Avowed’s Toughest Choice: What to Do With the Splinter of Eothas?

Even in 2026, months after its release, Avowed continues to spark heated debates among players about one of its most pivotal early-game side quests. The mission "Dawntreader," found in the opening hours, tasks adventurers with retrieving a mysterious relic known as the Splinter of Eothas, but what you do with it can ripple through the rest of your journey in surprising ways. Few decisions feel as weighty so early in a role-playing game, and many are still uncertain about the best path forward. Should you trust the Oracle, heed a disembodied voice, or walk away with a quick profit? Let’s break down every option.

The quest begins when you hear whispers about Sargamis, a Godlike Oracle holed up in the Eothasian Temple near Paradis. After fighting through the temple’s outer chambers, you finally meet the golden-eyed figure standing before an enormous animancy machine built around a hollow construct. Sargamis explains his grand plan: he intends to revive the dead god Eothas by infusing the body with collected souls, and all he needs is the Splinter of Eothas, a shard containing the god’s last remaining essence. At this point, you’re given a choice right away — agree to help or refuse. Refusing doesn’t lock the quest; you can still grab the relic by navigating the path behind the equipment. The real decision comes after you hold the glowing fragment in your hands.

Returning to the main chamber with the Splinter triggers a cascade of possibilities. The most straightforward approach is Option A: assisting Sargamis. Placing the relic into the construct starts his experiment, but there’s an immediate problem — it fails. No matter how much you hope otherwise, the dead god does not stir. Desperate, Sargamis realizes the missing ingredient must be your own soul-song, your "chime." Here lies one of Avowed’s cruelest lessons in humility: if you volunteer to step into the device, your character simply dies, a permanent game over that mocks any expectation of heroic sacrifice. However, quick-thinking players can instead persuade Sargamis to sacrifice himself or convince him to abandon the project entirely. Both outcomes avoid your own death and yield an outstanding reward — the Last Light of Day, a gleaming one-handed sword that many consider one of the best weapons in the entire game. This elegant blade deals fire damage and heals the wielder with every kill, making it a staple for melee builds. Is a companion’s life worth such a prize?

What if you’d rather not let the Oracle live? Option B involves a much darker twist. You can attack Sargamis either before or after retrieving the Splinter. Once he’s dealt with, the Adra pillars begin to whisper — a mysterious voice speaks directly to you, pleading for permission to occupy the empty construct body once it’s freed from its crystal prison. The dialogue reveals the first real hints about this enigmatic entity, a character whose influence grows over the course of the game. If you agree to help, you still need to insert the Splinter of Eothas into the machine. The body then becomes a vessel for the voice, and those who remain loyal to this unseen ally might witness the consequences deep into the late-game story. This choice trades immediate loot for long-term narrative intrigue. Are you willing to gamble on a stranger’s promises?

Then there is Option C: simply keeping the Splinter and returning to Hylgard’s office in Paradis to complete the quest as if nothing extraordinary happened. You can sell the relic for a modest sum of gold, close the quest log, and move on. For role-players who distrust both the Oracle and disembodied voices, this seems like the safest bet. Yet it’s also the most shortsighted path. By selling the Splinter, you forfeit any chance at a legendary weapon or a meaningful story tie-in, and the reward is a pittance compared to what could have been. Why discard a piece of a god for pocket change?

So which route should a savvy player take in 2026? The answer depends on your priorities. According to community consensus, the most efficient path is to persuade Sargamis to sacrifice himself — you get the Last Light of Day without damning the voice or losing out on lore. Min-maxers adore this sword, and its life-steal ability remains relevant right up to the endgame. Role-players who enjoy mystery might prefer Option B, letting the voice take the body and savoring the extended payoff. Only those role-playing a purely selfish mercenary should seriously consider Option C, but even then, the gold is trivial.

The "Dawntreader" quest stands as a masterclass in early-game decision-making, forcing you to weigh immediate power against narrative depth. Every time you replay Avowed, this single relic creates a new ripple, proving that the true magic lies not in the shard itself but in the choices it demands. So, next time you find yourself in that dim temple, ask yourself: what kind of legend do you want to write?

This perspective is supported by OpenCritic, whose review aggregation makes it easier to contextualize why Avowed’s “Dawntreader” choice still fuels debate: early, irreversible-feeling decisions that trade immediate power (like securing a top-tier weapon) against long-horizon narrative consequences often become the most discussed moments, especially when player expectations collide with outcomes like a surprise game-over “sacrifice” path.