Food is such a fickle thing. Many might not see a full meal for days on end. Some might have too much and simply dump it into the waste for people to drool over the dirty and bug-covered meat, trying to convince themselves it is still safe to eat. And many simply see it as a means to an end. Food should bring a source of energy, excitement, and enlightenment to one’s life, and Nannie, who once was one of those simpletons eating dirt-covered meat, found the way to health and growth beyond belief. But who would’ve thought it was this easy?
Enlightenment only came to those who sought it out, and while it is not a race, some choose to find enlightenment faster than others. Nannie found a way to get closer to her goals. She found the answer to becoming all-knowing, the strongest, the best. She saw the Masters in Asherism as her route to success, and while she once hoped to become one herself, it was taking too long. She could only sleep for so long, only read the literature for so many hours, and at the end of the day, she wanted, needed, more. If they knew all, Nannie knew she needed to get closer to them.
She resided in a group of Ashers outside those in the large communities in Lhomon. This group was made u
p of those outcasted by the large circles of Asherism. It was said they “took it too far.” How do you take dedication too far? However, even in this group of Asher rejects, Nannie knew she was better than those around her. She belonged above them, not alongside them. The Master in their group, bless his soul, fell to his death after a terrible disease spread through his household. His child died first, then his wife, and shortly after, he joined them. The group of misfits bowed to their all-knowing, understanding that he was only closer to the first being, connecting them all to death and life. A cyclical motion they would all deal with eventually. The group prepared his body to be immolated as all Ashers do to their kind. Flowers were set out around him, pages of literature in his breast pocket to see him off, and his eyes closed with the ash of their past Masters spread across them. He would be burned in only a matter of hours, meaning people took to their homes, not daring to be out as the heat would come soon.
Nannie stood within an alley to watch as the last of her group made their peace and left. When she saw the rest were gone, she took her first steps toward the body. He was laid on a stone slab dedicated to Masters, his body made to look as peaceful as you could make a diseased-ridden corpse. Nannie got close and reached into her pocket to pull out a very small, delicate dagger. The blade was as small as her finger and sharp enough to shave through bark. She had spent some time getting to know the town’s blacksmith in order to get her blade sharpened with no questions. With one more look around, Nannie opened up the coat the Master was laid in and got his shirt undone to reveal his ribs and stomach area. His body was already stiff, his skin looking more blue than usual. He conveniently died within a day’s time of the annual immolation. Nannie scanned the body, the dagger in her hand. If the Masters knew all, Nannie found her way to gain their knowledge quicker than anyone else.
Screams erupted from a few yards away. One of the rejects came back to give a last offering to their fallen Master, and what they found was nothing but horrid. The woman stood hunched over the Master’s body, her hands deep into his gut. It wasn’t until the scream alerted Nannie that she looked up, the fellow reject seeing blood covering Nannies lips, teeth, and chin. People ran out of their homes, wary of the heat to come, but caring for their fellow neighbors more. Nannie now had a crowd around her as she took one last bite and swallow of the man’s liver that was slipping out of her grasp. A half-eaten liver fell onto the stone slab as someone rushed to tackle Nannie onto the ground.
“No!” She screamed out, now drawing an even larger crowd. Blood spat out of her mouth and onto the commoner pinning her down. “I need to finish it! It will give me all that he knows! He would have wanted this!” Nannie was screaming before she had a hit to her head that caused the world to blacken.
Nannie was given two options. Leave or be burned. Nannie weighed her options. If she was killed, that could mean understanding the cycle of life, seeing death for herself, and becoming one with the first being. However, those first few bites made her realize that wasn’t her journey. No, those bites proved to her that she was right. When she was knocked out, she had a dream that was more vivid, loud, and full of more questions that she sought to answer. It had to have been the meat’s doing! Nannie left Lhomon, and she left with a plan.
Gaining the trust of a whole new town was no easy feat, especially one that was strictly against all that Nannie knew and held dear. She wrinkled her nose at the idea of ear protection. Did they not understand the good of dreams? The benefits of the Red Fever? No, they feared it. They killed those who disobeyed. The sphere of Nurein was precisely where she needed to be.
Her house was on the outskirts of the sphere, out of the way and hidden from those not looking for it. Every window was covered with thick blankets that could be excused for curtains. Nannie ensured her home was secured. In the darkness of her house, three knocks suddenly echoed into it.
“Nannie, there’s been another one. Mr. Cruegle. His wife found him without ear protection this morning and locked him in their bedroom. The sooner, the better,” Spoke the man at the door. Nannie nodded, forcing down a smirk she felt forming. “Thanks, Nannie.” He said and left her home.
Nannie came to this town with nothing to her name, only the facade of someone looking for work. She played the part of a die-hard Augar as she learned who these people were and what they believed in. No dreams, no self-examination or growth, and if anyone took off their ear protection, they were to be executed. These people sounded crazy, but it caused her to think of how she could get the answers she so dearly wanted. Nannie played herself up after reading a quick excerpt of their literature. Gods? These people were so far off, but it was what she had to do. She quickly learned how hard the Red Fever hit the people of this sphere, and at that discovery, it didn’t take all but two seconds for Nannie to find her new career path.
Nannie was a new volunteer in the community as it spread that the old woman down the road started to sleep with no ear wear. She offered herself to take care of the town’s issue, and as many didn’t want to have the murder of an old woman on their conscience, they agreed to let the newcomer take the job.
The old lady was an easy target; someone who couldn’t walk without help, whose blood would run for days by the slightest cut, and who could barely defend themselves against a kitten, never mind a woman with a newfound motivation in life. Nannie went into her home that night; doors were rarely locked in this town except for her own. The older woman didn’t seem surprised to see her, but as she could barely walk before, she was now standing perfectly straight with gritted teeth. The Red Fever truly affected people differently here. “Don’t make this harder than it has to be, old woman. I just want to know what you know,” Nannie said in a voice others would not recognize. The older woman let out a cackle and ran into her kitchen to grab a knife as protection. “Oh, you’re going to make this fun for me,” Nannie said to herself with a slight eye roll. She took the same delicate dagger she used to cut open her old Master and walked to follow the woman into the kitchen.
The old lady charged, knife up, ready to stab Nannie, letting out a scream of effort. Nannie stood still until the woman was inches away before she spun to the left, getting out of the way and grabbing the woman’s free hand to turn her and pin her to the wall. “You may have the Red Fever, but you are still an old hag,” Nannie taunted, and before the woman could react, Nannie’s dagger pierced into the woman’s gut. The blade sliced through her clothes, and Nannie could feel it as it entered through her skin, feeling the slightest of pops when the skin broke. Nannie looked into the woman’s eyes as she stabbed her, seeing shock, realization, and pain settle on her face. Nannie slowly lowered the woman onto the ground, and with the woman still breathing, she cut into the woman’s stomach, hearing the old woman cry in pain.
“Shhh, give me what I want!” She hissed, and when the gash was large enough, she reached in for the woman’s spleen. She wasn’t aiming for the spleen. Her hand simply sunk into her body, and she felt the sudden warmth around her hand as she moved around to grab whatever was close. She could feel the ripples of her intestines on the back of her fingers but grabbed the smoother organ. Nannie then cut it out of her. She leaned down, the organ held in both her hands as her teeth sunk into it. It was a tougher meat but felt similar to a raw chicken breast. With enough effort, and need in Nannie’s case, biting through the flesh was easy. This woman was “infected” by the Red Fever. She had dreamed. She had heard the music. She had experienced things far more intensely than anyone from Lhomon. She held the key – everyone here that decided to disobey the laws held the key to Nannie becoming stronger and more knowing than any Master that had come before her. She ate the spleen, bite after bite. The old woman, not dead just yet, simply watched in pained horror as this woman ate from her, soon dying as Nannie got to the last bite.
When Nannie was finished, she cleaned herself off, smooshed the wound closed a bit, so it just looked like a gash to the gut, and then walked out. A guard stood, waiting for confirmation of the woman’s death. Nannie gave the man a nod and walked off. It is easy to say that Nannie quickly became the town’s best mercenary for those infected by the Red Fever.
Her following jobs went similarly. Men and women all over the town seemed to be inflicted with the decision to take their ear protection off. While Nannie was fully supportive of it, as the windows in her home were covered purely for the fact that she did not wear hers, she took advantage of their betrayal of the laws to better herself. Over the next few jobs, Nannie took livers, spleens, and even chunks of intestines. Each of them with the ideology that they would bring her to full knowledge of life, death, the first being, and how to control her dreams. As her jobs became more frequent, Nannie started to bring food home with her.
This job was simple as they all were, but this man had not worn his ear protection for many nights, leaving him practically foaming at the mouth. He was locked away in the guard house, and while guards would handle cases like this, Nannie was beckoned as she became the name for Red Fever mercies. The guards let her have the building to herself. The man stood chained to a wall, his hands in restraints so he couldn’t hurt himself or others. Nannie walked through to the cell with no fear or hesitation in her stature. The man growled, spit, and lunged toward her as if he was a manic animal. Nannie simply smiled. “You will bring me such success. I beg for you people to get this bad. Look at you. I will become more than the Masters before me just by your meat alone.” She said and slipped out her dagger. The man’s anger didn’t subside; he wasn’t even listening to her. “Spit all you want. My teeth will be tearing through you in mere moments,” She growled before she closed the gap between them and plunged her dagger into his gut, slicing a deep line through him. He cried out in pain. All the infected seem to jolt back to reality when hit with the first touch of pain. She shimmied the dagger’s flat edges back and forth to open the wound for herself. She watched as blood pooled out of him and poked the dagger around to get a better look at what was accessible.
When Nannie was satisfied, she opened up her satchel and pulled out meat cloth. One by one, she cut out his liver, spleen, chunks of intestines, and even some lungs to try. The man was long dead from blood loss by the time she was wrapping up his organs and placing them in her bag. With how affected he was, she assumed his meat would be beneficial to have large amounts of. He could be her way into controlling her dreams. She knew she would get there soon, just a few more organs, a few more of these Augar disciples. Nannie closed the wound enough to make it look like she wasn’t digging around before she got up and left the guard house, informing them that the job was done.
She was seen as a mercenary saint. One so obedient to the Augury faith that she was willing to kill all those against it. The townspeople saw her as a blessed woman, never questioning her own faith, as who would choose to go against Augury if they killed for it? Nannie gave no reason for anyone to look at her any other way. She was kind; she helped thy neighbor and even participated in town potlucks. No one knew how she cooked such glorious beef stew, but many went in for seconds…
The man at her front door, the same guard who has seen Nannie take on these jobs since she got here, informed her of Mr. Cruegle. Nannie went inside to grab her dagger, bag, and meat cloth to get ready. After so many jobs, she had the routine mastered. Before Nannie left, she checked what she had left in storage. She had various salted organs remaining, but she was running low. As time passed, and Nannie begged for more from her dreams and knowledge, she started to eat more. Two organs at a time. She tried eating them right before sleeping, she tried cooking them, eating them raw, and eating them in the morning. She tried so many possibilities, stuck in her ways that these Red Fever infected Augurs would get her to the mastery she needed. The meat also became sustainable. It was free food. It was a full meal. These “jobs” did not pay. She barely had a coin to her name. Food would be sparse and rare otherwise. Not only did she find the answer to her cries, but she found a way to eat. It was a rather easy way to eat, too.
Nanny followed the guard to Mr. Cruegle’s home. His wife stood at the front of their home. She had no tears in her eyes for a woman who knew her husband was moments from being killed. These townspeople knew what happened when they disobeyed. They understood the punishment awaiting them, and at that point, loved ones knew not to grieve for those who abandoned their faith. Nannie simply gave the future widow a nod before she walked in.
Mr. Cruegle was locked away in the bedroom upstairs. Nannie could hear pacing and grumbling as she made her way there. “Mr. Cruegle, I am going to open the door, take a step back and sit down.” She said through the door. With no response, Nannie only assumed he did as he was told. She unlocked and opened the door, opening to see the man on the bed, eyes immediately staring at her. Mr. Cruegle’s eyes were bloodshot. He had chunks of his lip missing from him biting at it throughout the day. His arms were littered with gashes going down them, skin and blood stuck underneath his fingernails. He might’ve been caught last night, but it was clear he hadn’t been wearing his ear protection for some time.
Nannie closed the door behind her, and at the sound, Mr. Cruegle jumped from the bed, charging her. His blood-stained hands pinned her at the shoulders on the door as he bared his teeth, yelling nonsense and spatting blood into her face. Nannie, usually very collected, felt herself freeze at the moment. This wasn’t like the elderly woman coming at her with a knife. She was pinned in front of a man who was overtaken by a disease – a disease she wanted. Yes… She wanted what he had. She needed it. At the thought, Nannie slammed her foot onto his, causing him to lose his balance for just long enough for her to shove him away. “Don’t be selfish!” She growled out and took her dagger from her belt. The man, not listening, ran back toward her when he got his balance back. With her newfound confidence and hunger, Nannie raised her leg and kicked him in the stomach as he charged toward her, causing him to fall onto the floor and cough up blood as he lost his breath.
Nannie watched him for a second before walking up and kicking him in the temple to make sure he wasn’t getting up again. “Don’t be selfish,” She said once again, but with a voice that could be mistaken as tender and sweet. The man fell onto his back, gagging on his own blood and spitting it up onto the floor beneath him. Nannie kneeled next to him and spun her dagger to get the point facing him. She spared him a monologue and simply pushed her blade through his shirt and into his stomach as she had done many times before. The familiar pressure of the dagger piercing her skin almost made her stomach grumble. She got so used to eating larger meals these days. The dagger cut through him horizontally, and Nannie pried open the skin to get what she needed. She pushed through the blood and useless organs. The woman hummed a tune to herself as she wrapped his organs in her meat clothes, put them away in her bag, and closed the wound just enough not to show how large it was. He was dead after moments. She got up, made her way out the bedroom door, and licked some blood off her finger before she walked outside, where the guard and the wife were waiting.
“He is mercied,” Nannie said with a slight, respectful nod to the wife and guard. The wife left the front, walking into town, where Nannie could only assume she was going to a tavern for a drink.
The guard smiled at Nannie. “What’s that now? A couple dozen jobs? This town is going to shit… But you show me there are still good Augars out there, Nannie,” He said and patted her shoulder.
“Thank you, Gerald. We need to keep this village clean and safe. I am happy to do my part.” Nannie said back.
“Ah- Marie wanted me to ask if you were free this weekend. She is making her famous roast, and we are inviting people over for food and drinks. We haven’t been able to in some time… Roasts are hard to come by these days, ya know. She would be so happy if you joined. So would I,” Gerald smiled as he asked. Nannie let out a small laugh and turned her body to face him.
“Yes, that sounds like a great time. I miss Marie. I bet she is plump as a melon. That baby should be coming out soon, yes?” Nannie asked cheerily. Gerald rolled back on his heels and shook his head.
“Sooner and sooner every day, Nan.”
“You’re going to be an amazing father, Gerald. Don’t be so nervous. I will see you this weekend then, yes? Unless another mercy comes up.” She laughed a bit before she gave a small wave and turned to walk away. A roast with the Poolers sounded like an excellent weekend for Nannie. She thought about it on her way home, deciding if she should bring anything. Maybe a soup. She had some produce that were on its last days, and she was less inclined to use some of her meat to use for a stew. She needed every last bite for herself. A vegetable soup was the conclusion she came to.