tw: injuries, scars, death
Drifter lore idea:
void scars. almost ethereal-looking scar tissue from injuries sustained long ago in the Void/Duviri that manifests out of thin air.
they appear in the morning when the Drifter wakes, in random places and in random forms (i.e. faded burns, scars from battle, childhood scrapes or bruises, mortal wounds etc.) and can look freshly healed, or as faded into the past as the events that caused it.
the void scars are similar in nature to argon crystals which disappear after too long out of the void, except Drifter’s scars disappear when they stop thinking about them for a day. this can be harder with some scars than others. after that, the memory returns to the void and won’t plague them for a time.
maybe a small scrape from a childhood fall in a beautiful field is harder to forget than a beheading scar from one of thousands of different executions spent in apathy.
perhaps a deep wound from a futile battle against soldiers lingers in the memory of Drifter’s failure to save an innocent seconds before.
some memories take longer than others to process. maybe the Drifter’s partner helps them through it in their own way. would they tell Drifter to spend a little time thinking about the past to help it return to the void, or to ignore it and make some fresh scars on the battlefield with them to leave the memory behind?
would they take a moment each morning to look over and check the Drifter for scars and kiss each one gently? would they ask what caused each one out of interest in the Drifter’s past and the person they never knew?
how does the Drifter feel about their scars? do they embrace them, not caring about their appearance and knowing each one brought them here? or do they feel shame, covering up each one as they appear, believing they signify failures of the past?
how long does it take to forget each one? do they spend a night writing down the ones they want to forget the most and burning them over a flame? do they write down the ones they find strength in, hoping to keep the memory close so that they won’t fade?
and maybe, there is one scar that means too much to the Drifter to ever let themselves forget it. perhaps they swore to never forget a fatal mistake, or an important lesson, or a loved one who protected them.
either way, every day they wake up knowing they could find another there and be reminded of joy or sorrow, of anger or sadness or apathy. they just need to decide how to look at each one.