You turn a corner and find yourself............

On an airy, leaf strewn cobbled pathway. Heavy oaks make an arch above the walk, shadowing the ground in dappled sunlight. The smell of bramble roses lays heavy in the air from their twining bower along a low stone wall, mingled with the enticing aroma of baking pies from a cozy pine-trimmed cottage before you. The cottage is large and well cared for, with an explosion of flowering plants and herbs surrounding the front porch.

Suddenly you hear a shriek and a babbled curse from the cottage followed by the yelp of an enormous mottled tabby cat as it streaks out the door and out of sight. In the doorway appears an Elothean woman with flashing violet eyes, brandishing a sinister looking rolling pin. "Stay outa my pies you cute lil critter or I'll have to get tough with the frosting next time!" She yells, and then chuckles, brushing stray locks of long wavy honey colored hair from her face and a dusting of white flour from her tanned cheeks. She notices your slack jawed stare and blushes furiously. "Oh my! I didn't see you there...Didn't mean to give you a start. These pies are for the Lorethew Society Mentors and folks like 'em so much it's hard to keep 'em safe on my own sill!" She chuckles and grins looking flustered and a bit pleased all at once. "Well, friend, welcome. M'name's Lillybelle HoneyGlow and it's good fortune to meet you . You look like ya need a healing and a cup of something warm and cheery. Lend me a hand and bring in that basket of flowers for me will ye?" She smiles brightly and disappears back inside to the sound of cheerful humming.

You pick up the basket and step inside to find a cottage that is almost elegant, as cottages go; and sure enough, two large berry pies are cooling on the sill of a diamond-paned frosted glass window. A fire burns bright in a large riverstone fireplace, flanked by two antique red velvet arm chairs and the walls are hung with graceful paintings in ornate frames. An oak refectory table is strewn with flowers, giving the whole room the scent of roses. Lillybelle bustles to make tea in a swirl of silks and settles herself daintily in a deep arm chair by the fire.

After a second cup of excellent tea and even better berries and cakes, you explain to the infamous Empath the reason for your visit. Lillybelle blinks at your question and splutters a bit on her tea. "My history? Oh great Tamsine's Ghost, why on earth does anyone want to hear that sordid tale? Can't ye suffice it to say that I've lived here since second dirt, and I'm a dutiful helper of young ones everywhere?" She peers at you and then into the fire, thinking and absentmindedly toying with a pearl gryphon hung from the ebon lace shawl around her shoulders. "Well, I guess it bears telling and I am proud of where I've come from. Ye see it's a hard tale, and there are gaps in the knowing of it, but you seem earnest to learn it. Most everyone knows of my erm... antics, here in crossing since I grew up and became a Sympath." She grins mischievously and winks, indicating a tattered broom in the corner with a toss of her head. "So if you have a few minutes to hear my silly tale, I'll tell you the story of where I came from, and the brave and noble man that saved my life." Lillybelle turns her strong gaze on you for a moment, her eyes are filled with the weight of years and the joy of life. She turns her gaze back to the flames, takes a slow,deep breath and begins.

"It happened the Spring I turned 15...My father was a renowned Trader- luxuries mostly - always beautiful and of the finest quality. We lived......" She smiles slightly, her head inclined. She raises an exquisite tea-cup to her lips, enameled and gilded in elegant detail. "We lived very well, and my mother......." The smile turns a bit remote, as if recalling a glimpse of days past. "well....my father loved her very much- doted on her. He once said she was of luminescent beauty, and that I would be too one day."

"Mother was always happy and cheerful, yet very reclusive, more content to tend her gardens than to make merry with father and his worldly visitors....and there were times ....at odd hours people would come to her for help of council - I was never quite sure- rich, poor, from all walks of life, it was no matter; they were never turned away. It was all very mysterious to me then, still, I knew she was helping in some way. Sometimes I would overhear mother arguing with father over what he would charge them for her help. She usually did not want to make people pay, or she admonished father, saying the fees he charged were too high. Almost always...mother let my father's word stand, and the asked for fee was promptly paid."

"Oft times these meetings lasted well into the night, and mother usually slept a little later into the mornings afterward. Every so often she would seem a bit tired, but always on these mornings she looked so amazingly peaceful and happy..... an angelic smile always playing across her lips. I never understood then... but I am beginning to."

"She never complained, only scolded me now and then to finish my lessons before I was off to watch my friends practicing magics or play with a new found pet. Ye see, animals were always finding their way to me." She giggles like a school girl remembering a past fiasco. "Ye see, there was this parrot...Oh! but that's another story! I was fascinated by books and stories, I learned to read and write very young...and to sing... I was forever humming a tune or singing with the caravan drivers on our trips. With all the traveling we did, it was inevitable that I learned to read maps and ride well. It's still one of my favorite things to remember . I was equally at home in city or forest."

"I learned from watching my father's famous business dealings how to read people fairly well, and mother..........We would sing together, I loved to hear her sing. She always smelled so good.....of earth and herbs , and flowers and sunlight.... She taught me all the lore of plants, roots, flowers and berries; the secrets and uses for every green thing... All the power and simple hearth-magic they held.... she taught me the making of teas and poultices, compresses and all manner of medicinal brews. Incidentally," Lillybelle grins again playfully, "this made her a wonderful cook. We had plenty of chefs...and all the finest inns were eager to groan the boards for us, knowing well of my father's generous purse, but it was an extra special treat when mother would toss folks from the kitchens and craft a meal for us. The whole household looked forward to it and luckily.....she passed that knack on to me." She beams softly at the thought, glancing over to the cooling pies on the sill.

"She would often speak to me about my heritage and my destiny - she was always guarded and vague in her council...but it was always of healing, a magic gift, and knowledge that would be passed on to me........ Now, what was it she used to say.....Ahh yes.... 'A Boone and a burden all at once'. To sense another's pain...to ease it...How I would know what to do, to make the hurting stop. I never quite believed her at the time, after all.......most of my friends were already able to light candles with a snap of a finger and a magic word... I was completely inept. Or so I thought.......but still, I could feel the power and portent of her words, and it just...seemed right.........it seemed to fit. I began to believe her....and I listened."

"Everything was so bright and happy. My world was safe and carefree, with new things to see and books to read everywhere we traveled. Teachers and traders telling me stories of far away and magical places. At night I began to have wonderful, vivid dreams about a valiant prince of a man, lord of a powerful keep guarded by gryphons, who would save me from harm, and protect me.....be part of my destiny. Youthfully believing my dream was a sign....I looked for him at every turn." Lillybelle's smile turns down a bit and she fitfully worries at the fringe of her shawl.

"How could I have known it would all come crashing down around me...And for years I would have nightmares, about a knocking at the door, and the screams of horses, and a gryphon, and the smell of smoke....and mother...." With a shake of her shawl, she wakes herself from the images and blushes at you apologetically. "It's not all fire and brimstone, I promise ye! Now, where was I ...Oh! Birthday!"

"My birthday was especially wonderful that year, for among the presents, mother presented me with a family heirloom I had gazed at in awe all my childhood. A wondrous jewel to wear about my neck.....its depths glimmered with tiny cascades of color as the candlelight played across its facets . Its ancient platinum setting was etched with beautiful cryptic sigils surrounding depictions of healing herbs . And best of all.........a book....a grimoire....one of my mother's very own. It was beautiful and rare..handsomely bound, with the Seal of Healing worked into the leather cover and again in the bejeweled silver clasp. She promised to teach me its lessons on the coming trip. I reverently wrapped the book back up in its covering of silk and brocade and fairly floated up to my bedchamber. I felt so very important and grown up."

"Between the gifts and my birthday dinner and the coming Caravan....we would leave the end of the week...... my thought were happily humming and sleep was not to be found; instead, I lay under the coverlets tracing the runes of the jewel's setting."

"Below my window, at the side door, there came a knocking........a sound that always meant mother was needed. I peered down from the window to behold a cloaked figure filling the doorway. I was told he was an old friend of my fathers...dressed always in Grey.....Grey eyes...Grey hair...... It was always a thrill to catch a glimpse of this unmistakable figure! It always meant something special was going to happen, and he cast the most wonderful spells! Yet this time... a cold feeling of urgency and import surrounded him. In the light spilling out of the doorway, the long folds of his cloak, of oddly shifting shades of Grey, fluttered softly as in a breeze, yet there was no wind. Foreboding and dread crept through my chest. The figure spoke in quick hushed tones; urgency clear in the low rasp of fathers voice. I heard my name. The figure shook the hand my father offered, clasping his shoulder with the other, and was gone into the darkness. I sat there wondering.....trembling...as I heard the bolt of the door thrown closed. Just as I was turning back to my bed I caught movement in the street....The figure returned........He stood for an instant. His hand lightly touching the door.......a white glow briefly surrounded him........and he was gone again."

"The next morning, in a flurry of packing...father said he had gotten word in the night that Gorbesh scouts were seen close to the roads we would travel; so best to get a head start to the first festival town and, get road 'tween us and trouble' . We would leave that same morning. The first thing I put in my bag was my new book; and we were off."

"I remember being so excited about the Spring Caravan with my family......we always celebrated my birthday just before we left. I loved the smell of the forests.....the feel of adventure traveling the bright, dusty roads..... the feel of the dappled sunlight through the trees as they bowed and swayed over the roads on light airy breezes. I remember the wonderful warm scent of high meadows in bloom. I loved that smell......and hay and flowers and grass, and the dusty-sweat smell of the wagons and animals; the spicy, rich scent of father's cologne as he ordered the caravan along."

"We had stopped under a long shaded canopy of beech and oak trees to water the horses. I wandered away a little to stand in the sunshine. It was such a beautiful clear day. I felt like I could even feel the breathing of the trees as they gently swayed, with the breeze whispering in the leaves."

"Suddenly....everything was confusion.....a blur and the thock! of arrows......screaming...and horses. I can't really remember much." Lilly shakes her head as if trying to clear her mind, and her voice grows quiet. "We were attacked by Gorbesh. I had only heard tales of them.....never had I seen one...and certainly not up close. As I raced back, I saw father fall, struck with an arrow through his chest. I raced to his side and pulled him into my lap, holding him and crying..asking what to do ..suddenly a searing pain in my own chest ....knocking me off my feet, stunning me. Looking down in shock, I beheld a gaping wound.........bleeding....pain.....and more blood....my chest....my arm. Father shoved me away from him violently....weeping, I managed to crawl under a small copse of bushes. From my hiding spot crazed with fear and losing blood I thought I saw the a monster from my dreams. A great gryphon...screaming in rage....... and things went dark."

"I awoke to the acrid smell of smoke.......it was early morning.....my bleeding had stopped. I crept back to father's wagon...... still smoldering and crackling ......in ruins. They had spared no one.....my father lay next to my mother....he had tried to protect her to the last. Slain, they lay hand in hand, and through numb tears, I buried them so. It was a shallow grave, and not nearly fitting for so great a man and his greatest love. I tried hard to cover it with brush to hide it from the notice of prying eyes with profit in mind. With urgency then, I remembered the book and the pendant. Clutching at my neck, I found the jewel still safely hanging there and rushed back to my carriage, finding the book in the ashes of the floorboards. Its cloth covering was scorched black in places, and still warm to the touch, yet on the tome, not a mark. A quick search revealed my small traveling pack, I tucked the book safely inside, slung the pack across my shoulder, and climbed out of the carriage.....to stare directly at 5 Gorbesh scouts on horseback..... Some had returned."

"I stood frozen as they advanced towards me, then regained my senses and began backing along side of the carriage, thinking to back around it and make a dash for the forest. All the animals that were not taken were felled, and all weapons were gone. I managed to take one step backward, around the charred wheel.......... and was caught by rough hands around the waist. Three more scouts had come around behind me and truly... I was trapped. With a dark, low laugh that made my blood freeze, the scout spun me around to face him. His eyes told a story unmistakable. I would sport and spoil all at once. He shoved me hard and I fell forward, sprawled into the hands of another scavenger. Blind now with tears I tried to hold back, they passed me roughly around the company in a cruel game of toss, laughing and whooping making the horses stamp. I landed back in the hands of the scout that had caught me. He held me fast, my back to him....a prize for all to mock. His rancid breathe at my ear..his filthy hands painfully clutching my wrists. Through my tears I saw the scout captain riding slowly toward me, as a hand ripped my bodice from its seam at the shoulder, I realized.........he was riding my father's horse.... and I started to scream."

"My vision was a blur of panic and rage as I kicked and bit and scratched at every hand that came near .........then it seemed as if the ground began to tremble and the trees to shake with a terrible roar I had never heard before. The sporting yells of the Gorbesh scouts turned to screams and yelps of terror as they were lifted and flung from me, their bones snapping loudly, being hurled into the trunks of nearby trees or smashed into each other by an enormous pair of golden talons. In shock I watched the scouts become pulp in the claws of a monstrous creature standing before me. One single rider survived the beasts vengeful attack and, still mounted, managed to escape and loose one last arrow, hitting the creature directly. With a roar of frustration and pain he howled and stared at his wound which joined two more barbs buried in its hide, then turned to me. I don't know if I was more surprised to be alive, staring face to face with such a creature, or to be looking into the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.......so deep..so very human."

"With slow deliberate movements he moved to stand over me....gazing at me with a gentle eye. I lay shivering, clutching the pack to my chest against the hard stone of the pendant. Of all this day, I had seen too much. I was numb. Fear was beyond my chilled fingers. I slowly reached up......only conscious of hurt that needed healing, and removed, slowly, the three arrows from the beasts flank, watching as the wounds closed under my hands...only slightly aware of the stinging in my own side. I stared, silent and willing as he scooped me up to rest in the feathered folds between his wings, and started walking. The last thing I remember, before slipping into a deep sleep, was the feeling of his coat between my fingers...along with feathers...warm and soothing....strangely comforting.... And I dreamed my dream,...of a handsome paladin."

"That paladin ...the wonderful man who saved my life ...by aiding me and calling the Gryphon clan to protect me and my family......is my Uncle Unger. I am forever grateful for his kindness, his teachings and his tolerance with a wayward lass such as myself, growing up alone. I am comforted by a belonging........to a noble family and a blood bond to such noble creatures."

"I cherish the memory of my mother...The Healer Lylandreena..........and my father Tieykoon....... and carry with me the only items that remain of theirs. Unger gave my parents a proper burial, returning them to the keep, and in doing so the caravan's wreckage was searched for salvageable keepsakes to tie their memory to me; and I am grateful for his thoughtfulness and generosity. In my hair.......silvered filigree combs adorned with tiny sapphires, forever holding to me my mother's love.......... and my father's dusty leather satchel, with a brass tag bearing an exploding volcano, the symbol of the Dirge Trader's Guild. There is no stronger reminder for me of the ashes I came through and the lesson of forbearance than these heirlooms I hold dear."

Her smile drifts off to a memory but returns just as bright. "Welp, that's my tale. At least the whole of it I'll tell at this time. I'll leave the story of my dear departed husband Fireleon for another day, or that story of my half sister Briianna and that Shadow sweet heart of hers. Ye look like I've worn yer ear out enough!" Lillybelle rises and leads you back out to the sunshine on the front porch, pressing a small pastry into your hand as you go. "I thank you for listening to the tale of my beginnings. I'm needed at Jadewater. I can almost hear a passel of youngsters clamoring with questions from here and I have to get those pies over there before some sneaky raccoon or badger spirits them off my window sill! Be well, and may Tamsine warm your heart." She beams warmly at you and touches a white Therenginian rose pinned to her gown and tied to a silver gryphon feather. Deftly scooping the pies off the sill, Lillybelle tucks them into a large picnic basket woven of brightly colored reeds and departs leaving behind the scent of lilacs.