In the north of Kharchong, peasant uprisings break out with the participation of illegally returned demobilized soldiers, in one of them the capital is destroyed and the emperor dies, the central government crumbles, which local military commanders take advantage of, seizing nearby areas by force and establishing predatory orders. To counter them, the former powerful army, with the support of the reforming Church, takes control of the eastern Kharchong provinces bordering the lands of the Temple, and in the west and center areas of semi-democratic rule are self-organized, gradually expanding their zones of influence with technical and military assistance from the Charisian Empire. Charis' advantage in technology stimulates their borrowing and rapid development in other countries, primarily through the construction of steam-powered railways and steamships, oil production and refining. In the Republic of Siddarmark, the embers of a religious war are smoldering, its west and part of the eastern provinces fall into the hands of land speculators, together with dishonest bankers and moribund guilds, organizing large-scale economic sabotage, which led to the collapse of the financial sector, disrupted banking reform and economic recovery, with the subsequent arrival of the power of populists expropriating the property of a recent ally and its citizens. Having safely waited out the critical period, the inner Charisian circle arranges for the “divine” appearance of the gigantic shining figure of Schuler, one of the main “archangels”; during the solemn service on the anniversary of his death in the cathedral with his tomb; the figure publicly declares the falsity of the Holy Scriptures and leaves behind a volume of genuine Testimony in confirmation, detonating a mega-bomb under the foundations of the Church and overturning its legitimacy! The design and image on the cover were proposed by an English-language publishing house.