S4E17 (Season Finale) - Vythorn's Return Part 3

Champions and players	Mudcat as Vythorn (the Arbiter). Mudcat also voices the Shadow King (Agdrel).
Result	no Deathmatch. Vythorn defeats the Shadow King’s body but the soul escapes. Vythorn then overthrows Elusia and declares himself Lord of Fate.
Arena	the old arena/Coliseum Vythorn had shared with Elusia, at sunset, under chaos storm clouds. It is ringed by woods and brush and has an ornate structure and a throne descending from the sky.
Hosts	Caustic Phoenix (narration, Fil/Philomena, Elusia)
Watch	YouTube

What happens

Waking at home

1. 0:00:11 Vythorn is no longer with his companions and no longer in Giant’s Breath.
   • He lies on soft ground under a sunset. Around him are rustling branches, grass, birds and bugs, and far-off yelling, screaming and cheers.
   • “There’s a warmth to it. You’ve found home, Vythorn.” He digs his hands into the dirt and grass.
   • Fil (Philomena) shakes him awake: “Get up, Vythorn… Wake up.”
2. 0:01:29 He is some distance from an old arena he had shared with Elusia time and time again.
   • This time the arena is not empty. The Acolytes are cheering the end of yet another Deathmatch.
   • Elusia is there “as always.” In the sky is a figure who should not belong there: Agdrel, the Shadow King.
3. 0:01:55 Fil whispers that she has brought him here as promised: “A gift, you could say. We’ve placed our bets on you, Vythorn.” She points to the arena: “your fate lies before you.” Vythorn: “I am more than ready to kill Agdrel.”
4. 0:02:42 Fil senses the intensity in his mind and warns him that once he starts down this path “you are not to deter.”

Morir’s Cataclysm

5. 0:02:55 The sun sets. Chaos clouds, vicious and angry storms, roll closer.
   • The book, “those testaments of Morir’s Cataclysm,” floats before him. It flips open in a flurry of pages and lands on a particular passage.
   • The words are unreadable. They light up, lift off the page and circle him, then embed themselves in his flesh, burning into his essence.
6. 0:03:45 The energy is described as intoxicating. “This book matches your anger”: frustration, fury, “unbridled rage to have what you want and take it away time and time again.”
   • 0:04:03 “This is not chaos, but something powerful completes you.”
7. 0:04:24 Vythorn looks at the words burned into his hands.
   • He feels this new power mixing with the chaos energy of the storms, now that he is back in the Void.
   • He raises a hand and draws the storms closer until they fill the sky.
   • He walks out of the brush and woods onto the battlefield. The Shadow King is standing on his throne, which is descending from the sky.
   • A crack of lightning hits the field. Vythorn screams “Agdrel!”
   • Multicolored lightning blows apart the ornate structure and singes the trees and forest around the arena.

The confession

8. 0:05:24 Vythorn: “You’re going to die for what you’ve done to me. And for what you did to my family.”
9. 0:05:35 The Shadow King smiles: “Well, it only took you about a thousand years to put it together, but you got there. Good for you.”
   • Vythorn asks whether he denies it. Agdrel: “Yes, of course I admit all of it. Don’t feel special. You’re not the only orphan that I’ve created.”
   • He explains that he killed many parents of children with a proclivity for chaos and fostered the children “under my tutelage.” His aim was to one day “feast upon the fruits of their labor,” siphoning off the chaos energy they developed and refined over years.
10. 0:06:41 “But you, you were special… A certain aptitude for chaos. I was saving you for last. Like a dessert. Oh, thank you for serving yourself up on a platter for me.”

The fight (fully narrated by Drew)

11. 0:07:09 Vythorn’s rage boils over in a burst of energy from the words on his skin.
    • He moves with “a speed we haven’t seen before,” jumping through space and time and hurling lightning bolts.
    • The Shadow King deflects them with blades of shadow and ethereal energy growing from his arms.
    • Lightning singes Agdrel’s flesh. Shadow blades pierce Vythorn’s side and pass through his body.
12. 0:07:55 Mortally wounded, Vythorn turns back time.
    • He retraces his steps and learns Agdrel’s movements until he is one step ahead.
    • The two lock up, lightning versus shadow, blinking around the field faster than the Acolytes can follow.
    • The words on Vythorn’s arms glow brighter as his rage turns “white hot, searing his mind.”
13. 0:08:40 — The maws. Vythorn remembers what Master Skreca said, the testaments, and “the teeth that were gnashing in the hellscapes.”
    • He rips open portals that form teeth and maws. Through them are hellscapes of ash, fire and death.
    • The tears in reality close in around the Shadow King. Agdrel: “What? What is this?” Vythorn: “This is your fate.”
14. 0:09:20 The teeth tear off the Shadow King’s arm, leaving only a shadowy arm. They bite into his neck and face, ripping away his flesh and sinew and his whole physical being.
    • What remains is a shadowy figure with yellow eyes: the soul of the Shadow King.
    • Vythorn binds the soul in place, imprisoned “in this coffin of light.”

Hesitation

15. 0:09:54 Vythorn holds him with clenched fists and white knuckles. A little voice behind him, Fil’s, asks: “Vythorn, what will you choose?”
16. 0:10:18 The question cuts through his rage and his critical thinking returns. He turns a sinister, hateful look on Fil: “I’m trying to decide if these are my own actions or if you’re somehow pulling my strings.”
    • Fil: “But don’t you feel in power? Isn’t that what matters? You made these choices, as far as you know.”
    • Vythorn: “It’s not enough to just feel in charge. I need to control my fate.”
17. 0:11:21 His doubt is a moment of less than full focus. Agdrel, “an empty soul squirming to survive,” takes it.
    • In ethereal shadow form he slips between Vythorn’s fingers and past the gnashing maws.
    • He zips up into the chaos storm clouds and escapes. Vythorn: “No, no, no, no, no!”
18. 0:12:16 Fil chuckles. The Shadow King’s dark, corrupted chaos energy is gone from the space.

Elusia

19. 0:12:34 A voice: “Arbiter!” The Grandmaster runs toward him across the debris and calls “Vythorn!” It is odd for him to hear his own name in this space.
    • “You’re here. You’re alive. Quick, help me.”
    • She shows him the choker, sunk deep into her own throat: “Please, you have to release me now.” (She is also described as still in chains.)
20. 0:13:19 Vythorn’s eyes stay on the sky where Agdrel fled. When he looks down at her, it is with “pure hatred and rage.”
    • With one hand he pulls her close with his energy. With the other he puts a dagger to her throat.
21. 0:13:51 Goblins and “chinchillas” (as transcribed) storm the field and struggle through the wreckage. Elusia: “Vythorn, what are you doing?” Vythorn: “I’m doing what’s necessary.”
    • He raises a hand. As Elusia has seen before, the goblins’ eyes go white and void.
    • They stop mere meters away and form a circle around the two, their minds under his influence.
22. 0:14:39 — The argument:
    • Vythorn: “I’m doing what you cannot do. I defeated the Shadow King.”
    • Elusia: “You defeated the Shadow King? You were killed! I defeated the Shadow King first and somebody brought him back to life!”
    • Vythorn: “You only defeated him because I brought you here. Every step of the way, I opened every door for you.”
    • Elusia: “But guess who’s the one who walked through the door? Where were you when Agdrel took its place? Where were you in leading all the charges to change the Void for better?”
    • Vythorn: “Your void is weak, easily manipulated. You couldn’t even see the threat that I posed to you.”
    • Elusia: “There are threats all around us at all times, Arbiter.” Vythorn: “Yes, and you were too weak to do anything about it.”
23. 0:15:39 He pushes the knife in and starts to cut her flesh. For the first time he sees fear in her eyes.

The contract with Fil

24. 0:15:44 Time freezes. Raindrops hang in the air and the goblins stand like statues.
    • Fil: “Oh, come, Vythorn. Enough chit-chat. You’ve made your decision. These talks mean nothing. Don’t let her dissuade you. I feel it in you, the potential.”
    • “Who is it that you want to be? Who are you going to become?”
25. 0:16:40 Vythorn closes his eyes and breathes deeply: “I am the Lord of Fate. And this is my domain.”
26. 0:16:57 Fil seals it: “Our contract is written. The bets are in place. Your fate now determined. You shall be the Lord of Fate as you so desire.”
    • “The Void will be your realm for you to play with, to practice, to have your own bets. You will have full command over this domain. And we will be watching to see what you make of it. So don’t disappoint.”
    • “Don’t fall short of the fate that you have promised us or it will all go away. Because we can do that.” She laughs.
27. 0:17:50 Fil asks what world he will create. Vythorn: “I will create a unified void.”
    • “A strong and powerful nation will push beyond the barriers. Our limits traveling to new planes of existence. Challenging champions from across every realm. Showing them our power and our might. We will conquer them. We will conquer them all. That is the fate I have decided.”
    • Fil: “Then are you ready to make it so?” Vythorn: “It already is.”

The overthrow

28. 0:18:58 The raindrops quicken and time unfreezes.
    • Vythorn stops the blade. In Elusia’s fear he sees “the face of a friend, though they may be on different sides of this conflict.”
    • Feeling he has already won, he signals the goblins. “This is where the Grandmaster makes her leave.”
    • “I won’t kill you today. But this is where your story ends. This is where your fate leads you.”
29. 0:20:10 Elusia protests and fights: “My fate, my fate!”
    • Her chains are still on. The goblins add a second set: Vythorn’s own old chains, heavy and clanking.
    • Elusia has to be dragged from the arena.
30. 0:20:30 — Doug. Perception check: 19 (the episode’s only roll).
    • Behind the goblins Vythorn sees a scrawny “goblin” that runs on four legs, has a short snout and clearly has breathing problems. He recognizes the imposter.
    • He lifts Doug off the ground with magic, spins him around and strips off his goblin clothing: “Agdrel’s too stupid to notice, I suppose, but I’m not. You can join her.”
    • Doug is shackled in chains and sent off with the goblins and Elusia.
31. 0:21:50 — The Acolytes revolt. The crowd is furious at the overthrow. Taking Elusia while she was still in chains “rings unfair to them. Not in the spirit of chaos, not in the spirit of honor.”
    • They pour from their seats, drop down from the Coliseum, jeer, throw things and rush at him.
    • Vythorn raises his hands and freezes them all in place.
32. 0:22:39 — Vythorn’s address:
    • “Acolytes! I know this is very upsetting for all of you, but the Grandmaster is weak. She could not defeat the Shadow King, but I have.”
    • “By the rules of our Deathmatches, by everything that even the Grandmaster proclaims to be true, I am the rightful ruler.”
    • He promises to push the Void’s power and influence beyond its borders: “You all will live in splendor and glory. Under my reign, under the Lord of Fate, I will decide for all of us. But I will be fair and you will be well taken care of.”
    • “In time, you will all be my disciples. You don’t have to love me. You don’t even have to like me, but you will all serve me. Welcome and good night.” (0:23:56)

Post-show

There is no “Welcome to Dried Blood” marker. It begins right after the sign-off, and the runtime fits YouTube’s ~24.6 min length ending around the sign-off. No in-character lines.

• Bec recaps the episode:
  • Vythorn opened the Testaments of Morir’s Cataclysm and paired “Morir’s magic and the energy of chaos.”
  • Drew had full scene control of the Vythorn vs Shadow King fight because he plays both. As DM she “stepped back.”
• Drew on the fight:
  • He saw it as darkness versus light. “Not to say that the Arbiter is good,” but light energy was used against shadow. He envisioned it like a Dragon Ball Z fight.
  • Both characters were at the peak of their abilities. Vythorn acted on pure instinct and hatred: “the person that has fucked with his fate one too many times, and killed him.”
  • The Shadow King was supremely confident, treating it as fun and as “my final interaction with this person before I consume their energy.” That lasted until the Morir portals opened.
  • Drew describes the portal realms as “almost as if they’re living beings, just eating the flesh off the Shadow King.”
• Bec: it was a nice touch back to “Morir’s initial experience.” In Vythorn’s mind this is good versus evil and his motives are pure.
• Drew on the characters:
  • The Shadow King doesn’t care about good and evil: “he does what he wants.”
  • Through this series Vythorn has come to terms with not being a hero. He is selfish and wants to control his own fate, but believes this is the best path and that he can do better than the Grandmaster.
• Bec thanked Drew for imprisoning rather than killing Elusia.
• Bec hoped Drew would roll low on perception “and maybe we would have a doggy rescue situation.” Drew: “I spotted Doug a mile away.”
  • Bec: “He had a great costume on.” Drew: “Made by Goblins.”
  • Agdrel never spotted Doug because “everybody is beneath him. He doesn’t even know the names of the goblins.”
• The episode had only one mechanical roll and was RP-driven and collaborative. Drew credits the trust that comes from “living together, being married.”
• Bec: the three Vythorn’s Return episodes were “a purposeful reflection piece” giving a microscope look at Vythorn’s motivations.
• Drew on building the Arbiter “backwards”:
  • Early on they knew he was sneaky and would try to overthrow the Grandmaster, but not why.
  • Improv in Fate of the Arbiter and S1E1 had to be reconciled afterward.
  • Both the Arbiter and the Grandmaster began as caricatures. Skypiercer deepened the Grandmaster, and this series does the same for Vythorn.
• Drew: “I don’t think very many people are gonna like this choice.” He jokes that the Grandmaster is more liked and “there’s no Arbiter fans out there.”
• Bec on next season:
  • “It’s not fair to call her the Grandmaster anymore. So Elusia will now be staying only in the dungeon.”
  • Vythorn will now be “front and center, no longer… behind the shadow of someone else.”
  • Drew: “whatever happens in the Void now… that’s squarely on his shoulders… no more working in the shadows.”
• Drew enjoyed playing while Bec DM’d and hopes she DMs more.

Who and what appears

Characters

Vythorn / the Arbiter (Drew)

• Returned to the Void from Giant’s Breath by Fil.
• Gained the Testaments of Morir’s Cataclysm’s power. The words burned into his flesh, and he combines Morir magic with chaos energy.
• Powers shown this episode:
  • space-time blinking, lightning, turning back time, and control of storms
  • Morir portals that open toothed maws into hellscapes
  • a “coffin of light” prison
  • mind control that turns eyes white and void (goblins), and mass paralysis (Acolytes)
• Says the Shadow King killed his family. Agdrel confirms he orphaned him and was saving him “like a dessert.”
• Declared himself Lord of Fate under a contract with Fil.
• Imprisoned Elusia rather than killing her, using his own old chains.
• Proclaimed himself the Void’s rightful ruler “by the rules of our Deathmatches.”
• Stated aims: a unified Void, travel to new planes, challenging and conquering champions of every realm.

The Shadow King / Agdrel (Drew)

• Appeared in the sky over the arena on a descending throne.
• Admits killing many parents of chaos-gifted children, fostering the orphans and siphoning their refined chaos energy.
• His body was torn away by the Morir maws, leaving a yellow-eyed shadow soul. He escaped into the chaos storm clouds during Vythorn’s hesitation.
• Fights with shadow blades from his arms and an ethereal shadow form.
• Per the post-show, he doesn’t know the goblins’ names.

Fil / Philomena (Bec)

• She and her side have “placed our bets” on Vythorn and brought him home as “a gift.”
• She froze time to urge him on. She wrote the contract making him Lord of Fate with full command of the Void.
• “We will be watching… or it will all go away. Because we can do that.”
• She speaks as “we” throughout (the identity of the others is unstated).

Elusia Skypiercer (Bec)

• Present at the arena, still chained and wearing a choker sunk deep into her throat. She begged Vythorn to release her.
• Says she defeated the Shadow King first and “somebody brought him back to life,” and that Vythorn “was killed.”
• Shows fear for the first time.
• Dragged from the arena by goblins in Vythorn’s old chains. Bec says she will stay “only in the dungeon.”

Doug

• A four-legged, short-snouted dog with breathing problems, disguised in a goblin costume made by goblins.
• Agdrel never noticed him. Vythorn exposed him and shackled him to go with Elusia.

The goblins (and “chinchillas”)

• They served the arena and rushed at Vythorn when he drew the dagger, then fell under his mind control.

The Acolytes

• They saw the overthrow as unfair, “not in the spirit of chaos, not in the spirit of honor.” They tried to rush Vythorn and were frozen in place.

Master Skreca (mentioned)

• Vythorn recalls “what Master Skreca said” about the testaments and teeth gnashing in hellscapes.

Places

• Giant’s Breath: where Vythorn had been with his companions before this episode.
• The old arena / Coliseum:
  • Surrounded by woods and brush, with an ornate structure that Vythorn’s lightning destroyed.
  • The field is left strewn with debris.
• The hellscapes seen through the Morir maws: ash, fire and death.
• The chaos storm clouds, where the Shadow King escaped.
• “The dungeon,” where Elusia will be held (post-show).

Items

• The Testaments of Morir’s Cataclysm: a floating book whose words burn into the reader’s flesh.
• Elusia’s choker and chains.
• Vythorn’s old chains, now used on Elusia.
• Vythorn’s dagger.
• Doug’s goblin costume.

Lore statements

• Agdrel orphaned many children with chaos aptitude to farm their chaos energy.
• Vythorn took “about a thousand years” to work out that Agdrel killed his family.
• Fil and her side bet on fates and can grant and revoke domains (“it will all go away”).
• Vythorn claims rulership by Deathmatch rules for defeating the Shadow King.
• The Morir maws seem to act like living beings (creator note).

Quotes by character

Vythorn / the Arbiter

• 0:02:38 “I am more than ready to kill Agdrel.”
• 0:05:24 “You’re going to die for what you’ve done to me. And for what you did to my family.”
• 0:09:20 “This is your fate.”
• 0:10:18 “You know, I’m trying to decide if these are my own actions or if you’re somehow pulling my strings.”
• 0:11:10 “It’s not enough to just feel in charge. I need to control my fate.”
• 0:14:10 “I’m doing what’s necessary.”
• 0:14:50 “You only defeated him because I brought you here. Every step of the way, I opened every door for you.”
• 0:15:09 “Your void is weak, easily manipulated. You couldn’t even see the threat that I posed to you.”
• 0:16:49 “I am the Lord of Fate. And this is my domain.”
• 0:18:13 “I will create a unified void… We will conquer them. We will conquer them all. That is our fate.”
• 0:20:01 “I won’t kill you today. But this is where your story ends.”
• 0:21:26 “Agdrel’s too stupid to notice, I suppose, but I’m not. You can join her.”
• 0:23:56 “You don’t have to love me. You don’t even have to like me, but you will all serve me. Welcome and good night.”

The Shadow King (Agdrel)

• 0:05:35 “Well, it only took you about a thousand years to put it together, but you got there. Good for you.”
• 0:05:35 “Don’t feel special. You’re not the only orphan that I’ve created.”
• 0:06:41 “But you, you were special… I was saving you for last. Like a dessert. Oh, thank you for serving yourself up on a platter for me.”
• 0:08:57 “What? What is this?”

Fil / Philomena

• 0:00:11 “Get up, Vythorn… Wake up.”
• 0:01:29 “I brought you here as promised. A gift, you could say. We’ve placed our bets on you, Vythorn.”
• 0:09:54 “Vythorn, what will you choose?”
• 0:10:56 “But don’t you feel in power? Isn’t that what matters? You made these choices, as far as you know. Isn’t that enough?”
• 0:16:16 “You’ve made your decision. These talks mean nothing. Don’t let her dissuade you. I feel it in you, the potential.”
• 0:16:27 “Who is it that you want to be? Who are you going to become?”
• 0:16:57 “Our contract is written. The bets are in place. Your fate now determined. You shall be the Lord of Fate as you so desire.”
• 0:17:40 “Don’t fall short of the fate that you have promised us or it will all go away. Because we can do that.”
• 0:18:50 “Then are you ready to make it so?”

Elusia Skypiercer

• 0:12:41 “Vythorn! … You’re here. You’re alive. Quick, help me.”
• 0:13:05 “Please, you have to release me now.”
• 0:14:07 “Vythorn, what are you doing?”
• 0:14:44 “You defeated the Shadow King? You were killed! I defeated the Shadow King first and somebody brought him back to life!”
• 0:14:56 “You opened every door? But guess who’s the one who walked through the door?”
• 0:15:21 “There are threats all around us at all times, Arbiter.”
• 0:15:28 “Just because a threat exists doesn’t mean you destroy any hope for anything to exist.”
• 0:20:10 “My fate, my fate!”

Canon notes

• Fil’s “we”: one of many gods, or a royal we. Unknown so far.