Interregnum Part VII

## Official Summary

Freya and Granville clash in the oil-soaked Discovery Club as the torches are lit. Bella and Seamus are partners in a dance of death.

And foundations are laid for a dark and byzantine conspiracy.

## Detailed Recap

Outside the Discovery Club, Sir Alfred Spencer appears with Myron Sinclair. This is Seamus's cue to act, and he bursts into the building wielding the jawbone. He lays about, knocking the thralls out of the way, and rushes up the stairs.

Bella, having heard the commotion downstairs, readies herself in the hall. She fires her gun at the advancing Irishman, and hits him square in the chest -- but the bullet seems to do nothing. Seamus throws off his peacoat to reveal chainmail. He warns her to retreat, but she stands her ground, firing again and missing narrowly. He charges her, and she meets him in a clash of weapons. Her machete finds a gap in his armor and sinks into his flesh, but he shrugs off the worst of it; she on the other hand is crushed under the mighty blow of the jawbone, knocked unconscious in an instant but not killed.

Inside Harlan Maxfield's office, Freya grabs Excalibur, and though she has no experience with swords, decides she must attempt to use it against Granville. The sword leaps to life, helping her wield it capably in an effort to destroy its corrupted former master. They trade attacks, each avoiding the other's. Granville tries to intimidate Freya by claiming he knows Excalibur better than she ever will, and therefore she cannot hope to defeat him with it. As if it heard this arrogant assertion, the sword explodes with glorious fire and rebukes Granville. Attacked by the souls of all the sword's former wielders -- including a sliver of himself -- he leaps from the window in terror.

Seamus appears, with Bella's unconscious body slung over one shoulder. He and Freya realize the fire has been set and is advancing toward the second floor. He smashes a window and leaps out, carrying the two women to safety -- but when he lands, Freya is no longer in his arms. Granville has grabbed her in midair, and holds her by the throat as he delivers a threat to stalk and torment her for the rest of her days. She suggests that she will welcome the opportunity to see some shadow of her friend, even in his current state. He lets her go, and Seamus catches her before the hits the ground. He hands Bella over to the police. Faris asks Freya if that was Granville, and she tells him, "No, just looks like him. Very bad guy." The Discovery Club collapses into ash and rubble.

The next day, Freya is summoned to Sir Spencer's estate. Spencer's butler, who has clearly been crying, informs her that Spencer has had some kind of "spasm of the brain," and the doctors don't know how to treat it. She finds his abed, looking old and vacant. She takes his hand, and he seems not to know her or understand what has happened, saying, "Your friend is very tall," and, "Pop, pop, pop." In his hand is a scrap of pinstripe cloth.

At his townhouse, Granville is disturbed and fearful to know that Excalibur has turned against him. Someone drops a letter in his box, sealed in red wax with a sigil of a pyramid enclosing a hand surrounded by Enochian and chaos magic symbols. The letter is an invitation to join Lars Keswick at the home of one Philip Weiss. The name is unknown to Granville, so he researches the man, discovering that he's a wealthy American sailor who has been studying medicine in London.

Granville arrives at Weiss's home. Lars greets him, looking unnaturally vigorous with an aura of magic around him. He mentions that something has recently satiated him, and tells Granville to give Sir Spencer his regards if he sees him. Granville feels that the spiritual power around Lars reminds him somehow of Spencer.

Lars introduces Granville to Philip, who traveled with Robert Walton on an Arctic expedition and learned an "interesting scientific discipline." A hooded figure sits at a table, and is revealed to be Brighton, whose head is bashed and lopsided but who seems alive nonetheless. He explains that he invested in Philip's work and Philip simply put him back together again. Brighton proposes that Lars and Granville join him in a "grand enterprise" that will lead to power on a global scale. The name of the venture: Sol Invictus.

## Quotes

* "You have been gifted with an eternity of time, which I will turn sour, like the stretch of infinity that sits before me." - Granville Moore
* "The three of us have risen above the petty condition of humanity. I thought it might be prudent to discuss the future. How does a third of the world sound?" - Brighton

## Music Credits

* Kevin MacLeod - Trio for Piano Violin and Viola
* Three Chain Links - Magic Hour
* Myuu - Run!
* Myuu - Evil Returns
* Myuu - Now or Never
* Sergey Cheremisinov - Shaman’s Roar
* Kai Engel - Pacific Garbage Patch
* Sublustris Nox - Nyctophobia
* Folkcello - Cello Requiem
* Zero-project - Knights of the Darkness
* Darren Curtis - The Final Stand
* Darren Curtis - Soul’s Departure
* Myuu - Shelter
* Myuu - Pop Goes the Weasel (Traditional Cover)
* Tri-Tachyon - Tannhauser Gate
* Myuu - Carnival Freaks
* Kevin MacLeod - Unease Piano
* Myuu - Cold Shivers
* Myuu - Cornered
* Three Chain Links - Dance Harder
* Opening and Closing Themes by Nathan Kross and Rob Stith