Aerois - Chapter Twenty: Forge Your Path

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

 Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Forge Your Path** is the twentieth chapter of the Aerois campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel between 6th February and 15th May 2022, and consists of nine episodes.

*In Chapter Twenty, the party returns to Aerois to find many emergencies awaiting them. They encounter Valena, the Forge Mistress, but also make time for some relaxation - and wishing...*

## Summary

When they get to the war room, the party finds the towering form of Kalus Valkyrian standing over an unconscious Maximillion and holding his sleeping daughter in his arms: he is defending the two from constructs that are attempting to kidnap them for Xarkira. Once they have defeated the constructs and the final Xarkira simulacrum, the Champions speak with Kalus, once thought to be their true enemy. Through the use of Aila’s Duskwillow coin, they make him see that his plan to defeat Hadar using the World Engine will not only fail but will result in the destruction of the known universe. In return, the party sees what really happened 500 years ago – that Siaska, sensing what Kalus had planned, sacrificed herself on his blade in order to create the Cradle and keep him away from the planet. On seeing Quill’s vision for himself, Kalus suddenly disappears.

The party takes some time to organise a dinner to re-connect with family and friends before they begin to investigate more about Xarkira. Azaria tells them that Xarkira has somehow learned to cast spells above the 9th sphere of magic and Quill uses his tome to see a vision of Xarkira travelling to multiple worlds at the behest of Hadar, learning more about magic and significantly increasing her power.

After a few weeks, a council is called in Horizon: Valkyrian’s forces on Aerois seem to have stopped attacking, appearing to be happy to hold the territory they currently hold. They are made aware of some odd seismic happenings in the Hawk’s Dawn Archipelago, plans that are ongoing in Vortinssar to transport the entire city back to Genas, Kellara’s entire order of knights returning as merciless but sorrowful killers, and three gigantic beasts that have appeared around Aelseraph, apparently summoned by Atelicus.

Azaria has been upgrading the Stormchaser, putting an environmental shield on it to allow it to travel safely underwater (and possibly in astral space), reinforcing the hull, adding new arcane weaponry, new navigation controls, and a new control pod for an Eterna or Humanoid symbiote to use. Each crew member has a new uniform and new headbands that become helmets if required. Azaria tells them that she needs to upgrade the engines but that she needs two powerful and opposite beings in order to fuel them: Fiends, Celestials, or Elementals will do, but they need to oppose each other, and the more powerful they are, the better.

The Stormchaser leaves Horizon for Porta Sovrano and meet with Baroness Coralsong and Duke Sovrano who tell them about strange Dwarves made from gems that have been dismantling old Solwynn ruins. When they find some of these Dwarves, they are connected to D1, a gem Dwarf made of diamond who calls herself a Maiden of Valena. The Maidens are attempting to complete Valena’s last two great works, and these are creating the seismic events that have been felt throughout the archipelago. One task is to stabilise Volcanos by taking a device to the bottom of its volcanic shaft: they manage this, but only after destroying the giant elemental worm that lives in the magma. After they teleport safely back to the Stormchaser, Lucius, dripping with perspiration, carelessly wishes that he was a bird since they do not sweat. Since he is still wearing the ring of wishes that they got from Graz’zt, he is immediately transformed into a peacock Aarakocra.

Valena invites them to her forge so that they may assist her with her last great task – after that, she pledges that she will willingly join Siaska again. Valena has created a magnificent device, the Starseed: it is designed to save as many souls and memories of Aerois as possible and to take them away from Hadar through the Well of Eternity if all hope is lost. The Champions, Valla, and Max assist her by activating six foci in her forge, after which she sends the Starseed to Palador. She then reveals one last mammoth project upon which she has been working: a gigantic ship made of a slice of Solwynn, The Astoria. With her final work now accomplished, Valena fades to nothing and re-joins Siaska.

Stopping by the Halls of Infinite Resplendence, they see an aged but happy Sayanna. She tells them that her magical powers are gone but she is glad to hear that Thalia has been freed of her curse.

## Major NPCs

List of major NPCs encountered in this chapter.