Story Events

Close story events

565 events // chronological

2026-03-02 // 12:40

Ch. 113 // twelve days before the binding

Ch. 113 // First on the List

Tamar Goes Up to the City Unregistered

Tamar The Cave

Tamar leaves the Cave for the human city with no registered errand and returns the next night.

8 days, 23 hours passed

2026-03-11 // 12:00

Ch. 01 // in the Cave, days before the binding

Ch. 01 // A Name Off the Ledger

Kael Hears of the Sorcerer's Offer

Kael Marcus The Registry The Cave

A cousin of a cousin mentions a sorcerer wanting a jinn for a long binding off the registry.

2026-03-12 // 18:00

Ch. 01 // the evening Kael crosses to the sorcerer

Ch. 01 // A Name Off the Ledger

Kael Leaves the Cave Without Asking Soren

Kael Soren The Cave The Between

Kael stands outside Soren's half-open door and walks away.

2026-03-12 // 19:30

Ch. 02 // evening at the sorcerer's house

Ch. 02 // The Untouched Glass

Marcus Offers Kael the Binding

Kael Marcus Marcus's Rooms Pacts

Marcus pours tea for a guest who cannot drink and lays out an extended binding.

2026-03-12 // 21:00

Ch. 02 // end of the evening at the sorcerer's house

Ch. 02 // The Untouched Glass

Kael Agrees to the Off-Registry Pact

Kael Marcus Naim Pacts Marcus's Rooms

Asked about Naim, Marcus says he knew him before he chose service; Kael agrees.

2026-03-13 // 19:00

Ch. 64 // the evening before Kael leaves for the sorcerer's door

Ch. 64 // A Full Jar

Soren Nods at Kael on His Last Evening

Soren Kael The Cave

Kael waits by the stained pillar at the edge of the common hall.

2026-03-13 // 23:50

Ch. 05 // the night of the binding, Karachi

Ch. 05 // The Third Ring

The Voice Routes Fatima's Case to Ahmed

Ahmed The Network Voice Fatima Ahmed's House

Ahmed answers on the third ring and hears three weeks of escalating episodes.

2026-03-14 // 00:40

Ch. 03 // before dawn in the Cave, the night of the binding

Ch. 03 // Presumed Is Not Gone

Kael Lies to Soren Through the Door

Kael Soren The Cave

Passing Soren's shut door, Kael says he is going down to the seep and won't be long.

2026-03-14 // 01:10

Ch. 03 // at the seep, the night of the binding

Ch. 03 // Presumed Is Not Gone

The Channel Is Ready

Kael Marcus The Cave

The cousin of a cousin brings word that the channel is ready.

2026-03-14 // 02:10

Ch. 05 // the night of the binding, Karachi

Ch. 05 // The Third Ring

Ahmed Arrives at Fatima's House

Ahmed Fatima's House Fatima

Ahmed parks outside a house with every window lit.

2026-03-14 // 02:40

Ch. 04 // the binding night, Karachi time

Ch. 04 // The Hand at His Back

Marcus Sends Kael Down the Channel

Kael Marcus The Binding Circle Kael's Jewel Marcus's Rooms Fatima Fatima's House

Marcus recites over the figure and sends Kael down the channel.

2026-03-14 // 02:45

Ch. 04 // minutes after the binding

Ch. 04 // The Hand at His Back

Kael Wakes Inside Fatima

Kael Fatima Fatima's Qareen Fatima's House

Kael wakes behind Fatima's eyes; the pact thread is silent.

2026-03-14 // 03:00

Ch. 06 // the night of the binding, upstairs

Ch. 06 // Smudged at the Edges

Ahmed Reads Fatima's Eyes

Ahmed Fatima Fatima's Mother Fatima's Father Fatima's House

The mother leads Ahmed upstairs past the father.

2026-03-14 // 03:05

Ch. 06 // the night of the binding, upstairs

Ch. 06 // Smudged at the Edges

The Voice Greets Ahmed and the Throne Verse Begins

Ahmed Kael Fatima Ayat al-Kursi Fatima's House

The voice cycles through languages and greets Ahmed calmly.

2026-03-14 // 03:50

Ch. 07 // during the recitation

Ch. 07 // The Last Syllable

The Jinn Pleads That It Is Bound

Kael Ahmed Fatima Ruqyah Fatima's House

Through the chapter of the Jinn the voice says: "Cannot leave. Not mine. A binding."

2026-03-14 // 04:10

Ch. 07 // end of the recitation, an hour and ten minutes in

Ch. 07 // The Last Syllable

Kael Burns Out of Fatima

Kael Ahmed Fatima Fatima's House Ruqyah

After one last "please", Ahmed recites the Daybreak and Mankind.

2026-03-14 // 04:11

Ch. 17 // in the nameless place, after Kael's burn

Ch. 17 // An Address Without Letters

The Eldest Feels Something Falling

The Eldest The Other Six The Between

For the first time in the long interval the Eldest feels a pull along the line.

2026-03-14 // 04:15

Ch. 18 // in the nameless place, after Kael's burn

Ch. 18 // One Note, Once

The Ember Strikes the Bell

Embers The Bell The Eldest The Other Six The Unreturned Kael The Between

A dark ember of the Unreturned line crosses the edge and strikes the bell.

2026-03-14 // 04:30

Ch. 19 // in the nameless place, after the bell

Ch. 19 // A Word With No Speakers Left

The Eldest Names the Firing

The Eldest The Other Six The Prophecy Embers Ahmed Kael Marcus The Between

The Eldest finds light, embers and dark present at one death.

2026-03-14 // 04:35

Ch. 08 // after the recitation

Ch. 08 // Weight on the Right Shoulder

Ahmed Logs Fatima's Case as Clear

Ahmed Fatima Fatima's Mother Fatima's Father Ahmed's Case Logs Fatima's House

Ahmed prescribes forty days of recitation as medicine.

2026-03-14 // 04:50

Ch. 08 // the drive home

Ch. 08 // Weight on the Right Shoulder

Ahmed Finds a Word in His Notebook

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs

Three blocks away a chime and a weight settle on his right shoulder, then lift.

2026-03-14 // 05:00

Ch. 15 // the night of the burn, recalled two weeks later

Ch. 15 // Two Glasses of Tea

Vessa Reports the Burn to Marcus

Vessa Marcus Kael

Vessa the Hinn confirms the burn and the stone on the floor.

2026-03-14 // 05:00

Ch. 20 // in the nameless place, after the naming

Ch. 20 // The Bearing Opens

The Seven Walk Out Along the Bearing

The Eldest The Other Six The Between The Bell

The Seven rise without council and turn to the old bearing, now running toward an island and a chained man.

2026-03-14 // 08:10

Ch. 09 // four hours after the scatter signal

Ch. 09 // Green, Cold, Small

The Patroller Brings Kael's Jewel to Soren

Soren The Patroller Kael Kael's Jewel The Cave

A patroller reports a burn, a devout reciter, a living host and a jewel on the floor.

2026-03-14 // 08:40

Ch. 09 // the morning after the burn

Ch. 09 // Green, Cold, Small

Soren Begins the List of Pointers

Soren The Registry Kael The Cave

No registry entry, a thinly warded host, no council consulted: Soren reads a setup.

2026-03-14 // 20:00

Ch. 10 // the first night of the rite

Ch. 10 // Who Was Not Looking

Soren Pledges the Forty-Day Rite

Soren Kael The Forty-Day Rite Kael's Jewel The Keeper of the Niches Varan Oren The Cave

The Cave asks how a ward of the leader died outside every protection.

2026-03-14 // 20:30

Ch. 10 // the first night of the rite

Ch. 10 // Who Was Not Looking

The Cave Hums for Kael

Soren Tamar Kael The Cave The Forty-Day Rite

An elder begins the funeral hum; Soren does not hum.

2026-03-15 // 02:00

Ch. 11 // the night after the hum

Ch. 11 // The Door He Left Open

Soren Grieves the Door He Left Open

Soren Kael Naim Kael's Jewel The Cave

Soren sees that the hope he left open about Naim was the opening a sorcerer would use.

2026-03-15 // 05:00

Ch. 11 // before dawn after the hum

Ch. 11 // The Door He Left Open

Soren Narrows the Pointer and Calls Ithra

Soren Ithra The Cave

Soren narrows the pointer to a human with unusual access or an off-registry jinn.

2026-03-15 // 05:40

Ch. 12 // dawn after the first night of the rite

Ch. 12 // A Cousin From Another City

Soren Commissions Ithra

Soren Ithra Naim The Registry The Cave

Soren gives Ithra three tasks: both registries, the death room, the household.

2026-03-15 // 06:10

Ch. 12 // dawn after the first night of the rite

Ch. 12 // A Cousin From Another City

Ithra Leaves as a Cousin From Another City

Ithra Forking Fatima The Cave

Ithra's Sila fork reshapes her into a human cousin from another city.

6 days, 5 hours passed

2026-03-21 // 12:00

Ch. 15 // a week before the market morning

Ch. 15 // Two Glasses of Tea

Marcus's Fee Arrives

Marcus

An intermediary releases the deposit through the usual channels.

2026-03-21 // 21:00

Ch. 13 // the eighth night of the rite

Ch. 13 // The Fifth Descent

Soren Makes the Fifth Descent

Soren The Descent The Weave The Unnamed Kael's Jewel The Cave

Soren passes three layers of the weave.

2026-03-21 // 23:00

Ch. 13 // the eighth night of the rite

Ch. 13 // The Fifth Descent

Soren Carries Up the Knot of the Pact

Soren The Contract Marcus The Weave The Cave

Soren reads Marcus's signature, clean terms and a location warrant heavier than its words.

2026-03-21 // 23:40

Ch. 14 // the eighth night of the rite

Ch. 14 // The Loaded Clause

Soren Finds the Loaded Location Warrant

Soren The Contract Marcus Ahmed Fatima The Cave

Soren reads the warrant: a possessed cousin, a touched child, a three-week prepared host, a reciter called twice.

2026-03-21 // 23:50

Ch. 14 // the eighth night of the rite

Ch. 14 // The Loaded Clause

The Pact Collapses to Its First Moment

Soren The Contract Pacts Marcus The Cave

Concealment of mortal risk voids the pact from signature.

2026-03-22 // 01:00

Ch. 16 // the night of the descent, eighth day of the rite

Ch. 16 // Half a Crime

Varan and Oren Confirm the Loaded Clause

Varan Oren Soren The Contract The Cave

Varan reads the second layer and Oren the third, each independently.

2026-03-22 // 01:45

Ch. 16 // eighth day of the rite

Ch. 16 // Half a Crime

Soren Holds the Verdict

Soren Oren The Forty-Day Rite The Cave

Soren holds the verdict until the pointer has a name.

2026-03-22 // 02:00

Ch. 16 // eighth day of the rite, top of the stair

Ch. 16 // Half a Crime

Tamar Asks About the Clean Column

Tamar Soren Marcus The Cave

At the top of the stair Tamar asks whether it is the sorcerer with the clean column.

6 days, 9 hours passed

2026-03-28 // 11:30

Ch. 15 // two weeks after the binding

Ch. 15 // Two Glasses of Tea

Marcus Pours Tea for a New Client

Marcus The Fig Seller The Market Marcus's Rooms The Registry

Marcus buys figs, cannot recall the young jinn's name, and walks home.

3 days, 5 hours passed

2026-03-31 // 17:00

Ch. 22 // the Tuesday truck before Passover

Ch. 22 // A Flag Over the Bridge

The Karimis Split Their Water Ration

Esther Hakimi The Karimis The Dry Years Isfahan

The Hakimis' ration card is stuck at the new ministry; the truck man refuses Esther.

2026-04-02 // 01:00

Ch. 22 // after the first Passover meal

Ch. 22 // A Flag Over the Bridge

Nissim Names the Generation

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi Hadas The Karimis Isfahan

At the Passover table Hadas delights in the new flag and the families coming back.

2026-04-03 // 06:30

Ch. 21 // the morning before Lazarus Saturday, Damascus

Ch. 21 // The Font Is Dry

Elias Fills the Font From a Jerrycan

Elias Haddad Samia Saint Simeon's The Font

The sacristy tap is dry; Elias and Samia fill the font from jerrycans.

2 days, 4 hours passed

2026-04-05 // 10:30

Ch. 21 // Palm Sunday, after the procession

Ch. 21 // The Font Is Dry

Fadi Stops on the Church Step

Elias Haddad Fadi Samia Saint Simeon's The Font

Fadi stops at the west door and backs away from Elias into the street.

14 days, 10 hours passed

2026-04-19 // 21:00

Ch. 23 // the thirty-seventh day of the rite

Ch. 23 // Benches Facing Benches

Soren Summons the Tribes

Soren The Cave

Soren sends the summons himself with no agenda, three nights before the fortieth day.

2 days, 7 hours passed

2026-04-22 // 04:40

Ch. 27 // on the walk, as the verdict is read above

Ch. 27 // The Fourth Receives

The Fourth's Seal Opens

The Eldest The Other Six The Five Conditions The Between

The seal set in the fourth at the making of the arrangement gives way.

2026-04-22 // 05:00

Ch. 27 // on the walk

Ch. 27 // The Fourth Receives

The Fourth Names the Shore

The Other Six The Eldest The Prison The Between

The fourth says "Water", the first word spoken on the walk.

2026-04-22 // 05:10

Ch. 27 // the Eldest reaching past the shore

Ch. 27 // The Fourth Receives

Iron Moves on the Island

The Eldest The Prison

The Eldest reaches along the bearing to a beach of grit and salt cold.

2026-04-22 // 07:00

Ch. 28 // after the gathering, in the Sanctuary

Ch. 28 // A Room Built Backward

Nessar Refuses the Children's Rule

Nessar Nessar's Second The Sanctuary The Network

The second asks that no child under the age of fasting be taken.

2026-04-22 // 09:00

Ch. 28 // alone in the Sanctuary

Ch. 28 // A Room Built Backward

Nessar Finds Himself at the Centre

Nessar The Sanctuary

Nessar admits the correction harms the innocent, as he was harmed, and shuts the thought away.

2026-04-22 // 20:00

Ch. 23 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 23 // Benches Facing Benches

The Tribes Gather in the Long Hall

Soren Halim Noresh Ithra Nessar Tamar Harun The Cave

Halim and Noresh set aside a four-hundred-year grievance with a nod.

2026-04-22 // 20:30

Ch. 24 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 24 // Clause Seven

Soren Lays Open Clause Seven

Soren Kael Marcus The Contract The Cave

Soren names Kael, Marcus and the house, and raises the record.

2026-04-22 // 21:00

Ch. 24 // the verdict on the fortieth day

Ch. 24 // Clause Seven

Soren Declares the Pact Void and Refuses War

Soren Marcus Ahmed Nessar The Contract The Cave

Soren declares the pact void from signature and separates Marcus the party from Ahmed the instrument.

2026-04-22 // 21:10

Ch. 26 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 26 // Two Degrees Toward the Second

Nessar Reads the Verdict as His Opening

Nessar Soren Ithra Marcus The Network The Cave

Nessar watches Soren's manner and finds the exposure institutional.

2026-04-22 // 21:30

Ch. 25 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 25 // A Door He Didn't Mean

The Tribes Recognise the Verdict

Halim Noresh Ithra Soren Marcus The Contract Pacts The Cave

The northern elder nods; Halim, Noresh, the southern threes, Ithra and the independents acknowledge.

2026-04-22 // 22:15

Ch. 26 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 26 // Two Degrees Toward the Second

Nessar Signals His Second

Nessar Nessar's Second The Network The Cave

Nessar turns his head two degrees toward his second.

2026-04-22 // 22:20

Ch. 25 // the fortieth night of the rite

Ch. 25 // A Door He Didn't Mean

Nessar Leaves Early by a Side Passage

Nessar Nessar's Second Soren The Cave

Nessar gives no acknowledgment and leaves with his second and two of his circle; a third stays seated.

2026-04-23 // 10:00

Ch. 29 // the day after the gathering

Ch. 29 // Two Hundred Small Choices

The Begin Pattern Passes Through the Relay Office

Nessar Relay Clerk The Network

A watcher with a burned hand sends a routine cord left.

2026-04-23 // 10:20

Ch. 29 // at the relay bench

Ch. 29 // Two Hundred Small Choices

Nessar Moves the Timing

Nessar Relay Clerk The Network The Purge

The clerk's gossip of the purge tells Nessar the jinn world will look away.

2026-04-25 // 08:30

Ch. 33 // three days after the gathering

Ch. 33 // Every Line a Name

Soren Maps the Three Hundred and Twenty-Four

Soren Ithra The Registry The Cave The Purge

Soren's map finds three hundred and twenty-four sorcerers whose pacts carry Kael's clause.

2026-04-25 // 08:45

Ch. 33 // before the command

Ch. 33 // Every Line a Name

Soren Sets His Limits for the Record

Soren Ithra The Purge The Cave

At Ithra's asking Soren states the scope: named concealers only.

2026-04-25 // 09:00

Ch. 33 // three days after the gathering

Ch. 33 // Every Line a Name

The Purge Command Goes Out

Soren Ithra The Purge Kael's Jewel The Cave

Soren sends the command once, openly, under his own name.

2 days, 6 hours passed

2026-04-27 // 15:40

Ch. 87 // the afternoon the man does not come back

Ch. 87 // Forty Years of Plaster

The Wall Lets Go of Its Captive

The Jinn in the Wall Marcus Marcus's Rooms The Binding Circle

In the morning the man kneels in the circle, reaches along his lines, finds nothing and walks out.

2026-04-27 // 21:00

Ch. 30 // an hour after the night prayer

Ch. 30 // A Gate That Would Not Sell

A Hinn Offers to Buy Unrecorded Passage

Rahma Awf The Nasibin Gate The Record Cord

A stranger asks passage for a few dozen jinn with no names in the cord, for a table right or a debt cancelled.

2026-04-27 // 21:10

Ch. 87 // nightfall

Ch. 87 // Forty Years of Plaster

The Nameless Jinn Walks Out at Nightfall

The Jinn in the Wall The Brass Tea Tray The Neighbour's Dog Marcus's Rooms

The two cold glasses of tea on the brass tray drive him off the rug with a memory of soft questions.

2026-04-27 // 22:00

Ch. 29 // four nights after the gathering

Ch. 29 // Two Hundred Small Choices

The Second Shows the Knotted Cord

Nessar Nessar's Second The Sanctuary The Network

The second reports possessions started early across the spread.

2026-04-28 // 05:30

Ch. 30 // after the dawn prayer

Ch. 30 // A Gate That Would Not Sell

The Council Closes the Gate to Carriers

Qasim Awf Juwayriya Rahma The Jinn of Nasibin The Nasibin Gate The Hall Under the Gate

Juwayriya reports children taken in the south.

2026-04-28 // 05:50

Ch. 87 // near dawn

Ch. 87 // Forty Years of Plaster

A Name Comes Up Near Dawn

The Jinn in the Wall Kael

At the end of an unfamiliar street the name "Kael" rises in him and he says it aloud.

2026-04-28 // 09:00

Ch. 34 // day four of the purge's first phase

Ch. 34 // Nobody Answers in the Circle

Marcus's Lines Go Dead

Marcus Vessa Rauf Pacts Marcus's Rooms

Vessa, two operators and his oldest pact's registration all fail to answer.

2026-04-28 // 10:30

Ch. 34 // on the park bench

Ch. 34 // Nobody Answers in the Circle

Marcus Reads His Own Warrant

Marcus Pacts The Contract Kael

Marcus reads Kael's pact as a hostile reader and finds the loaded location warrant.

2026-04-28 // 11:30

Ch. 34 // within the hour of sitting

Ch. 34 // Nobody Answers in the Circle

Marcus Dies on the Bench

Marcus Woman in the Grey Coat Marcus's Rooms The Purge

Something of far higher grade arrives at the end of the bench.

2026-04-28 // 16:00

Ch. 30 // the afternoon after council

Ch. 30 // A Gate That Would Not Sell

Awf Sends Rahma to the Tribes

Awf Rahma The Nasibin Gate

The stranger came back twice without names and went south to the salt flats.

2026-04-28 // 21:30

Ch. 31 // the first call of Bilal's week

Ch. 31 // A Clean Departure

A Karachi Boy Stops Talking

Bilal Karachi Sheikh Ahmed Cairo Reciter Karachi The Network

A Karachi sheikh calls about a boy who went silent and walked off his route.

4 days, 30 minutes passed

2026-05-02 // 22:00

Ch. 31 // the fifth night of Bilal's week

Ch. 31 // A Clean Departure

Three Sorcerers Dead in a Week

Bilal Istanbul Reciter The Purge

The Istanbul reciter reports sorcerers dead in Istanbul, Tunis and Dhaka without a mark.

2 days, 2 hours passed

2026-05-05 // 00:30

Ch. 31 // past midnight on the seventh day

Ch. 31 // A Clean Departure

A Jinn Follows a Protocol

Bilal Beirut Reciter The Network

The Beirut reciter says the jinn stopped, drove, spoke and waited, in order.

2026-05-05 // 10:00

Ch. 36 // the eleventh day of the purge

Ch. 36 // Observe, Do Not Act

Six Lines Will Not Close

Soren The Purge The Purge List The Cave

Three hundred and eight lines glow closed; sixteen still beat.

2026-05-05 // 10:30

Ch. 36 // the eleventh day of the purge

Ch. 36 // Observe, Do Not Act

Soren Refuses to Send Ithra

Soren Ithra The Purge The Cave

Ithra offers to go to the well man herself.

2026-05-05 // 11:00

Ch. 36 // the eleventh day of the purge

Ch. 36 // Observe, Do Not Act

The Six Marked Observe, Do Not Act

Soren The Purge The Purge List Kael The Cave

Soren marks the six for watching only.

2026-05-05 // 12:00

Ch. 37 // on the walk, once the brokers' count is reached

Ch. 37 // The Second Draws a Figure

The Third Condition Opens in the Second

The Eldest The Other Six The Five Conditions The Prison The Between

A seal in the second opens with heat at his palms.

2026-05-05 // 13:00

Ch. 37 // some while after, on the walk

Ch. 37 // The Second Draws a Figure

The Second Draws the Island

The Other Six The Eldest The Prison The Between

The second draws a shore, water, a ring at the centre and a chain of shortening links.

16 days, 8 hours passed

2026-05-21 // 21:00

Ch. 32 // about a month after the gathering

Ch. 32 // Two, Three, Four, Seven

Ahmed Counts Seven Cases

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs Ahmed's House Fatima

Ahmed's ledger shows two, three, four, seven over four weeks; about three times last year.

2026-05-21 // 22:00

Ch. 32 // the same evening

Ch. 32 // Two, Three, Four, Seven

Two Reciters Compare Rates

Ahmed Ahmed's Colleague

The colleague's cases have doubled in a fortnight, with new referral sources.

2026-05-22 // 02:14

Ch. 32 // the night of the count

Ch. 32 // Two, Three, Four, Seven

A Call From an Unknown District

Ahmed Ahmed's House Karachi

Ahmed's phone lights with an unknown number at 2:14.

2 days, 12 hours passed

2026-05-24 // 14:30

Ch. 35 // three days after the colleague's call

Ch. 35 // The Shallow Pool

Captain Qureshi Brings Twenty-Three Dead

Ahmed Captain Qureshi Bilal Ahmed's House The Purge

Qureshi lays out twenty-three practitioners dead in two weeks without a cause.

2026-05-24 // 15:15

Ch. 35 // with Qureshi in the chair

Ch. 35 // The Shallow Pool

Three Reciters Count Thirty

Ahmed Captain Qureshi Ahmed's Colleague Cairo Reciter The Network Ahmed's House

Qureshi gives possessions up from two a week to forty-one; seventeen of the dead did possession work.

2026-05-24 // 19:30

Ch. 35 // after Qureshi leaves

Ch. 35 // The Shallow Pool

The Shoes Beside the Pool

Ahmed The Purge Ahmed's House

Ahmed opens the folder Qureshi left.

14 days, 9 hours passed

2026-06-08 // 04:40

Ch. 38 // before dawn on the first day of the wave

Ch. 38 // Neurological Event, Unspecified

Sana's Reflection Speaks

Nadia Sana Imran

Sana's reflection says Nadia's words from the night before.

2026-06-08 // 09:00

Ch. 38 // first day of the wave

Ch. 38 // Neurological Event, Unspecified

Every Case Coded Neurological Event

Nadia Nadia's Supervisor The Wife at Triage The History Lecturer The Network

Intake climbs from two an hour to twenty-two.

2 days, 1 hour passed

2026-06-10 // 21:00

Ch. 39 // after the nine o'clock power cut, Damascus

Ch. 39 // Compline With the Lights Off

Compline Over the Afflicted

Elias Haddad Nour Saadeh Jad Fadi Saint Simeon's

Elias prays Compline and the ninetieth psalm over Nour and Jad by candlelight.

2026-06-11 // 01:00

Ch. 39 // one in the morning on the church step

Ch. 39 // Compline With the Lights Off

Mira Says the Muslim Families Have It Too

Mira Haddad Elias Haddad Saint Simeon's

Mira reports her ward and the full psychiatric hospital.

3 days, 9 hours passed

2026-06-14 // 10:00

Ch. 43 // the stranger's first morning in the courtyard

Ch. 43 // The Man in the Courtyard

A Stranger Sends a Son to His Aunt

Rania The Courtyard Father The Quarter Sheikh

A plain stranger sends a possessed boy to his aunt's flat instead of home.

2 days, 2 hours passed

2026-06-18 // 12:00

Ch. 40 // at the peak of the surge

Ch. 40 // Below the Minimum Age

The Seventeenth Summary Passes Tolerance

Nessar The Deliverer The Network The Sanctuary

Seventy percent of targets active, inside the margin.

2026-06-18 // 13:00

Ch. 40 // at the peak of the surge

Ch. 40 // Below the Minimum Age

Nessar Decides Against a Correction

Nessar The Network Soren The Purge The Sanctuary

Nessar judges a correction too slow to help and easy to trace.

2026-06-18 // 17:00

Ch. 40 // hours before the eighteenth summary was due

Ch. 40 // Below the Minimum Age

Five More Below the Age

Nessar The Deliverer The Network The Sanctuary

The deliverer returns early and two steps too close.

2 days, 9 hours passed

2026-06-21 // 02:00

Ch. 43 // about a week in

Ch. 43 // The Man in the Courtyard

Rania Sits With the Girl

Rania The Sheikh's Nephew The Quarter Sheikh

On the stranger's word, Rania sits nights with a possessed girl of fourteen.

2026-06-21 // 18:00

Ch. 41 // parked between the second house and the third

Ch. 41 // The Withdrawal Column

Ahmed Gives Up Hira

Ahmed Ahmed's Colleague

His colleague, at fourteen, is stopping one case tonight.

2026-06-21 // 19:00

Ch. 41 // the house behind the market

Ch. 41 // The Withdrawal Column

The Old Man Grips the Reciter

Ahmed The Old Man Behind the Market

The old man mouths the Opening with Ahmed and grips his wrist at the Throne Verse.

2026-06-22 // 00:30

Ch. 41 // past midnight at his desk

Ch. 41 // The Withdrawal Column

Ahmed Writes Coordinated

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs The Network Ahmed's House

Ahmed signs Hira's withdrawal for "reciter's capacity".

2026-06-22 // 01:40

Ch. 41 // twenty to two

Ch. 41 // The Withdrawal Column

Hira Laughs

Ahmed Ahmed's House

Hira's father texts that she is laughing and thanks the reciter.

2026-06-22 // 03:10

Ch. 44 // the Monday night Omid is taken

Ch. 44 // Ashes Around the Bed

Omid Counts Through the Wall

Esther Hakimi The Karimis Isfahan

Omid Karimi counts litres through the night in a voice too low for him, facing the wall.

2 days, 15 hours passed

2026-06-24 // 19:00

Ch. 44 // the Wednesday Tara laughs in class

Ch. 44 // Ashes Around the Bed

Tara Is Brought to the Hakimis

Esther Hakimi Tara Yaghoubian Nissim Hakimi Isfahan

Tara laughs in a grown woman's voice in a spelling lesson and names the dress Esther's mother died in.

2026-06-25 // 10:00

Ch. 42 // the eighteenth day of the surge

Ch. 42 // A Footnote on Page Twenty-Three

A Footnote on Page Twenty-Three

Captain Qureshi The Network

The international working group's preliminary report arrives, forty pages.

2026-06-27 // 00:20

Ch. 42 // past midnight after the nineteenth day

Ch. 42 // A Footnote on Page Twenty-Three

The Girl's Circle Matches the Dead Man's Floor

Captain Qureshi Ahmed The Purge The Network

An eight-year-old's red-marker circle matches a dead practitioner's floor circle, point for point.

2026-06-28 // 09:00

Ch. 43 // the twenty-first day

Ch. 43 // The Man in the Courtyard

A Reciter Asks the Stranger's Name

Rania Ahmed The Courtyard Father

A reciter finds the second-floor boy calmer and hears about the man in the courtyard.

2026-06-28 // 22:00

Ch. 44 // Sunday night

Ch. 44 // Ashes Around the Bed

Two Prayers Across One Landing

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Tara Yaghoubian Isfahan

Nissim sifts burnt newspaper and rings Esther's bed with the ash, to see, he says, and not to keep.

2026-06-30 // 22:00

Ch. 45 // two weeks of accounts, read at the desk

Ch. 45 // A Category He Would Not Write

Three Accounts of One Man

Ahmed The Courtyard Father Ahmed's Colleague The Ethnographer Ahmed's House

Three unconnected sources describe the same plain man with no name.

2026-07-01 // 12:00

Ch. 66 // a reader's note during the surge's spread

Ch. 66 // He Never Gave the Order

Soren Files the Four-House Street

Soren The Network The Cave

A reader reports four houses taken in one street and a grandfather dead on the stairs.

4 days, 16 hours passed

2026-07-06 // 04:45

Ch. 46 // Huda's twentieth morning in the shelter

Ch. 46 // Eleven Behind Him

Eleven Behind Him at Dawn

Huda Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

For the first time others join the man's dawn prayer, one by one.

2026-07-06 // 05:15

Ch. 46 // after the dawn prayer

Ch. 46 // Eleven Behind Him

Three Instructions for Seven Days

Huda Muhammad ibn Abdullah Huda's Husband The Gymnasium

He tells Huda to name what is in her husband at noon and seek refuge in Allah, host small suppers, and pray the dawn prayer alone.

2026-07-06 // 08:00

Ch. 46 // after breakfast

Ch. 46 // Eleven Behind Him

The Grandson Waits on the Bench

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Yusuf's Grandson The Gymnasium

A boy's fit in the breakfast line passes with nobody running.

2026-07-06 // 22:00

Ch. 47 // ten at night, Damascus

Ch. 47 // A Number From Lahore

Elias Calls Beirut and Lahore

Elias Haddad Beirut Reciter Bilal The Parish Office

The Beirut reciter gives Elias Bilal's number.

2026-07-06 // 23:00

Ch. 47 // eleven at night in Damascus, one in Karachi

Ch. 47 // A Number From Lahore

Ahmed Tells Elias What He Looks For

Elias Haddad Ahmed Fadi Sheikh Anas The Parish Office

Ahmed's questions bring out the cistern and the lamp.

2026-07-07 // 04:45

Ch. 58 // after the dawn prayer, Damascus

Ch. 58 // Two Men at the Iconostasis

Elias Finds Anas at the Jobar Gate

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas The Mosque by the Jobar Gate

Elias waits outside the mosque; Anas, messaged by Ahmed, agrees to come.

2026-07-08 // 07:15

Ch. 58 // seven in the morning, before the heat

Ch. 58 // Two Men at the Iconostasis

Fadi Comes Back Before the Iconostasis

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas Fadi George Nassar Samia Saint Simeon's The Clay Lamp

Anas reads on the step; a dry voice claims the house and the lamp.

2026-07-08 // 09:00

Ch. 48 // Yusuf's second morning in the shelter

Ch. 48 // Seven Books and a Bench

Questions on the Corridor Bench

Sheikh Yusuf Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Bashir al-Qaryah The Gymnasium

Yusuf asks name, village, teachers and authority.

2026-07-08 // 09:30

Ch. 58 // in the parish office afterward

Ch. 58 // Two Men at the Iconostasis

Tea and an Empty Line

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas The Parish Office

Anas writes the case in his notebook and can't name the kind of work.

2026-07-08 // 09:40

Ch. 48 // on the corridor bench

Ch. 48 // Seven Books and a Bench

The First Pledge

Sheikh Yusuf Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

After three silent minutes Yusuf holds out his hand.

2026-07-08 // 09:40

Ch. 50 // on the walk, as the pledge is given above

Ch. 50 // The Sixth Says a Name

The Inner Seal Opens in the Third

The Eldest The Other Six The Five Conditions The Between The Prison

A seal in the third opens and gives the Prison's inner seal: seven truths above at once.

2026-07-08 // 10:00

Ch. 50 // on the walk

Ch. 50 // The Sixth Says a Name

The Sixth Says the Name

The Other Six The Eldest Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Between

The sixth speaks "Muhammad" once.

2026-07-08 // 10:05

Ch. 50 // far ahead on the bearing

Ch. 50 // The Sixth Says a Name

The Contained Turns Toward the Name

The Eldest The Prison

Beyond the salt shore a chain pays out over rock.

2 days, 10 hours passed

2026-07-10 // 21:00

Ch. 56 // late evening in the old detention room

Ch. 56 // A Room With No Map

Muhammad Shows the Net of Oranges

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Yusuf The Counter The Gymnasium

Muhammad cuts two knots in a bag of oranges; the bag holds.

2026-07-10 // 21:00

Ch. 56 // after the night prayer

Ch. 56 // A Room With No Map

Karima Offers Her Hand

Karima Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

A woman in a lab coat, straight from a hospital shift, stands at the gymnasium door.

2026-07-11 // 21:30

Ch. 60 // Saturday night in the Three Weeks

Ch. 60 // The Old Men at the Synagogue

A Preacher Fills the Hall

Esther Hakimi Hadas The Dry Years The World Order Isfahan

A preacher from abroad reads the drought, the war, the new state and the families coming home as the Messiah's footsteps, to four hundred people.

2026-07-11 // 23:30

Ch. 60 // after the old men's argument

Ch. 60 // The Old Men at the Synagogue

Nissim Reads of Armilus

Nissim Hakimi Esther Hakimi Ezra Kohanim Isfahan

In the courtyard Ezra Kohanim says the Messiah may be born on the Ninth of Av this year; Nissim answers with the man from Smyrna.

2026-07-13 // 05:45

Ch. 57 // breakfast, four mornings before Karima comes

Ch. 57 // The Egg in Her Hand

Layla Stops Over the Egg

Layla al-Mansour Tariq al-Mansour Hamza Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Layla stops halfway through cracking an egg and stares at the pan.

2 days, 6 hours passed

2026-07-15 // 12:00

Ch. 52 // three parts of the way done

Ch. 52 // Ground No One Had Walked

The Seven Cross Unwalked Ground

The Eldest The Other Six The Between

The Seven descend through the layers of dead peoples, steering by points set at the making.

2026-07-15 // 18:00

Ch. 52 // in the final expanse

Ch. 52 // Ground No One Had Walked

The Boundary Leans Back

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Between

The Eldest smells salt for the second time.

2026-07-17 // 13:30

Ch. 57 // afternoon, Karima's first case

Ch. 57 // The Egg in Her Hand

Karima Brings Layla Back

Karima Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Tariq al-Mansour Ruqyah The Counter Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Karima recites stage by stage; Layla's hands press flat on the bed at the third.

2026-07-17 // 13:30

Ch. 57 // walking home in the late afternoon

Ch. 57 // The Egg in Her Hand

Karima Receives the Address Two Doors Down

Karima The Counter

The number sends a new address for tonight after the sunset prayer.

2 days, 20 hours passed

2026-07-20 // 10:00

Ch. 59 // at the reading stone over the fortieth slate

Ch. 59 // Four Ways to Lose

Nessar Wipes Out Four Fixes

Nessar The Network The Counter Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Sanctuary

The fortieth summary confirms the fall: the counter closes more houses than the network opens.

2026-07-20 // 11:00

Ch. 59 // same session

Ch. 59 // Four Ways to Lose

Nessar Reads the Orange-Bag Report

Nessar Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Counter The Sanctuary

A watcher's account of the cut bag of oranges shows a counter with no centre, built on his own principles.

2026-07-20 // 12:00

Ch. 49 // six weeks into the surge

Ch. 49 // Calm Before the Recitation

Harun Reports a Man the Jinn Know

Soren Harun Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Cave

Harun describes a plain man around whom possessing jinn go still before he recites.

2026-07-20 // 12:30

Ch. 49 // the same visit

Ch. 49 // Calm Before the Recitation

Soren Sets a Secret Watch

Soren Harun The Network The Cave

Soren orders weekly reports to his chamber alone, no approach, no help.

2026-07-20 // 13:00

Ch. 49 // alone at the slab

Ch. 49 // Calm Before the Recitation

A Thumbprint of the Surge Goes Dark

Soren The Network The Cave

Over the chalked school in the eastern district, a patch of heat goes dark.

2026-07-21 // 10:00

Ch. 51 // the ninth day of waiting

Ch. 51 // Turned Away at the Cave

Rahma Asks Soren to Stand With the Believing Gates

Rahma Soren Ithra The Cave The Jinn of Nasibin

Rahma reports the Nasibin refusal and eleven tribes' answers.

2026-07-21 // 11:00

Ch. 51 // at the mouth of the Cave

Ch. 51 // Turned Away at the Cave

Ithra Walks Rahma Out

Ithra Rahma Tamar The Cave

Ithra walks Rahma up past Tamar at the seep.

2026-07-22 // 10:30

Ch. 55 // Ahmed's morning case

Ch. 55 // Pins in Two Colours

The Grocer's Wife Comes Back

Ahmed The Grocer's Wife The Grocer

Ahmed recites over a woman four days taken; she asks why she is sitting down.

2026-07-22 // 13:00

Ch. 55 // a photograph from across the city

Ch. 55 // Pins in Two Colours

A Line Pledging at the School

Ahmed Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium Istanbul Reciter

Istanbul's friend writes the colleague is alive and has the map.

2026-07-22 // 21:00

Ch. 55 // after the night prayer

Ch. 55 // Pins in Two Colours

Green Follows Red

Ahmed The Network Muhammad ibn Abdullah Ahmed's House

Forty-seven green pins; where green stood a week, red stopped growing.

2 days, 15 hours passed

2026-07-25 // 12:00

Ch. 53 // the first hard threshold

Ch. 53 // The Sixth Falls Behind

The Field Strikes the Sixth

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Between

The field lets the Seven pass with its full press on what each carries.

2026-07-25 // 18:00

Ch. 53 // past the threshold

Ch. 53 // The Sixth Falls Behind

The Seven Reach the Waterline

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison

The ground turns to grit at a salt shore.

2026-07-27 // 16:00

Ch. 61 // in the map chamber after twelve days away

Ch. 61 // Noted, Not Pursued

Ithra Shows the Purge at Its Ceiling

Soren Ithra The Purge The Counter The Cave

The surge map thins under the counter's pale wash.

2026-07-27 // 16:30

Ch. 61 // same visit

Ch. 61 // Noted, Not Pursued

The Pointer Narrows to Tamar

Ithra Soren Tamar The Cave

Ithra clears three names; only Tamar remains, on a hum and a glance.

2026-07-27 // 22:00

Ch. 61 // alone in his quarters

Ch. 61 // Noted, Not Pursued

Soren Asks the Jewel What He Is For

Soren Kael's Jewel Kael Tamar The Cave

Soren unwraps the jewel and asks it what he is for.

2 days, 14 hours passed

2026-07-30 // 12:00

Ch. 62 // when the flood above turns

Ch. 62 // The Eldest Holds Her Signal

The Fifth Condition Reaches the Eldest

The Eldest The Other Six The Five Conditions The Prophecy The Prison The Between

The reversal lands in the Eldest as a knot giving and a tide turning.

2026-07-30 // 12:00

Ch. 70 // about three weeks before the fourteen names

Ch. 70 // Fourteen Names

The Counter Winds Down

The Counter Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

Towns close their own cases; workers go home; no end is announced.

2026-07-30 // 13:00

Ch. 62 // at the boundary, after the hour arrives

Ch. 62 // The Eldest Holds Her Signal

The Seven Change Into Workers

The Other Six The Eldest The Dajjal The Prison

The third turns from holder to pourer; the sixth folds the name away.

2026-07-31 // 15:00

Ch. 63 // the weekly report day

Ch. 63 // Entry Eighty-Seven

Ithra Delivers the Final List

Ithra Soren The Purge List Marcus The Cave

Ithra brings 315 names to Soren's quarters.

2026-07-31 // 17:30

Ch. 63 // after two hours of reading

Ch. 63 // Entry Eighty-Seven

Soren Closes the Purge

Soren Ithra The Purge The Purge List The Cave

Soren declares the report complete and the campaign closed.

2026-07-31 // 21:00

Ch. 64 // the night the campaign closes

Ch. 64 // A Full Jar

The Jar Runs Over

Soren Kael The Cave

The seep overflows the jar; Soren feels nothing given back.

2026-08-01 // 10:00

Ch. 65 // the day after the campaign closes

Ch. 65 // Where the Assignee Stopped

Soren Reads the File of the Six

Soren The Purge Angelic Presence The Cave

Soren reads six untouched cases: forbearance, an older covenant, a woman's hidden kindness, a refused method.

2026-08-01 // 12:00

Ch. 54 // at the waterline

Ch. 54 // Something Pressing From Inside

The Seven Read the Boundary Whole

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Five Conditions

The boundary reads as braided decrees around a sealed door.

2026-08-01 // 18:00

Ch. 54 // at the waterline

Ch. 54 // Something Pressing From Inside

The One Inside Leans Toward Them

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison

The push on the seal draws in until it leans where the Seven stand.

2026-08-02 // 18:00

Ch. 66 // the late grey hour, two days after the jar ran over

Ch. 66 // He Never Gave the Order

Soren Says He Was Not Sorry

Soren Ithra Halim Kael The Network The Cave

Soren sets unity beside the wish to see the trade that took Kael punished.

2 days, 19 hours passed

2026-08-05 // 13:00

Ch. 69 // a follow-up meal in the dry hills

Ch. 69 // Bread on the Counter

Ahmed Eats With the Silent Family

Ahmed The Hill Farmer

The cleared girl passes Ahmed bread; nobody mentions the night.

2 days, 30 minutes passed

2026-08-07 // 13:30

Ch. 69 // Friday prayer

Ch. 69 // Bread on the Counter

The Imam Pockets His Sermon

The Friday Imam Ahmed The Woman at the Gate

The imam tells a crowded mosque he has no language yet.

2 days, 4 hours passed

2026-08-09 // 18:00

Ch. 69 // Sunday, after his afternoon off

Ch. 69 // Bread on the Counter

Qureshi's Voicemail Reaches Ahmed

Captain Qureshi Officer Ibrahim Ahmed Ahmed's House

Qureshi hands his file to Officer Ibrahim.

2026-08-09 // 20:00

Ch. 72 // the night Zahra brings the leaflet

Ch. 72 // The Leaflet in Hebrew

The Leaflet Is Translated

Esther Hakimi The Karimis Nissim Hakimi The Counter Isfahan

Zahra brings a household leaflet from the mosque, Arabic and English, sent from Karachi: seven rules, the last "pray as you pray, and mean it".

2 days, 12 hours passed

2026-08-12 // 08:00

Ch. 71 // morning, Damascus

Ch. 71 // Pray As You Pray

The Leaflet Comes to Saint Simeon's

Sheikh Anas Elias Haddad The Counter's Leaflet Saint Simeon's

Anas brings the mosques' leaflet and a second printing for houses that aren't theirs.

2026-08-12 // 19:00

Ch. 71 // evening, by candlelight

Ch. 71 // Pray As You Pray

Eleven Volunteers in the Parish Hall

Elias Haddad Samia George Nassar Mira Haddad The Counter's Leaflet The Parish Hall

Elias takes eleven volunteers through the seven stages from the mosque's copy.

2026-08-13 // 09:00

Ch. 67 // over the forty-eighth slate

Ch. 67 // Ten Percent of a Lattice

Nessar Sorts the Remains

Nessar The Network The Counter The Sanctuary

Nessar lays the cells out in heaps: silent, losing, drifting.

2026-08-13 // 10:00

Ch. 67 // at the channel stone

Ch. 67 // Ten Percent of a Lattice

Nessar Slows the Beat

Nessar The Network The Sanctuary

Nessar slows the channel pulse to the long-interval rhythm.

2026-08-13 // 14:00

Ch. 68 // in the writing alcove the day the network breaks

Ch. 68 // The Personal Archive

Nessar Names the Fourth Enemy

Nessar Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Network The Sanctuary

Nessar records two flaws and writes Muhammad's name under the fourth kind of enemy.

2026-08-13 // 16:00

Ch. 68 // same session

Ch. 68 // The Personal Archive

Nessar Keeps Three Lines Apart

Nessar Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Sanctuary

Nessar writes: the Mahdi knew what this was; we will not face a Mahdi again.

2026-08-13 // 21:00

Ch. 72 // three nights after the leaflet

Ch. 72 // The Leaflet in Hebrew

The Grandmother at Number Fourteen Sleeps

Esther Hakimi The Karimis Isfahan

A family from Haifa move their sleepless mother to the sister's room, keep the radio on and say their grandmother's prayers.

3 days, 11 hours passed

2026-08-17 // 08:00

Ch. 72 // Monday morning

Ch. 72 // The Leaflet in Hebrew

The Ministry Bans the Leaflet

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The World Order Isfahan

A ministry man takes the leaflets from the synagogue board, the mosque and the bakery.

2026-08-18 // 20:00

Ch. 73 // three weeks of the human world in one report

Ch. 73 // The Same Casualty Count

Soren Reads the Same Casualty Count

Soren Ithra The Network The Cave

Soren reads the aftermath; Ithra voices the network's reading of the same pages.

2026-08-18 // 20:00

Ch. 73 // same night

Ch. 73 // The Same Casualty Count

Nessar's Signature Reads Empty

Ithra Soren Nessar The Sanctuary The Cave

Ithra's tap slip shows the sanctuary as an old jinn living alone.

2026-08-19 // 23:40

Ch. 88 // past eleven at night

Ch. 88 // The Palms of Baysan

The Concord Walks Into the Sea

Julian Gardner Ormsby Edwin Sallow Julian's Guide The Concord

Ormsby kills a cockerel at the waterline; unseen hands take the company by the wrist.

2026-08-20 // 03:00

Ch. 88 // the open water, time uncertain

Ch. 88 // The Palms of Baysan

The Banker Is Taken on the Open Water

Julian Gardner Julian's Guide The Concord

Something laughs in the dark; the banker's shout stops.

2026-08-20 // 04:30

Ch. 74 // dawn on the island

Ch. 74 // Before the Signal

The Seven Take Their Places

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Between The Dajjal

The Seven stand in a ring around the stone house without a word.

2026-08-20 // 04:40

Ch. 75 // after the dawn prayer, Qamishli

Ch. 75 // The Back Row in Qamishli

The Imam Teaches the Chapter of the Dajjal

Rahma The Qamishli Mosque

The imam teaches the hadith of the Dajjal and has the room repeat the ten verses.

2026-08-20 // 05:00

Ch. 74 // dawn on the island

Ch. 74 // Before the Signal

The Eldest Gives the Signal

The Eldest The Other Six The Prison

The holding ends; at the instant she believes the decree set, the Eldest gives the signal.

2026-08-20 // 05:05

Ch. 76 // dawn on the island

Ch. 76 // How a Knot Comes Undone

The Eleven Steps Go In

The Other Six The Eldest The Weave The Prison

The third sends eleven steps down the channel, each knocking home.

2026-08-20 // 05:35

Ch. 75 // morning at the Nasibin gate

Ch. 75 // The Back Row in Qamishli

The Sea to the West Moves

Rahma Awf Qasim The Nasibin Gate The Jinn of Nasibin

A long lift comes up through the white stones and the spring.

2026-08-20 // 05:35

Ch. 76 // dawn on the island

Ch. 76 // How a Knot Comes Undone

The Chain Parts

The Dajjal The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Kneeling Men

Iron parts inside the house; the weight leaves the world.

2026-08-20 // 05:40

Ch. 77 // dawn; the release

Ch. 77 // The First Step Outside

The Dajjal Walks Out of the Stone House

The Dajjal The Eldest The Other Six The Prison The Kneeling Men

He comes out of the house, broken iron hanging, back to the Seven.

2026-08-20 // 05:50

Ch. 77 // dawn on the island

Ch. 77 // The First Step Outside

The Fifth Step Crosses the Seal's Line

The Dajjal The Prison The Eldest The Kneeling Men

Walking toward the men on the far reef, his stride lengthens; the fifth step crosses the last line the seal ever reached.

2026-08-20 // 06:00

Ch. 78 // dawn on the island

Ch. 78 // Just a Place

The Dajjal Goes to the Kneeling Men

The Dajjal The Eldest The Prison The Kneeling Men

He crosses the island to the men kneeling on the far reef and stands among them, never turning toward the ring.

2026-08-20 // 06:40

Ch. 78 // after the dawn on the island

Ch. 78 // Just a Place

The Seven Disperse

The Other Six The Eldest The Between The Prison

The Seven release their shapes and leave through the Between in separate directions, the Eldest last.

2026-08-20 // 07:40

Ch. 88 // grey light, no sun

Ch. 88 // The Palms of Baysan

The Giant Asks About the Palms of Baysan

Julian Gardner The Dajjal Ormsby The Concord The Prison

The giant walks out of the haze in broken iron and ignores the Concord's welcome.

2026-08-20 // 16:00

Ch. 84 // afternoon at the writing surface

Ch. 84 // A House for One Old Jinn

The Wave Reaches Nessar Mid-Word

Nessar The Sanctuary

The stylus stops halfway through initiation; Nessar reads the wave as the last seal opening.

2026-08-20 // 18:00

Ch. 70 // evening in the old detention room

Ch. 70 // Fourteen Names

Muhammad Recites the Fourteen Names

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Yusuf Halima The Counter The Gymnasium

Muhammad names the fourteen workers lost.

2026-08-20 // 18:40

Ch. 80 // twenty to five in Damascus, the same moment as Karachi's 18:40

Ch. 80 // The Bell at Bab Touma

The Pigeons Leave the Dome

Elias Haddad Saint Simeon's

Every pigeon flies east; the dogs bark together and stop; Elias's ears pop.

2026-08-20 // 18:40

Ch. 85 // ten past five in Isfahan, the same moment as Karachi's 18:40

Ch. 85 // A Door in Isfahan

The Dogs in the Riverbed Bark at Once

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi Isfahan

Every dog under the bridges barks for about a minute and stops together.

2026-08-20 // 18:41

Ch. 79 // before the sunset prayer at the regional bureau

Ch. 79 // The Unfinished Sentence

Ahmed Stops Mid-Word

Ahmed Officer Ibrahim

Mid-sentence, Ahmed stops and goes out to stand at the courtyard wall.

2026-08-20 // 19:05

Ch. 79 // on the steps as the sunset call begins

Ch. 79 // The Unfinished Sentence

Ahmed Asks Ibrahim to Keep the File Open

Ahmed Officer Ibrahim Captain Qureshi Adhan

Ahmed finishes the interview, says the cases will be different, and asks that the resolved file stay open.

2026-08-20 // 19:30

Ch. 70 // at the window after praying for clarity

Ch. 70 // Fourteen Names

The Cold Comes Onto Muhammad's Face

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Qibla The Gymnasium

After a week of cold at his back, it comes through the gap in the glass onto his face.

2026-08-20 // 20:00

Ch. 80 // six in the evening in Damascus, Vespers

Ch. 80 // The Bell at Bab Touma

The Bell Rings Flat

Elias Haddad Fadi Mira Haddad The Bell of Saint Simeon's Saint Simeon's

Fadi rings for Vespers and the bell sounds flat.

2026-08-20 // 21:30

Ch. 83 // after the night prayer on the evening of the wave

Ch. 83 // Pins That Will Not Move

Ahmed Asks What Has Come

Ahmed Ahmed's Wife Ahmed's House

Ahmed stays on the rug after the night prayer and asks in Arabic, my Lord, what has come.

2026-08-21 // 00:00

Ch. 80 // ten at night in Damascus

Ch. 80 // The Bell at Bab Touma

Elias Reads Revelation Thirteen

Elias Haddad Elias's Father's Bible The Parish Office

After Compline Elias reads the thirteenth chapter of Revelation by candle.

2026-08-21 // 04:35

Ch. 81 // the dawn prayer the morning after the window

Ch. 81 // Before the Light Reached the Wall

Muhammad Prays the Dawn Prayer Unchanged

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Fajr Qibla The Gymnasium

Muhammad prays the dawn prayer exactly as on every day.

2026-08-21 // 05:20

Ch. 81 // when the light greys the courtyard wall

Ch. 81 // Before the Light Reached the Wall

Muhammad Unties the Map

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

Muhammad pulls the bow on the folder he has kept closed five days.

2026-08-21 // 07:00

Ch. 84 // four days from the morning after the wave

Ch. 84 // A House for One Old Jinn

Nessar Unmakes the Sanctuary

Nessar The Sanctuary

Over four days Nessar takes the sanctuary apart and moves to a house in no record.

2026-08-22 // 19:00

Ch. 82 // the second evening after the wave

Ch. 82 // The Boy Who Said Nothing

The Old Readers Name the Prison

Ithra Soren The Dajjal The Cave

Ithra reports the reading circles agree: only one prison weighs enough to make that shift.

2026-08-23 // 02:15

Ch. 86 // the third night of the door

Ch. 86 // The Door in the Dream

Layla Wakes to a Thick Silence

Layla al-Mansour Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Woken by the third open door, Layla finds the kitchen's silence thicker than it should be.

2026-08-24 // 10:30

Ch. 83 // four days after the wave

Ch. 83 // Pins That Will Not Move

Ahmed Writes to Seven Reciters

Ahmed Ahmed's House

Ahmed copies a note seven times asking his younger reciters to keep themselves free for a consultation.

2026-08-24 // 11:00

Ch. 83 // the eleven o'clock appointment

Ch. 83 // Pins That Will Not Move

Mariam's Intake Opens

Ahmed Mariam Adhan Ahmed's House

The intake: since the evening of the wave, eight-year-old Mariam faces the north-east wall at every call to prayer and cannot be moved.

2026-08-24 // 19:00

Ch. 82 // the fourth evening after the wave

Ch. 82 // The Boy Who Said Nothing

Soren Steps Out of the Cave

Soren Kael The Cave

Soren lays his hand on the pillar stain and takes Kael's blank coin from the crack.

2026-08-25 // 16:00

Ch. 86 // Karima's afternoon visit

Ch. 86 // The Door in the Dream

Karima Logs the Shared Door

Karima Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Layla tells Karima of the door; Karima has heard the same from other recovered people.

2026-08-25 // 23:00

Ch. 84 // the fifth night in the house

Ch. 84 // A House for One Old Jinn

Nessar Signals Hold

Nessar The Network

Seeing that the after has a set end, Nessar presses the grey stone once: hold.

2026-08-26 // 03:00

Ch. 85 // the fifth night after the dogs

Ch. 85 // A Door in Isfahan

Esther Dreams the Open Door

Esther Hakimi Isfahan

Esther dreams an open blue door in a mud-brick wall, grey beyond it, a smooth line of sifted ash across the sill.

2026-08-26 // 05:15

Ch. 85 // the dawn call

Ch. 85 // A Door in Isfahan

Zahra Knocks at Dawn

Esther Hakimi The Karimis Nissim Hakimi Adhan Isfahan

The dawn call comes up the street slowly and heavily; Esther and her father listen from their rooms.

2026-08-28 // 04:35

Ch. 86 // the dawn call on the eighth morning

Ch. 86 // The Door in the Dream

Layla Stands in Her Doorway at Dawn

Layla al-Mansour Adhan Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Layla opens the green front door and stands on the threshold while the dawn call climbs the stairwell.

17 days, 5 hours passed

2026-09-14 // 10:30

Ch. 89 // half past ten

Ch. 89 // The Third Dry Summer

A Heat Case at the Mosque Wall

Ahmed Saleem Daniyal The Dry Years

A boy brought as possessed has hot dry skin and a racing heart.

2026-09-14 // 17:00

Ch. 89 // five o'clock

Ch. 89 // The Third Dry Summer

The Tanker Does Not Come

Ahmed Saleem The Dry Years

The washing tap runs dry; the four o'clock tanker doesn't come.

2026-09-14 // 17:40

Ch. 89 // twenty to six

Ch. 89 // The Third Dry Summer

Mariam's Mother Calls Again

Ahmed Mariam's Mother Mariam

Mrs Baig calls, three weeks after the first intake.

2 months, 11 days passed

2026-11-26 // 09:00

Ch. 90 // week fourteen, by Edwin's count

Ch. 90 // The Keeper's Ledger

The Tables and the Slaughter

Edwin Sallow Ormsby The Dajjal The Concord The Prison

Edwin keeps the tables free of any word; Ormsby cuts two sheep at the lamp line.

2026-11-26 // 15:00

Ch. 90 // after the delivery

Ch. 90 // The Keeper's Ledger

The Following Is Counted

Edwin Sallow Julian Gardner The Dajjal Edwin's Ledger

Julian reads out the week's sworn households and lodges.

2026-11-26 // 23:00

Ch. 90 // by the lamps

Ch. 90 // The Keeper's Ledger

Shorter by a Hand's Width

Edwin Sallow The Dajjal Edwin's Ledger The Prison

Visitors with shifting faces kneel to the master and ask Edwin to write them down.

20 days, 11 hours passed

2026-12-17 // 10:00

Ch. 91 // in the bazaar

Ch. 91 // Shawls by the Thousand

The Merchant Sells by the Thousand

Esther Hakimi Hadas The Shawl Merchant The Persian Shawls Isfahan

The merchant sells Hadas two Kerman wool shawls for a fraction of the price; a fund from abroad pays the rest.

2026-12-17 // 11:30

Ch. 91 // in the classroom

Ch. 91 // Shawls by the Thousand

Shawls in the Schoolbags

Esther Hakimi The Persian Shawls Isfahan

Half Esther's pupils have shawls, handed out after the Thursday talk.

2026-12-17 // 18:00

Ch. 91 // at the Hakimis' door

Ch. 91 // Shawls by the Thousand

The Rabbi's Shawl Is Already Paid For

Nissim Hakimi Esther Hakimi The Shawl Merchant The Persian Shawls Isfahan

The merchant brings a finer shawl; Nissim says no.

1 month, 3 days passed

2027-01-21 // 11:00

Ch. 92 // eleven in the morning

Ch. 92 // A New Flag on the Isfahan Road

The Border Meeting at Taftan

Officer Ibrahim Isfahan The World Order

Delegations sit behind new flags, the Republic of Isfahan's among them.

1 month, 25 days passed

2027-03-18 // 22:00

Ch. 93 // night in the Cave

Ch. 93 // A Record of Crossing

Word of a Gate That Carries Humans

Soren The Passage Seller The Cave

The passage seller reports a sea gate taking living humans across since the summer.

2027-03-18 // 23:30

Ch. 93 // later that night

Ch. 93 // A Record of Crossing

Soren Forbids the Sea Gate

Soren The Passage Seller The Cave

Soren stands and forbids any carrying, buying or selling with the gate.

2027-03-19 // 21:00

Ch. 93 // the next night

Ch. 93 // A Record of Crossing

The Name in the Gate Record

Soren Ithra The Gate Record The Cave

Ithra brings the gate's record.

5 days, 2 hours passed

2027-03-24 // 23:00

Ch. 94 // night watch at the Nasibin gate

Ch. 94 // Something Fed on the Far Side

A Sea Gate Carrier Reaches Nasibin

Rahma Awf The River Carrier The Nasibin Gate

A spent Jann of the lower river crawls through the gate.

2027-03-26 // 23:00

Ch. 94 // second night, the Cave gallery

Ch. 94 // Something Fed on the Far Side

Soren Hears the Nasibin Messenger

Rahma Soren Ithra The Cave The Gate Record

Rahma gives the council's and the carrier's words exactly.

1 month, 17 days passed

2027-05-14 // 08:00

Ch. 95 // eight in the morning

Ch. 95 // The Prayer for Rain

The City Prays for Rain

Layla al-Mansour Hamza Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother The Prayer for Rain

The imam turns his shawl; the stadium prays and raises its hands.

2027-05-14 // 09:30

Ch. 95 // the walk home

Ch. 95 // The Prayer for Rain

Three Hard Years on the Walk Home

Layla al-Mansour's Mother Tariq al-Mansour Hamza Layla al-Mansour

Layla's mother repeats her mother's three hard years.

2027-05-14 // 20:30

Ch. 95 // Friday supper

Ch. 95 // The Prayer for Rain

Hamza Asks Hafeez About the Dajjal

Hamza Hafeez Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Hamza asks whether the drought is a sign of the Dajjal.

1 month, 5 days passed

2027-06-20 // 08:00

Ch. 96 // Sunday liturgy

Ch. 96 // The Fourth Dry Summer

The Church Too Full for Its Walls

Elias Haddad Mira Haddad Saint Simeon's The Bell of Saint Simeon's

The church and courtyard overflow; fourteen faint.

2027-06-20 // 21:30

Ch. 96 // after the meeting

Ch. 96 // The Fourth Dry Summer

A Man Is Coming Who Will End It

Elias Haddad The Visiting Preacher Rami The Wedding Hall in Qassaa

The preacher counts four summers as the sign of Christ's return.

1 month, 9 days passed

2027-07-30 // 10:00

Ch. 97 // the last month

Ch. 97 // The Height of a Man

The Spring of Zughar

Julian Gardner The Dajjal The Prison

Julian briefs a master who now sits on a crate, short and bow-legged, one eye like a floating grape.

2027-07-30 // 16:00

Ch. 97 // the same day

Ch. 97 // The Height of a Man

Nothing Julian Can Read

Julian Gardner The Dajjal The Prison

The woman from Lyon repeats that every believer reads a word between his eyes.

20 days, 7 hours passed

2027-08-19 // 23:00

Ch. 97 // the last night

Ch. 97 // The Height of a Man

His Devils Come for Him

The Dajjal Julian Gardner Ormsby Edwin Sallow The Prison

Ormsby gathers the nine by the lamps; the master stands.

2027-08-20 // 05:10

Ch. 98 // ten past five, dawn; the coming out

Ch. 98 // Between Syria and Iraq

The Master Comes Out by the Dry Well

The Dajjal Edwin Sallow Ormsby The Concord The Ruin with the Dry Well

The Concord and the master are set down in a ruin round a dry well on the road between Syria and Iraq.

2027-08-20 // 05:25

Ch. 101 // after the dawn prayer

Ch. 101 // The Door Open Both Ways

The Jinn Side Shudders at Qamishli

Rahma The Qamishli Imam The Qamishli Mosque

The ground of the jinn side shrugs from far off.

2027-08-20 // 06:00

Ch. 98 // sunrise

Ch. 98 // Between Syria and Iraq

The Court on the Road

The Dajjal Edwin Sallow Ormsby The Concord

The master walks east; the eight fall in behind him.

2027-08-20 // 07:30

Ch. 98 // an hour along the road

Ch. 98 // Between Syria and Iraq

The First Village Comes Out

The Dajjal Edwin Sallow The Village by the Dry Ditch

The village of dead palms comes out with empty cans to meet him.

2027-08-20 // 11:15

Ch. 99 // five past eleven

Ch. 99 // The North-East Wall

Mariam's Parents Bring Her to Ahmed

Ahmed Mariam Mariam's Father Mariam's Mother Ahmed's Office

Mariam's parents bring her back: since Tuesday she goes to a wall at every call again, as she did the summer before, and comes back as herself.

2027-08-20 // 11:40

Ch. 101 // noon by the human clock

Ch. 101 // The Door Open Both Ways

The Nasibin Open Their Gate Both Ways

Awf Rahma The Nasibin Gate The Jinn of Nasibin

The council meets in daylight.

2027-08-20 // 12:50

Ch. 99 // the noon call

Ch. 99 // The North-East Wall

Mariam Faces the North-East Wall at Noon

Mariam Ahmed Mariam's Father The Call to Prayer Ahmed's Office

At the noon call Mariam stands facing north-east, nearly opposite the direction of prayer; her father cannot keep her turned.

2027-08-20 // 13:10

Ch. 99 // after the noon call

Ch. 99 // The North-East Wall

Mariam Says He Is on the Road

Mariam Ahmed Ahmed's Office

Asked whom she waits for, Mariam says, "He's on the road now."

2027-08-20 // 13:40

Ch. 100 // early afternoon in the records room

Ch. 100 // Rain for the Ones Who Said Yes

Ibrahim Reads the Reports From the Road

Officer Ibrahim The Ministry Circular The Man on the Road The Regional Bureau

The circular's reports describe a man on the road between Syria and Iraq, followed by whole villages.

2027-08-20 // 14:30

Ch. 100 // just after 2:15

Ch. 100 // Rain for the Ones Who Said Yes

Ahmed Asks Which Eye

Officer Ibrahim Ahmed Sergeant Darwish The Man on the Road The Regional Bureau

Ahmed asks only which eye the witnesses describe and wants their exact words.

2027-08-20 // 18:20

Ch. 102 // ten past six

Ch. 102 // Sunset by the Clock

The Light Stays on the Kitchen Tile

Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother The Sun That Will Not Set Layla al-Mansour's Flat

At ten past six the square of sun still lies on the cracked tile where it lay after lunch.

2027-08-20 // 19:07

Ch. 100 // the hour of sunset

Ch. 100 // Rain for the Ones Who Said Yes

The Sun Stands at the Hour of Sunset

Officer Ibrahim Sergeant Darwish The Sun That Will Not Set The Regional Bureau

Ibrahim comes up to a foyer full of noon light; the evening shift watches a seafront camera at Clifton.

2027-08-20 // 19:15

Ch. 102 // just after seven

Ch. 102 // Sunset by the Clock

The Grandmother Asks Which Prayer

Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Tariq comes home to the news; Hamza laughs and films the stuck sun.

2027-08-20 // 19:20

Ch. 101 // the evening that does not come

Ch. 101 // The Door Open Both Ways

The First Human Family Steps Through

Rahma Awf The Tractor Village Family The Tractor Village The Nasibin Gate

Rahma tells the family what she is.

2027-08-20 // 19:22

Ch. 102 // twelve minutes past seven

Ch. 102 // Sunset by the Clock

The Sunset Call Under a Noon Sky

Layla al-Mansour Hamza Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother The Call to Prayer The Sun That Will Not Set Layla al-Mansour's Flat

The whole street stands out under the noon sky; the imam calls the sunset prayer by the clock.

2027-08-21 // 04:50

Ch. 103 // the hour of the dawn prayer

Ch. 103 // Five Prayers Inside One Noon

Muhammad Prays the Dawn Prayer Under a Noon Sun

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Estimated Timetable The Gymnasium

Muhammad wakes at the hour of dawn to a room full of sun and prays by the column copied from the last ordinary day.

2027-08-21 // 06:10

Ch. 103 // after the dawn prayer

Ch. 103 // Five Prayers Inside One Noon

Muhammad Sets the Estimate

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Yusuf Halima The Young Man with the New Beard The Cell Leader from the River District The Narration of the Long Day The Estimated Timetable The Gymnasium

Muhammad reads the narration of al-Nawwas ibn Sam'an; Yusuf confirms it sound.

2027-08-21 // 07:20

Ch. 103 // a little after seven in the morning

Ch. 103 // Five Prayers Inside One Noon

Word of a Gate of Fire and a River

Yusuf's Grandson Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Yusuf The Dajjal The Gymnasium

Yusuf's grandson runs in with a video from the road.

2027-08-22 // 17:10

Ch. 104 // two clock-days into the noon

Ch. 104 // Noon at the Mouth of the Cave

Young Jann Bring the Road's Rumour Home

The Young Jann from the Road Soren The Dajjal The Cave

Three young Jann return saying the master on the road needs no pact and frees jinn from the registry and the reciters.

2027-08-22 // 18:10

Ch. 104 // what the clock said was evening

Ch. 104 // Noon at the Mouth of the Cave

Soren Forbids the Road by His Own Word

Soren Ithra The Cave The Assignee's Report Marcus's Rooms

Soren forbids the road to every jinn of the Cave and answers "By what law?" with "By mine."

2027-08-22 // 19:20

Ch. 104 // the clock-hour of sunset

Ch. 104 // Noon at the Mouth of the Cave

Thirty Sleeping Places Stand Empty

The Patroller Soren Tamar The Cave

At the clock-hour of sunset the patroller reports thirty sleeping places empty, two of them elders'.

2027-08-23 // 10:10

Ch. 106 // in the village's unchanging light

Ch. 106 // A Village of No Names

The Eldest Wakes in the Village

The Eldest The Bean Woman The Bell The Forgotten Village

The Eldest wakes on a stone bench with nothing but the memory of a bell.

2027-08-23 // 15:10

Ch. 106 // what the Eldest takes for afternoon

Ch. 106 // A Village of No Names

The First Grey Hair in the Village

The Eldest The Bean Woman The One Who Mends The Forgotten Village

The Eldest speaks words she cannot explain; the one who mends says all arrivals do.

2027-08-24 // 09:10

Ch. 106 // at the foot of the road in

Ch. 106 // A Village of No Names

A Newcomer Names the Door-Opener

The Eldest The Newcomer The Forgotten Village

A young jinn comes down the road, losing his memory, and knows the Eldest at once.

2027-08-25 // 12:10

Ch. 105 // under the fixed sun, days into the long day

Ch. 105 // The Shape in the Plaster

Ithra Enters the Sorcerer's House

Ithra Marcus's Neighbour Marcus's Rooms The Brass Tea Tray The Binding Circle

Ithra, as a solicitor's clerk, hears the dog has barked at the house since the sorcerer died.

2027-08-25 // 12:50

Ch. 105 // in the workroom

Ch. 105 // The Shape in the Plaster

Ithra Reads the Hollow in the Plaster

Ithra The Hollow in the Plaster Marcus's Rooms

Ithra finds a smooth man-sized hollow in the back wall with the smell of long captivity.

2027-08-25 // 13:40

Ch. 105 // at the gate of the sorcerer's house

Ch. 105 // The Shape in the Plaster

The Trail Out of the Wall Is Naim's

Ithra Naim Kael's Jewel Marcus's Rooms

Ithra follows a crawling trail through the house, round the rug, through the front door.

2027-08-27 // 10:10

Ch. 107 // what the clock calls ten in the morning

Ch. 107 // Daylight at Midnight

Ahmed's Reciters Set the Estimated Hours

Ahmed Daniyal The Seven Young Reciters The Estimated Timetable Ahmed's Case Logs Ahmed's House

Ahmed and his seven reciters spend four hours fixing the city's prayer hours from the last ordinary day and the almanac.

2027-08-27 // 22:30

Ch. 107 // night by the clock, sun overhead

Ch. 107 // Daylight at Midnight

Asif Baig Refuses the Night Prayer

Ahmed Mariam's Father Mariam's Mother The Estimated Timetable The Baigs' Flat

Asif Baig, on half pay with the port idle, shows videos of rain on the road.

2027-08-27 // 22:50

Ch. 107 // the call for the night prayer

Ch. 107 // Daylight at Midnight

Mariam Turns From the Wall to the Window

Mariam Ahmed Mariam's Father Mariam's Mother The Baigs' Flat

At the night call Mariam faces the north-east corner, then turns whole toward the sunlit north window.

3 days, 19 hours passed

2027-08-31 // 18:10

Ch. 108 // what the clock calls evening, eleventh day of measuring

Ch. 108 // Asked For by Name

Nessar Measures the Road

Nessar The Road The Network Nessar's House

Nessar reads the road as a seam thickening wherever people say yes, with marked jinn drawn toward it.

2027-08-31 // 19:10

Ch. 108 // after the pulses

Ch. 108 // Asked For by Name

The Deputy Finds the Hidden House

Nessar Nessar's Second The Network Nessar's House

Nessar's deputy arrives unbidden: cells are restless, and marked jinn on the road ask whose network built the surge.

2027-09-01 // 02:10

Ch. 108 // the clock's night

Ch. 108 // Asked For by Name

Nessar Is Asked For by Name

Nessar The Dajjal Nessar's House

Nessar dreams for the first time: a man with a word between his eyes knocks, says "Nessar", and walks off with the noon light.

12 days, 10 hours passed

2027-09-13 // 12:10

Ch. 109 // twenty-five days of fixed sun

Ch. 109 // The Blank Forehead

Julian Is Brought Back at the Sea Gate

Julian Gardner Edwin Sallow The Sea Gate The Envoy's Sheet The Concord

A guide brings Julian back across at the sea gate, blind except for what it allows; a skipper hauls him out of the shallows. The passage was paid on the other side.

2027-09-14 // 12:10

Ch. 109 // twenty-six days of fixed sun

Ch. 109 // The Blank Forehead

Julian Opens the Family Ledger

Julian Gardner Marcus's Neighbour The Family Ledger The Envoy's Sheet The Rotten Tree The Hollow in the Plaster Marcus's Rooms

Back from the jinn side, Julian enters his uncle's house, touches the cold hollow without naming it, and takes the ledger from Pharaoh's court to "M.G.".

6 days, 1 hour passed

2027-09-20 // 13:10

Ch. 109 // after days on the road east

Ch. 109 // The Blank Forehead

Julian Is Waved Through as One of Theirs

Julian Gardner The Dajjal The Old Man at the Roadblock The Wet Man The Tractor Roadblock The Envoy's Sheet

The master walks the queue, a man now, right eye blind; the old man ahead reads his forehead, weeps and turns back.

9 days, 30 minutes passed

2027-09-29 // 13:40

Ch. 110 // forty-one days by Ibrahim's watch

Ch. 110 // The Dry Side of the Road

A Labourer Will Not Return

Officer Ibrahim The Labourer by the Pharmacy Saif Ibrahim's Notebook The Village on the Euphrates

Ibrahim, with a consular officer and Saif, takes the names of Pakistani labourers on the road.

2027-09-29 // 14:32

Ch. 110 // 4:22 on Ibrahim's Karachi watch

Ch. 110 // The Dry Side of the Road

Rain on the Welcoming Side of the Road

Officer Ibrahim The Dajjal Saif Ibrahim's Notebook The Village on the Euphrates

The man from the road walks into the square; Ibrahim records his right eye blind like a floating grape.

2027-09-29 // 14:45

Ch. 110 // in the square, after the rain

Ch. 110 // The Dry Side of the Road

The Old Woman Reads the Forehead

Officer Ibrahim The Dajjal The Old Woman of the Square Saif The Village on the Euphrates

The man looks straight at Ibrahim across the square.

4 days, 7 hours passed

2027-10-03 // 22:10

Ch. 111 // in the clock's night

Ch. 111 // The Messiah on the Road

The Rain Film in the Karimis' Front Room

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Zahra's Mother Isfahan

The two families watch the film of the rain stopping at the road.

3 days, 21 hours passed

2027-10-07 // 19:10

Ch. 111 // Thursday, in the hall

Ch. 111 // The Messiah on the Road

The Hall Stands Up to Go Out to Him

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi Hadas Ezra Kohanim Isfahan

The committee proposes the community go out to him by bus.

2027-10-07 // 21:10

Ch. 111 // on the long bridge

Ch. 111 // The Messiah on the Road

He Brings Rain Only to Those Who Bow

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi Isfahan

Esther asks her father what the film showed.

1 month, 10 days passed

2027-11-18 // 15:10

Ch. 112 // the ninety-first noon, clinic hours

Ch. 112 // The Ninety-First Noon

Karima Takes the Page of the Calm Man

Layla al-Mansour Karima The Calm Man The Light-Sick Clinic

A calm, rested man tells Layla he does not want the sun to set, and that it rains in this light on villages that open the door.

2027-11-19 // 00:40

Ch. 112 // supper at the estimated night

Ch. 112 // The Ninety-First Noon

Tariq Watches the Wet Side of the Road

Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Over supper Tariq watches the hourly footage of rain stopping at a road's edge, sound off.

2027-11-19 // 00:40

Ch. 112 // supper at the estimated night

Ch. 112 // The Ninety-First Noon

Hamza Says He Is Going to Medina

Hamza Layla al-Mansour Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Hamza shows a university place in Medina: Arabic, then the sciences of hadith, student housing, buses still running.

2027-11-19 // 14:10

Ch. 113 // three months into the noon

Ch. 113 // First on the List

Soren Names Tamar Before the Elders

Soren Tamar Varan Oren Harun The Keeper of the Niches The Cave

Soren names Tamar the Jann as the one who fed the sorcerer the boy's hopes: the seep evenings, the unregistered trip, the closed eyes at the hum.

2027-11-19 // 14:40

Ch. 113 // after Tamar is led away

Ch. 113 // First on the List

Ithra Brings Naim in on a Chain

Ithra Naim Soren Ithra's Chain The Cave

Ithra leads in a feral jinn on a chain of her own substance after twelve weeks on his tracks from the sorcerer's house.

2027-11-19 // 18:10

Ch. 114 // a side chamber of the Cave

Ch. 114 // A Bowl of Cave Water

The Keeper Washes Naim

Naim The Keeper of the Niches The Bowl of Cave Water The Cave

The keeper washes Naim with cave water; Naim counts the pours and says his name aloud.

2027-11-19 // 18:50

Ch. 114 // after the washing

Ch. 114 // A Bowl of Cave Water

Naim Asks Soren Where His Son Is

Naim Soren Kael Marcus The Cave

Naim knows Soren by the memory of reading a contract twice; Soren tells of searching the pass.

2027-11-21 // 11:10

Ch. 115 // after the liturgy, day ninety-three of the noon

Ch. 115 // Two Comings

Christ Comes From Heaven, Not Up a Road

Elias Haddad Rami Salwa Saint Simeon's

Rami shows rain on one side of a road.

3 days, 7 hours passed

2027-11-24 // 18:40

Ch. 115 // Wednesday practice by the clock

Ch. 115 // Two Comings

Half the Choir Goes East

Elias Haddad Rami Salwa Bab Sharqi

Eleven of twenty-two stalls are empty.

3 days, 3 hours passed

2027-11-27 // 22:10

Ch. 116 // the night before, by the clock

Ch. 116 // The Cloud Over Korangi

Korangi Walks Out to the Convoy

The Convoy's Rain The Tanker Driver Karachi

A convoy brings grain on forty trucks to the highway; half of Korangi walks out and says yes.

2027-11-28 // 19:10

Ch. 116 // the hour the notebook calls evening

Ch. 116 // The Cloud Over Korangi

Ahmed Tells His Reciters He Does Not Know

Ahmed Daniyal Saleem Umair The Estimated-Hours Notebook The Dajjal Ahmed's House

Five of seven come; Umair's voice note says he has gone to the convoy only to see.

2027-11-28 // 21:10

Ch. 116 // after the reciters' meeting

Ch. 116 // The Cloud Over Korangi

Mariam's Father Packs the Car

Ahmed Mariam Mariam's Father Mariam's Mother The Convoy's Rain Karachi

The convoy's people have been to the Baigs' building; Asif said yes, and the one old refuser's taps went dry.

2027-11-29 // 07:10

Ch. 117 // on the landing

Ch. 117 // Seventy Thousand in Shawls

Hadas Goes With the Buses

Esther Hakimi Hadas The Persian Shawls Isfahan

Esther holds out the shawl; Hadas's aunt takes it for her legs.

2027-11-29 // 08:10

Ch. 117 // at the stairwell window

Ch. 117 // Seventy Thousand in Shawls

Seventy Thousand of Isfahan

Zahra's Mother Esther Hakimi The Karimis Isfahan

Zahra's mother reports the Prophet's words: seventy thousand Jews of Isfahan wearing Persian shawls would follow the Dajjal (Muslim 2944).

2027-11-29 // 14:10

Ch. 117 // in the empty street

Ch. 117 // Seventy Thousand in Shawls

One Short Stroke Beside the Door

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Committee Clerk Isfahan

The buses leave by eleven; the street is empty by two.

2027-11-30 // 10:10

Ch. 118 // above the road, at the bend into the dry valley

Ch. 118 // A Service of Faces

Nessar Offers Correction as a Service

Nessar The Receiver The Pavilion Ghul The Network The Receiver's Pavilion

Nessar offers his tenth to make refusal cost; the receiver laughs: the master makes them wet, not suffer.

2027-11-30 // 10:40

Ch. 118 // at the rack behind the shadow wall

Ch. 118 // A Service of Faces

Nessar Puts On the First Face

Nessar The Receiver The Rack of Faces The Receiver's Pavilion

Nessar studies a seam finer than a hair behind a dead young man's ear and remembers forty years of a sorcerer's work.

2027-11-30 // 11:10

Ch. 120 // the Thursday by the clock, day one hundred and three of the long day

Ch. 120 // Pale as a Thumbprint

The Road's People Climb Fatima's Stairs

Fatima Fatima's Mother The Thing on the Stairs The Scar Under the Collarbone Fatima's House

Two women and a boy with a tablet go door to door offering water for one question.

2027-11-30 // 13:40

Ch. 120 // after the rickshaw across the city

Ch. 120 // Pale as a Thumbprint

Fatima Tells Ahmed It Wasn't Lying

Fatima Ahmed The Scar Under the Collarbone Ahmed's House

Fatima walks into Ahmed's office; the scar is quiet in his street.

7 days, 20 hours passed

2027-12-08 // 09:40

Ch. 127 // the trucks reach Layla's street

Ch. 127 // Fruit Out of Season

The Envoys Mark the al-Mansour Door

Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother The Clipboard Woman The Dajjal Layla al-Mansour's Flat

White trucks bring flour and water; the clipboard woman asks each door to name the man its lord.

2027-12-08 // 20:55

Ch. 119 // end of the watch shift, estimated night

Ch. 119 // The Well Watch

A Refusing Family Reaches the Well

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Note in Three Hands The Village Well The Counter The Opening Verses of the Cave

During a well watch kept by recitation, a family whose taps went dry after refusing the road arrives with a note in three hands.

2027-12-08 // 22:10

Ch. 119 // forty minutes before the night prayer

Ch. 119 // The Well Watch

Halima Loses Count of the Prayers

Halima Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gymnasium

Halima, sick from the long light, cannot tell which prayer she has prayed.

2027-12-08 // 22:40

Ch. 119 // on the bench outside the gym

Ch. 119 // The Well Watch

Muhammad Answers Not Yet

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Sheikh Yusuf The Counter The Gymnasium

Sheikh Yusuf reports four eastern cells buying rifles and asks whether Muhammad will fight the man on the road.

2027-12-09 // 01:40

Ch. 127 // the clock's night after the envoys

Ch. 127 // Fruit Out of Season

Rain Falls Only on the Yes Flats

The Dajjal Layla al-Mansour Karima Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Rain falls only on flats that said yes; balconies green overnight, dead trees fruit.

2027-12-09 // 21:10

Ch. 127 // past the clock's nine

Ch. 127 // Fruit Out of Season

Tariq Brings Home Rain-Grown Apricots

Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Rain-Grown Apricots Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Tariq sets a bag of wet apricots from Abu Sami's dead tree on the table.

2027-12-09 // 22:10

Ch. 128 // ten at night by the clock

Ch. 128 // West With the Karimis

The Karimis and the Hakimis Leave Isfahan

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Zahra's Mother Isfahan

Ten days of dry taps behind the stroke; rain only on the ringed houses.

2027-12-10 // 06:10

Ch. 128 // dawn by the clock

Ch. 128 // West With the Karimis

No at the Second Checkpoint

Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Esther Hakimi The second checkpoint

A boy soldier asks if they are going to him; Nissim says no before Reza can say yes.

2027-12-10 // 13:40

Ch. 128 // in the mountains

Ch. 128 // West With the Karimis

A Woman of the Jinn Beside the Road

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Rahma The mountain road above the old border

The car dies; they walk.

2027-12-10 // 13:40

Ch. 132 // the mountain road, after the water

Ch. 132 // A Road Under the Road

Across at the Culvert

Rahma Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis The Fleeing Jann Mother The Culvert Door

Rahma tells the five what she is and the rules across.

2027-12-10 // 14:40

Ch. 129 // the last checkpoint into Medina

Ch. 129 // Ten Verses by Heart

The Barrier Drops Behind Hamza's Bus

Hamza The Sudanese Engineer The Prophet's Mosque

Hamza's bus clears the last checkpoint; soldiers set a barrier across the road behind it.

2027-12-10 // 20:10

Ch. 124 // the evening after Fatima's account, day one hundred and thirteen

Ch. 124 // The Margin and the Collarbone

Ahmed Finds Please in His Own Margin

Ahmed Fatima Ahmed's Case Logs The Network Voice Ahmed's House

Ahmed lays Fatima's account beside his notebook from her night.

2027-12-10 // 21:40

Ch. 124 // the night prayer by the notebook's estimate

Ch. 124 // The Margin and the Collarbone

Ahmed Prays With Nothing to Ask

Ahmed Ahmed's House

Ahmed prays the night prayer correctly by the estimated time under a fixed sun.

2027-12-11 // 01:40

Ch. 132 // on the Nasibin way, human time uncertain

Ch. 132 // A Road Under the Road

A Voice Calls Zahra

Rahma Nissim Hakimi The Karimis The Nasibin Doors

A devil in Zahra's mother's shape calls her name.

2027-12-11 // 10:10

Ch. 124 // the next morning by the clock

Ch. 124 // The Margin and the Collarbone

Ahmed Takes Fatima's Case Without a Fee

Ahmed Fatima Fatima's Mother Fatima's Case Notebook Ahmed's House

Ahmed tells Fatima he will take her case for as long as the long day lasts, without a fee.

2027-12-12 // 12:10

Ch. 125 // the hundred and fifteenth day by Ibrahim's watch

Ch. 125 // A Courtesy to the Ministry

The Ruin's Treasures Follow the Man

The Dajjal Officer Ibrahim The Man in the Farmer's Jacket The Treasures of the Ruin The Ruin on the Hill

At the ruin the man tells the ground in Arabic to bring out its treasures.

2027-12-12 // 19:10

Ch. 125 // evening by the clock

Ch. 125 // A Courtesy to the Ministry

The Camp Clerk Gives Ibrahim a House

Officer Ibrahim The Camp Clerk The House With the Blue Door

The clerk offers keys to an empty house with water, a courtesy to his ministry.

2027-12-12 // 20:10

Ch. 125 // in the empty house

Ch. 125 // A Courtesy to the Ministry

Ibrahim Drinks From the Tap

Officer Ibrahim The House With the Blue Door Saba

Ibrahim walks the empty rooms and thinks the second bedroom would do for Saba and the boys.

2027-12-14 // 09:40

Ch. 126 // clock morning in the vestry

Ch. 126 // The Raised Brother

Salwa Says Her Brother Was Raised

Elias Haddad Salwa Saint Simeon's

Salwa says the man called Nabil out of the crowd.

2027-12-14 // 14:40

Ch. 126 // afternoon by the clock

Ch. 126 // The Raised Brother

The Grave Is Shut

Elias Haddad Mira Haddad The Bab Sharqi Cemetery

Nabil's grave is untouched.

2027-12-14 // 22:40

Ch. 126 // the hour the clock calls night

Ch. 126 // The Raised Brother

A Family From the Dry Side in the Crypt

Elias Haddad Yasin Mira Haddad The Crypt

Yasin's family comes for water.

2 days, 11 hours passed

2027-12-17 // 10:10

Ch. 121 // the sitting after the fourteenth

Ch. 121 // A Table Seen From the Floor

Naim Goes Down Before the Tray

Ithra Naim The Keeper of the Niches The Brass Tray The Cave

Ithra sets a brass tray with two empty glasses on the chamber floor.

2027-12-17 // 10:40

Ch. 121 // at the tray, later in the same sitting

Ch. 121 // A Table Seen From the Floor

Naim Says He Told the Boy's Dreams

Naim Ithra Marcus Kael The Brass Tray Tamar The Cave

Naim says the man asked about the boy every night, small things, kindly.

2027-12-17 // 21:40

Ch. 129 // the estimated night, after a week of the circle

Ch. 129 // Ten Verses by Heart

Hamza Holds the Ten Verses

Hamza Hamza's Teacher The First Ten Verses of the Cave The Prophet's Mosque

After days in the teacher's circle Hamza can recite all ten verses.

2027-12-18 // 12:10

Ch. 123 // leaving the Forgotten Village; no clock there

Ch. 123 // A Seam Finer Than Hair

The Eldest Walks Up the Road In

The Eldest The Bean Woman The Forgotten Village The Bell The Seven

The eldest takes the bean woman's bowl and leaves the greying village by the road in.

2027-12-18 // 12:40

Ch. 129 // the courtyard water queue

Ch. 129 // Ten Verses by Heart

Travellers Say the Man Will Camp on the Salt Marsh

Hamza The Northern Pilgrim The Dajjal The Salt Marsh The Prophet's Mosque

Northern travellers report the camp at Tabuk turned south.

2027-12-18 // 15:10

Ch. 123 // on the crowded road beyond the ridge

Ch. 123 // A Seam Finer Than Hair

The Eldest Knows Her Own Stitch

The Eldest The Child-Faced Devil The Crowded Road

A girl on a milestone offers to take the eldest to the front.

2027-12-20 // 09:10

Ch. 122 // thirty-one days after Tamar was named

Ch. 122 // Nobody Had Heard Him Say It

Soren Reads the Tray Sitting

Soren Ithra Ithra's Sitting Record Naim Tamar The Cave

Soren reads the last page of Ithra's record twice.

2027-12-20 // 13:10

Ch. 122 // in the gathered gallery

Ch. 122 // Nobody Had Heard Him Say It

Soren Asks Tamar's Pardon Before the Tribes

Soren Tamar Halim Noresh Harun Varan The Keeper of the Niches The Cave

Before the tribes' elders and the Cave, Soren says he was wrong and asks Tamar's pardon.

2027-12-20 // 14:10

Ch. 122 // at the outer threshold, in the noon

Ch. 122 // Nobody Had Heard Him Say It

Tamar Walks Out to the Road

Tamar Soren The Cave

Tamar refuses the seep and climbs to the outer threshold; Soren follows.

12 days, 18 hours passed

2028-01-02 // 08:40

Ch. 139 // a Saturday by the clock

Ch. 139 // Fed and Smiling

Tariq Leaves for the Camp

Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Tariq packs for three days to see the camp for himself.

3 days, 4 hours passed

2028-01-05 // 12:40

Ch. 139 // the fourth day, by the clinic phone

Ch. 139 // Fed and Smiling

Hamza Recites the Ten Verses to His Mother

Hamza Layla al-Mansour The First Ten Verses of the Cave

Hamza recites the ten verses to Layla down the line from Medina.

2028-01-07 // 11:40

Ch. 139 // the sixth day, at the camp's gate

Ch. 139 // Fed and Smiling

Layla Finds Tariq's Ringed Name

Layla al-Mansour The Clipboard Woman Tariq al-Mansour

At the camp past the ring road the clipboard woman shows Tariq's name with a small ring beside it.

2028-01-08 // 06:40

Ch. 130 // waking in the side chamber

Ch. 130 // The Tea Was Always Hot

Naim's Memory Returns Whole

Naim Kael The Cave

Naim wakes with the forty years complete, from the pass to the last evening by Marcus's table.

2028-01-08 // 07:40

Ch. 130 // the Cave's rest, lamps dimmed

Ch. 130 // The Tea Was Always Hot

Naim Confesses the Tea Evenings to Soren

Naim Soren Marcus Kael Marcus's Tea Glass The Cave

Naim tells Soren Marcus asked about the boy over tea and he answered freely.

2028-01-08 // 09:40

Ch. 131 // in the tribal chambers after the confession

Ch. 131 // Eight Centuries Without Asking

Soren Cannot Write the Charge Against Naim

Soren Naim Kael Marcus The Registry The Cave

Soren rules the charge line and finds no clause fits.

2028-01-08 // 12:40

Ch. 131 // in the deep record, lamp burned to a bead

Ch. 131 // Eight Centuries Without Asking

Soren Kneels to Ask and Stops on the First Word

Soren Angelic Presence The Cave

Soren reads the verse of the guardians and of a people changing what is within themselves.

2028-01-08 // 17:40

Ch. 139 // the seventh day

Ch. 139 // Fed and Smiling

Tariq Comes Home Not Knowing Hamza

Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Tariq returns heavier, smiling, with sweets for the building.

4 days, 30 minutes passed

2028-01-12 // 18:10

Ch. 132 // the hour the clock calls evening

Ch. 132 // A Road Under the Road

Left at the Priest's Gate

Rahma Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Elias Haddad The Damascus Watcher Saint Simeon's

They come up under Damascus more than a month later by the human clock.

8 days, 1 hour passed

2028-01-20 // 19:40

Ch. 134 // an evening at the camp, before the family's return

Ch. 134 // My Brother Walked Into It

Junaid Walks Into the Fire

Junaid The Dajjal Mariam's Father

On the camp's big ground the man stands between a river and a wall of fire; doubters go into the fire.

4 days, 14 hours passed

2028-01-25 // 10:10

Ch. 133 // behind a broken wall, within the hour before the column

Ch. 133 // A Father's Face, Borrowed

Nessar Puts On the Dead Shopkeeper's Face

Nessar The Lorry-Driver Devil Qareen The Widow by the Blue Door

Nessar reads the widow's father from her qareen's file and builds the shape.

2028-01-25 // 10:55

Ch. 133 // as the column passes the well

Ch. 133 // A Father's Face, Borrowed

The Widow by the Blue Door Says Yes

The Widow by the Blue Door Nessar The Dajjal The Lorry-Driver Devil

In her father's voice Nessar tells her to go with the man.

6 days, 10 hours passed

2028-01-31 // 21:40

Ch. 140 // the estimated night under the third flyover

Ch. 140 // Room for the Daylight People

Ithra Counts Forty-One Devils Over the Flyover

Ithra The Girl Under the Flyover Shayatin

A family prays with an unseen row of believing jinn behind it.

2028-02-01 // 13:40

Ch. 140 // after Ithra's proposal in the gallery

Ch. 140 // Room for the Daylight People

Soren Opens the Cave to Humans

Soren Ithra The Cave Naim

Soren orders the veil thinned and the door opened to believing jinn and humans from the road.

2028-02-01 // 14:40

Ch. 140 // within the hour of the order

Ch. 140 // Room for the Daylight People

The Girl Under the Flyover Crosses the Threshold

The Girl Under the Flyover Soren The Cave

The family arrives with the deputy; the girl crosses first and holds out bread toward Soren.

8 days, 21 hours passed

2028-02-10 // 11:55

Ch. 134 // the estimated noon call

Ch. 134 // My Brother Walked Into It

Mariam Turns to the North-East Wall Again

Mariam Ahmed Mariam's Mother Mariam's Father Karachi

Mariam walks to the north-east wall at the call; Ahmed's recitation finds nothing in her.

2028-02-10 // 12:25

Ch. 134 // in the kitchen after the call

Ch. 134 // My Brother Walked Into It

Mariam's Father Says the Fire Was Water

Mariam's Father Ahmed Junaid The Dajjal Mariam's Mother Karachi

Pouring tea, the father tells of the river and the fire and Junaid walking in.

3 days, 16 hours passed

2028-02-14 // 04:40

Ch. 135 // the dawn hour by the notebook

Ch. 135 // Guests From Isfahan

Three Prayers Under One Roof

Elias Haddad Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Yasin The Crypt

Elias sings the morning office; below, the dawn prayer and Nissim's morning prayer, each facing its own way.

2028-02-14 // 18:10

Ch. 135 // the hour the clock calls evening

Ch. 135 // Guests From Isfahan

Mira Asks What She Is

Mira Haddad Rahma Elias Haddad Saint Simeon's

Rahma brings a cold, full jerrycan.

16 days, 30 minutes passed

2028-03-01 // 18:40

Ch. 136 // the estimated evening walk of the court

Ch. 136 // Servants Arranged by Height

The Master Passes Julian Like Furniture

Julian Gardner The Dajjal

Julian raises his eyes as the master walks the line and sees only skin between the eyes.

2028-03-01 // 19:20

Ch. 136 // in Julian's tent after the walk

Ch. 136 // Servants Arranged by Height

The Receiver Gives Julian Nessar's Tenth

The Receiver Julian Gardner Nessar Marcus

The old Ifrit tells Julian his uncle's face is on its rack.

7 days, 21 hours passed

2028-03-09 // 18:40

Ch. 141 // the hour the clock calls evening

Ch. 141 // Envelopes for the Mahdi's Camp

Sent From the Bell Tower

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas Ibrahim's Reports The Bell Tower

Anas photographs and sends the pages east to the counter's column on the road north.

4 days, 18 hours passed

2028-03-14 // 13:10

Ch. 141 // after the noon prayer, Tuesday

Ch. 141 // Envelopes for the Mahdi's Camp

Keep a Copy in the Altar

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas The Straight Street Ibrahim's Reports

The camp's trucks come down the Straight Street; the old city shuts.

6 days, 5 hours passed

2028-03-20 // 18:40

Ch. 138 // the estimated evening walk of the court

Ch. 138 // A Post Beside the Road

The Dajjal Steps Around the Eldest

The Eldest The Dajjal

The Eldest stands in his road on the beaten ground.

2028-03-20 // 19:20

Ch. 138 // the emptied court ground

Ch. 138 // A Post Beside the Road

The Receiver Calls the Seven a Key

The Receiver The Eldest The Seven

The old Ifrit says devils waited by the chain on the island long before the Seven came.

25 days, 11 hours passed

2028-04-15 // 06:40

Ch. 142 // the clock's morning gifts

Ch. 142 // A Prayer Mat in the Free House

The Prayer Mat Appears on Ibrahim's Porch

Officer Ibrahim The Porter Ibrahim's Mother's Prayer Mat Saba

Among rain-grown gifts Ibrahim finds his dead mother's mat.

2028-04-15 // 18:40

Ch. 142 // the estimated evening walk of the court

Ch. 142 // A Prayer Mat in the Free House

Ibrahim Reads the Word and Runs

Officer Ibrahim The Dajjal Ibrahim's Mother's Prayer Mat

Ibrahim reads 'Unbeliever' between the master's eyes for the first time.

8 days, 17 hours passed

2028-04-24 // 11:40

Ch. 153 // the halt at an empty petrol station

Ch. 153 // A Mat Facing Almost South

Ibrahim Cannot Recite the Ten Verses

Officer Ibrahim The Column Questioner The First Ten Verses of the Cave

Asked for the ten verses, Ibrahim can give only the Opening.

2028-04-24 // 15:10

Ch. 153 // the column's estimated afternoon prayer

Ch. 153 // A Mat Facing Almost South

Ibrahim Prays for the First Time in Years

Officer Ibrahim Ibrahim's Mother's Prayer Mat The Farmer with the Compass Qibla

Ibrahim lays his mother's mat on the gravel and prays with the column.

22 days, 18 hours passed

2028-05-17 // 09:40

Ch. 137 // the march north begins

Ch. 137 // An Hour We Guessed Was Night

The Refuge Leaves the Gymnasium

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Halima Sheikh Yusuf The Gymnasium

Buses, lorries, a tanker and families on foot leave the gymnasium courtyard, north and west toward Syria.

2 days, 1 hour passed

2028-05-19 // 10:40

Ch. 137 // a dry river crossing on the third day

Ch. 137 // An Hour We Guessed Was Night

The Column Passes the Road's Tankers

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Dajjal

The road's people wait with dripping tankers over a dry river.

2028-05-19 // 21:10

Ch. 137 // the estimated night, third day of the march

Ch. 137 // An Hour We Guessed Was Night

Sheikh Yusuf Dies at the Hour Called Night

Sheikh Yusuf Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Estimated Hours

Yusuf prays the night prayer sitting, asks the hour, and dies under the standing sun.

1 month, 21 days passed

2028-07-11 // 15:40

Ch. 144 // the mosque's four in the afternoon, on the stairs

Ch. 144 // A Hum Behind the Door

The Scar Burns the Boy with the Tablet

Fatima The Boy with the Tablet

The boy's wrist touches Fatima's scar; he is burned and drops his tablet.

2028-07-12 // 12:40

Ch. 144 // in the year-long noon, by crowds

Ch. 144 // A Hum Behind the Door

Ahmed Moves Fatima to the Print Shop Basement

Ahmed Fatima Fatima's Mother Saleem Daniyal The Boy with the Tablet The Print Shop Basement Karachi

The mother leaves as a decoy; Fatima goes under a chador in Ahmed's car.

2028-07-13 // 01:55

Ch. 144 // a quarter past two by the notebook

Ch. 144 // A Hum Behind the Door

Something Leans on the Basement Hatch

Ahmed Fatima Saleem The Weight at the Hatch Ayat al-Kursi The Print Shop Basement

Fatima's scar burns; the bulb sinks and something leans on the hatch.

2028-07-13 // 10:40

Ch. 145 // in the hall of the unrecovered

Ch. 145 // Leave to See the Room

Naim Cannot Touch Kael's Jewel

Naim Kael's Jewel Kael The Keeper of the Niches The Cave

After throwing a refugee's tea glass, Naim stands before his son's jewel.

2028-07-13 // 13:40

Ch. 145 // in Soren's chambers

Ch. 145 // Leave to See the Room

Soren Agrees to Take Naim to the Room

Naim Soren Kael The Cave

Naim asks to see where Kael died.

2028-07-14 // 10:40

Ch. 149 // under the year-long noon in Karachi

Ch. 149 // Two by the Window

Naim Kneels Where Kael's Jewel Lay

Naim Soren Kael Fatima's House

Soren and Naim come up into Fatima's building and through the padlocked door.

2028-07-14 // 11:00

Ch. 149 // in the bedroom

Ch. 149 // Two by the Window

Fatima Tells Naim What Kael Said

Fatima Naim Soren Kael Angelic Presence Fatima's House

Soren lets Fatima see them; she does not scream.

2028-07-14 // 11:10

Ch. 149 // the reciter's return

Ch. 149 // Two by the Window

Ahmed Walks Into the Room

Ahmed Soren Naim Fatima Fatima's House

Ahmed climbs reciting, unlocks the padlock and walks into the bedroom.

2028-07-14 // 11:12

Ch. 155 // in Fatima's bedroom doorway

Ch. 155 // Standard Delay, Continue

Ahmed Recites at the Two by the Window

Ahmed Soren Naim Fatima Ayat al-Kursi Fatima's House

Ahmed reads the Throne Verse at two jinn by the window; Soren tells him to finish.

2028-07-14 // 11:30

Ch. 155 // across Fatima's kitchen table

Ch. 155 // Standard Delay, Continue

Soren Names Kael to Ahmed

Soren Ahmed Kael Naim Fatima's Mother Fatima Fatima's House

Over untouched tea Soren says the jinn Ahmed read out was Kael, of his house.

2028-07-14 // 11:40

Ch. 155 // at the kitchen table

Ch. 155 // Standard Delay, Continue

Ahmed Opens the Notebook at Please

Ahmed Soren Naim Ahmed's Case Logs Kael Fatima's House

Ahmed lays the split notebook on the table and points to 'please' in the margin.

2 days, 5 hours passed

2028-07-16 // 16:40

Ch. 146 // in Julian's tent

Ch. 146 // What the Old Woman Wore

Julian Orders the Cistern Refuge Broken

Julian Gardner Nessar The Cistern Refuge

Julian orders the refuge warning the villages broken loudly enough to be heard down the road.

2028-07-16 // 19:38

Ch. 147 // the thin hour between sunset and night prayers

Ch. 147 // The Refuge That Was Ours

The Midwife Comes Back Down the Path

Rahma Nessar The Midwife's Son The Cistern Refuge

Rahma and the young ones see the mourned midwife come down to the seam.

2028-07-16 // 19:40

Ch. 146 // the believers' eight in the evening, between sunset and night prayers

Ch. 146 // What the Old Woman Wore

Nessar Breaks the Cistern Refuge

Nessar The Midwife's Son The Midwife's Face The Cistern Refuge Embers

In the dead midwife's face Nessar has her son open the seam.

2028-07-16 // 20:10

Ch. 146 // counting embers after the sweep

Ch. 146 // What the Old Woman Wore

Nessar Cannot Take the Face Off

Nessar The Midwife's Face Embers The Cistern Refuge

Behind the water jar Nessar finds a Hinn child's ember, caught by his own sweep.

2028-07-16 // 21:10

Ch. 147 // by the believers' reckoning, the night prayer

Ch. 147 // The Refuge That Was Ours

The Camp Burns the Caravan Station

Rahma The Cistern Refuge Embers

Rahma counts forty-four embers.

2028-07-17 // 11:40

Ch. 147 // noon by the clock, the next day

Ch. 147 // The Refuge That Was Ours

The Council Keeps the Doors Open

Rahma Awf The Nasibin Gate The Jinn of Nasibin

Rahma gives both counts.

4 days, 3 hours passed

2028-07-21 // 15:10

Ch. 150 // the estimated afternoon prayer

Ch. 150 // A Year Has an End

The Refuge Reaches the Ridge Above Damascus

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Halima Yusuf's Grandson Damascus

The column climbs the last ridge and prays the afternoon prayer facing south above the city.

2028-07-21 // 16:10

Ch. 150 // after the prayer

Ch. 150 // A Year Has an End

The Shepherd Boy Says the Man Went South

The Shepherd Boy Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Dajjal Damascus

A shepherd boy says the city has not opened to the man, who went south toward the holy cities.

2028-07-21 // 21:10

Ch. 150 // the estimated night under strung blankets

Ch. 150 // A Year Has an End

Muhammad Tells the Grandson the Day Will End

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Yusuf's Grandson Sheikh Yusuf

The boy asks whether the man holds the sun.

4 days, 14 hours passed

2028-07-26 // 11:10

Ch. 151 // the clock's morning

Ch. 151 // A Letter From the Camp

A Letter at the Church Door

Esther Hakimi Mira Haddad Hadas Hadas's Letter The crypt

Mira brings down a letter a boy left at the church door, carried up from the south with the camp's people.

2028-07-26 // 11:40

Ch. 151 // under the low arch

Ch. 151 // A Letter From the Camp

Read Twice and Burned

Nissim Hakimi Esther Hakimi Hadas's Letter The crypt

Nissim reads the letter twice, believes all of it, and burns it in the morning candle.

2028-07-27 // 09:40

Ch. 143 // at the last lamp post on the western road

Ch. 143 // The Umbrellas Never Folded

Bassam Walks Through the Rows

Bassam Hamza Angelic Presence Medina

Hamza and Bassam feel the unseen rows across the western road.

2028-07-27 // 22:40

Ch. 143 // the clock's eleven at night

Ch. 143 // The Umbrellas Never Folded

The Camp Settles on the Salt Flats

The Dajjal Hamza Bassam The Sudanese Student The Salt Marsh

From the hostel roof the students watch the camp spread across the salt north-west of the city.

2028-07-27 // 23:20

Ch. 143 // after the ten verses, in the dark dormitory

Ch. 143 // The Umbrellas Never Folded

Medina Shakes the First Time

Medina Hamza

The water glass ripples and walks; the bed and building rise; the whole city shakes.

4 days, 15 hours passed

2028-08-01 // 15:10

Ch. 148 // the estimated afternoon prayer

Ch. 148 // A Friend on the White Road

Medina Shakes the Second Time

Medina Hamza The Prophet's Mosque

The city shakes during the bowing; no one in the rows breaks.

2028-08-01 // 15:40

Ch. 148 // after the afternoon prayer

Ch. 148 // A Friend on the White Road

The Stream Leaves Medina for the Salt Flats

Medina The Dajjal Hamza The Old Woman on the Steps

Cars and people on foot pour west down the road toward the camp; police wave them through.

2028-08-01 // 17:10

Ch. 152 // the camp's fifth morning by its own reckoning

Ch. 152 // The Line Nobody Drew

The Eldest Finds the Row of Stopped Tracks

The Eldest Angelic Presence The Salt Marsh

At the edge of the lava field the devils' tracks stop in a single row.

2028-08-01 // 17:40

Ch. 148 // at the last lamp post on the western road

Ch. 148 // A Friend on the White Road

Bassam Walks Out With the Stream

Bassam Hamza Angelic Presence Medina

Bassam throws Hamza the pickup keys and walks out through the rows with the stream.

2028-08-01 // 17:50

Ch. 152 // standing in the row

Ch. 152 // The Line Nobody Drew

The Eldest Knows She Was a Door

The Eldest The Laughing Devil The Dajjal The Seven The Salt Marsh

Seeing her own tracks among the devils', she understands she decided nothing.

10 days, 12 hours passed

2028-08-12 // 06:40

Ch. 154 // after he walked to the trucks at four by the clock

Ch. 154 // Three Times, He Said

Tariq Leaves on the Camp's Bus for Good

Tariq al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Tariq leaves keys and a plum and walks to the camp's buses.

2028-08-12 // 12:10

Ch. 154 // reported by radio at the clock's two

Ch. 154 // Three Times, He Said

Medina Shakes the Third Time

Medina Hamza

Medina shakes again; thousands walk out to the camp on the salt, by radio report.

2028-08-12 // 21:40

Ch. 154 // the clock's ten at night

Ch. 154 // Three Times, He Said

Hamza Calls: the City Shook Three Times

Hamza Layla al-Mansour The Hall Photograph Medina Layla al-Mansour's Flat

Layla's phone rings with Hamza's new number.

7 days, 17 hours passed

2028-08-20 // 14:40

Ch. 156 // the last afternoon of the long day

Ch. 156 // The Bell at Last

The Shadow Leaves the Chalk Line

Elias Haddad Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Saint Simeon's

The tower's shadow moves past Omid's chalk line.

2028-08-20 // 18:38

Ch. 156 // sunset over Damascus

Ch. 156 // The Bell at Last

Three Evening Prayers at Their True Hour

Elias Haddad Yasin The Karimis Nissim Hakimi Esther Hakimi Saint Simeon's

The minarets call the sunset prayer at its true hour.

2028-08-20 // 18:57

Ch. 157 // true sunset, the first in a year

Ch. 157 // The First Night in a Year

The Sun Sets Over Medina After a Year

Medina The Prophet's Mosque Hamza

The sun goes down; the courtyard umbrellas fold; the sunset call is given at its true hour.

2028-08-20 // 19:20

Ch. 156 // first star over the tower

Ch. 156 // The Bell at Last

The Bell Rings True

Elias Haddad The Bell of Saint Simeon's The Bell Tower

Elias climbs in the dark and rings the bell.

2028-08-20 // 20:32

Ch. 160 // after the night prayer on the roof

Ch. 160 // Two Words From His Number

Layla Cannot Reach Hamza

Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza

Layla rings Hamza again after the night prayer; the number is unavailable.

2028-08-20 // 21:57

Ch. 169 // the day the long sun set

Ch. 169 // Iron Left Open

The Eldest Finds the Expanse Empty

The Eldest The Prison The Between

The eldest walks the old road to the cinder and finds the Prison's place answering nothing.

2028-08-20 // 21:57

Ch. 171 // three hours into the first night

Ch. 171 // Up From the Doors

A Knock in Hadas's Voice

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi Elias Haddad Rahma Father Elias's Church

Something knocks at the church door and calls Esther in Hadas's voice; Nissim holds her wrist; Elias prays with his back to the door.

2028-08-20 // 22:10

Ch. 157 // after the night prayer, the first night

Ch. 157 // The First Night in a Year

Hamza Walks Out Through the Rows

Hamza Angelic Presence The First Ten Verses of the Cave Medina The Salt Marsh

Hamza switches off his phone, takes water and walks the western road.

2028-08-20 // 22:55

Ch. 157 // nearing the largest fire

Ch. 157 // The First Night in a Year

One Eye Turns Toward Hamza

Hamza The Dajjal The Salt Marsh

The shape on the chair by the largest fire turns its head; one eye catches the light toward Hamza.

2028-08-21 // 00:32

Ch. 158 // the first night, after the night prayer

Ch. 158 // Salt Underfoot

Hamza Walks Out Onto the Salt Marsh

Hamza The Salt Marsh The Dajjal's Camp

Hamza leaves Medina's gate alone and crosses the salt crust toward the camp's fires.

2028-08-21 // 01:17

Ch. 158 // at the camp's edge

Ch. 158 // Salt Underfoot

Guards Walk Hamza Into the Camp

Hamza The Young Guard The Dajjal's Camp

Two guards stop him; he asks for their master.

2028-08-21 // 01:37

Ch. 159 // the first night, south edge of the camp

Ch. 159 // The Question Put to the Crowd

Ibrahim Finds Saba's House Empty

Officer Ibrahim Saba The Dajjal's Camp

Ibrahim reaches the free house; beds empty, sandals and trainers gone, grapes on the table.

2028-08-21 // 01:42

Ch. 158 // the first night, at the big fire

Ch. 158 // Salt Underfoot

The Man From Medina Testifies

Hamza The Dajjal The Word Between His Eyes The Dajjal's Camp

Hamza reads the word between the one-eyed man's eyes.

2028-08-21 // 01:52

Ch. 159 // at the big fire

Ch. 159 // The Question Put to the Crowd

The Crowd Answers No

The Dajjal Hamza Saba Officer Ibrahim The Dajjal's Camp

The master asks whether they will doubt him if he kills the young man and gives him life.

2028-08-21 // 01:54

Ch. 159 // time written on Ibrahim's hand

Ch. 159 // The Question Put to the Crowd

A Sword Is Brought to the Master

The Dajjal Hamza Officer Ibrahim The Dajjal's Camp

Ibrahim writes 1:52 on his hand.

2028-08-21 // 01:55

Ch. 160 // an hour she cannot name

Ch. 160 // Two Words From His Number

Layla Feels the Blow

Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza

A blankness like her lost days, then a blow through her chest that drops her to her knees.

2028-08-21 // 01:55

Ch. 161 // between the sword and the grey of dawn

Ch. 161 // Better Than Before

Hamza Is Killed and Brought Back

Hamza The Dajjal The Master's Sword The Dajjal's Camp

The master kills Hamza with the sword and brings him back before the camp.

2028-08-21 // 04:02

Ch. 161 // after Hamza's second testimony

Ch. 161 // Better Than Before

The Second Sword Fails

Hamza The Dajjal The Master's Sword The Word Between His Eyes The Dajjal's Camp

Hamza says he now knows the master's reality better than before.

2028-08-21 // 04:02

Ch. 162 // at the second sword

Ch. 162 // The Second Sword

Nessar Reads the Limit

Nessar The Dajjal Hamza Ali's Widow The Dajjal's Camp

Nessar feels the master's reach run to the boy's neck three times and end where nothing in the camp set a limit.

2028-08-21 // 04:12

Ch. 162 // behind the water tanks

Ch. 162 // The Second Sword

Nessar Takes the Face Off

Nessar The Old Woman of the Devils The Borrowed Face Ali's Widow The Dajjal's Camp

Nessar leaves the widow, walks to the nine devils, and takes the dead man's face off in front of them.

2028-08-21 // 04:17

Ch. 161 // eastern sky greying

Ch. 161 // Better Than Before

Hamza Is Thrown Onto the Marsh Road

Hamza The Salt Marsh The Dajjal's Camp

Guards carry him out and throw him onto the salt road.

2028-08-21 // 04:22

Ch. 160 // before the dawn prayer

Ch. 160 // Two Words From His Number

A Message From Hamza's Number

Layla al-Mansour Hamza

As Layla rises for the dawn prayer, her phone lights with two words from Hamza's number: I'm alive.

2028-08-21 // 06:30

Ch. 163 // first sunrise in a year, Karachi

Ch. 163 // The Morning That Stayed

The Sun Stops on the First Morning

Soren Ahmed Prayer by Estimate Fatima's House

The first sunrise in a year climbs over Karachi and stops at the angle of half past six.

2028-08-21 // 07:30

Ch. 163 // morning by estimate

Ch. 163 // The Morning That Stayed

Fatima Chooses to Stay Home

Fatima Soren Ahmed Fatima's Mother Fatima's House

After Soren and Ahmed argue Cave against reciters, Fatima says she will stay in her own house.

2028-08-21 // 08:00

Ch. 163 // on the back step

Ch. 163 // The Morning That Stayed

Soren Tells Ahmed What Kael Was

Soren Ahmed Kael Fatima's House

Ahmed asks what he burned; Soren answers: a boy who wanted to be worth something.

2028-08-21 // 09:00

Ch. 164 // an hour after the back step

Ch. 164 // Eight O'Clock by Estimate

Ahmed Writes His Own Case

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs Kael Ahmed's House

Ahmed sets out the burning as a case file and stops before the excuse.

2028-08-21 // 10:02

Ch. 168 // the long hours after the night

Ch. 168 // The Master Did Not Sleep

The Camp Turns on Itself

The Dajjal's Camp The Beaten Man Julian Gardner

South-side fig trees die overnight and channels stall while the master's side stays green.

2028-08-21 // 12:02

Ch. 168 // in the master's tent

Ch. 168 // The Master Did Not Sleep

The Tenth's Page Is Wiped

Julian Gardner The Dajjal The Old Woman of the Devils Julian's Ledger Nessar The Dajjal's Camp

The master asks where Julian's Hinn is.

2028-08-21 // 12:32

Ch. 168 // Julian's tent

Ch. 168 // The Master Did Not Sleep

Julian Finds Nessar's Face

Julian Gardner The Borrowed Face Nessar The Dajjal's Camp

Julian finds the face Nessar wore laid flat on his pillow.

2028-08-21 // 14:00

Ch. 167 // the first light after the night

Ch. 167 // A Bed Nobody Sleeps In

Naim Finds the Room Kept Nothing

Naim Kael Kael's Jewel Fatima's House

Naim reads the bedroom for any trace of his son and feels none.

2028-08-21 // 15:00

Ch. 167 // in the bedroom

Ch. 167 // A Bed Nobody Sleeps In

Fatima Takes the Glass Away

Fatima Naim The Glass of Tea Marcus Fatima's House

Fatima tells Naim his son was frightened inside her.

2028-08-21 // 16:00

Ch. 167 // in the bedroom

Ch. 167 // A Bed Nobody Sleeps In

Naim Says What Kael Was

Naim Fatima Kael Fatima's House

Asked what his son was like, Naim finds only the small boy and says he was afraid of the dark.

2028-08-21 // 23:00

Ch. 164 // night prayer by estimate

Ch. 164 // Eight O'Clock by Estimate

Ahmed Asks Forgiveness for His Haste

Ahmed Prayer by Estimate Ahmed's House

After the night prayer in daylight he asks Allah to forgive his haste and what came of it that he does not know.

2028-08-22 // 08:00

Ch. 164 // eight by the notebook

Ch. 164 // Eight O'Clock by Estimate

Ahmed Goes Back to Work

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs Mariam Ahmed's House

He rings his five reciters and gives them the timetable.

2028-08-22 // 12:30

Ch. 170 // the noon call in the long month

Ch. 170 // Like the School Bell

Mariam Does Not Turn at the Call

Mariam The Call to Prayer The Pull Toward the Wall Mariam's Father Mariam's Mother

At the noon call nothing pulls Mariam to the wall; the call sounds like the school bell and she goes to the window.

2028-08-22 // 15:00

Ch. 170 // three by the clock

Ch. 170 // Like the School Bell

Mariam Tells Ahmed He Is Busy

Mariam Ahmed

Ahmed reads the Throne Verse and nothing resists.

2028-08-23 // 11:02

Ch. 165 // the stopped morning, by the clock

Ch. 165 // News From the Salt Marsh

Anas Plays the Medina Voice Note

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas The Medina Voice Note The Church at Bab Touma

Anas plays the voice note twice under the fig tree.

2028-08-24 // 07:00

Ch. 166 // fourth day of the long morning

Ch. 166 // The Gate Swung Toward Them

News of the Man From Medina Reaches the Refuge

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Voice Note Halima

A voice note from Medina tells the refuge of the testimony, the killing, the return and the failed second sword.

2028-08-24 // 11:57

Ch. 169 // under the stopped sun

Ch. 169 // Iron Left Open

The Eldest Finds the Open Link

The Eldest The Prison The Open Chain

Fire rings, heaped sheep bones and a weighted carpet along the path: men camped here a long time and left.

2028-08-25 // 05:57

Ch. 169 // the six arrive one by one

Ch. 169 // Iron Left Open

The Seven Gather Round the Empty Chain

The Eldest The Other Six The Seven The Open Chain The Prison

The third, fourth, second, fifth and first arrive uncalled; the sixth limps in last.

2028-08-25 // 08:00

Ch. 166 // fifth day by estimate

Ch. 166 // The Gate Swung Toward Them

The Refuge Comes Down to the Plain

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Halima Damascus The White Minaret

Nine thousand move off the hill to the orchards outside Damascus, the sick on stretchers.

2028-08-25 // 11:00

Ch. 166 // the shut road

Ch. 166 // The Gate Swung Toward Them

The Gate of Damascus Opens

Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gate Officer Damascus

Muhammad names himself and his people at the barricade.

2028-08-26 // 08:00

Ch. 171 // the sixth clock-morning below

Ch. 171 // Up From the Doors

Rahma Sends the Households Up

Rahma Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Mira Haddad The Dry End

Rahma reports the city gate opened to the people from the south; the holders ask those with a roof above to go up.

2028-08-26 // 10:30

Ch. 171 // at the well by the east gate

Ch. 171 // Up From the Doors

Esther's Name on the Camp's List

Esther Hakimi Halima Mira Haddad The Camp's List The Well by the East Gate

Halima writes the households into the water book and finds the name Hakimi among the papers that came through the parish.

2028-08-26 // 11:02

Ch. 172 // after the humans went up

Ch. 172 // Water Under Damascus

Rahma Goes Further In

Rahma Hisham The Old Water Under Damascus The Jinn of Nasibin

Hisham shows her the Nasibin mark in the conduits.

2028-08-26 // 14:02

Ch. 172 // the cistern under the old market

Ch. 172 // Water Under Damascus

Ithra Brings the Cave's Question

Rahma Ithra The Cistern Under the Old Market

Ithra comes up the south channel wearing the Cave's mark openly.

25 days, 19 hours passed

2028-09-21 // 09:02

Ch. 175 // the third day, the one like a week

Ch. 175 // A Bag Packed Before Asking

Hamza Comes Home

Hamza Layla al-Mansour Layla al-Mansour's Mother Hamza's Rucksack

Hamza knocks at his mother's door, thinner, in a borrowed shirt, and will not speak of the marsh.

2028-09-21 // 18:32

Ch. 173 // the hour the sun should have set, early in the day like a week

Ch. 173 // A Signal Sent Backward

The Tenth Gathers in the Tunnel

Nessar The Desert Jann The Henna-Handed Jinn The Network The Dry Tunnel

Nessar sends the tenth's oldest call; eleven of thirty-four come.

2028-09-22 // 10:02

Ch. 174 // the third day, in the Cave

Ch. 174 // Who Keeps the Outer Door

The Devils Sing Their Terms

Ithra Soren The Cave

Forty or fifty devils on the slope sing: hand out the humans and the Cave will be passed by.

2028-09-22 // 11:02

Ch. 174 // the last chamber

Ch. 174 // Who Keeps the Outer Door

Soren's Jinn Open the Outer Door

The Gallery Elder Soren The Outer Door The Cave

Thirty of the Cave's jinn draw all five bars while Soren hesitates.

2028-09-22 // 11:07

Ch. 174 // the open threshold

Ch. 174 // Who Keeps the Outer Door

Tamar Holds the Door

Tamar Soren The Outer Door The Cave

Tamar stands in the doorway facing the devils and tells Soren to shut it behind him.

2028-09-23 // 13:02

Ch. 175 // after the fourth noon prayer of the third day

Ch. 175 // A Bag Packed Before Asking

The Call to Damascus Is Read

Layla al-Mansour Hamza

The imam reads a paper from the north on the mosque step: those who can go, go to Damascus.

2028-09-23 // 14:02

Ch. 175 // at home

Ch. 175 // A Bag Packed Before Asking

Layla Packs a Bag

Layla al-Mansour Hamza Hamza's Rucksack Layla al-Mansour's Mother

Layla finds Hamza's bag packed since his return.

2028-09-23 // 15:07

Ch. 176 // a day after the bars came down

Ch. 176 // Water From Under Damascus

An Envoy Comes From Damascus

Hisham Ithra Tamar The Damascus Water The Cave

Hisham the Ifrit reaches the door Tamar holds; Ithra questions him and finds nothing out of place.

2028-09-23 // 17:07

Ch. 176 // gallery council

Ch. 176 // Water From Under Damascus

Soren Says He Will Go to Damascus

Soren Hisham Ithra The Damascus Water The Cave

Soren tastes the water and says the Cave will send who wants to go, and he will come himself.

2028-09-24 // 09:57

Ch. 179 // on the island, under the stopped sun

Ch. 179 // What a Key Decides

The Seven Doubt Their Prophecy

The Eldest The Other Six The Seven The Prophecy The Open Chain The Old Woman on the Road The Prison

Each of the Seven gives what they found; the eldest relays the old woman's words about the white minaret and the gate of Lud.

2028-09-24 // 10:57

Ch. 179 // leaving the island

Ch. 179 // What a Key Decides

The Seven Walk Toward Damascus

The Eldest The Other Six The Seven Damascus The Prison

One by one they stand and turn to the eldest's bearing; the first says Damascus.

2028-09-24 // 13:37

Ch. 177 // after the noon prayer by estimate

Ch. 177 // The Passenger Who Weighed Nothing

The Rain Column Passes the Van

Ahmed Naim Fatima The Column Under the Rain

A column walking under the Dajjal's rain passes on the other carriageway.

2028-09-24 // 15:07

Ch. 177 // in the dry riverbed

Ch. 177 // The Passenger Who Weighed Nothing

Naim Cannot Keep Up

Naim Ahmed Fatima The Youngest Reciter The Broken Bridge

Crossing on foot under the broken bridge, Naim slows and sits in the sand.

2028-09-24 // 17:07

Ch. 178 // under the broken span

Ch. 178 // A Stone That Stayed

Ahmed Tells Naim What Kael Said

Naim Ahmed Kael Soren Fatima The Broken Bridge

Naim asks the reciter what his son said at the end.

2028-09-24 // 17:37

Ch. 178 // the sun standing still

Ch. 178 // A Stone That Stayed

Naim Dies by the Broken Bridge

Naim Soren Fatima Ahmed Naim's Ember The Broken Bridge

Held by Soren and Fatima, with Ahmed reciting the opening of the chapter of the Cave, Naim's fire sets and he dies by Allah's decree.

2028-09-24 // 18:32

Ch. 173 // after three sleeps of the day like a week

Ch. 173 // A Signal Sent Backward

Nessar Sends Undo It

Nessar The Network The Devil in Ali's Face The Dry Tunnel

He orders the faces returned and the devils' roads cut at their joints.

2028-09-25 // 13:57

Ch. 180 // the day like a week, Damascus

Ch. 180 // Counts in Blue Biro

Ibrahim Reports to the Mahdi's Table

Officer Ibrahim Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Commander Ibrahim's Hands Julian Gardner The Dajjal The Mahdi's Camp

Ibrahim gives the counts of the Dajjal's camp, the gold, the faces, Julian Gardner and the one eye.

2028-09-25 // 15:27

Ch. 180 // the afternoon prayer by estimate

Ch. 180 // Counts in Blue Biro

The Mahdi Asks Ibrahim to Pray Beside Him

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Officer Ibrahim The Mahdi's Camp

At the call, the Mahdi stops by Ibrahim's chair and tells him to wash and stand next to him.

2028-09-25 // 18:57

Ch. 182 // what the camp called evening

Ch. 182 // A Clipboard at the Border

Julian Hands Over a Fleeing Family

Julian Gardner Julian's Clipboard The Borrowed Face The Dajjal's Camp

A devil in a soldier's face asks for the six who left block seventeen; Julian tears off their names.

2028-09-25 // 19:32

Ch. 181 // evening by the clock, the third day like a week

Ch. 181 // One Quarter

Bab Touma Draws Its Watch

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Father Boulos The Gate of Bab Touma The Funeral Notice

The quarter builds its watch around everyone's prayers.

2028-09-25 // 23:02

Ch. 181 // eleven by the clock, the sun still at three

Ch. 181 // One Quarter

Elias and Anas Split the Night Watch

Elias Haddad Sheikh Anas The Gate of Bab Touma

From the wall Elias sees the camp's cloud far off.

2028-09-26 // 11:57

Ch. 182 // the next noon, at the border post

Ch. 182 // A Clipboard at the Border

The Camp Crosses Into Syria

The Dajjal Julian Gardner The Treasures of the Ruin The Dajjal's Camp

Village men lift the barrier; the master walks under it first, the gold behind him, the cloud sliding over the line.

2028-09-26 // 13:57

Ch. 184 // behind the army as it crosses

Ch. 184 // Roads That Were Never on a Map

The Tenth Cuts the Devils' Roads

Nessar The Desert Jann The Henna-Handed Jinn The Devils' Roads The Network

Nessar and the eleven cut joints behind the army; faces come off before the households they fooled.

2028-09-26 // 16:57

Ch. 183 // the day like a week, Damascus

Ch. 183 // The Colours of Their Horses

The False Cry at Supper

Officer Ibrahim The Crier Adnan Muhammad ibn Abdullah Hamza The Mahdi's Camp

A devil in Adnan's face runs into the camp at supper shouting in Arabic that the Dajjal has taken their place among their families.

2028-09-26 // 18:27

Ch. 183 // the day like a week, Damascus

Ch. 183 // The Colours of Their Horses

Ten Riders Find the Families Safe

Officer Ibrahim Hamza Ziad Adnan The Mahdi's Camp

On the hill road Ziad recites the report of the ten horsemen (Muslim 2899).

2028-09-26 // 19:57

Ch. 183 // the day like a week, Damascus

Ch. 183 // The Colours of Their Horses

The Riders Find the Advance Column

Officer Ibrahim Hamza Ziad The Crier The Dajjal The Mahdi's Camp

Back by the south road at Kisweh, the riders find an advance column of trucks and buses heading for the south gate, its head three miles below the ridge.

2028-09-27 // 04:07

Ch. 185 // the third day, before the estimated dawn

Ch. 185 // The Words He Did Not Know

Soren Comes Under Damascus

Soren Hisham Naim's Ember The Water Under Damascus The Shadow Girl The Patroller

Soren follows Hisham into the eastern gallery and finds the Cave's people settled there.

2028-09-27 // 04:47

Ch. 186 // the dawn prayer by estimate

Ch. 186 // Behind the Believers

Rahma Prays With Soren Behind Her

Rahma Soren Hisham Rahma's Cousin The Eastern Cistern

Rahma prays in the last row with Soren's shadow across her back.

2028-09-27 // 04:52

Ch. 185 // the dawn prayer by estimate

Ch. 185 // The Words He Did Not Know

Soren Stands Behind the Rows

Soren Hisham The Call to Prayer Naim's Ember The Water Under Damascus

A young Jann gives the call; Soren washes and stands behind the last row.

2028-09-27 // 07:57

Ch. 184 // after a long sleep under the stopped sun

Ch. 184 // Roads That Were Never on a Map

Nessar Cuts the Great Joint

Nessar The Great Joint The Devils' Roads

Alone, Nessar unpicks the knot of eleven seams under the border.

2028-09-27 // 08:27

Ch. 184 // at the cut joint

Ch. 184 // Roads That Were Never on a Map

The Devils Find Nessar

Nessar The Devil in Ali's Face The Great Joint

The devil in Ali's face is sitting behind him; others close in.

2028-09-27 // 13:07

Ch. 187 // before the roads close

Ch. 187 // The Sun Keeps Its Hour

The Last Buses Reach Damascus

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Layla al-Mansour Hamza Officer Ibrahim The Bus Driver Damascus

Nine buses from the south race the cloud through the gate; Layla and Hamza step down.

2028-09-27 // 15:07

Ch. 187 // the last of the third day

Ch. 187 // The Sun Keeps Its Hour

The Siege of Damascus Begins

The Dajjal's Camp The Dajjal Damascus Muhammad ibn Abdullah

The Dajjal's camp spreads round the city under its rain; the roads are shut.

2028-09-27 // 16:07

Ch. 188 // the afternoon the gates are shut

Ch. 188 // Hadas at the Wall

The Shawls Under the Wall

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Sheikh Anas The Song From the Shawls The Gate Tower at Bab Touma

Esther carries water to the quarter's watch on the wall at Bab Touma.

2028-09-27 // 16:52

Ch. 188 // at the gap in the parapet

Ch. 188 // Hadas at the Wall

Hadas Waves From the Edge of the Rain

Esther Hakimi Hadas The Clerk in the Raincoat The Gate Tower at Bab Touma

Esther finds Hadas at the line where the rain stops, beside a clerk with a clipboard.

2028-09-27 // 18:27

Ch. 187 // sunset prayer at the clock's minute

Ch. 187 // The Sun Keeps Its Hour

The Sun Sets at Its Hour

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Officer Ibrahim Halima Prayer by Estimate Damascus

The sun begins to move, sinks behind the western hills and sets at the minute the clock kept for the sunset prayer.

8 days, 23 hours passed

2028-10-06 // 18:00

Ch. 189 // ninth evening of the ordinary days

Ch. 189 // Supper at the Right Hour

The Bread Queue Watches the Ninth Sunset

Layla al-Mansour The Bread-Queue Woman Damascus

The bread queue turns west and watches the sun go down in about two minutes.

2028-10-06 // 20:30

Ch. 189 // after the night prayer

Ch. 189 // Supper at the Right Hour

Hamza Says the Captains Want Men Who Saw Him

Hamza Layla al-Mansour The Tailor's Workshop

Hamza comes home from the east wall and says the captains are listing who has seen him close.

2028-10-07 // 07:30

Ch. 189 // next morning at the east gate

Ch. 189 // Supper at the Right Hour

Hamza Is Named to the Front Row

Hamza The Grey-Bearded Captain Layla al-Mansour The East Gate

The captain sorts the young men and shows Hamza his own line on the sheet.

2 days, 11 hours passed

2028-10-09 // 18:42

Ch. 190 // after the sunset ration, with no water left

Ch. 190 // Rain on Their Side

The Jinn of Nasibin Bring Water Up

Elias Haddad Rahma Sheikh Anas Mira Haddad The Jinn of Nasibin The Gate of Bab Touma The Builder's Bucket

Jinn climb out of the old well with water and say they are jinn.

11 days, 17 hours passed

2028-10-21 // 12:00

Ch. 192 // eleven days before, as he reckons it; caught at the end of September

Ch. 192 // A Shape Too Thin to Hold

The Devils Open Nessar

Nessar The Devil in Ali's Face The Network

Devils in borrowed faces, who caught Nessar under the border at the end of September after his tenth tore up their roads, have kept him since.

9 days, 9 hours passed

2028-10-30 // 21:40

Ch. 191 // nine forty, the fifth case that night

Ch. 191 // The Ache Below the Collarbone

Ahmed Clears the Farmer in the Grain Store

Ahmed The Farmer in the Grain Store The Farmer's Brother Ahmed's Case Logs The Refugee Hall

Ahmed waits a breath for a plea, hears none, and recites until the farmer's heels stop.

2028-10-30 // 23:50

Ch. 193 // near midnight, first night

Ch. 193 // Seven Less Six

The Seven Take the Devils' Road and the Sixth Comes Apart

The Eldest The Other Six The Seven The Camp Devils The Devils' Road

The ring holds through the first night; near midnight the sixth's knee goes down and he thins away.

2028-10-31 // 04:50

Ch. 191 // dawn call beside Mariam

Ch. 191 // The Ache Below the Collarbone

Fatima's Ache Stops at the Dawn Call

Fatima Mariam Ahmed Adhan Ahmed's Case Logs The Refugee Hall

Mariam feels the call before it comes and mouths every word of it.

2028-11-01 // 04:40

Ch. 193 // second night, the fifth at greying

Ch. 193 // Seven Less Six

Four of the Seven Go on the Second Night

The Eldest The Other Six The Camp Devils The Devils' Road

Devils go at single stations; the third, fourth and second go, and the fifth as the east greys.

2028-11-01 // 05:00

Ch. 193 // dawn call after the second night

Ch. 193 // Seven Less Six

The First Speaks at the Dawn Call

The Other Six The Eldest Adhan The Devils' Road

The call empties the road; the first speaks for the second time in twenty thousand years: he never looked at us.

2028-11-01 // 12:00

Ch. 192 // noon, when the devils keep to shade

Ch. 192 // A Shape Too Thin to Hold

Nessar Crosses the Followers' Fields

Nessar The Devil in the Yellow Shirt The Dajjal's Camp

Nessar walks the dry side of the rained-on fields.

2028-11-01 // 17:15

Ch. 192 // dusk, after the call

Ch. 192 // A Shape Too Thin to Hold

Ithra Finds Nessar in the East Wall Ditch

Nessar Ithra Adhan The East Wall Ditch

Unable to climb, Nessar lets the call go over him instead of drawing back.

2028-11-01 // 19:30

Ch. 195 // night, in the outer gallery

Ch. 195 // Asked From the Floor

Ithra Lays Nessar Down Before Soren

Ithra Nessar Soren The Outer Gallery

Ithra carries Nessar down; Soren cannot hold his edges in.

2028-11-02 // 01:00

Ch. 195 // through the night

Ch. 195 // Asked From the Floor

Soren and Nessar Set Down the Account

Soren Nessar Ithra The Outer Gallery

Nessar says the surge was built on Soren's silence; Soren says he knew.

2028-11-02 // 04:50

Ch. 195 // before dawn, the believers gone up to pray

Ch. 195 // Asked From the Floor

Nessar Asks Whether He Can Still Ask Forgiveness

Nessar Soren Hisham The Outer Gallery

Hisham invites Soren up; Soren stays.

2028-11-02 // 05:00

Ch. 193 // dawn after the third night

Ch. 193 // Seven Less Six

The Eldest Stands Alone on the Road

The Eldest The Other Six The Seven The Camp Devils The Devils' Road

The first goes before midnight on the third night; the devils go round the eldest without finishing her.

2028-11-02 // 13:00

Ch. 194 // afternoon map session with the captains

Ch. 194 // A Map of the City Gates

Julian Lays Out the Gates of Damascus

Julian Gardner The Captain from Deir The Rain-Grown Apples The East Gate The Dajjal's Camp

Julian weights the map with apples and picks the east gate, where the unarmed front row stands.

2028-11-02 // 16:50

Ch. 194 // sunset call over the city

Ch. 194 // A Map of the City Gates

The Master Turns East at Sunset

The Dajjal Julian Gardner The Rain-Grown Apples The Dajjal's Camp

Apples are thrown at the wall; the master promises the city will come out to him, then stops mid-sentence.

2028-11-02 // 19:30

Ch. 196 // evening briefing near the east wall

Ch. 196 // Water Drawn Before Dawn

Ibrahim Gives the Mahdi the Last Count

Officer Ibrahim Muhammad ibn Abdullah Damascus

Ibrahim counts the camp and reports the master looking east at sunset.

2028-11-02 // 23:50

Ch. 197 // near midnight, during Compline

Ch. 197 // The Watch on the Roof

The Camp's Rain Draws Layla to the Parapet

Esther Hakimi Mira Haddad Layla al-Mansour The Parish Hall Roof

While Mira says Compline, the wind brings the smell of new bread and rain from the camp, and the sound of rain on the plain.

2028-11-03 // 00:30

Ch. 196 // after midnight on the east side

Ch. 196 // Water Drawn Before Dawn

Ibrahim Recognises the Young Man From the Marsh

Officer Ibrahim Hamza The East Gate

Walking the east side, Ibrahim finds the young man he saw killed on the marsh road asleep in the front row.

2028-11-03 // 02:00

Ch. 197 // Esther's turn to stay awake

Ch. 197 // The Watch on the Roof

The Shema Over the Roof

Esther Hakimi Mira Haddad Layla al-Mansour The Parish Hall Roof

Esther says the bedtime Shema for the first time over others, the Christian and the Muslim asleep on blankets beside her.

2028-11-03 // 04:30

Ch. 197 // before the call

Ch. 197 // The Watch on the Roof

Layla Goes Down to the Rows

Layla al-Mansour Esther Hakimi Mira Haddad The White Minaret The Parish Hall Roof

Layla leaves the roof while the east is still black, to see her son out of the door and pray the dawn prayer in the women's rows behind him.

2028-11-03 // 04:30

Ch. 202 // before the dawn call

Ch. 202 // Salt in a Glass

The Devils Leave the Shade Before Dawn

Shayatin Julian Gardner The Dajjal's Camp

The devils packed in the shade at sunset are gone by the time Julian comes up the slope.

2028-11-03 // 04:55

Ch. 196 // the dawn call before the descent

Ch. 196 // Water Drawn Before Dawn

The Call to the Dawn Prayer Goes Up From the White Minaret

Officer Ibrahim Muhammad ibn Abdullah Hamza The Baker in the Row The White Minaret Adhan

From three, thousands wash at wells and troughs; ranks form by the white minaret.

2028-11-03 // 05:00

Ch. 198 // at the second call, before the prayer

Ch. 198 // Saffron at the Edge of Sight

Hamza Sees the Descent at the White Minaret

Hamza Isa son of Maryam The Orchard Farmer The Carpenter from Homs The White Minaret

At the white minaret east of Damascus a man descends in two garments dyed with saffron, hands on the wings of two angels; drops fall and scatter like pearls.

2028-11-03 // 05:00

Ch. 201 // at the call to stand for the dawn prayer

Ch. 201 // An Honour for This Nation

The Descent at the White Minaret

Isa son of Maryam Muhammad ibn Abdullah The White Minaret Fajr

The rows turn east; Muhammad sees from far off two garments dyed with saffron, hands on the wings of two angels, drops like pearls.

2028-11-03 // 05:01

Ch. 199 // at the second call, from the wall of Bab Touma

Ch. 199 // East of the City

Elias Sees the Descent From the Gate

Elias Haddad Isa son of Maryam The Karimis The Gate of Bab Touma

From far off Elias sees the man descend at the white minaret with the hadith's details and nothing more.

2028-11-03 // 05:02

Ch. 200 // as the second call begins

Ch. 200 // Word Passed Back Along the Rows

Word of the Man at the Minaret Reaches the Women's Rows

Layla al-Mansour The Field Boy's Grandmother Isa son of Maryam The White Minaret The Women's Arcade

The men's rows turn their heads front to back; the square goes silent.

2028-11-03 // 05:03

Ch. 198 // in the quiet after the second call

Ch. 198 // Saffron at the Edge of Sight

The Leader Steps Back

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Hamza The White Minaret

The Mahdi turns toward the minaret, stands a moment in the leader's place, then steps back.

2028-11-03 // 05:05

Ch. 201 // after the newcomer declines

Ch. 201 // An Honour for This Nation

Muhammad Leads the Dawn Prayer

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Isa son of Maryam Fajr The White Minaret

Muhammad leads the two units; the Opening, then a short chapter; his voice does not shake.

2028-11-03 // 05:08

Ch. 200 // the dawn prayer of the descent

Ch. 200 // Word Passed Back Along the Rows

The Women's Rows Pray Behind the Leader

Layla al-Mansour Muhammad ibn Abdullah Fajr The Women's Arcade

The leader's plain voice carries back; square and arcade move into stillness.

2028-11-03 // 05:20

Ch. 200 // after the greeting of peace

Ch. 200 // Word Passed Back Along the Rows

Women Pass Back That the Newcomer Declined to Lead

Layla al-Mansour The Girl with the Baby The Field Boy's Grandmother Isa son of Maryam Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Women's Arcade

Word comes back that the leader asked the newcomer to lead and he declined: some of them are leaders over others, an honour from Allah for this nation.

2028-11-03 // 05:25

Ch. 201 // after the greeting of peace

Ch. 201 // An Honour for This Nation

The Army Goes Out of the East Gate

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Ibrahim's Exercise Book The East Gate The Dajjal's Camp

Muhammad gives away the exercise book and orders the east gate opened.

2028-11-03 // 05:35

Ch. 202 // as the army walks out

Ch. 202 // Salt in a Glass

The Master Melts Facing the Minaret

The Dajjal Julian Gardner The East Gate The Captain from Deir The Dajjal's Camp

The army comes out of the east gate; the master stares past it toward the white minaret.

2028-11-03 // 05:45

Ch. 202 // early morning

Ch. 202 // Salt in a Glass

The Master Runs South From the Camp

The Dajjal Julian Gardner The Dajjal's Camp The Camp's Treasure

The master runs south away from the gate, leaving wet steaming footprints.

2028-11-03 // 05:50

Ch. 203 // after the dawn call

Ch. 203 // He Passed Her Running

The City Goes Silent and the Devils Flee

The Eldest Shayatin The Old Road to the Coast

The eldest feels the city's silence come through the ground.

2028-11-03 // 06:00

Ch. 204 // when the sun was up

Ch. 204 // Armilus

Reza Reports What Was Seen at the Minaret

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis The crypt

Reza, fifty rows back, reports two garments dyed like saffron at the white minaret, hands on the wings of two angels, drops like pearls from the bowed and lifted head.

2028-11-03 // 06:30

Ch. 203 // first sun

Ch. 203 // He Passed Her Running

The Master Passes the Eldest Running

The Eldest The Dajjal The Old Road to the Coast

The master comes round the hill running, wet and losing his edges.

2028-11-03 // 06:35

Ch. 203 // first sun

Ch. 203 // He Passed Her Running

The Eldest Follows Him Toward the Coast

The Eldest The Other Six The Dajjal The Old Road to the Coast

The eldest turns on the road and follows him.

2028-11-03 // 06:40

Ch. 204 // after the news from the lanes

Ch. 204 // Armilus

Nissim Closes the Book of Zerubbabel

Nissim Hakimi Esther Hakimi The Karimis Sefer Zerubbabel Hadas The crypt

Zahra brings word that the one-eyed man has run, and repeats her mother's teaching of the breath that reaches as far as the sight.

2028-11-03 // 07:12

Ch. 205 // 7:12 on the back of his hand

Ch. 205 // Ink on the Back of His Hand

Ibrahim Joins the Pursuit South

Officer Ibrahim The Hauran Farmer The Old Man from Daraya Muhammad ibn Abdullah The Gate of Lud

Word comes back that the master has run and the one from the minaret has gone after him.

2028-11-03 // 09:40

Ch. 205 // 9:40 on the back of his hand

Ch. 205 // Ink on the Back of His Hand

Followers Found Dead Without a Wound

Officer Ibrahim The Old Man from Daraya Isa son of Maryam The Gate of Lud

Followers lie dead along the road for kilometres; the old man gives the hadith of the breath.

2028-11-04 // 17:00

Ch. 206 // late light

Ch. 206 // One Step Off the Road

The Eldest Takes Her Station in the Arch at Lud

The Eldest The Gate of Lud The Decree's Mark The Other Six

The eldest rises into the emptied town ahead of him and stands in the arch on the decree's mark.

2028-11-04 // 18:35

Ch. 207 // dusk

Ch. 207 // What the Spear Showed

The Front Guard Halts Short of Lud

Hamza The Grey-Bearded Captain The Hauran Boy The Dajjal The Gate of Lud

The captain stops the front guard far back from the gate.

2028-11-04 // 18:40

Ch. 206 // a little before sunset

Ch. 206 // One Step Off the Road

The Master Comes Down the Road Alone

The Dajjal Shayatin Isa son of Maryam The Eldest The Gate of Lud

He runs toward the gate shrinking like salt in water; his devils fall away.

2028-11-04 // 18:41

Ch. 205 // 6:41 on the back of his hand, at dusk

Ch. 205 // Ink on the Back of His Hand

The Column Reaches the Gate of Lud

Officer Ibrahim The Hauran Farmer The Old Man from Daraya The Gate of Lud Isa son of Maryam

After a sighting of saffron far ahead in the afternoon, the column comes down onto the coastal plain and stops.

2028-11-04 // 18:45

Ch. 206 // just before sunset

Ch. 206 // One Step Off the Road

The Eldest Steps Off the Mark

The Eldest The Decree's Mark The Gate of Lud

Finding no place shaped like her in the decree, the eldest takes one step aside.

2028-11-04 // 18:50

Ch. 207 // last light at the gate

Ch. 207 // What the Spear Showed

The Spear Is Raised at the Gate of Lud

Isa son of Maryam The Dajjal The Spear The Gate of Lud Hamza The Hauran Boy

The running man goes into the arch; the colour reaches the gate after him; what happens there is too far to see.

2028-11-04 // 18:55

Ch. 207 // after the spear is lowered

Ch. 207 // What the Spear Showed

The Followers' Camp at Lud Breaks Apart

The Orchard Camp at Lud Hamza

A roar rises from the orchards; the followers scatter in every direction.

2028-11-04 // 20:00

Ch. 208 // nightfall in the empty camp

Ch. 208 // Nothing Written There

The Hinn Reports the Master Dead at Lud

Julian Gardner Julian's Hinn The Dajjal The Dajjal's Camp

The small Hinn comes into the dark tent unbidden: the master is dead at the gate of Lud, killed with a spear by the one from the minaret.

2028-11-04 // 21:00

Ch. 208 // night

Ch. 208 // Nothing Written There

Julian Leaves the Family Tree on the Master's Chair

Julian Gardner The Family Tree Roll The Master's Chair The Master's Pavilion The Camp's Treasure The Rotten Tree

Julian walks the empty streets past the fallen gold to the pavilion.

2028-11-04 // 22:00

Ch. 208 // by a dying torch

Ch. 208 // Nothing Written There

Julian Looks for the Word in His Mirror

Julian Gardner Julian's Shaving Mirror The Dajjal's Camp

Julian searches between his own eyes for the word; finds only skin.

2028-11-05 // 00:30

Ch. 218 // after midnight, the night after it is over

Ch. 218 // The Road Into the Village

The Eldest Finds the Decree's Mark Gone

The Eldest The Gate of Lud The Dajjal

The Eldest returns to the arch after the men carried away what lay there at dusk.

2028-11-05 // 01:00

Ch. 218 // in the arch

Ch. 218 // The Road Into the Village

The Eldest Chooses the Village Road

The Eldest The Forgotten Village The Gate of Lud

Two ways open: down to the deep solitary hall, across to the village of returners.

2028-11-05 // 03:00

Ch. 218 // halfway down the last slope

Ch. 218 // The Road Into the Village

The Eldest Remembers Her Name

The Eldest The Forgotten Village

She waits to forget on the road in; it does not happen.

2028-11-05 // 05:45

Ch. 213 // from the dawn prayer's end

Ch. 213 // From Every Slope

Muhammad Buries the Followers by the Road

Muhammad ibn Abdullah Officer Ibrahim The Gate of Lud

Muhammad takes a shovel off the tanker and starts; the men dig beside him.

2028-11-05 // 07:00

Ch. 209 // the morning after word of Lud

Ch. 209 // Those Who Knocked

The Human Refugees Leave the Cave

Soren The Cave The Outer Door

Word of Lud reaches the Cave in the night; by the dawn prayer the humans know.

2028-11-05 // 08:00

Ch. 212 // the gate opens at eight

Ch. 212 // The Ditch Below the Orchards

Layla Walks Out Through the East Gate

Layla al-Mansour The Bread-Queue Woman The East Gate The Dajjal's Camp

Women of the quarter walk out onto the plain after a night of news.

2028-11-05 // 09:00

Ch. 214 // the morning after Lud

Ch. 214 // Hadas Comes Back

The Empty Tent in the Eleventh Street

Esther Hakimi Mira Haddad Hadas Hadas's Tent List The Isfahan Streets

Esther walks the Isfahan streets of the emptied camp past dropped shawls and untouched gold.

2028-11-05 // 10:30

Ch. 212 // behind the tents, below the orchards

Ch. 212 // The Ditch Below the Orchards

Layla Finds Tariq by the Ditch

Layla al-Mansour Tariq al-Mansour The Bag of Apricots The Dajjal's Camp The Tailor's Workshop

Tariq sits smiling at an empty ditch, an uneaten bag of apricots in his lap.

2028-11-05 // 11:30

Ch. 213 // a little before noon

Ch. 213 // From Every Slope

The Old Woman Returns From the Gate

The Old Woman at Lud Muhammad ibn Abdullah Isa son of Maryam The Gate of Lud

People go in a slow line to the son of Maryam from mid-morning.

2028-11-05 // 11:45

Ch. 213 // at the noon prayer's time

Ch. 213 // From Every Slope

The Runner Brings Word of Tur

The Hauran Boy Muhammad ibn Abdullah Isa son of Maryam Officer Ibrahim The Old Woman at Lud The Gate of Lud

The Hauran boy reports: Allah has revealed to the son of Maryam that He has brought out a people whom no one can fight, and the believers are to be taken safely to the mountain of Tur.

2028-11-05 // 12:30

Ch. 209 // from noon, as the camp's jinn reach the slope

Ch. 209 // Those Who Knocked

Soren Sets the Own-Shape Condition

Soren The Young Returned Jann The Imam-Faced Devil The Gallery Elder The Outer Door

Scattered camp jinn ask the Cave's protection under the old law.

2028-11-05 // 16:30

Ch. 210 // late afternoon, the day after Lud

Ch. 210 // Closing the Doors

The Nasibin Close Their Doors

Rahma Awf The Tractor Village Family The Nasibin Gate The Jinn of Nasibin

The council votes to close the doors.

2028-11-05 // 17:00

Ch. 209 // at dusk, the last on the slope

Ch. 209 // Those Who Knocked

Tamar Comes Home at Dusk

Tamar Soren The Gallery Elder The Outer Door The Cave

Tamar climbs the slope in his own shape, steps round the faces, asks nothing.

2028-11-05 // 17:15

Ch. 214 // at dusk

Ch. 214 // Hadas Comes Back

Hadas at the Church Door

Esther Hakimi Hadas Nissim Hakimi The Church Door

A girl sits on the church step at dusk and will not knock; Esther looks through the gap at her blistered feet before she draws the bar.

2028-11-05 // 18:30

Ch. 211 // at the night prayer, the first night after the news

Ch. 211 // Clear, Clear, Clear

The Reciters Report No Cases

Ahmed The Youngest Reciter The Refugee Hall

All five reciters come in with empty pages; one old man calmed is the night's whole work.

2028-11-05 // 23:00

Ch. 211 // late, by the pillar lamp

Ch. 211 // Clear, Clear, Clear

Ahmed Rereads the Karachi Notebook

Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs Fatima Kael The Refugee Hall

Ahmed reads every entry from the first page to the end of the surge.

2028-11-06 // 04:30

Ch. 211 // before dawn, with Fatima awake

Ch. 211 // Clear, Clear, Clear

Ahmed Writes Kael's Name Beside Please

Ahmed Fatima Mariam Kael Ahmed's Case Logs The Refugee Hall

Fatima wakes, looks at the margin, says Kael.

2028-11-06 // 05:15

Ch. 215 // before dawn, on the church step

Ch. 215 // The Cross in the Courtyard

Rami Reports the Broken Cross

Elias Haddad Rami The Church at Bab Touma

Rami, back from the broken camp at Lud, says he saw the one who came down break the cross.

2028-11-06 // 06:00

Ch. 217 // on waking

Ch. 217 // That Way

Mariam Finds the Far Pull Gone

Mariam The Refugee Hall

Mariam checks for the faraway someone who used to pull at her sleeve; nothing at all.

2028-11-06 // 07:30

Ch. 215 // full light, an hour on the bolts

Ch. 215 // The Cross in the Courtyard

Elias Takes Down the Courtyard Cross

Elias Haddad Mira Haddad Sheikh Anas The Courtyard Cross The Church at Bab Touma

Elias unbolts the cross and lays it in the crypt, unbroken.

2028-11-06 // 08:20

Ch. 217 // after breakfast

Ch. 217 // That Way

Rain Falls on the Grain Store Yard

Mariam Fatima The Dry Years The Refugee Hall

A thin rain falls out of the whole grey sky on the yard, the trough, the wall and the road alike, with no line where it stops.

2028-11-06 // 08:20

Ch. 219 // after the morning office

Ch. 219 // One Ordinary Rain

Rain Over Bab Touma

Elias Haddad Mira Haddad The Karimis Nissim Hakimi Rami The Church at Bab Touma

Rain falls on the whole quarter with no line where it stops.

2028-11-06 // 08:30

Ch. 217 // after breakfast

Ch. 217 // That Way

Mariam Reads the Name in the Margin

Mariam Fatima Ahmed Ahmed's Case Logs The Refugee Hall

Fatima plaits Mariam's hair and shows the scar gone white.

2028-11-06 // 11:40

Ch. 217 // the noon call

Ch. 217 // That Way

Mariam Shows Baba Which Way

Mariam Mariam's Father Qibla The Refugee Hall Ahmed

At the noon call Mariam goes to the window, then turns to the long south wall the rows face.

2028-11-06 // 17:15

Ch. 212 // second evening, after the sunset prayer

Ch. 212 // The Ditch Below the Orchards

Tariq Says Hamza's Name

Tariq al-Mansour Hamza Layla al-Mansour The Tailor's Workshop

Hamza comes in from the yard pump, home from Lud.

2028-11-07 // 04:30

Ch. 216 // before dawn, the day before Ithra arrives

Ch. 216 // The Niche Nobody Marked

Soren Leaves Through the Outer Door Before Dawn

Soren Soren's Deputy The Cave

Soren goes out before dawn; the gallery elder draws the bars for him.

2028-11-08 // 10:00

Ch. 216 // on her return from Damascus

Ch. 216 // The Niche Nobody Marked

Ithra Returns Kael's Jewel to Its Niche

Ithra Kael's Jewel Kael The Keeper of the Niches The Unrecovered Hall Tamar

Ithra crosses a Cave full of returned jinn and passes Tamar humming at the seep.

2028-11-08 // 10:20

Ch. 216 // in the unrecovered hall

Ch. 216 // The Niche Nobody Marked

The Keeper Shows the Unmarked Niche

The Keeper of the Niches Ithra Naim's Ember The Unrecovered Hall

The keeper lifts his lamp to an old unmarked niche beside Kael's, cut for Naim after the pass fell.

2028-11-08 // 11:00

Ch. 216 // at his seat, chamber and the outer door

Ch. 216 // The Niche Nobody Marked

Ithra Finds Soren Gone

Ithra Soren Soren's Deputy The Cave

Seat cold, chamber dark, deputy's summary unread.

2028-11-08 // 15:30

Ch. 220 // the third afternoon of the road

Ch. 220 // Water Under the Bridges

The River Under the Thirty-Three Arches

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Hadas The Bridge of Thirty-Three Arches Isfahan

A white bus of the community brings them home through three days of ordinary rain.

2028-11-08 // 16:30

Ch. 220 // home

Ch. 220 // Water Under the Bridges

Tea on the Stairwell

Esther Hakimi Nissim Hakimi The Karimis Hadas The Stroke Beside the Door The Stairwell

Esther rubs the clerk's stroke off the wall by the door with gutter water.

2028-11-09 // 04:00

Ch. 221 // before dawn, through the outer door

Ch. 221 // Eight Hundred Years Standing

Soren Comes Home With the Words

Soren Hisham The Cave

Soren comes in with Hisham, the words of the prayer in order since an hour after the night prayer in the cistern.

2028-11-09 // 04:20

Ch. 221 // in the unrecovered hall

Ch. 221 // Eight Hundred Years Standing

Soren Sets Naim's Ember and Says His Name

Soren Ithra The Keeper of the Niches Naim Naim's Ember Kael's Jewel The Unrecovered Hall

Ithra gives Soren the ember; he sets it in the niche the keeper cut against his word.

2028-11-09 // 04:40

Ch. 221 // as grey begins in the roof cleft

Ch. 221 // Eight Hundred Years Standing

The Keeper Gives the Call in the Cave

The Keeper of the Niches Adhan The Long Hall The Eastern Seep Tamar The Young Returned Jann Hisham The Cave

From the old speakers' step the keeper gives the call to prayer.

2028-11-09 // 04:50

Ch. 221 // the dawn prayer

Ch. 221 // Eight Hundred Years Standing

Soren Goes Down in Prostration

Soren Hisham Tamar The Young Returned Jann Ithra The Long Hall

Soren stands in the second row between Tamar and the young returned Jann and goes down with the hall in prostration.

Timeline unresolved

Ch. 01 // the fall of the pass in the third offensive, decades before

Ch. 01 // A Name Off the Ledger

Naim Is Lost at the Pass

Naim Kael Soren

Naim goes missing at the pass in the third offensive.

Timeline unresolved

Ch. 17 // the dissolution, before the one of clay

Ch. 17 // An Address Without Letters

The Seven Refuse at the Dissolution

The Eldest The Other Six The Bell The Between

Angels drive the Eldest's kind from the earth; most repent, some are ended, seven refuse.

Timeline unresolved

Ch. 28 // before the network, one hundred and twenty years ago or more

Ch. 28 // A Room Built Backward

A Sorcerer Dies in His Bed

Nessar

After forty years binding Nessar, the sorcerer dies of old age over a winter.