Jemique

History

At age 24, Jemique was an extraordinary scholar in the field of anthropology. But at the Ultherion Institute, extraordinary people are the new average. Although she was aware of this pressure that most of her peers faced, Jemique did nothing to make herself stand out simply because she didn't care to. Being accepted into the region's most prestigious academic institution was enough of an achievement in her eyes. While her peers thirsted over secrets of the world and poured countless hours into their research, Jemique had other plans after she grew tired doing the same.

The Ultherion Institute forbids any active member from attempting contracts that might result in harm to themselves or to others. As a result, all contracted scholars have only made deals with elemental spirits or lower-ranked beings. Jemique, however, refused to settle for anything less than a higher spirit. She kept her goal private to prevent anyone from reporting her, but her fellows scholars constantly pestered her about when she was going to be contracted and with whom. She consistently brushed aside or deflected their questions to the point where they believed she was simply disinterested in forming a contract at all, but they couldn't be further from the truth.

Making a deal with Yehol, the literal embodiment of death, is one of the most infamous gambles a mortal can make. The price has always been steep, and if you were unable to pay it, Yehol will reap you on the spot. But knowing this didn't deter Jemique from writing down the instructions to summon Death himself and succeed in doing so. Upon arriving in Jemique's dusty dormitory where she performed the summoning ritual, Yehol was expecting another soul to add to his repository until Jemique made an offer. She claimed to know what he wanted, to which Yehol laughed and asked what could a god of death possibly desire.

"Simple, you want to know what it's like to live," Jemique answered. "People think you can observe the living, but death only appears when it's time for life to cross over into your realm. You don't have time to understand feelings other than the ones that occur on a deathbed. At best, you witness the peaceful passing of a loved individual. At worst, the sorrow and pain of a life cut short. I'm sure you're aware there are a plethora of unique emotions that come with a limited lifespan, emotions that you've seldom experienced, never mind witnessed, and at this point, you must be curious as to what they feel like."

The god of death hesitated to make a response. What a cheeky young girl she was, completely unfazed by the literal grim reaper standing before her, and so full of herself that the consequences of her failure to establish a contract with him didn't even faze her. Her unabashed confidence forced a smile upon Yehol's lips, and he agreed to sign a contract with Jemique. He granted her immortality along with the ability to call upon his three most trusted minions. In return, Jemique had to write one letter to Yehol at the end of every week detailing her experiences and feelings or the ones of those surrounding her. If she missed so much as a single letter, Yehol would come to reap her on the spot. She was given a black grimoire with which she could use to summon his minions and to write her letters in. As soon as the contract was sealed, Yehol vanished.

It didn't take long before someone found out about what she had done. A scholar with clairvoyant abilities saw through one of Jemique's lies only a few days after her deal with Death. He reported her to the administration, and she was swiftly expelled from the institution. Jemique expected this, and before she left the institution for good, she acquired and burned all of her records, including any projects that had her name attached to them and all back-ups. It sucked for the people who had co-written them, but like she cared. The reason why was because she couldn't let anyone know she was immortal, and erasing all records of her identity was the first step in making sure no one noticed her prolonged youth.

Without a place to stay, she returned to her parents' house. They were upset to find out that she had been expelled from the institute, even more so when she told them why. They lamented over her wasted talent and only allowed her to stay in her old room for one night before forcing her out. She expected as much, but she didn't expect being kicked out of her childhood home to sting so much. Little did she know, that would be the last time she ever saw her family again.

Thus began Jemique's chronicles of traveling the continent. She met new people both good and bad, some living perfectly normal lives and some even weirder than herself. Each noted how each region differed in its climate, traditions, specialties, and even the general atmosphere of its residents. Although food and water were no longer a concern to her survival, she still felt hunger and thirst. So she worked odd jobs ranging from clearing out monsters on people's property to transporting cargo using the help of Yehol's minions. At one point, she managed to secure a tutoring position for a wealthy lord's daughter, and she was paid so much for the two-year job that her finances for the next ten years were secure. She enjoyed traveling and seeing what the world had to offer, and her delight poured itself into her weekly letters to Yehol. The god must have been so pleased with her letters that at some point, he started to respond back with his own thoughts, mostly commenting on how the behavior of mortals was so endearing to him.

As the decades passed, the novelty began to fade. The growing influence of the Merfolk War played a hand in this, but for the most part, Jemique was getting tired of drifting. Nothing was permanent in her world except for Yehol's presence and herself. People came and went. New places were constructed, and old buildings torn down. She never came back to revisit her favorite sites, and in the few times she did, they were either be ruins or changed beyond recognition. She realized that with fewer things to live for, life was losing its luster.

This showed itself in her letters to Yehol, and he was not afraid to tell her. "Your letters have been boring me as of late. Your writing has increased in monotony over the course of these past few years, and I assume the cause is from a personal issue of yours. If you fail to make your letters interesting again, I will not hesitate to take your soul for failing your part of the contract."

Yehol's warning was a wake up call. If Death himself was telling Jemique that her life was getting dull, then she needed to change something about it. She wanted to settle down somewhere and try living like a normal civilian would, but for all her traveling, she hadn't a single clue where would make a good place to live. For about a month or so, she lived in a constant state of anxiety as she searched for a place to call home. The cities were too expensive and full of gossip, but the countryside was too peaceful for her liking, and she hated the idea of returning to any scholarly institution even though her wits were still up to par.

It seemed that no matter where she looked, no matter how much she scoured the atlas, no place deemed itself suitable for her. She was starting to consider terminating her immortality and letting Yehol collect her soul until she arrived at the town of Aurumdale. It was a quaint little town some ways east of Ultherion Castle, nearthe institution where it all started. She didn't think much of it until she spotted a moondancer girl bounding through the streets with a human boy at her tail, the two of them laughing.

Jemique had not seen a moondancer in years. Over the course of the past few decades, she witnessed the number of moondancer diaspora dwindle until she was sure they were either extinct from the continent, or their last remaining members were in hiding. Never did she expect to see one out in the open like this, even if she was also half-human. The girl showed no fear around the townspeople, and they showed no hostility toward her. And the human boy, Jemique realized, was her friend.

Upon seeing her, something clicked. This was the place she was meant to be. Not because of any grandiose attraction the town had to offer, but because of one individual she so desperately wanted to protect. She thought the Moondancers and their culture were extinct, and yet she had stumbled across one of their last survivors on this continent. This was an opportunity to do something; she didn't know what, but she couldn't let it slip by. She applied to be a social studies teacher at the local school. Despite having no records to back up her credentials, the staff gave her a chance to prove herself in the classroom because their small town was in desperate need of teachers. After her students passed a rather difficult pop quiz with flying colors, they hired her on the spot. From there, Jemique waited until the moondancer girl was old enough to start taking her classes. And when she was, she finally learned her name during roll call on the first day of a new school year.

"Evelune Skyheart?"

In a sea of rosy-cheeked children, the only girl with pale grey skin raised her hand.