The people of Ul’dah know an unspoken rule about misery. That is, if you wish to be miserable, you should spend your time trying to look for the good in world. It is the fastest and most reliable path to unhappiness, betrayal and stomach ulcers. Unfortunately this story is not about the wise people of Ul’dah. It is about a girl destined for disappointment.
Esther Iteya had just crawled out of the tranquil valleys of Othard, from a village whose only crime on record was an ‘accidental radish borrowing.' She didn’t believe in lies, nor that would anyone have reason to tell one. She didn’t know breaking a promise was possible, or that loyalty was optional. She did believe that people were inherently good and kind and that the world was fair, just, and helpful. Needless to say Esther was unprepared for Pearl Lane much in the same way that an egg rolling off a cliff is unprepared for the laws of physics. Most citizens would be skeptical of her surviving long enough to even reach the end of this sentence.
But Esther had managed to survive. She managed a whole week within the walls of Ul’dah. In that time she met six people, all of which were exactly as she assumed them to be: kind, generous, and dangerously feeding her idealism. One in particular, an Elezen by the name of Syranelle Ironleaf had gone so far as to fund her and encourage her. That is how Esther gained the enthusiasm to begin her work, to create a place for those who lacked what Ul’dah valued most. Coin. Within the first week of arrival to this new continent she had everything she needed to start a healing tent for the needy, and what better place to put it than Pearl Lane? After all, it had such a nice name.
That is where our story begins. Under a sheet tied up alongside Pearl Lane’s alleyway with two signs hanging over the side. The first read:
And the second, in smaller handwriting:
The “within†being the immediate two feet behind the sign currently being occupied by Esther in a green robe. She had blue eyes, brown hair, white scales, and a coin purse loosely tied on her person for all to see. She stood under her self-made tent, shuffling her feet and waiting anxiously for customers. She had expected to be handing out healing elixirs for most of the afternoon. Syranelle had graciously introduced her to an alchemist named Zhan’a Rakhin who gave her a healthy crate of potions. However, his supplies only lasted the first half hour. She hadn’t expected so many large families in such a small alleyway. One man in particular, claimed he had ten terminally ill children, three sick dogs, four sick cats, and a goldfish with an ear infection. Esther couldn't deny such a large order to someone who had already suffered so much heartache. She only hopped she gave him the right dose for a fish, as it was her first encounter with aquatic medicine. Another man had six nearly dead children, and another eight! These large distributions had quickly dwindled her stock down to one emergency potion that she kept on her person and little else to hand out for the rest of the day. So instead she just waited and waved as people walked on by, trying to make the best of first impressions.
Esther Iteya had just crawled out of the tranquil valleys of Othard, from a village whose only crime on record was an ‘accidental radish borrowing.' She didn’t believe in lies, nor that would anyone have reason to tell one. She didn’t know breaking a promise was possible, or that loyalty was optional. She did believe that people were inherently good and kind and that the world was fair, just, and helpful. Needless to say Esther was unprepared for Pearl Lane much in the same way that an egg rolling off a cliff is unprepared for the laws of physics. Most citizens would be skeptical of her surviving long enough to even reach the end of this sentence.
But Esther had managed to survive. She managed a whole week within the walls of Ul’dah. In that time she met six people, all of which were exactly as she assumed them to be: kind, generous, and dangerously feeding her idealism. One in particular, an Elezen by the name of Syranelle Ironleaf had gone so far as to fund her and encourage her. That is how Esther gained the enthusiasm to begin her work, to create a place for those who lacked what Ul’dah valued most. Coin. Within the first week of arrival to this new continent she had everything she needed to start a healing tent for the needy, and what better place to put it than Pearl Lane? After all, it had such a nice name.
That is where our story begins. Under a sheet tied up alongside Pearl Lane’s alleyway with two signs hanging over the side. The first read:
[FREE HEALING AND HEALING ELIXERS]
(Please only one per person)
And the second, in smaller handwriting:
[Guard Wanted. Inquire within]
The “within†being the immediate two feet behind the sign currently being occupied by Esther in a green robe. She had blue eyes, brown hair, white scales, and a coin purse loosely tied on her person for all to see. She stood under her self-made tent, shuffling her feet and waiting anxiously for customers. She had expected to be handing out healing elixirs for most of the afternoon. Syranelle had graciously introduced her to an alchemist named Zhan’a Rakhin who gave her a healthy crate of potions. However, his supplies only lasted the first half hour. She hadn’t expected so many large families in such a small alleyway. One man in particular, claimed he had ten terminally ill children, three sick dogs, four sick cats, and a goldfish with an ear infection. Esther couldn't deny such a large order to someone who had already suffered so much heartache. She only hopped she gave him the right dose for a fish, as it was her first encounter with aquatic medicine. Another man had six nearly dead children, and another eight! These large distributions had quickly dwindled her stock down to one emergency potion that she kept on her person and little else to hand out for the rest of the day. So instead she just waited and waved as people walked on by, trying to make the best of first impressions.
