Black velvet if you please

MAEA

The water was deep, and cold. Her lungs burned with the breath she'd held for so very long now and pinpricks of fear kept her questioning if she had picked the right path. Would the tunnel end soon? Would she make it out alive?
Pulling herself along hand over hand, the blackness was absolute. She preferred it like that, even when it made navigation that much harder. In the dark, there was no need to put up a front.

The surface broke around her without warning. Letting out air in an explosive spray, Maea hauled herself up into the cave and followed it by feel, until black rock was replaced by something sharper snagging on her skin, cutting at her fingertips. Crystal, she recalled; good. It meant she was nearly there.

Still wet and dripping water on the cavern floor, the Ancient knelt in the pitch blackness,gathering her thoughts. Heartbeats echoed in the enclosed space, too hard and too fast; she was nervous, and dry at the mouth.

"Goddess," she breathed, while digging sharp claws into her pale forward, until blood began to runnel down into the open palm. Pain sang through her nerves, roughening the soft voice that barely held back a groan. "I came to say that I am grateful, for this new chance at life that you have granted. There is still much that I need to get used to... but the struggle in itself is proof of being alive, and so I don't mind it. Thank you."

Reaching out to smear her blood on the ruby cluster, Maea thought this part was harder. Asking for things... It was hard to shake off the feeling of being a bother. Especially when dealing with the gods. And she knew nothing of Dygra's temperament; it was a gamble to reach out to anyone in general, and this lady in particular.

"If I may... I would ask for your aid in keeping myself alive while I acclimatize to this new existence. Would you clothe me, Lady, in a robe that become armor when I am attacked? If it wards off Light magic -specifically ice - it would be practical - though if that is too much, please instruct me; I don't want to be greedy."

---

Maea is praying to Dygra for armor that relaxes into a dress/robe when not in use. (and protects from light magic, if that's not too many things. )

I'm bleeding out for you

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Dygra

"Sweet little love." The voice that pulses from the cluster of rubies is deep and voluptuous, like heavy silk running the length of a sword. Maea will feel the blood spilling over her forearm ooze with warmth, and she'll swear that the glittering crimson on the gemstones seems brighter somehow, as if emitting a light of its own.

"You are welcome, always. The darkness of my embrace does not suit everyone... but I believe it fits you like a glove." Or a dress or a robe, as Maea's request happens to be. "I cannot force armour to be two things at once. But we can give you a headstart..."

---

Maea has received a quest from Dygra! She must:

1. Complete a thread trading for or buying a robe or a dress that will be used as the basis for the armour.
2. Complete a thread collecting ash from the Climb or from Apopo in Torchline, and cover the garment from 1. in it.
3. Complete a thread killing a creature and soaking the garment from 1. in its blood.
4. Complete a training thread against an armoured opponent.

Table coding by Sky <3

MAEA

Was it the darkness that housed the voice, or the crystals within the rock? Or did the goddess speak from the very marrow of her own bones? Either way it was a visceral thing that had her shuddering, emotions overflowing like the warm blood that dribbled down her arm. Simply to be acknowledged would have been enough. To then be welcomed, like she had never been anything but Ancient - the gratitude she felt went beyond what words could convey.

Dygra's words were sweet, too. Enough to render Maea flushed with bashful delight.

"I want to be the kind of person who can bear any of Your colors with confidence and pride," Maea breathed, fervent despite the way her hands trembled. "Flinching away and cowering over every little thing that's new or uncomfortable - it's growing annoying. I look forward to any chance to change this habit. Thank you, Lady, for showing me how to begin."

Smiling into the darkness, a giddy sense of anticipation bloomed within the pale woman as she considered the tasks ahead of her. Travel, adventure - all things she enjoyed doing - and nothing that felt impossible to accomplish. Honestly, finding the perfect dress might prove to be the most difficult part of the quest; it wouldn't do to settle for the first best thing she came by, after all, when it was to be touched by a goddess.

I'm bleeding out for you

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Dygra

"Change is everything," Dygra purrs. Entropy, chaos, change - all tenets of the dark mother's embrance, and Maea's willingness to begin goes a long way all by itself. "I look forward to your return. And to seeing the future iterations of yourself."

The warm, crimson presence will remain there with Maea for as long as she stays at the shrine, fading only once she is ready and departs from the darkness of the Black Lake. And even then, perhaps the rubies and the rock pulse warm for a little while yet.

~FIN

Table coding by Sky <3