Nynnia

"I really donnae remember too much of my childhood, really," Nynnia says with a sigh. "I lived in a big, beautiful house in the countryside with my parents, my brother Ardeo and my sister Klaudia. We had a wonderful life, at least, what I remember of it. One of my first clear memories was when..." Nynnia gazes off into the distance with a thoughtful expression, as the visions of her childhood begin to return to her....

'I awoke in a narrow alleyway one cold, winter morning. I didn't remember where I was, or how I had gotten there. I felt tired and my legs ached miserably, as if I had been running. I slowly clambered to my feet, leaning against a wooden building for support. As I looked around, I began to think back to how I got to this odd place. Although it was still unclear, I remembered the sound of my mother's voice crying out to me, and the fire. The evil flames that singed my hair and engulfed my childhood home with all the memories it had held. The sound of my mother yelling, "Nynnia! Run, child, run!" as she struggled to save her family from destruction. I ran. I ran through the meadowlands, past the middens, through the abandoned gate, until at last I collapsed from exhaustion and frustration of knowing I might never see my family again.

I shivered to shake the piercing memory. "Mama.Papa.!" I shouted, my voice quivering. "Ardeo.Klaudia.! Can anyone hear me?" The only response was the howling wind.

Glancing in the pocket of my tattered and charred skirt, I was relieved to find a few copper coins left from my meager allowance. I found her way to a seamstress who, taking a single look at me, outfitted me in a long wool skirt, a warm jacket, and some doeskin boots to keep out the cold. The clothes felt wonderful, and I snuggled into the jacket, feeling almost happy.  I thanked the woman for her kindness, and stepped back outside.

A freezing rain came down in torrents upon the town and I ran for cover in the nearest building. The sound of moaning surrounded me, and I felt my hair stand on end. In one corner of the room a young woman clutched her swollen arm in pain, while a poor elderly man carefully tended his bleeding wounds. My eyes grew wide in fear, as I saw a deceased child, no bigger than myself, being dragged out of the building.

The sight of so much suffering brought my thoughts back to my past. I knew I would never forget the look on my mother's face as the flames surrounded her. I wiped a tear from my eye and wished so dearly that I had been able to save my mother and my family from the wretched disaster. If only I could help people and prevent these things from happening to others, maybe my mother's unsettled spirit in the heavens could rest easily.

Timidly, I wandered over to a noble-looking woman who appeared to be overlooking all the action. I sneezed from the cold outside, and the woman looked down, startled.

"Excuse me, miss?" I said shyly, looking down at my feet. "I...I was interested in joining this-"

The woman gasped and broke in, "You want to become an empath? Oh how exciting! Oh, what a day this is!" She grabbed my hand and shook it heartily.  "I'm Annael, and you are?"

"Oh, my name is Nynnia," I smiled. Annael paused for a moment and rubbed her chin.

"Hmm. Nynnia Kandi, Elothean Empath. That has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" She winked at me, and I began to feel comfortable in Annael's presence. "OK. Now this," she said with a grin, "is your first lesson." In the blink of an eye Annael drew a dagger from her satchel and stabbed me in the arm. I gasped, wondering if I had made such a wise decision after all. I glanced down at my bleeding wound, but as soon as Annael laid a gentle hand on my arm, the wound ceased bleeding, and soon was gone.

"How.how.how did ye do that?" I exclaimed. Annael grinned down at me. I blinked as I saw that the same wound I had once possessed now lay on Annael's tattered body.

"Why, I healed you, silly thing!" Annael reached out to tickle me, causing me to giggle wildly and squirm around. "It's what empaths do. We transfer wounds from our vict.err.patients' bodies to our own." I stared up in amazement for a moment, and then scratched my head.

"But ye must get so scratched up after a while. Surely that cannae be good for your health!" Annael laughed, and I felt myself blush.

"That's why we have spells, dear. After we have these wounds, we can heal them away for good. This way we can continue helping others." I smiled, knowing that this was what I was meant to do for the rest of my days.

As time went on, I began to adjust to my new lifestyle. I made many friends in the guild and found everyone to be very helpful. I was never as happy as I was in my guild, sitting among the wounded and trying to ease their pain. One day I went to heal myself up in the empath sitting room, when I saw a young girl who faintly resembled me. I gazed thoughtfully at the girl, trying to figure out who she was. The girl, surprisingly, was doing the same to me.

"Umm, excuse me," I said uncertainly. "Ye look so familiar to me. Do I.know ye?" The girl blinked in amazement at hearing my voice.

"Nynn? Is that ye?" The girl raced over to me and hugged me tightly, in tears of joy. I furrowed my brow, trying to solve the mystery. "It's Klaudia!" the girl exclaimed and gave me a smooch on the cheek.

I gasped. It was my sister, who I thought I had lost in the fire with the rest of my family. I felt myself beam as I gazed at my younger sister. "Oh Klaudia I'm so glad to see ye! I was so afraid ye were gone in the." I let out a sigh. "Well, ye know. But, well, how are ye?" I beamed and hugged my sister tightly as we caught up on all we had missed. Klaudia had found the guild as well and found it to her liking, joining around the same time I had.  She had run into their brother Ardeo, who had become a Warrior Mage, and he was doing well. Our parents were no where to be found, and although we never mentioned it to one another, each of us children sensed that our parents had perished in the fire.'

"Ever since then, I have been very attached to my guild. I love it dearly and could never imagine leaving," she says with a faint smile.