Chapter Text
Once upon a time, in some fantasy, yet steamy, solarpunky, and gothically Medieval Era land, a pair of young women traveled the countryside together. Since they kept to themselves, no one really knew where they came from and where they were going. But everyone left them alone because they were clearly witches who hunted the monsters that terrorized the countryside. In these parts, Monster Hunting was a difficult and thankless job. (Only the bravest and the craziest people, with nothing to live for, worked as Monster Hunters.) However, they weren’t Monster Hunters – professional, amateur, or the kind who practiced without a license.
But these two witches had known each other since childhood. The reddish-haired one, named Patricia Cake-Álvarez, was raised by her dad and grandma. Her family called her “Patty.” Patty’s grandma, Doña Citrina, was a local healer because she was a Candy Witch who specialized in Restoration magic. For this reason, Doña Citrina who also took care of the black-haired witch, named Georgina Silverhand, called “Gina,” because she was a very sickly child left in her care. She eventually taught both girls basic witchcraft. (After all, as the local healer, many people from the nearby villages flocked to their cottage for help and Doña Citrina needed all the help she could get.) They made money treating the sick and selling homemade potions.
The three of them lived in a cozy colorful little candy cottage near the woods, along with Patty’s dad, a man named Lucas. Lucas was trained as a carpenter, but he found more work as a freelance handyman. However, handymen normally find work in settlements, so Lucas was often forced to leave home for extended periods of time. But he always wired money back to his mom and his two girls. However, Lucas had made certain enemies during his youth and every so often, these enemies stalked and kidnapped him. Usually, Lucas managed to escape and made his way back home, but this sudden absence usually cost him his job. Regardless, everything was going well for the family until Doña Citrina became deathly ill.
Unfortunately, both girls were still novices when it came to Restoration magic, so they couldn't help Doña Citrina when she had fallen ill. However, she wouldn't allow the use of mundane magic on her. (She was concerned it would worsen her condition, since she used magic on a daily basis.) She wished to be treated naturally and requested that the girls bring over the missionary priest who seemed to be one of their few allies. He was a cleric with holy magic, which had no known side-effects.
However, after laying his hands on Doña Citrina, the missionary priest then sent the girls out of the room and proceeded to speak with her in private. Half an hour later, he managed to convince the stubborn old woman to allow him to bring over a field medic to help her. As soon as the field medic arrived, the missionary priest immediately bid them farewell since his boss, the Bishop of Lakeside City, wanted to speak with him.
Unbeknownst to the girls, when attempting to heal Doña Citrina with his holy magic, the missionary priest realized that there was nothing he could do because it was her time to go. Fortunately, he knew a lot about bureaucracy and to make things easier for these innocent girls, he called over the field medic who was to help give the coroner his documented findings. The field medic was aware of this situation, since the priest thoroughly explained it to him. Even though the field medic had arrived within 5 minutes, thanks to fast-travel, Doña Citrina had slipped into a coma.
The girls were distressed but partially relieved to see the field medic, thinking that he’d save Doña Citrina. However, the field medic was there to make sure Doña Citrina’s final moments were comfortable. As per the missionary priest’s orders, they recited a prayer for Doña Citrina.
No sooner had they finished the prayer, both girls and the field medic had to hurry up and exit the cottage immediately since it began to collapse as soon as Doña Citrina died. (It was through Doña Citrina's magic that the candy cottage remained intact for decades. That’s how it worked with Candy Witches.) Of course, the field medic contacted the authorities and gave his report to the coroner. Since Doña Citrina’s death appeared to be of natural causes, no charges were pressed against anyone.
Of course, in these parts, a quick and proper burial was mandatory. Thanks to nearby Lake Chasm, there was a lot of magical energy in the area which increased the risk of the dead becoming reanimated. (And the last thing these countryside peasants needed was to deal with a Zombie Outbreak.) Fortunately, with the missionary priest’s help, they were able to give Doña Citrina a proper burial, at the municipal cemetery located in Lakeside City, the nearest metropolitan area.
The most upsetting part of this entire ordeal was that the girls were unable to notify Lucas, because he had gotten kidnapped about a week earlier and during this time it was impossible to contact him. Lucas was also very close to his mom and would’ve wanted to be with her during her final moments. Not to mention that Lucas was a man who’d been to many places and would be able to help them relocate since the cottage was now gone.
Moving to the nearest settlement, Gumdrop Village, wasn’t easy. The Gumdrop Village village council had passed some unjust laws several decades ago that forbade Candy Witches, like Patty, to live in the settlement. So while Gina would easily be allowed lodging, Patty would not. For this reason, it wasn’t an option for both of them to go there. The missionary priest was well aware of this injustice and the only thing he could do was suggest that the girls go to the convent in Pinewood Town, which was very far away. The convent would gladly take both in while they waited for their father to return but with the emergency funerary expenses, the girls couldn’t afford to go there.
As a last resort, the missionary priest handed them two very valuable silver candle holders and two Elixirs of Health. He suggested that they sell the candle holders to be able to pay a ticket to Pinewood Town, and to carefully ration the elixirs, while they were temporarily displaced. After all, the two young women had to pack up and leave, because they had nowhere to stay. (Due to their circumstances, the girls knew their choices were limited because there weren't any other people who'd be able to help them. The missionary priest had done all he could, which was more than enough and they were eternally grateful.) But still, they had to fend for themselves, which was difficult since they had a mostly sheltered upbringing. After all, Patty and her grandma were both Candy Witches, and Candy Witches stay in magically-fortified houses. There was no need for Patty to become an adventurer. Adventuring also wasn’t recommended for Gina because she had malformed limbs.
Besides also being peasants, the girls struggled to find normal jobs too. They lacked the required skill sets that employers wanted. Not even Patty being a Fire Mage guaranteed her work at a restaurant. Because of this, they had no choice but to resort to mercenary work, which many poor youths try due to desperation. (Only rich youths become mercenaries for an "adventure.") Their faith was thoroughly tested during this ordeal, since they also struggled to find mercenary work.
But a few days ago, the witches had met a couple of monks, on the road, who were returning to their monastery. They asked them to find a certain mutant named Jeriko Kyu, and bring him to their monastery. They described him as an unusually large pale man with long white hair. He also had golden eyes. The monks claimed he was practically impossible to miss, unless he assumed the form of a white fluffy dog with golden eyes. Unfortunately, he was smart enough not to respond whenever people called him by his full name or his nickname, "Jeri."
The monks told the witches that Jeri was a mutant since birth. His condition was mysterious. All that they knew about it was that his "evil tendencies," are kept in check if he's shown kindness and love. Ironically, Jeri was abandoned at birth at their monastery. Recently, their new abbot, named Abbot Howard, told the monks they weren't allowed to keep Jeri there anymore. Abbot Howard claimed that Jeri was a danger to others. (But the only times Jeri ever attacked anyone is whenever he had to defend others.) Jeri's condition actually worsened if he's around wicked people. But actual wicked people don't want to be exposed like this. Many of the monks began to suspect Abbot Howard was a wicked man because he chose to banish him. Worst of all, Abbot Howard had seen Jeri since he arrived at the monastery as a newborn.
Fortunately for Abbot Howard, Jeri took his few belongings and left. He didn't want to cause any problems. However, his departure did cause several problems because many of the monks disagreed with Abbot Howard's decision. These monks knew very well that other people would reject Jeri, and treat him with extreme hostility. For this reason, some of the monks tried to search for him, in order to sneak him back in, but they had no luck.
Those who loved Jeri were all worried about him because he was unfamiliar with life outside the monastery. (Many of the monks forgot to teach him about society, as they thought it was unnecessary. According to them, there was no other place where Jeri belonged.) But, like other youths who came to the monastery at a young age, Jeri needed to choose his vocation; religious life or ordinary life. It was said the previous abbot's grave illness came from a vision which told him that Jeri was meant to live an ordinary life. He refused to accept this outcome, which only hastened his eventual departure.
The monks then offered to pay back the witches with some of their treasures if they brought Jeri back home safe and sound. Although they accepted the offer, they felt conflicted by it. It felt wrong for them to take the payment because these monks only wanted to be reunited with their son.