The False Hydra

The False Hydra is a unique creature that is forgotten by a creature as soon as they look away from it. Additionally, anything consumed by the hydra is erased from history.

Little is know about the origin of the False Hydra other than that it came from the Cavern of Lost memories.

If the False Hydra is killed, scattered memories of the things it consumed are returned to those who knew them.

## Description

The False Hydra is a horrifying and enigmatic creature that instills terror in those unfortunate enough to witness its existence. Its appearance is a grotesque fusion of macabre elements, creating an otherworldly and nightmarish spectacle.

The creature's body is pale and off-white, seemingly misshapen and twisted, giving it an unnatural and unsettling demeanor. It possesses an array of arms sprouting haphazardly all over its body, further emphasizing its monstrous and chaotic nature.

The False Hydra is notorious for its multiple heads, a total of six, each one a source of pure dread. Resembling giant human skulls, they have been stretched and disfigured, with pale skin tightly drawn over their features. Ghastly holes serve as eye sockets and mouths, leaking blood that perpetually spills forth, accentuating its menacing visage.

An eerie animation is evident in the creature's necks, which writhe and contort like giant, pulsating intestines, adding a sinister life-like quality to the heads. Each head seems to move independently, displaying a range of twisted emotions, from malevolent grins to seemingly disinterested gazes, further enhancing the creature's terrifying nature.

## Lair and Hunting

The False Hydra made its home in the floating Air Temple of Akadi, located above the forest west of Glovish. Inside the temple is a map that allows creatures to travel anywhere you have been before. The hydra captured Stogra, an Imperial member of The Flame. Instead of killing her, it kept her chained up and forced her eyes to remain open so she had to see it constantly. Stogra refused to let her will be broken. The hydra would occasionally bring in other prisoners, which it would wait until after they had gone made before consuming. After such prolonged exposure, Stogra began to remember the hydra even when it wasn't around.

When an Imperial agent goes missing, the secret service sends a simulacrum of the agent to recover themselves. As the simulacrum of Stogra began her search, the map in the temple of Akadi began to update the locations the original Stogra could travel to. Normally, the map doesn't allow creatures to travel with someone else through the map, however since the map magic is powered by memories, the False Hydra was able to manipulate its magic and learned how to hold open a portal to anywhere Stogra - or her simulacrum - had been.

The False Hydra began taking portals to simulacrum Stogra and killing those around her, while being careful not to harm her so it could continue gaining access to new places.

## The Glovish Phenomenon

The Curtain initiated many missions to deal with reports of strange things happening in Glovish. They never announced why they sent people to investigate, but they continued to send group regularly. Without realizing it, they had been attempting to investigate the False Hydra. Whenever the False Hydra defeated the agents, they were erased from everyone’s memories. The Curtain then assumed they had prepared a mission and never sent anyone, so they would send another away team. For a long time, the hydra didn't have to leave its home to hunt as food was being delivered regularly to its doorstep. One of the 7 leaders of the Curtain went to investigate and never came back. Since then, the 6 leaders of The Curtain have been known as “The 7”.

## The Wanderers of the Expanse

Sophie Dawn learned that the Wanderers of the Expanse were the key to killing the False Hydra, they just needed a little help and direction. She enlisted the help of her brother Dain Dawn to free the party from their prison wagon and initiated the forming of the group. This let her begin to guide them toward the False Hydra. While Sophie knew her story ended with the False Hydra, nothing could prepare her for just how powerful it truly was.

While running away from Volhaut Maxiroth, Sophie and the party escaped aboard Captain Krauch's ship, where Stogra's Simulacrum was aboard on her journey searching for herself. Sophie died fighting the false hydra on the ship. The hydra consumed her, leaving the Wanderers with no memories of her until they later defeated it. The only hint of a fight was a broken ship railing and Sophie's belongings stowed away on the ship. Due to Duncan's resistance to the False Hydra's memory magic, once the party defeated it he remembered witnessing Sophie's death.

With the help of Stogra's simulacrum, the party tracked down the False Hydra to its lair in the Temple of Akadi and defeated it. Once it was destroyed, memories of lost friends and allies returned to creatures all over the planes of those who had been consumed by the False Hydra.

## Sophie and Chronos

Sophie had an encounter with The Wanderers of the Expanse before she knew anything about the False Hydra. The Time Lords Sophie, Avlon, Farilla, and Makoziak were investigating Ragabash's study trove after Ragabash was killed and sent to his phylactery by Zyaan. They discovered Azerius and began interrogating him, leading to a mention of the False Hydra. This resonated with Sophie, and she was tasked by Avlon to investigate it further. Makoziak took a special interest in the topic when he realized Avlon didn't know anything about it, and saw the potential of the magic being used against her. Makoziak attacked Azerius and Sophie intervened, allowing him and the Wanderers of the Expanse to escape. Sophie then went on the run from Makoziak, both of them trying to find out anything they could about the False Hydra.

### Chronos

Chronos considers the False Hydra one of the most despicable creatures ever to exist. After his return to the world, he learned of its existence and the memories it had stolen and became furious. The lingering effects were not only still changing the world, but The Staff of the False Hydra was yet to be dealt with. Chronos sought out the one person who could help deal with this problem - Sophie, a Time Lord expert on the False Hydra.

Despite Chronos preferring time to only flow forward, he and Sophie agreed that dealing with the False Hydra was more important. He taught Sophie memory magic, which she went back and taught to herself right as she beginning to study magic, establishing it as her main focus. Her mastery of memories allowed her to shield herself from some of the magic of the False Hydra.

Equipped to face the hydra, Sophie went back in time and got herself captured by the empire to initiate the forming of the Wanderers of the Expanse and begin their journey to kill the False Hydra.

## Magic items

After its defeat, Makoziak found a way to save part of the hydra and bind it into magic items.

### The Staff of the False Hydra

The majority of its remains were put into a staff, creating an artifact known as The Staff of the False Hydra.

### The Heart of Stone

Makoziak brought the essence of the False Hydra to The Time Forger without letting on what it was or where he got it. The Time Forger used it to create The Heart of Stone, a brooch that uses the power of the False Hydra to withhold the memories of Makoziak's life from before he became a Time Lord. Mak delivered the brooch to himself the very moment he became a Time Lord.