The fractured binding circle smolders around Atropharan, its blue sparks dying against the cold stone. Beside him, enchanted iron remains looped around the novice necromancer’s ankles.
Without warning, the chain snaps taut and drags toward a cracked ossuary door. Dust spills from its seams as muffled bone-chimes answer beneath the floor.
Elianor Vey
Wait. That seal predates my rite. I have seen its pattern only in warnings.
The novice necromancer braces herself against the pull, dark green robes scraping over the stones. The silver charm at her throat trembles in time with the hidden chimes.
Elianor Vey
If that door opens, it may awaken whatever this crypt was built to contain.
Another chime sounds, deeper than the first. A hairline fracture lengthens across the ossuary door, and pale dust breathes from the threshold.
Atropharan
The chain answers something beneath the stones.
✓ Quest Accepted
Open the sealed ossuary and claim its necromantic power
“"Then it will be mine, as will you!" I say, before breathing in and exhaling a fog of deadly necrotic energy at the novice.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled -1)
Atropharan
Then it will be mine, as will you!
Atropharan draws in the crypt’s chill and exhales a dense fog of necrotic energy. It rolls across the fractured circle, swallowing the novice necromancer in blue-black vapor.
Elianor Vey
No... keep it away!
The fog strikes her robes and silver charm. Her knees buckle, and the enchanted chain slackens around her ankles as the deadly force leaves her unable to resist.
Elianor Vey
His will is stronger than the rite. I cannot break free.
She collapses beside the smoldering circle, conscious but helpless, while the necrotic cloud coils back toward Atropharan’s hollow sockets.
The ossuary door answers with a heavy internal knock. Dust pours from its widening fracture, and the chain’s iron links settle obediently across the stones.
“I continue to unleash the fell magic upon the novice, intent to seal her fate.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Arcana, rolled +1)
Atropharan’s pale blue-white gaze intensifies. Necrotic power pours from his outstretched hand, thickening the crypt’s shadows until candleflames bow away from him.
Elianor Vey
No... I yield. I yield to you.
The magic closes around the novice like a soundless midnight tide. Her silver charm cracks, and the enchanted chain falls slack across the stones.
Elianor Vey
The dark has claimed me.
Her breath stops. The novice lies still beside the fractured circle, her life extinguished as the necrotic force seals her fate and withdraws into Atropharan.
The soul-binding chain loses its glow, becoming ordinary iron around her ankles. Beneath the ossuary door, the answering chimes fade into silence.
Only the cracked seal remains before Atropharan, dust settling over its ancient markings while the crypt recognizes a new master.
“"Now... Rise, as my eternal servant." I say, raising a hand and basking her in a necromantic light.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Necromantic Rites, rolled +0)
Atropharan
Now... rise, as my eternal servant.
Atropharan raises a clawed hand. Necromantic light pours from his palm, bathing the novice necromancer’s still form and turning the crypt’s dust into slow, spiraling motes.
The cracked silver charm darkens completely. Cold radiance gathers around the body, and the enchanted iron chain lifts from the stones as though drawn by an unseen tide.
The novice necromancer’s body rises to its feet beneath Atropharan’s command. Her dark green robes hang motionless, while pale necromantic light settles behind her closed eyes.
The chain coils neatly at her ankles, no longer binding her to the broken circle. The ancient seal beneath the ossuary door answers with one subdued chime.
Atropharan
The rite is complete.
Dust drifts through the blue-black glow as the risen servant stands before Atropharan, awaiting his will. The crypt’s silence now belongs to him.
“"Your name, what were you called in life?" I ask, watching the undead, testing it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
Atropharan
Your name, what were you called in life?
The risen servant remains motionless. Atropharan’s will passes through the corpse and finds no living voice, only a sealed residue of memory beneath the darkened charm.
A faint pattern of blue light gathers across her throat, shaping letters in the air before him: Elianor Vey.
Atropharan
Elianor Vey. The name remains, though the woman does not.
The glowing letters sink into the servant’s brow. Her pale eyes open, empty of recognition, and turn toward Atropharan’s raised hand.
Behind her, the ossuary seal gives another subdued chime. Dust trembles along its fracture, while the chain at Elianor’s ankles lies perfectly still.
The crypt now holds her former name and her present obedience, two facts bound together beneath Atropharan’s command.