All I know is toil and work and rice and beans and saying goodbye to loved ones too early. All I have is a family made up of broken people and a community paved with broken streets. All we have is stories and hope and the Lifemaker and each other. All they want from us is the sweat off our backs.
But on one night I have a dream. On one afternoon a child commits a crime. On one dawn the world starts turning towards a new day and the gods are closer than we ever knew them to be.
You were born dirt poor to a mother and father who loved you. You were orphaned at the age of eight because poverty is inherently precarious. Thankfully you grew up in a community that cared for you as best as they could. A community that raised you into the young woman you are today.
You live in a world that used to spark with life and hope and magic. Now there still might be magic but ... it's different.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story takes place in a fictional fantasy world full of fictional fantasy people. Also my take on the magic elements of the world is heavily inspired by my religion of Lokeanism. I recognize that the motifs (is that the right word?) I used in this piece are not necessarily universal.
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This work is in the public domain and anyone can do whatever they want with it.