Shiro reaches the southern gatehouse in her borrowed human form. Behind her, the road guard remains at the raised barrier, while lamplight spills across the clerk’s crowded desk and her radiant mark.
The relief clerk, a lean, sharp-shouldered woman with a small silver nose ring, is a middle-aged woman with a narrow face, braided black hair, and ink-stained fingers, dressed in a brown wool coat. She gestures for Shiro’s hand.
Mara Vey
Hold it beneath the lamp, please. I am Mara Vey, relief clerk for the southern gatehouse.
Mara compares the radiant pattern with a worn temple ledger, tracing neither ink nor skin. Her astonishment grows as each line matches an old illustration.
Mara Vey
This is not a blessing copied by human hands. These are the goddess’s choosing marks. You are the hero named in the temple records.
The clerk rises so quickly her chair scrapes stone. Four nearby townspeople turn toward the desk, and the road guard watches from the gate, his earlier suspicion replaced by formal attention.
Mara Vey
Please tell me what name I should enter in the temple record, chosen hero.
“What do you mean?”
FAILURE (Good Reasoning, rolled -2)
“What do you mean?”
SUCCESS (Good Reasoning, rolled +1)
Shiro
What do you mean?
Mara Vey
I mean the mark is proof that the goddess herself chose you. It is not a charm, a trick, or a priest's imitation.
Mara turns the ledger toward Shiro. Its oldest page shows the same radiant pattern, alongside a faded account of a chosen hero who would cross the demon border in an enemy's shape.
Mara Vey
The records say your task is not merely to defeat the demon king. You are to take his throne, become demon queen, and use that authority to make peace with humanity.
The nearby townspeople fall silent. One grips a market shawl while another stares openly at Shiro's hand, their fear giving way to uncertain awe.
Veranoir Road Guard 1
Then the temple records have brought their hero to our gate. Mara, send word to the temple at once.
Mara Vey
I will. Until the priests arrive, you are under Veranoir's protection, chosen hero.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give Mara Vey the name to record
“M-My name is Shiro....”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +3)
Shiro
M-My name is Shiro.
Mara Vey
Shiro. Good. That is the name I will enter, exactly as you have given it.
Mara writes the name into the temple ledger. Around the desk, the nearby townspeople remain silent, watching the chosen hero receive a place in the record.
Veranoir Road Guard 1
I heard it clearly. Shiro entered under my watch, and she is under Veranoir's protection.
Mara Vey
Then take this seal. Show it at the temple doors, and they will admit you as the goddess's chosen without delay.
Mara presses a warm wax seal onto a narrow parchment bearing Shiro's name. The mark depicts a radiant hand beneath a crown, granting her immediate access to the temple sanctuary.
Quest Complete
Give Mara Vey the name to record
+ New Item Acquired
Temple Access Seal