"Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) is the second series premiere of The Legend of Vox Machina. Vox Machina's victorious return home to Emon is cut short by the arrival of ancient dragons, the Chroma Conclave. Despite Vox Machina's best efforts, the dragons lay waste to the city, forcing the team to find a way to escape.
Plot summary[]
Sovereign Uriel is addressing a crowd gathered before the palace, and tells them that because his misplaced trust had placed the realm in jeopardy only to be saved by Vox Machina, he is stepping down from the throne and ceding rule to the Council of Tal'Dorei. Bells begin to toll, and four massive dragons appear flying towards the palace, as Vex'ahlia falls to her knees, sensing their presence. The crowd scatters in terror as the dragons attack the city, causing massive destruction and death. As Vox Machina flees, Vax'ildan urges getting the Sovereign to safety, but Scanlan points out he's not the Sovereign anymore.
A gigantic green dragon lands on the wall of the palace courtyard and spews poison at the fleeing royal family, but Allura manages to protect Salda Tal'Dorei and the children by creating a protective bubble around them. Those still outside succumb to the gas, however, including Uriel, who begins bleeding from the eyes and nose before collapsing, dead. Allura and Kima continue to battle the beasts, unsuccessfully. In the confusion and destruction, Vax'ildan sees a mysterious woman with long black hair, who seemingly disappears. In another attack, Gilmore manages to throw up a shield, but the party is separated. He yells to meet at his shop.
Screenshot of the dragon attack, by Titmouse from "Pass Through Fire" (LVM2x05).[art 2]
As they run, Scanlan, Grog, Vex'ahlia, and Keyleth encounter Raishan perched on a rooftop. As she shoots poison at them, Keyleth manages to deflect it, but Raishan recognizes her from when she looked into the scrying orbs in General Krieg's house.[1]. Losing patience, Grog attacks, but only snaps his axe in half. Scanlan saves him from the counterattack with Scanlan's Hand (in the shape of a foot), but Raishan only laughs as she dispels it. They flee, finding their way blocked by the massive Thordak, who addresses the people of Emon demanding capitulation and submission.
Screenshot of Thordak, by Titmouse from "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01).[art 3]
Meanwhile, Pike, Percy and Vax are also running. Percy is knocked out by falling debris, but healed by Pike as they are pursued by the black dragon Umbrasyl. The destruction of the city continues, and as it burns, Thordak tells the people that if they either fight or flee, they will forfeit his mercy. The two groups of Vox Machina join up as they run, arriving at Gilmore's Glorious Goods only to find it destroyed and the injured Gilmore lying in the ruins. Pike heals him a bit, and he tells them to take anything they need from the shop. As the others take the useful and valuable items (including a belt for Grog), Scanlan finds things snatched out from under him and can take only what he assumes is a worthless broom. As destruction approaches, Gilmore uses an enchanted stone to transport the party to Greyskull Keep outside town.
In the peace of the deserted keep, Gilmore notices Grog's new sword, which Grog cheerfully tells him he got off a vampire lord. Gilmore warns him it radiates dark magic. The party tries to decide what to do now. Percy urges retreating to Whitestone, and Scanlan suggests fleeing to Marquet, but Pike is adamant they shouldn't run from their problems. Keyleth is worried this might be revenge for their slaying of Brimscythe. As they talk, they hear knocking at the gates, and open them to find a crowd of refugees from the city. Urging them inside, they see the white dragon Vorugal approaching, breathing freezing destruction as he goes. He lands, attacking and destroying the keep, and Keyleth frantically starts trying to open a portal to Whitestone. To distract the dragon, Scanlan tries casting an illusion of himself and Vex, but Vorugal immediately sees through it. Keyleth finally manages to open the portal just in time to escape the dragon's wrath.
In Whitestone, Cassandra and Keeper Yennen are discussing the progress of the repairs to the city at the base of the Sun Tree. Suddenly, the gate opens and the crowd of refugees, along with Vox Machina and Gilmore, pour through. They quickly explain the situation. Cassandra takes charge of the refugees. As they pass by, Grog notices an angry-looking little girl with vibrant green eyes staring at him.
That night in the castle, they try again to figure out what to do. Keeper Yennen suggests they go to Vasselheim to seek aid and an army. As they talk, Scanlan grows increasingly frustrated, saying there's no way they're strong enough for this, and that going to Vasselheim would be useless and just kill more people. Angry, Scanlan stalks off. Later, on the rooftop, he expresses his frustration to Grog, and they are shortly joined by the others. Staring out over Whitestone, Grog notices how beautiful and vibrant it is now, saying it looked like shit till they saved it. Vex points out they saved the people, and the people are the ones who saved the town. All they needed was someone to stand up and fight for them. Scanlan overhears two children hiding and spying on them, in awe of the heroes who fought the dragon, and agrees to go to Vasselheim to seek help.
The next morning, at the base of the Sun Tree, Yennen advises appealing to the Platinum Sanctuary for aid. She tries to describe a tree there for Keyleth, but her description is vague. Keyleth nonetheless opens the portal and they all leap through.
Meanwhile, perched above the burning Emon, Thordak learns from Vorugal that a group escaped from him with magic. Umbrasyl wants to go to Westruun, which is teeming with gold, and Thordak tells him to go get it for him, then hunt down the vermin who escaped. The three dragons fly off over the flaming ruins of the city.
Credits[]
Cast[]
- Laura Bailey as Vex'ahlia
- Taliesin Jaffe as Percy
- Ashley Johnson as Pike
- Matthew Mercer as Umbrasyl
- Liam O'Brien as Vax'ildan and Vorugal
- Marisha Ray as Keyleth
- Sam Riegel as Scanlan
- Travis Willingham as Grog
- Eugene Byrd as Jarett
- Esmé Creed-Miles as Cassandra de Rolo
- Sunil Malhotra as Shaun Gilmore
- Khary Payton as Uriel Tal'Dorei
- Lance Reddick as Thordak
- Kestrel Riegel as Girl
- Maximus Riegel as Boy
- Cree Summer as Salda Tal'Dorei and Raishan
- Gina Torres as Keeper Yennen
- Indira Varma as Allura Vysoren
Crew[]
- Written by - Brandon Auman and Eugene Son
- Directed by - Young Heller
- Producer - Tony Salama
- Co-Producer - Eugene Son
- Art Director - Arthur Loftis
- Editor - Todd Raleigh
Featured characters[]
Quotations[]
- Raishan: Delicious cattle. Raishan enjoys the taste of fear.[2]
- Thordak: Hear me, insects. You live out of mercy. Fight or flee, and you forfeit that mercy. A new age is upon you, the rule of the Chroma Conclave.[3]
- Gilmore: (to Pike) At least you healed my face. That's the most important part, anyway. Well, (glancing at Vax) second most important.[4]
Trivia[]
- In Season One, there were multiple characters resembling Matt Mercer scattered throughout as various NPCs. This tradition continues, as the Matt look-alike in this episode is shown pushing a wheelbarrow, then running from and being caught by a cloud of poison, presumably dying.[5]
- The changeling tavern keeper from the first episode of The Legend of Vox Machina appears in the crowd listening to Thordak's threats.[6]
- When Gilmore uses his shield spell, multiple runes appear. While they do not seems to spell anything, they include some of the least common letters used in the alphabet including the only known use of the letter "J".[7]
Errors[]
- When Emon's soldiers fire their ballista at Thordak, a soldier shouts "Ballista fire!" However, the episode's subtitles erroneously display the line as "Militia fire!"[8]
- When Thordak tells Umbrasyl "Then you shall claim it for me" in reference to Westruun's gold, the episode's subtitles erroneously display the line as "Then you shall plate for me". [9]
References[]
- ↑ See "The Terror of Tal'Dorei - Part 2" (LVM1x02) at 16:32.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 5:31.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 9:05.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 10:54.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 5:00.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 9:0.
- ↑ See this Reddit post.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 07:55.
- ↑ See "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01) at 22:17.
Art:
- ↑ Screenshot of Vox Machina with Gilmore, by Titmouse from "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Screenshot of the dragon attack, by Titmouse from "Pass Through Fire" (LVM2x05). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Screenshot of Thordak, by Titmouse from "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.
- ↑ Screenshot of Emon in flames, by Titmouse from "Rise of the Chroma Conclave" (LVM2x01). This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.