First Bloom - Spring Breeze

One night as she lay awake she heard scuffling on the boards just outside the servants quarters. She sprang to her feet and held the slack of chain tight in her hands to avoid it making any noise. She moved to the door and tentatively peeked out the keyhole. She only saw darkness and then the door lightly bumped against her nose. She moved to the side and saw a man clad in black clothing holding a club looking down at her. He grabbed her swiftly and pulled her to him placing a gloved hand in her mouth. Slowly another man in similar clothing closed the door and the man holding her asked her if she was the healer as he pressed a knife to her throat. There was no friendly tone and the question seemed to be more of a threat than a real inquiry. She gulped down but decided that if she was gonna be killed it would be for standing tall. She nodded and felt the pressure of the knife ease away.

She spun gracefully, grabbed the man by his lapels and tossed him towards the other assailant in black. As the body flew past her she removed an iron banded club from the belt and using the twirl’s momentum tossed it down the walkway. She didn’t wait for impact and ran after it and towards the guard that had just appeared from behind a corner of bushes. The club hit the man square in the temple and dropped him to the ground. The dazed guard groaned as he attempted to get up but was slammed against the ground by Andrea’s knees slamming into her chest. She quickly grabbed the man’s hair and hit his head against the ground causing him to finally lose all consciousness. As she stood up she relieved the guard from his club and knife as well as his keys which she promptly used to remove her chains as she turned to the first assailants.

It was weird but the men in black were casually looking at her with a relaxed pose. She lifted both her weapons and approached the door with keys in hand. That’s when the one that had grabbed her finally spoke. He told her to drop any idea of getting all slaves out, it would take a small army to perform such a task and they were drawing enough attention towards them by freeing her. She could come alone but if she tried to help the other slaves she would be knocked down by a quarrel from a crossbow and they would leave her to bleed under the moon. She gritted her teeth but dropped the keys to let them know she had decided to follow them. They gestured for her to follow and in a matter of minutes they were out of the state and running into the nearby forests under the cover of night.

It had been a short trip on horseback to the city slums. There the men in black finally introduced themselves. The man that had grabbed her was Arlen, he looked slightly older than her but his body showed much more scarring and the lines in his face told of many more worries. The other man looked older, he introduced himself as Bair. They explained to Andrea how they ran a small group of thieves formed mostly of orphans. As they did Arlen mentioned how her break out had not been a mere whim and they needed her to attend one of the gangs leader, a man named Wyatt who seemed to have fallen for some kind of poison or sickness no healer had been able to work through.




Andrea considered simply turning and running away, perhaps finding her way back to the north on a caravan and forgetting all about this incident. As she did, something inside her chest stirred and told her it was the wrong decision. She had come to the south looking to discover more and learn from the world she had not known. Perhaps the events had taught her horrible things but if she returned, she would be doing it out of fear and it would haunt her to the very end of her days. She steeled her resolve and looked at Arlen with a much recovered fire. She agreed to look into the sickness in exchange for food and room as long as she was treating the sickness.

Bair and Arlen discussed the terms mentioning how she could keep Wyatt sick just to ensure her stay at their garrison, so they offered her a part in the gang as a healer permanently if she pulled Wyatt through. Andrea sighed and made no promises aside from making her best effort to heal Wyatt, afterwards it would be a matter of seeing if she felt alright running around with a band of thieves, perhaps her conscience would not allow her to stay beyond repaying the favor of recovering her freedom.Once all three agreed She was led to a stable where the horses where stored with a nod to the stablehand and a quick slip of a few copper coins. Afterwards they wound around the alleyways and other dark streets until they came upon a small building that looked in heavy need of maintenance. The wooden sign outside stated it was a tavern but the almost empty room beyond the threshold told it could not be a very profitable one.

Bair and Arlen nodded at the barkeep, a large woman, in her mid forties at most who smiled and gestured for the side of the bar. They walked through a door and then split a crate to reveal a thin staircase that slowly went down. They walked for a few minutes on small pathways that had a very slight incline, Andrea noticed that the turns and twists seemed to keep them from a central area they never touched and the incline was not pronounced enough to be dangerous but enough to make way down into the ground. They came upon a wooden door well maintained and with heavy locks and bolts. Bair tapped the door and a small opening slid to a side revealing a metal grid with small holes to let anyone from the other side see clearly through.

The young man inside greeted Bair and Arlen and opened the door. Inside a large room with a huge table and several stools and long wooden seats crammed against the walls was revealed. A large group of children ran about from one side to the other going about a multitude of tasks and disappearing inside small holes that seemed made for no one of Arlen’s or Bairs build. On some of the stools counting coins and discussing something with special seriousness were larger men who greeted Arlen and Bair with hugs and claps on the back. Several doors on the wall led to halls lined with other doors and only one behind a large wooden chair was set on the far wall from where they came in. Bair and Arlen led Andrea into the room without making any introductions.

As they entered the room, the smell of sickness hit Andrea hard. It wasn't poisonous, but it was the smell that came from someone that had been robbed of his strength by something for too long a time. Arlen introduced her to Wyatt as Bair leaned against the door and pulled a knife to pick on his teeth and nails. The source of the sickness wasn’t immediate to Andrea but she could already tell what she needed to at least stabilize Wyatt. She turned and listed a series of items and tools she would need to get started, she then turned and began examining Wyatt with much more detail despite the grunts and complaints of the large man. Wyatt was built almost like her father, he looked northern with a tan, much like her, but not from the marais tribe. After she was done, she had listed at least 4 illness separately, Wyatt was not afflicted by a single malady, but by a series that had gained strength by not receiving the treatment he should have.

Andrea told Wyatt what the procedure would be and how some would be awfully displeasing as they required his body be purged first in order to begin applying the healing substances to him. Once the diagnostic was delivered Wyatt asked Arlen and Bair to leave, they didn’t seem happy with the request but loyalty pushed them to leave without so much as a word of contradiction to their leader’s orders. Once Alone Wyatt took Andrea’s face in one humongous paw and turned it to one side and the other. The girl would have moved away but the grip was strong despite the sickness and she could feel that there was no ill intention in the man’s examination.

Finally Wyatt tenderly released her and asked what tribe of the north she belonged to before launching into a very friendly conversation about the wonders of the north and what a long trip it was to the city. Finally he took on a more serious tone. He talked about how as long as she was not known or covered under some nobles power she would always be fair game to the slavers. She could return to the streets and try to gain her foothold but she would do it always looking over her shoulder, and if they found out she was a healer she would be even more coveted. Andrea lowered her head and listened, Wyatt made sense, he had even told her her best bet was to leave and that was when she decided she needed someone who could look after her as she would look after them. Almost as if reading her thoughts it was Wyatt who made that comment and offered his small gang as a substitute family.

The man talked in an almost fatherly tone as he mentioned how he had come and found it hard to live as a mercenary due to his northern heritage. Soon he too began offering his services to new travelers as a bodyguard but seeing the evil that the city wrought upon the orphans soon led him to take on the role of their guardian and sadly, teach them the lessons of sleight of hand having no other skill to teach them that would allow them to survive at such a young age. Andrea listened intently and finally Wyatt made the offer, he mentioned how they had never had a healer, which had of course cost them the life of some young ones when they came down with fevers too strong for their small bodies. As a healer she would be expected to provide her services to the gang and to other associates that due to their station and workings would not be seen by the high healers of the city that only tended to the rich and powerful.

Andrea mulled the thoughts and seeing her war with her inner morals Wyatt raised a hand and told her to think it while she treated him. If in the end she decided to leave, he would provide an escort and coin to pay a caravan headed for the north. Andrea thanked him and changed a cold compress in his forehead before leaving the room.

After the first night, Andrea was assigned a room with another of the children and she began noticing certain patterns in the comings and goings. She tended to Wyatt and whenever she required any herb or oil, she would be accompanied to the market by one of the heavier set men to serve as her guard while she ran the errands needed for Wyatt’s recovery. During those little walks she noticed the smaller children squeezing amongst nooks and crannies to grab a little bit from here and there of the merchant stalls, haul they would bring back to the base for the older men to sell to fronts or bootleggers for a fraction of their price. Sometimes a child would be caught and the guards would go beyond roughness as they struck to teach them a lesson and discourage further attempts at robbery. When that happened it was Andrea who tended to their wounds with salves and ointments that would lessen the pain or prevent infection.

Seeing the children hurt made Andrea reconsider her stay. Sure Wyatt was providing the children with a form of home and safety but then he was sending them out to risk their hides and sometimes they would even get thrown in the cells where it was not their bodies that were ruined but their minds and spirits. She felt the weight on her chest and her conscience twist almost as if fighting against her for providing for newer opportunities for pain to be dished out. The sensation grew over the days but she did not feel comfortable enough to bring the subject to discussion with Wyatt. For all the hospitality he had offered her she still felt somewhat prisoner and not a part of the group.

Weeks into the treatment for Wyatt’s illness she finally mustered her courage to speak to him. After helping move to the side table to stretch his legs and being recovering his mobility she broached the subject. She mentioned how displeased she was at the high level of risk the younger boys endured to bring barely enough goods for a copper coin to be doled out. They were being misused, their agility and small size could be used for other purposes, not to mention stealing from poorer merchants was easy but in no way was it profitable enough to be a good way to keep the gang running. Besides, the merchants much like them were in a precarious position and robbing from them only peaked their animosity towards the gang making every day more dangerous for the boys to go out.

Wyatt said nothing but watched Andrea with a thoughtful expression as he mulled over what she was saying. Once she seemed spent and dropped into the chair across from him he sighed and shook his head. She was not wrong, but then what would be the options they could not draw too much animosity from the guards by robbing the nobles, it would bring thunder on their heads, he was aware of the danger the stealing meant for his children but what else was there to do? He dropped his head and seemed to breathe with difficulty as if the sadness had suddenly obstructed his lungs.

First Bloom - The end of winter

The days passed slowly. Contrary to what she had been told upon arrival her fighting spirit did not diminish. Every morning it was inflamed once more and as evidence of her growing restlessness she showed bruises in legs and arms. Whenever her rebelliousness would grow too much the guards would go into a more violent manner of subduing. Andrea wore the bruises like badges of honor, knowing full well that they had not been without retribution as some of the guards showed bruises on their faces and one specially unskilled one had a bruise the width of a chain around his neck. Of course this rebellious acts had earned her the animosity of guards and heavier chains to restrain her mobility even further.


Salvation from slavery seemed further away every time she would rebel.The heavier chains and bruises only served to remind other slaves of the lesson waiting for them should they even attempt to escape or disobey an order. This did not disway Andrea from attempting to find new ways, it instead reminded her to never let her flame diminish lest it become nothing less than a distant memory and she would become complacent with her place as a slave. With every sunset she would lay in her bed minutes reminding herself of her family, to ensure hate did not fully take over her heart. She reminded herself of the people she helped and how her freedom was more than just her will to do as she pleased but to return to her place in the world as a healer. She reminded herself of those that had imprisoned her as to not forget that evil lurked out there and it would take any chance it could to subdue those that would stand alone.


One evening as she was working the gardens she heard a faint noise of rustling come from a nearby bush. As she approached she noticed the sound of heavy breathing and curiously moved her body to cover the bush from the guards eyes but have a clear view. As she parted the branches she saw a small child in tattered clothing holding a small bag looking awfully scared. Andrea shushed the boy and asked him what he was doing there. The boy tried to lie and say he had brought an errand and was now left there, but his leg seemed to have withstood a rather heavy blow. She looked around and noticed the open window two stories above. As her eyes returned to the boy the child seemed to be trembling and his eyes were wide with terror. He quickly plead for her to not make any noise and leave him be.


Andrea moved to another bush while still keeping her body between the boys hiding place and the guard. She told the boy to remain in the bush until she heard her whistle and the guards move to her. She also told him a series of herbs and salts to mix and apply under a bandage so the wound would heal without much problem. Once the boy seemed to calm himself she moved away across the garden and moved towards another wall of bushes. She moved into it in such a manner that the guards were forced to go peek to ensure she was not attempting her escape as she saw the guards enter the little alcove of bushes she began whistling and managed to see a nimble shadow move from the bushes in a roll to another set towards the gate. She did not check again for fear of guiding the armed men to the boy but hoped that from there the boy would be able to escape without much trouble despite his wound.


That night there was a thorough check at the barracks for a purse of silver coins and some jewelry that had been stolen. It was rather easy to connect the two events for Andrea, the boy had been a thief and had managed to get himself some coin from her masters. This of course served not her escape but knowing she had aided someone in hurting her slavers made her smile to herself.


After the event normality returned and she was once again sunk in the boring tasks of the day to day. Due to her rebelliousness she was also confined to the gardens a bit more, she hated working under the sun, but her skin had tanned and she was now more resistant than she had been when she first arrived to the city. One of those days she heard a soft noise coming from the bushes at the gate. She knelt to cut some of the lower branches and peeked out from under the foliage. On the other side of the fence the boy she had saved was knelt and smiled when her face appeared.


He waited for nothing and he began describing the situation of one of his friends. Seemed the boy had fallen ill and red spots had appeared all over him, he also had a fever and no amount of water seemed to quench his thirst. Andrea listened and gestured for him to move with her. As they walked the line of bushes she would cut a few branches and do the trimming as expected while she asked questions to the boy about his friends condition whenever she was on the lower end.

Once she was sure what the sickness was she gave him a set of instructions on how to brew a tea for his friend and the care needed for him to be back on his feet. The boy nodded and thanked her, he asked if she wanted something in return and she simply rattled her chains. The boy smiled and nodded before leaving in haste as the guards came to check why she was taking so long. After some pulling and yelling the issue was laid to rest and she was left to finish her task. She of course felt herself refreshed by helping others even when she was shackled.


The events had somehow rekindled her hope, for despite her spirit flaring rebellious something in the back of her head urged her to drop all hope into a void, but now she knew someone outside that could lend her some aid. She made sure to become more docile as time passed or at least make them feel less threatened by her. The lighter chains returned and the guards once more felt there was no need to be unnecessarily rough. She began to grow uneasy at the fact that there was no return from the boy but pushed herself to hold on to hope.

First Bloom - Chained Storms

As the white glare of sudden light gave way she noticed she stood in the leading pathway of a country manor. The garden was huge and it’s edge was easily lost behind the farthest of trees. All bushes and trees where neatly trimmed and the grass seemed to be equally maintained. At the end of the wooden pathway a large house made of pure stone and adorned with intricate carvings and dark wood rested in its own magnificence. All this beauty was of course hindered by the fact that she had been brought here as a slave and nothing more. As she was led up to the house she felt a cold empty sensation nestle at the bottom of her stomach, the realization of just how uncertain and uncontrollable her fate was dawning on her. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine.


Inside the house the air was cool and smelled of old wood and incense. Spaces were vast and designed to show the power and opulence of its inhabitants. As she looked around trying to distract herself from the idea of the future by focusing on the moment her view was suddenly interrupted by the man she had seen in the slave house. He informed her his name was Arryn, steward of house Perelandro, and as of now the only voice she would obey short of that of the masters. He rang a little bell and two armed men dressed in matching leathers entered the room. Arryn let Andrea know she would be taken to the servants quarters by the men where she was expected to clean herself and change into the servants dresses. Her duties for the day would be to shadow matron Delila and have her teach her the generalities of how to behave and move about the house.Without waiting for a reply he turned and moved into the inner rooms of the house.


The men led her to the servants quarters with a firm hand but were actually careful not to be unnecessarily rough. She tried to plea or ask for help but she was met with silence and what seemed like complete disdain. It was almost as if she was nothing more than livestock clucking in an incomprehensible set of sounds, a nuisance and not a person pleading for her freedom. After several attempts she felt the tears fill her eyes and she broke into sobs understanding just how helpless she was.


They arrived at the servants quarters a couple of minutes later. It was a large squat structure with a simple wooden door and matching windows. They stepped inside and she noticed all beds shared the single large room and a set of doors at the far end divided small fractions of the building. The guards informed her which was her bed, which had a brown and creme dress over it, and which door was the lavatory so she could clean herself up before Delila came to pick her up and began showing her the ropes of attending the masters.


She went about the task of cleaning herself up amidst sobs and feelings of emptiness. The chance to remove the grime collected over the days was welcomed but the truth was that the overall weight of the situation removed all joy that could be forthcoming. Once she was clean she put the dress on and sat on her bed silently waiting for Matron Delila, whoever she was, to come get her. As she waited, she allowed herself to recover from the sudden wave of sadness. She knew well the sensation would not fully go away but she was damned if she would show her captors any more of her sadness. As she sat there the creaking of the door broke the silence and a thin woman with severe features entered the room and let her eyes ran from end to end of the quarters before settling on her.


The woman walked up to her and Andrea noticed she was wearing no chains. Before she could speak the woman held her cheeks together and told her to speak only when asked to speak. Slowly she released her jaw and as Andrea was about to protest the woman landed a slap on her that left a stinging sensation on her cheek. As Andrea rubbed the sensation away and scowled at the woman, the woman introduced herself as Matron Delila, she would teach her how to behave and break her in if needed to ensure she was the perfect house attendant for the masters. With firm voice she asked Andrea to follow and turned on her heels striding out of the quarters.


The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the house so Andrea could locate any room with ease and as they did Delila told her what she could and could not do. The rules were of course restrictive and made her feel like an unwanted dog that was tolerated but not liked. Delile made special emphasis on how once she was seen to behave and become an obedient servant she would have her chains removed and perhaps allowed to enter rooms where the masters were. Once done they returned to the quarters this time to find several other servants there, some with their chains still on and others without them. They were led to the servants mess, a large room with two large tables and simple benches where they would be expected to seat and eat their meals, perhaps the only room for socialization they were allowed as servants.


Andrea sat before a plate that was quickly filled with some kind of slop that seemed to lack almost all taste. Delile saw her face contort in disgust and informed her how that disgusting sludge would be her meal for most days and what it lacked in flavor it made up for in sustenance. Andrea grudgingly proceeded to eat her meal with the rattling of chains accompanying every move she made to remind her that even this freedom was a borrowed illusion. She talked with some of the people next to her but as soon as she mentioned anything slightly rebellious they looked around with nervous eyes and moved away from her. Her sadness began to slowly turn into anger and a hot sensation burning in her heart where a cold sensation had emptied her stomach previously.


After dinner they were guided back to the sleeping quarters and there Delila removed her chains and hung them next to her bed. Before leaving she informed her she could either put them on voluntarily or have the guards strap them on, with a warning that the guards didn’t have a knack for tenderness when a servant acted rebellious.


That night Andrea lay awake thinking of how to escape, her first thoughts had been violent but as they turned more and more aggressive she realized she would be heavily outnumbered by the guards and unarmed as she was she would sooner be cut down than be set free.Despite her disdain for the current situation she was in, she most definitely did not wish for death. Daylight found her awake and frowning, she had not managed to establish a plan of escape and her mind would now be occupied on the tasks Delila would set out for her, she would return to her escape plan during the night, hopefully she would be able to find some allies in the other servants once they realized anything was better than this.


Andrea was assigned at cleaning task with a pair of the unchained servants. Sometimes she would try to make a sloppy job as a minor act of rebellion and the other servants would force her to redo the job fearing reprisal if the job was left half-assed. They were boring and menial tasks but at least they were inside, where others were forced to work on the garden under the scalding sun. Andrea went about them with a frown and always alert to see if there was any chance to add resources to her escape plan. It was almost impossible under the scrutinizing look of the other servants and the guards that always walked with them to ensure they took nothing or tried nothing.


At the end of the day, during dinner, she once more attempted to talk to the other servants, this time about more mundane subjects and they seemed more amiable, but again as soon as she asked anything that might be considered rebellious they turned away and shut down completely. Andrea grew to resent them and slowly distanced herself from them as the days went by. She would immerse herself in her task during the day to pass them as quickly as possible and during the night she would plan her escape or look for new ways to ensure her freedom once more.

First Bloom - Imprisoned Fire

She woke to the smell of dust and sweat. Her head hurt and she felt the sticky sensation of dried blood on the back of her head all the way down to her neck. Tentatively she prodded the back of her head with two fingers and a sharp pain informed her the wound might have been barely less than lethal. Her eyes scanned the surroundings and she noticed she was lying in a dimly lit room with floors lined with hay. As she tried to stand up the rattling of chains caught her attention and she looked at her ankles noticing the shackles binding her to a chain that stuck out of the wall.As she tried to get up, she noticed other figures huddled against the darkness. Men,children and women also chained to the walls. Once fully upright she felt her head spin and her legs grow weak, a second later she found herself plummeting to the ground. The impact never came. She noticed herself cradled in the arms of a woman shackled next to her.

The woman smiled sadly and turned her head with tenderness letting her know she was examining her wound. After a short examination the woman informed her of the state of the wound and the need to bandaged it. Lacking any proper bandage she ripped a length of her skirt and tied it around her head with more care than one would expect from a stranger. Once done with the bandaging the woman introduced herself as Sabetha and asked for her name.

It was until this moment that she noticed how little she had uttered her own name since she began the trip and even the sound of it was alien to her in her voice as she replied, Andrea. Sabetha smiled and made a curtsy with her head before asking how she had come to be locked in this small room. Andrea explained how she had been attacked in the dark streets after pursuing her robber. Sabetha produced a mischievous smile at hearing of the wound Andrea had managed on the thug and congratulated her, letting her know that she had seen the man around limping, probably would never recover from that deep gash. Andrea smiled and quickly warmed up to Sabetha’s rebellious manner.

Sabetha told Andrea how she had been kidnapped from her house on the southern isles and made to work on a ship all the way to arminier, once she arrived she had been sold to the group in which custody they resided. Sabetha showed a couple of bruises that had come from attacking the same brute Andrea had almost gutted, so there was a reason to cheer in hopes the wound would fester and rot taking the ugly bastard to an early grave. At the mention of the woman Sabetha grew serious and asked if they had exchanged blows, once reassured that Andrea had only landed a kick, Sabetha told her she was the ringleader and a fearsome fist. Where the brute had power the woman had a knack for precision and pain.

Time passed as they both talked about whatever chances of escape there were and how they could go about enabling themselves for freedom once more. Their whispers soon drew the attention of an out-of-sight Jailor that slammed a rod against the bars of the door and shushed them into silence. Sabetha and Andrea ignored the brute and continued on their talks in lower tones. A while passed before the sound of the bar of the door being removed echoed in the room and as the women readied to strike on their captors the door opened. There was no chance to attack as the ring leader came in dressed in leathers accompanied by three men in leather armor holding crossbows, behind them stood a well dressed man that had the expression of one that is awfully bothered and would rather be anywhere else but here.

The man pointed at Andrea and the ring leader shouted at her to stand up. Defiant to a fault Andrea looked at her bored and remained on the ground. In a blur the woman crossed the room and landed a punch on Sabethas Plexus making her double over. Before Andrea could react the woman had seized her arm and twisted upwards forcing the girl to stand. Sabetha still on the ground was quickly pinned by another couple of burly men that came into the room after the ring leader had subdued them both.She spun Andrea around showing her to the man as if she were nothing more than a priced mutt. As she did she whispered into Andrea’s ear about how she knew they would try to escape and how that would be stupid and most surely end in the death of one of them just to make the other obey. As the threat died the man nodded and pointed at Sabetha. Without any tell Andrea felt a blow to her side that made her gasp and drop to her knees. This time The ring leader picked up Sabetha and the burly men held Andrea Down as her friend was paraded.

The man finally nodded and signaled something to the ring leader who landed another blow at Sabethas Jaw knocking her completely out. Andrea could only watch helplessly as they took her new friend away only to be left alone once more.

The days passed with much the same scenario repeating itself. Sometimes the numbers of chained people thinned and sometimes they grew with new arrivals. Andrea had seen come patrons interested in her but after discussion of the price came they were soon disheartened.

One of those indistinguishable days she saw a man she had seen before enter the room. This time there was no bartering the ringleader came straight for her twisted her arms around and caught them in manacles. In a swift motion she chained the manacles to the shackles at her feet.As she dragged her towards the door she told Andrea how glad she was of finally getting rid of her. Andrea tried to headbutt her but she was quick enough to move away. As Andrea scowled at her a rag was stuffed into her mouth and a cloth sack was thrown over her head leaving her in complete darkness.

She dragged her steps but even when she refused to advance she could feel a pair of powerful hand lift her and carry her onwards to whatever destination she was being taken.Soon enough she felt the wind of the outdoors. The rag killed all opportunity to scream and she settled with refusing to take any steps and letting the men at her sides carry her around. She felt herself being lifted and thrown into a wooden floor. The sound of a door slamming shut and a pair of hands lifting her into a sitting position on a cushioned seating where all the advice she got to know she was now being transported on a carriage.

She endured the rattling sensation for quite a while before the carriage came to a stop. The door opened, letting a drag of fresh wind hit her and before she could do anything she was being dragged out of the carriage. This time whenever she refused to take a step she was dragged and the coarse ground scratched her skin forcing her to walk and stopping that little act of rebellion. Finally they stopped and she could feel a wooden floor under her feet. The sack was taken from her head and the light blinded her making her squint.

First Bloom - night walk

Hours later she found herself crossing the large gates together with her caravan. Her head twisted about looking from one side to the other. Not only were the sights incredible, the smells of the few stalls around the entrance offering spices from far off lands or the delicacies they pushed outward, hoping for a traveler too hungry to resist the abuse in prices, mingled with the dusty air of the city and gave a distinctive air of luxury to every breath. She peeked into the stalls with curiosity and asked dozens of questions until she noticed annoyance begin to show on the sellers when they realized she was not buying.

The caravan continued moving towards the inner market where they could better sell their wares and as they went she took advantage and wandered about the narrow streets and long passageways. Once in the marketplace she helped the merchants unload their wares before wandering off to continue her exploration of the city. It was aimless but wonderful to simply let er feet lead her anywhere knowing that no matter where she went she would always find something to marvel at.

She went into drinking houses and discovered the horrible smell that comes from men who have drunk too much mingled with sweat.There was the pleasant discovery of the smell that cam from old temples and the incense they burned as they worshipped their gods. She marveled at the beauty of the manors just beyond the castle moat and how their gardens filled with greenery the sand colored roads of the city.

Despite how marvelous a structure the city was, it was the mingling of people that seemed to catch her eyes the most. Hundreds of voices interlacing with one another in a large variety of languages, most of which she could barely make out. The colors and styles of their garments were also very different from one another causing a small parade of color and cloth in every street she wandered into. So the day went with her wandering around the streets and settling every now and then in small inns to grab a bite before continuing on her curiosity expedition.

As the sun set and the night fell, the lamp lighters began to wander the street lighting the large poles and torches set outside houses to ensure the main streets were lighted. The flow of the fire bathed the city in warmth and seemed to change it into something completely different.The streets that had been filled with trade and the bustling of errands now seemed far lonelier and were filled with a different kind of people. Inns and drinking holes seemed to be drawing the traffic, making the streets that hosted them the most traveled. The gardens and other plazas were almost devoid of any intrusion except for lovers who looked for the cover of trees and shadows to share themselves with one another.

As she walked the streets the slap of leather on the cobbles made her turn her head. A large man was walking towards her and his eyes were set intensely on her. She allowed her hand to settle on the pommel of her blade and waited. The man seemed to not have any intention of stopping soon. Before she could actually draw her blade a tug on her belt made her spin and see a thinner man yank her coin purse from her belt and make a run for it. As she was about to pursue the thief the larger man reached her and slammed her against the wall knocking the wind out of her and disappearing into the darkness. Dizzy with the lack of air and still reeling from the pain of the slam she had just received she ran into the night the way she had last seen the thief.

For several minutes she ran aimless amongst the darkness trying to run into some luck and perhaps get a glimpse of the criminal. As she felt herself loose hope she moved down a narrower street and as if favored by luck saw the man pass calmly walking by the other end of the street. He hefted the purse and had a contented smile on his face as if he had performed the best job of his life. She rushed silently to the other end of the street, running on the ball of her feet to avoid the slapping of her shoes on stone. Suddenly she sprung out of the corner and rested the tip of her blade against the base of the man’s neck. The man became stiff in an instant and lifted his hands to the air with the purse dangling by its string from one of his fingers. She reached for the purse and just as she was about to grab it something huge caught her on the side and left her windless.

With her vision still blurry she saw the thief run once again into the night and as she turned to see what had hit her another blow landed on her cheek smacking her face against the stone and causing her to further lose focus. As she turned she saw the larger man preparing to stomp her head and probably put an end to the fight. As the feet came down she rolled on the ground and away from her attacker. The man groaned and tried to kick her but she was already outside his reach. As the world seemed to come back into focus she shook her head and dodged another couple of strikes, picked her blade from the ground as she did and without hesitation sliced the man’s leg from thigh to knee. The man screamed and fell on his good knee gasping. She raised her blade and felt a hand grab her wrist staying her final blow.

She whirled and kicked the midsection of a woman in a single motion. The newcomer simply back stepped holding her stomach and raised a hand in defeat. She jumped away from both attackers and noticed that the larger thief was already limping into an alley. As she tried to pursue the woman blocked her path and raised both hands to show there was no intention to do harm. Wary she kept her eyes on the woman and was about to ask why was she helping the thief when a blow landed at the back of her head and slowly the world went dark.

First Bloom - Intro

The north is a land of ice, snow and black stone. A harsh land, spacious and yet filled with nothing but challenges. Despite what horrible images this description of the frozen wastes might bring forth the frozen north has one great redeeming quality, its capacity to teach. A land so empty of resources is full of lessons, teeming with the opportunity to grow for those that would inhabit it. Humans are no exception to this rule. Scarcity has bred in them hardiness and willingness to commune with one another.Where the land is hard the hearts of men grow soft and empathy and selflessness are born. It is here in this cold lands inhabited by warm souls that our story begins.

The marais tribe is a tribe of hunters and warriors. Giant men and women that had learned to survive in the cold lands of the north by relying on one another. The tribe lacked numbers but not in strength, for each of its tribesmen and women was known to match a triad of warriors from other tribes without much trouble. Their village nests at the bottom of a valley surrounded by large mountains that tend to break the larger storms and shed their ice as water to the lake on its east side. It is here that men were blessed with her.

She was born to be tender like the warmth of her mother’s heart and bare in her will the strength of her father’s arms. His father would speak of her as a blessed child, lucky to have her mother’s looks and his adeptness at the blade. The man was not lying, it would be easy to compare her to the first bloom of spring in this frozen land. The most beautiful flower that heralds the coming warmth by breaking the cold and colorless crust of the snow that dulls the ground only to bask in the sunshine and splash color on a lifeless land. We would be at fault to believe that it is her beauty alone that is praised by that description, for despite it being stunning it would be the lesser of her virtues.

Since childhood, her father trained her in the fine arts of the blade and soon discovered that no blade would ever be as sharp as her mind was. Not only did she learn quick but she was also nimble in adjusting to new circumstances and sometimes even developing tricks of her own. Still, despite her easy mastery of the blade, combat was not her real interest, she seemed much more interested in the arts of healing. Developing new poultices or potions for various maladies was her favorite past time. The village’s healer was always happy to have her around and send her scavenging for herbs or other resources she might need. The girl would disappear into the pine forest for hours and return always with the required item in her satchel or back.

As she grew, her fame as healer extended beyond the edges of her village and soon other tribes would send for her or bring their sickly to be treated by her. She was content with helping others, but her heart wished for more and she knew well that despite being capable of helping where she was, she needed to discover the world. After much deliberation it was agreed that she would stay for one more year in the village training an apprentice and writing all her knowledge down, so that she could leave for her journey without leaving the village without a proper healer. Thus the year went by uneventfully and on the first sunny day of spring she began her journey south.

Armed with the clothes on her back, her healing tools, some herbs and a short sword she headed south with a trading caravan. They were long days of travel in which a lot of work was required to ensure the carts were not damaged by the weather and the animals did not get frostbite during the night when the temperature fell. After almost a month of travelling the first signs that they were leaving the frozen wastes showed up in the form of a short grass breaking amongst the snow.

As they moved from village to village selling wares or trading whatever hunt they might have caught in the road she learned many new tricks of the trade from local healers and sometimes even performed procedures of her own whenever a town had a specially rare infirm. She found joy not only in the fact that she was once again helping people but she was also doing it while discovering so much more of a world so ripe for whoever wished to harvest its secrets.

They were long months on the road jumping from town to town, moving to the south and to the grand city of arminier. She had heard stories in the towns and from her fellow travelers that arminier was a sight to behold. A city of a hundred towers and thousands upon thousands of people moving daily to grant it its life and make it the center of the kingdom. All these tales did nothing but excite even further her curiosity and as the days remaining for their arrival grew short her excite grew ever so much more.

Finally days later, as the sun broke the horizon and bathed the valley they were entering with golden light, she saw it. A huge expanse of buildings fanning out from a castle nestled against a lake. Building upon building of stone seemed to be crammed in every inch of the valley. At the edges long expanses of land were used for farming and pasture. The great gates leading into the city were already alive with traffic visible even from this distance. The canals that criss crossed the city were already being traveled by barges that looked like leafs knifing about the waters.