Most days, her village is an vibrant, exciting place filled with amazing and memorable people.
Today wasn't one of them. The sun had just set, and the villagers had spent it moving about their chores and errands with a heavier gait than usual and the greetings and gestures lacked the verve that made them special.
As expected of the night the Clan marked the passing of one of their own.
The fireworks had ended, and the glowing coals of the towering pyre had cooled. The feasting was just getting underway, beer and spirits making the rounds among the adults as the children were shepherded off to bed.
Away from the crowd in the square cheering their remembrance and wishing their chief's wife well on her way to eternity, a little girl kneels in front of a niche carved into the solid rock of a small hill containing the ashes of her mother. She sniffled, then hiccuped. Though her eyes were also red and swollen from tears over the last several days since the news came, they also glowed faintly in the late twilight.
She was supposed to be in bed right now. But after she and her father had gone back to their suddenly emptier house he had collapsed into bed and was fast asleep, or perhaps had overdone things leading the inaugural toast of his wife's wake.
She was a quiet, shy girl, easy to miss. Good at sneaking out and past other's notice. In another life she would have stayed most of the night before making her way back home with no one the wiser. Spending the following weeks mourning as only a small child can, just barely old enough to understand that mommy isn't coming home from going to beat up General Seresdina like she told her with a grin and a ruffle of her brown pigtails.
She hiccups again, her eyes brightening as she feels another cry coming on.
"Oh? Who's there?" a woman's voice asks curiously from behind.
Startled, the girl tried to bolt, but legs numb from sitting too long trip her up, causing a stumble and trip that would never stain her nightgown on the carefully cleaned granite tiles flooring the shrine, but does scrape her hands breaking her fall.
"Oh no! Here sweetie," the woman hurries forward, holding a handkerchief to the raw palms and applying a trace of ice magic. "There you go. Better?" she asks the sobbing girl softly.
"Uh..uhuh," she answers in a tiny voice, still sniffling.
"Good! What are you doing out here dear? You should be home in bed, while the grownups are out doing grownup things."
"But…but you're here…"
The woman smiled sadly. "So I am. But I don't really belong out there. I knew Joanna, but I'm not part of the Clan. My name is Wiz, what's yours?"
The girl straightened up, and scrunched her face like she was about to swallow a spoon of bitter medicine before trying her best to mimic the flowing poses she saw the older girls do. Mostly she wobbled dangerously and nearly fell.
"M-my name is Y-yunyun, d-daughter of Chief Hiropon…" she answered haltingly.
"Oh my! Little Yunyun! What on earth is your father thinking, leaving you alone!?" the older woman interrupted, the motes of icy blue drifting off her robed form marking her as a wizard of some power as she glared towards the house of the man in question.
"H..he's asleep. I…tried to be too, b-but I c-couldn't…" she said haltingly, her earlier stutter worsening with every word as she stared up at the suddenly very scary lady and started to worry about how much trouble she was in.
"Frozen to the floor is what he'll be soon…" Wiz muttered dangerously. Her power dissipated, and she knelt in front of Yunyun. "You need to go home, dear. I know it hurts, I do, but…"
"But mommy's not there! She's here!" Yunyun shouted, then covered her mouth and blushed, looking apologetically at the rows of niches. Though above the noise at the square no one would have heard anything short of a bomb blast.
Wiz shook her head, and placed her hands on the little wizard to be's shoulders. "Joan- your mommy is here, but only her ashes. Her soul is…" she paused, and thought. Then took a look outside. Finally, she turned her gaze to Yunyun.
"Close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you to," she said softly but in deadly earnest. Yunyun noded hurriedly, and did just that. Taking a breath that she doesn't really need but made her feel better, Wiz centered herself.
A small magic circle inscribed itself in light at her feet, spinning slowly once before settling down. Another followed it hovering just above the first. Followed by a third, and her lovely face frowned in concentration as she tried to dampen any magical emissions. Sound might not carry to the wake participants, but a village full of archwizards would feel magic on the move the way a sailor sensed the crackle of a storm before it crossed the horizon.
Finally, she nodded, satisfied. "Keep your eyes closed, and focus on your mother. Your strongest memory of her. Then give me your hand."
Hesitantly, but with a bit of barely hidden excitement, Yunyun did just that.
"I beseech thee, I summon thee. By my power as Mistress of the Grave and Lady of the Frozen Wastes. By the bloodright of your daughter Yunyun. I implore thee Joanna, adopted daughter of the Crimson Demon Clan, to appear before us and share with us what time thou has left," Wiz intoned solemnly, all at odds with the sweetly smiling face she gave the world.
For a moment a sip of power slipped out of Yunyun, a larger one from Wiz. Seconds crawled forth, but nothing happened.
The lich frowned in puzzlement. "It's been less than a week, she can't have passed on yet…." she muttered in confusion. Meanwhile, Yunyun stood eyes firmly closed and statue still, outside of a little fidget in the hand Wiz wasn't holding. "Hmmm. Did your mommy call you something else? Some nickname or special name besides Yunyun?" she asked
The little wizard nodded. "S-she and daddy fought about it a-a lot when I was really little, before I was four!" she held up her free hand with four fingers raised to demonstrate. "D-daddy always said I needed a proud name worthy of a Crimson Demon and s-said I should be Yunyun! B-but mommy said if I was going to be chief, I-I needed a name people outside the Village wouldn't make fun of…" she looked up at Wiz, tears at the sudden memory watering her eyes. "P-people outside wouldn't laugh a-at my name, would they?"
Wiz was many things, but cruel was never one of them. She smiled softly at her client and said "What did your mommy call you instead?"
"J-juna. She always called me that when we were together until Daddy told her to stop. I like it better…" she said in a mutter.
Wiz nodded, and repeated the incantation with the new name. This time, the circles collapsed on themselves, and a soft glow roughly in a waist high cylinder replaced them.
Within it, was a portrait view of a pretty, oval faced woman in her late 20s, light brown hair in a pixie cut. Her gray eyes darted first to Wiz, then to Yunyun. "Wiz! You've been holding out on me." she said in a thin voice, barely audible.
"You never asked," the lich replied, gaze shifting away from the accusing mother.
After a moment, Joanna let it go and turned her attention back to her daughter.
"Oh sweetie. This is not how I wanted to see you again," she sighed, taking Yunyun in from the red rimmed eyes and tear stains down to bare dirty feet. "I'm so sorry."
"I-I want you to come back! Please come back! W-we can finish that puzzle, and the…"
Her mother shushed her gently. "I can't, dear. I tried. I tried so hard, but I couldn't. I won't be there for you and daddy anymore." Yunyun's face fell, and tears soon followed to patter the floor tiles. "It'll be tough, sweetie. But I know you're tougher, right?"
Yunyun nodded, sniffling back a sob.
"Good girl," Joanna glanced at Wiz, who returned a small shake of her head. "I have to go soon. It'll be up to you to look after Daddy and make sure he doesn't just eat boar steaks and potatoes, ok?"
Her daughter nodded again, more firmly. "'Kay. I-if I have to eat my vegetables, s-so will he!"
Joanna laughed. "Exactly!" she sobered, and put one hand palm out as though pressing it to a piece of glass in front of her. Quickly taking the hint, Yunyun did the same on the other side of the projection.
"Goodbye, Yunyun. I love you. You've made me proud to be your mom, and I know you'll do great things."
"B-bye, Mommy," she sniffed haltingly. "I l-love you too!"
Joanna swallowed a sniff of her own, and waved instead.
And with that, she was gone.
Wiz let out a breath, leaning against a roof pillar for a moment. To Yunyun's eyes, she seemed…less than before. Like she could see a little of the wall through her maybe?
The lich closed her eyes and concentrated, the effect faded. "Come along, I'll take you home," she told Yunyun after steadying herself, holding out her hand.
They walked back to the chief's house, not quite hiding but also avoiding anywhere well traveled. She had been here many times, and was as trusted as an Outsider ever was. But why borrow trouble?
"Thank you, Miss Wiz. For letting me see mommy again."
"Of course, sweetie. Just don't tell anyone about it, it's…a secret technique of mine!" she decided hastily.
Yunyun looked up at her quizzically. "But aren't s-secret techniques meant to be discovered? D-daddy says so a-all the time."
"Well until you do, it can stay our secret, ok?" Wiz suggested, figuring that was the best compromise she was going to get.
Yunyun nodded firmly, fists clenched in determination. "Ok!"
They reached the front gate of the Chief's manor, and Wiz let go of her hand. "Now, go upstairs and actually go to bed this time, understood? Little girls shouldn't be wandering around at night even if they are Crimson Demons."
Her temporary charge pouted, but grudgingly said "'kay. W-will you be here tomorrow?" she asked softly.
"Until tomorrow night, then I must go back to Axel to my store. I'm only here to buy things to sell to the adventurers there."
Yunyun's face fell, and she looked at her feet sadly.
"But! But I'll be back this fall! So, be a good girl until then, ok?" Wiz hurriedly added, hoping to head off more crying.
The next six months sounded like forever to the girl, but she nodded again. "…o-ok. Promise?"
Wiz extended her hand and took Yunyun's to shake it merchant style. "I do. Now go inside, you've got a long day tomorrow."
This time, the girl did as she was told. Trudging her way up the path to the front door, she looked back to see her new friend watching her and gave a little wave. Returning it shyly, she opened the door as quietly as she could and slipped inside.
Wiz sighed and started toward her inn. The war wasn't her problem anymore, but that didn't mean the effects passed her by. Even in the year her shop had been open she'd noticed faces that quit showing up around town or were hurt too badly to continue adventuring despite healers' best efforts.
'Hyouziboro and Yuiyui tomorrow, I think?' she mused to herself, putting Yunyun out of her mind. If the little girl still remembered her this fall, they could have a little tea party at the café. But she was young, so what were the odds of that?
The next morning Wiz bought a selection of items from the archwizard couple she was just sure would fly off the shelves and set out pushing her cart down the Arcanretia road after lunch. Teleport would've saved two days off the trip, but she was hardly feeble enough to worry about what she might find on the trip, and moving a cart like that cost money anyway.
Waste not, want not was the merchant way!
If only unlife were that simple.
"Miss Wiz! Miss Wiz!"
She turned towards the shouting and patter of feet to find Yunyun skidding to a halt, out of breath. After a moment she recovered, though still red faced from making a scene.
"M-miss Wiz?" she asked haltingly, voice barely above a whisper as though the shouting a moment ago had used up all the sound she had. "P-please teach me! T-to d-do what you can do!"
For a moment Wiz was tempted to tell her it was a secret technique for a reason, doomed to exact a terrible price for pursuing it. That no one should have to pay the price she had to obtain its power.
Then she remembered where she was.
"I can't do that, not now. Maybe not ever," she began instead. "It needs a top-class wizard, the best of the best, to make it work. Learning Advanced Magic would only be the start. Years and years of study and work." Not strictly a lie. A wizard powerful enough to be a lich would have Advanced magic already, but a Crimson Demon might be able to do it on raw talent.
As a deterrent, that failed miserably. Yunyun's eyes glowed in excitement as she clenched her fists. "Then if I'm top of my class in school and have Advanced Magic, you'll teach me?!"
Wiz flinched. "You'll need to study a lot on your own too, I won't be here very often," she added, hoping the threat of extra homework might turn her away.
Yunyun nodded sharply. "I'll get started right away! What should I read first!"
Seeing the writing on the wall, Wiz nodded reluctantly. "Do all of that, and I'll tell you what I know." She wrote out a couple of the thickest, dustiest, most tooth grinding grimoires she remembered from her time at the Royal Academy on a slip of paper for her new student.
There. With any luck she'd be so bored to tears she'll forget the whole idea. She was six for Eris' sake, no child had the attention span to put up with those for long.
Waving goodbye, Wiz picked up the handles of her cart and made her way out the village gate.
Weeks came and went, and in that time instead of haunting the outskirts of the village, looking for people who might, possibly, maybe be willing to listen to her or spend some time together, Yunyun spent her days in the Clan archives. Well, sometimes she combined her obsessions. For variety's sake.
Finding the tomes Wiz recommended was no problem, the clan had several of both. But understanding the words, and how they fit together, and unpacking what it all meant was a lot for a girl who only learned to read two years ago. It was like a giant puzzle spread out around her feet.
Yunyun liked puzzles. The way the pieces all fit together with no doubt or uncertainty, the way you could predict which piece was next before even seeing it once you had the pattern figured out. Not like dealing with people. The tabs slotted together because they fit. Not because they felt sorry for her, or because she was the chief's daughter.
When she found parts she just couldn't untangle, she asked for other books. Before long she had a little shelf of her own in her favorite reading nook, a mini magic library. And if those books were more and more trending towards things like soul magic or psychopomp rituals, or other darker than gray areas, that was no sin in her clan. If anything it improved her popularity a little, as her people assumed she was getting an early start on building her dark, mysterious wizard persona and that was an aesthetic they could respect.
Before long, Yunyun started school with the other children of her year. Mostly other girls, the clan tended to run to female children for some reason.
Though they all knew each other from around the village for years, that didn't stop everyone from showing off their very best introductions in piping seven-year-old voices at the top of their lungs.
That done, the teacher sorted them to their desks and class began.
Beside Yunyun was a girl she'd seen around the village all the time but hardly ever spoken to. Her uniform was old and much patched in the style from when her dad was still in school, and she also had the skinny look of a child for whom feeling full was a rare luxury. Yunyun did know that Megumin lived in a shack on the edge of the village, her mom and dad were both magic tool makers but honestly pretty bad at it, she had a two year old little sister named Komekko, her favorite meal seemed to be crayfish since she ate them constantly, and she liked to play in the creek near the western side of the village in the mornings, then after she caught lunch would take her sister to the wood on the east side to nap.
She was also apparently really, really smart.
"Very good, Megumin! Horned rabbits are classed as a medium risk monster due to their tendency to form packs, so none of you should be hunting them without your parents along."
Yunyun was pretty sure she'd watched her other obsession do exactly that not long ago, but the girl in question just preened and accepted the praise with a happy smile. "My genius knows no bounds, observe as I answer the next correctly as well!"
Yunyun's eyes narrowed.
Challenge accepted.
