>>5534902>1…Which seems to be exactly what the monstrous animal was waiting for. It does not retreat, or spit another deluge of boiling bile at him, but charges to meet him. With its long legs and dense body, the deer-thing has a much better bodyplan for wading through the water than Gohja… Who, you realize, has never swam before. Your bold and reckless child is quickly caught by the huge creatures great maw and, with a sound between a chirp and squawk, he is dragged under the water. His head is forced down, so that his many flailing limbs can only kick and grasp blindly at air and water. Aside from the punctures inflicted by the blue-beast’s assortment of teeth, and the crushing force of its no-doubt impressive bite, Gohja faces a far more harrowing threat…
The water itself. The beast is trying to drown him.
><Aquaphobia> flaw: activated><Water Weakness> flaw: pendingYou feel your heart seized by terror. Water has ever been your nemesis. Muscular and athletic though you have become, you were never a strong swimmer. You tried, Serpent Ascendant KNOWS you tried, but it was one force of nature you could never master. You’ve nearly drowned three times in your journey. You know well the horrifying sensation which your smallest and weakest child must now be feeling… The air in his chest struggling to free itself, the water pressing in, the oppressive darkness. Is there anything worse than the conscious knowledge that your life depends on NOW opening your mouth and trying to breathe, even as your body stubbornly refuses to believe you and forces you to gulp down liquid death anyway?
Your other sons watch impassively. The Twins chatter nervously, while Tonu the Ironclad—heavy of body, late to arrive—sees his treasured sibling in mortal peril and rushes to aid him… Only for Nat, quiet and mysterious, to hiss quietly, and cause Nat to stop.
At first you’re a little taken-aback. Why aren’t they all rushing to assist? Then again… Your sons ARE of their mother’s race, and of the race of Dragons. Young dragons were said to be violently competitive with their siblings as a matter of youthful instinct, while Glowie’s race is perhaps even more dispassionate than yours about matters of life and death. These same sons, in their first few weeks, sometimes required interventions to prevent them eating one another.
What will you do?
>Dive into the fray to save your son>Let Gohja try to free himself, and thus prove his merit>Command one or more of your sons to intervene to aid their sibling [specify who, and if you have a plan]>Use your bow (or perhaps another spell or piece of equipment?) to aid from afar>Write-in 