Feathered Dragon

From the chronicles of Coton:

Borne by the steed of the strangers, I ride toward the destiny of my own world.

The presence of the One Plumed God is nearby, imminent. / can feel his breath on my shoulders, propelling me. All the signs of the prophecy have been met; the pathway for his return lies open.

Yet I sense that a new obstacle has arisen from the chaos of the Night of Wailing. The acts of the bloody clerics and the fury of the Viperhand Cult have combined to bring a great presence into the world-a presence no longer content to be worshiped and fed from afar.

He is Zaltec, god of night and war, and he is here.

I sense his power in the darkness all around me. I see it in the vile corruption that has claimed his followers. What power it must be, to take tens of thousands of humans and pervert them into the beastlike forms we now see! He looms more mighty, more dangerous than ever, for now his legions of followers are not restrained by even the thin veneer of humanity.

Qotal is our hope, our only hope. Yet, witnessing the coming of Zaltec, I see that Qotal cannot enter this world unaided. He will require the help of humans, of people who will open the path for him and guard it until he has returned to the True World. Then his power will meet Zaltec’s, and the two gods-the two brothers-will wage war for the mastery of the land.

So now J ride, and 1 care not where the horse takes me. I will be one of those humans who opens that path and guards it; I will leave it to my destiny to guide me to the place.