Aerois - Episode 107: Stand With Aerois

Katie Morrison as Aila

 Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

 Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Stand With Aerois** is the 107th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 4th April 2021 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The Stormchasers meet the V'ger family as diplomatic talks continue...*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcome everyone and introduces the players.
* Chris Trott discovered the power of his new sound board and had fun with it.
* D&D Beyond is a returning sponsor (see the Trivia for more information about this week's ad). Viewers were encouraged to use the link bit.ly/HRDNDBeyond2021 to create an account, or for any other interaction with the site, to show that they were sent from HR - it's a big help to the team.

### **Recap**

"*A shadow falls over the world of Aerois. The planar-spanning empire of Kalus Valkyrian that attacked the world 500 years ago now prepares to do so again. Emperor Kalus Valkyrian believes that the magical Genesis Relic at the heart of Aerois is the only thing capable of stopping the ex-god-turned-elder-evil, Hadar, from consuming the multiverse. With fleets of astral ships and armies of angels, devils, elementals, Eladrin and Orcs at his command, Kalus cannot be ignored.*
*The leaders and representatives of Aerois are gathered together in the grand sky city of Horizon to discuss this threat. Our party, officers of the airship, The Stormchaser, join to tell their experience with Valkyrian's forces and the threat of Hadar. During the meeting, Kalus himself surprises all by delivering a message across Aerois. He offers each individual an opportunity to surrender to his forces and be folded into his empire, given new homes and rights as citizens. Shocking everyone he reveals that two of Aerois' major factions, The Commonwealth of Gisella and the Genasi city of Vortinssar have already agreed to join him. He warns Aerois that the barrier that protects them from planar assault will fail in less than one year, and that when it does he will bring the might of his empire to bear against anyone who still opposes him.*
*In a private meeting with Horizon's leader, the powerful sorceress Dannica Bloodfire, the party discusses this revelation, and Qillek uses his ability to glimpse the future to witness what will happen if Kalus succeeds and uses the World Engine against Hadar. A nightmare scenario unfolds in Quill's mind - Hadar grows infinitely stronger and consumes everything across all plains in existence until there is absolutely nothing left.*
*The party must now decide their path. As war looms, their own time short, and many still needing their help...*"
### **Part 1**

*What will the Stormchasers do to combat the Valkyrian threat in Aerois? Maybe meeting Nova's family will help!*

The talks have been postponed following Starbane's explosive appearance at the summit in Horizon, but they are planned to resume the next day. Nova asks Reyn to retrieve her letters from River and Titan, and to inform her when her family is found; she apologises to Reyn for her former behaviour. Quill thinks they need to convince Starbane to believe them when they say that his plan will not work, but is not sure how to achieve that end; Lucius thinks they could use their friendship with Valla to assist with it.

There is discussion about bringing Valla to Aerois or confronting Starbane in front of Valla - the thought is that he cares for Valla and will not harm them in front of her, and may not destroy Aerois if she is on the planet. Sentry reminds them that he loved Siaska, and killed her for what he believed in. Nova posits the idea that Starbane may be Hadar-touched, but Lucius disagrees saying that Starbane would show "more of the red" and be something else by now, not his normal person.

Quill says they need to unite Aerois against civil war, and that fighting on multiple fronts (air and land) could be disastrous. They discuss how they might be able to get Quill's vision documented somehow so that they can use it to convince people that Starbane's plan is flawed. He also considers whom their allies would be for an attack on the Tassadar: the Wings of Ishtar and the Dragonborn (but they would probably not work to a plan, and may not free Tassadar the Eterna).

They discuss the meeting that will resume on the morrow, expecting that other nations will join Starbane. Reyn comes to tell them that Nova's family is on their way to the citadel. The first of the family we see is her younger sister, Aurora: she is a combination of air and water Genasi (with water blue eyes and cloudy hair spilling raindrops on her shoulders - fortunately her clothing is water resistant), she is about as tall as Nova but is of a more athletic build. Following behind is her father, Wade, a Water Genasi man who is taller and willowy: his long hair, tied back by a braided headband, flows like water down his back; he wears shorts and sandals and a loose, paint-splattered shirt, he also carries a bag and is seemingly quite calm as he surveys the room around him. Finally, there comes a short, older-looking version of Nova: Nova's mother, Breeze. Breeze is mature, dressed in yellow with a chef's apron over her clothes, carrying a small bag and a with kitchen knife sheathed in her waist band. With them is a mature High Elf female, Jocelyn Whitsong, Nova's professor from the Atlas Academy: she has pure, sky-blue eyes and long dark hair, she is dressed in scholarly robes and appears to be both tired and beaten up. Nova's brother, Cloud (Sky-Jousting professional name, "Tornado"), is not with them, but Nova is hoping that he is still in Horizon somewhere. Nova introduces the crew of the Stormchaser to her family.

They discuss what has been happening in Vortinssar: travel has been restricted in and out of the city due to some "rising tensions with surrounding city states", there is new talk about planar magic and the city is generally feeling positive. Nova wants to know why her mother didn't tell her any of this, but her mother thought she knew since it seemed to be connected to the information Nova was giving, and her mother had no way of contacting her. The Atlas Academy has made a revelation: that Genas has been found and that there may be a way to get Vortinssar back to it. This was followed a couple of weeks later by a snap election which required re-election of their local councillors: Breeze had spoken to River, their current local councillor, who assured her that it was good for Vortinssar; after the other candidates dropped out of the running, the district councillors were re-elected. There was concern about war on Aerois, and the people of Vortinssar were asked to concern themselves with the safety of their own people and their possible return to Genas: Breeze voted for River - she had been their local councillor for 20-30 years and done a fantastic job. Wade says that he also voted for River: as a patron of the arts, and someone concerned about the safety and security of their people if there was to be a war, he felt that she would do the best job, although he did admit that it was a little confusing with all the concerts and talk of planar magic being the future of Vortinssar. Nova reveals that she was expelled from the Atlas Academy because of her work on planar magic.

Professor Jocelyn Whitsong says that the Atlas Academy is firmly in the palm of Kalus, and that a lot of people in Vortinssar have been told the same propaganda by the Cypher Academy, a dark shadow to the Atlas Academy; Jocelyn had been held in her quarters and had her research taken just before the Atlas Academy made their announcement about planar travel. Jocelyn does not believe that the Council is fully aware of the actions of the Cypher Academy, but that they definitely influence Vortinssar society: she thinks they may have have constructed an active planar gateway because even with the city being locked off, trade has been happening, and outsiders have been brought into Vortinssar to influence things, which the regular people would be totally unaware of. Nova is furious with her parents, telling them that by voting for River, they have voted for Starbane and the Empire, but they don't know what this means: they tell Nova that there is little difference between Starbane being a dictator and Siaska forbidding them from leaving Aerois. Furthermore, there is tension between the people of Vortinssar and Aerois because the people of Aerois still do not fully trust Genasi, and have imposed trade restrictions on them so that they cannot trade with the sky cities: the Genasi do not feel welcome on Aerois, feeling like they are refugees. Breeze says that in the last few weeks, the four elements have been more united than they can remember and the people are the happiest they have been in a long time. To try to drive home the point of how dangerous Starbane is, Nova reveals that he wants all of the crew of the Stormchaser dead, which Aila confirms - Breeze is overwhelmed by this, not understanding why. Nova introduces Tiangong to Breeze, who confirms that Starbane wants her and her companions dead, and to invade Aerois for the Genesis Relic that creates life from planets that are dead: Breeze is overwhelmed and confused. Nova is relieved that at least if she can convince her parents that they have made a mistake voting for this, that she may have success with the rest of the citizens of Vortinssar: Breeze, however, says that the city has never been so prosperous and happy under the new promise, and that Nova will likely struggle to convince people that the bigger picture is as or more important than their own small lives. The Atlas Academy exerts a lot of influence over the people and it is telling people that the new direction is a good idea.

Quill uses the messenger ring to tell Nova not to blame her parents, that they did not know what they were voting for. Lucius adds that Nova's family is there for her, and that she needs to be there for them, that they're all tired, and they should just enjoy each other's presence for now.

Arval and Petal emerge from the room they have been in and join the group. Lucius uses what he's just witnessed as a learning experience: he realises that it will not be easy to convince people of the truth, and that people think that they will be getting everything they want without having to fight a war if they join with Starbane - the party may be able to offer the same, but they have to accept a war with Starbane on top of it as well. Lucius does not want to motivate people with fear, saying that is a tactic that Starbane uses, he would rather inspire them to do the right thing. Arval says that he has faith that they will figure something out, and that if not, Siaska is still there and can give them wisdom to figure things out.

### **Part 2**

*Quill reveals secrets in the next stage of the Horizon summits but there's still some surprises around the corner!*

The next day dawns with people around Aerois discussing Valkyrian's message, the threat of war, the decisions they face and the morality of those decisions. The summit re-convenes, but there are noticeable absences from the ambassadors from Vortinssar, the Vicereine from Gisella and Starcaller Navireen, the latter having fallen unwell with the revelations about the Titans and with Starbane's message. Dannica has allowed the two Starbane-aligned factions to return to their home countries, which the Dragons advise is dangerous given the information they have collected; Dannica thinks they probably already had this information, so it does not put them at any significant disadvantage.

Dannica reveals that she, the Stormchasers and Sky Prince Aridan have agreed to stand against Kalus Valkyrian: Quill is asked if he is prepared to share his information with the remainder of the delegates, to which he agrees. Quill proposes to have a Zone of Truth spell placed on him so that he cannot lie about the information he is prepared to present: Duke Rogric questions whether the spell is adequate: it will only convince an individual to speak what they ***believe*** to be true, but it may not necessarily be the absolute truth as it stands. Dannica's mage casts the Zone of Truth on Quill, and he asks if any of the representatives would like to ask him any questions before he speaks: the Ember Elf, Sumar Xemeks Elledovian - Grand Strategist of the Xiphen, asks Quill whether the new information has been a deciding factor in whether to join Starbane or not, and Quill answers in the negative. Elledovian asks a second question: how did Quill come by the information? Quill tells of his journey beyond the Cradle, his return to his body and the gift of the Eye of the Storm from H'esper: he tells them about its ability to give him a truthful answer to particular questions, and that the power comes through H'esper from Siaska.

Quill tells them of his vision, that when that the Genesis Relic, which sits at the heart of Aerois and created the world, is removed, the planet is destroyed; that Starbane hopes that feeding the Relic to Hadar will prove to be too much power for it to handle and will destroy it, but that the result is instead the destruction of everything as they know it by the mightily empowered Hadar. Elledovian wishes to know more about the seer power of the eye: he suggests the visions shown could be H'esper's guesses at the future or that they could be influenced by H'esper who is an enemy of Kalus; he further suggests that by knowing about the future and attempting to avoid it, one may change the future and make the vision seen invalid. He proposes that either fate is set, or that by revealing the vision, the future may have already changed: being allied with Kalus may now allow them to convince him not to attempt to destroy Hadar with the World Engine. Quill does not believe that Kalus will be convinced to sway from his proposed course. General Nathiral’amalaz thinks it is clear that Kalus is either mad or Hadar-touched, says that they stand against him and calls Dannica to call for each group to identify whether they stand for or against Starbane.

Dannica calls for all parties to reveal where they stand, and they do so (see summary below). The Grand Strategist is the last to speak, and says that for now he must align with Starbane; immediately after he finishes speaking, however, he sends a mental message to the Stormchasers, "A player who does not wish to lose everything knows when to fold, when to double down and when to ***change table*** when their odds are improved" - he nods at the Stormchasers. As there is a moment of silence around the table, Sky Prince Aridan, and then the Stormchasers get a mental message from Moonstar: "Gusthaven is being attacked. They've come out of nowhere and are attacking our aetherium refineries. We require immediate aid, now!" Aridan announces the attack to everyone present and says that they must leave: Dannica asks anyone who is not allied with them to return to their people and their cities, and guards begin to strong-arm those who are not Aerois-aligned out of the chamber. Sentry tries one last time to convince those who are not aligned with them to see what Starbane is capable of: none of them agree to go with them, but she sees doubt in the faces of King Telven, the Grand Strategist and Duke Rogric. The Beastfolk ask to stay to speak to the Stormchasers when they return from the attack, King Telven apologises and says he needs to see to his people and leaves, but he is clearly touched by Sentry's words. Aila tells them that they will be in touch when they have more intelligence and a solid plan, which the Grand Strategist agrees would be a very good start.

Dannica offers to teleport the Stormchasers, Aridan and two others: General Faelissa’tharas and Shepherd Patrick are sent with them to Gusthaven. As they appear in Gusthaven, they can hear screams and cries, and the clashing of metal and steel: the battle is close. A large metal and crystal shape flies overhead and shoots a beam of intense light and heat out of its mouth - it looks for all the world like a metal dragon, and it is clear from nearby sounds that there are others in the city. The Sky Prince is told that the attackers just seemed to *fold out of space itself*, both the metal dragons and soldiers that appear to be partly organic experiments. They are currently attacking the city centre, the docks and the aetherium refineries; Aridan says that he and his guards can cover one of the three targets, but looks to the Stormchasers for direction. Faelissa transforms into her colossal blue dragon form and takes to the skies after a metallic dragon, and the party uses Sending on Moonstar to find out that she is dealing with the attack in the city centre where there are many injured citizens and a large number of forces: she also reveals that the Stormchaser is under attack at the docks. It is further apparent that the attacking forces are destroying the aetherium refineries as well as stealing the refined aetherium that is there. Aridan decides to take his personal guard to the refineries to try to buy them some time and try to prevent an explosion: he recommends going to the docks, and that the Shepherd go to the city centre to heal and protect as many citizens as possible.

The Stormchasers come across some of the soldiers they have been told about: they are humanoid but many have special abilities - some have wings like a manta ray which they use to glide through the air as they pass through the city spitting acid and using their weapons, others have long whips made of lightning and other blades - all wear Valkyrian colours, but instead of the Valkyrian symbol, they wear the symbol of ***Xarkira***.

At the docks, there appear to be two of the giant metallic dragons, with 2-3 others flying around the area: Faelissa is chasing one of the latter around the city. The party sees the Stormchaser, already under repair and being reinforced, under attack from the two metallic dragons, both of which are focusing their mouth beams on carving chunks out of the newly-reinforced hull, groups of soldiers are trying to board the Stormchaser from the land while the flying soldiers shoot acid as they pass from about 40 feet in the air. There are two giant figures covered in a crab-like carapace also attacking the docks, including the warehouse where the Twinstar Longbow is being held: Azaria Perel is keeping some of the attackers at bay while she flies around the warehouse. The crew of the Stormchaser is attempting to fend off the giant dragons when the party arrives at the docks. The party goes to the rescue of the Stormchaser while Nova decides to Dimension Door to get to Thalia who is outside the Twinstar under fire: the Twinstar is powered down and inert, Thalia says the engines will need a jump start to get them going. Lucius uses the Captain's Command to broadcast a message to his crew that the party is here, that he has just paid for the upgrade and not to waste it: the crew is both excited and perplexed. Sentry casts Ice Storm on one of the metal dragons which Lucius changes with his chromatic control ability to do acid damage instead, which affects the creature.

*Since combat continues over to next week, initiatives are: Nova 21, Sentry 14, Aila 22, Quill 16, Lucius 18 (the party all goes before the enemies who go in the following order after Sentry: 2 flyers - spit acid, javelin throw; Dragon (port/left side of ship) - beam/breath weapon; Dragon (starboard/right side of ship) - claw/claw/tail/wings vs Aila (NB one Wolfpack member is mind controlled for this turn via malevolent presence); Brute/crab on deck melee vs Sentry; Brute/crab banging on magical barrier to warehouse breaks through nearby wall instead and goes for Nova/Thalia; 4x Lightning soldiers - 2 readying attacks against Nova and Thalia, the rest moving up to engage the crew of the Stormchaser).*

**Summary of Supporting/Opposing forces from the summit (courtesy of ReeKorl)**

Starbane-aligned

* Commonwealth of Gisella (Vicereine Galilea vis’Prieto, representing Princess Asayaeina of the Sanzesian Commonwealth)
* Vortinssar (Ambassadors Titan and River)
* Hiljdainen (Duke Rogric)
* Continent of Xiphen (Grand Strategist Sumar Xemeks Elledovian)

Aerois-aligned

* The Stormchasers
* Gusthaven (Sky Prince Aridan)
* Horizon (Steward Dannica Bloodfire)
* The Draconis Militarum (Ammadrassos, and Generals Nathiral’amalaz and Faelissa’tharas of the Vivex)
* Myrskr (Shepherd Parick of the Council of Shepherds)
* Aelseraph Elves (Morgaen Frostblessed, Champion of the Telethe'Du)

**Unaligned**

* Suvonna (King Telven Rooksilver, Dalenor Brassworn and Bloodlord Uriyenna Vaschten)
* The Archipelagos (Admirals Suntusk, Stormeye and Goodwind - The Tide Kings)

**Unknown**

* The Beastfolk (Warrenkeeper Nanna Greytail, Grovemaiden Maya Dewstorm and Packmaster Hargen Greycloud) - Have too many of their own concerns at present, but want to talk to the Stormchasers in private about a matter of importance to them; when that is done, they may make their decision
* Starcaller Navireen (Representative of the Starborn faith) - not present at vote due to illness

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:05 - Episode Start
1:05 - Announcements
5:42 - DUN DUNs
6:48 - Recap starts
9:28 - Part 1
1:23:11 - Break time/Donations
1:33:03 - Part 2
2:54:32 - Outro/Donations

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Nova V'ger
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

#### **New NPCs**

* Aurora V'ger, Nova's sister
* Wade V'ger, Nova's father

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Breeze V'ger, Nova's mother
* Jocelyn Whitsong, Nova's Professor from Atlas Academy
* Dannica Bloodfire
* Duke Rogric of the Duchy of Hiljdainen - Representing the Duchy of Hiljdainen of Myrskr
* Sumar Xemeks Elledovian - Grand Strategist of the Xiphen
* General Nathiral’amalaz
* Shepherd Parick of the Council of Shepherds
* Morgaen Frostblessed, Champion of the Telethe'Du
* King Telven Rooksilver
* Grovemaiden Maya Dewstorm
* Warrenkeeper Nanna Greytail
* Azaria Perel
* Thalia
* Kyrie
* Big Cat
* Kamarra

#### **Mentioned NPCs**

* Cloud "Tornado" V'ger, Nova's brother
* Dalenor Brassworn
* Bloodlord Uriyenna Vaschten
* Packmaster Hargen Greycloud
* Penny
* Stormchaser crew

## **Featured Locations**

* Horizon
* Gusthaven

## **Trivia**

* The first and last letters of each line of Trott's ad read for D&D Beyond spelled out: TROTTISCOOL, MARKISPOOPY
* Nova's younger sister was originally named Coral, however after refreshing her family's notes Kim decided that Aurora was a better fit for her instead, so she was re-named.
* The Intro started without music this week, but it was unmuted after about 10 seconds.
* Kim posted to the official Discord: "Here's how I described him in my notes: If Bob Ross was a Water Genasi, he'd be Wade. Gentle, soft spoken and always calm, Wade teaches Art at the Atlas Academy". Wade paints water colours; he is also a hugger.
* Tom "flaps" his right arm when 'showing Nova's created wing' to her family. This is the opposite arm to both the artwork and his initial RP (where he would tuck his left arm behind his back when sitting at the table).
* While Nova is arguing with her parents about voting for Starbane, Chris Trott grabs a (the loudest) bag of popcorn to enjoy while sitting back and observing.
* A donation question from Caelomondorion: "What is everyone's favourite beverage?" Christ Trott's response "Mud water", Kim's response "apart from mud water, Milo", Katie "Irn-Bru".
* Kim mentioned in a Discord comment later that her cat, Milo, was named after the beverage.
* Mark makes noises for the metal dragons that were described as "amazing", "disturbing", "distressing", "a mating walrus", "a pig squeal", and a "pitched up Reaper noise" and set Tom to laughing for a reasonable amount of time.
* Mark claimed (in jest) that in Tom's background for Pyri, it said "will betray the party at high level, later totally joining Starbane, super-evil dude".
* There was an allegory between Brexit and what is now known as Vexit (for Vortinssar) in this episode.
* Mark spent some time during the outro donations thinking that Trott was feeding audio back to him to trigger him - Mark had Twitch open in another window.
* Luckless asked with a dono question "will you finish High Rollers Descent?" - Mark's definitive response, "no".

## **References**

1. ↑ Official Discord, 5 April 2021, 20:43
2. ↑ Official Discord, 3 Jan 2021, 20:02
3. ↑ Official Discord, 4 April 2021, 20:23
4. ↑ Official Discord, 4 April 2021, 18:32