Rolled 7, 18, 2, 15, 1, 12 = 55 (6d20)
>>5546658“That is the problem,” you mutter quietly.
“Speak up,” commands the Elder Priest.
“THAT,” you repat, raising your voice sharply, “IS THE PROBLEM.”
There is an awkward, indignant silence for a moment, as all take in your youthful defiance. You burn with trained shame, but you fight the urge to bow, kneel, apologize and appeal.
“You all WAIT to be invited—by fate, by circumstance, by the stars. You never presume to act except defensively, reactively. You hide in shadows, rather than striking!”
“Now listen here—”
“I did not come here to LISTEN.”
You are burning now, burning in your heart. Dwarfed and diminished by these powerful and ancient auras, you woke a sleeping giant. The Red Dragon King stirs in your chest, uncoiling from where his spirit slumbers in your heart. Your own Fearsome Presence rises and expands outwards like a growing blaze, meeting and battling their own.
“I came to rectify the ROT in the heart of our people,” you declare. “To PRESUME. To INTRUDE. To serve as a REMINDER of the greatness you have forsaken. The Serpent Ascendant—why are none of HIS high priests here, in attendance of this war council?”
“It is not a war council,” one of the elders spits.
“It SHOULD be!”
You step forward. None shrink back, though the Chaplain and the Dragonblooded Infiltrator look at you strangely, and subtly move to grant you more space as they quietly observe.
“The Great Conspiracy has drained us of our vitality, or verve. We scorn our males of action. We drain our Master Race’s body of blood until we it is thin, and weak, to maintain our sad existences in the name of safety and secrecy. But that era is OVER! The Green Knight has seen to it, but WE ought to have done so well before now. IF he will bring a war to OUR doorstep, though, we must be prepared to return the favour.”
“You speak, says the eldest, advancing towards you and lifting his head until he stands taller even than you, “of things you cannot comprehend, on timescales unimaginable to one of even twice or thrice your lifetime, LITTLE One.”
His own Presence presses down on yours, threatens to squash it. The council of Serpent Priests (and their lone Infiltrator in attendance) all watch breathlessly, to see what your fate shall be...
[The Serpent Priests were the harder sell, so you're looking at Leadership (bonus for Reptilian Empathy) DC 16. If you fail here, they will poison their agents against you, making that check DC 17; otherwise, DC 15.]
