Chapter Summaries

Mulan oversaw the Black Castle’s reforms before Walton sent him to investigate newly discovered sunstone and search for a possible alchemist who knew ancient techniques. Mulan set out with Handel, assigning him to escort Mr. Moor to a separate destination while Mulan pursued the investigation.

• Walton assigned Mulan a proposal for Black Castle reforms, and Queen Nisheriel approved it and funded renovations.
• Mulan reorganized the castle’s teaching spaces and Magic Department offices, becoming the only regular occupant besides the Logistics Division staff.
• Mulan reviewed the Black Castle’s residents and learned that its practitioners were mostly wizards, with no registered Fate Path practitioners or secret realm weavers.
• Walton told Mulan that intelligence agents had found sunstone and asked him to investigate its source and any alchemist capable of making it.
• Mulan chose Handel from Professor Haisen’s class to assist on the mission, then instructed him to escort Mr. Moor to another destination and meet Mulan afterward.

Mulan traveled by train toward Sorens and used a divination card to extend his perception across the train. After sunset, he sensed an unusual deathly energy and withdrew his senses, leaving its source unknown.

• Mulan arranged for Handel to get off at the second stop and meet Mr. Moor, then boarded the train with him.
• Mulan forced two passengers to give up the seats they had taken from him and a young man named Daniel.
• Mulan read Daniel a divination card depicting a predicament and used it to extend his perception across the train.
• Mulan sensed an unusual, stirring deathly energy and withdrew his perception as the sun set.

Mulan and Handel discovered a vampire hunting passengers aboard the train and rescued a girl it had attacked. They headed toward the rear carriage to find the vampire’s coffin, while Mulan’s shadow began to unfurl and revealed his demonic hunger.

• Mulan warned Handel that an Undead might be aboard the train, and Handel smelled blood in one of the carriages they had passed.
• Mulan and Handel rushed into carriage six, where an invisible force dragged a young girl from her seat.
• Mulan attacked the unseen vampire with Fang and freed the girl, who had two puncture wounds on her neck.
• Mulan identified the creature as a vampire and told Handel to load his silver bullets.
• Mulan led Handel toward the rear carriage to search for the vampire’s coffin as his shadow began to unfurl.

Mulan organized the train crew to search for a vampire hiding among the passengers while he waited for it to make a move. When wolves pursued the train and passengers panicked, he fired his silver revolver out the window.

• Mulan explained to Handel that the vampire was likely a weak Blood-Taker hiding among the passengers, and that his Radiant Power had scorched its blood will.
• Mulan showed the conductor his appointment and ordered the crew to search for the vampire and investigate the attacked woman.
• The attendants began checking tickets for suspicious passengers while Handel led a group toward the injured woman.
• Mulan waited in the passage between carriages, sensing the vampire was avoiding a direct confrontation.
• A pale passenger with a ticket for travel before dawn told an attendant that his heart was beating fast, then calmly returned to the ticket inspection.
• Wolves raced after the train, alarming the passengers, and Mulan fired his silver revolver out the window.

Mulan and Handel fought werewolves pursuing the train, while the conductor armed passengers and ordered them toward the front. Mulan charged into the breached rear carriages and began cutting down the werewolves as the Vampire watched from the front.

• Mulan shot at the werewolves outside and warned Handel and the passengers that they were pursuing the train.
• A werewolf smashed through a window, and Mulan killed it with Fang before it could enter the carriage.
• The conductor unlocked the gun cabinet, distributed firearms, and ordered passengers to move toward the front.
• Werewolves broke into the rear carriages and killed a passenger as frightened gunmen fired at them.
• Mulan rushed into the rear carriages, identified the werewolves as Infected, and attacked them with Fang and Ring of Light.
• The Vampire watched Mulan's fight from the front of the train.

Mulan and Handel fought off the Werewolves attacking the train, and Mulan returned after killing or driving back the attackers. As the survivors began cleaning up, a train attendant told Mulan he had found someone suspicious.

• Mulan fought the Werewolves in the carriage while Handel shot at them, then Mulan escaped onto the train roof after being knocked through a broken window.
• Handel and the passengers killed the remaining Werewolves inside the train, while Mulan reloaded and battled the attackers running along the roof and beside the train.
• Mulan’s presence stopped the two Werewolves following the train, and he returned through the carriages to the survivors.
• Mulan instructed the conductor to move passengers into cleaner carriages and arrange cleanup at the next station.
• A train attendant quietly told Mulan that he had found someone suspicious.

After the werewolves died, Mulan observed their bodies reverting to human form while the train made an unscheduled stop at Shire Station. There, he exposed and captured a vampire, then demanded to know what he and his associates were planning.

• Mulan told Handel to record that werewolf cells took about one to one and a half hours to die before the bodies reverted to human form.
• The conductor said the train would make an unscheduled stop at Shire Station, and Mulan agreed.
• At the station, Mulan noticed a suspicious passenger and followed him after he tried to get away.
• Mulan pinned the man's hand to a pillar with Fang, revealing him as a vampire.
• Mulan threatened the vampire and demanded to know what he and his associates were doing.

Mulan interrogated and killed the vampire who had been hiding among the train passengers, then continued with Handel to Shire after the damaged train was stopped. In Shire, the passengers found lodgings with local residents, and Mulan chose to stay with a family.

• Mulan used Fang and the demon in his shadow to terrify the vampire into revealing his purpose, then killed him.
• Handel and the others waited beside the damaged train while station staff, residents, detectives, and police dealt with the aftermath.
• Mulan agreed to travel to Shire with Handel after learning the train could not safely depart and the detectives would not allow it to leave.
• Mulan and Handel rode with the other passengers to Shire, where the two inns filled quickly and residents offered rooms to those left without lodging.
• Mulan chose to lodge with a family in Shire rather than stay at an inn.

After their train stopped in Shire, Mulan and Handel accepted lodging with a local family and grew suspicious of the residents’ behavior. Mulan suspected the werewolves were hiding in the nearby mountains, and concluded that something was wrong with Shire.

• Mulan chose to stay with a resident whose bad leg did not slow his brisk walk, while a sallow-faced passenger went with another local.
• The resident brought Mulan and Handel to his home, where his family served them reheated soup and warned them not to go outside at night.
• After their host left them in a shared bedroom, Handel checked the hallway and told Mulan the residents were hiding something.
• Mulan and Handel suspected the townspeople knew about the werewolves because they kept watching the moon.
• Mulan reasoned that the werewolves might be hiding in the maze of mine tunnels in the nearby mountains and said something was wrong with Shire.

Mulan and Handel stayed overnight in Shire Town, where distant wolf howls and the town dogs’ barking hinted at a search for the vampire. The next morning Baron Shire invited them to his mansion, where Mulan recognized the baron as an incompletely transformed vampire.

• Mulan advised Handel to improve his hand-to-hand combat and agreed to arrange combat classes at the Black Castle.
• Mulan dreamed that his light and Demon aspects were growing as two bodies sharing one consciousness, with the dark side developing more vigorously.
• Handel woke Mulan after hearing wolves howl near Shire Town, but Mulan said they were searching for the vampire and would not enter casually because they had an understanding with Shire.
• A mustached envoy invited Mulan and Handel to Baron Shire’s residence, and they traveled by carriage from town to the baron’s mansion.
• Baron Shire welcomed Mulan as the Queen’s Guardian Knight, and Mulan recognized him as a vampire who had undergone the ritual but had not yet tasted blood.

Mulan and Handel tested Baron Shire’s reaction to blood during breakfast while questioning him about his missing friend, Sandro. Shire lost control at the sight of Handel’s blood and hurried away, leaving Mulan and Handel convinced something was seriously wrong with him.

• Mulan told Handel to cut his hand during breakfast and make it bleed so they could observe Baron Shire’s reaction.
• Baron Shire asked Mulan about his missing friend Sandro, and Mulan warned that a vampire from the train might have abducted him or put him in danger.
• Mulan revealed that he taught at the Black Castle, the imperial Magic Department, and Handel praised his abilities to Baron Shire.
• Handel cut his finger, and Baron Shire became fixated on the blood as a voice urged him to drink it.
• Mulan brought Baron Shire out of his trance, and Shire claimed he needed to rest before hurrying away.
• Handel bandaged his cut and told Mulan that something was seriously wrong with Baron Shire.

Mulan took Farolynch, a naturally resurrected being, under his protection and led him back to the coffin he recognized as his own. There they found Baron Shire asleep inside, and Mulan startled him awake.

• Mulan and Handel left Baron Shire’s residence and collected Farolynch, who agreed to stay with Mulan while he investigated Farolynch’s identity and condition.
• Farolynch explained that he was a Resurrector with hazy memories and a longing for sunlight, unlike vampires who loathed it.
• Mulan promised to keep Farolynch’s existence secret and took him and Handel to a hidden basement near Baron Shire’s residence.
• The three entered a circular chamber and found Farolynch’s coffin, which Mulan recognized as having been hidden in coal and brought back by Baron Shire.
• Mulan lifted the coffin lid and startled Baron Shire awake as the three stared down at him.

Mulan forced Baron Shire to help him wipe out the werewolves hiding in a mine near Shire, threatening him with torture and exposure if he refused. Mulan, Shire, Farolynch, and Handel set out toward the mountains with explosives.

• Mulan pulled Shire from a coffin, frightened him with the consequences of his crimes, and offered him a chance to save himself by helping destroy the werewolves.
• Shire agreed to cooperate, and Mulan warned him that calling on the police or townspeople would expose his vampirism to the Holy Temple.
• Mulan, Farolynch, and Shire left the Baron's Residence through a hidden underground passage to avoid being seen.
• Shire learned that vampires could not have children and cursed the vampire who had turned him for hiding that fact.
• Handel met them on the mountain road with a carriage loaded with explosives, and the group set off for the mine.

Mulan, Farolynch, Handel, and Shire entered the werewolf den through the abandoned mine, using Shire’s vampire blood to influence the werewolves while Mulan planted explosives. They reached a deeper tunnel where dozens of werewolves gathered, leaving their plan in danger.

• Shire learned that Sandro had used blood from a powerful vampire to turn him as part of an experiment, and Mulan suspected the blood belonged to a Night Pilgrim.
• Mulan sent Shire outside with Handel as the carriage approached the mine, where werewolves tested the group but let them pass after Shire claimed Sandro had sent him.
• The carriage stopped inside the mine, and Mulan and Farolynch carried sacks of explosives deeper into its branching tunnels.
• Shire used his influence over the nearby werewolves, allowing Mulan to plant explosive charges along their route without drawing a reaction.
• Mulan heard more werewolves ahead and saw dozens of green eyes gathering beyond the kerosene lamp’s light.

Baron Shire persuaded Silver Mane to recall the werewolves and keep them confined, while Mulan and the others secretly set explosives throughout the mine. Two hours after they withdrew to a distant mountaintop, the mine tunnels exploded.

• Mulan recognized Silver Mane · Dobrich · Mad Biter as a powerful werewolf when he emerged before the group in the mine chamber.
• Shire claimed Sandro had ordered the werewolves recalled and warned Silver Mane that the Dilga Empire might investigate.
• Shire revealed the explosives in Farolynch's sack and proposed using them as a last resort, then arranged for Silver Mane to keep the werewolves inside and accept livestock deliveries.
• Silver Mane howled to summon the werewolves, and six groups returned before he went back into the tunnels.
• Mulan told Shire two hours remained, and the group withdrew to another mountaintop while the planted explosives detonated around the mine.

Mulan’s group sealed the Mine Tunnel with explosives, then waited for Silver Mane to emerge so they could ambush him. Mulan wounded the werewolf with Handel’s silver ammunition and fought him through the forest, but the battle remained unresolved.

• Handel explained that the explosion would kill many werewolves and consume the tunnel’s oxygen, while the sealed exits would prevent them from escaping.
• Handel assembled a rifle loaded with alchemical silver bullets, and Mulan took it to watch the collapsed tunnel entrances.
• After two and a half hours, Silver Mane dug his way out of the Mine Tunnel, and Mulan shot him in the chest.
• Silver Mane charged Mulan, who used the Ring of Light and his sword to wound and counterattack him.
• Mulan and Silver Mane continued fighting through the forest as Handel held his fire, unable to safely aim at the fast-moving pair.

Mulan Jonester fought Silver Mane · Dobrich · Mad Biter while Shire, Farolynch, and Handel watched from the mountain. With Handel’s timely shot and a final surge of power, Mulan killed Silver Mane and collapsed to one knee as the others realized the battle was over.

• Mulan confirmed Silver Mane’s stamina was failing, but the werewolf caught him in his jaws and bit into his left shoulder.
• Handel shot Silver Mane in the shoulder, giving Mulan the chance to fire at the werewolf’s face and break free.
• Mulan and Silver Mane resumed their fight, and Mulan awakened another power that let him attack with greater speed and force.
• Silver Mane weakened under Mulan’s assault and howled toward the obscured moon, but Mulan drove Fang through his head and killed him.
• Mulan sank to one knee, while Shire, Farolynch, and Handel sighed with relief.

Mulan and his companions killed the silver-maned Werewolf, and Mulan warned Shire about the dangers of the supernatural world while treating his severe injuries. After sending reports to the Royal Palace and the Black Castle, Mulan spotted Owen in Shire Town, though his letters could not have arrived yet.

• Mulan absorbed the silver-maned Werewolf's power, then asked Handel to collect tissue samples before the group buried the corpse.
• Mulan explained Shire's choices about his vampire blood and warned that the vampire who gave it to him planned to take over his body someday.
• Handel and Farolynch checked the Mine Tunnel, then helped Mulan return to the Baron's Residence, where he treated his wounds.
• Handel sent Mulan's letters about the vampires, Werewolves, and Shire to the Royal Palace and the Black Castle.
• Mulan went for a walk at noon and unexpectedly saw Owen in Shire Town.

After spotting Owen in Shire, Mulan warned Baron Shire to keep his half-vampire nature hidden and proposed that he pose as an uninformed lackey. Shire agreed to become Mulan’s partner, and Mulan promised not to abandon him as long as Shire remained loyal.

• Mulan spotted Owen in Shire and avoided meeting him, then returned to the Baron's Residence with Farolynch.
• Mulan explained to Shire that revealing his condition could expose him to the Empire or put him in danger if Owen was connected to the vampires.
• Shire proposed pretending to know nothing about Mulan’s actions, and Mulan praised the idea while warning him to stay undercover among the vampires.
• Shire asked Mulan to save him, and Mulan recognized his courage and offered him a partnership.
• Mulan promised to help Shire as long as he did not betray him, and Shire agreed to walk beside Mulan wherever he went.

Mulan gave Shire a Dawn Mark to help him resist the vampire Source Blood’s influence, strengthening their partnership. They then planned how Shire could remain undercover among the vampires, while Farolynch watched the Book of Dawn with envy.

• Shire and Mulan agreed to call each other by their preferred names, and Shire explained the reason for his unusual name.
• Shire described how the vampire bloodline made him crave blood, and Mulan proposed using a mark to help him resist the Source Blood.
• Mulan showed Shire the Book of Dawn and explained that its symbol could be imprinted on him; Shire agreed to the painful process.
• Mulan branded the Dawn Mark onto Shire’s palm, and Shire found that he could make it glow or conceal it.
• Mulan and Shire discussed how Shire could stay undercover by making himself valuable to the vampires, while Farolynch watched the Book of Dawn enviously.