Heavy Metal Hyperborea Summaries

Season 1

Episode 1 (Dec 14)

A noble far too in love with her glaive, three precisely engineered human weapons (coming in transhumanist, pierogi-addicted catgirl, and stubborn optimist flavours), an orphan for whom war has left only scar tissue, and a humble, self-proclaimed foreign manservant enter a classroom. Together they watch the Second Great War erupt from Dual Monarchy perfidy from the confines of their fancy orientation dinner.

Episode 2 (Dec 21)

The semester begins with an explosive start with the class meeting their newly assigned student CO, duels for a maiden’s honour, and a royal inspection confiscates treasured literature from the girls that Spargapises bravely quests to return. All that plus the assassination attempt from presumed Dual Monarchy agents as magic traps the weary class in with an overloading boiler only to be foiled at the last moment by the heroic War(crime) Lab girls.

Episode 3 (Dec 28)

The class’ first Magitek Armour exercise is met with an escalation far beyond the bounds of ordinary pilot orientation as they encounter mercenaries hired by a political rival of class member Ivan Bulganov’s father to capture the son. Their victims are also on display as the village of Growslant burns, Krasanova’s Killers indulging themselves in pillage and murder before their confrontation with the special class. This provokes a violent reaction from Roland, who would go on to claim two armour kills in a bloody fashion, with the last going to the (Ever-Adorable) Meribel, a lazy troublemaker who is paradoxically a member of the discipline committee.

Their dreams are haunted by the future-past, as a shade rather rudely peers through the Big Book of Private Things involving the special class. Estrella’s first encounter with her ‘beloved’, Spargapises revisits the family curse, Olivia her less than gentle training under the tutelage of the War(crime) Labs, and Roland the tragedy where everything began. Only Sylphie has the luck of a gentle dream.

Episode 4 (Jan 4)

Even as the class is pulled from their unexpected baptism by fire in Growslant, a new emergency erupts as objects from beyond the skies crash into the mountains next to them. Mobilising on the training ship Heimdallr despite their inexperience, the class is astonished to discover that those objects were some manner of saviour pods, and the tenant of the one they encounter is one Princess Anodyne Incinderella dela Lunamarina-Lemuria the IV, from the royal family of ancient Lemuria.

This is of course when the party promptly becomes caught in a storm of violence between two giants, a massive, incredibly advanced Lemurian war machine and an even more massive dragon that had been bred as an artificial weapon from the time of the Flood. The class barely escapes with their lives (again) with their rescuee in tow.

Episode 5 (Jan 11)

The party heads to the industrial city of Ostlicht, where Anodyne is arranged a quick appointment with the Imperial Minister of War Angela Jormungandr with Jonas and Roland in two as guards to quickly formalise an arrangement appropriate to a major foreign dignitary, albeit one present under unusual circumstances. Spargapises goes mad while minding the labs girls on a shopping trip while Estrella gets herself wrapped up in the more occult aspects of the town alongside an unwitting Jonas Emeraldine, culminating in a fight with an unknown man with a connection to her glaive and saving the life of a churchman.

Episode 6 (Jan 18)

Roland, regretting that he hadn’t been able to visit Jonas ever since the latter was injured and hospitalised after the incident yesterday, plans on a visit. He is met with a set of circumstances that start off normal (Jonas not answering his phone) to the increasingly strange as the hospital staff would insist that Jonas was not a patient of theirs. Fearing foul play, the rest of the class mobilises to track him down, quickly finding evidence of magical tampering that traces back to the abandoned Fafnir estate, former home of (the ever-adorable) Meribel and her brother Joachim. Storming the estate, they find Jonas along with a whole host of alchemical guard beasts and an eyeful to the Fafnir family’s less than savoury past. When they confront the culprit behind Jonas’ disappearance, this time a suspected Balhae agent, Estrella pulls a fastball special and returns the Balhae man’s thrown grenade to him.

Episode 7 (Feb 1)

As the news of the presence of a living Lemurian princess continues to percolate through the higher echelons of the imperial government, Anodyne is invited to Ostlicht’s Ferrier Labs (a joint venture between the Imperial Warlabs and the Union of House Alchemists) in the hopes that she would be able to assist with their research. Any lingering doubts over Anodyne’s identity are swiftly put to rest when she reactivates a pair of venerable Lemurian war machines through her presence alone, a frontline magitek armour designated the Gram and an unknown command armour. As her designated retainer Roland is put through testing in the Gram (and consequently confirming his own Lemurian heritage in the process), Olivia faces her own tribulations by dueling the latest and greatest in alchemical biohorrors in the form of the Biomechanical Angel ‘Cherubim’, prevailing in a painfully won victory.

Sidestory: Night at Alsica's Pass (Feb 20)

As the rail lines around Ostlicht are suddenly occupied by intensive Imperial military movement towards the Tang/Sirian borders, the class is directed to stay the night at the Intaki Onsen at the mountain town of Alsica’s Pass, a hot springs inn built by Zipangese immigrants. While the others enjoy the single functioning pool, Roland volunteers to see if he could do anything about the blockage (as much for his embarrassment of the prospect of a mixed bath as it is from a genuine desire to help) preventing the other pool from functioning with a curious Anodyne following behind. The duo return just in time to meet a jubilant innkeeper and the ever-enterprising Meribel offering tarot fortunes for everyone (for a price).

Episode 8: The Duel, The Dance (Feb 22)

The mood at St. Laoius Ladies’ Academy is festive as the exhibition match between Roland and Jonas kick off in recognition of their achievements at Growslant. Despite his initial advantage, Roland is defeated as Jonas turns the table on him with magic despite the difficulties in doing so in an unmodified Sigurd. Though expressing pessimism over being labeled a ‘hero’, Roland allows himself to be dragged to a student maid cafe where he spots a ghost. Meanwhile, Meribel crashes the maid cafe with gossip of Miyuki and Jonas’ possible involvement with each other while being treated to a show of Spargapises attempting to be subtle before Estrella also joins, flushed in pleasure after killing over a dozen terrorists attempting to sneak into festival grounds through a maintenance tunnel.

Roland chases after the ghost, who he slowly realises is a miraculously alive Princess Gloria Helene Iscariot, or as he knew her, Helene, his best friend that he believed was killed in the incident that robbed him of his childhood. After an emotional reunion where both of them were relieved to see the other alive, he’s invited to the dance with her, a symbol of their rekindled friendship. Meanwhile, Sparg and Anodyne are ambushed by a mysterious assailant who quickly overwhelms them despite Spargapises’ reveal as the mythic Lunakhan. Only the intervention of a similarly dressed masked man saves their lives. Their assailant, now revealed as Yesod of the Emerald Abyss, is reluctantly called to heel by Binah, as Anodyne is the subject of a mysterious prophecy.

Episode 9 (Mar 1)

In international news, the Dual Monarchy’s offensive stalls out in the ruins of Balhae’s capital even as the Empire embarks on its first major military operation since the Great War and launches an offensive into Tang, which is quickly destabilising into feuding warlords after its patron Balhae was mired into a life and death struggle. Accompanying General Richter and his 9th Imperial Army are the very same bioangels that Olivia dueled, now nearing the mass-production stage in a horrifying display of Imperial might.

Back at the Rosencruz Academy, Anodyne is in a meeting with the Imperial Second Prince Alexander, who proposes an expedition into the Sirian frontier to recover a surprisingly intact Slepnnir interface striker, a Lemurian transatmospheric cruiser. Roland in the meantime is showing Gloria (Helene in private between her and Roland) around the Academy, which is interrupted by (the ever-adorable) Meribel near the hangar, who threatens Gloria with espionage charges for her proximity to classified war material at the hangars, an act that puts major strain between Meribel and Roland. The Lab Girls also run into their own trouble, as the visiting Vice Director Focht of the Warlabs corrals them and leaves with a cryptic statement on the Emerald Abyss after Jonas intervenes.

The next day the class are deployed to the border fortress of Aleksi Prospect in preparation for the expedition to secure the interface striker, surprisingly accompanied by the Second Prince. Their brief leave at Aleksi Prospect however is interrupted by the sighting of a powerful floodbeast, a smaller version of the colossal dragon that menaced them weeks ago. The response force maintains their distance from the beast on orders from Captain Kiel, CO of the Heimdallr, in the hopes that it would go away on its own without provoking it, which is eventually vindicated as the dragon wanders off in another direction. This relief is short-lived, as they are ambushed by the Balhae Strike Carrier Ahn Mu, the people who originally provoked the dragon in a hit and run missile attack. When the class reaches the interface striker they discover the reason for this unprovoked attack, as Balhae had attacked the camp of the advance team and kidnapped the archaeologists assigned to its initial excavation. Meribel, who had accompanied the advance team, was confirmed to be missing.

Episode 10 (Mar 15)

It has been almost a week since the class had found the ruins of the camp, during which Jonas was confined after an angry argument with Captain Kiel about launching a rescue mission after Meribel. Orders from the Ministry would override Kiel, putting the class on track for a rescue mission tracking the Ahn Mu. While this is a dangerous enough prospect on its own, they get more than they bargained for when they discover and infiltrate a launch facility belonging not to Balhae, but to a living Lemurian remnant. Jonas and Estrella are caught red-handed by the Lemurians while trying to escape with Meribel, who attempt a parley via Anodyne, During the parley the Lemurian CWO Denarian Goldyne insists on keeping their captured Atlantean superweapon imprisoned, causing some initial confusion between Jonas and Estrella, until the tarot reveals that Meribel is the superweapon in question, which swiftly detonates the parley much to Anodyne’s frustration. The class somehow manages to withdraw with Meribel, with the Lemurians declining to pursue as they have their own schedule to scuttle their secret facility and withdraw to parts unknown. Spargapises, who has a simmering grudge against Meribel ever since the latter forcibly recruited him as a pasty for Imperial Counter-Intelligence ‘Blackstone’, is infuriated that he was put into so much danger merely to rescue their tormentor.

Interlude: Otori (Mar 21)

Jonas and Miyuki have their vacation at the island of Otori off the coast of Zipang, the last one in a while as the buildup of imperial troops for an invasion of Zipang is obvious to all observers. They are greeted by Miyuki’s personal attendant Kurumi at the airport, who escorts the couple to meet with Miyuki’s adoptive father Daimyo Otori at his estate, who expresses his gratitude for Imperial military support for the restoration of the Shogunate and with it, his implicit support for the planned marriage alliance between Jonas and Miyuki. The subsequent beach R&R is disrupted first by some very drunk imperial marines harassing a couple of local girls (who back off when confronted by Jonas’ noble credentials) and then when said local girls reveal themselves to be communist assassins, whose suicide missions abruptly end at the hands of Kurumi (who also occupies a bodyguard role) and Jonas.

Congratulations are brief as Jonas is summoned to the imperial fortress on Otori to meet with his ‘Auntie’, the Imperial War Minister. After a foreboding tour on the tools of war the Empire intends to unleash on Communist Zipang, Jonas is forced into a duel with the Minister’s secretary Beryl, now revealed as the Fifth Apostle of the Emerald Abyss, a sure loss save for the awakening of his latent potential as the Antichrist Keter of the Emerald Abyss, a fact embraced by the War Minister, now revealed as the Fatebinder, the leader of the Emerald Abyss. An evil star shines in the night sky and candles in holy places across the world are suddenly blown out by an ill wind.

Interlude: Capital (Mar 22)

Roland, as a favor to Helene, travels to the capital to accompany her as arm candy as she attends a fancy ball hosted by Third Prince Wilhelm at the capital’s Stahlritter Hall. Kidnapped taken on a small detour by Estrella, who proceeds to torment him by a barrage of uncomfortably forward questions on Roland’s relationship with Gloria, they encounter Spargapises the next morning, who gives an ominously firm warning to avoid the ball at all costs to Roland.

Spargapises, conscripted once more by (the ever-adorable) Meribel for more of her dirty work, decides he’s finally out of ideas and brings Estrella into the job to hopefully seduce a Balhae spy. After some prospective brainstorming to try to fulfill Meribel’s orders, Estrella figuratively threw up her hands and went to Roland to spill the beans to him and Gloria, decisively convincing her and Kathryn, Gloria’s bodyguard, that the ball was not a safe place to be.

Roland’s side of the ball would be uneventful in no small part due to Spargapises’ efforts to spare him, brief dance and greeting the Third Prince before Gloria excused herself. Spargapises and Estrella however would find themselves caught in the middle of a deadly battle between the Church of Dusk and Dawn and Meribel, the latter of whom had framed the duo as agents of Atlantis. Estrella would join Atlantis as an Apostle in an attempt to undermine Atlantis from the inside, while Spargapises was forced to watch helplessly as the templars from the Church are cut down one by one.

Interlude: Roland (Mar 26-31)

Shaken by his experience in the capital and the news that Prince Wilhelm had suffered a critical injury and was in a coma, in an incident linked to the corpses of five Church Templars found underneath Stahlritter Hall, Roland elects to return to the Academy several days early. He’s not so quick to escape the aftershocks as he runs into a duo discussing the ascension of Keter while out on a midnight run, catching a glimpse of ashen hair that reminds him of Meribel.

The next day he runs into Alison, who was agitated in a way Roland hadn’t seen before and urgently looking for Meribel. After professing what he heard on the beach from who he thought was Meribel, Alison demanded Meribel’s location from him, revealing in the process that she was on a mission to avenge her brother, one of the fallen Templars at the capital. Concerned for Alison’s safety (even if she was a Saint), but unwilling to stand in the way of her vengeance given his own past, he goes with her to confront Meribel.

They find Meribel in the depths of an abandoned shrine, and taken so off-guard by Roland’s sudden appearance Alison is able to skewer her in the heart from behind. To the pair’s horror, Meribel proves extremely uncooperative with dying, and worse, her earlier statement that she was attempting to seal a dimensional rift into Hell turned out to be true when reality shattered like glass, and the trio fell into the depths.

Hell, or Sheol in occultist terminology, was unsurprisingly a foreboding place. A black sun hung in the sky with a horizon the shade of blood, barren save the sprawling monster of a castle in the distance, a thing of towers and bridges that seemed to lead everywhere and nowhere at once. Forced to head towards the castle, as Meribel was the only one who could bring them out of Hell, Roland is almost immediately caught by patrolling demons, who assumed him to be a would-be demon summoner and took Roland (with Alison sneaking nearby) to their master, the Archdemon Orlandu, who among other things, possessed a eerie resemblance to Roland.

Dismissive of the newcomers, Orlandu leaves them to their own devices. Following an increasingly heated exchange where Meribel’s taunting opened emotional wounds whose intensity left even Roland stunned, Meribel reached some unknown epiphany regarding Roland’s nature and told him the key was to call an old companion. Despite never laying eyes on it before, something within Roland was able to recall that familiar name. Durandal, the Empyreal Knight, summoning an angelic magitek armour (mildly charred by hellflame) that was able to sever the boundaries of reality and return them home.

Unfortunately, back in the mundane universe Roland and Alison were forced to confront mundane concerns, such as the undoubtedly negative reception they would receive in their bloody clothes. As Alison ran off on her own to fetch clothes for the duo and Roland stood watch over the unconscious Meribel, he was suddenly interrupted by Gloria and her friends looking for him. Awkward.

Quickly explaining what happened and emphasizing the dangers of being present to a former hellrift convinced the girls to pull out before they could spot Meribel and force Roland into an even more awkward position. As Gloria gives him a lift back to the Academy, she asks for Roland to accompany her back to the Dual Monarchy, the same question that she asked him when they first reunited. Roland, tired of living in hate and bitterness and feeling immensely indebted to Helene but not quite able to forgive the Dual Monarchy, hesitates but promises to at least seriously think about it.

Interlude: POLON (Mar 29)

In contrast to the nominal vacation time of their classmates, the special class members traveling to the POLON megacity of Wieczna Noc were present on a matter of formal business. Under the futuristic neon lights of POLON domes were secret Imperial military facilities prepared years in advance to give the Empire the edge in rearmament, acquired at the cost of numerous concessions to their POLON hosts. After enjoying the amenities of the Luxor Ra and its attached aquarium (laser whales included), the girls are called to the real reason for their presence in the city, an all hands War Labs emergency meeting helmed by Vice Director Focht. He explains the situation in stark terms. The Empire is at threat of being consumed from within by the remnants of Atlantis, who had launched a soft coup with Third Prince Wilhelm’s near-death and the promotion of the War Minister to Chancellor. In the worst case, it would be a civil war between the Atlanteans and the Imperial loyalists. As the direction of the War Labs are finalised, the final item on the agenda was the upcoming completion of the Pilus family’s magnum opus, the AGM-01 Pandora, which only needed the heart of Leviathan to be completed.

Meanwhile Princess Anodyne was engaged in a meeting of her own with Rortimus Vernali, CEO of Megadyne, POLON’s ruling corporation and the architect behind its futuristic transformation. Vernali would quickly prove himself to be unerringly familiar with Lemuria, possessing some idea of Lemurian culture and even gifting Anodyne with a royal battlesuit that had belonged to the latter’s grandmother. More pertinent still is the grim discussion of the moon in chaos, the confirmation of the survival of Anodyne’s elder sister, and the Lemurian superweapon Gungnir, the Heavenly Spear that once ended the world.

Episode 11 (Apr 1)

It is the start of the new semester. Jonas is going around giving everyone souvenirs. Estrella is conducting moody glaive practice. Olivia is conducting moody target practice. Roland is baking clafoutis (a recipe from his maternal grandmother). Anodyne and Sylphie is educating Roland on why he should’ve made more.

As Sylphie chats Estrella’s ear off and then agrees to a practice bout with the other girl, Roland faces his own dilemma of whether to follow a lead on the duo from the beach (see Interlude: Roland) or spend a moment of some rare time off with Helene. Under the assumption that it was a simple reconnaissance mission and that Alison was more than capable of handling herself, Roland went with Helene.

During a nice dinner at a Genoese restaurant, Roland confessed that he was trying to move on from his past by reminding himself that not everyone from the Dual Monarchy was bad and that he even had family from over the border, such as his grandmother. As the night wound down, Helene pulled Roland in for a big kiss, which a pleasantly shocked Roland reciprocated. The moment however would be ruined by a frantic call from Alison, the harsh ring of steel in the background.

As Alison’s call dissolved into static, a syringe depressed into Roland’s neck. The last thing Roland would hear is Helene giving marching orders…

Finale: Betrayal Part 1 (Apr 11)

Spargapises has not had a good week. Since the incident at the Capital he has resolved to go on a quest beyond the Empire’s borders come hell or high water. Unfortunately the rail lines that would bear him closer to his destination in the Sirian taiga intersected with Almaesia, home of Rosencruz. Hounded by floodbeasts on the railroad for days, Spargapises arrives at Almaesia in time to watch the city immolate itself into a warzone.

Roland wakes up to the very same warzone after being knocked violently out of the SUV he was being kept prisoner in, only to be found by Meribel, who was also captured by the Dual Monarchy and kept compliant by the threat to her brother Joachim. Roland could only look up in horror at the scene of war and the slow realisation that his treasured friend Helene was complicit in its execution. Desperate to call in the Gram and help Alison, Roland quickly agrees to Meribel’s proposal to help her up to a roof where she can teleport the Gram in, only to be interrupted by Spargapises while in Lunakhan form, much to Roland’s confusion.

Her stage set, Meribel entraps the trio in stopped time, cheerily begins spilling all the Atlantean secrets she can force past her Seal. The identity of the Fatebinder, the new Chancellor Angela Jormungandr. Atlantis’s true objective, to have one of their own ascend the World Throne of the Emerald Lord. How the entire class was chosen around Jonas, whether allies on his journey to godhood to enemies destined to be fodder for his growth. A world devouring itself in war in a grand sacrificial ritual to have one man ascend up the steps to godhood.

And then Meribel tried to kill them. Nothing personal, just a consequence of her programming as a result of so many secrets not meant for their ears. In an apocalyptic battle that culminated in the Moon nearly being brought to the earth, Meribel was trapped under the concrete of the skyscraper they were fighting on by the force of Roland’s E-Sword, while Spargapises delivered the final blow with a mystical blade. With her dying breath, she whispered the secrets of the godslayer that would ruin Atlantis into Spargapises’ ear.

Roland meanwhile never forgot that there were other lives at stake, and after giving his well-wishes for whatever awaited this incarnation of Meribel in the afterlife resumed his search for Alison only to be stopped by a golden Carnation piloted by none other than Helene. Despite their friendship, despite knowing he would lose with the battered state of the Gram, Roland rejected the prospect of going back to the Dual Monarchy with her. His words, and the way he regarded her as a stranger for her complicity in the bloodshed tonight caused something to snap in Helene. Declaring herself to be Pariah 1, she declared Roland her enemy.

Their fight was brief. The Gram shattered, and even the Durandal struggled against the Ace of Aces. Only Pariah 1’s mothership, the HMS Victory, being forced to retreat averted Roland’s capture for the second time that day. Emotionally hollowed by the encounter, Roland threw himself into looking for Alison as the fighting began dying down, desperate to save at least one person.

He found Alison’s corpse. The Saint lifeless in a truck full of bodies.

Unable to accept he’d failed a friend so thoroughly, from choosing not to accompany her on the stakeout, to not being by her side while she attempted to shut the second rift, and being too late to even save just her, Roland broke. Alison’s death, the slaughter of people inside the city, the betrayal by his best friend. He begged the cosmos for one more chance to make things right, and something answered…

Spargapises made a new friend(?) as Tiamat, who was once Meribel, woke up, her memories gone as a result of her ‘death’. Though Spargapises offered her freedom, Tiamat, nicknamed Tia, chose to go along with Spargapises. Before they could properly set off, they were approached by a haggard looking Roland in the Durandal. Unable to countenance the Dual Monarchy’s destruction of the city and alliance with Hell, nor the idea that the Empire intended to send him to inflict the same atrocities upon Zipang, he asked to go with Spargapises. The trio set off for the fabled Valley of Kings, where the Lunakhans of past rested in tortured slumber.

Finale: Betrayal Part 2 (Apr 12)

Meanwhile in another part of the city, Sylphie, Jonas, Kiare, and Olivia found themselves fleeing to a position where they could call their magitek armours as demons advanced through the streets and the sky split open. As they evacuated from ground zero where the hellgate was summoned they receive a call from the Heimdallr, which was responding to the invasion despite merely being a training ship. Loaded with training armours and a ‘surprise’ cobbled together by the ship crew in desperation they were headed to the park. They encounter Alison along the way across the river, pursued by an infernal cultist that, unknown to them, was one of the duo that Roland overheard on the beach mere days ago. A timely intervention by Olivia with a rifle bullet magically enhanced with immense explosive force ended the pursuit. After calling out to Alison to regroup with them at the park, the group continued on.

Though they encountered several other anomalies (an immense magical signature at the Rysler building, Roland’s Gram disappearing) the severity of the situation demanded they redirect their attention to the ongoing battle. In the skies, the Heimdallr’s ‘surprise’ is revealed as a pair of hastily modified armours pop out of her launch bay, directing an antiship missile strike from the Lemurian Interface Striker at the HMS Victory, whose main hull was recovered and being transferred to the Academy.

Taking real damage for the first time since the battle began, the HMS Victory nonetheless made the Heimdallr pay for its impertinence by gutting it. The class meanwhile intercepts a Dual Monarchy strike team heading to finish the Heimdallr off, successfully neutralising the strike team before they are interrupted by another signal. Orlandu himself entering the battlefield in a machine that looked eerily like Roland’s Durandal. But then something unexpected happens. Olivia, her mind suddenly flashing with a life that wasn’t hers, begins screaming in berserk agony, tortured by scenes of Londinium in flames, answering to the callsign of Nemesis 1…

Olivia's crazed charge took a bemused Orlandu off-guard, which in turn provided a window for Jonas to strike him and distract him. Olivia’s blade sank up to the hilt into Orlandu’s terrible, majestic hellmech, banishing back to the barren plains of Sheol. With their master gone, the demonic army fades away. The battle is over.

In the aftermath of the battle as the dead are counted and triage on the survivors is conducted, what remains of the class receives their new marching orders. They are to graduate Rosencruz and be reassigned to the elite Dragonslayers brigade in preparation of deployment to Zipang, effective immediately.

Season 1 Stingers

The Warlabs Director and Vice Director are pleased with the emergence of Olivia’s memories, as the data gathered would greatly aid in the decryption of the “blackboxes”. Joachim finds himself at a Primrose villa.

Trapped behind enemy lines and his sacrifices for his sister rendered meaningless. Meeting with a mysterious ‘Grandmaster’, she offers him revenge.

The Emperor and the Chancellor discuss recent developments, the foremost agenda being the Emperor’s skepticism of the Chancellor’s decision to continue plans to conduct the Zipang campaign. The Chancellor merely responds that the matter is handled as she brings up a live display of the Imperial city of Mansburg, not occupied by the advancing Royal Home Army. With a single order she executes a cruel sacrifice, deploying an unknown WMD to obliterate both the hostile army and near a hundred and twenty thousand Imperial citizens. As the Emperor looks on in horror, he finds himself unable to breathe, and the last thing he sees is Angela smiling in smug victory.

Season 2

Episode 1 (Apr 19)

The atmosphere of the Imperial cruiser Beowulf is muted as what remains of the class takes a detour to POLON for a diplomatic mission. Following the nuclear explosion at Mansgard (exact cause disputed) POLON had called for a ceasefire and a peace conference to be held at Wieczna Noc. As the class gets settled for their designated military escort role for the Imperial Chancellor, they arrive early and have the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of Megadyne CEO Vernali, the intermediary for the upcoming conference and owner of numerous very, very old paintings that for some reason depict a man that looks exactly like him. As the Dual Monarchy delegation arrives, they are led by a young woman that bears a startling resemblance to Anodyne.

The slightly older Anodyne lookalike introduces herself as Nimue. After the brief introductions and in a private meeting with Vernali and Jonas (with Estrella standing in as the latter’s guard), she lands a bombshell. Gloria has the bloodline of both Atlantean Seiira and the Lemurian Royal Family, and the reason why she was originally in the Empire was to establish a marriage alliance with the Emerald Abyss. A marriage alliance Nimue still offered now to end the war with minimal bloodshed. Though bitterly unenthusiastic about abandoning his current betrothed in Miyuki and marrying the woman who he believed killed Roland, Jonas agreed to relay the offer to the Chancellor.

Meanwhile Spargapises and Roland are quickly adapting as Legally On Blackstone Duty (courtesy of Meribel) but informal fugitives out on the Sirian tundra. As Spargapises is out to buy clothes more suited for the Sirian taiga (especially Tia), a familiar acquaintance appeared looking for Roland. One of the duo from the beach, now known as an infernal cultist. Claire, as her name was revealed to be, was here as an observer by Orlandu to ensure that Roland kept up his bargain for Alison’s life. Though attempting to present herself as a fan of Roland to Spargapises, the latter’s keen senses, paranoia after hearing that Claire “followed” Roland (despite having arrived in the Durandal) and Roland’s emotionally strained responses so soon after his fight with Helene tore the facade apart. Taking a moment away to discuss the situation, Spargapises confirmed that Roland made a bargain with Hell, with Roland promising that he’d tell Spargapises the details in due time. As for Claire, she'd be allowed to follow, albeit under a pallor of distrust.

Which was then as the conversation turned to other topics that the duo remembered something very important. That Estrella had sent a letter with a number of details to the orphanage that helped raise Roland that would embroil them in the conspiracy. Just as bad, the orphanage was located at the eastern border with the Dual Monarchy, now the front lines of the new war. Alarmed, the pair rushed back to the Empire, only for Tia to offer an unconventional solution. Transport by apex floodbeast, the very same colossal dragon that clashed with the killer ball that day when the class found Anodyne what seemed like a lifetime ago.

One (harrowingly) brief sub-orbital flight later, Roland and Spargapises arrived at the orphanage, only to find it vacant. Before Roland could go through a panic attack between this and all the emotional turmoil of the last couple of days, Spargapises found evidence suggesting that the Dual Monarchy had raided the orphanage. An act with only one probable suspect. A call to Gloria confirmed just that, she had taken them to Londinium to keep them out of the thick of the fighting. Though he possessed reservations, Roland was grateful they were kept out of the eventual fighting.

Little as the group knew as they flew back towards their original objective of the Valley of Kings, the eyes of the Imperial Warlabs were on them…