If you're one of the OGs, the ones who've followed this fic since its start or while it was constantly updating, you may be thinking...is this another bunk update? An official announcement that there won't be any other chapter updates?

But no. This is not a bunk update. This is a Cliffs Notes update because I realise it has been literally years since I last posted anything so of course, you're bound to forget some important details that will be crucial going forward. If you read Traitors, some plot points here might seem familiar, but not all. And, if for some reason, you binge-read all 22 chapters until now, first of all thank you so much. It means the world to me. And besides, you may just skip this because all these plot points should be relatively fresh in your mind.

Without further ado, here we have the most important points for the chapters going forward:

- Banthus' band (AKA: The Band) is made of artificially created Phorus (thanks, Lua) who are essentially trying to regain their souls' humanity. Exposing them to the El seems to be the process by which these Phorus can become human again. Some are more receptive to the process than others. Totos and Mars are the most receptive, but Brures (in-game Bruce) are the least affected by it, and their speech is fairly limited/broken.

- Yiu Hie, an old man from Northern Fluone is helping The Band. He is a powerful, human mage that can make very elaborate illusions that can even fool elves (poor Rena). Yiu Hie is merely an alias, and he is the 2nd Earth Guardian Aurelius and Ariel know as Yoon. His current whereabouts are unknown and Ciel, Ariel and Aurelius went to try to find him in the Shadow Forests before The Ent intervened.

-The Ent is a very powerful spirit who, unlike its neighbours (Ancient Phoru and Monkey King) decided to ally itself with Henir. He has somewhat of an interest in Ciel since he doesn't straight up kill him, but rather shows him "The Truth" about a part of Lu's past. It is unclear whether what Ciel saw was completely true or not, but simply reliving such memories temporarily transformed him into a full-fledged demon (think Demonio).

- Aurelius is the 5th Water Guardian and he was sent by Sasha. He is suspicious of Lu's identity, not so much her being a demon, but her being a demon that escaped back into the Demon Realm a long time ago. He may or may not want her dead.

- Ciel's flashbacks into Lu's past are really, really important. The TL;DR is just that Lu and Ain might have had a kid in another life. But there's more to it, namely how Aurelius knows Lu, who he was before becoming a Water Guardian and how Ishmael may have just created the Ruben shard through war crimes. I recommend rereading the last two chapters (21-22) if you really want to know more details.

- Henir's influence in the events of this story are more subtle, only getting more visible in Ain, but Ara's new power (yes, the Yama Raja energy balls) are also a manifestation of it. It's not magic and it's a very weird power that freaks people out. More to come. Henir's gonna take more prominence in this last arc.

-Steel Crosses are essentially the Elrian Church's bounty hunters. Guardians are the bodyguards of the Priestesses (discount El Masters).

-Conwell and its legend are very important not only because of the contents of the story, but also which version is being retold. (Traitor readers will understand why)

-Rena was infected by Lua's Henir-fuelled power, making her injuries heal more slowly. Ain corrected that at the cost of most of his remaining pure Celestial energy. Such an exchange was essentially a power-up for her. She is seen by most spirits as having "Celestial-like" authority over them, though Rena herself has more of an affinity for Wind spirits and strengthening their power through the temporary authority that was given to her.

-Add, like in the game's canon, works for Wally by building a Nasod army for him. However, he has signed a deal with Hoffman to give half the El shard in exchange for some vital info on Altera and Eve.

-Nobody has really seen Nasod Technology, most people don't even really know it exists or how it works. Most see it as a kind of magic.

-Wally, like in-game, is a very incompetent despot who essentially saw the demon sighting in Ruben (AKA: Berthe) as the go sign to build a Nasod army no matter the cost. As a result, the coffers are growing empty and people are living rather poorly in Elder. Also, refugees from Northern Fluone and other unspecified places have made their way into town and their odds of survival in winter are slim. Ara is among them and has joined The Band.

-Ariel and Camilla are, like Ciel, also Steel Crosses and Ciel has now spent more time in his old job as a bounty hunter than with the Elgang. Ciel has been promised to become the 9th Fire Guardian if he manages to execute Ain. A tall order for sure, but not impossible. He is also desperate to get Lu back to normal before stabbing Ain to death (he got his Henir energy out of control and almost killed her in the process)

-Lowe will gather the Red Knight army stationed in Ruben to remove Wally from power by Spring and he is counting on the El Gang to have the El Shard by then, if not earlier. Even within Elder, the citizens are getting very, very angery at the current administration.

-Cobo Services is owned managed by the Felfords, despite their awful reputation (poor Add gets labeled as one only because he's also an albino). The scope of their activities and the backgrounds of their employees are gonna be a treat to slowly uncover. Suffice to say that both Camilla and Ariel are spying on the Elgang in Hoffman's favour and that Ariel has a very interesting power she can only unlock if she removes her glasses.

-Hoffman sent a letter to a certain someone that got both Yoon and Aurelius moving and start contingency plans against Ain's death. A corrupted Celestial, if left alone, will create an explosion of Henir energy that will destroy everything from Elder until Bethma. So yeah, a proper execution crew is needed.

-Lu used to own a full-plate armour and a greatsword she named The Beastslayer. After being betrayed, she could only bring the gauntlets of her armour with her. She hides a scar around her neck made by Celestial chains that Barkat wrapped around her. It is unclear how Barkat could use Celestial magic against her considering demons can be killed just by touching a Celestial or anything imbued with their energy.

That should be all. Head on over to chapter 23 and know that chapter 24 is already half-written!