Chapter Text
The warmth of the budding summer sunrise was a lovely contrast to the cool sea breezes Eela could feel through the small window of her basement bedroom as she prepared for her day. After tying up her copious sky-blue hair into a large bun with a navy ribbon, she made her way upstairs. She had been working for the Pals, who ran the Mercenary Guild in Astrub, for a few years now. The house was silent besides the soft snore of Fish the bow-meow in front of the hearth. On the small, wooden table was the usual to-do list written in Mrs. Pal’s handwriting along with the meticulously-budgeted bag of kamas for necessary purchases from Pappy Pal. But first, she lit the hearth and set a pot of rolled oats to boil. It would be ready in time for the Pal’s to wake up. Fish wound his way around her ankles and mewled for his morning meal of a cold boiled egg.
After feeding the little creature, Eela picked up her list of tasks for the day. It appeared that the Mercenary Guild needed more ration supplies, some armor needed to be dropped off at the blacksmith’s for repairs, and Mammy Pal wanted her to purchase a length of fabric for patching clothing. An easy, short day, it seemed. She folded the list into her pocket and left the house with Fish on her heels.
~~~~~~~
The first thing Eela did was pick up the damaged equipment from the Mercenary Guild so she could drop it off at the blacksmith’s on her way to the market. The gear was heavy, but manageable, and it was only a short walk to the smithy itself. After leaving the armor in the hands of the burly Sadida man, Eela headed off for Astrub’s central market square.
The market was, as usual, fairly crowded even in the morning. The stream of people making their way through the main thoroughfare was flanked on either side by mobile carts and more permanent stalls hawking goods from local vegetables to imported luxuries. To avoid getting trampled, Fish beat a hasty retreat up to perch on Eela’s shoulder as she perused the rolls of fabric at the textile merchant’s stall. After the merchant measured out the yardage of the fabric she had asked for and handed it over, Eela noticed a small clearing in the throng. A little Iop boy, dressed in the typical Iop tunic with a fluff of bright orange hair, stood in the middle of the crowd looking lost. He could not have been older than seven or eight years old, with a small pouch in his hand and a wooden toy sword on his hip. Eela felt bad for the boy, so she wove her way through the crowd to get to him.
“Hey there, kid.You lost?” She asked, unsure how to address this random child as she crouched down to his level.
“Hi, I think I might be. ” He looked a little embarrassed. “I’m Percedal.” He smiled, missing a front tooth.
“Nice to meet you, Percedal. My name’s Eela.” She smiled back. “What’re you doing in the market all by yourself?”
“Master Goultard sent me to get something from the butcher, but I don’t know where that is.” He looked at the woman with wide, adorable eyes. “Can you help me please, Miss Eela?” Eela stood and offered the little Iop her hand.
“Sure! We’ll both get what we need and find our way back to where you belong.” Percedal took her hand and beamed. Eela knew the butcher’s shop was on the opposite side of the marketplace, and getting there would take her past the bakery, where she could pick up the hardtack for the rations. As they walked along, Percedal’s mood had quickly shifted from confused to happy and talkative.
“Master is training me to be a super strong warrior. He’s so cool. I can’t wait until I’m as strong as he is.” He swung his little wooden sword in front of himself. “I’m gonna beat up all kinds of evil monsters!” He jumped about enthusiastically as they approached the bakery, and was quickly distracted from future monster-hunting by the smell of fresh pastries. He stared at the warm rolls while Eela discussed the price of the hardtack biscuits with the baker. As she was handing over the appropriate amount of money, Percedal’s stomach growled loudly. He looked like he was starving. Eela laughed a little and bought one of the soft buns, handing it to the young boy as they left the bakery. He thanked her with a big grin before shoving half of the bread into his mouth. Eela idly wondered if the poor boy was being fed enough.
“So, Percedal, what are you getting from the butcher?” Eela asked, awkwardly trying to make conversation as they made their way through the bustling market.
“Well, we eat mostly meat, so a lot of that. Master just said to give the butcher the bag of kamas and to take home what he gives me.” He reached up to Eela’s shoulder to pat Fish on the head, who happily bumped against Percedal’s hand.
“Don’t you eat anything else?” She asked, concerned about the kid’s wellbeing once again.
“Sometimes, but Master says meat is good for growing muscles. Eggs too. And milk!” He smiled.
“Any vegetables? Fruit? Those are important too.” Eela asked, mildly concerned. Percedal shrugged in response and Eela decided to drop the subject for now as they were approaching the butcher’s shop. She paid for and collected the guild’s order of dried meat before stepping aside to allow Percedal to get to the counter. After handing over his little money pouch, the small boy was handed a paper-wrapped package of meat almost as large as himself. Eela had to steady him from behind as he nearly toppled over trying to carry the parcel. She carefully took the package from him and slung it over one shoulder.
“I can carry it!” Percedal insisted. Eela handed him the lighter bags of jerky and hardtack.
“I think it’d be safer if you carried these instead. Now, do you know how to get back to your master?”
“No idea!”
~~~~~~~
Finding Percedal’s place of residence took the pair north through Astrub city and into the Kanojedo region of the island, just at the base of Astrub’s ore-rich mountain. Eela shifted the heavy parcel of meat from one shoulder to the other, causing Fish to hop down to follow on foot.
“So, Percedal, does any of this look familiar?” She asked. Percedal nodded enthusiastically. Eela had noticed that the little Iop did a lot of things with great enthusiasm.
“Master Goultard should be just up here! I can carry the meat now, Miss Eela.” He offered her back the ration bags and Eela let him hug the parcel to his chest to carry it. He trotted off towards a flight of stairs carved into the mountain and Eela followed. Percedal called out for his master as he climbed the stairs. At the first landing, leaning against a natural pillar of stone, was another, fully-grown Iop man. He had the typical orange hair and was shirtless, which wasn’t entirely a bad thing as he was well-muscled and athletic. When she looked at his face, though, she got a sharp twinge at the base of her skull, the familiar sense of premonition unpleasant.
“Well, Dally-o, you managed to make it back alright. Who’s this you’ve brought with you?” The man, assumedly Master Goultard, asked his apprentice as he looked the blue-haired woman up and down. She was curvy, her legs and waist built of muscle earned by years of hard work, and ample-chested too, which was just his type. Not that he could ever be accused of being picky when it came to a pretty face.
“I got lost, Master. But, Miss Eela helped me!” Percedal replied, snapping the older Iop out of his thoughts. Eela offered her hand for a handshake.
“Just Eela is fine.” She smiled politely, not oblivious to the fact that he had just been checking her out. Goultard took her hand and squeezed it firmly.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Eela. I appreciate you helping Daldal out.” He released her hand and gave her a charming smile.
“Oh, it’s no problem. I don’t mind helping out and your apprentice is a sweet kid.” She watched as Goultard took the butcher’s parcel from the poor, struggling Percedal. “Well, I’ll leave you to your training. It was nice to meet you both. Try to keep from getting lost next time, kid.” She patted him on the head and slung her bag over her shoulder. Percedal waved goodbye to her as she left, Fish jumping back onto her shoulder as she walked away.
~~~~~~~
As she headed back in the direction of the Pal house, the twinge in the back of her head was starting to blossom into a full-on headache. Eela looked around to distract herself from the pain, and her eyes landed on a sign in the window of one of the houses about one street or so down from where she had left Percedal with his master. The sign declared that the house was for sale, the price, that it had two floors, one bedroom, and the address of the seller. It was a nice house, Eela thought, and she had been wanting to find a place of her own. One of the Pals’ grandchildren was going to be coming to Astrub soon to join the Mercenary Guild, so it would be a good time to move out. She made a mental note to contact the seller as she continued on to get the ration supplies to the guild building.
~~~~~~~
Once she was back in the basement of the Pal house, Eela quickly changed into her nightgown and flopped into bed. At this point, the aching in her head had become agonizing and she just wanted to sleep. She pulled the covers over herself and closed her eyes, falling unconscious with surprising ease.
The space that she woke up in was not her bed, but was just as familiar. She was floating in a vast sea of swirling colors, all muted by the infinite blackness they faded into beneath. The sharp, metallic smell of blood and ink filled the air and Eela glanced at her arm to watch her own blue tattoos start to leak thin tendrils of color out into the rest of the ink. She could not move anything other than her eyes and mouth, but that was par for the course. The whispering came next, dozens of voices which Eela knew belonged to her deceased predecessors, or maybe sisters, that were represented by the colors on the surface. She wasn’t quite sure what to call the muddled-together souls. From the depths came a single, clear feminine voice that spoke directly into her ear. Her ‘mother’.
“You met the demigod Goultard, son of Iop.” Sacrier’s voice stated flatly.
“Apparently.” Eela replied, unbothered both by this new information and the lack of greeting. There was no point in asking further questions; she knew she wouldn't get any answers.
“The boy, Percedal, is the new reincarnation of Iop. You will be present to guide him in the direction of his inevitable ascension. However, do not forget your purpose.” Eela rolled her eyes. Here they went again with the reason for her creation, and she was sick of hearing about it. “The demigod would be an excellent candidate for-” With an exertion of immense willpower, Eela forced her arms to move so she could cover her ears with her hands, because she was not going to listen to anything regarding her stupid ‘purpose’, especially if it involved sleeping with someone she hadn't even had a proper conversation with (even if he was hot). This show of defiance clearly displeased the goddess, as Eela immediately plunged into the ink.
She woke with a start, eyes flying open as she raced to grab the bucket kept at her bedside. Into it, she coughed up the blue-black ink that had filled her lungs, followed quickly by the contents of her stomach. The taste of ink and bile was extremely unpleasant, and Eela felt like shit. It was a disgusting reminder of what Sacrier could and would do if she stepped too far out of line. But, since she was already awake and the sun outside was rising, she figured she ought to start the day and got out of bed.