[God Quest] All my sins I can't escape

Sah had called him out to Torchline, and once the repairs on their house had been finished Tal had been more then willing to rig up the Peregrine for a run west. He was grateful beyond words that he wasn't making the run alone, but as he'd disembarked from the skyport the sight of Ludo and Mort's shrine caught his eye and he had fingered his earring hesitantly.

After the events of LongNight that hesitation had lingered, overshadowing his usual brash confidence in himself and leaving him afraid of his own strength and instincts to defend himself and his family.

He almost passed the shrine by, but a desperate need to ask his chosen god for help turned his feet down the dock leading to the statue. He stood looking at it for a long while before he exhaled and thumped to his knees on the salt-stained wood, reaching up to rub compulsively at the wishbone earring piercing his left ear.

"Mort? I... I want t'thank you for not takin' Alys or Soh last season. An' for lettin' Zav come back to us." He cleared his throat self-consciously, the shadow of guilt and uncertainty bowing his shoulders as he pressed on. "I dunno if bad luck counts for my quest but... I've run into some really weird stuff in th'last couple months. An'... an' during LongNight there was a Void monster. An' a woman. An' I... I dunno if... if when I was tryin' to protect Alys from th'Void if I killed that poor woman instead but..." He shrugged helplessly, his chest tight. "Is there any way t'know for sure if I... if it was my fault? I just... I need t'know..." How many monsters had been prowling Meadowreach during LongNight? How many had been in his house? When Alys took his hand, was she taking the hand of a murderer? "...I could really use some luck o' the good kind for a change. Please," he ended on a cracked whisper, a plea that he could only hope would reach his god's ears.

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Upgrading Lucky You earring with Mort Tots and Pears:
3 Serendipity threads
[SE] Black on silver
pierced through the heart
[SE] Small and tender things

i have died everyday waiting for you

Mort emerged from the dappling shadows of his halls, his presence as steady as the turning of seasons. The god’s dark gaze softened at the sight of the trembling courier, and a gentle smile played at his lips. "Tal," Mort greeted quietly, his voice carrying the calm of sunlight as he beamed at the courier.

The god's smile turned reminiscent as he asked, "Tell me, do you know from where the revivify feathers come?" His tone was light now, inviting rather than instructing. "They are shed by a creature born of my creation with Vi—a wondrous being whose feathers burn away like a phoenix, only to be reborn anew. It happens but once every few millennia," he continues. "Vi and I wanted there to be some small reminder that death is never as black and white as it might seem." That, for all the splendor and release found in Mort's halls, hope of avoiding them just a little bit longer was never to be discounted.

The god's expression darkened at Tal’s hesitant inquiry, Mort's brow furrowed deeply as he regarded the courier, his voice dropping into a quiet gravity. "Know this: were it not for the Void’s insidious taint, you would never have had to raise your hand in defense of your home and those you hold dear." 

Reaching forward, Mort let his fingers brush against the wishbone clinging to the courier's ear, offering the man a small smile as sunlight hummed from his fingertips.

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Tal's earring has been upgraded!

Lucky you | A wishbone earring blessed by Mort, that when worn grants +7 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted.

He sucked in a breath as light washed through his soul, warm and healing and green, heralding the arrival of his god even before Mort spoke. Tal raised his eyes to the sight of that gentle smile offering the absolution he so desperately craved and swallowed hard as tears of relief stung his eyes, quickly blinked back. He couldn't speak at first, but he managed a short shake of his head in negation at knowing about the origins of revivify feathers. It was probably important, but mostly he just wanted to hear Mort's voice in that moment, filling him with awe and blurring the edges of his fears.

The answer he received to the question that he scraped together his courage to ask was...

Tal squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the weight of what he'd done crushing the air from his lungs. It was strange, hearing a variation on his own assurances to Alys over Sascha's death turned back on him, and he realized with a sickened twist in his gut just how empty those fierce platitudes had been. Without the Void it wouldn't have happened, sure, but...

But.

The warmth of Mort's fingers so near to his skin brought him back to himself and he blinked up into that sunlit smile. The absolution of the god of death was a powerful thing, but Tal couldn't entirely shake the weight of a life taken too soon from his hands. He couldn't manage a smile in return, but dipped his head in gratitude as he sat back on his heels. "Thank you," he murmured, voice still raw. "For... for bein' here for me. For helpin'." He reached up hesitantly to touch the earring that still held a warm glow of golden Longheat days and then he let his hand fall to his pocket.

"I... I've got one more favor t'ask, if it isn't too much?" he looked up at the god of death with hope and sorrow in his eyes, trying to hold on to the lesson of the revivify feathers. That Sascha was gone, but not forever. Not beyond the reach of their love for her, and that eventually they'd see her again when they went to Mort's Halls for good. "If y'see Alys's companion, Sascha... could y'give her these, from us? Please?" There were jerky treats there, a favorite of one small ursur and one burly dragon, offered up as a token from a family that loved the little companion and missed her very much.

i have died everyday waiting for you

Mort’s dark eyes softened as Tal’s trembling thank you drifted on the salty air. With a boyish tilt of his head and a gentle grin playing at the corners of his lips, Mort stepped closer. "There’s no need to thank me, Tal," he said softly, his voice as warm and inviting as a LongHeat breeze. "I will always be here, even when my duties prevent me from physically appearing to you."

He brushed a stray lock of dark curls from his eyes with a casual tenderness that belied his divine nature. "Your courage in the face of what happened..that fierce, burning need to protect what you love, is something no one should ever bear alone. You did what you had to do out of love. And that, my friend, is never a fault."

Mort’s gaze drifted to the small parcel of jerky treats held in Tal’s shaking hand, and his smile deepened into one of genuine affection. "As for your request," he continued, his tone light yet laced with solemn promise, "I’ll see that your gift reaches Sascha." His boyish smile and gentle eyes lingered as he smiled warmly at Tal before his body began to fade back into the radiant halls of the dead, leaving behind a quiet, tender reassurance that even in the darkest times, warmth and hope would always find a way to return.

~FIN