mother may I

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

Danta takes much care before making his offering to his dark lady. Arriving at the shrine shivering and in quite a black mood, given the season and the location, it's a while before he even approaches the ruby clusters. Lighting candles and lanterns in the space to lend light and warmth, as well as drinking a generous amount of hot spiced cider from a flask he's brought, once he feels as though he can withstand the cold enough to address his goddess, he proceeds.

"Dygra," he purrs, softly and quietly, a private moment between himself and the one who made him. "I would make the Grounds ours, but it is somewhat inhospitable to your children at this time of year. I wonder if you might give us a means to stay warm - to thaw us, if the cold gets too much?" As he speaks he pressed a palm indulgently against one of the rubies, allowing the sharp gemstone to bead with his blood.

---

Danta is requesting an RQ from Dygra for an everlasting fire in the Grounds!

Dantalion

Dygra

Danta's lifeblood spills out against the cherry gemstone, dripping and melting against the crystal, until with a thrum like a tuning fork, the blood turns back on itself, beading between the Ancient's fingers like the clasped hand of a lover.

"Sweet, dark boy." Dygra's voice is a deep and sensual tremor in the cavern, shimmering across the spilling rubies and in the newborn candle flames. "It has been so long." Centuries, since one of her older children approached her so, free as they are now from the rock.

"The Grounds will be a test of your resilience, it is true. But there is no reason why Deepfrost ought to be a death sentence. Let us see what we might accomplish..."

---

Tasks. There is no time limit. There are currently (somehow?) 9 active Grounders. This means 5 unique characters have to participate. Characters can participate more than once. Dantalion must participate in at least 2 threads.

1. A PQ with at least 3 Grounders collecting suitable firewood & kindling within the Grounds
2. A thread collecting gemstones from Soulfire Reach
3. A thread collecting volcanic ash from Apopo
4. A thread leaving an offering for Tanau somewhere within The Climb
5. A thread with 3 Grounders building the bonfire in its desired location, incorporating the gemstones, kindling and ash - without lighting it yet

Table coding by Sky <3

I used to hold your haunted neck; I know I'll miss you if I close my eyes

His eyes close at the warmth that presses against his palm, at the heavy scent of iron on the air, and to hear Dygra's voice after all this time is enough, honestly, without even considering the boon she'll bestow on the Grounds - on him - provided he can meet her requirements. "It will be done," Danta vows, releasing a shuddering breath he hasn't realised he's been holding.

And even when the blood soaks back into the rubies as if it had never spilled from his hands, even when Dygra's presence fades, the Maverick remains for a few minutes, basking in the dark silence of her memory. Of course, even with his precautions, it is still a cold, cold place to be, and eventually the complaints of his body force him to retreat.

Hopefully not for long, though.

~FIN

Dantalion