Battle of the Hidden Moon
Now let's examine a modern conflict, the Battle of the Hidden Moon, which took place just over a year ago. You all remember when the Hidden Moon began to transform into a weapon. The Moon Eater Protocols rang around the world as the Arimoanga pounced on the Clockwork Moon. Like you, I felt enormous relief when Malfador's plot was stopped and the Divine Gate remained sealed, keeping the Elder Evils at bay.
Battles in the sky? On the moons? And nobody invited your ol' pal Sarge! Sure, I cut down a few devils and rogue dragonborn here in the Zone, but I missed all the fireworks on the Hidden... Clockwork... whatever they're calling it now. Instructor! What's the new moon called again?
The Battle of the Hidden Moon was the decisive and most critical conflict of the Infernal Triumverate War. During that battle, the terrifying truth of Malfador's plan was revealed. The Hidden Moon was not just a clockwork celestial object, it was a celestial weapon.
The truth came to light when the Blackjack Trading Troupe launced a desperate assault upon it. They discovered that the moon had been corrupted by the God of Lies. He planned to fire the weapon at the Divine Gate, destroying the barrier that kept the gods and Elder Evils from walking the world of Erathia
Malfador fully intended to let the Elder Evils return. He believed he had become powerful enough to survive their arrival, and rule what remained.
I think we're skipping over the part where Malfador had turned himself into a giant adamantine/devil-flesh mecha-kaiju. Makes the whole 'I'll survive the Elder Evils' thing slightly more believeable...
The Moonsoul Cannon
The payload of the cannon was a Moonsoul, an unborn godling bound into a divine shell. As the Soul Cannon turned towards the Divine Gate, the crew of the Blackjack fought, snuck, and negotiated their way to the Firing Chamber. There they faced Malfador, merged with his Avatar Xeno in a towering golden mech. The heroes fought desperately to stop the Cannon from firing.
The path to redemption isn't always a straight line. Sometimes, you gotta swing around a few moral poles before you find your true north. And honestly? All that pole work has done wonders for the physique!
With coordinated attacks and quick thinking, the crew weakened Malfador enough to separate him from Xeno, removing his golden armor. They summoned the Arimoanga and propitiated the new goddess Jenevieve to turn the Hidden Moon.
They released the Moonsoul and with some trickery and clever spellwork, they sealed Malfador into the divine shell meant for the Moonsoul. With the cannon turned, they fired the god of lies into the sun, ending his reign once and for all.
With the battle over and the Moonsoul liberated, the being once known as Xeno chose to merge with the freed godling. They became something new, Praxis, the God of Soulforged.
The Hidden Moon, no longer a doomsday weapon, was renamed the Forged Moon. It now serves as a haven and homeland for Soulforged and Mechani-kin.
Sometimes I can feel the weight of destiny through my roots. I can hear it rustling the leaves in my crown. I felt it that night, as the clockwork moon turned to and fro. I felt the branches of time begin to diverge. I am glad to be here, in the world where we have not forged into construct slaves of the God of Lies.
That was such a fantastic end to the campaign!
It was so good! This write up didn't do it justice. I need quotes from the participants! (hint, hint)
Learn about the World of Wizard's Peak.