Chapter Summaries

Kronos met Mr. A to trade for the Mysticologist potion formula and offered him the Manipulator and Unshadowed formulas. Mr. A was eager to negotiate, but Kronos’s request for a drop of Ouroboros’s blood left him unable to agree readily.

• Kronos watched Mr. A arrive at the gathering, then followed him to a private room to discuss the Mysticologist formula.
• Mr. A said the Aurora Order lacked the formula but could help search for it, and asked what Kronos would offer.
• Kronos revealed that he had the Manipulator and Unshadowed formulas, which startled and delighted Mr. A.
• Mr. A tried to obtain both formulas in exchange, but Kronos rejected the demand as unfair.
• Kronos asked Mr. A to obtain a drop of Ouroboros’s blood, and Mr. A’s excitement vanished at the daunting request.

Kronos avoided a dangerous trade with Mr. A at the gathering, then left safely and discovered that Mr. A had sent him a useful charm and contact details. Though the gift softened Kronos’s opinion of Mr. A, he resolved not to meet him again without stronger preparations.

• Kronos explained that he wanted the Mysticologist potion formula first, and Mr. A accepted the lack of a trade or promise.
• After leaving Mr. A’s sight, Kronos hid his fear, waited out the gathering, and followed the other attendees outside.
• An attendant gave Kronos a box from Mr. A containing contact details and a Shadow Charm that could hide its user in shadows for half an hour, three times.
• Kronos checked the charm for danger, hidden marks, and corruption before deciding it was safe and valuable.
• Kronos fled through an alley, changed his appearance, and took a carriage toward his family’s villa in the West Borough.
• Kronos reconsidered his impression of Mr. A but resolved to build up his knowledge and stockpile of skill scrolls before meeting him again.

Kronos visited Saint Hilleran Cathedral, where Ikanser Bernard pressed him to let the Church of Steam and Machinery join his Research Center project. Kronos recognized the church’s attempt to use the Argel Family to take the blame and asked Ikanser to state the church’s demands, leaving the matter unresolved as he planned to consult Marquis Argel.

• Kronos returned to the Saint George District and visited Saint Hilleran Cathedral, where Ikanser Bernard greeted him and said he had something to discuss.
• Ikanser told Kronos that Archbishop Horamick and the church wanted to get involved in Kronos’s Research Center project.
• Kronos realized that the church’s approach could entangle the Argel Family and make the Royal Family wary of them.
• Kronos asked Ikanser to explain how deeply the church wanted to participate and what its bottom line was, giving him a way to retreat from his attempted pressure.
• Ikanser said Archbishop Horamick believed the project belonged in the Church of Steam and Machinery’s hands, citing the Steam Age as an example.

Kronos recognized that the Church of Steam and Machinery wanted access to talented students through the Research Center, not control or profit, and sought Marquis Argel’s advice on how to prevent that. Marquis Argel agreed with Kronos’s assessment and said other, more powerful churches could help counter the plan.

• Ikanser proposed that the Church of Steam and Machinery control the Research Center, then offered to send clergy to teach there after Kronos challenged his demands.
• Kronos realized the church wanted to recruit scientific talent and feared that its influence could eventually destroy the Argel Family.
• Kronos left Ikanser after promising to help the church’s proposal, then wrote to Marquis Argel describing the project and his concerns.
• Marquis Argel affirmed Kronos’s assessment and advised him to focus on the Research Center rather than pursue new projects.
• Marquis Argel explained that the Church of Steam and Machinery ranked below other churches in both Loen and Intis, suggesting that other powers could oppose its plans.

Kronos followed Marquis Argel’s plan to counter the Church of Steam and Machinery’s bid to influence the Research Center by bringing in the Churches of Evernight and Storms. He won Professor Portland’s support, and they prepared to stall the proposal while Kronos arranged for the rival churches to be notified anonymously.

• Kronos agreed to present the Church of Steam and Machinery’s demands to the Higher Education Committee, then anonymously notify Saint Samuel Cathedral and Saint Wind Church so the Churches of Evernight and Storms would intervene.
• Kronos considered asking to borrow Emperor Roselle’s Black Emperor Blasphemy Card, then returned to practicing Sequence 5 scroll-making and continued wasting materials as he sought the right state for skill transformation.
• The next morning, Kronos explained the Church of Steam and Machinery’s demands to Professor Portland at Backlund University.
• Professor Portland grew furious at the church’s attempt to use the Research Center as a talent pool, but Kronos calmed him and explained Marquis Argel’s plan.
• Professor Portland agreed that involving the other churches could counterbalance the Church of Steam and Machinery, and accepted that the Research Center could not be entirely free of outside influence.

Kronos, Portland, and Kask arranged to delay the Church of Steam and Machinery’s proposal while seeking gifts in return for their cooperation. Kronos asked Ikanser to let him borrow Emperor Roselle’s belongings, and Ikanser went to consult Archbishop Horamick.

• Kronos and Portland visited Kask, and the three refined a plan to delay the Research Center proposal and pass information through intermediaries.
• At the reorganization meeting, Kronos presented the Church of Steam and Machinery’s proposal while Portland opposed it and Kask remained neutral.
• Kronos visited Saint Hilleran Cathedral and told Ikanser that Portland opposed the proposal and Kask’s political influence might be useful.
• Kronos asked Ikanser to borrow Emperor Roselle’s belongings, and Ikanser went to ask Archbishop Horamick about it.
• Ikanser told Horamick that a boy from the Argel Family had arrived, and Horamick asked him to explain the matter.

Horamick took over negotiations with Kask after Ikanser failed to find a way to secure his support, while Kronos received access to Roselle’s belongings at Saint Hilarion Church. Back home, Kronos used Roselle’s bookmark to reveal the sealed Black Emperor Card.

• Ikanser told Horamick that Cask Wolf’s position was unclear and Portland firmly opposed the Church’s proposal, then admitted he had no way to secure Kask’s support.
• Horamick agreed to handle negotiations and instructed Ikanser to let Kronos inspect Roselle’s belongings, though the Church would not give them away.
• Ikanser led Kronos to a storeroom full of Roselle’s possessions, and Kronos took the books and manuscripts after finding the plagiarism notebook and its bookmark.
• At home, Kronos set aside most of the books, selected several works for study, and instructed his servants to record and obtain copies of the rest.
• Kronos said “Bernadette!” in Ancient Feysac, causing the bookmark to reveal Roselle seated as the Black Emperor and display “Sequence 0: Black Emperor!”

Kronos kept the Black Emperor Card and studied it alongside the Justiciar Card, while Horamick’s political gift persuaded Kask to advance the plan to report the Church of Steam and Machinery to the royal family. Kronos later completed an Armor of Guardianship scroll, leaving him with a new success in his preparations.

• Kronos decided to keep the unsealed Black Emperor Card, asked Beck to find a genuine Roselle-era bookmark, and studied the card alongside the Justiciar Card.
• Horamick arranged Kask’s promotion to secretary-general of the Higher Education Committee and a seat in the House of Commons as a gift from the Church of Steam and Machinery.
• Kask told Portland about the offer, and the two agreed to report the Church’s plans to the royal family through Earl Wolf.
• Portland suggested that Kask give Kronos an Eggers Family artifact, and Kask said his brother had one in his collection.
• Portland planned to demand technology from the Church of Steam and Machinery, while Kask prepared to seek the royal family’s intervention.
• Kronos returned to making Armor of Guardianship scrolls and successfully completed one.

Kronos recovered from creating his first Sequence 5 scroll and repeatedly watched the moment of its creation to study the sensation. He then learned that the plan was progressing smoothly and that Kask might obtain a mysterious mask for him, while Portland considered asking the Church of Steam and Machinery for a major favor.

• Kronos recovered his spirituality and physical strength, then used the Eye of Time to replay the creation of the Armor of Guardianship scroll and study his harmonious state.
• Kronos spent three days watching his recording and studying the Justiciar and Black Emperor cards before Kask’s meeting notice prompted him to check on the plan.
• Kronos visited Portland, who said the Church of Steam and Machinery had secured Kask a Secretary-General position and a parliamentary seat.
• Portland told Kronos that Earl Wolf might give him a mysterious mask from the Eggers Family collection at the meeting the next day.
• Portland considered asking the Church of Steam and Machinery to sign a contract promising him a major favor in the future.

Kronos, Kask, and Portland maneuvered to block the Church of Steam and Machinery’s proposal while keeping the Royal Family’s tacit approval intact. After their plan proceeded as intended, Kask gave Kronos a mask belonging to a descendant of the Death God's family, and Kronos sensed that it held unusual power.

• Portland told Kronos that Kask had secured his appointment and a meeting with the Speaker after briefing Earl Wolf and George III about the plan.
• Kask led a secret ballot on the Church of Steam and Machinery’s presence in the Research Center, and the proposal received 62 percent approval, short of the required two-thirds.
• Kask and Portland led a heated debate while Kronos watched the participants and tried to identify those secretly steering the discussion.
• Kask asked Kronos to deliver the news to Saint Hilarion Church and gave him a gift to compensate him for his part in the plan.
• Kronos opened the gift and found a black mask marked with the name Eggers, sensing a faint chill from it.

Kronos visited Saint Ceyran Grand Church to report to Ikanser, but Archbishop Horamick questioned him first about his motives and the Argel Family’s role in recent events. Kronos deflected suspicion with a carefully crafted explanation and a display of hurt, then left without revealing his ambitions.

• Kronos entered Saint Ceyran Grand Church and followed Archbishop Horamick’s summons to his reception room.
• Horamick questioned Kronos about his father’s departure from Backlund and why he had joined Backlund Technical College.
• Kronos explained that he wanted to pursue research, credited Professor Portland with the research center plans, and said he had come to report to Ikanser.
• Horamick warned Kronos that the Church already knew what had happened, so Kronos feigned hurt until Horamick apologized and let him leave.
• After Kronos departed, Ikanser and Nosk emerged from a door inside the reception room.

Kronos survived Horamick’s scrutiny and, after recovering from the encounter, successfully created a Sequence 5 Armor of Guardianship scroll. He identified the conditions needed to enter the scroll-making state and sent his father the findings, hoping they would help Marquis Argel advance.

• Nosk and Ikanser reported Kronos’s heart-rate results to Horamick, who accepted Ikanser’s explanation and dismissed them.
• Horamick lamented that he had missed another chance to take over the Argel Family and earn contribution credit.
• Kronos returned home, rested for fourteen hours, and successfully made an Armor of Guardianship scroll on his second attempt.
• Kronos failed to make another scroll when his stamina ran short, then concluded that familiarity, full spirituality, and ample rest were key to entering the state.
• Kronos’s Sequence 6 potion digested by a quarter, confirming his conclusions, and he sent Marquis Argel a ciphered letter through the family telegraph.

Kronos practiced the Justiciar and Black Emperor skills for Sequence 5 scrolls and realized that teaching Marquis Argel had advanced his potion digestion. Marquis Argel prepared to advance to Sequence 5, leaving Kronos worried that the Hidden Sage would target him.

• Kronos focused his practice on the Justiciar’s rule-setting skill, using large quantities of expensive scroll materials.
• Kronos’s potion digestion passed the halfway point while he practiced, and he suspected it was because he had taught Marquis Argel the standards he had summarized.
• Marquis Argel sent a telegram saying Kronos’s standards had revealed an opportunity and that he planned to attempt advancement the next morning.
• Kronos worried that Marquis Argel’s advancement to Sequence 5 would attract the Hidden Sage, as it had threatened Kronos’s grandfather and Cattleya.
• Kronos recalled that the Argel Family required members advancing to Astronomer to return to Midseashire, where the God of Steam and Machinery’s protection was stronger.

Kronos learned that the Loen royal family had changed the Higher Education Committee meeting by bringing in the Churches of Evernight and Storms. As Kask and Portland faced suspicion from the Church of Steam and Machinery, Kronos believed his family’s history as a trusted pawn would keep him clear.

• Kronos worried that Marquis Argel’s pursuit of Sequence 5 could expose him to danger from the Hidden Sage, then resumed practicing his rule-inscribing skill.
• Kronos arrived at the Higher Education Committee and found Portland and Kask waiting in a side room with news that the royal family had intervened.
• Kask explained that Earl Rustin, also known as Prince Edessak Augustus, would chair the meeting and had brought bishops from the Churches of Evernight and Storms.
• Kronos learned that the meeting would now consider all three churches joining the Research Center, with the king awaiting the result.
• Kronos told Kask and Portland that the Church of Steam and Machinery might suspect them of helping it, but he could escape suspicion because he had barely been involved and the Argel Family had long served as a trusted pawn to both sides.

Kronos and his colleagues backed the Royal Family’s plan to limit the Church of Steam and Machinery’s role in the Research Center, and the meeting approved a security squad shared by three churches. After Edessak told Kronos that Amyrius had secured him a commendation and a requested promotion for his service in the Southern Continent, Kronos took it as a sign that Amyrius viewed their alliance favorably.

• Kronos told Kask and Portland to support the Royal Family’s decisions, while reassuring Kask that the Royal Family would protect him from the Church of Steam and Machinery’s retaliation.
• Kronos fell asleep before the meeting, and Edessak asked Kask to wake him because he wanted to speak with him afterward.
• The meeting unanimously approved a security squad staffed by the three churches, while rejecting the Church of Steam and Machinery’s request to teach and spread its faith at the Research Center.
• Edessak told Kronos that he had been recommended for a commendation for his service in the Southern Continent and explained how his information had helped the Sonia Fleet defend its colony.
• Kronos learned that Amyrius had submitted his name for credit and requested his promotion to colonel, which suggested to him that Amyrius supported their alliance.

After hearing Edessak’s empty promises about the throne, Kronos rejected involvement in the royal struggle and focused on improving his own condition. He began a regular sleep and exercise routine, leaving political affairs behind for now.

• Kronos decided the Argel Family should avoid the royal power struggle until he was strong enough to resist William I, and he endured Edessak’s lengthy pitch without agreeing to support him.
• After Edessak left, Kronos went home and, feeling unusually weary, chose to stop practicing with Skill Scrolls and rest.
• Kronos set ten o’clock as his bedtime, fell asleep quickly, and woke at seven the next morning.
• Kronos went for an hour-long run around the lake near his villa, then returned home and showered.
• While eating breakfast and reading the newspaper, Kronos dismissed political and economic affairs and resolved to focus on improving himself.

Kronos created his first successful scroll while Marquis Argel prepared to advance to Sequence 5, Astronomer. Marquis Argel drank the potion and entered the starry-sky ritual, where he began observing the stars without moving.

• Kronos returned to his research, naturally completed a Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin Decree scroll, and confirmed its success when his potion began digesting.
• Marquis Argel considered moving the family’s efforts from Backlund to Midseashire and traveled to the Argel Family’s ancestral manor.
• Marquis Argel met his father at the family church, then entered a roofless room prepared for his advancement ritual.
• Marquis Argel drank the Astronomer potion and entered a state of union with the starry sky.
• Marquis Argel stayed still as required by the family’s warning and began observing the stars for possible stellar configurations.

Marquis Argel advanced to Sequence 5 but reconsidered his plans after Old Man warned him about the Hidden Sage. At the Eye of Wisdom’s gathering, Kronos negotiated with an Artisan’s representative and then began discussing a trade for 2-081 with Isengard.

• Marquis Argel became a Sequence 5, and Old Man warned him that advancing could draw the Hidden Sage’s attention and leave him little chance to survive.
• Kronos resumed a healthy routine and went to the Eye of Wisdom’s gathering to pursue information about an Artisan.
• Isengard welcomed Kronos after learning that the Church of Knowledge could trace the holder of 2-081 through its records.
• Kronos bargained with the Artisan’s representative over a weapon commission, offering Lawyer Pathway potion formulas up to Sequence 5 and persuading the representative to consult the Artisan.
• Isengard recognized that Kronos had achieved his objective, then agreed to trade 2-081 in exchange for a suitable Beyonder Item.

Kronos arranged to trade a White Tower Pathway Sealed Artifact with Isengard, then tracked down an Artisan who had been lured into meeting him. He offered the captured Artisan a position in the Argel Family and a chance for his daughter to advance along the Lawyer Pathway, leaving the Artisan tempted but not yet agreeing.

• Kronos and Isengard agreed to meet in a week to trade Beyonder Items, with Isengard seeking one with strong offensive power and minor side effects.
• Kronos met his household’s team and learned that Mr. Todd and the others had followed the representative using scented powder and Tracking Mice.
• Kronos and two companions followed the scent to a house in Bridge Borough, where Mr. Todd’s team had already restrained the Artisan, his daughter, and the representative.
• Kronos offered the Artisan high pay, advancement support, and a chance for his daughter to obtain Lawyer Pathway potions.
• The Artisan recalled the brutal fate of a captured unaffiliated Artisan and considered Kronos’s offer, suspecting it might be too good to be true.

Kronos recruited Roel Patrick as the Argyle family's Artisan, then selected Beyonder Items to offer Isengard and studied the Family Secret Manual. He left the manual room after memorizing its Scroll Professor volume, intending to practice its skills later.

• Kronos offered Roel Patrick a contract, revealed his identity, and brought him to Argel Manor.
• Kronos and Roel finalized and signed the contract, and Kronos gave Roel a Lawyer Potion and showed him the family's storeroom.
• Kronos selected four Beyonder Items to offer Isengard, while Roel stayed behind to study the storeroom's items.
• Kronos opened the Family Secret Manual and spent the afternoon studying and memorizing the Scroll Professor volume.