Recaps

After being pressed into handling Leyndell’s affairs, Horace met Messmer and Melina and decided to take the troubled children with him to Caria. The chapter ended with Horace preparing to secretly smuggle them out, despite Rellana recognizing that he was effectively kidnapping royal children.

• Horace and Rellana returned to the embassy after spending the day dealing with the Golden Dynasty’s affairs.
• Messmer visited Horace with his younger sister Melina to thank him, and asked whether Caria had beautiful lakes and moonlight.
• Horace invited Messmer and Melina to visit Caria, but Messmer hesitated because he believed his mother would not agree.
• Horace claimed Marika had already agreed and suggested they make a secret trip, while Rellana realized he intended to abduct the children.

Hesa disguised Messmer as a maid and smuggled him and Melina out of Leyndell with the diplomatic convoy. They reached the road to Caria, while Messmer learned that his mother had helped arrange the escape.

• Hesa stuffed Messmer and Melina into sacks, then persuaded Messmer to wear a maid's dress as a disguise.
• Hesa hid Melina beneath a cloth on a supply cart and instructed Messmer to pose as his mute maid.
• Hesa's convoy left Leyndell late at night, and the gate captain let them pass after inspecting their papers and supplies.
• The knights gossiped about Hesa's supposed tastes as the convoy departed, mortifying Messmer and embarrassing Rellana.
• In the carriage, Melina told Messmer that Mother and Uncle had arranged the escape together.

Marika and Godfrey accepted Hesa’s letter as proof that he had thoughtfully taken Messmer and Melina to Caria, while Hesa returned to Lakeside Town believing he had forgotten only a minor farewell. In Leyndell, Froesanks remained trapped doing endless archival paperwork and silently waited for Hesa to remember her.

• Marika found Hesa’s letter explaining that he had taken Messmer and Melina to Caria to recuperate, and she interpreted his departure as considerate.
• Marika told Serosh to send the children’s belongings to Caria, and Serosh withheld his doubts.
• Godfrey recalled Hesa supposedly taking the children out for fun, then returned to sparring without questioning the story.
• In Caria, Messmer burned the women’s clothes he had been forced to wear and isolated himself, while Melina remained quiet and withdrawn.
• Hesa reviewed his trip to Leyndell and failed to remember Froesanks, who was still buried in archival work and hoped he would come for her.

Rennala and Rellana discussed Messmer’s growing notoriety before turning to sorcerers exploiting Albinaurics to secretly build armies. Rennala tasked Rellana with investigating the persecution, then suggested Horace could join the royal family.

• Rennala and Rellana discussed how Messmer’s work with Horace had drawn attention from young nobles and made him reluctant to leave his lodgings.
• Rennala and Rellana discussed corruption at the academy, including sorcerers and noble families secretly pursuing power despite Horace’s laws.
• Rellana told Rennala that some sorcerers were targeting Albinaurics to study their artificial nature and produce cheap soldiers.
• Rennala ordered Rellana to investigate the persecution, gather evidence, and send the guilty sorcerers to prison through Horace’s Inquisitor Knights.
• Rennala told Rellana that she could entrust the matter to Horace if she wished, as long as he became a member of the royal family.

Hesa struggled to advance his blood moon research until Ymir suggested investigating ancient ancestor-spirit worship. He then learned that the Formless Mother had apparently taken his claim about the pain of losing one's virginity as a doctrine and inspired dangerous new worship, leaving him horrified and helpless.

• Hesa considered Messmer’s potential as a judicial officer and sent Melina to the True Magic Academy to investigate her unusual abilities.
• Ymir told Hesa about ancient faiths that worshipped ancestor spirits, giving him a new direction for his blood moon research.
• Hesa ordered Ymir to search royal and academy collections for records about ancestor spirits.
• Uriel reported that groups in Leyndell and the lake region were preaching that the Formless Mother cherished women’s pain during their first sexual experience.
• Hesa realized the Formless Mother had apparently endorsed his careless theory, and he feared the resulting rumors would bring shame and further harm.

Horace sought Queen Rennala’s help reaching Nokstella, the Eternal City, while Rellana struggled with her feelings after he ignored her. Rennala said opening Caria’s route would require Horace to meet her terms, and the chapter ended with a note about Kaiden’s possible connection to the Wasteland.

• Rellana brooded over Horace and the investigation her sister had assigned her.
• Horace ordered Messmer to burn out the distorted Formless Mother sects, then left Uriel in charge of Lakeside Town’s paperwork while he traveled to Caria Manor.
• Rellana saw Horace arrive and head straight to Queen Rennala’s study, then followed him after he ignored her greeting.
• Horace asked Rennala for a route to Nokstella and explained that he hoped the Eternal City could help him create a new moon.
• Rennala warned that Caria would not open its route to Nokstella without conditions, and Horace agreed to hear her terms.
• The narrator described Kaiden as a snowy Highland region and suggested it might share a continent with the Wasteland.

Rennala offered Horace access to Nokstella in exchange for his loyalty to Caria, while privately hoping he would marry Rellana and secure Caria’s future. Horace accepted the offer and began considering the possibility of a relationship with Rellana as he prepared for his journey.

• Rennala weighed Caria’s political future and hoped a daughter of Horace and Rellana could inherit the throne with Horace as regent.
• Rennala asked Horace to pledge loyalty to Caria and offered to open a portal to Nokstella in return.
• Horace accepted the terms and agreed to return in three days, then left to prepare for the dangerous journey.
• Rellana asked Rennala what she meant by loyalty to Caria and worried about Horace going to Nokstella, but Rennala told her she would understand in time.
• Horace considered Rennala’s hints about Rellana and admitted to himself that he had no clear reason to refuse a possible marriage.

Horace returned to his castle and learned that Messmer had clashed with Gaius, an Albinauric warrior, while stopping a distorted Formless Mother ritual. Gaius defended the ritual as a source of hope for Albinaurics, leaving Horace to confront the gap between its fleeting blessing and their desperation.

• Horace returned to Lakeside Town and found Messmer, Gaius, and Gaius’s boar under the Inquisitor Knights’ guard.
• Messmer reported that a church’s ritual used pain to seek a Formless Mother blessing that briefly let Albinaurics stand or walk, but could worsen their weakness.
• Messmer said he tried to stop the ritual and warn its participants, but Gaius attacked to protect the Albinaurics’ hope of walking.
• Gaius explained that even a harmful, fleeting blessing gave Albinaurics a moment of strength and hope, and challenged Horace to understand their suffering.

Horace offered the Albinaurics an autonomous village and a chance to walk by joining the Order of the Great Rune Knights, in exchange for labor, loyalty, and the burden of oaths. Gaius accepted, and Horace assigned Messmer to help settle and integrate them.

• Horace warned Gaius that the Formless Mother's doctrine exploited Albinauric suffering and refused to let it spread through his territory.
• Horace offered Albinaurics who followed Caria Law an autonomous village, and promised those joining the Order of the Great Rune Knights a Great Rune that could let them stand and walk.
• Gaius accepted Horace's terms on behalf of the Albinaurics he could persuade and agreed to stop their dangerous rituals and count who wanted to join the order or remain in the village.
• Horace excused Messmer's conflict with Gaius but ordered him to compensate for the burned granary and oversee the Albinaurics' settlement and integration.
• Uriel questioned whether Albinaurics could bear three Great Runes, but Horace said they deserved the chance to choose that path.

Horace traveled through Rennala’s portal to Nokstella, where two Nox monks stopped him and escorted him to meet a Night Witch. He presented Rennala’s crest and letter as proof of his peaceful intentions, but the chapter ended just as the witch turned to face him.

• Horace accepted Rennala’s letter of introduction and an old Carian crest before entering her portal with Rellana present.
• Horace arrived at Nokstella and crossed the Ainsel River into the ruins of the Eternal City.
• Two Nox monks confronted Horace, and he showed them the crest and explained that Queen Rennala had sent him to seek knowledge.
• The monks agreed to take Horace to the Night Witch, while warning him not to wander or touch anything.
• Horace followed the monks through Nokstella’s ruins, passed wandering primal tears, and reached a circular hall where a Nox woman turned to face him.

Horace met the Night Witch in Nokstella, where she asked him to investigate why rot was spreading from the Lake of Rot. In exchange for his help, Nokstella let him study its moon records and taught him a sword art inspired by flowing water.

• The Night Witch recognized Horace as Horace Loux and accepted his identity and purpose after reading Rennala's letter.
• The Night Witch explained that rot had grown active, scarlet tendrils were eating into the land, and some of the waterworks had turned crimson.
• The Night Witch asked Horace to investigate what had caused rot to resurge, and Horace agreed in exchange for access to Nokstella's records.
• The Night Witch gave Horace an imitation Flowing Water Sword and arranged for a Nox swordsman to teach him a flowing sword art.
• Horace settled in Nokstella, studying ancient texts about the moon and training to use motion against rot.

Rellana worried about the man who had entered the underground world and tried to distract herself with a walk, where she witnessed Moongrum and Mylithil quarrel over Moongrum’s embarrassing past. She then wondered why her sister had visited the Church of Vows and speculated about whom she might care for.

• Rellana thought anxiously about the man who had gone through the portal and walked outside Caria Manor to clear her head.
• Moongrum startled when Rellana approached, and Mylithil teased him about being jumpy after knights once knocked him over during the academy takeover.
• Moongrum and Mylithil prepared to spar, but Rellana ordered Inquisitor Knights to take them to the confinement cells.
• Rellana continued her walk and wondered why her sister had gone alone to the Church of Vows.
• Rellana speculated that her sister might have fallen for someone, considering and dismissing King Godfrey before imagining a reclusive master sorcerer.

Rellana questioned Loretta about Queen Rennala’s visit to the Church of Vows, mistakenly concluding that her sister had a secret love interest. Loretta kept the real reason hidden and watched Rellana leave determined to investigate further.

• Rellana asked Loretta whether Queen Rennala had visited the Church of Vows because she cared for someone.
• Loretta struggled to conceal that Rennala had gone to seek help with the fated bond between Rellana and Marquis Horace Loux.
• Loretta carefully avoided answering, but Rellana took her evasiveness as proof that Rennala had a secret romance.
• Rellana promised not to spread the rumor and decided to observe her sister for suspicious men.
• Loretta resumed her patrol, helplessly hoping Rennala would make her intentions clearer and Rellana would understand them.

Horace followed a mysterious pull through Nokstella and met a Night Witch, who gave him Nokstella's Moon and urged him to follow fate toward the Age of Stars. He left for his lodgings with the talisman, unsure what the Nox expected of him but intent on studying its power.

• Horace struggled to navigate Nokstella until a strange intuition guided him through the city to a locked silver door.
• Inside, Horace found a Night Witch, who recognized him as a surface dweller and said he was deeply favored by the moon.
• The Night Witch gave Horace Nokstella's Moon and urged him to follow fate, saying the Nox yearned for the Age of Stars.
• The Night Witch directed Horace toward a signpost and closed the door, leaving him to wonder whether his fabricated fate had made the Nox see him as an opportunity.
• Horace sensed that the talisman embodied a lunar concept that could aid his research into creating his own blood moon, then followed the witch's directions back toward his lodgings.

After Horace left, the Night Witch who gave him Nokstella's Moon worried that the Silver Tears had failed to warn her and wondered whether he might be the long-awaited hope. The Cathead Night Witch explained that Horace was not yet ready to become a true Vessel and intended to guide him through his investigation of rot while waiting for the Golden Order to weaken.

• The Night Witch recalled how Horace had appeared without warning and sensed the moon's powerful blessing on him.
• She told the Cathead Night Witch that she had given Horace Nokstella's Moon because she believed fate might have brought him to Nokstella.
• The Cathead Night Witch said Horace lacked a complete Order and was not yet ready to become a god.
• She explained that sending Horace to investigate rot would expose him to the Golden Order's flaws and serve as a trial.
• The Cathead Night Witch told the other witch to wait for the Golden Order's contradictions to create the opening for the age of stars.

Horace used Nokstella’s Moon to develop a Blood Moon within his consciousness, then learned to form its first faint reflection in reality. After thanking the night witch for her help and accepting Starlight Shards, he prepared to leave Nokstella by a safer route toward the surface.

• Horace discovered that Nokstella’s Moon sharpened his comprehension and used it to imagine a Blood Moon within his consciousness.
• Horace shaped the Blood Moon from the crimson mist of the Formless Mother, gradually absorbing and controlling its whispers and corruption.
• Horace learned to project the Blood Moon into reality as a wavering, fist-sized orb, while red spread along the edges of his talisman.
• Horace told the night witch he was leaving and promised to keep the Lake of Rot investigation in mind.
• The night witch gave Horace Starlight Shards and arranged for two Nox Monks to guide him along a safer route toward the Ainsel River exit well.

Horace returned to the surface in Liurnia and headed for the Church of Vows to visit Miriel. There, he arrived unaware that Rennala had told Rellana she was considering making him her prince consort, leaving Rellana shocked and panicked.

• Horace followed two Nox Monks through an underground waterway and reached a lift that carried him to the surface in Liurnia.
• Horace avoided a dormant Lava Golem, spotted the Church of Vows, and set out to visit Miriel.
• Several days earlier, Rennala discussed finding Rellana a reliable partner with Miriel and said Horace was suitable.
• Rellana arrived at the church, mistook Rennala's visits for a sign of romance, and pressed her sister for details.
• Rennala announced that she was considering taking Horace as her prince consort, and Rellana reacted with shock and panic.

Rennala considered marrying Horace, prompting Rellana to protest and realize she had feelings for him. When Horace Loux arrived at the Church of Vows, he confessed his love to Rellana and proposed to her, leaving her to answer.

• Rellana vehemently argued that Horace was unsuitable as Rennala's partner and stayed at the Church of Vows to try to change her sister's mind.
• Miriel suggested that Rellana clarify her relationship with Horace before Rennala made a formal decision.
• Rellana realized that her objections came from her own feelings for Horace and thanked Miriel.
• Horace Loux arrived at the church and overheard Miriel's advice and Rellana's response.
• Horace Loux took Rellana's hands, confessed that he loved her, and asked her to marry him.

Horace and Rellana accepted Miriel’s rings and committed to marriage, with Rennala and Miriel beginning to plan their wedding at the Church of Vows. The discussion turned to the political risks of the guest list, especially whether Godfrey and his formidable retinue could safely attend.

• Rellana accepted Horace’s proposal and took his hand.
• Miriel presented the couple with rings he had prepared, and Horace and Rellana exchanged them.
• Rennala revealed herself as a witness, teased Rellana, and received Horace’s thanks for helping bring them together.
• Rennala and Miriel agreed that the wedding would be held at the Church of Vows and discussed inviting Carian nobles, officials, and Horace’s relatives.
• Horace recommended inviting Stormveil’s ruler only as a courtesy, and Rennala agreed to receive him without excessive ceremony if he came.
• Horace warned that Godfrey’s attendance could create administrative difficulties and bring a huge force, including Crucible Knights, tribal warriors, and possibly Ancient Dragons, deep into Caria.

Rennala arranged two weddings to balance Caria’s security with Horace and Rellana’s family ties. In Leyndell, Godfrey planned a grand trip to Caria, but Marika redirected Serosh to official duties and privately discussed keeping their plans discreet.

• Rennala proposed a Carian wedding at the Church of Vows and a second ceremony in Leyndell, and Horace agreed.
• Godfrey celebrated the wedding news by ordering the Crucible Knights, tribal elders, and Froesanks to prepare for a grand journey to Caria.
• Marika gave Serosh urgent paperwork, leaving him to handle state affairs while she and Godfrey left the hall.
• Marika warned Godfrey that Serosh had noticed their attempt to keep a low profile, and they discussed taking Froesanks to explain matters to Asei.
• Marika said Serosh’s growing efficiency worried her because it could leave him time to revive lessons in governance and the Law for Godwyn.

Godfrey and Marika decided Godwyn had to remain in Leyndell and keep up his image as a perfect, martial prince, while they continued to watch Serosh warily. Godwyn received an invitation to Horace Loux's wedding in Caria, then immediately challenged Devonia to spar.

• Godfrey rejected Marika's suggestion to send Godwyn away, fearing his unexplained departure would draw the Two Fingers' suspicion.
• Godfrey and Marika agreed that Froesanks should stay with Godwyn and that Godfrey would keep Serosh occupied while they prepared the procession to Caria.
• Serosh overheard signs of the royal couple's suspicions and lamented that they relied on him while keeping him under watch.
• Godwyn lifted Fortissax overhead during training until Devonia arrived with Horace Loux's wedding invitation.
• Godwyn welcomed news of his uncle's wedding, then challenged Devonia to a fight.

Horace returned to Lakeside Town and confronted mounting administrative problems, including discrimination against the Albinaurics and reports of lake creatures attacking patrols. He devised a plan to turn the Giant Crayfish, Crabs, and Octopuses into a military force by seeking puppetry technology from Nokstella or Seluvis.

• Horace returned to Lakeside Town and learned that Uriel and Messmer were overwhelmed by government work and court cases.
• Horace learned that people were resisting Albinaurics serving in patrols, though news of his coming marriage to Rellana had temporarily silenced public complaints.
• Inquisitor Knights reported that Giant Crayfish, Crabs, and Octopuses were injuring and humiliating patrols around Liurnia Lake.
• Horace considered using the lake creatures as specialized troops, with Crayfish as ranged support and Crabs as shock troops.
• Horace concluded that conventional taming would be difficult and considered seeking creature-control methods from Nokstella or redirecting Seluvis's puppet research toward animals.

Godfrey turned the preparations for Horace’s wedding into a tournament that brought excitement and income to Leyndell, while guests across the realm prepared in their own ways. As the wedding approached, Melina endured bridesmaid fittings, Messmer and Gaius considered a practical gift, and Uriel remained buried in reports about attacks by giant lake beasts.

• Godfrey held a citywide tournament to choose who would accompany him to the wedding, and Serosh collected fees that replenished Leyndell’s treasury.
• Godwyn won a place in the tournament, while Froesanks continued struggling through piles of paperwork.
• The Storm King dismissed the invitation to Horace’s wedding and ordered envoys to attend in his place.
• Sellen dressed Melina in a bridesmaid gown, while Lusat prepared a Glintstone Staff and Azur crafted a talisman as wedding gifts.
• Messmer asked Gaius what gift they should give Horace, and Gaius suggested scouting the lake’s giant beast nests.
• Uriel sighed over administrative documents and reports of fresh giant-beast attacks.

On the day of Horace and Rellana’s wedding, the guests waited anxiously for the Golden Dynasty’s delayed procession. Godwyn arrived by leaping from an ancient dragon, and Godfrey’s battered delegation revealed that he had hurled most of them through the air to speed up their journey.

• Horace and the wedding guests gathered at the Church of Vows while Rellana prepared with Queen Rennala and Melina served as a bridesmaid.
• The Golden Dynasty’s procession failed to arrive by the appointed time, and the guests grew anxious.
• Ancient dragon Fortissax overshot the church, and Godwyn leaped from its back and landed in a crater unharmed.
• Godwyn greeted Horace, and Uriel mistook him for a fierce child from his tribe.
• Godfrey and Marika arrived with a dusty, scraped-up delegation, and Serosh told Horace that Godfrey had thrown the procession several miles to hurry them along.

Horace learned that Godwyn had been raised among ancient dragons, explaining why the prince was a wild, energetic warrior rather than the polished figure he remembered. Marika and Godfrey suggested that Froesanks could leave her paperwork duties in Leyndell and work in Caria, leaving Serosh to dread handling the files alone.

• Godfrey proudly introduced Godwyn to Horace and praised his son's strength and skill with Dragonbolt.
• Marika explained that Froesanks had helped care for Godwyn and Messmer by bringing them to the ancient dragons, who took a particular liking to Godwyn.
• Horace realized that Godwyn's dragon-raised childhood had made him wild and free, while Messmer had grown quiet and withdrawn.
• Horace asked how Froesanks was doing, and Godfrey said she was comfortably handling records and writing in Leyndell.
• Marika suggested that Froesanks could visit Horace in Caria if she wanted more room to stretch, and Godfrey offered to let her work there.
• Serosh secretly hoped Horace would take him too, fearing he would be left alone with the mountains of paperwork.