Timeline

Timeline of the world of Eleg. People of Eleg divide history into “Ages”, broad periods which end not after a set amount of time but instead marked by major historical events - however, no Age has lasted less than six hundred years. Currently only the names of Fifth (Conquering Age) and Sixth (Late Imperial Age) Ages are known, as well as a name of an Age with currently unknown number (Age of Exploration). Seventh Age is the latest, still continuing one, and will probably only be named after it ends and Eighth Age comes. The year format is written as, for example, “291st year of the Seventh Age” or “291 7A” for short.

Due to no month names being mentioned in the serial at the time of writing, as well as no clear indication of start/ending of a year, the current assumption places the first twelve months of the story in the year 290 7A, and the following ones in year 291 7A as it is mentioned to be “current year” after a year has passed since the start of the story. Likewise, due to that being the only mention of exact year, any statements about events happening some number of years ago are calculated from that standpoint of “current year”. The events which exact year can’t be at least approximately determined even by that method are notated by the upper and lower bounds of the timeframe in which they may have happened.

## Events with unknown Age

### ~10000 years before start of the story

* Megathrust earthquake cuts through Eloa, creating Gulf of Emerson.

### Few thousand years before start of the story

* Human civilization starts.
* Couriers appear.

### ~5000 years before start of the story

* Holes to Undercrust appear.
* First reapers appear.

### ~5000-4612 years before start of the story

* Skapa is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.

### ~5000-4000 years before start of the story

* Heloxos is born.
* Heloxos dies and becomes a reaper.

### ~5000-3441 years before start of the story

* Avar, in his Avaross incarnation, creates Hun’Sho.

### ~5000-2000 years before start of the story

* Andanatt is founded.
* Agrian is resurrected by Cantorix as a servant.
* Skapa becomes Agrian’s mentor.
* An unknown servant starts to create yet-unnamed Fusion Forge.
* Agrian starts to harass the unknown servant.
* The unknown servant dies, leaving the Forge unfinished.
* Agrian finishes the Forge and names it after himself - Agrian’s Candle.
* Agrian abandons the Forge after it stops working for him.

### ~4900-3341 years before start of the story

* Avaross grows weary of Hun’Sho and creates Hun’Kui.
* Avaross begins to neglect Hun’Sho in favour of Hun’Kui, but doesn’t teach the latter anything either. Stagnation, sickness and suffering spread, as Hun’Sho can’t keep up with multiplying numbers of Hun’Kui and unable to help them all.
* Torosh starts imprisoning Hun’Kui committing crimes with the help of his followers, but majority of Hun’Sho don’t support him. However, Avaross frees his prisoners and imprisons Torosh and his followers instead.
* The Void removes the Primordials from Eleg, presumably trapping them in Chaos, and then leaves himself, so that humans (as well as Hun’Sho and Hun’Kui) become free and able to flourish. Due to him never intervening in human affairs, Malast is spared. Also, Secho’s remains are preserved in the Urn of Growth.
* Torosh and his followers are freed and propose enslaving the Hun’Kui to restore order, with all other Hun’Sho agreeing.
* When the order is established, Seyos leaves to travel the world. During his travels, he learns that Malast is the only remaining god, and resolves to seek him out.

### ~4000 years before start of the story

* Axiolis is born.
* Axiolis dies and becomes a reaper.

### ~4000-1000 years before start of the story

* Kingsparrows try to conquer the world, forcing Vanguard and Abolish to unite in order to stop them.

### ~3000 years before start of the story

* Writing is invented in the civilization of Lyzakks.
* Garovel is born.
* A year later, Chergoa is born.
* Thousand Book War happens.
* Garovel and Chergoa die and become reapers.
* Garovel meets Heloxos.

### ~3000-2000 years before start of the story

* Ericoros is born.
* Ericoros dies and becomes a reaper.
* Sandlords appear.

### ~2900 years before start of the story

* Garovel stops thinking of writing as evil, regretting his past actions. He starts traveling and, to make up for what he did, starts to take servants.
* Heloxos is killed by his own servant.

### ~2800 years before start of the story

* Lyzakks invade Eloa.
* Garovel tries to fly to space for the first time.

## Fifth Age (Conquering Age)

The Age ended less than ~1700 years before the Sixth, and started no less than ~2300 years before.

### ~2000 years before start of the story

* Overra, Feromas and Nerovoy become friends.
* Angdolia exists.
* Wamp exist.
* Sentsia is born.
* Sentsia dies and becomes a reaper.
* Ericoros and Orric become acquainted.
* Voreese is born.
* Voreese dies and becomes a reaper.
* Apeirian Empire collapses.
* Nykerian Empire collapses and its people are displaced.
* Mohssian Empire is founded.
* Valgan Empire is founded.
* Stasya Orlov is born.
* Stasya dies and is resurrected by Voreese as a servant.
* Stasya builds Warrenhold.
* Garovel starts investigating Rathmore’s materials.

### ~2000-1000 years before start of the story

* Grigozo is born.
* Grigozo is enslaved by a nest of Wrobels.
* Grigozo manages to kill himself but becomes a reaper and his slavery continues.
* Voreese visits Warrenhold for the last time pre-story.

### ~1950-950 years before start of the story

* Grigozo manages to escape slavery due to eldest Wrobel in the nest dying of old age.

## Sixth Age (Late Imperial Age)

The Age overall lasted between 709 and 1708 years.

### ~1400-700 years before the end of Age

* Sandlords are ousted from Drylands.
* Rasalased Duxan is born.
* Sandlords start to commonly practice incest.
* Rasalased dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.
* Rasalased creates Shards of the Dry God, killing himself and his reaper in the process, though his soul remains in the Shards.
* Garovel witnesses a full mound of Shards of the Dry God.
* War of Three Sands happens, after which Shards of the Dry God stop responding to simply any sufficiently skilled user of Sand Materialization.

### ~1250-550 years before the end of Age

* Wiseman’s Plague/Great Green Sickness happens.
* Sandlords stop the practice of incest after the pandemic kills every non-servant among them under six months.

### ~1200 years before the end of Age

* A servant prince of Mohssian Empire is captured by a famous general of the Valgan Empire. Soul hunt for the prince starts.
* Shenado is born.

### ~1150 years before the end of Age

* Soul hunt for the prince ends when both parties come to Exoltha and are annihilated by a group of feldeaths.

### ~1100 years before the end of Age

* Prime Archivers change the rules on treatment of servants of their members, forbidding “inappropriate conduct” and demanding a release of any servant after five years, motivated by the desire to keep neutrality. This causes Garovel, Chergoa and two other reapers to leave, and the Archivers stop accepting any new members from that point onwards.

### ~1051-900 years before the end of Age

* Seyos steals the Staff and Pendant of Unso.
* Seyos steals the Urn of Growth, hoping to attract Malast’s attention.
* Seyos returns to Undercrust and becomes a Guong once more.
* Seyos builds Himmestat and Himmekel.
* Seyos spreads the rumour that the Urn is hidden away in Himmekel, and Malast arrives looking for it.
* Seyos returns the Urn to Malast, but after learning about its nature, begs Malast to grant it to him. However, the god refuses due to Seyos lacking Supreme Will.

### ~1000 years before the end of Age

* Logante prevents a civil war and brings peace to Calthos.

### ~900 years before the end of Age

* The enslaved Hun’Kui rise up against their Hun’Sho masters, almost completely exterminating them through the Sludge Sickness/Surajj’Byok turning Hun’Sho into the first generation of Worms. One of the few remaining Hun’Sho groups, a few hundred of Himmestat citizens, survives by hiding in Himmekel.

### ~700 years before the end of Age-near the end of Age

* Dergoz is born.
* Icy Clog (a war over servant cryo-prisons) happens.
* The feud starts between the Old Wardens and another reaper enclave.
* The technological progress of humanity surges.

### 504 years before the end of Age

* Hamenszoon crafts the Sword of Hamenszoon.

### 502 years before the end of Age

* Hamenszoon crafts the Shield of Hamenszoon.

### ~500-400 years before the end of Age

* The last (pre-story) Lion of the Desert able to unlock the Shards dies.

### ~500-200 years before the end of Age

* Amordiin takes over the kingdom of Vantalay.

### ~300 years before the end of Age

* Sermung, Sai-hee, Dozer and Nibas Dimitri Aurelion Lotorevo Morgunov are born.

### ~300-200 years before the end of Age

* Sermung dies and is resurrected by Tenebrach as a servant.

### ~300-110 years before the end of Age

* Sai-hee dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.
* Sai-hee forms the Independents.

### ~300 years before the end of Age-near the end of Age

* Dozer dies and is resurrected by Engomat as a servant.
* Dozer becomes an emperor, forming Dozer Abolish.
* Sai-hee becomes an empress.

### ~200 years before the end of Age

* Previous High Commander of the Vanguard is devoured by Nla Erujeje.
* Sermung kills Nla Erujeje.
* Sermung becomes an emperor and the new High Commander of the Vanguard.
* Nibas dies and is resurrected by Bool as a servant.
* The amount of new reapers being born starts to significantly decline.

### ~200 years before the end of Age-near the end of Age

* Morgunov largely loses interest in reapers.

### ~172 years before the end of Age

* People stop calling Nibas by his first name and start using Morgunov.

### ~112 years before the end of Age

* Garovel’s servant betrays him and traps him in a soul-empowered prison.

### ~110 years before the end of Age

* Garovel manipulates his traitorous servant into getting killed by Suresh and releases him.
* Garovel has a falling-out with Chergoa.
* A group of Independents saves Ericoros’ hometown from a local warlord.

### ~110 years before the end of Age-near the end of Age

* Morgunov becomes an emperor (last of the four), forming Morgunov Abolish.
* Atreya is founded. House Belgrant is founded.

### 49-39 years before the end of Age

* The Mask of Amordiin is last seen in Gettira Plains.

### Near the end of Age

* Dozer takes over Olotes and renames it Nualist Republic of Dozer.
* Nize joins Dozer Abolish.
* Garovel visits Capaporo for the last time pre-story.
* Axiolis meets Chergoa for the first time.
* The amount of servants being employed by Intar military starts to significantly decline.
* Avar speaks to Torveis in his dreams, announcing that he is reawakened into this world, and stops speaking to him soon after.

## Seventh Age (currently unnamed)

### Near the start of Age-90 7A

* House Gaolanet becomes advisors for the Crown of Atreya.
* Dozer fakes his death and hands over the nominal leadership of Nualist Republic of Dozer, but continues to rule in secret.
* Gohvis kills Suresh.
* Axiolis meets Sai-hee.
* Lozaro begins gaining fame.

### Near the start of Age-191 7A

* Dolf Rachman starts challenging Morgunov and Dozer to duels.

### 14-114 7A

* Garovel releases his twentieth servant.

### 25 7A

* Engomat and Nerovoy meet for the last time before the latter takes Germal as a servant.

### 33-103 7A

* The five gangs begin to rule Luminal City and the surrounding region.

### 41-51 7A

* Sun Hat of Amordiin is last seen in Dagracourt.

### 67 7A

* Leo dies and is resurrected by Ericoros as a servant.

### 71 7A

* Sair is officially recognized as a nation.

### 78-79 7A

* MMS Ringhorn suddenly appears in Orden.

### 90 7A

* Local scientist in Gray Rock poisons himself while experimenting with cyanide.
* A clock tower is constructed in the town of Orobell.
* Seyos steals the Egg of Prosperity from Yena Maria.

### 91 7A

* Xander Ulsmith becomes the keeper of the Golden Hour.
* Morgunov gains a reputation as a poster boy for fringe science and kooks in scientific community.

### 91-191 7A

* Xander Ulsmith starts to be lauded as "Magician of Light", "Brain of the Vanguard" and "the most brilliant integrator since Skapa".
* The first Jesbol-Horsht war starts.
* The First Continental War starts.
* Morgunov meets Sai-hee for the last time pre-story.
* Hamish Harundel escapes Morgunov’s apprenticeship and fights a feldeath, leaving Morgunov under the impression that both him and his reaper die, but in truth the reaper survives.
* Red Rift is created.
* Morgunov tosses Lozaro into the Red Rift moments before its apparent destruction, but both the apprentice and the Fusion Forge survive.

### 119 7A

* Trintol is destroyed by soldiers, with some of the surviving girls taken away. Damian, Parson and Jonah manage to flee the village and reunite. Jonah changes his name to Germal. The three of them go to the neighboring village of Lhustol, and see the six soldiers with the taken girls. The trio attempt to free the girls, drawing away five soldiers, but die in the fight with the sixth solider, killing him as well. Afterwards, they are revived by Overra, Feromas and Nerovoy, and join them in their plan to change the world.

### 120 7A

* With the help of his friends, Damian finds his father’s grave.

### 123 7A

* Jackson is alive and holds a high rank in the Vanguard.
* Due to Overra having been a member in the past, Parson joins the Vanguard.
* Parson meets Lamont and assists him in the Battle of Luminal City, leading to them both meeting Sermung and Lamont being promoted from Captain to Lieutenant General.

### 125 7A

* Germal and Nerovoy meet Dozer and Gohvis, joining the Dozer Abolish under the tutelage of Gohvis due to him being the only authority on mutation in Dozer Abolish.

### 128 7A

* Damian and Feromas meet Morgunov. Despite the emperor learning that they are planning to betray him, due to his newly invented technique of forcing the truthful answers through soul pressure, they are allowed to join Morgunov Abolish because Damian’s alteration ability, control over an unknown force, piques Morgunov’s interest.

### 137-191 7A

* Dolf Rachman becomes a mentor of Abbas Saqqaf.
* Dolf duels Morgunov for the last time.
* Morgunov arranges destruction of Earth Cruncher.
* Dolf dies.

### 158 7A

* Parson manages to successfully evacuate an entire Kavian town after receiving word from Damian that Jercash was on his way to seize it.

### 160 7A

* Parson becomes able to use Pan-Rozum, and is promoted to Regional Captain.

### 162 7A

* Abolish strikes a major blow in Korgum.
* After being alerted by Germal, Parson informs Air Marshal Artemis about the platoon of Abolish soldiers planning to enter Calthos by haphazardly digging an underground network, and they crush the assault before it even had a chance to attack anyone.

### 164 7A

* Fen Frederick is promoted to Regional Captain and becomes known as Surgeon Saint.
* Parson meets Ettol, who briefly broke out of Chaos. The Primordial asks him to tell Germal to come find Ettol, as Germal is a key to Chaos. Afterwards Ettol is seemingly dragged back into Chaos, with black goop first pouring from his body, then coating him and turning his body (along with most of itself) into stone, which then crumples to dust. Touching the remaining goop allows Parson to get a glimpse of Chaos, but after the vision ends the remaining goop suffers the same fate as the rest of it.

### 185 7A

* Xuan Sebolt dies and is resurrected by Duvoss as a servant.

### 187 7A

* Melchor Blackburn dies and is resurrected by Orric as a servant.

### 190 7A

* Bohwanox is born.
* Jungle Wars start.
* The government of Lorent establishes an underground facility in Imara Province, for experiments with animal hybridization.
* Jercash falls in love with an unnamed woman from Orobell.
* Someone attempts to assassinate King of Atreya. Due to assassin using ceiling windows of Bosliat Palace to break in, the bars are added to them afterwards.

### 190-225 7A

* Darla Burns is born.
* Nina Margot is born.
* Isaiah Marsh is born.
* Jesebel Belgrant is born.
* Jenny is born.
* Max is born.
* Robby is born.
* John Davinworth is born.

### 190-230 7A

* Harper Norez is born.
* Parson allows a Melmoorian diplomat to be captured. His team eventually finds the diplomat in an Abolish prison and rescues him. Extremely grateful, the diplomat goes on to provide the Vanguard with decades of key political support.

### 190-240 7A

* Vantalay starts to frequently change hands between Vanguard and Abolish.
* Morgunov rumouredly extinguishes human psychics.

### 190-260 7A

* Harper is resurrected by Darsihm as a servant.

### 190-280 7A

* Lozaro summons Chortomolengoth and sends it to Lorentian underground facility to be experimented on.
* Steccat is founded.
* Tensions between Steccat, Hoss and Vantalay start to increase.
* Five years later, Field Marshal Kane and his task force undertake a mission to stop the Abolish for making the final push and provoking a war between those countries.
* Over four years later, their mission is successful.
* Next week, the Battle at Lac’Vayce happens.

### 190-290 7A

* The scientists attach a human head to Chortomolengoth, causing it to destroy the facility and kill almost everyone in it. Afterwards, Chortomolengoth starts to experiment with the dead bodies, seemingly mimicking the facility experiments, but after some time stops and enters stasis.
* Chortomolengoth emerges from stasis and begins attempting to transform into a human form.

### 191 7A

* Morgunov finds out that Lozaro is still alive.

### 200-270 7A

* Jackson begins to neglect meditation.
* Graves begins targeting Vanderberk.
* Vanguard carries out last truly large-scale coordinated assault pre-story.
* Destruction users in Morgunov Abolish begin to have secret group meetings commiserating over their limited potential.

### 201 7A

* Parson meets with Damian and Germal in Bellvine, relying on them to help investigate reports of unidentified black goo (among other strange incidents) in the town of Bellvine. Unknown to them, Morgunov (with Bool staying behind) observes from afar, having followed Damian. During the meeting, Germal’s ability starts to resonate unusually strongly, rendering him initially frozen and then starting to exhibit dog-like behavior. The reason for this is soon becomes apparent as Koh appears, covered in an unknown Primordial. Sliding off the incapacitated wolf, the Primordial moves towards Germal, but Parson and Damian stop it. The fight ensues, but is interrupted by Morgunov revealing himself and grabbing the Primordial. He lets it enter his head, gaining access to its knowledge and abilities, and uses that to force Germal (and later Damian) to experience Chaos. Parson and Damian’s attempts to fight back are unsuccessful, but after Koh starts attacking Morgunov, Parson eventually manages to destroy Morgunov taking advantage of Primordial seemingly rebelling against Morgunov’s control. The primordial itself remains, but is eaten by Koh shortly afterwards.

### 201-211 7A

* Raheem Saqqaf and his unnamed brother are born.
* A library in the town of Orden starts storing newspapers.

### 210-220 7A

* Xavier Lawrence dies and is resurrected by Dergoz as a servant.

### 214 7A

* Simon Karsh dies and is resurrected by Garovel as his twenty-first servant. Garovel joins the Vanguard (with Simon already being a non-servant member previously).

### 218 7A

* Simon and Garovel complete the requisite four years of Vanguard servant training.

### 220 7A

* Bohwanox dies and becomes a reaper.
* Simon and Garovel join Covert Intelligence Division.
* Voreese visits Capaporo for the last time pre-story.

### 220-230 7A

* Simon’s entire team except for him is captured during a failed mission, with couple of their reapers killed. The loss changes Simon, making him stop seeing people as people and get attached to them.

### 225-255 7A

* Isabelle Edith is born.
* Jacobson is born.
* Larissa Karr is born.
* Lionel Carthrace is born.
* Lluis Delaguna is born.
* Margot Delaguna is born.
* Carlos Sebolt is born.
* Claudio is born.
* Genevieve Beaumont is born.

### 229 7A

* A large-scale fraudulent scheme starts to unravel in Atreya.

### 230 7A

* Garovel and Simon quit Covert Intelligence Division.
* Sermung destroys Cauldron of Chaos.
* Jungle Wars end.
* Koh starts to devour people in Melmoore.

### 230-270 7A

* Morgunov creates Clown Pit.
* Morgunov tosses a living person into Clown Pit for the last time pre-story.

### 231 7A

* The fraudlent scheme finishes unraveling, robbing tens of thousands of Atreyan citizens of millions of troa in total without hard evidence of any legal wrongdoing.
* Martinus III Lumenbel is crowned King of Atreya and implements new laws to prevent such schemes from occurring.

### 240 7A

* Mehlsanz meets Sermung during her service in Vanguard.
* Amelia Carthrace graduates from high school.

### 245 7A

* Zeff Elroy and Joana Elroy are born.
* Asad Najir is born.

### 245-255 7A

* Rolando Sebolt dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.

### 250 7A

* People stop living in Warrenhold.
* Culling at Denya happens.
* Parson, Germal and Damian meet. Presumably, around that time Germal merges with Ettol and drives Damian half-mad with his new powers. Due to that, Morgunov is forced to kill Damian (and, presumably, Feromas after the reaper refuses to release his servant's soul) with Parson’s approval, but they survive through currently unknown means and go into hiding, with Damian changing his family name to Rofal. The trust and friendship between the trio is broken and it is the last time they see each other pre-story.
* Lava Base of Dagerto is attacked for the last time pre-story.
* Gohvis discovers an underground ruin in Vantalay, containing a rumination on the Theory of the Hidden Third.
* Jercash’s dog Thrasher dies.

### 250-255 7A

* Cecilia Rofal is born.
* Joseph Rofal is born.

### 250-260 7A

* Leo and Ericoros visit Miro for the last time pre-story.
* Jeremiah Colt is born.
* Pauline Gaolanet is born.
* William Belgrant is born.
* A library in the town of Orden starts archiving newspapers on specialized computers.

### 250-270 7A

* Elwood Rofal is born.
* Jonah Rofal is born.

### 252 7A

* Ismael Blackburn and Nere marry, Nere becomes Nere Blackburn.
* Melchor leaves both House Blackburn and Vanguard to avenge the Culling at Denya, allowing none to accompany him.
* Silvia Blackburn is born.

### 253 7A

* Amelia Carthrace begins working in finance industry.
* Jeremy Lang is born.

### 255 7A

* Ibai Blackburn is born. Mystified by his aberration shadow, his parents turn to Parson Miles for information and learn that their son is an aberration. Parson advises them to kill Ibai, and when they refuse tells them to at least keep him a secret, because Vanguard certainly will not allow an aberration to live. They decide to keep him a secret to everyone outside the family, and gather the whole House Blackburn in Luzo.

### 257 7A

* Helen Lumenbel is born.
* Bartholomew Erickson is born.
* Luann crafts the Twin Blades of Boros.

### 257-267 7A

* Jeremiah Colt’s grandfather takes him to the cabin in the woods and teaches him survival skills.

### 258 7A

* Yasmin Najir inscribes Asad Najir with tattoos.

### 258-259 7A

* Rexford Margot is born.
* Fred Millerman is born.

### 259 7A

* Zeff Elroy dies and is resurrected by Axiolis as a servant.
* Asad Najir dies and is resurrected by Qorvass as a servant.

### 260 7A

* Mehlsanz works with Garovel in Vanguard.
* Ibai is five years old and kills a cat, revealing his aberration personality to his parents. After punishing him with pain fails, they finally succeed by using boredom, and manage to teach him that he shouldn’t hurt others. They reach out to Parson Miles once again, but instead of helping he blackmails them with Ibai’s secret to leave a part of Sair’s border unguarded for an evening.
* 15th next month, a sect of Abolish uses that gap to massacre House Elroy, with only 15-year-old Zeff and Joana surviving. The siblings come to live at Red Lake Castle.
* Gohvis kills everyone in the sect responsible for the massacre and starts hunting down Artemis after sensing him approaching during the killing. Seeing a glimpse of Gohvis’ humanity, Parson initiates an intelligence-gathering mission with the ultimate goal of turning Monster of the East.
* Morgunov stops frequently leaving his laboratory.
* The latest Jesbol-Horsht war starts.

### 260-270 7A

* Dimas Sebolt dies and is resurrected by Iziol as a servant.
* Evangelina Stroud joins the Vanguard.
* Mara Rogers is born.
* Charlie Day is born.
* Jonathan Flint is born.
* Jamal Easton is born.
* Alice Ridgemont is born.
* Vanguard’s Covert Intelligence Division gives up on turning Gohvis.

### 262-273 7A

* Pauline Gaolanet creates an avatar identical to her father, using it to visit Joseph Belgrant and organize a marriage interview between herself and his son William, but the marriage falls through.

### 263 7A

* Gohvis kills Artemis.
* Zeff and Joana turn 18 and leave Red Lake Castle, joining the Vanguard.

### 264 7A

* Karkash is born.
* Lila Vance is born.

### 265 7A

* Prince David leaves Atreya for foreign school.

### 265-275 7A

* Claudio enters the service of House Elroy.

### 266 7A

* Adan Blackburn, Esai Blackburn and Raul Blackburn are born.

### 266-267 7A

* Diego Redwater dies and is resurrected by Yangéra as a servant.

### 268 7A

* Stoker is born.
* Jada Najir is born.

### 268-274 7A

* Parson is promoted to Captain General and leaves Sair, with Xavier Lawrence replacing him as the commanding officer of local Vanguard division.
* Melchor returns to House Blackburn, having achieved his vengeance.
* Nere and Sentsia harness Pan-Moc for the first time and nearly die, due to Sentsia almost losing control of the hyper state after learning of Nere’s infidelity. The reaper decides to not reveal anything to anyone, thinking there was hope because she saw the true love Nere came to have for her family.

### 270 7A

* Garovel releases Simon and quits Vanguard, taking a break from having a servant.
* Knowledge of aberrations becomes widespread enough to start Vanguard recruitment spike.
* Lila Vance’s parents are executed for blasphemy.
* Asad Najir comes to live in Kuros.
* Ibai’s aberration ability manifests.
* Rick Cortes becomes a carpenter.
* The Great Right Turn enter open fighting phase.
* Five days later, the Great Right Turn ends with Vanguard victory due to Lamont killing every Vanguard member who lost their minds, including Field Marshal Kent.

### 270-275 7A

* Donald Elias is imprisoned by Vantalay Military Police.

### 271 7A

* Geoffrey Rofal is born.
* Lynnette Edith is born.
* Luther Lumenbel spends a summer in Snider, meeting Lila Vance and orchestrating a future rebellion against its king.
* Abbas Saqqaf begins to gain a leading influence over the Golden Council.

### 271-277 7A

* Ricky Rofal is born.
* Susan Rock is born.
* Jason Margot is born.

### 272 7A

* Melissa Mallory is born.
* Gema Elroy is born.
* Helen Lumenbel drives a car for the last time.
* Six months after Luther’s visit the king of Snider is overthrown in a bloody rebellion.

### 273 7A

* Luther Lumenbel marries an unknown noble lady.

### 274 7A

* Hector Goffe is born.
* Francisco Elroy is born.
* Alex Belos is born.
* Democracy takes hold in Snider.

### 275 7A

* Mariana marries Zeff Elroy and joins the division of his commanding officer, Xavier Lawrence, leaving Juliana Salazar’s.
* Diego Redwater gains the reputation as a manslut among his family.

### 276 7A

* Helen Lumenbel marries William Belgrant, becoming Helen Belgrant.
* Newly elected president of Vaeland, after winning by a small margin, outlaws the practice of slavery as his first act. As he does not have the strength to support it, Vanguard comes to his aid. Juliana Salazar with thirty servants under her command (Mariana Elroy among them) is deployed to the capital, tasked to hold on until reinforcements arrive. With less than ten hours left until Jackson and his men come, Juliana orders a complete retreat after hearing about Gohvis approaching, allowing Abolish to take the capital. The outlawing of slavery in Vaeland fails.
* Emiliana Elroy is born.
* Prince David returns to Atreya.
* Silvia Blackburn dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.

### 278 7A

* The riots reach Stoker’s home city.
* Marcos Elroy is born.

### 280 7A

* Damian Rofal and his wife retire. Joseph Rofal inherits Rofal Syndicate.
* The Vaelish Civil War breaks out, and Stoker’s family is forced to leave their home city, settling in a refugee camp.
* Caster Egmond becomes a rising star in Abolish, starting to destroy whole towns.
* Intarian Congress enters complete deadlock.
* Raul Blackburn dies and is resurrected by Arumoro as a servant.

### 280-281 7A

* Adan and Esai Blackburn die and are resurrected by unknown reapers as servants.
* Hanton Gaolanet is removed from his position as a Director of the Agency of Foreign Affairs and advisor to the king. Shortly after, His Majesty's Royal Intelligence Bureau is caught red-handed bribing a Rendon ambassador. Rendon demands King Martinus to shut down the RIB or risk war. The king ultimately capitulates to their demands, but secretly folds the RIB into the AFA.
* Hanton Gaolanet starts modifying the memories of the members of the royal court, redirecting the perceptions of the king’s warmongering policies and ideals onto himself.

### 280-288 7A

Vanguard:

* Harsher rules are implemented, with Mehlsanz’s division in particular forbidding retirement for servants and forcing their reapers to release them if they are unfit for fighting, as well as presumably forbidding retirement for the reapers themselves.

Abolish:

* Freeman Fellowship is founded.
* Jercash seemingly manages to deter Graves from hunting Vanderberk, but in truth only delays him until Project Blacksong starts.
* Morgunov perfects the design of Roberts Mark V.
* Koh bites off Ivan’s head.

Independents:

* Morrison kills himself.

Undercrust:

* Royo Raju finishes his formal education.

Luthic Ocean:

* A big resurgence in piracy happens.

Lorent:

* The Greenworth mercenary group, retained by Lorentian government, is involved in a number of national scandals, not the least of which is the sudden death of a politician. President Clark Griffon pushes to outlaw such government contracts with private security companies, and Greenworth leaves the country.
* Clark Griffon and Allen Dance compete in Lorentian presidential election. Clark suddenly drops out with no explanation, leading to Allen’s victory.
* An idea of increased military independence from Intar begins to gain traction in Lorentian Congress, leading to a split between political factions.

Sair:

* House Blackburn cuts ties with the Vanguard.
* Octavia Redwater commissions a painting of the Day of Clear Sky.
* Zeff Elroy creates the ice cannon technique.
* Abbas Saqqaf and Haqq Najir work together on Amir-9 prototype for the last time pre-story.

Melmoore:

* Madison Reach commits fully to her acting career.

Vantalay:

* Graham Hallick begins centralizing almost everything in Vantalay, leading to explosive economic growth until Ridgemark breaks away.
* Linus Maximilian leaves Vanguard and joins Ridgemark Private Military Police.

Atreya:

* Roman Fullister signs an unspecified contract with Genuto Motors, but refuses to pay. They sue, but drop the lawsuit after one of their server rooms mysteriously catches fire.
* Roman Fullister is discovered by House Gaolanet.
* Hanton Gaolanet finishes modifying the memories of the members of the royal court, successfully painting himself as a warmonger instead of the king.

Snider:

* The country becomes infamous for its financial crimes, and mounting international pressure forces the government to tighten financial laws.
* Lagoroc starts growing at a rapid pace.
* Keith Hopper is incarcerated.

### 281 7A

* Melissa Mallory’s mother dies.
* Ramira Elroy is born.
* Charlie Day and Jonathan Flint join the Vanguard and meet Mariana Elroy and Shenado.
* Lynnette decides to join the King’s Guard.
* Vaeland is caught up in a war between Intar and Dozer. The refugee camp Stoker is in is attacked and he flees, leaving his parents behind. He joins a group of children with one adult woman. While Stoker is looking for help with part of the children, soldiers come and kill the woman, taking all the children who were left with her, except for the four that hid. Including Stoker, there are eleven children left, soon to be ten as one dies during an attempt to find food.
* A week later another child dies, also lost to the wilderness.
* A month later another child dies, killed by a stranger who the group hoped would help them.

### 282 7A

* Mysterious poisonings start to happen in Gray Rock, with the first death being a Vanguard’s intelligence asset poisoned by cyanide.

### 284 7A

* Samuel Goffe and Vanessa Goffe accidentally leave ten-year-old Hector behind in previous city during the move once, and only realize he is missing after a week.
* Roman Fullister dies and is resurrected as a servant by Voreese.
* Octavia Redwater has a real fight for the last time pre-story.
* Caleb Hammerwell is born.

### 285 7A

* Stoker, Loren, Mira, Kaul and Trill are the only survivors from the initial group of children, with three other having died of sickness. Now they are bandits, having learned not to trust outsiders.
* Roman meets Gina.
* Alex Belos and Francisco Elroy become friends.
* Dunstan Rofal dies and is resurrected by Rezamaar as a servant.
* Carver ends up in Himmekel after being separated from his servant companions (Germal among them) during an exploratory venture.
* Germal, accompanied by Koh, secretly meets with Malast and promises to send people possessing Supreme Will to him. Witnessing this causes Seyos to start kidnapping (under the guise of giving “tasks” to them) young Hun’Sho in Himmekel and turning them into worms, creating a worm nest around it to protect it from outsiders.

### 286 7A

* Helen Belgrant becomes Queen of Atreya.
* Loren, Mira, Stoker, Kaul and Trill try to rob Dozer and are inducted into Dozer Abolish. Loren and Mira are killed and resurrected as servants by Rezolo and an unknown reaper respectively, whereas Stoker, Kaul and Trill are sent to Rohit to become servants there.
* Gema Elroy dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.
* Randall Pierce dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.
* Dunstan Rofal and Rezamaar join the Vanguard.
* Zeff and Asad fight for the last time pre-story.

### 287 7A

* Martinus III Lumenbel dies.Days before he confesses to Luther Lumenbel that he threatened to kill Rita Zannis’ entire family if she didn’t refuse Luther, believing that he was too valuable to the family to let him elope as Luther intended.
* Louis Ferrage dies and is resurrected by an unknown reaper as a servant.
* Helen outlaws torture in Atreya.

### 287-288 7A

* Gema stops speaking to and visiting her family.

### 288 7A

* Hector starts his first year at Calman High School.
* Stoker, Kaul and Trill reach Rohit. Within hours of their arrival the town is attacked and all of them die. Since reapers meant for Kaul and Trill die as well, only Stoker is resurrected by Nize as a servant.
* Francisco Elroy dies and is resurrected by Dennex as a servant.
* Carver reunites with his companions, but decides to stay in Himmekel due to having grown fond of it.

### 288-289 7A

* Hector unintentionally causes carpentry club leaders to be expelled, leading to all remaining members to shun him.
* After nine months with Abolish Stoker meets Karkash and starts working together with him.
* Zeff and Mariana start correspondence with Chergoa, determining whether she would be a suitable reaper for Emiliana.
* A fire happens in Orden during youth assembly for the church, resulting in ten dead.

### 289 7A

* ~7 months before start of the story, Hector quits carpentry club and decides to commit suicide. Garovel starts observing him after noticing his aura of death, checking 2-3 times a week.
* Hector starts his second year at Calman High School.
* Rainlords hold an interhouse wrestling tournament.
* Thomas Colt and Stephanie Colt are born.
* Prince Luther starts removing money from Royal Treasury and replacing it with the borrowed funds.
* Germal starts a treasure-hunting fever in Babbadelo.

### 289-290 7A

* Old Wardens are supposedly wiped out by a rival enclave, but in truth survive.
* Freeman Fellowship starts the recruitment drive.
* Three members of Lorentian Congress are convicted of treason.
* Dunstan Rofal completes his Vanguard training.
* Madison Reach breaks up with Darius.
* Madison Reach stars in a movie for the last time pre-story.
* Diego Redwater meets Bernice.
* Geoffrey Rofal kills a ten year old boy. Officer Mallory witnesses this and is scheduled to testify against him in court.
* ~3 weeks before start of the story Colt’s girfriend tries to kill their children with a knife, Colt snaps and almost kills her. Due to that she’s able to convincingly pretend he’s the one who cut Thomas, but Joseph Rofal helps Colt win the case, and then kidnaps the children to force Colt to work for him.
* ~2-3 weeks before start of the story Germal makes Nize start doubting that she can truly feel the Void.
* ~2 weeks before start of the story Garovel starts to observe Hector more often, and realizes Hector waits for someone to stop him from killing himself.

### 290 7A

* **Start of The Zombie Knight Saga.**
	+ Monday - Late at night, Hector commits suicide.
	+ Tuesday - Few hours later he is resurrected by Garovel, after accepting the offer to be the reaper’s twenty-second servant. Shorty after resurrection Hector, directed by Garovel, saves Jessica Paulson from serial killer. He returns home and sleeps until morning, then attends Calman High School. Meanwhile, Garovel notices aura of death around Officer Mallory. After school Hector takes the welding mask from carpentry club and follows after Mallory, following Garovel’s directions. Hector beats up the Rofal Syndicate members sent to assassinate Mallory (Timothy Swank among them), but not before they mortally wound the officer. Mallory later dies in the hospital, and his daughter is targeted by Rofal Syndicate members as well. They arrive at night and Hector beats them up as well, causing Colt to kill three other police officers guarding Melissa and put a knife in Hector brain, after which he kills Melissa. Bohwanox shows up after that.
	+ Wednesday - Hector sleeps through most of the day, skipping school, manifests his ability and meditates.
	+ Thursday - Hector attends school, talks to Micah Chamberlain and rejoins the carpentry club. After school Hector hits Rofal Syndicate cash house, meeting Timothy Swank again. By following Timothy Garovel discovers Rofal mansion and spies on its inhabitants.
	+ Friday - Hector attends school, is introduced to Micah’s friends, and makes a metal helmet. After school Garovel helps him to find Colt and Hector convinces him to betray Joseph Rofal and stage a joint rescue mission for his kids. Bohwanox shows up again due to following Geoffrey’s newest puppet, and the reapers together with Hector discover the aberration. A fight ensues and eventually spills out into atrium, which allows Colt to kill Joseph and rescue his kids. Hector achieves an emergence, and they manage escape from the mansion alive. Colt leaves the city, and Hector together with Garovel returns home and falls asleep.
	+ Saturday - Geoffrey takes over Rofal Syndicate.
	+ Sunday - Nathaniel II Lumenbel assassinates Helen by poisoning her wine. She is then resurrected by Mehlsanz as a servant.
* Second week:
	+ Monday - Garovel wakes up.
	+ Tuesday - Garovel mitigates some of Hector’s pain while he’s sleeping.
	+ Wednesday - Hector wakes up, attends school, learn of Helen’s “attempted” assassination and together with Garovel decides to investigate. Helen meets with Lynnette and orders her to be a spy. Geoffrey attends Pancake House Five meeting, during which the group agrees to dispatch Roman to Sescoria to observe the situation. After the meeting Nathaniel’s advisor approaches him looking for someone to kill Helen, and Geoffrey agrees, going to Sescoria to kill her personally.
	+ Thursday - Hector skips school, buys a bike and spends the entire day practicing with it.
	+ Friday - After the dawn Hector drives to Sescoria on his bike. Meanwhile, Mark Stockton is killed in Belgrant Castle, and spurred by it Helen confronts William about her suspicions of his responsibility for her assassination. He assuages her and they declare their love for one another. After William leaves, Garovel shows up and talks with Mehlsanz, but is interrupted by Desmond Grantier and Ezmortig showing up. A fight ensues, with Helen, Lynnette, Hector and Roman against Desmond and Moss. Ultimately Abolish servants are killed, with Hector’s second emergence playing a big role, but their reapers survive. Roman leads everyone to Gerald’s auto body shop counting on the help from the rest of Pancake House Five, but learns that all of them intend to leave Atreya. Meanwhile, Geoffrey encounters Desmond and joins the Abolish side for a second round. This time Abolish side wins, driving their opponents to retreat, but fails to kill or capture anyone, although Geoffrey tears out Lynnette’s eye and Desmond heavily injures Garovel&reduces Hector to just a head.
	+ Saturday - Geoffrey returns to Brighton, finding Rofal mansion empty and Rofal Syndicate dissolved, with all remaining subordinates having ran away. To fill the mansion he makes dozens of new puppets.
	+ Sunday - Roman, Voreese, Helen, Mehlsanz and Lynette travel to Korgum to seek help from Vanguard.
* Third week:
	+ Abolish reinforcements arrive to Sescoria, forming Atreya task force.
	+ A few days after his return, Geoffrey is visited by Damian and Feromas, who reveal the truth of his birth to him, and with his agreement take over and start rebuilding Rofal Syndicate. Geoffrey himself gets a call from Desmond about a lead on Colt and leaves to chase him. He arrives in Battonburg, meets Moss and Ozmere, and (after they convince him to not wipe out the entire town) starts looking for people who have seen Colt and devouring their souls.
	+ A few days after their arrival in Korgum Roman and others leave for Callum, as the Vanguard division in Korgum couldn’t offer help but recommended asking Callum division. They travel much slower, because their plane got shot down and they only survived due to Roman getting an emergence.
* Fourth week:
	+ Garovel wakes up and regrows Hector’s body, but leaves him unconscious for several days to relieve all the pain.
	+ Saturday - Hector wakes up and returns to Brighton.
	+ Sunday - Hector patrols Brighton, for the first time not having a specific purpose.
* Second month:
	+ Abolish servants start stoking tensions in Rendon and Kahm.
	+ Asad proposes to Zeff an arranged marriage between Emiliana and Midhat Najir. Zeff says no, offending Asad so much that he stops speaking with him until the Parson's attack on the Rainlords.
	+ A few days after his return Hector, alerted by Garovel, starts attacking operations of the rebuilding Rofal Syndicate.
	+ A few days later, Hector receives a message from Colt. Geoffrey finally caught up to him in the city of Delroy, and Colt left his kids in safe place for Hector to find. After that Colt tries to escape (though only really trying to buy time for Hector), but is unsuccessful and dies, although Geoffrey doesn’t consume his soul. Hector finds the kids and takes them to his home, meanwhile Colt is resurrected by Bohwanox as a servant.
	+ Near the beginning (00:00) of the next day, Geoffrey returns to Brighton together with Moss and Ozmere and introduces them to Damian. They recognize him and Damian kills them as a result. After discovering Colt’s cellphone in the coat he took, Geoffrey uses it to orchestrate Calman High Massacre due to fearing that Damian will kill Hector before him. This ends with Geoffrey dead at Hector's hands, but not before killing almost everyone Hector knew and framing Hector himself for the slaughter. Having escaped from the police, Hector comes to see his mother and explain to her what happened after night falls.
	+ Near the beginning (00:00) of the next day, Hector and Garovel meet up with Colt and Bohwanox and decide to travel together. Meanwhile, Damian leaves Atreya taking Samuel/Geoffrey’s body with him to scrap for parts.
	+ Several days later Hector and the others arrive in Klein. Meanwhile, Gina plants listening devices in Belgrant Castle and Nize&Stoker decide to defect from Abolish.
	+ Six days after their arrival in Klein Colt manifests his ability, accidentally hurting Stephanie.
	+ Colt spends next day in meditation and eventually manages to gain control over his ability. After police forces hunting Hector grow too large, they’re forced to leave the city. Gina informs Hector of Attack on Harold and Karkash declaring he’ll hunt him down. Meanwhile, Stoker and Nize decide to escape but are stopped by Karkash and Hoyohté, who anticipated their defection and waited for them on the road out of the city, using the declaration of hunting Hector as a trap. Fight ensues, in which Hector eventually intervenes, while Colt works to save people caught up in collateral damage. Karkash achieves emergence, which causes Stoker to achieve counter-emergence, but he still fails to protect Nize. After killing her Karkash retreats together with Hoyohté, and Hector&Colt are forced to put zombie Stoker down.
	+ Next day, Hector and the others head to Walton. Meanwhile, Roman calls Gina to inform that seeking help from Korgum’s and Callum’s Vanguard failed and he’s traveling to Intar to try there instead. He, Voreese and Helen are on a stolen Vanguard plane, while Lynette (with a stolen Vanguard aberration gauntlet) has been separated from them and is headed to Atreya.
	+ Hector spends the next day training and measuring his power.
	+ Next day, Hector and Colt visit Dr. Marcus to check Stephanie and Thomas’ mental health. After that, Colt declares that he intends to leave for Snider and asks Hector to look after the children while Colt fakes his death.
	+ Three days later Colt shows up, takes his kids and leaves. Gina learns that five Abolish servants will attack Harold and asks Hector to not go there. He agrees, and instead decides to make a public threat to destroy Harold as Darksteel Soldier, to prevent Abolish from using it as a trigger for war, as well as kidnap the King. Meanwhile, Lynnette reaches Lorent and, with Gina’s help, meets up with Hector who takes her to Atreya.
* Third month:
	+ Next week, Hector and Lynnette arrive to Sescoria shortly after most Abolish servants leave to attack Harold, using their absence to put up Hector’s threat as a news report and then kidnap (with his agreement) William Belgrant, as well as free many other people trapped in the Belgrant castle. In the process, Lynette gets wounded by Karkash’s lightning but they manage to escape anyway. After that Hector goes to his mother and convinces her to leave with him, whereas Gina evacuates Lynnette’s family. While talking with Vanessa, Hector encounters David’s courier sent to ensure her safety and talks to the prince over the phone, receiving his help as an information source. In the aftermath of attack, Luther finds iron-coated Nathaniel and kills him, pining his death on Darksteel Soldier.
	+ Eight days later, Prince David learns of the new plan of Abolish for starting a war - simply attacking Rendon themselves alongside a platoon of Atreyan soldiers. He relays that to Hector, who informs everyone else. The word reaches Roman and others just as they negotiate for help with Regional Captain Bartholomew Erickson (and his reaper Kohzek), who is in charge of one of Intar’s Vanguard divisions that they reached. Harper Norez and his reaper Darsihm are also present, and while Kohzek, faced with immediate decision, refuses to offer any help, they offer their own.
	+ Next day, Battle of Rathmore's Gate happens. Same day, Luther’s men kill Gabriel IV Lumenbel, Charles III Lumenbel and Martin V Lumenbel, but fail to kill Meriwether Lumenbel as he had gone to David to discuss his suspicions of Nathaniel’s death. Luther goes to David personally, but through a confluence of circumstances he and his men are captured, failing to kill anyone else.
	+ Next day, after returning to Sescoria, Helen personally starts negotiations for peace with Rendon’s parliament.
	+ Two days later, Hector wakes up and attends dinner with the Queen. As a reward for his service, he (following Voreese’s and Garovel’s suggestions) chooses Warrenhold.
	+ During the next few days after Hector chooses Warrenhold, Helen exonerates him with a mostly fictional story told to the media, stating that he worked for her from the start.
* Fifth month:
	+ Chortomolengoth starts killing people in the Imara Province.
* Seventh month:
	+ Hector officially receives the castle, three million troa and an accompanying Lord title, starting House Goffe. Then he travels to Warrenhold together with Garovel, Vanessa, Amelia Carthrace and Jamal Easton.
	+ Next day, Hector explores Warrenhold underground alone until mid-morning, at which point (organized by Amelia) a crew of surveyors joins him, whereas a construction crew makes immediate and primitive repairs to the aboveground buildings.
	+ Two weeks after Hector’s arrival in Warrenhold, construction crew rebuilds three of the six aboveground towers.
* Eighth month:
	+ Diego Redwater meets Marissa.
	+ Emiliana turns 14 and is supposed to become a servant under Chergoa, but Zeff delays the ceremony due to his daughter’s distress.
	+ Next day, Emiliana dies and is resurrected by Chergoa as a servant. Meanwhile, Juliana Salazar and several of her subordinates defect from the Vanguard, taking with them a large number of important items including weapons and classified documents.
	+ Next day, Alex asks Emiliana for a date and Juliana visits Mariana, unsuccessfully attempting to convince her to join the Vagrant Lords with Juliana, taking her family with her.
	+ Next day, Parson's attack on the Rainlords starts.
	+ Next day, Marcos dies and is resurrected by Shenado after the reaper released Mariana.
	+ In Atreya, Minister of Finance and the Lord High Treasurer leave the country, and Helen uncovers Luther’s emptying of the treasury.
	+ Two weeks after the start of the attack, on Friday, Emiliana uses her mutation power intentionally for the first time, activating her link with Gohvis.
	+ A few days after that, Hector travels to Sair alongside Garovel, Meriwether and Lynnette. At the same time, Prince David travels to Intar. Hector and Lynnette meet Haqq Najir, getting information about the Lynnette’s aberration gauntlet and giving Haqq a disk of Hector’s iron to analyze and confirm that it’s actually iron. After that they attend the meeting of a Golden Council where Asad unsuccessfully tries to rally Sandlords to help Rainlords against the Vanguard. Meanwhile, during the meeting, Rainlords start Siege of Rheinhal, and shortly after that Melchor Blackburn, using the absence of their strongest fighters, kidnaps the Elroy children.
	+ Next day, Haqq confirms that Hector’s element is iron and insults him for wasting his time, which causes his reaper, Sazandara, to knock him out and offer Amir-9 prototype as an apology. Afterwards, Hector joins Asad to help the Rainlords against the Vanguard, ultimately following him on a mission to rescue Elroy children.

* Ninth month:
	+ 5th - Siege of Marshrock starts.
	+ 8th - Sieges of both Marshrock and Rheinhal end. After realizing that the ones sieging Rheinhal were captured, the remaining Rainlords decide to retreat to Moaban after Asad invites them.
	+ 9th - The party reaches Waress Mountains.
	+ 10th - The party stops for a break in Seisoro.
	+ 11th - The party reaches Moaban. Same day, the latest Jesbol-Horsht war ends with Jesbol victorious, having conquered Horsht due to Jackson killing both Gunther and Dunhouser (after achieving emergence). Due to emergence, Avar starts talking to Jackson. Later in the day, Fuad Saqqaf is murdered by one of Invisibility-wielding Abolish aberrations and Ibai accidentally damages his corpse with teleportation. Shortly after he is seen standing with one foot in the body and becomes a prime suspect. In the course of investigation Hector uncovers a group of invisible Abolish agents and engages them in combat, which starts the Attack on Dunehall. During the attack, Gohvis kidnaps Emiliana (with Ibai willingly following) and then incapacitates (&takes him&Elinox prisoner as well) Vanderberk due to him attacking Gohvis after the latter’s refusal to help free Ivan. After the attack, due to state of the city, Moaban population starts evacuating to Egas. Approximately the same day, Vanguard begins to fight Abolish forces in Calthos.
	+ 14th - Royo Raju is captured.
	+ Atreya National Bank and Longrun Banking collapse.
	+ Dunstan&Rezamaar are kidnapped by Damian as the last step in reuniting the Rofal Family, with Francisco&Dennex being taken as well due to being present.
	+ Roman disguises himself as Madison Reach’s attendant.
	+ Next day, due to Madison being invited, Roman infiltrates Steccat’s high society party, searching for Andalero in his attempts to contact Sai-hee on a mission for Helen. After seeing that Madison’s ex-boyfriend Darius made her cry, Roman punches him in the face and lets himself get beat up in response to not break his cover. Same day, Field Marshal Kane returns to Steccat from Jesbol.
	+ Over the course of Roman’s infiltration, he and Madison (despite Roman’s attempts to ditch her) overhear a conversation about Project Blacksong concerning Ridgemark between Darius and an unknown old man. Roman is forced to get Madison out of Steccat due to Andalero trying to silence them, after which he leaves her with Gina and going to Undercrust through a hole in Steccat, starting to visit Independents’ bases there.
	+ A few days after the attack, the Rainlords head to Egas.
	+ Next day, Moaban evacuation completes and Hector&Garovel invite Rainlords to Warrenhold.
	+ 23rd - Hector sends a letter to Roman through a Courier contacted by a Hasan Duxan, explaining his circumstances and asking to meet up. Having sent the letter, Hector descends into Undercrust to meet the Rainlords together with Asad, Imas and Jada. After descending, Hector discovers that he’s now able to materialize Amir-9 prototype, with retained soul empowerment but without the function of boosting passive soul defense. He makes a lot of shields for Rainlords, and then they all travel to Babbadelo. After arriving some Rainlords are accosted by natives, and Hector’s cooling suit is damaged in the ensuing fight. To compensate for that, Zeff creates a “bound” ice armor for Hector, teaching him about materialization along the way with Asad’s help. Afterwards, feeling a strange sensation emanating from the Shards, Hector convinces Asad to let him hold one, which results in him entering into a telepathic conversation with Emiliana. However, the conversation is cut short as Germal visits her and offer a tour of the Library of Erudia. After the tour, Jercash shows up, bringing an ardor rifle which fuel he wants Gohvis’ help in reproducing. Gohvis returns Vanderberk&Elinox to Jercash, lends him Koh&Germal as reinforcements and gifts him a book containing a comprehensive pondering of the Theory of the Hidden Third.
	+ 24th - After the party finds a place to stay for the “night”, they discover that the militia of Babbadelo is hoarding food. A group of six servants (Hector, Asad, Imas, Jada, Diego and Evangelina) promptly topple them and discover three boxes of worm eggs in their stronghold. Afterwards, Hector discovers orbiting technique and teaches it to Asad, Zeff and a few other Rainlord materializers. Around the same time, Lamont arrives in Sair.
	+ 25th - Hector turns 17.
	+ Two weeks after gathering everyone, Damian explains his intentions to his family members, gives them gifts and starts training them.
	+ On his third week of descent into Undercrust, Roman infiltrates Lava Base of Dagerto and, after spending a few days spying, overhears Leo killing a fellow Sai-Hee subordinate (along with the subordinate’s reaper), after they discover that he imprisoned Ericoros and refuse to leave him alone. Due to his disguise as a janitor, Roman is called in to clean up the mess, but the Courier bearing the letter from Hector breaks his cover by arriving in presence of Leo. After forcing the truth out of Roman through soul pressure, and discovering that Germal messed with his mind during the conversation, Leo decides to find Hector together with Roman.
	+ 28th - The Rainlords, having organized the truce between local factions by using food as leverage, finish arranging the travel to Capaporo. With the help of local factions, the travel also serves to deliver most dangerous prisoners to more secure facilities and worm eggs to people who can then deliver them to Cadaculos medical facility for research. One of the prisoners, Royo Raju, causes a worm attack on the train by opening a jar of worm eggs he hid in his stomach. Using the sludge from the jar, he manages to kill Dorgot after the latter enters his cell and then, taking his weapon, kill the other six militiamen. Royo frees Kogibur and they disguise themselves as militiamen. In the ensuing fight against the worms, Hector, Robert Sheridan, Zeff, Diego, Manuel Delaguna, Elise Garza, Royo, Kogibur and two Hun’Kui militiamen all fall through the collapsed cavern floor. They survive the fall and manage to reunite, but are separated from the rest of the group due them fleeing from the worms on a train. Deciding to head in the only direction free of worms, the group finds Himmestat and encounters Carver, who lets them in Himmekel to get everyone away from the three-way fight between Enkir, Dunikei and the worms that have been pursuing the group.
	+ A week after meeting Roman, Leo takes the train group prisoner in hopes of earning Sai-hee’s forgiveness by handing over the Rainlords whom she hates.
	+ 30th - Emiliana contacts Hector for a second time, offering to do research to help the group, but a quarrel over keeping secrets ends the conversation prematurely. Jasirok approaches Diego to talk about Sosho’Diyu, but after he reveals that the main reason for his approach was to discuss Hun’Sho in Himmekel going missing, and presents a Kag, Seyos kidnaps him. Diego informs the group, and they (except for Zeff) start searching for the keyhole. After finding it and inserting the Kag, the group is teleported to the treasure vault. They meet Malast who offers to make either Hector or Royo a vessel of Secho, due to them having Supreme Will, but after Seyos mentions that Supreme Will can be achieved by anyone, Malast decides to give him and everyone else in the group a chance to prove themselves. He organizes a fighting tournament between all of them, which gets cut short during the final fight, but with Hector still an obvious victor. However, due to Hector refusing to become a vessel, Royo becomes one instead, with Hector getting a blessing of Domain from Malast as a compensation for the tournament prize and a way to check Royo’s power should he one day abuse it. As a way to show gratitude for everything the group had done for him, Royo teleports everyone (except for Hun’Kui and Carver) to Atreya.
	+ Karkash’s group begins targeting locations that prominent Vanguardians were known to have some connection to. They destroy Kane’s hometown of Orobell and Karkash kills Akio, managing to kill his reaper first and then destroy Akio’s mindless corpse.
	+ Jercash, accompanied by Vanderberk, Germal, Koh, Horace, Rita, Zenia and two unnamed Abolish servants, discovers the ruins of Orobell. They split up in groups of three and Koh rescues Durendia, incapacitating Vanderberk and Rita along the way. Horace later attempts to kill Elinox, taking advantage of Vanderberk’s state, but is incapacitated by Jercash. Eventually the group tracks down Karkash’s group and makes contact.
* Tenth month:
	+ After arriving in Atreya at night, the group travels to Warrenhold and leaves Elize&Robert there, with Hector, Zeff, Diego and Manuel coming back to Undercrust to free Leo’s captives. After they reach Capaporo and meet with Voreese, Roman distracts Leo allowing the group to free the prisoners, but as a result gets taken prisoner himself. Hector convinces everyone else to go to Warrenhold and goes to free Roman. Using the fact that Leo (due to Roman) is under the impression that Hector is extremely powerful and the new leader of the Rainlords, Hector manages not only to convince Leo to return Roman to him, but also work for him in exchange from protection against Sai-hee.
	+ Next day, Hector listens to Amelia Carthrace’s proposal of opening Darksteel National Bank, and gives her agreement to start preliminary hiring procedures. Meanwhile, the civil war in Kavia ends in Abolish victory. Karkash begins to be called Bolt of Kavia due to his impact on the war.
	+ A few days later, Hector (during one of his patrols) witnesses a poisoning of Jeremy Lang, but manages to get him to hospital in time to save his life.
	+ Next day, the Atreyan Gala of Royal Associates is held, which Hector attends.
	+ Next day, Emiliana contacts Hector and relays to him the results of her research on locations of artifacts, as well as knowledge of Sto. Around the same time, the Najirs leave Warrenhold.
	+ A few days later, Hector investigates the site of the first mysterious poisoning in Gray Rock, finding evidence of Vanguard presence in Atreya, as well as of Pauline Gaolanet visiting their base of operations. Around the same time, Prince David returns to Intar.
	+ Hector gives his agreement for starting Darksteel National Bank to Amelia.
	+ A few days later, Hector and Garovel convince the Rainlords to start deploying small teams of servants on missions for gathering intelligence and (using Emiliana's research) artifacts.
	+ Next day, two weeks after recruiting Leo, Hector meets with him and gives him a job at the homeless shelter.
	+ ~Ten days after Leo meeting, the Triplets arrive in Ridgemark.
* Eleventh month:
	+ Three weeks after Leo meeting, Hector promotes Mara Rogers to Stewardess of Warrenhold.
	+ Next day, King William (accompanied by Lynnette and Mehlsanz) visits Warrenhold, and Hector hosts his first proper banquet.
	+ On the third day of his stay, King William decides to help Hector’s investigation by visiting House Gaolanet together with him and Lynnette (though Matteo Delaguna and Diego tag along). During the conversation with Hanton Gaolanet Hector discovers that the man they’re talking to isn’t actually there due to the Scarf of Amordiin, and sticks his hand through avatar’s chest. In response, Hanton tries to mentally pause everyone and erase their memories, but Hector remains unaffected due to Hanton’s power influencing only one of his thought processes. Hector verbally confronts Hanton, and the latter decides to reveal the truth of House Gaolanet to avoid physical confrontation, showing Hector his real body. During the negotiation, Hanton is eventually forced to admit that he can’t affect Hector’s companions anymore now that they’re protected by his Aura due to being covered in soul-empowered iron, and the still ongoing mental pause would wear off on its own. The following negotiation is interrupted by Jessup bringing the news of Second Continental War which had just started. After hearing that his daughter Pauline left after hearing the news, Hanton flies off in pursuit, concerned with her safety. After the mental pause wears off, Hector explains to everyone else what happened and they return to Warrenhold. The Rainlords, after a lengthy discussion, decide to not recall the Vantalay treasure hunting team and also dispatch an information gathering team to Sair. Afterwards, Ericoros asks Hector to send the Vantalay team to check on the village of Miro, a dear place to both Ericoros and Leo.
	+ Next day, the Triplets discover Abolish’s human trafficking operation in Miro. Same day, Hector spars with Lynn. After the spar, Hanton Gaolanet arrives to discuss the war and the Atreyan policy in regards to that. In particular, he recommends to employ spies, both human and his own children, as well as freeing Donald Elias from Vantalay due to his incredible talent as a spy. Shortly after the meeting William and Lynnette return to Sescoria. After the news from Triplets reach Warrenhold, the Rainlords start organizing reinforcement team to be sent to Vantalay. However, unwilling to wait and risk Abolish leaving with the enslaved villagers, the Triples sabotage the operation. They successfully delay the Abolish, but Esai and Adan are captured.
	+ A few days later, Sair team starts sending back information, and Vantalay reinforcement team (consisting of Leo, Melchor, Evangelina, Diego, Dino Blackburn and Rafael Blackburn) arrives in Ridgemark. They encounter a group of Abolish members trying to goad the team into attacking, but Leo sends them running with a bluff about calling the police. However, actual police Officer Brand shows up and checks their documents, which withstand his scrutiny. After giving some warnings and answering some questions, Brand leaves.
	+ Next day, Ambassador Edgar Stoutamire meets Hector and convinces him to help against Chortomolengoth.
* Twelfth month:
	+ Hector travels to Imara Province of Lorent accompanied by Roman, Salvador Delaguna, Matteo Delaguna, Fidel Blackburn and Carlos Sebolt. Upon arriving, the party is greeted by Edgar Stoutamire, Larissa Karr and their three attendants. The party discovers that the welcoming group is trapped due to power going out, as well as their security team, personal bodyguards and people coming to pick them up disappearing. During the discussion, Hector notices Pauline Gaolanet following him and makes contact. Afterwards, the weather worsens to the point of forming a tornado. Hector disperses it, but everyone else except Pauline disappear in the meantime. With her help Hector enters Chortomolengoth’s aura and learns about the secret facility. Afterwards, Hector finds the beast underground, with disappeared people being attacked by its spawn. The fight is interrupted by Hector capturing the spawn, and he tries to reason with Chortomolengoth, but fails. After realizing that the beast can’t be convinced to stop killing people, Hector attacks and the fight ensues. Ultimately, Chortomolengoth and all its spawn are killed with no casualties. The party and the welcoming group travel to Riverton, P.J. and rest. Around the same time, the party sieging Abolish-occupied Miro is contacted by the three RPMP members and receives four Invisibility-producing aberration rings to help them fight Abolish.
	+ Next day, the party meets Hanton Gaolanet.
	+ A few days later, Prince David arrives in Riverton and meets Hector.
	+ Next day, President Allen Dance rewards Hector with the land ownership of portion of Jagwa territory, as well as substantial sum of money. After traveling there to inspect the land, Hector discovers a tree inside which Agrian’s Candle is hidden. Due to presence of Carl Rondel and Ravi Zaman, he doesn’t try to investigate the tree’s contents and cuts the expedition short. Around the same time, Miro is liberated and Adan&Esai are freed.
	+ Lynnette buys her mother a sword.

### 290-291 7A

* A duffel bag full of drug money goes missing from Lagoroc police’s evidence vault.
* Chadwick Hart takes an extended leave of absence from Orden.
* **Start of Side Story #1 - Colt.**
	+ First week:
	+ A few months after arriving in Snider, Jeremiah Colt openly enters the town of Orden for the first time, orders a baby stroller and meets many of its residents.
	+ Near the beginning (00:00) of the next day, Rexford Margot is murdered. A few hours later Bohwanox discovers the murder and alerts Colt. They decide to investigate the murder together, with the reaper interrogating the sheriff’s soul and the servant conducting physical investigations. During the day Colt investigates Alice Ridgemont, and after the night falls he breaks into Rexford’s house and looks for evidence.
	+ Next day, Bohwanox heads to Lagoroc to observe Keith Hopper and the local police. Meanwhile, Colt visits the daycare, learns about the fire and researches that incident in the local library.
	+ Next day, Colt notices the two thugs of Muett Family trailing Janet Beaumont and eventually decides to intervene after Bohwanox informs him about their plans regarding her. After stopping their assault, he takes them to the woods, kills them and disposes of their bodies and their car.
	+ Next day, Malcolm Beaumont’s dog, Brick, shows up at Colt’s cabin. After noticing his injuries, Colt invites Alice to take care of the dog.
	+ At the end of the week, Colt picks up the baby stroller. Later in the day, he witnesses an altercation between Malcolm and two Muett family thugs, who were looking for the ones Colt killed.
	+ Second week:
	+ Next day, Colt attends the mass at the local church. Later in the day, he is hired to investigate Rexford’s murder by Fred Millerman, John Davinworth, Phillip Richardson, and Nicholas Cree.
* Senator Jacobson starts trying to arrange a meeting with Field Marshal Jackson.
* Vino Vance learns that he’s dying.

### 291 7A

	+ Abbas Saqqaf and Albert Crowe fight for the first time.
	+ Near the start (00:00) of the second day of the expedition, Hector leaves Carl and Ravi behind and sneaks out to investigate the tree’s contents. After Roman and Voreese show up, the latter manages to recognize that the Candle is a Fusion Forge. Around this time, Hector turns 1 year old as a servant.
	+ Next day, Damian gifts his family members various electronics, allowing them to reconnect with the world and announcing that they soon will have their first true family outing.
	+ A few days later, Calamity at Uego happens. After hearing about it, Hector returns to Warrenhold.
	+ At least a week after Damian’s announcement, Germal meets with him and (presumably) convinces him to attack Morgunov’s base in concert with Project Blacksong, to free Parson and Overra.
	+ Three days after the Calamity, near the start (00:00) of the day Queen Helen visits Warrenhold. Afterwards, the Sair scouting team makes contact with Abbas Saqqaf. Hector offers shelter to him and his Hahl if they can make it to Lorent, and goes to personally meet them. Roman, Dimas, Salvador, Matteo, Rico Sebolt, Rolando Sebolt and a few other Sebolts and Delagunas accompany him, whereas Helen goes to Riverton P.J. to provide a distraction and (if needed) bail him out of trouble with the Lorentian government. The party joins the Sandlords in fighting Abolish members pursuing them, resulting in Battle at the Border.
	+ Next day, Hector invites Abbas to see Agrian’s Candle.
	+ Next day, Hector and Abbas go to Lorent and see the Forge. Afterwards, they go to Riverton Hall and meet with the Queen Helen. Around the same time, Paulie tells Caster Egmond about Malast talking to him and convinces him to seek Tower of Remoria.
	+ At least a day later, Paulie and Caster find the Tower of Remoria. At the top of the tower, Caster finds Phylactery and presumably merges with an unknown entity using it.
	+ A few days later, Hector invites Pauline to live in Warrenhold.
	+ Abbas invites Hector to rename Agrian’s Candle, explaining that it partially rejects the current name and a change is needed to restore its functionality. They connect their souls to the Forge in order to inspect its nature and decide, but due to Shard’s presence Rasalased is also connected. With his help, Hector makes contact with the Forge’s mind, but due to it not trusting Rasalased, the Forge connects with Hector more deeply. That connection allows Hector to view the Forge’s history directly, and even seemingly intervene in the events personally (thought it’s currently unclear what that actually meant). After viewing the key moments, Hector manages to establish a rudimentary (yes/no) communication with the Forge and decides to view everything else of importance. However due to underestimating the sheer amount of information, that results in lengthy trance. A few hours after the beginning of the trance, Hector presumably renames the Forge to Cocora’s Candle, reactivating it.
* Second month:
	+ Karkash’s group kills Carson.
	+ Morgunov relocates to his main workshop, taking some of his prisoners with him but killing Malinda, Meris and several others.
	+ ~Two weeks after connecting with the Forge Hector leaves the trance and falls into soul-coma.
	+ A week later, Raul discovers that Rainlord prisoners are going to be temporarily transferred from Vanguard to VMP.
	+ At least two days later Raul frees Donald Elias.
	+ Abbas creates Amir-10 prototype.
* Third month:
	+ ~Two weeks after entering soul-coma, Hector wakes up, gives Amelia permission to expand the bank into Lorent and leaves Warrenhold shortly after, returning to Abbas to show him how to use the Forge.
	+ At least a week later, Rainlord reinforcements arrive in Ridgemark and make a deal with RPMP - the Railords’ help in defending the city in exchange for the RPMP’s help in freeing the captive Rainlords.

## References

1. ↑ “Well, one summer, that extended much further. Father explained to Gabriel that one day Atreya would become a global superpower, that it would be Gabriel’s responsibility to see that dream realized. Father’s reasoning, he said, was that Atreya needed two things--the first of which was time to flourish. And you may have noticed, it has done just that. Our people have grown quite wealthy in recent years. I attribute that to our father. The second thing Atreya needed, he said, was land. He believed that the country’s growth would inevitably plateau so long as we possessed so little land and so few people. And on that matter, I believe he has also been proven correct. And given that the Age of Exploration is long dead, there are only two methods by which we might acquire more land.” - Excerpt from page 413
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Uh. Hmm. "You're being kinda pushy, Rasalased..."

"Am I? My apologies, then. I have not felt so eager in an Age. My curiosity may be getting the better of me. I mean not to alarm you, Young Hector."

Hector stuck on that. "In an Age, huh?"

"Indeed."

That was a peculiar statement to make, Hector thought. Having only recently become more interested in history, Hector may not have been fully knowledgeable about the subject of Ages, but he did know that they were currently in the Seventh Age and that the Sixth Age--a.k.a. the Late Imperial Age--had been marked by the collapse of the last great empire, the Mohssian Empire.

As he understood it, Ages were not demarcated by a specific amount of time passing but instead by major historical events. The Seventh Age, therefore, did not yet have a similar nickname of consensus among historians--and probably wouldn't until the Eighth Age rolled around.

However, no Age thus far had been less than six hundred years, and they were currently only on the 291st year of the Seventh Age--or 291 7A--so it was a fair bet that this one would last for a while longer yet.

As Hector recalled, according to Garovel, Rasalased was well over a thousand years old but not more than two thousand, which would've placed his birth pretty deep into the Sixth Age but not quite the Fifth, a.k.a. the Conquering Age. - Excerpt from page 2964
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 '*But lately, that doesn't seem to be the case for you, anymore. Which is rather surprising, to say the least. You've only been a servant for a little over a year now, and yet the change I've witnessed in you is... well, to be blunt with you, it's unlike anything I've ever seen in a servant.*' - Excerpt from page 2602
4. ↑ Emiliana rolled her eyes and returned to observing the teacher’s presentation. The man was busy talking about the Gulf of Emerson, theorized to be the result of a megathrust earthquake that cut through the continent some ten thousand years ago. - Excerpt from page 630
5. ↑ "It makes an enormous difference," said Gohvis. "The growth rate of humanity is unlike anything else in the known universe. To our knowledge, human civilization has only existed for a few thousand years, but look at all the power that it currently wields. Enough to wipe itself out--and perhaps even to take the planet with it." - Excerpt from page 2468
6. ↑ "It makes an enormous difference," said Gohvis. "The growth rate of humanity is unlike anything else in the known universe. To our knowledge, human civilization has only existed for a few thousand years, but look at all the power that it currently wields. Enough to wipe itself out--and perhaps even to take the planet with it." - Excerpt from page 1206
7. ↑ ‘*Hmm. So where’d all these indestructible monuments come from, then?*’

‘*That’s the big mystery. Nobody is quite sure.*’

‘*Seriously? Does that mean they’re even older than you are?*’

‘*As far as I am aware, they pre-date the existence of reapers entirely.*’

‘*Whoa. By how much, exactly?*’

‘*Dunno.*’ - Excerpt from page 1423
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 ‘*Well, according to the data, it’s a bit foggy. The holes are supposedly as old as five thousand years, give or take a few centuries. But the very first reapers supposedly began to appear around that same time, too. So it’s hard to tell either way.*’ - Excerpt from page 1644
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Deceiver’s Cloak. An artifact which allowed access to several small pocket dimensions. Crafted 4,612 years ago by Skapa. - Excerpt from page 1558
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 ‘*No. The oldest one I’ve ever known was a guy by the name of Heloxos. I met him right after I became a reaper, and he was already over a thousand years old at that point.*’

‘*Wow. Is he still around?*’

‘*No. He was killed by his own servant about a hundred years later.*’ - Excerpt from page 1644
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 ‘*It seems clear to me that worms have some means of reproduction on their own. However, I’m now tempted to believe that worms as we know them today might have ORIGINATED from the Hun’Sho. And that’s a pretty horrifying thought, too.*’

‘*How old are the Hun’Sho?*’

‘*Oh, they’re old as fuck. Older than me, even.*’

‘*Older than all reapers?*’

‘*That, I don’t know. I don’t think so, though. It’s a subject I’ve looked into several times before, but recordkeeping in those days was far from ideal, to put it mildly.*’

‘*I wonder if Axiolis would know. He’s older than you, right?*’

‘*Alright, I’ll ask him. Hang on a second.*’

Hector waited. The empty corridor just kept going. At this rate, he was beginning to hope that he would be the one to find Capaporo just so that he wouldn’t have to make the trek all the way back to everyone.

‘*Hmm*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Axiolis says reapers came first.*’ - Excerpt from page 1649
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Avaross gave everything to his children. He spent a century raising them, teaching them, placing all of his hopes upon them.

And Royo began to see...

> *A fledgling Hun’Sho. A boy by any standard. But with an unparalleled father.*
>
> *Avaross inspires them all. He instills in them principles of morality. Of goodness. Hope. Prosperity. And of course, peace. He teaches them of an ideal world. One which He wants their help in building. That is why He has made them the way they are. That is why He granted them immortality.
>
> The boy can only admire Him. Avaross is greatness personified, loving them all in equal measure, giving them all equal attention.
>
> Under His guidance, the Hun’Sho flourish. Their numbers grow quickly at first, as Avaross instructs them in how to have children. New incarnations of themselves. Identical in every physical aspect, yet still carrying a new soul and new ardor. Male or female, every Hun’Sho is able to bring life into the world.*
>
> *In time, this strikes the boy as strange. He comes to learn of the surface world and the people there. Of the men and women there. He decides to ask his father about why He decided to give the Hun’Sho two genders.
>
> “With you, my beloved children, I have done my best to replicate the civilizational successes of humanity as I have witnessed them--and likewise, to avoid the failures. I do not believe that either gender is one of those failures.”The boy is not sure he understands, but it matters little. There is much yet to learn, and he has eternity to do so.
>
> They work hard, all of his brethren. They build. They follow Avaross’ every command, listen to His every word and desire. They become His ideal people. And the world they create for themselves is good.*
>
> *For a time.
>
> Father begins to change. His behavior. His actions. He grows impatient with them, at times. Not as kind as He once was. More and more, He seems weary, yet when they ask, He says nothing is wrong. He says the world is wonderful. He says they have nearly achieved His ideal.*
>
> *Nearly achieved. Nearly. Ever nearly.
>
> The boy and his kin continue onward, undeterred. One day, that ideal WILL be achieved. They are immortal. It is inevitable. One day. And then Father will smile again. Father will be happy again.*
>
> *But that is not what happens.*
>
> *Instead, Father creates the Hun’Kui.*
>
>

 - Excerpt from page 1562
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "There are a number of reasons," said Ravi. "For one, our primary objective is to change Abolish from within. Now, I am sure that seems impossible from the outside looking in, so I will just say this: Abolish has existed for over three thousand years. And the Vanguard has been at war with it all that time. At this point, I think an ideological solution may just be the better option." - Excerpt from page 2483
14. ↑ Ibai's nose was itchy, so he scratched it. And kept eating. "Well, Kareem Rambata seemed to believe it was real. He even said that Andanatt was the true enemy of all mankind and that it had been actively trying to suppress technological development all over the planet for millennia." - Excerpt from page 2046
15. ↑ '*Do you know what happened to Agrian in the end?*' asked Worwal.

'*His reaper released him, supposedly*,' said Garovel. '*Against his will, that is.*'

'*Mm. And the reaper's name?*'

'*Cantorix. Ever heard of him?*' - Excerpt from page 2956
16. ↑ '*In any event, Agrian was indeed a powerful servant in his day, but the stories about him were always... shall we say, embarrassing? He struggled desperately--and sometimes pathetically--to distinguish himself from his much more famous mentor. And sadly, it would seem he never quite managed it, if even the two of you haven't heard of him.*'

"Who was his mentor?" said Abbas.

'*Skapa*,' said Garovel. - Excerpt from page 2954
17. ↑ '*No on both counts, I'm afraid*,' said Garovel. '*But it appears to be at least as old as the early Mohssian Empire. One of the books on that shelf over there mentions the Forge, and it is written in both the Nykeirian and Old Mohssian languages.*'

"A minimum of two thousand years, then." The sheer awe in Abbas' voice made Hector's anxiety spike somewhat. "Magnificent." - Excerpt from page 2841
18. ↑ "...Can you show me who the real Agrian was?" he asked.

Another affirmative beep arrived, and the vision sped forward. The tree grew to even greater heights, and the Forge was nearly complete.

But something had definitely happened in the intervening years. The images had flashed by so quickly, but Hector was sure that he'd caught a glimpse of some crazy shit in there. Lots of fire or something. He'd have to go back and check on that afterwards, if possible.

In front of him, he saw a man standing under the tree. His back was to Hector, but that wasn't the first thing that Hector noticed.

The tombstone was.

Hector stepped closer for a better look, unsure what to expect. The tombstone had an inscription on it that he couldn't read, but as he circled around the guy, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

It was the same blond dude from before, the one who'd seemingly been harassing the Forge's creator. - Excerpt from page 2981
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 And Hector looked, but no one else was around. So this asshole was the real Agrian, then? He'd kinda suspected as much. What he hadn't expected, though, was the expression on the guy's face.

He almost looked like a different person. Not quite *older*, exactly, but definitely more haggard, like most of the life had been drained out of him. The smug smile that had seemed a permanent fixture on his face before was nowhere to be found now.

And actually, Hector could see that he was crying.

Damn.

Hector's gaze fell to the tombstone. He couldn't read the inscription on it, but he had a pretty good idea who it must've been for. He just wished he'd gotten the poor guy's name. Maybe Rasalased or Abbas would be able to tell him later.

But the Forge wasn't yet complete, Hector recalled. And the only one here now was Agrian, who seemed to be pretty torn up about the original creator's death. Did that mean...?

As the vision began to speed up again, Hector saw Agrian lingering around the tree for many days. Months, maybe. The man just seemed to be examining everything closely. Hector wasn't sure what he was doing until Agrian finally set to work.

Perhaps he'd just been trying to understand his friend's creation this whole time.

Had they actually been friends, though? Hector had to wonder.

Hmm. Life could be weird like that, he supposed. Old enemies being future allies.

But wait a minute. Didn't this mean that Agrian still tried to name the Forge after himself? Even after all the shit the original guy went through?

It did, didn't it? Wow, so he really *was* an asshole, then. Hector had been prepared to give him a bit of sympathy, but now that was all dried up again.

But he supposed that did technically mean that the Candle had two creators. Hence the Forge's confusing "yes and no" answer. - Excerpt from page 2982
20. ↑ When all was said and done, though, Agrian created seven different artifacts with the Candle before it stopped working for him. Toward the end, it had been nothing but failures each time, and Agrian's frustration had been obvious. He got so mad, in fact, that the very last thing Hector saw him do was light a torch and hold it close to a dangling branch, like he was about to set the whole tree on fire.

For some reason, though, Agrian changed his mind and then just walked away, never to return. - Excerpt from page 3085
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 ‘*That is an understatement*,’ said Garovel. ‘*The Prime Archivers are all very old, very paranoid reapers. And unless something’s changed with them recently, then it has been about fourteen hundred years since they allowed anyone to officially join their ranks.*’

Melchor turned his head slightly but didn’t take his eyes off Garovel. “I have never heard that.”

‘*Well, it’s not something they like to advertise*,’ said Garovel. ‘*And there are a lot of “unofficial” Archivers out there who muddy the waters a bit. Which isn’t to say that the unofficial guys are doing a bad job, necessarily. I just mean that there’s some confusion involved, as well as some ego and obsession.*’

“How do you know so much about it?” said Melchor.

Garovel paused. He glanced at Hector. ‘*Because I used to be one of the Prime Archivers.*’

And if he was being completely honest, Hector still didn’t quite follow all this talk about official and unofficial Archivers, but even so, that particular revelation was surprising enough to make him stare.

Melchor and Orric were briefly silent as well, until Orric asked, ‘*How long ago was this?*’

‘*...About fourteen hundred years*,’ said Garovel.

‘*And are we to assume that number is a coincidence?*’

‘*No. I had a falling out with them over their increasing sense of elitism and, in my view, cruelty. But I think if you asked them about it, they would argue that I simply lacked their vision and/or practicality.*’

‘*And you are saying that they have not allowed any new members since you left their ranks?*’

‘*Yeah. But it wasn’t just me. My sister and two others were part of the exodus as well.*’ - Excerpt from pages 1365 and 1366
22. ↑ They are different. So very different. Each of them is distinguishable in their physicality. None can reproduce independently. They are much more like the poor wretches of the surface than the Hun’Sho are.

The boy pities the Hun’Kui. But he understands them, as do the other Hun’Sho. He understands that Father has created these ashen beings so that the Hun’Sho can guide them to their own level of greatness--and in so doing, perhaps even achieve still higher greatness as well. Then the Hun’Sho will be more like Father than ever before.

The boy does as much as he can. He befriends as many Hun’Kui as he can. Many of them are pleasant. Many of them are amusing.

But they have so little potential. They are so primitive. It is difficult to connect with them on anything other than the most superficial of subject matter.

They are wild. They are impulsive. They are little better than animals, driven almost entirely by their instincts. Civilizing them will take many, many years, the boy feels.

But that, too, is fine. For the Hun’Sho are blessed with immortality. However long is required, the deed will be done.

And yet...

Father spends so much time with the Hun’Kui. They are constantly demanding his attention, constantly in desperate need of it. Of course they are. They cannot help themselves. They are as pitiful as newborn babies and even slower to learn. Entire generations of Hun’Kui come and go, making the same essential mistakes their entire lives.

So why does Father seem to enjoy their company so much more? Why does He forgive and forget their transgressions so easily? This was not how He raised the Hun’Sho. He was strict. He was instructive. He was attentive. Yet now He is none of those things. Now He spends almost all of His time with the Hun’Kui, not even bothering to teach them anything. He simply idles among them, which surely only serves to reinforce the Hun’Kui’s own problem of idleness, no?

Slowly, it is all falling apart. The boy sees it, day by day. The world that he and his brethren have built under Father’s guidance--it is beginning to rot. Progress is being lost. Potential is being lost.

The boy does not know what to do. This is when Father would normally encourage him or teach him something new, something useful and helpful to everyone. But Father is not doing that. Father is too busy attending to the Hun’Kui.

Their work is failing. They cannot seem to help the Hun’Kui. They are outnumbered so greatly. The Hun’Kui multiply at such a rate that the Hun’Sho cannot keep up. It is too much work, trying to help all of them.

The boy tells Father of these concerns.

But Father does nothing. He says only to keep trying.

It makes so little sense. Did He not design the Hun’Sho to achieve His ideal? Why, then, does the good behavior of the Hun’Sho go unrewarded? Why does the bad behavior of the Hun’Kui always seem to earn Father’s attention? His affection, even?

The boy does not understand. Were the Hun’Sho not Father’s favorite? How could that be? They work so much harder than the Hun’Kui. They try every day to better themselves, to follow Father’s teachings.

Why must this feel so painful? Even the Hun’Kui, with all of Father’s attention, seem to be largely miserable. There are so many of them in need, and they cannot all bask in the glory of Father’s presence simultaneously.

The boy is not sure for how much longer he can withstand it. And his peers, the other Guong, are all expressing similar sentiments.

But what can be done? This is Father’s will, no?

Their world is becoming a terrible place. Full of stagnation and sickness and suffering. This cannot be the ideal which Father desired. - Excerpt from pages 1562, 1563 and 1564
23. ↑ Then, one day, when the boy’s hope is just about at its end, another among the Hun’Sho takes decisive action.

His name is Torosh. He is the boy’s peer, one of the original generation, though some are now considering him their leader, the greatest among the Guong.

Torosh begins imprisoning Hun’Kui. He is even talking of executing some of them, though only those who have been found guilty of particularly heinous crimes.

Where before, the Hun’Sho had always deferred to Father’s ever-forgiving judgment, Torosh is going against Him. Torosh speaks at length to the rest of them about his decision.

“If we are to help the Hun’Kui, truly help them, then we cannot continue as we have been. While we may have all the time we desire to achieve our goals, the Hun’Kui do not. It is not a mercy or a kindness to take a gentle approach. Order must be reestablished if we are to have any hope of making progress again.”

The boy agrees, for the most part, but he fears going against Father. He does not think it wise. And so he does not join Torosh in making this decision. The boy buries such thoughts and does as he has always done. He follows Father’s orders.

As do most of the Hun’Sho. Torosh’s actions have divided them.

When Father learns of what Torosh and the others are doing, He is not angry. But he is not pleased, either. He is eerily calm.

“Freedom is integral to the goal of an ideal world,” Father tells them. “That you do not understand this after all this time, is my failing, I suppose. Forgive me, my children.”

Father frees their prisoners. And then He imprisons Torosh and his followers, instead.

The boy is more fearful than ever now. But he is glad that he did not disobey Father.

As time goes on, the boy becomes increasingly convinced that Torosh was right. The suffering of the Hun’Kui continues, unabated. And their suffering becomes the Hun’Sho’s suffering. Even if the ashen wretches bring most of it upon themselves, it is painful to observe it every day like this.

Senseless. Senseless and horrific.

The boy gives up. There is no point to this struggle. He decides to stop worrying and simply do as he is told. It is better this way. It is better to not care. Caring only brings disappointment and sorrow and pain. Allowing himself to become numb to it all is the only real solution, he realizes.

Perhaps this is Father’s true lesson. That suffering is endless and hoping for anything better is an exercise in futility. - Excerpt from page 1564
24. ↑ “Because I need his help. Your friend is a key unto Chaos, where I am sadly trapped.” - Excerpt from page 1821
25. ↑ Malast leveled a dull stare at the Hun’Kui man and made everyone wait a bit more for an answer. “...A very long time ago, I had a friend. He was--and still is, I suppose--the only thing in all of Creation that I can confidently say I *liked*.” He ran his hand along the top of the jar in his lap. “His name was Secho, and this here is all that remains of him.” - Excerpt from page 1502
26. ↑ “Oh, but of course you do not know,” said Seyos. “Malast has never intervened in human affairs. That is the reason why he alone remained, while the others became little more than stories we tell one another.”

Everyone looked to Malast, who had nothing to say--and had even shut his eyes. It was again questionable as to whether or not he was even paying attention.

“What ‘others’ are you referring to?” said Hector.

“The *Choro’Tachi*, of course,” said Seyos.

‘*The Primordials*,’ translated Garovel privately. ‘*Or simply Elders. It’s an umbrella term that refers to pretty much all the gods you’ve already heard of--and probably a few others.*’

‘*Uh, ah--what should I ask him next?*’ said Hector.

‘*Ask him what happened to the others.*’

Hector much preferred this calmer, less annoyed-sounding Garovel backing him up. “...What exactly happened to the other, uh, Ch-Choro’Tachi?”

“They were taken by the God of All That Is Not, so that humanity might be allowed to flourish.” - Excerpt from pages 1505 and 1506
27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Then, a man arrives.

No.

Not just a man. Something more. Father’s equal.

The way they speak to one another. The way they pay each other respect. And most of all, the way they quarrel. Rarely, has the boy ever seen Father get so angry as when He speaks to this man.

The boy is curious for the first time in a long time. He wishes to know more of this person. He decides to ask.

“I have no name, little one. For I am He Who Is Not.”

“Why have you come here?” the boy asks.

“I have always been here. I know your struggle, young Seyos. I know you feel lost. Tell me. Do you believe Avaross is to blame for your misery and that of your kin?”

The boy does not know what to say. He does not wish to lie. But he does not truly know if he blames Father. Perhaps a part of him does, even if he had not allowed himself to acknowledge it all this time.

“...You love Avaross, even now?”

That, at least, the boy can answer. “Yes, of course I do. He is my father.”

“You are a good son.”

The boy does not know what to think or feel. Somehow, this man reminds him of how Father used to be. There is... a warmness there that the boy has not felt in a very long time.

“I will try to help you if I can.”

But just as quickly as the man had arrived, He Who Is Not is gone again.

The boy is more conflicted than ever. More confused than ever. He wants to leave, to travel and learn more of He Who Is Not, but the boy is scared.

So he stays.

And things continue to worsen. The Hun’Kui do not organize. Or rather, they cannot. Whenever they try, others among them arrive to rob and murder them, to take from those who have worked hard for what they have. It is not just.

Yet Father continues trying to change the Hun’Kui’s very nature with words alone. Even though He was the one who made them that way. He wants them to choose to do the right thing on their own. He wants them to be moral, as the Hun’Sho are moral.

Or does He? The boy does not truly know anymore. Avaross is a mystery to him now.

But it does not matter. The boy is powerless to do anything. This is the domain of Avaross and none may go against His will.

And then it happens.

Avaross disappears.

There was no warning. No trace left behind. He is simply gone.

And no one knows what to do.

The Hun’Kui panic. And so do the Hun’Sho, though in a more reserved manner. Without guidance or protection, the world is suddenly much more terrifying.

Soon, however, a man wrapped entirely in bandages arrives. He does not speak, but he carries a message for the Hun’Sho and Hun’Kui.

A message from He Who Is Not.

“You are now free,” it reads. “Do as you will, and have will as you do it. All that I can do for you, I have now done. Goodbye.”

Many more years pass. Torosh and his followers are freed during this time. They are as confused as everyone else when they learn what has happened, but Torosh is able to galvanize the Hun’Sho and help guide the Hun’Kui toward order. It is difficult, because the ashen wretches have much to learn and are often unwilling and even violent.

A firmer hand is required. The Hun’Sho are in agreement. It may have been against the wishes of the Avaross whom they most recently remember, but they do not believe it would be against those of the Avaross whom they remember raising them.

So they subjugate the Hun’Kui by force. It is a miserable process. Grueling and often bloody. But the boy does not see hope in the alternative. Letting the Hun’Kui remain free to bring ruin upon themselves does not strike him as wise.

The boy cannot hold slaves himself, however. He finds it too distasteful, even if he understands his kin’s logic and does not think any less of them. He cannot wholly disregard the shadow of Avaross, as the others seem to.

Instead, after a semblance of structure and hope for peace has been achieved, the boy decides to travel. He believes there is much to be learned, elsewhere in the world.

And indeed, there is.

He learns of other gods. He learns of their sudden absence.

And perhaps most importantly, he learns the tales of He Who Is Not. The God of All That Is Not. The Void. And the many other names. It is confusing, because each culture calls Him something else. It seems as though He never identified Himself properly.

From all the tales of different gods that the boy hears, the God of All That Is Not seems to be the most mischievous among them. They always tell of how He interferes in the other gods’ plans, disrupting their efforts, playing pranks on them. Some even describe Him as evil--or as Evil itself.

But the boy does not think so. He wishes that he could meet the God of All That is Not again, but the one thing he learns definitively from all of these tales is that He is gone. - Excerpt from pages 1564, 1565 and 1566
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 28.4 28.5 28.6 28.7 All of the gods, the Primordials, have left. The God of All That Is Not has removed them from this world, save one.

Malast. The Idle God. The God of the Underworld.

The boy seeks Him out, this remaining god.

It takes a very, very long time. Thousands of years, even.

The boy becomes a thief along the way, because from all the tales he has heard, there is only one method for acquiring Malast’s attention. Stealing--or at least, attempting to steal--the Urn of Growth.

The boy worries. It is terribly dangerous, of course. No one in the tales survives Malast’s wrath. They all die in the attempt. But the boy has confidence in his skill. He has acquired several useful artifacts during his journey, artifacts which he has stolen from the irresponsible and undeserving. The Staff and Pendant of Unso, in particular.

He succeeds. He gets away with the Urn. But he dares not open it. He learned much of the fearsome power that magical artifacts such as this can hold. And of course, this was never his objective, either. His wish was to speak with Malast without being instantly turned to dust by a god’s wrath.

So the boy begins planning.

After all these years, he returns to his kin, to his home. And he is welcomed into a land of tremendous prosperity. He is not surprised. He has heard the whispers of the Hun’Sho all over the world, the hushed tales of their magnificence and power, both feared and desired.

The boy could not be prouder. He has never felt such unity with his kin as he does now. It is entirely wonderful. And he is all the more pleased when they welcome him home--as they should, for he has brought many, many gifts with him.

He becomes a Guong once more and strives to help the Hun’Sho reach still greater heights of prosperity.

There are so many Hun’Sho now. And so many more Hun’Kui. But these are not problems, as they once would have been. Infrastructure and order have turned these into blessings. Into potential.

He takes his subjects and builds a city. Himmestat. It is an enormous undertaking, and he has more work than he knows what to do with, more problems than he knows how to fix, but he never forgets his plan. He never forgets his objective to one day meet the only remaining god in the world.

The other Guong are now being difficult. The love he once felt for them has faded rather quickly. They are jealous of all that he has. Even with as much as he has shared, they still desire more. They seem to think him undeserving of his riches--and of his followers, too. The other Guong attribute Himmestat’s success not to his actions but to those of his immediate subordinates.

This bothers him. Because he knows that there is more truth in it than he would care to admit. Torveis, in particular, is very competent and personable. Even the Hun’Kui seem to show genuine affection for him. And the boy hears the whispers, the surreptitious talk of wanting Torveis to become Himmestat’s new Guong.

They don’t understand. But he will show them.

He builds a vault. The greatest vault in all the world. Himmekel. Here, he will finally be able to set the stage for his meeting with Malast. And protect that which is his, as well.

It takes many years, but he manages it. He uses a few of Rathmore’s Tools to help get the job done and even builds a network, connecting Himmekel with distant treasure troves that he had created or found during his travels.

So much work. All culminating to this. The Vault of Paradise.

And finally, after all is prepared, he spreads the rumor. The rumor that the Urn of Growth is hidden away in Himmekel.

Sure enough, Malast arrives, looking for it.

At first, the boy is careful not to present himself directly before the god. In time, however, he sees that Malast is not at all what he had expected.

Malast does not wish to kill him. Malast merely wants the Urn back. The boy does not seem to concern or interest him in the slightest.

Yet the Idle God does not leave. He merely sits there, in a chair of stone. The boy has never seen him get up from it. Even when Malast first appeared, He had already been sitting in it. The boy does not understand. But then, such is the mysterious power of a god, he supposes.

He asks Malast many questions, wanting to get to know the God of the Underworld better, but it is a difficult process. Malast hardly engages with him at all. The only subject that is able to spark any continual semblance of interest is that of the other gods. The Primordials.

The boy is immensely curious as to where they have all gone and why, exactly. In the end, however, Malast says that He does not know, but the boy is not sure he believes that. Malast seems to know many things that He should not, yet He never explains how. It is quite frustrating, but what is to be done about it? The man is a god, and the boy is not.

The Urn of Growth, he eventually learns, could change that. He begs Malast to grant it to him, but the Idle God refuses.

“It would turn you to dust,” He says.

The boy is increasingly infuriated by this. If he could only become a god, he thinks, then it would prove his greatness beyond doubt to the other Guong. To Torosh, especially. But no matter what the boy tries or does, Malast continues to refuse him. - Excerpt from pages 1566, [https://thezombieknight.blogspot.com/2018/02/page-1567.html 1567 and 1568
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Agh. Hector wanted to ask exactly how long ago these "old grudges" were, but that would probably give away too much information about his age, wouldn't it? But then again, maybe he already knew all he needed to about that. Hanton had called their attempt at conquest "ancient history," so it was a fairly safe bet that it was at least a thousand years ago, Hector figured. - Excerpt from page 2146
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 It came from a time when the world had been a very different place.

On the brink of absolute conquest.

By the dreaded Kingsparrows. The enemies of all humanity. A force so terrible that it united even the Vanguard and Abolish against it for nearly a century. - Excerpt from page 3410
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 “They were also mythical, Ax.”

‘*You don’t know that.*’

“You’re, what, four thousand years old now?”

‘*Thereabouts.*’ - Excerpt from page 916
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Hector thought of a question and decided to interrupt. ‘*Did this war have a name?*’

‘*Not one that many have heard of, I should think. But in Mohssian, it would’ve translated to “the Thousand Books War.”*’

‘*It was a war over books?*’ said Hector.

‘*More or less. See, my people weren’t very, uh, shall we say, “literarily inclined.” We had a habit of going around and destroying places where any sort of writing was being kept.*’

‘*Why?*’

‘*It may be hard to believe by today’s standards, but writing was a very controversial development in our culture. The idea was that writing things down made you “careless of mind,” because if you wrote something down, then you wouldn’t have to remember it. And that was considered a trick of sorcerers and saboteurs in an effort to weaken our culture and our people.* - Excerpt from page 1636
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 ‘*Honestly, with pan-rozum activated, Harper’s ability is one of the strongest I’ve ever witnessed.*’

Hector blinked at the long stretch of road ahead of him. ‘*Really? Three thousand years, and Harper’s one of the strongest EVER?*’ - Excerpt from page 615
34. ↑ ‘*Agh. Gimme a break. I’m tired, and I was expressing how pleased I am to finally see you again. And you ARE my little sister, aren’t you?*’

‘*Yeah, by like one year! One out of--*’ She hesitated. ‘*How old are we again?*’ - Excerpt from page 948
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 “Heh. Arighty, well... Ericoros is what you call... a drama king.”

Roman raised an eyebrow.

“He has a tendency to overreact to things. And sometimes he lets his emotions get the better of him. I mean, he makes an effort to be rational, but y’know...”

“I see. How old is he? Do you know?”

“He’s in his two thousands now.”

“Where is he from originally?”

“Luugh.”

“Where in Luugh? What country?”

“Doesn’t exist anymore.”

“Really? I thought all the countries there were pretty old.”

“They are. Not his, though. The Kingdom of Polura, was what it was called. These days, it’s known as the Republic of Grant. Named after that uppity Vanguardian, y’know.”

Roman *did* know. Field Marshal Grant. Celebrated hero across the continent of Luugh. Roman had been there a couple times. They had some real nice stuff there. Plenty worth stealing, certainly. And they were big fans of statues, those Luughans. And trees. And water. That was pretty much their entire culture condensed into three things, according to Roman’s admittedly meager experience.

It was too bad he hadn’t spent more time there. Might’ve been helpful, right about now. He considered asking Voreese, but she was probably still busy with the others. And she would probably just distract him, anyway. “Why do you think he’s so dutiful toward Sai-hee?”

“She saved his hometown four hundred years ago or so.”

“Mm, yeah, that’d do it.”

“Wasn’t actually *her*, though,” said Leo. “It was a group of her followers. Rescued the place from a small time warlord. Not even all that impressive from the sound of it, but to hear Eri talk about it, you’d think she descended from the heavens ‘r somethin’.” - Excerpt from page 1665
36. ↑ Regardless, in the grand scheme of things, twenty years was nothing. The blood of the Sandlords of Sair went back nearly two thousand years--or more, depending on how one was measuring. - Excerpt from page 3071
37. ↑ ‘*My views didn’t change until about a hundred years after I became a reaper*,’ said Garovel. ‘*That was when I decided to start traveling. As for “how”... well. There wasn’t any singular cause, I’d say. It was more a cumulative effect. I was slow to change my mind--as you might expect from someone who’d lived that way his entire life.*’

‘*...Is that why you decided to start taking servants? To make up for... all of that?*’

The reaper paused again. ‘*Yes. That would be fair to say.*’ - Excerpt from page 1639
38. ↑ ‘*Well, see, the Lyzakks came to Eloa some 2800 years ago, and as soon as they landed, they stormed across the continent and seized control of everything they saw. Then they reached the center of Eloa and came upon the Armans--the so-called “people of the rain.” The Armans stopped the Lyzakks cold, didn’t let them take another step west.*’ - Excerpt from page 618
39. ↑ ‘*Yeah*,’ said Garovel. ‘*I’ve tried a few times, actually. Everyone experiments in their youth, right?*’

‘*Your “youth,” huh? What were you, like, five hundred?*’

‘*Two hundred, the first time. Occasionally, I give it another shot, just to see if anything’s changed. I might do it again, eventually. Assuming someone doesn’t kill me first, that is.*’ - Excerpt from page 1242
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 ‘*He’s not entirely wrong*,’ interrupted Overra privately.

Parson didn’t turn to look at her. ‘*What?*’

‘*Two thousand years ago, this region used to be called Angdolia.*’ - Excerpt from page 1819
41. ↑ '*Where is Nerovoy, you monster?*' said Feromas. The reaper, too, sounded shockingly different from his usual self. Where Damian sounded flat and cold, Feromas now sounded like he was barely containing his anger.

The stranger, apparently named Germal, regarded the reaper with an icy look. "You should not ask questions you do not want the answer to, old friend."

'*And you shouldn't be using that body or that voice, outsider. If you think your tricks will work here, you are sorely mistaken.*'

"When will you accept that I am Germal truly?"

'*Never. Act like him all you want. Fool as many others as you like. Damian and I know what you really are. Until you bring Nerovoy back, there is no hope for a viable union between us again. Of that, you can be sure.*'

Germal broke for a sigh. "I had hoped that all this time would have allowed you to cool your head, but I see that is not the case."

'*You devoured my best friend of two millennium, you unholy son of a bitch. If you think that's something I'll ever--*'

"And what if your *other* best friend were to become endangered?" said Germal. "At the hands of the Mad Demon, no less. Would that give you pause?" - Excerpt from page 2948
42. ↑ "Garovel said it really existed like two thousand years ago," said Hector. - Excerpt from page 2313
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Was she right? Nere had a hard time imagining that she could be, but Sentsia did have two thousand years of experience and knowledge to pull from. - Excerpt from page 2026
44. ↑ '*The truth is*,' said Orric, '*Ericoros and I happen to be very old acquaintances.*'

Hector blinked. "Is that right?"

Orric returned a nod. '*That is one of the reasons why Melchor and I have been so happy to look after him for you all this time. We had a lot of catching up to do.*'

"To be clear," added Melchor, "I had never met Ericoros before. These two knew each other from a thousand years ago and hadn't spoken since."

'*More like two thousand*,' said Orric. - Excerpt from page 2196
45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 45.4 45.5 45.6 ‘*Hmm*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Is that from the Apeirian language?*’

‘*Close. It’s Nykeirian, actually.*’

‘*Ah. Haven’t heard either of those languages spoken in, oh, must be almost two thousand years now.*’

‘*Yeah. They kinda died out with their empires.*’

‘*You wouldn’t happen to be Nykeirian yourself, would you?*’

‘*As a matter of fact, I am*,’ said Voreese. ‘*I was born toward the end of the empire. Never got to see it during its prime, sadly. Stories I’ve heard make it sound pretty wondrous. Though, they were probably overhyping it, the way legends tend to do.*’

That brought a question to Hector’s mind regarding the builder of Warrenhold, so he stopped working for a moment to turn and look at Voreese. “Was Stasya Orlov, uh... was she N-Nykeirian, too?”

‘*Ah, haven’t forgotten about her, huh? That makes me happy. But no, not exactly. She was a descendant of the then-displaced Nykeirian people, but she was born during the early Mohssian Empire and was therefore a product of the Mohssian culture. The Nykeirian culture disappeared pretty quickly into the larger melting pot that was the Mohssian one. Which sounds a bit sad, I suppose, but it was kind of ideal, actually. When different cultures are forced together but don’t blend and integrate properly... well, that’s oftentimes how we end up with things like institutionalized racism and generations-spanning wars*.’ - Excerpt from page 1695
46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 ‘*But anyway, like I was saying, when the Lyzakks decided that they didn’t wanna fuck with the Armans anymore, they tried to just leave them alone and pick fights with some other people. But it was too late for that. Everyone else on Eloa had rallied around the Armans already, so wherever the Lyzakks went, the Armans would come over and fuck their day up. It was really great. The Lyzakks had no choice but to just calm the hell down. And after peace was made, the Armans and all their constituents consolidated their power into one huge group, and that’s how the Mohssian Empire came about, controlling the whole western half of Eloa for two millennia. Which includes modern day Atreya, by the way.*’

‘*Yeah, I know where Atreya is, thanks. I did manage to make it through third grade, at least.*’

‘*Just saying*,’ laughed Garovel. ‘*Anyhow, the Lyzakks gradually turned into the Valgan Empire, and they of course controlled the eastern half of Eloa, but not for quite as long. Regardless, the Mohssians and the Valgans became the primary cultural divide on this continent. I think Sair is the only modern day country that has both of those old bloodlines in large quantities.*’ - Excerpt from page 619
47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 ‘*Stasya Orlov*,’ said Voreese. ‘*I doubt you’ve heard of her. She never became famous.*’

‘*Why not? If she was as strong as you say--*’

‘*Because people are bastards. We’re talking about the early days of the Mohssian Empire here. Not a great time period to have lady parts, you may recall.*’

‘*Ah...*’

‘*She was a genius, that woman. Built incredible things. And history gave her zero credit. Even this place. Officially, Warrenhold is said to have been built by some fucking douchebag.*’ - Excerpt from page 659
48. ↑ ‘*This is what I need you to understand*,’ said Garovel. ‘*This mystery... this is something that I have discreetly been trying to solve for around two millennia now. So it’s rather important to me that you not tell anyone else about it.*’ - Excerpt from page 1424
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Fear was not something that he had felt in many, many years, but the uncertainty in this situation was honestly terrifying. Banda had just celebrated his 141st birthday, and Grigozo was well over a thousand, but here and now? They felt like nothing more than ignorant children. Even with their blended minds working the problem together, it made no difference. - Excerpt from page 3177
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 50.2 With the benefit of hindsight, Grigozo's encounter with wrobels had been a supremely rare event. It certainly hadn't felt that way at the time, though.

Being enslaved by them for half a century had left quite the lasting impression on the reaper. As a young, still-living man, Grigozo had been pulled from his family and into their thralldom. For years, the Sparrows used him for all manner of errands. Cooking for them. Washing their feathers. Cleaning up after them. Fetching items for them. Lying for them. Helping them hide from the rest of the world.

A hellish existence, with only fleeting moments of freedom here and there. Little glimpses of himself as he once was. Able to control his own body for a few precious minutes. Only to have it all ripped away from him again when the Sparrows realized their slip up.

In the end, Grigozo finally used one of those fleeting moments to stab himself in the heart with a kitchen knife.

He'd thought his nightmare done. And yet, it wasn't the end at all. Because he revived as a reaper. And his slavery continued, though the wrobels had to find new uses for him.

It wasn't until the eldest Sparrow in the nest eventually died of old age that Grigozo found his opportunity to truly escape. He fled into the ground. Down and down and down. All the way into the Undercrust. - Excerpt from page 3172
51. ↑ Voreese didn't have any answers for him, unfortunately. She may have been the reaper of the original builder of Warrenhold, but until recently, she hadn't even visited in over a thousand years. - Excerpt from page 2085
52. ↑ ‘*Okay, so back in the day--we’re talking, oh, 1700 years ago or so--a little group emerged from the then-very-powerful Valgan Empire. You may have even heard of this little group. They were called the Sandlords.*’ - Excerpt from page 1182
53. ↑ The Sandlords had not been ousted from the Drylands in over a millennia. Worwal had mentioned that fact to him multiple times now, and every other Hahl had reapers who had witnessed that time period first hand, too. They would be advising the respective leaders of each Hahl about what kind of situation this was. - Excerpt from page 3070
54. ↑ Another question occurred to Hector, and he figured he should ask it before Garovel started blabbering on about something else. ‘*When was Rasalased in relation to all this? I mean, when did he... er, happen?*’

‘*Oh, he was born right before all this shit went down.*’ - Excerpt from page 1185
55. ↑ ‘*The Dry God’s real name was Rasalased, and he was one of the most powerful servants of his age*,’ said Garovel. ‘*The story goes that he was so powerful and so heavily relied upon by his people that he became terrified of what would happen to them if he were ever killed in battle. As was known to happen. So he created the Shards, hoping that they would help keep the Sandlords safe after he was gone. The only problem was that in order to create them, he had to fuse his soul with his ability so completely that he turned himself to crystal. Which killed both him and his reaper, ironically.*’ - Excerpt from page 993
56. ↑ Garovel laughed faintly. ‘*I suppose your suspicion is understandable, but I assure you that my interest is purely academic. And I am quite certain that these are indeed the Quta Jaf’lah.*’ He turned to Hector. ‘*The Shards of the Dry God.*’

Hector was only slightly less lost now.

‘*I got quite a good look at them once*,’ said Garovel, facing Qorvass again. ‘*Ages ago.*’

‘*Is that right?*’ said Qorvass.

‘*It is*,’ said Garovel. ‘*However, I remember there being many more shards than this. I remember a mound of them. As big as a person, one might say.*’ - Excerpt from pages 991 and 992
57. ↑ ‘*Agh, this book is even more idiotic than I expected*,’ Shenado was saying.

‘*That’s pretty harsh*,’ said Chergoa. ‘*The original was written a thousand years ago. It’s only natural that it’s become a bit dated.*’

‘*A bit? The author treats all these things as if they’re real.*’

‘*Maybe they were. Depends on who you ask.*’

‘*Ugh, you WOULD say that. You’re as bad as Axiolis, sometimes*.’

‘*You’re very closed-minded, you know that?*’

‘*Really? Okay, so you’re saying that you think this three-headed lion monster might have existed at some point?*’

‘*Well, maybe not THAT one...*’

‘*Of course not THAT one! Or ANY of them!*’

“So if it never existed, then where did the idea come from?” asked Marcos.

Shenado hovered around him, her wispy blue flames crackling silently. ‘*Wonderful question, darling. The three-headed lion is merely a symbolic representation of the War of the Three Sands that some group of idiots actually took seriously.*’ - Excerpt from page 1059
58. ↑ Rasalased was apparently able to gaze deeply into their souls and judge their character. To measure their worthiness. And most importantly, he said that he had "learned his lesson after the three."

There was little doubt in Asad's mind that the Dry God had been referring to the War of the Three Sands. If Rasalased was able to perceive the greater world beyond the Shards, then it would only make sense that a time in which the Sandlords had tried to annihilate each other left a lasting impression on him.

Perhaps before that conflict, the Shards worked just as Qorvass said. Any sufficiently skilled Lion would be able to unlock their power. And after seeing the destruction wrought by such indiscriminate strength, Rasalased decided to take a more cautious approach. - Excerpt from page 2622
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 ‘*There was about a 150-year time period where incest was commonly practiced among the Sandlords, and at its peak, some Hahls were so paranoid that they wouldn’t even allow marriage with any of the other Hahls. They would actually force siblings or first cousins to marry, and it would be treated like a status symbol.*’ - Excerpt from page 1182
60. ↑ One of the Fists of Enkir. A gloved artifact imbued with the properties of a magma golem. It could stretch and even *grow* far beyond its perceived physical size. It also burned to the touch--and *would*have to Royo, if Hun’Kui weren’t so resilient to heat. Crafted 1,527 years ago by Arigas, whoever that was. - Excerpt from page 1557
61. ↑ 61.0 61.1 '*Such hunts have been known to last for years or even decades, in extreme cases. I remember one time, about 1500 years ago, when a prince of the Mohssian Empire was captured by a famous general of the Valgan Empire. Now THAT was a hunt. A half century of constant clashes spanning the entire planet, including the Undercrust. I've heard it called the greatest chase in history.*'

"Geez..."

'*It finally ended when the chase led them to Exoltha, and a group of feldeaths annihilated both parties.*' - Excerpt from page 2811
62. ↑ ‘*Not to toot my own horn, but Mariana probably took after me more than I took after her.*’

‘*Oh...*’ Marcos blinked a few times. ‘*How old was she when you met her?*’

‘*She was twenty*.’

‘*That doesn’t sound like a very impressionable age to me.*’

‘*Yes, well, I was somewhere around fifteen hundred, so I think I was a little more set in my ways than she was by then.*’ - Excerpt from page 986
63. ↑ He and everyone else had witnessed Hector’s battle, thanks to Malast--or rather, thanks to the Staff of Unso.

An artifact, according to the Piercing Eye, which was capable of creating traversable rifts in space when used in conjunction with Heartstone. Created 1,348 years ago by Unso. - Excerpt from page 1598
64. ↑ The Pendant of Unso. An artifact capable of teleporting the wearer to a set of predetermined locations. Crafted 1,341 years ago by Unso. - Excerpt from page 1559
65. ↑ ‘*It’s a famous weapon*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Once wielded by the great hero, Logante.*’

Hector was unfamiliar with the name. ‘*What made him a hero?*’

‘*He prevented a civil war and brought peace to Calthos some 1300 years ago.*’ - Excerpt from page 1533
66. ↑ ‘*Ask him how long they’ve been down here.*’

Hector did so.

“About twelve hundred years, if what they’ve told me is true,” said Carver. - Excerpt from page 1426
67. ↑ And then the Surajj’Byok arrives. The Sludge Sickness.

The Hun’Kui have discovered a terrible weapon to use against the Hun’Sho and are wielding it with malevolent abandon. So many of the boy’s kin are transformed into abominations of nature. Reckless killing machines. Chaos and evil made flesh.

He watches some of the Hun’Kui laugh with demonic madness as the world crumbles around them.

There is nothing worse imaginable, to his mind. He begs Malast for help. He begs Malast for the power of a god, the power to perhaps save his people.

But the Idle God remains exactly so.

This is the Apocalypse of the Hun’Sho.

Himmekel is their only salvation. Without it, everyone in Himmestat would have surely perished. Instead, a few hundred are able to survive.

But the world is forever changed now. The Hun’Sho are on the brink of extinction. - Excerpt from page 1568
68. ↑ ‘*It’s a difficult situation for everyone, but the Sandlords deciding to take action here is pretty damn justified, I’d say. What that means for Sair’s future, though--that’s another matter. I’m sure the Rainlords aren’t loving the thought of their thousand-year-old rivals taking over their territory permanently.*’ - Excerpt from page 1752
69. ↑ Lawrence marveled at how young and stupid he could still feel after all these years. He would have liked to stop being the ignoramus that he knew he’d been in his youth, but it seemed that was not yet to be. Dergoz didn’t have that excuse, though. The reaper had several hundred years on him, which admittedly made him younger than most other reapers, but the point remained. If Dergoz couldn’t see through their ruse, either, then Lawrence didn’t feel quite so bad. - Excerpt from page 878
70. ↑ '*I could tell. And yeah, that's a thing, though it's probably less common than it used to be. A few hundred years ago, there was a series of wars often referred to as the Icy Clog that took place in northern Ardora. They were all about trying to free captive servants from various prisons. Lasted decades. A real shitshow, if ever there was one.*' - Excerpt from page 2809
71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Whether Fen could actually *keep* such a promise, Jackson was not sure. The Old Wardens were notorious throughout history for various reasons, not the least of which was their tendency to exile people from their community.

They were a curious bunch, to be sure. At various points, their reputation had gotten them into quite a bit of hot water, usually from excommunicated members looking to find a way back in or to simply take revenge.

Fairly recently, in fact, there’d been some confusion over whether or not they still existed. Rumors abounded that they’d been wiped out entirely, purportedly by some other enclave that they’d been feuding with for centuries. - Excerpt from page 3456
72. ↑ Heh. And if that was true, then the conspirators must have been quite frustrated over the last few centuries. Comparatively speaking, technology had surged forward by leaps and bounds, thanks in no small part to the work of integrators. Abbas had little doubt it would continue this way, as well. The compounding nature of technological progression meant that--at least in theory--it would only accelerate over time. - Excerpt from page 3065
73. ↑ The Sword of Hamenszoon. An artifact capable of producing illusions based on the wielder. Crafted 794 years ago by Hamenszoon. - Excerpt from page 1558
74. ↑ Royo pulled the trigger two more times, aiming for Seyos himself again, but there was some sort of shield there, now. The Shield of Hamenszoon, the Piercing Eye told him.

An artifact capable of absorbing any projectile under a weight of seventy grams. Crafted 792 years ago by Hamenszoon. - Excerpt from page 1557
75. ↑ Qorvass always worried about the Shards. It didn’t seem to matter that no one had been able to use them in more than seven hundred years or that hardly any non-Sandlords remembered their existence. Still, the reaper’s concern was not without justification, of course. The Shards had indeed been stolen many times in the past, always from some kind of super vault or otherwise absurdly guarded chamber. That had apparently been a difficult lesson for Asad’s predecessors to learn: if the wrong person came for them, it would not matter how many thick walls were in the way. It was better to hide them until they were forgotten. - Excerpt from page 994
76. ↑ ‘*Oh, it’s fine. This was seven hundred years ago. Or eight. Or five. I’m fuzzy on the timeline, but the point is, he considered this scarf to be very valuable. And who knows? Maybe it’ll help us mimic his success.*’ - Excerpt from page 1534
77. ↑ ‘*That’s debatable. As with pretty much any ruler, he did some good things and some bad things. And during his reign of thirty or so years, Vantalay was peaceful.*’ - Excerpt from page 1534
78. ↑ “I am only seven hundred and twenty-one,” said Jasirok. - Excerpt from page 1453
79. ↑ ‘*I seem to recall a slave revolt taking place in Roth*,’ said Yovess. ‘*Which, funnily enough, also happened around seven hundred years ago, I think.*’ - Excerpt from page 1847
80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 80.2 80.3 ‘*There are four names you need to be particularly aware of. They are Dozer, Morgunov, Sai-hee, and Sermung.*’

Hector squinted. ‘*Dozer...?*’

‘*You know how there’s also a country called Dozer, right?*’

‘*Yeah...?*’

‘*That’s not a coincidence.*’

‘*Oh...*’

‘*Morgunov and Dozer both lead Abolish, even though they’re said to hate each other. Sermung leads the Vanguard by himself, and Sai-hee is neutral.*’

‘*This Sermung person fights two at once?*’

‘*It’s not just them, remember. They have armies of reapers and servants supporting them, and even though they might be the most famous, their highest ranking subordinates are also extremely powerful. But yes, Sermung is an absolute monster.*’

‘*I see...*’

‘*Age is generally the determining factor. These four people have been emperors of the community for, I dunno, two or three hundred years now; and that’s because they’ve survived the longest. I think Sermung is about six hundred years old, and I think the others are all similar.*’ - Excerpt from page 152
81. ↑ 81.0 81.1 81.2 ‘*Ahhh*,’ said Voreese. ‘*Seduced by a younger man, was she? At least, I’m assuming he wasn’t nearly as old as her, considering the Richland Affair was only about seventy-five years ago, and she’s currently, what, pushin’ six hundred?*’ - Excerpt from page 1690
82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 82.2 Wishful thinking, most likely. But heck, if it turned out to be true, then Morgunov would actually be quite pleased to welcome another member into the fold. There hadn't been a new emperor in over three hundred years. In fact, the last one to achieve that status was none other than himself. It would be nice not to be the new guy in the office, anymore. - Excerpt from page 2666
83. ↑ 83.0 83.1 ‘*Y’know, killing worms was how Sermung got really famous*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Originally, that is.*’

Hector blinked.

‘*You see, the previous leader of the Vanguard was killed by a worm--arguably the most dangerous one that has ever lived. I remember, they called it* Nla Erujeje*. “The Great Terror.” By this point, Sermung had already made a name for himself as a worm slayer, but in those days, there were many such warriors. And besides, this was something else. This was another level. The beast that had killed the most powerful servant in the world? Everyone in the Undercrust lived in fear of that thing. Renowned warrior after renowned warrior fell to it, and the beast only grew stronger each time.*’

‘*Wow... you mean, it could, like, absorb their powers or something?*’

‘*More or less, yeah. That’s what makes worms really dangerous. The big ones, anyway. The slime covering their bodies is like a nasty glue that slowly digests anything that gets stuck in it, allowing the worm to absorb whatever it touches into its body.*’

‘*That... sounds horrible.*’

‘*It is.*’

‘*And Sermung killed the strongest one ever?*’ Hector asked.

‘*That, he did.*’ A beat passed, and then Garovel added, ‘*Arguably the strongest one ever, that is.*’ - Excerpt from pages 1219 and 1220
84. ↑ “So you see, telling us that you are not members is a bit like trying to sell ice cream to the ice cream man. I am that ice cream man. Incidentally, I really was an ice cream man for a time when I was younger. My favorite flavor was--ah, wait, no. Forget we said that. Um... where were we? Lamont’s faction. That’s right. We founded it in order to give Lamont the support he needs in order to take Sermung’s place. It was important that our involvement be an especially well-kept secret, because at the time of the faction’s inception, we had to take on the even more pivotal role of growing close to Sermung and earning his trust. Which we’ve since accomplished. Soon, Lamont will make his move, and the Vanguard will experience a regime change for the first time in five hundred years. Exciting, no?” - Excerpt from page 876
85. ↑ '*No, it truly doesn't. After half a millenium, you should know that by now.*' - Excerpt from page 2561
86. ↑ ‘*A few of those exist. The main issue, though, is that it’s just very rare to meet a reaper who was born less than five hundred years ago.*’ - Excerpt from page 1645
87. ↑ He told the corresponding reapers to begin regrowing their servants. He'd learned their names, but he couldn't be bothered to actually summon them into his mind. They were just reapers. Interchangeable, for the most part.

He did feel a teeny-weeny bit bad about having to kill them, though. While it was largely true that reapers had stopped piquing his interest a few centuries ago, he could still appreciate their rarity and utility. - Excerpt from page 3049
88. ↑ “Nibas?!” Morgunov snorted. “Why, nobody’s called me that in... three hundred years! It’s Morgunov now! Obviously! What kind of *stoop* would want to be called Nibas, huh?” - Excerpt from page 1743
89. ↑ 89.0 89.1 89.2 89.3 ‘*There’s also the fact that it’s very difficult to stay in touch with other reapers, just in general*,’ Garovel went on. ‘*We tend to wander, especially when we don’t have servants keeping us in one place. When you don’t make plans to meet up again, it becomes very difficult to do so. And since Chergoa and I parted on less than amiable terms, we never made those plans. And from there, we just lost track of each other.*’

‘*So... it’s not that you’ve been avoiding each other for four hundred years. You just haven’t crossed paths.*’

‘*Yeah. I’m sure she’s forgiven me by now. Or at least stopped caring.*’

‘*...You still haven’t told me what you did wrong.*’

Garovel paused a moment. ‘*She and her servant at the time had just opened an orphanage in this really isolated place. I felt that she should move everyone to a city where the kids could be better taken care of--or in other words, where someone else could look after them. She did not agree. She believed--quite correctly, as I would later find out--that the nearby towns were too dangerous; and moreover, she wanted to raise the children personally. I thought that was a job best left to normal people.*’

‘*Hmm. That doesn’t sound too bad, though. I mean... er, I can kinda see your point.*’

‘*Yeah, but the problem was, I had an overabundance of moral certainty about it. I specifically remember saying to her, “You’re wasting your time. Rather than taking care of these kids, you should be trying to make sure that this war doesn’t make orphans of any others.”*’

Hector’s brow receded a little. ‘*Geez...*’

‘*I know, right?*’

‘*That doesn’t seem like something you’d ever say. Usually, you’re more... uh... kind of, er... I’m not sure “cynical” is the right word...*’

‘*Practical?*’

‘*Yeah. You’re practical. And that seemed like a pretty naive thing to say.*’

‘*Wow. Getting called naive by a teenager. That stings.*’

‘*Am I wrong?*’

‘*No, you’re right. It was stupid to think that Chergoa’s servant could impact the war in such a way as to prevent any more children from being affected by it. But at the time, I really wanted to believe that.*’

‘*Why?*’

Garovel hesitated again. ‘*Well, that’s another story. But I suppose it’s one I should tell you.*’

Hector waited.

‘*I had just recently released my servant of the previous sixty years. And not because my servant wanted me to.*’

He blinked. ‘*What do you mean?*’

Garovel floated away from him and stopped in the middle of the room. ‘*It’s still a bit early for this conversation, but oh well.*’ He turned around to face his servant again. ‘*Hector, I want you to listen carefully to what I’m about to tell you. You may not like what you hear, but I hope you will never forget it, because it is one of the most important things I am ever going to say. And I will try to explain why that is.*’

Hector shifted in his chair. ‘*Uh--okay. I-I’m listening...*’

‘*There’s something that happens to people when they acquire power*,’ the reaper said. ‘*It’s not that it corrupts them, necessarily, but it can definitely change them. Whether it’s political power or physical power, the result is essentially the same. Power of any kind grants you influence and control over others. And as you gain more power, more influence in the world, you become increasingly susceptible to that change. So for servants, that change is almost inevitable, because your power is constantly growing.*’

‘*Are you saying... your servant abused their power?*’

‘*In a word, yes. He started extorting innocent people. Said he could put their money to better use than they could. I think he saw it as a kind of “greater good” tax, like he viewed himself as some sort of governing figure when he’d really just become a thug.*’

‘*Wow... and you couldn’t just tell him to stop? Didn’t he understand that he had to listen to you? I mean... we’re called “servants” for a reason, right?*’

‘*Yeah, about that... Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but you’d probably realize it on your own eventually. And I trust you, I guess. See, when servants grow powerful enough, they can prevent their reapers from releasing their souls.*’

Hector tilted his head. ‘*What? How?*’

‘*It’s pretty simple, actually. The reaper has to make contact with the servant’s body in order to release the soul. So the servant can just keep the reaper in a soul-empowered prison and never allow themself to be touched.*’

‘*Oh...*’

‘*It’s an extreme solution. If you can’t make contact with your reaper, then you lose access to your regenerative power, enhanced strength, and hyper states. And obviously, if you get killed, then your reaper probably won’t feel like resurrecting you again.*’

‘*No kidding...*’

‘*Also, you’d have to worry about maintaining the prison. The soul power will drain from it over time, unless you have absurdly high synchronization with your reaper.*’

‘*Are you... uh... I mean, did your servant do that to you?*’

‘*Yeah*,’ said Garovel. ‘*He kept me prisoner for two years.*’

‘*Geez...*’

‘*Looking back on it now, two years wasn’t very long at all. Only two out of thousands already lived. But it was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. Being trapped makes all the difference in the world, especially when you don’t know if you’ll ever make it out again.*’

‘*Agh, man... But, uh.... how DID you get out? Did the guy screw up?*’

‘*Partially. I tricked him. Another problem with imprisoning your reaper is that, guess what? They can still talk to you. In fact, unless you’re keeping other people around their prison, you are the ONLY person they can talk to. So naturally, I began by just constantly talking shit to him. Trying to drive him to the breaking point so he’d do something stupid, right? That didn’t work so well. Whenever I annoyed him enough, he’d just wound me to the point where I’d fall unconscious for a few days. Should’ve known that was a bad plan. He was a thug. Any problem he could solve with violence, he would. So instead, I very slowly convinced him to do one of the dumbest things I could think of. Reverse psychology. Being purposely vague. That sort of thing.*’

‘*What’d you have him do?*’

‘*I waltzed him into the territory of a famous member of Abolish. He thought there’d be treasure. There wasn’t.*’

Hector had to stifle a laugh. ‘*Wow, Garovel. I guess he deserved it, but holy shit...*’

‘*That Abolisher went on to become even more famous afterwards. His name was Suresh, and he was considered Dozer’s equal for a while.*’ - Excerpt from pages 817, 818 and 819
90. ↑ 90.0 90.1 ‘*He was the first and last ‘Rain King,’ sent by the Mohssian Emperor of the time to rule over all the Rainlords. He was seen as nothing more than a pawn, but nonetheless, he made many unreasonable demands, which led to what we see here.*’

“What kind of unreasonable demands?”

‘*Taxes, for one. Poverty was already a difficult issue when he arrived, and he only made it worse. And there was also the not-so-small matter of trying to take multiple wives, which wasn’t a tradition that the Rainlords appreciated, especially because many of the women he pursued were Rainlords themselves. The final straw was an eight-year-old by the name of Nereida Redwater. Girls often married extremely young in those days, but even then, eight was outrageous. Nor did it help matters that the so-called Rain King was already in his forties.*’ - Excerpt from page 760
91. ↑ "Before Atreya was born, this land belonged to the Mohssian Empire," said William. "And at that time, the noble House of Belgrant did not exist, either--unlike virtually every other family that is present at the Gala tonight. As far as the aristocracy is concerned, we are still comparatively young."

"You're talking about over three hundred years ago," said Hector. "If *your* house is young, then what does that make mine?" - Excerpt from page 1920
92. ↑ ‘*Ha. Well, there are a lot of reasons, but allow me to paint you a picture first. You remember the Redwater Uprising, yeah?*’

‘*Of course.*’ Garovel looked at the two curious servants. ‘*An extremely bloody rebellion that went on for more than half a century. It was one of the major contributing factors to the Mohssian Empire’s collapse.*’ - Excerpt from page 661
93. ↑ He looked at his own boots. The Boots of Karugetti.

They maintained their momentum in accordance with the wearer’s will. Crafted 363 years ago by Arkos. - Excerpt from page 1557
94. ↑ The Ardoran team was similar. He'd sent them after the Mask of Amordiin, which according to Emiliana Elroy, was last seen in the Gettira Plains--though, again, she mentioned that her information was quite out of date, in this case over 330 years old. - Excerpt from page 2688
95. ↑ The Fists of Enkir. The Shield of Hamenszoon. The Twin Blades of Boros. The Mask of Amordiin. The Deceiver’s Dagger. The Deceiver’s Eye. The Black Spindle. The Box of Perdition. - Excerpt from page 1546
96. ↑ 96.0 96.1 96.2 96.3 Abolish is rather light on the training regimen and rather heavy on the propaganda. Only now does he realize just how important old man Dozer is. The name is never uttered without reverence, and yet, when he mentions having met Dozer personally, almost no one believes him.

Apparently, the country of the same name was founded by Dozer.

Three hundred years ago, that was.

The old man was its original dictator, and though the public believes he died more than two centuries ago, he has continued to rule in secret all this time. His great grandson serves as the country’s public face.

From there, the legends surrounding the old man grow even more ridiculous. Tales of his invincibility, of his masterful strategies, of his cataclysmic clashes with someone named Sermung. It is all rather difficult to buy into, he feels, but this is not a common sentiment. Some of these people even seem to think the old man is not of this world, that he is a god of the Void made flesh.

And this “Void” is also puzzling. It is supposedly a realm of nothingness, yet everyone speaks of its “will” or of its “consciousness.” He does not understand how nothingness could “be” anything, let alone sentient. But they take it very seriously. There are numerous ceremonies he has to endure in order to be accepted. He would sooner not bother, but Nize seems adamant about the whole endeavor, and he is not about to argue with her.

After nine months with Abolish, he meets Karkash. They work many missions together, but they do not speak much, which is fine by him. He does learn, however, that Karkash is four years his elder and a native of Vaeland’s northern isles. And after seeing the scars on the other man’s chest, he understands that Karkash has lived no easy life, either. In this way, at least, he comes to know a small sense of camaraderie... - Excerpt from page 364
97. ↑ ‘*I know*,’ she said privately, also in Stoker’s native tongue. ‘*But I can’t take this anymore. Everything I’ve done--made my servants do--in the name of the Void. Purposeless brutality. Three hundred years, blindly doing whatever--*’ - Excerpt from page 310
98. ↑ 98.0 98.1 ‘*Right near Capaporo. You know it?*’

‘*Yeah. Are you sure it still exists, though? I haven’t been there in, oh, three hundred years, maybe.*’

‘*I don’t know. It’s been seventy years for me.*’ - Excerpt from page 666
99. ↑ ‘*...Yes, I am. How do you know Chergoa?*’

‘*She is an old friend*,’ said Axiolis. ‘*I happened to cross paths with her a few times before really getting to know her. The first was some three hundred years ago in Ardora. She was trying to have her servant dig a new well for a village that was struggling through a drought. It made a favorable impression on me.*’ - Excerpt from page 796
100. ↑ '*I've never met any of them personally*,' the reaper said, '*but yes, as I understand it, the Intarian military does retain a few of its own servants, still.*'

"Only a few?" said the Queen. "Surely, such a large nation would have more than that."

'*Maybe three hundred years ago. These days, though, the Vanguard has a bit of a monopoly on that type of manpower in Intar.*' - Excerpt from page 2180
101. ↑ “Avar’s message was one of great hope,” Torveis went on. “He said unto me that my people should take heart, for though we have struggled and been hurt for many long years now, He will return for us when the time is right.”

Not the most persuasive, Hector felt, especially that bit at the end. He could only imagine how Garovel’s doubt was growing.

Torveis had more. “He also said that the time is near, as He has already reawakened into this world.”

‘*Mm*,’ said Garovel. ‘*How long ago did he tell you this?*’

Torveis’ molten lips pressed together briefly. “...About three hundred years ago, I suppose.”

Garovel was at least considerate enough to keep his roaring laughter private.

“If I am to be completely honest,” said Torveis, “it has been almost as many years since Avar last spoke to me. Which, I admit, is somewhat disheartening, but I believe it may be caused by his reawakening. Perhaps the reason he no longer appears in my dreams is because he is himself no longer slumbering.” - Excerpt from page 1463
102. ↑ 102.0 102.1 102.2 The Queen's smile was a soft one. "The Sandlords of Sair declared independence from Calthos two hundred years ago, yes?"

'*It was actually closer to three hundred*,' said Worwal, '*but Sair wasn't officially recognized as a nation until about two hundred and twenty years ago, yeah.*'

The Queen nodded while keeping her eyes on the Sunsmith. "And you yourself are... how old, Lord Abbas?"

"One hundred and fifty-four." - Excerpt from page 2864
103. ↑ 103.0 103.1 The King eyed the last bit of his tuna melt for a moment, as if trying to decide whether or not he wanted to eat it. "The thing I find most intriguing, however, is the timeline of events." He leveled his gaze back up at the giant bird. "In one form or another, House Gaolanet advised the Crown for the better part of three centuries. That was, until about ten years ago. And now, here we are. Within just the last year, Atreya has experienced not one but *two* crises--the likes of which this country has never seen before." - Excerpt from page 2237
104. ↑ For over two centuries, he and Gohvis had not been on the best of terms. The Scourge was a far cry from the little lost creature that Dozer had once rescued and decided to raise as his own child. Too much had happened. Those memories were of a different life entirely. Or maybe they’d grown distorted by time and nostalgia. - Excerpt from page 3361
105. ↑ There was a particular incident that had caused the fallout between them, an incident that Dozer had been struggling to get past.

Maybe he really had gotten too old. Becoming too stuck in his ways. Unable to forgive and move on.

Eh, who was he kidding? He’d never been one for forgiveness.

“You still fault me for killing Suresh,” said Gohvis.

“...Yes,” said Dozer flatly. - Excerpt from page 3368
106. ↑ ‘*I am older than most reapers, yes*,’ said Axiolis. ‘*And you?*’

‘*Oh, I’ve got a fair few years on me*,’ she said. ‘*Have you ever met any of the current emperors?*’

‘*Yes, Zeff and I have both met Sermung several times. I have also met Sai-hee once, though that was over two hundred years ago now.*’ - Excerpt from page 1688
107. ↑ '*Well, I suppose there might be a couple things I could talk about*,' said Garovel. '*You mentioned the name Lozaro, didn't you?*'

'*Yeah. You know it?*'

'*I've only heard it in passing a few times*,' the reaper said. '*The first time, though, was over two hundred years ago.*' - Excerpt from page 2502
108. ↑ '*In fairness, he WAS insane*,' said Worwal. '*Never have I known a more absurd individual than Dolf Rachman. He was nowhere near old enough to be threatening Morgunov and Dozer the way he did. But he was convinced he could defeat one or even both of them.*' - Excerpt from page 2843
109. ↑ 109.0 109.1 109.2 109.3 109.4 The reaper took a second before continuing, perhaps considering where to begin. '*I met Simon through the Vanguard. I had been thinking about joining their ranks for many years, and I was already very well-acquainted with several reapers who were long-time members. I hadn't taken on a servant for over a century at that point, and it didn't really matter to me who they paired me with, so long as the person wasn't obviously a psychotic asshole. I wanted to keep an open mind. Foster a strong friendship. Build up to things slowly.*

'*Simon was about twenty-five when I revived him. He was the victim of a firebombing in Vantalay. And he was highly motivated to get revenge on those who were responsible for the attack that killed him. He was quite the soldier, you see. Very dutiful. Very serious. But it wasn't just that.*

'*In many ways, I feel as if he was what most reapers would consider to be an ideal servant. Already trained in combat. Well-educated. Quite knowledgeable of servants and reapers from the beginning. And incredibly charismatic--at least, when he wanted to be.*'

An ideal servant? That just made Hector even more curious as to why Garovel would've released him. He held his tongue, though, figuring the reaper was getting to that.

'*I had high hopes for Simon--and so did many of our superior officers, I think. Even before completing the standard four years of training, he was often chosen for real missions, apprenticing under various veterans.*'

Hector couldn't help himself now. '*So what happened, then?*'

The reaper broke for a sigh. '*Simon was... Well, I could say he simply grew too arrogant and dangerous, and that would not be a lie. But it would also strike me as too dismissive. There was more to it than that.*

'*It was about six years in when our spy work first began, and he was incredible at it. Right from the start. Had a real aptitude for it. TOO much so, perhaps. Looking back on it now, I think his string of early successes might have caused more problems for him in the long-term than I realized at the time. For the longest time, he never really tasted failure. He was just THAT good right out of the gate.* - Excerpt from pages 2066 and 2067
110. ↑ ‘*It’s been almost a hundred years since he last saw me. We parted on good terms, so he doesn’t have an excuse to distrust me yet, but you can bet your last meal that he is looking for any reason at all to believe that I might betray him, right now.*’ - Excerpt from page 1738
111. ↑ And yet, here he was. Still alive. Thanks entirely to Monty here. Now people were starting to call him things like the Lawman and the Judge, because Monty had brought order to Luminal City in a single night. Five separate gangs of superpowered outlaws, all of which had been quietly ruling the region for decades--each one had been routed or crushed. - Excerpt from page 1733
112. ↑ “It is wonderful to see you again,” said Sermung. “How many years has it been?”

‘*Eighty-three*,’ said Tenebrach. ‘*I only realized you had rejoined the Vanguard after reading your servant’s file the other day. Why did you not send word of your return earlier? We would have welcomed you personally.*’ - Excerpt from page 1732
113. ↑ Given how useful the Scarf of Amordiin had turned out to be, Hector was intensely curious to know what the Sun Hat might be capable of. He was trying to keep his expectations relatively low, though. According to Garovel, Amordiin had worn the Scarf at all times, even in the bath, but that was not the case for the Sun Hat. And while Emiliana Elroy had told him about it last being seen in Qenghis, she also mentioned that the book she'd read that in was written over 240 years ago. - Excerpt from page 2687
114. ↑ 114.0 114.1 Hmm. That was a new detail. "So you've been with Leo since he was a teenager?"

'*That's right.*'

It was somehow difficult to imagine. After constantly being made aware of how bad their relationship was, how Ericoros would release Leo's soul as soon as he had the chance, Hector had trouble picturing their relationship in different, happier circumstances. How much had the passage of time compounded their problems with one another?

Could that happen to Garovel and him?

Hector didn't even want to think about it. But then, perhaps not thinking about it... would be what allowed it to come to pass. He needed to be attentive, didn't he? Even for things like this. No, *especially* for things like this.

"...How long ago was this?" asked Hector.

And Ericoros hesitated.

Understandably so. It was a more important question than it perhaps seemed, Hector knew. He'd essentially just asked for Leo's age as a servant. Hector wondered if Ericoros would tell him the truth--or anything at all, for that matter.

But at length, Ericoros finally said, '*It was 223 years ago*.' - Excerpt from page 2198
115. ↑ '*Two hundred and twelve years, actually*,' said Bohwanox. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 15
116. ↑ 116.0 116.1 '*So why did you pick this place to search?*'

'*It was where the first death on the list occurred, eight years ago.*'

Hector quickened his pace to catch up with the reaper. '*And how are all these deaths connected, again?*' He was pretty sure that Garovel had already told him that part, but he'd only partially been listening, since he'd been busy chasing an attempted murderer down at the time.

'*Poisoning*,' said Garovel. '*Remember? The potassium cyanide in the alcohol? Like I literally just mentioned?*'

'*Right, but, uh... are you saying ALL of them were killed with cyanide? 'Cuz that seems kinda, er...*'

'*No, no, the poisons themselves have varied. As far as I could tell, that was the first case of cyanide poisoning in Gray Rock in the last two hundred years.*'

'*Hmm.*' That made Hector curious, though. '*What happened two hundred years ago?*'

'*Heh, I looked into that, actually. Apparently, it was a "scientist" experimenting with the stuff. His notes mentioned a hypothesis that cyanide might be the key to increasing human intelligence to astonishing new heights.*' A beat passed. '*It killed him, instead.*' - Excerpt from page 1990
117. ↑ Jercash stopped in front of the largest remaining structure in town, seemingly. A clock tower. It looked like it had been struck by lightning a few dozen times, and its bottom floor was completely filled with rubble. The actual clock face was on the ground, charred black and bent, and Jercash prodded it with the toe of his boot.

That was a couple hundred years of history down the drain, some of which had been his own. He recalled stealing a kiss while standing in this very spot. - Excerpt from page 1523
118. ↑ ‘*Sure am. Which means Seyos, or someone else, has been to the surface. And fairly recently, too, from the looks of it. This thing here is the Egg of Prosperity.*’

Hector chanced a look at where the reaper was pointing and, indeed, saw a gold-and-silver egg inlaid with red gemstones.

‘*This friggin’ thing is probably worth a cool mil all by itself*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Maybe more.*’

‘*Holy shit. In troas?*’

‘*Mmhmm. But yeah, I heard about it going missing from Yena Maria around two hundred years ago, which is not nearly as long as the Hun’Sho have been in Himmekel.*’ - Excerpt from page 1530
119. ↑ They had always protected that thing with an absolutely absurd level of paranoia, due in no small part to that blasted Magician of theirs. By all accounts, that man had been guarding their only Forge like a jealous housewife for nearly two centuries now. - Excerpt from page 2884
120. ↑ Which was stupid, quite frankly. But alas, the scientific community had always been that away. Unable to make known their bolder theories. Afraid of destroying their reputations.

And not many of them wanted to be associated with any ideas that the Mad Demon agreed with. Eheheh. Idiots.

So many of them still seemed to believe that he cared even one iota about his own reputation, that they could *do* anything to seriously impact it. So what if he'd become the poster boy for fringe science and kooks over the last couple centuries? That was where all the fun was. And if anything, that was also the kind of company that he preferred to keep. - Excerpt from page 3051
121. ↑ The Magician of Light had been having a rough go of it himself since the outbreak of this war--and indeed, since long before it started, too. Xander's success as a younger man had come back to haunt him, it seemed. When people started calling him the "Brain of the Vanguard" or the "most brilliant integrator since Skapa," they probably didn't realize the enormity of the burden that they were placing upon the young genius' shoulders.

Now, well over a century later, people didn't say those things anymore. Instead, they whispered behind the Magician's back. Jackson had heard them many times. Talking about what a disappointment their "best and brightest" was against the likes of the Mad Demon. Talking about how incompetent or arrogant he must be, despite almost certainly having never met him. - Excerpt from pages 3448 and 3449
122. ↑ 122.0 122.1 122.2 ‘*The war between Jesbol and Horsht. It’s over.*’

Asad blinked and sat up straighter. “What? Since when?”

‘*Since earlier today. Jesbol won. They’re already talking about dissolving Horsht completely. It seems Jesbol will have territory on the mainland now.*’

“So sudden,” said Asad. “How long has that war been going? It’s been so long, I’ve forgotten.”

‘*Oh, it’s been a collection of wars, really*,’ said Orjand. ‘*The one you’re familiar with started about thirty years ago, but it’s been on and off for more than than a hundred now. I’m still not sure whether to believe it. If it were merely news of another “cease in hostilities,” I wouldn’t buy it for a moment, but this is the first time that one of them has been reported of conquering the other.*’

“And there’s more to it,” said Imas. “The victory is being attributed to Field Marshal Jackson. They’re saying he cut through Abolish like a knife and killed Gunther and Dunhouser *both*.”

Asad’s eyes widened. “By himself?”

She nodded. “And in order to pull something like that off, the smart money says he achieved emergence.” - Excerpt from page 996
123. ↑ It had been well over a hundred years since the great war that had spanned the entire Eloan continent. Hector may not have been a very good student, but with how much schools had focused on that subject and how much the war had influenced books and movies and television, it was impossible to be completely ignorant of it. - Excerpt from page 2161
124. ↑ Eheh. It sure would've been neat if she decided to do something, though. He hadn't seen the old bat in well over a hundred years now. He had to wonder how different she was these days, if at all. - Excerpt from page 2556
125. ↑ 125.0 125.1 And then, of course, there was ol' Hamish. Now there was a guy who'd pulled off a surprising escape. One of his brightest students ever, in retrospect. For the longest time, the lad's only real problem was his ego, but Morgunov had been sure to beat that out of him. True, it took a while, but Hamish eventually got the message.

And the kid's work in theoretical physics was truly something special. His ideas formed the foundation of the Red Rift that Lozaro got thrown into.

So it was a real bummer when he told Morgunov that he wanted to leave and go make a name for himself independently. And yeah, perhaps Morgunov had overreacted a bit, yelling at him like that. And threatening him. And all his loved ones.

But still, the lad hadn't been ready to strike out on his own yet. Just a few more decades wouldn't have been too much to ask. Plus, there'd been a big, messy war going on, and it just wasn't the right time.

Which was, presumably, why Hamish and his reaper decided to gamble everything on a battle with a feldeath.

In the ensuing chaos, Morgunov was sure that he saw them both get obliterated by an energy beam that was as wide as a building.

But apparently, the reaper just barely survived. And the feldeath that they'd antagonized was so bloody powerful that Morgunov hadn't been able to stick around and make sure that no traces of them remained. - Excerpt from page 3053
126. ↑ 126.0 126.1 Lozaro, for example, definitely should've been gone forever after being tossed through the Red Rift mere moments before its destruction. And yet somehow Morgunov had seen the guy, alive and well, a little under a century ago. - Excerpt from page 3052
127. ↑ Six, eh? Hector had a feeling that there were more than that, though he couldn’t be sure. The Candle seemed to have given him memories of many other Fusion Forges from over the eons, but without more time to sort through said memories and perhaps confirm their veracity, there was no telling which of those Forges might still exist in the modern day.

Apart from a few select ones, that was.

“The Golden Hour,” said Hector, blurting out the words without even thinking, “the Lantern of Doma, the Artisan’s Anvil, the Clown Pit, the Red Rift, the Pool of Trenoy, the Silent Serpent.” - Excerpt from page 3426
128. ↑ After that, Parson made a habit of avoiding Damian whenever he saw him. He was a timid boy, Parson, and Damian was older by almost a year. - Excerpt from page 1626
129. ↑ **...171 years ago...**

It was in the village of Trintol where they first met. A little place, by any account, not even large enough to make it onto a map. But it did have the sweeping vistas of the Melmoorian countryside going for it. The rolling green hills in all directions and the view of the aptly named Storm Mountains in the east--together, they offered a view that was quite uncommon.

Shepherding was the trade that kept Trintol afloat, and that was the first job that the six-year-old Parson Miles ever held. He wasn’t very good at it. Stefol, the family dog, did a lot of the work for him. His father might have been able to teach him, if he hadn’t been drafted into the war. - Excerpt from page 1625
130. ↑ What an obnoxious brat. Parson wondered if this was what it was like to have a little brother. Peter claimed to be older than him, but when Parson asked the boy’s mother directly, surprise, surprise, that turned out to be a lie. Parson had a full year on him. - Excerpt from page 1627
131. ↑ **...171 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1672
132. ↑ Naturally, after being told all these things, the first thing that Damian had wanted to do was go find his father. And Feromas and the others had obliged. It had taken nearly a year, but they found him.

Dead and buried. The man had been given a respectable tombstone with the words “Our Heroic Brother-In-Arms” carved into it. - Excerpt from page 1741
133. ↑ "But Linus, listen. You're not like me. You're, what? Twice my age or so? And yet you don't look any older than the day I first met you." Vino paused for a breathy laugh. "You still have your health. Your *youth*. Even if I were to become undead like you, I couldn't reverse aging. I'd still be old and tired and full of chronic pain whenever my poor reaper wasn't around. But you? You could go out there and start a brand new family, if you wanted. And show them the world. Teach them all sorts of things. You're wiser than you give yourself credit for, my friend." - Excerpt from page 3122
134. ↑ “...You think Jackson’ll yell at me again if I mail it to him out of order?” - Excerpt from page 1731
135. ↑ 135.0 135.1 **...167 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1730
136. ↑ He didn’t want to think about it. Erisa was still young. Barely even in her thirties. When the time came... - Excerpt from page 1814
137. ↑ **...165 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1733
138. ↑ **...162 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1740
139. ↑ 139.0 139.1 "Tell me," said Abbas. "Have you ever heard of a man named Dolf Rachman?"

Garovel was quiet for a lingering moment. '*I most certainly have. The Rachman Duels were the stuff of legend.*'

A short laugh escaped Abbas' lips. "He would have been pleased to hear someone say that. Many historians, reapers included, seem to treat him as little better than an ant whose most noteworthy accomplishment was getting stepped on."

'*Historians can be cruel*,' said Garovel. '*And cowardly, too--especially when their work involves a living emperor. It may be another century or two before Rachman is given a fair shake by the historical community.*'

'*Even that may be too optimistic*,' said Worwal.

'*Why do you bring Rachman up?*' said Garovel. '*You knew him, I take it?*'

"He was my mentor," said Abbas. "One of several, in truth, but the one I loved most, to be sure. He would have been ecstatic to discover a new Forge." - Excerpt from page 2842
140. ↑ 140.0 140.1 "It was precisely that increased pressure that made Dolf burn at his very brightest," said Abbas. "His brilliance shone through like never before. The items he was able to craft with the Earth Cruncher toward the end... they were truly awesome. They kept him alive when he should have died a dozen times over. I am convinced that Morgunov grew to fear him after that final Duel, and that was why the workshop was attacked and the Forge, destroyed. He was afraid that Dolf would finally beat him one day, and so resorted to sabotage." - Excerpt from page 2843
141. ↑ '*But warded locks fell out of usage like 150 years ago or something. That would mean that EVERY owner since then never got around to it. And how many owners do you think this place has had?*' - Excerpt from page 1993
142. ↑ The reapers weren't talking much, likely because their reunion wasn't quite as momentous. Overra, Feromas, and Nerovoy had been in more regular contact with one another over the years. Those three were often the means through which the servants communicated with one another--and that was mostly due to their concerns over security. Letters and telegrams could be lost or intercepted, and the reapers still didn't fully trust telephones, despite the technology existing for over fifty years already. - Excerpt from page 1962
143. ↑ Those victories had given Parson some much needed encouragement after the Breaking of Korgum, which was what they had begun calling Dozer’s first invasion into the once prosperous nation. That was fifteen years ago now, though it hardly seemed like it, Parson thought. And despite the fact that the invasion itself had ultimately failed, the Breaking had not. - Excerpt from page 1813
144. ↑ 144.0 144.1 Only six years ago, while he was working in Kavia, Parson had managed to successfully evacuate an entire town after receiving word from Damian that the Devil’s Knife was on his way to seize it.

And two years ago, Parson had managed to avert disaster here in Montero when Germal sent him word that a platoon of Abolish soldiers planned to enter the country by haphazardly digging an underground network.

Parson had informed Air Marshal Artemis of this “discovery,” and together, they had crushed the assault before it even had a chance to attack anyone. - Excerpt from page 1812
145. ↑ It had only been four years since he and she had finally become capable of using pan-rozum. With that, had come his promotion to regional captain from a normal captain, but even now, he wasn’t entirely confident in his ability to control that power. Pan-forma, though less powerful, was still much more comfortable and useful, he felt. And he and Overra could maintain it for a much longer period of time, as well. - Excerpt from page 1809
146. ↑ And indeed, it was. But they were short-handed. Abolish had struck a major blow in Korgum two years ago, and Parson had been forced to send most of his men there as reinforcements. Now, he had to either help pick up some of the slack around here himself or let the weaknesses in the city’s security get worse. - Excerpt from page 1809
147. ↑ For a moment, Parson considered telling her that he was accustomed to killing a lot more than just moods, but he thought better of it. A year ago, he might’ve said that to her, but after the passing of her mother, things had changed. Now he felt as though saying something like that would just make Erisa worry. And for all her talk, Parson knew that his poor wife certainly didn’t need any more of that in her life, right now. - Excerpt from page 1814
148. ↑ Parson was keenly aware of that issue because it was the pet project of one of his earliest comrades within the Vanguard. Fen Frederick was his name. He hadn’t seen him in years, but the man had left such a favorable impression that Parson didn’t expect to forget him anytime soon. Moreover, Parson had recently heard about him receiving a promotion to regional captain much like himself, as well as acquiring the nickname of the Surgeon Saint while touring the Ardoran continent. - Excerpt from page 1817
149. ↑ **...126 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1808
150. ↑ Abbas didn’t typically use his ability in combat. In fact, he didn’t typically *participate* in combat. The Sunsmith had earned his name from the technological support he provided his more battle-oriented comrades. But in the end, his support wasn’t enough to save any of them. In the end, Abbas outlived them all. Without ever holding such ambitions, he’d become the eldest Sandlord--and indeed, the eldest servant in all of Sair. Even Octavia Redwater was younger by a good thirty years or so. - Excerpt from page 1153
151. ↑ The Demon’s Grip, the Eye told him. A gloved artifact capable of increasing the wearer’s strength by a factor of up to one hundred thousand. Crafted 122 years ago by Morgunov. - Excerpt from page 1560
152. ↑ 152.0 152.1 152.2 152.3 152.4 152.5 152.6 152.7 152.8 152.9 As Xuan recalled, Melchor had gotten that name after going on a number of vengeful killing sprees many years past. For his fallen brethren. That was the kind of man Melchor was, the kind he’d always been. Even as a child. Xuan had only met him a few times in those early days, but he remembered that same *severity*, the same humorless demeanor.

But now that he was thinking about it, Xuan had been that way, too. They all had, really. Back then, the life of a young male Rainlord was even harder than it was now. None of this waiting until adolescence to become a servant. If you could walk, you could fight. And all the rituals. All the trials. Drowning, studying, fighting, training--all while maintaining the appearance of a sophisticated gentleman, of someone with high moral fiber. - Excerpt from page 1115
153. ↑ 153.0 153.1 153.2 153.3 Garovel chose to interject. ‘*Pardon my ignorance, but how old is this Melchor?*’

‘*It’s been 104 years since he was resurrected*,’ said Xuan’s reaper. This one’s name was Duvoss, as Hector recalled.

‘*Holy fuck*,’ said Garovel privately, coinciding with Hector’s bulging eyes. Then publicly, the reaper asked, ‘*What about you, Xuan? If you don’t mind saying, that is.*’

Xuan made as if to answer, but then paused and deferred to his reaper.

Duvoss shook his skeletal head. ‘*Xuan is 106*.’ - Excerpt from page 845
154. ↑ 154.0 154.1 ‘*As a reaper, I’m only about seventy years old.*’

“What do you mean, ‘as a reaper’...?”

‘*If you count my human life, then I’m about a hundred or so, I suppose.*’ - Excerpt from page 105
155. ↑ Forty years, those conflicts had lasted, each one progressively bloodier and more expansive than the last, and all stemming from the same dispute over the Corvana Jungle. Apparently, the land had been thought worthless by all seven of the countries through which it extended, until someone discovered a network of diamond mines therein. Of those seven countries, only Jesbol, Melmoore, and Corrico still existed today. The successive wars ruined all of the others. - Excerpt from page 778
156. ↑ '*Hmm? Ah. Yes, I am fine. I understand now. This place is a reservoir of psychic information. And also a minor point of geographic resonance. There seems to be... perhaps a hundred years or so of knowledge preserved here.*' - Excerpt from page 2359
157. ↑ “That sounds pretty annoying,” said Jercash, hardly even listening to the words coming out of his own mouth. “You must have lived a difficult life, eh?” He was more concerned with the environment. The town of Orobell had held a special place in his heart, once upon a time. To see it reduced to rubble was leaving him with mixed feelings. Partly solemn, for that angelic woman who had lived here a hundred years past; and partly ecstatic, for all the insects who would no longer be a drain on the planet’s resources. - Excerpt from page 1521
158. ↑ Hector had more, though. ‘*The rooms are all on the top floor because they have windows in the ceiling--to let in the Goddess’ light. The design became a problem at one point, though, when someone used them to break into the palace and try to assassinate the king. Like a hundred years ago or something. So all the windows have bars on them now.*’ - Excerpt from page 1884
159. ↑ The librarian was a little old lady whose name he actually didn't know beforehand, but her nameplate said Darla Burns. She looked shocked to see him there and was quick to offer him a library card, but he politely declined, not wanting to show her his fake I.D. card in order to get it. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 15
160. ↑ Yeah. There was Nina, a little old woman full of wrinkles, frazzled brown hair, and large bags under her eyes. Her two employees, Isaiah Marsh and Susan Rock, were following close behind her, and they all seemed to be discussing something. They unlocked the door and entered the building together. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 13
161. ↑ 161.0 161.1 Then there were the two daycare employees, an elderly man by the name of Isaiah Marsh, and a teenage girl named Susan Rock. The old man was barely conscious enough to look after *himself*, let alone children, and the girl was a fucking pothead. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 1
162. ↑ Taking long, slow blinks with bags under his eyes, William led her to the other end of the L-shaped chamber, and motioned to the rather broad, elderly woman standing there--his aunt, Duchess Jezebel Belgrant. “She told me something that I thought you should hear,” said William. - Excerpt from page 146
163. ↑ By the time he made it back to the still-closed door, it was opening from the inside, and an older woman poked her head out.

"You look like you could use a hand there, sir," she said with a smile.

This was one of the citizens whom Colt didn't already know the name of, but given the name of the diner, her apparent age, and the fact that she wasn't exiting the restaurant herself, he was guessing that it was Jenny. "Yeah, I'd appreciate it," he said with both twins in hand again. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 4
164. ↑ 164.0 164.1 He took note of the handful of other people in the diner. It wasn't a very large establishment, so he could overhear a conversation between a pair of old men who were sitting at the small bar behind him. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 4
165. ↑ "Don't worry," said Davinworth. "He has experience in caring for children. He's looked after my grandkids many a time. Isn't that right, Kevin?"

"Yes, Mr. Davinworth."

And the older man's smile broadened. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 47
166. ↑ 166.0 166.1 166.2 King William took the opportunity to break into the conversation. “Where are you from, Mr. Norez?”

“Oh, nowhere,” said Harper. “Or everywhere, depending on how you look at it. I don’t really identify with any particular place anymore. I travel too much for that. This is my first time in Atreya, though. I’m liking it so far.”

“Now that the genocidal maniacs are gone, you mean,” said Roman.

“That is definitely a step up, yes,” said Harper. He looked at the King again. “Ah, but my apologies, Your Highness. I suppose that’s not a very satisfying answer to your question, is it? I can at least say that I was born in Jesbol, though I don’t have many memories from there. My parents escaped when the Jungle Wars began spreading.”

“The Jungle Wars?” said William. “That was some sixty years ago, and yet you do not look a day over thirty.” - Excerpt from page 590
167. ↑ Lawrence recalled an incident during the Jungle Wars where Parson lost track of a certain unruly Melmoorian diplomat whom they were supposed to protect. They eventually found the diplomat in an Abolish prison and rescued him. The man was so grateful that he went on to provide the Vanguard with decades of key political support that probably ended up saving Melmoore from the same financial ruin that caused its neighbors to crumble. - Excerpt from page 877
168. ↑ '*Ah. Vantalay has been a rather volatile nation for over half a century now. You already know of the Vanguard and Abolish, yes? It frequently changes hands between them. Today, it is difficult to tell who truly holds power there. And even disregarding those two forces, Vantalay is still fraught with many dangers, not the least of which is terrorism. Only a handful of the major cities can be regarded as safe, and that is largely due to the private security forces employed by certain companies that operate there. They have a vested interest in maintaining tourist appeal.*' - Excerpt from page 2248
169. ↑ He could recall other examples, however, which were not nearly so amusing. Old tales, mostly. Of psychics. People who loved to toy with vulnerable young minds, twist them to their will, plant ideas in their heads, or simply break them for no other reason than to prove that they could.

He hadn't heard stories like that in ages, though. Over half a century, at least. It was rumored that one of them had bitten off more than they could chew by trying to manipulate the Mad Demon and that in response, Morgunov had rendered their kind extinct. - Excerpt from page 2862
170. ↑ The Beast took its time responding. Perhaps it was considering whether or not that had been a threat just now. The Lord Goffe hadn't exactly phrased it like one, but there was also an undeniable firmness in his otherwise soft speaking voice. "...I was summoned into this world by one of your kind," it said. "A man called Lozaro." - Excerpt from page 2378
171. ↑ 171.0 171.1 171.2 171.3 171.4 Quite possibly the greatest diplomatic victory of his life. Working directly under Kane. A very delicate mission in Hoss, Vantalay, and the recently-emerged state of Steccat. All three countries had been flirting with war for a good five years or so, and Abolish had been doing its damnedest to help them make the final push.

Kane’s task force grew by leaps and bounds during that time, learning new tactics, relearning old ones, refitting itself to become one of the most flexible paramilitary units in the world. By the time all was said and done, Xuan had fought Abolish in almost every conceivable manner--as a counter-terrorist, as an ambassador, as a bodyguard, as a propaganda officer, as a spy, as a negotiator, as a mediator, even as a mailman and a deli shop employee.

It was some of the hardest, strangest, and most rewarding work he’d ever been a part of. Without a doubt, Kane and his men saved tens of thousands of lives, if not more.

And the very next week, after returning home to Waterbreak in Roth for the first time in over four years, Xuan heard the news.

Lac’Vayce. A million dead in less than three days of fighting. - Excerpt from page 1116
172. ↑ ‘*Oh, I do. But Overra is a hell of a conversationalist. She’s got a ton of ridiculous stories. Says she knows Tenebrach pretty well, and I believe her. And she’s met most of the strongest Abolishers in battle, too. She and Miles were there at the Battle of Lac’Vayce a few years ago.*’

He was pretty sure that was more than a few years ago, but he didn’t bother trying to correct her. ‘*Wasn’t that the one where nearly a million people were killed?*’ - Excerpt from page 869
173. ↑ It only ever grew larger. The experiments continued for years. Countless conversations took place among the researchers, expressing all manner of concerns and curiosity. They did not understand. The beast seemed docile. - Excerpt from page 2363
174. ↑ 174.0 174.1 But eventually, the monster stopped experimenting.

Instead, it fell still and silent. For long period of time, months or perhaps even years, it did not move. It merely sat there among the wreckage of the facility, alone.

Hector could only guess what it was doing. Contemplating its next move? Or...?

Meditating?

That thought sent a shiver down his spine for some reason. Just how intelligent was this thing? He had to wonder. In some ways, it seemed naive or even childish, but in others...

Hector almost didn't want to know.

When it finally began to stir again, it was not the same. The beast was shapeshifting again--only this time, it was transforming into people. It struggled because of its bulk, its overabundance of limbs, but it was working on that problem. It would compress its body down to shocking levels, smaller and smaller with each new attempt. Other times, it would actually transform into *two* people and try to conceal the linked flesh between them with camouflage. - Excerpt from page 2365
175. ↑ Meditation helped, though. He’d been neglecting that practice for years--decades, even--but he was suddenly finding it quite helpful again. - Excerpt from page 3452
176. ↑ “I am also helping myself, you know. Vanderberk has been my target for decades. Finally being able to put him down is more reward than all the treasure in the world.” - Excerpt from page 3418
177. ↑ On the surface, Blacksong was a multinational operation with the expressed purpose of discovering and exploiting weaknesses in Abolish’s territory. Specifically, it was an initiative which would mount a simultaneous offensive against twenty-nine Abolish strongholds spread all across the Eloan continent. It was going to be the largest coordinated assault carried out by the Vanguard in decades. - Excerpt from page 1034
178. ↑ Caster Egmond unfolded his chair and sat down in it.

He was earlier than most of the others. That was abnormal for him. For the longest time, he had stopped taking these meetings seriously. He had stopped caring about the cause, the shared misery and accompanying sense of camaraderie. He'd just been going through the motions, playing a part, repeating the words he'd heard thousands of times by now.

"It's not as bad as we make it out to be in our minds."

"People aren't judging us as much as we think they are."

"We command respect, in our own way."

"We have other, more important qualities that we can focus on."

"If our reapers haven't given up on us, then we shouldn't give up on ourselves."

And to think, he'd actually begun to believe all that stuff for a while. For a *long* while. Decades, even. - Excerpt from page 2855
179. ↑ **...89 years ago...** - Excerpt from page 1960
180. ↑ When they first met, Linus was little better than a greenhorn in the Vanguard, and Vino was just a boy living in abject squalor here in Vantalay. Those horrific conditions had been a contributing factor to Vino's physical frailty throughout his life.

But he'd lived a long time, despite all that. Eighty-five years and counting. - Excerpt from page 3117
181. ↑ Maybe they just didn't want to do it and were trying to find a way of politely saying no, but that wasn't the impression Hector was getting, especially because of how incredibly old some of Abbas' sons were. A couple them were apparently in their early eighties. - Excerpt from page 2927
182. ↑ Raheem Saqqaf was Abbas' eldest son. His square jawline might've at first given the impression that he was a stern, no-nonsense type of man, but Hector had come to know that he was actually quite tender-hearted, which perhaps explained the softness in his eyes--and why he was the first one to approach and ask after Hector's well-being. - Excerpt from page 3266
183. ↑ 183.0 183.1 After asking Darla if they had a newspaper collection, she guided him to the back and showed him a line of computers that looked about as old as he was. He thanked her, and she left him alone again.

These computers weren't like the more modern ones near the entrance of the building. These looked like they were dedicated specifically to archiving and didn't even have internet access--hence why they hadn't bothered to upgrade their hardware, he supposed.

He decided to take his time. While he didn't want to drag his feet with this investigation, he also wasn't entirely sure how he should proceed after this, so there was no point in rushing things.

And there was plenty of information to go through. They had over eighty years of newspapers archived on these machines. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 15
184. ↑ “Captain Zeff,” said Lawrence. “Thank you for coming.” He looked to be in his fifties, but Zeff knew the man’s history to be much older than that, spanning upwards of seventy years with the Vanguard. - Excerpt from page 671
185. ↑ General Xavier Lawrence refrained from further argument. He knew there was nothing to be gained from it. And besides, the reaper wasn’t exactly wrong. He couldn’t disobey Dergoz overtly, but occasionally, small victories were still possible. For all of Dergoz’s threats, Lawrence knew that the reaper didn’t want to release a servant with his level of power. It would mean starting over from scratch, letting nearly eighty years go to waste. - Excerpt from page 680
186. ↑ 186.0 186.1 Hector exhaled heavily and had to sit up another time to look at his reaper directly. '*Alright, well. This isn't getting us anywhere. Give me the details. How do you know this Parson guy?*'

'*I briefly worked under his command.*'

'*...How briefly?*'

'*About ten years or so.*'

'*That is NOT brief, Garovel.*'

'*Eh. In reaper terms, it is.*'

'*How long ago was this?*'

'*Oh, uh... sixty years, maybe? Tough to recall exactly.*'

'*And what was the, uh... nature of your work?*'

'*Espionage.*' - Excerpt from page 2065
187. ↑ '*But it didn't last forever. Eventually, we did suffer a major loss. And because he'd never experienced something like that before, it just hit him that much harder. I'm not sure he ever fully recovered from that.*'

Hector was reluctant to ask, but he felt compelled to. '*What exactly happened?*'

'*It was a mission in Palei. Infiltrating a weapons factory. Deep in Abolish territory. Extremely dangerous. I didn't want to take the mission, but that wasn't anything new. I'd tried to refuse many other missions previously, but he just went off and did them without me. And he'd succeeded every time previously, so why would he think this time would be any different? He had such confidence. It drove me crazy.*'

'*Why did the mission go badly?*' said Hector.

'*He went without me, so I don't know everything that happened, but my understanding of it was that his cover was blown from the very beginning. There was a huge information leak the previous day in a completely different country, and it compromised the identities of dozens of undercover operatives. So his whole team walked right into a trap.*'

'*Oh, man...*'

'*They were all captured, except for him. He just barely managed to destroy his own brain in time. Couple of their reapers were killed as well. I might've been one of them, had I been there.*'

Hector's eyes went to the bed below him as he processed that.

'*Oddly enough*,' said Garovel, '*MY identity was never leaked, only his.*'

Hector cocked an eyebrow. '*How could that be?*'

'*I think it was because of the way the Vanguard stores information. It's possible they do it differently now, but back then, they didn't keep records of servant-reaper pairings. They DID keep records of servants and reapers, but not together. Perhaps for this very reason. If one's identity is compromised, they didn't want the partner to automatically be compromised as well.*'

'*Huh.*'

'*It's particularly odd, because with undercover work, it's usually the reaper who presents the most risk of being outed. Our long lives make us much more likely to be recognized by enemy reapers. That was why he was able to go on so many missions without me. Bringing a reaper along was often considered an unnecessary risk, anyway.*'

Hector supposed that made sense. If spy work was more about gathering information than combat, then reapers were probably a lot more valuable staying behind and relaying intel back to HQ as the servants discovered it.

That seemed pretty potent, now that he was imagining it. No need for coded letters or encrypted phone calls or anything like that. Just tell your reaper what you find as soon as you find it, and bam. Mission accomplished.

'*If I'm being perfectly honest*,' said Garovel, '*Simon was always a bit mysterious to me. He was such a remarkable actor that I could almost never be sure of how he truly felt about any given situation, but this was one of the few occasions when the facade dropped, and I think I was able to understand him.*'

'*Simon liked to play it cool. Be aloof. Detached. For the good of the mission, seemingly. But when he lost his team that day, he was inconsolable. I'd never seen him so demoralized. I think, deep down, he really did care about them like they were his family.*'

Hector wanted to say something, but he didn't have the words.

'*Looking back on it all now*,' the reaper went on, '*Simon really was a hero in the most "classic" sense of the term. He was strong, smart, adaptable, compassionate, and had a strong sense of justice. And he had no real weaknesses. He was kind of perfect. To an infuriating degree, sometimes.*'

'*But that loss changed him. I think the worst part of it for him was the realization that... it didn't matter how perfect he was. He could do his job flawlessly. He could make the best possible decision every single time with the information at his disposal. And it still wouldn't guarantee success. Everything could still go to shit for reasons that were completely beyond his control.*'

Hector knew a thing or two about feeling that way.

'*When I finally convinced him to quit the spy life and return to normal duty, I thought things would be better for him, but they never were again. I think he just stopped seeing people as people. I think they just became "objectives" to him. Or "tools," even. Save this person. Cooperate with that person. It was all just mechanical to him. Where before he would only pretend not to get attached, now he genuinely never did.*' - Excerpt from pages 2067, 2068 and 2069
188. ↑ 188.0 188.1 Oh, goodness. She hadn’t felt like this since she was a schoolgirl on the verge of being given detention, some fifty years ago. - Excerpt from page 1772
189. ↑ “It would seem you’ve been keeping up with your training during your absence,” said Mrs. Edith.

Lynnette gave a weak laugh and regretted it. “You could say that,” she said gruffly. “Looks like I’ll have to take a break for a little while, though.”

“Indeed.”

“By the way, Mom, would you mind helping Hector out for me?”

The middle-aged woman folded her arms. “Help him how?” - Excerpt from page 486
190. ↑ But that name. Jacobson, huh? It was hard to keep track of all these Intarian senators, especially when so many of them didn’t keep their positions for more than a few years, so the fact that he actually recognized this one was saying something.

He took a deep breath. “Alright, show him in.”

“Yes, sir.”

Maybe he was being an idiot. Or maybe this would be exactly the kind of distraction he needed, right now. He honestly couldn’t tell.

When the door opened, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit walked through while smiling graciously at Delilah, Jackson’s secretary, who closed the door behind him. - Excerpt from page 3459
191. ↑ It was a bit difficult to make out their faces in the darkness of the late evening, but as they got closer, Hector realized that the one on the right was Ambassador Stoutamire. The man was not first to step forward and speak, however. Instead, it was a middle-aged woman in a long red coat with feathers along the collar.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Lord Goffe," she said, holding up a rather archaic-looking lantern for illumination. "Welcome to the Imara Province. I am Larissa Karr, the Secretary of State for the Lorentian Federal Government." She offered him a gloved handshake, and Hector took it. - Excerpt from page 2316
192. ↑ When Lionel Carthrace arrived, the man was not alone. A pair of enormous bodyguards in suits and ties flanked him. One entered the room, and the other remained just outside the door.

Briefly, Hector wondered if those bodyguards were here because of him. After a moment, though, he figured probably not.

Wait a minute, didn’t he bring a bodyguard of his own?

Wow, he’d almost forgotten about Matteo Delaguna and Ernivoc. Hector hoped the guy wasn’t too upset about being left to his own devices. He’d have to ask Garovel about where those two were later. Right now, the presence of the Lord Carthrace was demanding his full attention.

The middle-aged man had a friendlier disposition than Hector had been expecting. From the way Amelia talked about her family, he’d thought the current head of House Carthrace would appear more stern and unwelcoming. - Excerpt from page 1885
193. ↑ 193.0 193.1 “Oh.” The man took the hand and shook it. “I am Lluis Delaguna, and this lovely creature is my wife, Margot.”

“We cannot thank you enough for all you are doing for us,” said Margot.

Hector was a bit reluctant to shake the woman’s hand, but he didn’t let it show, figuring it would only lead to a misunderstanding. “It’s... a pleasure to meet you both,” he said.

They were a middle-aged couple, by the look of them, and judging from all the stains on their aprons, they must have been at this for a while now. - Excerpt from page 1758
194. ↑ “However, the position he was found in was also odd,” said Carlos Sebolt. The thick lines of his middle-aged face deepened as he spoke. “His foot was stuck *inside* the body, as if he had decided to stomp the boy to death, but this is inconsistent with the extensive mutilation. He would’ve had to tear the body to shreds in a matter of seconds before suddenly resorting to stomping. Why would he have done that?” - Excerpt from page 1020
195. ↑ 195.0 195.1 Claudio was a middle-aged gentleman of enduring loyalty, having served the Elroys since Zeff was in his twenties. “Right away, my lady.” He walked briskly off. - Excerpt from page 683
196. ↑ Before that could happen, however, the sound of a door opening behind him acquired his attention. When he turned, he saw a brunette woman of middle years. She was modestly dressed, not too plain but not too ritzy, either. Her hair was a bit mussed, and there were faint streaks in her makeup around her eyes. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 43
197. ↑ 197.0 197.1 197.2 After reading up a little more on the laws in question, Hector learned that they had originated about sixty years ago, after a series of new banks had collapsed, all within two years of each other. It turned out to be an elaborate scheme to "store" people's money and "invest" it in legitimate-seeming companies; and then when those companies declared bankruptcy, the investing banks would follow suit, ridding themselves of any responsibility to pay back their customers.

Tens of thousands of Atreyan citizens had lost their life savings, and millions of troa had essentially been stolen without hard evidence of any legal wrongdoing, because the bank owners supposedly didn't have access to the money, anymore. It had been "lost" in some tragic fire--or similarly destructive accident--that had befallen one of the companies that they had invested in.

It was widely believed that the money had *really* been used to buy huge volumes of products that were illegal or otherwise lacking a paper trail, in order to avoid the attentive gaze of auditors and insurance companies.

Multiple attempts had been made to find the culprits over the years, but they never resurfaced, probably for fear of facing the wrath of the newly crowned King Martinus. Even if they had technically not broken any laws, the King had made his displeasure over the situation quite widely known, and it would've certainly been within his power to change the laws retroactively just to punish the involved parties. The public probably would've been on his side, too. - Excerpt from page 2680
198. ↑ 198.0 198.1 Meanwhile, Morgunov was obviously making great strides with his own work. There was little doubt in Abbas' mind that the Mad Demon had a new Forge of his own and was using it to create these mechanical nightmares. Either that, or his old one, the Cauldron of Chaos, had not been truly destroyed during the Jungle Wars like the rumors had said.

Supposedly, Sermung himself had put an end to it, so Abbas was inclined to believe that was the truth. Sixty years was certainly enough time for Morgunov to have created a new Forge for himself. - Excerpt from page 2884
199. ↑ As the name implied, the Man-Eater was supposed to have devoured upwards of four hundred people over the last sixty years or so. He’d become something of a Melmoorian bogeyman, and Emiliana even remembered reading one story about a village that formed a cult around his legend and conducted human sacrifices in order to appease him. - Excerpt from page 1276
200. ↑ When was the last time he'd tried throwing a living person into the Pit? Decades, at least. Eheheh. Hadn't ended so well before, but practice made perfect, after all. - Excerpt from page 3049
201. ↑ 201.0 201.1 The gunman was Dimas' cousin, Rolando Sebolt. As Hector understood it, he was actually older than Dimas by about fifteen years, so the soul power that he must've been pushing into that giant weapon was probably quite potent. - Excerpt from page 2784
202. ↑ ‘*I wouldn’t know*,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘*I only met Sermung once, and that was fifty years ago.*’ - Excerpt from page 196
203. ↑ 203.0 203.1 203.2 203.3 Octavia chortled. “That’s right. He was pretty intense for a fifteen-year-old.”

‘*Of course he was*,’ said Wendy. ‘*He’d just been through an ordeal of his own, remember?*’

“I do,” she said, and her smile waned.

Marcos had an inkling of what they were talking about. “What ordeal?”

It was Octavia’s turn to hesitate. “Did Zeff ever tell you what happened to the rest of his family?”

It was as Marcos thought. He gave a weak nod. “He didn’t mention it much, but... they were all killed, weren’t they?”

“Yes. He and Joana were the only ones to survive. Afterwards, they lived here at Red Lake until they turned eighteen. I didn’t want them to rejoin the Vanguard, but they wouldn’t listen to me.” Her expression weakened, eyes glazing over with distant memory. “I was very upset by that decision. I should have been more understanding. Instead, they pushed me away, and I just... let them.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her brow with one hand.

Marcos frowned. The old woman had been so cheerful from the first moment he’d met her. He’d wondered if nothing ever fazed her or if she simply didn’t care. Seeing her like this evoked a strange mixture of worry and gratitude. He was slow to ask his next question. “He never really went into much detail about how they died, so... can you tell me what happened?”

Octavia looked at him heavily, then at Shenado.

‘*Axiolis told me about it, but I’d like to hear your version of events, if you don’t mind*.’

Octavia gave a slow nod. “Very well.” She took so long to gather her thoughts that it seemed like she might have changed her mind. “...Zeff and Joana had no other siblings. Their parents *and* grandparents were all members of the Vanguard, as were many of their cousins. Zeff was on his way to joining the Vanguard as well. He’d been with Axiolis for over a year, already.” - Excerpt from pages 763 and 764
204. ↑ ‘*Agh, holy oasis!*’ said Qorvass. ‘*I knew your memory wasn’t the best, but wow! Even for you, this is a new low. You’re only forty-five years old, man. Are you already going senile? Should I stop you from aging any further?*’ - Excerpt from page 963
205. ↑ 205.0 205.1 205.2 205.3 205.4 205.5 205.6 205.7 “By the way,” interrupted Cisco, “now that she’s fourteen, Emy has a reaper, who will probably be spying on you whenever you think no one is looking. Have fun with that.” - Excerpt from page 632
206. ↑ 206.0 206.1 ‘*Bah*,’ said Iziol. ‘*Dimas just doesn’t know anything about comedy. He and I have been together for more than twenty years, and I’ve only heard him laugh four times. Four! Can you believe that?!*’ - Excerpt from page 952
207. ↑ 207.0 207.1 207.2 “When I was a child, that was the case, but the age gap between us was an obstacle. When I was eight years old, David was already seventeen and leaving for school abroad. And then, even after he finished school, he stayed away. In retrospect, I think I can understand his decision to do so. By the time I saw him again--*really* saw him again--it was eleven years later, and he was a stranger to me.” - Excerpt from page 606
208. ↑ Madame Carthrace was the one to answer. “From what I have read, there simply was not enough interest in doing so. Warrenhold isn’t famous enough to be very attractive to tourists, and no one has lived there for nearly forty years. Only historians have ever broached the subject of reopening it, but they have never been able to secure funding.” - Excerpt from page 622
209. ↑ 209.0 209.1 209.2 A man. The day of his wedding. He has found the perfect woman. She can be a bit impulsive and unpredictable at times, but he loves that about her. He can hardly believe Nere agreed to marry him. He wishes his parents could have met her. They were both killed just two years prior. Cousin Melchor did not take their deaths well. That poor man has grieved so much for this family, living through the extinguishment of two entire generations. The groom is glad that Cousin Melchor is able to smile on this day.

Bliss does not last long. Cousin Melchor has become a person others fear, a person that even some of his own family fear. Melchor is possessed of an abiding hatred, a need to find everyone responsible for hurting his family in years long past. Melchor leaves both the family and the Vanguard, allowing none to accompany him. - Excerpt from page 880
210. ↑ 210.0 210.1 210.2 210.3 Years pass.

He observes with disgust and haunting dread as Parson is promoted to the rank of captain general. He is only glad that it means Parson will be leaving Sair.

A small measure of relief arrives when Cousin Melchor returns to Marshrock. After all this time, the man has finally achieved vengeance for their House. - Excerpt from page 886
211. ↑ 211.0 211.1 211.2 Well, perhaps Melchor would do, then. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, he might be even better. Melchor was a man who had sought vengeance for House Blackburn many years ago--and found it.

That had happened after what came to be known as the Culling at Denya.

Nere had only learned of that horrible incident long after the fact, but her understanding was that it had been a Vanguardian stealth operation that went terribly awry. The Vanguardians were betrayed, their locations revealed, and Abolish turned what should have been an ambush against them into a slaughter in their favor. - Excerpt from page 2022
212. ↑ “Ah, so you’ve actually met your grandfather in person?” asked Miles.

“Yes, sir.”

“Must be a different guy, then. The man I’m thinking of died about forty years ago.”

‘*Unless he somehow survived*,’ amended Overra.

Miles laughed lowly. “That would be awkward, wouldn’t it?”

Dunstan was curious now. “Who was the man you were thinking of?”

The Cpt. General took a second to respond. “He was a lunatic. The kind of person that the world is better off without.” - Excerpt from page 872
213. ↑ He hated the prospect that he might've allowed himself to be betrayed by someone he hadn't trusted--or even *seen*, for that matter--in decades. The idea that he might have allowed childish feelings to interfere with his judgment...

But no. If it had truly been a trap, Morgunov probably wouldn't have said all those things he did. The Mad Demon seemed to have some lingering resentment for Germal--which wasn't terribly surprising, really. The madman had known that they were secret partners for ages, now.

Frankly, Parson had no idea how Germal had managed to stay alive all this time as a member of Abolish. Why hadn't Morgunov killed or exposed him years ago? Parson remembered asking him that very question many times before their final parting, but Germal had never given him a straight answer. - Excerpt from page 2697
214. ↑ "What? Is this not what you wanted when you tried to make me your puppet?"

"For the last time, that was not my intention. I was foolish and lacked experience with my--"

"Save your excuses. And don't apologize, either, for that matter." Damian paused for a throaty chortle. "Y'know, in a way, you granted me freedom. Going half-mad has had its perks." - Excerpt from page 3055
215. ↑ So it was a shame that the boy had lost his damn mind and forced Morgunov to put him down. Out of mercy, really. He'd been a danger to himself and everyone around him. In fact, it was like he'd *wanted* Morgunov to do it. Like he was just barely sane enough to realize what was wrong with him but not enough to do anything about it himself.

Tragic.

And even the lad's reaper had become irrational about it. Refused to release his soul. Didn't seem to believe that Damian was truly beyond saving at that point. Which was pretty nuts, since even Parsey Boy had agreed that he was too far gone. - Excerpt from page 3055
216. ↑ “Man, nobody’ll care if we just take the energy down a notch or two. This place hasn’t been attacked in, like, a hundred years ’r somethin’. We ain’t got no worries.”

“It’s actually only been *forty* years, but that’s not the point. I’m telling you, Sai-hee wants everyone on high alert. And while we’re on the subject of what she wants, is there a reason you failed to show up to the meeting in Acacero? Because she was *not* happy that you weren’t there.” - Excerpt from page 1302
217. ↑ “Yes, from an underground ruin in Vantalay that I discovered some forty years past.” He held up Chergoa. “I had forgotten all about it until I recently acquired a Lyzakki translator.” - Excerpt from page 1294
218. ↑ “Shut up, Zenia! Don’t ruin this for me! Do you know long I’ve been wanting to get a dog?! Ever since Thrasher died!”

“I don’t know who that is, sir.”

“Oh, right, that was before your time. Well, it was about forty years ago. Thrasher was this big, beastly pit bull, you see. Not anywhere near as big as Koh here, of course--nor as well-behaved, for that matter. In fact, now that I’m thinking about it, he was a real asshole. Always trying to bite people, including me. He ended up getting mauled by a mountain lion, but in all honesty, he probably provoked it. Still miss him, though.” Jercash allowed a beat to pass. “Hey, why don’t you come over here and pet Koh with me? You won’t believe how soft his fur is!” - Excerpt from page 1527
219. ↑ “I think most of us here already know how, Father,” said a middle-aged woman, who Cisco recalled as being Dunstan’s mother, Cecilia. - Excerpt from page 1473
220. ↑ Rofal sat down. “Leave us,” he told Swank, who promptly exited. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his red and gray hair. The weathered lines of his face made his expression all the more foul. - Excerpt from page 71
221. ↑ '*Though the friends we made there are gone*,' Ericoros continued, '*their descendants remain. Our last visit was more than thirty years ago now, so there may not be many there who remember Leo personally, but the stories about his deeds have survived from generation to generation.*' - Excerpt from page 2200
222. ↑ For his part, Colt didn't know if he could buy into any of that, but maybe that was just because it was so difficult for him to relate. Even now, in his early thirties, he couldn't remember a single time when he'd actually felt *grief*. He'd seen it, sure. Working as a cop in a crime-ridden city, it was pretty normal to witness people who'd been sucker punched by misfortune, but if anything, he felt like that repeated experience had only *further* hardened his heart--if that was even possible. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 45
223. ↑ But she was already in her thirties, and she still felt aimless in her life. Sure, Sparrows had slightly longer life spans on average than humans did, but that was no justification at all, as far as she was concerned. With as much as her father talked about maintaining their freedom and privacy, Pauline couldn't help feeling like she was sorely lacking in both, most of the time. - Excerpt from page 2167
224. ↑ 224.0 224.1 The King shut his eyes and held his forehead. "Pauline... Pauline... Pauline Gaolanet... Where have I heard that before...?"

The man really seemed to be concentrating, so even though it was taking a little while, Hector just waited patiently.

"Ah!" The King's eyes shot open, and he snapped his fingers. "Yes! I met her once. Years and years ago. Before I even met Helen. It was a marriage interview, as I recall."

Hector just blinked at that news.

"Very peculiar girl," said William. "I remember her piercing silver eyes, like she was attempting to look into my soul. Or she was on drugs. Honestly not sure."

Hector's expression scrunched up, but he also couldn't help laughing a little. "Your Highness, uh..."

"What? It was true. She kept trying to predict what my next words would be. And she got very upset with me when I told her she was wrong."

"That, er... sounds like an interesting encounter," said Hector.

"Indeed," said the King. "She made quite an impression on me. I'm surprised it took me this long to remember her."

"How old were the two of you at the time?"

"Hmm. I believe I was twelve or thirteen, and she looked to be a year or two younger than me." - Excerpt from pages 2114 and 2115
225. ↑ 225.0 225.1 “So I hear you’re all a bunch of a criminals,” said Cisco.

Dunstan just about drowned in the glass of water he was drinking from.

Cisco didn’t avert his gaze from the other Rofals, though. He wanted to see their faces, their reactions.

Lucia laughed. Jonah glared. Elwood scowled.

“Is that what Dunce over there told you?” said Elwood. He was a tall man with a gravely voice and a strong, clean shaven jawline. He was wearing silky red-and-gold pajamas, but that didn’t inform Cisco of much, because everyone else was doing the same. There wasn’t a whole lot of motivation to get properly dressed when everyone knew they weren’t going anywhere. Not to mention, there wasn’t much variety of clothing available here, either.

“You shouldn’t put too much credence in what that loser says,” said Jonah. Compared to Elwood, this guy looked pretty small, though he was probably around average weight and height.

And they all had the same dark hair and thick, arched eyebrows.

“Okay,” said Cisco flatly. “So tell me what the truth is, then.”

And perhaps they hadn’t expected him to say that, because both men paused.

“Elwood here is an illegal arms dealer,” said Dunstan, having found his composure again. “And Jonah--well, he’s just a loan shark, but he gets his jollies from smacking kids around, probably to vent his frustration over how pathetic he is.” - Excerpt from page 1471
226. ↑ Certainly, it hadn’t been the best plan with Ibai here, but Parson hadn’t given Ismael much choice. If Ibai’s presence were discovered, it would be the end of everything. It would not matter that Ibai had never actually *killed* anyone before, nor would it matter that Ibai was Ismael’s only child--the only child that he and his wife had ever managed to create in the past thirty-eight years of trying. The other Rainlords would never allow an aberration to live. There were no exceptions. Especially now, after having kept Ibai a secret for so long, after what his family had done in order to *keep* Ibai a secret. - Excerpt from page 879
227. ↑ 227.0 227.1 Silvia Blackburn, it turned out to be--a lanky woman with big green eyes and short black hair. Her file had mentioned her explosive ability. Cesium materialization. Dangerous even in a novice’s hands due to its violent reaction with water and tendency to spontaneously ignite in air. And Silvia had already been a servant for twenty-five years. - Excerpt from page 859
228. ↑ 228.0 228.1 228.2 ‘*But if that’s the case, then you’ve seriously gotta stop being so friendly with strange women. I’m pretty sure that most of the family thinks that you’re a huge slut, too.*’

‘*What?! Since when?!*’

‘*Since, oh, maybe... you were about twenty-two, twenty-three?*’

‘*That was fifteen fucking years ago!*’ - Excerpt from page 1450
229. ↑ 229.0 229.1 Still, never would she have expected to feel so excited about working with money again. After thirty grueling years in the business, working for banks, an insurance agency, an accounting firm, a hedge fund, and even the Lord High Treasurer himself, she’d thought that she had lost all taste for this sort of thing. And this job wasn’t even supposed to be like any of those. She had only been supposed to help the young lord manage his assets and hopefully grow them.

What a curious world it was, that all of this would fall into her lap now, seven years after her supposed retirement. - Excerpt from page 1764
230. ↑ Jeremy Lang. Thirty-seven years old. Employed as an Administrative Assistant in the Human Resources Department at Lindhold & Barter. - Excerpt from page 1837
231. ↑ "Yeah, yeah," said Max. "Hey, Denise, shouldn't you be in school, right now?"

"I'm thirty-seven, Max. And you've made that joke the last three days in a row, now. It stopped being funny after the first time." - Excerpt from side story 1 page 4
232. ↑ By all accounts, he appears to be a normal baby, save only for that muddy shadow. After a week, the shadow begins to come and go at seemingly random intervals, twirling up from his tiny head and fingers and toes, only to vanish like smoke. At a glance, it could almost pass for some type of odd hair.

Then, Parson Miles arrives. As the current head of all Vanguardian forces in Sair, he has been a valued comrade and friend of the family for many years, especially after their most recent tragedy.

“Your son is what we call an aberration,” says Parson. He is normally jovial. He is not so now.

Knowledge of aberrations is still a top-level secret within the Vanguard, but given the family’s unique circumstances, Overra says they will make an exception.

And so Parson explains at length. Ibai is a monster in human form. How these monsters are created is yet unknown, but it involves Abolish in some way. Aberrations exhibit powers that are otherworldly, even by servant standards. And they grow more powerful by consuming souls. They are deadly beings. Ibai will only bring ruin upon their family.

So it would be best to kill the boy now.

They refuse, of course, and demand that Parson and Overra leave.

“Fine,” says Parson. “We will go. But if you will not kill him, then keep his existence a secret. You will eventually see the truth with your own eyes, and I suspect the rest of the Vanguard will learn about aberrations soon. When that time comes, you will not want them knowing what he is.”

Parson goes in peace, but the seed of doubt is planted.

He and Nere begin to worry about the future of their son. They decide to exercise caution and keep Ibai a secret from everyone outside the family. He orders all branches to return to Luzo. He wants his House brought together.

He explains their circumstances to all of the branch heads. They are all so terribly young. With Melchor gone, he is now the eldest servant by far, and similarly, everyone knows that Rholtam is one of the most ancient and loyal reapers in the family. As a pair, their age affords them both a certain reverence that helps them gather everyone’s favor; and in the long lingering and still deeply felt aftermath of their most recent losses, he has never seen his House so united and comforting as it is now. - Excerpt from page 882
233. ↑ ‘*I’m sure they’d like that*,’ said Garovel. ‘*By the way, how old are you?*’

“Oh, I’m thirty-five. Why?” - Excerpt from page 977
234. ↑ Mevox was quick to answer for her. '*She's referring to the fact that the Blackburns have been holed up in Marshrock for the last thirty years, barely ever setting foot outside Luzo. Y'know. That thing they did which caused pretty much all of our current problems? Everyone remembers that, right?*' - Excerpt from page 2056
235. ↑ 235.0 235.1 Combined with the fact that, in all of her thirty-three years, she’d never been in a fight until a little over two months ago, Helen was admittedly feeling disadvantaged in this whole ordeal. - Excerpt from page 557
236. ↑ The Vanguard’s regional captain was a *very* young boy by the name of Bartholomew Erickson. He didn’t look any older than ten years, so she was rather hesitant to speak to him at first, but the boy’s reaper, Kohzek, was the one who did most of the talking, anyway. It soon became apparent, however, that Bartholomew was almost as old as Helen. - Excerpt from page 505
237. ↑ The Twin Blades of Boros. Small swords which were capable of guiding even an amateur swordsman’s hand toward the vital points of his desired opponent. Exceptionally deadly at close range. Crafted 33 years ago by Luann. - Excerpt from page 1558
238. ↑ 238.0 238.1 238.2 He had never lived off the land to this extent before. These past few months had been a learning experience, to say the least. The cabin that he’d settled in was one that he’d visited a couple times in his youth. His grandfather had taken him here, purportedly to “show him a thing or two about how to be a real man.”

It had been hell, of course. The old bastard didn’t seem to care that he was only seven years old at the time. If he couldn’t find food, he went hungry. If he couldn’t build a shelter, he slept out in the open. If he couldn’t make a fire, he didn’t get to warm up or cook anything unless he begged and cried for help. And certainly, if he didn’t understand something after Grandpa explained it to him the first time, the old man made him feel like a complete fool.

But he’d learned. His grandpa, for all his harshness, never actually gave up on him--not like his worthless father had, at least. Perhaps that was the reason why these lessons had stayed with him so clearly more than twenty years later, even if some of the skills that accompanied said lessons had since become a little rusty. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 1
239. ↑ Having them inscribed into his flesh, however, had been the most torturous thing he had ever experienced. And at the age of thirteen, he hadn't been prepared for it at all. Apparently, his mother had to do it before he became a servant, else the tattoos would disappear whenever the regeneration was invoked. - Excerpt from page 2624
240. ↑ “Heh, I appreciate the compliment, friend. I’m thirty-two but sometimes, I feel twice that.” - Excerpt from side story 1 page 2
241. ↑ "Grew up together, you know," Fred went on. "Classmates for most of our youth. Competed all the time. Over just about everything you can imagine. Grades. Sports. Girls." Fred breathed a nostalgic laugh. "Especially girls." - Excerpt from side story 1 page 50
242. ↑ It had happened not long after he'd become a servant at the age of fourteen and manifested his "divine" materialization ability. At first, he'd been ecstatic with the discovery. He had the most esteemed power among the Sandlords at his fingertips. What was there to dislike? - Excerpt from page 2616
243. ↑ 243.0 243.1 “Hmm.” Roman looked over everyone and adjusted his glasses again. “Well, we don’t have any idea where Sai-hee’s people are, so I still think we should try the Vanguard in Korgum, first.”

“I agree.”

Mehlsanz ruffled her feathers but nodded. ‘*We must be very cautious.*’

‘*What about Hector and Garovel?*’ said Voreese. ‘*They’re gonna be out of commission for at least a week. Probably more.*’

“We can’t wait that long,” said Roman. “I wanna be out of here within two days.”

‘*You could just carry Hector’s head with us*,’ said Voreese.

“Eh. I don’t think we should take them out of the country without their permission. They might have a reason to stay in Atreya. How much do we even know about them?”

‘*Not much*,’ said Mehlsanz. ‘*I worked with Garovel some thirty years ago, and he seems more or less the same. Which is a good thing. But I know nothing about Hector.*’

Helen looked at the helm. “We know that he protected us. That is not nothing.”

“We also know that Garovel said they weren’t prepared to die for you,” said Roman. “And then they were both nearly killed.”

Helen gave a slow nod.

“They can stay here. Gina will take care of them. And besides, I really don’t wanna try to smuggle a severed head into a foreign country. I hear people frown upon that sort of thing.”

“Very well.”

“What about your sword girl? Should we take her?”

“I cannot send Lynnette back to Sescoria. Abolish will kill her.”

“Oh yeah.”

“If she wishes it, then I would have her accompany us.” - Excerpt from page 197
244. ↑ 244.0 244.1 Five years transpire.

Ibai is found clutching a dead cat in his sleep. The animal has been mutilated. Ibai is covered in its blood.

They are not sure how--or even IF--they should punish him. In spite of their shock and dread, they attempt to approach this rationally. They decide to speak with the boy first.

“Do you understand what you did, mijoro?”

Ibai smiles eagerly. “Yes, Papa! I killed him!”

And they come to realize that, at the age of five, Ibai possesses a concept of death. The boy already knows that life can end, despite never having had it explained to him. - Excerpt from page 883
245. ↑ “On the fifteenth of next month, could I trouble you to give your guardsmen the night off?” - Excerpt from page 884
246. ↑ 246.0 246.1 246.2 And hilariously, that very tendency proved to be Artemis’ downfall. The air marshal went to extinguish the Abolishers they’d used, but the Monster was already there, killing them all and mounting their heads on spikes. And when the Monster sensed Artemis’ presence in that place, that was it. A death sentence. Artemis escaped, sure, but it hardly mattered. Over the next three years, Gohvis hunted him down.

All the while, Parson was profoundly glad that he’d only ever used Artemis’ name when dealing with Abolish. If he’d allowed himself to be identified even once, then the Monster probably would’ve hunted him down, too.

Now, there was no one else left who knew the truth of that story. Only Parson and Overra.

But it had been enough. A glimpse of the Monster’s lingering humanity. Surely, that demanded further investigation. So over the next several years, that was exactly what Parson did. And during that time, Zeff Elroy resurfaced, wishing to rejoin the Vanguard.

Parson could not have been more pleased.

Zeff didn’t know of his family’s connection to Gohvis, and even Axiolis seemed unaware, though Parson could never be entirely sure how much the old reaper knew. Regardless, the best way to discover more about Gohvis was to groom Zeff. This much was obvious.

But there was a problem. The more Parson got to know Zeff, the more it became clear: this boy would never be able to pull it off. Parson needed someone who could infiltrate Abolish and get close to the Monster. An Elroy *should* have been perfect for the task, but Zeff simply did not have the temperament. The boy was not a spy. He could hardly tell a lie to save his own life. Most of these modern Rainlords were like that, it seemed. According to Overra, they used to be so much more skilled in sabotage and deception, but generations of governing, power, and self-congratulations had made them too proud for their own good. How could they claim “honor” was of such importance when their ancestors practically *invented* guerrilla warfare? Where was the logic in that?

 Instead, the key went to waste, reduced to normal service like any other Vanguardian, and Parson was left to scrounge for scraps of intel wherever he could find them. Painfully slow and inefficient. Which was actually strange. Gohvis did not make a habit of showcasing his exploits like most of the other Abolishers. His deeds were few and far between.

After years of negligible progress, the mission was all but dead. The Covert Intelligence Division had given up on turning Gohvis and moved on to other, more appealing targets. It was a common enough tactic, and Gohvis had by no means been their first attempt. - Excerpt from pages 1035 and 1036
247. ↑ Morgunov had descended so far into his own madness now that he hadn’t left his laboratory more than a handful of times in the last thirty years. The lunatic might of course still show up one day and surprise everyone, but he certainly couldn’t be *relied upon* to do that. - Excerpt from page 1522
248. ↑ Evangelina didn't react, but she sure wanted to. Having been a member of the Vanguard herself for over twenty years, she knew that last name particularly well. - Excerpt from page 2302
249. ↑ Her name was Mara Rogers, and while Hector hadn't interacted with her directly very much yet, he saw her around quite frequently. She only looked to be in her mid-twenties, but she didn't seem to be struggling much with her position, which he found impressive, considering she was basically managing the entirety of Warrenhold's day-to-day operations now. - Excerpt from page 2093
250. ↑ 250.0 250.1 250.2 “You may not.” From what she could see, both men appeared to be in their mid-to-late twenties. Charlie was the blond one, Jonathan the bespectacled one. They wore very casual clothing, nothing that would make them stand out in a crowd, surely.

‘*We’ve met before*,’ said Shenado. ‘*Nine years ago. You were both new recruits.*’ - Excerpt from page 684
251. ↑ “Yes, sir,” said Jamal. By the look of him, he was in his late twenties and quite solidly built. Rather than a sword like Lynnette, however, the man wore a holstered gun on his hip. “I would be happy to lead the way for you.” - Excerpt from page 614
252. ↑ It was a blonde woman, maybe a few years younger than him. She was stunningly gorgeous as well, the complete and utter opposite of the man on the other side of the counter.

She was Alice Ridgemont, Colt knew. The local nun. Or priestess. Or whatever the fuck the women who devoted themselves to Cocora and covered themselves in white-and-gold robes were called. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 2
253. ↑ 253.0 253.1 In spite of herself, she was getting nervous. She was only twenty-eight years old, but truthfully, she was already beginning to feel a little bit like she was over the hill. She experienced heartburn for the first time in her entire life last year, and every time she thought about all the newer, younger actresses making waves now in Steccat... Not to mention, she hadn’t actually landed a movie role in several months now... Oh, and how many of her girlfriends had gotten married over the last few years? - Excerpt from page 1785
254. ↑ Another thought occurred to Hector, and even though it didn't seem immediately relevant to the situation, he just had to bring it up. "The King mentioned... that he once had a marriage interview with a girl named Pauline Gaolanet some years ago."

'*Ah. Yes...*'

"...What was the plan there? I'm assuming she's a Sparrow, too, right? Why would you try to have her marry a normal human?"

'*That was... a delicate situation.*'

"How so?"

'*In her youth, Pauline was quite the little troublemaker. She created an avatar identical to my own and visited Joseph Belgrant to organize a marriage interview with his son, William.*'

Hector's eyes widened, and he glanced at the still-frozen King in his suit of iron armor. "She really wanted to marry him?"

'*It was a game to her. A childish one. She did not understand the full implications of her actions.*'

"But she understood well enough to fool Joseph Belgrant?"

'*What can I say? She has always been a bit too clever for her own good.*'

Somehow, Hector couldn't help snickering a little. "You must've been relieved when it didn't work out."

'*Oh, you have no idea.*' Surprisingly enough, Hanton actually seemed to share a bit of Hector's amusement. - Excerpt from page 2144
255. ↑ ‘*We still do not know why they decided to attack us*,’ he said. ‘*Zeff and I have been with the Vanguard for over twenty-five years. I am still having a bit of difficulty realizing that I no longer work for them. Part of me is hoping that this is all just some kind of gigantic misunderstanding.*’ - Excerpt from page 797
256. ↑ 256.0 256.1 256.2 256.3 256.4 “This was not the first time you have attempted to destroy a government,” said Helen. “Nineteen years ago in a tiny country called Snider--that was your doing, was it not?”

Her brother chose not to answer.

“The King of Snider had a reputation for brutality, but nonetheless, Father was on good terms with him. You spent only a single summer there, supposedly enjoying a leisurely time as any prince would. And yet, no more than six months after your visit, the King of Snider was overthrown in a bloody conflict. One might call that a coincidence and be satisfied, but for two entire years after that rebellion, there were several other families attempting to seize power--and all of their efforts were in vain. In fact, each claimant to the throne died rather gruesomely or mysteriously. Or both. Until, finally, *democracy* took hold.”

Luther was expressionless. “You believe me responsible for all of that? Perhaps I should be flattered.”

“Mm. It was quite difficult to find out the details of that summer visit of yours. You were careful, even then, but you *were* young. I have spoken with several of your attendants from that time, and they all mentioned your habit of disappearing. For me, however, the truly convincing piece of evidence was the girl.”

Luther turned away and paced toward the wall.

“I have her name written down.” She reached inside her flowing coat and pulled out a notepad. She flipped through the pages. “Lila Vance. She was only six when the King of Snider had her parents executed for blasphemy. She was only seven when you met her, no? Despite lacking the means, she was able to move out of Snider after your visit but *before* the rebellion. She has lived quite comfortably in Kahm ever since, under the name Lila Demitri. She is but a simple flower vendor, and attributes her wealth to her rich uncle.” - Excerpt from page 748
257. ↑ “We are multitalented,” said Dunstan. His black eyebrows had sharp arches to them, and his harsh cheekbones could have been weapons unto themselves. He didn’t look all that much older than Cisco. Early twenties, at most. “I may not have your esteemed heritage, but you do not have my training.” - Excerpt from page 699
258. ↑ ‘*Sorry. Though, you’ll have to let the aging thing go sooner or later. I know you wanted me to stay a teenager forever, but I--*’ - Excerpt from page 868
259. ↑ Ridgemark was a far cry from the perpetually cloudy skies of Luzo, to be sure. In his twenty-four years of life, rarely had Raul Blackburn even seen bikini-clad women in person like this. - Excerpt from page 2213
260. ↑ "Sure do. Just one, but she's a handful alright. She's already twenty-three now, but most days, I don't feel it. I don't look old enough to have a daughter in her twenties, do I? Be honest." - Excerpt from side story 1 page 33
261. ↑ 261.0 261.1 261.2 Another year passes. They occasionally loot newspapers. Vaeland has been at war all these years. No longer civil. Now the country is caught in a different fight. It is the battleground for Intar and Dozer. Warnings of immortal soldiers afoot. People of terrifying strength. The young forest bandits soon see for themselves.

The young man is eighteen when they try to rob the wrong vehicle.

It is only an old man, they think. All by himself. Easy.

Mira feigns injuries and waves him down. When he stops, the rest of them descend upon him. Loren goes in for the kill. He is stopped by a monstrous creature, appearing as if from nowhere. It is humanoid, perhaps, yet still a thing like nothing they have ever seen. Black scales cover its body instead of flesh.

They make to turn and flee, but four more people arrive, blocking their paths and pinning them down.

“It is okay,” says the old man. “They are but children. Not the prey we were looking for.”

And the monster speaks. “What shall we do with them?” Its voice is low and vibrating.

The old man looks over the young bandits. “You are homeless, no?”

No one dares answer.

“They can come with us,” the old man says.

Loren is braver than anyone else when he asks, “Who are you?”

The old man eyes him. “My name is Dozer.” - Excerpt from page 360
262. ↑ “Where did you get that shield?” she asked. At twenty-two years, Jada was the oldest of Asad’s three children. - Excerpt from page 831
263. ↑ “Zeff, Evangelina, and I trained under him for several years,” said Abel Sebolt. “As did Santos, though only for the few months before Lawrence took Parson’s place.” - Excerpt from page 957
264. ↑ 264.0 264.1 ‘*Honestly, why do you look so surprised?*’ said Sentsia, still in the echo of privacy. ‘*Tell me. Do you remember when we first harnessed pan-moc, you and I? Hmm?*’

Nere managed to shake her head.

‘*No. You must. Do you remember how it nearly killed us both? Do you have any idea why that might have been? No? Of course you don’t.*’ The reaper sighed. ‘*That was precisely the time when I learned of what you had done. When I probed our shared minds. I couldn’t believe what I found. I didn’t WANT to believe it. The shock was so great, in fact, that I nearly lost control of the hyper-state and allowed it to kill us both.*’ She paused for a chuckle. ‘*Perhaps I should have.*’

Nere was trembling. She couldn’t look at the reaper anymore.

‘*I want you to think about the decision that I was faced with at that time, Nere. Really think about it. Ibai was already a teenager. Melchor had returned to us. He was his old self again. House Blackburn was more unified than it had been in generations. And this knowledge that I had just acquired would tear all of that apart in an instant. Can you imagine what was going through my mind then? Hmm?*’

Nere clutched her head with both hands as if to shield herself from Sentsia’s words, but there was no stopping them.

‘*Naively, I thought there was hope*,’ Sentsia went on, ‘*because you really DID come to love Ismael and Ibai and everyone else. I could see that in you as well. I saw it. But I was a fool. Something like this was always going to happen.*’ - Excerpt from page 2024
265. ↑ ‘*Hmm. So, uh... why’d you leave the Vanguard, anyway?*’

‘*Well, my servant had just decided that he was ready to die, so after I released him, I was on my own again. And before him, I’d had many other servants as well, and we were always fighting. And y’know, after a while, that takes a toll on you. I suppose you could say I was tired. Not physically, of course. I just wanted to take a break from it all.*’

‘*Really? Even though, um... I mean, I assume Abolish was a problem back then, too, right?*’

‘*Yes, they were*,’ said Garovel. ‘*But that’s the thing. The fighting doesn’t end, Hector. Abolish and the Vanguard have been going at it for fucking ages. There’s essentially no hope that the war will end anytime soon.*’

‘*Geez...*’

‘*And even being immortal, you can’t just keep fighting forever and ever. It wears you down. You have to take time for yourself sooner or later.*’

Hector had no trouble understanding that. He could only imagine what kinds of terrible things Garovel had seen. He didn’t want to ask about that right now, though, so he asked something else. ‘*So, um... am I the first servant you’ve had since leaving?*’

‘*Yep*,’ said Garovel. ‘*It was a pretty long break, I suppose. Twenty years.*’ - Excerpt from pages 519 and 520
266. ↑ 266.0 266.1 '*...How many servants have you had in total?*' Hector asked.

'*You are the twenty-second*,' said Garovel. - Excerpt from page 2071
267. ↑ Garovel took his time answering. '*Okay... ah... do you remember when I told you about my last servant? Simon?*' - Excerpt from page 2257
268. ↑ ‘*In terms of raw manpower, the Vanguard is stronger now than it has ever been*,’ said Armengél. ‘*Twenty years ago, we hardly had five thousand active servants, but now we have ten times that. In the past year alone, we’ve gained over three thousand new recruits--many of them, reapers who have never taken on a servant before and therefore require considerable direction.*’

‘*Startling numbers*,’ said Axiolis. ‘*Abolish must not be pleased. This business with aberrations has only ended up reinforcing our cause.*’

‘*Poetic justice for not upholding the Old Law*,’ said Shenado. ‘*If they keep allowing their pets to break neutrality agreements, Sai-hee might even start helping us out.*’ - Excerpt from page 637
269. ↑ It was no coincidence that all seven of his esteemed peers were male. Kurosi law plainly forbid women from holding positions of political power. It was often conflated as a law of all Sandlords, but it really was a regional matter. Asad had lived in Kuros for nearly twenty years now, and at this point, his youth spent growing up in Moaban seemed almost like someone else’s life, but he still clearly remembered his mother being the unquestionable head of Hahl Najir when she was alive. It was difficult to imagine her bending to anyone else’s will, regardless of what the law might have told her. - Excerpt from page 800
270. ↑ The walls had been soul-empowered by Papa and then later overridden even more strongly by Mel, so Ibai already knew that he couldn’t simply bust his way out. What Papa and Mel didn’t know, however, was that Ibai’s ability had manifested a long time ago. He’d kept it a secret for nearly two decades now, knowing that it would only upset his family and make them look for a way to counter its effects. And that would’ve sucked all the fun out of it. - Excerpt from page 899
271. ↑ Hector knew that he had one Rick Cortes to thank for much of the progress they were making. The man was a carpenter with some twenty years of experience under his belt, and being the husband of Zeff's sister, Joana, seemed to afford the guy an extra level of clout as well. - Excerpt from page 1954
272. ↑ 272.0 272.1 It wasn’t likely, sure, but Zeff had known even more brazenly confident men than him who had broken down in similar circumstances. There was perhaps no clearer example than in Lyste, some twenty years prior, during what would later be known in that country as the Great Right Turn.

It had been a quiet war for public opinion, until the very end, when all hell broke loose. They had faced overwhelming odds for five days straight, fighting such famous names as the Bloodeye, the Man of Crows, the Raider, the Liar, the Silver Devil, and even the Mad Demon himself.

That was the battle in which Field Marshal Kent and many other Vanguardians lost their minds and began attacking their own allies, including one another.

It was also the battle in which Field Marshal Lamont earned the name Iceheart, for killing Kent, his closest friend, in addition to every other broken traitor.

Zeff might not have believed that story if he hadn’t been there to witness it with his own eyes, if he hadn’t gotten to know Kent a little beforehand and seen the man acting seemingly normal up until then... and if Kent hadn’t been mere seconds away from killing him and Axiolis both.

It was doubtless to Zeff’s mind that in those few short days of fighting, the entirety of Lyste would have been consumed by Abolish were it not for Lamont. The man’s reputation had suffered from it, as he’d previously been more widely known as the Judge of Intar, but having been there himself, Zeff could never truly fault the man for what he had done. - Excerpt from page 1399
273. ↑ '*It has been over fifteen years since then*,' said Hanton, '*but Donald was of such incredible caliber as an agent that there is a very good chance that even to this day, his captors still do not know that he is an agent of Atreya, not Intar.*' - Excerpt from page 2247
274. ↑ “Curious.” Desmond eyed him again. “How old are you?”

“Nineteen. Why?” - Excerpt from page 175
275. ↑ Lynnette Edith was her name. Only nineteen, according to her file, but her sharp eyes and harsh cheek bones made her look older. Her caramel brown skin clashed against the white-and-blue uniform. She kept her wavy, raven hair in a braided ponytail that came over her shoulder, and she was clearly not afraid to look the Queen in the eye. - Excerpt from page 119
276. ↑ Abbas didn't want to kid himself. His "ascent" within the Sandlords was still relatively recent. Even disregarding the leap in fame he'd gained after defeating Ivan, his leading influence on the Golden Council only went back a mere twenty years or so. - Excerpt from page 3071
277. ↑ One of the younger Rofals, a teenage boy named Ricky, looked ecstatic as a tablet floated toward him. "Wow, Grandpa! Thanks!" - Excerpt from page 2576
278. ↑ Colt supposed that would suffice. He eyed Janet's younger brother, Jason. A teenager, just like Boh had said. The kid hadn't made a sound this whole time. Must've been terrified. Colt could hardly blame him. Home invasions were the stuff of nightmares. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 19
279. ↑ ‘*Her name is Melissa. A bit on the short side, looks a couple years older than you, brown hair, ponytail in a braid, green shirt with a cute dog on it, blue pants, white sneakers--*’ - Excerpt from page 40
280. ↑ “How’s that daughter of yours?” the General asked, which pulled Mariana back to the conversation at hand. “Gema, wasn’t it?”

“She is fine,” she said.

“That’s good. How old is she now?”

“Eighteen.” - Excerpt from page 642
281. ↑ Helen and Lynnette were busy observing the keys together.

“I have not driven a car in eighteen years.”

“Then perhaps I should drive, Your Highness.” - Excerpt from page 181
282. ↑ But then Gema Elroy appeared. And Parson saw new life in that old string of failures.

Unfortunately, he could not simply tell his superiors of the girl’s connection to Gohvis. Even if they did believe him, they could decide to simply kill her the way Artemis would have done--or worse, begin asking questions about his involvement in the Elroy massacre.

No, it had to be more discreet than any of that. So instead, he manufactured false leads in order to convince the marshals to revive the old intelligence-gathering mission on Gohvis. Which worked out better than expected. Project Blacksong was conceived around it--though by now, Blacksong had grown into an entirely new beast with many different objectives. Excepting Jackson here, all of the marshals had their own goals for Blacksong. Jackson seemed to be of the opinion that there were already far too many cooks in the kitchen, as it were. - Excerpt from pages 1036 and 1037
283. ↑ “Ask me that again after you have been married for seventeen years.” - Excerpt from page 600
284. ↑ She paused to tilt her head at him. “How old are you?”

“Sixteen...” - Excerpt from page 201
285. ↑ Marcos scowled and rubbed his sore shoulders. He had four siblings, and he definitely hated Cisco the most. Cisco was the second-oldest, having four years on him, but Gema was never around anymore, so Cisco still got to play the role of eldest. - Excerpt from page 592
286. ↑ “Ah... well... he is two years older than me.” - Excerpt from page 625
287. ↑ “Hello, Lord Darksteel,” the young woman said with a smile. She seemed to be about his age, maybe even a bit younger, but she did have a reaper clinging to her shoulder.

Hector frowned, however. “Why aren’t you with your family?”

“Oh, you know who I am?” said Selena. “I am flattered, Lord.” - Excerpt from page 1381
288. ↑ A pause, and then, <“She says it’s Salazar. Says you know her.”>

Zeff blinked at his wife.

‘*It’s been fifteen years*,’ said Axiolis. ‘*What’s she doing here?*’ - Excerpt from page 635
289. ↑ Still, it made little sense for him to desire her death. Yes, he was the King consort and not the King regent, but there was no terrific discrepancy between the two, unless his political views were wildly different from what he claimed they were. And surely, fourteen years of marriage had taught her something of this man’s heart. He may have had the biggest motivation to kill her, but she couldn’t imagine him doing such a thing. At the moment, anyway. - Excerpt from page 146
290. ↑ The memory of that old mission was abruptly vivid in Mariana’s mind, a mission that had shaped over a decade of conflict to follow.

The president of Vaeland had only just won his election by a small margin, and his first act was to outlaw the practice of slavery. Noble, perhaps, but foolish, because he did not have the strength to support it.

And so the Vanguard came to his aid. Salazar was the first to arrive in the capital with thirty servants under her command, Mariana among them. The goal was only to hold out until their reinforcements could break through the Abolish-controlled southern isles and link up with them.

From all reports, progress was good. Jackson’s men were estimated to arrive in less than ten hours. Salazar’s troops had not even seen any fighting yet.

Then a name reached them.

Gohvis. Bearing down on them from the north.

And that was enough to make Salazar retreat without putting up any resistance. She allowed him to take the capital with ease, allowed Abolish to take root in the heart of the country. To the ruin of all its people. - Excerpt from page 641
291. ↑ 291.0 291.1 291.2 291.3 The boy is eight years old when his parents remove him from school. He has a private tutor now. It is rather boring. He wants to go outside, but he is rarely allowed to. Only in the company of his parents.

The boy is ten years old when the riots start. He sees them through the window. People in masks, burning cars, looting buildings. More than once, they break into his house. They steal. They destroy. They terrify him. But they do not hurt him.

His parents consider leaving. This city is dangerous and frightening. But there is nowhere to go. And the military is here now. He likes the soldiers. They keep him safe. They make the scary people go away.

His parents say the riots will stop soon, that it will be safe to go outside again. And they are right. He gets to go play outside again. But the soldiers stay. He does not mind.

The boy is twelve when civil war breaks out. The soldiers force them to leave the city. They have nothing now. His parents do not know where to go. They spend a long time talking about it.

They find a refugee camp. Everyone here looks sad, save the very young children. But that is only because they do not understand anything. They annoy him.

The boy is thirteen when the camp is attacked. It is utter chaos. Gunfire. People running everywhere. Blood and dead bodies. He is told to flee, and he does.

He makes it to the forest. There are many children with him. He does not know where his parents are. There is only one adult here. And she is wounded. - Excerpt from page 358
292. ↑ There was a pause as footsteps stomped toward the door. She cracked the door open and looked through. “What?” As of today, she was still only two years older than him, but she looked like more than that. It was so unfair that girls got to mature more quickly than boys. - Excerpt from page 593
293. ↑ 293.0 293.1 “Wow,” said Alicia. “That was impressive.” She was the one looking down at Emiliana now, though not for lack of sincerity. At thirteen, she was a year younger, but her height suggested otherwise. It seemed strange that she could be related to such a tiny woman as Octavia.

Emiliana adjusted her dark mask and buried her claws in her pockets.

“I think you scuffed up the pillar, though,” Alicia added with a smirk.

She saw the faint claw marks. “Ah... I’m sorry. I used your madega last time and accidentally tore out a few chunks of the bark. Your gardener was upset.”

Alicia laughed. “It doesn’t matter. If anyone gets mad at you, just send them to me.”

They started walking together, with Chergoa following quietly.

“Anyway, it’s not just your brother, you know,” Alicia said. “Your sister is worried about you, too. And so am I.”

“...I appreciate your concern, but I am fine.”

“Have you eaten anything today?”

“...What day is today?”

“Friday.” - Excerpt from page 755
294. ↑ “I had trouble believing it as well,” said Luther. “After father’s funeral, I found Mrs. Zannis again. She has also been married for several years now--and quite happily, it would seem. But indeed, she confirmed the truth of Father’s confession.” - Excerpt from page 415
295. ↑ It was raining, but that was no rare thing, nor was it even that heavy. Already at the age of twelve, Marcos Elroy was accustomed to much more than this meager drizzle. There wasn’t even any flooding; he could still see the grass beneath the playground, or more accurately, beneath the platform on which the playground stood, on which the entire city stood. - Excerpt from page 590
296. ↑ “Ah.” Rofal took a swig of his alcohol. “My father and mother retired successfully some ten years ago now. Great man, my father. These days, some people question his lucidity--namely, my mother--but sometimes, I can still see that brilliance of his. That *ambition*. One moment, he’ll be talking about his great grandfather or his dead sister like they’re in the room; and then the next, he’ll be whispering to me about some secret store room he had built thirty years ago.”

“I met him once,” said Swank. “He offered to cut my hair for me. And replace it with possum fur. I’m still not sure if he was joking.”

Rofal laughed. “Apart from that, I have a few siblings. I inherited the business because my older sister, bless her, hates everything about it.” - Excerpt from page 90
297. ↑ He’d heard of the Marauder of Calthos before. A man responsible for the destruction of dozens of towns over the last decade. A rising star among the Abolish elite. Abolish didn’t really have formal “ranks,” as far as Zeff was aware, but from all he knew, this man before them was probably near Parson’s level of strength. - Excerpt from page 1080
298. ↑ '*Years of immersing myself in modern Intarian culture. The majority of Intarians won't see this as their problem. Which, in fairness, it isn't. Plus, the Intarian Congress has been in a state of complete deadlock for nearly a decade now. They can barely pass even the simplest of legislation. Unless that somehow changes, I don't see them suddenly agreeing to go to war on some other country's behalf.*' - Excerpt from page 2178
299. ↑ 299.0 299.1 For this reason, Raul was about ten months older than his brothers as a servant. Considerable time had been needed for him to not only manifest his ability, but also to develop it to a perceptible and manipulable degree, because for quite a while, Raul's ability to alter friction had been extremely weak and difficult to use. - Excerpt from page 2221
300. ↑ "But as I said, House Gaolanet's role in the AFA is a shadow of what it once was. They once held tremendous influence within it, but I think that may have also been before the AFA developed into such an espionage-heavy organization."

Hector was still trying to wrap his head around all this new information. "So... all the spy stuff came *after* the Gaolanets left?"

The King bobbed his head. "That may be oversimplifying how it all transpired, but yes, I believe that speaks to the core of what happened."

"Hmm."

"Nine or ten years ago now--perhaps you will recall--there was an international incident between Atreya and Rendon. At the time, we had another government agency called His Majesty's Royal Intelligence Bureau, or the RIB. It was caught red-handed bribing a Rendon ambassador, and so Rendon demanded His Majesty the King--Helen's father--shut down the RIB or risk war."

That story didn't ring a bell at all, but Hector supposed that wasn't so surprising, considering he would've been about seven years old.

"Helen's father capitulated to Rendon," said the King, "though not without considerable negotiation and concessions on Rendon's part. However, the RIB was not truly destroyed. It was merely folded up into the AFA in secret." - Excerpt from pages 2111 and 2112
301. ↑ If only her father hadn't been removed as the Director of the Agency of Foreign Affairs. To Pauline's mind, that seemed to be the inciting incident that allowed all of these other things to follow.

If only Hanton Gaolanet had remained an advisor to King Martinus III.

Even now, nine years later, Pauline still wasn't sure why that had happened. Her father rarely spoke of it. And as she wasn't one to shy away from awkward questions, she had of course tried--multiple times by now--asking him about it directly, but he never really gave her a straight answer. - Excerpt from page 2173
302. ↑ 302.0 302.1 "Very well..." The King took a moment to think. "I have heard that you and Martinus butted heads rather strongly on the matter of militarization. And to be quite blunt with you, I have heard that you were quite the warmongerer, which was what ultimately made him decide to relieve you off your advisory role."

'*Ah.*'

Hector found that a little surprising. Thus far, Hanton Gaolanet hadn't struck him as the warring type at all. From their previous conversation, that seemed like the last thing that Hanton would want.

Unless he'd been lying, of course.

'*The truth, then, may confuse you*,' said Hanton. '*Militarization is not a simple process--or even easy to define, necessarily. There are many methods of waging war, and not all of them involve building tanks and munitions factories. On the whole, I was actually AGAINST militarization. Martinus was much more interested in pursuing it than I was.*'

"Excuse me?" said the King. "Are you trying to claim that it was *Martinus* who was the warmongerer, not you?"

The Sparrow paused for a long sigh. '*Well... yes. While I would not say that I opposed every aspect of militarization, the basic sentiment is the same.*'

The King's expression spoke of doubt, and he shook his head. "Pardon me, but that flies in the face of virtually everything that I have heard about both him *and* you."

'*Oh? I am relieved to hear that, then. Because that, too, is as I intended it.*'

The King was certainly no longer alone in his apparent confusion now. "What in the world do you mean by that?"

'*After Martinus fired me, I... took fairly dramatic action. It would have been a problem if the rest of the world perceived the King of Atreya as an aggressor.*'

"What did you do, exactly?" asked the King.

'*In short? I redirected perceptions of his policies and ideals onto myself. Since I was already ousted from his inner circle, I could be safely regarded as an outlier whose opinion no longer held any power*.'

"Yes, but *how* did you do that?"

'*Oh, it was not easy. The endeavor consumed my life for several years. Following members of the royal court, tweaking their memories, their perceptions. It was a constant project, and it pushed me to the brink of exhaustion. I was sure that I had missed some, but if you really had no inkling as to Martinus' true views, then perhaps I did a better job than I thought.*' - Excerpt from pages 2239 and 2240
303. ↑ Mehlsanz nodded. ‘*I wouldn’t normally agree to such a request, but after all Valencia had been through, I wanted to give her a chance at a quiet life. For a while, at least. I thought maybe she could find someone to fall in love with, and I’d let her grow old with that person, and then afterward, I’d release her and return to fighting Abolish with a new servant. And besides, I sort of wanted a break from the fighting, myself.*’

“I’m guessing that didn’t go over so well with your bosses.”

‘*They refused. If she wouldn’t fight, I had to release her, no exceptions. I protested, and then they imprisoned me and told me that if I didn’t release her, they’d have to kill me. So I released her. And at the first opportunity, I fled.*’

‘*And they didn’t come after you?*’

‘*I hid for a while, with decreasing levels of success. And now, Helen’s status is the only thing protecting me. The Vanguard won’t kill the ruler of a nation that’s not under Abolish’s control.*’

“You’ve had it rough,” said Roman.

Helen frowned. “I am sorry for all you have had to endure, Mehlsanz, but I must do whatever I can to protect Atreya--even if it means aligning with people you do not approve of.”

‘*I know.*’

Voreese tilted her ghostly, feathered head. ‘*The Vanguard didn’t used to be like that. They’ve always been self-righteous pricks, but I’ve never known them to go that far. What changed?*’

‘*I’m not sure, honestly. I first noticed their harsher rules a few years ago. I can’t recall a particular incident.*’ - Excerpt from page 196
304. ↑ ‘*Right. The variation in Abolish’s beliefs has been growing rather rapidly in recent years. According to the Rainlords, it’s even gotten to the point where Abolish has become this weird melting pot of personality cults.*’

‘*You mean for more than just Morgunov and Dozer?*’

‘*Yes. Apparently, there’s also been some very divisive rhetoric going around within their ranks. There’ve even been rumblings about a secret group of Abolish reformists. Though, maybe they’re not so secret anymore, if we’re hearing about them now.*’ - Excerpt from page 1486
305. ↑ "You think the Fellowship has the kind of men you're looking for?"

"Well, I know they have *different* men, at the very least. They've been trying to entice me to join for years, but I've always been reluctant to take the plunge." - Excerpt from page 3012
306. ↑  Truthfully, a part of Jercash had been expecting this. It was only a few years ago that the Hawk had been hunting the Weasel down--and not being very subtle about it, either. Jercash had to go to great lengths in order to protect Vanderberk, which eventually deterred Graves. Or seemed to. - Excerpt from page 3445
307. ↑ Over the many long years of having Ivan as his subordinate/unwilling test subject, Morgunov had learned a thing or two about suppressing servant abilities. The Salesman of Death was arguably the best at that, after all--or at least, he *was*, until a few years ago when Morgunov perfected the Mk. V design. - Excerpt from page 2674
308. ↑ “I doubt he would be able to help you here,” said Gohvis. “Koh bit Ivan’s head off a few years ago.” - Excerpt from page 1293
309. ↑ “Actually, no, wait, Morrison killed himself a few years ago, so I guess I’m fourth, now. Or at least, I *would* be, if Ericoros and I were still getting along.” - Excerpt from page 1309
310. ↑ Fortunately, he had some idea of what to look for--or *hoped* he did, at least. He had held a passing interest in ancient artifacts a few years ago, toward the end of his formal education. At the time, he hadn’t actually put much stake in such things. It was more of a guilty pleasure than anything, but needless to say, the very recent past had altered his opinion. Having encountered so many superhumans and ghosts--and now even a “god,” supposedly? - Excerpt from page 1511
311. ↑ “So where are you taking us?” the aberration asked. “Is it somewhere fun? Perhaps I’m being presumptuous, but I thought it might be somewhere very far east. Given your name and all. Will we get to see the Luthic Ocean? I have always wanted to go there. I heard there was a big resurgence in piracy there a few years ago. I would love to meet some real life pirates. Do you think we could do that? Oh! Or maybe you’ll take us all the way to Ardora! Maybe we could--!” - Excerpt from page 1169
312. ↑ Apparently, the reason they were under this impression was because, a few years ago, Lorent had a private security company on retainer called Greenworth.

A lesser known mercenary group who used servants, according to Garovel.

And according to Ravi Zaman, Greenworth had been involved in a number of national scandals, not the least of which was the sudden death of a politician. The details were disputed, however, with some claiming that Greenworth had actually been trying to save the man's life, not end it.

Hector wasn't sure what to make of that story. It sounded pretty shady, but at the same time, he had personal experience with extremely bad publicity. Maybe these Greenworth guys really were innocent.

In any case, President Allen Dance's predecessor had very publicly pushed to outlaw such government contracts with private security companies, and Greenworth had since left the country. Several members of the Security Council wanted Dance to help reverse that decision so that they could either bring Greenworth back or hire a new company to fill their shoes. - Excerpt from pages 2918 and 2919
313. ↑ However, Voreese answered first. '*His name is Allen Dance, and he was elected under highly unusual circumstances. His opponent, Clark Griffon was the previous President who was running for a third and final term, and by all accounts, it seemed like Dance was going to be crushed in a landslide. But one day before the final debate was to be held, Griffon dropped out of the race with no explanation.*'

Hector blinked. Come to think of it, he thought he remembered hearing about some crazy political stuff like that a few years ago.

'*Griffon's party nearly dissolved overnight*,' Voreese went on. '*They managed to prop up a last minute replacement for him to debate Dance, but Dance absolutely wiped the floor with him.*' - Excerpt from page 2506
314. ↑ '*Ah, yes*,' said Hanton. '*This nation is being pulled in multiple directions, at the moment. The political factions here have been split on a variety of subjects for several years now, but primarily, it all revolves around militarization. Lorent has historically relied very heavily on Intar to help secure its borders, but a growing number of congressional representatives have been arguing that Lorent needs to become more militarily independent.*' - Excerpt from page 2504
315. ↑ At the moment, though, Mariana didn’t have the time or patience to listen to Joana’s questions or ramblings. As soon as Joana confirmed that she did not have a reaper for Marcos, Mariana hung up and called three other Rainlord families. House Garza, House Merlo, and House Delaguna. They were the only other ones without ties to the Vanguard, but as Mariana had expected, none of them had any reapers available, either. The tradition of turning one’s own children into servants was a custom exclusive to the Vanguardian Rainlords, so it was unsurprising that they were not keeping any spare reapers around. Supposedly, House Blackburn had cut ties with the Vanguard a few years ago, but Mariana didn’t know that family well enough. This matter was too important to entrust to strangers. - Excerpt from page 715
316. ↑ Octavia made her way toward the next painting over. She nudged Marcos with her elbow as she passed. “Wendy can be a real downer sometimes, but he’s not wrong. See this one here? I commissioned it a few years ago.”

An enormous canvas depicted a castle engulfed in flames. As he looked closer, he realized that the silhouette within was the same as that of Red Lake. And above it, a rift in the deeply gray clouds allowed sunlight to shine through. The title at the bottom read, ‘The Day of Clear Sky.’ - Excerpt from page 762
317. ↑ And he called on each of those material enhancements now as he created something that had been in his mind for years but that he had never quite been able to manage without forma to help him.

The body of it was a long tube of soul-strengthened ice, thick enough to withstand cannon fire--because that was exactly what this was going to be: an enormous cannon. Only without the fire. - Excerpt from page 933
318. ↑ Regarding the Amir-10, however, he had managed to make additional improvements to it. Its self-repairing mechanism now worked more quickly. About fifty percent faster, in fact. Quite a shocking gain, he felt. Most likely, it was due not just to the Forge facilitating the process but also because it had been a few years since he and Haqq had last worked on the Amir-9. The progression in their skill was undoubtedly a factor. - Excerpt from page 3063
319. ↑ She was far from an expert on these things, however. While decorating had been a passion of hers ever since she was a little girl, she had never actually owned her own place for long enough to really get invested in it. Her acting career had taken over her life for the last several years, so her love for interior design had mostly been relegated to watching home makeover shows on television and ogling pictures of pretty houses on the internet. - Excerpt from page 1787
320. ↑ Graham Hallick was the Vantalayan Prime Minister. He was the one who'd been spearheading the effort to centralize almost everything in the country over the last few years. The banks, agriculture, entertainment--one industry at a time, every company in the country had been forced to employ a "team of government liaisons" who would ensure that "the needs of the nation came before the needs of the company."

And apparently, economic growth had been explosive. Until Ridgemark broke away, that was. - Excerpt from page 2999
321. ↑ The other one he'd heard of was the Linebreaker, but he could've sworn that nickname belonged to a Vanguardian who was famously gigantic. The name supposedly came from his ability to charge headlong into a defensive formation like a bull and still make it back alive. If he was working for the RPMP now, then it must have been a fairly recent change. Not more than a few years, probably. - Excerpt from page 2998
322. ↑ “Why? It’s not too late to change my mind. I’m not above going back on my word. Even when it’s in writing. Remember that contract with Genuto Motors a few years ago? Never paid those fuckers a thing.”

“I remember them suing you,” said Gina.

“And I remember them dropping it after one of their server rooms mysteriously caught fire,” said Roman. - Excerpt from page 1800
323. ↑ '*A billionaire servant living in Atreya? You may be good at fooling people with your disguises, but you'll have to do better than that in order to remain under the radar of Sparrows. In truth, I've known about you for a few years.*' - Excerpt from page 2333
324. ↑ Agh, but he also had to conserve funds. And from what he’d come to learn of Sniderian financial law, all purchases over a thousand *marcks* were supposed to be logged and reported to the government for monitoring. The country had been infamous for its financial crimes a few years back, and international pressure had mounted in a pretty frightening way for the government here, as he recalled. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 2
325. ↑ “Ah, I see. You’re a man of real taste, then! Orden is a great little town. And quiet, of course, yeah, I understand that. Unfortunately, I’d say we’re not quite as quiet as we used to be, what with being so close to the capital ‘n all. That city’s been growing like mad in recent years. That’s somethin’ we’ve all been worried about, actually. Don’t want our humble country lifestyle to disappear as those city lines inch closer, but ya know how it goes, sometimes. Not much we can do about that, eh?” - Excerpt from side story 1 page 2
326. ↑ Malcolm remained silent for a moment, mulling it over. "Ever heard the name Keith Hopper?"

Colt did, of course, but he didn't see any point in admitting that. Besides, he had no plausible way to explain how he could've come by such knowledge. He doubted Malcolm would believe him if he told him that he'd heard it from a fucking ghost. "No. Who's that?" Plus, this was a good opportunity to learn more about the guy.

"A real sick bastard," said Malcolm. "Rex put him behind bars a few years back when he was still working in Lagoroc. I think Hopper held onto that grudge for a long time and finally found a way to get his revenge." - Excerpt from side story 1 page 59
327. ↑ ‘*The nurse asked Melissa about it. She said her mother died nine years ago. She didn't mention any other family.*’ - Excerpt from page 41
328. ↑ Mariana wasn’t very fond of unexpected visitors. Perhaps she’d just spent too many years in places where such visits only ever meant that someone had come to kill her. Marriage and children had not softened her in that regard. If anything, they had made it worse. Or *better*, depending on one’s viewpoint. All of her children knew how to hold, fire, and clean a few different types of firearms--even Ramira, who was nine years old. - Excerpt from page 635
329. ↑ She'd experienced a couple brief crushes in middle and high school, perhaps, but she'd never pursued them or even given them much real thought. She hadn't had the time. She'd known since she was ten years old that she wanted to join the Queen's Guard. Well, okay, back then it had technically been the King's Guard, but still. She had devoted herself utterly to that end. - Excerpt from page 2122
330. ↑ 330.0 330.1 330.2 330.3 The children are all panicking. The boy is no exception. The only adult is too injured to move and bleeding profusely, but she tries to direct them. She tells them to find help but to also stay hidden. The boy is the oldest of the group. She appoints him to look after everyone. He is to lead a search. He is more terrified than he has ever been. She tells him to be strong for the others.

They set out. Hours pass without results. The others are complaining. They are tired and hungry. He leads them back. When they return, they find the woman dead. The children who remained with her are now missing. The others are losing it.

Four more children appear. They had been hiding. Soldiers came and took everyone else, they say. After killing the woman.

Including himself, there are eleven children. They look to him for guidance. He has no idea what to do. The fear does not go away. But neither does the hunger. He has everyone split up and look for food. When they reconvene, there are only ten. They look for the eleventh and find his body.

A week later, there are nine. A month later, there are eight. That one was not lost to the wilderness. That one was killed by a stranger. They had found the edge of the forest, found a ransacked town, thought the lone man there would help them. That was not the case.

They flee back into the forest.

Four years pass.

There are five of them now. Mira, Loren, Kaul, Trill, and the boy. Sickness took the others, but these five have survived. The boy has taught them to fish. Loren has taught them to hunt. Mira has taught them to climb. Together, they have learned to build shelters. Together, they have also learned to steal. And to kill.

There is a road along the western edge of the forest. Asking travelers for help has never gone well. They have learned not to trust outsiders. They are bandits now. - Excerpt from page 359
331. ↑ For a while, he merely listened to the motorcycle and the wind roaring together. *‘When I was younger, uh... my parents both struggled to find work. They’d often have to take jobs in separate cities--I guess because the bills were piling up or something. They were always trying to readjust things so that they could both get a job in the same place. So, ah... we ended up moving around a lot. And there was this one time... when I was about ten... and, um... ah... b-basically, they, uh... they left me behind.’*

Silence drew out, and Garovel waited for Hector to continue.

*‘I spent, like, almost a month in foster care, I think... and then the police found me. My parents thought they’d lost me somewhere in the new city. They didn’t, uh... they didn’t realize I was missing until like a week after the move...’*

*‘A week is rather specific,’* said Garovel. *‘How do you know it took them that long?’*

*‘Well, on the way back, the cops were really happy. Um... they told me it was amazing, because I’d been missing for three weeks... and I knew it had been longer.’* - Excerpt from pages 206 and 207
332. ↑ 332.0 332.1 Hector regathered himself and asked, “How, um... how long have you been a servant?”

“Six years or so.”

‘*He says six years*,’ said Hector.

‘*Odd.*’

“What about you?” said Roman.

“Oh, uh.” He recalled what Garovel had told him previously about keeping his faster growth a secret, but he wasn’t sure what an appropriate lie would be. “About seven months, I think...” It hadn’t even been four yet, but he remembered telling Gina five a couple months ago. - Excerpt from page 536
333. ↑ “How dull.” Octavia offered Emiliana a pert smile. “They never tell you that once you grow powerful enough, people tend to stop trying to fight you. I have not had a real fight in four years."

‘*Six, actually*,’ her reaper said. - Excerpt from page 710
> *Dear Mr. Caleb Hammerwell,
>
> Thank you for the letter. Your questions have given me a lot to think about. It seems to me that bravery is a funny thing. You say that I’m brave as if it’s an obvious fact, but I’ve never felt very brave at all. The things I’ve done that you might say were brave, I would instead argue that those were just things that had to be done. Because if I hadn’t at least tried to do them, then something bad would have happened.
>
> So I think that’s my answer to your questions, Caleb. Don’t worry about being brave. Just focus on figuring out what the right thing to do is--and then doing it whenever you can. It might be really hard, sometimes, so don’t worry too much if you mess up. A good friend of mine once told me that we shouldn’t respond to failure with sadness. We should respond by becoming better, until our best is good enough to succeed.
>
> Sorry if that wasn’t the answer you were looking for. And congrats on turning seven.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Hector Goffe*
>
>

 - Excerpt from page 3472
335. ↑ “No,” said Roman. “I didn’t meet Gina until about a year later.” - Excerpt from page 535
336. ↑ ‘*Because he has been friends with my brother for five years, and I have known him just as long.*’ - Excerpt from page 628
337. ↑ 337.0 337.1 337.2 337.3 “You don’t want to do this,” Randall said darkly. “We know who you are, Mr. Elroy. You’ve only been a servant for two years. I’ve been one for four. My friends here, three and five. Do the smart thing and surrender.” - Excerpt from page 697
338. ↑ 338.0 338.1 338.2 ‘*If that’s really how you feel, then why did you even agree to join the Vanguard with me in the first place?*’

‘*Because that was when you were all passionate and adorable about everything. I couldn’t tell you no. But now that you’re a turgid old curmudgeon, I can.*’

‘*You’re talking about four years ago.*’ - Excerpt from page 867
339. ↑ 339.0 339.1 It hadn’t taken much more convincing to get the group to agree to follow the stranger, who soon identified himself as a biologist, anthropologist, historian, and “generally curious individual” by the name of Carver.

“How did you end up here?” Diego asked as the man led them to wherever they were going.

“Oh, it’s a rather long story, but the unfortunate point of it is that my companions and I were separated during an exploratory venture. Not to worry, though. My companions and I were eventually reunited. But at that time, I decided to stay, as I had grown quite fond of this place.”

Hector, and perhaps everyone else present, found that difficult to comprehend.

Zeff posed the next question. “How long have you been down here?”

“Ah, I would wager that it is going on five years or so now,” said Carver. “It has been quite the educational adventure. Full of more thrills than I care to remember. But from the looks of your lot, I somehow begin to think that my own tales would fail to impress.” - Excerpt from page 1414
340. ↑ “Oh well. Frankly, I’m surprised Ettol managed to get even one of you here, let alone two.” - Excerpt from page 1493
341. ↑ A meeting between Ettol and Malast.

Words were being spoken in it, but they were incomprehensible. Silhouettes and even faces were being shown in it, but they were distorted and crumbling. Everything was off, like looking through some kind of swirling and cracked window, where even the light on the other side of it was fading away.

But even so, Royo was able to distinguish three things.

The first was that Ettol was not alone. He had a companion with him. A large, monstrous companion. The second, was that Ettol, judging from his skin tone, seemed to be a surface-dweller. But the third and final thing was, by far, what Royo found the most strange.

Ettol had a single horn on his head. - Excerpt from page 1570
342. ↑ Imas picked up where her brother left off. “The eggs were supposed to leave Babbadelo over a month ago, but the railway line that they need to use also happens to pass very close by a recently discovered worm nest.” - Excerpt from page 1339
343. ↑ Torveis sighed again. “We are prisoners in this place. And our keeper, Seyos, is ever watchful. Even now, he may be listening. However, as I am still standing here, perhaps he is not.”

Zeff just kept listening.

“Seyos wields tremendous power, and we are at his mercy. But that is not enough for him. He often gives us tasks to complete for him. He transports us to distant locations--sometimes with him, sometimes not--and forces us to aid him in collecting valuables. By now, it must be an absurd volume, but I do not know where he keeps it all or to what end he means to utilize it. I imagine, however, that wherever it is, you will find your kin there.”

Zeff was silent as he processed all of this information.

‘*You have no idea how we can get there?*’ said Ax, still attached to Zeff’s back.

“I know that Seyos can see and travel through every mirror in Himmekel, but I do not think he is limited to that. I think it is merely the most convenient for him.”

“None of this explains why that Hun’Sho man laughed at us,” said Zeff.

Torveis hesitated and looked around. The black street had emptied, and only the tall Lemoros had remained by Torveis’ side. The two elder Hun’Sho exchanged nods.

“The children do not know of Seyos,” said Torveis. “And in recent years... Seyos has stopped giving tasks to the elders. He has been giving them to the children. And... they have not been returning.”

Zeff’s eyes widened.

‘*Your children have been disappearing?*’ said Ax.

Lemoros interjected. “We do not truly know that he has been giving them the same manner of tasks that he had been giving us. We have only been assuming that, as it seemed the most obvious explanation. But... as not even one of them has returned, I have begun to suspect that Seyos is doing something else with them.”

“We tried to tell the children that those who have disappeared simply chose to leave Himmekel on their own,” said Torveis, “but it seems they have stopped believing us. Assuming they ever did.”

“They are far smarter than we have ever given them credit for,” said Lemoros. “It was a mistake to lie to them.”

Torveis shook his head. “It was undesirable and even heart-wrenching, but it was *not* a mistake. If Seyos discovered that we had told them about him--”

“He would do, what?” said Lemoros, sounding more frustrated than Zeff had yet heard from any Hun’Sho. “Abduct them? As he is doing now? We should have done more to prepare them. Our inaction is to blame.”

‘*You’ve been Seyos’ prisoners here for a thousand years, no?*’ said Ax.

“Roughly, yes,” said Torveis.

‘*Yet you said that these abductions started only recently. What prompted them?*’

The Hun’Sho exchanged glances again.

“The arrival of Ettol and Carver, no doubt,” said Lemoros. “Seyos has always been rather forceful and demanding, but he never harmed any of us, as he appears to be doing now. I do not know what has come over him or why.” - Excerpt from pages 1543 and 1544
344. ↑ Seyos’ eyes fell upon his stone desk in the middle of the chamber, upon the bodiless core currently sitting upon it.

A terrible shame. One day, such intelligent and probing minds would be of tremendous value to the Hun’Sho again, but right now, they were only a nuisance. *Too much* so, sadly. Seyos hated having to do this to his own kin, but he knew all too well that they simply would not understand what needed to be done for the continued survival and resurgence of the Hun’Sho.

He picked up the core of young Jasirok and gripped it in the palm of his molten hand. “With this sacrifice,” he whispered, “you will do unto our enemies as they once did unto us.”

Seyos took a few moments to simply breathe, long and deeply, feeling the weight of the deed that he was about to do. He had done it far too many times, these past few years. It was all for the preservation of his people. Even if they eventually discovered what he was doing and hated him for it. - Excerpt from page 1547
345. ↑ And then, Ettol appears in Himmekel.

The boy is terrified. Everything will begin to change now. He knows that Ettol’s arrival will bring more outsiders to them. His kin are in danger again. He must take drastic action. Because...

Because he knew that...

He knew...

He knew...?

He...? - Excerpt from page 1569
346. ↑ 346.0 346.1 He did so. “How much do you know about the Queen, anyway?”

‘*Not much. I know she’s quite young for a functional monarch. Still in her early thirties, I believe. And I know it was a big deal when she was appointed by her father.*’

“Oh yeah, I remember that. It was only like four years ago, wasn’t it?”

‘*Yeah. She’s the youngest of eight direct descendants, and all seven of her siblings are male. The King broke Atreyan royal tradition in a big way by choosing her.*’

“That’s right... I remember ‘cause everyone thought she’d rule in name only or just... have her power taken away as soon as her father died... but he died like a year later, and nothing’s changed. Well... until now, I guess...” - Excerpt from page 124
347. ↑ The way that the Old Man had talked to them on that first day, he'd made it sound like they would be able to achieve greatness through following him. Like they all had conqueror's spirits within them, just waiting to burst out.

But it was five years later, and here he still was among the rabble, watching what passed for a "stage show" in Abolish encampments. - Excerpt from page 2582
348. ↑ “Hmph, that means nothing. The last time we fought was four years ago.” - Excerpt from page 1259
349. ↑ “Proof?” said Luther. “You are correct. In this, I can offer you none. However, I *can* offer you personal testimony that our father was not the man you thought he was.”

“Haven’t you already done that?”

“I assure you, this is something different. Do you remember a young woman named Rita Zannis?”

David thought back. He was about to say no when the name abruptly registered. He eyed Luther anew, beginning to sense where this was going. “You had a courtship with her, unless I’m mistaken.”

The other prince snorted. “I am not sure ‘courtship’ is the appropriate word. She was a commoner. Our correspondence was hardly formal. But I was certainly infatuated with her. More than any other woman I have ever met.”

“Excluding your wife, of course, yes?”

And Luther just looked at him. The man was not known for his warmth, but the stare he gave now had to be among the coldest David had ever seen from him.

David’s head reared back. As enigmatic as his brother was, that one expression told him more about Luther than anything in the last ten years.

Luther chose to move on. “My relationship with Ms. Zannis came to an abrupt end, you may recall. It was her decision. Or so I was led to believe.”

“You’re telling me Father was responsible?”

“Yes.”

David frowned. “Then you have my sympathy, but not my surprise. You are not the first of us to have had his love life distorted in such a way.”

“I was planning to elope with her,” Luther added. “I was ready to give up my status and flee the country, if necessary.”

“Again, my sympathies, but--”

“Father learned of my intentions. He told her that he would have her entire family killed unless she refused me. And the only reason I know this, is because Father confessed it to me himself. On his deathbed, no less. Mere days before the end.” - Excerpt from page 414
350. ↑ The Queen rolled her eyes and sighed. “I outlawed torture three years ago.” - Excerpt from page 747
351. ↑ “Ah...” Zeff shook his head. He was in for an embarrassing conversation, it seemed. “I’m sorry, but I have no idea. My relationship with Gema is... strained. I’ve not spoken to her in over two years.”

“Please, take a moment to think. This is very important. Anything you can tell us about her whereabouts could be helpful. A hiding place she had as a child, perhaps.”

After a beat, he frowned. “I’m sorry, ensir. I honestly have no clue.”

Lawrence eyed Axiolis.

‘*Sorry. I don’t have any idea, either.*’

Lawrence threw a quick glance at Dergoz on his arm. “There must be something you two can tell me. You’ve both known her since she was born.”

Zeff wasn’t sure how else he could phrase it, so he just said, “I’m sorry, ensir.”

The General’s expression hardened. “You are putting me in a very difficult position, Captain.”

“I wish we could be more help to you, General, but--”

‘*Enough*,’ said Dergoz suddenly.

Zeff hadn’t realized the reaper had even been listening.

‘*I didn’t think Rainlords were in the habit of lying*,’ said Dergoz, not sounding particularly sleepy.

Zeff raised an irate eyebrow. “I am not lying.”

“Dergoz, let me--”

‘*Silence*.’

Axiolis hovered closer to Zeff. ‘*Something is wrong here*,’ he said privately.

Zeff was beginning to get that impression, too.

‘*It is vital that we find Gema Elroy*,’ said Dergoz. ‘*You are her father. If you do not know where she is, then who does?*’

“I don’t know. She has not been home in over two years.” - Excerpt from page 672
352. ↑ 352.0 352.1 Garovel hung around throughout his first few classes, making the occasional remark about how no one in the room was about to die or pointing out an inaccuracy in the teacher’s lecture. Honestly, Hector was glad for the company, strange as it was, but he wasn’t entirely sure why the reaper was staying. Surely, Garovel had better things to do than observe a second-year geography lesson about the Eloan continent’s tropical regions. Hector refrained from asking about it, however, figuring it might prompt Garovel to leave. - Excerpt from page 22
353. ↑ 353.0 353.1 He nearly sighed. ‘*What prompted this change of heart, anyway? We’ve been together for almost two years now, and you didn’t start acting this way until a couple months ago.*’

‘*It was Germal’s doing*,’ she said.

‘*Germal? That guy with the horn in his head? Seriously?*’

‘*He made me doubt the Void--doubt that I can truly feel its presence. And now, I... I’m certain that I can’t. It’s all been a lie. I used to believe it so strongly, but that was only because I wanted to hear it, to know its grandeur. I was pretending--so much so that I even fooled myself. But the Void isn’t real. It’s a mad dream.*’ - Excerpt from page 313
354. ↑ “I would be happy to talk about any subject you please,” said Diego. “But why is it that this Sosho’Diyu seems to interest you so?”

‘*Good*,’ said Yangéra privately.

“Ah, it is just--you see, the last group of outsiders to visit us were very keen on the subject, so I thought you might be as well.”

A rational explanation for the coincidence, Diego supposed. He allowed himself to relax, somewhat. But it did bring up another string of questions. “When did this last group of outsiders visit you, exactly?”

“Oh, it must have been a couple years ago now.”

“Hmm. You’re sure about that? You don’t have trouble keeping track of the days down here? On the surface, we’ve got the sun to go by.”

“The sun?” said Jasirok, almost laughing. “Ah, yes, I seem to recall reading about that method of timekeeping. Very quaint, but not at all necessary when one can feel the rotation of Eleg in one’s chest.”

Diego blinked. “Your brethren kept telling me about how ‘close’ they were to the planet, but I didn’t think it extended that far.”

“Indeed. It is about midday now, if you were wondering.”

“Heh, I guess I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Yangéra decided to interject. ‘*This previous group of outsiders--are these the same people whom Carver arrived here with?*’

“Yes, they are. Why do you ask?”

‘*It’s just, didn’t Carver come here five years ago? Not two?*’

“He did, yes. But his companions returned for him two years ago. I was surprised when he did not leave with them. I suppose he simply found the Vault of Paradise to be exactly that, hmm?” - Excerpt from page 1452
355. ↑ Carpentry club had been the real surprise, however. Word had gotten around of Hector’s tumble down a flight of stairs, and when he had hobbled into the clubroom, thinking he would get a bit more work done on his helm, he had been assailed with a slew of inquiries and concerns about his health from everyone in the club. People who had ignored him for the past year were suddenly talking to him again. He handled the situation the best way he knew how. By running away. Or waddling briskly away, at least. - Excerpt from page 123
356. ↑ 356.0 356.1 ‘*I, uh... I saw them having sex in the clubroom.*’

Garovel stared at him a moment. ‘*Uh. Huh.*’

‘*Yeah... I mean, I just walked in on them and... yeah...*’

‘*What did you do?*’

‘*I ran away. Which... probably wasn’t the right thing to do. They’d seen me. So... maybe I shoulda just talked to them, but... I... that... there was just no way...*’

‘*I can imagine.*’

Hector proceeded outside through the front of the school. ‘*But, um... anyhow, to make a long story short, uh... I mean, I wasn’t going to tell anyone about what I saw... but I kinda... ended up telling Ms. Trent.*’

‘*Ah. Damn, Hector.*’

‘*Yeah... I-I tried not to tell her, but... uh... Ms. Trent already had her suspicions, I guess... and... she sorta cornered me... and I just... I don’t know. I couldn’t lie about it. And I should have...*’ He shook his head. ‘*I really fucking should have...*’

Garovel gave a sympathetic shrug. ‘*You just told the truth. Why does everyone in the club hold that against you?*’

‘*Because... Katrina and Jamal were both expelled, and now they have to repeat a year.*

‘*Oh. Yikes.*’

‘*I hadn’t, uh... I hadn’t actually done anything wrong, so... they couldn’t kick me out of the club, but...*’

‘*They ignored you until you just left on your own.*’

‘*Pretty much...*’

‘*Is that when you decided to kill yourself?*’

Hector sighed. ‘*When you put it like that... it sounds even more pathetic...*’ - Excerpt from pages 222 and 223
357. ↑ ‘*Understand that they did not pick me lightly. They are entrusting their beloved daughter to me, and that is no small thing. Despite my friendship with Axiolis, your parents still corresponded with me for over a year before they became convinced that I would be a suitable partner for you. Us reapers are already rather difficult to come by, but when family is concerned, it is best to be extra picky. Wouldn’t you agree?*’ - Excerpt from page 624
358. ↑ "...How long ago was all this?" he chose to ask.

"About two and a half years, I guess." - Excerpt from side story 1 page 15
359. ↑ ‘*Before you died, I had been watching you for quite a while.*’

He looked up. “What...?”

‘*From the moment you decided to commit suicide, I could sense the aura of death around you.*’ The shadows of Garovel’s missing eyes seemed abruptly more intent upon him. ‘*That’s how it works. I sense death when the soul becomes directly imperiled. If you were about to get hit by a bus, I wouldn’t sense your death until you walked in front of the thing. Situations like that really suck. But for people like you, people who intend to commit suicide, I sense death when the decision is finalized in your mind.*’

He blinked. “Then... you must’ve been...”

‘*Yes. I was waiting for nearly seven months. That’s how long it took you to do it.*’ Garovel gave a small shrug. ‘*Not the longest I’ve ever seen, but definitely up there. I’d check on you from time to time, maybe two or three times a week. Eventually, I started to wonder why you were letting things drag out so much, why you didn’t just get it over with. And then I figured it out.*’ - Excerpt from page 13
360. ↑ 360.0 360.1 The accompanying image was that of an award ceremony. The anchor explained that the President of Lorent had granted one of the country's highest honors to someone two days ago, in recognition of an act of heroism that surprisingly had nothing to do with the continental war.

And then they showed actual footage of this ceremony.

Apparently, this hero was the young black guy standing there with a big scarf around his neck. They must've mentioned his name, but Cisco didn't catch it.

He was too busy staring with widening eyes at the person behind him.

That was Matteo Delaguna right there.

Cisco had met him many times. And sparred with him, too. Only to get his ass kicked.

Not that he'd been the only one.

Matteo was a wrestling prodigy, already distinguished among the Rainlords. Cisco distinctly remembered him from an interhouse tournament between the Sebolts, Delagunas, Garzas, Strouds, Zabats, and well, him, the lone Elroy. It had been almost two years ago now, but it had left a lasting impression on him. - Excerpt from page 2580
361. ↑ “How old are they?”

“Little over fourteen months. They’re twins, if you couldn’t already tell.” - Excerpt from page 404
362. ↑ 362.0 362.1 As ever, Lynnette observed Her Highness’s meetings in silence. Deliberations with the Minister of Defense took up most of the evening, as the man was--perhaps understandably--concerned about the troubling developments and conflicting reports in Sair. Lynnette imagined that the sudden talk of a possible civil war was unsettling to just about everyone on Eloa, so the fact that two entire countries, Lorent and Callum, both stood between Atreya and Sair was probably of little comfort to the minister. - Excerpt from page 741
363. ↑ 363.0 363.1 Helen pressed the button on the speaker box to allow her voice through. “It seems that the Minister of Finance and the Lord High Treasurer have both inexplicably left the country tonight.”

“Oh?” said Luther. “How curious.”

“What do you know of this matter?” Helen was not in the mood to mince words, but she doubted that would make much difference to Luther right now.

Luther took a seat on his milky white bed. His prisoner’s uniform was also white, but the thick vertical stripes of orange ensured plenty of visibility. “What makes you think I know anything?”

“I have multiple reports stating that you frequented the Royal Treasury over the past eighteen months,” the Queen said. - Excerpt from page 745
364. ↑ It didn’t help that there were conflicting accounts of how this treasure-hunting fever even got started in the first place. Diego said that they’d heard three separate tales now, the only shared trait among them being that it all began about a year ago when a foreigner came to town. - Excerpt from page 1357
365. ↑ '*There are several groups who might appear. The Morgunovs, the Andanatt, the Bloodmen, the Potrzask, the Andalero--and certainly the Old Wardens, if they still exist. And perhaps others, as well.*' - Excerpt from page 2146
366. ↑ Really, it had only been a few months since he first started hearing about the Fellowship, whereas it had been years since he'd last seen Germal. And at the rate they were growing, Germal had probably just made a list of servants he barely even knew and gave it to subordinates for this apparent recruitment drive of theirs. - Excerpt from page 2596
367. ↑ "There was an incident a few months ago," she went on, "wherein three members of Congress were convicted of treason." - Excerpt from page 2321
368. ↑ ‘*I think this whole business of throwing in with the Vanguard has blown up in your stupid little face.*’

‘*Thank you for that tremendous insight.*’

‘*Four years, you let them train you. And now they’ve involved us in this crap. I don’t know what’s going through their fat heads, but I don’t think this is the sort of thing you imagined us doing when you told me we should join.*’ - Excerpt from page 866
369. ↑ There were certainly a lot of people around. Surely, there had to be a good man here somewhere. It had been months since her last real relationship. Frankly, she was getting a bit desperate, and she knew it. Going this long without a boyfriend was just ridiculous. At this point, she was prepared to lower her standards quite a bit. - Excerpt from page 1780
370. ↑ 370.0 370.1 ‘*Right. What about that one chick I saw all over you a few months ago? Did you ever even learn her name?*’

‘*That was Bernice, and yes, while she was very forward, she was a foreigner who was only in town for the weekend, so the relationship didn’t last beyond that.*’

‘*But you did have sex with her, is my point.*’

‘*No, I didn’t.*’ Diego hesitated, not entirely certain he wanted to elaborate. ‘*In fact... things got a little awkward when I told her that I didn’t want to take things that far. I instead suggested trying a long-distance relationship first and seeing how things went. Her response was to kick me in the balls.*’

That information seemed to give Yangéra pause, perhaps because of how tragically believable it was. ‘*...What about that bimbo supermodel you were with just a few weeks back?*’

‘*She was NOT a bimbo! Her name was Marissa, and she was very nice! I only went to a couple ritzy parties with her as a favor. She was worried her friends would give her a hard time for showing up alone, so I played the role of studly arm candy. And maybe... sorta-kinda pretended to be her boyfriend a little.*’ - Excerpt from page 1449
371. ↑ “Wh-who sent these men to kill you?”

Mallory squinted. “How old are you? You sound like a kid.” At Hector’s silence, he said, “Rofal. Joseph Rofal.”

“Because you’re testifying in court a-against him?”

“Not against him. His little shit stain of a nephew. I was there. I saw him murder that boy. No more than ten years old. Dropped a cinderblock on top of the kid’s head. And then *laughed*. Fuckin’ little bastard--” He broke off for a pained cringe and began coughing. His skin had grown pale. Sweat covered his face. “And now I’m dying ‘cuz of that little fuck? I should’ve just... sh-should’ve just shot that piece of... stupid piece of shit...” The dreary look in his eyes seemed to suggest he had forgotten what he was saying. Or that he no longer cared. - Excerpt from page 36
372. ↑ “Also, they were kidnapped by a mob boss for nearly a month.” - Excerpt from page 405
373. ↑ ‘*The last couple weeks, I watched you quite a lot. That’s when I noticed. You were always alone.*’ Garovel paused. ‘*At school, you almost never speak to any of your classmates. Maybe it’s because you have such trouble communicating. Even here, in your own house, you’re very distant from your parents. I don’t think I ever saw you say more than a few words to them at a time.*’

He squinted hard, feeling the sudden tension behind his eyes, trying to keep it away.

‘*The reason you waited so long to kill yourself, it was because you were waiting for someone to stop you, wasn’t it?*’ - Excerpt from page 14
374. ↑ 374.0 374.1 He wasn’t sure how long the blood had been there, but it had begun staining the tile, so he guessed a few hours must have passed, at least. - Excerpt from page 8
375. ↑ 375.0 375.1 They walked for a long while in the dark, leaving the modesty of Hector’s inner city neighborhood for the downtown towers. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but judging by the fog gathering between the buildings, he guessed it was late enough to be considered early again. The air tram had not stopped running, though, carrying rowdy passengers above the street on its suspended rails, and loud music in the distance bridged the gaps not already filled by sirens. - Excerpt from page 15
376. ↑ Sneaking back into his house had been a chore. He couldn’t very well have gone through the front door; he was sure he would’ve woken one or both of his parents. So instead, he climbed up the wall to his bedroom window--a wall which clearly was not meant to be climbed. He lost count of how many times he fell. Garovel eventually just decided to empower his body again so that Hector could finally make it back up to his room and into the relief of his bed.

Too soon, however, his alarm clock went off.

‘*Oops, sorry. Time to get up.*’

He groaned into his pillow. “Oh, just... just fuck right off. Seriously... I wouldn’t get out of this bed right now if you set it on fire...”

Garovel tapped him on the head. ‘*It’s fine. You can catch up on your sleep later.*’

He felt his eyelids recede, the weight from them completely lifted. His exhaustion was gone, he realized, and he sat up. He glared at Garovel. “Why didn’t you just do that earlier?” He winced as aching pains vaulted from muscle to muscle all over his body. “And why don’t you do something about this soreness, too?”

‘*Sorry, but that really needs to go away on its own. I told you to expect pain, didn’t I?*’

He stood slowly and regretted every moment of it. “Agh, oww...”

‘*It’s bad if I keep putting off the recovery pains and exhaustion. They’ll just come back stronger later.*’

“You can’t just... ugh... keep putting it off forever?”

‘*Yeah, and then one day, I forget. Or we end up separated for a long time, and guess what happens? You experience pain that is so strong, it drives you* actually *insane.*’

He sighed. “Okay, fine...”

‘*You’re very cranky in the morning.*’

Hector blinked and flushed red. “Ah--I’m sorry. I didn’t, ah, I didn’t m-mean to be rude...”

Garovel seemed amused. ‘*It’s fine. Don’t look so worried.*’

He readied himself for school and left, not needing to say goodbye to his parents who were already gone, and he arrived at the bus stop just as it was pulling up to the curb. Garovel floated steadily along with him, even keeping pace with the bus right outside Hector’s window. No one sat next to him.

Calman High School was notoriously cramped. It sat on a crowded high street, its seven stories paling in comparison to every building around it, and since the property was nowhere near large enough to house any fields or facilities whatsoever, every last one of the school’s physical education courses and sports teams had to be exported to rented buildings. An eighth floor was being added in order to cope with the number of students, but that meager relief was still months from fruition.

Hector arrived at his morning mathematics class and took his seat in the back corner of the room, thankful at least for the walls on two sides of him instead of another pair of warm bodies breathing down his neck. - Excerpt from pages 20 and 21
377. ↑ Hector was just waiting for the day to end. After a while, he decided to try the reaper. ‘*Um... Garovel?*’

‘*Yeah?*’

He smiled faintly. ‘*Are you... er... Have you learned anything, yet?*’

‘*The case seems to be proceeding well. Better than I expected, in fact. I thought they would only be able to get him for attempted murder of the woman you saved, but they found evidence in his apartment which implicates him in the murders he committed previously as well.*’

‘*That’s good.*’

‘*Yes. Though, apparently you crushed the man’s windpipe.*’

‘*Oh shit... did... He’s not dead, is he? I wasn’t trying to--*’

‘*No, he’s alive. Somehow. I should’ve given you time to familiarize yourself with that level of strength.*’

‘*If you’d done that, then... we might not have made it to her in time...*’

‘*You make a fair point. By the way, her condition is good... Wait a minute.*’

Hector looked around the classroom, as if it would somehow help. ‘*Garovel?*’

‘*Uh-oh.*’

‘*What’s wrong?*’

‘*One of the police officers. I see the aura of death around him.*’ - Excerpt from page 28
378. ↑ A few minutes before the final bell, he slipped out of class. He could hear the instructor hollering at him for leaving early but ignored it and made his way down to the basement level. He was hoping he could get into the carpentry room before any of the club members arrived, but he ended up waiting for its last class to empty. He took to the corner, trying to be invisible, which was surprisingly easy with so many students, and when he spotted the welding mask that someone had yet to return to the storage rack, he gathered himself and reached out. He grabbed it, but so did someone else. - Excerpt from page 30
379. ↑ Night arrived by the time Hector reached the hospital. He tried to air out his freshly sweat-soaked clothes as he entered the building. - Excerpt from page 40
380. ↑ He took a long breath and sat up. It was still dark outside. No. That couldn’t be right. He looked at his clock. It was dark *again*. He must’ve slept the whole day. - Excerpt from page 46
381. ↑ He wanted to try again, but there wouldn’t be enough time before he had to leave for school. Instead, he stood and went for his bag. He pulled out the welding mask. - Excerpt from page 53
382. ↑ *Of course you can. Probably. Oh, hey, it’s that ponytail guy.*’

‘*Ponytail guy?*’

‘*You remember. You knocked his teeth out. I’m surprised he’s out of jail already. It’s barely been two days since he was arrested.*’ - Excerpt from page 61
383. ↑ Garovel merely continued observing. - Excerpt from page 72
384. ↑ 384.0 384.1 384.2 384.3 ‘*Best wake now*,’ the reaper said. ‘*People will start to wonder where you are if you miss more school again.*’

He rolled over. His body felt like a sack of bricks. “It’s the weekend...”

‘*Not anymore. You’ve been sleeping for four days.*’

“Ugh... of course I have...”

‘*I only slept for two. You’re a wuss.*’

He eyed the reaper incredulously and shook his head. “So you’re all recovered, I take it?”

‘*For the most part. C’mon, get up.*’

He groaned and sat over the side of his bed. “I feel fucking terrible...” As usual, everything hurt, his chest most of all. It had a kind of burning ache to it that made him regret each breath he took. “Agh, Garovel... why...?” He gave a laughing whimper. “This sucks so bad...”

‘*I know. I managed to mitigate some of it while you slept, but the next few days’ll be pretty rough.*’ - Excerpt from page 110
385. ↑ Geoffrey was decidedly *not* his uncle. Joseph Rofal understood that killing his employees for failure served no purpose. Geoffrey did not. Or perhaps he did and just didn’t care, because simply fleeing was also out of the question. Two men tried to leave the city the other day. Geoffrey had their heads in his office now.

The search for Colt had not been much better. Of the three men that Swank sent to retrieve Colt’s personnel file from the police station, only one returned, delivering a message to stop looking for the man. Geoffrey killed the poor bastard anyway.

He had no idea what to do at this point. The Rofal empire was a sinking ship, and its new captain didn’t give a shit, because he was a fucking shark. - Excerpt from page 129
386. ↑ “Three days ago, someone tried to assassinate the Queen.” - Excerpt from page 117
387. ↑ “Two days from now, you will begin to observe my brother Nathaniel’s chambers in secret.”

“Prince Nathaniel? May I ask why?”

“At that time, I am almost certain that someone will attempt to plant evidence that implicates him as the assassin. I want you to remove said evidence and then follow the person who planted it.” - Excerpt from page 121
388. ↑ ‘*Apparently, she’s scheduled a public press conference a few days from now, and they’re expecting more details then.*’

“Weird... It’s already been three whole days, right?”” - Excerpt from page 125
389. ↑ “Not really, no. When do I kill her?”

“Ah--as soon as possible. Preferably before her press conference two days from now.”

Geoffrey just grinned.

“W-we tried to kill her before, you see, but we failed, and now Prince Nathaniel is worried, um, that-that she is going to expose him, so--” - Excerpt from page 144
390. ↑ The plan was to spend the entire day learning, of course. Garovel had allowed him to skip school, even, which gave Hector some idea of how important the reaper considered this trip to be. And as expected, the going was quite slow. He first practiced low-speed turns. Garovel advised him that for this type of motorcycle, turning at higher speeds would require countersteering, but to even reach those higher speeds, he had to be able to shift gears in a passable manner, which was perhaps the hardest part. - Excerpt from page 138
391. ↑ Save the dwindling towers of Brighton, rolling green hills filled all horizons as he sped across the road. White and dark clouds spotted an otherwise blue sky, and Hector could see a faint drizzle gathering on the visor of his helmet. Garovel had pointed out that it was unsafe to continue using a helmet that had already been involved in a collision, and Hector had promised to find a new one at the earliest convenience, since they were obviously so safety conscious.

He couldn’t remember a time when he saw the Atreyan countryside so clearly. The most mundane things drew his gaze. A massive, lone tree, branches sprawling higher and wider than anything he’d seen in Brighton. A quaint flock of sheep grazing on a hill, shepherd and dog not far away. The faint shadow of eastern mountains on his right, thankfully not between him and Sescoria. - Excerpt from page 149
392. ↑ 392.0 392.1 Geoffrey’s return to the Rofal mansion had been a decidedly quiet one. Desmond had wanted him to stay in Sescoria, but Geoffrey thought he should be in Brighton in order to continue the family business. To his great disappointment, however, no one was here to meet him. For the past few days, he’d had the entire house to himself. - Excerpt from page 210
393. ↑ 393.0 393.1 Battonburg was a quiet little town. Buildings were architecturally ornate but never more than three stories. The small roads remained quiet, even in the middle of the day, and as Geoffrey looked for a place to park, he spotted a familiar reaper waving him down. He pulled into a diner and got out of his sleek, white sports car.

Ozmere floated over to him, with Moss lumbering not far behind. ‘*Hello again*,’ the reaper said.

“Hello. What are you doing here?”

‘*We wanted to make sure you didn’t wipe out the entire town.*’

Geoffrey pouted. “Aww, but that is the easiest way. I do not need to ask around about Colt if I just consume all their souls and read their minds.”

‘*Geoffrey, please. That sort of thing will attract the attention of the Vanguard’s aberration hunters. And trust me when I say that would not be fun for you.*’

“Bah.”

‘*Don’t be like that. We’ll make a game of it. We’ll talk to various people and if someone seems like they know something useful, THEN you can eat their soul. Agreed?*’

“Oh, very well.”

‘*Good.*’

“Is Desmond here, too?”

‘*No, he and Ezmortig are still in Sescoria. There is still much that needs overseeing. Our reinforcements arrived the other day, and Desmond’s been trying to help everyone get situated without drawing too much attention.*’ - Excerpt from page 218
394. ↑ “The Vanguard in Korgum wouldn’t even have a proper meeting with us, but we honestly couldn’t blame them. We were only there for a few days, but in that time, our plane was shot down, and we were attacked by Abolish patrols four separate times. I’m sure the Queen and I would have both died there if not for Roman.” She shook her head. “And afterwards, he was suddenly *much* stronger. Almost like a different person.”

Hector and Garovel exchanged glances. “Roman achieved emergence?”

“Yes. He ended up explaining that at length, too. Do you need me to relay what he said?”

“No, that’s okay... I, uh... I’ve had my own experiences with it.”

Her brow rose at that, but rather than inquiring further, she chose to continue her story. “The Vanguard there wouldn’t help us, because they were clearly dealing with a lot already, but they did point us in the direction of another division, which was in Callum. So we went there next. And without a plane, that trip took a while.

“The group we found was more accommodating than the ones in Korgum, but Her Highness was rather quick to become displeased. Something about her negotiations with them left her quite unhappy. They were kind enough to give us a tour of their facility, which was when I encountered the gauntlet. They were conducting experiments on it, and when the Queen mentioned having fought an aberration before, the person in charge of the study was rather eager to tell us more. Apparently, they were trying to discover the exact mechanism by which its power is made to grow. They thought that artifacts like this might provide insight into emergence in servants.” - Excerpt from page 440
395. ↑ First, the chin regrew. Bone cracked into existence, followed by arteries and muscles, then tendons, cartilage, meager fat, and dark brown skin. His neck drew out, down to the shoulders, then the chest and arms. And soon enough, Hector’s body was restored in full.

He did not wake immediately, however. He lay lifeless for several days more before his eyes finally opened again. - Excerpt from page 198
396. ↑ He flinched at her sudden gaze. “H-how long have I, uh... I mean...”

She tilted her brow at him. “Um. You’ve been here for two weeks. Well, your head has, anyway.” - Excerpt from page 199
397. ↑ Hector’s eyes drooped as he listened to his mathematics teacher talk about something he didn’t understand in the slightest. Garovel was resting on his shoulders, so there was no one to stop Hector from drifting off.

It had been an eventful night. It was the first time they had patrolled the city without a specific purpose. And finding trouble at random was not as easy as Hector thought it would be. Garovel found a building fire, but by the time Hector reached it, firefighters already had it under control. They followed a police car around for a while, but it only led them to places where people had called in noise complaints or some such thing.

After a while, however, they switched tactics. Garovel haunted a series of seedy bars and strip clubs until he heard rumors of some river operation on the east side of town. And by the end of the night, Hector had trounced three dozen thugs, sunken a boat full of illegal weapons, and fled from the police. His motorcycle had earned a few bullets holes, which he patched with iron. There was no saving the paint job, though.

He’d argued with Garovel briefly about attending school. Hector thought it was a waste of time with everything else going on, but the reaper seemed adamant that he at least make an appearance, if for no other reason than to abate worry from people who hadn’t seen him in two weeks. Hector agreed, but only on the condition that Garovel use the opportunity to rest. - Excerpt from page 215
398. ↑ <“But that’s not the juiciest thing I’ve learned. In two weeks, they’re planning to destroy an entire town and make it look like Rendon is responsible. Right now, they’re still trying to prepare public opinion. You’ve probably seen some of the media coverage about how hostile Rendon and Kahm are, supposedly. Or maybe they ARE that hostile. It sounds like Abolish might have agents in those countries, too.”> - Excerpt from page 330
399. ↑ The news of Atreya’s royal turmoil had unfortunately sent sympathetic ripples through the Members of Parliament. Thankfully, they were slow to make up their minds about what to do next, so all the pressure that Vladimir and his two friends had been building up over these past couple months had not yet gone to waste. That was why this attack today was so important and why he wanted to make sure that it went without a hitch. - Excerpt from page 565
400. ↑ ‘*Are you sure?*’ said Hoyohté. ‘*We can still fall back to our allies in Kahm, no?*’ - Excerpt from page 577
401. ↑ Zeff’s thoughts went to Asad and his family. It had been too long already, he knew. He remembered Asad proposing his son for an arranged marriage with Emiliana, an honorable offer which Zeff found fiercely tempting. Join houses with his old friend? Become the first bridge between the Rain and Sand in history? And he knew that merely by asking, Asad ran the risk of upsetting the other Sandlords. It was not an offer made lightly, so it had been very difficult to tell the man no. That was more than six months ago now, and Asad had still not spoken to him since. Zeff would have to try harder to make reparations upon his next visit to Kuros. - Excerpt from page 669
402. ↑ 402.0 402.1 Between school, metalwork, getting tutored, meditation, and beating the tar out of criminals, the next few days were a juggling mess. School tended to take the worst of it, as Hector would show up in the mornings and then employ doctors’ notes to skip out on the rest of his classes. After the events in Sescoria, he had nearly forgotten about the box of excuses that his mother had given him, but now he was quite thankful for it. - Excerpt from page 224
403. ↑ They spent considerable time near the local police station. Garovel wanted to scour for information, and after a while, they learned of an apparent resurgence of activity in the Rofal family.

‘*I doubt they’re talking about Geoffrey*,’ said Garovel. ‘*He doesn’t seem like the very organized type.*’

‘*Who do you think could’ve stepped in, then?*’

‘*No idea. Perhaps we should follow up. I heard someone mention there being a suspected drug den a few kilometers from here.*’

‘*Tell me where to go.*’

Soon, Hector had another ten thousand troas in small bills. He considered dropping it off at a homeless shelter or some such place, but Garovel told him that stolen drug money would attract dangerous attention to whomever he gave it.

Part of him expected to see Geoffrey pop up out of nowhere again, but even after a few days of attacking various Rofal cash houses and business fronts, Hector never saw the aberration.

He did not enjoy wondering where Geoffrey was. - Excerpt from page 227
404. ↑ Garovel was quick to find more people in distress. There had been a spike in violent crime over the past couple days. The police largely attributed it to the Rofals, but they also seemed keen to blame Hector, even if they couldn’t determine how just yet.

And now, having not slept more than a total of four hours in the past three days, Hector finally lay in bed again. It was the middle of the day, but the nights tended to need him more, anyway.

Through the growing fog that was his fatigue, he could still feel faintly wondrous at the lack of pain throughout his body. It was a welcome change, to say the least, though he did not expect it to remain that way for very long.

Sleep was a warm cloud, unconscious bliss. And then a voice broke through.

‘*Hector, wake up. Your cellphone is beeping.*’

His eyes slit open. “Cellphone...? Who would be--?” He sat up. - Excerpt from page 233
405. ↑ ‘*Nice place you got here*,’ said Ozmere. Moss followed close behind as usual, marveling silently at the mansion’s spacious corridors and ornate woodwork.

“Thank you.” Geoffrey had kept Colt’s heart and coat both. Even if the whole affair had proved a disappointment, he could at least expand his collection of souvenirs.

He was a bit surprised to see the mansion’s halls full of people again. He hadn’t even been gone a week, but apparently, his grandfather had been busy. Most of the people were obviously new hires, as they did not scurry out of his way whenever they saw him coming. One of the lackeys even bumped into him. The guy made a face, as if about to say something quite rude, but when he saw Moss’s hulking form stop behind Geoffrey, the mook seemed to think better of it and apologized instead.

The three of them found Damian and Feromas in the main study.

“Hello, Grandpa!”

“Hello, Grandson!” Damian returned a smile, which waned as he saw Geoffrey’s guests. “And who are they?”

“My friends! Ozmere and Moss. They’re from Abolish! Neat, huh? I am going to go with them so that they can help me get stronger. There are a lot more members in Sescoria, too! Ozmere said they would feed an entire town to me. Can you imagine that? An entire town!”

Abruptly, Geoffrey noticed the tension in the room. Damian’s face held none of its earlier mirth, and Ozmere’s expression was one of confusion. Even Moss had become attentive, and for a time, no one said anything.

Feromas broke the silence. ‘*Dozer or Morgunov?*’

Ozmere hesitated. ‘*Morgunov.*’

More silence.

Geoffrey looked between everyone again. “Why did you all go quiet?”

‘*Because your friend Ozmere recognizes me*,’ said Feromas. ‘*Isn’t that right?*’

‘*You are Feromas...*’

‘*I am.*’

‘*And is this...?*’

‘*His name is Damian Rofal, now. But he is the same servant, yes.*’

Ozmere floated back toward the door, and Moss stepped in front of him. ‘*L-look*,’ the reaper said, ‘*I have nothing but the greatest respect for someone of your caliber. We have no quarrel with you.*’

“That’s too bad,” said Damian.

‘*No, please! St--!*’

Damian raised a hand. There came a sudden flash and a great *crunch* as Ozmere and Moss were both obliterated.

Wide-eyed, Geoffrey could see the air visibly distorted in the spaces where their bodies used to be. A shockwave passed over Geoffrey as the air refilled the vacuum, and all that remained was a thin vapor. After a moment, that too disappeared.

It took Geoffrey a second to even begin understanding what had happened. “Grandpa, what the hell?!”

“I’m sorry, Geoffrey. I know they were your friends. I should have told you before not to bring any members of Abolish here.”

“Why did you kill them?!”

‘*Because no one can know that Damian and I are still alive*,’ said Feromas.

Geoffrey eyed the empty space again. “But! What did you even do to them?!”

“I reduced them to little more than dust particles,” said Damian. “Though, I suppose in the reaper’s case, there is genuinely no trace left, as there was no body mass in the first place.”

Geoffrey just stared at him.

“If you like, I don’t mind you going to Sescoria to play with the other members of Abolish,” the old man said, “but they can never know of what happened here. In fact, don’t even tell them that you have a grandfather.”

‘*But it may be difficult to explain why those two never returned*,’ said Feromas. ‘*Perhaps it would be better if Geoffrey simply stayed in Brighton with us.*’

Damian gave a shrug. “Eh. Geoffrey can do what he likes. He’s old enough to make his own decisions now.”

“Grandpa, who are you, exactly? Why were they so afraid of you?”

Feromas answered before Damian could. ‘*No offense, Geoffrey, but you don’t seem very good at keeping secrets. I think you already know more than enough.*’

“And besides,” Damian added, “the porcupines would be upset if I told you their baking recipes. Very stingy creatures, they are.”

Geoffrey blinked dully.

‘*Well, at least he’s lucid when it matters.*’

Sour-faced, Geoffrey left them alone. He returned to his room and tossed his keepsakes of Colt on a bedside table. When the coat hit wood, however, it made a hard sound, harder than mere cloth should have made. He rifled through its deep pockets and soon found a variety of objects. A few coins, some spare bullets, bubblegum, a handkerchief, a granola bar, a flick knife.

And a cellphone. - Excerpt from pages 241, 242 and 243
406. ↑ Nestled behind a tall air vent on the roof of an apartment complex, Geoffrey found his spot. It was rather far, but he could see practically the whole park from here. He pointed his binoculars at the moving glimmer in the sky, and he saw the reaper. Hector’s reaper.

Geoffrey grinned. “Aha. I thought it might be you two who helped Mr. Colt.” He panned down across the park. “Now where is Hector...?”

He saw the dark figure below a streetlamp. Geoffrey touched the sore lump on his chest. It was no more than an occasional nuisance, so he had never bothered to get it looked at by a doctor, contrary to Desmond’s wishes. Rather, Geoffrey enjoyed the feeling, enjoyed how it reminded him of Hector--his very special friend.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if he even wanted to kill Hector. Thinking about all the potential hostilities that they could have, the violent clashes and innocent casualties and long sessions of torture, Geoffrey couldn’t help but smile. Hector seemed like someone who could amuse him for a very long time.

But at the same time, Geoffrey knew that he could not let things draw out too much. There was one insurmountable obstacle that would surely end all the fun sooner or later. His grandfather.

Damian was rebuilding the family business. Hector was an active hindrance to that effort. Their clash seemed inevitable. And obviously, stopping Damian was no kind of option. So the more he thought about it, the more Geoffrey realized that even if he didn’t exactly want Hector dead, he *certainly* didn’t want someone else to get the kill. That was, after all, why he had told Feromas and Damian nothing before coming here. If Hector had to die, then Geoffrey had to be the one responsible for it. Simple as that. - Excerpt from pages 250 and 251
407. ↑ 407.0 407.1 Hector destroyed the needle tower, and once night fell, Garovel guided him back into the city. They stopped by the cemetery along the way and picked up the five remaining bags of money. There wasn’t much room on the bike, so Hector dropped four of them on the steps of the nearby police precinct. He tried to keep to the shadows as much as possible, prepared to flee again if someone spotted him, but no one did. - Excerpt from page 286
408. ↑ Over the next few days, Hector and Colt did not stay anywhere for long. Several of the small towns they happened across had police cars waiting by the main road. After a brief confrontation with a beat cop, Hector learned that the police were on the lookout for his motorcycle and ended up having to abandon it. - Excerpt from page 304
409. ↑ It had been six days since their arrival in Klein. The nights were cold out here, and the warehouse had no electricity or heating, but between the campfire he made and the mountain of blankets Hector brought back, there was ample warmth to go around. - Excerpt from page 314
410. ↑ Colt’s meditation went surprisingly smoothly. He hated it, but now that it had become the difference between being able to safely hold his children and not, he started taking it much more seriously. Within a day, he was able to not only keep his power subdued, but he could also target an object half a meter away from him. However, its actual destructive power still seemed incredibly weak. He couldn’t even break a solid pane of glass on the first try. He took to practicing his aim against a chalk circle he’d drawn on the wall. - Excerpt from page 321
411. ↑ Garovel had to wake Hector up in order to eat and get changed. Colt watched the young black man shuffle stiltedly into the bathroom as if his limbs were made of wood.

Soon, they were in the car again. Hector went right back to sleep, and Colt stared at an open road as they headed for Walton. At length, Bohwanox had a few private words for him. - Excerpt from page 378
412. ↑ “Everyone in Atreya thinks he’s a mass murderer,” said Gina. “He’s gotten pretty infamous. And Abolish may or may not be trying to kill him now.”

Again, there came a pause. <“Huh,”> was all Roman said.

“He got into a fight with them just yesterday.” - Excerpt from page 380
413. ↑ Over the next day, Hector trained as much as Garovel would let him. And it took a while of measuring, but he eventually discovered that his materialization ability currently held a range of eighty-eight meters. Give or take one or two. - Excerpt from page 397
414. ↑ ‘*Why don’t you go get some rest? I think you’ve trained enough for today.*’

“Fucking... jerk...”

Garovel just laughed.

Hector’s room was little more than a closet. The walls hugged the bed, and there was scarcely enough space to open the door. It couldn’t be much of a step up from just sleeping in one of the cars, but he wasn’t about to complain. A bed was a bed.

After a while, Garovel woke him up so that he could eat. - Excerpt from page 401
415. ↑ In their own strange way, the next few days were surprisingly restful. Stephanie and Thomas required near constant attention, leaving Hector little time to actually sleep, but he didn’t find it so terrible. Certainly, compared to fighting for his life, it was a much welcomed change of pace. And whenever he did manage to get some sleep, Garovel was there to watch over the children for him.

Colt’s death made the news. They didn’t show him actually getting shot and killed, of course, but it wasn’t long before Bohwanox briefly returned to the bunker to confirm that nothing had gone wrong--which was incredibly nice to hear, for once. These days, it seemed like everything and everyone was out to either kill them or get in their way. It was good news, or at least, *halfway decent* news.

So he had three days with the kids, which meant following the directions that the doctor had originally meant for Colt. Stimulating their minds was the idea. At first, Hector just tried to turn anything and everything into a game, but that didn’t go over so well. The kids would just kind of stare at him, apparently unaware that he wanted them to participate. - Excerpt from page 417
416. ↑ “Ah, yeah... I needed to tell you that, anyway. Because, um. I’m hoping you’ll accompany me when I go to Sescoria next week.” - Excerpt from page 441
417. ↑ They exchanged looks. Mrs. Edith seemed to be their designated speaker. “It’s been almost two months since we last heard from her. Where has she been all this time, and why has she not come to tell us these things herself?” - Excerpt from page 472
418. ↑ After that, eight days passed with very little progress on any front. - Excerpt from page 493
419. ↑ Hector could hardly focus on meditating. The anxiety was ridiculous. After a week of no news, it seemed like everyone was suddenly moving. Tomorrow, he would get into a fight that would involve more servants than he’d ever seen. - Excerpt from page 512
420. ↑ “Allow me to forego pleasantries,” said Luther, taking a seat. “The Abolishers have left the city. Mr. Conall Learen was kind enough to share their plans with me earlier this evening. They will be gone for most of the day today. I have therefore decided to take advantage of the opportunity that their absence presents.” - Excerpt from page 526
421. ↑ ‘*I suppose it sounds simpler than it was. Less than a day after finally returning here to Sescoria, the Queen went to Rendon--against pretty much everyone’s advice, mind you. But she knew what she was doing. Peace negotiations are now underway. And the Atreyan soldiers whom Rendon had taken into custody, she brought them home safely, too.*’ - Excerpt from page 581
422. ↑ ‘*We’re in the royal palace. In Sescoria, that is. We’ve been here for three days already.*’ - Excerpt from page 580
423. ↑ Over the course of the week, the Queen held a large press conference every single day, inviting a different batch of reporters each time. Lynnette attended all of them, as Her Highness wanted her to be a constant presence in the background. A few times, the media directed questions at Lynnette, but she decided to remain quiet and let Her Highness do all the talking.

The topic of Hector Goffe proved to be one of the most difficult. The Queen explained, repeatedly, that he was no longer a fugitive, that she considered him a national hero. Instead of trying to explain how the people Hector was accused of killing had been dead already, the Queen chose a simplified version of the truth: that their deaths were not his doing. Furthermore, she went on to flat out lie, saying that the people who falsely accused Hector were trying to prevent him from aiding her. And as the conferences continued and more detailed questions were asked, the Queen’s tale grew rather elaborate. By the end, Lynnette wasn’t sure she understood it all anymore, but apparently, Hector had been working under the Queen the whole time. The public never knew, of course, because it was a state secret, a matter of internal security. - Excerpt from page 602
424. ↑ Stoutamire followed suit and sat down as well. There was no table between them, but the window in the ceiling allowed a solid beam of light to pour into the middle of the chamber where a small table might go. "It is a monster. A savage beast. It has slain over fifty citizens of Lorent in the last six months, and the frequency of the killings has only increased." - Excerpt from page 2280
425. ↑ He found his way to the parking garage and decided to wait there for his mother to catch up. It took a while, but when she arrived, she had a small escort of two with her. There was an elderly woman in a faded rainbow dress and a rather tall black man in a white-and-blue guardsman’s uniform.

His mother stopped in front of him and stared. “I’m not even going to ask what that was about back there. Lynnette is upset with you, though. She asked me to tell you that.”

“Ah... oh...” He figured it best to just take his mother at her word and move on. “W-who are these two?”

The old woman stepped forward to introduce herself first. “Amelia Carthrace,” she said, offering Hector a wrinkly handshake, which he eventually took. “At the Queen’s behest, I am here to help you manage your affairs from now on. Pleased to make your acquaintance, young man.”

The guardsman took his turn next. “I am Jamal Easton. A call went out looking for people to work for the Darksteel Soldier. Seems I was the only one who answered.”

Hector looked between the two of them. “Um... I don’t, ah...”

“Hector, just go with it,” his mother said. “I’m sure we could use the help right now. From the sounds of it, the Queen has gifted you quite the white elephant.”

He glanced at Garovel, who just shrugged. “O-okay. Do you guys know the way to this Warrenhold place?” - Excerpt from page 613
426. ↑ Seven hours after his arrival in Warrenhold, Hector had still not fully explored the castle, and it certainly wasn’t for lack of trying.

It was just him and Garovel now. It had taken a while just to find a staircase that led underground, and even then, he’d had to clear away the rubble first. The tall stone doors would hardly even budge, and Hector ended up accidentally busting them down, only to see still more debris in the way. He decided that it was too dangerous for anyone else to venture down with him, so he asked Jamal to escort his mother and Madame Carthrace to a hotel. It was already well into the night anyway, and they all seemed pretty tired. Jamal left him with a variety of supplies, for which Hector was quite thankful. - Excerpt from page 642
427. ↑ Hector was glad for Amelia Carthrace’s presence. The woman could organize just about anything, seemingly, and she had a handle on his funds. She was almost like an elderly version of Gina, he thought, and he could see why the Queen had asked her to help him out. The only thing he didn’t understand was why Madame Carthrace had actually agreed to.

By mid-morning, Warrenhold already had two separate crews onsite. The first was the preliminary reconstruction team, which Amelia tasked with making immediate and primitive repairs to the aboveground buildings. Their primary goal was to have enough rooms with four walls for everyone by the day’s end.

The second crew was a team of surveyors, and Hector accompanied them underground. At first, they wanted to split up and go in all different directions to help speed their work along, but Hector wouldn’t allow it. He wasn’t going to let anyone wander around down here alone until he was more confident in the castle’s structural integrity. He knew that these people were professionals, but even so, he doubted that many of them had experience with places quite like *this*. If a hallway suddenly collapsed on someone, Hector wanted to be right there to shield them in an instant. The surveyors were a bit annoyed at his insistence, but the longer they spent underground, the less that seemed to bother them. - Excerpt from page 655
428. ↑ Gray Rock was a nice city, he thought. The crime here didn’t seem quite as bad as other places, perhaps because the police force was so vigilant. He’d encountered them several times, and while they hadn’t been especially pleased by his presence, he was just happy they weren’t shooting at him. Now that the nationwide manhunt for him had been called off by order of the Queen, Hector hoped to eventually form a working relationship with the Gray Rock Police Department. After two weeks here, he still wasn’t quite sure if that was feasible or not.

As for Warrenhold itself, Madame Carthrace’s troupe of construction workers had already managed to rebuild three of the six aboveground towers. Hector had also offered some assistance on that front, able to save them some time with the heavy lifting. The workers had quickly grown to appreciate Hector’s metal power, as he could use it to create a kind of short-range transport line for huge stacks of materials. He would lay down a long, solid strip of metal, have the materials placed at one end, and then *push* them along with a continuously materializing wall. And not coincidentally, this was similar to the method by which he’d been *attempting* to transport himself around the city. - Excerpt from page 726
429. ↑ But as he sat across from his guardsman, Hector recalled a question that he’d been meaning to ask ever since they left Sescoria two weeks ago. He wasn’t sure when he might get another opportunity to pose it. “Mr. Easton... why did you volunteer to work for me?” - Excerpt from page 728
430. ↑ ‘*It’s to be expected. Our souls have only had six months to synchronize*.’

That made him stand upright. “Six months...” He pressed a hand to his forehead, partly to wipe the sweat away, partly just thinking back. “It’s only been six months?“

‘*Six and a half, to be precise*.’ - Excerpt from page 739
431. ↑ As Zeff reached out to her, pressing the transparent gas mask toward her face, Emiliana suddenly began to tremble. “Mama, Papa, please!” she said. “I can’t--! Please! Please don’t make me do this!” She was already on the verge of tears and trying to pull away, but her mother held her firm.

A part of him wanted to chastise the girl. She didn’t know how good she had it. Drowning was the original tradition, but having experienced it personally, Zeff decided to spare his own children that agony. He remembered his passing all too vividly. Panicked and terrible. In this very pool. Helium gas was nothing like that. Just as Francisco’s had been, Emiliana’s death would be peaceful and painless, like drifting off to sleep.

He wanted to tell her these things--things she already knew, had been told--but as he looked at her face, at the terrified expression of his baby girl, he found his heart slowly leaving him. He lowered the mask.

Everyone looked at him, the same silent question being asked. It was his own reaper who posed it.

‘*Zeff, what are you doing?*’ said Axiolis.

“We will wait a bit longer,” said Zeff. He patted Emiliana on the head. - Excerpt from page 595
432. ↑ ‘*So when would you like to perform the ceremony, then?*’ asked Chergoa.

“Tomorrow night,” said Zeff. “That should allow more than enough time to explain the change in plans to her.” - Excerpt from page 598
433. ↑ “I see,” said Sanko. “However, a mere day before this photo was taken, Juliana Salazar and several of her subordinates stopped reporting for duty. A large number of important items disappeared along with them, including weapons and classified documents. Their actions have jeopardized many sensitive operations all over the world. So I am sure you can understand my reluctance to trust your word alone.” - Excerpt from page 926
434. ↑ ‘*I’m supposed to meet him after school today.*’

‘*Ooh. Why?*’

‘*He said he wants to give me a birthday present.*’

‘*Your birthday was two days ago.*’ - Excerpt from page 628
435. ↑ “I have a small announcement,” said Pa, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. “My presence has been requested in Rheinhal, so I’ll be leaving in the morning.”

The children digested his words.

“Are you being given an assignment?” said Cisco.

“Possibly. I don’t know. I do know that it will only be for a day or two. I expect all of you to behave in my absence and listen to your mother.”

“Yes, ensir,” said all four children, nearly in unison.

There wasn’t much left to be said after that. A few inquiries into their schooldays, a request to meet this Alex Belos fellow, and nothing else. Marcos was far from an expert on what his mother was thinking, but she didn’t look particularly pleased, and her dour mood seemed to permeate the entire dining room. Gradually, the evening drew to a close. - Excerpt from page 652
436. ↑  By the time they saw the gray sky again, Marcos had died. And the clock was ticking. Mariana had about eighteen hours to find the boy a reaper before his soul decayed too greatly and became unusable. - Excerpt from page 711
437. ↑ These past two weeks, she’d really just wanted to be left alone, and for the most part, she’d been granted that. It was just too much. Everything. She wasn’t ready to think of herself as the responsible one, as the one who had to try to fill the unfillable chasms left by Mama and Papa and Cisco and even Gema. It was all wrong. All of it. - Excerpt from page 753
438. ↑ Red Lake Castle retained less than a third of its occupants from the previous day. Emiliana had known that a lot of people would be leaving all at once, but even still, the sudden change was a little unsettling, especially when she considered that many might not return.

These last few days, she’d been trying to stop being so reclusive, trying to get to know more of the people who were laying down their lives to protect her family, but now, it seemed like too little too late. There were *so* many servants whom she’d barely even met, and only a handful of them had stayed behind. Aunt Joana was still here, thankfully, as were a few of the Redwater servants and the apparently well-known Dimas Sebolt, tasked by Lord Abel Sebolt with protecting the Elroy children while the strongest Rainlords were away. - Excerpt from page 802
439. ↑ Hector had never been on a plane before, much less an international one--or *royal* one. He didn’t think that the Lumenbel family’s private jet was providing him with a very typical first experience. Something about the giant seats and minibar tipped him off.

Their entourage was extremely small. It really was just him, Garovel, Meriwether, Lynn, and a pair of pilots on board. He supposed any extra bodyguards for the Prince would have just meant more people for Hector and Lynn to protect, but he had at least been expecting a couple more ambassadors to come along.

Hector had a corner booth all to himself. He could see Prince Meriwether sleeping in the center of the plane. The man must have been tired, because it was barely past midday. They’d set out almost as soon as Hector agreed to go with them.

‘*Hey, when’s your birthday?*’

Hector blinked at the sudden inquiry. ‘*Uh... why?*’

‘*Just curious*,’ said Garovel. ‘*It’s gotta be soon, right? Or did I already miss it?*’

‘*No, ah... it’s next month, actually.*’

‘*Aha. What day?*’

‘*The twenty-fifth.*’

‘*You’ll turn seventeen, right?*’

‘*Y-yeah...?*’ - Excerpt from pages 783 and 784
440. ↑ “They’ve all been working hard,” said Lynn. “While we’re going to Sair, Prince David is headed to Intar.” - Excerpt from page 785
441. ↑ Everyone turned to watch him answer it. The man listened, thanked the person on the other end, and hung up again. He stood and placed both hands on his desk. “Word has just arrived from Rheinhal. The Rainlords have begun their assault.” - Excerpt from page 802
442. ↑ Hector sat quietly in the unlit guest chamber. Lynn and Prince Meriwether were both asleep. Hector had volunteered to stay up and keep watch since he didn’t require sleep as much as Lynn did. She agreed, as long as he woke her up early so that he could get some rest in the morning.

It had been an eventful evening. He’d watched the entirety of Lord Asad’s discussion with the other Sandlords. Garovel had been kind enough to translate what they were saying into Mohssian for him. By the end, it was quite clear that Lord Asad had been unable to convince them of anything.

After that, Axiolis introduced them to Asad and Qorvass, who were both much more courteous than Asad’s brother, but once the pleasantries concluded, the conversation still proved itself considerably more troubling than the one with Haqq.

“We are going to Rheinhal,” Asad had said quite fluently in Mohssian. “Abbas and the others have chosen not to help, but I cannot remain idle.”

‘*You are welcome to come with us*,’ said Qorvass. ‘*Any friend of the Elroys is a friend of ours.*’ - Excerpt from page 815
443. ↑ ‘*How long has Hector been your servant?*’

‘*About three years.*’

Hector’s expression flickered. He had to consciously keep himself from staring at Garovel. It hadn’t even been eight months. - Excerpt from page 827
444. ↑ Soon, night arrived. Knowing that they wouldn’t be near Luzo until almost morning, the Najirs decided to rest up while they could. Hector was of a mind to do the same, but he had a bit of trouble falling asleep in spite of how exhausted he felt. - Excerpt from page 842
445. ↑ Three days had passed since the siege began. It wouldn’t be much longer now. According to his scouts, the Sebolts and Delagunas had completed their underground net. It was only a matter of time until they launched an assault with their full strength. - Excerpt from page 878
446. ↑ “Earlier, I received word that the siege in Rheinhal has failed.” Asad let the murmurs pass before continuing. “I’m afraid the details are still unclear, but at the moment, everyone there is being presumed captured or killed. I’m very sorry. I felt you should know now, because I’m sure it will come up during negotiations.” - Excerpt from page 956
447. ↑ ‘*You’ve all been out for a while*,’ Garovel went on. ‘*We’ve already reached the Waress Mountains.*’ - Excerpt from page 970
448. ↑ Marcos Elroy hadn’t slept this well in over a month. There’d always been something getting in the way. Something in his head. Something fueling the nightmares that he couldn’t even remember after waking up. All he’d known was that they left him sweating and his heart racing in a panicked way.

It was only here and now that things had changed.

Marcos wasn’t sure what the reason was, but he suspected that finally being able to see his father again had something to do with it, even if the man was still unconscious. The presence of the other Rainlords might have helped, too. Dimas in particular.

The party of limousines didn’t stop for another break until they reached Seisoro, and by then, it was nearly dark again. They’d been driving all day long, and yet Moaban was still a few hours away. Everyone needed to stretch their legs, use the restroom, and finally get a bite to eat. Marcos entered the gas station’s little store with his sisters and a host of guardians, including Dimas and Hector. - Excerpt from pages 983 and 984
449. ↑ ‘*Oh, fuck you. I remember plenty of other seemingly worthless shit. Like your dumb birthday.*’

‘*What does that have to do with anything?*’

‘*It’s in two weeks, you know.*’

‘*Is it? I thought it was closer, actually. How long’ve we been in Sair?*’

‘*Hardly even a week.*’ - Excerpt from page 1023
450. ↑ When they finally reached Moaban, it was the dead of night, but even through the darkness, Hector could see that the city wasn’t struggling for water. Rows of trees with arching canopies covered many of the roads, blocking out the night sky’s vibrant half-moon. The foliage was so thick that the first few areas they drove through made it feel like they’d suddenly entered a forest. After a time, however, there came a break in the trees, revealing an array of buildings buried in sand. - Excerpt from page 989
451. ↑ Because what had prompted Avar’s sudden arrival? The emergence at Jesbol? Why would that have done it? What sense did that make?

Not that things were making much sense, these days.

At the very least, it seemed clear that the emergence been what brought this voice on. And these... memories. Ones that didn’t belong to him. Those hadn’t been there before, either. - Excerpt from page 3452
452. ↑ Rather than sleeping, Hector spent most of the night exploring Dunehall. And he wasn’t the only one. He saw other people wandering around wherever he went. It must have been a side effect of the long day trip, he figured. Everyone had slept on the way here, and now they were all restless. - Excerpt from page 1007
453. ↑ 453.0 453.1 Hector certainly had his hands full over the next few days. Due to the almost complete destruction of Dunehall, along with Moaban’s geographical isolation, the city had been deemed unfit for civilians, and the Sandlords had issued a mass evacuation. More than three hundred thousand people were in the process of relocating south to Egas. - Excerpt from page 1186
454. ↑ The separation had been rather sudden, but it couldn’t have been helped. The Sandlords had learned that the Vanguard was much nearer than anyone realized. Apparently, they had been repelling Abolish forces in Calthos for the past few days, keeping them away from the border with Sair. - Excerpt from page 1187
455. ↑ As he sat in his cell, listening to his chains clink in rhythm with every bump and jostle of the train, Royo Raju tried to keep his head clear and his wits about him. His stomach ached with greater ferocity than at any point since his capture two weeks ago, though it was not due to the fact that they had not been feeding him. In fact, even if they *had* offered him food, he would have refused it. - Excerpt from page 1372
456. ↑ “So you haven’t heard. Two of Atreya’s four largest banks have collapsed. More than a million people have declared bankruptcy in the last two weeks alone.” - Excerpt from page 1623
457. ↑ “With both Atreya National and Longrun collapsing, virtually everyone who worked for them is now out of a job.”

“You’re... talking about banks?” said Hector.

“Yes. Atreya National Bank and Longrun Banking. With them suddenly out of the picture, you could say that there is quite a large gap in the market. People need their funds protected. And now that there is an absolutely *ungodly* amount of insoluble debt floating around this country, what will happen now is--” - Excerpt from page 1766
458. ↑ Reza came to a sudden stop, and Dunstan phased through her and nearly fell over. He looked around for more threats but didn’t see any. ‘*What’s wrong?*’ he asked.

Dennex flew through the wall of fire. Chunks of him were missing.

‘*You got free*,’ observed Reza.

‘*Hello there*,’ he said, quite calmly. ‘*Would you mind terribly if I tagged along?*’

‘*Don’t wanna try flyin’ through this mess on your own, eh?*’

‘*No, I do not. I am guessing that those are Abolish soldiers that I sense above us.*’

‘*And below us? Do you know what that is?*’

‘*No, I don’t. I thought it was a soul net at first, but it’s not, is it?*’

‘*No. It’s moving, whatever it is. Like it’s alive.*’

Dunstan wanted to speak aloud, but the crack and roar of burning wood was too loud, and there was almost as much smoke as there was breathable oxygen, anyway. ‘*We’re wasting time*,’ he told Reza.

‘*Right*,’ she said publicly. ‘*Well, come on then.*’

They proceeded on together, keeping within the relative safety of the fire, letting it make way for them. Dunstan kept hearing explosions go off in the sky above them. As trees fell over and opened up his line of sight, he began seeing people and low-flying aircraft there. It gave him little more than a glimpse of what was happening, but if Dennex didn’t want to brave that airspace, then it must have been pretty bad up there, he figured.

And then the ground heaved up in front of him, very nearly knocking him off his feet.

Dunstan caught himself on one knee, and when he looked up, he saw multiple pillars shooting out of the ground. Each was as broad as a school bus, and when they stopped moving, Dunstan realized that they had *heads*.

Gigantic worms, they appeared to be. Their hulking bodies bristled with visible electricity, and their beady eyes looked straight at him and Reza.

Noticeably, however, they were not attacking. They just remained there, motionless and staring.

Then a voice rang out. “Aha! I knew you would survive! Good job, Dunstan!”

Dunstan squinted as he noticed a figure standing atop the centermost worm. He couldn’t place the voice, but it sounded familiar. He found a full breath of air and called out, “Who are you?!”

“Why, it’s me! It’s your grandpa!” The figure waved a hand, and the worm beneath him knelt down low enough for Dunstan to get a good look.

And Dunstan could hardly believe his eyes. He hadn’t seen that wrinkled face since he was a child, but it hadn’t changed a bit. As little sense as it made to him, there was no doubt about it. This was certainly Damian Rofal before him. His grandfather.

Damian laughed. “Feromas thought my plan would get you killed for sure, but ha! Shows what he knows!”

Dunstan finally found the words. “Grandpa, why are you here?!”

“For you, obviously! I’ve come to get you, my boy! Everyone else was easy to find, but it took months to track you down. You shouldn’t run away from home, you know. Not that I’m complaining. How often do you get to blow up a field marshal’s plane, eh?”

“That was YOUR doing?!”

“Well, yes and no. Abolish might’ve been under the impression that certain precious artifacts were onboard. But anyway! The important thing is that we’re together now! Oh, and is this your reaper? Ah, no, but there are two with you. Which one do you belong to? Regardless, it is lovely to meet them both! I hope they’re nice!”

Dunstan had so many questions that he just reached for the first one he could hold onto. “What the hell are these giant worms?!”

“Oh, don’t worry about them! They’re my buddies! Don’t pet them, though. I know they look nice and squishy, but they’ll zap you.”

‘*Mind hurrying this along?*’ said Feromas. ‘*We’re still in danger, you know.*’

“Ah, right. Let’s get out of here, shall we? I’d rather not have to fight that Gargoyle you were with!” - Excerpt from pages 1005 and 1006
459. ↑ The last twenty-four hours had been an exercise in patience, thanks to that voice--or rather, thanks to the person it belonged to. - Excerpt from page 1067
460. ↑ ‘*I did find out that the Hammer of Steccat has returned from Jesbol, though. That’s something, right?*’ - Excerpt from page 1072
461. ↑ The Andalero group wanted her dead, and they tended to get what they wanted, especially in Steccat. They were a pretty mysterious bunch, and truth be told, Madison hadn’t previously known all that much about them, really--aside from the rumors, that was. The rumors about them being a cult. About them controlling half of all the money in the world from the shadows. About them being malevolent puppeteers in matters on an international level. And about them disemboweling farm animals and wearing their still-bloody skins as meat suits during all manner of depraved rituals.

She didn’t think that last one was true--mainly because of how stupid it sounded--but unfortunately, she *had* already gotten tentative confirmation on those other ones. Maybe they didn’t actually control *half* the money in the world, but they definitely had a terrifying degree of influence. A hotel receptionist, a burger shop employee, a bus driver, even a damn kid with a lemonade stand--they’d all tried to pull a gun on her and blow her brains out without any warning whatsoever. And those were just all the ones she could remember. She genuinely wasn’t sure how many assassination attempts Roman had foiled while getting her out of Steccat.

She was alright now, but that had definitely been the most terrifying experience of her life. Knowing that literally *any* random stranger might just walk up and try to kill her at any moment? That hadn’t been fun.

And all because she overheard a conversation she wasn’t supposed to. She didn’t even know what the hell was so scandalous about it. It had just been her ex-boyfriend Darius talking to some old guy about something called “black song.” Apparently, it was some kind of super secret meeting or something going down in a place called Ridgemark. She didn’t even know where that was or what the meeting was about.

Yet that was enough for them to want her dead. And Roman, too, of course, though they had no idea who he was. After all that craziness, Madison hadn’t needed to ask why Roman had originally disguised himself as her new assistant.

She’d been furious with him, at first. Dragging her into all this. But after a while, she realized it wasn’t actually *his* fault that she’d overheard what she did. He’d actually tried to ditch her a couple times before that, which she now realized had been for her own safety. And of course, he *had* saved her life about a dozen times since then, too. That had earned him more than a few points with her as well. - Excerpt from page 1788
462. ↑ <“Gina? It’s Hector.”>

She blinked, then smiled. “Ah. How is everything?”

<“Uh. Not so great. As usual, I guess.”>

“Mm. Should I be worried?”

<“Oh, uh, no. But I need to talk to Roman. Like, right now, if possible.”>

“Ooh...” Gina bit her lip. “It’s *not* possible, unfortunately. Master Roman is away on business.”

<“...Hmm. Well, um. This is really important, though. Is there no other way I can contact him? Specifically, I need information from Voreese.”>

Gina frowned. With everything she knew of him, she didn’t think Hector would exaggerate about the severity of a situation. “Unfortunately, there isn’t. Even I can’t contact him right now.”

<“...How can that be?”>

Gina had to mull her answer over first. She supposed if it was Hector she was telling, then Master Roman wouldn’t get mad at her. “He’s in the Undercrust.”

<“Ah...”>

“You know about that, don’t you?”

<“Yeah, I do.”>

“So you know that I can’t just call him up. His service provider doesn’t exactly have coverage there. Assuming he even took his phone with him in the first place.”

<“I get it. Okay. Hold on a second.”> There came a rather long pause. <“Alright, um. How did he get to the Undercrust?”>

“Uh. He went down a big hole?”

<“Yeah, but which hole? They have names.”>

Gina shrugged to herself. “I don’t know. It was in Steccat.”

<“Mm.”>

“Oh, and, I guess... he may have infiltrated a paramilitary base belonging to a certain lady-servant emperor. Or empress, as it were.” - Excerpt from page 1197
463. ↑ Soon enough, Hector had to start heading back. Garovel kept going on about history, but Hector was only half-listening now. His mind had returned to worrying about the present. The Sandlords were scheduled to reconvene this afternoon, and now that the evacuation of Moaban was nearly finished, their excuse for delaying was more or less gone.

Hector could understand their reluctance to make a decision. They were stuck between the Vanguard and the Rainlords. One way or another, they had to betray someone’s trust. And of course, the well-being of their own subjects was at stake--and wasn’t that a lord’s priority?

It was enough to give Hector pause. He was a lord, too. Technically. This whole time, he felt like he hadn’t really understood what that meant--the responsibility it implied. And the potential consequences. He certainly didn’t envy the Sandlords’ position right now, but he was realizing that he might very well find himself in a similar one, someday.

He arrived at Dunehall again as the sun neared the height of its arc in the sky. From the outside, the castle looked largely the same. Hector supposed that was one advantage of being covered almost entirely in sand: structural vulnerabilities were hidden. Apart from the scarcely noticeable lump or depression in the sand’s surface, Dunehall seemed no different.

Most of the Sandlords were waiting in tents all along the castle grounds. The Rainlords were no longer here. They’d headed for Egas the previous day, while Hector and a handful of representatives had stayed behind at the request of Abbas. - Excerpt from page 1186
464. ↑ As Hector understood it, the elevator had been carrying people down practically nonstop since the Rainlords arrived at the Swallow’s Nest. And being that Hector and Garovel hadn’t gotten here until a few days afterward, much of their traveling party was already waiting for them down there. - Excerpt from page 1212
465. ↑ 465.0 465.1 ‘*Oh, and by the way*,’ the reaper went on, ‘*I know we’ve been busy, but I haven’t forgotten about your birthday.*’

Hector kind of had. ‘*...What day is today?*’

‘*You don’t know?*’

Hector gave a stilted shrug. ‘*If I’m honest, everything’s just a blur to me right now.*’

‘*It’s the twenty-third. Your birthday’s in two days.*’

‘*Oh...*’

‘*Do you need me to remember how old you are, too?*’

‘*You’re one to talk*,’ said Hector. ‘*How old are you, exactly, huh?*’

‘*You don’t get to use that excuse until you’re at least a hundred*,’ said Garovel.

‘*I’m turning seventeen. Happy now?*’

‘*Actually, you’ll be turning eighteen.*’

‘*What?*’

‘*I’m just fucking with you.*’

‘*Ugh.*’

‘*But the fact that you seemed genuinely confused for a second is amazing.*’

‘*I was only confused because I trust you to tell me important shit!*’

‘*Oh, well, I’m flattered.*’

‘*I should just never trust anything you tell me.*’

‘*Aw, don’t say that. I got you a birthday present in order to demonstrate my affection.*’

Hector’s brow lowered. ‘*...How could you get me--? You don’t have a physical body, so you couldn’t have--*’

‘*Does that mean you don’t want it?*’

Hector’s mouth flattened. ‘*...Alright, where is it?*’

‘*It’s not a physical object, you materialistic fuck. I got you a verbal birthday card.*’

‘*A what?*’

‘*A verbal birthday card.*’

‘*Is that as stupid as it sounds?*’

‘*If by “stupid” you mean “incredibly thoughtful of me,” then yes. Don’t worry, though. I’m not expecting anything in return.*’

‘*Why would I get you something for MY birthday?*’ said Hector.

‘*You wouldn’t*,’ said Garovel. ‘*I mean, I’m not upset about it.*’ A beat passed. ‘*Would’ve been a nice gesture, though.*’

Hector opened his right hand and materialized a smaller, iron hand therein. He made sure that only its middle finger was extended. ‘*Here’s your present.*’

‘*How crude.*’

Hector annihilated his work before anyone else saw it. ‘*Okay, then, let’s have it. I’m ready for this verbal birthday card of yours.*’

‘*It’s not your birthday yet.*’

‘*Wow, you’re gonna make me wait to experience something so incredible?*’

‘*You’re that curious, huh? I suppose that’s to be expected. Alright, fine, I’ll give it to you early. It goes like this. Ahem. “Dear Hector. You’ve been my servant for around nine months now, and so--much like a fetus maturing into a human being--you’ve made the journey from complete uselessness to NEAR complete uselessness.”*’

‘*Well, thank you.*’

‘*I’m not done.*’

‘*Of course you aren’t.*’

‘*I’ll continue. Ahem. “I know I can sometimes come across as callous or ungrateful for many of the things you’ve done for me, but I just want you to know that. Well. I am. Both of those things. Because you never do anything right, and really, I’m the amazing one for being able to put up with so much of your shit.”*’

‘*Birthday cards aren’t this long, Garovel.*’

‘*Stop interrupting. Ahem... “Ahaha! But I’m merely teasing, of course. We do have fun, don’t we? I only make fun of you because I know you can take it. If I’m being completely serious, though, then I do feel genuinely compelled to thank you. I know that sometimes, my cynicism gets the better of me, but even after only nine months, I can say with some confidence that it is an honor to have you as my servant.*”’ - Excerpt from pages 1246 and 1247
466. ↑ Finding a place to stay for the “night” turned out to be more difficult than expected. With so many in their party, no single location had enough space for them, and given everything the Rainlords had been through recently, Hector couldn’t really blame them for wanting to stick as close together as possible, especially with so many apparent hostiles afoot. - Excerpt from page 1315
467. ↑ ‘*No*,’ said Garovel from the other room, ‘*but it’s a safe bet that the Vanguard is working closely with them, regardless. Lamont had just arrived in Sair when we left, and that guy doesn’t have a reputation for leaving things half done. With the Salesman’s frozen head in the Sandlords’ possession, I’m sure the Vanguard will be wanting to keep a very close eye on everything that’s going on in Sair, right now.*’ - Excerpt from page 1753
468. ↑ They’d been here for a couple weeks now, so naturally, Cisco had been trying to find a means of escape--with Dunstan’s help, surprisingly. But this place was much more of a prison than it looked. The building’s three floors may have had an open-air layout to them, and the furniture may have been as ritzy as Cisco had ever seen, and the food may have even been pretty damn good, but there was some sort of high-level soul net preventing not just the reapers from leaving, but people, too. - Excerpt from page 1469
469. ↑ This was the third fortress he’d visited in as many weeks, and admittedly, the famed Lava Base of Dagerto was a wee bit more intimidating than the others, what with its jet black walls that rose to arching points and its many turreted lookouts that linked up with the cavern’s rocky ceiling. Not to mention the various spouts and streams of *actual* lava running through it. The place even boasted an enormous lavafall in the middle of the compound, passing right by the central lookout’s main window. - Excerpt from page 1296
470. ↑ All in all, he wasn’t terribly surprised. He’d been eavesdropping on these people for the last few days, and this was about the same level of intrigue that he’d come to expect. He did manage to learn a couple more names, though, in the increasingly unlikely event that anyone ever bothered to question him. - Excerpt from page 1301
471. ↑ The next four days passed with a degree of peace--and indeed, even enjoyment--that Hector had not been expecting. The Rainlords met with both the local government and the Akassu treasure hunters several times to negotiate terms, but despite wishing to attend these meetings, Hector had other things to do. - Excerpt from page 1350
472. ↑ It had been an uncomfortable week. Roman Fullister from Atreya liked to consider himself an adaptable man, but his time spent traveling with this Leo from Lava Base had made him reevaluate a great many things. - Excerpt from page 1660
473. ↑  “...Do you know where Asad is, right now?”

“My successor.”

“Yeah.”

“He is in the town of Capaporo.”

Wow, a straight answer. And exactly the one he had been hoping for, too. That was a relief.

“You should hurry to him,” added Rasalased. “He is a prisoner.”

That was much less of a relief. “Prisoner?! But--wha--how?! Who’s holding him prisoner?!”

“Hmm. A good question. A lost sheep, it seems to me.” - Excerpt from page 1610
474. ↑ Two days transpired as the group tried in vain to work out their next move. According to the reapers, the titanic battle above Himmekel had not ceased, and according to the various Hun’Sho they spoke to, it would not be ceasing any time soon, either. - Excerpt from page 1428
475. ↑ 475.0 475.1 Jercash’s thick boots crunched over the gravelly, smoldering earth as he entered what was left of the town of Orobell. Vanderberk, Germal, Koh, and several others came crunching up behind him as Jercash caressed the left tip of his mustache, taking in the scenery.

Barely any buildings still stood, and those that did looked like they’d been blasted out by mortar shells, the smoke from their ruins rising all the way up to the evening clouds. Automobiles were everywhere, though not as they should have been. Instead, they were overturned or on fire or buried in rubble or crumpled up like an old newspaper.

“Huh,” said Jercash in two voices. “Ya know, last I checked, this place was being protected by the Vannies. I’m not goin’ senile, am I?”

A small red-haired woman shuffled up next to him. Her thin-rimmed glasses didn’t do much to conceal the diagonal scar down the middle of her face. “No, sir,” she said, rifling through a briefcase. “Our latest intelligence placed thirteen mid-level threats in this town only five days ago.” - Excerpt from page 1519
476. ↑ “I recognize this man,” someone eventually said. “Isn’t this Akio, the Spear of Kavia?”

“Wow, yeah, I think you’re right. Heh. So I guess someone axed Akio, eh?”

“Ha. Nice.”

“This is pretty impressive work. I heard this guy was a real pain in the ass, over in Hoss.”

“He was one of the Kane’s strongest lackeys, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. Guess that confirms that this town really was important to Kane, eh?”

“Most likely.”

“Who the hell took this guy out, though? We don’t have anyone strong enough around here, do we?”

Germal stepped into the two men’s conversation. “The body is still mostly intact, including the head, which would suggest that the killer got to his reaper first. Perhaps all this destruction we’ve seen here in the forest was the killer struggling against Akio’s mindless corpse.” - Excerpt from page 1575
477. ↑ 477.0 477.1 477.2 477.3 Truthfully, Carson’s death had been more luck than strategy, Jercash felt. While he certainly didn’t mind taking credit for it in front of the men and the general public, he and his top guys all knew the truth. It was a routine assassination attempt. The kind people at this level had to deal with all the time.

It wasn’t actually supposed have to *succeeded*. It was just supposed to have bought Jercash time.

But then his assassins came back with wonderful news--and the physical proof of their success, to boot.

Jercash could not have been prouder.

The Little Assassins that Could. Led by the Bolt of Kavia. Or the Headhunter, as some had also started calling him. Or Karkash the Thunderbolt, as still others did.

Personally, Jercash preferred the latter, but he knew that these sorts of things tended to take on a life of their own. Whatever stuck, stuck.

He didn’t yet know if the youngster was truly deserving of all the attention, though. Nor *would* he know for quite some time, he suspected. Unless he’d already gotten killed in the mayhem of the last battle, of course.

That was the way it worked with these meteoric upstarts. The ones that just exploded onto the scene, making big waves out of nowhere. Usually, it was just dumb luck that earned them that first wave, but time always told whether they could sustain themselves, eventually.

But at the very least, Jercash certainly had his eye on him now. Karkash had already made a solid first impression on him back in Kavia, when Jercash’s men finally tracked his little group down.

Apparently, the kiddos were the ambitious sort. Which wasn’t exactly abnormal, of course. If you weren’t ambitious, you didn’t have a place in Abolish as anything other than a slave--or something equivalent to one without the label.

But it was still a rare thing to see someone enacting such risky plans without much apparent firepower to back them up.

Karkash and his little buddy--Desmond or something--had gathered a ragtag bunch of maniacs in order to start targeting locations that prominent Vanguardians were known to have some connection to. - Excerpt from pages 3438 and 3439
478. ↑ For the first time in what felt like ages, he could see stars, twinkling in the night, and a full, lustrous moon. - Excerpt from page 1613
479. ↑ “Yeah,” he said with a sigh, “it’s been a long... uh...”

“Month?” she finished.

Holy shit, had it really been that long since he’d last seen her? “Er, yeah,” was all he could think to say. He noticed Voreese hovering there next to him. She was still waiting to revive Roman. He supposed he shouldn’t keep her waiting. - Excerpt from page 1747
480. ↑ ‘*Hector, wake up*,’ came Garovel’s voice.

And Hector did, though not because he wanted to. His eyes still felt heavy. Hell, his whole body did. “Ugh... no...”

‘*I know you’re tired*,’ said Garovel, ‘*but it’s already been eight hours, and I can’t just let you sleep for the next week--not with all the things we need to take care of.*’ - Excerpt from page 1750
481. ↑ ‘*Remember the civil war going on in Kavia?*’

‘*Uh... kinda?*’

‘*It’s over now--which, I guess is good--but the problem is, the side that won was supported by Abolish.*’

‘*Oh. The Vanguard lost there?*’

‘*Yeah. A few of their rising stars were killed, apparently. None of the marshals, at least, but it’s still a pretty big defeat.*’

‘*Hmm. Who’s the, uh... I mean, who from Abolish is the victory being, er, attributed to?*’

‘*That would be Jercash, the Devil’s Knife.*’

‘*Ugh. What a nice nickname...*’

‘*It wasn’t just him, though. There’s also word going around of someone else from Abolish who made a big impact there. Someone new. Someone who’s now being called the Bolt of Kavia.*’

That made Hector pause. ‘*Bolt? As in... lightning bolt?*’

‘*Dunno. Details are scarce. I thought it was interesting, though.*’

‘*...You really think Karkash is making a name for himself out there?*’

‘*Wouldn’t surprise me*,’ said Garovel. ‘*Power like that is pretty damn versatile. Not to mention deadly. And we witnessed him achieve emergence, you may recall.*’ - Excerpt from page 1753
482. ↑ The next few days were a constant mash of maintenance and activity for Hector. He never had any downtime, and indeed, he was beginning to feel like he never would again. - Excerpt from page 1829
483. ↑ Hector knew what the reaper was referring to. He would be having dinner tomorrow in Sescoria. With the Queen and about a hundred other lords and ladies of Atreya. - Excerpt from page 1839
484. ↑ It was a relief to be back at Warrenhold again. He hadn't even been gone a day, but it felt like weeks. As much as he had enjoyed catching up with everyone at the Gala, it was still exhausting, and the media circus around it certainly hadn't helped, either. The sun had already started coming up by the time he'd finally left the palace, and he had naively thought that the media would've dispersed by then, but nope. They jumped on him the second they saw him and made that last stretch to his vehicle as uncomfortable as possible.

At least he'd been able to say goodbye to Lynn and the Queen before departing. Thinking back on it now, in the comfort of his own bed, he wished that he could've talked to them more. About what, he wasn't sure. Anything would've been fine, really. As he drifted off to sleep, he foggily wondered when he might see them again.

The warm embrace of sleep was fully welcome. Damn, this bed was cozy.

Only too soon, he awoke--and not on his own. - Excerpt from page 1932
485. ↑ 485.0 485.1 It was nice to be out on patrol. Hector hadn't had much time for it over the last few days. Between all the meetings, training, and maintenance around Warrenhold, he had started to wonder if he would ever be able to do this again.

Even now, he wasn't *entirely* on patrol. He was just sort of taking his sweet time as he went to look into something else. The fact that he was able to stop a burglary and a murder along the way was technically just a coincidence, though Hector had gone *quite* a bit out of his way to do so.

It was a bit annoying how every criminal just started running as soon as they saw him, but it also served as good practice for various mobility techniques that he'd wanted to try out. Flight, in particular.

Creating iron that could counteract gravity and support his weight was certainly doable, but exercising tight control over it was still rather difficult. And he was very hesitant about ramping up its speed in these situations. If he went too fast and accidentally barreled into someone while in full plate armor, that person would probably die.

When it came to dealing with normal human beings, he always tried to err on the side of caution, especially when practicing relatively new things. All of his really dangerous ideas, he intended to save for Zeff.

And possibly Asad.

The Najirs had left Warrenhold a few days ago now, but not without a promise to return soon. Hector got the impression that Asad's wife, Samira, had not found the underground castle to be a very pleasant place to stay. Whether that was because of all the Rainlords around or because all the construction going on was bothering her, Hector couldn't say. - Excerpt from page 1988
486. ↑ Hector knew what the reaper was referring to. He would be having dinner “My business there is not yet concluded, however,” said David. “I will have to venture back into that den of vipers in a few days.” He allowed his gaze to linger on Hector a moment. “I don’t suppose there is any way I could convince you to accompany me, is there?” - Excerpt from page 1869
487. ↑ All in all, Hector had felt like he'd heard enough by now. He decided to give the Madame Carthrace the green light with the Bank of Darksteel, and now the whole thing was finally in motion. He'd already met with a few of the new people she wanted to hire, and he'd even given his approval for most of them as well. - Excerpt from page 2058
488. ↑ The past few days had been busy for the young Lord Goffe, but not in a particularly abnormal way. Daily meetings and training and overseeing things around Warrenhold--he was starting to realize that this was just how his life was going to be from now on. It probably wasn't going to let up anytime soon. - Excerpt from page 2049
489. ↑ And then, of course, there was his meeting with Leo tomorrow. Hector at least had a plan for that one, but thinking about it was still nerve-wracking in the extreme. - Excerpt from page 2050
490. ↑ Hector almost preferred the more chatty Leo. These silences were unsettling. He figured he should just push on. “Get your reaper, and take him to that address,” said Hector. “I’ll meet you there in a couple weeks.” - Excerpt from page 1729
491. ↑ And if anything, Ridgemark seemed like the place to find it. The city was absolutely awash with people from all over the world. Even the news of war seemed to have hardly put a dent in the city's feverish energy. If he hadn't been stationed here a couple weeks before the news arrived, he might not have even thought anything had changed. - Excerpt from page 2208
492. ↑ The next three weeks were blessedly peaceful. Busy, perhaps, but peaceful. Hector became more accustomed to his routine as Lord of Warrenhold, and remarkably, many of his worries seemed to be lessening--if only a little. - Excerpt from page 2084
493. ↑ The next day was rather special, because Warrenhold would be hosting royalty. King William was visiting, unfortunately without the Queen, as she was still too busy and also believed that her attendance would turn the whole affair into a media circus. - Excerpt from page 2097
494. ↑ The next day was rather special, because Warrenhold would be hosting royalty. King William was visiting, unfortunately without the Queen, as she was still too busy and also believed that her attendance would turn the whole affair into a media circus. - Excerpt from page 2118
495. ↑ Raul had received new orders late last night from his reaper all the way back in Atreya. No doubt, Adan and Esai had received the same orders from their own reapers as well, but they had yet to discuss them among one another. - Excerpt from page 2210
496. ↑ "Ah! Yes, Lord." She leaned in closer and lowered her voice even further. "Word has just come in from the team in Vantalay. And it is grave news, sir. They are reporting a humanitarian crisis. They've discovered a location where human trafficking is being conducted." - Excerpt from page 2251
497. ↑ The tension in Warrenhold was much more noticeable over the next few days. The Rainlords were uneasy with all of these sudden developments, and Hector couldn't blame them. The team they dispatched Sair was quick to start sending back news, and while it wasn't necessarily bad, it wasn't good, either. - Excerpt from page 2271
498. ↑ "...Alright," he said. As long as Garovel came to the meeting with him, Hector figured he wouldn't screw things up too badly. "When will this meeting take place?"

<"He will be at the royal palace tomorrow."> - Excerpt from page 2277
499. ↑ "Things have been especially hectic around here, you see," said Stoutamire. "Why, just yesterday, the power--" - Excerpt from page 2316
500. ↑ "Have you already evacuated this area?" said Hector.

"For the most part, yes," she said. "There have been a number of anomalous events in this area that suggest the Beast may be closer than we first thought."

Hector kind of wanted someone else to take the lead in this conversation, but that obviously wasn't going to fly, since he was the only person in their group who wasn't trying to keep a low profile in one way or another. "Events like what?" he asked.

"Frequent changes in weather, for one thing. This place was covered in snow three days ago, but you wouldn't know it now. Then it was blisteringly hot, and just yesterday, there was an electrical storm that knocked out most of our electronics." - Excerpt from page 2317
501. ↑ Their initial hopes of going in there hard and fast and freeing all the hostages, including Raul's two brothers, had not panned out. Their first battle with the Abolishers in Miro had developed into a true battle of attrition. Even with Cousin Melchor, Leo, Diego Redwater, and the Lady Evangelina Stroud working together, the Abolishers currently residing in Miro had proven to be quite the pain in the neck to deal with, and after nearly an entire twenty-four hours of fighting with not a single servant being taken down on either side, the Rainlords decided to withdraw and rethink their strategy. - Excerpt from page 2428
502. ↑ "Good morning, Lord," said Fidel, softly enough to not wake the others.

"*Is* it morning?" said Hector, getting out of bed.

"Ah. No. It is evening again." - Excerpt from page 2494
503. ↑ At the Queen's behest, Hector ended up spending considerably more time in Lorent than expected. After she heard his version of events so far, she told him that she was sending her best negotiator to meet up with him and that he should hold off on a formal meeting with the President until then. Apparently, it was going to be a few days. - Excerpt from page 2509
504. ↑ The conversation didn't last much longer before they finally turned in for the night. They'd scheduled their meeting with the President for tomorrow morning, since Prince David wanted to be back in Intar before nightfall. - Excerpt from page 2526
505. ↑ But now, looking at these piles of rubble where houses used to stand, he found himself wondering if even that accomplishment had been undone. These civilians might have survived the fight, but they had still been forced to endure the tyranny of those Abolish maniacs for a few more days. - Excerpt from page 2537
506. ↑ "I bought my mom a new sword a couple weeks ago. She, er, collects them. It's kind of her hobby. And mine, I guess. But, um, she really seemed to like it. It was an ancient Melmoorian warblade. Or a modern recreation of one, I should say. Heh, a real one would be, like, insanely expensive. And probably be in a museum. Um..." - Excerpt from page 2723
507. ↑ '*Mm, tough question. They seem pretty by-the-book for the most part, but... there WAS an incident about a month ago where a duffel bag of drug money mysteriously went missing.*' - Excerpt from side story 1 page 7
508. ↑ Now that he was looking at her and not paying quite so much attention to the dog, he realized that she was actually quite beautiful. Big, brown eyes. High cheekbones. Late twenties, early thirties maybe. He didn't recognize her name from his scouting, which was odd, because if her uncle was a police officer, then he felt like he *should* recognize her. As far as he had been able to tell, there were only two cops in this town. The sheriff, Rexford Margot, and his deputy, Chadwick Hart, who probably wasn't even in town at the moment. Colt hadn't seen that guy in weeks. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 5
509. ↑ Today, he was awoken to the familiarly soundless voice of Bohwanox.

'*Uh, Colt?*'

The sun hadn't even come up yet, he noticed. And the reaper wasn't anywhere to be seen, either. '*What?*' - Excerpt from side story 1 page 6
510. ↑ '*Not yet. But judging from the current state of his soul, he'd already been dead for a few hours, so I've only got about ten-to-fifteen hours before I need to do so.*' - Excerpt from side story 1 page 6
511. ↑ After a while, he decided to hunker down for the rest of the day and keep waiting for nightfall.

When it arrived, he consulted the reaper one more time, who told him the coast was indeed clear. Colt gathered the twins up again, got in the Pontiac, and made for the sheriff's house. Bohwanox gave him directions, but Colt didn't need them. He remembered where the man's house was from his scouting. Knowing the residence of all the local law enforcement had been a priority for him. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 10
512. ↑ In the morning, once the kids were fed and the chores were done, Colt was faced with the decision of what next step to take with the investigation. Bohwanox departed before dawn to go observe Keith Hopper in his prison cell, as well as the capital cops again. Colt didn't expect to see the reaper again today. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 13
513. ↑ In the morning, while Colt was preparing breakfast, the reaper's voice arrived again, asking him if he was awake yet. For a time, Colt considered not saying anything, but he gave in and asked what Boh wanted. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 15
514. ↑ By the time morning rolled around, he wasn't feeling much different, but when he saw the kids beginning to stir, he felt a sudden and rather unwelcome degree of motivation. They needed to be fed. He needed to feed them. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 22
515. ↑ Less fortunately, the stroller wouldn't arrive until the end of the week. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 31
516. ↑ Eventually, the time finally came to go pick up the new stroller, and Colt set out for Fred's store, Anything. He brought the kids along, of course. Couldn't test it out if they weren't there, and he wasn't about to leave them alone with that fucking dog. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 32
517. ↑ In the morning, after catching some breakfast, Colt made his way to the church again. It occurred to him that he didn't actually know what time the service was supposed to begin. He was up early enough that he wasn't concerned about missing it, but he also wasn't in love with the idea of getting there two or more hours before it even started. - Excerpt from side story 1 page 41
518. ↑ The man gave an airy laugh. “Strange is one word for it, I suppose. Persistent would be another. I’ve been trying to arrange a meeting with you for months. These last two weeks, I’ve resorted to coming here almost every single day in hopes of bumping into you.” - Excerpt from page 3460
519. ↑ Vino Vance had been acting strange over the last few months. He'd been making decisions that he never would have a year ago, taking risks that he never would have.

Just last month, for instance, when that first group of Rainlords arrived, Vino had asked him to send a group to negotiate with them. This, when a Vanguardian field marshal had been only a stone's throw away from here. It had worked out for the best in the end, of course, but it could have easily turned into gigantic mess for a variety of reasons.

And there were subtler changes, too. Vino's appetite wasn't what it used to be. Linus barely ever saw him eating, anymore. It didn't help that Vino's natural appearance had always been rather pale and sickly, either.

Rather than feigning confusion or disbelief, Linus' expression settled, and he sat down in front of the man's desk. He let the silence linger for a while longer, finding it almost impossible to look him in the eye. Linus didn't want to inquire further. But at this point, he had no choice. "...Talk to me, Vino. What's been going on with you, lately?"

Vino took his time answering. Perhaps he didn't want to have this conversation, either. "I'm dying, Linus." - Excerpt from pages 3116 and 3117
520. ↑ '*Well, it's winter, so maybe they are enjoying the freezing nights*,' said Asad, unable to conceal his amusement. - Excerpt from page 2620
521. ↑ That encounter had not earned Abbas much favor with the Man of Crows, it seemed. This was going to be their seventh clash in as many days. Even before the disaster at Uego, Albert Crowe had been gunning for him. - Excerpt from page 2764
522. ↑ Hector approached the tree again, this time with only Garovel and Hanton behind him. It was the dead of night, and the rest of the expedition was staying at a luxurious hotel in the nearest town. Sneaking out had been rather easy with Hanton's help, though Carl and Ravi's reapers might've been wondering where his soul had inexplicably disappeared to. - Excerpt from page 2599
523. ↑ His stay in Lorent had ended up being extended yet again, as the Lorentians wanted a few more days with him to go over various things in order to finalize the deal. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as simple as just signing his name on a dotted line or being handed a land deed. He had meetings with a number of leading figures from the lower Jagwa territory, including mayors, secretaries, real estate CEOs, and bankers. - Excerpt from page 2678
524. ↑ "A report just came in," Ravi went on. "Perhaps it is mistaken, or perhaps it is too early to be using a term like 'conquered,' but... it seems that the Sairi forces have just lost a decisive battle in the Uego Desert. The Calthosi are moving in now, unimpeded." - Excerpt from page 2691
525. ↑ It had barely been a week since they'd arrived, and he'd already witnessed more real combat than in the rest of his life combined. - Excerpt from page 2936
526. ↑ The next couple days were agonizing as it felt like all he could do--all anyone in Warrenhold could do--was wait for more news to arrive. News of the treasure hunts. News of the Sandlords. News of the other fronts in the war. News of anything.

That was just the prevailing feeling of unease, though. There was no lack of work that needed doing, including but not limited to meditating, training, the Bank, the reconstruction, the land deal, and plenty of meetings, of course.

There was one meeting, however, that took him by surprise, as it arrived in the dead of night.

The Queen of Atreya paid him a visit. - Excerpt from page 2717
527. ↑ He was in his own bed, he suddenly realized. "We're back at Warrenhold already? How long was I out?"

'*A full day.*' - Excerpt from page 2805
528. ↑ By the time he finished making the rounds, it was already nearing dinnertime. He'd been grabbing snacks from the kitchen throughout the day, but he was still famished. He decided to give Her Majesty a call before eating, though. He only managed to get a hold of her secretary, but that was fine. He just wanted to let her know that he would be visiting Riverton Hall the day after tomorrow.

After dinner, he went straight to bed. When he awoke, he was still sore all over, but he wasn't quite so stiff anymore, at least.

They set out in the early morning--using regular, old, non-flying cars this time. Since it wasn't an emergency situation, they didn't need Dimas to help them cut down on their travel time so much. Plus, Abbas was bringing a few non-servants with him, and an unpressurized vehicle at high altitudes would not have been kind to them. - Excerpt from page 2832
529. ↑ And now, of course, he'd missed out on the opportunity to regain his honor. By the time he arrived at Uego, the battle was already over. - Excerpt from page 2856
530. ↑ They'd been on Exoltha less than a day, and yet within that brief span of time, Caster had seen more feldeaths with his own two eyes than in the rest of his life combined. - Excerpt from page 2899
531. ↑ The guy had so many freaking kids. And his kids had kids. Who also had kids, too. And so on. Even after spending time among them for a few days, Hector still wasn't quite sure how many living generations of Hahl Saqqaf there currently were. - Excerpt from page 2926
532. ↑ It had been hours already, and Hector had not returned to himself. The boy was just standing there, still as a statue with his hands pressed to the glass of the Forge. - Excerpt from page 2985
533. ↑ And Jercash was at last beginning to achieve his true potential.

The war front in Hoss was all down to him, and he was handling it well so far. He had to deal with three marshals simultaneously. Kane, Grant, and Carson.

And he'd already slain Carson. - Excerpt from page 3042
534. ↑ And okay, yeah, maybe an entire month was a pretty *long* moment, but hey, time was relative. In fact, depending on who you talked to, time might not even be a real thing. - Excerpt from page 3036
535. ↑ 535.0 535.1 '*How long was I out?*'

'*It's been almost a whole month now, I think.*'

Hector's eyes widened. '*...This is the part where you tell me you're just fuckin' with me, right?*'

'*Afraid not, pal.*'

Aw, shit. He rolled out of bed. Well, at least he had clothes on. Holy god, he stank, though. And he was so fucking hungry. He wasn't sure his stomach had ever felt so incredibly empty before--which was saying a lot, because he had many examples to compare it against.

Other than that, however, he actually felt pretty good. Light on his feet. Not sluggish at all. Ready to go somewhere and do stuff.

The first destination should probably be the shower, he figured. He made his way over to the bathroom while Garovel kept talking.

'*Half of that time, you spent just standing there in front of the Forge. The other half, you spent asleep. In a fucking soul-coma.*' - Excerpt from page 3016
536. ↑ '*No, no, nobody's left yet. But they've definitely been thinking about it. A lot. It's practically all they've been talking about this past week.*' - Excerpt from page 3018
537. ↑ It had been a long trip so far, walking cross-country on foot like this. His friction power let him move much more quickly over sufficiently level terrain, but Vantalay was so huge that it would still be a couple more days before he reached his destination, barring any unforeseen complications.

His actual objective for this journey was not merely to gain intel, however. It was to reach the town of Kristol, where the infamous Bridgewater Prison was located. According to his contact at the RPMP, that was where the man named "John Wright" was being held. - Excerpt from page 3001
538. ↑ As a result, he'd been able to develop the Amir-10 prototype. Though perhaps it was deserving of an entirely new naming scheme, now. - Excerpt from page 3060
539. ↑ But on the plus side, Abbas didn't have long to wait. Perhaps Hector had already been en route to the tree the time Abbas received word of him waking up, because scarcely two hours passed before the young Lord Goffe arrived. And after so much anticipation, Abbas was more than ready to receive him. - Excerpt from page 3075
540. ↑ That was why one of the first things he'd done was give her a call and tell her to move forward with the expansion. It wouldn't solve all of her problems for her, but it would give her some room to breathe, at least. And a quick, very public trip through Gray Rock would help with that other issue--which was why he'd dropped by City Hall and a few other places before heading all the way here. - Excerpt from page 3077
541. ↑ And over the next couple weeks, he and Donald would have plenty of time to make their preparations. - Excerpt from page 3031