Chapter Summaries

Julian obtained medicine from Darkwill to treat the curse affecting Viscount Oakley and brought the case to Dunn at the Blackthorn Security Company. Dunn decided to investigate and sent Klein to gather Leonard and Frye.

• Julian visited Rosen's Folk Herbal Shop and described the curse affecting his wealthy friend.
• Julian identified himself to Darkwill and invoked his connections with Everett Lawrence and Vilo Kincaid from the School of Life.
• Darkwill prepared herbs for the victim and gave them to Julian without charge.
• Julian went to the Blackthorn Security Company and told Dunn that a cursed object might be in Viscount Oakley's manor.
• Dunn agreed to investigate and told Klein to get Leonard and Frye.

The Nighthawks searched Viscount Oakley's residence and Julian traced the curse to a clock in the study, discovering that it targeted the viscount's bloodline. As Julian investigated who had guided Jennings to the cursed gift, a strange humanoid outline appeared in the study, connected to him by an uncanny blue-green color.

• Klein questioned whether the Nighthawks could search a viscount's residence, and Dunn explained their authority to conduct a routine security inspection.
• Dunn's team entered the villa with Jennings's permission, and Julian noticed that both Jennings and Viscount Oakley bore traces of the same grayish-brown light.
• Klein and Frye secretly began divining Jennings while Julian used his abilities to follow the curse's traces upstairs.
• Julian found a luxurious clock in the study, identified it as the curse's source, and deduced that its bloodline-based targeting made Jennings a likely scapegoat.
• Julian failed to find evidence of who had guided Jennings to the clock, then sensed a strange humanoid outline near the study entrance and realized it was connected to him.

Julian resisted a Spectator-pathway attacker’s attempt to drive him mad and lured him into Dunn’s dream, where the Nighthawks exposed and subdued him. The attacker later lost control and died before he could reveal who had ordered him.

• Julian recognized that an unseen Beyonder was using illusions and likely Psychological Invisibility while he searched the villa.
• When Chris Jacob's Ring’s hallucinations intensified, Julian pretended to lose control, then shouted for Dunn as the attacker tried to push him into a frenzy.
• Dunn pulled Julian and the man in black into a dream, and Leonard’s verses helped keep the attacker under control until Klein and Frye arrived.
• Julian told Klein and Frye that the cursed item was in the study, then tactfully explained the incident to Jennings.
• Dunn reported that the Nighthawks found a pendant suspected to be a Sealed Artifact, but its bearer went mad and his head exploded before they could question him.

After surviving a dangerous confrontation, Julian reported the incident to the Evernight Goddess while concealing the Tarot Club, then resumed his work and accepted an invitation to Hanass Vincent’s dinner party. He returned above the Gray Fog for another Tarot Club gathering, where a young girl greeted Mr. Fool.

• Julian secretly recovered a Psychiatrist Beyonder characteristic from the black-clad young man's body and returned to Tingen with Dunn and the Nighthawks.
• Julian prayed to the Evernight Goddess about the incident but omitted anything involving the Tarot Club.
• Julian sold Viscount Oakley herbs, told him he could return home, and accepted his offer to spread the word about Julian's divination.
• Hanass Vincent invited Julian to a dinner party at the Tide Restaurant, and Julian accepted.
• Julian visited Azik and Saint Selena Cathedral over the weekend, then received Mr. Fool's notice about the next Tarot Club gathering.
• Julian arrived above the Gray Fog, where a young girl greeted Mr. Fool.

Julian joined the Tarot Club as Mr. Tower and explained that he understood Mr. Fool’s advice about digestion and acting. He offered a set of Spectator Sequence 7 potion ingredients for sale, and Audrey asked to buy them.

• Miss Justice greeted Mr. Tower after Mr. Fool introduced him as a new participant.
• Mr. Hanged Man thanked Justice for the ghost shark blood and taught her the Spectator potion formula and meditation techniques.
• Mr. Fool corrected Hanged Man, saying the potion was to be digested through acting, and Mr. Tower confirmed that he understood the advice.
• When Hanged Man and Justice offered compensation for an explanation, Mr. Tower asked them to find a seller for his Sequence 7 potion ingredients.
• Mr. Tower revealed that the ingredients were for the Spectator pathway, and Audrey asked whether she could buy them.

Julian sold the Psychiatrist potion’s main ingredients to Miss Justice for 2,000 pounds and explained the Acting Method to her and Alger. He revealed that the major churches deliberately suppressed this knowledge, leaving Miss Justice asking why they would restrict a method that helped Beyonders avoid losing control.

• Julian named a price of 2,000 pounds for the Psychiatrist potion’s main ingredients, and Miss Justice accepted immediately.
• Julian gave Miss Justice his anonymous Tassock Bank account number and said Alger could repay her with a favor for his share of the transaction.
• Julian explained that the Acting Method involved playing the role embodied by a potion’s name to digest it and reduce the risk of losing control.
• Julian told Alger and Miss Justice that the major churches deliberately kept the Acting Method from lower-ranking Beyonders, making safe advancement to Sequence 6 or higher unlikely for most.
• Miss Justice asked Julian why the churches restricted a method that could stabilize orthodox Beyonders and reduce their chances of losing control.

Julian, The Tower, warned the Tarot Club about the risks of sharing the Acting Method and offered Alger and Audrey a chance to seek help or trade with him later. His warning also gave Klein time to help Dunn Smith before Ince Zangwill could exploit Dunn’s accumulated potion side effects.

• Julian said the knowledge behind the Acting Method required additional payment, and Alger offered to help him find ingredients or information in a future transaction.
• Klein asked Audrey, Alger, and Julian to find Roselle Gustav’s diary, then conducted an experiment with them to pass written information.
• Julian warned Alger and Audrey that using the Acting Method could draw their Churches’ attention and that they should share it only with people close to them in similar circumstances.
• Julian’s warning alerted Klein that he could tell Dunn Smith about the Acting Method before Dunn’s condition worsened and Ince Zangwill could manipulate him.

At the Tarot Club, Klein proposed civil service examinations, while Julian later met Lanevus at a dinner hosted by Hanass Vincent and recognized him from their voyage together. Julian recalled that Lanevus was tied to the Hermits of Fate and was destined to become the vessel for the True Creator’s descent.

• Julian warned the Tarot Club, and Alger and Audrey thanked him solemnly.
• Audrey described her family’s concerns about government jobs changing with each ruling party, and Klein suggested permanent civil servants chosen through examinations.
• The gathering ended, and Julian returned to the Divination Club, where Hanass Vincent tested his openness to discussing Beyonder matters; Julian redirected the conversation.
• Hanass and Julian traveled to a restaurant in the southern district, where Hanass introduced Julian to Lanevus, a steel entrepreneur.
• Julian recognized Lanevus from their shared voyage and remembered his role in the future True Creator descent plot; Lanevus asked whether they had met before.

Julian attended a banquet hosted by Hanass Vincent, where Lanevus exposed Julian’s past to establish the Aurora Order’s leverage over him. As more Aurora Order members gathered around him, Hanass began introducing his beliefs about divine gifts and a special mission, leaving Julian to hear the group’s proposal.

• Lanevus told the guests that he had met Julian three years earlier and revealed why Julian had left Azshara, intending to weaken his position.
• Julian silently repeated the Evernight Goddess’s honorific name to restrain the Colour Out of Space and dismissed Lanevus’s threat as unimportant.
• Hanass introduced Sirius Arapis, an Aurora Order member Julian recognized as a Secrets Suppliant tied to the deaths of Klein and his companions.
• Zane Blackwood and Ivy Sinclair arrived, and Julian’s Four-Color Seer abilities suggested that they and Hanass were all Secrets Suppliants.
• Hanass arranged the seating to limit Julian’s escape, then spoke of their talents as gifts from a god and invited Julian to listen to his reflections on their special mission.

Julian accepted Hanass Vincent’s offer to reveal the divinity within him, relying on the Evernight Goddess and the Colour Out of Space to shield him from the True Creator’s influence. As the True Creator’s whispers seemed to express pity for Julian, the Colour Out of Space surged out and attacked Hanass and Lanevus.

• Julian agreed to listen to Hanass Vincent and drank wine with the Aurora Order members.
• Hanass explained the Aurora Order’s belief that all beings possessed the Original Creator’s divinity and could reclaim it.
• Hanass asked Julian to take his hand, and Julian prepared the Evernight Goddess’s protection and the Colour Out of Space as safeguards.
• Hanass clasped Julian’s hand, causing shadows to climb Julian’s legs as the True Creator’s chaotic whispers filled his mind.
• Julian sensed what seemed like pity from the True Creator, but the Colour Out of Space roared and lunged at Hanass Vincent and Lanevus.

Julian suppressed the Colour Out of Space, but its lingering corruption connected him to Lanevus, while the True Creator’s voice dramatically advanced the digestion of Julian’s potion. Hanass Vincent then invited Julian to serve the Aurora Order by supplying intelligence on the Nighthawks.

• Julian recited the Evernight Goddess’s Honorific Name, stopping the Colour Out of Space from killing Hanass Vincent and Lanevus, though a trace of its influence entered Lanevus.
• The True Creator’s ravings ceased, and a clear voice called Julian Albrecht by name, triggering a dramatic increase in his four-color seer potion’s digestion.
• Julian pretended to be moved by the experience and asked Hanass whether he had heard the Original Creator or his own inner divinity.
• Julian used Lanevus’s Mental Interference to feign an emotional response, then thanked Hanass for helping him find himself.
• Hanass urged Julian to devote himself to the Original Creator and asked him to regularly provide the Aurora Order with intelligence on the Nighthawks.

Julian attended a banquet with the Aurora Order, where he gathered information and further digested his potion while advancing his plans involving Lanevus. After returning home, he prayed to the Evernight Goddess for guidance and heard Her voice address him.

• Julian agreed to help the Aurora Order monitor the Nighthawks while secretly withholding their intelligence from the organization.
• Julian realized Lanevus’s mystical connection to the True Creator could help him disrupt the plan involving Megose and the evil god’s offspring, and he derived a possible acting principle for the Four-Color Seer potion.
• Julian questioned Sirius Arapis and Zane Blackwood about the Aurora Order and Oracle Mr. Z during the banquet.
• Before leaving, Julian gave Lanevus ritual spells and told him to recite the Colour Out of Space’s name to strengthen their connection.
• Julian prayed to the Evernight Goddess at home and heard a hazy female voice call, “Julian Albrecht.”

After receiving the Evernight Goddess’s advice, Julian safely contacted the Colour Out of Space and learned the formula for his Sequence 8 potion. He discovered that it required ingredients from Mimic Disaster Beasts, which had been nearly extinct for about 150 years.

• The Evernight Goddess told Julian to avoid listening directly to the True Creator and said he could pray to the Colour Out of Space for his next potion formula if he could stay safe.
• Julian rested overnight, then drew blood from Lanevus and prepared a ritual using rainbow rosemary, meteorite residue, and protective elements for the Evernight Goddess.
• Julian prayed to the Colour Out of Space and ended the ritual after receiving its revelation, recording the Sequence 8 Annotator potion formula.
• Julian recognized that the formula required a strangely colored iris and mimetic bone powder from Mimic Disaster Beasts, which had become almost extinct around 150 years earlier.

Julian searched for a Mimic Disaster Beast specimen and prepared to travel to Backlund to deliver ingredients and ask a contact for help. Before leaving, he visited Dunn, who presented him with a gold-embossed document.

• Julian learned that Mimic Disaster Beasts had been nearly eradicated and decided to look for a specimen while also seeking a Polar Light Stone.
• Julian found two thousand gold pounds in his anonymous account and decided to deliver Miss Justice's ingredients in person in Backlund.
• Julian visited the Blackthorn Security Company and learned that Old Neil was unwell, while Klein had finished guarding the Chanis Gate.
• Julian told Dunn he planned to travel to Backlund, and Dunn agreed to notify the Holy Cathedral.
• Dunn remembered that he had something for Julian and handed him a gold-embossed document.

Julian received a firearm permit and revolver from Dunn, then traveled to Backlund to ask Vincent Cheram for help finding rare materials. He learned Vincent might be able to source a Polar Light Stone, but the offer came from the enormous white owl in Vincent’s shop.

• Dunn gave Julian a Holy Cathedral-approved firearm permit, a revolver, and ammunition for his official work.
• Julian studied the Antigonus Family Notebook during his train journey to Backlund and arrived at the city that evening.
• Julian visited Vincent’s General Store and reunited with Vincent Cheram, a fellow descendant of the Jacob Family and a Sequence 7 Mystery Pryer.
• Julian asked Vincent to find Mimic Disaster Beast materials and a Polar Light Stone at least two thousand years old.
• A girl’s voice said the shop could source the Polar Light Stone, and Julian realized it had come from the enormous white owl.

Julian acquired a snowy owl named Ethan and arranged to buy Polar Light Stone for the Psychiatrist potion. While waiting near Audrey’s parcel pickup location, he saw her arrive and noticed a young man following her.

• Grace introduced herself to Julian as a Sequence 8 snowy owl, and Vincent offered one of her owlets to him.
• Julian chose the male owlet, named him Ethan, and agreed to pay Vincent for Polar Light Stone.
• Julian left a package of Audrey’s potion ingredients at the parcel storage facility and watched from a café across the street.
• Audrey arrived to collect the package, and Julian admired her beauty from a distance.
• Julian spotted a blond young man following Audrey and recognized him from outside Vincent’s shop.

Julian followed the man tailing Audrey Hall and fought him in an alley, but the stranger escaped after breaking free of Julian’s mental interference. Julian warned Audrey through Mr. Fool, then returned to Vincent’s General Store, where Vincent showed him a crystalline stone.

• Julian divined that Audrey’s pursuer meant her harm and followed him into an alley.
• The young man outran Julian, dodged his gunshot, and tried to ambush him in a dead-end passage.
• Julian used Chris Jacob’s Ring and the Scholar’s Legacy against the young man, but the stranger broke free and escaped over a wall.
• Julian prayed to Mr. Fool and asked him to warn Miss Justice to stay somewhere safe and avoid going out.
• Julian returned to Vincent’s General Store, where Vincent handed him a crystalline stone to inspect.

Julian bought a Polar Light Stone from Vincent and learned that the blond Hunter who had attacked him was Calvin Walker, a member of the Zimang Party. Back in Tingen, Julian prepared a Reader potion for Ethan and left the owl drinking it.

• Julian paid Vincent for the Polar Light Stone and gave him an address so he could contact him about finding a Mimic Disaster Beast.
• Julian told Vincent about his fight with Calvin Walker and warned him that Calvin might be stronger than a Sequence 9 Beyonder.
• Julian returned to Tingen with Ethan and decided to make the owl a Reader using a Beyonder Characteristic he had brought from Lenburg.
• Julian prepared the Reader potion and poured it into Ethan's open beak.

Julian used the Scholar's Legacy to help Ethan become a Reader and gave him books to study so he could digest the potion. Elsewhere, Lanevus invoked the Colour Out of Space to bless an unborn child, then briefly regained clarity before the shadow's influence returned.

• Julian completed the ritual that turned Ethan into a Reader and congratulated him.
• Julian gave Ethan books on Highlandese and Loenese, explaining that reading widely would help him digest the potion.
• Ethan eagerly began studying while Julian went to bed.
• Lanevus invoked the Colour Out of Space and directed its blessing into the pregnant woman’s abdomen.
• Lanevus briefly regained clarity, but the shadow soon flickered in his eyes and left him vacant again.

Ince Zangwill was unsettled when Sealed Artifact 0-08 recorded an ambiguous account of Lanevus, Megose, and the True Creator’s offspring, so he tried to adjust the story. The next morning, Julian brought the clever snowy owl Ethan to the Divination Club, where a client named Alexander Hoy arrived and surprised him with a familiar surname.

• Ince read 0-08’s account of Lanevus’s actions and the unexplained interventions surrounding Megose and her fetus, then began writing adjustments.
• Julian woke to find Ethan had fallen from the table, and Ethan used a dictionary to show that he was hungry for small mammals and insects.
• Julian bought live insects for Ethan, who ate and fell asleep on his shoulder.
• At the Divination Club, Julian checked the membership register and noticed Klein Moretti’s name before Angelica told him a client was waiting.
• Julian met Alexander Hoy, who introduced himself warmly, and Julian asked whether he was connected to Khoy University.