Session 8: Return to the Dragon Empire
General Summary
The Emperor Hears Her
Nyxek’s Claw is summoned once more to the Temple of the Five-Headed Mother.
There, powerful draconian guards hold the entryway while Vox Harmonic Primus awaits. He is attended by some of the most powerful clan leaders in the Empire: Vox Tempest Raijin of the Blue Clan and Vox Empyreal Seijuro of the Emerald Clan. Skorjira, son of the Dauphin Gammoranth, is present as well. The other officers from Redoubt, Draxelas Aurak and Paragon Prophet, are also assembled.
Veracious Inquisitor Nyxek the Resplendent, Vox Harmonic Octavious, (VINyRVHO for short) greets the assembled clan heads in order of importance.
Primus mentions that they have vital matters to discuss about the future of the Empire. Seijuro remarks that an orderly path will ensure the foundation of the Empire’s future. Raijin rebukes him, claiming the Empire should spread out past the Boundary and conquer the lands of the Fallacy.
VINyRVHO questions his obsession with the Fallacy, but Raijin responds that all the scaled of the Empire are truly dragons who can achieve Drakscendence only if they have enough land and enough treasure, things that the Fallacy has in abundance. The alternative, he states, is to slake his need for conquest within the Empire.
He questions aloud: “Who wants their lands to be first?”
Seijuro’s response is drowned in his curiosity at Tad Polo’s arrival. He is stunned to see a surviving axolotl Dula-Dulas, a lost clan. He wants to know everything about their lifecycle and Tad’s development without a clan. He formally requests Tad’s corpse upon his expiration.
Tad replies that his body belongs to VINyRVHO, who agrees to give Seijuro the corpse when Tad croaks.
Raijin returns to his argument about the foolishness of the Fallacy doctrine, even as Kal and Skorjira make plans for an after-meeting pizza party: pizza made of giant squid, uni, seaweed, and questionable cheeses. The whole clan can come, and even Skorjira’s dad, who is always invited but never shows.
Raijin points out that pizza is a food from the Fallacy. It already invades here. We should invade them.
He continues: it will give us a chance to spread our wings and become dragons.
Vutha takes a moment to stretch his own half-grown wings in a silent flex, but Raijin seizes the moment. “Even the God Eater lizard knows we should pursue our birthright.”
The discussion is interrupted as a draconian approaches and invites all those from the Border and Primus into the holy temple and into the Imperial Presence.
The Emperor Speaks
In the center of the temple lies a psychic manifestation of the Dragon Emperor, who remains physically in Horizon’s Aerie. He rests within the mosaic of the Five-Headed Mother, his illusory head pressed against the floor. Rumors that the Emperor spends all his waking thoughts here in the temple may have some merit.
Primus preempts the audience with a stern warning to VINyRVHO.
“Here we must speak of the most serious issues of the Empire. We must dispense with the simple delusions with which the Inquisitors mold the minds of the lesser clans. You must here speak the truth, Vox Harmonic Octavius.”
Kal, Tad, and Vutha give a slight side-eye and lean away from their former lieutenant.
VINyRVHO sighs, “The Fallacy is a real world full of dangerous beings who seek to invade our Empire, which is protected by the Emperor’s barrier. The Truth is our means of Order, which must be maintained for the good of the Empire lest we collapse before our enemies even manage a breach.”
Primus nods acceptingly, “Yes. And we must decide what is to be done to secure it, while the clans quarrel over whether to attack or defend. We will hear the words of the Emperor.”
The image of Harmonic Horizon opens its eyes. They seem clouded for a moment, and a powerful whisper fills the room.
“Do you hear?”
Then a strong pulse echoes through the temple like the heartbeat of some massive creature, or the island Empire itself. The Emperor’s eyes suddenly shine with piercing intensity.
“Do you hear her?”
Now he speaks lucidly.
“She sleeps, but she stirs. They hear her. They hunger for her, because she is the only one still her. All her other selves, every her across the multiverse, are tainted. And they want to devour her—to be them. She is waking. Will you let her? Can you keep her ‘til she wakes? Will you let them have her?”
A shrill alarm cuts through the temple.
Primus steps forward, “The Border is compromised! There is an assault on one of the Border Monolith 1173-Δ, the Cyclops' Lantern. Octavius, charge your Rod and be upstanding! We must send defenses at once.”
The tips of the Red Rods are tapped together, and a teleportation circle forms.
The old Claw and assembled defenders head back to the Border.
Assault on Cyclops' Lantern
There, the crystal is being assaulted by strange steel men and an iron monstrosity directly attached to the Monolith known as Cyclops' Lantern. It swings a massive iron ball in an attempt to crack the monolith.
They are led by a raving dragonborn who demands of the defenders:
“Surrender her! We know a piece of Tiamat is there. She will be ours, and you will be as well.”
The assembled defenders do not dignify her ravings with a response.
They deduce that the iron monstrosity is the thing stopping the monolith from attacking, but the crystal’s erratic movements make targeting it difficult from the island-facing side.
Paragon, Vutha, and Kal move to close the distance while Tad, Draxelas, and Nyxek fire magic and arrows at the steel men. The constructs are tough and resilient, their bolts and axes carrying a vicious sting.
The enemy dragonborn trades breath weapons with Paragon Prophet.
Tad and Kal bring down one of the steel men, discovering the limits of their durability. Vutha barges through the line to attack the enemy leader, grabbing her and hurling her into the iron monstrosity. She falls prone.
Nyxek seizes the moment and crushes her mercilessly beneath the divine power of the Dragon Emperor.
When the dragonborn falls, her metal servitors cease to function.
Once they collapse, the eye of the Cyclops' Lantern glows with destructive energy. It announces in draconic, "Targeting maximum threat."
The Claw huddles together, preparing for incineration, but the Eye turns out towards the open ocean into the Fallacy.
A beam of energy lances out, boling the waters beneath it lighting up a colossal monstrosity hiding beneath the waves, an amalgamation of machinery and draconic biology twisted into a semblance of the Five-Headed Mother, Mecha-Tiamat.
It opens its mouths in a fierce cry as the crystal fires a lance of destructive energy. The blast wounds the abomination, and it retreats in a puff of smoke.
The monolith begins charging its next attack, now pooling energy towards Nyxek's Claw.
Nyxek orders a retreat.
Vutha snags the corpse of the enemy dragonborn, and they pass through a teleport circle back to the temple’s inner chambers.
Aftermath
The Emperor’s eyes begin to glaze once more.
“They are coming for her. I saw her coming. We must restore the Dome. We must…”
His mind drifts away into unrelated murmurs.
“We must move on,” Primus orders, and the clan heads prepare for departure.
Draxelas pulls Nyxek aside.
“Raijin is right that we need space to spread if we want Drakscendence. I have been preparing my hoard. You have been preparing yours. We should continue to help each other find a way to achieve our destiny.”
Nyxek agrees with the goal.
But the Eighth Voice of the Emperor now contemplates a path beyond the dangerous tangle of Truth laid bare before him.
