Chapter 1, Cedric’s point of view.
Cedric leads an expedition of eight students into the rainforest to search for rare herbs. Both the Commander’s boys are among the students, which worries Cedric. The only helpful student is the young Pathfinder, Attia.
They come across an enormous wild boar. One of the children, Logan, panics and runs. The boar gives chase, forcing Cedric to engage the beast. Despite well-placed blows from Attia’s bokken, and several arrows from one of the students, the boar is unstoppable. In desperation, Cedric slips into a berserk state. The boar impales him, but as he keeps attacking up until the moment of his death.
Chapter 2, Attia’s point of view
Attia is stunned when green light washes over the boar, magically healing its wounds. One of the Commander’s sons, Liam, engages the boar, allowing Attia to work slide it. All the while, Tessa continues to sink arrows into the beast.
The boar dies, but not before it manages to severely gore Liam. When it dies, a spectral white mist blasts out from its body, touching each of them.
Attia tells the group to be ready to move when she returns. She sprints off, searching for the boy who ran. She discovers that he toppled down a hill, into a giant trapdoor spider’s nest. Unable to help the boy, she returns to the group.
Chapter 3, Conner’s point of view
Conner uses healing magic to treat his brother’s wounds, but it’s a struggle. Attia returns, but she is clearly troubled. Conner remembers how Attia defended him from bullies in the past. Even though she says they’ll find Marcus safely back at the Citadel, he knows she’s lying.
He keeps her secret.
Chapter 4, Malcolm’s point of view
While traveling back to the Citadel, Malcolm starts seeing things. Every time he squints, he notices strange spirits following him. While passing a treacherous section of the trail, he sees a spirit at the bottom of the hill. He thinks he recognizes it.
Eventually, the group is intercepted by other Pathfinders. Attia describes the boar, and the lead Pathfinder, Felerin, is shocked. When Attia shares what really happened to Logan, Malcolm hears a voice in his head, confirming that Logon’s spirit was at the bottom of that hill.
Chapter 5, Liam’s point of view
Liam reflects on his poor performance in battle, and worries his father will judge him harshly. The group agrees not to discuss the strange white mist and the fact that the boar used magic to heal itself.
Soldiers approach. Conner and Liam are told to report to the Monastery, essentially the Citadel’s hospital, and the rest of the group is told to report to the Dean’s office.
Chapter 6, Eliana’s point of view
Dean Selandra Mayes questions Malcolm about what happened out in the jungle, but he becomes unresponsive. Eliana steps in and attempts to give a more detailed explanation of the events. Despite agreeing to keep it a secret, Eliana discusses the more mystical aspects of their encounter with the boar.
The Dean orders the group to stay silent about their encounter.
Chapter 7, Conner’s point of view
One of the healing professors assesses Conner’s work. She warns him about the risks of casting complex healing spells, but ultimately praises his efforts.
Their father, Duncan enters. He tells them the story of Shivertusk, the boar. He and Gunther hunted it, but ultimately spared it. He is aware of its magical abilities, and asks his sons if it displayed any strange powers during their fight.
Conner wonders how his father could have known.
Before leaving, Duncan reprimands Conner. While he was impressed with Conner’s efforts after the battle, if Conner were healing his brother throughout the fight, Liam wouldn’t have been so seriously wounded.
Chapter 8, Tessa point of view
Tessa endures a history lesson from her least favorite professor. While there are several human cities, scattered across the world, only three are considered ‘free’. Vorrenkempe to the north, Derregain to the west, and the Citadel, in the south.
All the rest of the settlements are ruled by demons. In some cities, demons grant people limited freedoms. In others, people are treated as slaves, or even cattle.
As the lesson advances, the role of humanity is discussed. The professors asks the class why humanity is permitted to survive. There must be something forcing the demons to keep humans around.
Chapter 9, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm is dozing in Dean Mayes runecrafting class. In his dream, he is a withered man, climbing a hill. When he reaches the top, he looks down on a vast army of shuffling corpses. He reaches into his pouch and retrieves an icy sphere. All the undead suddenly face him. They seem to be gaining strength from the orb in his hand.
Malcolm wakes to find himself in the middle of an argument with the Dean. She sends him to see the Chancellor.
Chapter 10, Attia’s point of view
Attia attends a combat training class. Conner has been sent by his father, with instructions to learn how to heal in combat. While most students are unarmored and using practice weapons, one boy has a shield, armor and a sword.
Eventually, Attia is set against the armored boy. He deliberately attempts to harm her. She loses her temper and counterattacks. Her instructor prevents her from striking a lethal blow.
Chapter 11, Eliana’s point of view
Eliana is with the herbalism professor when the Dean bursts into the room, demanding additional rune supplies. Dean Mayes announces that the Black Tide, the annual migration of giant ants through the rainforest, is taking a different route this year. Its new route points directly toward the Citadel.
Chapter 12, Liam’s point of view
The people of the Citadel receive the bad news about the Black Tide. Since the ants will be passing through the farmlands, dozens of groups need to be dispatched to quickly harvest before the ants destroy everything. Regrettably, this requires the participation of children and young adults.
Chapter 13, Chariden’s point of view
The Demon Queen reflects on her hatred of the Citadel. There is a magical barrier surrounding the region that repels demons. Only her strongest servants, her Guardians, can pass through it. Fortunately, the barrier is useless against the Black Tide.
Normally, the Tide flows into the Black Scar, a highway of broken trees stretching from the savannah down to the swamps. Bartering with the savannah’s spider queen, Chariden managed to redirect the giant ants away from the Black Scar.
This year, they will pass through the Citadel’s lands. As insurance, Chariden tasks two of her three Guardians to assist the ants,
Chapter 14, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm meets with Chancellor Arronhelm. The Chancellor explains that several within the Citadel are possessed. Malcolm is the newest to join their ranks.
Malcolm questions the nature of the spirit living within him. He learns that it’s a necromancer. The Chancellor, having dreamt about this new spirt, has gathered several books on necromancy. He encourages Malcolm to study them.
Chapter 15, Russell’s point of view
The group, and a handful of others, gather outside the Citadel. They are being sent to a distant Ganna farm. The Pathfinder, Felerin, will be leading the expedition. Two seasoned warriors, Vargus and Darach are sent to protect the group.
Chapter 16, Felerin’s point of view
Determined to arrive before sundown, Felerin sets an aggressive pace. When asked why they are traveling so quickly, she admits to knowing of a tribe of goblins, living near their destination.
Goblins are nocturnal creatures. Sunlight burns their skin, but they have excellent night vision. They favor spears and arrows. The mood grows tense when Malcolm warns the group about necromancy. It’s rare, but some goblins study it.
The chapter ends with Felerin awarding Attia a katana. The razor-sharp blade is enchanted with runes to prevent it from ever dulling.
Chapter 17, Eliana’s point of view
The Ganna farm is tended by a family of four who live in a several shacks on one corner of the property. Eliana, having grown up on her parents Ganna farm, teaches everyone how to harvest the magical fruit.
Later in the day, Eliana overhears Malcolm and Liam discussing necromancy.
Chapter 18, Tessa’s point of view
The group is joined by two of the farmers as they attempt to work through the night. The Pathfinders, Attia and Felerin, alert the group of approaching danger.
The goblins attack quickly, firing a hail of arrows. Many are wounded, and one of the farmers is killed. Three of the younger members of the expedition get scared and run away. Felerin chases, managing to save one. She recovers the body of another, but the youngest, a girl named Claudia, is nowhere to be found.
Chapter 19, Malcolm’s point of view
The group investigates the farmers’ shacks, hoping to find Claudia and the other two farmers. They find destroyed carts, and a pair of murdered donkeys, but nothing else. There is frost on the window of one of the shacks, and the door appears to have been broken from the inside.
Working with the spirit inside him, Malcolm explains what happened. A goblin necromancer summoned several spirits. Those spirits drifted through the walls of the shack, hence the frost on the windows. They then killed the sleeping farmers, and entered their dead bodies, reanimating them as undead.
Studying the footprints in the area, Attia figures out that the goblins took Claudia as well.
Felerin decides to go for help, at first light.
Chapter 20, Attia’s point of view
Goblins send the reanimated bodies of the farmers to attack in the middle of the night. The group is ready for the attack, but the strength and paralytic touch of the ghouls takes them off guard. While they are fighting the ghouls, the reanimated body of Claudia creeps into the camp.
She is a wight. Her skin is pitch-black, making her very difficult to see. She leaps on Tessa, ripping the poor girl to shreds. Russell uses fire spells to kill the wight.
Chapter 21, Russell’s point of view
Russell is devastated by Tessa’s death. The next morning, the group considers abandoning the mission, but Vargus refuses, having sworn an oath to the Chancellor.
Felerin leaves, in search of help. She returns late in the day with her mentor, Pathmaker Constance.
Chapter 22, Liam’s point of view
Constance wastes no time rebuilding the camp. She positions torches out in the field, and builds defensive barricades to block enemy arrows.
The goblins attack later that night. A large force and several ghouls attack one side of the encampment, while three wights attack the other. Liam and Vargus struggle to keep the wights from ravaging the camp. Eventually, Russell douses the wights with oil, and Eliana ignites them.
Chapter 23, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm watches as Constance single-handedly slaughters most of the goblin command staff. Within a few seconds, it is just Constance and the goblin leader, a necromancer, supported by a pair of wraiths.
Malcolm realizes the goblin leader has a second soul, just like he does. The goblin attacks were always about killing him. At the same time, the voice in his head assures him that they will gain great power should the goblin die.
Constance kills the goblin leader, and white mist flows into Malcolm, strengthening him.
Chapter 24, Felerin’s point of view
Wounded and demoralized, the group gathers what Ganna fruit they can and returns to the Citadel. Along the way, Constance promotes Attia to the rank of Pathrunner, something that is seldom done so quickly.
Chapter 25, Eliana’s point of view
After arriving back and the Citadel, the group talks amongst themselves. They question why so many people needed to die just for a few carts of Ganna. Malcolm admits they were sent because of him. The Chancellor wanted him to encounter that goblin. He gained tremendous power from its death.
Chapter 26, Conner’s point of view
Conner and Liam confront their father. They talk about Malcolm and his second soul. To their surprise, their father talks about his own second soul. Drawing on pieces of previous conversations, Conner comes to the realization that for a new second soul to arrive, an old one must die.
He tells his father what he heard the Chancellor say. Many new souls were coming soon, which meant many of the old souls were destined to die.
Conner’s father, fearing that his own time may be drawing short, decides to lead Liam on his Rite of Passage the next morning.
Chapter 27, Malcolm’s point of view
Malcolm makes a dark deal with his second soul, the Other. In exchange for considerable knowledge of necromancy, his body becomes wizened and frail. Under Arronhelm’s supervision, Malcolm practices with his new spells and knowledge. He learns how to summon spirits from the Astral plane.
Afterwards, the Chancellor takes him to see a special Painting. It’s a depiction of a Unicorn, and it speaks to Malcolm. It shows him a terrifying vision of the past. He is a necromancer, using an army of undead to lay siege to a city. At his side is the same Unicorn from the Painting. They are working together.
Suddenly, swirling portals of darkness open behind the necromancer, and horrifying monsters charge out.
Malcolm wakes from the vision understanding that he witnessed how the Other was betrayed, and likely killed.
Chapter 28, Attia’s point of view
Attia leads Liam, Conner, and their father on a Rite of Passage hunt. They travel a mile to reach the Black Scar. They talk about what might have created the Scar. Attia, having walked its distance in her training as a Pathfinder, explains that it cuts all the way across the jungle, always maintaining its fifty-yard width.
Eventually, they spot a bear.
Chapter 29, Liam’s point of view
Liam, his brother, and Attia battle the bear, eventually killing it. The heart of the bear will be used to write Runes of Attunement into Liam’s new suit of plate armor. The runes magically adjust the armor to fit the wearer’s body. Only Liam will ever be able to don his armor, but the suit will forever adjust to his body, fitting perfectly.
Chapter 30, Eliana’s point of view
Eliana is outside, helping prepare the Citadel for the impending Black Tide. Teams are digging enormous moats around the building. Runescrafters are building Runes of Protection on either side of the river. The runes prevent any insects from crossing. The intent is to push the ocean of giant ants away from the Citadel.
Later in the day, Eliana finds her parents. They are pleased to see her. They give her a scroll of Lightning as a gift. She reads the scroll, learning the spell.
Chapter 31, Russell’s point of view.
Everyone but Malcolm attends a feast in Liam’s honor. During the feast, Constance enters and speaks privately with Liam’s father. Out of respect for his soldiers, he shares the news.
The Black Tide is traveling more quickly than expected. Further, its passage is being aided by one or more invisible demons. Having battled them before, Duncan confirms the demons are more than likely Chariden’s Guardian demons.
Chapter 32, Arronhelm’s point of view
The Chancellor reflects on the battle to come. There can only be seven possessed people at a time. Having dreamt of so many new souls on the way, he knows many of his close allies are likely to die.
He also reflects on the Demon Queen. During his last trip to Derregain, she planted one of her Desires inside of him. Chariden’s desires are like a sickness that can only end in the victim becoming bound to her. The magical field protecting the Citadel also blocks Chariden’s Desires, but now that one lives inside him, Arronhelm is essentially imprisoned within the Citadel.
Chapter 33, Conner’s point of view
Conner’s dad briefs their group on what to expect when the Black Tide attacks. Vargus, another guard, and an additional healer are assigned to support Conner and his friends. When his father is done with the briefing, Conner struggles to let his dad go. He fears this will be one of the last times he sees him.
Chapter 34, Eliana’s point of view
Eliana struggles to keep her terror at bay as the ocean of giant ants approaches. Things quickly get out of hand. Hundreds of ants flood into the moat, attempting to build living bridges to help others across.
Eliana uses her earth magic to dislodge a clump of giant ants. Elsewhere, elementals of water and wind lay waste to the endless sea of insects, but something, hidden amongst the enemy, starts magically destroying the elementals.
Chapter 35, Attia’s point of view
Attia desperately fights to keep the ants from overrunning their position. She gets cut off from the others. Her teacher, Solen, comes to her rescue, easily carving a path through the giant ants.
Her relief is short-lived, however, as the Runes of Protection shatter, allowing the swarm of ants unfettered access to the tiny island they hoped to protect.
Chapter 36, Malcolm’s point of view
Solen charges the advancing sea of giant ants, single-handedly holding them at bay. Eventually, one of the Guardian demons cripples him, allowing the ants to swarm and kill him.
Ants pour from the moat, and Malcolm summons wraiths to battle them. The group is forced to retreat. As they do, Malcolm witnesses Duncan and Arronhelm arguing on the central platform. Looking at them in the Astral, he knows something terrible is about to happen.
Chapter 37, Liam’s point of view
Liam is helping the group to safety when he notices his father arguing with Arronhelm. Their dad begins to glow. There is a blinding white light building within him. Arronhelm opens a Portal, transporting both he and Duncan out amongst the ants. A moment later, Arronhelm returns to the platform.
Liam watches as light bursts out of his father. Suddenly, there is a massive explosion. Hundreds of thousands of giant ants are reduced to ash in a matter of seconds. Liam’s father is reduced to ash as well.
Arronhelm finds the group and creates a Portal, transporting them all inside the Citadel.
Chapter 38, Cinderhorn’s point of view
Two Guardian demons bicker while they float over the battlefield, observing. Duncan’s Fusion spell broke the spirit of the Black Tide, but the battle isn’t over. With all the commotion, Cinderhorn and his brother, Erranaekis, plan to sneak inside the Citadel.
Once within, Cinderhorn will summon an army of demons. First, he needs to summon a powerful succubus (Raelyn) and convince her to lend him her power.
Erranaekis announces his intention to go off on his own, in search of the Citadel’s El’ominae. Cinderhorn begs his brother to stick to the plan, but Erranaekis refuses.
Chapter 39, Conner’s point of view
While Conner grieves for his father, Arronhelm encourages Malcolm to look for second souls within his friends. Two of the Citadel’s possessed warriors fell, (Solen and Duncan) but both Attia and Liam have become possessed, replacing the fallen.
Arronhelm leaves Liam, Attia, and Malcolm. He uses a Portal to deliver the rest of the group to the Great Hall, which has been converted into a hospital. Arronhelm leaves, and they set to helping the wounded.
Chapter 40, Liam’s point of view
Liam and Attia try to connect with their second souls, but they hear explosions, elsewhere within the Citadel. Liam reasons that the explosions must be coming from the Great Hall, and he worries about his brother’s safety. Arronhelm arrives and opens another Portal for the group.
Chapter 41, Russell’s point of view
The doors to the Great Hall explode, showering the room with shrapnel. Horrifying demons spill into the room. Russell watches a group of people get incinerated by a fireball. A nightmarish water demon reduces another group to desiccated husks.
An enormous demon of stone, with the help of Cinderhorn, crushes the leader of the Monastery. (Devon, another of the Citadel’s possessed warriors) The group tries to run, but there is nowhere to go. Eventually they find Silver.
Chapter 42, Attia’s point of view
Arronhelm, Attia, Liam and Malcolm are in a hallway. There are dead bodies everywhere. They hear screaming up ahead. A voice in Attia’s head warns her before a group of changeling demons ambushes them.
After defeating the changelings, they encounter the Guardian demon, Erranaekis. Somehow, the voice in Attia’s head knows its name.
Chapter 43, Eliana’s point of view
Silver and Gunther lead a rally in the Great Hall. Silver’s magic is strong enough to pull the giant earth demons apart, and Gunther is tough enough to endure countless attacks.
Cinderhorn engages Silver. They trade spells for a few moments, but his magic is too strong. Using telekinesis, he rips Silver apart. The group hears her screaming as they flee.
Chapter 44, Malcolm’s point of view
Arronhelm and Erranaekis do battle. Much to the Guardian demon’s surprise, Arronhelm’s magic is stronger, but the demon uses its size and strength to overcome the shortcoming. Arronhelm defends himself from the demon’s powerful blows, but doing so is costly.
Realizing that Arronhelm is losing the fight, Malcolm makes a deal with the Other, his second soul. The Other agrees to refresh Arronhelm’s lost power. In return, Malcolm agrees to greater self-sufficiency.
With his power restored, Arronhelm kills the Guardian demon. He then Portals the group down to the Great Hall.
Unfortunately, Cinderhorn manages to escape.
Chapter 45, Cinderhorn’s point of view
Cinderhorn discusses the battle with Chariden. The Demon Queen is livid about the loss of Erranaekis. His death sent him to a prison cell beneath the Netherworld, where he must remain for a century.
Chariden tasks Cinderhorn with finding where his brother is being held.
Epilogue, Arronhelm’s point of view
The Chancellor considers the future. Liam, Attia, Conner and Eliana were newly possessed, replacing the four who fell during the recent attacks. Based on his visions, another spirit is on the way, which means one more will die to make room. With only he and Gunther remaining, Arronhelm suspects his life is near its end.