Not Natural

VAI The huntress Vervain had been warned, and she had heard the stories, and she still had questions. Was it bravery or foolishness that took her on quiet feet through the snowy dark? Only time would tell. The Glade's shrine appeared, eerie in the moonlight through a cover of skeletal branches. Vai approached carefully, her thick curls loose about her shoulders to keep her neck warm. From the depths of her furs she withdrew a single white candle, leaning down to place it in the centre of the circle of stones. Lighting it was difficult with the weather, but Vai was able to stay the wind away from the little flame. "Ludo," she said. "I would speak with you, please."

The wind whipped around her with a magical malfeasance the former air-elemental could likely sense. It snuffed out the candle and blew harshly against her skin, and then suddenly, it all stopped— —the wind stilled, the area grew silent, and ... was the candle about to re-light? Was that a scrap of fabric high above in the tree, about to filter down towards the huntress and— —but no. It was absolutely none of those things. Nothing at all happened.

VAI The huntress Vervain was unsure whether nothing was a good thing or not. On the one hand, she left with as many answers as she had arrived with. On the other, based on what Remi had told her about Ludo, receiving nothing from it was the kindest gift of all. Still, Vai lingered for a few more minutes with the breeze drifting about her, standing in the moonlight of a blank candle. Then, nodding as if to say she understood, she left the shrine with her head held high and her hands buried in her furs. The gods did not wish to receive her. It was frustrating that they continually interrupted her loved ones' lives, but when it came to herself, Vervain was happy with the arrangement.