Where Captain Reaper narrates his mother's origins, from a different land of different time and world building.

Reaper's POV:
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"Athens, my mother's homeland as she knew it, was also under dominion. However as long as she lived there, she could remember she had privileges and fortune, rather thanks to the dominators."

"Who?"

"Even as we're speaking, Athens is still under the rule of the Ottomans." I see Geno's face, confused and more interested and can immediately guess who he's thinking of. "Yes Yalin's origins." He stares at me a little more with this adorable expression.

(athens was historically under dominion of the ottoman empire from 1458 to 1822 (and again from 1827 to 1832). only after that, athens and generally all areas that belong to greece started as a whole becoming a free country)

"How were they treatin' the monsters generally?"

"Everyone hears about the Ottomans and they say how ruthless and merciless they are, with their laws and mania to expand and be a pain for the Christians."

"Ain't there also the fact that they use pirates as their navy to destroy others?"

"Corsairs. That's right."

"Tough living with 'em."

"Mostly if you're a human."

"Huh?"

"If there's one more reason most of other lands really despise the Ottomans, or rather completely disagree with 'em, that is because they treat in a completely different manner the monsters. They seem to rather like them. Not in the friendly or loving way, but treatin' the monsters right gives them important advantages. For starters, by not causin' problems, by not putting them do the hard work and by not asking from them large or impossible taxes, these tactics help the Ottomans keep them in line."

"Like, don't fight us or attempt to free yourselves from our dominion and we will keep treatin' ya decently, plus allow ya to thrive?"

"Somethin' like that."

"And so they pressure their own humans far more than monsters?"

"Yup. Both dominated and of their race."

"But just like that? No way the Ottomans didn't ask for anythin' important from the monsters."

"Aside askin' them not to fight back, the reason they wanted 'em compromising and calm was for their magic powers. Any of the Elemental or Phenomenal monsters, who more often possess more magical abilities were important for the dominators. Aside the easy taxes, the Ottomans wanted the monsters to help 'em make magic weapons easy for the humans to control and effective in battle."

"Now that sounds more human."

"And the payment for any monster that was helpin' with the weapons was generous. The only problems the monsters would face from the Ottomans were about religion and population. While they weren't pressuring them to make 'em Muslims, they also wanted them but followin' any other religion. Which also meant that whatever monster rituals there were, these were banned. That was easier to handle however, as monsters could perform their own non-human rituals and rules when the dominators weren't lookin'."

"And about population?"

"Due to the much longer life span monsters have and the longer time to conceive more, to keep the numbers in line, in most cases the dominators weren't allowin' them to have more than 2 kids. And for each monster category they were allowed to conceive only after a specific age. Animalistics were allowed after their 40's, Phenomenals after their 80's and Elementals after their 150's. Each little land, village and town that had monsters, there was a specific number they had to keep. Once a year, Ottomans were comin' to count the populations of monsters and their age. If for example a small part or area was allowed around 200 monsters and said limit was breakin' a lot, then a cruel measure, worse than death was to be followed. The Ottomans would proceed on takin' the youngest kids from their parents."

"What?!"

"They aren't killin' them. No. They're trainin' them as soulless, cold soldiers and that same thing is done to the humans. The kids of the dominated, humans and monsters that are taken by force when still babies, are called Janissaries." I see Geno's concerned expression and proceed to look forward. Yes, sounds terrible, but it's the reality I've been told and all has to be said. "It's one of the few but cruellest measures Ottomans have for the monsters and one good enough reason for rebellion. And if treason is discovered, then heads are gettin' cut off. From the time my mother's parents were still alive, they had witnessed such things, quite many times actually. Treasons, babies being taken forcefully-."

"And if the population was droppin'???"

"Only then the Ottomans would allow the monsters to have more than 2 kids. Usually 3, but there had been more difficult times that needed 'em repopulate even faster."

"I see... So, these were the circumstances under which your mother was born? Her parents were alright then, right?"

"Yes. They were livin' in a big, well-put village, with most inhabitants having quite lot of property to live. And the Sófrons, my mother's family, was one of the richest in Athens. A line that has roots almost from the ancient times was said. My grandparents there, Néfus and Rótha were a happy pair of skeletons. They had everything one could ask for. Big house, personal land, monster staff that loved and admired 'em, riches… and even though they were grateful they had all that and the Ottomans were allowin' them to keep 'em, they had a deep sorrow rooted in their souls. 'Cause one thing was missin' from their lives to feel complete and truly happy."

"What was it?"

"They longed and tried for decades for a kid. They desired to hear laughter in their house, from a little soul birthed by them. To see it doin' from the most simple first things like taking its first steps, or hear saying its first words, to growin' up strong and beautiful, see it getting married to the one they love and make its own family. And from the first day of being married, they tried. Many years passed and the kid wasn't coming. Matter of fact they were about to close their 200 year age and they still hadn't become parents. They would see other monsters had already their own kids and complete families and even preparing to become grandparents!"

"Wow? This is… sad."

"To be an Elemental that can outlive most monsters if not gettin' killed early, yes, that is sorrowful. For my grandparents too, it definitely was. But it wasn't just their sadness, they knew quite many monsters were whisperin' behind their backs. Not in an ill manner, but even by just commentin' about how sad it must be for the Sófrons not to have conceived was hurtful for my grandparents. There were others who were consoling them, givin' courage and saying to not loose hope, that the kid would come eventually. Even the Ottomans who were coming to check on the monster populations had somethin' to comment. Some of them were just straight up rude and lookin' at my grandparents sayin' «How are the children?», or «Even our skeletons will grow beards until the day you make a child»."

"*ssholes."

"Others were slightly more considerate, but in a hidden way just tryin' to change my grandparents mindset. They were tellin' grandma Rótha somethin' about Allah being mighty and big and that if they prayed to him, he could pity them and give the kid they so wanted."

"Way to try turn a monster into Muslim."

"Anyways, as said my grandparents were about to reach their 200's, which is considered for an Elemental the age where the chances of conceiving start get slowly lower. Upon their desperation, they decided to go on a trip up high in the mountains, after the Ottomans would be done with the counting. Up there was a secret temple lead only by priestesses that honored and perceived the meaning of life itself, passin' down messages of appreciation and love for it. It was open to all monsters and would never reveal itself if humans were near. My grandparents would often go to witness some celebrations and offer stuff for support. For this time, they were seeking for advice. However it was way too dark when they got there, the temple was empty and the priestesses had gone to sleep as it seemed. Grandpa had temporarily left so he could set roughly their beds and wait in the morning for the priestesses to be available. While grandma walked further in the temple and she stopped in front of the statue that was meant to represent life. As she looked at it, she just broke down crying. She kneeled in front of it and hugged it by the legs. She was talking about all she had been given and had in her life, except from the kid she and her husband so wanted. At some point grandpa walked in too and kneeled next to her. In that moment, as they looked at each other, it was as if the same thought had passed through their skulls. Without discussin', without exchanging a single word, they turned to look at the statue and grandma started talking again. She prayed and gave an oath."

"Woah…" Geno does and he seems to starts paying even more attention.

"She said that if they were granted the blessing of havin' even at least one kid and it was a girl, once she turned 15 they would offer her to the temple so she would become a follower and perceiver of life. Of course they wouldn't see her gettin' married or see grandkids. But if it meant havin' a taste of parenthood even for a few years and feel the pure love towards one that was result of them both, it would be more than enough for them."

"Did that work?!" I smile.

"My grandparents slept through the night after this. In the morning however when they woke up they were still alone. They walked around and later they were informed from a monster shepherd who had happen to pass nearby that the priestesses had left the temple just 2 days ago for a trip to another. They would be back in 2 months. The disappointment took over and my grandparents returned home. A month passed like that. Then, one morning, as grandpa woke up, he didn't find grandma sleeping next to him. But he heard her. Screamin' and cryin' loudly. He ran to find her near the kitchen and frantically asked what was wrong. Our prayers have been heard! At last Néfus! Look! And she presented her soul to him. A smaller one was attached to hers."

"They made it!"

"The house in an instant was filled with joy and excitement. Grandpa was almost literally ready to start dancing. He would go around the house running and jumping, announcing the news for whoever had ears to hear, only to return to grandma, hold her gently by the waist, lift her in the air and spin her around. Or pepper her with small kisses all over her face. When their first excitement passed and the whole staff in the house knew by now that their Lady was expecting, they hugged."

"My instinct tells me that this baby was gonna be so 'wholesouledly' loved." Geno comments and I nod as I chuckle.

"Though extremely happy, my grandparents became very careful. This baby could be their one and only and they wouldn't do anything that could risk even a tiny bit its health. Anyways, the whole village was happy too for the Sófrons and wishing the best for the baby, to be healthy, strong, beautiful and such. The room my grandparents had prepared for when they would have their first baby and it had caught cobwebs was renovated and refreshed. They weren't gonna prepare clothes yet, as the gender couldn't be discovered. At least with any tools or anythin'. There's only that instinct of the pregnant monster, that can feel the gender of the baby before it's even born. And grandma was sayin' that deep inside she felt the baby would be a girl."

"And she wasn't wrong."

"Of course."

"Were they sad for the fact that they had promised a girl to the temple of life if they were gettin' one? And then, there they were, with a still unborn girl."

"A little, but an oath is an oath. They were still over the moon for having the chance to become parents. Even to a little future priestess. And 7 months after the discovery of the new family member, grandma went into labor. It was a rather difficult one, it lasted for 6 whole days."

"6?!"

"Perhaps given her age, it was more complicated. And grandma had to go almost through all that pain by herself. There's almost no way to help an Elemental give birth, they gotta endure it themselves until the baby's soul gets unattached from its mother's. All that could be done as support was for grandpa to hold her hand and in the process break his."

Rai's POV:
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"ooof." i said.

Reaper's POV:
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"Everyone was in agony. The staff were so worried they couldn't get much work done around the house. Not even change the wilted flowers with fresh ones. And at last, on the evening of the 6th day, with one last loud cry from grandma, the room was filled in a strong light that made everyone cover their eyes and fall down from the impact. Then, the first cries of the baby were heard, almost sounded like music as they filled the room. After all this struggle and fatigue, grandma found just enough strength to hold her newborn in her arms and close to her chest, crying tears of joy. Grandpa next to her, fighting hard to not start cryin' too kissed her, then the baby, then again her. Little by little, all others present in the room started congratulating their masters for the baby. But then one of them observed something interesting."

"Hm?"

"I mentioned before that as everyone was worried for their Lady, they weren't moving much around the house to do chores. Well, one maid mentioned that the flowers in the room weren't wilted anymore. Instead, they were filled in their original color and beauty, as if they've never been cut from their roots even. And they became like that only after the baby was born and its aura filled the room. Generally everyone, despite the agony, they all were feeling suddenly very refreshed. Grandpa had observed that too and admitted it. Him and grandma looked at their baby in surprise and awe. There was definitely something special about her and she would be nothin' like a normal skeleton. After takin' a moment to think, they named her Persephone and decided to enjoy the fact she was in their lives."

"All that, did your mother narrate 'em to ya in the way she heard from her own parents?"

"Correct."

"How… was she as a character?" I press my back against the couch and exhale from my nose.

"As a little baby and later little girl, no monster had ever seen one being as happy and joyful as Persephone. Her smiles were causing instantly others around her to feel happy. Her little giggles and laughter were like running water of a calm river. If she cried, it would be only for a little as she would calm down easily when her parents would come for her. And when she started walking, her magical powers had started becoming more and more obvious. For starters, even before she learned how to stand and walk around, she showed interest towards nature and flowers. First in the house, anywhere she would see flowers on vases, she would go there and start talkin' to them, even touch their petals gently. She would show a great concern for the flowers that would wilt and go for them first. Unintentionally and without much realisation, everytime she would touch 'em, they were gettin' back to their first fully blossomed state."

"Woooah!"

"Her parents were seeing this and they couldn't understand. Persephone had no powers from the typical ones skeletons have. She couldn't use bones, blue magic or teleport, but instead she had an inclination as a plant whisperer. When she started goin' out more with her parents, all monsters little by little saw her capabilites too. Much to their surprise, anywhere Persephone would pass by, the flowers would turn to her direction as if she was the sun and they were sunflowers. Another time at 5 years old, as she had gotten away from her parents to explore the village by herself, she fell, scratched her knee and started crying. Her tears would fall on the ground and flowers would grow. The monsters around saw her and they couldn't believe their eyes."

"She must have become the talk of the village for years."

"Indeed. And while at first everyone had freaked out, they quickly learned to accept her and her powers. Ever since she was born little by little the production of crops and livestock would improve greatly in quality and quantity. Persephone knew, she could sense immediately the needs of the plants and even animals. She wasn't being exploited and the villagers were askin' for her assistance only if she could. But there was no problem, cause Persephone was by herself willing and always up to help her fellow villagers. Of course havin' such little miracle amongst them had better not to reach the dominators and they were layin' low when the Ottomans were around."

"Reasonable."

"Speaking of witch, not only the monsters loved and adored Persephone, even the Ottomans who would come to claim taxes or count the monster population seemed to show some sympathy. From the first year she was born and they arrived to count, before they could even mock the Sófrons for not havin' a kid, grandma Rótha suddenly calls her husband and he arrives with Persephone in his arms. Their reaction went from slight surprise to indifference. Hmmm, finally you made one. They just said. And the next years they would come to count, the more Persephone grew, the more she showed her cheerful bubbly self to them. Though it was slightly dangerous bein' all happy and open with these dominators, even if ya were a monster."

"Why?"

"It has to do more about the respect, or learn to know your place when you address the higher hierarchy. It was common for the monsters to greet the Ottomans by bowing down to them and not raise head until they were asked to. They might were treated alright, but again that didn't mean they were buddies with the conquerors. Even the monster kids were taught to do so from very early in life. However Persephone was escapin' that rule for being so positive and cheerful, for being contagious almost and breaking the seriousness of the rough trained and seemingly empty from many emotions dominators. Or at least catching 'em off guard, who didn't know what to do with her. And it began from when she was 4 years old. Casually the Ottomans had come to count the population and as her parents had lowered heads, they realised Persephone was nowhere to be seen. But then they see her running towards the humans all giggly and happy, who knows where she had gone to all this time, causin' them to draw out their special knives called yatagans."

"Uh oh!"

"Immediately her parents tried to get her down, but then she started insisting intensively that she had to talk to the humans. And before anyone could stop her, she walks up to one of the humans and hands him a flower, still with its roots. Then she went to all others and handed them from a flower."

ottomans on the inside: *confused screaming*

"These dudes were ready to stab and she was goin' around handing flowers. Darn, the innocence!"

"When each man had from a flower, only then Persephone stood next to her parents, but still didn't bow down. She kept staring at the confused humans and asked if they liked the flowers. After starin' at each other awkwardly, they decided telepathically to just turn at her and thank her. And from that moment on, everytime humans would come to check on the populations or buy products from the monsters, she would hand 'em flowers. With that gesture and her sweetest smiles, these tough-lookin' men were slightly breaking and a few of them were actually smilin' at her."

"Girl has no enemies!"

"They had no heart, or rather had enough heart to not ruin her cheerful mood. Now, whatever they were doin' after leavin' the monster village, it could probably be another story. Who knows. Word about her bein' the sweetest flower giver reached the Ottomans, just a lil' cute and positive subject, something to tell to any other humans who would come to the village though. Nothin' much. About her incredible plant powers, that remained untold, only for the monsters to know."

"And what about the temple your grandparents would eventually send her to?"

"Now that you mention it, very often her parents would take Persephone up to that temple, so she could meet the place and perhaps hope that she would love it just enough to be part of it on her own accord and will. They had discussed with the high priestess there about the oath they had given to dedicate Persephone when she would turn 15 years old, the age from which new priestesses were allowed to become part of the temple. Said priestess had hear word about Persephone's incredible powers with the plants and animals, the sensitivity she had towards them, how she could get with her tears and touch to make plants go back to their previous fresh state or make them grow and heal wounds. Hearin' that she was a desired kid, asked straightforward from the statue of the personification of life, plus her incredible insight, she immediately understood that Persephone wasn't just possessin' plant whisperer's properties, she was possessing the abstract meaning of life itself and that she definitely belonged to the temple of life, to serve and pass down its messages."

"A skeleton priestess of life huh?" Geno asks impressed.

"For any monster it's very rare to control life magic. And my mother was blessed to have it. Glad to hear that, but with even heavier souls, Persephone's parents kept takin' her to the temple for visits. All that, plus a very friendly priestess who was the only other one that could actually control life magic too, slowly made mother grow fond of the temple. She would ask by herself her parents to go there so she could talk with Gaia, the priestess she had become friends with and hear her knowledge. Friend, despite she was 30 years older than her."

"Friendships don't have age."

"And they don't age." I nod. "When Persephone was 14 years old, she told her parents she wanted to become a priestess of life and that she had learned to love the place. She was given freedom to interact with her fellow villagers, to play with kids her age and perhaps just choose to live just like the most and she ended up wanting to get in the temple and dedicate herself to the beauty of life."

"Ah, so she ended up really on her own will to choose such life."

"Yup. Besides her parents would never stand it if they were just locking their daughter away and tell her that she was destined for only one thing. For the first time they talked to her about how they prayed upon the statue of life, askin' for a kid and if it was born a girl, they would give her to the temple, wantin' her however at the same time to grow up like a normal monster kid. After they made sure that Persephone wasn't feeling pressured, she thanked 'em for loving her enough to allow her other experiences aside the one they originally had her for. But since she had ended up wanting it too, no one had to feel bad. Mother had already been told by Gaia herself that if she chose to become a priestess, she could never get married, fall under the bond of Eros, have intercourse and kids of her own. But she had made up her mind and she was ready to sacrifice all these to dedicate herself as a priestess of life."

"So everything went alright?"

"Yes. No spoiled relationships or deep sorrow. And so, at the age of 15 she finally went through the ceremony that would initiate her to the cult of life and became a priestess. She had learned all routines and rituals, she got deep into the philosophy and all other priestesses loved their newest member dearly. And thanks to Gaia being both like her mentor and elder sister, almost a second mother, she had adjusted quickly and well. There was the danger of followin' the cult of life however. Normally the priestesses weren't allowed to leave the temple, but one of the few reasons they were allowed to do so, or rather had to, was to return to the village when the Ottomans would come to count the population. They had to pretend they were simple monster villagers until they would leave."

"Good excuse to see your family even once a year. That, if they don't climb the mountain themselves to see their daughters."

"True. On other occasions the priestesses would leave the temple to go to other villages that had still standin' temples of life, perform collaborative rituals and exchange philosophy upon life."

"What are some of the rituals and routines in the life of such a priestess?"

"Mother would describe me activities such as planting so they could keep the lands colorful and beautiful if there was not much plant life. They were taught the names of all plants and flowers and learnin' to make medicines. They had near the temple also a shelter where they would take in injured or sick animals, restore them back to health and when ready, release them back to the wild. Also they used to work well as secret scouts and inform in special ways if somethin' important was about to approach the village."

"Really interesting."

No one's POV:
-

Reaper's expression darkened as his eyesockets both turned hollow. Geno understood the change, it could be felt in the air.

"... That wouldn't last forever however. There somethin' happened for your mother to end up in Hispania." He hesitated. "... Are you... can ya continue?" He hadn't loose interest once from the Captain's narration, but while he had been invested far more than he would want to admit, he could see they were about to enter a difficult part of the story.

If he was asked to talk about his family's forceful leave so Calisia and her friends wouldn't kill them all, only to end up killing Stephan, boy he would have a hard time start talking about that too! Not hearing Reaper saying anything, Geno decided to give him space. He stood up but before he could turn towards the door and leave, he felt Reaper holding him by the wrist gently.

Easily Geno could just escape the hold, given that pirate was holding him! Before he could even do that, Reaper let go by himself. He just pat the spot next to him and leaned forward resting his elbows on his thighs, his expression still lost and intense. The siren hesitantly sat down and waited for the other skeleton to say anything.

"... 5 years into the priestess' life and on her 20s, the temple was discovered by the Ottomans. Had someone spied and saw the location of the temple? Someone betrayed its existence? None of the priestesses knew, the only thing they knew was that the Ottomans had surrounded the area the temple was in and threatening 'em to come out and surrender by themselves if they didn't want things «To get dusty». Weak to fight back, the priestesses had no choice but to come out and hand themselves to the dominators. What's one of the saddest parts in this situation, was that amongst the human soldiers, there were also monsters. From the ones taken when babies."

"Monster janissaries..."

"Mother would remember and shiver as she had me in her arms, their expressions were speakin' volumes about how much brainwashed they were by the Ottomans. Trained to show no emotion, no pity, no sadness for their fellow monsters. Like the priestesses they were targeting with their weapons then. Persephone was taken with her company inside carriages, however they went first to the village. The Ottomans brought 'em to the plaza and forcefully took them out of the carriages. Then they commanded to apprehend the parents of the priestesses. They knew damn well which families had ones. Soon all families of the priestesses were gathered and forced to kneel down. Then, monster janissaries again, went each behind from an individual and pressed the blades of their yatagans against their throats. For the Elementals they pressed the tips of their weapons on their backs, where the soul was restin'."

"Oh Hell no..." Geno did quietly.

"Amongst the kneeled, my mother saw her parents. She immediately tried to run towards them, but then one of the monster janissaries blocked her way and slapped her so hard across the face she fell down with her cheek cracked. And as they pulled her back to the other priestesses, 2 other monster janissaries interfered to keep her dad down who had become angry from that action. Once things became somewhat calm, the Ottomans started a speech. First they started about their mercy, about how they've allowed for decades the monsters to live unharmed from the dominators' rules and power, with the only conditions being to not overpopulate or follow any religion, unless it was of the Muslims. They had been informed by spies about illegal religious performances and of the location these were happening. And that now, as of then when that happened, they would follow the protocol for treasons like these. They wouldn't punish straightforward the priestesses, but their parents first, 'cause they were the ones who had allowed their daughters to follow that false, in the eyes of Allah, religion. And then, after they 'softened' and said that they were doin' all that for exemplification, wantin' to believe that they would never again have to do somethin' as of that day, the head of the humans turned to the monster janissaries who had in front of them the kneeled ones and commanded them somethin' in Turkish."

"No..."

"They swung their yatagans, slit the throats and stabbed the chests of the monsters, who fell down spasmin', then dustin' and their souls shattered. Panic. Grief. Sorrow. Despair. Shock. Anger. The monster villagers were screamin' in all those, a few of them attemptin' to jump at the Ottomans and 'have a word with them'. After a few monster heads were cut off, everyone backed away from the humans and stayed on crying above their dead friends' ashes. My mother and all priestesses were cryin' more, tryin' to escape the grip of the Ottomans, to even just mourn above their fallen loved ones. 2 of them had managed to escape, for the cost of their lives as each was shot in the chest from a bullet, soon joining the other piles of dust and their parents in the monster afterlife."

Geno was listening from the beginning of the slaughter with wide open eyesocket, covering his mouth with both hands from the descriptions. So the cruelty was same everywhere! Neverending for the monsters or anyone!

"That's another reason why they were keepin' records of the monsters! They weren't only tryin' to keep the populations under control, they had to make sure they knew exactly who related with who, to get a completely painful revenge! These priestesses had to watch their parents- their PARENTS! Dyin' in front of them!" He thought, triggered with rage from that part of the narration. "And the brainwashed monsters?! Stars! The Ottomans kidnap the monster babies, raise them as soulless husks and train 'em do their own kind dirty!" His hands pressed on his thighs had turned to fists, and his teeth were clenched tightly. "Bastardos..." He whispered.

"Eh?" Reaper did, snapping out of the cruelty of the narration and looked at Geno's angered expression.

"Bastardos!" Geno snapped and stared intensively at Reaper, talking out loud his thoughts from before. The Captain looked ahead, seemingly indifferent for Geno's snap.

"... And it only gets worse." He said. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "They took the priestesses and my mother away from the village. They travelled for a few days, until they reached Piraeus, the Port of Athens. The women didn't know what was gonna happen. Except from one. And that one would only make everyone's mood worse."

"What did she say?!"

i don't do that often, but perhaps i should, even if it isn't after all that serious or big. gotta respect in any case the young audiences:

⚠️warning, mention and implications of 🔞 ahead⚠️

"The Ottomans might had not said it before, but the priestesses were gonna get displaced from their homeland. If it was only that, perhaps at least half the women wouldn't have to faint. But she continued and said that there was no way they were gonna stay untouched. They were gonna humiliate 'em by..." Reaper didn't complete his sentence, but Geno knew where was this going.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me..." He thought as he was shaking his head left and right. Reaper looked at him and slowly started nodding.

"... And once again, it wasn't the humans who would do that. They might not be thinkin' highly of women and consider 'em useful only for pleasure, but they have enough dignity not to touch animals. They would do their kind and their soulless monster soldiers were gonna do their own."

"I'm almost convinced now I hate human Ottomans with every fiber of my being as much as the Portuguese." Geno thought, even more triggered by the second.

"The priestesses were send in a ship full of corsairs, a crew of both humans and brainwashed monsters. They announced their arrival as 'gift' for their monsters, a reward for their services on the sea and being so loyal to Allah and the Sultan."

"Fresh meat they rather meant." Geno whispered, a little louder than he intended and Reaper heard him.

"... The commands were simple. The women were gonna head for Crete and get presented to the Venetians as a form of intimidation, after they would break them in any way possible."

"Just to try and scare them!" The smol said again, at this point boiling.

"Yes. But during the trip, the monster corsairs were free to do as they pleased with 'em. And so, my mother, from the light of the clear sky, was suddenly thrown in the dark of the bottom of a ship's deck. She got violently dragged by a corsair skeleton in one of the many rooms. He threw her on the floor like she was a rag. He ignored her terrified cries and pleads. He hit her hard enough to loose her senses but not completely. Hə vıœłæτəð hər..." As Reaper's voice cracked, a few stuff in the room started flying.

Geno saw that and forgetting about his anger from before, without much thought he placed his hand on the other's shoulder. Reaper snapped out of his rage and looked at Geno surprised. The smaller gathered his hand back and looked away awkwardly. Silence befell them for a few seconds.

"... Sorry. Ya were... havin' a moment." He said. Reaper slowly looked forward with an empty expression, a little bit more calm and collected with Geno's interference.

"I needed that." He exhaled from his nose. "... For a whole week, my mother lived that Hell. She constantly stayed locked in that room of the ship, opened only to be given an almost non-existent portion of food, or for that same skeleton to torture her again. One might think that for an Elemental it can't be that painful when havin' intercourse. Well, nah. When the monster is submissive and ain't under the bond of Eros, intercourse is always simply pain and nothin' else. It's a constant soul attack that doesn't kill immediately but takes its time to do so, until the body can't take it anymore." Geno gulped. "Persephone lived in constant pain, physical, mental, emotional. She had the sweet memories of her parents bein' violently stepped over by the one of seeing the yatagans going through their ribcages, she could hear from nearby rooms other of her fellow priestesses bein' violated. She couldn't sleep as when she was closin' eyesockets she was seein' all traumatic memories taunting her. And when she was awake she was tryin' not to go crazy. She had to endure that skeleton who wasn't exhalin' a single word, just slappin' and hitting when Persephone was resisting, leavin' her hours later a mess and on the verge of madness." Reaper paused again rubbing his eyesockets firmly as if he was sleepy, or trying to hold back first tears.

Geno looked at him with deep sadness. Then lowered his head. A different kind of path filled with pain for his mother. Taken away from her homeland just because. Just because! He clenched the fabric of his trousers in his fists and after a few seconds relaxed the grip. He thought for a moment.

"... The ship however never reached Crete." He looked at Reaper. "... What happened after... that one week?" He asked. Reaper took a much longer pause than any other time, but he soon answered.

"... The new day arose with intensive walkin' above the women's heads. The corsairs were worried about somethin'. And they could be heard talkin' about that somethin'. Another ship was attackin' them. Cannonballs were heard booming in the distance. A battle was occurrin'. Persephone however couldn't care less at this point. She had broken almost completely from the torture, never havin' been used to it. If death was comin' now, it was more than welcomed to get her. The battle above them became more intensive. The offenders had stepped on the Ottoman ship, slaughtering its crew. The battle was doomed for the corsairs. Soon different kind of steps echoed through the ship's corridors, openin' the doors and the priestesses screams were heard. Most likely taken away. Persephone didn't even have the strength to do that as the door of her prison swung open, not even to raise head. She only saw a pair of big black boots walkin' slowly towards her before just beggin' for him to kill her and faint." He momentarily paused again to turn his look to the ceiling.

"... And then?"

"... She woke up to the sound of horse, walkin' slowly on paved floor. She looked around her. Surrounded by wooden walls, layin' on it too. There was only a small square opening with bars. A carriage. She was alone in it. With difficulty she crawled towards that opening, managed to stand up and look outside. From her given view, she could see small houses, humans and a few monsters walking around and they were dressed differently from how she knew. The language sounded at times familiar to her, but despite melodic, for the most part it was unintelligible. She heard on the front the manly voice of the driver singin' in that language, as if with no care in the world, cheerful and happy. Confused and unable to understand where she was, Persephone tried to call loudly for the driver to hear her. After a few seconds of yellin', a secret window opened opposite to the already existin' one and the face of some kind of monkey monster stared at her. ¡Buenos días mujer! ¿Finalmente despierto? Of course mother didn't understand him and she tried to ask him in her language where she was and what was this land. Of course the driver didn't understand anything either and just laughed. Hermosa Griego Otomana, no te entiendo. ¡Bienvenidos a Valencia por cierto! He just told her and closed the window he had opened, to focus on the road. The only words my mother understood were Griego Ottomana, as that was a name given to the Greeks dominated by the Ottomans and that of Valencia. She had hear mentions of that land and that it was in Hispania. Hispania then! Just how long was she uncoscious? Days? Weeks? She could just remember the last time she was awake bein' before that pirate could take 2 steps towards her. She couldn't believe she was in Hispania now. But more over she couldn't believe she was still alive. While she was confused about that, she was also sad. She didn't have her friends the other priestesses with her. She couldn't ask the driver, as they obviously couldn't understand each other. And with these thoughts she became scared. Where was she taken and what else her Fate had in store for her? She sat down and for the rest of the trip she tried to think of all she had gone through and sometimes trynna guess what was gonna happen. Hours later and as she was about to fall asleep, the carriage finally stopped. She focused her attention on the door, which opened and the monkey monster signed her to come out. Hesitantly Persephone stepped out of the carriage and momentarily got blinded by the sun, realizing she hadn't seen it in a long time. When she got used to the light, she looked around. She was in some kind of courtyard and in front of a huge rich house. The monkey laughed with her surprise and while gesturing her to wait right where she was standing, he walked in the house to do who knew what. Persephone just stood as she kept staring at the house. Her new destination and perhaps from now on forever residence."

7090 words.

how do you find the backstory so far? please let me know in the comments. was it boring or it only makes ya more curious to see what else is gonna happen? if so, stay determined and patient to find out. goodbye bambini :3 *pat pet pot pit put*