EchoSpire: Portals — Salvari Tutorial¶

The Chore List¶

Tutorial Overview¶

Faction: The Salvari Passive Reward: Scrap Protocol — Whenever you exhaust a card, gain 1 Energy. Leader: Alden (voice on comm throughout — appears briefly at passive unlock) Specialists: Rook Seld (structural), Cass Lorin (systems) Quartermaster: Maren Location: The Salvari maintenance network — Conduits 14 through 19 Quest: Complete the chore list Structure: 1 Realm · 8 Nodes

Cast Reference¶

Character	Name	Root Meaning	Foreshadowing	Role
The Custodian	Alden	Old friend / the one who remained	Already locked	Assigns the work. Never explains himself.
Structural Specialist	Rook Seld	The corner guard / rare and precious	What guards the corners is always the first sacrificed	Reads physical integrity of spaces. Knows what's about to fail.
Systems Specialist	Cass Lorin	The conduit / crowned by what they carry	Doesn't know where the network ends and they begin	Makes incompatible things connect. Understands the improvised infrastructure.
Quartermaster	Maren	The one who endures	Has been at this post long enough that the post and the person are the same thing	Salvari shop. No surname. No questions.

Enemy Reference¶

Enemy	Scale	Description
Seep	Standard	Dimensional residue that seeped through the network's compromised sections and became animate. A pest problem. Clearable.
Seep Cluster	Elite	Multiple Seep that have merged around the dimensional filter housing. Bigger job, same tools.
Mire	Boss	What happens when a leak source has been feeding something for long enough. Not a different creature. The same substance at a scale that requires the whole team.

The Chore List¶

Conduits 14 through 19. Assigned: [Player], Rook Seld, Cass Lorin.

— Alden

Item	Location	Notes
1. Clear the blockage at junction C	Conduit 14	Seep. Standard clearance.
2. Hold position at the gravity coupling while Rook and Cass run repairs	Conduit 15	Coupling is failing. Keep whatever comes off it while they work.
3. Check the resonance mapping at the old survey marker	Conduit 16	Pre-Bleed installation. Should still be running.
4. Investigate the anomalous reading at junction D	Conduit 17	Use judgment.
5. Clear the dimensional filter housing	Conduit 17	Might be worse than junction C.
6. Check equipment	Conduit 18 alcove	Supplies left if needed.
7. Resupply at Maren's post if passing through	Conduit 18	—
8. Seal the primary leak source	Conduit 19	Might be a Mire by now.

The Induction¶

The note arrived this morning. A folded piece of paper slipped under a door — your door, which you have no idea how anyone found — with a list of maintenance tasks on one side and a location on the other. The handwriting is unhurried. The ink is real. At the bottom, no signature. Just an initial.

A.

You are standing at the entrance to Conduit 14 at the time specified. The entrance is a maintenance hatch in the floor of a corridor that three different factions pass through daily without ever looking down. You looked down.

Two people are already there. One is crouched at the hatch mechanism, examining the coupling with the focused attention of someone reading a patient's chart. The other is reviewing something on a battered data-pad, cross-referencing it against the conduit wall markings.

The one at the hatch doesn't look up.

Rook Seld:

"You're the new one. Good timing — this coupling has been sticking for three weeks and Alden keeps putting it on the list.

I'm Rook. Structural. That's Cass — systems. We've been doing this long enough that the introductions are usually shorter than that.

You'll figure out the rest as we go."

The hatch opens. Below it — the maintenance network. Dark, warm, the particular smell of machinery that has been running without maintenance for slightly too long. The sound of something moving, distantly, in the conduits ahead.

Rook drops through without ceremony.

Cass glances at their data-pad, then at you.

Cass Lorin:

"The moving sound is probably Seep. Dimensional residue — it gets into the network through compromised sections and just — stays. Blocks things. Nothing personal.

First item on the list is junction C. That'll be them.

Alden's lists are always accurate about what's there. He's occasionally optimistic about how bad it is."

They drop through.

You follow.

The comm crackles. A voice — unhurried, the particular economy of someone who has been describing problems for a very long time.

Alden:

"You found the hatch. Good.

Work the list. Rook and Cass know the network. Check in when you reach Conduit 19.

Watch the junctions — the Seep tends to cluster where the dimensional bleed is worst. Nothing you can't handle."

A pause.

"Welcome to the work."

The comm goes quiet.

Node 1 — Skirmish: "Junction C"¶

Rift Type: Basic Combat Teaches: Phase 1-3 turn structure, Energy, Block

Junction C is exactly what Cass said it would be — a critical network junction where three conduit lines converge, currently occupied by a colony of Seep that have found the dimensional bleed comfortable and have no plans to leave.

They are blocking a junction that needs to be clear.

Rook crouches at the junction wall, running a hand along the conduit housing.

Rook Seld:

"Structural integrity is holding but the Seep's been putting pressure on the eastern coupling. We clear them, I can reinforce the housing before we move on. Add maybe ten minutes.

They just — resist. The trick is spending enough to shift them without spending more than you have.

We spend to clear. That's the job."

Tutorial Prompts:

Turn 1 — Phase 1: "Initialization. Your Energy resets, you draw your hand, and the Seep lock in their Intent. In the Salvari network, Intent tells you what's blocking what — address the highest priority first."
Turn 1 — Phase 2: "Action. Spend Energy to play cards. The Salvari approach is practical — spend what's needed to clear what's there. No more, no less."
Turn 1 — Phase 3: "The Purge. Seep execute, your Block resets, hand discards. The network doesn't wait. Next turn, same job."
Turn 2: "Still here. Still blocking. Keep working."

The Seep dissolve — not defeated so much as cleared. The junction is passable. The conduit lines resume their normal pressure readings.

Rook reinforces the eastern coupling with practiced efficiency. Three minutes, not ten.

Rook Seld:

"Good. Coupling's solid. Junction C — done."

They pull out the chore list and mark it off. The gesture is so ordinary it takes a moment to register that this is what winning looks like in the Salvari.

A mark on a list.

Cass is already moving toward Conduit 15.

Cass Lorin:

"Gravity coupling next. That one's been on the list longer than junction C.

When something's been on the list that long it usually means it's worse than it looks on paper."

Combat AI Scripts — Node 1¶

Level 1 — Behaviour Pattern. Standard skirmish. Rook Seld and Cass Lorin handle their own engagements — Rook reinforcing the junction housing, Cass monitoring conduit pressure. Neither participates in player combat. Solo encounter.

Enemy — Seep (×3)

Unit	Behaviour Pattern
Seep A	Targets player exclusively. Slow Press — low damage but applies Slow (reduces player Energy by 1 next turn) on odd turns. Standard push on even turns.
Seep B	Targets player exclusively. Standard push every turn. Consistent low pressure.
Seep C	Targets junction housing directly — if unengaged for 2 turns, deals structural damage that adds the Scar 'Blocked Junction' to the player's deck. Forces engagement.

Design intent: Seep C targeting the junction housing teaches the player that threats don't always target them directly. Slow from Seep A introduces resource pressure without overwhelming. The overall encounter feels like clearing a blockage — sustained work rather than dramatic combat.

Specialists — Non-combat

Character	Turn	Action
Rook Seld	All turns	Reinforcing the junction housing. Structural commentary on Seep behaviour. Does not fight.
Cass Lorin	All turns	Monitoring conduit pressure readings. Does not fight.

Node 2 — Protection Rift: "The Gravity Coupling"¶

Rift Type: Defend Teaches: Enemy Intent targeting, VIP health pools, alternate win/loss conditions

The gravity coupling at Conduit 15 is a critical infrastructure component — one of the original pre-Bleed installations that has been keeping this section of the maintenance network's gravity feed stable for a hundred years. It is also, very clearly, about to fail.

Rook identifies the problem in thirty seconds. Cass has the repair kit open in forty. The repair will take five turns. The repair requires both of them.

More Seep are coming through the compromised section the failing coupling has opened.

Rook Seld:

"Coupling's cracked along the primary feed line. Not structural failure — dimensional pressure from the bleed. We can fix it but it takes both of us and we can't stop while we're working.

You're on clearance. Anything that comes through that gap — keep it off us.

Five turns. Don't let them interrupt the repair."

They don't wait for a response. The repair begins.

Tutorial Prompts:

"Protection Rift. The gravity coupling repair has its own integrity pool — if Seep interrupt the work, the repair fails."
"Win Condition: repair completes after 5 turns."
"Failure: repair interrupted — coupling fails. You take 15 unblockable damage and the Scar 'Damaged Infrastructure' enters your deck."

Turn 2. Rook and Cass work without looking up. The repair is delicate — Rook holding the structural housing stable while Cass reroutes the dimensional feed through a jury-rigged bypass.

More Seep press through the gap.

And above — through the conduit ceiling, through two floors of Spire infrastructure — the sound of boots. Rhythmic. Organised.

Rook signals without looking up. One hand. Stop.

Everyone goes still.

The boots pass. A Valerii patrol, moving through the garrison corridor directly overhead. They don't know what's below them. They never do.

The boots fade.

Rook's hand drops. Work resumes.

Five turns. The repair completes. The coupling hums back to stable operation. The gravity feed normalises. The gap closes.

Cass packs the repair kit with the satisfaction of someone whose numbers have come out right.

Cass Lorin:

"Coupling's sealed. Dimensional pressure is down forty percent in this section.

That'll hold for — "

They check something on their data-pad.

"— a while. Probably."

Rook Seld:

"Good enough."

They mark it off the list.

Combat AI Scripts — Node 2¶

Level 2 — Phase Script. Three units present — player, Rook Seld, Cass Lorin. Rook and Cass occupied with the repair. Player guards alone. This is the tutorial's clearest statement of Salvari cooperative structure — everyone has a role, the roles only work if everyone does theirs.

Enemy — Seep (×3, escalating)

Unit	Turns	Behaviour
Seep A	All turns	Targets player exclusively. Standard push. Consistent pressure source.
Seep B	Turns 1-2: player. Turn 3+: repair work directly.	Shifts to interrupting the repair. Forces the player to prioritise.
Seep C	Enters at Turn 3 through the gap as it temporarily widens during the repair. Targets repair work exclusively.	Late arrival, immediate threat to the repair. Highest intercept priority.

Repair integrity loss (unintercepted Seep contact with repair): - Seep B hit (repair turns): −20 integrity - Seep C hit: −25 integrity - Repair starts at 100 integrity. Reaches 0: failure.

Specialists — Repair (non-combat)

Character	Behaviour
Rook Seld	Holds the structural housing. Cannot fight. If Seep reach the repair, Rook absorbs one hit before the integrity pool takes damage — takes the hit personally. Does not comment on it.
Cass Lorin	Reroutes the dimensional feed. Cannot fight. If repair integrity drops below 50%, calls: "Getting rough over here." No other combat communication.

Character note: Rook absorbing a hit for the repair without comment is the tutorial's first statement about Salvari values. The work matters more than the person doing it. This is not self-sacrifice. It is priority.

Node 3 — Anchor Rift: "The Survey Marker"¶

Rift Type: Map Reveal Teaches: Fog of War, Conduit Routing Mini-Game Mini-Game: Pipe Network Puzzle

The old survey marker at Conduit 16 is a pre-Bleed Salvari installation — a battered iron spike driven into the conduit wall before the Reality Bleed, before the factions, before anyone knew what was coming. The Aevum Sentinels used them to map the infrastructure. The Salvari kept using them after everything else changed.

It is still running. Of course it is still running. Someone has been maintaining it.

But the mapping pulse can't travel on its own — the dimensional bleed has compromised sections of the conduit network ahead, breaking the signal paths. The pulse needs a clear route. The conduit segments need to be connected.

Rook Seld:

"Survey marker. Been here longer than any of us.

The bleed's been shifting conduit geometry since the last survey — sections that were connected aren't anymore, sections that weren't connected now are. The mapping pulse needs a continuous path from the marker to each major junction ahead.

The segments are still there. They just need rotating into the right positions to connect.

Cass — you want to do the honours?"

Cass Lorin:

"Every time."

They connect their data-pad to the survey marker's interface port. The conduit schematic appears on the display — a grid of pipe segments, some connected, some rotated wrong, some blocked by Seep residue.

Conduit Routing Mini-Game¶

Concept: A pipes puzzle. The player rotates conduit segments on a grid to create an unbroken path from the survey marker to each of the network's major junctions ahead. The pulse travels along the connected path — the further it reaches, the more of the map resolves.

UI Layout:

A grid of conduit segments viewed from above — a schematic representation of the network ahead. Each cell contains a pipe segment: straight, corner, T-junction, or cross. The survey marker is fixed in one corner. The target junctions are fixed at various points on the grid.

The player clicks or taps a segment to rotate it 90 degrees. Segments that are currently connected to the main path glow. Segments that are close but not yet connected show a proximity indicator.

Segment types:

Segment	Description
Straight	Connects two opposite sides
Corner	Connects two adjacent sides
T-junction	Connects three sides
Cross	Connects all four sides
Blocked	Seep residue — cannot be rotated. Must be routed around.

The objective: Connect the survey marker to as many target junctions as possible before committing the pulse. The pulse can be fired at any time — more connected junctions means more map revealed.

Scoring:

Junctions Connected	Result
All junctions	Full map — complete network revealed including sections not on the original schematic
3 of 4 junctions	Strong map — most of the network revealed
2 of 4 junctions	Partial map — key nodes revealed, some routes obscured
1 junction	Minimal map — only the immediate path ahead visible, one node obscured

Cass's role: Cass monitors the data-pad and calls out real-time feedback — which segments are connected, which junctions have been reached, where the path is close but not complete. "You're one rotation off on the T-junction in the lower section." Not the solution — the proximity. The Salvari equivalent of a navigator calling the gap.

Rook's role: Rook reads the structural condition of each segment as it connects — noting which ones are original installation versus jury-rigged replacements, which ones are showing stress signs that will need attention on a future list. Practical information that occasionally matters for the route choice.

The hidden junction: One target junction doesn't appear on the original schematic. It's the section running parallel to the main network — the sealed panel the player will investigate in the next anomaly node. Connecting the pulse to this junction reveals it on the map before the player physically arrives at it. They see it marked as an anomalous reading before they understand what it is.

Difficulty scaling: - Easy: Smaller grid, fewer blocked segments, wider path options - Normal: Standard grid with several blocked segments requiring route planning - Hard: Larger grid, more blocked segments, time pressure added — the Seep residue is actively expanding, blocking additional segments every 30 seconds

The pulse fires. The network resolves on Cass's data-pad — conduit by conduit, junction by junction, the actual geometry of what's ahead replacing the outdated schematic.

Rook looks at the map.

Rook Seld:

"Conduit 17's geometry has shifted since the last survey. The filter housing section is wider than it should be.

That usually means something's been growing in there."

A pause.

"List says it might be worse than junction C.

It's worse than junction C."

Node 4 — Anomaly: "Junction D"¶

Rift Type: Event Teaches: Narrative choices, asymmetrical trades, forward consequences

Junction D is not on the schematic.

The survey marker found it — a section of conduit that doesn't appear in any Salvari record, running parallel to the main network behind a panel that has been sealed from the inside. Recently. The seal is new work. Good work.

Rook examines the panel with the expression of someone who recognises craftsmanship.

Rook Seld:

"That's not Seep damage. That's deliberate. Someone sealed this from inside and they knew what they were doing.

There's a space behind it. Habitation signs — heat differential, air circulation pattern that doesn't match an empty conduit.

Someone's been living in there."

Cass checks their data-pad.

Cass Lorin:

"It's not on the list. Junction D is on the list — the anomalous reading. But whatever this is, Alden just wrote 'use judgment.'

He knew it was here."

He always knows.

Tutorial Prompt: "Anomaly — a situation the list doesn't fully describe. Alden said use judgment. The choice is yours."

Choice A — Leave it. Mark it on the map, move on. You note the location and continue. The space behind the panel is someone's business, not yours. The work is ahead. You report it to Alden on the comm. A pause. Then: "Good call." Effect: Gain the card Selective Blindness — 0-cost Skill: gain 8 Block. Exhaust.

Choice B — Knock. See who answers. Three knocks on the panel. A long pause. Then — from inside, quiet — one knock back. You leave it. But now you know someone is in there, and they know someone found them, and neither of you has done anything about it. Effect: Gain the card Mutual Understanding — 0-cost Skill: the next card you play this combat costs 0 Energy. Exhaust.

Either way, Alden's comm crackles before you can report.

Alden:

"Junction D noted. Leave it.

Keep working the list."

He already knew.

Rook marks it on the map without comment. Cass doesn't look up from their data-pad. You file it in the same place you file everything about Alden that doesn't quite add up.

There's work ahead.

Node 5 — Elite Threat: "The Filter Housing"¶

Rift Type: Hard Combat Teaches: Advanced enemy mechanics, Artifact drops

The dimensional filter housing at Conduit 17 was designed to catch dimensional residue before it could accumulate in the conduit network. It is, in theory, why the Seep problem shouldn't be as bad as it is.

In practice the filter hasn't been properly serviced in longer than anyone wants to calculate, the dimensional bleed has been feeding residue into the network faster than the filter can process it, and a Seep Cluster has formed around the housing itself — a dense accumulation of merged Seep colonies that has been feeding on the filter's own output.

It is blocking the filter. Everything downstream is getting worse.

Rook looks at it with the expression of someone whose estimate has just gotten significantly larger.

Rook Seld:

"That's a Seep Cluster. Several colonies merged around the filter — they're feeding on the dimensional residue the filter's been catching. Smart, in the way that things without brains are occasionally smart.

It's going to push back harder than junction C. The merged mass means it can redistribute pressure across the whole cluster — you can't just clear one section and have it stay cleared.

Watch for Pressure Surge — every few turns it redistributes and hits everything at once. That's when the whole cluster pushes simultaneously.

We'll be right here doing absolutely nothing useful until it's clear. Filter housing is too unstable to work on while that thing's attached to it."

Tutorial Prompts:

"Elite Threat. The Seep Cluster has advanced mechanics — Pressure Surge activates every 3 turns, dealing damage to all units simultaneously as the cluster redistributes its mass."
"The Cluster cannot be worn down evenly — focus damage on its core to prevent redistribution."
"Elite enemies drop Artifacts."

Cass fights alongside you. They approach the Cluster the way they approach everything — as a systems problem. Identifying where the pressure is routing, intercepting the redistribution before Pressure Surge can complete.

When the Cluster finally disperses — the merged colonies separating back into individual Seep, then dissolving — the filter housing hums back to life. The dimensional residue levels in Conduit 17 begin dropping almost immediately.

From the dispersed mass, a component settles — a piece of the filter housing the Cluster had incorporated into itself.

Artifact Unlocked: Salvaged Coupling — Once per combat, when you would take damage that reduces you below 25% HP, reduce that damage by half.

Rook Seld:

"Filter's clear. It'll take a few minutes to process the backlog but the pressure differential should stabilise.

Good work."

They say it the way Alden says things. As a fact.

Combat AI Scripts — Node 5¶

Level 2 — Phase Script. Elite encounter. Cass Lorin present as combat companion — first combat node where a specialist participates. Rook Seld present but non-combat, assessing the filter housing.

Enemy — Seep Cluster

Phase	Turns	Behaviour
Phase 1 — Consolidated	1-3	Slow sustained push on player. Building pressure. Pressure Surge activates Turn 3 — simultaneous push on all units.
Phase 2 — Redistribution	4-6	Begins routing pressure toward weaker targets. Targets Cass if player Block is high. Pressure Surge Turn 6.
Phase 3 — Desperate	7+	Rapid pressure pulses. Pressure Surge every 2 turns. Core becomes vulnerable — increased damage window.

Companion — Cass Lorin

Phase	Behaviour
Phase 1	Identifies pressure routing. Plays setup cards — reduces Pressure Surge damage by intercepting redistribution.
Phase 2	Intercepts Cluster pressure when it targets them. Efficient rather than aggressive — managing the system.
Phase 3	Full offensive output. Targets core specifically. Calls: "Core's exposed — now."

Character note: Cass fights the way they maintain systems — by understanding the flow rather than applying force. Their combat is systems work by another name.

Node 6 — Sanctuary: "The Maintenance Alcove"¶

Rift Type: Stabilisation Node Teaches: Stability Budget, multi-option resource spending

The maintenance alcove at Conduit 18 is the kind of space that accumulates evidence of habitation over decades — scratched tallies on the wall, a battered hook for hanging equipment, a small shelf with supplies that are always stocked by someone who never leaves a name.

Someone always stocks it. Nobody knows who. Nobody asks.

Rook sits on a equipment case. Cass runs a diagnostic on their data-pad. The comm stays quiet.

Tutorial Prompt: "Sanctuary — a rest point in the network. You have 3 Stability Points to spend. Conduit 19 is close."

After a moment, Rook speaks. Not a briefing. Something else.

Rook Seld:

"I've been doing this for eleven years. Different lists, different conduits. Same work.

You're going to ask — everyone asks eventually — what the point is. The Seep come back. The couplings crack again. The filter needs clearing next cycle. You fix one thing and two more go on the list.

The point is the list gets worked.

You know what happens to the sections that don't get worked? The factions up there —"

A gesture upward, through the conduit ceiling, toward everything above.

"— they don't know this network exists. They walk through corridors that are standing because someone came down here and made sure they kept standing. They have gravity because someone fixed the coupling. They have atmosphere because the filter runs.

Nobody thanks you. The list just gets shorter.

That's enough."

Cass doesn't look up from their data-pad.

Cass Lorin:

"Rook says that every time there's a new person.

It's still true every time."

Stability Budget: 3 Points

Option	Cost	Effect
Repair	1 point	Heal 10% of max HP. Can be selected multiple times.
Recalibrate	2 points	Upgrade one card in your deck.
Defragment	2 points	Remove one card from your deck permanently.
Improvise (Salvari)	1 point	Add a random Salvari card to your deck permanently. It has Exhaust.

Node 7 — Black Market: "Maren's Post"¶

Rift Type: Shop Teaches: Two-way economy — buying, selling, splicing

Maren's post is a maintenance alcove that has been repurposed so thoroughly it barely resembles one. Shelving has appeared. Crates have accumulated. A lantern made from salvaged dimensional energy components casts warm light across an inventory that defies easy categorisation — Valerii manufacture next to Aethari crystal next to things with no obvious origin.

Maren is behind the counter before you've finished dropping through the hatch.

Maren:

"Rook. Cass. New one.

Working the list past Conduit 17 — that filter housing must be clear. Good.

I've got fresh stock. Some of it's yours if the price is right. Some of it I can't tell you where it came from and you probably don't want to know. Either way it works."

Tutorial Prompts:

"Black Market — a two-way economy. Buy new cards and Artifacts, Sell cards for gold, or Splice new keywords permanently onto existing cards."
"Maren's inventory is eclectic — sourced from the network, the faction territories above, and places that don't appear on official schematics. What's available changes each visit."
"Selling removes a card from your deck and earns gold. Dead weight traded for something more useful — the Salvari approach to inventory management."

Rook examines a component on the shelf with the recognition of someone seeing an old friend.

Rook Seld:

"Is that a pre-Bleed gravity stabiliser?"

Maren:

"Found it in Conduit 22. Still functional.

Everything down here still works if someone's been maintaining it."

They say it without emphasis. It hangs in the air anyway.

Cass Lorin:

"Do you ever think about who's been maintaining the sections that aren't on our list?"

Maren:

"No.

I think about inventory."

Shop Inventory (example):

Item	Cost	Description
Field Repair (Skill)	50g	Heal 8 HP. If you have less than 50% HP, heal 14 instead.
Salvaged Strike (Attack)	75g	Deal 10 damage. If exhausted this turn, deal 16 instead.
Jury Rig (Power)	100g	The first time each turn a card exhausts from your hand, gain 2 Energy.

Node 8 — Boss Rift: "The Primary Leak"¶

Rift Type: Climax Teaches: Realm Boss mechanics, unlocks Faction Passive

Conduit 19.

The primary leak source is visible from the junction entrance — a breach in the conduit wall where the dimensional bleed has been feeding directly into the network. A crack that has been getting wider for longer than anyone filed a report about it, feeding dimensional residue into the system, feeding the Seep, feeding the Cluster at the filter housing, feeding everything that's been on the list for the past three cycles.

Around the breach — the Mire.

It has been here for a long time. The Seep that came through the breach and found the warm conduit hospitable and stayed and merged and grew, cycle after cycle, until it stopped being a blockage and started being something that has a shape. It simply takes up space that the work requires.

Rook looks at it without surprise.

Rook Seld:

"That's a Mire. Same thing as the Seep, same thing as the Cluster — just more of it, longer. It's been feeding on the breach directly.

We clear it, Cass seals the breach, the leak stops. Everything downstream normalises.

Both of us on it. You take point."

The comm crackles.

Alden:

"Conduit 19. Good.

The Mire's been growing since the breach opened. Cycle before last it wasn't big enough to worry about. Funny how fast things change when nobody's looking.

Network's giving you something for the Mire. Every time you exhaust a card, you get the energy back. Use it. Keep moving.

Clear it and seal the breach. That's the last item.

Then come find me."

The comm goes quiet.

Rook and Cass exchange a look — the look of people who have heard Alden say 'come find me' before and know what it means.

They don't explain it.

Boss: The Mire

Stat	Value
HP	High
Passive — Dimensional Feed	At the start of every turn, the Mire regenerates 8 HP from the breach behind it. Must be sealed before the Mire can be permanently reduced.
Special — Seep Surge	Every 3 turns, spawns 2 Seep from the breach. They act immediately.
Attack Pattern	Slow sustained pressure on all units — the Mire doesn't target specifically, it just expands
Breach Seal Condition	After the Mire reaches 50% HP, Cass can seal the breach — a scripted action that removes the Dimensional Feed regeneration and prevents further Seep Surge spawns
Health Floor	Cannot be reduced below 50% HP until Turn 4

Design intent: The Mire cannot be simply defeated — the breach behind it regenerates it continuously until Cass seals it. The player must hold the Mire above 50% HP long enough for the seal to become possible, then push through after the regeneration stops. Patience before aggression. The job first, the solution second.

Both Rook and Cass fight. For the first time in the tutorial all three of you are in combat simultaneously — not because the situation is dramatic but because the Mire is simply too large for two people.

The Mire expands. Pushes. Spawns.

You push back.

Turn 4. The Mire is at 50%. Cass breaks away from the combat — takes a hit to do it, doesn't slow down — and reaches the breach.

The seal takes thirty seconds. Thirty seconds of Rook and you holding the Mire without Cass.

The breach seals.

The regeneration stops.

The Mire — cut off from its source — begins to diminish.

You finish it.

The conduit is clear. The network is quiet. The dimensional pressure readings across Conduits 14 through 19 normalise in sequence — one after another, like items being checked off a list.

Rook looks at the sealed breach with the satisfaction of someone who has just closed a very long discrepancy.

Rook Seld:

"Breach is sealed. Mire is clear. Conduit 19 is done.

List is done."

They mark the last item.

The comm crackles.

Alden:

"Good work.

Come up to the junction at Conduit 18. There's something I want to show you."

You find him at the junction — a weathered older man in maintenance gear that has seen decades of actual use. A ring of keys at his belt. A battered mug. The face of someone who has been doing this for a very long time and has stopped needing anyone to know about it.

He looks at you the way someone looks at a new colleague. Not a recruit. Not an asset. A colleague.

Alden:

"You worked the list.

Most people, first time down here, they want to know what it means. What the Salvari are for. What the big picture is.

The big picture is the list gets worked. The conduits hold. The gravity coupling doesn't fail. The filter runs. Up there —"

A gesture upward, through the ceiling, toward the faction sectors above.

"— three hundred thousand people have atmosphere today because you cleared junction C this morning.

They don't know. They won't know. That's fine.

That thing the network gave you for the Mire — every card you burned out came back as energy. You noticed. You kept moving.

That's what it takes.

This —"

He produces a small component from his coat. Something crystalline. Something that hums with the particular frequency of the old survey marker — pre-Bleed manufacture, still running.

"— makes it permanent. The network doesn't give this to everyone. Pay attention to what exhausts. Use the energy.

Welcome to the work."

He presses the component into your hand and walks back into the conduit network.

He doesn't look back.

The component pulses once — and what the network gave you for the Mire settles into something deeper. Not borrowed. Yours.

FACTION PASSIVE INSTALLED: SCRAP PROTOCOL

Combat AI Scripts — Node 8¶

Level 3 — Authored Beats. Boss encounter. Both Rook Seld and Cass Lorin present as combat companions — first and only node where all three fight simultaneously. The breach seal at Turn 4 is a scripted action that changes the encounter's mechanical conditions.

Enemy — The Mire

Dimensional Feed: Regenerates 8 HP at the start of every turn until the breach is sealed. Cannot be prevented before seal.

Seep Surge: Spawns 2 Seep from the breach every 3 turns (Turns 3, 6). Seep act immediately on spawn turn.

Turn	Action	Narrative Beat
1	Sustained expansion — low damage all units. Dimensional Feed fires.	Establishes regeneration — early damage is recovered.
2	Expansion continues. Dimensional Feed fires.	Player realises the Mire is recovering damage.
3	Seep Surge — 2 Seep spawn and act. Dimensional Feed fires.	Multi-threat turn.
4	Expansion continues. Health floor lifts. Cass breaks to seal breach.	Cass takes a hit. Seal begins. 30-second window.
5	Dimensional Feed stops — breach sealed. Mire weakened.	The work paid off. Mire now vulnerable.
6	Final Seep Surge if Turn 6 reached. Mire pushes harder — no regeneration.	Last major threat before resolution.
7+	Diminishing expansion. Mire losing coherence without the breach feed.	Commit and finish.

Health floor: Cannot be reduced below 50% HP before Turn 4. Ensures Cass's seal action is the turning point.

Companion — Rook Seld

Turn	Behaviour
1-3	Steady defensive play. Takes Seep Surge Seep as priority targets — clears spawns immediately.
4	Covers for Cass breaking away — absorbs extra pressure without comment.
5+	Switches to full offensive. Coordinates with player — targets Mire core.

Companion — Cass Lorin

Turn	Behaviour
1-3	Offensive play — identifies pressure routing, intercepts Seep Surge on Turn 3.
4	Breaks from combat. Takes a hit. Reaches breach. Seal begins — scripted action.
5+	Returns to combat after seal. Plays support — buffs player attack for final push.

Character note: Cass taking a hit to reach the breach is the tutorial's defining companion moment. Not heroic. Practical. The seal was the priority. Everything else was secondary. That's the Salvari.

Narrative synchronisation: The player delivers the final blow after the breach is sealed and the Mire begins diminishing. Rook and Cass's scripts ensure they don't reduce the Mire below the health floor before Turn 4. After the seal the health floor lifts and the player finishes it naturally.

Passive Unlocked: Scrap Protocol¶

Whenever you exhaust a card, gain 1 Energy.

Pay attention to what exhausts.

Use the energy.

Outro¶

The conduit network is quiet. The pressure readings across all conduits are stable. The list is done.

Rook is already reviewing the next section of the network schematic on their data-pad — force of habit, or something more like hunger. There is always more network.

Cass is patching something they noticed on the way back from the breach. Nobody asked them to. It needed doing.

The comm crackles one more time.

Alden:

"Good work today.

There'll be a new list in the morning.

Get some rest."

The comm goes quiet.

There's a pause — the particular silence of a job completed and another one waiting.

Rook looks up from the schematic.

Rook Seld:

"That's it. That's the job.

Same tomorrow."

They say it without complaint. Without pride. With the particular steadiness of someone who has made peace with the list never ending.

Cass finishes the patch they weren't asked to do.

You climb back up through the maintenance hatch.

Above you — the faction corridors. The Valerii garrison. The Syntacta arrays. The Aethari refineries. The Annalis archives.

None of them know what happened below their feet today.

The corridor is standing.

That's enough.

Production Notes¶

Prose rule — trust the reader: State something once and move on. If the next sentence explains what the previous sentence already said, cut it. No redundant restatements. No "not X, not Y" constructions unless X and Y are genuinely surprising contrasts that earn the comparison. This rule applies to all dialogue, narration, and event text throughout the game.
Alden must never sound like a faction leader. Every line should read as a competent maintenance worker describing a job. Nothing grand. Nothing explanatory.
The chore list items should appear as actual UI elements the player can reference throughout the tutorial — each one checked off as it's completed.
The junction D anomaly — the sealed habitation space — must never be explained in the tutorial. Alden's "noted, leave it" is the only response. The player files it.
Rook absorbing a hit for the repair in Node 2 without comment is the tutorial's first and most important statement about Salvari values. Implement as a scripted action — it must happen visibly.
Cass breaking from combat to seal the breach in Node 8 must be visible and must cost them — they take a hit doing it. The sacrifice is practical not heroic. That distinction matters.
Alden's final appearance at the passive unlock should be brief. He gives the component, says what needs saying, and walks back into the network without looking back. No ceremony.
The Mire's Dimensional Feed regeneration mechanic must be clearly visible — the player needs to understand why early damage isn't sticking before Cass seals the breach.
Maren's inventory is eclectic and sourced from multiple factions. The specific items available should reflect whatever the network has produced — no single faction's aesthetic should dominate.
Realm types are category descriptions not proper nouns. Lowercase throughout.
No fourth-wall references to node numbers or rift types in dialogue or narration.
The Salvari tutorial takes place entirely in the maintenance network. There is no realm entry. The monsters are a consequence of the network's compromised state, not a deliberate incursion.

AI Image Generation — Salvari Tutorial Assets¶

Before generating any assets for this tutorial, load the Master Visual Style Guide (visual-style-guide.md) and apply the Universal Prompt Foundation and Salvari aesthetic descriptor to every prompt.

Salvari Faction Aesthetic Reminder¶

Primary colours: Rust orange (#8C4A14) and salvage brown (#6A4A28) Secondary: Jury-rig green (#4A8C3C) Accent: Warm lamp yellow (#C4A028)

Base aesthetic descriptor for all Salvari prompts:

Salvari faction aesthetic, rust and warmth, jury-rigged machinery,
flickering improvised lighting, blue-collar survival aesthetic,
maintenance shafts and forgotten sub-levels, scavenged equipment
from multiple factions, the warmth of a space where people actually live,
cathedral sci-fi concept art, dark atmospheric lighting,
high contrast, matte painting style

Negative prompts for all Salvari assets:

anime, cartoon, flat colour, clean sterile environments,
generic sci-fi, lens flare, pristine surfaces, overly saturated,
heroic poses, dramatic lighting without warmth

Environment Assets¶

1. The Maintenance Hatch Entry (Induction)

Salvari maintenance network entry point,
a maintenance hatch in the floor of a faction corridor
that three different factions pass through without ever looking down,
the hatch open, warm amber light rising from below,
the contrast between the clean faction corridor above
and the lived-in maintenance network below,
rust orange and warm lamp yellow palette,
the entrance to somewhere that actually matters,
medium establishing shot, cathedral sci-fi infrastructure

Dimensions: 1920 × 1080px

2. The Maintenance Conduit (General)

Salvari maintenance conduit interior,
tunnels of jury-rigged machinery and improvised connections,
pipes repaired so many times the repairs have their own repairs,
warm amber lamp light from salvaged components,
tools hanging on walls, notes and diagrams scratched into surfaces,
the warmth of a space that people actually inhabit and care for,
rust orange and salvage brown palette with jury-rig green accents,
wide establishing shot, cathedral sci-fi sub-level

Dimensions: 1920 × 1080px

3. The Gravity Coupling (Node 2)

Salvari gravity feed coupling in maintenance conduit,
critical pre-Bleed infrastructure component showing a century of use,
Rook and Cass visible as small figures working on the housing,
the coupling itself massive and ancient and just barely functional,
warm amber light from the coupling's own operational glow,
rust and jury-rig green and warm lamp yellow,
the beauty of something essential that has never stopped working,
medium establishing shot, cathedral sci-fi infrastructure

Dimensions: 1920 × 1080px

4. Maren's Post (Node 7)

Salvari quartermaster post in maintenance alcove,
a maintenance space repurposed so thoroughly it barely resembles one,
shelving accumulated over decades, crates from multiple factions,
a lantern made from salvaged dimensional energy components,
inventory that defies categorisation — Valerii manufacture
next to Aethari crystal next to things with no obvious origin,
warm and eclectic and slightly overwhelming,
warm lamp yellow ambient light, rust and salvage brown palette,
medium establishing shot, the most lived-in space in the Spire

Dimensions: 1920 × 1080px

5. Conduit 19 — The Mire (Node 8)

Salvari maintenance conduit 19, the primary leak source,
a breach in the conduit wall where dimensional bleed
feeds directly into the network,
the Mire surrounding the breach — a dense accumulated mass
of merged dimensional residue, not dramatic but very large,
the contrast between the breach's cold dimensional light
and the warm amber of the working conduit,
rust and salvage brown against void dimensional cold,
wide establishing shot, the largest space in the tutorial,
cathedral sci-fi sub-level infrastructure

Dimensions: 1920 × 1080px

Character Assets¶

6. Alden — Reference Sheet

Alden Salvari custodian character concept art,
weathered older man in maintenance gear
that has seen decades of actual use,
a ring of keys at his belt that don't look like
they fit any physical lock,
a battered mug,
the face of someone who has been doing this
for a very long time and has stopped needing
anyone to know about it,
mismatched salvaged gear, no faction colours,
three-quarter portrait — do not show his face clearly,
something about him that is more than he appears,
cathedral sci-fi character design, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 768px

7. Rook Seld — Reference Sheet

Rook Seld Salvari structural specialist character concept art,
practical build, the physical presence of someone
who navigates tight structural spaces professionally,
salvaged equipment from multiple factions — functional over aesthetic,
the expression of someone who reads buildings
the way a doctor reads patients,
rust orange and salvage brown palette,
tools for structural assessment visible on their kit,
three-quarter portrait, cathedral sci-fi character design, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 768px

8. Cass Lorin — Reference Sheet

Cass Lorin Salvari systems specialist character concept art,
the bearing of someone whose expertise is making
incompatible things connect,
data-pad always present, cables and connectors
integrated into their kit from multiple faction systems,
jury-rig green accents on salvage brown gear,
the quality of someone who thinks in flows and connections
rather than individual components,
three-quarter portrait, cathedral sci-fi character design, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 768px

9. Maren — Reference Sheet

Maren Salvari quartermaster character concept art,
behind a counter assembled from salvaged components,
the particular settled quality of someone
who has been at their post long enough
that the post and the person are the same thing,
warm lamp yellow ambient light, surrounded by eclectic inventory,
no faction colours — no faction anything,
the expression of someone who has seen everything
come through the network and stopped being surprised,
three-quarter portrait, cathedral sci-fi character design, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 768px

Enemy Assets¶

10. Seep

Seep enemy creature concept art,
dimensional residue that seeped into the maintenance network
and became animate,
formless, slow-moving, vaguely luminescent,
the specific palette of something that doesn't belong
in a warm maintenance conduit — cold dimensional blue-grey
against the amber of the working infrastructure,
not threatening in appearance — just present and in the way,
the visual impression of a blocked drain given mass,
full body concept art, clear silhouette,
maintenance conduit aesthetic, cathedral sci-fi, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 512px

11. Seep Cluster — Elite

Seep Cluster elite enemy concept art,
multiple Seep colonies merged around a dimensional filter housing,
larger and denser than individual Seep,
a coherent mass rather than scattered individuals,
the same cold dimensional blue-grey but consolidated,
slightly more defined at the edges — it has been here longer,
attached to infrastructure components visible within its mass,
full body concept art, elite enemy scale,
maintenance conduit aesthetic, cathedral sci-fi, matte painting style

Dimensions: 512 × 768px

12. The Mire — Boss

Mire boss concept art,
the Seep at its largest and oldest,
not a different creature — the same substance
after long enough feeding on a dimensional breach,
filling a significant portion of Conduit 19,
the breach visible behind it — cold dimensional light
feeding directly into the Mire's mass,
ancient and slow and very large,
not dramatic — just the biggest blockage in the network,
the visual impression of something that has been
taking up space it shouldn't for a very long time,
full body concept art, boss scale dwarfing the conduit,
maintenance network aesthetic, cathedral sci-fi, matte painting style

Dimensions: 1280 × 720px

UI Assets¶

13. Salvari Faction Crest

Salvari faction crest game UI element,
maintenance tool or network connection motif,
rust orange and warm lamp yellow palette,
the visual language of something essential
that nobody notices until it stops working,
bold graphic design, readable at small size,
working-class aesthetic without irony,
clean edges, no text, transparent background

Dimensions: 512 × 512px

14. Salvari Card Border

Salvari card border game UI element,
card frame design for collectible card game,
jury-rigged and improvised aesthetic at the edges,
mismatched components assembled into something functional,
rust orange and salvage brown palette,
warm lamp yellow accent,
leaves central art area clear, transparent background where possible

Dimensions: 400 × 560px

15. Salvaged Coupling Artifact

Salvaged Coupling artifact game item concept art,
a pre-Bleed infrastructure component
recovered from the Seep Cluster,
ancient manufacture, still functional,
warm dimensional glow within aged metal casing,
the beauty of something essential that never stopped working,
isolated on dark background, item art style, readable at card size

Dimensions: 256 × 256px

16. The Chore List — UI Element

Salvari chore list UI element,
a folded piece of actual paper with handwritten maintenance tasks,
unhurried handwriting, real ink,
items visibly checked off as completed,
aged but legible, the document of someone
who has been filing these for a very long time,
warm lamp yellow ambient light on cream paper,
no digital elements — entirely analogue,
clean readable design, item or journal aesthetic

Dimensions: 400 × 560px

Generation Session Checklist — Salvari¶

Before generating, confirm: - [ ] Master Visual Style Guide loaded - [ ] Universal Prompt Foundation included in every prompt - [ ] Salvari aesthetic descriptor included in every prompt - [ ] Correct dimensions specified for asset type - [ ] Negative prompts included - [ ] Generating minimum 4 variations per prompt - [ ] Saving seeds for successful generations - [ ] Alden's face not clearly visible in any asset — this is a hard requirement - [ ] All environments feel warm and inhabited — not abandoned - [ ] Seep, Seep Cluster, and Mire read as the same substance at different scales

Document status: Complete. Ready for implementation.