{Nadzieja} And so it begins.

After leaving home Nadzieja became a stubborn and taciturn child. She would only speak when spoken to and would prefer to be alone than in the company of other apprentices. Initially she resented Nonna for taking her away from her parents, she didn’t ask to be different – she just wanted to hunt and paint her eyes like her mother.
Nonna’s initial training was harsh even for someone used to such few comforts as Nadzieja. She would send her apprentices out into the wilds for weeks on end regardless of the conditions. One of the girls, Svetlana, lost a hand to frostbite. Another got mauled to death by a bear whilst gathering firewood. Some mornings Nadzieja would wake aching and sore from the work, knowing her torment wouldn’t end as she would do the same all over again. 
After surviving the training Nadzieja began to open up, she would talk with the other girls and Nonna would listen. Nonna began to realise that in spite of her very humble beginnings Nadzieja was quite charming. She would get the other girls to do her domestic chores saying she would gather extra firewood. Nadzieja would laugh at the foolish chits as Nonna had exacting standards of cleanliness whilst gatheringfirewood was a job that even a bachór could do. Whenever Nadzieja would go to a nearby settlement to trade or buy supplies she would always come back with the finest produce.Eventually Nonna bestowed on her the epithet ‘The Soft Spoken’ in acknowledgement of her honeyed tongue.
In the years spent with Nonna Nadzieja saw her parents only once. She knew it to be close to her mother’s birthday and with Nonna’s consent she returned to the hovel she once called home. Upon getting closer she noticed how it had improved since she left. It seemed her parents’ fortune had changed. She saw two identical boys playing outside in the snow, as they saw her approach they froze and then ran inside. A moment later her father appeared at the door with his axe. She threw back her hood and ran towards him ‘Papa! Papa!’ 
Gavriil’s eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost. Upon seeing his reaction Nadzieja stopped ‘Don’t you recognise me?Please let me stay the night, the daylight is leaving is.’ He did not reply, only nodded his head before stepping aside to let her enter. The two boys were hiding behind their mother’s skirt as she entered. It quickly became apparent that her parents didn’t recognise her, but then she realised how she had changed. She was no longer that soft child with dark eyes, the power of the Khan-Queens flowed through her veins and she was ever changed. Nadzieja did not tell them who she was, simply her name was Esfir and apologised as she mistook Gavriil for someone else. She did not mean to frighten the children.
As tradition dictates Nadzieja was offered the warmth of their hearth and as the evening went on the tension alleviated. The boys, Vadik and Vadim, had been born the spring after she left and it was obvious how her parents loved them. Her father talked proudly of how they had already learned to trap small animals. That night as the family slept she returned to Nonna, leaving only her mother’s gift with the symbol of the Greased Goat on it in charcoal.
All of the girls who passed their training left Nonna’s hut to return closer to civilisation or back home to be of help to their people, but Nadzieja stayed hungry to learn more and she knew she had nowhere else to be. Nonna taught Nadziejamany things in the preceding years, including how to speak the language of the Empire and how to navigate through Raspotitsa. For the first time in years Nadzieja was content. She has no illusions her chosen path would be easy or full of good fortune, she had given up any hope of finding a husband but to this day she still paints her eyes.

After years spent with Nonna, Nadzieja is anxious to leave the hearth of the woman she has grown to love. She knowsNonna’s counsel was wise, fair and made with a sound mind. In spite of this she could not help feeling bitter about being forced out of yet another home by this woman. She knows the journey through Kislev will be dangerous, yet in her heart she knows she will make it to the soft southern realms with their mild winters and harsh tongue. With this in mind Nadzieja hardens her heart when she says her goodbye and begins to make her long journey south…