Winter, 1233.

At the beginning of winter, the magi fly down to the tribunal of Thebes, to the covenant of Oikous tou Eleous in order to try to talk to the grigori Batariel. The hope is that he may be able to invoke the Prayers of Making, so that they do not have to try and trick Samael into doing so.

Oikous tou Eleous is located in the city of Thessaloniki, and is made up entirely of women who used to dedicate themselves to God, before He left the world to the demons. They still try to carry out God's work, and have set up several places in the city which are protected by Aegis, in order to protect the people from demons.

The head of the covenant, Anna Psellus ex Jerbiton, is initially unwilling to tell the magi where they might find Batariel. He is one of their last defences against demonic threats. On being told part of what the magi plan, she relents and takes them to a nearby lake where the dragonic grigori currently resides. There are also several powerful Titans on Mount Olympus, which are working with the magi of Oikous tou Eleous.

There is much discussion, in which Batariel tells them of what he knows of events in Transylvania. The great walled garden that now surrounds Tablinum is the Garden of Eden remade by Samael. It is heavily guarded, but the guards are demons who are lazy and inattentive. Anything approaching that is obviously dangerous or magical will be stopped and attacked, but more subtle things may be ignored. The dragons of Transylvania have all been united under Samael as well.

However, many go into Samael's domain, for slave caravans carry hundreds of people daily into there. The caravans follow the white road of skulls, but are unguarded. Most of the slaves are dead by the time they arrive, but that is of little concern for they are as useful in their undead state.

Batariel reads Shale's mind and determines everything that he knows. He is interested to hear of Eira, the Second Coming, and wishes to speak to her, so he and the magi head back to Stonehenge.

Batariel and Eira discuss how to get in with the modified golden tablets. The initial plan of sneaking in as slaves in a caravan is eventually discarded, and they decide to go openly, present Eira to Samael and try to earn his trust. She will try her best to fight him, hopefully distracting him from noticing that the tablets have been changed when he invokes their power. There is also a decision to send word to all the Demon Princes that Samael has everything in place and plans to destroy their power, in order to try and create a distraction.

The plan is made, and the magi go to Transylvania with Eira, Drogo (who's mind has been cleared of any of their plans), the tablets and the magi. On leaving England, they hear that King Henry III has been murdered by his two sisters, who have claimed the throne for themselves.

On approaching the gates to Eden, they are met by demons who block their way, but then turn and flee as Eira allows them to see her true nature. Beyond the gate is a beautiful garden, which has a divine aura of ten. In the middle of the garden is a black ziggurat, guarded by demons who flee inside at the site of Eira.

Within the Ziggurat is a massive cavern, the outer walls of which are home to a shanty town of hundreds of thousands of slaves subservient to the will of the demons and Samael. Beyond is another inner wall, above which rises a black tower.

As Eira stands, she is surrounded by a Divine light which burns away demons in the nearby area. A darkness falls on everything though, as a voice demands that His Sister-Wife joins with Him. A blacker than blackness forms out of the dark, and claims Eira, dragging her up towards the tower.

As the darkness clears, the magi are left in the shanty town, with their wagon, slaves cowering in the corners and Demons rising up towards the tower, but apparently ignoring them.

They quickly head towards the inner wall, and find an entrance to the central city, the streets of which are too narrow for the cart. At this point, they need to find where the other copy of the tablets are, and replace them with their own, before the Demiurge can invoke the ritual to re-make the world.