RSVP: Lady Welkin

Before the Master Ravenwood Tree.
The dark heart of Glomdoring Forest is almost audibly beating in this, its shadowy centre. Tall, blackened trees surround this clearing, pressing together into an imposing barrier of rotten vegetation. Moulds and fungi are smeared across the plants, their pungent stench suffusing the forest. The branches are coated in dark slime, slick tendrils that hang downwards. Although a variety of trees might actually grow here, the black tar that coats them renders them indistinguishable. A thin black mist creeps between the trees, hanging low across the ground. The floor of the clearing itself is simply bare earth, cracked and dry. Overshadowing all is the Master Ravenwood Tree itself, jutting into the sky like a twisted fist. The sound of laughing crows echoes down from the treetops, a harsh sound for the ears below. The atmosphere vibrates with a palpable power. Brennan Stormcrow paces here, his cadaverous body twitching with sudden jerks. The Master Ravenwood Tree towers over everything here, pulsing with an immeasurable yet dark power. Casting darkness all around, a shadow totem thrusts up from the ground, chilling the air. There are 3 black direwolves here. There are 2 armoured bats here. There are 12 illithoid scourges here. There are 17 shadowlord widowriders here. There are 16 dark nighthags here. A solstice stocking has been hung here. A crudely crafted shrine of harsh black crystal stands here, thrumming powerfully. Splintered from the Master Ravenwood, a massive branch lies here, spiders crawling along its rotting wood. A giant bat hangs here, wings folded about its body and one beady eye open. In the shape of an open palm, a metallic sigil lies here. A mature hemlock tree stands proudly here. An animated skeleton stands here with a ghostly outline of a beetle around its skull. An animated skeleton stands here with a ghostly outline of a wasp around its skull. An animated skeleton stands here with a ghostly outline of a spider around its skull. An animated skeleton stands here with a ghostly outline of a bat around its skull. Glowing gently with a soft blue light, a delicate dreamcatcher has been permanently hung here. Covered in bone armour, a furry tarantula crouches here, ready to pounce on unsuspecting prey. A nut from a ravenwood tree leaf rests on the ground. Completely motionless, a slender leothin intently surveys its surroundings. Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk floats here, suffusing the air with the sickly-sweet scent of blackthorn blossoms. They wield an athame dagger of dusk in their left hand.
You see a single exit leading north.

The thread of mist twists in and out of your wake as you travel, remaining just a few feet behind you like an unnatural complement to your shadow.

You blink.

You have emoted: Gurashi looks over his shoulder, tilting his head.

You click your mandibles together energetically, chittering to yourself.

You have emoted: Gurashi pauses, antennae raised.

Esei tilts their head curiously at you.

Glancing back towards the mist at his feet, you say to Esei, "...nothing..."

It is there - and then it is gone. You scrutinise the undergrowth, searching amidst the guards and detritus of the Master Ravenwood for that strange thread. Now, wherever you look, it remains just in your peripheral vision, infuriatingly present and absent all at once.

Esei raises an eyebrow at you.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk says to you, "Is it, now."

You have emoted: Gurashi's eyes narrow a bit, and he turns quickly, as if trying to see something staying just out of sight.

Faintly buzzing, you say, "...m-maybe not nothing."

Cautiously, to no one in particular, you ask, "....hello?"

Bizirik's head begins to droop. It opens its great maw and curls back its lips to allow its forked tongue to unfurl as it yawns before snapping its mouth shut.

Esei pats Bizirik, the leothin in a friendly manner.
Bizirik, the leothin stares blankly at Esei. After a moment its tail lifts once then thumps back against the ground with potential delight.

Bizirik, the leothin lolls its head back, snuffling noisily at the air, though it doesn't seem too bothered by any of it.

Turning again quickly, you chitter, "...are there, or, am crazy?"

A voice sounds - not from the mist, but right by your antennae. Soft in its volume, but clipped in its accent, its words are hard-edged. "Is your sanity truly for Me to judge?"

You have emoted: Gurashi jumps suddenly, taking a step back.

Esei creases their brow in a frown.

You think to yourself: Oh boy.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk asks, "Gurashi, are you well?"

Looking increasingly nervous, you ask, "Oh, ehm ... n-no, guess not?"

(The Shadow Kindred): You say, "Lol."
(The Shadow Kindred): You say, "Answers god, esei asks question immediately before doing so."
(The Shadow Kindred): Esei says, "LOL."

"Then, there is the question of what My being 'here' means. Do you require My physical presence, or simply My attention, for Me to be 'here'?"

Esei tilts their head and listens intently to you.

As the voice continues, it shifts downwards - you can feel a rustle against the side of your face like a breath. It pulses with the words, but it holds none of the warmth that a breath should. It is cold, clammy and uncomfortable.

You have emoted: Gurashi quietly folds his hands together before his abdomen, completely tuning out those speaking around him. "...Oh, ehm, guess can just be... here, to be ..." He trails off, mandibles clicking anxiously.

"I have received many requests from mortals since My return to the First World, Exemplar. Yours is truly unique amongst them."

You blink.

Turning slightly to his right, as if to seek out the source what he's responding to, you ask, "...r-really?"

A slow dissonant drum rhythm pulses through the air, preceding the arrival of Feoragan from the north.
An illithoid scourge nods his head at Feoragan.

Feoragan peers about himself unscrupulously.

Esei shrugs helplessly.

You think to yourself: Do peoples not invite Divine to parties...?

"Indeed." The voice shifts again, this time fluttering amidst the stirring wind as people move around you. It softens to a dangerous whisper. "None of them come even close to equalling its ridiculousness."

Esei frowns at you.

You have emoted: Gurashi's antennae quickly drop, and his expression changes from curiosity to concern. "...oh."

Trembling a bit, you say, "...is, a bad ... ridiculous, or, -good- one."

Esei murmurs softly to themself.

Bizirik, the leothin continues to sniffle at the air, then rises to stand, chattering and trilling softly, shaking out its entire body.

You have emoted: Gurashi's mandibles continue to nervously click against the side of his face as he slows his seeking and turning to a stop.

You think to yourself: ... w-who am speaking to, wonder?

Something cold brushes against your throat as you come to a halt; cold and sharp. Where you tremble, you can feel the edge of the blade click against you. There is nothing there, but you feel it all the same. You think at first of a scythe - but no, this blade is straight, thin, much more like a rapier. It is not there, but there, it is, it is not, it is - the blade moves away. You exhale.

You shudder violently as a chill ripples down your spine.

Esei tilts their head curiously at you.

"If it was bad, Exemplar," the Goddess murmurs, right against your cheek once more, "you would be certain of it."

You have emoted: Gurashi quickly reaches up to touch his neck, eyes wide.

A dark nighthag turns her gaze to Feoragan momentarily.

A chicken jumps out of Feoragan's hands!
A chicken clucks and hops off to the north.

Esei gives a pained sigh.

Still wide-eyed, you ask, "... d-does that mean want to come?"

"No."

You crease your brow in a frown.

Feoragan looks up at you curiously.

Esei stares implacably at you.

Esei places a forefinger between your eyes, and a soothing warmth passes through you.

"But it does mean that you are fortunate, for you are so ridiculous that you have amused Me. No, I will not attend your party. No, I will not judge your...'song contest'." The last words drip with dry, sharp humour.

Ghostly voices echo softly, combining into a haunting melody.

You have emoted: Gurashi looks to have long since given up trying to seek out the source of his invisible counterpart, swaying a bit on his feet. "...Amused."

Feoragan peers about himself unscrupulously.

Squeaking ominously, Nascent Feoragan, Attendant to the Wyrd says, "The bug's gone mad, we all knew it was coming one day."

Feoragan leaves to the north, taking with him the thrumming rhythm of the Dark Heart.

After a long pause, you say, "..e-ehm, well, that is too bad."

A dark nighthag nods her head at Alarin.

"Yes, Exemplar. Humour is something that I would not expect from one who resides in My Shikari's forest. You are unexpected. That makes you interesting."

Genuinely, you say, "...uhm, many thank yous for considering, and, uhm, responding to invitation, even if is a no."

Faintly buzzing, you say, "...wait!"

Faintly buzzing, you ask, "Who is this?"

Your eyes bug out as you boggle in amazement.

Esei blinks.

You think to yourself: Does not seem like Lady of Serenity ...

Esei tilts their head and listens intently.

You think to yourself: Is maybe ... Lady Enchantress - no, Lady Welkin? Has to be one of two yes.

You gag a bit as Alarin's stink wafts over you.

Esei gives Alarin a pained sigh.

Esei raises their hands and clouds form and darken overhead, releasing a heavy rain that drenches the area.

"You would mistake Me for Drocilla?" The voice is wry now, and you hear an echo of that same chuckle within it. "You are even more interesting than I thought."

Your eyes bug out as you boggle in amazement.

Faintly buzzing, you say, "...oh! Then, are ..."

Perking up, you say, "Lady Welkin...!"

"I am whoever you wish to believe I am, Gurashi An'Ryshe. And many things that you do not believe I am."

His excitement quickly diminishing, you say, "Ah ... uhm, O-K."

Looking confused, you say, "...am not understanding."

You have emoted: Gurashi's eyes squint, confused. "...but in case ARE Lady Welkin, uhm, many thank yous, again."

You click your mandibles together energetically, chittering to yourself.

Esei raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Rambling on, you chitter, "And for, sort of meeting? Think is meeting. Is this how -all- Divine meet?"

Your mandibles twitch slightly as you voice a brief, curious chirr.

"Incase I am the Lady Welkin, I accept your thanks. As to whether My Kin would meet you in this way - that you will perhaps find out for yourself, if you have truly been so...generous...in your invitations."

Finger extended, Esei pokes you.

You have emoted: Gurashi nearly jumps out of his carapace at the poke from Esei, a loud, whistling cicada cry echoing throughout the clearing as he does so.

Esei raises an eyebrow questioningly.

With a flourish of their hand, Esei gestures at the empty air.

Esei raises an eyebrow questioningly.

Whispering, you say to Esei, "Scaredmeohmygoodness."

You blush furiously.

You nod your head slowly in understanding.

Esei pats you in a friendly manner.

You have emoted: Gurashi exhales slowly, coming back around as he looks up again to no point in particular, mandibles clicking. "Will see."

You chirp happily.

You think to yourself: ...do not offer food, Gurashi.

You think to yourself: Do not offer, the foods.

Beads of sweat break out on your face.

Faintly buzzing, you ask, "...w-would like a cookie for Your troubles?"

You think to yourself: Heck.

Only once you have stilled do you feel something more: the flutter of something, a cloak perhaps, moving away from behind you. As you glance about at the same time, your compound eyes alight upon that same thread of mist. It lingers beside your foot, and - as you watch - begins to coil up your leg.

You blink.

"No," the voice says - the last thing that you hear as the mist frays, attaching itself to your back like a strange cloak.

Czixi, the Welkin has bestowed Her divine truefavour upon you. It will last for 3 months.

LOOK MEEEEE
He is a compound-eyed kephera wyrden demigod. He looks imposing at first glance, standing nearly two meters high with a black chitinous exoskeleton and broad blood-orange thorax. His bulbous red eyes sit on either side of his wedge-shaped head, and a small pair of stunted antennae protrude from atop his skull, looking broken. Where his mouth would be sits a small pair of jagged mandibles. Two sets of spiny orange arms are affixed to his torso, the top set of which are long and thewy while the second are spindly and pulled close to his chest. A long abdomen hangs down to his knees and is angled away from his back, ribbed in full black bands with small orange flecks throughout. Evidence of conflict mar his once shiny carapace, with the occasional crack and abrasion clearly visible. His legs are long and covered in thick orange plates with tiny black spines tracing down the back of his calves, ending in small segmented dual-toed feet. Set on either side of his lower back are two delicate orbs that whistle and click as he breathes. Two pairs of veiny, translucent wings looking far too small for his body size hang stiffly from his back. Despite initially appearing intimidating, his demeanor is subdued, the smaller set of hands laced together tightly. Tattooed on his hands is an illustration of a bumblebee constellation. A scarlet hieroglyph rests in the centre of his forehead, flickering with occasional tongues of lightning to show the highfavour of Mysrai, the Shofet of Abyssal Scales. Threadlike skeins of mist envelop his form, flowing out from his body as a vaporous cloak.
He is wearing:
a Glomdoring friendship bracelet
a clover-etched opal ring
a mottled bloodstone watch barely sticking out of his right breast pocket
a bat ring of insidious shadows
a beryl ring grasped by an opal hand
a spider ring of subtle manipulation
an interlocking bracelet of blackened kephera chitin striated with shades of indigo
a nacreous baroque-pearl beetle brooch clipped securely to his hat
a leather explorer's hat
an embroidered mantle of flickering hope
an ebon necklace bound with a shadowfire gem
a delicate forestal cloak of frayed silk
a leather vest of chaotic shadows
an amber cuff of swift reaping
the Fingerblade of dha'Wyrden-cree.

You have emoted: Gurashi slowly looks down towards his leg, eyes widening in confusion, then jerking with surprise.

Shook, you say, "....S..."

Faintly buzzing, you say, "...S-She did not want... a cookie."

Esei pats you in a friendly manner.

Consolingly, Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk says to you, "I'm certain our own Divine would like the cookies."

You sway back and forth.

Esei pats you in a friendly manner.

You have emoted: Gurashi places one hand over his heart, then another, staring at Esei in disebelief.

Faintly buzzing, you ask Esei, "...d-did just ... ?"

Esei blinks.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk says, "I didn't do anything."

Shaking his head, you say to Esei, "Oh, uhm."

Esei raises an eyebrow at you.

You have emoted: Gurashi reaches up, rubbing his face and shaking his head. "Uhm, was Lady Welkin," He finally explains, "saying that, would not be attending the party."

Dazed, you say, "Said was interesting ..."

Alarin blinks.

Faintly buzzing, you say, "Why do Peoples keep calling 'interesting', and 'amusing'"

Your eyes bug out as you boggle in amazement.

Esei shrugs helplessly.

You have emoted: Gurashi looks aside, rubbing nervously at his neck.

Esei ponders you thoughtfully, looking you up and down.

There is nothing there. Right? There is nothing there. You're sure there is nothing there.

(The Shadow Kindred): You say, "AHHHHH."

Beads of sweat break out on your face.

Esei tilts their head curiously at you.

You have emoted: Gurashi continues to hold his hand to his neck, looking increasingly more and more unsettled.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk asks you, "Are you alright?"

Feoragan ponders for a moment and says "Hrm..."

Dazed, you ask Esei, "What?"

Faintly buzzing, you say to Esei, "Yes! Of course."

Esei raises an eyebrow at you.

Wait timer expired.
Esei places a forefinger between your eyes, and a soothing warmth passes through you.

Wait timer expired.
The sound of a distant scream echoes between the trees, only to be suddenly cut short.

sayto esei (his smaller arms flailing) is O-K! Is just, -gosh-
His smaller arms flailing, you say to Esei, "Is O-K! Is just, -gosh-."

(The Shadow Kindred): Esei says, "*cures gurashi*."

Brennan Stormcrow bows to Feoragan and commences the lesson in Combat.

say is always so ... w-wowee
Faintly buzzing, you say, "Is always so ... w-wowee."

Esei stares implacably at you.

think is nothing there.
You think to yourself: Is nothing there.

think am A-O-K
You think to yourself: Am A-O-K.

The azure flames of the Flame of Glinshari coalesce into an ethereal being of silvery moonlight, which rises up over the Serenwilde Forest.

"Ugh!", Feoragan says in disgust.

Esei raises an eyebrow at you.

Esei places a forefinger between your eyes, and a soothing warmth passes through you.

His smaller arms flailing, you say to Esei, "Is O-K! Is just, -gosh-."

Faintly buzzing, you say, "Is always so ... w-wowee."

Esei stares implacably at you.

You think to yourself: Is nothing there.

You think to yourself: Am A-O-K.

Esei's face is full of doubt.

Glowing brightly, the silvery figure stops before the shadowy Glomdoring Forest, rage burning in the depths of its eyes.

Squeaking ominously, Nascent Feoragan, Attendant to the Wyrd says, "Another dumb silver thing."

Esei gives a pained sigh.

The ethereal figure dives towards the Glomdoring Forest as shadowy spirits rise out of the Drums of the Dead, stabbing at the figure with shadowy knives. Cutting down scores of dark spirits with lances of moonlight, the ethereal figure is flung back towards the Serenwilde Forest and disperses back into azure flames.

You give a horrified gasp.

Esei mutters discontentedly.

Esei ponders you thoughtfully, looking you up and down.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk says to you, "Speaking of the Divine..."

Esei shakes their head.

Visionary Esei of the Ascending Dusk says to you, "Anywho."

Esei pats you in a friendly manner.

You have emoted: Gurashi keeps one hand at his throat, before stepping away, looking concerned.