The second mission in Starfield Shattered Space is titled 'The Promised, Broken.' In this mission, you journey to the sacred city of Dazra on the planet Va'ruun'kai, having navigated through The Oracle. Upon gaining entry to the city by hearing the words of Anasko Va'ruun, you proceed to walk the Serpent's Path with Inaza Kaisir. Along this path, you uncover the history of House Va'ruun and the circumstances that led to its founding. However, at the end of the path, you must make a crucial choice by selecting one of four Effigies to honor the house.
Before reaching the Effigy selection, you must complete the Serpent's Path. While not overly challenging, you are presented with several choices along the way. Upon entering the path, Inaza Kaisir provides a brief overview of House Va'ruun's history, including how its founder came to know the house's deity, the Great Serpent. As you progress, you encounter various checkpoints where you can demonstrate your dedication to the Great Serpent.
The first checkpoint features a candle-lit memorial detailing the origins of House Va'ruun's first followers. Here, you can choose to blow out a candle, though this action is optional. The second checkpoint allows you to unburden yourself by tossing an item into a lit brazier. You can easily discard a junk item or choose not to unburden yourself at all. The third checkpoint requires you to take a leap of faith across a gap with a waterfall. This is the easiest checkpoint, as you only need to jump once. Alternatively, you can bypass this by taking the metal stairs to the right of the memorial.
The fourth and fifth checkpoints are adjacent. At the fourth, you can step into poisoned water beneath a memorial, which inflicts a minor status effect that quickly dissipates. The fifth checkpoint is more challenging, as you must decide whether to sacrifice a Groat, a small rodent-like creature, or let it live. Sacrificing the Groat demonstrates your loyalty to House Va'ruun, but you can also choose to let it live by simply moving past its area.
Finally, you reach the point where you can select an Effigy. A gold haze appears on your screen as you view the four Effigies: Obedience, Strength, Devotion, and Perseverance. You must choose two and place them on separate altars before exiting the Serpent's Path. This decision determines your House Va'ruun title in Starfield. By selecting specific Effigy combinations, you can earn one of six titles, which are listed below.
Your title doesn't significantly impact Starfield Shattered Space, but it's a nice touch to have a title you prefer for the remainder of the DLC. After placing your Effigies on the altars, exit the Serpent's Path, speak with Inaza Kaisir, and the mission 'The Promised, Broken' is complete. Your rewards for completing the quest include the Poison Reforged Va’ruun Schimaz Epic Melee weapon, 12,000 Credits, and XP.
