Book Recap
Defiance of the Fall
Book 2 Recap· Released
TL;DR
Zac leaves Port Atwood to find his family. In his home town of Greenworth he learns his father was killed and takes revenge. He wins the Lordship, fights a third Horde with three mini-Incursions, crosses the Dead Zone to rescue his sister Kenzie, and is stabbed by his ex-girlfriend Hannah. The wound activates a hidden Duplicity Core and he comes back as a level 1 Draugr, picking a second class.
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I · The Main Plot
Where We Start
Port Atwood has just held off the second Horde. Zac is a Lord-in-progress with a growing archipelago, and he heads for New Washington and his home town of Greenworth to look for answers and for his family.
Major Plot Points & Spoilers
- In Greenworth Zac finds that his father Robert was killed when a group of returned cultivators led by Thom Sullivan seized power. He kills the council. Mayor Whitfield is stabbed to death by a young woman, Joanna Thompson, who then asks to join Zac in a Contract of Binding. She becomes the first of the Atwood Valkyries. Robert had left a Technocrat locket for his children.
- Zac makes a tentative deal with the Zhix Hive Kundevi and its leader Nonet. Ibtep, a Zhix he brings to Port Atwood, tells him about the E-grade Dominators.
- At the New World Government Auction Zac meets Henry Marshall, Thea Marshall and Billy. He wins a stone that awakens Verun's Bite, upgrades his Seed of Heaviness to Middle stage, survives an assassination attempt by the Red Mercenaries, and recruits more than 150 people. Ogras disrupts the NWG's own Lordship quest.
- The third Horde, with three mini-Incursions from the Undead Empire, the Church of Everlasting Dao and the Yrd Stonemen, is a major fight. The Undead mini-Incursion's leader Mhal wounds Zac, Sap Trang proves his worth, and Ogras loses an arm. Zac reaches level 56.
- Zac becomes the first Lord in the world and earns the Progenitor Noblesse title. He gets the First Step of Sovereignty quest, and an Ancient Dao Repository (the Towers of Myriad Dao) as the reward for a grade-A Lordship.
- Zac crosses the Dead Zone to rescue his sister Kenzie. Ogras finds Hannah, who has been hypnotized. Zac kills Mhal in the Undead zone, meets the healer Sui, forms a Core, and gets a Lotus of Harmony seed from Abbot Everlasting Peace. He rescues Kenzie and two friends from captivity.
- He reaches level 60 (Hatchetman's Rage) and completes the First Step of Sovereignty on an F-grade planet, where he meets Average and Greatest Peak. Greatest gives him a bracer that hides Duplicity from D-grade senses. His Duplicity Core fills.
- Hannah, who Zac has told is an ex, accepts a quest from David (a Church of Everlasting Dao agent) to kill Zac and stabs him. Duplicity turns him into a level 1 Draugr. He hunts as a Draugr for the Apex Hunter title and reaches level 22, then picks the Epic class Undying Bulwark and the title Heaven's Chosen.
Where the Book Leaves Off
Zac has two bodies, a Human at level 61 and a Draugr at level 25, and two classes. The Eastern Trigram Treasure Hunt starts at the beginning of the seventh month of Integration, and he enters it as the next book opens.
II · Characters & Personal Progression
Romantic & Personal Status
Hannah is done with Zac. He tells her the relationship is over after Ogras brings her back to Port Atwood, Alea's scheming makes her bitter, and David's manipulation pushes her to stab him. She is then imprisoned. Alea is still pursuing Zac, but nothing is formalized.
Inner Circle Check-In
- Ogras Azh'Rezak: Right hand in both Hordes. He has lost his left arm below the elbow and now uses a shadow limb.
- Kenzie (MacKenzie Atwood): Zac's sister, rescued from captivity. A mage-class Dao talent with an AI companion, Jeeves, in her implant.
- Joanna Thompson: Chief of the new Atwood Valkyries. She is deadly and utterly driven.
- Sap Trang: Zac's human follower, now fighting alongside him against the Hordes.
- Emily Larkin: Zac's mascot-disciple. Still a low-level protege.
- Alea Azh'Rezak: Flirts with Zac and runs Port Atwood's Ministry of Justice until her actions toward Zac and Hannah cost her that post.
Key New Faces & Factions
An Undead Empire general leading the mini-Incursion. He wounds Zac and is later killed by him in the Dead Zone.
Hannah is Zac's ex, manipulated by David, a Church of Everlasting Dao agent who flees badly damaged.
Met at the NWG Auction. The Marshall Clan becomes a major player.
Powerful figures from the Peak family. Greatest gives Zac a bracer that hides Duplicity.
A monk who gives Zac a Lotus of Harmony seed.
Zhix hive leader who reaches a tentative agreement with Zac.
III · End-of-Book Stats & Power Gains
Current Rank / Grade
F-grade. Human Hatchetman is level 61 (status sheet, Book 2 Ch 91); the new Draugr body is level 25 Undying Bulwark (Epic, Ch 98) with Strength over 350.
Dao / Path / Class Evolution
Zac has two bodies and two classes through a Duplicity Core. Heaviness is Middle, Trees is High, Sharpness is a Seed, and the Draugr has three Dao Seeds. Heaven's Chosen is his reward for the top-tier class.
Major Skill & Body Gains
- Draugr race via the Duplicity Core, plus the Epic class Undying Bulwark (skill quests Bulwark Mastery, Deathwish, Fields of Despair).
- Hatchetman's Rage at level 60.
- Titles Progenitor Noblesse, Core, Apex Hunter and Heaven's Chosen.
- A bracer from Greatest Peak that hides Duplicity.
- 57 million Nexus Coins at level 60.
IV · Extras: Empire, Gear & World State
Territory & Faction Upgrades
As of Ch 163 Port Atwood covers 298 islands and 83,432 citizens. It has five ministries, a merit exchange, the Atwood Valkyries and the Ancient Dao Repository. Zac is the first Lord in the world.
Signature Gear & Vessels
- Verun's Bite, now spiritually awakened.
- A bracer that blocks identification and hides Duplicity from D-grade senses.
- The Technocrat locket from his father, whose contents are not yet understood.
Ticking Clocks
- The Eastern Trigram Treasure Hunt begins at the start of the seventh month, with Hunter and Treasure Ladders.
- The Undead, Church and Stonemen mini-Incursions have been fought off, but Undead hordes remain, and David has escaped.
- The Dominators, and the unknown goals of a long-forgotten cult named in the blurb.