Autumn, 1229.

Umbriel remains at the covenant recovering from her wounds, whilst the other magi head out to see if they can locate the magi of Ungulus covenant who have gone missing. At Ungulus, they meet with the only 'surviving' member, Sinead ex Miscellanea, who is now in Twilight and little more than a ghost.

Both spirits and undead have appeared from caves beneath the Lake District over the last few months, and most of them have been cleared. There was one particularly large cave complex though which the Ungulus magi did not return from. One of the grogs, Paul, is able to lead the magi there and fill them in on what he knows.

Most of the upper levels have been cleared, and seem to consist of low level magical regios, including a large underground garden with walking trees, burial pits and statues of various Roman gods. Several of the corpses date back about a thousand years, and seem to be Roman in origin. There is some sign of both magical and mundane fighting throughout the complex, and it seems that the Ungulus magi were not particularly subtle in their explorations.

Further down, they locate some ghosts who say they are headed for the 'world above', where there is rumoured to be a sky that goes on forever. They are from the 'world below', and many of them have left recently because a sleeping darkness is awakening. They were told of the world above by the Gentle Lady, who has come to them recently. The ghostly woman mentions that they should pay their respects to the gate keeper when the reach the world below. Deeper into the regio, there are further rooms of Roman design, plus an iron doorway that is covered with hellish symbology that feels cold to the touch. The magi leave it alone.

There is a Roman marketplace, full of living people, who seem to think that they are in Rome, though they aren't too sure. It seems to be a part of a city, but the magi are unsure about how far it extends beyond the cave. At the centre of the marketplace is a great temple, one giant stone statue and another similar one that is in pieces on the floor.

Asking around, the magi discover that another group of sorcerers came through at 'some point', and destroyed the statue. They went onwards though. They know of the 'world below', which is beyond the Halls of the Gods, where people may make requests of the gods if they are willing and able to take their tests. Beyond the gates of Pluto though is the world below, and the great lake.

Seeking ever onwards, the magi find a great hall which has five gateways - to the temples of Mercury, Minerva, Pluto, Venus and Mars. Though their grogs want to investigate the temple of Venus, which has some most explicit statues adorning the gateway, they head directly to the small dark gate of Pluto, where there are many dead bodies and signs of recent physical violence - including the use of fire.

Beyond Pluto's hall, is a stairway that leads down to a woodland glade at the foot of a cave wall. Above seems to be starlight, and in the far distance seems to be a great lake. The cave seems to be several leagues in size at least. Nearby is a stone monolith, on which is inscribed some Greek writing (which none of the magi are able to read) and there is a skeletal creature trapped beneath the stone.

The creature, who says his name is Ex, asks for the magi to free him, and that he can show them how to move between worlds if they do so. Not trusting him, Columbanus casts a Demon's Eternal Oblivion and seems to kill him. Behind them, the doorway back out of the regio vanishes.

With the path out of the regio closed behind them, the magi head towards the nearby town to investigate. It is inhabited by what appear to be humans, who call their place 'Home'. They are aware of a group of wizards who came through recently. They were rude and aggressive, and went out to one of the nearby isles where they woke the sleeping god. They are believed to have been killed.

The elders say that they have been here a long time, for many generations, and that the path through which the magi came was opened only recently. They are not the only people here however - there are also some giants and a tribe of centaurs, though they do their best to avoid these. The realm is lit by starlight during the night, and during the day the reflection of a sun appears in the Sea of Stars, which lights the whole realm.

The other recent visitor to Home is known as the Gentle Lady, who introduces herself as Adellade. Appearing as a young woman, she is a traveller from another realm who seeks to explore as much of the Magic Realm as she can, helping those in need. She is able to translate the inscription on the obelisk which the demon was trapped under, and says that it reads:

The Door Keeper is here, trapped by stone By his gaze does the way remain open

She tells the magi some of the history of the place. The sleeping god is named Batariel, a Grigori from before the time of the Flood. He was banished here long ago, and the giants are descendants of the nephilim. Since he was woken, he has gone to beyond the Sea, and dwells near another gate at the bottom of a great waterfall.

Adellade agrees to accompany the magi through this place, telling them that there are a number of islands: The Isle of the God, the Isle of Dreams, the Isle of Tears, the Isle of Lost Souls, the Isle of Tartarus and the Isle of Skulls.

Taking a boat, they head to the Isle of the God, stopping off briefly to visit the ruins of an ancient Greek city on the shore. There are some spirits of children here, but the place seems mostly deserted. At the island, there is a great gash in the centre which still boils with lava, as well as the bodies of the magi who have been burnt to a cinder. There are giant broken manacles, statues of weeping angels and some inscriptions on the stone. Adellade translates the four inscriptions as:

- Here sleeps Batariel, the twelfth who swore the oath of Semjaza on the summit of Mount Hermon, to take for themselves the wives of men in order to beget children.

- Here is bound Batariel, the twelfth associate of Semjaza, who defiled himself with women, and who has seen his sons slay one another and the destruction of his beloved ones.

- Here is kept Batariel until the day of judgement, when he will be released from his torment of the abyss of fire after seventy generations in the valleys of the earth.

- Here is Batariel, watcher over men. If he should be awakened, kneel before his might or know the fires of his wrath.

They relieve the corpses of what is left of their possessions, and head across the Sea of Stars towards the waterfall, a journey of 100 miles, which takes several days. The current of the sea grows stronger the further they travel from shore, as it draws the boat towards the falls.

The ignore the rest of the islands save for that of Tartarus, which is not much more than a black rock with a small temple. The temple is empty save for a blood stained font, and more greek inscriptions, which read Drink of the last drop of life of an innocent from the font of seeing, and the way will be clear before you. She believes that there is a regio gateway here, but that it is sealed.

The magical aura of all the islands seems to be much stronger than that of most of the regio.

Eventually the magi reach the great falls, which is some 50 miles wide and plunges down ten miles. Beyond the falls there seems to be a great nothing. Beaching their boat on an outcropping of rock where there are some empty buildings, the magi pause to decide what to do next.