Of all the creatures in the Bestiary of the Void, none is encountered more often than the Gripper. The Wardens estimate that the average faithful carries between three and eleven at any given time, more after a bad raid night.
Identification
Grippers are small, no larger than a thumbnail, grey, lizard-like, with disproportionately large hands. They are rarely seen directly. They are felt. A faithful with Grippers feels heavy for no clear reason, replays old conversations in the shower, and finds that a loot roll from Tuesday is still somehow happening on Saturday.
Habitat
Grippers attach to anything that is held too long: grudges, worries, arguments, regrets, and especially the memory of being slightly wronged in a group. They thrive in the dark, in the late hours, and in unsent messages.
The evening check
The Wardens recommend a simple procedure each night. Think of the thing that bothered you most today. If it still feels heavy, there is a Gripper on it. Do not panic. Do not pull. Grippers cannot be pulled off; they only cling tighter.
Three methods that work
- Laughter. Grippers cannot hold on while you are laughing. Tell the story of the thing that bothered you, but tell it as a comedy. The worse the wipe, the better the story.
- Sunlight. Ten minutes of Basking, in the game or out of it, loosens most Grippers. This is Vyrenna's method: warmth makes holding unnecessary.
- Kindness to someone else. The most effective method, and the most surprising. Do something kind for a third party, unrelated to the thing you are gripping. The Gripper is so startled that it lets go. The Wardens believe this is Nhalor's method, though Nhalor has not confirmed it.
What does not work
Arguing with the Gripper. Proving you were right. Posting about it. Typing a long message and then deleting it, then typing it again. These feed the Gripper. Tem's Circle, the empty ring beside an unforgiven name, is the honest alternative: you do not have to forgive yet, but you leave room.