Soulless Forest Altar
Juggernaut
10-27-2022, 08:14 PM
The trek back to the statue is an unhurried one for Seere. She moves with slow, deliberate steps, taking her time to watch the way the fog wraps around the trees and allow her senses to fully open. It is eerie, the way sound falls away the closer she gets to the statue and how the pleasant autumnal cool turns to a frigid cold that seems to penetrate right down to her bones. Dread builds as she approaches the silent sentinel, the stone God gazing down upon her with its eyes that seem to absorb all light.
During her walk, Seere had reflected on the fragility of life and how the living seem to walk upon a knife’s edge. At any moment, they could slip off and enter the realm of death with all their hopes and dreams left unfulfilled. Stopping in front of the statue, the girl allows her gaze to drift upward, alighting on each head for a moment. A small bag is slung over her shoulder and she shrugs it off while saying, “I have been thinking, about life and death. How tenuous all of this is. But, there is also a certain beauty to it.”
Fishing out a small white piece of marble that had been carved to resemble the wolf god’s head if it had been whole, she places it on the ground and explains, “Life. We give and take. Love and hate. Dream and despair. But most of all, we live.” Pulling out a small bundle of herbs that help to strengthen the immune system, Seere places the elder berries, ginseng root, and watercress in front of the small marble wolf, bowing in respect. Taking a deep breath, she turns slightly as she digs around the bag once again.
Pulling out a piece of black obsidian that had been carved to resemble the skeletal wolf part of the God, Seere places it on the ground while explaining, “Death. The end of everything. All encompassing. The end of suffering and pain. A blessing to some, feared by others.” She pulls a smaller bundle of herbs out, the purple pressed petals of nightshade unmistakable. Laying them in front of small obsidian wolf, she again, bows in respect before turning to the space between the small, carved stones.
Her gaze moves up to the statue and lingers on the skeletal head a moment before bowing deeply. Straightening up, Seere carefully reaches into her bag and gently removes a small bundle of soft furs. Peeling them back slowly, she reveals a small nest with a single egg in the middle. Mismatched eyes look to the egg, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she says, “There are many doves on the islands that I call home. In the spring I found a mother dove that had been slain but a creature intent on eating her eggs. I was only able to save this one.”
Laying the nest on the fur between the two statues Seere says, “I tried to help it hatch. I kept it warm and talked to the baby inside. Every day I woke up, hoping to see that it had hatched. Unfortunately, it did not.” Taking a deep breath, she places a paw on the egg and says, “Hope. For a better world. To have health and happiness and joy all the days of our lives. To make a difference that the world will see.”
A small smile pulls at her lips as she removes her paw from the egg and steps back, bowing deeply before the statue. With her nose gently pressed into the ground, Seere whispers, “My only wish is that I get to share the journey with someone. I give my offerings with joy and a thankful heart.” Standing, Seere shuffles back a few steps before waiting to be dismissed.
NPC:
A chilling silence sweeps over the woods as you begin to lay out pieces of your offering, the familiars nodding in unison as your intention behind each is thoroughly explained. Together they join in your devotion, whispering beneath their breaths as you speak on life, death, and the beauty that can be found in each. As you finish and take a step back, an unnatural fog begins to roll in... overtop your head. It is as if the clouds themselves have come down from the sky, falling slowly and eventually forming a bubble around you, the statue, and the altar.
For this brief moment in time it is like the world has separated from you. No outside light, nor sound, nor smell is capable of piercing through the arched layer of fog. The air surrounding you is warm and comforting, sweet-smelling and heavy in a way reminiscent of a mother's hug. You cannot help but feel treasured and loved, protected and desired.
From the two carvings you have given, tendrils of smoke are slowly exuded and begin to rise up. They grow independently larger, converging into two separate but similar shapes. Wolves. Before your eyes a scene of smoke begins to dance as the two wolves - one small and light, the other larger and thicker - begin to approach one another. With that approach comes a shy and hesitant nuzzle, fading into an embrace, fading into a slumbering couple intertwined. The scene flickers once more and five new balls of smoke are brought into the forefront. Rambunctious and playful, the shapely blobs bounce around your head and fall over each other as the two wolves look on, ever watchful. An ethereal chorus of young laughter rings out around you, the voices of each individual laugher somehow familiar... and yet not.
The fog breaks and seeps back into the sky, the world around you revealed once more. The familiars are finishing their murmured and intelligible prayers. When you look back to the altar you find your offering vanished, only the egg remaining. The shell is cracked open, small puffs of baby bird down scattered around it and in the middle of the remaining egg shell base, a vial of milky and shimmering liquid sits.
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:
Xtra Grow Potion
Staff: note when claimed
A chilling silence sweeps over the woods as you begin to lay out pieces of your offering, the familiars nodding in unison as your intention behind each is thoroughly explained. Together they join in your devotion, whispering beneath their breaths as you speak on life, death, and the beauty that can be found in each. As you finish and take a step back, an unnatural fog begins to roll in... overtop your head. It is as if the clouds themselves have come down from the sky, falling slowly and eventually forming a bubble around you, the statue, and the altar.
For this brief moment in time it is like the world has separated from you. No outside light, nor sound, nor smell is capable of piercing through the arched layer of fog. The air surrounding you is warm and comforting, sweet-smelling and heavy in a way reminiscent of a mother's hug. You cannot help but feel treasured and loved, protected and desired.
From the two carvings you have given, tendrils of smoke are slowly exuded and begin to rise up. They grow independently larger, converging into two separate but similar shapes. Wolves. Before your eyes a scene of smoke begins to dance as the two wolves - one small and light, the other larger and thicker - begin to approach one another. With that approach comes a shy and hesitant nuzzle, fading into an embrace, fading into a slumbering couple intertwined. The scene flickers once more and five new balls of smoke are brought into the forefront. Rambunctious and playful, the shapely blobs bounce around your head and fall over each other as the two wolves look on, ever watchful. An ethereal chorus of young laughter rings out around you, the voices of each individual laugher somehow familiar... and yet not.
The fog breaks and seeps back into the sky, the world around you revealed once more. The familiars are finishing their murmured and intelligible prayers. When you look back to the altar you find your offering vanished, only the egg remaining. The shell is cracked open, small puffs of baby bird down scattered around it and in the middle of the remaining egg shell base, a vial of milky and shimmering liquid sits.
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:
Xtra Grow Potion
Staff: note when claimed
Seere has a male Pallas's cat named Paunch and a female barn swallow named Aisling. They are always nearby.
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