In the epilogues, I give the players time in four separate times: immediately following the campaign, one year later, ten years later, and fifty years later, leading up to one hundred years later. Below is a summary of Brokk's actions in these time periods:
After the Campaign:
Once the rescued dissidents made it to safety from Pelor's Mercy, Brokk stayed until only he and Niela remained. He asked her for some time to take care of things, promising to see her in no more than a week. Niela promised to annoy him with messages in the meantime, and she teleported away. Brokk transformed into his dragon form and flew just past Finiel before landing and walking the rest of the way to Drumchapel on foot. He arrived as evening was becoming night, running into his employer and friend Marq on the way--Marq asked whether Brokk would be around or if he should hire another deckhand, and Brokk admitted it was best to hire someone (though he would help Marq as often as he could). Together, they got Dog from Brokk's house and joined up with Hannah and Curtran at the Pear Pit. When his friends goaded him for an explanation of where he had been, Brokk remained vague and gave a comical account of some of his adventures:
Brokk said that he was kidnapped by a strange man, and that a veil lay between our world and the gods' which was torn, and that the rift made powerful people more powerful, and that he and his new friends Aurora and Lethanin were destined to fix it. And fix it they did, Brokk explained casually, because free will was too important to lose, and then he returned home. Hannah was skeptical, asking where this rift-fixing would have taken place, and Brokk offered a vague answer about a broom closet and an accountant and the Song--the Song was important, said Brokk, and Lethanin had fixed the rift by playing it. Hannah declared the whole story to be made up, to which Curtran remarked that some truths are too complicated to tell all at once. Brokk simply invited them to the woods later that night, and he would tell them the real story.
Over the course of the night, Brokk was welcomed back home by most everyone in town, all happy to see him again and so content to boot. Brokk bought a special fancy bottle of the finest pear cider to bring along and share when he would show his dragon form. Hannah poked at Brokk even more, then apologized; she had missed Brokk greatly, she said, and she felt a childish urge to prod him for leaving for so long. Brokk said he understand, and they joked back and forth about their reading arrangement, both recommending (or criticizing) the titles as they went. Eventually, the Pear Pit closed, and Brokk led Hannah, Marq, and Curtran off into a quiet part of the woods. Brokk warned that what he was about to show them would change their relationships with him and swore them to secrecy before transforming into the red dragon. He explained that he needed help--the power he had was only valuable if he did good. He told in clear terms the whole story about what had happened, then asked for advice, the help he wanted. Marq advised Brokk to trust himself, as Marq came to Brokk for advice constantly and knew Brokk doubted himself. Hannah said she could see he had to leave Drumchapel, at least most of the time, and she told him to accept that and know that it's okay--he'll be missed, but they'll know he's doing something important, and he would of course still visit often. Curtran told Brokk no part of him was worth condemning, admonishing him to accept himself; after some thought, she also suggested visiting the orcish homeland to reconnect with what mattered most. Brokk thanked them for their advice, eager to prove to himself that he hadn't already lost perspective, and asked Hannah to care for Dog. Marq protested the somber atmosphere and reminded everyone that Brokk would be around still. Clearly emotional about the situation, Hannah excused herself for the night, and Marq graciously walked her back to Drumchapel.
In the dark, Curtran pressed Brokk about a phrase he had used--he had said he would "get to make a sacrifice." Curtran wanted to know why he felt compelled to make a sacrifice. Brokk said he had so much to make up for, and that the plan had always been to kill Thomas, take the dragonhood, and just hide away to prevent bad from happening. But Curtran said dragonhood was a blessing and not a sacrifice; she said Brokk was a good person and could do good instead of just prevent bad. He agreed to try, and Curtran happily said that Ehlonna would be proud of him trying, and even agreeing to try. She gave Brokk a firm hug and went home for the night. Brokk went home after a while, and knowing that he would be giving Dog to Hannah in the morning, he spent the night holding Dog as the pup slept. In the morning, Brokk fed Dog a luxurious meal and then walked him to Hannah's house, handing over a copy of Danger at the Reef. Hannah agreed to meet him at the Pear Pit in a bit; Brokk got breakfast and then hugged Hannah goodbye, said his farewells to Marq, and then began south toward the orcish lands at the far end of the continent.
He walked for days, passing the half-elven and Faninite lands of the north and arriving at the sandy edge of the Kraal Desert. He called for Niela, who joined him, and he suggested they memorialize the War of Kraal. Niela sighed and suggested they talk about their involvement in the war. She explained that she had been in a relationship with the elven leader at the time of the war and encouraged declaring war (she own a few smithing operations and would profit greatly); she also acknowledged that she constantly surveils much of Evanoch and saw how inhumanely elves treated orcish prisoners even if the opposite wasn't also true, and she covertly sabotaged the elven war efforts for years in an effort to rectify this. The silver lining, she said, was that Brokk existed because the war happened. Brokk said he felt no differently about Niela for the war involvment or her surveillance (even of him); he felt that like him, she shared a drive to simply do better when things go wrong. Brokk then described the process of his creation, the weight of the killing he performed, his infiltration of Mishara to slay the family of an opposing elf and then years later the way that elf threw himself off a cliff when Brokk would not kill him. For all that, Brokk said, he had laid down his axe for 400 years. Seeing that Brokk was feeling badly, Niela asked if he would like to meet the Tanarukk like him who lived in the orcish city of Kruush. Confused, Brokk said that Gruumsh had said no Tanarukk but Brokk remained; Niela gently said that she'd found traces of one when searching for Brokk based on the prophecy. They agreed to go to Kruush imminently.
But before they left, they chose to mark the Kraal Desert with two statues. Niela joked that they should avoid something as cheesy as an elf and an orc shaking hands, and Brokk agreed. At the northern border of the desert, Brokk magically created a statue of tempered glass that depicted a massive hand rising from the sand, holding a scale of justice--in either side of the scale were a sun and a moon. They crossed the desert, and Niela cast a spell to create an identical hand and scale, but hers was of obsidian, and the scales held a star and moon symbol on one side and a simple orcish home on the other. Brokk joked that she had upstaged him, and she argued that it was more "yes and"ing than upstaging. Ready to go on to Grob Island, the homeland of the orcs, Niela transformed into an orcish woman, and Brokk complimented her looks as both an elf and an orc. She also enchanted the two of them with a spell that drastically increased their speed, and they quickly passed from the barren desert through a plain and into the rainforest before reaching the sea and Grob Island beyond. Niela cast another spell, and they walked across the surface of the water and set foot on Grob, both for the first time in a very long time.
On the way to Kruush, Grob's only significant city, Brokk found a village wise woman to ask some questions--the wise woman said that he had graced them with his presence. Brokk said they had walked for a long time, and the wise woman agreed that Brokk had walked for a long time indeed. Seeing Brokk broken up at being here again, the wise woman wrapped him in a hug, and Brokk softly cried. At Brokk's request, the wise woman guided them out of the village and to the mountainous southwest coast of the island. There, a massive pit in the rocky island's surface sank down, not unlike the smaller tide pools like it closer to the shore. But the pit had been turned into a laboratory at the time of Brokk's creation, full of percolating, brewing, becoming Tanarukk. Every inch of the surface of the rocky pit was burned--someone or someones had applied an accelerant to the pit and burned it. And every few inches, the rocky was pierced as though by a chisel, and hundreds of holes dotted the surface of the pit. In my world, orcs memorialize the death of loved ones by driving a hole into a place in that orc's community; the emptiness they leave behind is echoed by the emptiness where once was their homeland. These hundreds of memorials marked the deaths of the Tanarukk who did not survive their creation and for the few who lived to fight and die later on. Brokk had expected to feel rage, to want to do some damage to the lab. Instead, he only felt sadness. The wise woman explained that when orcs here forget their values, they are told to go count the holes--no one has ever come back with the same number, said the wise woman. Brokk was lucky to not yet have a hole, she said. Brokk thanked the wise woman for her help, and with Niela, he set out for Kruush.
Brokk did not try to hide himself, and he quickly attracted a great deal of attention. Most people were shocked and somewhat excited, others almost alarmed, and some exuberant. Brokk and Niela got street food, classic orcish comfort dishes (though Niela struggled to find a vegetarian option). They sat down in a park and watched some orcish children play candleball, taking in the simple pleasures of the city. Brokk mused that candleball seemed awfullly new, and Niela confirmed that it was a gnomish game that had spread across Evanoch over the last few hundred years. Niela chuckled and observed that seeing Kruush through surveillance muted everything--actually being here, it seemed that people were actually quite happy. Each lamented about the limitations and pains of their childhood: Brokk described being made into a superweapon, and Niela talked about how few choices she actually had in life before becoming a dragon, something she accomplished by acting cutthroat and amoral to the former black dragon to get his support and mantle. Despite the darker conversation topics, Brokk and Niela got to enjoy some pure and simple joyful moments.
In an effort to find the other Tanarukk, Niela asked Brokk what he would be doing if he were the one lying low on Grob Island. He said he would be watching the sunset over the ocean--he had heard that a green flash phenomenon could be seen here. So they went to the far west coast of Grob and found an isolated little cottage with a fishing dock-it looked remarkably like Brokk's house back in Drumchapel. At the end of the dock, an orcish woman quietly and contently fished. Brokk got her attention, and she waved them over. The woman introduced herself as Corma and said she didn't really know anyone in the area. She began making tea for the three of them. They talked while the tea cooled, and Corma became more and more obviously uncomfortable and nervous. Eventually, Corma broke down and admitted that she was actually Brokk's sister, Sempra, who he had been quite close to in his youth. She apologized for hiding her identity--it had been how she had found peace in the intervening centuries, but she had deeply missed Brokk and wanted to reconnect.
Sempra was shocked at how Brokk seemed exactly the same as he had been nearly a millenium ago, and yet he had a new energy and outlook that was radically different. At the same time, she sheepishly admitted, she wasn't exactly her old solemn, grave self of old--now, she was genuinely carefree and almost bubbly. The two reminisced for a long time, hours passing as Brokk and Sempra caught up and Niela intently listened and nodded along, asking questions here and there as the others spoke. Their conversation centered on the other Tanarukk, some of whose deaths were tragic to Brokk and others fitting. For a long time, they addressed the past and how it had become the present. The only real discussion of the future was an agreement to write letters and regularly visit. The three of them moved from the cottage out to the dock with fresh cups of tea, and they continued to talk as the sun lowered into the sea. Brokk was quite delighted to find that as the sun's lower half disappeared, a faint and wavering but certainly visible splash of bright green light danced over the distant waves.
As darkness settled in, Sempra asked what Brokk intended to do with his life now. He said he meant to help people. That was more or less the whole answer. He mentioned reaching out to the gods to see what help they might offer, but he was direct--helping people was the whole focus. Niela, gripped enough by the moment that she forgot that Sempra believed her to be a common orcish woman, said that helping people would be best accomplished if they were all able to move on and stop living in the war like they had. Sempra, confused about how Niela could mean that, agreed that moving on seemed the best. Niela pointed out that Brokk was smiling and asked if the visit was what he was hoping for; Brokk replied that it was far better. Brokk and Sempra spoke a bit longer and said their goodbye-for-nows, agreeing that they'd make a certain effort to stay in touch.
Privately, Brokk returns to the pit where the laboratory where he was created lay. He descended into the pit, took a hammer and chisel, and drove the chisel into an open space on the rock. This was a funeral hole for Keluck, who Brokk wished to make amends with in some way despite Keluck's passing. As Brokk considered the funeral hole, he was thanked by Gruumsh for bringing resolution to that conflict. He also apologized for not knowing that Sempra was still alive. Brokk and Gruumsh shared a few playful jabs and agreed that things were for the better, Gruumsh even thanking Brokk for "sticking us up here."
One Year After:
A year later, Brokk and Niela are living a quiet life mostly focused in her observatory, stealing off to Mishara occasionally with Brokk disguised as an elf. On the anniversary of the campaign's events, Niela approaches Brokk with two big conversations. First, she said, due to Brokk, Lethanin, and Aurora's actions, the world was safer and more open to difference and dragons in particular. It was, then, she said, an excellent time to be a dragonborn. Brokk did not really respond, and Niela nervously repeated a few times that it was a good time to be a dragonborn. Brokk pressed her to be direct; Niela asked Brokk if he was interested in having a child. Brokk agreed. Niela's second conversation was about a group of elves called the Linilles, who were bent on avenging elven losses in the War of Kraal through repopulation and a strike against the orcs--Niela wanted to know if Brokk wished to join her in scaring the shit out of them. Brokk agreed to this too. Brokk and Niela attended to their pre-parental duties and then went to Mishara that evening.
Niela opened a portal to a beautiful, natural-looking garden. They left the garden and went to a converted stable where some Linilles wre practicing combat against some dummies, their form terrible. Brokk spoke to the assembled men, who were quick to condescend to Brokk despite his appearance as an elf. Their conversation grew somewhat tense. Niela blocked the exit, and Brokk asked for the sword to show how it was done. He performed an elaborate and terrifying sequence of strikes on the dummy which ended in the dummy breaking into pieces. Many of the men were excited for Brokk to join and teach them his combat prowess; one asked why Brokk had come. Brokk began to speak of a terrible disease that poisons the mind; he called this disease "self-righteousness." Brokk lectured the men on the harm they were doing themselves and their community by appointing themselves arbiter of a justice only they believe in, and one of the men slipped from the stables into an adjoining building, returning a few moments later with an elderly elven woman.
The woman introduced herself as Elish Linille, matriarch of the Linille Clan. She defended her cause to Brokk, citing the deaths of over half of all elves, the reports that say orcs struck first, and the idea that things had to be returned to their old state. Brokk contested these arguments one by one, and eventually, he transformed back into his Tanarukk self. Linille and Brokk continued to debate, now with a more simmering intensity. Before long, Linille ordered the men to attack. Most remained still, and only three approached. Seeing their few numbers, two of those three fell away. Brokk cast Hypnotic Pattern, dazing the last man as well as Linille herself. The elven man was lost in the sight, but Linille shook herself free of it. She slowly drew a dagger and approached Brokk, warning him that she would attack. Eventually, she struck, but Brokk caught the blow and disarmed her. Linille cried out that he was hurting her, but Brokk was careful to be gentle but firm--he picked his teeth with Linille's dagger and said her way of life would disappear one day soon. Linille said that Brokk had shamed them, but that they would never go away. Brokk told Linille the story of Nastoran, the elf he had tracked and been rivals with during the war, whose suicide had haunted Brokk for centuries. His conclusion was that hatred and prejudice only caused pain; Linille said the moral was that orcs were brutal terrorists. One of the men, a young man named Ylin, stepped to join Brokk and Niela, declaring he wanted no more of the clan; Linille said the man would no longer be her son if he left. Niela stepped aside, and Ylin ran away.
Brokk intimidated the remaining Linilles, promising that he would be watching and that they would never succeed in their goals anyway. This caused the Linille men in the stable to quietly leave, abandoning Elish Linille. Brokk forced her to look at him, which she resisted at every turn, and he Brokk intimidated the rest, and everyone abandoned Elish, who Brokk forced to look at him. He told her to remember that moment and that she and her family would die over self-righteousness, threatening her and her clan’s lives. This finally demoralized Linille, who sobbed on the ground. Brokk reviewed his main points--that her clan was founded on hatred, that hatred would destroy them, and that they could not proceed. He took her dagger, stabbed it into the ground inches from her face, and left her. He blew the door to the adjoining building open with an Eldritch Blast, stepped inside, and told the remaining Linilles to come collect their mother. He invited all of the remaining men to reform, offering them suggestions on how to fix their mistakes. Niela hurried Brokk back home to attend to more pre-parental duties. In the days that followed, Niela tracked Ylin down, and she and Brokk helped Ylin to establish a new home and connect him to an elite astronomer so that Ylin could pursue his dream of studying the stars.
With Brokk's immediate goals accomplished, Brokk and Niela began a deep training regimen. Niela taught Brokk the fundamentals and finer points of being a dragon--flying tips, special powers, harnessing dragon strength accurately--and Brokk quickly became a formidable force in his red dragon form. Niela also insisted on sharing their methods as warlocks and monks--the combination was incredibly rare, and Niela felt sharing their knowledge could drastically improve their abilities. Over the months and years, Brokk and Niela both increased their skills, sometimes practicing together and often discussing new ideas about how to use their various abilities. In training, Niela would always begin in a detached acadmic tone as if reciting an instruction manual, but proximity to Brokk would gradually make her become more warm, then outright affectionate. Niela especially regarded their training times as important because it allowed them to share the way they interact with the world.
After a while, Brokk asked Niela about the green dragon. Niela offered to introduce Brokk to the green dragon, who she called Xavier. She warned Brokk that Xavier was calculating and even mathematical about the way they make decisions, which she said would be complicated with Brokk's particular style. Brokk said he did want to meet Xavier, and Niela opened a portal to Xavier's front yard. They approached and knocked; Xavier answered the door and greeted them. Xavier greeted Niela as Vuthiejir and inquired after Thomas, Horton, and Regg, who Xavier identified as their best friend. Brokk admitted to killing them all and taking Thomas's dragon title. Xavier asked if Brokk and Niela were together, which Brokk confirmed. Xavier asked, since Brokk had "killed or fucked every chromatic dragon" what Brokk intended to do with them. Brokk said he merely wanted to stay on good terms, which Xavier quickly agreed to. Brokk and Niela left, and Niela said she believed Xavier had known Brokk's role and the death of the other dragons and was testing Brokk; she also said it was likely Xavier left vulnerable and was happy to agree to keeping some degree of autonomy.
Shortly afterward, Brokk reached out to Rupert (Niela had mentioned he had settled down and was acting differently), who quickly responded by inviting Brokk to visit him in Finiel. Brokk and Niela found Rupert on the beach, staring up at the massive cliffs beyond the sea. Rupert seemed almost mystified and talking somewhat cryptically about finally understanding things; he asked what would make him a good dragon. Brokk said to help in small ways--they were enough to make things better. Rupert resisted this idea. He said dragons could make big changes--where small good things enough to be a good dragon? Brokk said the world was safer and better, and small things were all that was required. Rupert said he would keep trying. Brokk kindly told Rupert to stop keeping score, and Rupert was deeply affected. He said that the waves come in, but the tide goes out, and then he teleported away.
The next year, Niela gave birth to twins. The eldest daughter was a mostly red dragonborn with scattered black scales; Brokk and Niela named her Sempra Ember, named for her aunt Sempra. The youngest son was a mostly black dragonborn with occasional red scales who Brokk and Niela named Viren Ash, named for Niela's favorite literary character from her lonely childhood. Even as young children, Sempra was passionate and excitable, while Viren was quiet and reserved. More and more as they aged, Sempra took after Brokk, with a keen sense of justice, a fear of no one, and a warm sense of humor; Viren took after Niela, always observing, measured in all things, and frighteningly smart.
A few months after their last contact, Rupert sent Brokk an image in which he had assembled a small group of displaced and unhoused people in Finiel and given them clothing, food, and some basic care--Rupert was in the middle of the image, offering a thumbs-up. A while after this, Rupert sends another image, this one depicting a newly-built Andazi Home for the Needy, Rupert again at the center with a thumbs-up. Intrigued, Brokk went to visit. Brokk always traveled by walking away from a city, flying most of the way, landing outside a city, and walking into it--in this way, he maintained secrecy and normalcy while enjoying the benefits of dragon flight. Brokk found Rupert's new home for the needy, where Rupert was rapidly solving problems with a smile on his face. He eventually greeted Brokk, who asked to help, and they together served dinner to a crowd of hungry people. As they served, Rupert was personally thanked and complimented by nearly everyone. Brokk pledged himself to serve dinner there every week.
The Linille Clan dissolved over the two years that followed Brokk's appearance at their stable. Elish Linille was too terrified to lead effectively, and the idea of a coup was deeply divisive since Elish was many of the clan's mother. At the same time, word got out that a lone orc had embarrassed the entire clan, and their already fringe group became a laughingstock--the supposed conquerors of orcs shamed in their own home by one. With the Linilles' shame a part of the public conversation, public sentiment began to swing even further towards criticizing the elven part in the War of Kraal, with a mounting movement to issue a formal apology to the orcish people, formalized by the elven government. After years of resistance from the elven government to address the issue, elven society became more political polarized around the issue, with some elves going so far as to say that the elven government cannot proceed without a complete change in leadership and philosophy; more traditional elves brand this treason.
As the months and years passed, Brokk continued to serve dinner at the Andazi Home for the Needy. Every week, he would invite Rupert to dinner with Niela, Sempra, and Viren. Every week, Rupert would agree. And every week, Rupert would cancel last minute because he was busy with the home. Within a few years, Rupert had built three more homes across the city, but he also had come to recognize that his Home for the Needy was now more of a halfway home for immigrants to Finiel--the city was booming, and most of the former people in need were doing better. So Rupert shifted his services, and his homes had become a safe way for immigrants to transition into life in a new city. Brokk suggested reaching out to other cities to send people in need and share Rupert's methods, which Rupert set to doing over the following years. Before a decade had passed since the resealing of the rift, Rupert had been established as one of the more important voices in social work in Finiel.
Sempra and Viren continued to grow. Sempra, who took after Brokk in temperament and ideals, wanted little more than to stargaze with her mother, and Sempra talked often of being an astronomer when she grew up. Viren, on the other hand, was fascinated by all things orcish. When Viren was seven years old, he very seriously told his parents that he planned to be a cleric of Gruumsh when he grew up; he had been reading about Gruumsh and felt the stories resonated with him. He pursued this for a few months until he realized that Brokk was more interested in Nerull as a deity than in Gruumsh, at which point Viren began to study Nerull. But Brokk could tell that Viren's heart wasn't in Nerull, so they had a conversation about how Viren was more than allowed to make decisions for himself and choose his own interests--what's more, Brokk told him, it's imporant that Viren be authentically himself. Viren was greatly relieved and began studying Gruumsh again, though he now seemed more cautious about declaring himself a future cleric. Viren apologized for being "out of control," much to the delight of Brokk.
Sempra ran into her own problems. A few months before her ninth birthday, she began disappearing and staying out all night. After days of this, Brokk gently asked to know where she would be and requested she come home at night. Sempra resisted, asking whether she was allowed to make her own choices. Viren needed to make his own choices according to Brokk--why not Sempra? Brokk continued to talk with Sempra, him calm and inquisitive, her increasingly tense and defensive, until Sempra admitted that she had been sneaking into people's gardens at night, that she hated doing it, and she only wanted her friends to like her. Brokk explained that she could disagree with her friends, and that real friends wouldn't make her do something she didn't want. This snapped Sempra out of it. She wrote apology notes to the families whose gardens she'd snuck into, ditched her old friends, and seemed to have a refined sense of confidence--where in her youngest days, she had had a sort of wild, blind confidence, Sempra was now more coolly confident, much like her father.
Around the same time, Viren asked Brokk and Niela's permission to travel to the orcish homelands for a while. Brokk and Niela asked some questions to be sure he was making the decision for good reasons; content, they arranged for him to stay with Aunt Sempra on Grob Island. Viren went, and for nearly three months, he explored Grob Island, the Dakor Peninsula, the Shorgon Forest, and the culture of the orcish homeland. He wrote home every day, describing the exciting discoveries he was making about a culture he called his. Upon his return to the observatory with his family, Viren announced to his parents that when he was an adult, he meant to go live in the orcish homelands. He was quick to remind his parents that he was "still little," and that this was an aspiration that would take time.
Niela was beloved as a mother. She at first struggled to do more than smother Sempra and Viren with love, but then began to treat them as she would have liked to be treated as a child. She frequently played games of make believe with them in their younger days and provided a massive library and constant snacks as they grew older. Brokk, they went to for advice because they knew him to be wise. Niela, they went to for practically anything that popped into their heads, in large part because they knew how much she loved to dote on them. Niela seemed most in her element when dealing with Viren and Sempra.
Ten Years After:
With his legacy sealed, Brokk turned to a long-put-aside matter of business: dealing with Magoth, his demonic patron. Brokk researched the best places to contact Nerull, deciding on a conical stone temple at the edge of a massive, miry swamp between the halfling lands and the orcish lands. He traveled there after a routine stop in Drumchapel to see his old friends--Hannah now owned The Pear Pit, Marq had retired from deckhand work and was managing his shipping company, and Curtran was still wily and spreading peace and wisdom. Brokk eventually arrived at the temple, which appeared to be one solid cone of dark marbled stone he couldn't identify. Inside was a single dark room with a small fire blazing at its center, smoke wafting up through a hole in the top of the temple; two servants of Nerull were cloaked in seemingly endless layers of sheer fabric that obscured them; and a massive bone sculpture took up much of the temple. On closer inspection, the sculpture was made of all variety of bones that formed a crowned humanoid shape. Brokk prayed to Nerull, and the sculpture came to life, craning in unnatural directions and looming close over Brokk--it spoke in a ragged, withered voice that, together with the animated bone sculpture, intimidated even Brokk.
They spoke for a while. Nerull asked the purpose of Brokk's visit, which Brokk said was to break the bond with Magoth and instead serve Nerull. Nerull asked how Brokk would serve them, and Brokk said he meant to respect death and bring balance. This pleased Nerull, as those are their ideals, and they reached literally into Brokk, ripping out a humanoid form of barely visible dark light that Brokk could sense was his bond with Magoth and Magoth's hold on him personified. Brokk attacked the figure with his axe but did not destroy it; he hit it hard with an Eldritch Blast, which Nerull empowered, and the bond was broken with a distant scream from Magoth as the figure disappeared.
[Out of game, we were faced with an issue. Brokk was carefully built to be a Warlock, with a high Charisma and a backstory that heavily featured Magoth. Taking the patron away meant taking the powers of a Warlock (including Brokk's trademark Eldritch Blast, which I've made allowances to keep in Brokk's repertoire), and that meant that half of Brokk's levels were gone, and also that his build as a Charisma-focused character would truly restrict what options Brokk had in choosing a new class. But Brokk is a legendary hero who is also a dragon and shouldn't feel real limitations. So we opted to rule that Brokk would henceforth replace his Warlock levels with Cleric levels, specifically within the domain of the Grave Cleric. We also ruled that because Brokk would be such an incredible valuable champion, because Brokk and Nerull see eye to eye, and because Nerull would be willing and able to shift Brokk's strengths. So moving forward, Brokk is part Monk and Part Grave Cleric with his former Wisdom and Charisma scores switched (by Nerull's unspeakable magic).]
Brokk emerged from his conversation with Nerull, the sculpture still. He turned to the servants, who now had faint spirals of light above their heads, one servant's a fair bit longer than the other. Confused, Brokk asked Nerull what the spirals signified; Nerull answered that they showed the remaining lifespan of the person. In an attempt to acclimimate to the idea of living with the spirals, Brokk went to the nearest big city: Curagon. Everyone had different spirals, but all faintly glowing, and all clockwise. Brokk went to the cemetery only to find that bodies are burned in Curagon and only occasionally is a marker left behind. Brokk spent a minute examining the markers that existed there, and a pair of men brought in a pregnant woman on a stretcher; she appeared to be dead, and the men set to building a fire in the pit to burn her. Brokk observed that the woman had a counterclockwise spiral above her head and in her abdomen, hers several rotations and the child's many more. Brokk went to her and raised her from the dead. Before his eyes, the spirals turned back to clockwise. The woman was confused about how she'd ended up here; Brokk said she was just hungry and passed out. The woman hurried off to find food, and Brokk thanked Nerull. Brokk followed the woman for a while and saw a spit with three rabbits on it, two with counterclockwise spirals and one with a perfect circle, which the hunter with the spit explained he'd found recently dead of natural causes. Furtively, Brokk cut the two rabbits with counterclockwise spirals from the spit and raised them from the dead in a quiet section of the rainforest.
Brokk returned home to Mishara. To his discomfort, he saw spirals above the heads of his children and a perfect circle over the head of his wife. Viren had a long spiral, longer than Brokk had seen so far, and Sempra's was almost as long but more than a rotation shorter. Brokk checked on Niela's health, concerned that she had died of natural causes, but found that she was perfectly healthy. Brokk told them of his adventure, eliciting excitement, terror, and pride as he spoke. He explained that he meant to travel more now, trying to keep the balance for Nerull. Privately, Niela asked questions about Nerull; she had only read about them and wanted to know the situation. Brokk explained that Nerull was unsettling but that they ultimately believed in a kind of cosmic justice and balance as well as putting forth effort to right wrongs. Niela was relieved and voiced full enthusiasm for Brokk's new calling. Seeing his family and the whole world for how much time they had left had made Brokk feel truly old for the first time, and he carried a sturdy chair out to the shore to watch the sun set.
And Brokk did travel. Much of his new work was similar to his old work as a hero--defending the weak, striking back against violence, helping those in need--but it took on a new edge. Brokk was not just fighting the violent anymore; he was saving people from death whether they were dead or not. He did not simply tend to humanoids but struck a balance with the animals he encountered. As he progressed with Nerull, he soon came to see the spirals of plant life as well. Brokk took his duties seriously; he continued to work with all manner of people to improve things, and he remained an attentive father and partner, but the focus of his life had become defending the balance.
Years later, Brokk received an invitation to visit Xavier. Intrigued, Brokk went to Xavier's estate in Curagon, where Xavier allowed him into their home. After some small talk, Xavier explained that Aurora had paid them a visit and convinced them to try doing something positive. In fact, Xavier had committed a large sum of money to creating a massive social services network in Curagon that had improved quality of life for struggling people. Xavier further explained that they had reached a point where all their efforts were being spent maintaining and expanding these services, but they wanted to invest money to allow someone else to do the same thing somewhere else. After some conversation, they agreed that Ringsdale was the best candidate given its divided economy and lack of a dragon stationed there, and that Brokk would be the one to establish the project there. Brokk suggested forming a nonprofit to finance the operation and naming it after Regg, and Xavier enthusiastically agreed. Brokk returned home again with news of his new project. Niela and Sempra said they would move with him for the duration of the project (with nightly return trips to the observatory to watch the night sky), and Viren said he was embarking on another trip to Kruush, this time to create an archive of orcish oral traditions so that they could be collected, preserved, and circulated to hopefully improve relations with orcs across Evanoch. Brokk was thrilled to hear this, and Niela had secured a comfortable house in Ringsdale within days; the plan was in motion.
On arrival, Brokk got to work immediately. He studied the farms around Ringsdale, the yields brought to market, the locations of markets, the location of markets compared to lower income housing, and all manner of other details that would help him understand the task ahead. After weeks of investigation, Brokk found that most farms sold their goods to merchants who then sold the goods to customers, and most farms specialized in livestock. He also noticed that most food merchants were demanding higher prices than was fair, and lower income families had few options for affordable food. Brokk began speaking to farmers, some of whom mentioned wanting to sell their land--he bought three farms this way. Immediately, he sold all livestock on the farm for low prices and began employing any unhoused people he encountered to start work on the farms. Within a month, Brokk had 30 workers spread across three farms, and his teams of workers were converting the former livestock land into crop fields. When harvest times would come--and Brokk's spiral vision allowed him to see the precise point at which to harvest--his workers would take wagons of food to poorer neighborhoods and distribute their food in packages meant to feed a family for a few days at least. Brokk planned to establish formal food pantries, but getting the farms up and running was the first order of business.
With a year of the project complete, the farms were working at max efficiency, using sustainable farming methods that maximized space, and reaching a large portion of Ringsdale's population. Brokk reached out to Xavier, who paid a visit and was delighted by Brokk's progress. Together, with Xavier as the financier and Brokk as the executor (with a simple clause to remove him when he choose to move on), they established the Redd Foundation for What Should Be. With the Foundation, they purchased four buildings, one in each of the lower income neighborhoods of Ringsdale and began to convert them to food pantries, where farm workers would bring fresh produce every morning to be distributed on a "pay what you think is fair, and nothing can be fair if that's your situation" arrangement. Brokk set to specializing the farms so that they could maximize their labor; one farm featured fresh vegetables and the three sisters method, another root vegetables with a small apple orchard, and a third growing oats and wheat with small mills built alongside the fields.
All the while, Niela and Sempra helped. Niela was always good with insightful advice and asking questions no one else had thought of. Sempra, like Brokk, always kept the mission in mind, the mission being doing something helpful and good. She spent mornings helping on the farm, especially work that no one else wanted to do. When workers had issues, Sempra was the first to jump in an diplomatically defuse tension and solve problems. Like her mother, Sempra had ideas too--she imagined leaving Ringsdale a paradise for anyone, and she regarded it as a home away from home.
With people able to access affordable food, they had more money to spend on housing and other necessities and even luxuries for some. The economy of Ringsdale, a very industrial city, had always been doing well, but now even the poorest of Ringsdale were getting by with less anxiety. That's when Brokk began phase two: free clinics. The plan was to employ healers and nurses at a respectable wage but accepting no payment from patients; the clinics would be funded by the Regg Foundation for What Should Be. Brokk followed a similar trajectory to the food pantries. Suitable buildings were obtained within a few months, healers from the area were hired, and word was spread. The clinics were a hit right away, but many in Ringsdale had severe health issues, and the clinics were not able to keep up with demand. But by three years after the project had begun, Ringsdale was healthier, the clinics were no longer overwhelmed, and people had come to depend on the clinics.
Brokk's next project followed immediately. They opened schools which offered free meals, required no tuition, and allowed students of all ages. Initially, there was resistance. Parents were unwilling to allow their children to go to school because it meant time not working and contributing to the family's finances. Additionally, adults were uncomfortable sitting in a room of mostly children, which felt demeaning. Brokk and Sempra solved these problems creatively. "Reverse tuition" was offered--literally paying families what their children would earn to send them to school instead. Attendance skyrocketed quickly, and most of Ringsdale's youth was in school most of the time. And for adults who wanted an education, an adults-only school was created with focuses on literacy, basic math, and vocational skills, all with the unassuming name "The Club," a building they weren't ashamed to go into. In the space of five years, the average literacy of Ringsdale citizens was substantially higher and still climbing. Brokk reminded Sempra she didn't have to be there and was free to explore the world; Sempra said she simply wanted to do good and be with her family--she still had stargazing every night.
The last phase of Brokk's project was free housing. Without land to build in the confines of the city, Xavier bought up land just outside Ringsdale's border. In the space of nearly a year, a team of workers overseen by Brokk managed to build a large apartment complex with fairly sized rooms and top notch amenities. Over the next four years, the team repeated itself efforts again and again until twelve buildings stood at the edge of Ringsdale, each capable of housing twelve families. As each building was completed, people with the most dire need were moved in first; after five years of work, over 500 people were receiving free housing, many of whom had been unhoused before. New buildings popped up around the apartments--new shops and restaurants, some operated by residents of the apartments. By the time that Brokk's time in Ringsdale came to a close, a whole community complete with food pantry, free clinic, and school was operating. Brokk let Xavier know that all that the project was complete, nearly a decade and a half spent improving life in Ringsdale. Xavier paid another visit, ecstatic at the changes, and appointed Zia Turnbuckle, a trusted associate in Curagon, to oversee maintaining and expanding the project. She learned quickly with Brokk, and soon, he and the family were able to return to Mishara.
Content to rest, Brokk and the family returned to the observatory. Viren had made semi-frequent visits to Ringsdale, but he had always hurried off to resume work at the archives. But Viren did pay an extended visit to the observatory not long after the Brokk, Niela, and Sempra returned. Viren said that in all his research, every orcish war was followed by a peace that was led by a warrior in that war. It was true in every story Viren could find, and he had come to believe that Brokk was this person, the Peacebringer, in relation to the War of Kraal. Brokk was very resistant to this, saying that what he did in war could not be related to a Peacebringer. Viren simply said that he wanted to tell his father he was special, and that he wanted Brokk to know that Viren had gone to the orcish lands to find his family, and he had. He meant to move more permanently to Kruush, where his life had been for years now.
Sempra offered the next surprise. One night, she showed Brokk a corner of the sky with only one star but where a strange rippling pattern on several points around it, including the star itself. Sempra explained that she had noticed the rippling there in the dark corner of space and was immediately intrigued by it--it was what designated a constellation as a prophecy. But this constellation was only just appearing, and the single star they saw had only appeared the night before. Sempra was pleased to explai n that she had taken the liberty of translating the constellation based on the ripple--it said, rather poetically, that all people would become one, a great coming together. Niela added that people had been having children who biologically could not before, like a halfling and a dwarf, which could be one meaning of the coming together. Brokk voiced concern, wondering what great evil could unite everyone. Sempra said she would watch the constellation as it developed to see what else she might learn.
After years of striving, Viren's vision for the archive was largely complete. The archive was always searching for "new" old stories to document, but Viren had managed to transition into collecting and publishing volumes of orcish oral tradition stories. In the academic community, Viren was known as a serious if amateur intellectual whose contributions to orcish history were monumental. Orcs in the homeland and abroad were delighted to find their stories alongside other reading materials. Outsiders who came to the archive or even simply read from the archive's publications reported coming away from the experience with a broadened perspective and a new appreciation of orcish culture. Viren's position as an expert on orcish history and culture opened the doors for more outreach, including teaching the archive's collections as part of academy curricula.
Sempra continued to study the constellation, refining her interpretation to indicate that a genealogical coming together is the likeliest sense, though a double meaning could exist. But most of her time was dedicated to humanitarian work. With Ringsdale much better for their work, Sempra reached out through Brokk to Xavier, Rupert, and other dragons to do public service through their own projects. Sempra endeared herself to every dragon she worked with, both traveling the continent and making connections with people powerful and in need alike.
With the help of a portal by Niela, Viren brought a traditional orcish meal for home one night. For each family member, he shared a story he had learned and documented, a sort of special gift created from his work. For Sempra, Viren told the story of a bold and heroic young orc who could not be told what to do and didn't need to be told what to do. For Niela, he told the orcish myth of how the night sky came to be, in which a wise woman calls the stars into being by naming them. For Brokk, Viren quietly told a story of a man beloved by all who could not see why they loved him, closing with an orcish saying: "Things not done yet are not done yet." This was something of a turning point for Viren--it was his first communication that was figurative, more dignified, more marked by stories as examples, his more direct approach now gone. Touched deeply by his work, Viren resembled a classic orc more and more every day, even though he was himself a dragonborn by sight.
Sempra had reached the edge of what she could accomplish as she had been. Most every major city in Evanoch (save for New Dalton, where the government and public wouldn't allow her help), Sempra had somehow contributed to the improved wellbeing of people in the biggest cities. But she wasn't satisfied. She went to Brokk with a plan to perform the same public service and infrastructure they had done in Ringsdale, but in slightly smaller settlements which still had numerous people--Sempra said this represented at least as many people as major cities, and they needed help too. Brokk happily agreed to finance the project, much to Sempra's surprise and delight, and she set off to try her work on the city of Tronz, which was economically struggling. Within three years, she had established a center with food, healing, and housing as well as classes, all for free; she challenged herself to do the same in Quartet, but in two years.
And around the same time, Viren and Sempra found love. Viren had worked closely with a historian named Prue for many years, which had blossomed into a close friendship and then a romance. Viren and Prue took steps back from their work for a few years and built a family; they had four children (Brokk, Aurora, Rhuk, Varna), named for their grandfather, their great-aunt, and mythic figures in orcish lore. Viren showed a new side again--like Niela had, he lost his aloofness and became effusive and positive. He loved being a parent and delighting Brokk with time with the grandkids. And Sempra, while building services in the city of Such, met a half-elven woman named Helena who helped in the project; they immediately had a fiery romance that was anchored by shared trust and a decision to travel together, spreading as many support services to those in need as they could. Sempra and Helena mentioned considering adoption once they had settled down a bit more. Brokk was sure to help support them every step of the way, and he took special pleasure in roasting Sempra with Helena, much to Sempra's consternation and laughter.
Fifty Years After:
On the fiftieth anniversary of Brokk and Niela's relationship beginning, Niela casually asked Brokk if he wanted to get married given their happy 50 years and considerable family. This flummoxed Brokk, who had genuinely been under the presumption that they had been married for most of their 50-year relationship, but he enthusiastically agreed. Niela planned a wedding--a casual one, more a party to celebrate an existing bond in some vaguely formal way, an excuse to bring all the family's favorite people together. In a beautiful garden outside of the observatory, Brokk and Niela were joined by their children and grandchildren, their old friends--Marq, Curtran, and Hannah all made it--the dragons, and new friends. Viren ribbed Brokk and Niela for taking so long to get married, and Sempra joked that they were scoundrels for having two children out of wedlock. Brokk and Niela soaked it all up, enjoying their special day and the company of loved ones.
Brokk had noticed the shortness of the life and death spirals above some of his loved ones, most especially Marq and Curtran, whose spirals were mere curling lines. Noticing this, Brokk made extra time with them after the wedding. It was not long after that Brokk heard of Marq's death. Marq was in his 80s and still living a sailor's life, and a random boating accident had claimed his life. Brokk mourned his longtime friend, and two years later, Curtran passed from old age--she was nearly 130 when she passed in her sleep. Brokk mourned again, knowing that more mourning would come in the future, grim as that may be--it was true.
54 years after the campaign, Moradin contacted Brokk, asking permission to have a conversation. Brokk granted it, and Moradin explained that she could not see the mortal world as the barrier obscured most of it, but she had heard that the dragons were doing good things. She wanted to be filled in, but she also added that she had always wanted to empower the average person in Evanoch, which was why she had supported leaving the rift as it was--could Brokk see his way to doing that? Brokk patiently explained the advances the dragons had made. Aurora had made cheap and potent healing potions available to practically everyone. Xavier had created a slew of public services in Curagon. Brokk had done the same in Ringsdale, and Lethanin had done the same in Torga. Rupert operated a massive system of housing projects for refugees and the unhoused. The world was safer, better fed, more comfortable, and even happier than it had been 50 years ago. It wasn't perfect, but it was progress.
Moradin was pleased. She thanked Brokk and the others for their work, and she felt it was perfectly in line with what she, Ehlonna, and Heironeous had joined together to do. She offered her support, saying that if there was something outside their powers as dragons that she could do, she would be happy to contribute. As an olive branch, Brokk offered this: Finiel was safe but not necessarily thriving, and part of that was due to the government, which was simply the three oldest residents of the city. This obviously meant that the three oldest elves in town would rule, and Brokk suggested talking some sense to the council members. A month later, Brokk heard that all three council members changed the council to a democratically elected body of seven leaders, then resigned. The election that followed saw the victories of locals who had sworn an intention to remain employed as they were and to stay connected to the average person. The new rule was marked by more progressive policies, including a system of social services similar to what had been implemented in Curagon, Ringsdale, and Torga. Moradin contacted Brokk again, saying she was even more pleased with the progress now. Brokk replied that "recklessly hoping usually pays off."
As the years stretched on, Brokk developed a routine. For three weeks, he would patrol the continent, looking for errant life and death spirals. Where there were wrongs, he would fix them. He called this "gardening," and would tell people he was a gardener when asked for his profession. He would explore every inch of Evanoch in this search over the years, constantly scouring it for something amiss. In this way, Brokk probably knew Evanoch better than anyone ever had. When his tour for Nerull would end, he would go home and rest. He would read and spend time with his family. He separated these worlds--gently and sympathetically explaining to people past their due that they had to die and killing them without pain on one day, and reading to a a young grandkid on the next. But both fulfilled him, and neither detracted from the other.
61 years after the campaign, Sempra told Brokk and Niela that she wanted to commit herself as a Paladin. Brokk and Niela were supportive, and Brokk had some questions to better understand her choice. What made her want to be a Paladin? She wanted to be able to use magic to help people and combat to protect people. What god is she committing to? Obad-Hai. Why Obad-Hai? The belief is basically what Mom believes, and it's not Clerichood, it's Paladinhood--the commitment is to doing good. Will this make her happy? Yes, and it's nice to know from a young age that you'll never measure up to your parents because they're dragons. After a laugh together, Sempra asked for advice in dealing with gods to prepare for committing to Obad-Hai. Brokk advising being nice and knowing that you are a servant to them always, never someone with control. He also advised that Sempra needed to consider whether the path she wanted to walk down would let her be someone who could look her family in the eye, not to let power change her. Sempra, touched by this, confessed that she had feared she couldn't protect her partner, Helena, and she wanted to keep people from that fear; but she was confident she wouldn't take the power for granted--she only wanted to use it for safety and helping people. At the end of it all, she wanted to do it, but she was afraid she was missing some downside. Brokk said that was an answer. Sempra grew excited, talking about how her work with the smaller cities with Helena was all she needed or could want, and it made her truly happy. Niela was proud and said this was incredibly fitting for Sempra. Viren would write that she should let Obad-Hai work through her. Sempra was eager to get started, so Brokk offered her a joint adventure. She accepted.
Brokk opened a portal to New Dalton, disguising both of them as humans in Daltoner garb--Brokk as a thick, grizzled old man and Sempra as a clearly related but much younger brunette woman. They stepped through near the gates to the city from the west. Brokk gave some guidelines for how to act, explained, "you're life in balance, I'm death in balance, let's see what we can do," and set off looking for spirals. Down the road, they found a small church, and within were a collection of short-spiraled people and a young man in elaborate robes with an inverse spiral. "Why is it like that?" asked Sempra. "You can see it too," replied Brokk. Sempra looked to Brokk for guidance, but Brokk quizzed Sempra: what do they do in this scenario? Sempra thought about it, then explained that the only safe way was to wait for the service to end and then isolate the man in the robes and correct the issue. Brokk said she was absolutely right and that she should take the initiative to lead more.
The robed man began to speak, explaining that since the parish had come up short on tithes the previous week, all services would be cancelled until the funds could be raised. Brokk interrupted this, asking how much they needed; when told it was five gold, Brokk offered seven and demanded services since the funds had been met. The robed man said the preacher wasn't available as they'd cancelled his appearance. Brokk suggested that the robed man try. After some prodding from Brokk and Sempra, the man launched into a tirade about the moral decay of New Dalton, how people had abandoned the capital and turned against Pelor, and that they would all suffer for their lack of piety. The crumbling city around them featured prominently as a metaphor in his speaking. Brokk clapped and asked for a private meeting, to which the robed man enthusiastically agreed. The parishioners cleared out, and the robed man took Brokk and Sempra to a back room.
Brokk asked the man's name and learned it was Lyle. Brokk asked Sempra what Lyle was; after some thought, Sempra replied, "fear and confusion." Brokk began to investigate what about Lyle caused him to have a long inverted spiral at such a young age. After some prodding, he learned that Lyle had fallen down a well as a young boy and barely been saved by his uncle, a man who had always been lucky, Lyle mumbled. He had realized that the tone of the conversation no longer flattered him and had taken a gradually more hunched posture. Brokk asked what, in all of Lyle's wildest dreams, was waiting on the other side of life? Lyle said he expected Pelor's light. "What is it like?" asked Brokk. "I don't know," said Lyle. "Is that enough?" asked Brokk. "I have faith," replied Lyle. Brokk assured Lyle, "You're going to have peace." Brokk offered Lyle a bottle of pear cider as a final allowance and touched Lyle's hand while transferring the bottle, pulling Lyle's soul from his body. Normally, the soul would absorb into Brokk, then later to Nerull, but instead, Lyle's soul divided in two, half going to Brokk and half to Sempra in twin flashes of white and black light over Lyle's lifeless body.
Sempra joked with Brokk about choosing such a fraught first mission, and Brokk countered that it had been intentional on his part to create an obstacle for her to overcome, which she had. They resolved to use their combined powers again in the future, and Sempra's advancement as a Paladin allowed her to match and even occasionally surpass Brokk in cleverness and stubbornness for what is right. Soon, tales of Sempra's deeds as a Paladin came to match the cries of her as a public servant, and Sempra began to go about both public service and Paladinhood with the same passion with which she approaches astronomy.
Viren's children had grown old enough to have their own children, and in the 67th year after the campaign, Viren and his wife Prue's four children had collectively had nine children. This made Brokk and Niela great-grandparents, a role which Brokk took to with the same rambunctiousness, rowdiness, and wild abandon he had used with their parents. The now sizable family adopted regular gatherings, often with Sempra and Helena in tow as well. At long last, Brokk had a true sense of what family is.
Niela approached Brokk with flushed cheeks one morning. She explained that the political unrest in Mishara for the last decades had boiled over--the former leader had been banished from elven lands, and the government would restructure under a democratic council with elections in a week. At the same time, Niela said, "I want to run," and Brokk said, "You're running, right?" Niela added amidst their shared excitement that she wanted to run openly as a dragon, reasoning that public perception of dragons was incredibly high. Brokk hesitantly agreed because he trusted Niela's judgment. Brokk adopted the post of campaign manager, spreading word of Niela's trustworthiness, intelligence, and practical goals. Niela made public appearances, speaking about the value of progressive policies, mending past injustices, and equality between all. On the day before the election, Niela's name was in one way or another on everyone's mind in Mishara.
The following day saw the election of Mishara's first democratically elected council. On it were Jesmyn Lytor, Ahver Nylin, Plia Corridi, Zuflin Oriola, and Niela Destill. The highest amount of votes in the election went to Niela Destill. The second highest amount of votes were write-ins for "Vuthiejir." Together, the council was amenable to most progressive ideas so long as they were practical in terms of cost and implementation; it was Niela's challenge to convince them to pursue loftier goals. Her first victory was a motion to implement a massive social services program similar to that in Ringsdale, Curagon, Torga, and Finiel. In the years that followed, she would pioneer programs to make the city more sustainable, repair damaged nature, and extend diplomatic relations to cities who the previous leader had cut off.
Sempra invited Brokk and Niela to a banquet in her and Helena's honor, which was being put on by a coalition of small and medium cities that they had united across the north of Evanoch. Brokk and Niela were happy to go, and they learned when they arrived early at the event that Sempra and Helena had forged an alliance with over 100 settlements to share resources, funds, and defense when able. Delegates from nearly all 100 settlements came and filled the banquet hall, each telling stories of improvements made by Sempra and Helena or reorganizations which saved towns from financial ruin or being plundered by bandits until Sempra taught them all a lesson. Several delegates spoke of the sense of safety and union they felt, and one compared Sempra and Helena to St. Cuthbert, saying that such commonsense goodness was sainted before. In their thank you speeches, Helena thanked the cities for cooperating on such a huge project, and Sempra said her success was all thanks to her parents, which made Brokk cry.
In the 83rd year after the campaign, Brokk received a letter from Hannah complaining of Drumchapel being overrun by immigrant Daltoners, and the Pear Pit in particular had become a different place than she'd made it to be. Brokk immediately went to Drumchapel to investigate. He found the town larger, more crowded, more full of symbols of the Dalton Church of Pelor. Brokk had heard that Daltoners were fleeing to Faninite-heavy places, where they could blend in, and the many Faninites in Drumchapel made that likely the case here too. At the Pear Pit, the bar was full and rowdy. The many books that Hannah had filled the bar with were strewn about and lying in puddles of cider. Hannah seemed beside herself if relieved to see Brokk. Brokk surveyed the scene--of the Pear Pit's four long tables, one seemed to be inhabited by quiet patrons, many of whom were trying to read; the other three were filled by humans with Daltoner clothing who were loud and frequently obscene. Brokk ordered a raspberry cider and sauntered over to join the rowdiest group at the middle rowdy table, sitting down and sitting silently until everyone fell silent around him. He introduced himself and was greeted by Davenport, who asked if they were friends; Brokk replied that that was what he was trying to figure out.
A tense exchange ensued, neither Brokk nor Davenport being truly explicit in what they were communicating. Eventually, Brokk said he simply wanted Davenport and the others to respect Hannah's property. Davenport agreed, and Brokk returned to Hannah to watch what happened next. Quickly, Davenport and several others began lifting and then smashing their flagons down onto the table. Brokk walked over, lifted the table away, and placed it in the corner of the room. This caused Davenport to lose his temper, and Brokk goaded Davenport into threatening him. At this point, Brokk initiated Form of Dread, becoming ghastly and monstrous to anyone who could see him. In a moment, all of the Daltoners got up and ran from the bar. Only Hannah and the quieter patrons remained. "We've heard the stories about you from our grandparents," said one as he turned a page. Hannah was incredibly pleased that some order had been restored, and it seemed strange that Hannah could be so lively with so short a spiral left over her head. Brokk dismissed himself to follow Davenport.
Brokk found Davenport's house and knocked. Davenport opened the door, recognized Brokk, and closed the door. Brokk stood back and blew the door away with an Eldritch Blast, then forcefully told Davenport to sit down. Davenport quickly sat in a nearby armchair and cowered as Brokk promised that he would not hesitate to kill him if he bothered Hannah again, or the bar, or anyone or anything in town. Davenport desperately nodded his agreement. Brokk dropped three gold pieces "for the door" and left. He returned to Hannah and shared some small talk, some book talk, and some goodbyes. Eyeing her short spiral, Brokk said he would see her sooner rather than later, to which Hannah said "I hope so!" In the weeks that followed, word of Brokk's display of force spread through town, and Drumchapel became a more civil and peaceable place. In the meantime, Brokk prayed to Nerull that Hannah would be taken care of properly if he could not see her off himself. He felt a cold, intellectual sureness that she would, and Hannah passed in her sleep three days before her 106th birthday.
In the 88th year after the campaign, Viren told Brokk of his decision to retire. He felt he had achieved what he meant to with the archive, and he wanted to do something that would allow him to spend more time with his grandkids before they were too old. With some shame, Viren admitted that with his attention to the archive, he felt he had missed out with his kids. Brokk asked what Viren would do, and Viren explained that he wished to write stories and poems in the traditional orcish style. Brokk asked what Viren had written already, which Viren said was mostly poems about family. He found that what he wrote was incredibly similar to ancient poems and songs from orcish tradition, and that made him feel connected to what he was looking for all along. In the months that followed Viren's retirement, he became more relaxed and even cheerful. Brokk likewise spent renewed time with his great-grandkids, spending a lot of time with Trac, one of the younger of the group. Trac had about him a certain world-weariness even at a young age that made him seem like an old soul. Brokk would ask questions of Trac to stay aware of the boy's world--learning about Trac's best friend Vert, Trac's love of art class, and what Trac thought of the world. Brokk always came away proud--Trac seemed to be a smart, discerning, and kind young man.
In the 97th year after the campaign, Brokk received a simple letter. It was addressed from Estyl Siesin at an address in Mishara. Brokk read the short letter. It explained that Estyl was a sister to Mariel Laskel, the deceased wife of the deceased Nastoran, who Estyl believed Brokk knew something about. She requested a meeting at her house at Brokk's convenience. Brokk showed the letter to Niela, who was concerned that going to speak with Estyl would open old wounds that could be left alone. But Brokk wanted to give Estyl closure if nothing else, so one afternoon, he went to the address on the envelope and knocked. Behind the door was an elderly elven woman who was surprised to find Brokk appearing as an elf. She invited him in and made tea, using the occasion to compose herself in private. With the tea in hand, they sat. Estyl began with a blunt set of statements about her sister's death, then asked what Brokk knew about it. Brokk confessed to killing Mariel and her children, adding that no explanation would ever be enough. But Estyl pressed on, expressing her pain at losing her best friend and her need for some answer--something, anything--to get peace.
Brokk explained his role in the war--his creation, his training, the role of Nastoran in military history, the rivalry that ended in Nastoran and his whole family dead. He said he had been young and misled and that those didn't excuse it, but if she was looking for an explanation, that would be part of it. After Brokk finished speaking, there was a long silence, and then Estyl asked, "And you just live with this?" Brokk spoke firmly but softly: "I was young and I was prideful, and there's no excuse. I think about it constantly. I still have nightmares about it. And again, it doesn't change anything. I don't want you to feel bad for me--don't think that's what this is. I'm not one of those people who believe good acts can undo bad acts, that there's some cosmic balance. I did a bad thing, and I'm sorry, and 'I'm sorry' will never be enough." Estyl, her face expressionless but slick with tears, said she had been a fool to think that she would feel better talking to him, that she had once been horrified that Brokk was still alive and unpunished, but to now know he was not even suffering at all and passing as an elf--it was unbearable. Estyl asked Brokk to leave, which he quickly did.
Back at home, Niela checked on in Brokk, curious about how the meeting had gone. Brokk explained what had transpired, saying that the worst part of it all was that Estyl had been completely calm the whole time--no anger, no sadness, just conscious thought. And that conscious thought had said that Brokk was a monster. But Brokk reasoned that Estyl could have closure now, that it was what she needed to move on. He knew that Estyl wanted him to suffer, and he didn't blame her for that. Niela comforted Brokk by talking about growth and change and being lifetimes away from who they were before, and as a way to ensure Brokk cheered up, she invited him to go heckle Daltoners in Drumchapel. Brokk eagerly leapt at the opportunity, and the dragons had a lovely time keeping the newest citizens of Drumchapel in check.