Congratulations! You are the fourth Faction to discover and enter the Contested Lands. No challengers have dethroned the current reigning authority, thus the requirements for the contest to end the Epoch have not yet been fulfilled. Remove the current ruler of these lands, stake your claim, and defend it against all competitors.
The first Faction, or Coalition to claim all of the Council Peaks will be victorious, gaining unprecedented influence over the Path to Power for the next Epoch.
There is great upheaval in the Land, the Balance is broken and a new age is upon us.
Fight Well.
Tilly hung there stunned at the notification. Seeing that they were fourth to arrive gave a hint as to where some of the others he had heard speak about the coming fight had gained their information. Others have been here discovering and disseminating this information to their allies without initiating the challenge.
Here was the reason everyone was working so hard to establish logistical supply lines to this once-cut-off area of Nephesh. The mountain formation took on a new light, as Tilly attempted to picture it as a future battlefield. Each peak looked close together from here, but in reality, they were probably miles apart. And the top of the center mountain, the one that rose far above the others, was shrouded by something too distant to make out.
“I see none of my Kin…” Brokenridge stated, interrupting Tilly’s thoughts with an observation of his own as his flight slowed to an easy glide.
“In my youth, there was hardly a moment when one young drake or another was not circling these peaks, testing themselves against the others, stretching their wings…”
It was the first time Tilly had heard the dragon speak with anything other than rage while referring to his past. It was so unexpected that he almost followed the thoughtful statement with a question, but then a distant maddening scream, layered with a horn blast, cut through his half-formed question,
“Ahhhh-Brrrwwwwaaaahhhh” a horn sounded in the distance. The mark on Tilly’s chest blazed to life, stinging like a thousand little ant bites, that he struggled to ignore.
The dragon’s head tilted slightly as if hearing the sound that had been chasing them for the first time. His head turned and he took a deep breath in through his nostrils before his lips pulled back in a snarl.
“Gnat, reveal yourself… Why does your kind give chase, and what is it I smell tainting their annoying odor.
Before she had a chance to answer, Tilly broke in, rubbing at his chest furiously, “I have encountered the leader of this force recently… He too, seeks the dragon throne, and scoffed at me, when I asserted your right to it.” Tilly sputtered out in a rush, bending the truth slightly in the hopes of pushing Brokenridge into an early confrontation with the fey.
Brokenridge let out something between a growl and a hiss of dismissal, turning back toward the peaks, “They may come and make their claim before me after I take what is mine.”
‘Shit. Got to do better than that-’ Tilly thought, mind racing for a better argument.
“Great one,” Erash’s voice tinkled, barely above a whisper near the dragon’s head, “I am familiar with the magics used to pursue you. To make use of the spell, they must mark you and yours as prey... They will not stop until we are consumed.” She finished.
“What!?” Brokenridge roared, whipping his head back around to look at the dust cloud growing on the horizon.
‘Nice thinking, Erash!’ Tilly exclaimed mentally as the dragon wheeled around in agitation.
“I am no one’s Prey!” He roared.
“Why not destroy them here and take what treasure they have? Then, continue on to the Peaks further enriched and claim your destiny!’ Tilly shouted up at the dragon, attempting to capitalize on the conversational momentum.
Without warning, Brokenridge flung the foot holding Tilly at the ground, releasing his grip and casting the human to the ground, far below them.
Tilly was completely surprised by the sudden move and found himself flailing through the air uncontrollably. Leaning fullying into his now vast experience with being thrown through the air, he imitated a pose he had seen numerous times in skydiving videos, reaching out spread-eagle and reducing his tumble to a slow rotation.
The moment he had his bearings, he looked up, to see Brokenrigde in an easy dive next to him, the dragon’s posture seeming almost casual.
“Not the best time to be messing around!” Tilly called over to the Dragon.
“You seek to use me as a puppet. I see no benefit in fighting your battles, and this stinks of pointless protection for those too weak to fight for themselves.” He answered as they plummeted toward the ground. Tilly stared at the fast-approaching impact and wondered furiously just how much Health this dragon’s tantrum was going to cost him when they were already about to fight for their lives.
“FINE!” He shouted, fury building in his veins, consuming the fear and leaving behind only rage, “Run away and chase your destiny alone! Go fail as you have in the past. We will fight this battle without you!” He spat in an enraged yell, as the ground raced up at him with bone-shattering force.
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Tilly screwed his eyes shut at the last second, attempting to relax his body even though everything in him wanted to tense in anticipation of the impact. Brokenridge roared in frustration next to him, and just before he hit, the dragon’s man-sized claws snatched him from the fall and flung him laterally, turning most of his momentum horizontal.
He hit the rocky, arid landscape like a meteor, digging long furrows in the ground, through several end-over-end skipping collisions, before finally coming to a stop. With a groan, Tilly sat up, spitting out rocks and dirt. He attempted to wave away the floating debris his crash landing had kicked in vain, as he was surrounded by a thick cloud of chalky dust so thick. A huge impact sounded nearby, and he knew his “conversation” with the dragon wasn’t finished.
Wiping his eyes, he saw that he had only lost ten percent of his Health in that stunt. It could have been much worse… but it was still a terrible waste, considering the circumstances.
“What the hell was that?” he called at the hulking shadow resolving through the dust.
The deep bass of its growl was all the response his question got, and Tilly realized he was in more danger than he had initially thought. How foolish of him to assume that a few battles together would change this thing's nature. It was a selfish beast, and any weakness shown before it was an invitation to be dominated or abandoned. Now that there was no treasure to absorb… he was being thrown away like trash.
The dust settled, revealing a snarling Brokenridge, crouched and ready to attack. Those new lights shone dangerously above his brow, though Tilly noted there were fewer than there had been earlier. Tilly drew his weapons face hardening under the dragon’s infuriated glare.
“Your insolence has run its course, ape.” The dragon barked out, issuing forth flames to punctuate its words.
“Shut the Fuck Up, you scaly asshole!” Tilly roared back furiously, “I have more than enough in the tank to end you! I was saving it for our enemies, but if you are so selfish to waste all of your resources on a pointless dick-measuring contest, be my guest!” Along with his shouted words, flames roared to life all over Tilly’s body.
Tilly found himself far past caring if he used a few more percentage points of mana. This had to end. If he didn’t find a way to turn the dragon back to his side, they were all doomed anyway.
The dragon’s eyes narrowed dangerously at those words, but Tilly interrupted any response he might have had with an even louder tirade, “This must be exactly how you lost everything last time: pointless pride! Now you are going to do it all over again? If you want a different outcome, try different methods, you MORON!”
“YOU KNOW NOTHING!” the dragon roared back, showering Tilly in his hot breath intermingled with tongues of flame.
“BrrrrwwwwwaaaaaahhhH” The horn sounded again, now much closer.
“Go on, you coward. I have a battle to fight, and so do you! Why fight them together? We each have our own business to handle!” Tilly spat sarcastically, before dramatically turning his back on the dragon and facing the coming Wild Hunt.
A voice as quiet as the summer breeze danced over his shoulder, “I must distance myself if I want to remain hidden. I will attack as soon as he is vulnerable.” Erash whispered.
“Keep well back until you see what I have play out. It's going to be loud and obvious and afterward, you should have your chance to attack. And Erash… I mean really far back. With how fast your father is… I will need him to be right next to me if I want to catch him in the blast.”
Brokenridge roared in further fury, at being so obviously dismissed, “ Is this gratitude, two-legs? I bore you away from harm with my own claws! You would be dead without me!”
“I would have been just fine,” Tilly answered over his shoulder, not bothering to turn, “It’s you, that would have been dead if I hadn’t enriched your Hoard beyond belief. Am I wrong or did you double in strength thanks to my contribution?”
Brokenridge choked down his response as Tilly’s self-assurance beat back his arrogance with a finality he had never before experienced. Tilly allowed the flames around him to die down, ten percent of his Mana was a high enough cost to spend on the display.
For his plan to work, he would need to goad the king into approaching him instead of just having him murdered by his lackeys. And if he was successful, he would need to unleash his surprise with the maximum amount of Mana possible. His thoughts tumbled end over end, attempting to form into a cohesive plan without the dragon, his armor rippled, and a bandolier grew across his chest, reaching from his hip to shoulder.
“Oh shit, armor! Great idea.” Tilly exclaimed, looking down at the clever piece of leather with over a dozen loops on it. He pulled a Feyback grenade from his belt and slipped it into his bandolier. It fit perfectly, and the lower-quality item almost immediately reformed on his mythic belt. He smiled and began to stock the whole of the front of his armor with the improvised anti-fey explosives.
Meanwhile, Brokenridge stalked up next to him, holding his head up haughtily in a poor attempt to distract from his change in position, “You truly mean to face them alone?”
“No, I have the High Priestess on my side! You have got to stop thinking like that. If you will let us, we can work as a team, accomplishing much more than we could on our own. Help us win, and we will be there to make sure you take the throne. I promise.”
“... I was never going to allow them to live after such an insult… but I suppose I can destroy them first, then claim my destiny…” Brokenridge answered slowly, taking Tilly’s advice in the most draconic way possible.
“BBBBRRRRAAAAHHHHH” The horn screamed again. They could now even hear the Hunt member’s wild howling, their fervor a match for any sports event Tilly.
“They came prepared to fight your kind. Be ready for countermeasures to your standard attacks. When their leader confronted me, he seemed confident in his ability to lock you down.” Tilly warned.
Brokenridge snorted out a laugh at Tilly’s serious statement as if it were a joke.
‘His arrogance is enough to make me want to punch him in that big-toothed face of his!” Tilly thought in a flash of irritation, then inspiration struck and Tilly sent a mental command to his armor. It rippled into its Draconic Emissary form while leaving the new bandolier full of fantasy grenades. The Dragon’s head whipped over to stare at him in surprise, and Tilly allowed himself a small smile, “I told you. I have plenty of surprises left.”
This statement was followed by another snort, “Good, now others will actually believe you are my servant instead of some piece of garbage I found dying in a ditch somewhere. Dragons are not known for their charity.” He said, pulling back his jowls in a truly impressive display of teeth.
It was Tilly’s turn to snort out a laugh as they both turned to face the arrival of the Wild Hunt, which was now near enough that Tilly was finally getting a good idea of their numbers. Man, he hoped some of Brokenridge’s confidence was merited… hell, he hoped literally any part of his cobbled-together plan worked.