The little girl didn’t know where she came from or what brought her to the streets of Kraken’s Fall. She knew that rainy days meant she struggled to find food to eat and she knew she was completely alone.
On a run in with the other ‘street rats’ of Kraken’s Fall, fighting over scraps from a butcher, she uttered her first words, loud and full of fury “I’ll kill yea. I’LL KILL YA. I’LL KILL YA.” The words poured from her as she punched and scratched wildly. Watching from the doorway of a tavern was Radcliffe Murden, a suave rising member of The Fine Gentlemen. A ruthless, controlling guild that gripped much of the city with fear. He was amused by the feral creature and called her over, tempting her with a pear – which he swapped for what was in her hand… a eye ball plucked from the socket of the street rats she had been fighting. To Radcliffe Killia (he named her from her first screamed words) was a party trick, a pet, a tiny, furious critter he would set on people when they did wrong. Laughing while she scratched and railed at them. To Killia Radcliffe was her savior who gave her a roof and a bed and meals. But time passed and Killia became a gawky 13 year old. Radcliffe, now top dog in the guild, no longer found her charming and, not knowing what do with the shift in their relationship, sent her to an indentured member of the guild, Molone, who was to teach her how to be a proper fighter so she could better serve the cause. Molone, stoic and silent, taught Killia more than just fighting but how to be independent. He slowly severed her dependency on Radcliffe by teaching her to need nothing and no one and most importantly he corrected her moral compass showing her a path that did not include darkness. Killia was happy to discover that she was not stupid and not inept, as she had always thought, though she could not quite shake her fondness for shiny things. Soon Killia was a confident, capable eighteen year old and had begun plotting with Molone a way of escaping the guild together. Molone had borrowed money in a failed business venture and was now indentured to them indefinitely. After careful planning the two stole away, taking a few weapons and some provisions for the road. For a year they lived on the run, hunting and sleeping in forests and never staying in one place for too long. Killia was happier than she had ever been. Soon enough, as their bond grew closer, Molone realized they had to find a place to settle, even just for a bit. Together they entered a monastery and further developed their skills in fighting with and without weapons. One night the monastery was woken to flames licking up the stone walls. The Fine Gentleman had finally caught up with them. The assault on the monastery was brutal and long and many of the monks lost their lives to the sheer numbers that Radcliffe had employed to take revenge. Molone was mortally wounded and screamed for Killia to run, which she did, throwing herself from the burning ruin and sprinting away. For a time after that she ran as far and as fast as she could, tormented by the memories of what she had seen. Without Molone or something to believe in she found the lessons she had learned slipping from her mind. She became, once again, greedy and ruthless and self serving. After all, what was the point in being good and kind and forging bonds if those she loved could be brutally slaughtered in front of her? Then one day while trying to flog the belongings of someone she had killed she found herself in possession of some stones that would change the course of her life…. |