The throne chamber groans around Bottu. The fused Crown burns against his brow as the sealed passage before him splits open, revealing a vast descent beneath the Maw.
Ancient dragon reliefs coil along the descending walls, their stone eyes fixed upon the crowned vessel. Five empty relic sockets punctuate the black arches, waiting for powers already bound within him.
Tiamat
Walk downward, bearer. The Maw recognizes the shape you have accepted, and the path now leads to the place where my return can take physical form.
Her presence presses through the bond like a storm beneath the skin, immense but not yet whole. Each pulse from the Crown draws the hidden depths closer to the waking world.
Bottu’s wound pulls as the first steep steps descend into darkness, straining beneath the Crown’s transformation. Far below, a dull red glow answers from the buried heart of the mountain.
Tiamat
There is no returning to what you were. The world above has ended for you; below, a new age waits to be given form.
The passage remains open behind him, but the throne chamber recedes into shadow. Ancient stone shudders with every distant pulse, leaving the next step entirely before Bottu.
✓ Quest Accepted
Bring Tiamat's return into the mortal world
““It will be done. You’ve waited long enough for your freedom.” *I go to the depths. I was fully committed to her. There was no going back for my new form and that was fine.*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Agility, rolled +1)
Bottu
It will be done. You’ve waited long enough for your freedom.
Bottu descends the steep passage without hesitation. His altered body moves with controlled, uncanny grace, wings folding close as the Crown’s light guides each foothold into the depths.
Tiamat
Then come, bearer. Let the mountain witness your devotion, and let the sealed world below become the cradle of my freedom.
The descent plunges beneath the last traces of daylight. Ancient reliefs pass beneath Bottu’s claws, and the Crown answers the buried power below with a steady, gathering warmth.
His wound strains during the long climb downward, but Bottu does not falter. He reaches the Maw’s deepest cavern, where a colossal circular seal fills the stone floor.
Tiamat
Place yourself at the heart of the seal. Through your body, I will touch the world again.
Bottu reaches the center of the buried seal. The Crown flares, the surrounding runes awaken, and the depths accept him as Tiamat’s willing vessel.
““I will see you soon.” *I whisper as I stand in the center of the great seal. What once sealed her from the world would now be undone.*”
SUCCESS (Legendary Magic, rolled +1)
Bottu
I will see you soon.
Bottu stands at the seal’s center and raises the Crown’s power through his body. His grave wound pulls open under the spell, but his whispered promise remains steady as the runes answer.
The great seal breaks beneath his feet. Its ancient rings split apart, and a passage between realities unfolds above the stone as darkness gives way to storm-red radiance.
Tiamat emerges through the opened breach, colossal beyond the cavern, her serpentine body and vast red wings shifting the air like a rising tempest. Five heads turn toward her willing vessel.
Tiamat
You have opened the way, bearer. I am free to touch your world once more, and your body has given my return its form.
The Maw trembles as Tiamat’s fivefold presence settles into the world. Fire, lightning, poison, frost, and deathly shadow illuminate the cavern while the broken seal fades beneath Bottu.
Quest Complete
Bring Tiamat's return into the mortal world
Skill Upgrade: Stealth Superb→Legendary