son, Elvis, and the arrest of Wealth Church members. Raymond has her confined to the family estate.
• Melanie learns that Mrs. Phelan is also troubled: President Phelan has withdrawn from public life and taken the household’s money. The two women recognize that powerful men around them are acting strangely.
• Raymond’s guards report that the Wealth Church’s remaining Priests have been sent to Clover Mine. Raymond claims the Broken Mountains will soon belong to his family, then visits his collection of preserved human skins. He emerges apparently unchanged.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan acts decisively and pragmatically, using the Blue Dragons—and now Free City—as leverage while reassuring his allies.
• Wilson remains fearful even as the others celebrate, reflecting ordinary people’s distrust of Dragons.
• The mercenaries, including Joan and Little Smo, show relief that fighting may be over; Volod and his companions remain cautious.
• Lady Melanie shifts from confronting Raymond to helpless alarm as she realizes she has lost her influence and fears for Elvis.
• Raymond grows more authoritarian and secretive, dismissing his wife, arresting Church members, and pursuing control of the region.
• Mrs. Phelan and Melanie find common ground in their husbands’ unsettling behavior.

Significant themes

• Power and control: Annan builds influence through alliances, while Raymond uses guards, imprisonment, and secret arrests to consolidate authority.
• Fear and uncertainty: The Subjects dread the Dragons, Wilson doubts Annan’s assurances, and Melanie fears for her son.
• Political change and hidden motives: The Ratfolk attack, Raymond’s actions, and the men’s strange behavior suggest that the struggle involves more than open warfare.
• The contrast between order and cruelty: Annan promises to restrain the Dragons, while Raymond’s disturbing collection exposes the brutality beneath his rule.

Key plot points and events

• Grand Lord Raymond enters the haunted, abandoned Clover Mine alone. The Undead there recognize him and make way.
• Deep in the mine, he finds priests and nuns of the Wealth Church imprisoned in Magic-Sealing Manacles. He claims he is taking them to the Lady, and the Undead prevent them from leaving or sending anyone ahead.
• The captives reach a vast chamber and find a mountain-copper fragment bearing patterns like those of the Lady’s Divine Temple. A voice summons them to touch it; their life force is drained until they crumble to dust.
• As the last priest dies, he realizes the figure is a false god impersonating the Lady. The fragment has been feeding on the Believers.
• Raymond approaches when the false Lady invites him to share her power. It drains his body too, but a Divine Protection Spell shields him. The stolen power flows back into him.
• Raymond reveals he knew the entity was a godspawn, not the Lady. He had deliberately brought it the Church’s followers—and sacrificed his two sons—to strengthen it, while hiding the God of Light’s protection beneath the flayed skin of a Saint.
• He kills the godspawn and claims the sphere of Divinity it leaves behind, intending to ignite Divine Fire and become the first being on the Allen Continent to do so.

Character developments and interactions

• Raymond is revealed as calculating, deceptive, and ruthlessly ambitious. His apparent devotion to the Lady was a calculated act; he uses the priests, his sons, and a murdered Saint in pursuit of Divinity. He moves from serving the false entity to overpowering it and claiming its power.
• The priests and nuns, led in part by Hassen, initially confront Raymond with anger and suspicion. Their hope that they are being taken to the true Lady turns to horror when they are consumed; one recognizes the deception only at the last moment.
• The godspawn presents itself as the Lady and tempts its victims with reverence and promises of power. It is confident until Raymond’s hidden protection reverses the drain, then panics and tries to bargain before he destroys it.
• Raymond’s interactions with the captives and the godspawn are marked by manipulation: he controls the prisoners, gains the entity’s trust, and waits until it has been strengthened enough to kill.

Significant themes

• False faith and deception: A revered divine presence is exposed as an impostor, while Raymond’s own piety is also a disguise.
• Sacrifice and exploitation: The godspawn consumes believers, and Raymond knowingly uses human lives—including those of his sons—as fuel for his plan.
• Ambition and power: Wealth, status, and family mean little to Raymond beside Divinity and the chance to ascend beyond mortal limits.
• Appearance versus reality: Raymond’s massive body, apparent devotion, and concealed protection all hide the true nature of his intentions.

Plot points

• Wilson wakes from a nightmare in which Adele calls out to him. He tells Annan he feels he failed her by not fulfilling her wish to free the Broken Mountains.
• Annan reassures him that the region’s future can still be protected. He proposes binding the Blue Dragons to an alliance with fair wages, shorter hours, and lower taxes, while keeping the Blade of Freedom in the mountains and investing in local mines.
• Meanwhile, President Phelan prepares to flee with help from the Ratfolk, hoping their Elder will kill Annan and Grand Lord Raymond. Instead, he discovers Annan is already at the Ratfolk’s Castle. Annan has Phelan arrested, reserving judgment on his guilt until after the conflict with Raymond.
• A messenger arrives with Raymond’s order for all lords to come to the Golden City. Annan and the Ratfolk Elder recognize it as a move toward the same impending confrontation. They gather their allies and set out before dawn.

Character developments and interactions

• Wilson is grieving Adele and burdened by guilt, but Annan offers him a practical vision for protecting the Broken Mountains. Wilson accepts his reassurance, though his sorrow remains.
• Annan shows compassion toward Wilson while staying focused on the coming battle. He also handles Phelan’s betrayal calmly, choosing to investigate rather than punish him immediately.
• President Phelan, desperate for revenge and convinced the Ratfolk will help him, is blindsided by Annan’s presence and captured.
• The Ratfolk Elder cooperates with Annan, revealing the alliance between them and preparing the Ratfolk for the final fight.

Significant themes

• Grief and responsibility: Wilson’s mourning for Adele is intertwined with his fear that he failed the people she cared about.
• Power and justice: Annan seeks to prevent new rulers from exploiting the Broken Mountains, while Phelan’s fate is left open pending evidence.
• Alliances and deception: Phelan mistakes the Ratfolk for allies, while Annan and the Elder’s partnership becomes clear.
• The approach of conflict: Raymond’s summons turns the chapter’s private conversations and political maneuvering toward an imminent showdown.

Key plot points and events

• Grand Lord Raymond summons Lord Grek to the Golden Palace and reveals that he has become the Goddess of Wealth’s chosen representative in the mortal world. He claims the Goddess appeared to him in a dream and instructed him to gather Her “lost lambs.”
• Grek is initially confused, then stunned by the divine radiance around Raymond. Once he accepts the news, he eagerly wonders whether his own fortunes will improve.
• Raymond gathers the lords of the Broken Mountains, many of whom are excited by the prospect of benefiting from his new authority. They arrange to summon Golden City’s residents to hear his oracle.
• Residents, exhausted after a recent Ratfolk siege, are forced from their homes by soldiers and made to assemble in the cold at Golden Square.
• Appearing in bishop’s robes and surrounded by a halo, Raymond declares himself the Goddess’s representative. He demands that people fear and obey him as they do the Goddess, warns that defying him is equivalent to betraying Her, and announces plans for a temple that will distinguish “true Believers.”
• Raymond promises to restore the Broken Mountains’ glory and prepare a worthy gift for the Goddess’s descent. His speech is interrupted by an unexpected burst of applause.

Character developments and interactions

• Raymond shifts from a powerful lord to a self-proclaimed religious authority. His language blends devotion with demands for loyalty and obedience, suggesting he intends to use his divine status to consolidate political power.
• Grek, Raymond’s longtime friend, begins with teasing familiarity but is awed by Raymond’s apparent divinity. His first practical concern after accepting the revelation is whether it will benefit him.
• The assembled lords respond with disbelief that quickly gives way to excitement and ingratiating support, seeing Raymond’s new position as an opportunity for their families and territories.
• The residents are treated coercively: soldiers force them to attend despite their exhaustion and the cold. They listen in silence as Raymond’s radiance brings the faithful a sense of peace.

Significant themes

• Faith and political power: Raymond presents religious authority as a basis for governing and demanding submission.
• Coercion beneath divine spectacle: The ceremony appears miraculous, but it is preceded by soldiers forcibly gathering the crowd and followed by threats against dissent.
• Ambition and self-interest: The lords’ enthusiasm is tied largely to the benefits they expect from Raymond’s rise.
• Uncertainty and disruption: The chapter ends on the unexplained applause, hinting that Raymond’s carefully staged proclamation may face an unexpected response.

Chapter summary

Key plot points and events

• Annan arrives in Golden City during Grand Lord Raymond’s public address, challenging Raymond’s claim to speak for the Lady of Wealth. He questions the disappearance of the Wealth Church’s clergy and Raymond’s missing sons, Elvis and Kilian.
• Raymond orders Annan seized. Before the confrontation can turn into a fight, bells ring across the city, announcing the arrival of Free City—a massive Floating City that dwarfs the Golden Palace.
• Free City’s Mage Tower fires a powerful beam at Raymond’s shield. Though it cannot break through, it takes three Epic Mages and the Mage Corps working together to block it.
• Annan then opens a portal with a Dragon Scale. Blue Dragons pour through and descend on the Golden Palace, overwhelming Raymond and his supporters.
• Facing defeat, Raymond declares Annan the Lady of Wealth’s Sworn Enemy, commanding her believers across the continent to kill him. Annan prevents his companions from attacking the crowd, takes a believer’s Divine Emblem, and challenges Raymond’s claim by asking, “Then what am I?” He activates his Innate Spell, setting up the chapter’s cliffhanger.

Character developments

• Annan appears confident and controlled, using Free City and the Blue Dragons to demonstrate his strength. Yet he wants to avoid harming ordinary believers, distinguishing them from Raymond’s deception.
• Raymond shifts from a composed, self-proclaimed religious authority to a desperate, furious man as his plans collapse. Rather than surrender, he tries to turn the faithful against Annan.
• Captain Reyne and Annan’s companions prepare to defend him, but Annan restrains them to prevent unnecessary bloodshed.

Character interactions

• Annan openly confronts Raymond over the absent clergy and Raymond’s sons, while Raymond answers with force rather than explanation.
• Annan’s military display forces Raymond’s allies and the gathered citizens to confront how badly the balance of power has shifted.
• Raymond’s religious decree alarms Annan’s companions, but Annan responds by questioning his authority directly and appealing to the Divine Emblem.

Significant themes

• Power and spectacle: Free City and the Blue Dragons overturn Raymond’s carefully staged display of authority.
• Faith and manipulation: Raymond uses his apparent religious status to mobilize believers, while Annan challenges whether that status is genuine.
• Restraint amid conflict: Annan’s refusal to attack deceived civilians contrasts with Raymond’s willingness to endanger them for revenge.
• Ambition and downfall: Raymond’s near-success gives way to despair as Annan’s arrival destroys his plans.

Key plot points and events

• Annan’s hymn awakens the believers’ Lady-emblems, which glow and feed power into his Innate Spell. A golden door appears, and the congregation joins in the Church’s hymn, intensifying the spell.
• Annan’s magic runs low as he tries to open the door. It only trembles before the spell collapses, leaving a regretful sigh and transforming one believer’s emblem into a solid-gold badge.
• The believers declare the badge a Holy Relic and begin treating Annan as the Lady of Wealth’s Holy Son. Annan uses their fervor to denounce Grand Lord Raymond as an enemy of the Church.
• Raymond manifests powerful Divinity and attacks, but the Ancient Dragon Clan Chief appears beside Annan and seals him away. The Chief explains that Divinity can belong to Gods, but also to certain powerful beings—suggesting Raymond was not truly the Goddess’s chosen representative.
• With Raymond defeated, the Fanatics move against his forces. The other powerful figures and lords largely stand aside, and Annan recognizes that the political struggle is only beginning.
• Annan sends Captain Reyne and others to prevent the Blue Dragons from looting the Golden Palace. He also orders Illymoyas to intervene. She transforms and confronts a young Blue Dragon, declaring the palace belongs to Free City; when it refuses to stop, she prepares to fight.

Character developments

• Annan shifts from staging an intimidating display to confronting the possibility that his spell nearly reached the Goddess herself. He also turns the believers’ growing devotion into political authority.
• Grand Lord Raymond is exposed as someone wielding Divinity, but is swiftly neutralized by the Clan Chief.
• Illymoyas openly defies her own clan to defend the Golden Palace and Free City’s claim to it.
• The Ancient Dragon Clan Chief reveals formidable power and provides a distinction between divine beings and others who can wield Divinity.

Significant themes

• Faith and power: The congregation’s belief fuels Annan’s magic and elevates his authority.
• Appearance versus truth: Raymond’s claim to be the Goddess’s spokesperson is undermined, while the nature of the presence behind the golden door remains uncertain.
• Political legitimacy and ownership: Annan uses religious symbolism to challenge Raymond, then asserts Free City’s right to the Golden Palace.
• Conflict after victory: Raymond’s defeat resolves only the immediate confrontation; disputes over power and spoils are just beginning.

Character interactions

• The believers first join Annan’s hymn, then transfer their reverence to him, calling him the Holy Son and offering him the transformed emblem.
• Annan publicly condemns Raymond; Raymond retaliates with Divinity, but the Clan Chief intervenes and seals him away.
• Annan directs Reyne to secure the palace and tells Illymoyas to stop the dragons’ looting. She confronts a young Blue Dragon, who rejects her authority, setting up a physical clash.

Key plot points and events

• With the Golden Palace’s treasure exposed, humans and Dragons turn on one another to seize it, while the Square remains peaceful under the arriving Hellfire Legion’s patrols.
• Stripped of his divinity and status, Raymond fights Annan’s Fanatics on a raised platform but is gradually overwhelmed.
• The old Ancient Dragon Clan Chief explains that most gods are trapped inside their own temples. When the planes became isolated, the gods were separated and unable to help one another escape.
• He warns Annan that his unusual ability may let him reach or free the gods, making him both valuable to them and a potential target.
• The Clan Chief urges Annan to use one of his Sorcerer Protection Association crystals soon: barriers are separating every world, not just the Divine Realm.
• The Chief confirms he has met Eliyes and shows no hostility toward the Empire. Annan explains that Aga is an undead made from the Legendary Agawar.
• The Clan Chief reveals that Raymond’s divinity has already been sealed because Raymond had not yet mastered it. Annan orders Raymond imprisoned pending a trial.
• Annan then calls Wilson over and offers to take him to bring Adele home.

Character developments

• Annan learns that his power may make him the only person capable of reaching the imprisoned gods. He takes the Clan Chief’s warnings seriously and moves to deal with Raymond through lawful imprisonment and trial.
• The Ancient Dragon Clan Chief acts as a candid adviser rather than an adversary. His knowledge of the gods and the spreading barriers gives Annan a wider view of the crisis.
• Raymond is reduced from Grand Lord to a defeated captive, his former authority and dignity stripped away.
• Wilson is given the chance to reunite with Adele, though the chapter does not yet show their reunion.

Significant themes

• Isolation and failed cooperation: The gods’ separation into individual “cells” makes escape difficult even for powerful beings.
• Power and responsibility: Annan’s ability could alter the fate of the gods, bringing both their favor and their resentment.
• A widening crisis: Barriers between worlds suggest that the gods’ disappearance may be only the first sign of broader isolation.
• Justice amid chaos: While looters pursue treasure, Annan chooses to imprison Raymond and arrange a trial.

Character interactions

• Annan respectfully questions the Clan Chief about the gods and receives both an explanation and a warning.
• The Clan Chief recognizes Annan’s unusual talent and offers practical advice about the crystals.
• Annan and the Clan Chief discuss Eliyes, the Empire, and Aga; their exchange establishes mutual understanding rather than hostility.
• Raymond challenges Annan to fight, but Annan refuses to engage and orders his arrest instead.
• Annan reaches out to Wilson with the offer to help him find Adele.

Key plot points and events

• Annan enters Golden City with Wilson after Olmedo and the others arrive. Olmedo handles events outside, where the Oskulas Mercenary Company and their allies chase Blue Dragons through the city.
• The Golden Palace has been badly stripped and damaged by the dragons. Annan searches its collection room for Adele’s skin but finds the display space empty.
• Olmedo has the many arrested nobles and officials held in the overcrowded Golden City Dungeon. Grand Lord Raymond is given a cell of his own.
• Annan questions Raymond about Adele. Raymond admits he used her skin, then reveals that Adele was the God of Light’s Saint. He killed her without realizing—or caring—that she was a Saint, and took her divinity.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan remains focused on uncovering what happened to Adele, even amid the chaos. He is disgusted by Raymond’s actions and rejects the idea that his own power should have resolved the conflict for everyone.
• Raymond shifts from defiance to resignation. He wonders whether events would have unfolded differently had he welcomed Annan, but Annan answers that the conflict would still have happened because the people had their own grievances.
• Wilson is visibly low in spirits, so Annan leaves him outside rather than bring him into the dungeon.
• Raymond’s fellow prisoners expose the cruelty of his rule: one was jailed for “vagrancy” under a law designed to turn civilians into mine slaves, while another is the councilor who wrote it. The prisoners curse Raymond, and Annan lets the abuse continue.
• Annan and Raymond’s final exchange is unexpectedly subdued. Annan tells him to listen—not to dungeon sounds, but to the cries of ordinary people caught up in history.

Significant themes

• Popular justice and revolt: Annan insists the Broken Mountains’ people, not an outsider, must settle their own affairs.
• The machinery of oppression: Laws such as vagrancy criminalize poverty and funnel civilians into slavery.
• Power, divinity, and abuse: Raymond’s murder of Adele and theft of her divinity reveal the scale of his ambition and the danger of unchecked rule.
• The consequences of tyranny: Raymond’s downfall is framed not merely as Annan’s victory, but as the accumulated response of the people he oppressed.

Plot points and events

• Annan confronts the defeated Grand Lord Raymond, who reveals that Adele’s skin may be near a Temple Fragment deep in Clover Mine. Raymond had exploited a Godspawn connected to the fragment, feeding it Wealth Church followers before taking the Divinity it cultivated.
• Raymond offers Annan the Broken Mountains and his family’s wealth, but Annan refuses: he wants Raymond and his people gone.
• Annan reunites with Wilson and Lady Melanie. Melanie hurries into the dungeon to see her husband; Annan then leads Wilson and a team into Clover Mine to search for Adele’s remains.
• The group fights through controlled Undead and discovers empty cages, a plea for help, and piles of Wealth Church clothing. They find the Temple Fragment, but no trace of Adele’s skin.
• Wilson accepts that the last trace of Adele is lost. Annan, meanwhile, is astonished to discover the fragment is an enormous, valuable chunk of Mountain Copper—and immediately wonders how to transport it without anyone noticing.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan remains compassionate toward allies but merciless toward Raymond. His confidence and humor persist, even as his eagerness for Mountain Copper reveals a comically intense material ambition.
• Raymond shifts from furious defiance to resignation, giving Annan information and making a desperate offer, but learns that surrender cannot undo his actions.
• Wilson shares Annan’s search for Adele and is devastated when it fails.
• Lady Melanie approaches Annan with deference after the reversal in their fortunes; he responds gently and directs her to her husband.
• Annan’s team follows his lead through the mine, while Aga’s magical checks help ensure the cavern is safe.

Significant themes

• Power and arrogance: Raymond’s downfall stems partly from underestimating Annan and assuming he controlled events.
• Consequences and justice: Raymond’s offer of wealth cannot compensate for his crimes or buy his way out.
• Loss and remembrance: The failed search forces Wilson to face the possibility that Adele is truly gone.
• Dark humor amid tragedy: Annan’s jokes and fixation on Mountain Copper contrast with the grim discoveries in the mine.

Key events

• Annan discovers that the runes on a mountain-copper shard match those on the golden door. Aga identifies them as the language of the gods but cannot translate them.
• Annan summons the Wilhelm merchant to discuss transporting the shard. The merchant reveals that it is a piece of a Temple Fragment and offers finished mountain copper in exchange. Annan recognizes its likely value, refuses the offer, and decides not to cut it up.
• After the merchant departs through a teleportation spell, Aga comments on the spell in a way that sounds like Agawar’s old memories. Alarmed, Annan has the old clan chief examine him. The control spell binding Aga remains secure, and the chief suggests Aga may be developing a new self.
• In Golden City, Olmedo quickly establishes control. Raymond’s forces surrender, most lords submit, and Lord Greyk is the only holdout; Olmedo sends him to the dungeon.
• Annan leaves the city’s administration to Olmedo and turns to a more urgent task: formalizing an alliance among Free City, the Blue Dragons, and the Ratfolk.

Character developments and interactions

• Annan shows growing commercial shrewdness, spotting the merchant’s interest and refusing to undervalue the Temple Fragment. He is also uneasy about Aga’s possible connection to Agawar and takes precautions.
• Aga remains bound to Annan but shows signs of emotion and possibly emerging independent awareness, complicating Annan’s view of him.
• The Wilhelm merchant demonstrates both his wealth and his interest in rare, potentially powerful objects, while maintaining a cordial long-term relationship with Annan despite their bargaining.
• Olmedo proves effective at securing Golden City, while the surrendered lords cooperate mainly to preserve their wealth and power. Lord Greyk’s refusal marks him as Raymond’s lone loyalist.

Significant themes

• Value, leverage, and negotiation: Annan recognizes the Temple Fragment’s worth and refuses to accept a deal before understanding its potential.
• Identity and consciousness: Aga’s reactions raise the possibility that a bound being may develop a self distinct from its former owner.
• Power and political survival: Golden City changes hands swiftly under overwhelming force; the lords’ submission is driven less by loyalty than by self-preservation.
• Pragmatism and shifting priorities: Annan delegates governance and focuses on securing alliances that can shape the region’s future.