The dragonkin attendants withdraw to the pavilion walls, leaving the circular table open beneath the many-dragon banners. Blue fire burns smokelessly in the braziers.
The Pavilion Herald
You have a brief interval before testimony begins. Gather yourselves, and speak privately if you wish. The harbor will hear you afterward.
The pavilion herald steps back beside the sealed doors. Penelope settles near Alexios by a blue brazier, her Twin Flames openly fastened at her belt, while the council tablet waits quietly.
Penelope
Before they question us, I want to ask something more important. What customs should we carry into this life, Alexios?
Penelope
This harbor may offer more than testimony. If we are to build a future beyond Ithaca, we must decide what belongs to us alone.
Penelope
What risks should we face honestly, and what hopes should we protect? I do not want ancient law or royal duty choosing every part of our life.
Beyond the pavilion, unfamiliar bells answer from the harbor cliffs. The tablet’s silver script remains still, granting Alexios room to answer in his own words.
✓ Quest Accepted
Give testimony to the harbor keeper
“I tell Penelope which customs and hopes I want us to protect.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Alexios
I want us to keep honesty as our first custom. We speak plainly, even when truth hurts, and we never let crowns or ancient laws speak for us.
Alexios’s voice carries softly beneath the many-dragon banners. The council tablet remains still, recording no command, while blue fire glints along Penelope’s attentive gaze.
Alexios
We protect our time together, our right to choose, and the people who trusted us when we had nothing but testimony. We face danger openly, never pretending duty makes us invulnerable.
Penelope
Then our home will be built on truth, choice, and care. We will defend those customs wherever we travel, whether Ithaca approves immediately or not.
Penelope places her hand over his uninjured one. Beyond the pavilion, the harbor bells answer, and the tablet’s silver script gathers his words into the shared record.
Penelope
And our hope? That we can keep discovering the world together without becoming servants to every mystery within it. I want a life that belongs to us.
The blue brazier burns steadily between them. For this quiet interval, their customs and hopes stand clearly named, ready to accompany them into the harbor’s testimony.
“I ask the herald about harbor customs”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +0)
Alexios
Herald, tell us the harbor customs. What must we honor here, and what should we understand before we speak for Ithaca?
The pavilion herald inclines her horned head. Blue fire outlines the council tablet as the harbor’s silver script turns toward her, awaiting instruction.
The Pavilion Herald
First, names are offered before titles. Second, no guest crosses a marked threshold armed without declaring every weapon. Third, testimony belongs to the record once freely spoken.
The Pavilion Herald
You may refuse a question that would expose another person’s private oath, but you must state the refusal plainly. False witness is answered by the harbor, not by personal vengeance.
She gestures to the banners above the circular table, each bearing a different draconic form. Their colors shift gently in the blue fire, like living heraldry.
The Pavilion Herald
At meals, the eldest speaker begins. At councils, the marked witness speaks first. At departure, guests leave by the same declared path unless the harbor grants another.
Penelope
Clear customs, and honest ones. We will name ourselves, declare what we carry, and keep our testimony separate from private vows.
“I begin our testimony before the harbor keeper”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
Alexios rises beside the blue brazier, his clean linen dressing and gentler sling secure. He places the council tablet before him and begins the testimony in a steady voice.
The pavilion doors open without a sound. An elderly dragonkin woman enters, tall and spare, with pale silver scales, swept ivory horns, and layered indigo robes marked with harbor seals.
The Pavilion Herald
I am Vaelith, keeper of this harbor. Marked witness of Ithaca, your testimony is received under the law of open record.
Vaelith takes the eldest seat but does not claim precedence. The tablet’s silver script rises into the air, forming a clear record beneath the many-dragon banners.
The Pavilion Herald
Speak first of your names, your authority, and the truth you carry here. The harbor will preserve your words without crown or personal vengeance shaping them.
Penelope stands beside Alexios, one hand near her declared Twin Flames and the other resting lightly against the table. The pavilion herald and attendants listen in silence.
Penelope
We will speak plainly. Alexios is Ithaca’s marked witness, and I stand with him as Penelope, daughter of the sealed harbor’s bloodline and a witness in my own right.
“I give our full testimony to Vaelith”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Alexios
I am Alexios of Ithaca, its marked witness and lawful envoy. I carry the crystal tablet of the First Harbor and speak under open record.
Alexios
I was exiled through a crown’s false accusations, then helped uncover the erased council, the king’s treason, and the testimony hidden beneath Ithaca. The king is dead, and restored law now governs there.
Alexios
I recovered the First Harbor’s records, followed their lawful road to Namaris, and restored testimony concealed from crowns. Penelope and I come not to claim power, but to witness truth and carry it home.
The crystal tablet receives each word in rising silver script. Names of the erased councils, the sealed harbors, Ithaca’s restored authority, and the eastern testimony unfold above the table.
Alexios
Penelope stands beside me as a marked witness in her own right. We declare our weapons, our purpose, and our open path of return. We ask only to meet this harbor honestly.
The Pavilion Herald
Your testimony is complete, coherent, and freely given. The harbor recognizes no concealed crown within it, and your record will stand without alteration.
Vaelith raises one claw over the tablet. Its silver script settles into a sealed record, while the harbor sigil answers with deep blue light beneath the pavilion floor.
Quest Complete
Give testimony to the harbor keeper
New Gift: Profound Understanding