The Rogue Witch of Taquila

It was rare for Nathalie to walk in the streets of Taquila. A beautiful, light skinned green haired woman, who passed her coming of age ceremony only 3 years ago. She was dressed in a beautiful long black dress. However, this black dress was not of her own will. It is something that she is forced to wear by The Union. He was being branded by them, only because of her powers.

She has always been both feared and praised by her powers. At her awakening, a 5 meter radius melted down. No matter what she touched, she could melt it. After her coming of age ceremony, her powers grew immensely. This time she could actually create pools of acid. This power of her even made The Three Chiefs be wary of her. Therefore to protect the city's safety, she was banished to the outskirts, where she got her own tower.

Being isolated, Nathalie decided to be part of The Quest Society, whereby she could study on improving the strength of the Empire. Maybe by using her powers, Nathalie could create a potion that would strengthen the witches in their fight against the demons. For this, she visited Taquila.

Walking on the streets, she was being avoided by the surrounding. She could occasionally hear whispers like "that's the exiled witch" and more resentful words such as "what is The Horror of Taquila doing here?" This nickname was something that she got after her awakening. Even though there was an early warning, there were still many curious lookers to what Nathalie's power would be like. During the explosion of power, deadly acid burst out of her, injuring and even killing some of the crowd. Even a few high ranking witches got badly injured. After that day, 2 years before her coming of age ceremony, she was branded a danger, "The Horror of Taquila".

Nathalie noticed a crowd moving towards the northern gate. Today was the day that the forwards expedition group should returned. Excited to see what happened, Nathalie followed the crowd towards the north.

…

Arriving at the northern gate, disappointment and sadness took over her whole body. It has already been 10 years. The War of Devine Will is going worse by the day. The return rate of the expeditionary forces keeps on falling and the fatigue of the witches could be seen. From the original group of 50 witches that left, this time only 20 made it back. The situation is dire, if this continues, who knows, next time Nathalie is forced to the frontlines by those three chiefs. Feeling resentfulness towards The Three Chiefs, who banished her out of the city, she rather would stay in her tower, dedicating herself to her research.

Walking back towards the city, Nathalie noticed another crowd forming, this time at the city square. Her curiosity taking the best of her, she moved towards the square. Being branded with these cloths, for cases such as these, they gave benefit to her. People tried to avoid her, so cutting into lines has become an easy task to do. With a grin on her face, Nathalie arrived at the front of a podium, where a crier was shouting some words.

"The Three Chiefs just made major decision for every citizen in Taquila! Whoever can find a way to improve the power of the witches and help them defeat the demons will get a huge reward! The generous chiefs offers 500 gold for every invention that has is plausible. Moreover if you can provide proof that your invention works, an additional 500 gold will be provided, making the grand total 1000 gold! Moreover, the creator of the best invention will be blessed with a single wish! Anyone, be it a blacksmith, or an alchemist, anyone can participate and make chance on these rewards!"

Hearing this, the crowd grew wild, people started to wipers and think of people who they know that could innovate something that might become helpful. This was a rare occasion, that the witches actually invited the common folk to help them out.

However, Nathalie's mind focused on the last bit of what the announcer mentioned. A single wish. She could use this wish, to get free from the branding she was wearing and finally be accepted by the others. With these thoughts, Nathalie joyfully returned towards her tower to continue on her research.

…