She is only able to bear Hellkin despite being human. She doesn't care. She loves all of her children deeply and makes sure they know that, despite the prejudice far too many have toward them, they are innocent souls. And she, in turn, is very much loved by her children, both born and adopted. -- BKF
The nursery rhyme starts, There was an old woman who lived in a shoe... and it's nearly accurate. The 'shoe' was allegedly an ossified footbag that local lore said was cast off from a Giant. In reality, it was shaped stone from the very first Xenophobia Wars, when it was just Elves versus Dragons. It was large enough to hold a family then, and remained so for eons.
The fact that it was vaguely foot-shaped was mere coincidence.
Jeneve Kaerwon had had three husbands walk out on her because she birthed Hellkin after Hellkin. Even though she told them she was a Human child of Hellkin parents. Even though she warned them that it was likely. They still left her after the second Hellkin birth.
There remained a nine in ten chance that she would have a Hellkin. Several volunteered to "set her right" in their own way, and that was how she had three more Hellkin. Managing the horde required patience, a knowledge of Voulspeak, and the ability to teach the little ones how to deal when their inherent magic began to leak. Feeding the horde was a full-time job.
And yet, people left their unwanted babes at her door. Well. At the flap of hide over the lean-to extension beyond the 'shoe rock' that was her home. Jeneve took them all in. Fed them, clothed them, and taught them all that they needed to know to live as well as survive. If they showed a talent or an interest, Jeneve gently guided them to people who could help, and at least got them a prenticeship.
Why?
Because she loved them all. Her body-born children, the foundlings, and the runaways who came to "help a day or two". The kids whose parents never looked at them until they were in trouble. The kids whose parents never found anything right with what they did. The kids who arrived black and blue from bruises. All of those, Jeneve took in and protected.
Fiercely.
Jeneve was never too busy to see a bad parent off with whatever weapon she had to hand. And the older kids knew enough to pick up anything interesting and join in if the bad parent was super insistent.
That's why the rhyme contains so much slander about her to this day.
[Photo by Nicholas Loh on Unsplash]
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