To tell the story of Dula Mii'krill you must first tell the life story of her human father. He was never wealthy and never would be. By the time his story is done you and I will understand that wealth is something that comes from inside of you, an inner peace and happiness that makes even the most baron conditions a home... an epiphany that will never strike him. His name was Sid and he grew up in Rharne in the Dust Quarter. From the ripe old age of six Sid was a master of begging in the streets. Despite their misfortune his family got by and lived within their means, it could even be said that growing up his life was a happy one. Still he dreamed of lavish pillows, gold, exotic spices, and riches, never satisfied with good being good enough. As an urchin he was never taken seriously, for a long time this was the bane of his existence. Time after time he applied places and worked himself to death trying to prove something to others that he couldn't prove to himself... he felt worthless. Living among the dirty people in the trash filled streets he found no comforts even at the warmest of hearths, he wanted more. Covered in dirt and filth, wearing only rags he would stare at the highest point of the mountain with a hateful jealousy of those most rich and mighty of people. Sid vowed to one day obtain those riches and it was then he decided to take it by force. Getting into the Shadow Quarter wasn't hard for him, he was known to many people as a diligent, though crabby, worker and after proving himself with sleight of hand he was within their ranks. At this time in his life he was just a boy of 17 arcs. Finally he was good at something and among his fellows had a certain amount of respect.
Finally he was deserving and had what he wanted, able to touch riches and sometimes even keep them. Hidden among a pile of decrepit rubble within the Dust Quarter's more rancid streets he had a secret stash of stolen goods that he would lord over obsessively, always turning about the gold in his hands. Thing were good for awhile, he was mad with greed and felt invincible. Then disaster struck, he was caught during one of his most daring heists yet and was forced into the decision to stay and rot in Rharne's prison or run. Without saying goodbye to his family he left, a man on the lamb... He also left his prized riches among the rubble but didn't care. What he had stolen from those "most rich and mighty" was only the tip of the iceberg of what was yet to come. He had within his possession a map that looked to lead to no where in an endless forest and the only word he could make out within its ink was "Desnind". This place was his mecca and became his new home.
Within the Endless Forest and treehouses of Desnind he laid low, finding his place among the spirited hunters who willingly taught Sid their trade. He found with his training in stealth and heightened senses of being aware of his surroundings he was an apt hunter and soon was a welcome face at the Fire Pit. It was around that very fire, the heart of food and drink in the city, he met his wife and love of his life. As if he was being sucked into the swamp itself he fell hard and fast for a goddess among Sevir, the beautiful and earthy Tea'loa. One of own Tey'droa's grandchildren, named after her respectively, Tea'loa was studying under her grandmother to become a helping hand for the master healers of the Medicine House. As one of the main suppliers of gathering goods and natural spices she was important to the health of the community, well versed in field craft and survival. Tea'loa and Sid would work together in the swamp often, he the muscle and she the brains, on her expeditions for more rare ingredients. This is how they fell in love. Though on the surface Sid was happy, in love, strong, and respected a madness was gripping him day by day. He had everything he needed here but his urge and greed kept him in mental chains. Tea'loa loved him dearly, they would soon be married, and noticed his increasingly distressed state. It was a rare night that anyone could be alone at the Fire Pit and there the love birds found each other, cuddling and staring into each other's eyes by the fire under a blanket of leaves and stars. But Sid couldn't be happy, he was not satisfied, his mind was swimming with thoughts of treasure while his unrest grew and grew until Tea'loa finally asked him what had befallen his psyche so. Sid confessed his past to her through honest sobs and showed her the map, terrified that she would turn him in or leave him. After much pause, her dark honey colored eyes dancing with flames, she held him and said that where ever he would go-- she would follow. Then they were wed.
Early Years
The birth of Dula Mii'krill was a cause for celebration. Being the great-grand daughter of
Tey'droa a good portion of Desnind was involved, throwing a huge ceremony thanking Moseke for Life and all of it's blessings. Infant Dula was covered in Ashan blossoms found within the Endless Forest and paraded around to the tune of drums and various flutes. She was covered in pigments and dyes of green and pinks swirling around her new body signifying Ashan and growth, asking Moseke to keep her in her graces. It's said that Dula smiled and laughed the whole time, not fussing or crying once. As Dula grew she proved to be overly clumsy. Constantly getting scrapes and bruises she was anything but graceful. Her parents raised her well through her infancy but had begun going on expeditions more frequently and for longer periods. There was talk among people that Sid and Tea'loa were up to something odd. It was a few seasons since they had gone out with their expedition partners and yet they still were well to do. This behavior caused people to start accusing them of selling the rare ingredients in the black market but in the end there was no proof, nothing came of it. Now 5 arcs old Dula was left in the care of Tea'loa's sisters and her parents left to pursue their expeditions more fully. Her parents became more and more reclusive but that didn't change Dula's love for them at all. In her eyes they could do no wrong and their absence seemed to only make them more of a myth to her. She would make up wild stories, pretending to be with her mother and father, fighting monsters, daring ancient lost temples, and braving the swamps. As a young girl it was rare for Dula to be temperamental but as she saw her parents less and less that fact soon changed. She was consumed with and overwhelming sense of dread she called "the bad thing". Becoming whiny, bratty, and always unhappy even when he needs were met she was punished at first only fairly. Her guardians were at least wise enough to know that the loss of her parents was taking its toll. At 10 arcs old she became obsessed with sneaking out late at night and getting into trouble with the neighborhood kids. She was still clumsy as ever but persevered and became quite good at it. Eventually after a broken bone or two later she was swinging on trees throughout the swampy city, shaking houses, businesses, or... well... outhouses that resided in Desnind's branches. They loved being out at night and spying on party going hunters. She found the adrenaline rush she had been searching for being out at night watching the Fire Pit from afar. When the hunters got together and danced in the flames of the Fire Pit they could be clearly seen from her treetop perch. She was dour but hopeful; dreaming of being one of them and exploring with her parents while she played games in the dark trees with the company of her good friends. For Dula the memories of those nights would be a happiness that can never be measured. It was also a way for a child to act out against or forget the looming feeling that a very bad something was going to happen. Many a morning afterward was spent bruised and balancing books on her head in the corner after being brought in by her ear. It was when her bad behavior came to a crux that her parents began spending more time at home.
A weight was lifted from her shoulders, the bad thing wasn't gone but was not going to be able to affect her now. By her parents side she could do anything and so they were all safe. Dula was in fact living with them though her mother spent a great deal of time either holed up in their study or at the market. Sid, though, spent most of his time with his daughter. He took her into the forest and taught her all she needed to know about surviving and self defense. This is where she got her first staff and despite her balancing issues was quite good at it. She was 13 arcs old now and a capable young woman. Sid did card tricks for her around the fire as they camped in the Endless Forest, sometimes pulling money from behind her ear to give to her. He was very wealthy now and despite giving her as much love as he could he was noticeably distant. With every night spent telling amazing stories of finding ruins during their more interesting hunting adventures, there were two more nights spent in almost silence that left Dula filled with dread. Returning home Teo'loa was gracious and loving and would teach her daughter much about alchemy when she had free time, but it could be said her mother was absent and cold most of the time. She taught her daughter the importance of measuring ingredients so as not to cause bad reactions or nullify the creation inert. She also impressed the importance of safety when harvesting ingredients in the wild, "sometimes the adventure there isn't the most harrowing part" Tea'loa would say. Most of what was taught to Dula was the simple theory of the matter, such as the difference between a "primer" and a "bonder" (primer being used to attach the main reagent and a bonder being used to bond two different reagents together). It was well known to Dula by the end of it all that alchemy was as dangerous as it was fruitful and she took that fact very seriously. They stayed together for 3 arcs and Dula went through long periods of depression. Her thoughts were haunted by a dream that kept reoccurring weekly, the manifestation of "the bad thing". The dream starts out in the deep in the Makubwa Lori, everything is drenched in a dark navy blue tinge that hangs in the air like a poison. Hanging moss and tree limbs block the path but she keeps pushing through for fear of stopping. Every footstep a step to get away and at the same time feeling like she's leaving something behind that she can't take back. There is a man following her, someone familiar but she can never fully see their face, the image always twisted like a horrible, sickly tree raped by time itself. The whole time he keeps laughing while jingling a bag of coins. She begins running but gets caught in a bog and begins sinking into the swamp.
The cold, thick mud begins swallowing her whole, she can't break free and finds no purchase grabbing the roots around her. As the cackling man draws nearer and nearer and her death is more sure than ever an arm drags her out and she wakes up. Something in her still child-like mind told her after these unsettling dreams that her parents were hiding something from her, maybe everyone, and she decided to sneak out one night and discover why. Sid had gone to bed early while her mother was reading in her study. Dula offered to find dinner herself and told Tea'loa to get some rest. Her mother bade her farewell and went to bed. Little did her mother know that while she was leaving out of the door Dula wedged a piece of fabric between the door and the lock, pretending to shut it for her mother. So after Tea'loa went to bed Dula snuck into the study and began peeking around. It was rather neat and tidy but by going through some of the notes Dula found maps leading to the middle of the Makuwba Lori with explanations as to what they had found there. Most of them said that it was a bust and they had found nothing but a few seemed to be promising, as if they were pressing through to the right direction. Dula was distraught, a snake had coiled deep in her belly as she held the papers with white knuckles. She knew that this is what they were hiding, and as she put the pieces together all fear she felt before vanished. They were hunting some kind of lost treasure! Her whole life she knew that this is what her parents were doing, even without knowing it truly. They had came back for her finally, spent all this time training her! This was the moment she had been waiting for her whole life, everything was really going to be okay. The dreams were wrong and were simply leading her here, to the moment. Telling herself she would wait for that right moment to confront her parents she would only ask when it was too late.
The last trip Sid ever took his daughter on was a long one and his personal favorite, though one he did seldom due to the nature of the journey. With a small party they headed out to make the trip. Among them were other hunters and a select few loved ones ready to find their mecca. Dula was sure this had something to do with the maps she had found a few trials before. In the end as a surprise from Sid to Dula they hiked clear to the Ojọgbọn making Sid so proud his face was wet with tears. The heaven tree was touching the sky. Its highest branches were obscured by the sheer height of them, leaving them only able to be discerned by the swaying from up high. Although he wasn't Sev'ryn this holy place had a special meaning to him and it was staring him right in the eyes. Dula stood there beaming at him, covered in dirt with a few scratches, and obviously exausted but exhilarated by the sight of the sacred tree. They talked at length about plans for the future. He promised her formal schooling and a place with the hunters when she proved herself a worthy woman. He told her that he was proud of her and never in his life had felt love like he did right now. They sat in silence for awhile and she knew this was the moment to ask about the maps, to find out if she was really going to hunt down the treasure with them.
"What about those maps in the study? Will I help you look for your treasure?"
He face was dumbfounded but he didn't miss a beat, he held her face in his hands and said,
"Dula, sometimes when one door opens, another one shuts."
Then he drew her in and held her close. He smelled like campfire, stew, and tobacco. Dula went to bed that night after the celebrations kept safely underneath the Ojọgbọn's branches thinking that her dreams had come true, though the question of the maps seemed to warble like the night birds in the sky.
They returned home and two mornings later her parents were gone without a word leaving Dula behind few momento's. Namely her staff, alchemy set, and the house she currently resides in. She spent a long time in silence when they left, not speaking to a soul for 2 cycles. She spent her time buried in books at the library and continued to sneak out now fully under the care of her aunts. Their relationship remained strained as when Dula came back to her sense she continued to be outspoken and crass, perhaps even moreso. As she got older her temper mellowed but the relationship with her relatives never fully healed and maybe never will. She was odd. Broken. Eccentric. People talked as they always do but when pressed about the details of her parents Dula will never give a direct answer, it is just thought that they died. But Dula knows better, she still dreams of the nightmare nearly every night. While it is the bane of her existence it is also the thing that keeps her going while driving her insane. For she knows deep down in her heart that when the nightmare stops coming, her parents are dead.
Now
Cold Cycle 719
Now she is an adult and well off as a busker. She still is plagued by her reoccurring nightmare and haunted by the so-called death of her parents. Recently she is meeting with a mysterious old wizard in the forest, he is teaching her the secrets to alchemy and always has sagely advice on hand. (Thread here:
"Hygge") Something tells her he's not all that meets the eye and it's not just his strange way of dressing. Things with her parents disappearance also seem to be clicking into place too, something about this strange man seems to be catalyzing her destiny of finding them and restoring her family. She feels like she can't turn to anyone she knows about her strange predicament, hopefully she will meet brave souls that will help beat this upcoming storm and figure out her strange dreams.
