The Black Pledge (Black Armband)

During the War for Supremacy, the Eternals devised a plan to help humanity against the rising threat of the Dunric. Together, Verona and Vumella created a powerful ritual spell that would mark certain heroic individuals with their light, a brand that would challenge and defy the forces of darkness. This mark, a glowing black band that manifests around the bicep of those who would accept the rite, remains visible even through the thickest clothing and armour. Those that bore this mark became known as the Black Wardens. The Black Wardens were the ones that the people knew to call on when things were at their darkest, someone to turn to whenever a great foe needed felling or a challenge needed overcoming. 

This ritual, dubbed the "Black Pledge", constituted a promise to serve the will of the Eternals and the forces of light and justice. The ritual was associated with a ceremony and vow. The vow, when recited at before a shrine to either Verona or Vumella, would place the brand upon the individual that takes the pledge. This brand would persist on the body until it resurrects. Among the Black Wardens, this mark simply became known as the “Black Armband”.

After resurrection, the vow is considered fulfilled and the brand would disappear from the arm of the person under the Pledge if they wish it to. The Black Pledge could be immediately renewed at the time of resurrection, or the vow could be taken again at a later time at a shrine to Verona or Vumella by completing the ceremony and ritual once again. While most people viewed a single resurrection as a duty served, within the Order of the Black Wardens those that did not take the Pledge again were considered to be deserters of the Order. 

During the War for Supremacy, this brand and the people who donned it were regarded as the bravest warriors, and were treated like heroes. During the Second Age, being a time of relative peace, the Black Pledge was often undertaken by exiles, drifters, and seventh sons of seventh sons--people who stood to have no station in life but still wanted to make a mark on the world, or even by those who just sought great challenges in life.  As such, one can find all manner of people bearing the Black Armband in the current day, though this mark eventually became viewed as a bad omen among the common folk, as the arrival of people who have taken this oath likely meant there was great danger close by and rarely as a blessing.

 

 

The Black Armband, or "Black Armbanding", is a mechanic in Relics of Aelamos designed to challenge a player with harder content to participate in. More information about the mechanics of Black Armbanding can be found in the Core Rulebook.