Role in the Lacreyste
They first appear in the story when Lacreyste arrives in their home village, where they immediately mistake Red for a demon and attempt to kill her. After a short confrontation, Red succeeds in convincing Lacreyste that she is not a demon, and the latter relents. The two then engage in a discussion in which Red tells Lacreyste about the curse placed upon her village, stating that it was inflicted by the trickster god Oli as punishment for a misdeed in the ancient past. Initially, Lacreyste appears entirely uninterested in Red's tale, and promptly leaves after insulting them repeatedly.
"If the people of this village were too feeble to defend themselves, then they deserved what became of them. It is their own fault for being so weak."— Lacreyste to Red
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"— Red
"Many things."— Lacreyste
Later on, the two encounter each other for a second time in a small town which Lacreyste visited while in the process of gathering spell reagents as part of her attempt to raise a mountain. The two meet in a bar, where a drunk Lacreyste engages in unprompted exposition to Red about her plans to exterminate all of humanity in order to acquire vengeance for a deed committed against her race a century ago. She then invites Red to take a tour of her mountain, to which the other woman agrees. Lacreyste then guides her to the newly-erected mountain and shows her around the interior, before declaring that Red is her enemy and she will slay her
in order to stop her from getting in the way of her mission. A brief swordfight ensues between the two characters in which Lacreyste defeats Red. However, in stead of killing her, she is struck by a moment of compassion, and instead allows her to leave.
The two then part ways again, but meet up repeatedly throughout the rest of the book; with their interactions largely consisting of Lacreyste insulting or assaulting Red. In the course of one of these meetings, Red confides in Lacreyste about the fate of their grandmother; a woman by the name of Baaji, who was killed as part of the event that cursed her hometown. She admits to having had a complicated relationship with Baaji, and expresses uncertainty as to whether she actually misses her or not.
Journey to Hell
Some time later, Lacreyste - frustrated after running afoul of a fox spirit that had taken residence atop her new artificial mountain - decides to take her anger out upon Red. She decides that the best way to exact vengeance upon her is by resurrecting her dead grandmother, and therefore opens a portal to hell and travels through it with the intention of stealing back Baaji's soul. The following chapters detail her arduous trip through the underworld as she defeats many spirits and demons, before finally reaching the king of hell himself. She then attacks him without provocation and beats him savagely until he surrenders, after which she demands that he return Baaji's soul; to which he agrees.
"G-grandmother? Is... Is that really you?"— Red
"To my surprise, it does indeed appear to be me."— Baaji
The reunion between Red and Baaji is significantly more cheerful than Lacreyste had anticipated. Despite this, she still proceeds to lord her victory over the wanderer, either willfully ignoring or being oblivious of the other's lack of visible misery. She then creates a portal and leaves, allowing the two to reconnect with each other.
Trickster God Oli
The next time their paths cross is when Lacreyste receives news that Red has been kidnapped by the trickster god Oli. Unbeknownst to her, the act of reviving Baaji allowed the old sorceress to begin reversing the curse that was placed upon the village of Dorn; in turn greatly angering the god and causing him to kidnap Red.
Upon hearing about this, Lacreyste becomes furious and immediately embarks upon a journey to retrieve the captive Red from the god's clutches. In much the same way as she had previously journeyed through hell, she travels through multiple otherworldly realms in order to reach the god's domain. Upon arriving, she realises Oli to be significantly more powerful than she had anticipated, and concludes that she cannot defeat him on her own. The mischievous god admits to being amused by the effort she went through in order to rescue Red, and so in return offers to strike a deal with her; he will release Red from his grasp if Lacreyste will join him in drinking alcohol.
"Welcome to 'ma hall of merriment! If it's the girl that you want, then drink, you shall! Drink! Drink! Drink! DRINK!"— Oli
"No. Instead, I think I'll just kill you and take her back."— Lacreyste
However, Lacreyste grows suspicious at the offer; fearing that this seems too easy and that Oli might be attempting to poison her. Thus, she decides instead to attack him anyway, calling upon the assistance of the fox spirit - who she had befriended in the time since their first meeting - to aid her in the battle. However, it almost immediately becomes clear that Lacreyste herself is no match for the trickster god, and so she opts to create a portal
out of his throne room and leave; trusting the fox spirit to finish defeating him and retrieve Red. She then returns home and promptly falls asleep while the battle is still ongoing. When she awakens the next day, the fox spirit informs her that it was successful in defeating the trickster god, and presents her with a newly rescued Red. This concludes the third book.
Climax
At the end of the last book of the
Lacreyste, when heroes gather at the base of Lacreyste's mountain to challenge her, Red is among those present. They succeed in storming the castle and defeating Lacreyste's minions, whereupon they find the villainess herself in a secluded chamber at the back of the mountain; preparing an incantation to open a massive portal to another world which will allow her subjects to pour through and conquer Faltahn. In order to stop this, they must kill Lacreyste before the incantation can complete. A dramatic battle ensues, and Red and Lacreyste do battle once more. This time Red is the victor, and she drives her dagger into Lacreyste's heart, finally slaying her. In the epilogue of the
Lacreyste, Red is stated to live happily-ever-after along with the rest of the successfully unpetrified villagers of Dorn and Baaji herself.
