Book 1 Synopsis

Book 1 began with the Resistance attack on the capital city of Aurelia. The initial infiltration was successful, but the attack ended in failure after mysterious magic fire appeared around the mountain and started killing the Resistance soldiers, while not harming the Aurelians or the city.

Less than a month following the defeat at Aurelia, the bulk of the Resistance had retreated to their camp in the Western Chain mountains. Sibeel al-Haiya, still determined to free the nations from Aurelia's clutches, sent Razia Malundama and her team, Squad Chi, to investigate the secret weapon that Aurelia had inadvertently revealed. According to the arcanists, the weapon had combined magic from three distinct schools of magic at the same time, Evocation, Divination, and Abjuration. In order to investigate, Squad Chi was to travel to the capital cities of the Elves, the Dwarves, and the Humans to investigate each school of magic for clues.

Squad Chi set off on their journey, first to the city of Tritenea, and met with Resistance sympathizer, Chancellor Janus. He connected them with Ourania, an Aaracokra airship captain, who conducted merchant trade and illegal activities on the side. She and her first mate, Wulfric, brought Squad Chi onto their airship, the Amber Sun, and set off first to Mythal Thalore. There, they teamed up with Elysia, an elf wizard of Evocation, who was later revealed to be a secret sympathizer of the Resistance. It was then that Arrow was kidnapped by members of a necromancy cult operating in the city. The team had to escape Mythal Thalore suddenly when they were ambushed, and it was revealed that the lead Aurelian officer in the city, Curio al-Amiraal, was in fact a Tiefling.

The team escaped to the Dragonborn city of Kirdan and helped a local salvager guild. Along the way, they stumbled into a strange place called The Realm of Mirrors, where each member saw strange visions of alternative pasts, odd futures, and even stranger scenes. Razia heard mention of a strange person named Aeneas. Elia found a book called "The Cold Touch of Time," which was full of horrible knowledge. They all then meet the "ruler" of this realm, a stranger named Miraj, who sends them back to the Material Plane. After much journey, they reached the dwarves city of Hearth, where they met Vulcan Thunderforge, a young dwarf Artificier. Cothromak's father had also come from Hearth, and they were given a family welcome before leaving to Hornduril, along with Vulcan.

Hornduril was not at all peaceful for the team, as the city was dealing with the effects of a strange curse from the Dwarven deity Moradin. Elia and Elysia went to the library to look for a book called "The Cold Touch of Time," and encountered a powerful sorceress by the name of Khatiyah, who nearly destroyed the library trying to take the book. They escaped, and found that the book was a record of the history of Necromancy and a live conversation between the author Druj, and someone named Taneen.

Also in Hornduril, they met a strange soul bound warrior named Damara al'Tajiir, who had been made as a result of necromancy magic. She had been researching necromancy in the city, hoping for a way to reverse her condition, and had found Ultima Memoria, which was written by De-Lakor-Shah, the arch nemesis of El-Lakah and the founder of Necromancy. News of an Aurelian defeat in the west at the hands of the orcs sparked fears of an orc invasion, so Cothromak and Vulcan spoke to the dwarves counsel to ask that a dwarves army be rallied. Loranis Bilaa-Ism began receiving messages from Moradin, as he was the chosen messenger that Moradin would use to instruct his people. Moradin's wife Barinard, who was Arrow's patron, also revealed where she was, and that they had to find "The Evening Pool." Loranis spoke openly in the temple of Moradin, which risked blowing Team Chi's cover, forcing them to leave the city with Vulcan accompanying.

Crossing the Scurosian Wastes, the team reached the Causalis Morass where they met two people being attacked by Necromancy-enhanced plants. One was an Aurelian named Albion al-Muskrik, and the other was a human named Rapha'ael. After reducing the pair, they all made their way to Emberwood, which was preparing for their annual Festival for the Three Champions. Sibeel met with Razia there, and having seen Albion when they entered the city, revealed that Albion was in fact Vir al-Amir, the adopted son of the Aurelian king and heir to the throne. However, Albion had wished to meet with Sibeel, so they opted to not assassinate the prince.

In Emberwood, the team participated in many of the festival activities and heard the song of the Three Champions. Razia and Albion met and discussed what it could look like to have Albion join the Resistance if he met with Sibeel and heard him out. Meanwhile, having solved the riddles of Ultima Memoria, the team found out where the "Evening Pool" that Barinard spoke of was. They split ways with Elysia, Vulcan, Albion, and Rapha'ael, who all went with Sibeel, and traveled to the Maramort Sea and found the ruins of El-Lakah's village. Here, they found five obsidian obelisks with strange writing, and De-Lakor-Shah bearing a shepherd staff. He summoned undead from the ground and they all did battle.

After many struggles, the party defeated De-Lakor-Shah. Damara took the shepherd staff which no one else could hold because of the necromantic energies flowing from it. Arrow was rescued when she passed through a portal in the Evening Pool that led from the Realm of Night. It was then she revealed that De-Lakor-Shah had not died, but instead had relinquished his name and had taken a new one. This being had found a way to take multiple names, which allowed him to survive death. De-Lakor-Shah was dead, but he still survived in another name as Druj. Furthermore, this Druj had control of the orcs, had orchestrated the Aurelian defeat in the west, and was planning an attack on a fortress near Hornduril called Eadra.

The party rushed back to meet with Sibeel, who had gathered the Resistance in the Southern Chain. They also met Albion there, who had decided to join the Resistance thanks to Razia's urging. Other old friends were there as well, like Elysia, Vulcan, Ourania, and Wulfric, all who had joined the Resistance. The party told Sibeel and the leaders of the Resistance what they had learned about the impending orc attack on Eadra, and Sibeel urged them to go to battle. Even though it was not their's to fight, they should remain united against the orcs and prevent anymore devastation to the people that they fought for. Inspired by this, Albion returned to Aurelia to learn what he could about the secret weapon to report back to Sibeel and the others. Half of the Resistance decided to go, and they left for Eadra soon after.

At Eadra, they found a massive fortress built across the widest pass through the mountains. The Resistance made camp and readied their defenses. Other allies were called from across the nations, such as Bokeh's salvager friends from Kirdan, and Cothromak's dwarves army which he had asked the counsel for. As Moradin's Messenger, Loranis prayed a prayer of blessing over the dwarves, and he received a gift from Moradin in the form of a red cloak, which would summon Moradin's power to the battlefield. The orcs came soon after, a great host of nearly two hundred thousand. Artillery boomed through the day and through the night, felling a great number of the enemy. Then suddenly, airships appeared on the horizon. They acted like friends, but then destroyed the allied airships above Eadra, and one loaded with explosives slammed into the wall and breached it.

The orcs swarmed towards the breach in the wall, but courage would not be outdone as Team Chi and the Resistance bravely held them off. Loranis summoned Moradin's great power and a fiery image of the deity appeared above the wall and a hammer with which he struck the anvil and decimated thousands of orcs with fire. Sibeel led a counter charge, and the orc army was defeated. But the losses were many. At least half of Eadra's defenders had fallen, including Los Thunderforge of the dwarves. Many bore wounds which would never heal. Loranis had lost a hand, Vulcan the use of his legs, and Rapha'ael his left eye. But they were victorious.

Thanks to their bravery, public support for the Resistance was at a fever pitch. Sibeel and Squad Chi traveled to Tripolis to meet with Albion. He informed them that the weapon was the literal throne upon which the king sat. The throne was never built; it had always existed at the top of Mt. Sera before the Aurelians came. It was connected to a vast well of power flowing deep beneath the mountain which could cross the boundaries between the schools of magic and do impossible things. Only the Aurelian who bore the name of "al-Malik" could sit on the throne, and only the Aurelian named "al-Amir" could succeed him. Albion swore his allegiance to Sibeel and his Resistance and promised to take the throne as king and restore freedom to the nations.

During the Autumn Equinox festival, Sibeel and the party slipped into the city and climbed to the top of the holy mountain. They infiltrated the great fortress at the top and made their way into the throne room. They found King Primus there with nine body guards. Razia dropped in from above and killed the king, but it was an illusion. The nine bodyguards dropped their illusions and revealed that they were Tieflings, Drow, and Duergar, the evil versions of humans, elves, and dwarves. Albion pretended to still be loyal to King Primus, and then slew him from behind, and Sibeel and the party dealt with most of the bodyguards, but one escaped to another realm. Albion took the throne as king, Parliament supported him, and the day was one.

Three months later at the Winter Solstice Festival, many strange occurrences happened. Damara, Elia, Arrow, and Elysia were hunting for Damara's old teacher in the city who had twisted her body with necromancy. They killed him, but he spoke first of "the Lord of Night, primordial sovereign of the unoriginal sea." Far away, in the town of Hearth, Cothromak is with Vulcan and his clan celebrating Winter Solstice, when Miraj of the Realm of Mirrors greets him and declares the arrival of Chaos. Cothromak is thrown into a vision in which he physically receives the fire stone from his former teacher, and he sees a seven-headed dragon named Taneen breach through a sea of crystal glass. Waking up from the vision, he finds Hearth in flames as elementals from the planes of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air doing battle with each other.

Meanwhile, Razia is in Aurelia with Sibeel and Albion, celebrating Winter Solstice when he and Albion see someone that no one else can see. This stranger summons a large fire elemental that attacks Albion before it is finally slain. Razia chases after the strange man, who reveals that he is Aeneas, sent to bring "holy grief, in order to exact honorable praise." He delivers a warning to Razia about the future of Aurelia.

And faraway, Druj meets with his loyal Necromancers and brings them good news. Despite the loss of orcs at Eadra, their victory is assured, for they will surely outlast those who try to bring them low. There is an earthquake, with peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, and a hail storm, and Druj announces the long awaited advent of the night.