Under the jeweled sky

"Safrin? I think... I think we did somethin' you'd be proud o' me for. Maybe. I hope," he added hastily, kneeling in the grass atop the Barrows shrine. The altar bore its usual lush plethora of offered flowers beneath the twinkling Longheat stars, but a new addition had been added to the shrine by the courier's reverent hands. A star the size of his palm, carved from pure quartz, glittered gently in the light of the moon.

"I helped kill this big, nasty Void-guardian-thing in th'Oerwoud, an' it sounds like th'Family really didn't like that." And there was definite satisfaction in the Messenger's voice as he relayed that information. "An' it really helped, havin' th'stripes on my vest. It tried hittin' me once an' got zapped for it. So I was hopin' y'might be able to make it zap even harder when somethin' hits me? Please?"

And maybe, as items went, it was more about petty vengeance than noble defense or bold offense, but Tal knew where his strengths lay. Mostly. Sometimes. And if something was going to hit him, he wanted to hurt it back hard enough that it would think twice about trying it again.

---

Type: Grey | Style: Defensive | Level: Upgraded
Hands off! | Silver striping covers the Rockhide Vest. When successfully struck in melee combat it deals lightning damage at half the wearer's damage stat.

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Type: Light | Style: Other | Level: Basic
Lucky you | A wishbone earring blessed by Mort, that when worn grants +5 luck. Must be included in all PQ/PQ+/KQ/DROP posts to be counted.

King's End Citizenship Ability: With so many spirits around you, you attract the attention of the gods when visiting a shrine. Roll with advantage when praying at a shrine.

King's End was one of the few places in Caido whose weather was almost perfect. It wasn't too hot in Longheat nor too cold in Deepfrost, yet it enjoyed all of the seasons in equal measure. If only it wasn't ruled over by such a traitor, Safrin might have enjoyed her time being called down to the Mourn all the more.

"Indeed," Safrin agrees as she appears nearby. Draped in dark lace that hugs her body as completely as the night breezes wrap around the shrine, the deity reaches for the quartz star, holding it gently in her hands. "It was a clever strategy to cleanse the jungle. I must say I'm glad that you're using more than just brawn to fight this enemy, difficult as your task was." Deimos aside, Safrin wouldn't mind if those who ventured onto Starfall had never come back, so it was her praise would fall to the rest of Caido who were also doing their best to assist. Though Tal's recent venture into the jungle hadn't been easy by any means, it had been strategic.

As she listens to the courier, Safrin turns toward the shrine, tracing a star onto the stone with her fingertip. Where she pressed light emerged, pushing back the rock until she'd created a recess in which the quartz creation would perfectly fit. "I can certainly help you with that."

---

Tal has been given a quest! He must:

1. Get hit by lightning magic
2. Complete a Training thread where someone else wears his vest so he can experience it.
3. Leave the vest outside during a lightning storm
4. Mine more silver to reinforce the stripping.

King's End might have been the April 25th of regions, but Tal still preferred Halo in his heart. Still, King's End was where his house was, and all his stuff that didn't fit on the Peregrine, and the shrine to Vi and Safrin was pretty spectacular, especially at night.

Not as spectacular as the goddess who answered his prayers, though. Tal swallowed hard and bit his lip against the beauty of Safrin in a dress as dark and beautiful as midnight as she accepted his offering. Even more than that, however, it was her words of praise that sent the courier to cloud nine. People didn't usually praise his strategy, and he beamed like a small sun under her approval. "I wasn't sure it would work," he confided, his voice almost shy as his ears turned pink with pleasure. The monster had been way bigger than he'd anticipated in his wildest nightmares, and it had hit his friends so hard that he'd been scared half to death of losing Flora or Noah along the way. But in the end they'd managed to keep it together and bring the beast down, and now that Safrin was adding his offering into the altar itself for everyone who came after to see?

Hail, it had been worth it.

As she handed out the tasks required, Tal bowed his head to hide the faint winces at the first two. Those were going to hurt, but the last two weren't bad at all and he relaxed as he looked up again at the goddess in gratitude. "Thanks, Safrin! I'll see y'again, an' soon!" He hoped. Barring any further Void interference, at least.

~fin