First - How did Ugly Cute survive governor’s Heh’s failed ritual when other kami like Great Willow perished?
Second - Ugly Cute witnessed the failed ritual and utter death of the town but that isn’t burned into its memory, only having witnessed what it thinks is a dream or premonition of a ruined Willowshore. Did the ritual have a visible manifestation? I assume that art from book 1 with the flying blood monsters snatching up townsfolk is that of the failed ritual.
Thirdly- Ugly Cute would remember the last year before the ritual now that it has become part of the mindscape, right? How aware of events in town is it? Did it used to wander around incorporeal when the town was still alive? Great Willow is well known and a source of guidance and information to the town, was Ugly Cute the same? Did it talk to people?
You know, I had the impression that the people of Willowshore didn't actually know whether Ugly Cute was a spirit guardian for sure. Granny Hu regards the idea that they just awoke on its own as faintly ridiculous, and suggests that whatever animated the spider could be malicious, not benevolent. However, at the same time Ugly Cute is clearly aware on some level of what's happening around them, since they said to know all the PCs by name.
I think the easiest explanation for Ugly Cute's memories is to rely on the fact that the passage of time probably works very differently for long-lived celestial spirit statues. It's probable they were not even 'awake' (whatever that means in stone spider terms) during the time of the ritual, and never learned what happened. Of course, as you say, it believes its memories from that time to be a horrible dream, so it may not even clearly recall what it saw then.
As for how Ugly Cute survived, we don't know what actually killed everyone else, so it's impossible to say, but it seems the easiest answer is that Ugly Cute was in some way immune to whatever effect the failed ritual had, whether because it was shielded by its stone vessel body or because of some other detail of how the ritual was supposed to work. I was going to suggest perhaps the ritual drained life like void damage, but then I saw that they are only immune to healing, not void.
Given Granny Hu's reaction, I suspect UG's relationship with the town is almost entirely 'silent statue observer' that loves their charges, but doesn't otherwise make their presence known, although everybody in town knows somebody who swears they saw something when they were out drunk one night, or sometimes sad children feel a comforting ghostly pedipalp on the shoulder when near the spider gate, but can't explain where it came from.
Also, now that you mention it, without looking closely I'd assumed the image of the ritual you refer to was something relating to the Night of Broken Blades, but it seems pretty clearly to be coming from something more like the governor's mansion, and clearly is in a town, not a monastery. Red apparitions made up of hell butterflies scooping up the townsfolk and dropping them... I'd repress that, too, if I were Ugly Cute!
You know, I had the impression that the people of Willowshore didn't actually know whether Ugly Cute was a spirit guardian for sure. Granny Hu regards the idea that they just awoke on its own as faintly ridiculous, and suggests that whatever animated the spider could be malicious, not benevolent. However, at the same time Ugly Cute is clearly aware on some level of what's happening around them, since they said to know all the PCs by name.
I think the easiest explanation for Ugly Cute's memories is to rely on the fact that the passage of time probably works very differently for long-lived celestial spirit statues. It's probable they were not even 'awake' (whatever that means in stone spider terms) during the time of the ritual, and never learned what happened. Of course, as you say, it believes its memories from that time to be a horrible dream, so it may not even clearly recall what it saw then.
As for how Ugly Cute survived, we don't know what actually killed everyone else, so it's impossible to say, but it seems the easiest answer is that Ugly Cute was in some way immune to whatever effect the failed ritual had, whether because it was shielded by its stone vessel body or because of some other detail of how the ritual was supposed to work. I was going to suggest perhaps the ritual drained life like void damage, but then I saw that they are only immune to healing, not void.
Given Granny Hu's reaction, I suspect UG's relationship with the town is almost entirely 'silent statue observer' that loves their charges, but doesn't otherwise make their presence known, although everybody in town knows somebody who swears they saw something when they were out drunk one night, or sometimes sad children feel a comforting ghostly pedipalp on the shoulder when near the spider gate, but can't explain where it came from.
Also, now that you mention it, without looking closely I'd assumed the image of the ritual you refer to was something relating to the Night of Broken Blades, but it seems pretty clearly to...
I guess that the intent is Ugly Cute is symbolic but not outwardly active, as you said , a silent guardian kinda sitch.
Easy enough to just say Ugly Cute was protected by its vessel (the statue) whereas Willow was projecting into natural materials and more vulnerable to the failed ritual. Ugly Cute is likely more powerful due to how its presence was able to suppress Kugaptee - its destruction is what starts the whole chaos in the mindscape after all.Thanks for bouncing ideas around with me, dude.