A Tale of Sorrow

The fearsome rain hit the large church, pounding on the windows and streaming down the stained glass. The wind whipped past the steeple with a mighty whoosh. Thunder struck the ground so frequently that it became hard to hear anything else. Nothing could be heard that night but the storm. Nothing, except the high pitched cry of a small baby from the front steps. 

Father Nicholas opened the massive front door, opening the church to the tremendous storm outside. Rain pelting his face, he looked down to the source of the crying that disturbed him from his important work. Just below him, a wicker basket lay, containing what looked to be something squirming underneath a blanket. Being a man of the church, Father Nicholas took the weeping child inside, into the warmth of the church. Father Nicolas placed the basket onto the altar and began undoing the cloth wrapped around the child. Nicholas expected another human child, abandoned by its parents, as he’d seen before since the church was connected to an orphanage. However, as he started to uncover the child he found that the being did not have normal human features. The child had medium bronze skin, and eyes as silver as the clouds outside with blood red irises in the center. The child also seemed to have two horns beginning to poke out just under its short, red hairs. At the base of its spine, the child had a medium length tail with a heart shaped appendage at the tip. Father Nicholas had seen this type of creature before and was disgusted by its very presence in his church. The child was a Tiefling. 

While not always evil in nature, Father Nicholas had grown a distaste for Tieflings in his years of working for the church, seeing them as infernal beings destined to a life of thievery and sin. Pacing back and forth, Nicholas pondered what to do about this beast that found its way into his church as the child continued to cry. Father Nicholas began asking why he had been tasked to make this decision. Why was he the one forced to take care of this thing? Suddenly, it hit him. “This must be a test” he thought “from the sun god”. Father Nicholas came to the conclusion that it was his divine duty to take care of this thing and make sure the world is kept safe from the child’s infernal nature. Nicholas noticed that, while the basket seemed to have the child’s name embroidered on a small piece of textile sewn to the basket, it seemed like part of it had been torn off. All that he could make out clearly was Ash. 

Ash would never learn that they were a Tiefling, or even what a Tiefling was until their mid teenage years, and Father Nicholas did his best to make sure that they would never learn the truth. He forced Ash to wear a black veil over their face, covering it almost completely to the rest of the world, telling them that they were nothing more than a disfigured human. Ash was told that wearing the veil protected them, however, they would soon come to learn that it had done the exact opposite. None of the other children in the orphanage had to wear veils, so, when they saw a child who did wear one, they saw them as something different, a monster that needed to know its place. The other children bullied Ash mercilessly, physically and psychologically abusing them almost every chance they got. Ash tried telling Father Nicholas about the pain they were being subjected to, but he never did anything, he would mostly just tell Ash that they were overreacting or simply ignore them. After a long enough time of dealing with the abuse, Ash began to retreat inwards, only leaving their bedroom when they absolutely needed to, doing their best to stay out of everyone’s way. They felt that this was all their fault, and that if they were just a little different that they would fit in with everyone else. During this dark time of the child's life, they’d discovered a small music box left behind by a child who’d been adopted years ago. The box played a soft, somewhat sad tune. And they loved it. This would begin Ash’s deep passion for music and the arts. 

When Ash was seven years old, there was a new arrival at the orphanage, a twelve year old Aasimar boy named Azure Lightfall. The leaders of the church never told the children directly, but Ash had overheard a few of them talking; Azure was the only child of Vermillion and Pearl Lightfall, one of the richest and most powerful families in the city. The Lightfalls had died when their mansion caught fire mysteriously, leaving Azure the only survivor. The Lightfalls had it in their will that, in the event of their deaths, Azure would be raised by the church until the day he came of age to inherit the family’s wealth. When Ash first met Azure, it seemed like he would just be another kid who’d continue making their life a living hell. This, however, would change just a few weeks later. 

   Blood washed over the seven-year-old Ash Valentine’s eyes as they lay on the hard floor of the church in front of the massive stone staircase. They’d been acting reckless near the top of the stairs when a loose stone gave way under them, causing them to tumble down the sharp edges of each and every stair, leaving large cuts all along their arms and legs. Blood was flowing from every gash at an alarming rate, leaving the child too weak to even scream for help. Inside, they were certain that their guardian, Father Nicholas, had heard them fall and would be there soon to help them. That was not the case, however. Ash laid there, eyes fixed on the stained glass window facing the stairs, straining to see it through the black veil pinned to their hair covering his face. Just as they were about to pass out from blood loss, they heard someone run by. The last thing the child saw before finally fainting was that of the newest orphan to be taken in by the church. The twelve-year-old, Azure Lightfall. 

Normally, Azure would not care about Ash. But this time, when he saw the child hurt and alone on the ground, it reminded him of the night his parents died, and how alone and hurt he felt, having to wait hours for any kind of help. Azure frantically carried the unconscious Ash to the heads of the church, who wrapped Ash up and stopped the bleeding. However, Ash would still have several scars along their arms and legs. Feeling sorry for them, Azure sat at Ash’s bedside, waiting for them to come to consciousness. Ash remained knocked out for some time, veil still firmly placed over their face. Finally, the child groaned as they came to.

“Are you ok?” Azure asked

“Wh…..what happened” Ash replied placing a hand on their forehead

“You had a bad fall”

Ash lifted their arm to look at the bloodied bandage wrapped around it. They then lifted their head to see who was in his room, surprised to find that it was Azure. They flinched. 

“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you”

Ash layed back down. 

“Do...do you need anything?” asked Azure

Ash looked back at him, confused. 

“Uh…..can….can you do something for me?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Can you wind up that music box?” they said gesturing to the box at their bedside

Azure looked over at the small cube.

“Sure”

Azure walked over and wound up the device before setting it back down. 

“Th...thank you” Ash said before falling asleep

After this event, Ash and Azure became almost inseparable. Now, any time Ash needed help with anything, they would go to Azure. The two would consider themselves to be siblings, with Azure taking the older brother role. Seeing Azure’s overwhelming dedication to protecting the weak, like Ash, Father Nicholas had a plan. He would start heavily encouraging Azure to start Paladin training. Ash had always heard stories about adventurers and how they would travel the land, righting wrongs and doing good, and hearing that Azure might become a Paladin got them very excited. While he was reluctant to the idea at first, Azure eventually agreed and left for Paladin training when he was 17, leaving the now 12-year-old Ash still in the orphanage. 

Ash was excited about Azure’s Paladin training at first, but after he left, they felt abandoned, alone in a world that seemed to have hated them. Ash went back to secluding themselves in their room, away from the pain of the outside. During this period, Ash began to think about something they hadn’t in a long time; their parents. They never knew who their parents were. When they were a child, Ash created a narrative that his parents were great adventurers who left them here only temporarily and would come back someday. They hadn’t thought about this for years, but feeling abandoned by Azure made them think more and more about it. They were 12 now. They thought that if their parents planned on coming back for them, then they would’ve done it by now. These feelings of abandonment magnified as he thought more and more about them. They began to think that it was their own fault that the people in their life kept leaving them, that he was somehow wrong, broken, not worth being around. Eventually, Ash came up with a plan. They weren’t physically strong like Azure at all, but they’d become pretty good at playing music. They’d decided that they would start studying to be a Bard so that, when Azure finally finished his training, they would start adventuring with him, and maybe, find their parents. 

Ash had always done what they were told and was never one to act out. So, this secret plan made them quite nervous. They started reading everything they could get their hands on involving magic and bards, secretly so that no one could interfere. Eventually, Ash had gotten used to this, not really worrying that any of the church officials would find out about this. They were 15 now, in three years they could leave and there would be nothing the church could do about it...or so they thought. 

One night, as they were cleaning the organ in the church, Father Nicholas walked into Ash’s room to make sure that they weren’t up to something. Ash had been careless the night before and left all of their Bard studies sprawled out on their bed. It was apparent to him now that Ash planned to leave the church, and this infuriated him. He waited for Ash to come back, and when they did, he began to shout at them, saying that they were never to leave the church and that it was too dangerous for them to do so. Confused and scared, Ash tried explaining themself. Father Nicholas wasn’t having that. In a rage, he backhand slapped Ash across the face, knocking them to the floor and causing their vail to fly off. Ash tried lifting themself off the ground and turned to look at Nicholas, tears in their eyes. As Father Nicholas’s gaze met the silver and scarlet eyes of Ash, he became immediately disgusted and stormed out of the room. 

Ash sat there in a puddle of their tears for a few moments, several questions running through their mind. Why is he acting like that? Why doesn’t he want me to leave? The answers escaped them. But they needed to know. They put the veil back over their face and made their way to the hallway by Nicholas’s office. They heard his voice from inside, talking to another priest of the church as a storm outside began to rage. 

The two began to speak of Ash as soon as they got in the room. What surprised them about their conversation was that they never referred to them by their name. Instead, they used words like “that thing”, “beast”, “demon”. But the one word that kept echoing throughout the conversation was “Tiefling”. 

This is when Ash learned everything. Their true race, the night they were found, and what Father Nicholas truly thought of them. Ash knew everything. Father Nicholas did not save them from the sorrows that would come from living on the streets with deformities, and he did not see them as a person. To Nicholas, Ash was just a chore. A chore and a threat. 

The two men finally left the chamber. Ash stayed in the adjacent room, still in denial of what they’d just heard. Tears welling down their face, they ran downstairs to their bed and began to gather all their things. I need to get out of here, they thought, They don’t want me here. Ash packed up all their instruments, clothes, and whatever money they could find, and ran out the front doors of the church, into the pouring rain. As they stepped on the first stair, they looked back. The wind was whipping past the steeple. The rain was pounding on the windows and trickling down the stained glass. The thunder began to strike behind it, giving it a menacing glow. Tears and rain soaking their veiled face, Ash said goodbye to the only home they’d ever known and walked into the cold night of their future. As they took their first steps, a gust of wind blew past their being, carrying their veil with it. Ash tried to grab it before it could be blown away, but it was too late. Ash watched as their veil drifted away with the harsh winds and into the storm. 

Ash arrived a few minutes later in the local pub, soaking wet and shivering. The bartender rushed to the quivering child as quickly as she could and sat them at the bar. She grabbed a spare, red cloak from the bar and wrapped it around Ash. 

“You can keep that if you want,” she said. 

Ash sat silent, still in shock. 

The bartender looked at them for a moment before reaching back, pouring some liquor into a shot glass, and placing it on the bar before them. 

“Here, it’s on the house. You look like you’ve been through a lot”

Ash stared at the glass before picking it up and drinking it, feeling the harsh burn run past their throat as it went down. They sat silent once again, collecting their thoughts, as the bartender went off to help other customers. The bartender came back a few minutes later. 

“Are you still doing alright?” she asked. 

A question was still running through Ash’s mind, driving them crazy. They couldn’t hold it back anymore, they had to find his answer. 

“What’s a Tiefling?” they asked. 

The bartender stood there confused. 

“Wh...what do you mean?” 

“I…...I don’t know what a Tiefling is” 

“Well….by the look of it….you’re a Tiefling”

“I figured that part out” 

“And I’m a Tiefling” 

Shocked, Ash finally took their eyes off the ground and looked at the woman in front of them. She had pale white skin and shining silver eyes. Through her long, black hair they could see two, almost ram-like horns. Behind her, they could see a long, thick tail, similar to the one that they had. 

“....Oh….”

They looked back down, more confused than ever. 

“What’s your name, kid?”

Ash pondered the question. All they could think about was the name that Father Nicholas called them, but that didn’t seem right anymore. 

“I…...I don’t know anymore” they replied sheepishly. 

The Tiefling bartender looked back at them, still confused. 

“Ok….well I have some other customers to take care of. So you just wait right there” she said refilling their shot glass before walking off. 

The shaken Tiefling looked down at the glass once again before taking another shot. After a while, they excused themself to go to the bathroom. Upon entering, they went right to the mirror. It was the first time they’d seen their own reflection in years, so they spent a lot of time eying their long, black and red hair that had two, small silver horns poking through. They then focused on their bronze, sort of orange tinted skin, their pointed ears, and red eyes. 

They’d spent his life thinking that Father Nicholas had saved them from the sorrow of living a life ostracized by humanity. They knew that wasn’t true now. Father Nicholas had saved himself the sorrow of seeing the demon he had to raise. 

Ash pulled the hood of the cloak over their head and exited the bathroom. They then left the pub without talking to the bartender and made their way onto the streets. The rain had cleared. They took one last look back in the direction of the church before turning to walk into the night, towards his future. 

There were several emotions that Ash felt that night. Anger, fear, betrayal. Those all faded over time, some in a few hours, some taking years. But there was one feeling that stuck with them from that night. One dull, empty feeling that Ash would carry with them for years to come. The one feeling that they could never get rid of, the thing that would eventually define them so much that they started to use it as their own name, was Sorrow. 

Sorrow would go on to become a full Bard and use their talents to play in different bars across the land to make a living. There was no place they called home anymore. They moved from place to place, playing music, drinking, and sleeping wherever they could, until the day their first adventure began.