[Rowan]

The Being knew she was to be punished. It knew not how, but It new It had erred in Its action. By becoming too close to the strange, mortal creatures on the lower planes, she had allowed the others to see her attraction to the two-legs. The others hadn't liked that at all.

~You are to be punished. Make ready for sentence~

The words weren't spoken ones. Indeed, the Being knew not how to speak in the normal sense. It was more a telepathic connection, with ideas being more of an image in one's mind.

~It is the judgement of those present that you are a Corrupt being, and thus are not fit to live among Us. The power and abilities granted one of our Kind are no longer yours. You will be cast from this place, and you shall not return.~

Darkness clouded what passed for the Being's vision. It felt Itself become smaller, different. Before the Being became Unaware, the Voices spoke again.

~You will live a mortal life, and be happy among the creatures you have come to admire.~

In the darkness, the Being floated for more than a thousand years. Time was irrelevant to the Being, so It couldn't measure the passage of years in any definable way.

When the Being became Aware again, It knew the first sound It had ever experienced. It couldn't make any sense of the jumble of sensations at first, so It waited.

The darkness had not yet faded.

The Voices spoke once more, but the Being was losing focus with them.

~Arise, and face your punishment, Rowan Aegis.~

And with the echoes of the Voices ringing into a faded silence, the Being, the one now called Rowan, began her banishement to the world of Ifreann

The Voices placed the unAware Being in a 'chair' in what the two-legs called an 'Inn'. The one that was now called Rowan would become Aware again shortly, and by that time, they knew one of the two-legs that she found so fascinating would discover her.

The Voices withdrew to attend to other business....

...And Rowan slept on......

[Dref, the Liff Dragon]

A small dragon, only 1 foot body and one foot tail,Drefyldorxynarflogintsa (a.k.a. Dref) is only about one hndred years old, but doesn't keep track. He is very good at magic such as making things temporarily dissapear, permanently rearange, and temporarily look and act different.He does'nt realise this could be used for anything but mischief, which is the purpose of life as far as he is concerned (same with all Liffs). Mischief is his only passtime.

Dref has a small crystal ball he carries aound with him, which hs the power to keep him generally out of trouble, out of harm's way. This bauble stores up life-force by drawing small amounts from objects around it; not enough to do any damage. In this way it builds up a large supply of magical energy, which keeps Dref active and healthy (in fact, seemingly constantly on a sugar rush) without food or sleep.It also can provide a sort of cushioning effect around him that helps ward off blows against him. In addition, it stores up enough extra energy to let him harness it for his own purposes. Dref is unique among his kind in the possesion of this magical item. Why that is is the subject of the story below.

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The Story of Dref

Dref lived on a small, invisible, floating island of dragons who stayed generally small their whole lives, long and thin, with small, sharp dorsal spines and claws. They lived on large trees, making basket- like homes but flying around most of the time. Their island was kept floating in the air by a mighty dragon who had lived many aeons, and was well versed in the art of magic.

This great dragon kept the dragons, called Liffs, very happy, and magically maintained peace and order among them, for the most part, without much involving himself in their daily lives. He woke himself monthly for council meetings (the dragons held an elected council government pretty much just for fun), to make sure everything ran smoothly, and every hundred years or so he would give the Liffs a magical gift, an enchanted item with unique powers.

On the particular eve of gift-giving about ninety years ago, when Dref was very young, the eldest member of the community was gifted a round, shining bauble which collected life force and had, as usual, strange powers the other Liffs couldn't wait to find out about. However, one thing made all the difference that evening; the eldest of the community gave the gift to his great great grandson, Tarv, rather than keeping it. Tarv was Dref's rival.

Being the mischevious people the Liffs were, common tricks and pranks generally built up towards friendly rivalries, but they were considered more important than human-type friendly rivalries. Rivals were subjects on which you homed your skills, got ready for the outside world, for when you would make prank-runs that were more important.No Liff could stand being bested by his rival, though that seldom happened in Liff society; everyone was generally equal. So of course Dref had to get that bauble.

Dref's plan was relatively simple, with only one facet of complexity, a distraction. While Tarv was be caught up in a rather sticky prank, Dref darted into his basket-home and took the bauble. But it wasn't just that simple, because Dref had to run; he couldn't stay on the Floating Island, he didn't think, after taking such an important item, but of course it all seemed worthwhile to Dref, because he could best his rival.

Of course, there was a chance he could stay, and maybe be honoured with the title of Outright Prankster, but it wasn't exactly worth the risk, and besides, Dref was looking forward to an encounter with the wold below.

So Dref simply darted off into the air, leting himself fall, to a certain extent, to the ground far below, playfully catching himself a grass blade's width from the surface of a lake. He looked back up and saw only the clear night sky, though he instinctively knew in which direction his floating home lie.

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Dref darted into the well-lit human dwelling known as the Dragon's Inn. 'interesting people', he assumed, surveying the crowd. He had been pulling pranks on these beings for years and years, with much enjoyment, but he wondered if maybe he would get an even better reaction out of actually showing himself. Besides, there had been a picture of the Great Dragon near the opening.

Whizzing around through the air with dragonfly-like ease, Dref smelled food and opened one of the cupboard doors. Finding nothing of interest, he circled near the cieling, utilizing the bauble to make himself partially invisible. He buzzed at the human's mind's with telepathic ease:

'Hi there! I'm from BEYOND! My name's Drefyldorxynarflogintsa M'trekknelhundress Jumstalejunnstoumwucc Yemsatti Liff!' His voice peirced the human's thoughts in instants leaving them wondering how such long syllables could be uttered so quickly, and where they had come from.

Then he settled down, hovering over an empty table. He hoped someone would approach him so he could have some more fun.

[The Voices]

The Voices watched from a distance, observing what would befall the banished creature, now called Rowan.

Somewhere, a feeling stirred in the Essence of one of the Voices. Was it....pity? Pity for something that had escalated beyond control, and thus must itself be controlled?

The Voice that experienced these feelings pushed them away. The Rowan creature was Corrupt. This was done for It's protection. Suddenly, a movement from the Banished attracted attention.

[Rowan]

Rowan Aegis opened her eyes slowly. The light, for something that had not experienced what most mortal beings would call 'light', was almost painful. After a moment, the jumbled sounds assaulting her newly-given senses coalesced into coherent form. Strident voices rang out over the sound of laughter, covering the Inn in a blanket of sound that a mortal would find comforting.

Sitting up carefully, Rowan rubbed her eyes, surprised that such a motion came so naturally. After a moment, she glanced around, then noticed an empty mug on the table.

Rowan reached out uncertainly, only to misjudge her mark and almost send the cup spinning off of the table. With jerky movements, she clumsily placed the mug back in its former position. After a number of tries, she successfully managed to grasp the cup and lift it for inspection.

To someone like Rowan, it appeared to be some kind of metal object, with a smaller metal hoop on one side.... A noise nearby made her jump and look about her. A few feet away, two men were facing off against each other. They pulled an object that Rowan knew, from her observations, was called a 'knife'. The few times she had seen these objects, invariably one of them had come away discolored, and one man no longer moved with the light of a living creature.

This time, however, the two men were cut off, surrounded by a pair of strange-looking bubbles that began to float slowly upward. Those few men that had been watching this laughed, some of them drunkenly, and went back to their tables.

Sitting back, Rowan gazed around the room, realizing for the first time that she was truly alone.....

(Hello, Graham Fielding here. I realize that I've neglected to describe Rowan thus far, so here we go: Rowan's new-found physical form is that of an elven female, approx. 20-30 years (human years, that is) from a visual standpoint. As a way to demarcate her, the Voices gaver her a very distinct mark, in this case, pupilless green eyes. She's wearing the usual sort of traveller's garb (a cloak and appropriate garments) and has reddish-brown hair. (Rowan feels very alone, as she was banished in the previous message [Inn - New Character - Rowan], for those of you keeping score :) and would probably not be adverse to some company right about now....)

[Dref]

Dref hovered in midair, partially invisible, for about five minutes(see "curous dragon enters"). Then he spied an opportunity for a prank, an Elven girl at a table alone (see "Rowan awakens"). He had never tried a stunt like this one, but he was turning over a new leaf coming into the inn at all.

Fully cloaking himself magically, Dref darted into a mug the girl had recently confirmed was empty. Then he made himself visible, yet not within sight of the girl, curled up at the bottom of the mug. He mentally suggested (very useful for pranks) that she should pick up the mug again.

Waiting for the result quite gleefully, Dref contemplated that no human (or elf) had ever seen a Liff . He wondered what the result would be.

[Rowan]

Rowan could see that there was nothing else of any real interest happeningat the moment, aside from the two half-drunk men that had gotten themselves trapped a minute ago. For some reason, Rowan's attention was drawn back to the mug on thetable. Without understanding why, she reached over to pick it upagain.

As her hand grasped and lifted the metal object,she realized that something had changed about it. The mug was a bitheavier, as though something was held within it. Quizzically, shelifed it towards her for another look.

There was something in the bottom of the mug. With a feeling of extreme curiosity (although she wouldn't be able to nameit, having never had any real 'feelings') she tipped the mug, and the contents,onto the wooden table.

[Dref]

Dref uncurled triumphantly, and danced around on his tiny feet a bit for added effect. 'My name's Drefyldorxynarflogintsa M'trekknelhundress Jumstalejunnstoumwucc Yemsatti Liff. I come from Beyond!' he thought to the Elf, when he was done dancing. 'There are lots of magical treasures there. Can you help me get there?'

Dref hadn't expected himself to add this last part. Maybe he was getting a tad bit more homesick than he thought, but he excused himself by the fact that it would be fun to get more magical items. (He couldn't get home; his wings wouldn't be strong enough for about another three hundred years. One hundred years is very young for a dragon.)

[Rowan]

The exiled Being watched in astonishment as out of the mug fell a small, dragon-like creature. After a short pause, it stood and half-turned in a whirl, then looked at Rowan. Suddenly, she felt a voice speaking into her mind.

The voice uttered a long and complicated name that Rowan missed all but three syllables of, then spoke of treasure and coming from Beyond.....

Rowan was reminded suddenly of the life she had left behind. The young Elf was suddenly overcome with a feeling of longing, of a need to find her way home.... First things first....

When she began to speak, her words were halting and difficult. She realized with regret that she probably sounded infantile, unDeveloped, but there was nothing for that now.

'I...I'm sorry, I d-don't understand. You speak very quickly.' Looking ashamed, she continued in a depressed tone, 'I've only just arrived here, from.....' How could she explain where she had come from? It was impossible with words....but maybe....just maybe....

The Voices watched as the two creatures met for the first time.

~The Banished One shall prove a most interesting diversion~ First Voice sent.

~Indeed. Most interesting~ Second voice, backing up First as always.

A short distance away from the others, one Voice had pity for the poor lost Being, banished so far away.

Piteous Voice did not want the Banished One to feel so sad. It wanted to help her, but to do so would open the floodgates and invite the anger of the other Voices.

Unless....

Carefully, so that the others would not notice, Piteous Voice opened the Link to the Banished One.

Adressing her in her Old Name, the Voice reassured her, and gave her a gift...

~You are not alone, Banished One. I will watch over you. For now, I can only give you this...~

Piteous Voice returned Rowan's telepathic powers, so cruelly stripped from her by First Voice.

Rowan was trying to communicate where she had come from, and what had befallen her, when a small voice, a different voice, spoke into her mind.

Suddenly, her mind opened with a gift long thought lost. The room before her opened into a blossom of sensations, feelings and energies that only a properly trained mind could read.

With a feeling of relief (she knew now what she was feeling, thanks to the gift bestowed upon her by Piteous Voice, as he had chosen to call himself.), she opened her mind. It wasn't as full as she was used to, but she put that up to the limits of her now-mortal form.

Sending an image of her home to the small dragon, she projected a feeling of warmth and familiarity.

~Home~, she sent, ~Good~.

Then she projected feelings of loss and despair.

~Lost. Cannot return. Help?~

She added the final question as a shot in the dark, hoping that by establishing a friendly communication, she might be able to understand more about this strange world.

[Dref]

Dref cocked his head in confusion. Was this being in front of him human, First it had barely responded to his prank, then it had begun talking like a Liff... About home? Getting back to home, anyways. Maybe. Liffs always speak more clearly, decisively. At least to each other, to outsiders they speak of their floating island as 'elswhere', or 'beyond', and use their full names - it's more fun.

The best Dref could make of the situation was that both of them couldn't go home, neither were enjoying it, and nothing was any fun. Normally, he would wander away, but he felt a touch of sympathy (Liffs weren't beyond sympathy) for this Liffishspeaking Elf.

Trying to make some fun of the situation (as that was all he could think of), Dref did a little jig on the tabletop, consequently dropping his magic bauble, which rolled over to Rowan and stopped just short of falling to the floor.

Not noticing the abscence of his magic ball, Dref sent a mental message to the rest of the people in the room - a quick description of the events that had just taken place, which would be opened by the mind in such a way as to make everyone think they had noticed the situation, followed by an implanted wish to help.

[Rowan]

Rowan watched as the creature began to dance again, and smiled to herself. Here was one that didn't like being lost and homesick, but tried his best to put a good face on it. Rowan could feel the light thrum of a telepathic vibration run through the air, though she couldn't tell what it was about.

As she watched the dragon-creature dance, she noticed a small, round object fall from his hands....

It rolled to a stop near the edge of the table, and Rowan looked at it for a minute, not sure of what to do. After a few moments, she gently reached over and picked it up for a closer examination.

As she was looking the object over, a young lady carrying a tray approached the table. Rowan felt suddenly nervous.

'Good afternoon! Welcome to the Dragon's Inn. Would you like something to drink?' Rowan looked up from the bauble and tried to place the word 'drink' in her still-growing vocabulary.

'Drink? I-I'm not entirely s-sure what you mean.' The words came out a bit better, making Rowan a bit more confident that, with practice, the stuttering would disappear.

The woman paused. 'Oh. Well, my name's Sera, and I can bring you a mug of ale, if you wish.' Recognition blossomed in Rowan's mind.

'Oh! Oh, yes. I suppose. Drefyldo...' she began, mangling the delicate pronounciation of the name, 'Dref...w-would you like a d-drink?' She added as an afterthought, not really sure if ale was something a dragon would want. The Voices hadn't given her any of the metal pieces called 'money'...this she was probably going to have to get some soon....

'I'm s-sorry, Sera, I-I don't have any mom..money...'

Sera put a reassuring hand on Rowan's shoulder. 'No matter, dearie You can pay tomorrow. I'll go and get you a drink.'

And with that, Sera picked up the mug that Dref had previously been inhabiting and dissapeared in the direction of the kitchens.

[Dref]

At an attempted mention of part of his full name, Dref looked up at the Elf, who was speaking with another person. 'Dref works just fine', he mentally assured her, as the person walked away. Then he noticed his bauble, and lept at it posessively. Just as he had it in his clutches, a blue bubble pooped around him (and it), just as it had around the two drunken combatants earlier.

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Note: Dref's crystal ball is palm-sized, so the onl way something as small as him can hold it is by wrapping either himself or his tail around it.
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Dref was quite pleased, and flew around for a little while with the bubble around him. It moved with him, and he found it quite entertaining. A glint of magic showed in his eyes as he changed it's color to make it look like fire; it's surface swirled with orange and red forming complex, delightful patterns.

Then Dref's focus returned to reality, as he finally (telepathically) answered the question he was asked about a minute or two ago. 'I don't eat or drink. That's what this thing's for.' Dref let the bauble fall to the bottom of the bubble, and it sat there without falling trough.

[Rowan]

'I'm s-sorry, Dref, I didn't mean to look like I was s-stealing it. You just dropped it, and I was curious as to what it did' Rowan explained. Her speech was getting better, she was glad to observe. The elf looked at the bubble curiously and watched the colors change as Dref played with the magical spehere. 'What is that bubble around you? I noticed it a s-short while ago around s-some others here, but they looked v-very angry.'

[OOC - Some background for Carriac: A middle-aged elf (~200 years) from a simple family. His talent lies in "shaping", the rearranging of matter through touch. Note that this is not a molecular change, only a restructuring of something's physical shape. The success of his shaping depends upon the type of material Carriac is trying to mold. He is most adept at manipulating plant fibers, such as cotton cloth and wood, and moderately skilled with stone, thought the latter takes him much longer. Metal is difficult, but since shaped metal itself has a "memory" of sorts, he is able to straighten things that have been bent or dented fairly easily. Living tissue is very difficult, though Carriac has some skill in treating minor wounds (particularly on his own person), and crystals are next to impossible. I'll elaborate more as we move forward. Carriac is an open, friendly, giving soul....but it wasn't always so -----]

[The Dragon's Inn/Carriac]

"Oops...."

The ceramic stein slipped from the barmaid's fingers and hit the floor with a crash, sending ale flying onto the legs of the elf sitting at the table. The stein itself cracked into three pieces. Carriac watched as the wood planks of the floor thirstily soaked up the spilled liquid. The barmaid turned a bright shade of red.

"I am so sorry! Here, let me clean you up...."

Carriac waved her back with a smile. "That's quite all right. There was no harm done."

The barmaid regarded the elf as he reached down and retrieved the broken pieces of crockery. He was short, about 5'2", but looked to weigh in the neighborhood of 200lbs. He wore his weight well, though, probably due to the precise cut and styling of his expensive clothing. No, closer inspection revealed the cloth to be a simple homespun material. But the cut...she couldn't understand why anyone would spend so much time tailoring such a poor quality material.

Her gaze snapped back to his face as he said, "Your mug looks worse for the wear, though."

She cringed. "Third time this week. Hugh's not going to be pleased." She studied the man's face. It was less angular than most of the elves the barmaid knew, probably as a result of the extra weight. His hair was a dirty blond color, about shoulder length and well-groomed. His eyes were a simple sea-green. The elf smiled. He was not overly handsome, but his smile was warm and very pleasant. She could tell that this was a man who truly enjoyed life.

"Well, allow me to help then. I am a craftsman....of a sort."

Carriac placed the broken pieces of the stein into their original configuration and ran a stubby finger along the cracks. The ceramic seemed to MELT back together wherever the finger touched. In just a moment the stein was whole again. He handed it back to the astonished barmaid.

"No worries, see?"

"You are a handy man to have around."

"Thank you. Now, about that ale�."

"Oh! Be right back."

The girl disappeared into the throng of people hustling about the Inn. Carriac smiled again. It was good to be able to help someone.

The telepathic message cut through his mind and grabbed him as sure as if a hand had physically held him. His head turned and his eyes flew immediately to the source of the call. Such a sincere call for help had to be answered.

Without hesitation, Carriac rose from his seat and moved towards the elf girl and dragon.

[Traveler]

At that moment A sudden hot rush of pain began. It started at the top of his head and ran down his spine. It was as if he was being torn apart. His vision was blurred then doubled. For a moment it was as if he was seeing double, but from two different perspectives. He was seeing two different Inns the one in Generica, and the one he had been at in Montfort. It was then that he passed out and was carried to a table, at each Inn. In Generica, Elizabeth worriedly carried him to his table and ran to get help. In Montfort one of the waitresses had him carried to a room and called for a doctor. So began the Journey of the Traveler's....

[Dref]

Looking around at the two people who had volunteered their help, Dref smiled. 'we could start,' he said, 'by finding a dragon that could fly us to the floating island of the Liffs.' Looking at Rowan, he added, 'There is a great and powerful mage-dragon there who may be able to help her reachhome.'

[Carriac]

"Uh, wait just a second there, little one."

He made a quick motion, passing his right hand from front to back over his head and made a whooshing sound.

To the blank stares he got he replied, "That went right over my head. First of all, what in creation is a 'Liff?' Second, dragons, in my experience, are selfish, mean and downright ornery! Why would we even WANT to talk to one?!"

Carriac then realized to whom he was speaking and cleared his throat. "Present little company excepted, of course."

[Rowan]

Rowan watched the exchange carefully. This was all so new to her....however, at the mention of 'home', Rowan decided to make her position known. ~Dref, is there really someone who can help me get Home?~

Aloud, she said, calmly, 'I have a deep desire to reach my homeland again. I was...cast out. Unfairly, might I add.'

Rowan looked at the tense Carriac, glad that her voice had steadied and lost the stutter. However, it was getting a little hard to speak clearly....

'If it means dealing with dragons, I am prepared to deal with dragons. And if we encounter one that will not help, we will simply find one that will. For I am also prepared to wait. Besides,' she added, 'what other options do we have?'

Lifting her drink carefully (she was still having a bit of trouble with directing her hands to grasp and lift things), she took a drink of ale and waited for the explosion. In the meantime, there were questions to answer. Rowan glanced over at Traveller.

~I have not been here long, so I don't suppose that you know me. My name is Rowan.~

Inadvertantly, Rowan's mind let slip a silly-looking image. Shaking her head to clear it away, she looked around the table.

[Dref]

'I am a Liff,' Dref thought to everyone at the table. 'We live on a big floating island. It's called beyond to confuse outsiders. For centuries we've been protected by a Great Dragon, who posseses magical powers, and is kind.' This was a lot of 'talking' for Dref, so he touched the tip of his tail to his bauble, which was resting at the bottom of the bubble around him. A surge of refreshing energy went up his tail. 'I have never met a bad dragon,' he added.

[Carriac]

"Oh, well, that explains a whole lot," Carriac said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "It's obvious that we haven't met the same dragons.

"I'm wondering why we don't just visit the Grand Oracle of Taradhi? Everyone knows that the Oracle can answer one question for each person during his or her life. Rowan could just ask the Oracle how to get home! It is a long trip, about three months by horse, but at least we wouldn't have to go riding any dragons.

"Of course, there's the small matter of the Oracle's fee....but I'm sure whatever quest she sent us on would be more than reasonable and well worth the information we seek."

"And then we wouldn't have to be riding any dragons," Carriac murmured quietly under his breath.

(Continued as Tribond)