Heavy Lancers: reduced to carrion and terror in the mist.

Strahd von Zarovich

So, the mighty Heavy Lancers—reduced to carrion and terror in the mist. They were the steel of my ambition, each one sworn by blood and fire, yet now... so many lifeless. Is this the price of daring to confront the zealots who fed my parents poison?

Babushka Lysaga

A painful price, but not one beyond redemption, my prince. Death... well, it is not an end, but merely—how shall I put it?—a malleable pause, a crack in the vessel that can be reforged.

Strahd von Zarovich

Reforged? Spare me your riddles Warlock, or should I say Isolde. This battlefield reeks of failure—mine. I trusted their strength, their resolve, only to have the dragon shatter both with merciless ease. Do not lecture me on reforging what’s already drowned in despair.

Babushka Lysaga

Please, I am your Aga. The mask I wore was never to deceive you, but the crusade of these Dalmarians forced it on me, i could not protect you if they knew my heritage, but I have not come to dwell on the past, no. My dear general, I come to offer you a choice—a solution to this... temporary setback.

Strahd von Zarovich

A choice? What remedy could you possibly suggest? Shall I kneel before draconic wrath and beg forgiveness? Shall I bury both justice and revenge with my parents beneath the rubble of this dark valley?

Babushka Lysaga

No. You shall rise above it. I have studied forces far beyond this world, dear general. Forces that heed not life or death, that only demand the nerve to wield them. The Heavy Lancers—their pride, their purpose—it need not end here.

Strahd von Zarovich

What—what are you implying? That I turn my brothers-in-arms into twisted mockeries, shadows of their former selves? That they ride again under my banner, but cold and soulless? This, Warlock, this is desecration.

Babushka Lysaga

Desecration? Perhaps to simpler eyes. But what you call mockery, I call devotion eternal. The Dalmarian priests have built their empire by summoning monsters to slaughter the non humans around them. The blood of monsters should be used to kill both blasphemers and the monsters they claim our sin begets. The pet dragon they have is still squatting over the narrow path up to the moorlands. This wryrm radiates a fear that no disciple can counter. Even before it's lightning began to lick the flesh from your cavalry, its aura of terror had already broken Thoma's formations. But your Lancers will never fear death if we preserve their loyalty, if we elevate them beyond this insult! You speak of desecration... yet we are now upon the threshold of a prophecy.

Strahd von Zarovich

Prophecy? You presume much, every word sharpened with cunning. Speak plainly, Warlock, or leave me. I’ve had my fill of riddles while my forces are scattered and rotting!

Babushka Lysaga

My clan foresaw this moment, long before your blade tasted blood. That is why they sent me to be you Aga, to protect you from the assassins. They foresaw you, now a Prince, will become an eternal ruler, a cornerstone of alliances carefully woven into a tapestry of triumph. But to secure victory, you must first embrace all that fate offers you. Even the gifts born in shadows of despair.

Strahd von Zarovich

The suggestion... It makes my blood turn cold. And yet... is there not a cruel wisdom in your words? My Lancers, their hearts ceased but their swords... Surely still sharp. What then, Drow? If your prophecy leads us down this path, what becomes of me?

Babushka Lysaga

Not what becomes of you, my lord, but what becomes of them. Allow me, and you shall not merely regain your army—you shall attain warriors who never tire, who never falter, who fear neither dragon nor death. Their swords will sing for you, dear general, long after mortal legacies have turned to dust.

Strahd von Zarovich

... beyond mortal limits... a tool forged from despair. Aga, to strip failure from death and bind it with fearless obedience to my will—what price does this dark art demand of me? Of them?

Babushka Lysaga

Not trade, my lord. Not sacrifice. Merely... participate in a promise. I have mastered forces born of the Abyss' darkest Necro-Forge, and they obey without question. See for yourself.

Strahd von Zarovich

What mischief now, Aga? I sensed you were more than a maid, even as a child i could tell there was power hidden behind the mask you wore. Speak plainly before I—

Babushka Lysaga

Patience, dear prince. Look there. Beyond that broken tower’s shadow.

Babushka Lysaga

[Sound: Heavy footsteps echoing, followed by the growl of a revived giant.]

Strahd von Zarovich

Is that... by the gods, Aga. You’ve twisted the wretch into... this abomination?

Babushka Lysaga

An abomination? No, it is efficiency incarnate. A tool of war, a servant molded by purpose. This summoned brute, struck down by your hand, now stands reborn and unwavering under loyal command. Your future army would echo this strength.

Strahd von Zarovich

And you think such sorcery will redeem the chaos left in Argynvost’s wake? Will it erase their failure—or mine?

Babushka Lysaga

No. Redemption is mortal folly. But power, dominion—these can endure long after blame has rotted away. Embrace this, dear Prince, and the path forward will burn brighter than any dragon's breath.

Strahd von Zarovich

You tempt me, Drow—curse your cunning. My ambitions ache to hear truth in your claims. And yet... such power cannot come without a price. What binds these creatures to my will, and not—they turn on me as hate filled shadows?

Babushka Lysaga

The bond is forged in the threads of a prophecy, woven into fate itself. A tapestry, dear Prince, where each alliance strengthens the vision of your victory. From the moment of your birth I have been pledged to your service, to what you will become. The eternal ruler.

Strahd von Zarovich

Eternal ruler... To force my will beyond the span of flesh to worlds both feared and unknown. Aga... these words — awaken some half-remembered echo.

Babushka Lysaga

Then let it reverberate. Allow me to call forth every power buried beneath shadowed depths. Together, we will take what despair denies—and forge it anew, immune to fear and times decay, perfectly held under your will, as if bound in Amber itself.

Strahd von Zarovich

Aga… you’ve pushed me to the edge. No, the Morning Lord could never condone this ... my Lancers, their faces burned into my memory. They were... human, not slaves of darkness.

Babushka Lysaga

It is a veil, dear Prince. This memory—this human frailty. Life is a fleeting shadow, but glory, ah, true glory—it must be built on sacrifices. You see the ash at your feet? It is not the foundation of failure, but the mortar for rule eternal.

Strahd von Zarovich

Eternal, you say? Your words coil like serpents, tempting... whispering of kingdoms everlasting. But what is a king if his people are mere husks, loyal only because death yokes them?

Babushka Lysaga

A ruler without weakness. A conqueror unchallenged. You speak of loss, my lord, yet I see gain. Imagine the Lancers, dear General—riding without fear, slaughtering without pause. Symbols of your unyielding dominion.

Strahd von Zarovich

Dominion... No solace lingers in dominion, not without purpose. But perhaps... perhaps there is a cruel poetry in it. Would the Dalmarians not cower in the face of such power? Even their dragon would quake at the nerve of death reborn?

Babushka Lysaga

They shall, my dear lord. Each warrior reborn will be your triumph over failure. Their Lances will carry your legacy into the maw of this valley. There is no nobility in hesitation, dear Prince—but there is greatness in resolve.

Strahd von Zarovich

Silence, Aga! Enough of your gilded truths cloaked in shadows. My thoughts churn, unmoored in this abyss... But Thoma has been scattered with the few who escaped, with only a handful of us left, the embers of reason must burn through all despair. I cannot deny the... logic of what you offer.

Babushka Lysaga

Then embrace it. The Heavy Lancers will rise again, dear General. They will rise—loyal beyond death, fearless and immortal. All I need is your command. Give the word, my lord, and I shall breathe life into shadow.

Strahd von Zarovich

Curse you, Aga... and curse fate for forging such twisted necessity. Very well—raise them. Bind their souls to my ambition, so that this night shall not end in mourning, but rise as the dawn of vengeance. Do it.

Babushka Lysaga

So it shall be done. And thus, we step into prophecy's embrace. You have chosen well, my Prince. And in choosing, you have taken your first stride toward eternal dominion...

Strahd von Zarovich

Dominion... eternal... The shadows fill with a dread weight. Yet, it will not rob my parents of justice. I will be remembered—not for failure, but for what I dared forge to be unbreakable.

Babushka Lysaga

History bends to such choices, my lord. Let the shadows bear witness—they shall remember you not as conqueror... but as the immortal king who defied death. Now, let us begin their rebirth.