The Way-Light
The Way-Light, also known as The Guiding Hour, That-Which-Lurks-Beneath and The Rain-Walker, is a Moth-Knock-SH Hour created by Nephilim. He is an urban trickster god associated with neon lights, underground clubs, and rain-soaked misty streets. He is known as a mysterious guide to the mortals who seek him, and his intentions never seem to be entirely clear.
| The Way-Light | |
|---|---|
 | |
| "We call upon The Way-Light, who guides the lost..." | |
| Origin | From-Mist |
| Titles | The Guiding Hour, That-Which-Lurks-Beneath, The Rain-Walker. |
| Names | Pulmo |
| Aspects |
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| Date of arrival | Remarkably old, sporadically active. |
| Owner(s) | Иephilim |
Contents
Description
General Description
The Way-Light is The Guide - He knows all the ways, he knows all the places. Even the most powerful locks and treacherous roads will bend in terror to his name. He has been known to appear as a charming, young white-haired gentleman and give the lost offers they cannot refuse. His antics around the Histories are not very well documented, but known.
His excessive meddling with humans has transformed him, in many ways - He experiences emotions, ephemeral pleasures and even things such as love in the same way mortals do. He enjoys diving into the Histories and sneaking into various events, parties and functions - Or even just masquerading as a customer having cocoa on an old, unnoticed seaside coffee-shop. He places particular value on memories and experiences, as well as fleeting emotions. It is possible to strike deals with him for favours, extra guidance or power, in exchange for prized memories, invitations to mundane (or half-mundane) gatherings, and even simply inspiration. He is a strange, mercurial soul whose attention is difficult to grab, except in certain exceptional cases.
Imagery
The Way-Light is associated with white weasels, will 'o' wisps, untraveled roads, the comfort of light rain, dim neon lights, hidden city side-streets.
History
Appearance
The Way-Light is a wisp. A bright cyan, electric-looking floating wisp. However, he is also capable of masquerading as a human - with the universal traits of cyan eyes, snow-white hair, and pale skin. His "natural" form is a writhing mass of electric cyan tentacles and hundreds of tiny wisps merging and dividing from each-other and pulsing abstract concepts as a form of language, but that is hidden for obvious reasons as he wants to appeal to the mortals he loves so much.
Principles
The Way-Light is the Hour of Guiding, primarily - with a few lesser aspects. He is also a known trickster, and a patron to mapmakers, travelers, navigators and all who are struck by wanderlust. He knows the way to all you desire.
Worship
Cult
Mark
- Temptation: Wanderlust: I want to go. I want to walk somewhere new, to get away from here. But where? What do i truly want?
- Dedication: Wanderlust: I met a man, hair white as snow, who promised me he could guide me to everything I've ever wanted. I'm waiting.
- Ascension: A New Way: I find myself possessed by an unearthly compulsion to document the places i pass on my travels - But only those where realities diverge. I know this to be the Third Mark.
- Ascension: A New Way: I crave the new, the hidden, the old, the open. I now find myself peering into the minds of others, as if i needed to look for something valuable within.
- Ascension: A New Way: The colours of the world are bright and bold, the hidden paths surrounding me are clear to me now. I know where i must go. But to open that strange door, I'll need a special key...
- Ascension: A New Way: I can walk into the sky and into the ground, look into events that were not, find places not meant for lesser beings. His final request to me is now clear as day: "Find me the final rain-drop of a storm that never happened."
- The Gate Beneath:
Servants
Names
"Hold my hand, please, and don't let go..."
Pulmo, Pathkeeper
(Other) Notable Servants
Almia, The Twice-Defiant
The first - and only - Secretarian to have not only left the Scriptorium, but also entered the service of another Hour. She desired to be more than a pawn, and more than a citizen. The Guiding Hour led her to what she desired. And then, she wanted even more.
She is a sassy sheep-woman of remarkable loyalty, who is being taught how to be more independent by the Way-Light. Her Secretarian compulsions are mostly gone, now, but there's always something that remains...
Visually, she appears no different from an average sheep-secretarian, pale-skinned with white and black wool. She dresses like most Way-Long do, and has glowing yellow eyes as a visible mark of her loyalty to the Rain-Walker. She always carries a book with her notes. She signs her letters as "W. L. Almia".
The Duke of Ways
An immortal cat. An otherwise ordinary male silver-coated Egyptian Mau, with turquoise eyes.
He was adopted by the Way-Light, who found him as a wounded stray left in a box,and his title was granted to him by the Princess Prominent, along with his characteristic tiny platinum crown. He wears a tiny navy-blue collar with a platinum tag which reads "I'm not lost - I can find my way!"
He is often found following his master's trails, or swatting at the fireflies of Piazza Incognito's marble obelisk.
Aside from the slight glow in his eyes, and his unusual adaptation to be able to keep sane and healthy under grand amounts of eldritch influence (Or the direct presence of an undisguised Hour), he is a completely mundane pet.
Locations
The Mansus
The City Of Memories
Also known as the Grey Paradise - strange, anomalous underground city in the Mansus dug into the stone, overlooking an invisible sea. It appears as an eclectic mix of various different cities across the Histories, particularly places the Way-Light is fond of. It is dimly lit by wisps and neon lights. Despite being indoors, it is always raining. It is a maze that looks different to each who visit it - You might turn around, and see a completely different path than the one you came from. But if you know the hidden doors, you can find your way to many... Special rooms.
Rainwalker Gallery
A permanent exhibition of strange, unique paintings depicting life on the Wake, with a touch of Hourly influence. All if them seem to be in the style of different famous painters, who all deny having created these pieces. (Of course, they were sworn to secrecy.)
It sits behind an unmarked door, never announcing its presence. But it is a jewel to discover.
Piazza Incognito
A round plaza, built into the edge of a cliff, accessible through the City. It has many little cafés and commodities on its sides, and a massive black marble obelisk in the middle lit by ever-present fireflies. You can sit by the railing and hear the crashing of imaginary waves from there. The Rain-Walker occasionally holds parties in this place.
The Grand Observatory
Sometimes, also referred to as the "Hall of Memories". A magnificent tower, built entirely from bronze. Its walls are lined with windows leading nowhere, yet light comes from behind them. Their colourful stained glass depicts scenes from various mythologies across the Histories - Favouring tales about trickster gods and mystical guides. Its ceiling is covered in twinkling stars, with silver threads connecting them into the guiding constellations used by navigators and sailors.
In this room, The Way-Light stores most of his personal collections. The centerpiece of the highest room is an extremely detailed, firefly-lit fountain shaped as a weeping weasel, with a solemn expression, made of stone and marble, whose every tear is the final raindrop of a storm that never happened. The displays hold many oddities - Maps of cities that don't exist, little pearls containing various memories that have been sacrificed to him by his followers. Other items containing abstract emotions - Speaking a new word for the first time, walking somewhere new, feeling sunlight after being indoors a little too long, Becoming aware of the seasons' changing, that strange feeling of existential dread you get if you think too much about yourself, standing before something of unspeakable majesty and becoming aware of your place in the universe. Sometimes, there are other things. An amulet and a note from an ambitious young lady, a single remaining memory from somebody long vanished, a vial of blood from a certain follower, the broken glasses of an old friend... All the things he considers valuable. Except for the paintings - those are kept in the Gallery.
It is a place of deep peace and contemplation, unknown to any of his followers, or even his Names. The observatory is a well-kept secret, and most believe it does not truly exist.