At Elaris Ford, the orc host crosses beneath Ulkesh’s banner with lowered weapons. The king, physician, administrator, and witnesses remain sealed in the chapel, while Elyr Tann and Ulkesh’s brother accompany him to the gate.
An elderly orc woman leads them, broad-shouldered beneath layered ash-gray hides, her iron-gray braids bound with copper rings. She carries an ancient blackwood standard carved with a spiral enclosing a darkened hand.
The Orc Standard-Bearer
We bring the record, not a challenge. Vaelor’s first binding was preserved by our keepers when the eastern kingdoms forgot its cost.
The carved mark answers the violet covenant script. Lines of light climb the standard, then stretch across the ford toward Ulkesh’s covenant-marked hand.
Serath Vael
I know that sign. The orcs guarded the first vessel’s testimony, and Vaelor’s law required every successor to stand judgment before claiming its power.
The violet script does not open the gate. It forms a circle around Ulkesh instead, while the blackwood standard plants itself beyond the crossing.
Elyr Tann
The alliance is not yet accepted. The covenant has named you its subject, keeper. It will judge whether you are vessel, master, or continuation of Vaelor.
“I ask the standard-bearer for the alliance terms”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Ulkesh Valen
State the alliance terms your host requires.
The request passes through the violet circle without resistance. The orc standard-bearer studies Ulkesh beneath the blackwood standard, then lowers its carved point toward the earth.
The Orc Standard-Bearer
Three terms bind our alliance. First, the gate and its keepers remain under orc guardianship. No elven administrator, priest, or crown may command within it.
The Orc Standard-Bearer
Second, you will hear the first vessel’s testimony before using Vaelor’s deeper law. Our ward-speakers will witness, and your covenant will preserve their record.
The Orc Standard-Bearer
Third, when the humans return, we stand beside your banner, not beneath it. We share counsel in war, and neither host abandons the other at the ford.
The spiral on the standard opens into three violet rings. Each term settles into the covenant around Ulkesh, recorded as an offered alliance rather than a submission.
Elyr Tann
The terms are clear, keeper. The covenant recognizes them as the orc host’s complete offer, awaiting only your answer.
✓ Quest Accepted
Hear the first vessel’s testimony
“I ask the ward-speakers to present the first vessel’s record.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Ulkesh Valen
Ward-speakers, present the first vessel’s record before the covenant and its witnesses.
The orc standard-bearer turns toward three figures waiting beyond the gate. They are elderly orc men and women wrapped in ash-gray hides, their faces marked with white clay and copper beads.
The Orc Ward-Speakers
We present the record under the gate’s guardianship. Let no crown, priest, or administrator alter what was preserved.
The ward-speakers raise their hands. Dark threads rise from the blackwood standard and weave into a suspended tablet of violet light, its surface carrying ancient names and binding marks.
The Orc Ward-Speakers
The first vessel was Vaelor’s chosen bearer, but not his master. The vessel received the void, restrained its hunger, and stood judgment before taking the deeper law.
The Orc Ward-Speakers
The record warns that continuation is not obedience. When the vessel’s will and Vaelor’s essence become indistinguishable, the covenant must judge the bearer anew.
The tablet settles before Ulkesh, fully revealed and readable beneath the violet circle. The covenant copies every word into its rings, while the orc standard remains planted beyond the gate.
Quest Complete
Hear the first vessel’s testimony