A rather large pool of blood was cleaned up from the Hydlaa main fountain area recently. Foul play is suspected but no witnesses or victims have come forward.

[Sorry this took so long to post]


Whisper looked around her in a way that would seem casual to others, just a person enjoying the view. It was far more than that though. Long practice at seeing ALL that was there told her that they were alone - at least for now. As Kull informed her of her new duties in the syndicate she couldn't help but reflect on what had put her on this path - the day her life had changed forever.

She had not taken the "vitamin" her mom handed her that evening before bed. Mom got so upset when she dropped things that when she couldn't find the pill while mom went to get her water she decided that one night without wouldn't kill her and faked taking it. Normally a very heavy sleeper and difficult to wake up she found she was having trouble sleeping that night. The voices in the next room (if you can call a square defined by hung furs a room), though at a whisper, kept her awake so she listened in. It was her parents discussing something that was said earlier that day. Food was getting short and tempers shorter as the rationing affected them all. One of the other ladies of the clan said "Maybe its time we consider our own relatives and children over outsiders". This had confused Whisper because as far as she new all were relatives and children of the clan. As she listened the whispering of her parents though she came to realize it was her and her "parents" that had been referred to! Shock started to set in and kept her paralyzed as she listened to them. She not only wasn't their child they were not of this clan either. They apparently were taken in when Whisper was merely a baby as they fled from some unknown menace. To keep them all safe, the clan included, it was decided that no outsider would ever know they were anything but another relative.

Until now. Now her "parents" were discussing what was to be done. They couldn't go to any towns because of "the problem" that sent them here in the first place. Whisper listened as they discussed how it had been before she had been dropped in their laps.The next days her mind shied away from as she reflected back. All her childhood illusions were swept aside. Seeing the world anew she started making preparations secretly. It was easy to see now the looks she had missed or misunderstood in the past, looks of jealousy and anger. It took some time but she managed to steal a good bit of the dwindling supplies and lay them aside. Hunting and gathering food was second nature to her since she had been learning how from the time she could walk. Unfortunately with first the fire then the winter rains setting in early crops rotted in the fields and the animals were not to be found without traveling far.

It turned out to be a good thing she had been preparing. A few days before she intended to set her new plan in motion the Cave was attacked. It happened at dawn. She had snuck out early before any were awake and when the watch was least attentive to stash the items she had collected the day before. An old skin, some wax, a rope that was old and frayed. She was just coming back when she heard voices she didn't recognize. She slowed her pace and then slowed again as she realized the voices were coming from in front of the cave. As she crept up slowly she saw a scene that would be forever etched in her memory. These were no bandits! These were trained soldiers - the patches they wore she would later learn were of the Bronze Door Fortress. The squadron had the entire cave lined up and as she watched they randomly selected one after another torturing each in turn for information. It fast became clear they were looking for her!

When she realised she was the target of the search she immediately dropped down and crawled under a large thornberry bush. The bush was up against a cliff face and had a small cave behind it that the children would sometimes play in. Under the intense torture it didn't take long at all for some to start telling all they knew of her. Some time during all of it something snapped in Whisper and she ceased to care about their pain. When the guards realized that she wasn't among those seized they began to search. None of this saved the people of her cave. They were herded back inside and the screams... The next few hours were a blur for her she never did recall clearly. Not finding her in the immediate area the search eventually moved on. She ran when it became safe. She ran for many years hiding, changing her appearance, her name but always they found her again. She finally found a way to get to a totally different level and came to Hydlaa but not before visiting dakkru's realm more than once. She learned many skills from her parents including smithing and fighting. She learned fast on the run how to track and to learn new territory quickly. She was fast and well able to live off the land and take care of herself. What she learned most of all though from being hunted like game was how to read people and the world around her in a way some found spooky. She could tell when others were near - a bird's alarm call, a shuffled foot or scent on the breeze. It had been many years indeed since anyone snuck up on her.

The one thing she didn't know was why she was hunted. Why anyone would care who she was and come after her was a deep mystery that she may never solve. Those that hunted her had done so practically since her birth from what she had heard that fateful night. This last time she gave them the slip though she was able to cement a cover that couldn't be pierced short of ripping her mind from her.

She was safe for the first time ever but she didn't allow her guard to slip. During all these years she also came to have a deep and abiding love for Dakkru and strove to serve her well. Meeting Phanterol was fortuitous indeed and fit well into her plans for her new life. That they shared a love of Dakkru was an added plus. Unsure at first she found she was developing a deep respect and loyalty to him that was unknown for her. She had thought she was incapable of feeling loyalty and respect like this after what she had been through - indeed since that fateful night she this was the first time. It was like she was fated to join with him in his endeavors.

Never having lost track of the thread of the conversation with him and her watch of the area she responded to him simply "I am honored. I will not disappoint you." She did not add more knowing words were empty and that actions were all that mattered.