The dunes lie still beneath the warded sky. Huarti stands at the edge of the brood-shield’s crimson rim, and the desert wind passes him by as if it knows better.
Annika Mal
It feels different now. Not just held, but settled. Like the land has accepted the claim.
Annouso keeps his post near the boundary mark, one eye on the glowing sand, one on Huarti. The titan dragon’s stance eases, though his vigilance never leaves him.
Annouso
A border can be a wound, or a wall. This one is starting to look like a home.
Huarti
The ward holds cleanly. No strain at the seam.
Below them, the nursery breathes in a slow, steady rhythm. The hatchlings remain quiet, and even Earlise’s presence feels checked, folded inward behind the red lines.
Annika Mal
You have moved from taking ground to tending it. That is a harder thing.
For a moment, the three simply watch the desert together, the silence warm instead of wary, as if the spires are waiting for Huarti’s next word.
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure the brood’s hidden seal
✓ Quest Accepted
Ensure the destruction of Earlise by the dragon An
“I pray to Ao that Earlise is fully destroyed by An the powerful red dragon”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
Huarti lowers his head on the dune’s crest, and the softened wind seems to hush around his prayer. The crimson border below stays steady, listening.
A thin red glimmer threads through the ward, then sinks away like embers swallowed by sand.
Far off, beyond the nursery’s reach, the air shivers once, as if a sealed name has been taken up by a stronger fire.
Earlise
The boundary holds. Whatever comes for me, it meets the ward first.
Annika Mal
It feels settled now. Safer.
Annouso
The seal rests under your hand, lord. I can keep watch while it does.
At Huarti’s feet, the sand darkens in a neat ring, marking the hidden seal as bound and answered. The desert stays quiet, waiting.
Quest Complete
Secure the brood’s hidden seal