On right. Says the guy living where kinder eggs are legal. Cody you of all peaple should know kinder eggs are hollow and hold cute toys. Never mind that they are choking hazards.

I see what you did there.

As for Destroyer of what, I am assuming Coryan is the answer. Coryan is the bull's-eye center of the "divine plan." Those lines about an emperor dying suggest to me a cataclysmic dynastic change; why rule anything else?

Or perhaps the First City itself. Though in that case I'm indecisive about why. There are too many potentially important targets for any Prophecized Obliterater -though as a blind guess the Eternal Choir stands out in my mind. However many other interesting things as there are probably lurking below the plateau the EC is the one of the oldest still visibly active.

I'm putting even odds on there being a very nasty undead emperor from the 1st emperium still locked in the room with the throne of man. Anyone wanting to take the throne will probably have to kill that emperor (again).

The new Blessed Lands book's section on the Khitani church mentions in passing a section of their holy text that has been interpreted as prophesying not only a third war between Khitan and Coryan but also the coming of a being known as the Destroyer.

This weekend I want finally to get around to publicly sharing my latest compiled prophecies and interpretations on the Coming of the Destroyer.

(For those who've seen previous drafts of this document, now's a time to give further feedback.)

I see "obvious" interpretations of the Destroyer being any of the possibilities mentioned previously on this thread. Some clues look like they point one way and others another direction.

There's also one major clue that points towards Kassegore as being the Destroyer who is about to re-awaken; however, I think most players (except those I've told) have not yet put the subtle clues enough together to get the same interpretation of events that I've had on that one front. Still, I'm pretty sure I got it, and a recent conversation has made me more willing to share that theory openly.

Ok, using the annotated copy of the prophesies of Tukufu as a guide plus OOC knowledge, here's what I'm thinking... so you can likely ignore my inferences as wrong.

1. The Destroyer isn't a Valinor. That was the first major story arc.
2. The Destroyer isn't an Infernal. That was the last story arc.

Taken at face value, The Destroyer is likely Calmemnon who returns with his legion leading a large host out of the West to save the First City from destruction by the Dragon whose name escapes me at the moment. He will enter into the First City and then succeed in unlocking the throne room ending the state of suspension that has kept the last Emperor alive and sealed in the room, and Calmemnon will end him. Scipio too will die though whether at the shock of Calmemnon's actions or by Calmemnon's hand, who knows. With the control granted by the Throne of Man, Calemnon claims Imperial rule over all the old nations of the First Imperium or at a minimum the Coryani Empire having disposed of his father and older siblings. Taking control of the First City will spark a fresh war with Khitan.

We will see the song of the Endless Choir interrupted, though whether that is because of their deaths or some other reason remains unclear. With the song ceased, Belisarda's concealment will end and she will be revealed once more to the world.

My guess is that the next story arc will focus on living under the rule of Calmemnon I, Imperator of the First Imperium reborn. To stop Cal will require finding and restoring Leonydas whose failings against the Silence have stripped him of his bedrock of faith and cast him down from his lofty rank as Avatar of Nier. The prophesies also refer to a lifted curse which is likely for one of the dwarven enclaves. It wouldn't surprise me if the Perfect Gift is required as part of restoring Leonydas' Faith or empowering a new Avatar of Illir to stand up to Calmemnon.

Given my typical track record of trying to figure things out, I'll be happy if any one or two of the above actually happens. At a minimum it's been fun to speculate and perhaps Henry's even gotten a chuckle out of it.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

The major flaw I see with that argument is twofold: How would Calmemnon open the Throne Room without the Keys of Man (most appear to still be lost), and what kind of power would he have to have to do this? Is it just charisma based, or what else could give him enough. . . ummmfff to stand up against a TRUE DRAGON?

According to the First Prophesy it includes the lines:

"And about his head floated twelve keys
that shall unlock that which it most craves."

Taken at face value, he has recovered the 12 Keys. As for their recovery, many could have been hidden in the DZV or he could have had agents collecting the few that had been found from where they lay.

As for the necessary power, given Calmemnon's description I would put him below a Valinor but above your average val in terms of raw power. If he's survived the DZV he has power, artifacts, allies or some combination of the above that would allow him to fight off the dragon. He could have the backing of Valinor without the Valinor being the Destroyer or pulling his strings. It's also possible that there is some weapon left over from the Valinor / Dragon Wars that could be used. Besides, in my postulations I didn't state that Cal killed or destroyed the Dragon. I said he saved the First City from it. There may be other ways to banish, imprison or convince it to go elsewhere that would allow for him to be hailed the Savior. For all we know he could be in league with the Dragon, and Cal's saving the city from him, part of the master plan. It depends on how powerful Cal is.

Besides, the line of the prophesy referring to the Dragon is:

"Nations will tremble across the lands
And even the mightiest shall be in danger
For even the Dragon shall fall before this
Stranger"

Fall doesn't necessarily mean killed or destroyed. If Cal eliminates the Dragon's threat, the Dragon has fallen.

With a sweep of his hat,

Paul

A side-point is that it may not be referring to a 'true dragon'. It could be referring to Kassegore (or the Fire Dragon aspect) or something else that known as the "Dragon".