Rod of the Red Dome of Heaven
The Rod of the Red Dome was given to the Emperor of the Dragon Empire by the High Thane of the Giant Tribes to mark the end of their Great War. Today the Rod is wielded by the Vox Horizon, the speaker for the Emperor, as a mark of his authority. It is said that he who holds the true Rod might be the real ruler of the Empire.
The scuttlebutt on the Red Rod is that it's actually several rods broken into pieces and distributed amongst the Emperor's several Voices. It's carved with dragon and giant runes and is said to be able to manipulate time and gravity. If it's true, the parts are not greater than the whole!
The Rod of the Red Dome of Heaven was a gift from the High Thane of the Giant Tribes to Emperor Harmonic Horizon mark the end of the War of the Burning Sky. The Rod was a powerful magic artifact covered with giant runes and of a size suitable for the hand of a giant or the claw of a dragon. As the Dragon Empire retreated to Darastrix Tolgalen, some giants went with them. They preferred the rule of the Emperor over the domination of their own kind.
As the "Millenium of Exile" negotiated into the peace treaty began, the dragons began to study the Red Rod as a base for creating their own version of Draconic Rune Magic. The wizards of the Empire attempted to manipulate time using a mix of draconic elemental sorcery and gigantic runes. They intended to come out of the Millenium with legions of ancient dragons capable of subjugating the giants and taking over the world.
They miscalculated, shattering the Rod into many parts and covering the island in the so-called Red Dome of Heaven. The island was trapped for 100,000 subjective years in a pocket dimension of fast time. They were unable to escape until the unrelated Day of Dispelling broke every permanent enchantment all over the world.
The much less powerful remnants were claimed by the Emperor and are used in his name. His Voices bear the remnants of the Rod as a sign of their office. They are known collectively as the Vox Horizon and individually as Vox Primus, Vox Secundus, and up to Vox Septimus. Vox Primus is their leader, stationed at Horizon's Aerie.
An eighth, unknown Rod has recently been revealed in the possession of the still-living Storm Princess. She was the subject of the story of Naraky's Eggs and has been living on the Dragon Isle. She has been time skipping the entire time, having lived to the giant version of middle age during the 100,000 years of exile. She bequeathed her Rod to Nyxek the Resplendent as a reward when Nyxek found and returned her child to her.
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