The Shattered Epitaph
The Makers' Circle presents a Halloween event

Beneath the oldest yew in Necrovion lies a small grave with no name upon it. The tombstone once held a portrait of a little girl, chiseled in bone-white marble, and danced in the moonlight. No one living remembers who she was. The Caretakers will say only this: the Lantern Wraith visits that grave more than any other, the lamp still burns for her long after every other light has gone out, and on quiet nights a child's laughter drifts between the stones.

Two nights ago a storm tore through the Yard. By dawn the portrait lay shattered in fifty pieces, flung across the graves by a wind that smelled of something older than rain.

Now the Lantern Wraith has made a decree: whoever restores her face first shall be rewarded. But the Caretakers have sworn to guard every grave, and to them, anyone picking through the stones looks like a grave-robber.

Starts When: October 24th at 11:45 PM server time, at the Gate of Necrovion. The hunt runs through Halloween and ends with a closing ceremony on October 31st.

Prizes: The first to restore the portrait receives a commemorative item. Every participant receives Halloween Candy, though it isn't quite like ordinary candy. Sometimes you get a trick instead.

How to Play

• Fragments ride the wind. Shards will fall into chat throughout the event. Claim one by speaking the words I lay this shard to rest. Others are tucked away in clickables across the realm, and some may be slipped into your messages by an unseen hand. Search every corner, because the wind is strong this time of year.

• The Caretakers keep their own. Approach one and say Caretaker, I seek the Epitaph. Answer their riddle or complete their task and you'll walk away unharmed maybe even with a fragment of the epitaph. You may choose to stand your ground instead. It's unwise, but you do you.

• Mind their patience. If you're chased off, wait at least 5 minutes before approaching that Caretaker again. Fail a riddle while standing your ground and no Caretaker will deal with you for 10 minutes. This is your only warning.

• Two a day, no more. You may win at most 2 fragments from any one Caretaker each day.

• The dead remember everything. Some fragments are given only to those who know the right words, so read carefully.

• Restore her face. The first to send the Lantern Wraith the complete, correctly assembled portrait wins.

Rest now, little one. Someone will find you.

---

Edited October 25Oct 25 by Seigheart

Hey guys, I apologize for the delayed start to the event. It will start today at 23:45. Unfortunately real life threw a curve ball while attending a 1 year olds birthday party that required a nights stay in the hospital due to an allergic reaction.

Guess who has developed an allergy to bee stings at 36 years old? Yaaaay.

Greetings, travelers of the realm.

The lanterns are burning low and Halloween is nearly over, so here's a look back at the Shattered Epitaph event. Thank you to everyone who hunted, guessed and gathered alongside the Lantern Wraith this week.

The story
A little girl's voice was sealed inside a broken Epitaph, and its shards were scattered across the lands. The Lantern Wraith, a restless spirit, searched every corner to gather them, then handed them back to the living one whisper at a time. Your task was to find the pieces, trade them, and rebuild the stone before her voice faded for good.

The trail of whispers (Oct 25 to 28)
Ten shards, pieces 22 through 31, were hidden with rhyming hints that led from one to the next. The trail ran from the Fields of Abandonment through Wind's Sanctuary, the Gates of Ages, Reconciliation Pass, Shadow Hutwood, Fenths Press, the Plains of Liberty and the MDA Main Gates, ending at The Aramory.

Riddles at the Gazebo
Anyone who asked the Wraith for a shard got a MagicDuel riddle instead. Wrong answers earned a rhyming jab and another try. Two players solved theirs:

• Marvolo answered Liquid Dust and won piece 48.

• Seigheart answered AP and won piece 53.

Else, Nep, Chewett, Ledah, Marcorias, Sephirah Caelum and Sunfire were challenged too. Well played to all of you for stepping up.

Candy storms
The Wraith gave out 52 Halloween Candy codes in all: a few at the Gazebo on Oct 29 and 30, a trickle on the 31st, then two storms with twelve codes at dusk and twenty-eight more after nightfall. Unclaimed candy lasts until November 18.

The final scatter (Oct 31)
In the last hours, the Wraith left the remaining 24 shards one per scene across the realm: Tranquil Plains, Fenths Press, the Meeting of the Roads, Maple Road, Hill Garden Hub, Left Field Slope, Right Field Rise, Shadow Hutwood, the Garden Tools Hut, Fortune's Well, the Gazebo of Equilibrium, the Gates of Marind Bell, the Champion's Dome, Wind's Game, the Plains of Deceit, Reconciliation Pass, the Path of Loneliness, the Howling Gates, the Clash of Ages, the Road of Battles, all three rooms of the Paper Cabin, and back where it all began at the Fields of Abandonment.

By the numbers

• 36 Epitaph shards released (pieces 22 to 57)

• 2 riddles solved

• 52 candy codes given out

Thank you
Thank you to Aelis, Seph, and Samon for helping shape this event, and to everyone who came out to hunt, trade and solve. Putting this together was a real pleasure. Whoever holds the most complete Epitaph, let's see it. Her voice is in your hands now.

Happy Halloween, and may your lanterns stay lit.

Seigheart, Master Craftsman of the Maker's Circle