Chapter Summaries

Arthur gave Merlin and Gawain red envelopes and a holiday, then sent greetings to his trainees at Rick's Farm before welcoming Maltz for the Wintertide Feast. As Maltz arrived with Chief, Arthur looked toward West Merck Avenue and his eyelid twitched.

• Arthur gave Merlin and Gawain Gold Tickets and told them their holiday began after they delivered a message.
• Arthur retied the courtyard's red ribbons into bows and sent a letter to Rick's Farm with a raven.
• Maltz arrived at 2 Kirk Street with Chief and gave Arthur a venison steak for the feast.
• Chief chased his tail, fell asleep, then resumed chasing it after it smacked him in the face.
• Maltz comforted Chief while Arthur looked toward West Merck Avenue and his eyelid twitched.

Arthur watched Mrs. Susan and Lady Camille race to 2 Kirk Street, then welcomed them as they brought a gold-plated pine branch and pastries for the Wintertide Feast. A reporter was struck by lightning after writing a scandalous account involving Arthur and Countess Aisi Bonaparte South Los, while Arthur felt something stir within him.

• Arthur saw Mrs. Susan and Lady Camille race their carriages, but they stopped competing before reaching him.
• Mrs. Susan gave Arthur a gold-plated pine branch bearing the House of South Los's inscriptions, and Lady Camille brought pastries she had baked.
• Linda helped Arthur hang the gold-plated branch beside Malinda's pine branch as reporters watched outside 2 Kirk Street.
• A reporter began writing a scandalous story about Arthur and Countess Aisi Bonaparte South Los, and a bolt of lightning struck him dead.
• Arthur heard the thunderclap and felt something stir within him.

Arthur celebrated the Wintertide Festival by setting off fireworks and firecrackers on Kirk Street, with Maltz telling the curious patrol officers and neighbors that the display was a Medium ritual. As the neighbors bought fireworks, an unseen person appeared within the crowd and placed a gold coin in Arthur’s crate, putting him on alert.

• Arthur brought fireworks and firecrackers into the courtyard and began setting them off on Kirk Street with Maltz.
• Two patrol officers came over, and Maltz told them and the watching neighbors that the fireworks were a Medium ritual to ward off calamity and bring blessings.
• Mr. Duer bought fireworks for his children, prompting other neighbors to pay Arthur for their own.
• Arthur sensed no one when a fair-skinned hand placed a gold coin in his crate and took a squat firework.
• Arthur glanced toward the figure he could not perceive and reacted with surprise.

Arthur celebrated Wintertide by setting off fireworks, unknowingly amusing the Countess of South Los, who watched from the clouds. Malinda and Linda joined him, while Lady Camille and Mrs. Susan discussed Linda’s feelings for Arthur and his resemblance to Old Charlie.

• Arthur recognized the short figure who vanished in lightning as Aisi Bonaparte South Los, the Countess of South Los, and laughed as he continued setting off fireworks.
• The Countess dismissed Arthur as childish before returning to deal with six official documents from the Inner Bay.
• Malinda joined Arthur, took the Roman candle he offered, and set off fireworks beside him, feeling reassured about catching up to his strength.
• Arthur noticed Linda’s sadness and invited her to join him and Malinda in setting off fireworks.
• Lady Camille and Mrs. Susan discussed Linda’s attraction to Arthur and the possibility of their relationship, while Mrs. Susan declared that she believed in him.
• Arthur moved to stand between Malinda and Linda, prompting Lady Camille to remark that his tenderness reminded her of Old Charlie.

As Arthur prepared for his trip to the Inner Bay, Lady Camille and Mrs. Susan gave him contacts to seek out if he encountered trouble, while Maltz promised to keep South Los safe. The chapter ended with Arthur and Malinda welcoming the New Year together.

• Pendragon watched the fireworks while Chief repeatedly tried to catch his tail and was knocked down each time.
• Lady Camille gave Arthur a note with Van Helsing’s address and told him to invoke Anna Vallorys’s favor if he ran into unexpected trouble.
• Mrs. Susan gave Arthur Lady Selene’s address and warned him that she would help only once.
• Maltz told Arthur he would keep South Los safe, and Arthur and Maltz embraced before Maltz left.
• Malinda saved Arthur food, and she and Arthur wished each other a Happy New Year as the bell in Earta Square struck midnight.

Arthur used the Wintertide Festival’s attention to plan more entertainment for South Los and sent Muninn to contact Rat Street. As Malinda investigated trouble in the Inner Bay, Arthur gave her a lead about Alvis Hamlet and a gift, then resolved to reach Entry Rank before going there.

• Arthur read an exaggerated newspaper account of his battle with the Wintertide beast while Malinda criticized its praise.
• Arthur gained XP from the Wintertide Feast, the fireworks, and the spread of his name, then decided to give South Los more festival entertainment.
• Arthur sent Muninn to Rat Street and Malinda arranged for people to help spread the word.
• Malinda said reports from the Inner Bay might force her to suspend operations there, and Arthur linked the trouble to Alvis Hamlet, who used the alias Dorn.
• Arthur gave Malinda a box of Mint Elixir as her New Year's gift, and she left to handle her work.
• Arthur watched the passersby and decided he had to reach Entry Rank before going to the Inner Bay.

A drunk used a Gold Ticket from the Medium to spread word of the Medium’s battle against the Wintertide Monster, while hidden believers passed the story along. With Uls, the Chief Hunter, and Wiggins’s agents coordinating, the title “Wintertide Guardian” began to spread.

• Tabloids and a drunk in a tavern reported that the Medium had battled the Wintertide Monster during the previous night’s fireworks.
• The tavern waiter tried to send the drunk away, but the drunk threw a ten-denomination Gold Ticket at him and claimed the Medium had given it to him.
• The drunk bought the tavern patrons wheat beer and repeatedly recounted the Medium’s battle, leaving some listeners half-convinced.
• Hidden believers among the patrons began spreading the story through their own channels.
• The drunk went to sleep after completing his task, as Uls, the Chief Hunter, and Wiggins’s agents coordinated the operation and spread the title “Wintertide Guardian.”

Arthur directed Hughes to promote the Wintertide Guardian and Wintertide Blesser titles and arrange newspaper serials that invoked Mrs. Susan and Lady Camille, while promising to support Hughes's siblings. Meanwhile, Old Charlie used the demigods' confrontation with Death to advance his plan and rode toward the Wall of Sighs to reunite with Yevna.

• Hughes reported that he had spread the Wintertide Guardian title and prepared to promote the Wintertide Blesser title, explaining how he had helped Wiggins protect their family.
• Arthur praised Hughes and promised to provide the three youngest boys and the girl in Hughes's family with the best teachers if Hughes performed well.
• Arthur instructed Hughes to have tabloids serialize Secrets of Wintertide and War of Wintertide while mentioning Mrs. Susan and Lady Camille.
• Old Charlie sensed Hunter, Kate, and Aaron hemming in Death and recognized that their arrival had helped him avoid sacrificing half his body.
• Old Charlie turned his carriage toward the Wall of Sighs, intending to take Yevna home, and forced himself to become cold and detached like Death.

Arthur’s growing fame as South Los’s Wintertide Guardian and Blesser gave him a mysterious opportunity that his Spirituality urged him to pursue. He decided to build support for a larger Wintertide ceremony and, with enough XP to advance Great Orange, headed out to sea to perform the ritual.

• Arthur read the XP messages showing his fame and the glimmer of an indescribable opportunity had grown.
• Arthur resolved to increase publicity and prepare next year’s Wintertide Festival as a way to spread his renown across South County.
• Arthur decided he needed greater strength to gather the Countess of South Los, the Grand Duke of Inner Bay, and other nobles for the ceremony.
• Arthur saw that he had enough XP to advance Great Orange to its ultimate limit.
• Arthur left 2 Kirk Street and headed out to sea to perform the advancement ritual.

Matidal hoped to earn five hundred gold coins by selling her first time to Horton, a wealthy and refined man on Coconut Island, so she could move to South Los. As she made her way to his residence, Bluebeard stopped her and offered to make her his eighth wife.

• Matidal worried that the pirates on Coconut Island could not afford her five-hundred-gold-coin price, despite Bloody John's generous Wintertide Festival.
• Matidal decided to approach Horton after seeing Captain John give him a chest containing at least a thousand gold coins.
• Matidal dressed in her treasured white dress and high heels and set off for Horton's residence at the island's highest point.
• Bluebeard, first mate of the Dokiman Island Devils, approached Matidal and asked her to become his eighth wife.

Matidal faced capture and death when Bluebeard tried to make her his eighth wife, but Horton appeared and confronted him. Bluebeard’s flames and gale failed against Horton, who seized him by the neck.

• Bluebeard blocked Matidal’s escape and threatened her after she mentioned Captain John.
• Bluebeard decided to kill Matidal and Horton, whom he hated, and began removing his clothes.
• Horton walked down from the hill, giving Bluebeard a chance to attack him.
• Bluebeard hurled flames and a scorching gale at Horton, knocking Matidal to the ground.
• Horton walked unharmed through the flames and grabbed Bluebeard by the neck, murmuring, “Please listen to the wind!”

Horton destroyed the Dokiman Island Devils’ ships with a tornado after killing their first mate. Sakiri attacked Horton with a massive fireball, and Horton welcomed the captain’s move into his line of fire.

• Horton’s wind sliced Bluebeard, the Dokiman Island Devils’ first mate, into pieces, while Matidal watched and vomited.
• Horton spotted the Devils’ four ships in the harbor and recognized them as a coastal pirate fleet.
• A lookout saw Horton and fired a signal flare to alert the island.
• Horton summoned a towering tornado that swept up and wrecked all four ships, killing everyone aboard.
• Sakiri, the Devil of Dokiman Island, ran out in fury and hurled a massive fireball at Horton.

Arthur used the [General Puppet] to destroy the Dokiman Island Devils Pirate Crew’s ships and turn their gold into energy while fighting Sakiri on Coconut Island. Sakiri fled toward shelter as Arthur’s concealed wind arrows struck.

• Arthur recognized that Sakiri used Lv4 [Abdul's Fire Control Art] and raised a storm that destroyed four ships and absorbed their gold.
• Sakiri fired flames at Horton, but Arthur used seawater and the shipwrecks as a shield while moving the [General Puppet] beyond the flames’ reach.
• Arthur noticed Sakiri recovered his stamina with deep breaths and wondered whether the technique could restore the [General Puppet]'s energy.
• Arthur unleashed a powerful storm over the harbor, scattering ordinary pirates and frightening Sakiri.
• Sakiri ran toward the island shelter, and eleven concealed wind arrows shot toward him.

Arthur killed Sakiri and found a hidden Pirate King's Treasure Map, Edward's notes, and a Compass needle that reacted to Matidal. He left without confronting her, while Matidal followed him through the storm.

• Arthur used the [General Puppet] to kill Sakiri and searched his body with the power of the Storm.
• Arthur found a blank four-piece parchment map, a Compass needle, and notes explaining that the map required a descendant of Pirate King Edward's blood and the needle could locate that descendant.
• Arthur read Edward's notes, which described the Pirate King's failed search for his children, his attacks on North County, and the rituals and Mystic Arts he had recorded.
• The Compass needle moved when Matidal approached, leading Arthur to suspect she was Edward's descendant and that Sakiri had planned to betray the Coconut Island alliance to pursue the treasure.
• Arthur walked back to his residence without questioning Matidal, and she hurried after him as wind and thunder drowned out a cat's meow.

Arthur prepared a sealed cave on a deserted island and began the Great Orange initiation ritual with Pendragon beside him. As the ritual took effect, Arthur witnessed the memory of an orange cat whose elderly caretaker and black cat companion were killed by a mob, leaving him to hunt down the perpetrators.

• Arthur stationed Kuliqi, Kili, Fuginn, Stolas, Mapa, and Nidhogg around the island to keep intruders away while he performed the ritual.
• Arthur sealed a natural cave with protective materials, dug a hidden chamber, and reassured the nervous Pendragon that they would both be fine.
• Arthur accepted the Great Orange advancement, spending 9,981 XP as the initiation began.
• Arthur saw an elderly herbalist get killed by a mob, who also beheaded her black cat and burned their home.
• The orange cat returned from fighting a black bear, found the woman and black cat dead, and tracked the mob's scents with a vow of vengeance.

A merchant’s caravan entered the forests near Saint Siss and was attacked by the rumored Cat Demon. Two black-clad men captured the caravan for their lord’s experiments, unaware that an orange cat had slipped aboard.

• The merchant and his caravan traveled toward a meeting point while fearing the Demon Cat said to haunt Saint Siss.
• Two guards returned from scouting and warned that everyone at the temporary camp was dead, then one guard died after falling from his horse.
• A hidden attacker dragged caravan members into the darkness, and the survivors fled in panic before their screams stopped.
• Two black-clad men emerged wearing orange, paw-shaped weapons and discussed gathering experimental subjects for their lord.
• The men loaded the unconscious caravan members onto the wagons and headed for their hidden base, while an orange cat secretly slipped aboard.

Mimi infiltrated a hidden mountain base and killed the last man responsible for the woman’s death. As Mimi tried to escape the burning room, someone spoke into its mind and warned it to stop.

• Mimi hid in a supply wagon and entered the secret base through a concealed tunnel.
• Mallory recounted how he had incited Saint Siss’s residents to kill the woman, while an Inquisition disciplinary deacon verified his account.
• After the interrogation, the exhausted deacon fell asleep, unaware that Mimi had entered his room.
• Mimi killed the deacon and set the room on fire by knocking over an oil lamp.
• The Honorary Knight found the body, blamed Mallory for killing himself, and ran outside to establish the story.
• Mimi crept along the wall to escape the chaos, but a voice in its mind warned it to stop or die.

Mimi escaped the Inquisition’s secret base with help from a dying stranger, but a powerful black-robed man caught it and burned it with divine fire. As Mimi faced death, a wild voice declared that a cat had nine lives.

• Mimi hid from the disciplinary deacon after a mysterious voice warned it to stay still, then learned the deacon was going to question Mallory’s soul.
• The voice told Mimi that the Templar Knights’ search would give it a chance to escape and said it regretted not listening to its stronger younger brother.
• Mimi fled toward the forest but was intercepted by a powerful black-robed man who identified it as the demon cat of Saint Siss.
• The black-robed man engulfed Mimi in white divine flames, which continued burning even after Mimi plunged into water.
• As Mimi closed its eyes and awaited death, a rough voice suddenly cried, “A cat has nine lives!”

Mimi watched Aeolia defeat the Inquisition's deputy director and survived by siphoning his vitality, while sharing some of the Doran Fruit's power with him. After Aeolia taught her mystical techniques and asked her to accompany him on his quest for revenge, Arthur's vision ended as [Phantom Stomach] began to shine.

• The black-robed Inquisition deputy director attacked Aeolia with divine flames, but Aeolia extinguished them and shattered the deputy director with one punch.
• Mimi passed Aeolia his older brother's message, then began to die until Aeolia lifted her and offered her his vitality.
• Mimi siphoned Aeolia's life force and transferred half the Doran Fruit's power to him in return.
• Aeolia taught Mimi several mystical techniques, asked her to travel with him while he sought revenge, and introduced himself as the current Orange Cat of the Cat Cave.
• Mimi and Aeolia shook hands, and he carried her toward the Church's hidden mountain base as Arthur's vision ended and [Phantom Stomach] began to glow.

Arthur completed the Great Orange ritual, evolving his traits and dramatically increasing his physique and spirituality. He reached Entry Rank but decided his new strength was still not enough.

• Arthur's Phantom Stomach burned XP as his body and several traits evolved.
• The Great Orange ritual completed, raising Arthur's Physique and Spirituality and granting him new abilities.
• Arthur grew taller and broader, with his Physique reaching 13.8 and his Spirituality reaching 12.6.
• Arthur felt a new sense of security but judged that Entry Rank was not enough and took out the Initiation Chart.