Prophecy: Breath of the Recurring Scale

The handout I made
for Sunday's game

The Dragontouched, a cult of mystic winged kobolds, maintain a prophecy called the Breath of the Recurring Scale. This prophecy lies at the heart of their faith, and they travel the world looking for adventuring groups that fit the descriptions mentioned in the middle couplets. The elder Dragontouched mystics keep refining the prophecy through vision quests.

A little background: Dragons left Beneterra 500 years ago. The kobolds left behind view themselves as relatives. They want the dragons to return, so they use the prophecy to look for the party who will open the gate and bring the dragons back. The Dragontouched believe that the Breath of the Recurring Scale provides enough information to identify the people who will open the gate. The Dragontouched don't know about the trials at Dragon Peak, though they know that pilgrims could petition Shaxalar for an audience when she lived there.

The text of the prophecy reads as follows:

The days grow bare, the blood runs thin.
    The faithful keep Scale’s lore for kin.
When Dragon’s flight in memories dim,
    The door unlocks, they rush back in.

The Drakes return, both bad and good.
    Destroying town, protecting wood.
Two-sided coin, Last Sentry’s hood,
    The Heroes Rise, not “can” but “should”?

The Son of Earth, in Water Lost;
    He Touches Dark and Wields Sunlight.
The Child of Glades, a Flowing Shade;
    Provides the key and counts the cost.
The Summoned Thought, with Mantle Bright;
    From Objects takes Profound Advice.
The Orphan Drake, of Flaming Ice;
    Uncertain, Forceful, Unafraid.

They gather from across the land
    The foursome forge a fearsome band.
At temple’s peak with glass’s sand,
    They reach the gate with outstretch’d hand.
The Guardian’s challenge overcome,
    The moment’s poignance strikes them dumb.
Both right and evil made welcome,
    And crossing through, War beats its drum.
Revive our greatness at great cost,
    Or lock the gate and let it fend?
Wond’rous thunder, bereft and lost?
    Or Scales set free to burn and rend?

This Braid of Truth comes to its end.
    Our future’s face on them depend. 

If the party meets the Dragontouched during their travels, they may have access to this version of the prophecy. However, this version is incomplete. In the second trial at Dragon Peak, a scroll tube contains the middle couplets with the hidden fifth couplet:

The Son of Earth, in Water Lost;

    Touches Dark and Wields Sunlight.

The Child of Glades, a Flowing Shade;
    Provides the key and counts the cost.

The Summoned Thought, with Mantle Bright;
    From Objects takes Profound Advice.

The Orphan Drake, of Flaming Ice;
    Uncertain, Forceful, Unafraid.

The Twilight’s Ward, in Moonlight Thrive;
    Unseen by Seers, Keeps Hope Alive.

These couplets provide hints on how to solve the five trials at Dragon Peak.

Note: These couplets were composed with my current PCs firmly in mind. Yes, I gained a new player after the party had gotten a copy of the prophecy, so I added a fifth couplet "Unseen by Seers". And that totally fits, because she's a Twilight Cleric. It's a major plotline in my game since one of the characters is the last Dragonborn (and also an airheaded teen Sorcerer with Brass and Silver dragon influences coursing through her veins). They're at the gate with other parties who signed the Pact of Isolation, and we'll see what happens when the accusations start flying next game.

Part of T.W.Wombat's Lore 24 project, detailing the world around Fellport.
For all city posts, see the Fellport Index. For posts about the wider world, see the Beneterra Index.