HistoryYul’tua is small, even by Charoda standards; she is also still very young, just having turned 15. Most Charoda her age would have just finished their life lessons, but Yul’tua’s life took a sour turn in the winter of 509AV. Her mother, father and Yul’tua as well were captured by Myrians. The young girl had no really knowledge of these people, she knew they were dangerous, but the stories she had heard were to scare the children from wandering where they should not. Yul’tua found herself at the hands of these Myrians, her parents were happily taken, but Yul’tua was argued over. A younger Myrian, a boy, was arguing with an adult woman who had a scar over her face. Their conversation seemed to turn aggressive, the woman was adamant about her side, grabbing the boy by the wrist as he reached out for Yul’tua. The young Charoda had been scared into silence, trembling slightly as she watched the two tower over her.
The final resolution was made and the boy walked off, clearly displeased with the conclusion. The woman remained next to Yul’tua, quickly lifting the small girl around the waist, carrying her with little effort. Yul’tua remained silent as the woman carried her to the cliff that overlooked Faleyk Gulf. The woman then spoke to the Charoda .
“Do you speak Common, fish?” she asked in the trade tongue.
The Charoda nodded, a slight motion. Its glass-like eyes gave away nothing but the expression of dread on its face spoke volumes. Siiri ignored it.
“Good.” The Myrian pulled out a dagger, a nasty weapon with a serrated blade as long as her forearm. The creature began to struggle feebly against her hold at the sight of it. “Quit it.” She shook it once, hard, and its thrashings ceased. She held the dagger up between them and displayed its wicked edge.
“Know that I did not spare you out of any feelings of compassions or benevolence,” Siiri began, but hesitated halfway as if unsure of what she truly felt. Some internal battle seemed to rage in her psyche as she regarded the creature before her. Something must have won out eventually, for her expression suddenly hardened. She slashed at the left side of the Charoda’s face viciously, carving her weapon deeply to make sure the wound did not heal properly but making sure to keep the eye undamaged.
“I have thus marked you, fish,” Siiri declared, tapping her own scar with the bloodied dagger to emphasize the significance of the wound she had just inflicted. Despite the haze of pain it must be in, the woman was mildly surprise to find the Charoda child was actually listening to her. Its attention was focused solely on her. She continued: “Know that it was I, Siiri of the Snapping Jaws, who sealed the fate of your sires. Remember that. When you are old enough to hold a blade of your own and wish for vengeance, seek me out. I will welcome it.”
Her short speech ended, Siiri flung the Charoda bodily into the sea. The creature vanished under the surface, only to reappear several yards away. The salt water must have caused it excruciating pain for it clutched its wounded face in its small webbed hands as its blood mingled with the brine.
“Now get lost. If I see you again, I will catch you and break your limbs and let you watch as I eat your intestines.” Siiri picked up a good-sized rock and hurled it at the Charoda. It would have hit the creature squarely had it not ducked under the water and swam farther away. Its head broke the surface once more but by then Siiri was already walking back towards her troupe. She turned once last time to catch a glimpse of the child, adrift alone in the sea, one hand covering its wound in an attempt to stem the bleeding, the other reaching out for its lost parents.
Since the death of Yul’tua’s parents, the child has changed, matured. Before the events of that day, Yul’tua was carefree, playful. She spent her days with her lessons and the evenings with family, her mother would teach her singing lessons and her father would have her make small coral creations. The Charoda found herself lost, alone in the sea, her face burned as the brine filled the wound. Where was the child to go? She did not remember the way home, she did not have anyone there she wanted to be with. She wanted her father, her mother. The creature sank to the floor of the sea and wept for days until she could no longer bare the hunger growing in her stomach.
The Charoda swam away from the Myrians, away from the pain they had caused her. She found the coast, but did not approach it, she simply followed the coastline as it twisted and bent. She traveled alone for many days, singing to herself during the day and scavenging for food and creating small shelters of coral.
The creature found herself surfacing during the night along the coast of Syliras, such a strange looking city! The curiosity of the Charoda piqued as she slowly and cautiously swam towards the shore.
[[The quote is from
Meat is Meat ]]
