Along the walls of the quiet overgrown passage, you’re surprised to hear—well, feel laughter. You see the esk flanked by gangly-limbed and bouncing wisps chiming together in harmonious dissonance. Even the less jubilant are lighter in this moment, flitting around and joining in the grand tumble of energy orbiting around her feet. One bumps into her side, and she cranes down to attend to it. It shakes out its radiant form, almost too bright to look directly at. Then a pair of dots surface—two, blank, unblinking eyes to mirror hers. She blanches. The ball chirps in amusement and tumbles away. Sunspots imprint on her vision; the two dark pits follow her everywhere.
You slink away from the memory, shaking the twin shadows from your own vision too.
You slink away from the memory, shaking the twin shadows from your own vision too.
A Held Memory
The hallway darkens as the memory fades from the walls, and you find yourself walking in a near-blackness into the next room that is as profound as it is silent. Water laps quietly against moss-covered walls, a soft shush-shushing that muffles all other sounds. As you step further into the twilight you find that the pathway ends abruptly, as one paw slips into the dark, smooth surface of a pond that stretches on and on into the gloaming darkness.
Lily pads and floating ferns line the corners of the room, weathered and ivy-draped statues rising partially submerged from the water. You take your first step to wade into the shallows --
And find it strangely solid beneath your paws.
Step after step, you find yourself walking not through, but across the surface of the pond, venturing into the center of the room. The water ripples noiselessly beneath you, a gentle buoyancy supporting you from below. Perhaps then you stop in the center of the room, or cast a look back at the way you’ve come, or begin to wonder which way you are meant to continue on; perhaps it is only now that you see the strange glow pulsing beneath the dark waters, suffusing the room with a dim light.
You crane your head down low, peering down in the darkness. A ripple nearly tips you forward, but you catch yourself just in time. The light coming from below seems to thrum to a silent rhythm, flashing out arcane signals to you. Something about it seems to be calling out, in a language beyond words that whispers and tugs against the threads of your soul. A quick glance around will show you that the door you have entered through has closed silently, and none others have opened around the room; and it becomes clear to you that the only path by which to continue on, lies somewhere below the water where the light continues to glow.
Steeling yourself, you dive down deep beneath the waves and melt into the scenes of your past.
It plays out around you, shadows in the water that grow gradually brighter. Figures dart back and forth around you, spiraling away into the murky depths: a younger version of yourself, a lesson that has lingered with you through time, perhaps even a scene from your past life. It all repeats itself anew in a whirlpool of water, spiraling down, down, down -- and you are being carried down with it, diving deeper and deeper. There is no way out, no way to resist it -- you find yourself being swept along on the current, riding the wave of this memory like a bit of flotsam caught in the tide.
And perhaps you know already, the only way to escape the past that is dragging you further and further down --
Is to let it go.
Lily pads and floating ferns line the corners of the room, weathered and ivy-draped statues rising partially submerged from the water. You take your first step to wade into the shallows --
And find it strangely solid beneath your paws.
Step after step, you find yourself walking not through, but across the surface of the pond, venturing into the center of the room. The water ripples noiselessly beneath you, a gentle buoyancy supporting you from below. Perhaps then you stop in the center of the room, or cast a look back at the way you’ve come, or begin to wonder which way you are meant to continue on; perhaps it is only now that you see the strange glow pulsing beneath the dark waters, suffusing the room with a dim light.
You crane your head down low, peering down in the darkness. A ripple nearly tips you forward, but you catch yourself just in time. The light coming from below seems to thrum to a silent rhythm, flashing out arcane signals to you. Something about it seems to be calling out, in a language beyond words that whispers and tugs against the threads of your soul. A quick glance around will show you that the door you have entered through has closed silently, and none others have opened around the room; and it becomes clear to you that the only path by which to continue on, lies somewhere below the water where the light continues to glow.
Steeling yourself, you dive down deep beneath the waves and melt into the scenes of your past.
It plays out around you, shadows in the water that grow gradually brighter. Figures dart back and forth around you, spiraling away into the murky depths: a younger version of yourself, a lesson that has lingered with you through time, perhaps even a scene from your past life. It all repeats itself anew in a whirlpool of water, spiraling down, down, down -- and you are being carried down with it, diving deeper and deeper. There is no way out, no way to resist it -- you find yourself being swept along on the current, riding the wave of this memory like a bit of flotsam caught in the tide.
And perhaps you know already, the only way to escape the past that is dragging you further and further down --
Is to let it go.
To continue on this Quest, you must draw or write about your Esk participating in something inspired by the scene above. You may interpret this prompt in any way you wish, but the room should appear as a dark and overgrown pond, a memory significant to your Esk playing out below the surface.
How does this room manifest for your esk? What memory plays out around them in the water, and why is it significant to them?
How does the memory make your Esk feel? Do they long for the life they once had, or are they actively running from it perhaps? Is the memory a fond one, something that they have carried with them through time, or is it something they are trying to forget? Is something holding them back from moving on?
If the Conservatory glass panes aren’t visible due to the Temple room’s walls, you must add some elements of the Temple’s architecture or other magical or fantasy related aspects in your piece in order to qualify for the Quest. This can be achieved by adding in elements that seem unnatural, odd, or set up in a way they would clearly not be on Earth. (ex. A building floating upside down, floating platforms, etc.) These can be personalized to your Esk, so feel free to explore their depictions in creative ways.
When you depict any secondary figures, objects, or places in your work, they must appear distorted, dream-like, or obviously out of place. (ex. If your Esk is recalling another Esk, depict clearly that the other Esk is not truly in the same space as them; rather a manifestation of your Esk’s memory.) This goes for objects, places, humans, animals, and Esk alike. If other Esk are depicted, they do not receive the other Esk bonus.
How does this room manifest for your esk? What memory plays out around them in the water, and why is it significant to them?
How does the memory make your Esk feel? Do they long for the life they once had, or are they actively running from it perhaps? Is the memory a fond one, something that they have carried with them through time, or is it something they are trying to forget? Is something holding them back from moving on?
If the Conservatory glass panes aren’t visible due to the Temple room’s walls, you must add some elements of the Temple’s architecture or other magical or fantasy related aspects in your piece in order to qualify for the Quest. This can be achieved by adding in elements that seem unnatural, odd, or set up in a way they would clearly not be on Earth. (ex. A building floating upside down, floating platforms, etc.) These can be personalized to your Esk, so feel free to explore their depictions in creative ways.
When you depict any secondary figures, objects, or places in your work, they must appear distorted, dream-like, or obviously out of place. (ex. If your Esk is recalling another Esk, depict clearly that the other Esk is not truly in the same space as them; rather a manifestation of your Esk’s memory.) This goes for objects, places, humans, animals, and Esk alike. If other Esk are depicted, they do not receive the other Esk bonus.