◈ Solo Gauntlet · Live Now
The Gauntlet Beyond the Map
Every gate has a warden. Every clear has a cost if you walk away first.
The Arena and the Gates
The Challenge arena is its own screen, separate from the Realm Map. Your challenger stands at the top, with the destinations branching beneath — today, two stand open, and two more appear above as sealed names, held for a future release.
The Sundered Library
OpenGuarded by The Keymaster
The Cold Vale
OpenGuarded by The Ferryman
The Sunken Crown
SealedGuarded by The Tideglass Warden
The Verdict Halls
SealedGuarded by The Arch-Judge
Each open destination is guarded by a warden. Open the gate by clearing the warden's own small mini-challenge to earn their favour, then spend the token it grants at the gate. (The gate items are also built to be sold by the Wandering Merchant — but he isn't findable until the Realm Map opens, so earning the favour is the path that works today.) Reaching the arena costs nothing; the cost lands at the gate — and entering an attempt is a Pro perk.
Opening a Gate
Both open wardens forge their own gate rather than sell passage outright — there's no toll button for either one. Two real ways through:
A straight Embercoin toll does exist — but only for the two sealed wardens, and there's nothing to pay a toll for until they open.
One Attempt, Real Stakes
Only one Challenge attempt can be active across the entire arena at a time. Try to enter a second gate and the game stops you outright: “You are already inside the The Sundered Library Challenge. Abandon it before entering another.” Abandoning costs 20 HP, plus every objective you'd already logged on that attempt.
The objectives themselves lean on systems you already use: quests, habits, focus sessions — even a run of End of Day Review nights, in the Sundered Library's case — all feed a Challenge's progress the same way they always work. There's no clock on an attempt: the arena adds a reward and a cost for walking away, not a deadline.
Clearing vs. Claiming
Finishing every objective clears the gate — but the reward is a separate claim step, not automatic. Replaying a cleared gate resets the cycle for a fresh reward every time (and skips the warden's gate entirely — passage, once opened, is permanent), though the one-time relic below only ever grants once.
◈ Gate Cleared — Claim Your Spoils
Every clear pays Embercoin and an item. Your first clear of that gate adds a bonus payout and its own relic. And whichever gate you clear first, ever, adds one more relic — granted exactly once across your whole time in the arena.
Free vs. Pro
Every free account can browse the whole roster — which gates exist, which stay sealed. Nothing about the arena itself is hidden from a free player; the map is always visible. Entering an attempt is a Pro perk.