In a dark, frigid cave deep within the mountains, a young, albino rat kin lay on its side on the icy ground, dragging its injured body through a narrow passage hidden within the cavern walls. Its white fur, stained with blood, and its green eyes, filled with nothing but pain and desperation, told a story of suffering. A whisper, ever-present in its mind since birth, now grew louder and clearer, driving its every action as its life hung precariously in the balance.
as the little one made its way into a crack into wall that the whisper led them, follow the whisper the blood stain albino rat kin found itself in a stone room in underground structure by the made by the sight of it seem to be made by tool Enco the whisper within their mind.
The stone room was less cold inside than the cave it had been born in, on the other side of the crevice. It was much larger than the small, bloodstained albino rat-kin, but that didn't matter to it. What mattered were the several clay jars that the whisper directed its attention to, urging it forward.
The little albino rat-kin shuffled towards a group of jars, following the whisper's guidance, until it reached a cracked clay pot. The fracture exposed the contents, spilling its bottom open and scattering what lay within onto the ground. Pink mushrooms had tumbled out, catching the rat-kin's gaze. As it stared at the mushrooms, a word surfaced in its mind, carried by the same whisper: "Equbrosia."
"Equbrosia."
When consumed, it granted the body regenerative effects, nourished the soul, and served as a vital ingredient in alchemy for crafting the rare soul-nurturing potion.
The bloodstained albino rat-kin's murky green eyes flickered with confusion. It didn't understand how it knew this, but it couldn't dwell on the thought for long. The relentless pain from its injuries echoed through its mind, driving it to focus instead on the mushrooms. Guided by the whisper and the pain, the rat-kin reached out with its small claw and grasped one of the pink mushrooms.
"Equbrosia."
It brought the mushroom to its mouth and took bite after bite. There was no taste, only the metallic tang of blood from its internal injuries filling its mouth. Yet it continued to eat, driven by instinct and the hope of relief.
Immediately, the mushroom took effect, and a warm current flowed through its body, easing the pain enough for it to move. It got off its side and began eating more and more of the mushroom.
One by one, it filled its mouth with chunks of the pink mushroom.
As it did so, the whispers became clearer, and the light in its eyes began to shine brighter, losing the murkiness of its green hues. The whispers in its mind grew louder and clearer, and deep within, its soul grew stronger as both its physical and spiritual injuries began to heal.
When thirst came, it drank from an old pool near another broken crate filled with glass jars and surrounded by shards of broken glass. The pool, filled with a dark pink potion, brought to its mind the thought that it was the remains of a soul-nurturing potion, accompanied by the whispers.
The albino rat kin stayed in the stone room for three days and three nights, eating the mushroom and drinking from the pool made of broken glass and potion.
Its wounds healed on the first day, but it stayed, continuing to eat the pink mushroom and listen to the whispers that filled its head. It watched the images that flowed into its mind—images it did not initially understand. But as it ate and time passed, understanding gradually dawned.
The images were memories, the whispers were thoughts—not from the mind of this small, blood-stained, albino rat-kin body, but from its soul. It didn't understand how it knew this; it just did.
The little rat-kin recognized that the thoughts of the soul were true, and it trusted this soul within itself, for it was a part of itself. Now, as the thoughts of the soul filled the green-eyed rat-kin's mind, the images became clearer. They were memories of its life as a human. It had been a warlock, and the Star Maker had been its patron—the master of the Stellar Forge.
The Star Maker had guided it through countless battles, leading it to the peak of its world. It had been so close to ascension, on the verge of becoming a patron like the Star Maker itself, and then...
???
Confusion clouded the little albino rat-kin's green eyes. Speaking in the guttural, beastly tongue of the vermin race that came with its birth, it whispered to itself, "Nothing. I can't remember."
The little rat-kin couldn't recall what had happened. It could only remember the feeling that came flooding into its mind—pain. Great pain. Not pain of the body, but of the soul.
Yes, that's what happened—someone attacked their soul when they tried to ascend. That must be it.
Speaking again to themselves in the beast tongue, they muttered, "I need to make contact with the Star Maker. They must know what happened to me."
"To do that, I need soul essence, and it seems the only thing I can use are these mushrooms," they continued, glancing around. There were no better resources in sight than the Equbrosia.
"I'm not strong enough to kill the other rat kin outside the cave for their essence. I don't know why—just that I mustn't leave until I'm ready."
"When I have enough essence, I will leave this room and the cave. I'll make my way to the surface, but I must wait for night. I need to be under the starlit sky to make contact with the Star Maker. Yes, that's what I must do."
"Unh... the pain," they groaned, clutching their little green-eyed head in their hands. Breathing deeply, they endured the stabbing ache until it finally dulled to a more tolerable throb.
The albino, green-eyed rat kin stood motionless for several minutes before speaking softly to themselves once more.
"My soul is damaged and weak, and I can feel the harm affecting my memory. Only my Patron can fix this. Oh no, I need to make contact with the Star Maker! If my soul isn't stabilized quickly, it could break apart, and I will be completely lost. I have a limited amount of time to reach them and have the Star Maker repair this."
"Need to eat more mushrooms, yes, eat more mushrooms!"
"I'll use the mushrooms to nurture my soul and create some soul essence within it. With this method, I can make contact with the Star Maker. This could work—it just needs a little time."
The little young Ratkin continued to eat the picked mushrooms, formulating a plan while also taking stock of their surroundings. They looked around the small stone room, taking inventory.
There were cracks throughout the walls of the cave. Other than the hole they came through, there was a sealed door, most likely connecting to other rooms in this underground structure. While counting the several clay jars, they noticed two crates of undamaged potions—soul-nurturing potions.
"Good stuff. This place seems to be a storage room of some kind. Wonder what its origin is."
"I can work with this."
The little green-eyed Ratkin picked up two pink mushrooms in their mouth and chewed on them.
"I just need to be patient and nurture my soul's essence."