"The road to knowledge is littered with those who remembered too late."
—Old Irontide Proverb, scratched onto a broken helm
+14 Days After the Ashen Vault Defense
Route: Southern Ridgepass – Border of Stonebarrow & the Dead Forges
The trail to Irontide wasn't marked on any map. Rialt's crude sketches gave direction, but not certainty. It was as if the road itself didn't want to be found.
Jag rode point, Ashra beside him, Rain a few paces back, hood drawn low. Their fourth companion was a temporary addition: a silent Ironbeak scout named Lark, sent by Stonebarrow to observe.
The land grew stranger the deeper they rode.
Trees twisted in unnatural arcs. Stones bore scorch patterns with no fire source. And birds flew in jagged, looping paths, as if compelled by broken memory.
[System Prompt: Danger Rating – Rising. Memory Disruption Field Detected Ahead]
Passive Effect: +15% confusion chance, -20% skill cooldown efficiency
Area Name: Forgotten Valley
"The Wound That Dreams"
Ashra POV – Approaching the Wound
Ashra dismounted at the first sight of carved stone.
Obelisks stood along the path, half-buried in moss. Each bore names—erased by fire, but faint glyphs remained.
She ran her fingers along one.
"Old Order script," Rain said softly behind her.
Ashra frowned. "Wiped. Almost surgically."
Jag crouched beside them. "Not weather. Not decay. This was deliberate."
Rain turned toward the wind. "We're getting close."
Half a Day Later – The Gate of Irontide
The mountain curved around a black hollow. A stone arch stood at its edge, half buried. From its sides, metallic cords stretched down into the earth like veins.
And then… movement.
A masked figure emerged from the mist—robes of deep slate blue, armor pieces mismatched but functional. They held no weapon. Only a staff etched with ancient names.
They spoke in a filtered, static-heavy voice.
"Turn back. This place remembers too much."
Jag dismounted. "We came for memory. We came for truth."
A pause.
Then, a second figure appeared. And a third.
A voice—softer, female—answered.
"If you seek Irontide, speak the names of those you lost."
Jag paused, then answered:
"Kara. My sister."
Ashra: "Varric. My blade-mate."
Rain: "Velan. My first friend."
Silence.
Then: the gates opened.
[System Update: Irontide Located – Status: Cautious Neutral]
Memory Sanctuary (Restricted Access)
Faction Traits: Identity Preservation, War-Trauma Refuge, Name Codex Protection
Entry Granted: Temporary
Warning: Memory Leak Zones Active Inside – Unstable Thought Terrain
Within Irontide – The Namehold
The city was carved from the bones of a titan—a fallen stone colossus half-buried in mountain and time. Buildings clung to its ribs. Bridges stretched between vertebrae. Crystalline lanterns flickered with memory light.
But the strangest thing was the silence.
People moved with purpose but never spoke unless addressed. Most wore partial masks—ceramic, brass, or glass—each etched with a single name across the brow.
Ashra muttered, "Creepy."
Rain disagreed. "No. It's reverent."
They were led to the central hall, the Namehold—part temple, part archive, part tomb.
There, seated on a dais of fractured stone, was a woman draped in sapphire-blue robes. Her mask was full-faced, flawless. But the air around her buzzed with stored power.
She rose.
"I am Serya. Keeper of the Last Codex. You carry echoes with you. Deep ones."
Jag stepped forward. "We need help. The Vultures are rewriting memory, corrupting history. The Order of Rain was the first casualty. But not the last."
Serya's head tilted. "And you think Irontide wants to unbury itself?"
Rain spoke. "You already remember. You just don't act."
Trial of Memory – Serya's Challenge
Serya raised her hand. Three strands of light flowed from the archive pillars and twisted in the air.
"Then prove your truth," she said.
[Mini-Trial Activated: Echo Simulation]
Participants: Jag, Ashra, Rain
Objective: Relive and survive a corrupted memory altered by the Vultures
Starting Scene: The Fall of the Western Border Tower
Echo Simulation – Memory Battle
They stood suddenly on familiar ground—Stormwatch's old western tower. Except the sky was blackened with false flame, and allies fought against each other as if possessed.
Rain gasped. "This isn't how it happened…"
Jag growled. "They've rewritten this moment to make us the traitors."
Enemies surged—soldiers bearing Stormwatch emblems but red-glowing eyes.
Ashra: Shadow Fang – Nonlethal takedown
Jag: Oathblade Counter – Defense stance
Rain: Veilstep → Memory Break – Reveals hidden glyphs
Rain shattered the illusion glyph at the tower base.
The battle froze. A second later, shattered. They returned to the real world, gasping.
Aftermath – The Codex's Judgement
Serya stared at them long. Then she removed her mask.
She was older than expected. Worn, weathered. But human. Real.
"Irontide will not fight," she said. "But we will remember. We will record your version—the true one—and distribute it through the whisper-net."
Jag clenched his jaw. "That's not enough."
"It is," Serya said, "when truth becomes its own weapon."
Rain asked, "What of the rest of the Order?"
Serya's voice fell quiet.
"There may be one more. A survivor deeper south, past the Mawline. Name unknown. Status: Ghostwalker."
Irontide Alignment: Neutral to Allied (Memory Accord Signed)
Echo Simulation Passed
Reward Gained: Codex Channel Access – Name Propagation Passive Activated (+5% clarity in neutral zones)
New Side Quest: Locate the Ghostwalker
Area Hint: South of Mawline Crater