The Ballad of Kallista Laumee

From the very moment I was born, I was destined for a lifetime of hatred, mockery, and violence. I am what is known as a Cambion, which is a person born with demonic traits due to some kind of demonic lineage in their family (for me it was way way back on my mami's (mother's) side). I can't say for certain what the reactions of the midwives and other village members were, but I have a feeling that my fati's (father's) face at the sight of me was a mix of disgust, shock, and sorrow. At least, I assume so from how often he made that face throughout my childhood.

Unsurprisingly, my childhood was spent with me being isolated and not really playing with the other kids of our village and being judged by both those same kids and oftentimes their parents. After all, I was definitely different with my purple skin and horns, and for many people, that's more than enough reason to hate someone. This didn't end in my childhood though, and it continues even today in my adulthood. But enough whining about my childhood, let me tell you why I'm currently writing this under a bridge while my mates are sleeping around me instead of a cozy home surrounded by my fairly big family.

I don't quite remember what age I was when I was taken since most of my memories are still fuzzy around that time, but what I do remember is why I was there in the first place. I was asked to collect some mushrooms and firewood from the grove that was close to our village since we were experiencing an especially cold desert winter. As I was walking through the cavernous tunnel used to enter the grove, I decided to take a break and try exploring some of the branching paths to try and find a new hideout spot. However, I eventually got turned around a lot and got lost, and it was then I heard the one thing no lost person ever wants to hear: the singing.

This is where my memory starts to fail me, and I'm not sure how I ended up there but I eventually found myself at the source of the singing: a Fae in its garden. The last thing I remember before escaping was it approaching me and placing its hand on my head, well that and the creepiest laughing I have ever heard in my entire life...

Like I said, I don't remember anything from when I was a servant to that thing, but what I do remember is the feeling of being used and corrupted by the time my mind was returned to me. When I snapped out of my cloudy delirium, the very first thing I saw was my mami confronting the creature and it doing the same thing it did to me before I lost it. So, I ran to it in order to stop the ritual because I was not about to lose the only person who ever showed me love to a piece of wood and if I did I'd have no idea how to fix her. Fortunately, I was able to pick up mami's sword and was actually able to put up a fight with the fae (much to my own surprise). However, my sight turned to black and I heard an echoing voice in my head who said "Fine, I shall take my leave. However, allow me to leave you a parting gift for your service..." followed by an explosion of some kind.

When I woke up, it was night and the fae appeared to be long gone. However, my mami was lying next to me and I found she was still breathing. After trying to get her back up, I noticed that her feet were made of some kind of stone and it seemed to be spreading. As she looked at herself, she seemed to realize to me what was happening, and rather than try to run or panic, she just looked at me in a way I've only ever seen at funerals and said something I will never forget: "No matter what they say or do, remember that you will always be loved. This was not your fault my desert glass." and she then held my arm and placed her head on mine. Just like that, she was gone and I truly alone for the first time in my life.

I can't say I was surprised when my father and a group of people from our village found me with my mami and blamed me for what happened, despite my attempts to explain what happened. I can't say I was surprised that they used this as the final straw of their hatred towards me and decided to finally kick me out of my home, saying I was "a curse from the day she was born" and "a freak who causes sorrow and tragedy wherever she steps". What I was surprised by, despite knowing he hated me and was constantly disappointed in me, was that my fati didn't even try to defend me and was the one who signed the order that banished me from the village. I was allowed to witness the funeral and the placing of the healing talisman in an attempt to save her (though I stood away from everyone else), and by morning I was gone. Not a single person said goodbye as I walked through the village and through the village's gate.

So, how did I go from village exile to lead singer in a band? I'll tell you, but first, let me give you a bit of context. I once ran away from home and had made it all the way to the town closest to us, Shaman's Rock. While I technically was a minor, I managed to get into a tavern on the lower side of town (maybe because of skill, maybe because they just didn't care). However, all that's important is that when I walked in, I heard some of the best music I've ever heard in the center of the room. When I got closer to see who was playing, it was to my shock and awe to see a cambion like me up on that stage singing her heart out with a whole-ass band backing her up!

After the show, I managed to catch up with her out behind the tavern and she gave me an autograph and a piece of advice that helped inspire me to become a singer too: "With people like us, we gotta ignore the assholes and stick with the people who actually give you the time of day. You do that, and you'll find people worth your time".

While making my way through the desert with only the clothes on my back, a flask of water I swiped from the spring in the center of our village, and an incense holder that belonged to mami that she always said I would one day receive (much to my fati's disapproval), I managed to find a group of traveling merchants who, in exchange for my flask and my word that I'd pull my weight, allowed me to travel with them so I could survive the desert sun. I soon found I had an eye for jewels and weaponry and was able to become a somewhat successful merchant of valuables I found in ruins and remains of travelers who died in the desert. However, when we stopped in the city of Arwelder, it was then that I came across my opportunity to become a musician.

While I was grabbing a Sparkling Fancy from the bar in the Running Fox guild house, I noticed a flyer on the job wall offering tryouts for the guild's entertainment. So, I figured I'd try out, and when I showed up I met the people who would eventually be my best friends in the world: Takya, Soto, and Jesse. I'm not entirely certain what determined that we'd bond the way we did, but what I do know is that after we talked and swapped stories for a while we decided to play together as a band.

With me on vocals, Takya on drums, Soto on bass, and Jesse on guitar we ended up knocking our audition out of the park and we ended up earning a steady gig in the guild house. This also allowed us guild membership and all the perks that went with it (housing, rights to priority job taking, and whatnot).

So yeah, now I lead a band and we travel all over Chaia for money and to see the world in a way we never could've before. As of right now, we managed to get all the way to Lelrenran when it started pouring with rain and we're ducking under a bridge, waiting for the storm to pass. I'd say this is a definite improvement from being stuck in the desert where everyone hates me, but before I close this off I want to say one thing: mami, I love you more than words can describe and I will find a way to fix you, even if nobody wants me back. I will do this or my name isn't Kallista Laumee, the glass of the desert.