#blue breads

[greekceltic]

Some notes on Sha’s temples and their relationship with Blue Breads. Blue’s are more about respecting Sha than worship. The temples probably predate them by quite a lot. They’re not opposed to borrowing what no one else wants, though. It’s still good space. I also built on some things I already know about Alf. I think of him as knowing a lot about lore and stories in the Cat’s Way. I think he would naturally absorb those things- but I like it as a Blue Bread tradition, too. Blues are like planets. They’re all in their own weird orbit and don’t cross paths super often, but when they do, the idea of them sharing or even trading stories like pokemon cards is cute to me. Most of them turn their stories into a local ‘loremaster’ for record keeping (after all, you can’t really own a story that wasn’t yours to begin with). But I’d like to think everybody has one that they covet, that only they’re allowed to tell. A personal experience. Like a coming of age thing.

[greekceltic]

shiny-shock said: What are the specific circumstances that Alf would kill under?

He kills roamers almost regularly, but it could be called a mercy situation. Roamers are afflicted with Hunting Sickness. It’s a great big unknown. (And probably not contagious or Alf would have caught it by now.) Roamers range from rabies like symptoms to almost acting normal. But once found out, it’s an easy choice to make. They don’t talk, they prey on other cats, and often they’re half starved and suffering.  Thaaat said, he is not a bleeding heart. He has folded these things in half. For Alf it’s kind of like shooting a zombie in the head. It’s easy because that cat isn’t a ‘person’ anymore, they’re just gnashing teeth. There are situations where he would kill someone who still has all their marbles, but they’d have to earn it. I guess think of it like this. All he does is put things out of their misery. If someone was threatening him or someone who mattered to him with death, and he decided they were prepared to follow through with it, it might not be a hard leap to make! I don’t know if he’s gone there. But he might. And probably wouldn’t feel bad about it.

[greekceltic]

A little bit of lore about Sha and Blue Breads. Sha has a bad reputation in the Cat’s Way. Su took away her physical form and cast her out of his field. Now she chases her body relentlessly.  She represents the cat before domestication- so pretty much everything opposite of Su! Blue Breads carry her likeness as a show of respect, and to ‘invite’ her to participate in their work. This can be a problem. For the rest of society, Sha has become something not spoken of. Cats hang tokens of her in their pantry to protect food, but they scratch out the eyes for safety because it’s believed that she’ll hunt anything that draws her attention.

Not surprisingly, Blues have paid for their association with Sha by joining Strays on their weird rung of the social ladder.

[greekceltic]

Roamer: A cat who has the hunting sickness. They cannibalize other cats and are absurdly common in some areas. They’re usually dog sized, but cats with sparks have been known to get sick. Which can have scary results.

Blue bread: A kind of warrior who targets roamers and only eats sacred bread. They (alongside the strays they are often defending) occupy one of the lowest social classes in the Cat’s Way, which is also considered divine.

Killkenny’s Maw marks the spot where an infamous roamer finally fell. The Blue Breads have been hanging the lanterns of their fallen near his mound for centuries.    It’s traditional for new members to spend time looking into the Maw’s bronze mirror. Both to imagine them self in the victim’s shoes and as a reminder that anyone can lose their way.

[greekceltic]

A haphazard info post on Stray Temples. There are several types of temples in the Cats Way, this is just one! Suspiciously disguised as a farm.

I say haphazard because I really just doodled notes as I went.

[greekceltic]

Alf and his sister Din Din, who was at least half responsible for raising him.

Din Din is my punching bag for when I need someone to blame for Alf’s dumbness.

[greekceltic]

Strays are (dead)cats who haven’t used sparks. They still have their ‘divine shape’ and are considered to be in Sha’s following. When a cat uses a spark, generally it crosses over to Su’s following, but that isn’t always true. (Blue Breads! They’re majorly associated with Sha.) Also, when a cat uses a spark it forgets most of its experiences as a stray. I’m not sure why yet, but it solved a few story problems. Anyway, - Strays rarely talk. Some more than others, but as a rule they only mewl. Their language is Cat Scratch (which is also Cat’s Way common- meaning most cats speak it whether they have a spark or not.) It might be the only knowledge retained in the change.

- In this story, Cat Scratch can be ‘caught’. If a stray scratches you, you get cat scratch fever and learn the language. It’s not fun though.

- They can possess objects, such as weapons or lanterns- provided they’re willing. This pretty much only happens with temple guardians and Blue Breads.

- Considering the human like cats who live in villages and towns can’t remember being a stray, strays occupy a weird low rung on the social ladder. They can’t relate. There’s too many of them and mystic beings or not, they can be a huge nuisance.