#tnsh ask

[thenightshadehaven]

What happens when a Blessed One comes back from the Tunnels?

Lengthy story time - cw cannibalism

"What happens when a Blessed One comes back from the tunnels?" FawnKit asks DoveStar, who visibly freezes up at the question.

"A Blessed One coming back? Why... Erm... That hasn't happened since I was an apprentice... I will... Will tell you about it when you're older."

DoveStar couldn't help but notice that faint, starry shimmer in her eyes, like the stars themselves were asking through the kit. She shook her head, excusing herself to her den. Once in, she brushed the mossy curtain closed, laying in her nest to think. Minutes turned to hours before she fell asleep, and a voice, distant and fuzzy spoke her old name.

"PipitPaw, wake up!" DoveStar shot up, feeling herself in a younger version of herself. It was this dream again, this nightmare she had on the regular. She looked at the source of the voice, recognizing it as DawnHeart, or DawnPaw in the moment. "DawnPaw... What's going on?" She asked. Rehearsed. Reused. The same thing she always asked.

DawnPaw, a spitting image of her future son, MoonPaw, sat at the entrance of the Apprentice's den. "Your Mi is calling for a meeting, Fox`Bee is back from the tunnels." DoveStar's eyes widened as she stood up, following her old friend outside. They stood on the edge of the clearing, looking where the young warrior ParsleySpot was pinning down the damned Blessed One, and her mi on the Tall-Stone.

"Blasphemous rat! Demons have told you lies and sins, and you tossed your only chance for the Promised Paradise away!" The Blazing TalonStar yowled at the long hair molly pinned in the clearing. Murmurs of what to do with her erupted throughout the camp.

The molly on the stone got eerily calm as she began to descend. "Your body is damned to the darkness, to save your spirit..."

"...We must remove the earthly bonds." Cats took that as their cue to surround the molly. ParlseySpot took the first bite, tearing off FoxBee's Left ear. DoveStar didn't want to look, but she was frozen as cats began to eat FoxBee alive, her agonized screams filling her ears. She looked to DawnPaw for comfort but... she had that same look on her face as she joined the cats for the Feast.

Her Mi looked at her expectantly, and as much as she fought it her legs moved her to the writhing body. She was lucky that she woke up before she had to taste copper in her mouth again.

[thenightshadehaven]

WHAT IS Y OUR HAR VEST

IS I T AK IN TO MI NE?

SO H A PPY TO SEE A NOTHER

WH O FE ASTS

Text since it's eye strain

Silverpelt: Dark, look! This Starling is asking about those Nightshade cats

Darkness: Oh? And about?

Silverpelt: Their bi-yearly festival, The Harvest

Darkness: Oh, yeah. Their sacrifice thingy. Little one, they send an unfortunate cat into the Tunnels under the Wraith circle they call their territory, and in return the Worm Underneath "Blesses" their prey to be fat and slow. I haven't had a Nightshade cat come join my darkness since the damned spirits get stuck in the ground with The Worm. I'd advise you avoid the territory if you get a mortal form.

Additional notes: Once they send the Blessed One to "Claim their place in the promised paradise", they have a feast and gorge themselves with prey as the Orator declares the new Blessed One, and the Advisor crowns them with a crown of Yewberries

[thenightshadehaven]

the worn remind me of the Bakku from voltron. So is the reason cats cannibalize the blessed one if they come back is cause mister worm didn’t get to feed

Mostly to hide the evidence that the Orator is, you know, sending cats to feed something under the ground. However, the cats genuinely believe they're saving the cat from eternal damnation by removing their "Cursed" earthly body and sending them to the Stars themselves.

On the topic of The Worm not feeding, gameplay wise i turn off automatic prey in lifegen and don't hunt, because out of the Orders Nightshade is dogshit at hunting.

[thenightshadehaven]

What’s a blessed one, I know it’s a cult thing but I’d like specifics

To the cats, a Blessed One is a noble cat who is selected to sacrifice their earthly ties to bless the land with bountiful prey by going to the Tunnels, and in return they're sent to "the promised paradise"

To us, however, it is a cat randomly(ish) selected by the orator to be sent to the Tunnels to feed The Worm, and due to the nature of The Worm, damned spirits and those who die under the earth are trapped in the tunnels.

Of course, nobody is willing to believe that their lives are lies. Except maybe the two closeted atheists :)

[thenightshadehaven]

Wassup👋

Hello, welcome. Thank you for being my first ask, little starling.