The party flees displacer beasts but discovers the cats are Gliton's possessed children when the Lord of Chaos intervenes. Using soul weapons, they split the beasts into their red-eyed true selves and purple-eyed Vardumed versions. The battle ends with Dorinda brutally destroying a purple cat with Barlow's cursed rapier, unable to release the weapon as her clew pulses ominously purple.
After a chaotic battle influenced by Gliton's manipulation, the party reunites with Hrothulf's imprisoned family in the Ash Hole. Gliton reveals this was all a test of loyalty to the gods. The group discovers a mystical wheel that may be their escape route, but they must flee from approaching displacer beasts while questioning their blind obedience to divine powers.
In Gliton's ashy lair, The Branch faces a trial as they're forced to battle each other. Violet-eyed possession turns allies into enemies, while magical failures and family illusions blur the line between friend and foe in this twisted arena combat.
The Branch awakens in a mysterious ash pit, tethered together by blue light and haunted by unseen forces. Ego hears phantom sounds of battle. Hrothulf sees long-lost family members and the Salamander prince, Ibi, lying comatose while others see nothing—until a divine fire awakens them all. The god Gliton offers a deal: the lives of the fallen in exchange for the head of a dragon named Raltach. A new quest begins, with cryptic directions to a sister god and a cosmic comet sealing the pact.
The team infiltrates a mysterious fortress with energy pillars and battling bots, while Hrotholf confronts his brother Slenn/Slain who commands Vardum knights. After exploring multiple floors and discovering strange plasma technology, the group is suddenly transported back into the ash pit.
Hrothulf confronts his estranged brother, Slenn, who has seized power with the help of the mysterious Vardum. As their ideological battle escalates, Slenn wields his corrupted crown, crackling with dark energy. Meanwhile, Dorinda, Ego, Izar, and their allies wage war against an army of bots and foot soldiers in the tower, setting off explosions and unleashing magical assaults to turn the tide.
A group of heroes launches an assault on Slenn's tower, defended by various robotic and organic forces. While the team battles waves of bots and salamander warriors, Hrothulf plans to confront his brother Slenn in single combat, using their allies' distraction to infiltrate through the dome above. The battle culminates in a strategic bombing that has some opponents turning back to the castle while others remain engaged.
Hrothulf rallies The 58 to retake his throne while Dorinda and Izar conduct recon and plant explosives at a mysterious dome. The group launches an assault against waves of combat drones and armored soldiers, using a combination of technological and magical attacks in a chaotic battle that would please Gliton.
The party plans an assault on the Black Castle, a mysterious fortress with a glasteel dome surrounded by desolation and guarded by Slenn's robotic forces. With the help of The 58, they devise a strategy involving invisible bombs, griffin flights, and a diversionary attack, all while dealing with unstable terraformed ground and the threat of creating another tsunami.
The party boards the Oceanic Ate, a barge-like vessel crewed by magmen and salamanders, en route to Old Bae in Cleaveland. They uncover clues about a recent ecological disaster tied to a massive construction project while navigating the tense political climate surrounding a mysterious castle. Hrothulf assumes the identity of 'Dixieland' to conceal his lineage, and the crew cautiously observes the changes in Cleaveland under its new regime.
The Branch receives support from various factions for an upcoming coup attempt. The Freelanders offer Blue Veil tech and explosives, while Charleston assembles Magfolk supporters. Meanwhile, Lava's Quarrell group pursues the Urca de Mirage to rescue children, and the Servant Phoenix provides magical healing powder to aid the mission. The party prepares to board the Oceanic Ate.
The party awakens Raltak, a skeletal dragon created by Mazoe and Thiten for war. After philosophical debates about gods and war, Raltak agrees to meet them in Champion City's arena to awaken Mazoe but refuses to help awaken Gliton. The group then plans their infiltration of Cleveland, ruled by Hrothulf's murderous brother Slenn, by seeking alliances with the Freelanders and negotiating with merchants.
The Branch, led by Dorinda, ventures through magma-filled trenches and labyrinthine tunnels to confront Raltach the Warmonger. Persuading the ancient dragon to relinquish his head, they bring an end to his eternal war. Hrothulf, now transformed into a Fire Giant, delivers the final blow, offering the dragon a long-awaited rest. The group instantly returns to the forge, where the mighty creature is reborn.
The party experiments with new Ouroboros belts creating ethereal armor, then debates keeping Vardum planks. After Ego accidentally reveals the true dragon skull beneath the forge's metal coating, they decide to take it aboard their ship. When Hrothulf dons the skull and speaks Firehammer's words, it transforms into a helmet and awakens with an ominous voice.
The party discovers a dragon head forge-anvil. A three-line poem connects it to Firehammer, weaponsmith for Firefather/Glitn. Hrothulf recites of the poem with sword ignited causing the floor to spiral down, revealing five Ouroboros-clasped belts.