Session 39 - Asgorath's Chosen United

As we arrive in port. I get some pressure build up behind my eyes and a ringing starts and suddenly a flash of white appears. We hear the crowd below at the port gasp. We look down with worry and see everyone bowing down to us.
 
We all notice a prismatic glow to each one of us that's now fading. Then hear a voice at the back trying to come through the crowd with a cart being pulled by two oxen creatures with 4 horns. He introduces himself to us as Barnabus Puddle, a Water Genasi like myself but of human heritage. He seems a bit nervous but also in a rush to not get in trouble at Bongal, the Temple of Change where we will meet Master Xiao Feng and train there.
He tells us that he's from Eltera and had trouble in Casterfell before leaving and has been at the temple for a year or so training under Doyen Silent Mist.
 
On our way up the mountainous pillar which has the Temple of Change at the top, I activate the Curio Seeker ability of my Master Smith Hammer when on the South Eastern side. The line leads out in the same direction but from my higher perspective it doesn't seem like the line leads down but straight across, most likely to Lanali.
 
We arrive about halfway up the pillar we enter a gate into an immense courtyard with designs of huge dragons, multicoloured spectrums. Everything around is built with Asgorath in mind, multi coloured.
 
As we step out of the cart, Barnabus makes his way to the gate of the temple and ushers us to follow. Raskin asks him why he's so nervous and he opens up that this is the first time he's been told to do something by himself and he doesn't want to disappoint his elders.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice a figure in a hood by one of the pagoda like structures looking at us, as I look back the figure is gone.
 
At the top by the open doors is another individual which Barnabus calls Sentir Lukem Jafarm. A handsome human man, dark tanned skin. Well built with a big leather shoulder pad on one side and a half cloak around him and typical monk like robe. Set of very defined abs.
Asked us how much do we know about the Temple. Sentir known to some as Xiaoshan's Hero.
 
We weave through the gardens being led by Sentir and he points out a third residential building where he says they've laid out 5 bed rolls for us. He walks off and not long after we hear footsteps rushing towards a door of the second residential building and it opens and we see a young girl open the door. Small 5ft, reddish/brown messy hair, freckled face, blue eyes, wearing robes likely given to her while she's been here. Introduces herself as Kari who we've met in Sudden Space.
 
We go to our rooms in the residential building and head to bed for the night as we're up in the morning for a ceremony of some kind before our training begins. I'm sitting on my bed, and I hear a popping noise in the room beside me. I look and see standing there a young looking man in a blueish over coat, curly brown hair brushing dirt off him. Has furry legs with inverted knees. This is Sif. Young looking but his demeanour was that of an adult at 5ft 5". Has power of Air. He asks me not to tell anyone he was there and he'll see me in the morning.
 
In the morning as I step out of my room I see Sentir standing in the door. Asks us to put some robes on for the ceremony which I do but I keep my Words of Moradin on me. He leads us to a waterfall section and as he steps on the stepping stones the water parts revealing an archway behind it. We end up in a anti chamber which has a door at the end which he said Master Xaifeng will come through.
 
The doors slide open slowly and looking in we can see another room further in. We walk in and the room is much larger than we thought, hollowed out within the mountainous pillar. Standing in semi circles, row after row are statues. They go back a long way as there's a lot of them. One of the statues is off a Dragonborn figure with a blade at the end of his tail like in the basement of The Storyteller. A voice behind us says "that was Daycaryin, previous champion of lightning". Stepping out in red robes, an elderly man with long white hair in a bun and a beard. His distinctive feature are his eyes which are glowing beacons of yellow light. Met with an overwhelming sense of pressure and power coming from him. I notice my allies subconsciously subvert their gaze and heads.
The glowing of his eyes lessen as he gets closer.
 
True Master Xaifeng, trained many generations of monks, as well as several groups of Ninefold Chosen. It's his duty to ready us the best he can, as it is our given path, destiny, to protect Aolara from destruction. We'll find out what our weak point is and what can be improved during our training here. The main goal to create a cohesive team that is capable of protecting everyone. We have a choice in if we want to do this or not.
 
Ape asked him about Edwin, and Edwin nods at Xaifeng and he says he's a being who could be a great ally to us, but won't reveal him to us and will leave it for Edwin to decide when to do that.
 
Said all the statues we see are of previous Ninefold teams since the beginning. True Master Xaifeng reverses the aging that Malaphor went through with the cursed amulet back in Laelosia.
 
He tells us they will want to see what we're capable off in combat without reliance on magical items. We head back to the residential area and see Kari doing warmups and Nentons with her.
 
After donning my armour and grabbing my stuff, we head to the courtyard, in the centre we see a large stone statue of a lizard like entity. We also see a lot of people, likely everyone has come out to see what we're capable off individually.
 
We see the Elven twins in darker attire, one male and one female. Naturally snooty but likely comes with the royal heritage Kari said they were from. True Master Xaifeng already there and talking to an elderly looking person in a chair. Various unique figures in the crowd, just to our left a humanoid figure with deep blueish/grey skin that stands at the same height as Nentos. Standing beside a beautiful, very muscular panther coloured Tabaxi. Further back another Verapan (Pandafolk), larger than others we've seen at 8ft tall. See some fire monks, wearing red and one likely a Fire Genasi. We see infront, in golden armour and a long sharpened spear like weapon, a lionman with a big orange mane, the tips of which flow back into fire.
I notice at the back in the shadows, a hooded figure with similar physique and build that I saw the previous night.
 
Austar takes the first fight and wins with ease. Ape goes second and also wins.
Sif wins his fight.
Nentos fought a close fight but won in the end.
As I step into the ring I see three figures on the top left section of the stadium stand to attention. The man at the front in his fifties, and 4 spectral serpents coming off him. I manage to win my fight.
Kari impresses us in her fight, fighting with vigour, manages to win her fight as well.
The Twins then go in fighting a creature that can split itself in two to fight. The male twin falls unconscious but the female manages to defeat the creature.
Malaphor wins his battle with ease.
Raskin wins the last battle.
 
Master Xaifeng says that Asgorath has a gift for us that he's been instructed to give to us. The rocks in the arena all have specific elements within them. But what we do see are egg shapes, all of the colour of our gifts. The eggs are our companions. This wasn't just a test, but to take down the entities in front of us and to allow rebirth as companions to us.
As I hold the egg, a bipedal rocky creature with green eyes and a green gem sticking out of it's back and head with acidic dribble coming out of it's mouth.