The seam slides wide, and the chamber breathes out a low star-iron hum. In the center, a pedestal waits beneath a void-shaped notch, the air around it trembling as if it remembers a blade.
The Ancestor
The cradle is open. Place the key, and the Echo-Blade can answer.
Derick Force
The fit is exact. The chamber is tied to the key.
Garth shifts near the threshold, one hand on his sword, eyes fixed on the pedestal. The Hooded Figure does not move closer, but their stance tightens, as if weighing whether the rite should finish at all.
Garth
Do it cleanly, Derick. If the seal wakes wrong, we will all feel it.
Kellan
The void is listening already. The rite must be exact, or the breach will answer first.
The chamber vibration deepens, and the pedestal’s notch glows brighter, calling the key and the heir toward the same decisive act.
+ Story Quest Added
Obtain the Echo-Blade
+ Scene Quest Added
Complete the Rite of the Star-Bound
“"Walk me through the rite, great spirit." I say.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Reasoning, rolled +2)
Derick’s question settles into the chamber, and the star-iron hum answers first, softening into a voice that feels older than stone.
The Ancestor
Gladly. The rite begins with witness, then name, then offering. The key opens the cradle, the heir speaks the bond, and the blade remembers the hand that will bear it.
The Ancestor
Listen well, Derick Force. The Echo-Blade is not taken by strength alone. It is invited, and it answers only when the vow is true.
The pale key brightens in the Ancestor’s palm. Fine lines of light wake across the pedestal, tracing a circle around the void-shaped notch like a hidden script being read aloud.
Kellan
Then speak the bond plainly. No ornament, no haste. The chamber can tell the difference.
Garth
He asks because he means to do it right. That is rare enough to respect.
The Ancestor inclines his head toward Derick, one hand still steady over the glowing cradle, offering the next step without pressure.
“Follow the rite focusing on the deep sincerity and care you have always had for both your parents, using your childhood memories of their faces to bring forth these deeper emotions as you perform the rite.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
“Follow the rite focusing on the deep sincerity and care you have always had for both your parents, using your childhood memories of their faces to bring forth these deeper emotions as you perform the rite.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Derick closes his hand around the rite and lets the memory rise, his parents’ faces held steady in his mind as the chamber listens.
The key flares in the Ancestor’s palm, and the pedestal answers with a low, ringing pulse that spreads through the floor.
Light climbs the circle of the pedestal, joining into a complete sigil. The void at its center softens, then opens like a waiting mouth.
The Ancestor
Yes. That is the true note. The bond is heard.
Kellan
It holds. The seal holds.
Garth
By the stars... Derick, look at that blade cradle.
Within the light, an edge of dark metal rises from the cradle, caught in the star-bright ring as the chamber steadies around it.
Quest Complete
Complete the Rite of the Star-Bound
New Gift: Star-Bound Guardian
Quest Complete
Explore the Silent Grotto
New Gift: Grotto-Dweller's Stealth