Torches burn low in the armory depths, where iron rings the walls and the air smells of oil, straw, and old blood. King Nazareth leads Eden and Vaelorin to a reinforced cage sunk into the stone floor.
Inside, a borderlands beast prowls and snaps at the bars, all muscle, scars, and foul breath. The king lifts one hand toward it, then toward Eden and the drilled line behind her.
King Nazareth
Show me the new standard. If this beast breaks, the kingdom stands. If it does not, we fail it.
Captain Vaelorin
This is the measure. No more excuses, no softer blade.
Vaelorin tightens his grip and snaps the guard into position. Eden takes the center, and the soldiers mirror her stance with cleaner footwork than before.
Princess Eden Siranteos
✓ Quest Accepted
Survive the beast test
“Without hesitation i rush forward, leading a brutal charge against the beast that consists of fast, powerful and relentless strikes with lethal precision.”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Weapons, rolled +1)
Princess Eden Siranteos
Forward.
Eden breaks first, her halberd carving the air as she surges at the cage. The guards snap in behind her, feet and shoulders lining to her pace.
Steel rings through the armory. Eden's strikes land fast and hard, each one driving the beast back from the bars before it can fully lunge.
Vaelorin shouts the next measure, and the squad answers without losing formation. The beast's charge falters under the pressure of coordinated blades.
A fresh slash opens across Eden's forearm, but she does not break stride. The red line only sharpens the pace of her assault.
King Nazareth
Good. Hold it there.
The beast recoils, pinned by the relentless push, while the king watches the line stay together.
“As the soldiers keep the beast pinned, i draw my musket and attempt to execute the creature by shooting it in the head.”
SUCCESS (Fair Ranged Weapons, rolled +1)
Eden lowers the halberd and draws her musket in one clean motion, the barrel finding the beast’s head through the iron lattice.
The report cracks through the armory. The beast’s skull snaps back against the bars, and its rage goes slack at once.
Captain Vaelorin keeps the line steady even as the shot lands, his sword still held high, his squad frozen in disciplined order.
The creature collapses inside the cage, heavy and still. Blood beads brighter on Eden’s forearm as smoke curls from the musket muzzle.
King Nazareth
Accepted. The standard holds.
A tense silence follows, broken only by the torches’ guttering breath and the guards’ controlled stance around the fallen beast.
From the far side of the armory, Queen Araneidan’s measured gaze remains fixed on the line, waiting for the next flaw, the next proof.
Quest Complete
Survive the beast test
Skill Upgrade: Melee Weapons Superb→Legendary