History Recap / TheLegendOfVoxMachinas02E01RiseOfTheChromaConclave

** When Vex sees the Matron of Ravens in the courtyard after Umbrasyl collapses a section of the castle wall onto the civilians and assorted heroes below, causing several casualties, she appears to be reaching her hand out to somebody unseen before noticing him. It's later revealed that as the goddess of death, she guides the souls of the departed, [[spoiler:and her gently reaching out to the recently-departed souls hints that despite this, she's [[DontFearTheReaper ultimately a benevolent being]]]].

** Thordak has the [[KillItWithFire standard fire-breathing ability]] normally associated with dragons. Unlike the others however, he showcases the ability to unleash a second level of attack through his, turning the heat up on his fire so much it turns blue and becomes a WaveMotionGun that can drill straight through the mountain castle Emon is perched atop on and cause it to collapse into a pile of rubble.

-->'''Percy:''' ''(facepalming)'' Of course.

* {{ForeShadowing}}:

* RunOrDie: {{Subverted}}. The conclave's utter thrashing of Emon and sheer power level, combined with their indestructibility, makes it clear this is the only option for everyone, Vox Machina included. However, Thordak makes an announcement that any survivors of their initial assault remain alive only out of their 'mercy', and that said mercy ''will'' be retracted if anybody attempts to flee the doomed kingdom. This is showcased brutally with Vorugal blasting down an airship trying to flee, and later on annihilating the refugees heading towards Vox Machina's keep group by group. Even when the party manage to escape by the skin of their teeth, the Conclave's conversation at the episode's end makes it clear that they ''[[SuperPersistentPredator will]]'' follow the escapees no matter where they go, both to [[PragmaticVillainy prevent them marshaling aid against the Conclave]], as well as to make it clear that their demands, and the punishment for not abiding by them, is absolute.
* TouchOfDeath: Two variants, based around the dragon's elemental properties. Umbrasyl secretes acid from his scales, making close contact with him (or just being in his general area when he moves) a deadly hazard. Thordak meanwhile, apparently can grow so hot that being in his vicinity will boil anybody alive, as he melts two streetlamps his claw lands beside into slag without touching them.

* WreckedWeapon: Grog's attempts to cut open Raishan's AchillesHeel with his axe just results in [[UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject the axe breaking against a force it cannot cut]]. He swiftly [[DiscardAndDraw replaces it]] with Silas' [[BlackSwordsAreBetter Black Sword]] once back at the keep.

* WreckedWeapon: Grog's attempts to cut open Raishan's AchillesHeel with [[AnAxeToGrind his axe]] just results in [[UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject the axe breaking against a force it cannot cut]]. He swiftly [[DiscardAndDraw replaces it]] with Silas' [[BlackSwordsAreBetter Black Sword]] once back at the keep.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Ex-Sovereign Uriel pauses momentarily when fleeing to help a soldier who fell down to his feet. This only results in him and the soldier both getting hit by Raishan's DeadlyGas and suffering a painful demise, whereas his family where able to reach Allura and be protected from the fumes in time.

* EarlyBirdCameo: When suffering a ShellShockSilence after Umbrasyl knocks the castle walls down on the party, almost crushing him, Vax sees a mysterious black-clad woman with flowing hair looking around the carnage whilst the sound of birds caw, only for her to vanish when he blinks. Followers of the campaign know this is the Raven Queen, and her appearance spells nothing good for Vax by the season's end.

** The Conclave ''bulldoze'' Enon utterly, with the best attempts of Vox Machina and the soldiers coming down to little more than minor distractions at best. Thordak even alters the landscape of the city itself by collapsing castle Emon with his WaveMotionGun of a BreathWeapon to demonstrate how absurdly powerful he and the Conclave are.

* UncertainDoom: By the episode's end, the fates of Allura, Lady Kima, Captain Jarrett, the surviving Councilors, and the royal family are unknown. Despite them being seemingly crushed to death when Umbrasyl used his acid breath to collapse a building on top of them, their deaths are never actually confirmed.
** [[spoiler: It's later revealed in Episode 2x05 that they are all, in fact, still alive, Allura having teleported the group away at the last moment.]]

* EarlyBirdCameo: When suffering a ShellShockSilence after Umbrasyl knocks the castle walls down on the party, almost crushing him, Vax sees a mysterious black-clad woman with flowing hair looking around the carnage whilst the sound of birds caw, only for her to vanish when he blinks. [[spoiler:Followers of the campaign know this is the Raven Queen, and her appearance spells nothing good for Vax by the season's end]].

* OhCrap: Scanlan's reaction when Raishan causally [[DispelMagic dispels]] the magic foot he lodged in her jaws.

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Scanlan's reaction when Raishan causally [[DispelMagic dispels]] the magic foot he lodged in her jaws.

* JerkassHasAPoint: It's not very heroic of him, but Scanlan does have a point when he suggests just [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere cutting their losses and heading to another continent]] rather than fight the Conclave. Vox Machina's prior showing against Brimscythe came down to a massive dose of luck on their end and Brimscythe being an adolescent dragon, thus lacking several defences and abilities the elder dragons do, resulting in the same tactics that worked on him being ineffective. Vox Machina looking to marshal an army or forces elsewhere to lend aid against the Conclave will only drag uninvolved parties into a fight they have no stakes in, against a foe that seemingly cannot be presently beat, resulting in needless deaths on their conscience.

* RunOrDie: {{Subverted}}. The conclave's utter thrashing of Emon and sheer power level, combined with their indestructibility, makes it clear this is the only option for everyone, Vox Machina included. However, Thordak makes an announcement that any survivors of their initial assault remain alive only out of their 'mercy', and that said mercy ''will'' be retracted if anybody attempts to flee the doomed kingdom. This is showcased brutally with Vorugal blasting down an airship trying to flee, and later on annihilating the refugees heading towards Vox Machina's keep group by group. Even when the party manage to escape by the skin of their teeth, the Conclave's conversation at the episode's end makes it clear that they ''[[SuperPersistentPredator will]]'' follow the escapees no matter where they go, both to [[PragmaticVillainy prevent them marshalling aid against the Conclave]], as well as to make it clear that their demands, and the punishment for not abiding by them, is absolute.

* UncertainDoom: By episode's end, Allura, Lady Kima, Captain Jarrett and the royal family's whereabouts are unknown. Vorugal confirms that Vox Machina's group was the only one to escape the city, but it's unclear if they're in hiding or killed in the confusion.

* UncertainDoom: By episode's end, Allura, Lady Kima, Captain Jarrett and the royal family's whereabouts are unknown. Vorugal confirms that Vox machine's group was the only one to escape the city, but it's unclear if they're in hiding or killed in the confusion.

* BreathWeapon: Like Brimscythe, each member of the conclave has a different version of this seemingly indicated by the colour of their scales and magical abilities.

* ItOnlyWorksOnce: Going along with Scanlan's assertion that their earlier victory against Brimscythe was mainly down to luck, the tactics the party used against him are subjected to this by the older, stronger and more powerful members of the Conclave.

* AvengingTheVillain: Discussed and averted. Keyleth briefly wonders if the Chroma Conclave coming for Emon is revenge for Vox Machina's slaying of Brimscythe in season 1. Percy then points out that Tal'Dorei's army was already greatly weakened due to Brimscythe infiltrating the council as General Krieg, meaning the invasion was in motion long before Brimscythe's death.

** Vorugal breathes [[KillItWithIce Ice]] that can form barriers and obstacles that hem in his targets even if he misses, splitting up Vox Machina briefly at the castle courtyard.

** Umbrasyl breathes acid that can melt buildings or flesh into slurry in seconds. Disturbingly, him breathing it like this is actually the ''least'' dangerous method he has of tossing his element around. He is capable of secreting it from his skin like sweat or protective armour which, combined with his flapping wings, allowing him to literally make it rain acid wherever he goes in a random scattershot effect. Though not apparently as concentrated when he breathes it, this makes it ''much'' easier for him to hit his targets, even by accident.
** Raishan breathes [[Deadlygas poison gas]] that, whilst not as immediately destructive as the others, is capable of inflicting BloodFromEveryOrifice in those who get a dose of it, and lingers around afterwards, creating an omnipresent hazard to those in her immediate area, even those she isn't directly targeting.

* AvengingTheVillain: Discussed and averted. Keyleth briefly wonders if the Chroma Conclave coming for Emon is revenge for Vox Machina slaying Brymscythe. Percy then points out that Tal'Dorei's army was already decimated due to Brymscythe infiltrating the council as General Krieg, meaning the invasion was planned long before Brymscythe's death.
* CurbStompBattle: To call the Conclave's invasion of Emon a battle would be generous. No one is even able to make a dent in their scales. While Allura manages to restrain one of the dragons for a few seconds, that's the closest anyone comes to harming them and even then the dragon in question is at most inconvenienced for a moment before shaking the spell off with ease.

* AvengingTheVillain: Discussed and averted. Keyleth briefly wonders if the Chroma Conclave coming for Emon is revenge for Vox Machnia slaying Brymscythe. Percy then points out that Tal'Dorei's army was already decimated due to Brymscythe infiltrating the council as General Krieg, meaning the invasion was planned long before Brymscythe's death.

Disaster strikes Tal'Dorei as the Chroma Conclave, a collective of four chromatic dragons, strike at the heart of Emon! Against foes of such strength as to defy imagination, Vox Machina is left with no choice but to escape, regroup, and find something -- anything! -- to retake their home.