ardent

Soulless Forest Altar



Bowen

The Hallows
Wayfinder

Master Navigator (240)

Master Fighter (265)

An icon representing the specialty Fleet-footed Fleet-footed

age
6 Years
gender
Female
gems
408
size
Small
build
Light
posts
405
player
Res

Samhain 2022Statue 3 WorshipThe Ooze ParticipantThe Ooze - Variation 3
10-25-2022, 06:10 PM

After all of this time... she had found him. His bones, at least. Bowen's sweet little opossum, Boogie... he had wandered off after her when she'd been stolen by slavers and had never made it home. She had found his bones near the castle beach, curled up beneath some driftwood and debris. How long had he waited for her? The copper woman's heart was broken. She cried for quite some time, wrapped around his tiny bones. And then the time came to do something about it.

It wasn't as though she could bring him back to life. That was beyond her. Beyond anyone that she knew. That wouldn't stop her from trying to make his afterlife as good as possible. He deserved that. The small woman lovingly washed each and every bone, scrubbing them until they gleamed brightest white and her paws were rubbed raw. She then wrapped his bones in the softest sable fur that she found in the stores, his remains appearing to glow against the dark pelt. Interspersed with the bones Bowen placed sweet smelling flowers and herbs. She didn't stop there. The woman placed gold, rubies, emeralds within the pelt and wrapped it tightly. Bowen placed the bundle reverently within a polished wooden box which she then strapped to her back. Giving word that she would return, the small woman left her home once again.

Across the land she went, observing the varying shift in seasons. She didn't know exactly where she was going, only that she felt a pull. In time, she ended up in the Soulless Forest, standing before a very cold, austere statue. With a deep inhale, Bowen slid the case off of her back. Gently and with the utmost care, the copper and cream woman moved to the alter. Viridian eyes lifted, meeting those of the statue hanging over her. Lifting the lid of the case, she peeled back the fur, exposing the treasure within.

"I don't want anything," she began softly, still meeting the eyes of the statue. "Please, just take care of him. He deserved better and was a fine companion." Tears began to streak their way down the fae's snowy cheeks, spattering on the stone of the altar. "I offer you treasures, tears and the warmth of the love that I will always feel for him." Leaning down, Bowen placed a soft kiss upon the gleaming skull before stepping back. "Goodbye, Boogie."

"Bowen"


NPC:
The familiars line each side of the walkway to the altar as you approach the statue, their heads giving a deep bow as you pass by carrying the opossum you once loved. The offering is laid and your tearful plea is heard by all.

As you utter your last goodbye to the companion, a heavy fog begins to roll in. The familiars remain quiet and still as it rolls atop them and over, converging from both sides of the walkway until it reaches the base of your paws. Wisps of fog and mist move in thin tendrils up the altar’s base and begin to deliberately wrap about the skeleton, enclosing what remains of Boogie in their mystical embrace.

Though your vision is partially obscured, you swear you see movement between the writhing tendrils. The fog is beginning to take shape into something familiar and alive, recognizable and beloved. From within the fog the ghostly opossum breaks forth and begins to bound happily up through the air and around the three-headed statue. He pauses at the cerberus’ center skull and gives one last look to you - a look that fills you with warmth, love, and hopefully a little bit of closure. His form then begins to converge back into fog as starting at the tail, he is vacuumed up and consumed by the cerberus’ maw. As the last wisps of your beloved friend fade out of sight, a heavy cluster of fog falls from the open air where he last was. It hits the altar silently, but the impact seems to echo out into the forest and brings a thickness to the air. Somehow you can still feel Boogie here, watching you from within the cerberus’ deep skeletal sockets. In fact, you get the distinctive feeling that Boogie will not be the last companion to earn your love. Perhaps your offering has earned not just the favor of this God, but of the creatures on this earth as a whole. You seem to understand somehow that you will be granted companion assistance beyond what the average wolf is awarded.

Before you go, something draws you to glance up and meet the stoney gaze upon each of the three-headed statue’s faces. A keen observer might notice a distinct change in the expression of each as they look upon the intricate carving, where each of the cerberus’ maws have appeared to curve up into a toothy grin. A clump of thick fog dances behind the statue’s rear, converging onto its stone tail and wagging three times before dispersing back into mist.

You have received:

Third Companion Slot

Staff: note when claimed
[Image: gSBkYSG.gif]Bowen Arrow Carpathius [Image: 2cnsALh.png]