Born of a biqaj father and an Immortal mother, Delta was the result of a union between a native of the open seas, who had returned to the mainland for a short while with the rest of his crew, and a bored Immortal. Ilaren was the Immortal's name, the Immortal of Alcohol and Brawling, had met the Captain of a biqaj trading vessel, named Eolian, in a tavern in Rharne. A night of wine and merriment lead to the Captain, who had managed to unwittingly woo the Immortal with his confidence and tales, showing Ilaren to his cabin. Soon after, the sailor left to return to the comforting embrace of the open waters, not to return.
Nine months later, it was not chance which reunited the Captain and his one night stand. Ilaren, powerful and influential as she was, had tracked down the biqaj sailor. The meeting was a short one, but the message was clear: "the child is your get, she is your responsibility." The child, named Delta (or Ellie by those who knew her best), spent her formative years aboard the ship, learning the ways of her father's people. And, with her own Mortalborn powers remaining dormant within her, she grew up knowing nothing of her true heritage.
The culture aboard the ship confined Delta for much of her youth - she was not considered a member of the crew despite her status as the Captain's daughter. However, once she was deemed old enough to learn sailing, her days were spent on the deck, learning the practicalities of living on a ship. Delta was the first child that the Eolian had ever carried. For a period, they were nervous around the child. But her infectious enthusiasm for life and learning soon saw them all warming to her. All sailors aboad the Eoliantook an interest in her education, teaching her snippets of what they each knew best. She was only half-biqaj, so they drowned her in information, hoping that, if they overwhelmed her with biqaj culture, they could stamp the human right out of her...
Navigation was something which she was often exposed to, following the maps moulded by cartographers. Another was medicine, simple techniques that she would find useful at sea: the ability to save a life when so far away from a medic was a valuable one. It was interesting, yes, but only to a point... for she was young and wanted to be active. Navigation, where she could really see the benefit of her learning, becme one of her favourite past-times. Eventually, she managed to wear her teachers down with her incessant demands, and she was allowed to climb the rigging. From then on, it was hard to ground the adventurous little halfblood, who was growing to be more biqaj in personality than anything else. Days spent with the lower ranks of the seamen were where she truly learnt of the art of sailing, by allowing the girl to climb the rigging, she was able to gain a practical understanding of how to manipulate the rigging and ropes to change the angling of the sails and, thus, change the direction of the ship.
____________________________________________________
The girl would have been happy to spend the rest of her life aboard the ship, and for nineteen years, she did... but it was not to be. Coming into port in Augiery, a short, solitary walk upon land would result in her never returning to the sea again. Perhaps it was her looks, or her gender. Perhaps the slavers were desperate. Whatever the reason, she was taken, chained, to the slave market in Augiery. Whether her father tried to search for her, Delta would never discover.
Time spent in Augiery did not agree with the boisterous Mortalborn, the silver lines now lining her back a permanent reminder of what was and (more importantly) wasn't acceptable. This physical punishment was short lived, though, as the slavers who kept her introduced her to a narcotic called Psinia, which released artificial endorphins into the girl's system, inducing a high. This sensation, initially forced upon the girl twice daily, would eventually lead to complete dependance on the Naerikk peoples, for she associated their decorated faces with the pleasure that would push away the dull aches and shakes that would otherwise surge through her body. It was at this time that the half-biqaj's first Mortalborn ability awoke within her, though she had not the sense to understand what it was. Addiction surged through her. And without understanding or control, she would not be able to harness this new ability, so it controlled her, only making it easier for the Naer to control her.
As a female, Delta had no uses for the Naer population in terms of breeding. However, a few seasons after enslavement, an potential buyer would arrive with cause to buy the halfblood. A solitary Naerikk, Lakia
Aramanthine, had need of skills that would complement her own hunting ability, skills which Delta could offer. The once free child of the seas was now bound to the land, chained by the craving for drugs that she would only receive from her new Mistress.
When his beloved Ellie did not return to the Eolian, Severn refused to sail from the docks of Augiery for a good number of trials. His crew were charged with a single job: the duty of returning her to him - a task all of the sailors took up willingly. A whole season passed with no news of her. And Severn's money dwindled. By the beginning of the next season, Severn had no choice but to return to the seas, to support his income. Now, the Eolian continues to sail, entering all ports. Each time, the vessel will remain in port for longer than is expected. News has begun to travel of a biqaj vessel causing disturbances in the search of a red-haired girl. Each time... Ilaren's curiosity is piqued a little more.
