I wanted to take on kind of a big project... I wanted to paint the secret garden and then, as I can, add my guild mates and myself into the scene one at a time. So here's my start! Image 1 :p

I decided to try! I'll add more as I write it


Oni had landed her first job. She was a very young Nolthrir with skin the color of darkly glowing green tree leaves and a long shock of dark hair that sometimes got a bit wavy in the rain. Her ebony eyes blinked back at her from the stream’s reflection as she gazed upon herself this morning. She was on her way to work and wanted to check her appearance. The soft green grass under her feet felt cool and she threw her worn leather boots over her shoulder for the time being. As an only child who was sheltered and provided for all of her life, everything away from home was new and exciting. She loved her job serving pie and sand cookies to the patrons at the local inn. She met strangers of many races and from faraway lands there who told her amazing stories of creatures and events that she could never have imagined just sitting at home.

That day a hunting party of Hammerwielders kept Oni running back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room for ale and then for food until she left work dragging her feet with exhaustion. She absentmindedly squeezed the soft bag of tria in her pocket as she made her way home, thankful at least that they were good tippers. It was almost dark as she pressed through the villages cobbled mud brick streets. It had rained while she was working and the air was humid as she flexed her gills instinctively. Everything was quiet as most villagers began to settle in for the evening with their families. Oni could sense something odd as she turned the corner and approached her house. The window coverings were gone and when she got closer she realized that the house was completely empty. Even in the faded light she could see right in and there was nothing inside!

Not knowing how to react, she stood staring into the dark empty house. Her mother and father… where were they? She studied the front deck which had been built years before by her father and uncle. Her mother’s alembic and alchemy tools were not there and her father’s anvil and hammer were missing as well. Her heart sunk inside her as she fell to her knees and cried out for them but no one answered. She went inside and closed the door. It was so quiet that her own breaths were all she could hear for a moment. Even the sketches which usually hung on the neatly washed walls had been removed and the rugs were not on the floors. Oni crouched down in the darkest corner of the room, alone, and cried for hours until finally falling off to sleep.

Oni woke up the next morning to the sounds of the waking village outside. The light of the crystal shone brightly into the room with no window coverings and her eyes began to focus on her sparse surroundings. Her eyes were red rimmed and puffy from the hours of crying and tears began to fall again already. She didn’t move at first… she just stayed there in the corner wondering what could have happened to her family. Finally she stood and rubbed her eyes, stretching the stiffness from her long muscular legs. Determined to find out what happened, her shock and sorrow began to change to great concern. Oni made her way out to the garden where her and her mother would often sit to share their dreams with one another. Everything there was still intact so she quickly chose a few spices to add to her meals later. She would fish up something to eat after she had made a thorough search of the area. She reached out to touch the old wooden bench where she remembered her mother sitting as if to convince herself that it was still really there and then made her way out of the nearby gate.

Binki Fuhren was a soft and beautiful young fenki. She brushed her fine, long spotted fur at least one hundred times each day and carefully filed her long sharp claws before heading out to hunt.

Whenever she hunted alone, she would wait behind a certain pile of large boulders for a fat clacker to happen by, then she would pounce suddenly and bite his neck with her fangs.

On this morning, Binki planned to do just that. She had a strong craving for a good clacker meat meal and could think of nothing better.

Crouching behind the stones, she waited quietly. An hour later, still crouching, she pressed back her whiskers with her paw. Her stomach was growling with hunger and she was growing impatient. Stretching her legs out behind her she readjusted herself and settled back down.

Finally, a bright jade clacker happened by wiggling it's pincers wildly. She hunched up, ready to pounce. She sprang out with all her might toward the clacker but just as she did, he turned his head to the side. Instead of landing with her teeth in his neck, her sharp fangs sank right into his hard clacker shell.

Binki's fangs were firmly attached to clacker's shell and try as she might, she could not break free. She pushed with all four paws and pulled with her head to no avail.

Suddenly, clacker started to thrash his feet and rock back and forth to get her off his back. Each time he rocked and threw him self left or right, her neck would twist but she couldn't hold him still.

While she began to realize that she might be in more trouble than she thought, something wet touched her cheek. She couldn't see anything but coarse brown fur but she knew that smell. The fear of death gripped her. It was an ulbernaut! Attracted by all the racket, the ulbernaut could smell the clacker meat juices running down the shell and it was a little confused by this vision of ... stacked up creatures.

The ulbernaught pushed the great flailing heap around a bit and then decided that yes... clacker smell means clacker meat even on this day. He grabbed the clacker feet all in one arm and began to pull the clacker closer. Feeling his fur against her paws, Binki planted them against the ulbernaught's legs and while he was pulling, she pushed with all her might. The Clacker shell shattered with a loud >CRACK!< and she spun away running as fast as she could.

She ran all the way home to her pack and fell among her siblings in tears. Her mother, seeing that her mouth was sore and swollen, coaxed her after much pleading to let her have a look. Just like everyone feared, Binki sat with her mouth open showing only one fang instead of two. One of her fangs was lost in the skirmish and was most likely in ulbernauts belly by now.

Binki ran crying to her bed and would not come out. After about a week, Binki still refused to leave the den. She was too embarrassed to be seen with only one fang and didn't want to hunt anymore. Binki's mother sent her father hunting in the valley the next week and when he returned he called everyone out.

"I have gifts for all of you!" he said smiling as he dug through the large sack that was bulging with treasure and token from the hunt. Her mother got enough meat for two cycles and all her siblings were given their trinkets when her father approached her. Binki raised her dewy eyes to her father sadly. Whatever it was, she planned to thank him for his kindness and then hurry back to her room.

"Hold out your paw" he said as he smiled down at her. She held out her paw and he placed something there. When he drew his paw away she looked down and saw it... a fang! Her eyes widened... "Where did you get this?!"

Patting her fur, he explained. "It's a tefusang tooth. It is around the right size and length. The town healer is waiting for you now. He will plant this tooth where the other one was."

Not sure if it would work or not, Binki took the tooth to the healer. He pushed the root into the hole from her lost fang and stitched it neatly. After a few weeks, the new fang was much like the old one but Binki never hunted clackers again.

Once, long ago, a Nolthrir girl named Seritasa was working with her sisters gathering seaweed for an especially significant family event. Nevra, their oldest brother was leaving on an adventure to explore the region and his brave stories of conquer and quest would be missed by all until his return. The girls would prepare him a feast for his going away party. His parents and grandparents would honor him with gifts and prayers to the gods for a safe journey.

Seritasa worked and worked all day with her sisters and still they were hardly effective. Tired from bearing the weight of the great bundles of seaweed and fish they were carrying, they longed to begin the task of preparation. After all, rushing the recipes with poor preparation would be of little benefit to anyone, Seritasa thought herself. She glanced about to find some sort of solution.

"Of Course" she whispered aloud as her bright blue eyes found her uncle's megaras. The huge beast swelled against it's enclosure as she approached to judge it's worthiness. It was very great and strong. If only she could load him up, the work would be done with plenty of time to spare!

Seritasa suddenly jumped atop the animal and released the holding reins. He was much too powerful for her and she could only struggle to hold on for her life as he dashed out into the wilderness... her long emerald hair trailing behind her from his back.

After what seemed like an endless time, he bucked her off and she landed down roughly in a nearby pond. When she hit the water she of course felt revived and could only try to shake off the confusion. She looked down to discover that she had quite seriously injured her left leg. She sat still for a while until she felt some strength return and then hobbled home.

Reland combined both herb and potion for hours until he came up with a poultice for her leg. It was so effective that the recipe became a well known treatment all over the land and that's how he became a famous healer.

There once was a Kran who's stony skin had a pretty blue tint. Kra's marbled blue and white coloring was so soft and beautiful looking that everyone thought it looked like water.

They joked a lot and said that kra was "all wet" or a "slippery slope". This Kran didn't care a bit. All kra really cared about was trying to swim; therefore kra would try for hours and hours on end. One day, Kra's school teacher grew tired of all the absences and set off to find the big blue kran.

Everyone in class joined in the search. They searched the rivers, the ponds, the lakes, and the seas. Finally, after searching for many days they gave up searching. It was hard to see Kra in the water with that blue coloring anyway! Who could expect to find someone like that?

Deciding that eventually, the kran would come home, life in the village went back to it's daily routines.

One night a long long time later, a black haired Nolthrir traveled through the village. She told stories in the tavern of her travels and amazing things that she had seen. She spoke then of a thing that few would forget.

The story told of a kran who lived in the bottom of a far away pond in a hole. Kra appeared to never move, however, when the crystal's glow emits a certain glow of specific distinction, all of the riverlings would come to gather round. Lifting the kran, the riverlings would gently float kra round and round the pond three full circles before dropping Kra back where they started again in graceful pose.

Some say they've seen a kran waiting in such a pond but none can say they've seen the magic hour.