Overview
Sacred Fire
AX.GHW.08.06
The covenant with the Illuminated is characterized by what it expects more than what it provides. Where compacts with the Hollow tend to be patient and transactional — the entity made an investment and will wait for returns on a timeline that may span generations — covenants with the Illuminated are active and directional. The Illuminated has a purpose for this bloodline. The power the Light-Bound Marked accesses is oriented toward that purpose. It expresses the covenant's intent, not only the practitioner's.
Sacred Fire is what emerges from this. Radiant energy. Consecration. The capacity to assert the covenant's authority over supernatural entities and compel what the Illuminated considers right behavior from what it considers wrong things. The power is functional regardless of whether the practitioner holds the same values the Illuminated does — covenants don't require ideological alignment, only the lineage to carry them. But practitioners who work against the covenant's evident purpose find the tradition developing a particular texture of resistance: not refusal, but friction. The fire burns a little less cleanly when it's pointed somewhere the Illuminated would find contrary.
The Illuminated is often perceived as benevolent. The warmth of its power is real — the light it places in the bloodline registers as warmth, as clarity, as something that feels like rightness. What is also real is the cost. The covenant expects. Not because the Illuminated is cruel, but because it made an investment in this bloodline for a reason, and that reason has not gone away. Practitioners who think about this carefully develop a sophisticated relationship with the covenant. Practitioners who don't think about it at all tend to find the Illuminated more present in their lives than they expected.
The tradition's three expressions map to the covenant's three functions: Radiance is the force the Illuminated authorized; Consecration is the authority to designate space and object as under the covenant's protection; Accord's Command is the directional expression — using the Illuminated's standing to compel supernatural entities.
Practitioners of Sacred Fire often work in parallel with Hollow Pact practitioners without shared resources. The traditions are structurally similar but draw on completely different contracts. A Shadow-Bound and a Light-Bound Marked working together are, in the hidden world's understanding, two very different entities with a shared mechanical framework. The sources involved almost certainly have opinions about the arrangement.
System Integration
Sacred Fire as an Odd Talent
Sacred Fire functions as an Odd Talent per AX.C.04. Standard rules apply:
- The roll is: Governing Attribute + Sacred Fire (+ Focus if applicable)
- Sacred Fire dice are purchased from the Talent budget at character creation, or improved through Advancement at standard cost (Governing Attribute × 2 XP for a new Tradition at 1D; current value × 2 XP to improve)
- Maximum Tradition rating: 5D. Maximum Focus rating: 3D
- All three Expressions draw on the same Odd Talent pool
- Sacred Fire is not available through Independent Study. It requires an active covenant with an Illuminated entity. A character without the Marked (Light-Bound) lineage cannot access this tradition.
*Resonance Note: Light-Bound Marked characters who receive Resonance Power Access from their Profession — rather than Force — are not accessing Sacred Fire. They are developing a different tradition more aligned with discernment, truth-perception, and prophecy.
The Glamourist tradition (AX.GHW.08.02) is the most common choice for Resonance-access Light-Bound Marked, oriented toward the covenant's demand for judgment and sight rather than directed action. Profession files specify which access path they provide.*
Governing Attribute
The governing Attribute is chosen at character creation and is permanent.
| Expression | Common Choice | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| Radiance | Wit (default) | Directed radiant energy requires precision and intent |
| Consecration | Wit or Body | Wit for deliberate ritual designation; Body for presence-based sanctification |
| Accord's Command | Wit | Compelling entities through covenant standing requires focused assertion |
Access
Marked (Light-Bound) Lineage: Light-Bound Marked who receive Profession access to Sacred Fire begin play with 1D at no Talent generation cost. The covenant is active; the channel exists.
Mechanics Summary
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tradition Category | Force, directed radiant energy, sanctification, covenant authority over supernatural entities |
| Default Attribute | Wit |
| Action Type | Primary Action (most effects); Minor Action (passive consecration maintenance) |
| Signature Feel | The covenant expects things. The fire is what the covenant looks like when its expectations are being met. |
| Lineage Affinity | Marked (Light-Bound) only; not available through Independent Study |
| Signature Focus | The Mark |
| Expressions | Radiance, Consecration, Accord's Command |
Threshold Scale:
| Threshold | Scale of Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | Minor; brief; Touch to Close range; a demonstration, minor ward, or small radiant effect |
| 2 | Standard; single target at Near range; significant radiant damage or basic consecration |
| 3 | Significant; extended effect or resistant target; area consecration or compelling authority |
| 4 | Major; persistent ward or large area; compelling powerful entities; lasts until Long Rest |
| 5+ | Profound; permanent consecration; compelling ancient or legendary entities; covenant-level effect |
Access and Cross-Lineage Notes
Marked (Light-Bound) practitioners: The tradition is specific to the covenant with the Illuminated. Practitioners develop it in the context of a relationship that has opinions about how it is used. The Strained state represents the Illuminated's attention — an active covenant source's awareness has a different character than a Hollow entity's assessment; the Illuminated cares about what the practitioner is doing with the power, not only that they're using it. The full creditor involvement spectrum, Threshold alignment rules, and campaign architecture guidance are in AX.GHW.14.03 (Creditor Framework).
Marked (Shadow-Bound) practitioners: Cannot access Sacred Fire. The compacts of the Hollow and the covenants of the Illuminated are not interchangeable, and their sources are not interchangeable. A Shadow-Bound Marked who somehow also holds a covenant with the Illuminated would be an extraordinary in-world event; it is not a character creation option.
The Veil complications specific to Sacred Fire: Of the six traditions in this catalog, Sacred Fire is the most difficult to use without breaking the Veil. Radiance is visibly luminous. Consecration designates spaces in ways that attentive mundane observers may notice (unusual effects on entering animals, unusual behavior from lights or temperature). Accord's Command involves entities appearing and departing visibly. GMs running Veil-heavy campaigns should discuss with Sacred Fire practitioners how to manage their tradition's signature. Not every scene requires stealth, but it should be a deliberate choice, not an afterthought.