Prior to being Appointed to the position of a Scion’s Knight, all knights contending compete for the honor in the 7 Trials of Knighthood. These Trials have been passed down since the early fairies of Hy-Brasil. The only Judge of a run of Trials is the Scion who is offering the Knighthood. The other 3 Scions are present for advisement to the Judge, as the Scions have all done the Season’s Trials on their own. The champion is often the one who has proven themselves in the majority of the Trials. This is a public festival viewed from the grounds of Castle Atria.
The 7 Trials are as follows:
- Trial of the Thorned Heart (The Fairies’ Trial)
The knight must guard a fragile creature for three days and three nights in the single, dead-end valley of Hy-Brasil called Rosehaven Valley. It has only one way in, which is also the only way out. It is also supremely haunted, as this valley is also where the dead fairies of the past are laid to rest at the closest point to the heart of the earth. The trial tests empathy, balance, and vigilance. It’s about knowing when to shield, when to hide, and when to soothe. - Trial of the Crimson Ring (The Knights’ Trial)
The knight must face themselves at the shore of Mirrorveil Falls. This is a section on the isle of Hy-Brasil where the water falls so clean in the mist that the light refracts to show different parts of the entrant. Here, the knight will fight an illusionist’s duel against different aspects of the dark of themselves: their grief, their wrath, their apathy. This trial tests control, identity, and perspective. It’s about different styles of fighting: brute strength won’t always win. - Trial of the Silver Tongue (The Scions’ Trial)
The knight is sent to a part of Hy-Brasil in conflict, where the spirits of the land of Hy-Brasil are not at peace. Who the knight needs to mediate between changes year over year. The spirits do not speak as the fairies do and seem to speak in riddles, demanding any number of offerings, promises, secrets, stories, or concessions. The trial tests loyalty, integrity, and honesty. It’s about knowledge of self and other, the bending of pride and power, toward greater good. - Trial of the Golden Tangle (The Summer’s Trial)
The knight is gifted passage into one of the parts of Castle Atria regularly forbidden to all who are not Scions or their students: the Golden Tangle. It is a maze in the bellows of the castle which changes shape and journey based on the entrant’s thoughts and emotions. Finding a way out means sorting through a series of puzzles. The trial tests logic, wisdom, and clarity. It’s about working past short-sighted temptation and selfish desires toward freedom. - Trial of the Unspoken Chamber (The Autumn’s Trial)
The knight is gifted passage into one of the parts of Castle Atria regularly forbidden to all who are not Scions or their students: the Unspoken Chamber. This is where unspeakable things are kept, a home for the unmoored. The knight will be in unfamiliar, dangerous territory and must survive overnight using only what is found or foraged. The trial tests adaptability, self-reliance, and faith. It’s about making the best out of what seems like the worst. - Trial of the Dying Star (The Winter’s Trial)
The knight returns to the castle grounds and visits Apricity’s Path, which reveals stars seen nowhere else. On a table sits a birdcage with a dull, dying star. To pass, the knight must sacrifice one important memory to reignite the star. The memory will be gone forever, unrecoverable even by magic. This trial tests discernment, bravery, and sacrifice. It’s about deciding what it truly means to give of oneself and what can’t be lived without. - Trial of the Glass Garden (The Spring’s Trial)
Also on the castle grounds sits the hidden Glass Garden, where every plant is made of delicate glass, each bloom representing a love: familial, romantic, platonic, ambition, creation, or self. The knight must nurture a bud to full blossom using only actions, not words or magic. Spectres from their past appear, each vying to be chosen as the beloved bud. This trial tests vulnerability, connection, and the courage to love without possession. It’s about not just what is loved, but how the love is shown.
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