The Spirits' Scepter

The Spirits' Scepter is an Odyssey Event, and the forty eighth in the series. It is scheduled to start on May 13, 2016 at 8:00 PM (PST) and end on May 17, 2016 at 7:59 PM (PST). It is the fourth episode of the Dark Stigma story and second in the Aggrandom storyline.

Feature Changes
New Event UR (Stir) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte is available before the start of the event in the Ascension Saga Card Pack.

Odyssey Skill Cards

 * Penitent Prince Elmar (UR) Test of Strength Card. Gives 2x the Items regardless of Skill level. Gives 3x the Items when evolved with maxed out Skill.
 * Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) Boosts the number of Event Items acquired by up to 1.2x regardless of Skill Level.
 * (Crafting) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.3x boost.
 * (Domineer) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.4x boost.
 * (Bargain) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.5x boost.
 * (Triumph) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.6x boost.
 * (Accolade) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.7x boost.
 * (Insulted) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.8x boost.
 * (Forewarn) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 1.9x boost.
 * (Antipathy) Sceptermaker Kodorfitte (UR) 2.0x boost.
 * (Slaughter) Kodorfitte the Accused (UR EX) 4.0x boost.

Story
In the northeast of Ildanev's empire, there was a small kingdom known as Elgan. Contrariwise to its scale, its history and people could trace their roots to the legendary battle where the High Emperor established his dominance. It was comprised of two regions. One was little more than a wasteland, dotted with rotted trees and decrepit buildings. Those who struggled daily for survival in that bleak land were all but forgotten by the residence of the kingdom proper. The one exception was when a certain woman was forced to the gallows...

......

"Our leader gave us a direct order. Were you not paying attention?"

"Of course I was: 'Come when the signal goes up.'"

A lone castle loomed over the windswept wilderness. Within the forsaken corridors was a passageway that led to a sprawling underground cavern, the den of the Coppice Coven. Yet at the moment, nearly all of its members, black-garbed witches, were standing before the crumbling edifice, restless with tension. One in her middle ages made her unease known.

"She said it like we were visiting the apothecary, but every last one of us was cursed never to return."

Another looked through the worn gates.

"Yahqi's young, but she's the strongest leader we've ever had. If anyone can do something about that curse, it's her."

"That's why she's scheming to bring down the White Cloister."

After the oldest witch spoke up, the lingering silence was then broken by an anonymous voice from the fold.

"She's doing it all for them."

"Them" referred to three new additions which joined some days prior, practically children with not an ounce of wickedness between them banished from the kingdom. They were accused of breaking into a restaurant and killing the proprietor. Without so much as a cursory investigation, they were cast into the dungeon and faced with the choice of exile or death. Such was the fate of all convicted women in this land. Most elected for execution, for the wastelands of Elgan were notorious for their mercilessness. If one did not perish from starvation, they would assuredly be driven insane from solitude. However, the three girls appealed for their innocence and chose the wastelands. They were summarily forced through the gates, still bound to each other by shackles, and wandered for seven days before finding the Coppice Coven. With ankles swollen and fevers high, their condition was not out of the ordinary, but the Coven took particular umbrage with their circumstances.

"If they're innocent, it's a crying shame they had to go through all this."

"Why wouldn't they be? Half of us didn't do anything either."

"And the other half are rotten to the core."

A smattering of dry cackles was heard.

"What did Yahqi get exiled for anyway?"

"Rumors say she killed her own mother, and then a hundred others who tried to capture her."

"Seemed like she really didn't want to admit what she had done."

The old witch closed her eyes, and spoke as if remembering an event long past.

"If she killed the last leader the morning after joining us, I'd say she's plenty guilty. She was a tender 13 years of age, but I saw her do it, laughing all the while, sneering as she took the crown of branches from the bloody corpse. That's why she's called the 'Sneering Hellion.' And to even think about what she may have planned for the Cloister chills my bones..."

Meanwhile, the "Sneering Hellion" was below ground, chanting curses before a great cauldron in the deepest part of the cavern.

"Scars and callouses are our strength... O witch of legend, bless our ravaged lands..."

As the blood-red concoction bubbled and seethed, a vision floated to the surface. It was a symbol... The Stigma.

"Hahaha, the stage has been set, and the story that will play out should prove most entertaining..."

Stretching an arm before her, she slowly lowered it into the boiling pot.

......

"Ah, here you were, Your Highness."

A voice called out to prince of Elgan, Elmar, but he did not move. His attention was fast upon the sealed artifact before him. Even in the presence of the head of the Cloistered Coven, he could not restrain the frustration that lingered about him, and his response was consequently terse.

"What do you want, Helga? My father is still away."

As Elgan had been party to the ancient pact, the king joined the human entourage to Loftgygs for the giants' wedding ceremony.

"I have just received word from the messenger. It seems the ceremony was completed, although not without incident. Knowing the savagery of the giants, I imagine there was a mere falling out between brothers or some such trifle. There was also word the murderer of the goddess was present, but the empire has given no confirmation."

As she spoke, Elmar's mind began to wander and a twisted smile formed upon his face. Although Helga disdained the giants, he felt a strange sense of comradery with them, for they both shared the same unending indignation. During the war of Ildanev against the giants, demons, and dragons, he had given a disproportionate amount of land to the humans while the other races were forced into far smaller domains. Those borders would fall upon his death, but he yet grasped the whole of the planet; despite his professed humanity, he was seemingly immortal. As the generations passed, some mingled with the others, Ildanev was constant. The giants harbored the greatest abhorrence for him, for their high number of pure-blooded descendants meant their ancient grudge had also not diluted. It was a poorly kept secret that they would stage a revolt should the opportunity present itself.

Then, there was Elgan and the neighboring country of Cadavus, both said to be heirs of the demons from long ago. Elmar was one such progeny, yet he felt there was little notable about his capabilities. The barricaded Cadavus was expected, but even in Elgan, the blood of the ancients had thinned considerably. His rage was not inherited, but derived from royal history, represented by the Spirits' Scepter, which he now beheld in the sealed space. When the thought of what it had invited years ago returned to his mind, his expression hardened. He might have stewed for longer had Helga not interrupted his rumination.

"And if you were curious as to how Joselyn was..."

The sound of her name restored Penitent Prince Elmar's memory. She had been the one chosen from the Cloistered Coven of Elgan to wed a giant as dictated by their contract.

"It seems she has calmed quite significantly."

They were an organization devoted to the preservation and advancement of sorcery. The witches who joined the order were revered as royalty, and many were born of noble families. Both Joselyn and Helga were the same.

"That came as a relief, as the last I heard, she was unwilling to bear the burden expected of her... Although, she never would have been chosen had the disaster at the Palace of Dawn had not occurred..."

"Indeed. Her older sister was one of the casualties."

"Exactly. It is a terrible shame it happened to one so blessed with wisdom..."

"Is that all you had to report?"

Elmar cut her short. He understood she was attempting to change the subject as usual when dealing with sensitive matters.

"We received another message from our spy. It seems there is unrest in the wastelands."

His temples bolted upright. That very word aroused hatred in him, and he wanted nothing more than to excise the barren territory around the castle from Elgan entirely. It was from where the legendary witch Kodorfitte had come, and the Spirits' Scepter, the mark of shame upon the kingdom, was her creation. With it, she had threatened the kingdom's very existence when his grandfather was king. Although she was defeated after a number of years, their kingdom had not yet recovered from the damage she had inflicted. If his father had not sworn to protect it, Elmar would have demanded its removal from the land. As if sensing his anger, Helga tried to pacify him.

"The witches of the Cloister will be gathered at your command, if you wish to strengthen our vigilance."

Elmar gave his consent, but in his agitation, he did not notice a slightly hollow quality in her voice...

......

True to Helga word, the witches, clad in white and hundreds strong, stood silently in the castle plaza moments afterward. Only a faint moaning could be heard from them, akin to the howling of the wind. Although it would have spurred chastisement, Helga did not mind. Perhaps it was she was suddenly overcome with lethargy, and demanding an explanation would have been too bothersome. However, she had enough presence of mind to realize the unusual situation.

"All of them have been cursed never to return to this land. However, their leader Yahqi is not to be underestimated..."

She was interrupted by a low voice from behind.

"What's the matter, is there a bug going around? I haven't done a thing to you yet."

Helga turned to see a tall woman wearing a crown of tree branches and a thoroughly demeaning smile. An intricate pattern was inscribed along one of her arms. It was the Sneering Hellion, leader of the Coppice Coven, Yahqi.

"Ah, I haven't tasted air this clean in years. It's so pure, it almost makes me want to retch. That's why I never came back, even after I broke that cheap spell you called a 'curse.' The wastelands are so much more comfortable."

"You..."

"Now, wait just a moment. I think you'd better wait and see the reality of your situation, hahaha!"

Yahqi raised an arm high and her hand vanished into a pocket of warped air. Then, she pulled it out to reveal she had seized the hand of someone else. Helga gasped.

"Th-the spell of theft... Only criminals use that art! Everyone, attack this vile woman!"

"Me, 'vile?' I'm hurt, especially when I have someone right here who's likely far worse."

Yahqi pulled on the hand, and a person emerged from the void and landed hard upon the stone floor.

"Well, well, well... Just when I thought my luck couldn't get any better, I had to summon a goddess killer. But don't worry, I can tell you're innocent, because you're just like me. Now I don't have to force you to fight for me, since this'll be more like two birds-of-a-feather teaming up in the name of justice. And if we win, the wastelands of Elgan will be at your beck and call."

You stared at the woman in bewilderment, hardly able to absorb the words from her rapidly moving mouth, and before you could utter so much as a syllable, she turned her attention to the other women in white.

"Look at the mark upon their chest! This is the originator of the Stigma! Enemy of the empire! And now, ally to the criminals you exiled! We will be taking the Spirits' Scepter! Get in our way, and we'll turn you and everyone else into Stigmals!"

She then seized her staff as the other witches closed in. However, instead of chanting spells, a familiar, horrifying phrase came from their lips...

"May dark swallow the light..."

Yahqi looked at Helga's face, but her expression revealed she was also stunned. Confused, the black witch turned to you with a strange question.

"Hey, don't tell me you're really the murderer! I seriously haven't laid a hand on any of these people yet, but the minute you show up, they all get turned into Stigmals! No wonder you're wanted by the empire! ...Wait, I haven't become a Stigmal too, have I?"

You furiously shook your head. Naturally, you had no understanding of the situation whatsoever, and similarly, you did not understand why Yahqi seemed so carefree.

"That's what I thought. You don't look hard enough to even kill a flea. In any case, I'm sure you'll be of some use. There's no one here worth being scared of anyway. C'mon, let's take them out and get that scepter!"

......

Meanwhile, near the border of Elgan, a distraught elf was hysterically calling out to someone.

"H-Hero!? Where did you go?! They were here just a moment ago, weren't they, Salvador?! How could they simply disappear like that?!"

"I dunno but simmer down already! It must've been some kind of summonin' trick. Whoever did it can't be too far away, so let's just keep..."

At that moment, his sharp eyes caught the sight of a dim haze over a city far in the distance.

"...Heh, that was easier than I thought it'd be."

Against the gray sky, an eerie smoke drifted into the air, as if signaling someone...