Etherstorm Wastes: the hidden Prime Dragons
The price of the DragonSlayer
As’iiur’s account to the council is exposed by a different conversation with X’dir. He has brought Galanoth as a gift. The DragonSlayer can injure Desoloth, he says, though he does not know whether Galanoth could destroy him. If Desoloth succeeds in controlling the Prime Elements, As’iiur wants goodwill in return: his master’s children must be protected. X’dir adds the less selfless part of the bargain. Their shepherd must be safe to look after them, too.
The priest explains how he captured his guest. Galanoth inhaled the Dragon Fire’s Blossom Pollen as the Hero left; As’iiur says it would stun even a Dravix. He then wrapped the DragonSlayer in dragon-strength Air bonds and lifted him off the ground. Galanoth continued resisting until As’iiur slammed him into rock. After meeting the other priests and the Hero, As’iiur secretly brought the captive to X’dir. The claimed attack on the priest was a cover for the priest’s own assault.
Courage and a concealed refuge
Galanoth is not the only one being sought. Ang’st tells the Hero that both his master and Omom have disappeared, and declares that he can no longer remain afraid and inactive. The Hero urges him to seek clear air and truth, but cannot join the search: the Fire Priest has summoned the Hero elsewhere. Meanwhile, Omom is already near the bound DragonSlayer, offering food that he cannot yet readily accept.
The Hero confronts Hs’Sakar with a deduction: the priests have known where the new Prime Dragons were hidden. Hs’Sakar admits that they concealed the candidates, all except Ssikari. The Hero had noticed As’iiur’s nervousness without anticipating Galanoth’s disappearance, and now questions the reasons for the priests’ secrecy.
A successor to the Air Priest
Hs’Sakar describes the Air Priest as gentle and reluctant to act, devoted above all to protecting his charges. The Hero recognizes the weakness in relying on such a servant while the world faces destruction. The other priests had already discussed replacing him. Ang’st, Hs’Sakar believes, will do well, though perhaps under a more impressive name.
Ang’st locates the captive through what he calls Walking As Air, a means of scrying the situation. He identifies himself as the Air Priest’s First Acolyte and promises to return with help. For the moment, he directs Galanoth toward the little assistance already at hand. His attention turns to Omom. The acolyte who doubted his courage is acting to save the stranger while the master who promised protection has delivered that stranger to an enemy.
A human focus for Air
Reaching the hidden dragons now requires undoing a protection woven from all four elements. Three priests cannot supply the missing Air role while As’iiur has defected and Ang’st is away. Warlic senses an answer in the Hero: Air magic has woven itself around the human adventurer. The Hero realizes that As’iiur’s supposed protection gave more than its maker understood. Hs’Sakar is astonished by the possibility of a human serving as a Prime Dragon’s priest, something he says has never happened. He postpones that question and forbids premature use of the magic. For now, the Hero must help Ll’rillor unravel the refuge.
Ll’rillor sends the Hero to explore the islands and find the Water Temple. A beached tentacle has troubled him; he does not think an Old One is rising, but urges caution. Approaching it brings the sound of nightmares against the shores of insanity and a warning about past, present and future flowing into one another. The troubling sight must be reported after the temple is found. The search brings the Hero into the realm where the priests’ combined protection must be loosened.
The little help at hand
Ll’rillor treats that protection as a braid: each elemental strand strengthens the others, so the weave must first be interrupted. Sympathetic components let him work upon its individual bonds. Marsh Lurker blood, combining qualities of Water and Earth, will be linked to the spell and diluted. Crystallized flames from the mating displays of Frogdrakes supply the means to weaken the Fire-Water bond. The Hero gathers both while the attempt to rescue Galanoth continues beyond the Water Realm.
The next glimpse of Galanoth shows the DragonSlayer free of his bindings. Omom is still beside him, offering fruit. X’dir and As’iiur stand nearby as Desoloth arrives. The dragon thanks the priest for behaving exactly as expected. As’iiur appeals to X’dir’s promise: the dragons he serves must be safe, and he himself must be spared once Desoloth rules.
The price of appeasement
As’iiur identifies Galanoth as the only threat in Lore and offers the captive’s life without restraint: Desoloth may take him, kill him or do whatever he wishes. Desoloth tells the little coward to trust him, promising that he will. But the DragonSlayer is no longer helpless. As Desoloth approaches, Galanoth takes up his sword. The priest’s attempt to buy security has placed a dangerous enemy within reach of the very dragon he hoped to appease.
Back in Water, Ll’rillor continues weakening the elemental bonds. Living Waters provide bubbles of Water magic and burst bubbles for the Water-Water strand. Fishwings, which he describes as a magical joining of Air and Water, supply wings and rare venom for the next step. Further materials include a Fishman Trident, a Marsh Tribal Totem, Powdered Drake’s Horn and Ocean Spirits. The ingredients are being gathered for a spiritual trident that will help break the protection.
Four magics and a trident
Warlic supplies a magical trident as the focus-object. Ll’rillor will lead the interruption because he knows the realm best, while the Hero contributes Air magic and strength of will alongside the other priests. The trident’s shape gives their minds a physical pattern to follow as they work. Afterwards, Ll’rillor says the Hero may not remember participating: the magic can hold a first-time participant in a Merge spellbound. The weave has weakened, but a protector still stands between them and the eggs containing the new Primes.
Ll’rillor’s two repeatable errands show a less solemn side of his craft. He offers Marsh-mallows made with Marsh Lurker eyes and air beaten by Fishwings, treating the Hero as he would an especially successful acolyte. Another concoction uses Frogdrake venom and the Pools of Death taken from Living Waters, promising to heat the blood before battle. These are separate offers of refreshment and reward, rather than further stages required to unravel the dragons’ refuge.
Raising the protected eggs
The final obstacle is the Deep Dweller, described by Ll’rillor as a cousin of the Old Ones far beneath the waves. It guards the eggs they must recover. The priest says there is no remaining choice but to kill it, and the Hero defeats it without harming its charges. With the guardian destroyed, the eggs are within reach. The struggle is not over, however: the chamber drains, leaving the Hero to put the newly discovered Air magic to practical use.
The Hero steadies the three eggs with Air magic as the chamber empties, rising with them. On returning to the priests, the Hero protests that identifying a friend to the guardian would have avoided the battle. Hs’Sakar chuckles that life is a series of tests and that the Hero is not exempt. The priests were watching, and he judges the use of Air magic adequate. Their hidden masters have been recovered, but will still need the priests’ teaching and their elements’ acceptance.
The DragonSlayer’s Sacrifice
Ang’st arrives with urgent news: Desoloth has Galanoth. Warlic fears the DragonSlayer may use the DragonSlayer’s Sacrifice, closing upon the Wyrm’s heart at the cost of exposing his own life. The Hero wants to follow and save a shield-brother, but Warlic refuses. Ang’st understands Air better and may be needed beside him. The Hero must stay with the Wise Ones: without the new Prime Dragons, he warns, Desoloth will be unopposed. Saving Galanoth and raising the dragons become simultaneous necessities.
Galanoth challenges Desoloth directly, claiming the great dragon’s heart, blood and life as his own. Their fight unfolds while the recovered eggs hatch into three new dragons under the priests’ care. Desoloth strikes him back, but Galanoth prepares another attack and declares the creature finished. Warlic’s warning comes too late. The DragonSlayer’s attempt to close on his enemy ends with Desoloth biting off his arm.
The limit of Warlic’s magic
Galanoth hopes the arm will choke his enemy, apologizes to Warlic and asks that the Hero be told to kill the beast and save their world. Warlic refuses to let him die. His eyes shine with magic as he bends his power toward his wounded friend. Galanoth’s insistence that others finish the fight meets an equally fierce insistence that his own life will not end here.
Warlic saves Galanoth’s life, but cannot restore the arm as well. Drawing in enough power for both, he explains, would exceed what he can safely contain and destroy them and Lore. Galanoth answers the apology with gratitude: an arm is not worth Warlic’s life or their home. He rises determined to survive, promising that with the Hero and the Wise Ones they will still see Desoloth fall.