NPCUpon the ritual platform, at the Undying Emperor's feet, under the keen gaze of His dark, empty eye sockets, you feel completely insignificant. Surprisingly, the thick blood pouring from His hands onto your brow, chest, and shoulders is still warm.
NPCBowed before His image, the Vizsier assumes the ceremonial postures with incredible ease, his withered body moving swiftly and soundlessly. You are slowly plunged into darkness to the sound of ritual chants and swooshing blades. Amid the noise of splashing blood and the cultists' whispers you hear the words, "Death has spoken your name, Domin'[Name]. Death accepts you."
YOU[Taste the blood]
NPCA rusty taste fills your mouth, causing a spasm in your stomach. Your head is spinning, but you struggle to determine if it is a thrilling sensation or one of profound revulsion.
YOU[Taste the blood]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Offer a prayer to the Undying Emperor]
NPCEach word consecrated to Him echoes in your temples and chest. Your veins become hot, and your blood turns to liquid flame. You have no fear in you. A whisper seems to come from above, from the Emperor's lips of stone: "I see you."
NPCCould the lingering intoxication still be playing tricks on your mind?
NPC(sequence)
NPCThe strange rash you developed in the freight line's pestilence pit grows pale and scabs over. A healing grace descends upon you.
end of branch
NPCIt seems the disease you caught in the freight line's pestilence pit is getting worse. Your skin is more itchy, and dark patches are forming in a few places.
end of branch
NPCThe Vizsier's voice grows suddenly thunderous and snaps you out of your reflections. "Death has accepted you, Domin'[Name]! Now and for all of time, you are the Bloodwarden and the Undying One's most venerable servant."
YOU"Bloodwarden? Very flattering. I will add it to my other titles."
NPC"Now that you are part of the Bloodspun Web, remember henceforth to beware of vanity. For it leaves gaping rents in the armour of our souls."
YOU"Bloodwarden? Very flattering. I will add it to my other titles."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It felt as if the God-Emperor was watching me..."
NPC"To many, He comes during their time of service, in images of blood and whispers from the shadows. But remember that those are mere visions. For true death will not come for you until your time, and it will take your soul gently in its bony hands."
YOU"Bloodwarden? Very flattering. I will add it to my other titles."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It felt as if the God-Emperor was watching me..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"So the ritual is complete?"
NPC"The ritual is complete... but you are not." The Vizsier gestures for one of the cultists, who is carefully holding a strange garment, to come closer.
NPC"For years, we have maintained fealty to the Domini. We have collected sacred symbols and relics. You are the first in three generations of lords and ladies to grace this sanctum. And the first of them all to be initiated so. We are grateful. We are uplifted in spirit. Hear our exultation and accept this gift of a vestment sewn from the bones of His faithful with the threads of death."
NPCThe cultists whisper prayers to the Undying One as they help you change your clothes and regain your faculties.
end of branch
YOU"So the ritual is complete?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It felt as if the God-Emperor was watching me..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"So the ritual is complete?"continues where this line first appears above
NPCA strange whisper brushes against the edge of your hearing. You cannot make out the words spoken by this infinitely distant yet infinitely powerful voice... You are not even certain whether you actually heard something or simply imagined it.
YOU"Bloodwarden? Very flattering. I will add it to my other titles."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"It felt as if the God-Emperor was watching me..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU"So the ritual is complete?"continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Look up into the face of the Undying Emperor's statue]
NPCBlood falls into your eyes. You hiss in pain, but raise your head. Through a red mist, you glimpse a harsh truth in the Emperor's face: death sees you. Death is watching you.
NPCCould the lingering intoxication still be playing tricks on your mind?continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Whisper words of corruption]
NPCThe words of corruption fill your consciousness like rotting pus from a lanced abscess. A whisper of approval gurgles and purrs inside your brain. The blood streaming down your face becomes sweeter than honey... However, a dismal feeling comes over you as well. As though the gaze of the statue's empty eye sockets has grown a dozen times heavier, and the stream of blood is lashing your back and shoulders harder than before.
NPCCould the lingering intoxication still be playing tricks on your mind?continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Wipe the blood off your face with disgust] "When is this going to end..."
NPCBlood floods your eyes. It creeps its way into your ears and nostrils. You slide your hands down your face, trying in vain to escape it, but breathing becomes ever harder.
NPCThe Vizsier's voice grows suddenly thunderous and snaps you out of your reflections. "Death has accepted you, Domin'[Name]! Now and for all of time, you are the Bloodwarden and the Undying One's most venerable servant."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Offer a prayer to the Undying Emperor]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Look up into the face of the Undying Emperor's statue]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Whisper words of corruption]continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Wipe the blood off your face with disgust] "When is this going to end..."continues where this line first appears above
NPC(sequence)
NPCA familiar whisper is scratching at the periphery of your consciousness. Or is it an inner voice? "Even if He hears you, what does He care? He did not save Theodora. He will not save you either. You are not His chosen one. But what if... you offer a prayer to the gods that are truly immortal? The ones who do not hold back with their gifts? The ones who are always willing to accept you?"