Upon Immortality, Upon Vengeance

A fate worse than death is being immortal.

Living eternally is full of treasures and joys, but also heartbreak and loss. I have learned that first-hand. Some occurrences befell upon me in natural ways, but others were abnormal.

Abnormal in the way that changes a person for the rest of their life.

On a cold day in a murky land, a child was born to a husband and wife. The two were overjoyed with their newborn child. A small pale daughter they lovingly named Laika.

The daughter had pale blue eyes and black hair. When she first opened her eyes, she was not aware of the merciless world she had been brought into.

The husband and wife had a quaint little shop in the small town of Quimi on the sleepy land of Kytmat. The shop sold potions and books, and their owners taught newcomers basic magic. The shop was very popular amongst the village folk. The most divine item sold at the shop were the amulets which warded away bad luck. Travellers came from across the land to purchase just one of these amulets. The husband and wife were overjoyed that they could help so many people. Their daughter, still small and feeble, looked up to her parents and loved them dearly. In fact, many people loved them for their countless good deeds.

However, not everyone admired their work. The god of misfortune, Lorosa, despised what the couple was doing. He saw it as an insult to his hard work. Lorosa, in vain, took it upon himself to stop the couple from making these amulets in any way he could.

Lorosa, a bitter god who has never felt loved, wanted the couple to suffer as much as possible. Swiftly, he made it so the wife came down with a small cough. Something minor that would be easily overlooked.

A month had passed, the cough had become more violent and painful. The wife could hardly speak anymore. She now has a personal cloth so that she may spit blood into privately, away from the curious eye of the public.

Another month slips away and the wife’s muscles start to fail. One morning she slipped and fell onto the stone flooring. The husband and child rush to her side and help her to bed. The wife gives a small smile to her loving family, and assures them that she will become better in due time.

Three years. Three dreadful years come along slowly and the wife has only but a thread connected to this living realm. She got worse every day, but every day she smiled and told her family that she had hope. The husband had no hope left for his wife, neither did their daughter. In only a few short days did the wife pass away. The same day she finally gave up hope

In his wife’s death, the husband became dependent on the local tavern’s alcohol. He would come home reeking of a day’s worth of drinking. All the money he saved was wasted over the next ten years. The shop was forced to close.

In his drunken antics, the widower would come home and attack his child. Most times for seemingly no reason.

As time passed, the guilt in the widower grew. The slow passing of his wife, the loss of the shop, the physical pain he caused his daughter. His guilt was what killed him, it drove him to hang himself. Leaving his daughter to find the body.

When Lorosa was done with his torture, he lifted his misfortunes off of the family. He was bored of torturing the same family. He felt satisfied, as if he got away with his actions.

The lonesome daughter was all that was left of the family. When her father died, she knew it was time to leave. As she was packing her things, the daughter realized that none of this was natural. So much misfortune has struck her family all at once. It was the work of a god.

It was that day the daughter swore vengeance on the god of misfortune, but in silence. In fear she would be watched by the god’s eye, she stayed quiet.

For the next two years of her life, Laika lived in makeshift houses in forests, or abandoned strongholds. None of which were fit for human survival. In her spare time she would read spell books, teaching herself basic magic. The learning paid off, as she quickly moved from basic magic to advanced in little time. Soon she consumed all the magic books she had and moved onto the ones about potion making.

In her travels, one night Laika discovered a large ship ready to set sail into the ocean. It was her chance to escape the land.

In the crowd of people there was a man wearing a dark cloak, it was almost impossible to see any features on his face. Laika waited until the man strayed away from the crowd to approach from behind. She carefully placed her hand on his back, and he fell with a soft thud. A slumber spell.

Laika stripped the man of his cloak and ran towards the boat. She sneaked past the loaders and jumped onto where they were loading the cargo. Laika moved the crates slightly to make room for herself, then she opened up the book and continued studying. Completely unaware of where the boat was going.

After a long journey, the boat had finally docked in a port. Laika carefully slipped out when the loaders opened up the hatch.

Before her was a grassy green land, filled with trees and fauna. Up ahead, she could see a water tower. Which meant there must be a town up ahead.

As Laika walked closer to the tower, she could hear the sounds of children playing and others conversing. When she emerged from the trees, the local townsfolk gawked at her. A mysterious woman in a dark cloak, carrying a sack of books. It was understandable.

Laika continued to move ahead, she wanted to know where she was.

Loud noises rang out from a tavern, the sound of youthful drunks polluted the air. It was probably the best place to get information, that is if anyone in there is sober enough to speak.

Inside the tavern were a bunch of rowdy drunk men who were all trying to sing different songs at once. It was impressive on how bad it was. Laika approached the bar and signaled for the man pouring ale into a glass.

“Yes? What can I serve you?” asked the man. He was short and has a full red beard, also quite muscular.

“Tell me where I am.” Laika demanded to know.

The man slides the ale glass down the bar, which another patron down the way skillfully catches. “You’re in Pracktin, here in the land of Rumelia. You’re new here, aren’t you?” he informed.

Laika nodded her head. “I’m a traveller, I guess. Do you know a place I can stay for the night in this town?” she asked.

“Well, there isn’t any inn within this town, that’s for sure.” he said.

It was becoming quite obvious that this information wouldn’t benefit her, so Laika stood up to leave.

Just before she could be completely out the door, the man spoke up again; “However, if you’re desperate for shelter. There’s this abandoned shop in the little nook of the this town, just a few buildings down from here. I doubt anyone will mind you squatting there, nobody has worked there in years.” he said.

Now this was beneficial information.

Laika ran towards the abandoned shop in the nook of Pracktin. Unsurprisingly, it looked very unsettling. The wood was rotting, and the smell was unpleasant. But for now, it had to be a home. Laika pulled on the door to open, but it wouldn’t budge. She took and few steps back and ran at the door with full force against her shoulder. The door swung open and Laika fell onto the dusty and bug-ridden floor.

There were shelves placed along the walls, nets were hung from the ceiling. There was even a teller desk near the back of the shop. When looking further, Laika found an old potion making set under the countertop.

With this discovery, among others, she had an idea.