While Biel-Tan was busily rebuilding after the disaster and reforming its society, a gaudily colored, bizarrely shaped ship slipped silently through the Webway gate and docked at Biel-Tan's harbor.
The visitors were followers of the "Laughing God," Cegorach-the Harlequin Troupe.
And not just any troupe, but the renowned Midnight Sorrow troupe.
When their leader, Shadowseer Hylark, stepped off the ship, the expression behind her mask was quite a sight.
She had come to "save the show."
According to the Laughing God's script, Biel-Tan should have suffered devastating losses, then used that opportunity to unite with the Reaper Host and the goddess Isha's faction, setting in motion the plan to awaken the death god Ynnead.
But now... what was she looking at?
Not only had Biel-Tan not shattered, it was actually... expanding?
What on earth were those heroic spirits drifting through the streets, glowing gold from head to toe?
And who was that enormous golden hunk of metal crouching in the plaza, teaching a group of Aeldari children to sing "Unity is Strength"?
"This isn't how the script goes..." Hylark muttered.
She decided to test the waters.
Liu Zhipeng noticed the Harlequin Troupe the moment they appeared in the plaza.
After all, a bunch of people in rainbow-colored tights doing somersaults were rather hard to miss.
"Well, look who's here. The circus." Liu Zhipeng stopped teaching and rose to his feet.
Hylark leaped onto a pile of rubble, bowed gracefully, then spoke in her distinctive, riddle-laden theatrical voice:
"The ancient prophecy has been rewritten, and golden flames have consumed the script. Is this fate's jest, or a mishap upon the stage?"
"Spare me the riddles." Liu Zhipeng cut her off. "Just tell me one thing: what did Cegorach send you here for? If you're here to help haul bricks, welcome. If