Chapter Summaries

Horace discovered a mysterious golden amber among his congratulatory gifts, then received Messmer’s practical gift of captured lake creatures and learned why Messmer was furious about Melina dolls being dressed in maid outfits. The chapter left Messmer reassured that Horace agreed the dolls should keep their original clothes.

• Horace found a heavy piece of golden amber that he suspected was the Rune of the Unborn, and considered whether Marika had removed Great Runes from the Elden Ring.
• Messmer led Horace to the lakeshore, where Gaius and the Albinaurics presented captured giant crabs, crayfish, and octopuses as a gift.
• Horace praised the capture and promised rewards, then summoned Seluvis to collect the creatures as materials.
• Gaius showed Horace a finely made Melina doll from Messmer’s pouch and explained that Messmer objected to dolls being changed into maid outfits.
• Horace agreed that the Melina dolls should keep their original outfits, easing Messmer’s anger.

Horace found that the Formless Mother's whispers had quieted among the Numen nurses, whose painful treatments were healing patients despite their disturbing methods. With no signs of renewed cult activity in Caria, he decided to investigate where the Outer God's attention had shifted.

• Horace visited the Nurse Corps camp and saw a Numen nurse finish a bloody treatment that left the patient recovering but traumatized.
• Horace defended the nurses' effective methods to Uriel and reassured Rellana that their work helped people despite the suffering involved.
• Horace asked the nurses whether they heard the Formless Mother's whispers, and they said the whispers had largely stopped after once mentioning wounds and strange phrases.
• Uriel reported no recent cult activity or rumors in Caria, leaving Horace unsure where the Formless Mother's attention had gone.
• Horace decided to take the initiative and investigate, hoping to draw more funding from the Formless Mother along the way.

Horace reached the Formless Mother and learned she had been exploiting a loophole in the Golden Order to make Marika bleed and collect her blood. Despite realizing how dangerous the stolen divine blood was, Horace accepted a jar from the Formless Mother, leaving his scruples behind.

• Horace tried to contact the Formless Mother but found the connection sluggish and received only silence at first.
• The Formless Mother told Horace she had made Marika bleed by convincing the Erdtree to treat her virginity as damage requiring repair.
• The Formless Mother revealed that she had collected a jar of Marika's blood and offered some to Horace.
• Horace weighed the danger against his curiosity and need for divine power, then accepted the gift from the Formless Mother.

Horace accepted the Formless Mother's divine blood after the Gate of Myriad Laws warned that the Moon's plans would harm those close to him, then learned the Formless Mother had dealt with an unseen threat. Days later, Horace struggled to decide what to do with the sealed blood, while Rellana advised him to keep it safely stored.

• Horace asked the Formless Mother whether she had noticed other gods, and their connection abruptly broke as the blood moon in his soul turned crimson.
• The Formless Mother returned, said someone had nearly stolen her home, checked that Horace was safe, and hurried away toward Leyndell to watch Marika's scheduled scolding.
• Several days later, Horace found that Marika's blood contained many runes and offered some insight into causality and regression, but little about the Elden Ring itself.
• Horace worried that keeping the divine blood could attract dangerous attention, while destroying or giving it away seemed too risky.
• Rellana asked about the sealed jar, and Horace gave a vague explanation before she advised him to store it until he found a safer method.

Horace learned that Gaius had broken judicial procedure while rescuing abducted Albinaurics, leaving Messmer torn between loyalty to his friend and his duties as a Judicial Officer. Messmer hoped Miriel would ask Horace to spare Gaius, while Horace arrived at the Church of Vows with Rellana and a jar of divine blood.

• Horace consulted the Gate of Myriad Laws and decided to take the jar of divine blood to the Church of Vows.
• Horace and Rellana arrived at the Church of Vows and found Messmer and Melina with Miriel.
• Melina explained that Gaius had entered an abandoned sorcerers' tower without authorization after Albinauric villagers disappeared.
• Gaius rescued several dying villagers but injured a sorcerer and destroyed experimental equipment, leading to accusations against him.
• Messmer struggled to reconcile his friendship with Gaius and his duty to uphold the law, and he had sought Miriel's help.

Horace entrusted the sealed jar containing divine blood to Miriel, then considered Messmer’s plea to help Gaius. With Miriel’s compromise and Melina’s intervention, Horace allowed Gaius to investigate the Albinauric kidnappings while serving his sentence, with Messmer responsible for the fine.

• Rellana recalled that her sister had once asked her to investigate the Academy’s capture of Albinaurics, but she did not know who had taken over the inquiry.
• Horace asked Miriel to keep the sealed jar, and Miriel agreed to shelter it temporarily.
• Melina pleaded with Rellana to ask Horace to go easy on Gaius, but Messmer was too embarrassed to join her plea.
• Miriel proposed that Gaius investigate the kidnappings and rescue any Albinaurics still in danger while serving his sentence, and that Messmer pay part of the fine.
• Horace accepted Miriel’s proposal and told Messmer he would have to pay Gaius’s fine.
• Melina gave Messmer enough money to cover the fine and revealed that she earned a share from Melina Doll sales at the Academy, including limited-edition models.

Horace prepared to travel to Leyndell, leaving Uriel in charge of local affairs, but discovered that Sellen owed roughly twenty-three million Runes in unpaid taxes. He ordered Uriel to warn Sellen to correct her accounts and pay what she owed, leaving her a chance to settle the matter quietly.

• Horace entrusted Uriel with managing Lakeside Town and the fief while he traveled to Leyndell.
• Horace noticed that taxes from the Melina doll series were unusually high and ordered Uriel to audit Sellen's earnings.
• Uriel reported that Sellen owed approximately twenty-three million Runes and had paid less than thirty percent of her tax liability.
• Horace accidentally sprayed tea on Rellana and blurted out an ambiguous reply before explaining that he was shocked by Sellen's unpaid taxes.
• Horace instructed Uriel to privately warn Sellen to review her accounts, pay the back taxes and late fees, or face an investigation.

Horace and Rellana left Caria for Leyndell after Messmer and Melina refused to return with them, and Melina revealed that their mother did not want them home. Rennala confronted the moon’s mysterious call, while Miriel concealed the jar Horace had entrusted to it after sensing it was at risk of theft.

• Horace invited Messmer and Melina to visit their mother in Leyndell, but Melina signaled for Messmer to refuse, and the siblings stayed in Caria.
• After Horace and Rellana departed, Melina told Messmer that their mother did not want them to return home, and Messmer promised they would one day go back to their homeland.
• Rennala felt the moon’s persistent call return after Horace left and suspected the moon was responsible, resolving to seek greater power and understanding.
• Miriel sensed that something important was at risk of being stolen and used Sellia Town Night True Magic to conceal the jar Horace had left with it.

Horace and Rellana arrived in Leyndell as Marika’s suppressed prophecy about the Erdtree’s destruction fueled preparations for war against the Fire Giants. After Devonia secretly asked Horace to help Godfrey, they went to Roundtable Hold, where Godfrey welcomed them before its gathered champions.

• Ordovis and Devonia sensed that Marika and Godfrey were troubled, while a Prophet’s warning that kindling would bring ruin and burn the Erdtree spread through Leyndell.
• Marika blamed the Flame of Ruin on the Fire Giants and their fell god, and Leyndell began recruiting warriors for an expedition to the Mountaintops of the Giants.
• Horace and Rellana entered the tense capital, where Devonia explained the prophecy’s consequences and said Godfrey would soon march against the giants.
• Before leaving them at the palace, Devonia whispered to Horace, “Please help the king,” and Horace wondered what danger Godfrey faced.
• Marika warned Horace about the Black Knife Assassins at Roundtable Hold, and Horace and Rellana went there, where Godfrey introduced them to the gathered heroes.

At Roundtable Hold, Godfrey publicly summoned Crepus, giving Horace reason to suspect that the Black Knife Assassins served the Two Fingers rather than the king. Horace began looking for allies who might help him deal with this threat, while Alberich reacted strangely to his red hair.

• Godfrey demanded that Crepus appear, then introduced the Black Knife Assassins' leader to Horace after Crepus emerged from hiding.
• Horace suspected Crepus and the Black Knife Assassins were the Fingers' spies in Roundtable Hold and considered recruiting someone to act against them.
• Horace spoke with Vyre and Blaidd, earning their recognition and beginning a friendly relationship with them.
• Horace approached Alberich, who studied his red hair and exposed his shoulder and arm.

Horace learned that Alberich’s blood glintstone came from blood-sacrifice rituals and asked to study a sample. He invited Alberich to continue his research in Liurnia, leaving him to weigh the offer as Horace returned to Rellana and Dolores.

• Horace saw dark red crystals growing from Alberich’s body, and Alberich explained that he called them blood glintstone, created through rituals of living sacrifice.
• Alberich warned Horace that blood was heretical and could lead life toward madness.
• Horace asked Alberich for a small sample, and Alberich broke off a piece of crystal from his arm and gave it to him.
• Horace invited Alberich to pursue his research in Liurnia, where the Academy would not condemn him for heresy, but told him he did not need to decide immediately.
• Alberich remained alone, weighing Horace’s invitation, while Horace went to join Rellana and Dolores.

Horace finally met Froesanks in Leyndell, where she revealed that Godfrey and Marika had burdened her with years of government paperwork. After learning Godwyn was away, Froesanks seized Horace and fled the capital with him.

• Godfrey postponed Horace and Rellana's wedding until after the campaign against the giants, and the couple agreed to keep the eventual celebration modest.
• Marika summoned Rellana for a private conversation about family matters, while an attendant brought Horace to Froesanks.
• Froesanks saw Horace, learned Godwyn was away, and eagerly dragged him out of Leyndell.
• Outside the capital, Froesanks complained that she and Serosh were the only ones handling its endless paperwork and said she regretted not taking Godwyn back.

Horace reunited with Froesanks, who led him through the Sealed Tunnel to the Divine Tower of West Altus and revealed a plan for him to become an Empyrean. The chapter ended with Froesanks asking Horace to choose the Law he would build with the power of the Amber Egg.

• Froesanks told Horace that she was desperate to escape her paperwork duties, and he promised to take her away.
• Froesanks led Horace through secret passages in the Sealed Tunnel, where the Onyx Lord let them pass.
• Froesanks asked Horace for the Amber Egg that Mr. Godfrey had given him as a wedding gift.
• Froesanks explained that Horace could devour the Amber Egg at the Divine Tower of West Altus to bypass the Two Fingers and become an Empyrean.
• Froesanks asked Horace to decide what Law he wanted to shape, warning that the amber's power could draw him into the Golden Order if he lacked a clear direction.

Horace defined his Law of Restraint, allowing outside powers to compete in the Lands Between while limiting each ruler of the Elden Ring to a thousand-year term. He left the world with a system of recurring succession in which qualified beings could contend for the throne.

• Horace reflected on how Laws shaped and constrained both the Lands Between and their divine Vessels.
• Horace rejected a perfect utopia and considered the risks of isolating the Lands Between from the Outer Gods.
• Horace told Froesanks that his Law would protect every intelligent life’s right to think and would allow external powers to intervene within set limits.
• Horace declared that agents of outside powers and the children of humanity could compete for the Elden Ring, but each victor’s rule would last only one thousand years.
• Horace established that, after each millennium, any being with clear ideals, firm will, and sufficient recognition could qualify as an Empyrean and enter the succession contest.
• The author’s note explained that Horace’s Law granted everyone the right of succession and that the Blood Moon watched to see whether anyone cheated.

Horace explained his Law as a thousand-year cycle meant to help civilization grow strong enough to stand against the Outer Gods, then began his attempt to become an Empyrean at the Divine Tower of West Altus. After consulting the Gate of Myriad Laws, he resonated the Blood Moon with blood glintstone and devoured the Amber Egg, setting the ritual in motion.

• Horace described his hope that the Lands Between would grow powerful enough to challenge the Outer Gods through cycles of competition and accumulated knowledge.
• Horace told Froesanks that this vision was his Law, then asked her to accompany him to the top of the tower.
• Horace and Froesanks reached the charred remains of the Two Fingers at the Divine Tower of West Altus, where Froesanks could no longer interfere.
• Horace consulted the Gate of Myriad Laws, which advised him to resonate the Blood Moon and blood glintstone while devouring the Amber Egg.
• Horace made the Blood Moon and blood glintstone resonate, then absorbed the Amber Egg into his soul as invisible chains linked the three powers.

Horace became an unprecedented Empyrean when the blood glintstone catalyzed his Law of Restraint and connected him to a tangible blood moon. As blood cultists attacked Leyndell, Alberich reacted violently to the moon and was carried toward Roundtable Hold.

• Horace’s blood glintstone shattered, and a vivid red moon appeared above him as his hair, eyes, and body transformed.
• Horace sensed a Great Rune forming within his soul and realized that his Law of Restraint and the blood moon had given him portions of divine essence.
• Marika cursed the Formless Mother in the Erdtree Cathedral while Ordovis and the knights mistook her outburst for a divine battle.
• Apostles of the Membrane Church attacked Leyndell, and Vyke and Godfrey fought them as their wounds produced unnaturally large amounts of blood.
• Alberich’s blood glintstone burned and disintegrated under the blood-red moon, and Blaidd and Vyre carried him toward Roundtable Hold.

Horace learned that Godwyn had gone to Crumbling Farum Azula, where he and Fortissax repeatedly tried and failed to enter the storm at the city’s center. Maliketh and a Draconic Tree Sentinel watched the spectacle while Godwyn continued toward his unknown goal.

• Froesanks told Horace that Godwyn was challenging Placidusax, and Horace demanded she take him to Crumbling Farum Azula.
• Froesanks explained that she could not change back into an Ancient Dragon, so Horace reasoned that Godwyn had gone after Destined Death instead.
• Godwyn asked Fortissax where Placidusax was, and Fortissax pointed him toward the center of the storm of time.
• Godwyn and Fortissax charged into the storm repeatedly, only to be flung into the ruined city each time.
• Maliketh and a Draconic Tree Sentinel watched the pair’s failed attempts without intervening.

After Alberich’s transformation revealed the presence of a new Empyrean, he urged Blaidd to pursue becoming that Empyrean’s shadow and suspected Queen Marika supported the choice. Alberich warned that too many Black Knife Assassins had infiltrated Leyndell, prompting Blaidd and Vyre to consider following him.

• Alberich recovered from his transformation and discovered that his blood and vision had changed, along with a powerful craving for blood.
• Alberich and Vyre told Blaidd that a new Empyrean might have appeared and that Blaidd could become His shadow.
• Vyre advised Blaidd to follow his ambition, while Alberich suggested that Queen Marika wanted him to do so and hinted that the king faced trouble.
• Alberich asked whether there were too many Black Knife Assassins and left the chamber.
• Vyre warned Blaidd that the unrest in Leyndell might conceal a deep infiltration, and Blaidd chose to follow Alberich.

Alberich secretly hunted Black Knife Assassins during the battle in Leyndell and noticed that Gideon Ofnir and others were covering up the deaths of five assassins. After returning to the city, Horace found the purge’s aftermath and saw bloodlike marks on Starlight Shards Marika had given Rellana, leaving him wondering how the Formless Mother obtained them.

• Alberich used his ability to see blood to ambush and kill three Black Knife Assassins, discovering their Crimson Tears were being restrained.
• Alberich spotted Gideon Ofnir arranging for five assassins killed by crude backstabs to be removed, while Blaidd and Vyre watched from hiding.
• Horace, Froesanks, and the Onyx Lord returned to Leyndell and saw soldiers cleaning the bloodied streets after the battle.
• Godfrey told Horace that some of Crepus’s assassins had disappeared, then handed him the wedding arrangements and damage reports to manage.
• Rellana showed Horace the Starlight Shards Marika had given her, and he noticed marks resembling dried blood on their edges.

Horace finished helping Serosh with the records before meeting Alberich to investigate the blood thirst and powers Alberich gained as Horace’s follower. Horace learned the thirst was a personal cost tied to Alberich’s past exposure to blood glintstone and saw potential uses in Alberich’s ability to read information from blood.

• Horace organized most of the records, left Serosh to finish the remaining reports, and went to meet Alberich.
• Alberich described his transformation, his blood thirst, his hunts of Black Knife Assassins, and his observations of Sir Gideon Ofnir collecting corpses.
• Horace examined the Law’s imprint in Alberich and concluded that blood glintstone had made him dependent on blood in exchange for greater power and regeneration.
• Alberich confirmed that he could sense information in blood, including traces of incantations, and Horace considered how this ability could expose spies.