Book 1 (Landfall Spoiler-free)

For players in the Landfall D&D setting, this is a revision of the Book 1 outline to remove potential spoilers.

Book 1 of the Grim Dream series is titled simply The Grim Dream.

Book 1 introduces the main characters and begins the adventures of Princess Mikoa Lothaen of Bruhinn.

Prologue (Mikoa - Julenhall)
The Ghuul of Julenhall

“What wonders all I rush to see; please those I leave, remember me.” -The Sunset Lullaby

The night before Princess Mikoa Lothaen turns nine, she must perform a violin recital at Julenhall Estate. Nurse Belladay helps her prepare and cares for her little brother Grumdar. We learn that Mikoa's mother, Queen Callandra, is dead. Mikoa never knew her, but Nurse Belladay knew her well. Grumdar plays with toy monsters (ga'arg) and soldiers. Mikoa is excellent at violin, able to play from memory, without written music.

Before the recital, a mysterious creepy maid seems to be watching Mikoa. We meet Mikoa's uncle and aunt, Garrimon and Pennibelle. Mikoa sees Itaebi Fellstaff among the audience. Mikoa's father, King Beauregaerd, cannot attend the recital. Mikoa is disappointed. Nurse Belladay comforts her by giving her Callandra's starstone pendant.

Mikoa plays The Sunset Lullaby.

The maid transforms into a mor'ghuul and threatens Mikoa, calling her ziraduun. Everyone at the recital panics. Itaebi uses shadowbane and a dreamcatcher to back the ghuul into a wall. Mikoa is almost knocked unconscious by the shadowbane and dreamcatcher, but doesn't realize it. The ghuul teleports behind Itaebi and whips her in the skull, knocking her out.

Garrimon defends Mikoa. His attack passes through the ghuul, leaving it unharmed. The ghuul whips Garrimon in the face, knocking him out. The ghuul dashes for Mikoa. Mikoa screams and closes her eyes.

Nurse Belladay tackles the ghuul, and Itaebi (revived) kills it with a dagger to the eye. Garrimon is alive. Nurse Belladay is whipped to shreds and dead. Mikoa cries over Belladay's body.

Chapter 1 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Snow Anchor

''“And to the west, Bruhinn. First of the thousand-year kingdoms. Last to fall.”'' -Neitsches the Conqueror

Princess Mikoa Lothaen's royal procession rolls into the town of Snow Anchor. She is traveling with her younger brother, Grumdar. They are older, now (Grumdar is trying to grow a mustache). Mikoa playfully mocks him.

Grumdar is reading a book he got from the Rufelle family. Mikoa prefers romance. They discuss Mikoa's engagement to Prince Goddard Enthaen of the Holy Thlos. Mikoa has been trading letters with him, but has never met him. They will meet for the first time in Snow Anchor, before the midsummer solstice banquet. The solstice will be Mikoa's eighteenth age-day.

They cross a bridge. Children are playing and swimming in the river. Mikoa feels uneasy. She doesn't know how to swim. A squad of elf-kin Ardent shadowhunters rides by, in a rush.

Arron Silverspear, of Grumdar's personal guard, leaps onto the rolling royal carriage. Arron and Grumdar are friends. Mikoa dislikes Arron immediately. Arron reports that Prince Goddard's procession has already arrived at Snow Anchor Palace, as well as a ville solant theater company. (the Chalice Moon)

The procession comes to an abrupt halt outside town. There is commotion. Arron climbs up the carriage side to see. Mikoa and Grumdar peek out. A desperate ziraduun woman (Aera Tullandy) has magically seized the guards' weapons, blocks the road, and demands to see Mikoa.

Chapter 2 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
The Witch in the Road

Mikoa carefully approaches Aera. She senses Aera's magic. An army of mundane soldiers are no match for a single skilled ziraduun.

Aera is holding the Red Glass Dagger. She begs Mikoa for help. Aera is from Jotrfyn, in the Windlands. She has a husband and four children. She is being chased by the Ardent and will be put to death if she is caught. She is trying to reach the Snow Anchor to prevent something terrible from happening. She says she has the "key." She asks Mikoa for asylum. The women sense a kinship. Mikoa explains that only the Conclave can pardon ziraduun, but Prince Goddard is in town, and he can petition the Conclave on Aera's behalf. In the meantime, Mikoa promises to safeguard Aera. Grumdar reacts with shock.

Aera relaxes and thanks Mikoa. Her magic suddenly stops, and the floating weapons drop. Mikoa falls to her knees, dizzy. Itaebi Fellstaff, carrying a dreamcatcher, appears and kills Aera. Mikoa is horrified. Itaebi takes the Red Glass Dagger, thanks Mikoa for her help and leaves.

Chapter 3 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Snow Anchor Palace

The royal procession rolls into Snow Anchor Palace. Mikoa is somber and conflicted. She asks Grumdar if he's read any books about wizrada. She thinks about Aera's family in Jotrfyn. For comfort, she rereads a short, old letter from Prince Goddard. Grumdar remarks that she always carries at least one of Goddard's letters, and she's read them all ninety-nine times. He asks if she loves Goddard; she answers they've never met.

The Palace is the closest thing Mikoa has to a home. She came here every summer, growing up, and knows every hall and hidden tunnel. It has high walls, ringed with statues of ga'arg. Grumdar idly observes that if the Palace were ever under siege, the war is already lost. He points out flaws in the defenses, since it is a palace rather than a proper castle.

They observe the parked carriages of Prince Goddard and the ville solant. The Snow Anchor relic is visible over rooftops, toward the center of town.

Haddegaer greets them. King Beauregaerd is busy. Mikoa declines escort to her room, and heads to the cellar instead.

Chapter 4 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Arcanium

Mikoa heads for the secret Palace library. She recalls playing hide-and-seek with Cassioletta Hart, when they were both young. Unlike the guest library, this library is well-hidden and is more of a storage area.

The library is dark. Mikoa is looking for a specific book. She finds her way with a candle, idly aware of the heat and open flame, careful not to let it near any of the old books, lest she start a fire.

A nook is lit, and a Cayrien monk is there, studying a book. It is the exact book that Mikoa was looking for. The monk introduces himself as Saj. He mentions meeting her when she was an infant, before Grumdar was born. Mikoa asks about her mother.

They discuss the book -- Arcanium. It is from the Myriad. The Cayrien Order does not have any copies -- this is the only known copy. Mikoa knows about it, because she read it as a child, even though Nurse Belladay told her not to.

Arcanium discusses the theory of a parallel magical realm, called the grim dream, which can affect this world, and how certain people can sense that realm. Mikoa asks how; and how would a person know if they were sensing the grim dream. She asks if there is any "cure" -- can a ziraduun return to normal? Saj's answers are cryptic. He is creepy and affectionate toward Mikoa.

Mikoa leaves without her questions answered. Saj implies they will meet again.

Chapter 5 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
The Chalice Moon

''“My prize. Swift of hand. Dancer, singer, expert on beam and walking-wire. A true glory to behold.”''

On her way back to her room, lost in thought, Mikoa finds members of the Chalice Moon (Benereau, Fiorah, and Samurrian) practicing fencing in a parlor. Benereau introduces Fiorah and Samurrian and orders them to perform a short routine for Mikoa. Fiorah's hair is exotic pink. She juggles scarves. Mikoa cheers and compliments them, unknowingly violating Guild decorum.

Cassioletta Hart appears and summons Mikoa to King Beauregaerd. In the hall, Mikoa and Cassioletta reconnect. Cassioletta is jealous of Mikoa's arranged marriage with Prince Goddard. Two common men are courting Cassioletta. Mikoa is jealous of how much easier and simpler it is for Cassioletta. She remembers how they used to trade places as children, and imagines herself in Cassioletta's place. Mikoa's royal tattoo now makes that impossible.

Chapter 6 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
The High Raven

“In every night there is always a first star.” -Tazitan proverb

Mikoa arrives at her father's chambers. He does not offer her a pipe. She takes one anyway. Beauregaerd mentions that Garrimon and Pennibelle are in town; back from a multi-year expedition to the edge of Haelfaun.

They discuss her coming marriage to Prince Goddard. He asks her to behave well at the midsummer banquet tomorrow, when they will meet for the first time. He mentions how she has acted badly and rejected prior suitors, but it paid off, because Goddard is the highest-ranking suitor yet. He laments that this is the sort of thing her mother would have handled, and he's handling it poorly. She bristles at his overbearing micromanagement and resists the implication that she is marrying for rank. He defends himself by implying that he married for love -- Callandra was an extraordinary woman. Mikoa stops short of saying she loves Goddard. She's never met him; they've only exchanged letters.

Itaebi Fellstaff arrives for a private audience with the King. Mikoa is outraged over Aera's death. She questions the fairness of executing people for something they cannot control. Itaebi verbally defends herself and reports that she is hunting a ziraduun named Khazr the Red Gambler, in Cloudport. He harbors known ziraduun and helps smuggle them out of Bruhinn. She also reports that the volcano Mount Sinthrall is smoking in Haelfaun. The King gives her his blessing, and she leaves.

The King confesses that Garrimon reported the same thing, about the volcano. Mikoa and Beauregaerd smoke quietly into the night, in thought, until Mikoa leaves. In her chamber, she opens a box with her collection of letters from Goddard. She reads one and thinks of her mother.

Insert Chapter (Itaebi - Snow Anchor)
Huntress of Kin

Itaebi suspects Mikoa might be ziraduun, or in some way related to ziraduun. She examines Aera's red glass dagger, and orders a Shadowhunter to follow Mikoa.

Chapter 7 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
The Legend of the Ogrim Harp

''“North turned to south. East became west. The cities unmoored, and we watched them drift away, leaving us to the mercy of life too short to understand the truth.”'' -The Legend of the Fae Hand

On the day of the midsummer banquet, Mikoa strolls through the Palace garden. Cassioletta spies on Prince Goddard and reports back. Mikoa observes statues of gods, which she finds obscene. She finds a hidden grove with a statue of Sinthrall, the Forgotten God of lust, in it. He is holding a thorny rose. She wonders how sculptors and artists could know what gods look like, since gods haven't been seen for thousands of years.

She listens to a garden violin recital by Jaela Numiren, who is nine. Mikoa has not touched her violin since that night at Julenhall. She dresses for the banquet and drinks Serberra wine. She is nervous.

Mikoa attends the banquet. Goddard is late. Itaebi is present. Garrimon and Pennibelle say hello. Garrimon's face is deformed and scarred from chin to brow, and he's missing an eye -- from the ghuul of Julenhall.

The Chalice Moon puts on an elaborate performance in Mikoa's honor, called The Legend of the Ogrim Harp. Fiorah and Samurrian portray the legendary Myriad heroes, Dervish and Cutlass. Fiorah performs her Ti Bet Chi (Dervish dance). Mikoa tells Grumdar that she talked to Fiorah; Grumdar explains that it's a breach of Guild etiquette. Goddard arrives quietly, during the show. At the end of the show, the Chalice Moon gives Mikoa a golden harp, from Prince Goddard.

Chapter 8 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Prince Preeminent

Mikoa drinks more wine and is drunk. She tries to find Fiorah, to ask why Guild custom prohibits talking to ville solant. She bumps into Itaebi and Quillibrin Ulrum. Quillibrin is awkward. Itaebi believes Myriad legends are a warning about the sins of wizrada. Mikoa is still angry about Aera. Itaebi alludes to knowing a secret about Mikoa's mother. Mikoa tells Itaebi about her starstone pendant.

Goddard asks Mikoa to dance. They dance and talk, face to face for the first time. They walk together. Drunk, Mikoa confesses her enjoyment of Goddard's letters. He is nice. Mikoa feels lightheaded and a little panicked. She excuses herself.

She slips through servants' corridors to get outside and get fresh air. She vomits wine and breaks her dress. Fiorah is there, having followed to make sure Mikoa was okay. Fiorah's hair is black; the pink hair was a wig. Fiorah stole a bottle of wine and offers it to Mikoa. Mikoa feels terrible. They talk about Goddard. Mikoa is confused about her feelings, but is afraid she doesn't love him. She wants fae love (true love) but seems to be marrying for rank.

Mikoa asks about the ville solant and Guild custom. In exchange, Fiorah asks Mikoa to show her the Snow Anchor.

Chapter 9 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Midsummer Night

“Though myth may tell of distant glories lost, what begins today is the myth of times to come.” -Thlossian proverb

Fiorah convinces Mikoa to take her to the Snow Anchor. They walk and discuss Mikoa's tattoo and the ville solant. Mikoa sees Fiorah's servitude as slavery. Fiorah explains that the Jeceau Empire is collapsing, and the ville solant saved her life.

The streets are lively. Mikoa knows the town very well -- she grew up here. She tells stories of the town, from her childhood. They approach the towering Snow Anchor, at the center of town. They pass the Chapel of Meadowlarks, where Mikoa assumed she would get married someday. Instead, she will be marrying Goddard in Nomon Linnor, in the Holy Thlos. Fiorah asks about Mikoa's arranged marriage to Prince Goddard. Mikoa laments she cannot marry for love, like in fae tales. She explains how Goddard corresponded with her by letter, and he seems like a fine man.

They arrive at the Snow Anchor. Fiorah is in awe. Fiorah touches the Anchor and comments about how perfectly smooth and cool it is. People are starting to recognize Mikoa. Mikoa remembers that Aera was trying to reach the Snow Anchor before some unknown bad thing could happen. She touches the Snow Anchor and instantly enters a nightmarish, cloudy dreamscape.

Chapter 10 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
The Woe of Dreams

Mikoa is in a dreamscape version of Snow Anchor. The skin of her palm is incinerated, but she feels no pain. She senses herself being watched by unseen horrors, and flees through town. The horrors chase her, and when she loses them, they proceed toward the Snow Anchor. They soak into the anchor and disappear.

Ashazax, in man-kin form, finds Mikoa. Ashazax begs for help, saying she died and now she's trapped here, among these woespawned horrors. Mikoa despairs, thinking she died, too. Ashazax checks Mikoa and determines she is not dead, but says Mikoa needs to "hurry" back, or she will be destroyed when she "swims upstream" against the River of Time. Ashazax explains that this dreamscape is "between" Haelfaun and the real world. It connects them, and all woe passes through it. Each shadowy horror is the soul of a woespawned ga'arg or ghuul. When Mikoa stepped "through" the Snow Anchor, she opened a massive fissure in the "shell" around the flesh, and now woe is pouring through. Mikoa asks how to close the gate; Ashazax implies that she can't unless she has the "key," and it would require going all the way through to the other side to shut it down -- all the way to Haelfaun, never to return. Mikoa chooses to go back through the Snow Anchor instead. Ashazax suggests the gate will close naturally by itself, given enough time.

In the dreamscape, they are attacked by a spirit resembling a man-kin. Ashazax transforms into dragh-kin and cuts off the spirit's leg. It retreats. As Mikoa flees into the Snow Anchor, Ashazax begs for help again. Mikoa asks how. Ashazax's answer is cryptic.

Right before she touches the Snow Anchor, Mikoa sees Sinthrall, and he sees her. He resembles the statue in the palace garden, but without a rose. She touches the Snow Anchor and is teleported into a storm of fire. Her body is destroyed by the flame. Her naked, bodiless soul falls through the clouds above town. In the clouds, she passes an eerie, abandoned cloud city, hanging from the heavens by magical thread. The town below is in ruins, flattened by a shockwave centered on the Snow Anchor. She falls toward the Snow Anchor, and the shockwave sucks inward, restoring the buildings to their undamaged state -- time playing backwards. She cannot stop her fall and hits the ground screaming.

Chapter 11 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Woespawn

Mikoa is tackled by Fiorah, and a massive shockwave explodes outward from the Snow Anchor, flattening most of the town. The Chapel of Meadowlarks is gone. Mikoa's clothes are all burned off, except for her starstone pendant. Mikoa's palm is horribly burned and very painful. Fiorah apologizes for bringing Mikoa to the Snow Anchor.

Survivors emerge from the ruins. A wounded Ardent shadowhunter draws his sword and calls Mikoa ziraduun. He is terrified. Mikoa pleads that it is a misunderstanding.

The ground starts shaking. The shadowhunter panics and tries to light a shadowbane candle. Just as he gets it lit, a ga'arg bursts from the ground and rips him apart. Ga'arg start popping up all around them. Fiorah dashes away, then comes back with an Ardent horse to save Mikoa. They ride away into the ruined streets.

The town is in panic. Ga'arg are everywhere. Screams and chaos. Streets are blocked by debris. Fiorah tries to get back to Snow Anchor Palace, but Mikoa does not recognize the ruined streets. Her town is destroyed.

They are cornered by a ga'arg and forced to fight. Fiorah kills it. Mikoa vomits down the side of the horse.

Chapter 12 (Fiorah - Snow Anchor)
The Gate

Mikoa and Fiorah find Snow Anchor Palace. The gates are closed, and panicked townspeople are crushing each other, trying to push their way in. Fiorah tries different angles, but can't ride through the crowd. Mikoa loses consciousness. Fiorah declares she is carrying the Princess Preeminent of Bruhinn, but the gate guard captain (Captain Dumwarden) does not believe her. Another guard (Arron Silverspear) recognizes Mikoa and overrides the captain, ordering the gate be opened for the Princess.

The guards struggle to hold back the crowd and secure a lane for Fiorah's horse. A wail and horns signal a horde of ga'arg incoming. The crowd becomes hysteric and surges through the gate. Fiorah and Mikoa barely get inside. Guards close the gate, locking people outside. Arron argues to let them in; Dumwarden argues no.

Mikoa falls off the horse and into Arron's arms. He carries her into the Palace. The people outside the wall are slaughtered by ga'arg. A disembodied arm flies over the wall and lands beside Fiorah and Arron.

Chapter 13 (Fiorah - Snow Anchor)
Accused

“Put on a show and serve the vultures wine!”

Mikoa awakes the next day in a parlor where the King is coordinating the Palace defense. Her hand is bandaged, but still hurts. Fiorah watches over her. Fiorah observes Mikoa's features and offers water. They whisper about what happened. Fiorah says that a bright light shot down from the heavens when Mikoa touched the Snow Anchor. Then Mikoa caught fire and Fiorah tackled her. Then an explosion leveled the town. The area around the Snow Anchor is now a massive woespawn. Fiorah apologizes again.

The King scolds Mikoa for leaving the Palace. He tells Mikoa he plans to thank Benereau for Fiorah's bravery by offering to buy Fiorah's freedom. Mikoa gets angry because he is not talking directly to Fiorah, thanking her directly, or asking if she even wants to be bought. Fiorah instantly likes Mikoa.

Goddard arrives to check on Mikoa. There is an awkward formal distance between them.

Grumdar arrives to report that Itaebi Fellstaff is inside the Palace walls, asking for Mikoa to be arrested as ziraduun. Goddard offers to smuggle her out, back to the Holy Thlos. Mikoa objects to leaving, and to hiding from Itaebi. She considers the accusation unjust. The King indicates that the Palace is not safe (it might fall soon to ga'arg) and that Mikoa should leave, but Goddard's royal caravan is too obvious -- Itaebi will definitely search it. Fiorah says she has an idea, and asks for Benereau.

Chapter 14 (Itaebi - Snow Anchor)
All Titles, Styles, and Rights of Inheritance

Itaebi waits for her audience with the King in the banquet hall of Snow Anchor Palace. She commandeered a squire to hold a shadowbane candle and a dreamcatcher. She is irritated -- the King is stalling for time. Her shadowhunters have all the Palace exits covered. Mikoa cannot sneak out. She thinks about how many shadowhunters she lost last night to the explosion and the ga'arg. She remembers how the ghuul of Julenhall called Mikoa ziraduun. Itaebi chastises herself for not investigating it.

A crowd of nobles has gathered to watch Princess Mikoa get arrested. They know she has been accused of wizrada. Reports come and go about the fighting outside the Palace walls.

The King arrives and takes Itaebi's audience. Itaebi invokes Guild authority, which is higher than the King's. She demands Mikoa. The King chastises her for not helping defend the town. She says that hunting ziraduun is defending the town, and blames Mikoa for the woespawn. She explains how ziraduun can unintentionally open woespawn by overusing wizrada. The King seeks assurances that his daughter will be fairly tried.

King Beauregaerd gets a silent signal from Grumdar. He agrees to hand over Mikoa. A woman in rags and chains is escorted through the crowd by Arron Silverspear. The King revokes his daughter's titles and family name. Itaebi suspects foul play. The woman in chains is revealed to be Cassioletta Hart. The King acts shocked, and orders the Palace searched. A shadowhunter rushes to report to Itaebi that Prince Goddard's caravan is trying to leave the Palace. Itaebi assures the King that she will catch Mikoa, and storms out.

Chapter 15 (Mikoa - The Road Northeast of Snow Anchor)
The Blue Pony

''“Misdirection and stealth. The best rogue trickery, sufficiently advanced and correctly accomplished, is indistinguishable from magic.”'' -Journal of the New Guilds

Mikoa climbs out of a false-bottomed trunk used for disappearing tricks by the ville solant. She is in a Chalice Moon wagon with Fiorah and Samurrian, heading northeast toward Thrushbrooke. Ardent searched the wagon when it left the Palace, but they did not find Mikoa. The "plan" is to smuggle Mikoa out of Bruhinn and into the Holy Thlos, by way of Cloudport and Illandy. In the Holy Thlos, Prince Goddard can keep her safe and she can get a pardon from the Conclave, if necessary -- the same pardon that Aera wanted. Meanwhile, Goddard is taking a more direct route, through the High Diamond Pass. He will meet them in Nomon Linnor. Fiorah picks a blonde costume wig for Mikoa, and they pick the alias "Mariah."

People are fleeing Snow Anchor, heading in all directions. The countryside is unsafe, but gets safer farther away from Snow Anchor.

Arron Silverspear catches up with the Chalice Moon and announces that Prince Grumdar ordered him to bodyguard Mikoa all the way to the Holy Thlos. He recognizes Mikoa by her shadow. They bicker briefly.

The Chalice Moon arrives in Thrushbrooke and stays at the Blue Pony for the night. The troupe performs in exchange for rooms and food. It is the highlight of the year for the people of Thrushbrooke. Mikoa learns the troupe's names, one by one (Benereau, Fiorah, Samurrian, Tellandriel, Ermeau, Arneauchelaire, Rynn, Vayle, Tommer, and Lorrick). No one in Thrushbrooke recognizes Mikoa.

Arron teases Mikoa with a love letter he found in one of the wagons. Mikoa realizes it's one of Goddard's letters that fell from her pocket. She snatches it back.

A Bruhinnen patrol, led by Captain Dumwarden, enters the Blue Pony. They are scouting for ga'arg and searching for the fugitive "Witch Princess" Mikoa Lothaen, under orders from Lord Edellion Ulrum (one of King Beauregaerd's rivals). A soldier confronts Mikoa directly and still does not recognize her. Truth is, very few commoners know what their princess looks like.

Captain Dumwarden drunkenly fixates on Mikoa and orders her to dance. Mikoa dances awkwardly until Fiorah distracts him, and Mikoa slips away.

Chapter 16 (Mikoa - Thrushbrooke)
Courtship

“To drink from the cup is to live; to drink from the ocean is to drown.” -Thlossian proverb

The Chalice Moon leaves Thrushbrooke. Fiorah offers to teach Mikoa how to dance, so she can better fit in with the ville solant. Mikoa rejects the idea, suggesting that ville solant dances are undignified. Fiorah is insulted.

Captain Dumwarden's patrol overtakes the Chalice Moon and forces them to stop. Dumwarden demands to speak to "Mariah." Mikoa faces him, terrified. His coat is unbuttoned. He apologizes for his bad behavior last night, and offers her a clutch of flowers. He still does not recognize her. Benereau shoos Mikoa back to her wagon, and the patrol leaves. The Chalice Moon heads north.

Mikoa thinks about Cassioletta and courtship among commoners. She ponders the love letter from Goddard; the last letter he wrote and the only one she has with her. She realizes how ignorant and sheltered she is. Later that day, at a stop to water the horses, she apologizes to Fiorah and asks for help fitting in. Fiorah confides that Tommer and Lorrick are sneakthieves -- not true ville solant -- as if confessing a scandal. Then she strips naked and dives into the river. Mikoa is terrified of deep water and doesn't know how to swim. She fears water ghuul, like the one at Julenhall. She admires Fiorah's bravery.

Mikoa suggests that she can play violin. Fiorah calls it ffidil and is ecstatic.

Chapter 17 (Itaebi - North of Snow Anchor)
Black Talon

Itaebi still has Aera's Red Glass Dagger. She doesn't usually keep mementos of her kills, but she finds it beautiful -- beautifully lethal. Her company of shadowhunters is decimated. Most were killed in Snow Anchor, and only a tiny handful remain. She is angry about Mikoa getting away. After Goddard left, she wasted time searching the Palace, assuming Mikoa was still there.

Itaebi assesses her men, weary from evading ga'arg. They don't fight unless they have to. She judges the woespawn at Snow Anchor to be the largest she has ever seen -- perhaps the largest in a thousand years. The King of Bruhinn refused to abandon Snow Anchor Palace, which Itaebi finds foolish. He will be overwhelmed within days.

Another Ardent company rides south to meet them, led by Black Talon Furion Windtrail -- a rare calico elf-kin. Itaebi dislikes Furion and considers him young, inexperienced, and reckless. He reports that a nor-folk ziraduun to the north was captured by another Ardent company. Furion turned south to fight the ga'arg. Itaebi outranks him and orders him to focus on capturing the other known ziraduun in Bruhinn. Furion is to find Khazr the Red Gambler in Cloudport, while Itaebi chases Mikoa Lothaen. She cautions Furion that Khazr is very powerful and known to be tricky. Furion is confident it will be no problem.

Chapter 18 (Mikoa - Colter's Corner)
Once You See It, It Sees You

The Chalice Moon rolls north. They see signs of ga'arg attack and refugees on the road. They enter the Windlands and pass mile-markers of old Nylsia. They see a house split down the middle, and Fiorah says there must be a nearby siabra path. Samurrian says that the Grand Boulevard of Cloudport is a siabra path. Mikoa is skeptical. She looks east and wonders if Mount Sinthrall has erupted yet.

Before rolling into Colter's Corner for the night, Benereau scolds Fiorah and Samurrian for not doing enough to hide Mikoa's identity. The incident with Captain Dumwarden was too close.

The Chalice Moon performs at the Winterbreak Inn, like they did at the Blue Pony. Fiorah pays for food with buttons stolen from an officer's uniform. Mikoa eats quickly and hides in the women's bedroom. Tommer is there, in Vayle's bed. Mikoa observes his tattoos.

Mikoa meditates to help fall asleep. She finds herself in a dreamlike copy of Colter's Corner. Ashazax finds her. Together they hide from a nefarious essence that is looking for Mikoa. Ashazax explains that usually nobody can see her; she is trapped "between" and is invisible, like the Forgotten Gods. But once Mikoa saw Ashazax "inside" the Snow Anchor, it helped bring Ashazax back into reality. Mikoa admits she saw Sinthrall, too. Ashazax says that's very bad. Sinthrall will be searching for Mikoa, and if he finds her, he can use her to return to the world.

Mikoa realizes she's dreaming, but she can't wake up. The evil presence almost finds her. She is jarred awake when Fiorah douses her with water. Mikoa considers that she might be responsible for the destruction of Snow Anchor and the deaths of thousands, but she resists crying.

Chapter 19 (Mikoa - Coldwater)
Guilty

“Would I recognize myself, if I saw me now?”

The Chalice Moon rolls north. Mikoa sleeps and practices her ffidil. Her burned hand hurts, and she is out of practice, but she is a natural. They pass refugees and Jeceau brigands on the road. This part of Bruhinn feels lawless, and Mikoa wonders what her father is doing about it.

They roll into Coldwater, a town as big as Snow Anchor. The streets are filled with homeless refugees. Many are from the former Jeceau Empire, to the north, which is wracked with civil war. Rumor is that the Ellisais Conclave has been ousted and is now in hiding -- perhaps the final sign that the Jeceau Empire has collapsed.

They stay at the Lively Lass, a crude and raucous establishment. Patrons treat the ville solant like strippers. Mikoa hears that Ardent shadowhunters captured a vagrant nor-folk and convicted him of wizardry. His name is Thorn. He is lashed to a post in the town square, in front of the chapel, and will be executed in the morning. Mikoa is disgusted and goes to bed early. She respects the ville solant women for tolerating those men.

Mikoa can't sleep because sewage is right outside her window. After everyone else has gone to bed, she angrily goes outside for fresh air. She walks the streets alone, following a feeling. She stumbles across the town square and sees Ardent guarding Thorn. A shadowbane lantern shines on the convict. His head is shaved, his lips are sewn shut, and he is choking on his own blood. That's her fate, if she gets caught.

Mikoa tries to run away and bumps into Arron Silverspear, who followed her. He suspected she might try to rescue the ziraduun. She objects. A shadowhunter investigates the noise and startles them. Mikoa panics and, by reflex, blasts the shadowhunter across the courtyard with an uncontrolled geil spell. His body knocks over the shadowbane lantern.

The ground shakes, reminiscent of the woespawn at Snow Anchor, but giant roots burst out and snare the Ardent. Mikoa and Arron save Thorn. They cut open his lips and help him back to the Lively Lass. Homeless families, sleeping in the street, watch them go by. They load Thorn into a wagon and wake up Benereau. The Chalice Moon hurries out of Coldwater.

Chapter 20 (Mikoa - North of Coldwater)
Breath of the Dragh-kin

“Every risk has its price.”

Benereau is upset about Thorn. Even Fiorah has a hard time understanding why Mikoa rescued him. It is a huge risk.

The Chalice Moon stops a safe distance from Coldwater. It is still dark. Benereau demands they leave Thorn behind. Mikoa offers to pay (once they get to Nomon Linnor). Benereau refuses. They argue.

A wraeth materializes behind Benereau and impales him through the lung, spraying Mikoa with his blood, then it streaks away, straight through one of the wagons. The Chalice Moon circles to defend itself. Fiorah and Samurrian light torches; Arron draws his sword. Samurrian points out that swords are useless against a wraeth, unless you stab it in the eye. Fiorah takes a huge swig from a stolen flask, then hands the flask to Samurrian. He does the same.

They spot the wraeth hiding under a wagon. When everyone's looking at the wagon, the wraeth teleports beside Mikoa. She makes eye contact with it. It is missing one leg.

Samurrian tackles Mikoa. The wraeth is consumed by a plume of fire. Fiorah is spitting fire, like a dragh-kin. Screeching in pain, the wraeth flies away. Fiorah ignited a mouthful of liquor to repel the ghuul.

Benereau is dying on the grass. Thorn staggers forward and begins magically healing the wound. Unable to speak, he motions for Mikoa to join him. They mesh hands over Benereau's wound, and Mikoa experiences shadow magic. They save Benereau. When they are done, her burn is also fully healed, though her palm is still permanently scarred. The sun rises.

Benereau is asleep and recovering. Thorn is exhausted. The Chalice Moon unloads the destroyed wagon and proceeds north.

Chapter 21 (Itaebi - North of Coldwater)
The Trail

Itaebi laments that she is days behind Mikoa and secretly worries that she's lost the trail. It took days to get to Coldwater after she heard about the ziraduun who made a bold escape with the help of some mysterious travelers. If one of them was Mikoa, and if she followed the Illandianerstrand, she could be as far north as Chesny by now.

Itaebi interviews homeless refugees who witnessed the escape. Their accounts vary wildly. But the woman is consistently described as blonde, whereas Mikoa has brown hair. Itaebi ponders.

She handles the Red Glass Dagger. She considers how easy it would be to kill everyone left in her Ardent company. They are young and unprepared for what happened at Snow Anchor. Quick death would be a mercy. She thinks she might be more effective battling the woe of Haelfaun alone.

She rides north into the countryside, to the next clue -- a broken, abandoned wagon. She recognizes it immediately. It is one of the ville solant wagons from Snow Anchor. Itaebi deduces how Mikoa escaped the Palace -- she's traveling in disguise with the ville solant. And now they're carrying a convicted nor-folk ziraduun. They are headed for Cloudport, the only nearby river crossing into the former Jeceau Empire -- also the home of Khazr the Red Gambler, a man who harbors ziraduun. If she takes the Illandianerstrand and they take the back roads, she can catch them there.

Before leaving, Itaebi notices a man-shaped silhouette of tall grass and mushrooms beside the road. Three day old contaminated growth, left behind by wizrada. She orders one of her shadowhunters to carefully dispose of the mushrooms, since they will attract ga'arg.

Chapter 22 (Mikoa - Jotrfyn)
Family

Because of Thorn, the Chalice Moon avoids the busy Illandianerstrand and sticks to back roads. Thorn and Benereau are resting. Mikoa wonders why Thorn was unable to free himself. Fiorah explains that the Ardent use shadowbane to neutralize shadow magic.

The Chalice Moon are leaderless and disorganized. They pass signs of ga'arg. Mikoa rides on Ermeau's wagon and practices her ffidil. Arron rides alongside and they bicker about how he followed her in Coldwater. Mikoa is angry because she thinks her brother Grumdar sent Arron to babysit her. Mikoa improvises a song, mocking Arron. Fiorah and Ermeau approve.

The Chalice Moon gets lost. After some debate, Mikoa is on the verge of taking command, but Tommer steps up. Mikoa and Tommer drive the lead wagon and talk. She asks about his tattoos. He asks about hers. They talk ambiguously about his relationship with Vayle. Mikoa checks for her letter from Goddard.

They arrive at Jotrfyn for the night -- Aera's village. Thorn is very ill and getting worse. Mikoa asks to meet Aera's husband. Someone takes her to a graveyard where Aera's husband and children are buried. He explains that Aera's husband found a glass dagger buried in the fields. Shortly after, Aera lost her mind, murdered her entire family with the dagger, and left town babbling about closing the "door" to Haelfaun. Ardent came through a few days later, looking for her. The villager does not like Ardent.

Feeling ill, Mikoa goes to bed. She interrupts Rynn and Vayle having sex but pretends not to notice. There are many things she does not understand.

Chapter 23 (Benereau - Cloudport)
Hoobel's Spyglass

“It is the perverse appetite of man, that he must first gorge himself on war before retiring to admire the peace he thinks he created.”

Days after his injury, Benereau slowly recovers. He ponders how an outlaw ziraduun saved his life. When the Chalice Moon stops near a burned out Thlossian chapel on a river, he walks inside. The minister is rebuilding. Benereau questions his faith. He thinks about the fallen Ellisais Conclave and what it means to be Thlossian. He thinks the Ardent might be wrong, and Mikoa might be right. He leaves a lot of gold in the donation bowl.

The Chalice Moon rolls into Cloudport. They pass thousands of refugees. There is excitement about a Timekeeper in town, planning to demonstrate a flying machine. They see the Spire of Cloudport. Benereau directs them to Hoobel's Spyglass. They hide the wagons. Thorn is dying from infection.

Benereau affectionately reunites with Adelaine Hoobel. Their relationship is ambiguous. She has a young daughter. Benereau and Adelaine talk. She asks if he is hiding because he's mixed up in the Witch Princess scandal. He is apprehensive. She never married and is running the inn alone. He is relieved and sorry at the same time. She takes him into her bedroom for the night.

Chapter 24 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
The Lucky Owl

Mikoa and Fiorah are looking for the Lucky Owl gambling parlor. Arron follows them, to Mikoa's annoyance. They hide from a passing Ardent company, led by a calico elf-kin (Furion Windtrail).

At the Lucky Owl, people are betting on whether the Timekeeper's flying machine will work or if he will crash and die. Mikoa and Fiorah find Khazr the Red Gambler. He is Saj, the Cayrien researcher from Snow Anchor Palace. He is finishing a lesson on chess. He demonstrates how to sacrifice a piece, behind enemy lines, to do as much damage to the enemy as possible -- allowing other pieces to win the game. He leads Mikoa and Fiorah through back alleys. Mikoa warns him that Itaebi Fellstaff is coming for him. He says he knows.

Mikoa confronts him about how he was pretending to be a member of the Cayrien Order, in Snow Anchor. His response is a cryptic reference to the mark-recall spell.

He takes them to his home, a ramshackle laboratory of wizrada. He talks while collecting potions, fiddling with things, and setting his animals free. He admonishes them not to touch anything. Mikoa looks at a map showing a web of lines over the landscape of Bruhinn, including a line straight through Cloudport leading from nearby Hawk's Look. Hawk's Look is marked on the map with a runic symbol. Khazr seems to know exactly when the Ardent are coming. Arron bursts in to warn them that Ardent are almost there. They slip out the back. Khazr almost forgets his hat.

They watch as Furion and the Ardent activate an elaborate, humiliating trap in Khazr's house. Khazr laughs. Mikoa wonders where Itaebi is.

Chapter 25 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
They take Khazr back to Thorn's room at Hoobel's Spyglass. Khazr heals him while Mikoa watches. She senses Khazr's shadow magic. While Thorn sleeps, Khazr and Mikoa talk about wizrada. She asks if there is any "cure." Khazr's answers are cryptic.

By candlelight, Khazr tests Mikoa by teaching her the heat spell fiorah. It draws from the heat of the source and therefore does not require any energy from the caster. It can even be used in the presence of shadowbane. Mikoa makes the candle flare, confirming she is ziraduun. Overwhelmed with emotion, she storms out and hides in bed. She reads Goddard's letter, in grief and anger. Fiorah comes and holds her. Mikoa resolves to make it to Nomon Linnor.

Chapter 26 (Benereau - Cloudport)
Days have passed. Benereau feels better. He is trying to arrange passage over the Snowsong River into the former Jeceau Empire, but without drawing attention. Ardent and Bruhinnen guards are monitoring the docks. The city is choked with homeless and refugees. Thorn has been asleep for days, but is over his infection. A peculiar local healer named Khazr is taking care of Thorn. Mikoa and Khazr are spending a lot of time together. Benereau wonders if Khazr is another ziraduun. He is in a hurry to get to Nomon Linnor, deliver Mikoa, and get paid.

Benereau follows a lead to a ferryman who has been secretly smuggling refugees into Bruhinn. Benereau explains his needs and negotiates. They almost have a deal, but something spooks the ferryman, and he leaves. Cloudport city guards arrest Benereau. They take him to a secret meeting with Tilsa Numiren. She says she has an offer for him.

Chapter 27 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Mikoa is at breakfast with Fiorah, Samurrian, and Arron, lost in thought. She likes Adelaine Hoobel. Benereau and Adelaine seem to have a history. Mikoa and the ville solant are getting stir-crazy; they are not allowed to leave the inn until Benereau finds a safe way out of Bruhinn. Mikoa wonders if the High Diamond Pass would have been better; Goddard is probably home already. Mikoa has been talking to Khazr about wizrada, a little bit every day. Each time, she resolves it will be the last, but she keeps going back and learning more. As Samurrian tunes his ffidil, Mikoa can sense waves of shadow in the air -- sound waves. She copies the wave, and the ffidil makes a note, without Samurrian touching it. Nobody knows what Mikoa did. Mikoa gets chills and stops toying with wizrada.

Fiorah asks if they can trust Khazr. Mikoa isn't sure. Fiorah wants to watch the Timekeeper fly off the top of the Spire.

Thorn comes to breakfast, surprising them all. A kerchief covers his scarred lips, but he speaks for the first time. He thanks them for saving his life. The mood lightens.

Benereau returns with Tilsa Numiren. She is dressed incognito. She has urgent news for Mikoa.

Chapter 28 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Tilsa insists on privacy. Mikoa insists that her companions stay. Tilsa insists that Mikoa come to the Spire to meet with Lady Janis Numiren and Lord Edellion Ulrum. Mikoa resists. They bicker. Tilsa whispers that Snow Anchor Palace has fallen. King Beauregaerd, Prince Grumdar, and Garrimon are feared dead. Pennibelle was badly injured, escaped, and is dying at the Spire. She refuses to say what really happened, unless it's to Mikoa. Pennibelle knew that Mikoa was hiding with the Chalice Moon. The people of Bruhinn are leaderless. It is a secret.

Mikoa hurries to collect her things. She forgets to pocket Goddard's letter and leaves it behind. Arron and Fiorah caution her that Tilsa might be lying. Arron asks to scout ahead; Mikoa says no. Khazr is mysteriously missing. Nobody saw him leave. Arron, Fiorah, and Samurrian insist on going with Mikoa. Benereau makes a token effort to stop Fiorah and Samurrian, but they go anyway. Mikoa tells Benereau to take care of Thorn.

Chapter 29 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Tilsa takes Mikoa, Arron, Fiorah, and Samurrian to the Spire. A huge crowd has gathered along the bank of the Snowsong to watch the Timekeeper's flight from the top of the Spire. They enter through the Thlossian cathedral at the base. They cannot bring bladed weapons inside. Tilsa assures them nobody has swords inside the Spire, and Mikoa agrees, based on her childhood experience. Arron surrenders his sword; Fiorah and Samurrian surrender daggers. Tilsa discusses how necessary it will be to install Mikoa as Queen of Bruhinn as soon as possible. She says the "Witch Princess" talk is nonsense -- in this time of crisis, the people must rally behind their Queen. Mikoa struggles with the possibility of her family's death. She thinks Tilsa is already maneuvering for a role in her regency. She realizes she forgot Goddard's letter.

Inside the Spire, they ride a pulley lift to a midway floor and an antechamber where the Timekeeper is preparing for his flight. The Timekeeper eagerly discusses his flying machine and how it works. He uses folded paper to demonstrate how it glides. He plans to fly over the Grand Boulevard. Fiorah is thrilled. Mikoa is distracted. She can sense the hearthfires inside the Spire. The Spire is unusually empty. Tilsa says people are outside to watch the flight. They ride another lift together to the Numiren private chambers near the top of the Spire.

The Timekeeper excuses himself to head to the roof and tend to his machine. He carries mysterious paper canisters (fireworks) up with him. Tilsa insists that Pennibelle wants to see Mikoa alone. They compromise by allowing only Arron to accompany her, while Fiorah and Samurrian wait in the sitting room. Tilsa takes Mikoa and Arron upstairs to the guest bedrooms. She brings them to an empty parlor. Bruhinnen guards and Ardent shadowhunters, armed with shadowbane, dreamcatchers, and swords, and led by Itaebi Fellstaff, surround them. Mikoa realizes there's no escape from the Spire -- not at this height. It's a trap.

Edellion Ulrum is there. Tilsa confirms that Snow Anchor Palace fell to ga'arg. King Beauregaerd, Prince Grumdar, Garrimon, and Pennibelle are all presumed dead. The Ulrums and Numirens plan to abandon Snow Anchor and divide what's left of Bruhinn. Mikoa asks if they're going to kill her. Edellion says no; they're going to let the Ardent execute her to shame the Lothaen family. Itaebi monologues briefly. Tilsa admonishes Mikoa for insisting on bringing her companions, because she didn't want to kill anybody, but now she has to kill them. She nods to her guards.

Chapter 30 (Fiorah - Cloudport)
Fiorah and Samurrian are waiting for Mikoa and Arron to return. Numiren servants watch them closely. Fiorah pretends to look at the Timekeeper's artwork, plans, and drawings. She whispers to Samurrian her sense that something is wrong. They deftly, secretly prepare to fight.

They hear a woman scream from upstairs. Bruhinnen guards burst into the room, swords drawn, led by Captain Dumwarden. Fiorah and Samurrian expertly dispatch the guards using their secret preparations. Priceless art and artifacts are destroyed. Dumwarden is the last man standing. He surrenders. They humiliate him and knock him out.

As they rush upstairs, an explosion rocks the Spire from above. Then a second, bigger explosion makes the stairs collapse. Fiorah falls.

Chapter 31 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Guards attack Arron. The Ardent do not attack. Mikoa screams, "Fiorah run!" Arron fights back. Mikoa tries to sense the shadow, but can't. Arron gets a sword from a guard and defends himself well. Itaebi gets impatient, steps forward, and swiftly out-duels him -- slashing his arm, disarming him, and knocking him down. She leaves him for the guards to finish.

Mikoa's wizrada is blocked, but she can still sense the hearthfire in the room. She remembers the fiorah spell and makes the hearth explode. Itaebi staggers away. Spreading fire ignites a Timekeeper's gunpowder canister, causing a second explosion which splits and collapses part of the floor. The shadowhunters and all but two of the guards fall and disappear. Itaebi is isolated to a windowsill. Mikoa, Arron, Edellion, Tilsa, and two guards are on a burning, collapsing patch of floor. Fire spreads quickly on multiple floors.

Edellion orders the guards to kill Arron and Mikoa. The guards are too terrified. Edellion takes one guard's sword and attacks. Arron outmaneuvers him and tosses him down a burning hole. The other guard drops his sword and surrenders. Tilsa begs for mercy. The fire is spreading. Floors are collapsing.

Mikoa can't find a way down. Fire forces them up to the roof. Tilsa and her guard follow at a distance. The Timekeeper comes down to investigate, then follows them to the roof. They are all stranded on the roof.

Chapter 32 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Mikoa looks for a way down. She asks Tilsa. They head for a stairwell on the other side of the roof, but it's choked with smoke. Mikoa can sense the shadow, and tries to push the smoke away by replicating the geil spell she accidentally used in Coldwater. She struggles. Then a powerful blast of wind blasts the stairwell through the floor, pancaking multiple floors below. Mikoa realizes geil is much too powerful for this task.

They're trapped. Mikoa looks over the edge. The crowd below gawks at the fire. She considers the Timekeeper's flying machine, but is too scared to suggest it. Tilsa says they will have to wait for rescue.

Arron, scouting for a way down, investigates a cargo crane. He finds Itaebi climbing up the rope, with Aera's Red Glass Dagger between her teeth. She's almost to the top. Mikoa and Arron desperately look for a way to cut or loose the rope, but nobody has a sword or knife, and the crane is at full slack. Mikoa prepares to geil-blast the crane to pieces, but she hesitates. Although people accidentally died from her wizrada, this would be her first intentional, cold-blooded kill. She can't do it.

Arron has lost a lot of blood and is starting to fade. Mikoa asks if the flying machine is ready to fly. The Timekeeper says yes, but it's only balanced for one person -- specifically himself. Theoretically, it should still fly. When the Timekeeper tries to stop them from taking it, Arron intimidates him into backing down. Mikoa and Arron strap in together. Arron makes a crass comment.

Just as Itaebi reaches the roof, Mikoa and Arron run the flying machine off the top of the Spire. The machine immediately catches fire and nose-dives.

Chapter 33 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
After a moment of terror, the flying machine picks up enough speed to glide. They are flying. Arron realizes the fire is a fuse, intentionally lit by flint along the launch rail. It leads to canisters of fireworks strapped to the bottom of the machine. He desperately tries to put out the fuse, but can't. Mikoa is learning to steer. The straps, not meant for two people, are failing.

Arron finds the release cord for the fireworks. Mikoa says not to drop them on the crowd below, and she awkwardly steers for the Snowsong River, losing altitude. Arron drops the fireworks over the river and they explode in mid-air. The crowd cheers.

The floors inside the Spire pancake and collapse. Mikoa fears that Fiorah and Samurrian are dead.

Mikoa loses control and stalls. The straps fail. Mikoa and Arron fall painfully into the river while the glider crashes. They are separated. Mikoa panics because she can't swim and is terrified of deep water. She drowns, and slips into the grim dream.

She finds herself atop the Spire again. An awesome whiterock airship is docked to the roof. An attractive man steps down the gangplank and approaches her. They have a cryptic conversation. He visited this place long ago, and always wanted to come back, but couldn't. Until now. Until he saw Mikoa. He's glad to be back. He invites her to stay with him. The scene transforms into a volcano. Ashazax, in dragh-kin form, puts her hand on Mikoa's shoulder and tells her to run. When Mikoa looks back, the attractive man is Sinthrall.

Chapter 34 (Mikoa - Cloudport)
Mikoa awakens to Thorn bringing her and Arron ashore. Thorn is an expert swimmer. Benereau is there, with horses and packs. They say Khazr told them exactly where to be and how many horses to bring, and that he was very convincing. The horses are packed with supplies, including Arron's swords. Mikoa and Arron are badly bruised, but Thorn heals Arron's slash wound first. He says he was afraid Mikoa drowned. She stopped breathing, but revived entirely on her own.

Khazr joins them. He is covered in soot and volcanic ash. Mikoa asks where he was earlier -- she could have used his help at the Spire. His answer is cryptic. He says they have to get away from Cloudport immediately. They can't wait for a ferry to Chesny. Ardent tracked the Chalice Moon and Mikoa's cover is blown. Stranding Itaebi atop the Spire buys them a head start, but not much. Furion Windtrail will be coming. They must ride southeast for Hawk's Look.

Mikoa says they have to go back for Fiorah and Samurrian. Khazr promises that Fiorah and Samurrian will find them. Mikoa and Khazr bicker briefly.

Benereau decides not to follow. He needs to take care of his ville solant, and Mikoa's cover is blown anyway. He apologizes for failing his mission (to get Mikoa to Nomon Linnor). He hints that his days of travel and adventure might be over. He muses about becoming an innkeeper. Mikoa, Arron, Thorn, and Khazr ride southeast out of Cloudport.

Chapter 35 (Fiorah - Cloudport)
Fiorah awakens in Samurrian's care. She remembers falling in the Spire, getting injured, and together with Samurrian, fighting her way out. She saw Edellion Ulrum fall to his death. She remembers the tower interior collapsing at the last second, as they escaped. Then she passed out from her injuries. Now her injuries are miraculously healed, though she's sore.

They make their way to Khazr's house. The house is under guard and being searched by Furion Windtrail's Ardent shadowhunters. Samurrian says that Khazr said to come here. They wait for nightfall and sneak into the house. Samurrian is looking for something specific. They alert the Ardent, and a chase ensues. Samurrian finds Khazr's sandglass mark and activates it. Samurrian, Fiorah, and Furion teleport to an abandoned barn. Powerful wizrada disables Furion.

Chapter 36 (Mikoa - Southeast of Cloudport)
Outside Cloudport, Mikoa stops the ride and searches her bag that Benereau packed. Khazr urges her to hurry. She finds Goddard's letter, relaxes, and pockets it. They ride southeast into the wilderness, evading a Bruhinnen patrol.

Thorn somehow communicates with the animals and trees. Mikoa learns some of Thorn's backstory. Thorn fashions a shillelagh from a tree.

At nightfall, they camp in an abandoned barn. Mikoa thanks Arron for saving her life.

Mikoa talks to Khazr about wizrada and the Snow Anchor. Khazr delivers cryptic exposition about how woe is a byproduct of wizrada, and how Sinthrall and the Forgotten Gods may use the Snow Anchor as a conduit through the Barrier, to return to the flesh. Mikoa asks if the Snow Anchor can be destroyed. Khazr says no; only the endpoints of the conduit can be destroyed.

Khazr mysteriously clears the barn floor and draws his sandglass mark on the floor. He explains the mark-recall spell. He says he used it to teleport from Cloudport to the library under Snow Anchor Palace, then back again, on the day they first met. He says he has marks all over Landfall, and if you find one, you can touch it to teleport to him. Then Fiorah, Samurrian, and Furion magically appear. Khazr disables Furion with wizrada.

Chapter 37 (Mikoa - Southeast of Cloudport)
Khazr binds Furion with wizrada. Arron disarms Furion. Mikoa and Fiorah reunite. Furion is terrified and thinks they plan to kill him. Arron considers it, but Mikoa calls him off. She interrogates Furion, asking how they track and disable ziraduun. Furion is surprised how little she knows about shadowbane and dreamcatchers.

They hear a noise outside and hide. Khazr mutes Furion and leaves him suspended in the air, in the center of the barn. Ga'arg enter the barn, sniffing, searching. Khazr conceals Furion and the horses using wizrada. When the ga'arg are directly under Furion, he panics and wets himself. It drips on the ga'arg, but they don't care. The ga'arg leave. Everyone stays hidden. Mikoa and Fiorah fall asleep holding each other.

The next morning, Furion is asleep still hanging in midair. Khazr lets him down. Arron threatens Furion until he promises not to follow them. Mikoa, Arron, Khazr, Thorn, Fiorah, and Samurrian leave and head southeast toward Hawk's Look.

Chapter 38 (Mikoa - Wilderness Southeast of Cloudport)
Khazr packed Samurrian's ffidil and gives it back to him. Samurrian defers and gives it to Mikoa. Mikoa talks to Fiorah and Samurrian about leaving the ville solant. They conclude the Chalice Moon will likely be disbanded. They muse about the fate of its members. Fiorah playfully suggests she will become a bard in Mikoa's royal court. Mikoa questions if she will ever reach Nomon Linnor and restore her name. She grieves for her father and brother. Arron comforts her by suggesting that Tilsa Numiren lied about everything.

Mikoa wants to know if her family is alive. She asks Khazr to draw a mark to take her to the Snow Anchor Palace library. He explains that the mark is consumed and cannot be used again. The fastest magical way to get back would be to use the siabra pathstone at Hawk's Look, which could take her to a pathstone near Snow Anchor. She demands to go back. Khazr explains how siabra paths work, how a key and a donation are required, and how dangerous the siabra are. He has the key, and he plans to take them to the Holy Thlos, near Nomon Linnor, to deliver her to Goddard.

Mikoa is furious. She believes Khazr is powerful enough to defeat the woespawn at Snow Anchor, and she cannot understand why he won't do it. Khazr says it is too dangerous. He is not that strong, and fighting that many woespawn would deplete his energy, leaving him defenseless. A single ghuul could assassinate him before he had time to react. She calls him a coward. He also reminds her that ziraduun are outlaws, and the people she wants to save want them all dead. Khazr is only concerned with saving ziraduun, not the Kingdom of Bruhinn. He casts the dilemma as us versus them -- ziraduun versus everyone else -- and Mikoa will have to pick a side.

Chapter 39 (Itaebi - Cloudport)
It takes two days for Itaebi, Tilsa Numiren, the Timekeeper, and the guard to be rescued from atop the Spire. They are starving and cold. Itaebi convinces Tilsa to let her go first, to test the rescue apparatus.

Itaebi's entire company of shadowhunters has been wiped out. Furion Windtrail is missing, and his shadowhunters are leaderless. Itaebi takes command. She investigates Khazr's house and the artifacts seized. She deduces that Khazr had a key to the siabra paths and took it with him. She finds Khazr's map showing the crisscrossed lines and takes it.

After some days of work, she finds the Chalice Moon wagons, empty, sold to a local merchant. There is no sign of the ville solant. Itaebi interrogates Adelaine Hoobel. Adelaine rudely stonewalls and ejects Itaebi from her inn.

Itaebi still has Aera's Red Glass Dagger. She is considering having Adelaine arrested, to pry Benereau out of hiding, when Furion Windtrail returns, disheveled and ashamed. He reports a major force of ga'arg, hiding in the woods outside the city, in the same direction as Khazr, Mikoa, and Thorn. Itaebi orders the Ardent to pursue.

Chapter 40 (Mikoa - Wilderness Southeast of Cloudport)
The party spends days and nights evading ga'arg in the wilderness. They are forced to move slowly and veer off course. Thorn scouts the area by talking to birds and animals. They have some close calls. Mikoa catches a glimpse of a smaller ga'arg apparently leading the others. Thorn explains it is a ga'arg mystic -- a ga'arg ziraduun.

They are nearly surrounded, and there's only one way out. But the horses refuse to go that way. Khazr admits he was trying to avoid this, but they are forced into a fae dell. Thorn detected it, too. With ga'arg bearing down on them, they release the horses and enter the dell. Mikoa feels dizzy. The ga'arg refuse to follow.

Khazr explains the dangers of fae dells. Fiorah says that The Legend of the Ogrim Harp was actually called The Legend of the Fae Hand, and it's about how Dervish and Cutlass got lost in a fae dell.

Chapter 41 (Mikoa - Fae Dell)
As night falls, Mikoa senses something watching them. Everyone is uneasy. Khazr says that if they don't bother the fae, the fae won't bother them. Mikoa secretly tells Fiorah that the shadow is out of her reach, and that she feels powerless. Faint, eerie music echoes around them. Mikoa recognizes The Sunset Lullaby. Misty apparitions float by. Samurrian stays close to Fiorah.

Mikoa and Fiorah can't sleep. Fiorah recalls Myriad legends about the fae and eventually falls asleep. Mikoa starts to drift off, then sees two misty women watching her. It's Nurse Belladay and Queen Callandra, holding hands. Mikoa can't speak. Callandra approaches Mikoa, touches the starstone pendant, and smiles. She draws a runic symbol in the dirt -- the same symbol for Hawk's Look, from Khazr's map. Belladay sits with Khazr. He whispers to her and cries quietly. The apparitions leave peacefully, and Mikoa is overwhelmed with sleep.

The next morning, the runic symbol is still marked in the dirt. They hurry out of the dell. Mikoa privately asks Khazr what happened. He says the apparitions were not entirely real, but they were real to her. Since fae dells are outside the River of Ages, such distortions of time are possible. He warns her that the same distortions can occur inside a woespawn. Mikoa asks if Khazr knew Nurse Belladay, and his answer is cryptic.

They emerge from the dell within sight of Hawk's Look. Mikoa is relieved to sense the shadow again.

Chaper 42 (Itaebi - Wilderness Southeast of Cloudport)
The Ardent are having difficulty avoiding ga'arg. More shadowhunters have been killed. Itaebi pushes and maneuvers the Ardent through the wilderness. She finds symbols of Sinthrall carved into trees, made out of animal bones, and such. She wonders if Mount Sinthrall already erupted, the God of Lust has returned, and these woespawn are the result. If so, the whole world could be overrun.

The Ardent eventually lose the trail of Mikoa's party. They continue east.

At camp during the night, they hear ga'arg in the distance in every direction. Thousands of ga'arg. Itaebi handles Aera's Red Glass Dagger and looks at Khazr's map. Furion asks what they're still doing in the woods and where they're going. Itaebi points to Hawk's Look, but says they have to get there first, or else Mikoa, Khazr, and Thorn will be gone. Furion doesn't doubt that Itaebi will catch them, but he worries the ga'arg will kill them all.

Chapter 43 (Mikoa - Outside Hawk's Look)
Mikoa, Arron, Khazr, Thorn, Fiorah, and Samurrian are avoiding ga'arg and working their way toward the top of Hawk's Look. Khazr is using wizrada to hide their scent, but he senses that the ga'arg are using wizrada to hide themselves, too -- essentially making both sides blind to each other. Thorn agrees. They find the remains of a slaughtered Ardent shadowhunter patrol. Fiorah and Samurrian take swords off the corpses. Arron encourages Mikoa to take a sword. She considers it, then declines.

Mikoa asks Khazr about his key to the pathstone. His answer is cryptic.

Fiorah makes nervous conversation about what Mikoa will do when she gets to Nomon Linnor and receives her pardon. Mikoa is distracted, deep in thought.

As night falls, they push to try to reach the pathstone before midnight. They walk into a ga'arg trap. Everyone fights, except Mikoa. Unable to control the shadow, she feels useless and wishes she had a sword. Khazr and Thorn hold off the ga'arg with their combined wizrada, while the others rush up the hill toward the pathstone. Mikoa is grabbed by a ga'arg, and she panic-casts geil at point-blank range, ripping the monster apart. She realizes how powerful geil is.

An overwhelming number of ga'arg charge toward them. Mikoa gathers her courage, faces them, and casts geil into a tree, shredding the ga'arg with splinters and buying the group time to escape.

Near the top of the hill, the group meets the ga'arg mystic. It speaks to Mikoa and lures her forward with a charm spell while blasting the others back. Ga'arg take her prisoner. The mystic tells them not to kill her -- Flethloth (Sinthrall) needs her alive. He will soon return to the world, and Mikoa is the key.

Chapter 44 (Mikoa - Hawk's Look)
With enormous struggle, Mikoa frantically flails at the shadow and frees herself from the ga'arg. She magically duels the ga'arg mystic and loses. She tries geil and the spell Khazr used to disable Furion, but the mystic somehow blocks them. She tries to learn and copy the mystic's attacks, but they are too fast for her. The mystic binds her with wizrada.

Suddenly, she loses the shadow completely, and the bind disappears. The mystic panics. Furion Windtrail and Itaebi Fellstaff approach. Furion is holding shadowbane and a dreamcatcher. Arron decapitates the mystic and stands to defend Mikoa. Arron and Itaebi exchange banter while dueling. Mikoa pleads for them to stop and fight the ga'arg instead.

Ardent are fighting ga'arg all around them. Fiorah and Samurrian fight a ga'arg. Khazr and Thorn are pressed back, but their wizrada fails when they're forced toward Furion's shadowbane. The ga'arg start winning, killing many Ardent. Samurrian falls, wounded.

Mikoa tackles Furion, snuffing the shadowbane lamp and breaking the dreamcatcher. Khazr and Thorn use wizrada to turn the fight and create a wall of thornvines around the group, temporarily stalling the ga'arg. Khazr disarms Itaebi. Itaebi and Furion surrender. Arron punches Itaebi, and Mikoa calls him off. Thorn heals Samurrian. Thorn is now exhausted and out of magical energy.

They are surrounded. Ga'arg start hacking at the wall of thorns. The Ardent are all dead or missing, except for Itaebi and Furion. Khazr says the pathstone is their only way out. He notes that Itaebi and Furion are inside the pathstone's casting radius. He would rather leave them to die, but they're along for the ride to Nomon Linnor anyway. He activates the pathstone. His hat was the key. Everyone but Mikoa and Itaebi disappears. They've been left behind.

Chapter 45 (Mikoa - Hawk's Look)
Alone with Itaebi and surrounded by ga'arg, Mikoa is terrified. Mikoa lacks the magical skill to disarm or disable Itaebi, and they both know it. Itaebi draws Aera's Red Glass Dagger. Mikoa threatens to blast her with geil. They are at a standoff.

They talk. Itaebi says this is all Mikoa's fault. Mikoa opened a portal to Haelfaun through the Snow Anchor, and Sinthrall is using that portal to return to Landfall. Mikoa is the endpoint of the conduit; the woespawn follows her everywhere she goes. Killing Mikoa would close the portal -- it is the only way to make the woespawn stop. Mikoa remembers what Ashazax told her -- that the portal can be closed from the other side, in Haelfaun -- and corrects Itaebi. Itaebi answers that to do that, Mikoa would need the "key" to the woespawn, and nobody knows what that is.

Mikoa realizes that Aera knew. Aera had the key and was on her way to the Snow Anchor when Itaebi killed her.

In a rage, Mikoa geil-blasts Itaebi into the wall of thorns. Itaebi drops Aera's dagger, and Mikoa takes it. Ga'arg start breaking through the wall. Leaving Itaebi for dead, Mikoa rushes to the pathstone, trying to figure out how to activate it. She uncovers a runic symbol -- the same symbol from Khazr's map, and the one Callandra drew in the dirt at the fae dell. Mikoa pulls out her starstone pendant. The pathstone activates.

Mikoa appears in the siabra realm. A frozen, misty image of Itaebi appears beside her. Mikoa meets the siabra. They imply that Khazr came through here, many years ago, with five companions, on their way to Trevi -- not Nomon Linnor. They note that Mikoa is traveling with one companion who is almost dead (Itaebi). They ask if Mikoa wants to follow Khazr to Trevi. Mikoa says no -- she wants to go to Snow Anchor. The siabra ask for the customary toll -- a piece of Mikoa's soul. Mikoa is unable to satisfy them, and they almost expel her back to Hawk's Look. Then Mikoa offers Goddard's letter, and the siabra take it. She senses herself disconnecting from him. She will never love him, and she will never be a princess again. She is ziraduun.

Mikoa and Itaebi appear in the countryside outside Snow Anchor.

Chapter 46 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Itaebi was partially healed by the siabra. She thanks Mikoa for saving her from Hawk's Look, but complains that Snow Anchor was overrun by woespawn, and they are now deep inside unsafe territory.

Mikoa explains her plan to check on her family at Snow Anchor Palace, then to travel back through the Snow Anchor, to Haelfaun, to close Sinthrall's portal. She asks Itaebi to stop trying to kill her. She points out she had many chances to kill Itaebi, and didn't. They bicker and reach an uneasy peace.

The countryside and town are empty and eerily quiet, but there are signs of ga'arg everywhere. The gate to Snow Anchor Palace is busted down, and the Palace is empty. The marble halls are streaked with blood, but no bodies. Mikoa's family is gone.

Itaebi goes scouting. Mikoa breaks down and cries. Itaebi returns, having found two swords and spotted many ga'arg. She offers a sword to Mikoa; Mikoa declines. They sneak through the halls, avoiding ga'arg. Mikoa knows the way. As they sneak out of the Palace, they are spotted and forced to run.

Chapter 47 (Mikoa - Snow Anchor)
Mikoa and Itaebi make a fighting run for the Snow Anchor. Itaebi uses her two swords; Mikoa uses wizrada. She copies some of the spells she learned from the ga'arg mystic. Together, they kill several ga'arg.

As they pass through the ruins of the Chapel of Meadowlarks, a wraeth attacks. It is missing one leg. It mortally wounds them both, but they cooperate, outsmart it, and Itaebi kills it by stabbing it in the eye -- her second ghuul kill, and the second time she's saved Mikoa from a ghuul.

Itaebi is bleeding out and dying. Mikoa roughly copies Thorn's healing magic and manages to save Itaebi. Mikoa is also bleeding and dying, but she cannot heal herself. She gives Itaebi her starstone pendant and tells her to get back to the pathstone. They say goodbye. Mikoa takes Aera's Red Glass Dagger and touches the Snow Anchor.

Chapter 48 (Mikoa - In The Grim Dream)
Mikoa is back in the shadowy mirror reality version of Snow Anchor. She is still badly wounded, but feels no pain. She sees a man-kin corpse where the wraeth died. Aera's Red Glass Dagger is now a red glass rose. Ashazax, in man-kin form, finds her.

Mikoa tells Ashazax that she brought Aera's Red Glass Dagger, and she wants to go to Haelfaun and destroy the portal. They talk. Ashazax warns her that it's a one-way trip. Mikoa insists.

Ashazax transforms into her full dragh-kin form. Mikoa gets on her back, and they take flight. As they fly east, the shadowy ground warps beneath them, covering huge distance very fast. Mikoa catches glimpses of shadowy airships and cities in the sky. Ashazax says they are echoes of ancient magic, from long before the Myriad.

Mikoa asks how Ashazax ended up here. Ashazax explains that she was the most ancient and beautiful dragh-kin in Landfall, many years ago. She was alive during the Myriad, and even had a daughter. But when she laid down to die, as all dragh-kin must do, her dying body was stolen by an evil ziraduun, and her soul became trapped here, between the grim dream and flesh, forever -- just like the Forgotten Gods. Mikoa was the first man-kin in a thousand years, and perhaps more, to enter this place. But by doing so, she opened a door for Sinthrall and the other Forgotten Gods to escape.

Mikoa asks if she will be trapped here, too, once the portal is destroyed. Ashazax implies yes.

They cross Haelfaun and land at Mount Sinthrall. Mikoa dismounts and Ashazax returns to man-kin form. Ashazax takes Mikoa inside the volcano. Mikoa senses the heat, but is unaffected by it. They pass empty furnaces and forges, until they come to an ornate, lava-fueled glass furnace. Ashazax says this is where the Red Glass Rose was born, and where it must be destroyed.

Sinthrall appears behind them. Ashazax turns half dragh-kin and attacks him. She tells Mikoa to throw the rose into the furnace. Sinthrall easily dispatches Ashazax, then rips Mikoa out of the dream. Mikoa lands on the searing hot floor, back in normal reality, wounded and dying. Aera's dagger is gone.

Chapter 49 (Mikoa - Mount Sinthrall)
Sinthrall appears in the flesh. He pins Mikoa to the wall with powerful wizrada. He is holding Aera's Red Glass Dagger. Mikoa reaches for the shadow, but her power is exhausted. Sinthrall monologues about how he is draining her power to restore himself to Landfall. He dislikes this fragile, fleshy body, but soon he will have his full power back. He notes Mikoa is the most powerful ziraduun he's ever seen, and thanks her for freeing him. He will use her to restore the other Forgotten Gods, too.

He seeks revenge against the gods who imprisoned him (and the other Forgotten Gods) in the void "between" the flesh and the grim dream. The dragh-kin Ashazax joined him a thousand years ago, but she was not good company. He offers Mikoa a deal -- a second Atressa's Accord. It will be called Mikoa's Accord. If man-kin pledge to serve the Forgotten Gods in the coming war of the gods, he will make sure they are spared. Otherwise, they will probably all die, their souls harvested for ghuul.

Mikoa is exhausted, helpless, and dying in agony. The hot volcano cavern wall is burning the flesh off her back. Sinthrall presses her for an answer.

Mikoa senses the heat of the volcano. She thinks of her family, whom she will never see again. She thinks of Fiorah and regrets things unsaid. Then she remembers the spell fiorah, which draws from the heat of its source and requires none of her own energy. She remembers Khazr's chess lesson, about sacrificing a piece behind enemy lines to do as much damage as possible. She focuses on the lava under the mountain and compels it to explode.

The cavern starts quaking. Sinthrall realizes something's wrong. He panics and runs away. Mikoa hits the floor, too weak to use her legs. The room floods with heat. She resigns herself to death. She thinks of The Sunset Lullaby. Then she sees Khazr's mark, glowing on the floor, right beside her. She touches it.

Chapter 50 (Mikoa - Trevi)
Mikoa wakes up in a bedroom in Trevi. Her wounds are healed, but scars remain. Fiorah is by her bedside, asleep. The shutters are closed. Samurrian enters, then discovers Mikoa awake. Fiorah and Samurrian welcome Mikoa back. Mikoa's been asleep for days.

Fiorah explains. Khazr took them to Trevi through the siabra path, instead of Nomon Linnor. Mikoa and Itaebi were left behind, but Khazr assured everybody that Mikoa would be alright. Arron was furious. He will be even more furious when he finds out that he missed her waking up -- he's been by her bedside almost continuously.

Less than a day after they arrived, Mikoa magically appeared in Khazr's room at the inn. She was badly injured and burned, but Thorn healed her.

Then, Mount Sinthrall erupted. Fiorah opens the shutters. Ash is falling from the sky, coating everything like snow. People are taking it as a bad omen, but word is that the woespawn have stopped, and the ga'arg all mysteriously disappeared. No word yet from Bruhinn, though.

Arron and Thorn return and greet Mikoa warmly. Fiorah asks what happened, and how Mikoa got to Trevi. Mikoa says it was Khazr. He somehow knew what was going to happen, and left a mark for her to get to Trevi. She does not mention her encounter with Sinthrall. Arron reports that Khazr is gone. His room is empty, and his stuff is gone.

Chapter 51 (Mikoa - Trevi)
Mikoa and Fiorah sit beside a lake. The sky is clear for the first time in days since the eruption. They put Furion on a boat for Lo'ail Ailin earlier that morning. Mikoa practices her ffidil. They talk about what happened. Fiorah asks if Mikoa plans to go back to Bruhinn or the Holy Thlos -- does she still plan to marry Goddard? Mikoa's answer is a cryptic no. Mikoa says the world is not safe. Mount Sinthrall erupted. The Forgotten Gods are returning, and swords and spears will not be enough to stop their ga'arg and ghuul armies. She is ziraduun. She will learn wizrada. And she will fight.

Then she kisses Fiorah on the cheek, strips naked, and dives into the lake.

Epilogue (Letter from Itaebi Fellstaff to Mikoa Lothaen)
Weeks later, Mikoa finds a mysterious package on her bed. It is from Itaebi, returning Mikoa's starstone pendant and including a letter.

The letter says that Itaebi is back in Lo'ail Ailin, and she learned Mikoa's location from Furion Windtrail. She thanks Mikoa for sparing her and helping her escape the ga'arg, but she says the woespawn at Snow Anchor was Mikoa's fault -- inevitable consequences of wizrada. Itaebi deems that losing her kingdom, her name, and her entire family are punishment enough for Mikoa. Mikoa is not pardoned for her crime, but so long as she stays quiet in Trevi, Itaebi will not come for her. Itaebi cannot stop other Ardent from hunting Mikoa, however. And if Mikoa ever leaves Trevi, Itaebi will know, she will hunt Mikoa down, and she will not show mercy this time. The gods are returning to the world of kin, and wizrada only makes them stronger. Itaebi will do her duty, if she must, but she hopes she doesn't have to.

Mikoa dons her starstone pendant and uses wizrada to light the letter on fire. Arron peeks in and asks if she's ready to depart Trevi -- the horses are ready. Mikoa hoists her pack and walks out the door.