will you come out and play?

Weaver

So precious is this life, this gift,
this temporary blindness.

With Leafchange quickly coming to an end, Weaver cannot help but stop by the shrine. She comes with more candles than usual this time. Four in total; three for her family and for now, one for Maea. Though perhaps she has no right to mourn someone she had barely gotten to know, she cannot help but remember a life cut too short and all the things that will never be.

Weaver sits before the shrine, placing the candles in front of her and lighting all four without the use of her magic. There are certainly boundaries she will always respect, even if it makes no difference to the gods. ”Ludo,” she says, half a sing-song in her voice, as she pulls some hard candies from for it her pocket and puts them down with the candles. ”Any chance you’ll come to play?”

Burn and drown and embrace the false dark,
then grasp the unthinkable height of resulting joy.

Ludo does not like Halo. Too cold. Too many reminders. But the sing-song calls of the devout - and hard candies, let's be real - is not something it can reasonably deny. And so Weaver's candles flicker, nearly blowing out, and the mortal will feel something drape about her shoulders, warm, like a shawl. Ludo's masked face appears next to her own, a rag sneaking out around her to collect up the candies. "Come out, come out, whereever I am," it says in a copy of her sing-song tone, sounding amused. "What is it, sweetling?" LUDO Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own

Weaver

So precious is this life, this gift,
this temporary blindness.

As the candles flicker, she is not all that shocked. It’s happened plenty of times, the breeze, the disappearance of whatever she has brought, and then nothing more. But then something different happens, and she feels a shawl drape about her shoulders.

”Ludo,” she says, the surprise evident in her voice. She has been coming to the shrines for most of her life and yet never met the herald, until now. A smile forms on her face as it takes the candies, and she nods to them slightly, shifting to see it better. ”Enjoy them, they are the best from Halo,” she says.

”Honestly, I seek acceptance from the gods, more than anything. But I realize that is a very big ask, to make me into something that I am not.” Weaver reaches into her pocket and pulls out the amulet she’d found in Maea’s room, with the symbols of the heralds engraved on it. ”This belonged to Maea. She told me not to give up on you coming, actually. Maybe it could be turned into something useful? A way to carry my scythe without such a big thing on my back?” Though she was open to other suggestions, it seemed like a good start. A small thing with the symbols of the heralds made into something she could use. A piece of Maea to carry around.

Burn and drown and embrace the false dark,
then grasp the unthinkable height of resulting joy.

The candies disappear into the ragged void, and whilst Weaver does not see them again, she will get the sensation that they are very much being enjoyed. The one you think of asked me the same question," it remarks, gazing as well down at the amulet that she produces. "My answer to you is the same as my answer to Maea. It is not possible for you to turn your back on how you were born. You might become more, but never less." It shakes its head. The weight lifts from Weaver's shoulders as the god moves, drifting down before her now. Its ragged form covers the candles and, by some miracle, does not catch fire. "Your second request is something I might do, however," it intones, a tendril snaking out as if asking her to show it the amulet. "Maea lives on in many such things now, it appears. You wish to carry this, perhaps, instead of your weapon, until you so choose?" LUDO Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own

Weaver

So precious is this life, this gift,
this temporary blindness.

The sensation of the candies being enjoyed is a strange one, something akin to if she’d eaten them herself, except only an echo of the notion. Though she is glad it enjoyed the gift. She listens as he answers, and she nods. ”I admit, that I do like the sound of more better than less.” It is greedy, perhaps, but she is honest in her greed. Though there is not much ambition behind that. She doesn’t seek power so much as the ability to protect herself and those she cares about. Not that she can keep them from Mort’s realm forever, but at least, she can help keep them here until their time.

Ludo moves, the weight lifting from her shoulder, and she extends the amulet to it at the non-verbal request. ”Yes,” she confirms at it’s question. ”I would like to be able to easily keep it with me everywhere, but in a less obvious form. Not everyone appreciates me entering their home or business with such a large weapon.” There was something different about the sweeping blade of the scythe as compared to an easily sheathed sword, after all, and she understood that.

Burn and drown and embrace the false dark,
then grasp the unthinkable height of resulting joy.

The amulet would rise between them, spinning deftly, and Ludo nods along with her remarks. "Yes, yes. Much screaming from that," it says, not bothering to tack on I imagine at the end. "I can do what you ask, sweetling. But I require a few things. You will need to slay a luxere, and bring me leather made from its hide. You will also need to slay a banshee, and bring me some of the rags it wears. Use your scythe to do this. I will keep this amulet until then." The trinket disappears into the folds of its rags, and if Weaver looks closely it will appear, at times, that Ludo is modelling it like some fine piece of jewellry. "Is that agreeable?" it asks. Weaver has been given a quest! She must: - Complete a thread slaying a luxere with her scythe - Complete a thread turning the luxere hide into leather - Complete a thread slaying a banshee with her scythe (a banshee is a rare creature, so please message the admins when this thread has been created!) LUDO Braved the forests, braved the stone Braved the icy winds and fire Braved and beat them on my own

Weaver

So precious is this life, this gift,
this temporary blindness.

Weaver chuckles as he says ‘much screaming’, finding that she rather likes Ludo. More than she might have expected to. No wonder Maea was such a devout follower. He goes on, asking for a few things in return. This does not come as a shock to her, but there’s simply something shocking about her being the one asked to do it. She still expects to wake up from this dream at any moment.

Weaver listens to the instructions, watching as the amulet disappears from the air and Ludo seems to be...modeling it? Is she seeing things? Perhaps, though perhaps he is enjoying the trinket. She wonders if he will won’t actually be disappointed if she fails in her tasks and he gets to keep it. ”That is agreeable. I will return with what you need.”

The luxere was one thing, easy enough to hunt if she dragged someone other than a mage with dark magic along, and she knows how to make leather. The banshee would be another thing entirely, but she was excited for the challenge. ”Thank you,” she says, rising with a nod to the herald. For now, she would let him get back to...well, to whatever it is gods do. She has no idea.

(finished)

Burn and drown and embrace the false dark,
then grasp the unthinkable height of resulting joy.