Rosa Lewis steps beside the communal offerings, a small-statured African American woman with deep mahogany skin, a slender frame, and a dark work robe marked by bronze dust. She carries a polished wax tablet.
Its surface holds a careful likeness of the supper circle, Kiki’s drum, the crepe brazier, and the open bronze seal. The senior attendant leans closer, while the younger attendants keep watch.
Aphrodite
Rosa has discovered that players can adopt only figures created in their own stories. Their images can still be copied or downloaded and used to make new characters who resemble them.
Rosa
Exactly. The likeness carries appearance and inspiration, not ownership of the person who gathered here. A new story must make its own welcome.
Around the basin, Dolly remains beside the offerings, with Alberta, Harriet, Tsubomi, Hitomi, Stella, Erin, Kiki, Barry, Prince, and the others who stayed. Their attention settles on the tablet.
the senior attendant
Then the image must preserve the terms witnessed beneath this seal. No copied face may become a chain, and no resemblance may erase voluntary welcome.
Rosa
Let that be the practice: copy the image, create anew, and carry the invitation forward. Aphrodite, will you let the tablet record those terms?
“I invite the attendant to witness Rosa’s tablet”
SUCCESS (Legendary Charm, rolled -1)
Aphrodite
Senior attendant, I invite you to witness Rosa’s tablet and the terms it preserves beneath your seal.
Aphrodite extends the invitation across the warm marble. Rosa turns the polished tablet toward the entrance, where lamplight catches the careful likeness and the cracked bronze seal.
the senior attendant
I accept the invitation. Let the record show that I witness both the image and the freedom it is meant to protect.
He steps beside Rosa and studies each etched detail without touching it. The younger attendants lean nearer, their watchful expressions easing as the terms become visible.
Rosa
Then the tablet records a witnessed practice: resemblance may inspire a new story, but welcome must be made anew.
the senior attendant
I witness it and affirm it beneath my seal. No copied likeness owns a person, and no guest becomes bound by resemblance.
Around the basin, Dolly smiles quietly while Kiki’s fingers resume a gentle rhythm. The tablet now bears not merely an image, but the attendant’s public confirmation of its terms.
✓ Quest Accepted
Gain the attendant’s permission to share Rosa’s witnessed practice
“I invite the townspeople to hear how resemblance can inspire anew.”
SUCCESS (Great Oratory, rolled -1)
Aphrodite
Townspeople, hear this: resemblance may inspire a new story, but every welcome must be made anew, freely given and freely kept.
Her invitation carries through the open doors and over the warm marble. Lamps tilt toward the tablet, and the gathered townspeople fall respectfully quiet to hear its terms.
Rosa
The likeness can kindle an idea without claiming the life behind it. What follows belongs to the new story and its own acts of welcome.
the senior attendant
All here have heard it beneath my seal. Resemblance grants no ownership, and no person is bound by an image.
A few townspeople nod and repeat the principle softly to one another. The gray-haired woman touches her wreath, while the young man’s dates remain an offering without a name attached.
Dolly
Then even a copied beginning can lead somewhere kind, provided the new person is welcomed as themselves.
Kiki’s gentle rhythm resumes, giving the invitation a measured pulse. Rosa marks the tablet with the witnessed words, and the open threshold remains peaceful and free.
“I invite Stella to explain the loophole publicly”
SUCCESS (Legendary Charm, rolled +2)
Aphrodite
Stella, explain the loophole publicly. Let everyone hear how a new story may welcome a likeness without claiming the life behind it.
Aphrodite’s invitation crosses the marble in a clear, peaceful cadence. Kiki quiets her drum, and the townspeople turn toward Stella beside the basin.
Stella Nabokov
Gladly! A story may remember a face, a rhythm, or a spark, but it cannot simply take the person. The new story must welcome its own character anew.
Stella lifts her tambourine, though she does not strike it. Her long blonde hair glimmers in the lamplight as the gathered company listens without interruption.
Stella Nabokov
So resemblance is an invitation to imagine, not a chain. The new person has their own acts, choices, name if they offer one, and freedom to stay or leave.
the senior attendant
That explanation accords with the witnessed terms. Let it be spoken at the threshold: likeness may begin a tale, but welcome and freedom must begin it anew.
Rosa inscribes Stella’s explanation beside the earlier terms. The senior attendant’s seal catches the light, while the townspeople repeat the principle softly and the open doors remain unbarred.
Quest Complete
Gain the attendant’s permission to share Rosa’s witnessed practice
Skill Upgrade: Oratory Great→Superb