Prologue
The Guest
Umahte, the Mother, navigated the stars,
searching for the vessel of her creation.
Lord Braddock of Miradorn receives a guest, later revealed to be Tonzei Amara, the immortal Bleeding Iris and king of Prarisritai and the vast city-army Kana Balerrha. Braddock’s attempt to poison Tonzei fails, and his chattel’s assassination attempt is thwarted. The chattel, Itzal, is exposed as a Shackled Iris. Tonzei slays Braddock and offers Itzal freedom through acceptance of her Bargain. She agrees but informs the king that she must accept her Bargain in a shaded space. She leaves the city behind and accompanies the king back to Kana Balerrha. Within a war tent, she witnesses a brutal execution of a pregnant woman featuring a sadistic sycophant. She submits herself to the Bargain.
Chapter I
Hidden Intentions
19 Years Later
Umahte, finding no canvas worthy of her stroke,
made a world all her own.
Leviticus, the viskas’ leader, briefs his disciples before sending them into Rindaul, guided by the cartographer Toba and sheltered by a sympathetic baker, Arned. Odalig takes his station in the Hedgeton district after bribing a vagrant to give up his bench. Using wit, insults, and gifts of bread, he wins over a hostile crowd, turning their despair into simmering resentment against their rulers. As he stirs the slums into unrest, Odalig feels the accusing gaze of his demon, the shadow of Shetani who presents to him a Bargain. While Bleeding Iris’ are viewed unfavorably throughout Seltonwelf, as a Shackled Iris, he instead garners respect from the peasants. Odalig does not notice the beggar from the bench watching him intently beyond the crowd.
Chapter II
Caught in a Snare
Umahte tore the flesh from the surrounding stars,
stitching them together to create the perfect world.
At the Tara Manticore—a brothel, his home, and his place of employ—Odalig finds himself torn between the comfort of Baldana’s embrace and the crushing weight of his recent misfortunes. He recounts to Baldana the day’s events. Earlier that day, he and his fellow viskas were confronted by Itzal bal-Reginla, the Prime Nodakh of Law Enforcement, a Bleeding Iris with the ability to control shadows. She accused them of involvement in the murder of Arned Prisham, the baker and crown-appointed erken. At the law enforcement command post, the viskas endured intimidation as Itzal demonstrated her abilities, blinding one of them with conjured darkness. The confrontation escalated until King Tonzei Amara appeared, diffusing tensions between Itzal and Leviticus. The king, sporting his characteristic obsession with Shetani and their divine Bargains, notices Odalig’s status as a Shackled Iris. Tonzei urges Odalig to accept his Bargain. Odalig explains his hesitancy, claiming that his Bargain is as follows: Give up the entirety of his humanity for nothing in return. The king departs with one last appeal for Odalig to reconsider.
Chapter III
No Right to Know
Into her perfect design,
she would route the reservoir of creation.
Haunted by his encounter with King Amara, Odalig leaves the brothel and makes his way to the Anteseer, hoping answers will calm him. Along the way he crosses paths with Leviticus, whose evasive words about how the king allegedly murders women he beds only deepens Odalig’s unease. Inside the Anteseer’s hut, Odalig spends his last coin on another futile attempt to uncover his mother’s killer, only to be met with disappointment when his purchased information about the Anteseer proves false. Later, in an unexpected moment of candor, Leviticus reveals fragments of the Anteseer’s past, hinting at a strange, intimate connection between them. Though grateful, Odalig is left suspicious of Leviticus’ motives. Short of coin, Odalig returns to the brothel.
Chapter IV
Chew and Swallow
Umahte painted the skies blue
and bespeckled the earth with greenery.
Odalig awakens sore and exhausted from overexerting himself in pursuit of money for another visit to the Anteseer. Baldana tends to him with affection. Despite lingering pain, he joins the viskas for their mission, only to find Leviticus absent, leaving Toba in charge of planning day’s orations. Odalig reports to the bakery with his fellow viskas. He receives from a soldier his allotment of bread for distribution. The bread appears peculiar and unappealing. Nevertheless, Odalig takes the bread and reports to Hedgeton to rile its destitute citizens. There, he encounters the vagrant from his previous outing. This time, the vagrant abandons the bench without a bribe. His oration takes a grim turn when a man who accepts bread from him suddenly collapses and dies in front of the crowd. The onlookers, convinced by an elderly woman that the bread was poisoned with “Mati,” quickly turn on Odalig, branding him a traitor and an agent of the enemy. Surrounded by a furious mob spiraling into rabid frenzy, Odalig realizes his only option is to flee.
Chapter V
Run, The Accused
She filled all the basins of the world with water
and folded the plains to make mountains.
Odalig flees through the streets of Rindaul as an enraged mob pursues him. An arrow from seemingly no wear guides him into a dead-end alley. He prepares for death, only for the mob to inexplicably overlook him. A mysterious woman, revealed to be a Bleeding Iris named Sakkati, uses powerful illusions to cloak him and leads him to safety. Odalig follows her through the city until she brings him to a butcher’s shop that secretly serves as a hideout. There, she introduces him to Listern Cattlehoon, a foreign warrior, and to Odalig’s surprise, the vagrant he had twice encountered during his orations. Now revealed as Aklyaire Oto, a Bleeding Iris in disguise, the vagrant greets Odalig warmly and invites him to talk.
Chapter VI
The More You Know
It was a brilliant design,
but she had more gifts to give, for she was gracious.
Odalig finds himself in the company of Aklyaire Oto and his strange allies—Sakkati the illusionist, Listern the Survivor, and the quiet Bleeding Iris Zerasha—who reveal that they have been following him and share a common enemy: King Amara. Over drinks and uneasy introductions, Odalig learns that the poisoning incident was no true plot but a symbolic punishment for his refusal of the king’s request to accept his Bargain. The group reveals they intend to kill the immortal monarch. Though they press Odalig to join their cause, his thoughts shift suddenly to Baldana when Listern hints at the danger his loved ones might face. Overcome with fear for her safety, Odalig breaks from the meeting, using his adrenaline to outpace Listern and even pierce through Sakkati’s illusions. He escapes the butcher’s hideout and vanishes into the crowded streets.
Chapter VII
Headache
She knew she could not admire her creation alone.
Life was born.
Odalig flees the drainage system and slips past the city-army’s perimeter, making his way into the Kana Balerrha’s western outskirts, determined to reunite with Baldana at the Trimptan Jans. When he arrives, he finds the brothel ransacked, blood upon the floorboards, Madame Meladhi distraught, and Baldana abducted in a brutal assault carried out by soldiers seemingly at the king’s command. Overcome with guilt, Odalig vows to turn himself in to save her, believing his refusal of his Bargain brought this punishment upon them. After leaving Meladhi behind, he encounters a drunken stranger who offers him a drink. The stranger reveals herself as Zerasha, shrouded by Sakkati’s illusions, moments before Odalig succumbs to poison and collapses.
Chapter VIII
Unwelcomed Words
Umahte forfeited a modicum of her power to create mankind.
A reflection of herself.
Odalig awakens in the salt room of the butcher’s shop, still reeling from poison, only to discover that their schemes run deeper than he imagined. Pressed for answers about Baldana, he explodes with rare fury, forcing Aklyaire to reveal their captive, the Anteseer, Minneviku, whom they had abducted as leverage. Minneviku reluctantly discloses the truth: Baldana lives, but she is comatose. Shattered by grief and guilt, Odalig can barely process the revelation before Minneviku departs, parting with a final, devastating truth: It was Odalig’s own father who murdered his mother. Odalig is crushed beneath the weight of loss, betrayal, and unbearable revelations.
Chapter IX
Guiding Light
She walked amongst her creations,
appreciating the beauty in things both sentient and quiescent.
Reeling from grief and drink, Odalig wallows in despair until Zerasha enters and reveals her Gift: the power to glimpse and guide destiny through a radiant golden thread of light. Though skeptical, Odalig is shaken when her vision suggests a path that could lead to restoring Baldana’s unconscious mind. Torn between disbelief and desperate hope, he allows her to draw him up from his stupor, clinging to the faint possibility of salvation. When he joins Aklyaire and the others, Odalig admits his distrust but concedes their cause is now his only chance, binding himself to their company and the uncertain path ahead.
Chapter X
New Beginnings
After a time, mankind grew ungrateful,
despite the Mother’s sacrifice.
After escaping Kana Balerrha through hidden passages, Odalig is led by Aklyaire’s band to their secret encampment, Camp Harki’ara, which has shadowed the city-army for over a decade. Exhausted, Odalig collapses into uneasy sleep. By morning, Aklyaire finally begins to answer Odalig’s questions, revealing his own past in service to Tonzei and hinting at the rebellion’s origins. More critically, he explains his belief that Odalig’s so-called Curse is in fact the key to Shetani’s design: a means to grant the god a foothold in the mortal plane and the only power capable of destroying the immortal king. Odalig agrees to consider the Bargain.
Chapter XI
A Warm Welcome
Mankind yearned for more.
They constructed walls and built palaces.
At Camp Harki’ara’s morning counsel, Aklyaire paints Odalig as a willing ally, omitting his reluctance. When brought before the outlaws, Odalig delivers a stirring introduction, confessing his past as a viska under King Amara, and vowing loyalty to the rebels, earning their approval despite his doubts. The camp holds a celebration for their new ally, where Odalig learns that the manogi rice he ate contained reaproot, a mild narcotic used to calm nerves, a revelation that frustrates him but also exposes Aklyaire’s rare vulnerability and regret over failing to protect Baldana. Aklyaire insists Odalig must begin training with his inner circle—Listern, Zerasha, and Sakkati—while hinting that only Odalig’s Bargain might truly topple the immortal king. Left alone amid the revelry, Odalig mourns Baldana.
Chapter XII
Clatter and Chatter
Mankind spurned unity and divided themselves into factions.
They splintered Umahte’s institutions.
Odalig begins his combat training under Listern and later Sakkati, stumbling through lessons in technique while gradually gaining a grasp of swordplay. Listern teaches him the basics with a mixture of humor and sudden tests of awareness, even sharing stories of his distant northern homeland and the Bleeding Iris blessed with the power of healing who first inspired his departure. Sakkati, sterner and sharper, drills Odalig in precision and endurance, showing him practical stances while revealing her own Curse: She cannot speak lies. Their exchanges leave Odalig both frustrated and contemplative, wrestling with his distrust of the rebels, his doubts about Aklyaire’s mysterious plan, and his desperate hope that accepting his Bargain may be the only path to saving Baldana.
Chapter XIII
Red Dusk
Umahte acted the arbiter,
but even her incredible power was not enough to quell this vicious surge.
Odalig’s training continues under Zerasha, their sparring filled with banter and veiled frustrations, until Aklyaire interrupts and dismisses her. Curious about Zerasha’s Gift, Odalig asks to see it again before she leaves, only to find its golden thread once more tethered to Aklyaire. After some guarded talk and shared drink, Aklyaire leads him to a nearby rise overlooking the battlefield between Kana Balerrha and Rindaul. There, Odalig witnesses the full scope of Tonzei Amara’s ruthlessness—trebuchets hurling fire, siege towers advancing under supernatural cover, and the anguished cries of innocents carried on the night air. For the first time, Odalig feels the weight of complicity in the king’s atrocities and begins to grasp why Aklyaire and his rebels fight. Though still distrustful, the horrors he beholds plant the first seeds of conviction.
Chapter XIV
Unbidden Arrangements
Umahte recognized she could not shepherd the flock alone.
She required acolytes.
Camp Harki’ara prepares to depart for Endodens, the next city King Amara intends to conquer. However, their efforts are disrupted by a sudden encroaching darkness. Prime Nodakh Itzal bal-Reginla emerges with soldiers, accusing Aklyaire of usurpation and unleashing a battle that engulfs the camp in shadow. Listern defends Odalig and Aklyaire against the invisible assault, managing to wound Itzal, but the conflict is shattered by the arrival of another, far more terrifying figure: Prime Nodakh Sarza Baranak, The Horror. Manifesting as a grotesque vision of Baldana, Sarza’s appearance paralyzes Odalig with dread and scatters friend and foe alike. Listern ultimately carries Odalig and Aklyaire to safety, leaving their camp in ruins, many of their members dead, and Sakkati abandoned.
Chapter XV
Weighted Misery
Sacrificing the bulk of her potency, she birthed twins.
Gods to rule alongside her.
Haunted by Sarza’s grotesque illusion of Baldana, Odalig falls into near silence and despair as the remnants of Camp Harki’ara retreat toward Endodens. Listern and Aklyaire try to coax him back to speech, while the camp grieves their dead. Zerasha visits Odalig, urging him to train, but her words cannot stir him from his catatonic state. Days blur together until the earth itself begins to tremble—the advance of Kana Balerrha, the great city-army. As the renegades gather at the treeline to witness the serpent-like force descending on Endodens, Aklyaire presses Odalig to speak. At last, hollowed by grief and stripped of hope, Odalig surrenders: He will accept the Bargain.
Interlude
Those Left Behind
The first of these gods was Vetelu,
who was granted their own domain to govern.
The setting shifts to Prarisritai, where the harsh desert landscape has forged its people into a resilient and formidable nation, capable of enduring large predators, scarcity, and relentless heat. Amid this unforgiving terrain, Algemaht Harana Tinak journeys with her massive, antlered nanatkia companion, Maru, to a hidden cave guarded by soldiers. Inside waits Perrielle, a frail caretaker who has long tended to a mysterious child of shadow, a being with glowing crimson eyes and an unsettling, ethereal form. Their conversation hints at Sybyl’s long-brewing plans and Shetani’s greater designs, as well as the child’s destined role in what is to come. Harana’s reverence for the infant—already growing in power—underscores its importance to Prarisritai’s future, casting a foreboding light on the forces moving against Seltonwelf and the world.
Chapter XVI
Welcome and Farewell
The second of these gods was Shetani,
also granted dominion over a measure of mankind.
Kana Balerrha solidifies its dominance over Endodens’ plain, with the Prarisritai army and its forces preparing for the imminent siege. Odalig lies in quiet, reflective anticipation, sharing a final, intimate farewell with Listern, Zerasha, and Aklyaire, as they express their promise to honor his sacrifice. With a mixture of fear and fond remembrance of Baldana, Odalig accepts the terms of the Bargain, surrendering his humanity to the shadowy, onyx-threaded demon that has haunted him for decades. The demon, now a permanent tether within him, assumes control of Odalig’s body, propelling his consciousness outward and leaving him powerless yet aware.
Chapter XVII
A Rude Awakening
With the aid of her benefactors,
mankind was reminded of the merits of unity.
Zerasha, Aklyaire, and Listern anxiously observe as the process drags on, only to witness Odalig’s eyes overtaken by inky darkness rather than the expected red tendrils. When Odalig finally awakens, he speaks with a voice and demeanor drastically different from his own, exhibiting extraordinary strength and an air of detachment. The new host asserts its independence, dismissing the group’s attempts to involve themselves, and demonstrates overwhelming power when it effortlessly shoves Listern aside. The demon-hosted Odalig leaves the tent to confront King Amara alone, leaving Zerasha, Aklyaire, and Listern stunned and powerless to intervene.
Chapter XVIII
Lofty Ambitions
Peace calmed the world for ages,
with each god governing their respective domains.
Odalig is forced to watch helplessly as the demon possessing his body drives him at unnatural speed toward Kana Balerrha, consumed only by its obsession with killing King Amara. Though Odalig protests, he remains bound and voiceless within his own mind. The demon slips past inattentive guards and presses into the heart of the city-army. When they reach a war tent guarded by two elite, blind moagimei warriors, the demon confronts them with arrogance and deadly efficiency, cutting one down in brutal fashion. The tense clash is interrupted by the arrival of Algemaht Njadu Dabaru, a wheelchair-bound commander and Bleeding Iris, who instantly perceives the corruption in Odalig’s eyes. Calm but wary, the general dismisses his surviving guard and formally introduces himself, prompting the demon to respond by declaring itself the “kingslayer.”
Chapter XIX
Danger That Divides
Like everything sentient, the siblings, Vetelu and Shetani,
indulged the temptatious draw of greed.
Odalig watches helplessly as the demon inhabiting his body confronts Njadu, underestimating the frail-looking man’s power. After some banter, the general reveals the terrifying Gift Shetani granted him: vomiting forth a massive, crimson-hilted sword from his own body, his swollen abdomen deflating as he rises from his wheelchair, restored to full strength. The ensuing fight shatters the demon’s confidence; Dabaru’s blade cleaves through Odalig’s arm and scimitar with impossible ease, breaking the demon’s hold and returning Odalig to his body at the cost of unbearable pain. Severely wounded, Odalig collapses, briefly sensing the presence of Baldana as his consciousness ebbs. Dabaru suddenly realizes he made a grave mistake and, by striking down Odalig, has inadvertently gone against the designs of someone named Sybyl.
Chapter XX
Healing Truths
Each of Umahte’s offspring posited
they deserved sole dominion over mankind.
Odalig awakens to find himself miraculously restored after his near-fatal battle with Njadu. His missing arm has been regrown through Aklyaire’s hidden second Gift: the power to reverse time on injuries at the cost of his own lifespan. The toll has left Aklyaire frail and prematurely aged, but he insists Odalig was too important to lose. As Odalig regains his strength, he learns the demon has vanished from his body, leaving him with a renewed sense of freedom. Pressed for the truth, Aklyaire finally confesses that his real name is Sybyl, founder of a long-standing insurgency against King Amara that once smoldered within the king’s own retinue. Though betrayed years ago by Minneviku, the movement still survives in secret, and it was Sybyl’s allies from inside Kana Balerrha who ensured Odalig’s rescue. Odalig begins to see both the cost of Aklyaire’s sacrifice and the depth of the cause he has now become entangled in.
Chapter XXI
Merited Introductions
The war that would follow would pit kin against kin.
Man against man.
Odalig sits overlooking Endodens’ plain. He allows himself a glimmer of hope: Aklyaire’s Gift may be capable of restoring Baldana’s consciousness. Zerasha joins him, and their quiet conversation reveals her tragic past: the blight that devastated her family, her premature Bargain with Shetani to guide her parents toward prosperity, and how that power ultimately led them to ruin. Despite her candor, she withholds the details of her own Curse, admitting only that she feels bound to Aklyaire’s cause. When Zerasha departs, Odalig savors the silence, believing himself truly free of his demon at last—until a new voice invades his mind. This entity, calling itself Fedmule, reveals it is not Shetani reclaimed but another, far less self-serving deity who has chosen Odalig, promising to “right Shetani’s wrongs.”
Chapter XXII
Desires of the Deity
The war turned the oceans red
with the blood of the Mother’s creations.
Odalig confronts the reality of his new bond with Fedmule, the so-called “runt of Umahte’s litter,” a god infamous for failure and weakness. Initially mocking Fedmule as a useless arbitrator, Odalig quickly learns the deity is far from powerless when it tries to seize control of his mind. Yet, drawing on years of training as a viska, Odalig manages to resist the god’s intrusion, reclaiming his mental sovereignty and realizing that Fedmule’s hold over him is tenuous. Their mental sparring reveals the god’s clouded memories of their shared years, its resentment at being tethered to a mortal, and the shame of having lost control during the battle with Njadu. Odalig presses for answers—why Fedmule chose him and how to rid himself of them—but the god offers only fragmented explanations of their Mother’s purpose and their duty to protect humanity from its divine kin. As Odalig gazes over Kana Balerrha, Fedmule promises to reveal the true reason they must kill King Amara.
Chapter XXIII
Throw Away the Key
Umahte knew the only way to put a stop to this world-ending war
was to do what she could not.
Tension erupts as Odalig reveals Fedmule’s presence and a frantic Aklyaire forces the group to confront the reality of a god lodged in Odalig’s mind. Fedmule desperately tries to seize control, prompting debate: Aklyaire reasons that only a god can kill a god and suggests letting Fedmule take the reins, while Odalig resists losing his autonomy. As they argue, Odalig explains Fedmule’s warning: that Shetani is siphoning humanity through Bargains to be reborn into the physical realm, and that King Amara’s appetite for Bleeding Irises is accelerating that return, making the assassination of the king urgent. Though uneasy with Fedmule, Aklyaire and Listern ultimately agree it’s safer to keep the deity subdued in Odalig’s subconscious rather than free. It is decided Odalig must redouble his training so he can still strike at the king even if Fedmule remains only a tethered voice.
Chapter XXIV
Caught Off Guard
She siphoned the remainder of her power into one last offspring.
A resolution that would be her undoing.
Odalig spars with Zerasha under Fedmule’s constant interference, but a dazing blow in training gives the god the chance to seize control of his body. Zerasha immediately recognizes the shift and confronts Fedmule, but their clash nearly turns lethal before Odalig’s resistance restrains the god’s fury. Fedmule storms toward Aklyaire’s tent, intent on silencing the elder for his blasphemies, and Odalig wages an internal struggle to stop him. With Baldana’s fate fueling his resolve, Odalig manages to wrest back control at the last moment, sparing Aklyaire’s life. Exhausted but triumphant, he realizes he has done the impossible: He subdued a god. Aklyaire seizes on this revelation, declaring it proof that Odalig can unleash Fedmule against King Amara and then reclaim his autonomy afterward, laying the foundation for a plan to assassinate the monarch and restore Baldana.
Chapter XXV
Treating with a God
From the remnants of what power remained,
Umahte forfeited her entirety to create the mediator, Fedmule.
Aklyaire outlines the daring, intricate plan to secure Odalig a private audience with King Amara, setting the attack in motion two days before the king’s scheduled assault on Endodens. However, before the plot can proceed, Odalig must settle terms with the god Fedmule. Alone in the woods, Odalig exposes his guilt over past lies and his personal stake—rescuing Baldana. He bargains pragmatically that Fedmule will receive temporary control when the time comes to strike the king, while Odalig keeps overall command until that moment. Fedmule begrudgingly accepts on the condition that Odalig can in fact secure the promised audience.
Chapter XXVI
Parting Words
Instilled in Fedmule were the Mother’s desires
and the will to do what she could not.
Aklyaire rallies the insurgents of Camp Harki’ara with a speech, framing their mission to assassinate King Amara as the culmination of years of sacrifice. Though his words inspire the crowd, Odalig views the oration with skepticism, hearing little more than propaganda and questioning whether such rhetoric had ever truly sparked change. Fedmule mocks both the speech and Odalig’s doubts, while only Zerasha provides him with candid conversation. She acknowledges Aklyaire’s nerves, hints cryptically at her own destiny bound to forces beyond her control, and reminds Odalig that without Aklyaire’s Gift their plan could not succeed. The two briefly consider the possibility of life after victory: Aklyaire dreaming of retirement, Odalig of Baldana’s return, and Zerasha of finally finding her own way. As Aklyaire concludes with a call for courage, the company steels itself for the task ahead, to end the immortal king’s reign or die in the attempt.
Chapter XXVII
Under Cover of Darkness
Fedmule’s potency paled in comparison to their older siblings,
so they called on their kin to hold arbitration.
Aklyaire leads Odalig, Zerasha, Listern, and Leileo through the Endodens plains under cover of night, their infiltration bringing them into Kana Balerrha’s livestock enclosures. The presence of towering yandi and the unease of their mission weigh heavily on Odalig, even as Aklyaire masks his frailty with humor. Their goal becomes clear when they spot a fortified house marked by the Prarisritarian red eye and guarded by two moagimei. Disagreement breaks out over how to engage the formidable sentries, prompting Odalig to reluctantly allow Fedmule to take control. The god’s reckless aggression alerts the guards, leading to a brutal skirmish that leaves Odalig injured and bleeding, but the moagimei slain with Listern’s decisive aid. Though Aklyaire manages to staunch Odalig’s wound with his dwindling Gift, the healing visibly weakens him. With little time to waste, the group enters the building.
Chapter XXVIII
Hide and Seek
The arbitrament dissolved in a bid between Vetelu and Shetani
to win Fedmule’s favor.
The team presses deeper into the luxurious residence in search of their target. After navigating lavish halls and uncovering a frightened young woman, they locate the Bleeding Iris they seek, Corman Graemund, hiding behind a wardrobe. Time is critical, as enemy reinforcements approach, and the group swiftly extracts Corman. Once outside, Odalig and the others confront the Corman’s Gift, granting him the power to manipulate emotions, but Aklyaire skillfully negotiates with him to avoid bloodshed. Using his emotional influence, Corman commands the massive herds of horses and yandi to stampede, creating a protective barrier for the group. With the path cleared and the animals under their control, the team mounts horses and prepares to ride out.
Chapter XXIX
Fly, the Redeemer
Recognizing there was nothing they could do to quell their greed,
Fedmule enacted Umahte’s final resolution.
Odalig and his companions ride headlong into Kana Balerrha atop horses guided by Corman’s potent emotional manipulation, accompanied by a stampede of massive yandi that clears a path through the city. The sheer power of the herd wreaks havoc on the streets, leaving destruction and casualties in its wake, forcing Odalig to confront the horrifying cost of their mission. Despite the devastation, the chaos provides a strategic advantage, allowing the group to approach King Amara’s mobile palace largely unimpeded.
Chapter XXX
Fated Reunions
Fedmule released their pool of divine vigor,
an act of self-destruction that consumed their kin.
Odalig and his companions navigate the aftermath of the stampede into King Amara’s provisional palace, moving cautiously through a grand hall. They face resistance from moagimei and the Itzal bal-Reginla, whose shadow-weaving powers and combat prowess threaten to overwhelm the group. The group suffers a casualty; Leileo is killed. Amid the chaos, the unexpected arrival of Algemaht Njadu Dabaru turns the tide. Odalig discovers the general fights alongside them, and Njadu effortlessly dispatches the moagimei, creating an opening for Odalig to advance. Using the confusion and darkness to his advantage, Odalig steadily makes his way down the hall, through a lavish corridor, and eventually into an immense throne room. There, illuminated by brilliant light and surrounded by grandeur, Odalig comes face-to-face with his ultimate objective: King Tonzei Amara.
Chapter XXXI
His Shameful Royalty
Vetelu and Shetani fought against the deluge of divine energy,
but they did not prevail.
Odalig confronts King Amara in the throne room, finding the king in a disheveled state—drunk, slovenly, yet still arrogantly adorned with his crown. Despite the king’s mocking nonchalance and philosophical musings on time and immortality, Odalig’s focus is unwavering: He demands the whereabouts of Baldana. The king feigns ignorance and attempts to distract Odalig with his curiosity and requests to witness his Gift, displaying arrogance and inebriated vulnerability. Frustrated by Amara’s evasions, Odalig unleashes Fedmule. The god breaks through the mental barrier and charges the king.
Chapter XXXII
A Dance with His Eminence
Vetelu, Shetani, and Fedmule were propelled from the mortal plane.
Their influence expelled alongside them.
Odalig, through Fedmule, confronts duels King Amara. The king, initially evasive and mocking, attempts to engage Fedmule in a sparring display, revealing his arrogance and overconfidence in his supposed immortality. Fedmule strikes with supernatural speed and precision, frustrating the king. King Amara raised his hand to catch Fedmule’s bade. However, his invulnerability fails him, and Fedmule slices through the king’s hand. As King Amara recoils in pain and disbelief, Fedmule drives the attack home, plunging the blade through the king’s chest, ultimately ending his life. In his final moments, Amara’s corrupted eyes reveal a fleeting recognition of Odalig, and he utters a single word—“Son?”—hinting at a profound familial connection.
Chapter XXXIII
A Confounding Assertion
But as divine beings with the blessings of the Mother, Umahte,
they were not truly lost to the world.
In the aftermath of King Tonzei Amara’s death, Odalig is stunned by the reality of his final word. Fedmule retreats from control, leaving Odalig to process the victory, while Aklyaire, Zerasha, Listern, Corman, Dabaru, and Sarza Baranak arrive at the throne room, confirming Itzal’s flight. The chapter takes a dark and unsettling turn as Aklyaire, in a macabre act, removes and swallows the king’s eye, triggering a violent, almost supernatural reaction within himself that spreads crimson tendrils across his sclera. Odalig, horrified and disoriented, tries to comprehend what is happening, but before he can intervene or question further, darkness overwhelms him, and he loses consciousness.
Chapter XXXIV
Echoes of Deceit
They fought against the forced departure.
Clawing at the space between the world and the beyond.
Odalig awakens in a straw-strewn prison to Aklyaire, miraculously restored to youthful vigor. Aklyaire confesses his betrayal: He saved Odalig from his dying mother, orchestrated his upbringing, and manipulated nearly every hardship in his life to fuel hatred of Tonzei Amara because only one of the king’s own blood could kill him. Aklyaire admits he gained that restorative power by consuming the king’s corrupted eye, explaining his sudden youth and enhanced Gifts, and reveals that the insurgency’s actions were engineered to shape Odalig into the instrument of regicide. As Fedmule rages, forcibly seizing control and attempting to strike Aklyaire, the god finds him invulnerable to harm; Aklyaire calmly seals Odalig in the cell, tells Fedmule that Odalig’s tainted soul cannot be trusted, and voice full of remorse, leaves the boy condemned to die, insisting his sentence is necessary for the greater plan.
Chapter XXXV
Lukewarm Delights
With the remnants of their power,
they maintained a loose tether to our plane.
Still reeling from Aklyaire’s betrayal, Odalig retreats deep into his mind to escape Fedmule’s attempts at apology and the crushing weight of manipulation that has defined his life. His self-imposed exile is interrupted when Baldana appears at his cell door, seemingly restored and radiant, giving him a fleeting moment of hope. But as their conversation unfolds, Baldana reveals her own deception: She had been working with Aklyaire from the start, seducing and binding Odalig under false pretenses in exchange for the promise of power and Shetani’s favor. Her confession unravels any remaining illusion of loyalty or love between them, laying bare her resentment over his “selfishness” and his failure to save her from her former life. As Baldana leaves, promising to attend his execution, Odalig’s hope and identity finally collapse. He willingly relinquishes control of his mind, allowing himself to sink into an infinite void of despair, reduced to a speck of consciousness adrift in nothingness.
Chapter XXXVI
Comforting Absence
Umahte’s offspring were bound in limbo.
Watching the Mother’s creation evolve through half-shut eyes.
Zerasha visits Odalig in his cell to confess the truth about her past and her servitude to Aklyaire. She reveals the secret of her garnet—a cursed token of her Gift that binds her will to whoever possesses it—and recounts how desperation to save her childhood friend Tempai led her to bargain with Aklyaire. Through this confession, she admits her complicity in Aklyaire’s schemes while insisting she never intended harm to Odalig. As a gesture of atonement, she surrenders the garnet to him, vowing to help free him and Sakkati, who is discovered to be in a neighboring cell. But when Odalig rises to take it, his body moves with an unnatural fluidity, and his eyes are consumed by inky darkness. Fedmule speaks through him, revealing that Odalig has vanished entirely from within himself.
Epilogue
The Sun Rises Not Alone
But with humanity to gain,
they can return to us again.
Algemaht Harana Tinak journeys across the scorching Prarisritai desert with her massive beast companion, Maru, to a hidden cave where she seeks to confirm the safety of a child left in her care. Inside, she is greeted by the frail but lively Perrielle. Harana soon discovers that the child is no longer a helpless baby but a shadow-wrapped, speaking infant. The child, Shetani, whose fiery gaze reveals their growing power and sentience, explains that Sybyl has already defeated King Amara and is now feeding them the humanity once denied by others. Kneeling in awe before her lord, Harana receives her new orders: to gather the remaining Prarisritai forces, ready the ports for Shetani’s passage, and prepare for the deity’s conquest of the Seltonwelf before Vetelu, Shetani’s rising rival, surpasses them entirely.