This is a skippable recap chapter that might be useful to Wattpaders reading over a long period of time! I started writing this in October 2022, after all.

MAIN EVENTS SUMMARY

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✨ Hevana city is experiencing heightened supernatural activity such as hauntings and missing girls, reminiscent of the Great Haunting—a period of intense supernatural activity 2,271 years ago (now dismissed as a historical tragedy brought on by disease and natural disasters). During this time, King Mayadunne ruled Hevana. He is renowned for his skill and benevolence.

✨ At this time, Polon was one of Hevana's neighboring kingdoms, and it was ruled by a despotic king. Diyan was the crown prince of Polon. When he ran away from home as a young teen, King Mayadunne took him under his wing and mentored him. After Diyan returned to his home city of Polon, his father killed him, and Diyan became a demon known as the Black Prince.

✨ Mahasona ("Great Cemetery Demon") is a fearsome demon with a bear's head and a black dog familiar. He is responsible for the Great Haunting, though Diyan was later framed for the tragedy. King Mayadunne obtained the legendary sword Chandrahasa (Moon Sword) from the mythical Mount Meru and worked with Diyan to bring down Mahasona. During battle, both Diyan and Mahasona were wounded and went into hibernation until the present day.

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✨ In the present, Binara Mayadunne is a 17-year-old teen living on the outskirts of Hevana, and she is King Mayadunne's descendant. She is a cynical loner with a sheltered childhood and was bullied for seeing ghosts. Only her mysterious sister believed her—a sister she had only seen a few times from the garden as a child. Binara only has the flower hairpin to remind her of her sister's existence.

✨ 7-year-old Binara visited the closed-off study in the abandoned wing of the Mayadunne Walauwa, where her sister was last seen. There, she finds her sister's footprints as well as a treasure trove of ghosthunter knowledge. Binara realized then that there were ghosthunters in her family, though she now lives in a household of skeptics. Binara uses the knowledge to become a self-taught indie ghosthunter.

✨ Both Mahasona and Diyan have now awakened. Mahasona wants to bring back the Great Haunting. He amasses a demon army and plans to open a dimensional rip to transport demons to the human realm.

✨ In CHAPTER 1, Binara sets out to Mai Mara Cemetery to summon Diyan and trap him. At the cemetery, she meets Mahasona, who had possessed his dog to maintain a low profile. Diyan arrives in time to teleport Binara to safety.

✨ Binara "infiltrates" the Yakadura, whom she looks down on, in order to get more info on the Black Prince. She gets partnered up with Piumi. At the Yakadura's library, she comes across The Chronicle of Yama, an old epic detailing a hero's quest to Mount Meru, where he obtains a sword and drum from the Asuras (titans) to defeat a fearsome demon.

✨ Binara later learns that the hero in the epic is her ancestor, King Mayadunne. Mount Meru is real, and it exists in Holmanloke, the supernatural world, which is a sort of pocket universe, where time is 2x faster than in the human realm.

✨In CHAPTER 18, Binara uses Piumi's help and sneaks into a high-level "Black Prince case" in the village of Natran. She meets Mahasona again in his true form. Diyan, who couldn't physically arrive at the time, possesses his familiar Raya in order to teleport Binara to Holmanloke. Binara ends up in Diyan's palace and learns the truth.

✨ Binara convinces Diyan to go on a quest to Mount Meru to obtain the legendary items from the Asuras—items that could help seal Mahasona for good. It was expected that Mahasona would open his dimensional rip just before the Perahera (big purification ceremony in Hevana city partially organized by the Yakadura).

✨ At the foot of Mount Meru, Garuda, one of Diyan's allies, sends his birdmen to inform Binara and Diyan that Mahasona had already started transporting demons to the human realm. Binara and Diyan part ways. Diyan teleports to the human realm to hold back Mahasona's forces while Binara will try to obtain the items from the Asuras.

CHARACTERS

✨ Inoka: Binara's workaholic mom, who only visits on rare occasions. Even though she's a skeptic, she runs the Mayadunne family business started by Binara's great-grandfather. Mayadunne Co. distributes and supplies sura amulets and other ghost repellents for home protection and purification ceremonies. They also supply the Yakadura--the city's pro ghosthunters.

✨ Nayana: Binara's strict governess.

✨ Nelum: The cook at Mayadunne Walauwa (traditional manor).

✨ Senarat: Binara's great-uncle. He was a Yakadura ghosthunter, and he got to know about Mahasona from a high-level demon. Unfortunately, the demon encounter affected him mentally until no one took his word seriously.

✨ Piumi: Binara's Yakadura partner. At first, Piumi is assigned to shadow Binara after the alleged Black Prince encounter. Piumi's username is "Bubbles" on Ghostly Times, a social platform for ghost-believers, where user-generated paranormal encounters are reported.

✨ Manju: A boy from the village near Yakadura HQ. He runs errands for the Yakadura and even assists in trials for new recruits.

✨ Tennekoon: The senior Yakadura agent in charge of rookie agents, including Binara and Piumi.

✨ Molamure: The current leader of the Yakadura.

✨ Rodrigo: He initially visits Binara in Chapter 3 in the guise of a CID detective. He's an upper level Yakadura agent. He also assisted in the trial for new recruits.

✨ Ginige: He's a senior Yakadura agent who also visits Binara in Chapter 3. He is cold and a man of few words.

✨ Saumya Aluvihare: She is the Yakadura's PR agent and public liaison. She also runs trials for recruits.

✨ Hiran & Akila: Senior Yakadura agents.

✨ Vinod: A mid-level Yakadura agent who led the rookie squad in their mission in Gongama.

✨ Nim: One of Binara's peers at Yakadura HQ. He comes from an aristocratic family and have had Yakadura agents in his family. He's stocky and often seen chewing bubble gum.

✨ Sandun & Dasun: Twins who are pretty chill. They are also Binara's peers at Yakadura HQ.

✨ Kirame Unanse: A monk at Yakadura HQ who is knowledgeable in ancient lore and history. He's often found at the library.

✨ Garuda: The king of the birdmen. His kingdom lies on the mountains to the West of Diyan's palace in Holmanloke.

WORLD & MAGIC SYSTEM

✨ Holmanloke is a world locked in night-time. One hemisphere receives moonlight (Daval), while the other is in perpetual darkness (Raa).

✨ The most idyllic place in Daval is the plateau of Tiamsava, which is home to Diyan and the few other god-like demons who are harmless to humans. Diyan's palace is in a forest known as Himavan Forest.

✨At the center of Daval is Mount Meru, surrounded by an annular lake where the makaras (Asian water dragons) live.

✨ Raa is the home of demons and almost nothing is known about it. The hells of Niraya are said to be located at the center of Raa.

✨ Ectoplasm is like dark matter in the story world—it's there but people don't fully understand it. Kaluon is a refined form of ectoplasm that has fused with normal matter. It is obtained from the ground, similar to coal, and is used as a fuel in Hevana city. Scientists do not associate it with ghosts.

✨ Holmanloke has vast quantities of ectoplasm, and its ecosystems thrive on it. It's very strong there—like gravity existing bigger in other dimensions. It seeps into the human realm through portals and supernatural activity.

✨ Both ghosts and demons have telekinesis, which is called "poltergeism". Powerful demons can exert a bigger telekinetic force while ghosts might use a weaker power to rattle a window.

✨ Demons have solid forms though they can astral project at will and possess humans or animals. Powerful demons can possess multiple hosts at once.

✨ Ghosts, on the other hand, have insubstantial ectoplasmic bodies, projecting a warped version of their human forms, so they can only be seen by those who possess the Sight.

✨ Supernatural entities release ectoplasmic radiation, which can be detected by those with the Sight. Powerful demons have to bottle their auras in the human realm or they could cause damage and even fry electronic equipment. Powerful demons can also release concentrated blasts of demonic aura (ectoplasmic radiation), which could be lethal to humans (how King Mayadunne died). Diyan uses his aura as an offensive power.

✨ Demons can teleport to the human realm using natural portals, where the barrier between realms is thin. Powerful demons can create portals, though it takes concentration and energy. It's also only possible to teleport to places that are known and familiar.

✨ Demons have heightened regenerative abilities. They can draw ectoplasm to regenerate entire limbs and body parts. They spawn by coalescing matter. When their life essence is drawn out and sealed, their bodies disintegrate.

✨ The Yakadura have a scale for demons based on their danger level and the expertise needed to defeat them. Levels 1- 3 are Naruma demons who are low-level demons, sometimes taking the form of mindless brutes. Levels 4 - 10 are Mara demons, with Level 7 bring considered very dangerous. Avatare is a special class that the Yakadura have created for the Black Prince, since his true power is unknown and the danger level is off the charts. Mahasona would also belong to this category.

I've condensed information as much as possible here. There are lots of other little plot points and world/magic system info that might become more apparent later on in the story.

To know more about other unfamiliar creatures/elements of Asian mythology, head over to the GLOSSARY! The Glossary also contains story locations as well as objects such as the Monara, Chandrahasa (sword), Alambara (drum) and more.