Quoth the Raven: An Odyssey
Origins
Alicia Ruvakkin was raised in Tradeburg, though her birth still remains a mystery. While her face shows signs of both French and Roman descant, her surname is clearly written in the language of the dragons. What is known is that her childhood was largely spent in the service of one of the wealthier families of Tradeburg. As gratitude for being taken in, Alicia was made the unpaid servant of Cynthia Goldspinner, whose ancestor had been one of the first traders to settle in the town. Although Alicia was by no means ill-cared for, she never saw beyond the Goldspinner estate, and had no idea how large the outside world was. That is, not until the raven appeared.
One day, while Alicia was tending to her mistress’s garden, a black bird she had never seen before landed on the fence surrounding the garden. Naturally disposed to be kind to creatures she meets, Alicia said, “Hello, little bird. What’s your name?”
The bird only looked back at her and replied, “Never More.”
More surprised at the bird’s name than the fact it could talk, Alicia asked, “Where did you get a name like that?”
To which the bird replied, “DEATH.”
Seeing the girl’s surprised look, the raven explained: “I am a servant of DEATH, forced to collect souls for eternity in repentance for my crimes, forever stripped of my freedom.”
“What’s freedom?”
“… Poor mortal. Freedom- freedom is being able to decide without another telling you what to do. It’s about having a choice.”
“A choice for what?”
“Whatever you want to choose.”
Before Alicia could ask another question, she could hear Cynthia calling for her inside the mansion. Getting up and dusting off her clothes, she looked at the bird and said, “Sorry, I have to go. Will I see you again?”
For a moment, Alicia felt as though she already knew the answer. To her surprise, Never More took off and said, “Indeed.”
To be continued…