Origins: Keziya

I was born in Theldan, a small town south of Lake Skylla in the province of Thermdor, of Ovandor. It was a small, peaceful village, much like any other. My mother is an elf from the forest of Ishal, along the border of Thermdor and its neighbor Baalven. My father was an explorer, born and raised in the village. Their tale of meeting was one of classic romance; he stumbles upon her clan in the forest, and she tries to kill him. Over time they grow fond of each other, and eventually fall in love. My tale is not so simple.

My story begins on a warm night, on the fifteenth of Scaldere. I was taking my usual nightly walk, enjoying the smell of fresh fields and grass, and imagining make-believe adventures and stories. As I walked down the road toward the village entrance, I saw something odd in the distance. It seemed to be a walking shadow. However, monsters and such normally didn't traverse this area, as it was mainly under Skylla, the dragon of the lake's control. Despite this knowledge, I drew my trusty boot knife and proceeded toward the village's entrance, where torches were lit to light the way for travelers. I waited until it approached, not allowing whatever it may be to catch me off guard. But, as it drew nearer, I noticed that the shadow was not some monster, but a woman, slowly trudging toward me. Still wary, I took one of the torches from the gate and proceeded toward the woman slowly. Now finally seeing that she was harmless, I rushed to her aid. After sheathing my knife I took her by the shoulder and shook briskly, attempting to snap her out of whatever daze she was in. "Hey! Hey! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" It was no use. She seemed to be so exhausted that all she could do to stay conscious was continue walking. Not seeing any other choice, I picked her up over my shoulder, and carried her back to the village. After returning the torch to the village gate, I brought the strange girl to my home, and laid her on my bed. Soon after she fell asleep, which I couldn't disturb, for fear it would do more harm than good.

The next morning I sat in the small main room of our home, eating some bread and milk when I saw her enter from passage to my room. Mother and father were outside, still unaware that there was some strange lady in our home; which gave me a small bit of relief, as I feared what their reactions would be if they found her. The girl rubbed her right eye tiredly as she entered, heading straight for the loaf of bread that was sitting on the table. Without a word she snatched it up and began devouring it like a starved animal. I simply watched her, guessing that her hunger must have been intense to so rudely take someone else's food without permission. When she had finished, I pushed the jug of milk toward her, and watched as she practically drowned herself trying to drink it all as quickly as possible. When she was finished with that, she simply dropped the wooden jug, and let it splash in the mess she had made. At that moment, all she could do was stare at me, most likely trying to discern who I am, and why she was in my home. I, on the other hand, used that opportunity to truly examine her.

She was a human, no doubt, covered in dirt and grime, and what seemed bruises. She had long, filthy blonde hair, and striking green eyes. Being the only thing that wasn't covered in dirt, her eyes are what struck me the most, pulling me in, and making me not want to look away. After a moment I shook my head, amusedly thinking she had the eyes of a succubus. However, once that moment had passed, she finally spoke.

"Who are you…?" Her voice was quiet, afraid, even, probably expecting me to rape and murder her while her guard was down.

"It's alright, you don't have to be afraid," I told her first, trying to dispel any fears she might have of me murdering her. "I'm Keziya. I found you just outside the village utterly exhausted. You didn't seem to be good shape, so I thought it would be best to bring you back here."

She looked down, avoiding eye-contact as she replied with a simple, "oh…" When she looked back up, her face was greeted with a smile, which she hesitantly returned. "Thank you… For saving me; and for the food. I'm very grateful…"

I just waved a hand at her thanks, "what kind of guy would I be if I left a girl to collapse and get pecked at by the crows? Don't worry about it." I smiled at her again and passed her another loaf of bread. "You seem to be pretty hungry. Did you not eat at all during your journey?"

"If you don't mind, I'd… Rather not talk about it," she now took off small bits of bread, trying to act more polite now that she fully realized her circumstances.

"Oh… Well, can you at least tell me your name?"

After swallowing a small bit of bread, she replied, "Sofia."

With a smile and a nod, I got up and took her hand, before shaking it in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Sofia. I hope you find your stay in Theldan a peaceful one." Once the introduction was over, I went outside to help mother and father in the field, and brave their reactions when I told them of our guest.

Surprisingly enough, mother and father took the news quite well. At that moment, they admitted to me that they had always wanted a daughter, but feared father was growing to old to raise another child from infancy. They accepted Sofia into the family soon after meeting her, from which they proceeded to immediately bathe and clothe her, using some of mine since mother's would be far too small. Sofia melded into the family well, quickly adopting farm life, and eagerly working to repay her debt to us.

As time went on, Sofia and I grew closer and closer. Acting more like brother and sister, or best friends at first, but then moving on to something more. I remember one night, laying beside her on the roof of the house, and looking up at the stars. She asked me, "Keziya, do you believe in fate?"

A little perplexed by her question, I could merely come up with, "I dunno. Why?"

She just shrugged and kept looking up at them. "Back home, my mother always told me that our fates could be discerned by the stars. She said that everyone was born under a certain star, and that the way it revolved around the world was the way to see what would happen in your future."

I turned my head to look at her as she pondered away, still staring intently at the night sky. "That does make sense, in a way." I began to think about what she had said, returning my gaze to the sky and wondering if the Gods placed those certain stars in the sky as a means to watch over us.

I then noticed her turn on her side to face me. "It's strange though… If people have believed this for so long, how come they haven't figured it out yet?"

This time it was my turn to shrug as I turned my head to face her once again. "Maybe no one can figure out which star is theirs? There are a lot up there, and they all look the same… I can see why it'd be tough to figure out."

She rolled onto her back again and continued to look up. "I suppose you're right… Maybe it's for the best? If everyone knew what was going to happen in their lives, nothing would be a surprise!"

A small laugh escaped my throat as I thought about how atrocious a world without surprises would be. In my eyes, it was for the better. If people knew their fates, how many of them would try to change it?

"You know, I'm kind of glad I can't see my fate," Sofia interrupted my thoughts with this statement, pulling me away from them with her whimsical voice. "If I could, then I wouldn't have ended up here, and I wouldn't have been able to meet you."

A large smile spread across my lips at her words, and my view of the sky was soon blocked by her pretty face. With no words left to speak, she leaned down and kissed me. I savored the soft feeling of her lips upon mine every time they met, but this time was better for reasons I couldn't imagine. For a moment she broke away, only to whisper "I would give my star to be with yours forever." Once her lips returned to mine, I held her close to me, not wanting her to ever leave me.

This was the first night she and I ever made love.

Two years passed, and we were as happy as we were when we first met. Sofia and I were planning on getting our own home away from mother and father, and maybe even raise a family. I toiled away in the fields, and she went to the north of town to the market, where she'd buy fish imported from Skylia, and the occasional dress. One day though, around evening meal, she came home as white as a ghost. Worried, I stepped to her and took her by the shoulders. "Sofia, are you alright? You look like you've seen a dragon!" She just looked at me, but briefly shook her head after a moment.

"It's nothing. I brought the fish! They had Spined Rhinefish today! I just had to buy some and bring it back! It was a little more expensive than usual, but… I figured we should treat ourselves once in a while!" Mother and Father agreed with large smiles, mother not wasting any time in taking the fish from Sofia to clean and cook it. With a smile Sofia sat and waited, using the opportunity to talk off father's ear with the day's adventures. Apparently there had been a dress made of leaves and bird's feathers. She laughed and told father how ridiculous it was until mother cleared her throat. Father merely laughed and told Sofia that elves often wore such dresses during times of celebration. Sofia promptly shut her mouth in response. My mother simply laughed and explained how she thought it was ridiculous as well. At this revelation we all started laughing, although Sofia's was a tad more uneasy than the rest.

The next morning I awoke to an already made breakfast. Sofia had her cute little apron on, and was slowly toasting the bread over the oven fire. I smiled and sat eagerly at the kitchen table, thinking about how delectable this bread would be. "You're making your toasted bread again? Oh my dear, you are far too good for me!"

Sofia simply laughed and looked back at me as she bent over. "You got that right! This stuff can be a real pain to cook, you know that?"

I nodded, as I had also made many attempts to cook toast. However, I would always cook it unevenly, and burn one side to a crisp while barely cooking the other at all. I just didn't have the patience to sit and watch it turn to a 'perfect brown'.

"Here we go! Almost done!" She said as she scooped it up with two flat forks and placed it on a small wooden plate in front of me. "You better like it!"

I smiled and took a huge bite out of it, not wasting any time with a meager reply. Warm, crunchy toasted bread was probably the best thing I could eat during the morning, and I savored ever second I slobbered all over it.

"Keziya! You're eating like a pig! Show some manners, would you? You'd think you were starved for years with the way you eat!" She waved one of the flat forks as she chastised me, but I simply waved her off, now starting on my second piece of delicious, glorious toasted bread.

Soon enough, however, that smell attracted the attention of others. One of my long-time neighbors stuck his head through our window and took a deep long sniff. "Hey Kezia! You wanna give a piece of whatever smells so good to your ol' pal Ryko?"

I promptly threw a spoon at his head in response.

He ducked under the weapon of meager destruction and popped his head through the window again. "That's what I thought!" he laughed as he leaned against the window's frame. "Actually, the reason I came over is because I wanted to see if you'd want to come help me cut down a tree for firewood. I'll split it with you fifty-fifty if you do."

I nodded as I chewed the last bite of my heavenly, Gods-made toasted bread. "Sure thing, buddy!" I walked toward the door and looked back to Sofia, quickly running over to kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks for the toasted bread, baby. You make my world go 'round."

She just smiled and playfully gave me a small shove. "Get out there and kill a tree. We could use that firewood!"

With a smile I headed out the door, grabbing my hatchet along the way, and following Ryko down to the woods to fetch us a tree.

Cutting down the tree took all day. Of course, Ryko had to go out and find us the biggest, tallest, and widest tree in the entire forest; because apparently we really needed firewood. The entire morning was spent hacking down the tree, the afternoon was spent cutting off the branches, and the evening cutting it down into sizes we could actually carry. Once it started getting dark, I decided to throw a few pieces in my shirt, which sufficed as a make-shift sack, and told Ryko that he could have the rest of the wood, and that I should be getting home. He simply laughed, "ah Keziya, leaving early like a silly woman?"

To which I replied, "yes, I am leaving early to have sex with my woman!" He just laughed again and I smiled, continuing on the small path back to my home.

I returned to find that which only appeared in my nightmares. My mother and father were dead outside the house, their heads free from their bodies. I felt the blood drain from my face as I approached them, fully realizing their gruesome end. As I went over to them, I heard a small moan of agony come from inside the house. Now thinking of Sofia, I smashed the already loose door open, and fell to my knees at the scene before me. Sofia laid on the floor, her clothes drenched in her own blood, with two short swords jutting from her belly. "K-Kez… Kezia…?" She muttered as she heard me enter.

Shocked, relieved, and horrified that she was still alive, I stumbled over to my beloved and grasped her hand. "I'm here, Sofia. By the Gods… What's happened…? Who did this!?" My hand tightened with a growing rage, but those green eyes calmed me.

"It doesn't matter anymore… I'm sorry Kezia… I sho-" she was interrupted by horrible coughing, accidentally spitting blood onto my face as she did so. I thought about removing the blades jutting from her, but I feared that would cause her even more pain in her final moments. "Kezia… Do you know which star you belong to…?"

I shook my head, tears filling my eyes as she spoke to me.

"I do," she continued through scarce and ragged breath. "It's the one right by mine." The corners of her mouth lifted a little in a smile, and I opened my mouth to tell her that my star would always be with hers, but those green eyes that I had come to love so much, and with all my heart faded to grey. Despair gripped my soul as I closed them, the tears now steadily rolling down my cheeks. With small grunts of agony I pulled the swords free from her body and held her close to me. As I held her, I let out a scream. It was made of the things that only a man mad with grief could produce, and I hoped that even the Gods could hear my suffering. I cradled her corpse, sobbing into her bloodied blonde hair, and turned only when I heard voices outside my door.

I turned back and saw a crowd outside my home, and saw Ryko push through them. His eyes moved from the blades at my side to me, and watched as his face distorted from grim regret to horror as he slowly muttered, "Keziya… What have you done?"