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| Crimson Dragons Sr. Recruiter & High Council Member |
| ~ You walk into the Inn, it is warm and cozy and there is a fire burning low in the hearth. There are not many people in tonight, but you spy Kestrel sitting at a corner table with one of her old friends. She looks up and smiles at you and beckons you over to join them. You can see she�s had enough to drink to make her relaxed and talkative. She pats the seat next to her and shifts along slightly to make room for you. She stands up to wave over the serving lad to bring another jug of wine. Before sitting again she adjusts her tunic and smoothes down her hair, which is tied back neatly into two plaits. She starts talking and you find she has been asked about her life before Crimson Dragons. ~ �Well, there�s not that much to say really. The first part is not a happy story, but I guess it�s just as important as the rest. I was born in a small village called Trial, strange name you say, well it was the place all witches were sent awaiting trial in the days of the Dark Kings magic purge. And when he was assassinated the village remained, there were few not skilled at magic there! Ha, except me of course! My mother died in childbirth and this was seen as the reason for my ineptitude. The tradition at Trial was that the name a baby was given at the moment of birth, was the foundation of their magic. So the first few years of my life were spent with them trying to train me in the use of a magic I rarely could master! I think I was too down-to-earth, even after I had to spend days pulling feathers from my body, I still thought it couldn�t be true! You need a certain amount of belief to work magic it seems! During this time I lived with my Aunt Espy, who only just tolerated me as a distraction from her pursuit of my father. I�m not sure why, he was a singularly unpleasant man! I rarely saw him, except when he came round periodically to be, umm, well, unpleasant. I often thought of running away but had never been farther from home than the edge of the woods a few miles away, and it seemed impossible. Sorry, got carried away with my reminiscing. I�ll speed on through a few years! Anyway, there was one day when I was about ten or so, when a noble looking man came to Trial. He looked rich wearing silk and silver and jewels, and had an escort of fierce looking armed men. He stayed a few nights at the Inn. One night he spent up with my father talking. The next day he told me he had found me employment, and that I could earn my own keep from now on. He sent me off to pack, and so I did. But before I could leave with this man I over-heard a couple of the village gossips, Sparrow and Follow. They were talking about my father, and how could a man sell his own daughter into such a disreputable trade. Their tone of voice made it clear just how �disreputable�. So I leapt out the back window and started running! I must admit I nearly died in the forest due to my own ignorance. I rarely found food, I could not make a fire and often made myself ill from eating poisonous plants! It was one of the latter occasions when Hidden found me. She rarely approached people so I was lucky she chose this time to break her rule. She took me in and soon her hut was my home. I stayed with her for about six or seven years. In that time she taught me what I would have needed to survive in the forest that first time, and a lot more besides of bird and beast and their tracks and trails. From her name it seemed likely she too had come from Trial, but she never spoke of it, and I never asked. At the end of this time, she sat me down and told me to leave. Not in a harsh way, she just said I needed to talk to someone else besides her and find my own life instead of just living hers along with her! I knew it was true, and within a month I was leaving, heading away from the forest that was all I had really known �til then. So I met a lot of people and found work of many kinds, tracking or working in kitchens or whatever was available. I saw many different towns and villages but never settled anywhere. That is until I met someone from the Dragon Storm Clan, it did feel like a homecoming. But, I wasn�t there for long before they disbanded and I was roaming with no base again. I had met a few people from Crimson Dragons whilst at Dragon Storm, and they had seemed friendly and fun. Little did I know that soon I would have many friends there, and like it so much that I would work as Recruiter for them telling other people with no anchors in their lives, of the joy of being part of such a family! Are you a member? You should come in and visit us! Sorry it�s not the time I know, ever the recruiter I guess!! So that�s my life, but it is the smallest part of my life the most important bits are ahead! Anyway, I must be off to bed, my voice is nearly gone from talking. Why don�t you come back tomorrow and tell of your past?� ~ She leaves with a wave, and a smile of real contentment. You can tell that being a Crimson Dragons member has made her truly happy. ~ |