SUMMARY:
For 8 years, Hrefna had been doing everything in her power to avoid being captured. Trying her best to lay low, she feared the day that her Coven would finally get their hands on her... If they ever did, she knew it would end with her death. But she had a small piece of hope and it came in the form of a letter... A letter from her deceased grandfather. She had a chance to start a new life but it came with one huge risk... This little farm she inherited was located in Stardew Valley, which was located in enemy territory. A native of the Gotoro Empire, she risks death if she was caught by either side... But she decided it was a risk worth taking. She is confident that she has prepared herself for everything she may come across... Except for one thing, because nothing could have prepared her for the tall, stoic, raven haired man that will flip her world upside down.
Chapter 1: The Runaway
She panted; her breath was restricted, leaving her with the feeling of being trapped despite the fact that she wasn't.The sweltering heat of the sun wasn't helping either. Her legs felt like they were about to give out at any second but she forced herself to push forward. Taking one step after another, Hrefna forced herself to finish climbing the last couple steps to reach the top of the sand dune.
She grimaced when she finally made it; the grainy texture of the sand that got caught in her mouth from licking her chapped, dehydrated lips was uncomfortable... But she sighed with relief when she spotted the oasis before her... The Jeweled city of the Narthotic desert. She fell to her knees with relief. She was almost there ... More importantly, she briefly gazed out pass the beautiful oasis to look at the vast horizon of the Gem Sea... She could finally leave.
Deciding to take a quick break; Hrefna took out her water canteen and a small, well worn and crumpled letter from the underside of her obsidian breast plate. Opening it, again for what had to be the hundredth time, she scanned the letter. She had no idea how the carrier had found her ... She took great care to keep herself hidden at all cost but somehow, whoever delivered this knew who she was and where she was currently staying.
'M. Rasmodius' . According to him, her supposed grandfather; a grandfather she never met, left his farm to her after his death. She knew this wasn't from her mother's father, so it had to be her father's. Granted she supposed it didn't matter, she never met either of her parents. Her mother died when she gave birth to her and from what she was told from her coven's acting völva, she was an orphan.
One thing she did know for sure was that she was a half-ling... Half human, half witch; and she was despised for it, hated solely because of it. Those in the coven never let her live it down, treated her lower than dirt... Even going as far as placing a slave sigil on her. She lightly touched the sensitive spot in the middle of her chest and silently seethed.
It wasn't that witches and wizards hated humans per say; they were human too after all, though they arrogantly thought themselves better due to their gifts. It was common for them to work with normal humans all the time for one reason or another... But they loathed any of their kind that wasn't pureblood. Hence why she ran away 8 years ago. Now normally her leaving wouldn't have been a big deal except for one fact... She had took the coven's greatest secret with her.
For 8 years she had been doing everything in her power to avoid capture. She just reached her 23th birthday the last day of winter... They only had two more years left to get their hands on her, which meant their efforts in capturing her are going to increase greatly. She knew she was no longer safe here. She was too close to the Gotoro Empire to be safe, and Narth... Well Narth was a neutral country, which meant that those who were after her would have no problem in finding her. She looked down at the letter one last time. 'Stardew Valley'.
Stardew Valley was in the Ferngill Republic, which was the enemy of the Gotoro Empire... It may be her only chance to finally be free, but that meant hiding in enemy territory. It was a risk worth taking in her opinion. Refolding the letter back up, Hrefna tucked it back into her armor before bending down to lift the heavy bag of monster drops. She had been out here all winter tracking down the Narthotic death worms. Their heavy gigantic armored scales and shells sold for a high price, so she defeated as many as she could throughout the winter. The gold this will give her from the local Adventure Guild should be more than enough to buy her passage on the next ship sailing to the Fern Islands, as well as give her a nice big cushion financially. From there, she was told she could buy passage to Stardew Valley.
Slinging the heavy bag over her shoulder; Hrefna looked up at the darkening sky and spotted Hræsvelgr, her raven familiar, flying around scouting for any danger before stepping forward to make her way down the dune to head towards the city. She didn't have much time left... The ship she needed to be on was leaving by night fall. She was ready to move forward... To start her new, and hopefully safe and simple life.