The Blood of Dawnwalker: How to Explore the Ancient Circle and Start the Trial

The Ancient Circles of Vale Sangora are old warrior shrines scattered across the map, and each one hides a chest you cannot open until you wake the magic sleeping inside it. The first circle you are pointed toward sits in the swamp north of Briar Sloughs Crossing, and it doubles as the game’s tutorial for Astral Communion. Getting it started is a short sequence, but it stalls easily if you show up in the wrong form or at the wrong time of day.

Quick answer: Travel to the swamp north of Briar Sloughs Crossing during the day as Coen in Human form, use Focus to inspect the fresco and debris on the stone monument until the objective changes to “Figure out how to start the trial,” then use Astral Communion (default F) at the cracked altar in front of the monument.

Requirements for starting an Ancient Circle trial

Every Ancient Circle in Vale Sangora runs on the same rules, so the conditions you meet here apply to all 13 of them. Astral Communion is a Witchcraft ability that unlocks automatically through the Prologue, so you do not need to hunt for a skill point before your first attempt.

Condition	Detail
Form	Human form only — Astral Communion cannot be cast as a vampire
Time of day	Daytime; the activity is not available at night
Ability	Astral Communion (Witchcraft), unlocked during the Prologue
Time cost	Advances the clock by one day segment per circle
Consequence	Summons hostile Astral entities that must be defeated

Note: that day segment is not free. The countdown to rescue your family keeps running, so treat each circle as a deliberate spend rather than something you tick off while passing by.

Where to find the Ancient Circle north of Briar Sloughs Crossing

Pick up the wider “Ancient Circles of Vale Sangora” quest and check the tracked objective, which reads “Explore the ancient circles.” Coen sums up the deal himself when he mutters that he will need to calm these restless souls if he wants the loot.

Coen beside a candlelit shrine with the Explore the ancient circles objective tracked on screen — Coen at a candlelit shrine with the “Explore the ancient circles” objective active. Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Open the map and look at the marshland directly north of Briar Sloughs Crossing, inside the Briar Sloughs region. Select the Ancient Circle marker and hit TRACK so the waypoint stays on your compass while you cross the wetlands.

Map screen with the Ancient Circle location panel open and the TRACK button highlighted — The Ancient Circle location panel on the map, with TRACK selected. Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Run north through the swamp until a tall carved stone monument comes into view in a clearing. The location description that pops up calls it the remnants of an ancient place of power and warrior’s trials, which confirms you are at the right ruin and not a nearby shrine.

Player character crossing the swamp toward the Ancient Circle with the quest objective tracked — Crossing the swamp north of Briar Sloughs Crossing toward the circle. Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

If the marker is not on your map yet, Ancient Circles show up as a white ruins icon and can be revealed in bulk by climbing the 11 towers spread across Vale Sangora.

Inspect the fresco to update the quest

Hold the Focus button (L2 or LT on controller) at the base of the monument. The debris pile and the yellow fresco carved into the stone light up as inspectable points.

Zoom in on each highlighted detail in turn. Coen works through the carvings out loud, wondering whether monsters came through magical rifts, questioning the snake-like symbol, and eventually landing on the idea that this was some kind of trial for a hero.

Carved stone monument with glowing Focus inspection markers during a short cutscene — Focus highlights the fresco and debris on the monument. Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Keep inspecting until Coen says there is nothing more to see here. A QUEST UPDATED prompt fires and the objective flips to “Figure out how to start the trial.” That change is your confirmation that the inspection phase is finished.

Start the trial with Astral Communion at the altar

Stay in Focus and sweep the ground in front of the monument. Coen notes that he can sense magic but cannot place the source, and the broken stone altar sitting a few steps away starts giving off a warm orange glow.

Walk right up to the altar rather than lingering in the outer ruins, and interact with it. The ASTRAL COMMUNION tutorial card appears, spelling out that the spell activates dormant magic in places of power, progresses time by one day segment, and summons hostile Astral entities that bring both a significant challenge and rewards. Press CONFIRM to dismiss it.

The Astral Communion tutorial pop-up explaining the spell, with the CONFIRM button shown — The Astral Communion tutorial card, listing the day-segment cost and the summoned entities. Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

Hold the Astral Communion prompt — F by default on PC — to cast the spell. A NEW QUEST banner appears naming the activity “Ancient Circle: Northern Swamps,” time skips forward one segment, and the guardians spawn around you.

Survive the trial and search the chest

Casting the spell is not the same as clearing the circle. The objective becomes “Survive the trial,” and the mix of specters and undead that answers the call can include Vidmos, Psoglavs, and Guardians. Heal up and finish any urgent business nearby before you commit, because retreating leaves the activity open and unfinished.

Once the last enemy is down, the objective changes to “Search the chest.” That final interaction is what actually closes the activity, and the journal signs off by confirming that the magic slumbering in the ancient circle has been awoken and its power gained. If you skip the chest, the circle stays incomplete no matter how cleanly you won the fight.

Chest contents scale to your level and usually beat what vendors stock. The Northern Swamps circle pays out the Mercurial Favor Manual, the Potent Revitalizing Tonic recipe, and the epic Red Darksteel Bracers.

Why the trial will not start

When the altar refuses to give you a prompt, the cause is almost always one of a short list of conditions rather than a bug.

You are in vampire form. Astral Communion works in Human form only.
It is night. Ancient Circles are daytime activities.
You have not finished inspecting the monument, so the objective still reads “Explore the ancient circles.”
You are standing inside the outer ruins instead of directly at the altar.
You selected a different nearby marker, such as a shrine or haunted site, rather than the Ancient Circle itself.

All 13 Ancient Circle locations in Vale Sangora

Vale Sangora holds 13 Ancient Circle markers in total, and each one follows the identical altar, guardians, chest loop. The journal gives every circle its own title, which is the cleanest way to check which ones you have already cleared.

Ancient Circle	Notable chest rewards
Northern Swamps	Mercurial Favor Manual, Potent Revitalizing Tonic, Red Darksteel Bracers
Northwest Pass	Cycle of Ruin Manual
The Wallows	Cycle of Ruin Manual
East of Parlita	Burning Blood Manual, Burnished Battlesword, Potent Fortitude Paste
Maragir Wealds	Burning Blood Manual, Tempered Cuisses
East of Maragir	Mercurial Favor Manual, Tempered Long Basilard
St. Tyna’s Grove	Soul Reaping Manual
Tantari Vista	Cycle of Ruin Manual, Unbreakable Veteran’s Sword
Silts Overgrowth	Perfect Riposte Manual, Red Darksteel Bracers
Hills of Tantari	Perfect Riposte Manual, Highland Noble Surcoat
Southern Swamps	Stinging Blade Manual, Amulet of Crimson Steel
Blind Gorge	Artery Strike Manual, Sanguine Bladedancer’s Tunic, Mortal’s Blood Infusion
Southwest Silts	Restless Blade Manual, Potent Vigor Infusion

Because every circle burns a day segment, the practical approach is to clear them in regional clusters while you are already travelling that way, finishing the full altar-to-chest sequence at one before moving to the next. Discovering a circle costs you nothing, so mark the ruins as you find them and come back for the trial when your build is ready for whatever crawls out of the altar.