Prologue :: Draft ::
Warning- Caution is advised: this is set in a grimbright universe with adult themes. Includes- Slavery, Child abandonment + more
The moon hung low in the night sky, casting a ghostly light over the cobbled streets of Havapour. A shrouded figure darted through the labyrinthine city, moving swiftly from the opulent upper-class district toward the bustling lower docks. Her cloak billowed around her, obscuring her form and the precious bundle she cradled in her arms.
Navigating through the shadows, she hugged the walls high alert and cautious as she moved, the words “No one can see you, cast the child to the seas and return” echoed around inside her mind. As she reached the far end of the port she found herself before The Loyal Sweet Hoard, a nondescript shop tucked away from prying eyes.
The shop was known to those who dealt in the arcane and the forbidden, it felt like it had appeared before her offering her an alternative to the dark nature of the task she had been tasked to carry out. She stood before two ornate wooden doors, the trace of magic shimmered across the arcane lock, she felt a pull, she was being beckoned in as she stood before the doors, they began to open and she hoped it would be the right place for her to turn too in this moment, where all her darkest fears had turned into a nightmarish reality for her.
Inside the shop, the dim light of flickering candles cast eerie shadows on the walls, illuminating shelves filled with mystical trinkets and potions. The woman approached the counter where a large humanoid feline dressed in a fine silk suit, a Rakshasa presided, his gaze instantly met the woman as she entered his domain. Curiosity lingered in his eyes as he gravitated towards the woman.
“Kuja purveyor and distributor of all that is arcane and unknown at your service madame....” He trailed off waiting for her introduction as with a a simple hand gesture the arcane spun from his fingers in an almost imperceivable tendril of light, the candles stopped flickering a more solid light filled the room, there is no where to hide anymore. In this room Kuja will make sure all aspects of a person are bought to light.
With trembling hands, she unwrapped the bundle to reveal a small new born. At first glance, the child appeared human, but upon closer inspection, patches of grey almost silver scales adorned his tiny body. Small horns jutted from his head, a small crown of fair hair coated his scalp, his tiny body was spotted with patches of silver scales. A inhuman child whilst mostly unseen is not unheard of, these children finding their way to him however, is all to familiar, he had always had a soft spot for the inhuman children. His feline features softened as he takes in the small new born, as quick as they regarded him with a empathic gaze it was gone and he was able to realise the true treasure trove this child would be.
He was a being touched by more than magic, a child that should not have been born on these shores, but now that Kuja had him, he had no intention of letting the being go easily, as much as he tried to school his expression, he is sure the tight pull of his whiskers as he forced himself to not smile, gave him away.
“I was told to cast him to the sea” she whispered, her voice breaking. “But I couldn’t... then I found your establishment and something pulled me here”
“He is but hours old, are you sure you want to bring him here?” Kuja offered the woman a moment of compassion as his eyes narrowed, he studied the child a little more, magic and something else clung to the small being fiercely, it made his heart race, excitement hummed through him he has not had such a being come into his possession before. “He is far from his home, but to cast him to the sea? That is not where he belongs”
“They were not trying to send him home, but to his death. I need your help. Please,” she pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. “They want him dead, but can’t you fix him? Give him a life?”
“A life, it is possible” Kuja’s large hands stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You understand the cost? Such a life cannot be easily contained. To spare him of the dark fate you intended for him, he must be bound, his magical essence locked away.”
The woman nodded. “What ever it takes, I have gold, I can pay.”
“Then answer me this, what is the price of a soul?” He regarded the child with a certain softness but it was the mothers soul he was interested in appraising.
“Can you place a price on such a thing?” She looked between the small baby and the large cat like creature before her. Where tears had threatened her vision before she now appears to be focused and calm.
“Then you understand that gold holds little value to me. My cost comes in different forms.”
“Then what do you want?” Her tone was curt, a caring façade broken under the bright light of truth that filled the store.
“This particular cost is not for you, the child will bare the cost, he must be bound, severed from all that holds him now, the cost from you is his name, it has to be given in contract.” To this Kuja smiled, his mind already moving to the next trade, he just needed the woman to hurry up.
“You want me to name him?”
“A soul without a name has no anchor to hold him here. Without a name he will be free to return to you as soon as he is able.” Not only able to ensure the woman suffers for her deception but to claim his rightful place. Children spirits can be dangerous if not tempered and manipulated into the perfect vessel of will.
“That must never happen, this thing has to be as good as dead to me.”
“Then the cost is a name, nothing more, nothing less. For the price of a name a hard life of servitude awaits him are you sure this is the life you want to bestow on him?”
She nodded, at no cost to herself she couldn’t imagine a finer outcome. “The alternative is no life at all, I cannot bare such a stain on my conscience. What kind of name does it need?”
“You must name him with the love of a mother, without such power the name bestowed will not hold and he will return and seek vengeance, that I will be bound to no intervene” Kuja said, his voice low and resonant.
“Choose a name that will bind him to me until he can speak his true name in full.” It was clear that the Rakshasa collected and traded lives for all manner of costs, as the woman looked around the room in the bright light the noticed the floor to ceiling drawers on each wall each one with a small name plate. A box appeared on the counter beside the small writhing child, every name plate held the name of a deal made. “The name?”
The woman hesitated, then looked down at the infant with a mixture of fear and sorrow, she did not wish to claim the child as hers, however if a name is all it takes to be rid of this mistake then she can name him, she spoke a name feeling uneasy but knowing it is ultimately for the best.
Kuja nodded, a satisfied glint in his eye. “Very well under my protection he will remain until the day he speaks his true name.” The magic grew in a purple hue until it completely wrapped around the child, then with a snap of his fingers the small child drifted out of her arms and off into a dark corner where the woman was sure something moved around inside it, she forced it from her mind and focused on the idea that she is doing the child a favour. Life no matter how hard is better than none.
As she turned to leave she paused, her voice echoed in now the dimly lit shop. “He is never to know me, or the place in which he was born”
“Remember, the bond is strong with him, to be born in such a state he has a touch of the divine in him.”
“I don’t care, he is to never know me...”
“As his mother you have forsaken everything all his gifts and...” Kuja had thought to tell her everything since it was now too late to change it, the deal was struck.
“I am no mother to that. Just see to it that it has a life away from the border.”
Kuja understood that the child was not going to be silenced forever, but he would craft a narrative that would put the young child in his debt, a free slave is a gift that has the potential to keep on giving. And he could raise him to be exactly what he needed eyes and ears everywhere, this would be a very lucrative trade. A trade that did not have to end with only one slave, another opportunity presents it’s self, as often happened when people crossed his threshold. “Are you wanting to trade one more thing, to replace his life for one without such a fate?”
“You have a baby I could claim as my own?” At this the woman turned around her eyes bright with hope.
“I do, have a way to procure such an item.” He pulls a doll from one of the nameless boxed that had appeared on a new shelving unit behind him. A row of six unnamed boxes, empty and ready to hold the essence of a deal. “Take this place it in your crib, tomorrow when you wake you will find the replacement child.” Kuja handed the woman a wooden doll, a smile tugged at the corners his large canines on show as he pauses. “one moment, here this is better.” He handed it to her as he had wrapped it, in the blanket she had carried the infant to him in.
“What of the cost? I have only a small amount of gold but I can return with more.”
“Gold is not the currency to trade here you know this already” His tone had turned curt, he was clearly feeling the strain from his interaction, he had a child to subdue, he would deal with this woman later. “How about this, I will give you this as a gift, with the addendum that one day I may require a gift in return of my choosing.”
“That is it?” The woman seemed genuinely surprised, which only encouraged Kuja.
“Yes, one day I will come to you and ask for something, nothing that will cause you any harm.”
The woman grabbed the doll and held it tight, “Deal.” she did not hesitate or look back as she left the store, she had just given a child to slavery and as easily as she handed him off she disappeared back into the shadows of the city.
