Departure

Natheniel recalls pieces of his past from a place where he has nothing but time. His first memory is finding Ihu, who soon becomes his pet bird. His second involves playing with his nightmare, Lekra, and getting his feather necklace. The third recounts a visit to Qizar and doing magic practice. The fourth and fifth are about the day before and the aftermath of Lydia’s death; Natheniel eavesdrops on his guardians and realizes they aren’t telling him the truth. His, Tavin’s, and Philyra’s trip to help the Seothian army recover something is the sixth—the mission barely goes well and he loses his feather necklace. The consequences show in the seventh memory, when he loses control of himself and ends up accidentally hurting Kiah. The last memory is after Natheniel hurt someone else. He assumes that there’s no way his guardians could forgive him after what he did and decides to run away. He comes across a mysterious woman who seems to have no good intentions…

Secrets of the Ley Lines

Casper and Minne call Imre, Dimas, Lydia, Samone, and Kiah together. They simply suggest that the teens pay a visit to Tramos, giving an excuse that hardly hides the fact there was another reason for the offer. Before leaving, Minne gives Imre a note, telling him to only open it after they get to Tramos. The five of them head to Tramos and stay with Mathieu, the noble overseeing the area. While they’re there, Imre reads the note and starts looking into Idale—an abandoned village within Mathieu’s territory. They eventually realize this was the real reason Casper and Minne wanted them to come here. They experience several memories about five of the village’s previous residents: “Ki,” “Calli,” Zenas, Umber, and Takane. These five, they find, were known as Keys—roles that Imre, Dimas, Lydia, Samone, and Kiah also fulfilled. They make the correlation between Calli and Minne before heading back to the castle.

A bit of time passes and they’re all gathered at the Lake. Samone encounters a bird who soon turns out to be a Fos, Zokel. They talk a bit more about what the Keys were supposed to do: unlock the same Labyrinth that held the Minotaur. The five of them needed to enter the Labyrinth and defeat it. Reluctantly, they all agree, and begin the journey there. In the caves, they hear fragments of stories; of Theran, the fairy who was ultimately turned into the Minotaur, of what happened to those who entered the Labyrinth, and of the children of Fleyw Bresh who hid there. They defeat the Minotaur’s spirit with another adventure behind them.

Bloodline

In the past, Lydia takes Elena, Lewis, and Tavin with her to check out a ruin-of-sorts in the plains. They stop at the nearby town, where they meet a mysterious girl around Tavin’s age; this girl seems to have no memory of her parents or any other relatives they might have. After determining that no one in the town recognized her, they decided to call her Muriel until they could talk with Imre to guarantee she didn’t have a family somewhere. Lydia shows them to the ruin-of-sorts—an old house—though she doesn’t really explain to Tavin why they’re there. They leave after she checks on something.

In the present, Lydia’s spirit encourages Tavin to go back to that house. While he was there, he visited Muriel—who, along with Lustris, had moved there after the Stones died—and asked her to come with him. He’s by himself in the end, though, when he finds out what Lydia had been looking for all those years ago: an artifact that had the power to project past events. He’s shown memories of Minne, how she was an Ilethera, and she ultimately did for him when he was a baby. He goes back to the castle and Imre confirms it—along with telling him that Tavin himself was an Ilethera, one with a power somewhat comparable to a Fos, like Natheniel had been comparable to a Skiá.

Rebellion

Lucas is your average guy… who may or may not have a knack for annoying the local authorities, possibly because of his tendencies to publicly oppose the king. Still, this gets no further than a few local arguments until he’s visited by an old friend, Sidyn. He’s able to convince Lucas to lead a rebellion, starting with gathering some scattered children of Fleyw Bresh.

They meet Missa and, after recruiting her and some others, end up heading for the border. They find the group of the children of Fleyw Bresh residing in the Caverns and convince them to join them. Lucas and the others go to find a few more recruits before heading to the capital, but they’re caught on their way there. He offers to go with the soldiers to make them let the rest of them go.

He’s sent to be executed, but ends up talking with the Red Rose… who turns out to be willing to let him go, as long as Lucas wins. He reunites with the rest of the rebellion and they head for the capital. There, they have a surprisingly easy battle. The king is already dead when they find him, but a cryptic message was written to Lucas…

The Mystery of Nadia Mikah

Enebish is an aspiring detective and, with the arrival of Leon, receives their first real case: to find Leon’s missing niece, Nadia. While investigating, they end up finding Imena, a Fos meant to protect certain kinds of mortals. Together they end up learning about Adidell, an organization prominent within northern Seothia with a goal to revive the time of Old Seothia. Enoulare admits to Enebish that she’s long known about them—but knows what they’ll do to those who try to expose them, so she never dared to say a word. Enebish and Imena locate the place where Nadia is, rescue her, and bring her back to Leon. Before leaving, Leon mentions trying to move closer to Mikkel territory, and Enebish and Nadia decide to keep in touch through letters.

The Stone Family Adventure

Lydia, thanks to a special charm, is able to experience a life where her older sons—Tim and Henry—had lived. She calls them and Tavin together to announce she has a new adventure for all of them, one that will take them all around Seothia.

They first visit Teyeabasi territory, where they follow a group of phoenixes during their migration. They befriend one of them, Melai, and ultimately offer to take it with them on the rest of their journey. In Oseloke territory, they follow a river to a series of projections; one about a now-forgotten house, one about someone named “Dree” and her love, and one of a mysterious woman taking a charm out of a ruin. After a run-in with some Messengers in Zaci territory, they find the Lost Archives, which are full of ancient tomes and artifacts. They take a short break to visit Lydia’s aunt for Oshye’s Comet in Tobiah territory, which brings her uncomfortably close to acknowledging that this really was all fake.

Visiting Xannon territory, they end up learning the name of Dree’s love—Achadus—as well as learning that Dree was very likely to have been a nickname for Eldrianna. In Jaden territory, the boys start to realize that there was something Lydia wasn’t telling them about the whole thing. They find an oasis in Sobechi territory that’s supposed to show something special about a person—the twins don’t have reflections at all, Tavin’s is much younger, and Lydia sees what had led up to her finding the charm. They’re able to go to Rymbai territory on the pretext of helping someone else, but are soon able to do what they really came there for. They find a tree that whispers things that prove the fantasy was collapsing. Finally, they go to Mikkel territory, where they set Melai free and Lydia reveals what had really happened. She gives her final goodbye to Tim and Henry before the fantasy collapses and she’s back in the real world. She spares no time in finding Tavin, only three, and glad that they could have done something together… if not just in her memories.

The Fiction in Fact

Demery and Koyana are relatively normal siblings, the only true difference being that they’ve been living with their grandparents for most of their lives. That changes when they meet Aither, however, who tells them he’s there to reveal some secrets. After running a few errands, he explains it a little more about four friends: Tyrus, Feldr, Komaeda, and an unspoken person. He introduces them to the descendants of Feldr, Olle and Evelina, and they set off to a town on the edge of the Solaris region.

They learn that the unspoken person had supposedly put a curse on Tyrus and Feldr’s lines. Aither disproves this as simply an explanation constructed from fear—but still never comes closer to saying who that unspoken person really was. Ultimately, with the help of Tandi, a servant of Lord Tyrus, and Jimar, a previous servant of the same master, Demery and Koyana are able to meet with their parents… and are left with no room to deny the fact that their parents only did what they could as a kind of self-preservation from the curse. After they decide they’re not going to stay with their parents and they don't want to go back to their grandparents, Olle offers for the siblings to stay with him and Evelina.

The Girl Under the Bed

Rhenei and Kalleira found their moment to run away when both of Rhenei’s parents leave the house; they soon find Farrar, who after deciding he could use some time alone, decide to help them. Their goal is to head to a specific field in the Andrea Province that Kalleira saw in a dream. Farrar begins to piece together what Rhenei had gone through before, while his own father was sending him letters he refused to show her. Kalleira driven by a distant memory, convinces Rhenei that he was going to betray them. The two of them leave and end up finding Calum. Farrar still catches up to them and he and Rhenei both share the secrets they’d been hiding from the other. Calum reveals that he could help Rhenei get away from her parents for good and they set up that plan. Farrar, Rhenei, and Kalleira temporarily leave for the field—and learn that Kalleira was a spirit, her past life similar to Rhenei’s now. After returning to Calum, he offers for Rhenei and Kalleira to stay with him until Rhenei was eighteen, and Farrar departed for his own home in Hyasari.

Raven Feathers

Philyra has a startling dream about being stabbed by Ilethera beside the Lake—though soon shakes it off in favor of starting her day. After practice for a performance associated with Afterlife’s Promise, she decides to go for a walk, where she meets Jesper. In his presence, with a bit of reluctance, she admits something she thought she never would: she couldn’t believe that all of this was a part of Orestis’s plan—a heretical kind of thought. He offers to take her somewhere, but they’re interrupted before then. Later, he’s able to show her to the place—the headquarters of the Ravens. He talks to her a bit about their goals—to tell the truth about Orestis, to keep people from sacrificing things in the name of a god that didn’t care—before bringing her back to the castle. When they arrive at the Lake, Philyra experiences more half-memories, and ends up asking Tavin about it. He expects it to be a spirit and Kadol, when she comes to him about it, confirms it by telling her a story about Queen Ilena; a past queen who was murdered for such a connection. He reassures Philyra that no one would hurt her, however. Philyra returns to Hyasari and finds Jesper, who ends up telling her about Allen—her father. She confronts Zofie on the matter but it’s actually Kadol who gives the full story. Finally, Philyra contemplates everything Jesper told her, and makes a big decision: she was going to join the Ravens.

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Traveler's Tales

Sukeena has a pretty simple life as a member of a circus troupe, performing with her father and friends. That changes, though, after an incident that killed her father and that led all but two of the old members—Natharie and Orith—to leave. Sukeena decides she won’t let any of that be an obstacle, however, in rebuilding what her father had had. First, she recruits Umi, who had helped her after the incident. After a bit of traveling with just the four of them, they meet Detu, who’d been abandoned by his parents. Throughout the next few years, they meet several others; Miho, Ilathy, and Nillie (goblin triplets who’d been wandering before then), Miskunn (a member of a disbanded performing arts group still wishing to travel), Theisi (a noble running away from an unpleasant situation), and Mati (a child of Fleyw Bresh unwanted elsewhere). They all settle into their roles and, finally, determine their next stop: the capital of the Solaris region, Rahasari.

Second Chances

Lynette, after leaving her previous life as an actress, makes her home in the Qizarn town of Yllvamel. First, she gets acquainted with her neighbors—the alchemist Regind, the half-siren Loraena, and the half-fairy Ragnis. She realizes she can trust them when they learn about her past and, despite her expectations, assure her it never mattered. Ultimately, she’s dragged into helping Astyu—a person who, apparently, hadn’t left his family’s estate since the death of his mother several years before. The four of them do what they can to help him understand the death of his mother… the details Lynette still doesn’t understand, but the other three definitely seem to realize something. In the end, Loraena is able to convince Astyu to leave the estate; Lynette assures him there are plenty of good things left to come.

Uncharted Waters

Oria finds another fairy unconscious on the beach near her home. She takes care of him and, when he wakes up, introduces himself as Caenum… and very quickly proves that he’s from the shores of Fleyw Bresh. She spends a little while simply trying to keep others from questioning it too much—which doesn’t help by whatever realization he makes when they go to the beach she found him. Eventually, she’s able to convince him to try to get back to Fleyw Bresh, and they attend a party together to gain information. He reveals to her what happened before she found him: he and his friends thought they could conquer the seas, but ended up being overconfident. She assures him time and time again that she’ll help him get home no matter what. They’re able to stowaway on a boat heading for Fleyw Bresh, and Oria considers what she’s leaving behind… but she’s confident in her decision to go, too. They find Caenum’s parents, who let Oria stay with them, and things seem to only be capable of getting better for them.

Forgotten Light

Book I shows bits and pieces from Fauna’s life in Ryobel. She meets some of the kids there, though she doesn’t get along well with all of them. Her sister, Domenique, often spends more time running errands or helping around the house. One day, though… nobles came for a meeting—nobles that included the daughter of Jaden territory’s overseer and the Seothian prince. Fauna returns home to find her mother, Kamila, talking with Seothia’s queen. Kamila reveals a few details about their struggles to the queen, and it seems like nothing could be done… until the queen realizes that they were cousins. Fauna’s family is exalted into nobility and moves closer to Lelishara, and the book concludes with her being properly introduced to Imre, Samone, Lydia, Kiah, and Dimas.

Book II begins with the six of them starting their first adventure together—to find a manticore. They slowly learn how to work together, though there’s still a lot they need to figure out. They find the story of Daekai: how, after the death of the Great Dragons and the hunting of dragons and manticores in Seothia, Daekai stayed. Fauna, spurred by a feeling she doesn’t quite understand, goes in to talk to Daekai alone. Daekai mistakes her for someone else—tells her she should be with Tyrus, Feldr, and Komaeda, or with “her”—until she realizes who Fauna is. She’s encouraged to leave, though, before she has proper answers. She recounts it to Imre, but they come up with nothing. When the six of them recount the adventure to Casper and Minne, they all agree to doing more trips in the future.

The Epilogue reveals that these had been stories told by Fauna to Natheniel and Lekra as they tried to find a way to escape where they were. She tries to get Natheniel to talk about his family, but it seems to only bring up bad memories. Lekra’s able to remind him of some good, though, and Fauna assures him that his family will be happy to see him. Finally, Natheniel accepts that he wants to go home, and Fauna promises to make sure they all do.

H99

Beika’s relatively peaceful life working at her mother’s inn is turned upside down with the arrival of Enebish and Imena. Enebish explains to her mother, Serafina, why the two of them are there; Adidell has gained an interest in H99–the 99th attempt of a homunculus—since H100 defected. Serafina asks Beika and her brother, Titham, to go with Enebish and Imena to somewhere safer. While they walk, Enebish tells the siblings a story… a story with implications Beika doesn’t like, as it puts Serafina in a bad light. Back at the inn, Serafina tries to ward off members of Adidell until she notices that Beika and Titham had come back—wanting to hear the story from her, instead of strangers. She gets them to leave again and promises to tell them the full story later. The next morning, after Serafina returns to where Imena had taken the kids, she explains it all; how she got involved in Adidell, how she learned about the Homunculus Project, and what she did to stop it. Beika has no option but to accept the truth. They return to the inn and Enebish gets the members of Adidell to leave. Serafina, Beika, and Titham can now go back to their old lives… but it was only a matter of time before Adidell returned for Beika, and they need to decide what they’d do before then.

Redemption

Ouka and Brenan are thieves, doing what they need to in order to survive. They’ve lost most hopes of changing that, until they’re visited by a girl named Mazel… who soon reveals herself to be a Fos. She promises them the chance of redemption, so long as they’re willing to do as she says and face their pasts. Brenan is the first to do so, confronting some of his old acquaintances in order to try to convince them that they could do as he did, and that they could change their path. It seems that none of them really listened, but Mazel assures him that, even if he never gets to see the fruits of his conversation, there was no denying he planted the seeds. Next, they travel to Qizar, where Ouka has to face her own past. She doesn’t have to confront people, though, but rather go into a Ravens’ base and find two things: records and a bird. She does this, but not without encountering an old friend of hers and understanding that their paths are too far to ever pass again. When she gets back, Mazel explains what each item she had to collect was for; the records was due to the information in them, and the bird ended up being a trapped Fos. In the end, she announces that they’re both ready for their new future, and Ouka and Brenan decide to move to Ilystalos to make it.

What Time Forgot Summaries

White Room- Natheniel’s fate after Departure is revealed: he’s spent the last three years wandering in the place between life and death. He meets another trapped there, Fauna, and the two decide they should be able to escape.

Memories (Dimas)- Scenes showing moments of Dimas’s life, both big and small.

Sacrifice- Minne first recalls her adoptive brother’s and Casper’s dying words. Then she makes a decision: to use her power as an Ilethera to save the life of her grandson at the expense of her own.

Fading Memories- Imre laments how quickly he’d forgotten a dear friend and recalls what they’d been doing moments before she went missing.

Flickering Light- Iztali experiences fragments of his dying dream, barely able to keep fighting it. He’s faced with good news, though: Natheniel has returned.

Regretful Longing- Kadol reflects on his relationship with Allen and, unable to stop himself, asks Zofie if she thinks she made the right decision.

Creeping Shadows- Kadol confronts Odelle and murders her, their ideals clashing too much for any peaceful resolution. Soon afterwards, he sees Zofie ascend to the throne and realizes that she will ultimately follow down her mother’s path.

Memories (Kiah)- Scenes showing moments of Kiah’s life, both big and small.

A Lost Love- Kadol thinks back of his love and others who he’d held dear only to lose. He learns his love survived, only for their daughter to be sentenced to execution without him ever knowing it. He ends up taking in her son, Jesper, to raise as a Raven.

Keys- Minne and her siblings unlock the tree in Idale. Years later, she tries to understand Haris’s goals, yet comes no closer to answering any questions.

A Light in the Dark- Nadia chases after her pet cat and ends up running into Tavin. The two get together surprisingly well.

Two Halves of a Whole- Tavin admits his feelings for Nadia about a year after meeting.

From Ashes Reborn- Shows how Lustris came to work under the Stones and what it was like for her.

Settling Affairs- Samone visits Levi Asari after Kesem’s death.

All Comes Crashing Down- Kiah reflects on what she saw the night of the Stone Massacre.

The Life of Allen Karsten- Allen finds out that he was chosen to be the bishop of the Pasha region.

The Love of Allen Karsten- Allen falls in love with Zofie.

The Death of Allen Karsten- Allen is accused of heresy and is executed in Hyasari.

Departure Deleted Part IVS- Amidst all that was happening, Natheniel makes a short-lived request.

Remember What Was Lost- Imre tries to use an artifact to remember what had happened to the Lost Light.

A Swap of Duty- Domenique moves to Qizar in order to take care of Zofie.

An Old Friend- Koyana tells Olle and Evelina about someone she was close to in the past.

Memories (Haris)- Scenes showing moments of Haris’s life, both big and small.

Whodunit?- While all of Seothia’s region overseers are together, Imre gets them to try to figure out what happened to the Stones… and all they can come up with is that it might not have been an accident.

Dedication to the Lost- Tavin tells Nadia a bit about Lydia’s other two sons during the Lantern Festival. It’s also revealed that Ihu has died.

Following Fear- Umber and Zenas go out to town for an adventure. All they find, though, is a growing suspicion and a feeling that they’re no longer welcome there.

Nightmare’s Heart Part 1 and 2- Dimas and a few others set out to fight the Nightmare’s Heart, encountering some setbacks along the way.

Another Dreamer- After Natheniel’s disappearance, Enuolare tells Enebish what they are—a dreamer.

The Tree Swallow- Minne realizes that Zokel is dying, then wonders how many other Fos have shared his fate.

Spirits- Tavin goes with Imre and Samone to the Lysha, who reveal that he’s adopted the spirits of Lydia, Lewis, and Elena.

Keeping a Promise- Kadol recalls the promise he made to Odelle about taking care of Zofie, then acknowledges that poisoning her so that she would lose her magic was what he had to do to keep it.

The Dream and the Nightmare- Lekra is born, and they meet Iztali for the first time.

A Message- Casper, while avoiding his princely duties, ends up encountering Messengers and hearing a cryptic warning about the future.

Unknowing Dreamer- After Natheniel’s disappearance, Lustris gets a letter from Imre asking her to tell Muriel that she’s a dreamer, but decides against it.

Memories (Thero)- Scenes showing moments of Thero’s life, both big and small.

A Conflict of Opinion- Farrar realizes that he won’t be able to tell Kiah, who he thought might understand, about his work as a Raven.