Aspity

Pathologic 2=

Aspity is a mysterious woman and the owner of a Hospice where she offers guidance and advice to both the Townsfolk and members of the Kin.

Description
"A mysterious being. Nobody knows how Aspity came to the town. The consensus is that she must’ve come from the Steppe, and that she isn’t human—a golem the Steppe created. Slow-moving and snarky, her mission is to bring back the Kin’s old ways—but it’s an intuitive, unconscious mission. An associate of Isidor, but a free agent. She acts in peculiar ways, is reclusive, nocturnal, and one hell of a shabby dresser. She also drinks a lot of milk."

- From the game's design documents

Aspity goes by many names. She is called Sahba-ötün, Sahba Usp'tae, and, occasionally, just Sahba. Aspity, like her names, means different things to different people. To some who see her unfavourably, she a mysterious, sinister being who cannot be trusted. To others she is an invaluable guide, a mother, a souvilag'sh - "the one who teaches how to walk". The Kin respect Aspity, though they fear her, too. Despite their fear, they rely on her as she is one of their few remaining interpreters of their ancient lore. Through her, the Kin is able to remember their rites, their speech, and themselves. Aspity is responsible for finding Herb Brides and Odonghe work within the Town, setting them up as dancers or as couriers.

Aspity is often said to be inhuman, made of clay and bone: A shabnak-adyg.

Appearance
Aspity is a short woman with an unhealthy grey and red pallor to her skin. Her eyes are blue, with large pupils indicative of anisocoria, where one pupil is dialted. Her eyes are sunken and there is an unhealthy colour around them. She wears a heavy gown of layered fabric, with a brown hood around her neck. A bag rests across her body, though the contents are never disclosed. The fabric of her clothing is nondescript, though it is possibly made of leather. She wears no shoes, but does wear black wool fingerless gloves. Her nails are black, though it is not clear if these are painted, are subungual hematoma, or if it is to symbolize Aspity's corpse-like appearance.

Background
Aspity appeared in the Town under mysterious circumstances around the time of the First Outbreak. Her history seems intrinsically tied to that of Isidor Burakh, whom she adores blindly. It is said that in curbing the First Outbreak, Isidor created Aspity. She is said to have been sent by the Earth to fulfil a secret task.

Haruspex Route
"My path was called "Earth." I could have told you all why the black soil is not to blame for this catastrophe."

Following the death of Isidor Burakh, who Aspity was close with, she preserves his inheritance so that she may pass it on to his son, the Haruspex. On the day of Isidor's funeral she meets the Haruspex and invites him back to her Hospice so that she may give him his father's possessions. In the inheritance is a meagre collection of coins. herbs, and, most importantly, a list containing eight names: Capella, Khan, Murky, Sticky, Notkin, Grace, Taya Tycheek and the Udurgh. Aspity explains that while she doesn't know why Isidor took an interest in these children, he did spend a lot of his last days with them. She encourages the Haruspex to learn and to follow his father's teachings alongside the teachings of the Kin. She insists that he take care to follow the Lines — the links that connect them and the laws that govern our lives. Ultimately, Aspity wishes for the Haruspex to come into his father's legacy.

Aspity is one of the first sources to discovering what an Udurgh is - the mysterious Eighth listed on Isidor Burakh's inheritance. She explains that an Udurgh is "a body that contains the world." She states that this could mean a number of things, as even such mundane things as a train could be called an Udurgh - though it is unlikely that a learned man such as Isidor would have ever applied the name for something for which there was a simpler and more appropriate name for.

On the day the epidemic begins, Aspity pays close attention to the Haruspex as he attempts to use his father's techniques to help Patches. Aspity doubts him, citing that he is not yet his father, and warns him against helping as she believes that he is not yet and a healer and will fail. If the Haruspex successfully treats Patches, she meets him later in the Haruspex's Lair, praising him for his likeness to his father. If the Haruspex fails and allows Aspity to treat Patches instead, she dies.

On many evenings, the Kin meet at Aspity's Hospice to speak with her. She is a guide to them, allowing them to speak their minds. Aspity insists that it is not the answer that matters, but the question. Her aid is invaluable to the Kin as she is one of the few people who is still willing to help those in the Kin and, most of all, unaffiliated with the Olgimskys. Following the beginning of the epidemic, it is not only the Kin who wishes for her aid, but some of the Townsfolk too - most notably Peter Stamatin and Bad Grief, who come to the Hospice with their own troubles.

It is suggested that Aspity had something to do with the riots in the Termitary.

In the Diurnal Ending, Aspity is found by Taya Tycheek, Oyun, and Notkin. As the Earth dies she, too, believes that she is dying. She tells the Haruspex that she was created by the Earth so that he may have a mother - yet he has turned his back on her. She exclaims that she will go blind and then deaf, and then is is likely that she will die.

In the Nocturnal Ending, Aspity appears atop a Stairway to Heaven, overlooking the changed Town. She praises the Haruspex, celebrating his devotion to the Earth. She will show him the aurochs as they wander the Earth once more, and tell him the Kin are ready to be led by him.

The Marble Nest
During The Marble Nest, she describes herself as a "dream teller," and declares herself a souvilag'sh, meaning "the one who teaches how to walk." During the events of The Marble Nest, Aspity appears in the Bachelor's nightmare to chide him for failing to discover the source of the Sand Plague outbreak in the Stone Yard the previous day. During the day, the Bachelor finds a crowd of people waiting for Aspity to interpret their dreams. Aspity once again rebukes the Bachelor for refusing to accept or understand death, and demonstrates how to "die properly" — crumpling to the ground before him, lifeless, only to reappear outside.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Aspity/Spoken Dialogue

Description
"Appearance: Either an adult or a child; either a girl or a boy; either human or not. Everything about Aspity is uncertain, even her name. Her eyes change color: moss green, dark grey, brown. Her expressions are calm, yet her face subtly changes if you keep your eyes locked on it. Her lips are pallid, the eyes are looking down. She has beautiful auricle, small and delicate, with a small lobe.

Pose: Seated, knees pulled together, hands resting on her thighs with the palms down.

Personality: A mysterious creature. Nobody knows how Aspity appeared in Town. Most think she came from the Steppe and that she is not a human, but a Steppe spirit created to fulfill some ulterior goal which mere mortals cannot comprehend. Aspity acts weird: she lurks and flies with the owl. Her fashion style is incomprehensible: sometimes she would dress decently, other times she covers herself in rags. Aspity drinks a lot of milk and has a strange way of talking: she acts as someone who is completely absorbed in their objective and only rarely remembers that the outside world exists. She can wake up in the middle of a street, pull a stranger by the button of their coat and, while acting all buddy-buddy, demand they explain what kind of spices are preferred by the local pork butches in this particular season. Katerina gave Aspity a warm welcome and found shelter for her. In return, Aspity nonchalantly asked why there was no Saburov Tomb in the Cemetery and how soon it was going to be built. Aspity doesn’t reciprocate anyone’s attempts to befriend her, she ignores any questions as if she can’t hear them. If one repeats their question she still manages to miss the point. Despite such antics, townsfolk don’t consider her to be out of her mind. Something tells them so. "

- From original Pathologic character concepts

The Kin call her "Sahba-ötün", she calls herself "Aspae-inun", and the locals quickly corrupted that name to "Aspity". She describes herself as a spirit created by the Earth to fulfill the will of the Law: to destroy "the vile Utopia" which should not exist. She describes herself as a spirit of revenge and the subtle dread of changing times.

She is sardonic, snide, fears no one, and seems to hate almost all people.

Background
She is often called an evil spirit and a product of the Earth; a mysterious creature. No one knows where she came from—only that she appeared during the First Outbreak.

Appearance
Aspity has short black hair, green eyes, and a dour look on her face. She wears a large brown robe that is quite similar to a burlap sack, with a large hood that she does not pull up. Her hands are gnarled and thin. It is unclear if Aspity wears shoes or not.

Spoken Dialogue

 * → See Aspity/Spoken Dialogue