The victorious V’neef Kai, wielding the warstrider Longaeva, returns from his successful battle against the necrotek monstrosity and serenades the delighted Peleps Maera. He asks her to go with him after the battle has ended, and she enthusiastically agrees.

Mnemon Sarissa engages her powerful weaponry and siege engines, unleashing a series of ferocious attacks against the approaching dead. She focuses her efforts on the enemy’s siege engines. With her masterpiece artifact, Fire Strikes the Storm-Shrouded Summit, she snipes the necrotek engineer coordinating the enemy attack.

Sarissa engages a rantai – a horrific creation cobbled together from a host of corpses, bound with spiked chains. Coordinating with the defending forces, she concentrates on striking the core of the abomination. The rantai retaliates, but its attacks fail to drive off the agile Sarissa.

The persistent Sarissa grinds the rantai down and delivers a killing blow with her lightning blade, eliminating the immediate threat to the walls of the city. She returns to her work countering the siege engines of the army of Thorns.

Tepet Sanzo, in the guise of the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile, subtly subverts the forces of the dead, poisoning the rations of the living mercenaries in their ranks.

Sanzo plots against the Doom of Thousands, a void-touched ghost that is second in command to the Maiden, and surreptitiously poisons the body it inhabits.

The Prince, revealed as a Solar Exalted, arrives with Saffron Veil and is greeted by the reunited kinship. With the enemy weakened, the decision is made to take the offensive and break the siege.

Led by the Prince, the coalition forces defending Jiara ride forth in grandeur as a united army, and crush the dead in a single glorious engagement.

At last, Jiara has been liberated, fallen from the grasp of the Realm and Thorns alike.

V’neef Kai
Peleps Meara
Mnemon Sarissa
Tepet Sanzo
Cathak Shao Dun

Ozria Khidara
Saffron Veil

At the fortress of Parapet…

Cathak Shao-Dun struggles to recover from the injuries he suffered in the battle against the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile.

Shao and Captain Peleps Maera conference to determine their plan of defense against the advancing armies of Thorns. The two deploy their forces outside the fortress and prepare to strike the army as they arrive.

Maera, Shao, and Laconic Ibis unleash a pincer attack against the enemy, and battle is joined.

Maera personally kills the enemy commander, an Exigent Exalted, breaking the enemy’s morale. The battle turns into a rout; an opening victory for the kinship is scored, but only the vanguard of the dead has been defeated. Maera and Shao withdraw into the fortress.

The enemy’s main strength arrives and prepares to launch an attack.

Mnemon Sarissa, in concert with Tepet Ejava, works tirelessly to bolster Parapet’s defenses against the dead’s siege.

Tepet Sanzo infiltrates the ranks of the dead by taking on the appearance of the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile. The cunning Sanzo quickly understands the hierarchy inside the camp and successfully integrates himself into the surroundings.

As V’neef Kai prepares to wield Longaeva, he catches sight of a gigantic necrobeast. He quickly merges with the warstrider and moves to intercept the monstrosity.

Kai rushes into the horde of the dead and fires the warstrider’s bolts at the grotesque giant. The swarming dead prove no match for the magnificent warstrider.

Kai closes with the necrotek horror and engages it in a terrific struggle, grinding it down and destroying it.

Cathak Shao Dun
Peleps Meara
Mnemon Sarissa
Tepet Sanzo
V’neef Kai

Laconic Ibis
Tepet Ejava

In the aftermath of the battle against the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile, Peleps Maera shares an emotional reunion Cathak Shao Dun and Tepet Sanzo. There is little time for commiseration, as reinforcements from the Maiden’s army approach. The Dragon-Blooded secretly carry off the body of the anathema as they withdraw.

With champion of the Dead slain and their armies delayed, Maera, Sanzo and Shao leave Trellis to reunite the kinship at the fortress of Parapet.

Mnemon Sarissa finishes her latest remarkable crafting project, a powerful fire wand, while V’neef Kai trains with the warstrider Longaeva. In the evening, they meet and discuss they way their lives have changed, and ponder what the future may hold. While their philosophical differences remain, the two express feelings of genuine fondness and friendship for each other.

The Vermillion Legion arrives in Parapet under the command of Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack, followed a few days later by by Maera, Sanzo, and Shao. After a heartwarming reunion and some time to rest, the rejuvenated kinship prepares to resist the invading Dead.

As the defenders busy themselves, Sanzo disappears.

Sarissa reaches out to Shao and offers to help him compensate for the loss of his arm as he prepares for battle.

As Shao sits atop the wall of the great fortress, he is happily joined by Desai Pavrani. The two swap tales and head off for sparring practice.

Peleps Meara
Cathak Shao Dun
Tepet Sanzo
Mnemon Sarissa
V’neef Kai

Tepet Ejava
Desai Pavrani

As Cathak Shao Dun and Tepet Sanzo discuss the nature of ghosts, the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile, the Mask of Winters’ most feared general, descends upon them, and battle is joined.

Sanzo draws first blood, striking the Maiden with what appears an improbably lucky blow, leaving her bloodied and enraged. Shao and the Maiden’s first exchange ends in a terrific clash that grants no advantage to either of them.

Peleps Maera sees the abyssal’s terrible anima and races to help her kinship.

Believing the Dragon-Blooded to be overmatched, Shao tells Sanzo to run, intending to sacrifice himself to help his friend escape. While Shao’s blow strikes her armor, the Maiden’s strike severs his arm.

Sanzo refuses to run and fires a storm of needles at the Maiden.

The grievously wounded Shao launches a final relentless assault against the Maiden, driving her to the brink of death.

As the enraged Maiden berates her enemies, the poison from Sanzo’s needles takes effect. She falls and is no more.

Cathak Shao Dun
Tepet Sanzo
Peleps Meara

V’neef Kai and Mnemon Sarissa rush back to Jiara to warn Prince Ozria Khidara of the coming dead from Thorns. Along with Saffron Veil, they discuss how best to defend Parapet, the Bridge City, where they intend to make their stand.

After Kai leaves, Sarissa lingers and offers her aid to the Prince, and asks to see Saffron Veil’s true face. The one she believes to be Veil tells her this might be possible after the coming battle.

Sarissa meets with Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack, to deliver a message from Tepet Sanzo: the dead have been spotted near Trellis, and he intends to remain in the area to buy time for the defenders of Jiara to prepare. Sarissa herself offers her help with military engineering. The two excitedly chat about Sarissa’s new construction project over tea.

As Kai busies himself taking care of his responsibilities to his house, he receives a visit from Salana Tovin. The troubled lovers find comfort in each other’s arms.

Sarissa works late into the night completing her most recent magnificent artifact, a flame piece she names Fire Strikes from a Cloud-Covered Mountain.

Kai bonds and communes with the warstrider Longaeva.

In Trellis, Peleps Maera, Cathak Shao Dun, and Tepet Sanzo mount a determined effort to delay the advancing dead from Thorns, using deceptive guerilla tactics in hopes of confusing the enemy.

The Maiden of the Mirthless Smile, leading the army from Thorns, orders her forces to set a trap for the Dragon-Blooded.

As the three Dragon-Blooded confer, their scouts report that the enemy has made contact and prepared an invitation for them. Shao and Sanzo cautiously take to the field to probe the enemy’s intentions.

Shao detects the presence of a nearby spirit and impulsively pursues it, drawing closer to the enemy’s trap. The Maiden of the Mirthless Smiles rushes Shao and Sanzo intent on cutting them down…

V’neef Kai
Mnemon Sarissa
Tepet Sanzo
Peleps Meara
Cathak Shao Dun

Ozria Khidara
Saffron Veil
Tepet Ejava
Salana Tovin

Mnemon Sarissa expounds on her plot to force the Satrap to evacuate Trellis, using the latter’s dislike of V’neef Kai to the kinship’s advantage. As the plan slowly begins to hatch, Sarissa uses the downtime to throw herself into a great crafting project.

V’neef Kai uses his status as the son of V’neef and his considerable social skills to manipulate the nobles of Trellis. The elites of the satrapy are swayed and begin preparation for evacuation.

To further sow doubts and fear among the elites of Trellis, Tepet Sanzo and Peleps Maera continue to arm the rebellious slaves, and lead targeted strikes against the outlying plantations.

Cathak Shao Dun works to coordinate the strikes against the slave masters of Trellis.

As chaos spreads through Trellis, Sarissa meets again with the satrap and successfully convinces her to evacuate the satrapy.

Shao diligently trains the growing numbers of the Trellis underground, with a focus on guerilla tactics and fighting as a cohesive unit. One of his units returns from patrol and informs him that the dead have arrived on the outskirts of Trellis. Shao heads out to personally observe what has happened, and comes upon the slaughtered and desecrated corpses at an outlying plantation. He cremates the bodies and prepares for the coming onslaught.

Mnemon Sarissa
V’neef Kai
Tepet Sanzo
Cathak Shao Dun
Peleps Meara

V’neef Kai, Mnemon Sarissa, and Cathak Shao Dun journey to the seat of Trellis. They meet the Satrap at her countryside estate.

Shao is disturbed by the what he sees of Trellis: plantations of slaves laboring under the whips of wealthy overseers.

The three Dragon-Blooded struggle to convince the Satrap that the dead marching from Thorns represent an immediate threat to Trellis. When Kai encourages the Satrap to evacuate the satrapy, she asks for evidence that the dead are coming. While the heroes have none, the logic of their arguments eventually begins to convince the Satrap.

Peleps Maera and Tepet Sanzo work to incite rebellion in Trellis, operating clandestinely in local watering holes and other gathering places. They seek out and make contact with a local resistance movement, organized against the ruling slave masters.

Kai and Sarissa finally convince the Satrap to accede to their wishes, and preparations for a partial evacuation of Trellis once the harvest is completed.

Maera and Sanzo reach the center of the local resistance, and meet the group’s leader, Humble Wren. The Dragon-Blooded work to convince the skeptical Wren that their offer of freedom is genuine, and a better option than what Thorns may provide.

V’neef Kai
Mnemon Sarissa
Cathak Shao Dun
Peleps Meara
Tepet Sanzo

Tepet Ejava, the Roseblack, leads the Vermilion Legion into Jiara.

The kinship meets with Saffron Veil at her palace. She introduces them to the real Prince Ozria Khidara, revealed to be an anathema. After declarations of devotion to Jiara made by both sides, the Dragon-Blooded and the anathema discuss the developing political situation, and the advances from Thorns.

The focus of the discussion turns to the nearby satrapy of Trellis, which is a probable stepping stone for Thorns on their march to Jiara. The increasingly unstable territory is a collection of slave plantations ruled by corrupt elites. The kinship decide to head there, to make a stand against the dead.

After the meeting ends, Mnemon Sarissa, still very curious about the anathema, remains behind to converse with the Prince and Saffron Veil. She leaves the palace after a pleasant conversation, her belief that the tyrannical aspects of the Realm must be resisted strengthened by what was said.

Peleps Maera works to ease Cathak Shao Dun’s anger at his perception that the kinship is doing the bidding of the anathema.

Maera meets with her smuggler friend Yinguan in preparation for the attack on Trellis. Yinguan asks and receives Maera’s word that she will protect the people as best she is able.

Tepet Sanzo meets with Shao and easily convinces him to join the kinship on the journey to Trellis.

---

Elsewhere, Righteous Shrike informs the Mask of Winters on the progress of Thorns’s incursions into the Realm.

V’neef Kai
Tepet Sanzo
Cathak Shao Dun
Mnemon Sarissa
Peleps Meara

Tepet Ejava
Saffron Veil
Ozria Khidara

Righteous Shrike
Mask of Winters

Saffron Veil, in the guise of the Prince, marries the Tepet suitor in a small and basic ceremony. It is a moment of triumph for Tepet Sanzo.

V’neef Kai and Peleps Maera are then wed, also in a humble ceremony. The kinship deals with mixed emotions and the distractions caused by the increasingly unstable political situation.

At the wedding, Cathak Shao Dun and Desai Pavrani meet again after a considerable time apart. She assures him she is ready to support him in the coming battle, against whatever foe may be facing them. He warns her that Thorns is advancing on Jiara.

Sarissa continues working on her major crafting project, making substantial progress. To her surprise, she receives a visit from Mnemon Zuri. They discuss internal Mnemon politics, and the encroaching threat presented by Thorns.

Gauntlet delivers the harvest gem, a hearthstone, to Sanzo, courtesy of Laughing Knife. Sanzo summons the kinship to the warehouse that shelters the warstrider and announces the acquisition of the treasure. After discussion among the kinship, the honor of first wielding the warstrider is given to Sarissa. Kai attunes to it as well, and determines the warstrider’s name: Longaeva.

Tepet Sanzo
V’neef Kai
Peleps Meara
Mnemon Sarissa
Cathak Shao Dun

Saffron Veil
Desai Pavrani
Mnemon Zuri

The kinship meets with Saffron Veil on her private balcony as the sun slowly sets. They inform her of the ghost that spied on them at Kai’s villa, and warn her that she should take precautions. Tepet Sanzo tells her that House Tepet is willing to stand with her, and has promised its full support – to the surprise of the other Dragon-Blooded.

Mnemon Sarissa reads a letter given to her by Saffron Veil, signed by The Wolf with Red Roses. It explains the motivations and history of the anathema, and their hostility toward the Realm. The letter has a considerable effect on Sarissa.

Saffron Veil announces her betrothal to the Tepet suitor. V’neef Kai proposes to Peleps Maera
that they call off their engagement, to give her the chance to marry Cathak Shao Dun. The shocked Maera needs time to consider this idea.

Maera finds Shao in a pensive mood, considering the tactical situation. He is flabbergasted when she tells him Kai’s marriage plan. The two discuss the possibility, and ultimately conclude they’re happy with their relationship as it is.

Sanzo and Sarissa discuss his relationship with House Tepet over a pot of black tea. When she expresses surprise that he is embracing his house, he tells her that he did not go over to their side, but that they have joined him.

Tepet Sanzo meets Gauntlet and her associate, Laughing Knife. He gives Sanzo a considerable amount of information on Lunars that he’d previously requested. He questions his attitude toward the Lunars, his plans for House Tepet, and the larger political picture. The mysterious Knife’s strange choice of words leaves Sanzo curious as to his true nature.

As Maera tells Kai of her marriage decision, they receive information that Righteous Shrike has unexpectedly left the city.

Tepet Sanzo
Mnemon Sarissa
V’neef Kai
Peleps Meara
Cathak Shao Dun

Saffron Veil
Gauntlet
Firat