Bloodbath

Edmund entered the shrine with a wide grin. Perhaps he should be nervous seeking out a Goddess he'd only met once before. But this was Dygra, his Mother. As such, the shrine simply filled him with warmth as his inner fire surged beneath his skin. Even his magic was happy to be here, how could the Ancient not feel the same? He'd thought long and hard about his request and what he'd offer this time. Last time, his offering had been unnecessary, useless. Only he himself had been considered worthwhile. As such, Edmund walked over to the basin. Taking out a knife he sliced open is palm and with a small wince, let the blood drip until there was a decent puddle. Licking his palm, he pulled out a bandage and quickly wrapped it before starting his prayer, bowing his head to the altar.  "Hello Mother. I hope you're well and that this offering is more to your liking. I have an idea that I need your help implementing." Perking up he excitedly explained, "I know that there's plenty of fire around her to take Ancients out of stasis, but there isn't readily available blood. At least, not in the capacity of what I'm imagining. I have this idea for a bloodbath. Something like a large pool of blood that's ever present in the Climb that always stays warm and never coagulates. A bath that is always available for an Ancient to be submerged in and pulled out of stasis. If it could heal was well, that'd be amazing! But I'm mostly focused on a readily available way for us to get out of stasis." Fiddling with the hem of his shirt he finished up, "What do you think? Do you think it's a worthy endeavor?" ~ Edmund offers some of his own blood and asks Dygra in creating a bloodbath for the Climb that can magically take Ancients out of stasis (And maybe heal too?). Using my God Quest Pass birthday present! Edmund the prince of torchline

Dygra

A worthy endeavour, indeed.

Distantly, overhead and all around the young Ancient, a rhythmic vibration hums through the walls of black glass, the stone beneath his feet, through Edmund's bones and his blood. A heartbeat, though whether it's his own or whether it belongs to his mother goddess is better left to the imagination.

And now he's beginning to understand - Dygra's voice, when she does speak, resonates out from the obsidian bowl filled with blood; who knows what Edmund might see if he looks inside?

"What need have we of a bloodbath with fire so readily available?" she wonders. Unless the Climb were to blow out, they ought to be well catered for, no?

"Then again, who am I to squash such delightful ideas? Baby steps first though, little dark one. Let us bleed the world first - then we will consider other uses for it..."

---

Edmund has received a quest from Dygra! He must:

1. Complete a thread with a fellow Ancient deciding on a suitable location for the bloodbath.
2. Collect a sample of bark and blood from the Hanging Tree in the Feverlands.
3. Encounter a River Star and collect the bones & debris from its last meal.
4. Kill and collect the blood from a unicorn (and eat it afterwards, if you want?)
5. Complete a PQ+ to construct the bloodbath and complete the quest. Let us know in your admin chat when you've posted the PQ+ and everyone has arrived in it!

Table coding by Sky <3

The young Ancient grinned wildly when he felt his Mother's presence, the fire in him surging forward eagerly in response. Upon realizing where her voice is coming from, he looked into the bowl with wonderment, captivated by the discovery. Maybe one day he'd ask about it.  But something told him that perhaps now wasn't the time. Upon Dygra's question, he opened his mouth to defend his idea at the question, but his Mother made it unnecessary when she gave her agreement. He nodded emphatically, "Patience, right." Good things took time and rushed things fell apart. He remembered that lesson from a book that his mum had read him as a child. The phrase, 'bleed the world', brought an unconsciously feral tint to Edmund's smile. "Yes. Thank you, Mother. I'll bleed the world." A deep part of him that he was still learning to accept like those words. It liked them a lot. With a final bow of the head, he said his goodbye and left the shrine, eager to start his quest. -{FIN} Edmund the prince of torchline