First appearance: S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink · watch it on YouTube
Tiamat, the Dark Queen of Dragonkind, is a goddess whose power reaches into the Void from somewhere far outside it. She has never appeared in person, but she has answered prayers twice. The first time, she turned a dying champion’s plea into a brief, strange and oddly tender father-son story. The second time, she lent her favor, and her terror, to a battlefield “impossible eons away” from her. She is a figure of real might, and the Grandmaster and the Arbiter are said to be her equals in power.
Story
S1E12 — Feast
Tiamat’s first intervention came in S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink. Potato was afraid of dying, so he prayed. He asked Dinkledink not to let him die “like this,” and then he turned to the goddess he had served, hoping that “all I’ve done for Tiamat” would finally be recognized. “I want power. Power enough to live. Power to stand on my own two feet.”
Tiamat answered. Potato rose renamed and announced to the arena that “I was named by Tiamat. I was given the name of Starfall.” The Arbiter judged it “a little dramatic, but it’s not the most dramatic thing we’ve had in the arena.” The goddess’s blessing settled on both the reborn champion and his opponent, now his “newfound father,” and restored them to full strength. The Grandmaster told Dinkledink that he had a new responsibility: raising young Starfall. Starfall took to it at once, telling his new father that “Tiamat shall empower you.” Dinkledink’s reply was the most honest line of the night: “What the fuck did I get myself into?”
The bond did not last. As Starfall lay dying, he felt it one last time, and the power of Tiamat flowed into Dinkledink and gave him a rite to lay his son to rest. Tiamat granted Starfall a final breath so he could look up and say “Father” before he died. Dinkledink then delivered his eulogy straight to the goddess. He admitted he had known the boy for “like, an hour, two,” said they had been going to be “an unstoppable team,” and promised to find Starfall’s mother, treat her to a fancy fried fish dinner and “possibly make more Starfalls.”
Fate of the Faithful
Tiamat’s name came up again in Coriander Society, Fate of the Faithful Part 1 (A Crossover). The brutes the heroes faced were led by Hathim, whom John recognized as an agent of Tiamat from Lacunas and a member of her “elite hit squad.” Hathim was called “the blood berserker of Tiamat.” He wore power armor and carried two axes that glowed with red energy.
John fought back with his own faith. He drew on his talisman, the red kiss, which glowed like dripping blood, and the symbol of Tiamat blazed on the back of his jacket. He prayed aloud to the Dark Queen of Dragonkind, loudly enough for Hathim to hear, and wrapped Asena in a shell of protective ice. With two of her chosen champions on opposite sides, Tiamat had to pick one, and the gnomes declared that “she favors you in this instance.” Hathim’s chilled blood made him immune to the cold, so John invoked the blue dragon and turned the ice to lightning. When Hathim’s axe struck it, he fried himself.
Later in the fight, John’s shadow stretched across the battlefield and grew wings, and the Tiamat sigil on his coat lit with multicolored fire. Many of the brutes and one knight were overcome with fear. Hathim was unshaken, “because Tiamat wants him to fear her.”
Personality and Abilities
Tiamat appears only through her works and her worshippers, and those works are grand. She gives new names, she restores the dying to full strength, and she grants a final breath and a burial rite. She expects devotion: Potato appealed to her on the strength of everything he had done for her. She keeps more than one champion, including Hathim, and when two of them clash she chooses between them. Her power shows up as multicolored fire, dragon wings cast in shadow, the elemental magic of her dragons, and a fear that she reserves for herself.
Relationships
- Potato: her devotee, whom she renamed Starfall and granted a final breath before death.
- Dinkledink: blessed by her as Starfall’s new father, and given the rite to lay his son to rest.
- Hathim: her agent from Lacunas, called “the blood berserker of Tiamat,” whom she wants to fear her.
- John: one of her anointed champions, who called on her favor in the Fate of the Faithful crossover.
- Asena: protected by the ice John summoned through Tiamat’s favor.
Memorable Quotes
- “I was named by Tiamat. I was given the name of Starfall.” (Starfall, S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink)
- “Tiamat gives her blessing to you and your newfound father.” (the Grandmaster, S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink)
- “Tiamat gives me one final breath of life to look up. Father,” (Starfall, S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink)
- “Tiamat, this is Dinkledink rules ass. This is my son, Starfall.” (Dinkledink, S1E12 — Feast — Potato v Dinkledink)
- “between two of her champions, anointed and chosen by her, she favors you in this instance.” (the gnomes, Coriander Society, Fate of the Faithful Part 1)