Ash & Ether · Record 005 · Entity Encounters
It doesn’t love you. It just hates who hurt you more.
Fictional archive story · Horror / dark fantasy
The record
The figure is found curled beneath a hedge after a night of rain. Its surface resembles old wood. Red vines wrap its shoulders, and its face is hidden beneath a crown of branches. No one sees it move. By morning, it is closer to the house.
The attachment
It appears to those who have carried an old hurt for too long. At first, the signs are almost comforting. A threatening visitor forgets the address. A cruel message disappears before it can be read. A voice that once made the inhabitant afraid falls silent whenever the figure is nearby.
Protection begins as relief. Only later does it become difficult to distinguish protection from possession.
The rules
Do not give it a list of names. Do not mistake anger for an instruction you can take back. Never bring it indoors. If its branches begin to resemble a familiar face, stop speaking about that person in its presence.
The consequence
The figure does not understand forgiveness. It recognizes injury and the person associated with it. Reconciliation means nothing to a thing whose entire purpose was formed around an old wound.
One account describes a keeper who finally made peace with someone from their past. That evening, thorns covered both sides of the front door. The figure had decided that allowing the person inside would be another kind of harm.
Archivist’s warning
Born from pain. Bound to protect. Before accepting a guardian, consider whether it will ever agree that you are safe.
Relics from this record
Wear the design connected to this story.
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All rituals, entities, and events in this record are fictional and intended for storytelling and entertainment. These are not real-world instructions.