but the Order triumphs over the Guild in the ensuing battle. Belkar's Mark of Justice is removed by a priest of Loki, and he decides to become more helpful to his teammates. Meanwhile, Elan, Durkon, and Vaarsuvius foil a plot to assassinate Hinjo, and Vaarsuvius kills the ringleader (a nobleman named Kubota). Vaarsuvius then flies to an isolated island to search for Haley, where s/he is attacked and defeated by the mother of the black dragon whom s/he had killed during No Cure for the Paladin Blues. After the dragon threatens to kill Vaarsuvius' children, s/he contracts with three archfiends to rent the souls of three evil spellcasters; in exchange each archfiend earns temporary possession of Vaarsuvius' soul. S/he then kills the black dragon and her entire lineage with an epic Familicide spell from one of the souls. Loath to waste this increased arcane power, Vaarsuvius teleports to Azure City to defeat Xykon. Here s/he encounters a paladin named O-Chul, a prisoner of Xykon and Redcloak who has secretly befriended Xykon's Monster in the Darkness. Vaarsuvius is knocked out during the battle and loses access to the "rented" souls, but O-Chul breaks free and comes to Vaarsuvius' aid. Xykon's phylactery falls into a storm drain and is lost. Vaarsuvius and O-Chul are accidentally teleported to Hinjo's fleet in the nick of time by the Monster in the Darkness. There, the Order regroups and Durkon resurrects Roy. The story arc ends with the Order sailing towards the next gate and Vaarsuvius apologizing to the neglected familiar Blackwing, who tells Vaarsuvius that it saw what appeared to be another world in the rift in space caused by the Snarl. The printed book contains strips 485–672, plus extras. Blood Runs in the Family While O-Chul and fellow paladin Lien travel north to Kraagor's gate, the Order sails to the Western Continent. Their search for Girard's Gate takes them to the Empire of Blood, where Tarquin, the Empress of Blood's chief general (and the true power behind the throne), dramatically reveals himself to be Elan's father. Tarquin gives the Order a tip that Girard's relative Orrin Draketooth can be found in Windy Canyon. However, Tarquin and the Linear Guild join forces and plot to seize the gate for themselves. Meanwhile, in Azure City, Redcloak's troops recover Xykon's phylactery and destroy the resistance's base. Redcloak, who is plotting against Xykon, gives him a false phylactery