The Dual Key, “the key of gold and thorn”, is an artifact of “moral attunement” held by the companion Alumine Manwe Finwe in the Ardis Vala cycle, tied to the Midnight Circuit of the Obsidian Gates and Midnight Road.
| Type | Artifact |
| Probable origin | Rudishva |
| Spanish entry | Llave Dual |
Description
Made of gold and crystallized thorn, the key opens or closes according to whether its bearer is morally attuned, by rectitude or ritual purity. Probably, an unattuned bearer suffers the thorn, which drains vigor and memory or twists the soul, and the key may act as a threshold guardian that closes against misuse.
Alumine, a rockseer elf bladesinger who beheaded Master Malakita in the first cycle, suspects it works on the Midnight Circuit, the broad Rudishva corridor linking the cloister and transportation hub, the Rudishva forge, the varuda lair, the armory, the troll pits and the Great Pillar. It may open a secret section or activate a Rudishva mechanism.
The demon’s offer
On the return after the Hiatus, in the summoning circle where Valerius found his demonic companion sword, the demon, seeking release, offered him “la espada y la llave del Circuito de Medianoche” (“the sword and the key of the Midnight Circuit”). Valerius fought, the demon was defeated and the sword recovered. Baron Argus de Ritornello was present on that return.
The two keys
There are two keys: Alumine’s, and the one the demon named. Both were meant to enable something on the Midnight Circuit. The Midnight Road was a transit route to the first Sigil, so the origin of Sogol almost certainly lies in Ardis Vala, in whose depths the Road opens.
The obsidian valves of the gates have two keyholes made for giant hands, and their keepers spoke of a golden scepter and a silver key long kept apart: one in the order, the other among the dead of the fifth level, with a dead elf seeking the missing one.
In Ravenloft the key may have woken or gone quiet; Pope Alejandro Sixto might wrest it from Alumine should he lose his attunement or yield to the domain’s taint.
Conflicting accounts
- The demon’s key may be Alumine’s key, or a second key tied to the same Circuit.
- The artifact may be infernal in origin, or only infernal in use.
Open questions
- Whether the two keys are one item in two hands or twins is unknown.
- What the keys were to enable is not yet known.
- Whether the scepter and silver key are this pair is undecided.