Timeline
What's happened so far
Book 1 The Dreaming Void
- Ch 1 · Prologue
Arrival at Centurion Station
The CNE Caragana lands at Centurion Station after 83 days; Inigo and the other new observers suit up and walk to the station.
- Ch 1 · Prologue
Handover party and meeting the director
At the garden dome gala Inigo meets drunk director LionWalker Eyre, discusses the Void and sees DF7 rise, then goes to bed and dreams someone else's dream.
- Ch 2 · 1
Ethan elected Cleric Conservator
After three days in conclave, the Council presents Ethan as the new Conservator. He declares the Second Dream has begun and announces a Pilgrimage, sparking euphoria among the faithful and doomsday predictions elsewhere.
- Ch 2 · 1
Aaron meets the mysterious woman
Aaron, with no memories, is approached by a woman who hints others like him were sent to watch events, then vanishes calling herself bad news.
- Ch 2 · 1
Ethan plans his administration
As new Conservator, Ethan decides to make Phelim Treasury Secretary and Councillor, and to remove Corrie-Lyn from the Council, while discussing the search for the Second Dreamer.
- Ch 2 · 1
Aaron arrives in Makkathran2
Aaron crosses the park to the modern city, checks into a penthouse at the Hotel Buckingham, and identifies Corrie-Lyn as his way in to Living Dream.
- Ch 2 · 1
Presentation to the Navy
Troblum presents to Admiral Kazimir Burnelli and captains his theory that the Dyson Pair generators were Raiel systems moved by a wormhole. Kazimir will forward it to a review committee rather than authorize a search; Troblum is frustrated.
- Ch 2 · 1
Delivery Man feeds Rosa
The Delivery Man is woken at dawn by baby Rosa and feeds her himself while the housebot helps.
- Ch 2 · 1
Departure from home
After breakfast with his family and promising to teleport the girls to school on Thursday if they behave, the Delivery Man lies to Lizzie about his mission to Oronsay and leaves via teleport.
- Ch 2 · 1
Journey to Ellezelin
He travels via Eagles Harbour and wormholes through St Lincoln to Lytham, boards the Artful Dodger, and flies by ultradrive to Riasi spaceport on Ellezelin.
- Ch 2 · 1
Warning about Marius
On landing at Riasi, the Conservative Faction calls to tell the Delivery Man that Marius has been seen on Ellezelin, unsettling him.
- Ch 2 · 1
Delivery Man departs
Warned about Marius, the Delivery Man scans for him, finds no sign, and boards a flight to Akimiski.
- Ch 2 · 1
Aaron courts Corrie-Lyn
Aaron approaches Corrie-Lyn at the Rakas bar posing as a FarFlight Charters broker, then takes her to dinner, where she drunkenly breaks down over Inigo's leaving.
- Ch 2 · 1
Assassination attempt on Corrie-Lyn
Captain Manby's squad ambushes Corrie-Lyn and Aaron; Aaron kills all three, then tells her Ethan wants her dead and offers protection.
- Ch 4 · 2
Justine revives her body
Justine inspects her preserved body, downloads her consciousness back into it from ANA, and teleports to the Tulip Mansion to prepare for the Ambassador's visit.
- Ch 4 · 2
Ocisen Ambassador arrives
The Ocisen Ambassador lands on the Tulip Mansion grounds and is received by Justine and Kazimir, while Gore watches via an icon; tension arises over the Fandola assault.
- Ch 4 · 2
Ambassador demands Pilgrimage be stopped
In the McLeod room, the Ambassador demands that Justine prevent Living Dream's ships from entering the Void, fearing a devourment phase; Justine downplays the danger.
- Ch 4 · 2
Ocisen Ambassador's ultimatum
The Ocisen Ambassador demands the Commonwealth stop the Living Dream Pilgrimage ships, threatening Empire action with new allies. Justine and Kazimir refuse force but promise a Senate motion.
- Ch 4 · 2
Gore and Nelson discuss the Void
In Gore's ANA environment, Gore and Nelson discuss the Empire's possible allies and Gore's plan to reach the Void's Heart through telepathic humans inside it.
- Ch 4 · 2
Araminta's late morning at Nik's
Araminta oversleeps, arrives late to Nik's, and later signs a petition from a woman against ingrav capsules in Colwyn City.
- Ch 4 · 2
Marius warns Troblum
Marius meets Troblum unannounced at a café, says his Dyson Pair theory is believed but his knowledge of the Dark Fortress must stay hidden from ANA:Governance, and asks him not to protest if the Navy review declines.
- Ch 6 · 3
Safe house and breakfast
After arriving in Riasi and hiding in a rented apartment, Aaron cooks a lavish breakfast and tells Corrie-Lyn he must find Inigo, saying Living Dream will keep trying to kill her. She declines for now.
- Ch 6 · 3
Infiltration of the Daeas fane
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn enter the fane so she can speak privately with Yves. Aaron stuns a Cleric as hostiles gather outside and lifts descend. He finds Corrie-Lyn and Yves high on aerosols and stuns Yves.
- Ch 6 · 3
Escape from the fane
Aaron stuns Yves, carries drugged Corrie-Lyn through police, collapsing the fane and the arcade, and floods the plaza with fountains. They flee via a utility tunnel and a stolen capsule.
- Ch 6 · 3
Plan to go to Anagaska
Corrie-Lyn reveals Inigo was secretly Higher and often visited Anagaska; Aaron resolves to seek Inigo's aunt. He remembers his starship, the Artful Dodger, and they board it.
- Ch 6 · 3
Troblum arrives on Sholapur
Troblum lands Mellanie's Redemption at Ikeo City and is greeted at a clifftop villa by Stubsy Florac.
- Ch 6 · 3
Troblum buys the ion rifle
At Florac's villa, Troblum verifies an antique ion rifle via its molecular code, pays Florac, and discusses the Pilgrimage before leaving with it.
- Ch 6 · 3
Araminta's bot fails
The second-hand Candel 8038 bot catches fire while Araminta renovates her flat; Burt Renik refuses responsibility, and she blocks him and loses three days.
- Ch 6 · 3
Laril calls from Oaktier
Laril tells Araminta he is migrating to Higher culture, apologizes and thanks her; Araminta ends the call feeling closure.
- Ch 6 · 3
Corrie-Lyn confronts Aaron about his dream
Corrie-Lyn tells Aaron she read his leaked dream of fleeing people and a winged shadow, and urges him to explore it; he refuses and redirects to finding Inigo.
- Ch 6 · 3
Visit to the Inigo museum in Kuhmo
Posing as an anthropologist, Aaron tours the shrine to Inigo and finds Inigo's official biography suspicious. He decides they must ask the Protectorate.
- Ch 6 · 3
Drive engine assembly fails
Troblum arrives to find the Neumann cybernetics shut down after a bonding field instability; Emily and Massell explain, and Troblum suspects sabotage.
- Ch 6 · 3
Marius offers Troblum a deal
Marius visits, offers funds and Bradley Johansson's genome in exchange for Troblum's work on an ftl drive; Troblum gets forty-eight hours before leaving for the Accelerator assembly station.
- Ch 6 · 3
Delivery Man observes the hangar
The Delivery Man watches Marius leave and reports to the Conservative Faction, which decides to research Troblum further using passive observation.
- Ch 7 · Inigo’s third dream
Akeem sends Edeard to Makkathran
Akeem tells Edeard he has outgrown him and should study at the Blue Tower in Makkathran, promising a sponsorship letter and passage with the Barkus caravan this month. Edeard accepts and is told to keep it secret.
- Ch 7 · Inigo’s third dream
Edeard and Salrana secure passage with the caravan
Edeard and Salrana ask Barkus for passage to Makkathran. Edeard demonstrates concealment and offers sculpted guards; Barkus agrees to take them as family tyros, if Edeard keeps the trick secret. They leave in three days.
- Ch 8 · 4
Araminta's development gamble
Araminta finishes Shelly's flat sale, tours her new Bodant block with Cressida, who warns of Living Dream unrest, and starts renovation with Mr Bovey.
- Ch 8 · 4
Araminta's nebula dream
During the night Araminta dreams of being a huge creature flying in a nebula, sensing growing minds on a solid world.
- Ch 8 · 4
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn meet Paul Alkoff
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn fly to Paul Alkoff's desert ranch seeking information; Paul reluctantly receives them and declares his hatred of Higher culture.
- Ch 8 · 4
Council meets on Ocisen fleet
Kazimir informs the ExoProtectorate Council that a huge Ocisen fleet is heading for Ellezelin; members debate force, diversion or diplomacy without agreement.
- Ch 8 · 4
Aaron breaks into St Mary's Clinic
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn arrive under cover as a couple. He slips away, triggers diversions, glides into the administration block and fights through toward the vault.
- Ch 8 · 4
Taking the clinic control centre
Aaron breaks into the control centre, kills one security manager and overloads another, Viertz Accu, then takes over her brain to disable and deceive the clinic's security.
- Ch 8 · 4
Vault fight and theft
Aaron blinds the smartcore, opens the vault, and fights two hidden guards, getting severely wounded, but kills them and takes Inigo's memorycell.
- Ch 8 · 4
Escape and police clash
Corrie-Lyn delays the capsule, so Aaron escapes the roof wounded; he destroys the police capsules' stability with niling-sponge explosions but is thrown to the ground.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s fourth dream
First sight of Makkathran
The caravan crests the last ridge and Edeard and Salrana see the Iguru Plain and Makkathran in the distance, feeling they chose rightly.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s fourth dream
Entering Makkathran and parting
The caravan enters the north gate. Edeard and Salrana say a tearful goodbye to Barkus and cross into the Ilongo district to start new lives.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s fourth dream
Recruits talk over breakfast
At the station Edeard and fellow recruits eat breakfast, share why they became constables, and explain the Makkathran gangs and their protection rackets to the newly arrived Edeard.
- Ch 10 · 5
Paula takes over the clinic investigation
Paula Myo arrives at the ransacked vault, demands first access to all forensic data for ANA:Governance, and learns from Darval that Telfer was after Inigo's memorycell.
- Ch 10 · 5
Paula briefs Justine
Paula tells Justine the raid was Faction-organized, identifies Corrie-Lyn and Aaron/Telfer fleeing on the Artful Dodger, and plans to stay visible while someone unexpected finds the Second Dreamer.
- Ch 10 · 5
Araminta shows apartment to clients
Araminta shows the showcase apartment to devout Living Dream couple Danal and Mareble, who believe the Second Dreamer is on Viotia; she hides that she lacks gaiamotes.
- Ch 10 · 5
Aaron wakes after the raid
Aaron recovers from severe wounds in the Artful Dodger's medical chamber; Corrie-Lyn explains the escape from Anagaska, and they confirm they still have the memorycell.
- Ch 10 · 5
Aaron seeks the Raiel's help
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn dock the Artful Dodger at High Angel and are teleported to Qatux. Aaron asks him to absorb Inigo's memorycell to find Inigo and stop the Pilgrimage; Qatux agrees.
- Ch 10 · 5
Qatux's tragic history revealed
Qatux explains he married Tiger Pansy, shared her torture-death at the Cat's hands, and has not known human emotion since.
- Ch 10 · 5
Living Dream Council meeting
Ethan meets Rincenso, Falven and Phelim. They discuss the Skylord, Pilgrimage ship construction due by September, and Phelim's finding that the Second Dreamer is on Viotia.
- Ch 10 · 5
Paula consults ANA:Governance
Paula discusses the Pilgrimage dilemma with ANA:Governance, then Kazimir tells her of the Alini docking at the Raiel dome; she sets off for High Angel.
- Ch 10 · 5
Delivery Man breaches Troblum's hangar
The Delivery Man breaks in to Troblum's hangar on Daroca and, with the Conservative Faction's help, discovers a planet-transporting ftl engine design and a machine that built it.
- Ch 10 · 5
Machine destroyed
The Delivery Man flies the Jomo into the hangar and vaporizes the whole planet-moving machine into the Hawking m-sink in forty minutes, then leaves Arevalo. Justine watches him depart.
- Ch 10 · 5
Justine plans Centurion trip
Justine and Paula discover the hangar was cleared and learn Living Dream is preparing for martial law and possible invasion of Viotia. Justine decides to go to Centurion Station to seek traces of the Second Dreamer.
- Ch 11 · Inigo’s fifth dream
Solarin's law lecture
Master Solarin lectures the probationers on residence law and assigns reading on weapons law, while Edeard is bored and Dinlay is eager.
- Ch 11 · Inigo’s fifth dream
Edeard recovers the box
Edeard uses his third hand to snatch the box from the fleeing gondola and brings it back, taunting the thieves; he also unknowingly offends Mistress Florell.
- Ch 11 · Inigo’s fifth dream
Edeard shares Ashwell with Kanseen
Walking home, Edeard shares a memory of Ashwell with Kanseen and reveals bandits destroyed it. Later, in bed, his farsight explores the fissures beneath Makkathran and senses the city's thoughts.
- Ch 12 · 6
Qatux names Hanko
After reviewing Inigo's memories, Qatux tells Aaron and Corrie-Lyn that Inigo has likely gone to Hanko. Aaron decides to go there.
- Ch 12 · 6
Araminta meets Likan
At Likan's business lecture in Colwyn City, Araminta discusses expanding her property business with him. He invites her for a weekend with his wives, and she accepts.
- Ch 12 · 6
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn arrive on Hanko
The Artful Dodger descends to Kajaani. Corrie-Lyn tells the Restoration team a tale of seeking a lost lover 'Yigo' to find Inigo, and Purillar offers to introduce them to the staff.
- Ch 12 · 6
Tour of the Restoration base
Purillar shows Aaron and Corrie-Lyn the labs and the recovered corpse of Aeva Sondlin, explaining how Hanko's lost are found and restored.
- Ch 12 · 6
Crawler borrowed to hunt Inigo
Corrie-Lyn pleads and Purillar grants a ground crawler; Aaron finds Olhava province's team best, and they plan to leave in the morning.
- Ch 12 · 6
Paula Myo recruits Oscar
Paula surprises Oscar at his home, asks him to secretly find the Second Dreamer, and persuades him by exposing his boredom; he reluctantly accepts a waiting ultradrive ship.
- Ch 12 · 6
Dream Masters blocked
Ethan and the Dream Masters try to reach the Skylord and Makkathran but the Second Dreamer's dark force shatters the dream, and Ethan collapses.
- Ch 12 · 6
Oscar returns to Far Away
Oscar lands at Armstrong City, visits the Kime Sanctuary at Mount Herculaneum where he died, and is met by Tomansio of the Knights Guardian.
- Ch 12 · 6
Journey to Knights Guardian lands
Tomansio navigates Oscar's capsule to the Knights Guardian's valley, which appears via the T-sphere teleport.
- Ch 12 · 6
Oscar welcomed on Far Away
Oscar is greeted with ceremony by the Knights Guardians, sees the Cat's shrine, and asks Tomansio to help find and protect the Second Dreamer; Tomansio agrees and will lead a team.
- Ch 12 · 6
Cressida reveals Araminta's heritage
At the Salamartin Hotel bar, Cressida explains their descent from Silfen friend Mellanie Rescorai, why Araminta shares the Second Dreamer's dreams, and what the Void means to Living Dream followers.
- Ch 13 · Inigo’s sixth dream
Constables' graduation ceremony
Nearly eighty probationers receive bronze epaulettes from Mayor Owain in the Malfit Hall; Edeard pledges not to let the city down.
- Ch 13 · Inigo’s sixth dream
Squad catches the Silvarum thief
Edeard spots the market thief with two accomplices through his ge-eagle. The squad surrounds them; Edeard enters the underground storerooms through a hidden fissure, confronts the thieves, and the squad arrests them.
- Ch 13 · Inigo’s sixth dream
Edeard walks through the city wall
Edeard asks the city to let him in, and equations appear in his mind. He passes through a solid wall, descends a fissure and later rises through the floor.
- Ch 14 · 7
Oscar briefs the Knights Guardians
Aboard the ship, Oscar argues history with the Knights Guardians and outlines a plan to infiltrate Living Dream's search on Viotia and seize the Second Dreamer.
- Ch 14 · 7
Aaron and Corrie-Lyn find Inigo
At the Olhava dig, Aaron and Corrie-Lyn find Inigo disguised as Earl. Corrie-Lyn weeps and kisses him; Inigo refuses to return.
- Ch 14 · 7
Destruction of Kajaani
An unidentified ship destroys the base's force field with a gamma-ray laser, then kills the Artful Dodger and ruins Kajaani with a Hawking m-sink, which will consume Hanko.
- Ch 14 · 7
Cleric Council moves to claim Viotia
Ethan, recovering, convenes the council. They learn the Second Dreamer is in Colwyn City on Viotia, and Viotia accepts elevation to core status in the Free Trade Zone.
- Ch 14 · 7
Council approves the Viotia treaty
After Viotia's acceptance, the Council unanimously votes for the treaty, with full trade to follow when the Second Dreamer joins them in Makkathran.
- Ch 14 · 7
Planning the wormhole and police deployment
Phelim and Ethan plan to open a wormhole at Colwyn City, send police, and halt traffic to confine the Second Dreamer in the city.
- Ch 14 · 7
Void devourment phase begins
Ethan reveals the Void began a devourment phase right after the Second Dreamer rejected the Skylord, which he expects will force him to dream again.
- Ch 15 · Inigo’s seventh dream
Edeard walks on water and arrests Arminel
Edeard walks across the pool on telekinetically stabilized water, shares his sight with all Makkathran, stops Arminel's bullet, breaks his nose and arrests the gang. The crowd hails him Waterwalker.
Book 2 The Temporal Void
- Ch 1 · ONE
Centurion Station evacuated and destroyed
Gravity waves from the Raiel DF spheres and the Void's expansion wreck Centurion Station. Trachtenberg orders evacuation and all species flee; the station's structures collapse.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Justine heads into the Void
Justine decides to fly the Silverbird into the Void to speak to the Skylords. Gore agrees to persuade the Second Dreamer to help her.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Soldiers arrive through wormhole on Viotia
Chris Turner sees a wormhole open at the Colwyn City docks; over a hundred armored soldiers and capsules pour through from another star's world.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Ellezelin annexes Viotia
After a staged invitation and acceptance, a wormhole opens in Colwyn City's docks and armored Ellezelin paramilitaries and capsules pour through, stunning Chris Turner and shutting down the city.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Elvin's Payback sneaks into Colwyn docks
Using stealth and hacked networks, Oscar's crew lands the ship unseen in a barge repair bay at the docks in the rainy night.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Troblum ambushed by the Cat
Troblum lands on Sholapur and visits Stubsy Florac to collect his collection, then is cut off from his ship and confronted by the Cat in the vaults.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Araminta wakes to invasion and devourment
After refusing the Skylord, Araminta learns Ellezelin forces have invaded Colwyn and the Void's devourment phase has begun. She insists on going home despite Mr. Bovey's worries.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Araminta returns across the city
Araminta leaves Mr. Bovey's, rides through Living Dream checkpoints unnoticed and reaches her apartments, where she worries about neighbours Danal and Mareble.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Troblum plans escape and warning
After surviving the Cat's attack, Troblum decides to build an ultradrive from stolen parts and contact Paula via Oscar the Martyr.
- Ch 2 · Inigo's Eighth Dream
Arminel sentenced
After closing statements, judges led by Mayor Owain found Arminel and his four cohorts guilty; the others got twenty years, Arminel life in the Trampello mines.
- Ch 2 · Inigo's Eighth Dream
Edeard promoted to corporal
Chief Constable Walsfol visits the station and offers Edeard promotion to corporal for his bravery at Birmingham Pool; Edeard accepts and the constables applaud.
- Ch 2 · Inigo's Eighth Dream
Edeard infiltrates the House of Blue Petals
Edeard travels through the city's hidden drains and, concealed, slips into Ivarl's brothel and climbs toward the third floor to begin acting against Ivarl.
- Ch 2 · Inigo's Eighth Dream
Edeard spies on Ivarl
Edeard ghosts into the House of Blue Petals and sees Ivarl's opulent court, concluding Ivarl's reach is far greater than expected.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Gore's appeal to the Second Dreamer
Gore Burnelli broadcasts a message to Araminta asking her to persuade the Skylord to let his daughter Justine enter the Void, and warns that factions are hunting her.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Justine's chase to the Void
Raiel warships pursue the Silverbird with hyperspace shock waves; Araminta, via the gaiafield, asks a Skylord to open the boundary, and Justine enters the Void.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Cheriton infiltrates the confluence nest
Cheriton, in disguise, joins Dream Master Yenrol's staff in Colwyn and installs routines that secretly blind the nest to the Second Dreamer.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Oscar's team prepares to intercept
Oscar, Beckia and Tomansio ride in a captured police capsule, learning that Living Dream's welcome team is heavily armed and discussing whether biononics work in the Void.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Raid on Danal's apartment block
Welcome team and support troops, including Oscar's covert team, seal the building and round up thirty-three residents, but the Second Dreamer has already escaped.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Araminta emerges from hiding
Hours after the raid, Araminta climbs out of the hot water tank, barricades the door, and makes tea while wondering what to do next.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Edeard wakes in the deep tunnel
Injured, Edeard wakes in a bright glowing tunnel deep beneath Makkathran and reflects on what happened and on Ranalee.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Edeard returns through the tunnels
Edeard sees the city's memory of his fall, asks it to guide him, and plunges down a tilting tunnel to the Marble Canal Tunnel, then trudges home disheartened.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Vilby exposed
Using concealment, Edeard's squad bursts into a private room at the Black Horse, catching Vilby and Ivarl's spy Nanitte; Edeard banishes Vilby from the station and tenement.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Legal route found
After Finitan advises building street-level support, Master Solarin finds the district exclusion bylaw and the petition right; Edeard organizes chambers of trade to petition District Masters.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Showdown on the bridge
Pocklan and seven gang men try to cross into Jeavons; Cherix argues legally for them. Edeard produces a warrant naming Cherix and flings him into Birmingham Pool, and the gang retreats.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Mirnatha abducted and ransom demanded
Mirnatha is kidnapped from her nursery at the Culverit mansion; a note demands eight thousand guineas delivered by Edeard alone to Owestorn at midnight. Florrel blames Edeard.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Edeard confronts Ivarl by longtalk
Edeard accuses Ivarl, who denies involvement but warns the plot is meant to destroy Edeard as a martyr.
- Ch 4 · Inigo's Ninth Dream
Triumphant return home
Edeard carries Mirnatha by gondola along the canals past cheering crowds to the Culverit mansion, where Julan and Kristabel are reunited with her and invite the squad to a feast.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Araminta escapes the cordon
Araminta crawls out through a waste-pipe opening, unscrews fence boards, dons an old jacket and walks past paramilitary guards unnoticed.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Yenisey destroyed
The Yenisey knocks the Ocisen command ship out of FTL to deliver a warning, but an unknown spherical ship appears and fires, ending the TD link and apparently destroying the Yenisey.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Council response
The Council debates, then agrees Kazimir will send four Capital-class ships to scout, with the deterrent fleet to be deployed if they are destroyed.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Aaron boards the scout ship
Posing as a survivor named Cyrial, Aaron is picked up in a storm by a scout ship crew, while secretly preparing his weapons and biononics for combat.
- Ch 6 · Justine
Arrival lost in the Void
Justine survives passing through the Void boundary but finds the hyperdrive dead, no boundary, no nearby mass, and unrecognizable nebulae. She discovers she can use Farsight.
- Ch 7 · Inigo's Tenth Dream
Trip to the beach lodge
Edeard and Kristabel travel south with a large retinue to the Culverit beach lodge, where they spend their first night as lovers and discuss exploring the world by sea.
- Ch 7 · Inigo's Tenth Dream
Constable graduation ceremony
Mayor Owain awards epaulets to new constables, including Felax of Jeavons. Afterwards Masters divide into political groups at the reception.
- Ch 7 · Inigo's Tenth Dream
Edeard confronts Buate
Edeard visits Buate at the House of Blue Petals, demands he leave the city, and, after Buate threatens Mirnatha, lifts him against the wall with static as a warning.
- Ch 7 · Inigo's Tenth Dream
Regiment departs for Talence
Mayor Owain sees off the Pholas and Zelda regiment at the militia stables as it leaves to fight bandits in Talence province.
- Ch 8 · Four
Marius requests observers on the Pilgrimage
Marius meets Ethan, reveals the Ocisen destruction of a navy ship, and asks to place unsuspended scientist observers and equipment aboard each Pilgrimage ship, offering force fields against the Raiel. Ethan agrees.
- Ch 8 · Four
Delivery Man confronts Marius in a tavern
Marius spots the Delivery Man shadowing him; over drinks in Ysidro they argue about Fusion and Hanko, and Marius warns of an end to their rivalry. The shaken Delivery Man says he cannot continue.
- Ch 8 · Four
Inigo and Corrie-Lyn caught in a storm
As miniquakes and a blizzard worsen, Inigo and Corrie-Lyn drive toward his starship, and Inigo admits they will probably not make it.
- Ch 8 · Four
Quake overturns the ground crawler
After Inigo admits to a final dream, a quake rips the ground; anchors tear free and the crawler tumbles into a fissure. Corrie-Lyn breaks her arm; Inigo treats her.
- Ch 8 · Four
False Araminta seized in Colwyn City
Honilar's welcome team violently captures an innocent lookalike on Daryad Avenue. Oscar's team watches, and Oscar feels guilt. The team then meets Cheriton, who reports on Living Dream.
- Ch 8 · Four
Paula warns Oscar about the Cat
Paula tells Oscar she suspects a Cat clone is the agent who tried to kill her and may turn up on Viotia, possibly luring the Knights Guardian away. Oscar refuses backup.
- Ch 8 · Four
Delivery Man agrees to one more delivery
After an evening with his family, the Delivery Man is asked by the Conservative Faction to deliver a starship to Pulap and agrees on condition of three days' notice for future jobs.
- Ch 8 · Four
Laril advises Araminta
Araminta calls Laril for help; he urges her to confront the Skylord, provides cash and an untraceable cab at Wurung Transport, and offers a secure node.
- Ch 8 · Four
Battle with the Ocisen fleet
Commonwealth stealth ships tear a Starslayer command vessel from its wormhole and destroy two unknown allied ships, losing the Congo. Scans reveal a dead Prime motile aboard.
- Ch 8 · Four
Aaron intercepts Inigo and Corrie-Lyn
As Corrie-Lyn begs Inigo for his final dream, the storm halts and the crawler's rear is destroyed by a green flash; Aaron appears inside a force field.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Edeard's soul dream
Edeard wakes from another dream of souls rising from Makkathran; Kristabel comforts him and he reflects on the Lady's scriptures and his unease about the Pythia.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Finitan and Topar reveal the Ashwell findings
At the Blue Tower, Topar returns the recovered gun and confirms Ashwell's ruin and the spreading invasion in Rulan. Finitan rejects an immediate military campaign.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Planning mass arrests
At Jeavons station, Edeard's team reviews files on seventy-two identified gang leaders. He aims for a hundred and plans to detain them twenty-two days without charge to break the gangs before the election.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Spy captured in Moslet Avenue
Edeard leads his squad into Moslet Avenue, spots a concealed follower with Finitan's technique, stuns him with a thunderbolt and drags him into the tunnels. Friends then voice concern that Edeard's power frightens people.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Capture and imprisonment of the family agent
Edeard disabled a concealed man following him and holds him in a door-less, soundproof cell built by the city. The squad debates what to do with him.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Edeard interrogates the captive
After two days of isolation, Edeard questions the prisoner. The man deflects, hints at family fears of upheaval, and refuses to answer without an answer about Edeard's helpers. Edeard leaves him there.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Buate's tax hearing
Edeard watches Buate endure a tedious tax inquiry into three years of House of Blue Petals accounts, and laughs afterward.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Edeard meets Argian
In Golden Park Edeard frees Argian and asks him to stay in the city, watch his people and moderate Edeard.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Warrant dismissed
The court dismisses the warrant against Edeard and frees him.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Edeard floods Zulmal Street
Edeard hurls water from Mid Pool at the rioters, knocking them down and ending the riot on Zulmal Street, though violence spreads elsewhere in Sampalok.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Militia floated in the air
At the square before Bise's mansion, Edeard asks the city's help and the whole militia regiment drifts weightlessly into the air, disabling it, and Captain Larose's shot sends him cartwheeling away.
- Ch 9 · Inigo's Eleventh Dream
Banishment of the Diroal family
Edeard declares the Diroal family stripped and banished; the city dissolves Bise's mansion into liquid dust, and Bise and his household flee down the stairs.
- Ch 10 · Justine: Year Three
Justine's dream of Kazimir
In suspension, Justine dreams of her two days with Kazimir on Far Away, then wakes aboard the Silverbird to find it decelerating toward a Skylord.
- Ch 10 · Justine: Year Three
Silverbird resumes course
Lacking options, Justine decides to continue to the star with the accretion disc, and the Silverbird accelerates back to 0.7 lightspeed as she re-enters suspension for another year and a half.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Paula interviews Chatfield
Paula questions retired Captain Chatfield about Kent Vernon and the Poix mission, then secretly samples his DNA and deduces he is an Accelerator agent.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Marius sends Chatfield to the next stage
Marius, disguised as a neighbor, meets Chatfield, confirms the cover story fooled Paula, and sends him to Frost station and then toward Ellezelin.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Paula and Kazimir discuss the Accelerator plot
Paula briefs Kazimir and ANA, and they reason that the Accelerators want the deterrence fleet to be revealed; Kazimir confirms it is real.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Paula's plan to test the Primes
Paula and Kazimir deduce the Accelerators want the deterrence fleet weapons to use against the Raiel, and plan to board a Prime ship with Capital-class ships to see if humans drive them.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Escape from Hanko aboard the Lindau
Aaron gets Corrie-Lyn and Inigo aboard the damaged Lindau, which launches off Hanko. They discover the crew dead, Corrie-Lyn is treated, and Aaron admits he does not know where to go next.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Hanko destroyed
From the Lindau, they watch the Hawking m-sink consume Hanko's core until the planet explodes.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Gore's warning about Troblum
Gore tells Paula that Troblum built a planet-moving FTL drive and must be found before the Accelerators find him.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Araminta speaks with the Skylord
In the gaiafield Araminta avoids Living Dream traps and talks to the Skylord, which will not take anyone to the nucleus before fulfillment.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Riot at Bodant Park
Rioters storm the paramilitary barricade, and Araminta's apartment block is set ablaze. Capsules and flying fighters then converge on the park in a battle.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Oscar Monroe rescues Araminta
After a voice warns her, Araminta is chased by a man with a force field. Oscar Monroe and his team fight Living Dream agents while she escapes by cab toward Francola district.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Paula examines the Cat's memorycell
Paula descends into Kingsville's vault and opens the Cat's storage box. Forensic analysis confirms the memorycell holds Catherine Stewart's memories, and she then calls ANA.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Paula destroys the Cat's memorycell
After ANA confirms the memorycell was copied, Paula crushes it in the Kingsville vault, then departs to follow Chatfield.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Bodant Park battle
Agents clash in Bodant Park; Araminta escapes with Knights Guardian help, and Marius reassigns the Cat toward her.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
The SI contacts Troblum
The SI takes over Trisha's tattoos and speaks to Troblum, learns he wants Paula, and directs him to Oscar Monroe.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Raid on the ice moon base
Paula infiltrated the Accelerator base, found multiple Cats in suspension, and fought them. Sentries attacked, and a quantumbuster destroyed the moon and the evidence.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
ANA reveals Primes with the Ocisen fleet
ANA: Governance told Ethan that Prime warships accompany the approaching Ocisen fleet and asked him to quarantine the wreckage.
- Ch 11 · FIVE
Araminta escapes Viotia
Araminta follows a hidden path through the forest at the edge of Colwyn City's force field and emerges on a beautiful alien world.
- Ch 12 · Inigo's Twelfth Dream
Election results
After voting ends with 80% turnout, Malfit Hall counts the ballots; Finitan wins every major tally, reaching about seventy-two percent, and Sampalok elects Gregorie. Crowds celebrate in Golden Park.
- Ch 12 · Inigo's Twelfth Dream
Edeard's wedding wait
At his wedding in the Lady's church, Edeard waits anxiously for the late Kristabel, noting absent Grand Families.
- Ch 12 · Inigo's Twelfth Dream
Edeard and Salrana flee the city
Edeard retrieves Salrana from Ysidro's church and takes her through the hidden tunnels to a cave in a small volcano outside Makkathran.
- Ch 12 · Inigo's Twelfth Dream
Makkathran wakes
On the summit, Edeard resigns himself to defeat and thanks the city; Makkathran awakens and answers him, speaking of sorrow and loneliness.
- Ch 12 · Inigo's Twelfth Dream
Edeard aims for an earlier moment
Realising he may not make it back in time before the ambush, Edeard decides to jump further back to the camp near Stibbington on the first day of the road.
- Ch 13 · Justine:Year Four
Silverbird lands on the dream world
Justine wakes, sees an H-congruent planet, and crash-lands the Silverbird beside a replica of the Grand Triad, a landing she realises was predetermined.
- Ch 13 · Justine:Year Four
Justine meets the Void's Kazimir
Justine meets a seventeen-year-old Kazimir who does not know he is a creation. She tells him the truth, scans him, feeds him and shares her mission.
- Ch 13 · Justine:Year Four
Gore explains the Void and tells Justine to go back
In a dream, Gore explains the Void's layers and resets, says Kazimir is a stored memory, and insists Justine travel back in time to reach Makkathran.
- Ch 13 · Justine:Year Four
Justine parts from Kazimir
Justine wakes, kisses Kazimir and promises to find him if there is a way back, then prepares to leave.
- Ch 14 · Inigo's Thirteenth Dream
Edeard releases his parents
Edeard sees his parents' ghosts in Golden Park, thanks them, and sends them on to the Heart.
Book 3 The Evolutionary Void
- Ch 1 · ONE
Kazimir launches the deterrence fleet
After the ExoProtectorate Council decision, Kazimir tells Paula, teleports to Proxima Centauri, becomes an energy signature commanding the deterrence fleet, and heads to the Ocisen fleet.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Delivery Man leaves Fanallisto
Having set up a hotel room decoy with defended cases, he is told the deterrence fleet is deploying and hurries to leave for Earth.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Araminta crosses the river
On a Silfen path world, Araminta endures a downpour and wades a freezing river, ending numb and chilled.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Survival at the oasis
Stranded in a desert when the Silfen path vanished, Araminta made wooden flagons, found and cooked edible eggs, wove a hat and basket, and prepared to cross at night.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Night crossing and arrival near a settlement
Araminta walked the desert through the night, noticed starships and gaiafield minds, found the path behind her, and at dawn followed a dirt track toward a concrete road and a settlement beyond a ridge.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Araminta reaches Miledeep Water
Araminta crests a crater wall, discovers the oasis town of Miledeep Water on Chobamba, learns where she is from locals, and checks into the SideStar Motel before collapsing asleep.
- Ch 1 · ONE
Confrontation with the Cat at Tandra's house
Oscar's team finds the Cat already at Tandra's home holding the twins hostage. Oscar bluffs and threatens, forcing a shared-information truce, and learns Araminta slept there the night before the Bodant Park fight.
- Ch 1 · ONE
ANA moves to suspend the Accelerators
With Kazimir's evidence, ANA:Governance will convene a suspension conclave against the Accelerators, and Kazimir returns to Sol.
- Ch 2 · Justine: Year Three Reset
Reset confirmed and second Skylord encounter
Justine wakes in the reset timeline, meets the Skylord again, and persuades it to take her to Querencia; it accelerates the Silverbird to 0.93 lightspeed.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Araminta recovers in Miledeep Water
Araminta eats, tends her feet, buys gear, and discovers via the time display that the Silfen paths distorted time. She decides she must face her situation herself.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Araminta contacts the Skylord
After sensing Living Dream followers celebrating Justine's journey to Makkathran, Araminta speaks to the Skylord, then shares Edeard's dream with Jessile.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Oscar's team confronts Mr. Bovey
Oscar, Beckia and Tomansio press Mr. Bovey to reveal Araminta's whereabouts, warning others will come. Cheriton and Liatris then report Living Dream has located her after she shared Inigo's Eighth Dream.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Araminta found on Chobamba
Oscar's team and Living Dream both learn Araminta is on Chobamba sharing Inigo's dreams. Both sides plan to reach her; Oscar's team consults Paula.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Valean demotes Marius
Valean meets Marius in space, downgrades him for the Chatfield and Cat problems, and assigns him to track the Delivery Man on Fanallisto.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Judicial conclave suspends the Accelerator Faction
ANA:Governance convenes its second judicial conclave, charges the Accelerator Faction with high treason, exposes its plots, and suspends and freezes all its members. Ilanthe's mentality escapes into the inversion core.
- Ch 3 · TWO
Inversion core escapes and the Swarm seals Sol
The inversion core breaks out into spacetime and outruns the warships and Kazimir. The Swarm of 8,001 devices englobes the Sol system, collapsing wormholes while the Accelerator ship picks up the core and flees behind the force field.
- Ch 4 · Inigo’s Sixteenth Dream
Final assault on the bandits' valley
On his fifth reset, Edeard prepares by removing the hidden guns and subverting ge-eagles; the militias surround the Gilmorn's fortress outcrop and capture him with few losses.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Sol sealed in a force field
The Swarm materialized around Sol and imprisoned the system, with ANA and the deterrence fleet, cutting it off. The Delivery Man learns this while arriving on Gralmond.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Conservative executive recruits the Delivery Man
A Conservative Faction executive contacts him from outside the barrier and tells him to commandeer a ship and return to Purlap to collect a starship.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Delivery Man takes the Lady Rasfay
He infiltrates the yacht, finds Duaro with a lover, and demands the smartcore access codes while powering up weapons.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Paula Myo confers with Navy and President
Paula, Juliaca and President Alcamo discuss the barrier, the missing deterrence fleet, and Araminta's importance.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Paula deduces Araminta's secret
Paula realises Araminta walked to Chobamba via a Silfen path, and that Araminta's descent from Mellanie Rescorai may explain her Dreamer ability. She sends a shotgun warning message to Chobamba's cybersphere.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Araminta buys a bike and flees
Araminta buys Ranto's manual bike and rides out of Miledeep Water into the desert toward the Silfen path.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Escape onto the Silfen path
Pursuing capsules arrive at Miledeep Water as Araminta rides a bike into the desert. The path engulfs her, the bike dies, and she follows a streambed out of Chobamba into a lush alien land.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Silfen festival
Silfen riders collect Araminta and carry her to a huge camp by a loch, where they feast, dance and pamper her in celebration.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Araminta meets Bradley Johansson and Clouddancer
Two winged Silfen, one the former human Bradley Johansson, explain that she is celebrated as Mellanie's descendant, and discuss her connection to a Skylord, the communion and the Void.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Silfen warn Araminta
Clouddancer and Bradley Johansson tell Araminta of a malevolent new entity seeking the Void; she agrees to do what she can and the Silfen sing in gratitude.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Delivery Man takes the ultradrive
The Delivery Man reaches Purlap, is shadowed by Marius, takes flight command of the ultradrive ship and, pressed by the unknown executive, sets course for the Leo Twins.
- Ch 5 · THREE
SI pressures Troblum
An SI contacts Troblum on his ship, pushing him to find a flaw in the Sol barrier and contact Paula Myo or Oscar Monroe; he refuses, and the SI withdraws after invoking Mark Vernon.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Delivery Man meets Gore
At Gore's asteroid habitat near Augusta, the Delivery Man learns Gore is the true Conservative Faction executive and agrees to join his plan to eliminate the Void.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Departure for the Anomine homeworld
Gore collects five confluence nest satellites and flies Last Throw into hyperspace while Marius pursues on Ilanthe's orders.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Strange light seen near Alakkad
The Liliala Hall ceiling reveals Gicon's Bracelet with a new moving patch of light near Alakkad. Edeard recognises it with awe and later shows Kristabel through his telescope; she wonders if it is a ship from outside the Void.
- Ch 5 · THREE
Trahaval's party at the Seahall
Edeard and Kristabel work the crowd at Mayor Trahaval's election party, meeting voters, the Apricot Cottage Fellowship's Zanlan, and their daughters.
- Ch 5 · THREE
The Skylord claims Finitan
A vast Skylord flies over Makkathran. The tower flares with light, Finitan's body turns to ash and his spectral soul is taken up by the Skylord to the Heart. The Skylord promises its kindred will return, and Edeard feels he has won.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
Laril arranges a meeting with the custodians
After a night of careful inquiries, Laril contacts 'Ondra' and arranges to meet Asom alone at the Jachal Coliseum, preparing escape routes and monitoring software.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
Paula consults the SI and Qatux
Paula learns of Troblum, the Silfen path idea and that the Raiel built the Dark Fortress; Qatux says the High Angel will try the Sol barrier.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
Araminta named Friend of Silfen
Bradley Johansson gives Araminta a pendant naming her Silfen Friend, points her to Ozzie, and she enters the path to Francola Wood.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
Path stirs at Francola Wood
Oscar senses the Silfen path changing; Welcome Team members rush toward the woods and Oscar and Beckia arm up, calling Tomansio. A disrupter pulse shatters their window and they run out.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
Troblum and Catriona argue
Over Viotia, Troblum lashes out at Catriona, suspecting her of betraying him, then relents when she pleads her love. Sensors then report weapon fire above Colwyn City.
- Ch 6 · FOUR
A plea for help and a pledge to be together
A woman tells a man she is no longer running or hiding and wants them to be together once this is over. She says she has an idea but needs his help to make it work. He promises it will happen.
- Ch 7 · Inigo’s Twenty-sixth Dream
Edeard confronts the nest
Edeard visits Apricot Cottage, meets the nest's powerful young psychics, and hears Tathal declare they will inherit and replace the current order, leaving Edeard frightened.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Mob attacks Mareble and Danal
Fleeing Viotia toward the Colwyn City docks, Mareble and Danal are caught by a mob and beaten.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Araminta reveals herself
Araminta, empowered by the Skylord, stops the mob, subdues Captain Darraklan, faces down Phelim and walks through the wormhole to Ellezelin followed by cheering followers.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Araminta enters Makkathran2
Araminta lands at the North Gate with a huge capsule armada behind her and walks through cheering crowds to the Orchard Palace, escorted by constables and Darraklan.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Araminta takes control of the Cleric Council
Araminta demands to know the Pilgrimage arrangements, forcing Ethan to reveal his deal with the supplier, and takes the Mayor's state rooms as her residence.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Watchers debate Araminta's motives
Oscar's team and Paula, with Admiral Juliaca, discuss whether Araminta is a puppet or has a plan; Oscar is told to keep seeking contact.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Paula and the Admiral discuss the Pilgrimage
They conclude attacking the Pilgrimage ships would devastate Greater Makkathran, plan sabotage, note Qatux's help against the Sol barrier, and agree to wait on intercepting the Lindau until the Spike.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Breakfast clash aboard the Lindau
After a nightmare, Aaron breakfasts with captives Inigo and Corrie-Lyn, argues with Corrie-Lyn, and tells Inigo he'd kill him if he were taken.
- Ch 8 · FIVE
Inigo and Corrie-Lyn reconcile
Corrie-Lyn confronts Inigo about abandoning Living Dream; he explains his reasons, they pledge to stop the Void together and become intimate.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s Twenty-ninth Dream
Eastern isles sighted
After four years at sea, Manel sights the first eastern isle, meaning Makkathran is about a month away.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s Twenty-ninth Dream
Flotilla returns to Makkathran
After 38 more days the flotilla reaches Makkathran; Edeard senses thousands of angry people camped outside the north gate, and quarrels with Kristabel over his burden complex.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s Twenty-ninth Dream
Welcome on Wharf One
Edeard lands in the Port district to cheering crowds and is greeted by Macsen, Dinlay and Mayor Doblek, who asks if he sailed around the world.
- Ch 9 · Inigo’s Twenty-ninth Dream
Edeard confronts Our City
Edeard meets Our City's leaders in Rainbow Square and urges openness. Vintico refuses compromise and reveals three provincial militias are marching on Makkathran.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Passing the borderguard
The Last Throw drops out of ultradrive beside a borderguard; the smartcore negotiates, claiming humans seek to emulate the Anomine, and receives permission to examine items on the homeworld without removing them.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Arrival at the Anomine homeworld
Gore admits he has no firm knowledge where the elevation mechanism is. They settle into orbit to map the planet for anomalies and consider talking to natives.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Aaron's nightmare shared
Corrie-Lyn is woken by Aaron's tormented memories via his gaiamotes. At breakfast she confronts him; he denies impairment while Inigo and she urge him to prepare for a breakdown.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Aaron breaks down
Under the amplified emotions of Ozzie's dream, Aaron blasts open the cabin door and threatens Inigo and Corrie-Lyn. Inigo persuades him the trauma is internal, and Aaron falls into an emotionless fallback mode.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Telepathy experiments
Inigo and Corrie-Lyn find they can sense each other's minds and emotions, and experiment with the effect for hours, finding it disquieting and exposing.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Chikoya attack
Armored Chikoya teleport in demanding Inigo; Aaron fights them, retreats through buildings, then sedates Inigo and Corrie-Lyn to hide them from telepathic tracking.
- Ch 10 · SIX
Search for the elevation mechanism
The Delivery Man and Gore examine another Anomine device, find nothing, and Gore proposes stealing the Anomine's knowledge if the remaining sites fail.
- Ch 11 · Inigo’s Thirty-third Dream
News of Fandine march on Licshills
Dinlay tells Edeard the Fandine militia marches on Licshills. Edeard decides the city militia will oppose both sides and that he will ride with them.
- Ch 11 · Inigo’s Thirty-third Dream
Edeard jumps back through the Void's memory
Repenting his tyranny, Edeard reaches back to a much earlier moment and lands at the foot of the Eyrie tower just after defeating Tathal, reconciles with Kristabel and resolves to live differently.
- Ch 12 · SEVEN
Meeting with Aaron
Guided by a hijacked capsule to a remote spot by a water column, Ozzie meets Aaron, who holds unconscious Inigo and Corrie-Lyn. Under threat against Corrie-Lyn, Ozzie switches off mindspace.
- Ch 12 · SEVEN
Tour of the starship construction yard
Araminta and Ethan visit the manufacturing field where twelve giant starships are being fitted with twenty-four million suspension chambers, welcomed by Cleric Taranse, for the Pilgrimage.
- Ch 12 · SEVEN
Attack on the freighters
Thirty-seven freighters carrying the Sol barrier force fields arrive at Ellezelin; eight stealthed enemy ships attack but are destroyed by defense squadrons, and the freighters are undamaged.
- Ch 12 · SEVEN
Radiation downspill
Debris and radiation from the orbital fight scorch the countryside around the city; many followers without memorycells die.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
Embarkation on Macsen's Dream
Mareble and Danal endure a long queue and board the Macsen's Dream, where they meet the Lionwalker.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
SI alerts Troblum
The SI tells Troblum about the call and invites him to observe the restaurant meeting, though Araminta appears to be aboard the Lady's Light about to launch.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
The Pilgrimage launches
Aboard the Lady's Light, the Dreamer receives word that embarkation is complete, and the Pilgrimage ships lift off from Ellezelin and set course for the Void.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
Oscar meets Araminta-two
Oscar's team meets Araminta-two in a Viotia restaurant and whisks her aboard Elvin's Payback. Tomansio verifies her; she asks for Ozzie's help and the ship heads to the Spike.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
Aaron delivers Inigo to Ozzie
Aaron brings sedated Inigo and Corrie-Lyn to Ozzie's island house, where Ozzie is rude. Inigo wakes, and Aaron says he will give his plan when Ozzie comes down.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
Ships follow Oscar
Troblum's Mellanie's Redemption and Paula's Alexis Denken follow Oscar's stealthed ship toward the Spike.
- Ch 14 · EIGHT
Inigo's dream of perfection
Ozzie challenges Inigo on why he abandoned his gospel. Inigo says Edeard did not truly win, and answers Corrie-Lyn's plea by saying he dreamed of perfection.
- Ch 15 · Inigo’s Last Dream
Anniversary ascension
On the thousand-year anniversary of the Waterwalker's ascension, a thousand people ascend through Eyrie's towers to the Heart of the Void while Inigo and family fly over Makkathran and bid farewell.
- Ch 15 · Inigo’s Last Dream
Inigo's tribute in Golden Park
Inigo manifests a vision of historical figures in Golden Park as a final tribute, then resolves to ascend once his home is in order.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Meeting Tyzak
The Delivery Man lands near an Anomine village, greets the elder Tyzak through a translator, and learns the Anomine reject technology by choice and preserve history through stories.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Journey to the place of separation
Tyzak agrees to walk the Delivery Man two days to the place of separation, which Gore and the Delivery Man deduce is the city with a wormhole stabilizer; they set off on foot.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Inigo's dream discussion
Inigo tells Corrie-Lyn the transcended beings' lives are worthless ennui, while she insists they achieved fulfillment.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Inigo discusses the Last Dream
After Inigo shares the Last Dream, Corrie-Lyn storms out, Ozzie and Inigo interpret it as the Void's utopia ending in stagnation, and she later returns accepting it.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Qatux contacts Ozzie
Forced by Aaron, Ozzie calls the High Angel; Qatux cannot get them into the Void but says someone important, escorted by Oscar Monroe, will arrive in three days.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Inigo releases the Last Dream to followers
Persuaded by Ozzie and Corrie-Lyn, Inigo opens his gaiamotes and gifts the Last Dream to all his followers.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Trek to the abandoned city
The Delivery Man and Tyzak hike for two days toward the abandoned Anomine city, swapping stories and fending off night beasts, while Gore studies the wormhole device.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Journey to the plaza
The Delivery Man and Tyzak walk fifteen hours through forest and the Anomine city, sensing the city's dormant neural AI, and reach the plaza where Gore landed.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Discovery of the power siphon
The Last Throw flies to the star and finds a force-field disc inside the convection zone. Gore proposes descending to infiltrate it.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Troblum reaches the Spike
Troblum, in his new armor, flies Mellanie's Redemption to the Spike, lands near Oscar's ship and contacts Oscar, offering his Swarm knowledge.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Troblum offers wormhole transport
Troblum reveals his ship's Anomine-derived novabomb-powered wormhole engine that could reach the galactic core ahead of the Pilgrimage fleet. The group agrees to go, with extra suspension chambers being built for Void time.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Chikoya attack Ozzie's house
Forty armored Chikoya teleport in, surrounding the house; Ozzie vanishes, and Oscar and the Knights Guardian fight them back while Aaron guards the Dreamers.
- Ch 16 · NINE
Cheriton teleported away
Chikoya establish a T-sphere around Cheriton, who cannot counterprogram it, and teleport him to the Farloy compartment. Tomansio forbids pursuit and the team evacuates the Dreamers.
- Ch 16 · NINE
The Cat tortures Cheriton by gifting
Cheriton contacts the team via gaiafield. The Cat, having mutilated him, rewrites his memories to torment him. The team flees FTL as he is forced to relive shooting his family.
- Ch 17 · Justine Year Forty-five
Silverbird lands in Golden Park
After preparing supplies and a pistol, Justine lands the Silverbird in overgrown Golden Park in Makkathran, using the confluence nest to keep failing systems working through a rough descent.
- Ch 18 · TEN
Araminta confronts Ethan
After weeping for the Pilgrimage's followers, Araminta faces Ethan, who knows from Ilanthe she is many. She vows to lead the Pilgrimage into the Void without judging who enters, and dismisses him.
- Ch 18 · TEN
The Cat ambushes Mellanie's Redemption
The Cat catches Mellanie's Redemption as Troblum prepares the FTL device. Paula intervenes, the ship flees, then launches the device into the star while Paula draws the Cat away.
- Ch 18 · TEN
Wormhole crossing
The planetary FTL device opens a wormhole through the star, and the Mellanie's Redemption crosses 28,000 light-years to emerge near the Void.
- Ch 18 · TEN
Passage into the Void
The Raiel let Mellanie's Redemption pass. The Skylord opens the boundary, pulls the ship in, and speeds it toward Querencia, three light-months away.
- Ch 18 · TEN
Raiel attack on the Pilgrimage fleet fails
The warrior Raiel destroy relay stations and eighteen gas giants against the Pilgrimage fleet but cannot breach its force fields, then withdraw.
- Ch 18 · TEN
Containment activated
The Raiel activate the DF spheres, brightening Wall stars to build the containment around the Gulf, as a last-resort measure.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Fleet enters the Void
The Lady's Light reaches the Void boundary; the Heart opens it for the Pilgrimage fleet and Ilanthe's hidden ship, and all pass inside.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Descent into the star
The Delivery Man pilots the Last Throw through a star's photosphere into the convection zone toward the siphon, guided by Gore.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Hacking the siphon
The Delivery Man maneuvers Last Throw to the siphon, probes its control network, loads infiltrator packages, and on Gore's order starts the wormhole and power-up sequence.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Arrival at Makkathran
After Oscar suffers Aaron's nightmare, the crew lands near the Silverbird; Justine greets them, and Aaron says Inigo must bring forth the Waterwalker.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Plan to reach the Heart
Gore tells the group to engage the Heart and persuade it to stop; Skylord-guided Edeard is the way in, and the group will use Makkathran as their ship.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Makkathran launches
Edeard persuades Makkathran, which encases itself in a crystal dome, shatters the land and sea, and lifts into space as a warship.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Makkathran goes FTL in the Void
Edeard asks Makkathran to go faster; it applies a thought pattern and travels faster than light toward the Heart.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Marius novas the Anomine star
Marius fires novabombs into the star to destroy the power station feeding the elevation mechanism; the Delivery Man barely escapes in the Last Throw as the nova begins.
- Ch 20 · ELEVEN
Gore's elevation
Using the nova's power through the Anomine elevation mechanism, Gore transcends and shares the method with the Firstlife and the Heart, showing an alternative to Ilanthe's inversion.
- Ch 21 · TWELVE
Neskia surrenders the barrier code
Paula Myo bargains with the captured Accelerator agent Neskia aboard the Raiel warship; Neskia gives up the Sol barrier deactivation code in return for immunity.
- Ch 21 · TWELVE
Qatux says goodbye to the Lady
Paula accompanies Qatux through Makkathran to the Lady's church, where he strokes her statue's cheek and bids farewell.