Before the ward-speakers can close the suspended tablet, violet fire spreads across the gate stones. The king’s signet appears within a courier mark, carried from the sealed royal chapel.
the king
The crown’s succession is endangered. The covenant’s judgment must include the throne, lest Vaelor’s continuation decide the kingdom’s heir.
The message repeats the king’s warning in lines of violet script. It crosses the threshold without opening the gate, then enters the circle surrounding Ulkesh and the first vessel’s testimony.
the orc standard-bearer
No crown alters our terms. The gate remains under our guardianship, and the first vessel’s record remains untouched.
the orc ward-speakers
The message may be copied, but not obeyed. Our offer stands: testimony first, shared counsel, and no command within the gate.
The covenant disregards the refusal and copies the king’s warning into the same violet circle. Its script knots around the ancient names, binding royal succession to the judgment already awaiting Ulkesh.
Elyr Tann
Keeper, the crown has entered the record. The covenant now demands whether succession is a lawful concern, or another claim upon Vaelor’s power.
✓ Quest Accepted
Answer the covenant’s succession challenge
“I submit my succession claim to the covenant’s judgment.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Ulkesh Valen
I submit my succession claim to the covenant’s judgment.
The words enter the violet circle. The royal warning, the first vessel’s record, and Ulkesh’s covenant-marked hand join within one binding ring.
The ancient names flare, then divide into two columns: lawful succession and Vaelor’s continuation. Neither is erased, and neither is permitted to conceal the other.
A deep tone passes through the gate stones. Violet script rises above the tablet, recording Ulkesh’s claim as a formal subject of judgment before the covenant.
Elyr Tann
Your claim is submitted, keeper. The covenant will judge the throne separately from the power you carry, and it will preserve both findings.
the orc ward-speakers
The first vessel’s record remains untouched. Your succession may be examined beside it, but never used to command the gate or alter our testimony.
The circle closes around Ulkesh, the royal message, and the suspended tablet. Beyond it, the orc standard stands firm as the covenant prepares its judgment.
“I submit my claim to the covenant’s judgment”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
The binding ring turns slowly around Ulkesh, the royal warning, and the first vessel’s tablet. Violet fire separates the two columns without disturbing either record.
Elyr Tann
The covenant has received the submission. It will judge succession by royal law, and Vaelor’s continuation by the vessel’s record.
The king’s signet rises from the courier mark. Its light weighs against the succession column, while the darkened hand on the tablet answers from the other.
the orc ward-speakers
Let the judgment distinguish inheritance from possession. No throne may become proof that the deeper law belongs to its bearer.
Three ancient seals appear above the gate: crown, covenant, and vessel. The crown seal fractures first, revealing the king’s succession warning as a lawful concern, not a command.
Elyr Tann
The throne may be examined, but it cannot govern this judgment. The covenant recognizes your claim without granting it authority over the gate.
The vessel seal remains whole. Beneath it, new violet script records Ulkesh’s submission as an open claim, preserving the distinction between rightful succession and Vaelor’s continuation.