another guiding light

Alys

Alys hadn’t wanted to travel past the boundaries of King’s End. To be honest, she hadn’t wanted to leave her house. But if Sascha was in Mort’s halls, well… perhaps she owed it to the little ursur to ask him to take care of her.

So here she was, in Ludo’s Woods, which seemed marginally safer to visit than the other shrines to Mort and Ludo that she knew of. She made her way to the shrine in silence, her fingers trailing against tree trunks as she wound through the forest. When she arrived, she knelt before the shelf that had been carved into a tree, alight with the flickering flames of candles and lanterns. Upon the shelf, she placed a carving of an ursur; upon closer inspection, it would become clear that the carving was made of bone. She hadn’t known what to get the god of death, and she hoped that it would be good enough.

She didn’t really expect an answer. In fact, she wasn’t sure if she wanted one. She wasn’t sure what happened to companions after their death, and if Sascha wasn’t with Mort, she wasn’t sure what she would do. But despite her reservations, there was a tiny piece of her heart that dared to hope - that maybe, just maybe, she could see her beloved ursur one last time.

”Mort? If you’re there… I know I haven’t done anything to be worthy of a response, but if you have Sascha in your halls, please… please take care of her. Tell her I’m sorry that I couldn’t save her. And that one day I hope I can see her again.”

—-

Alys prays to Mort. If she’s successful, she’d love a quest to get Sascha back!

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive

random event Alys knelt before the carved tree, the soft glow of flickering candles and lanterns casting trembling shadows around Ludo’s shrine. The scent of burnt incense mingled with the damp earth of Ludo’s Woods, an almost tangible reminder of mortality. As she gently placed the bone carving of an ursur on the shelf, a hush fell over the clearing—a silence heavy with unspoken promises and ancient grief. From the depths of the wild, an unsettling rustle emerged. Out of the darkness, a spectral feline began to materialize. It was a cat sith, its form ethereal and fluid, with eyes that burned like distant stars. The spirit slinked gracefully toward Alys, its presence both mesmerizing and ominous. As it wound its translucent, shadowy body around her legs, the creature’s purr echoed like a soft lament.

Alys

For a moment, nothing happened; but then, from the depths of the woods, something rustled in the darkness. Alys watched, her heart pounding in her chest, as a spectral feline emerged, its eyes burning like stars in the dusky twilight. Much to the seer’s surprise, the cat with wound its way around her legs, purring softly in a sound that was both ominous and soothing. Perhaps she should have been frightened, or nervous, or some other such thing - but she only felt a sad sort of awe. Cat sith were considered a bad omen, but so were a great many things that people simply didn’t understand. And for this one to appear to her during her time of mourning… well, Alys simply couldn’t bring herself to see it as a bad sign.

She was content, then, to sit with the cat sith for a while, offering a hand to give it scratches if it was so inclined. She couldn’t imagine that it received much affection from the people of the Greatwood, what with its reputation, and it was soothing, somehow, to offer it that little piece of kindness. She couldn’t help but feel that it’s what Sascha would have wanted.

fin

sometimes i think all i'm ever doing is
trying to convince myself i'm alive