>>5546675>18“I understand better than you, Old Snake.”
The voice which emerges from your maw is not wholly your own; rather, it reverberates with three inflections. The first is yours, surprising even you with its insubordination. The second is that of the Red Dragon King, awakened and alert, watching this drama unfold. The third is that of the Serpent Ascendant, or some echo of his godly glory channeled through you as his Antipaladin. As these words burst forth almost involuntarily, so too does your <Radiant Aura> explode from you, causing the Serpent Priests to hiss and screech, and shrink away. Even the greatest and eldest among them recoils slightly, lowering his head and shielding his body with his voluminous velvet sleeves and cloak.
“What is this?!” he demands.
You find yourself once more in control of yourself, and your mouth. You do not hesitate, just as your people must no longer hesitate.
“This,” you announce, “is the dawning fo a new era. A NEW Age of Scales!”
You step forward again, and the Eldest steps back. Another step forward, and he stumbles. You spread your wings, and push more mana into your aura… And eventually, he yields, bowing his head in bitter defeat. Only then, seeing the master of this ceremony so cowed, do the others in attendance stop their wailing and cursing of you… And only then do the other venerable Priests cease to burn beneath the glare of your aura.
They are, in short, no longer enemies.
“Our forces are not enough,” the Eldest eventually addresses you, once he has returned to his seat. “We would need to call every active agent back from the field, all across the surface and the depths of the deep darkness, in order to even stand a chance against the forces of Hawksong alone. You speak of our race as reduced, but we TRULY are, Dragonborn.”
“Then perhaps,” comes a familiar female voice from behind you, “it is time to deploy the Dragonborn after all.”
