Gjeryxa the Mistress of the Wilderness, Oracle Extraordinaire of the Inn

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Role

Chapter 5

The baker in South Dairein was a shrewd man, and a friendly man, but he was
also a selfish man. He had, from an early age, the perspicuity to realize that
the accumulation of wealth led to escape from all necessity, and would allow
him the hours he needed to be alone with his thoughts and mental turmoil. But
instead of using this free time to leave some beneficial watermark on the
lands, he spent it counting his gold and drinking at the Whistling Hammer,
where he would lapse into daytime fantasies such as buying the High Tower of
Sorcery outright. Drinking and enjoying life were not the selfish part, mind
you. The selfish part manifested in his outright disregard for others. He
focused only on accumulating gold and jewels, a myopic obsession which did not
make him happy, really.

Within this focus, the baker felt quite cowardly, but would never admit this to
himself. Instead, he channeled that empty pit many feel into baking, and made
some truly spectacular delicacies. Until the dark man came and aroused his
interest, preying on his greed.

The man came one afternoon when he was ready to close the shop for the evening.
His cloak was the color of fine ash, and a heavy hood completely hid his face.
The man would not respond to questions about which pastry he would like, or
which bread he would sample. Rather, the man stood silently and waited until
the baker had finished speaking.

"13," the man stated, simply.

The baker frowned. "Thirteen of which, the bread?" he asked.

"13," the man said again.

The baker was a perspicuous man, as has been told, but he was also an impatient
man, and this sort of nonsense did not occur in his bakery.

"If you cannot make sense, I will ask you to leave, sir," the baker said.

The man threw back his hood, in what was supposed to be a dramatic manner, and
succeeded in catching the side on his ear, leaving the hood partially
uncovering only one eye and the tip of his nose. He furiously tugged the rest
of the hood from his face.

Role

Chapter 4

Gjeryxa, or "Ryxa," as she introduced herself to everyone, never did
determine who her parents were or what her true last name was. Rather than
repeatedly explain, "The G is silent," and be forced to have what she
considered a male's name, she styled herself Ryxa and found she enjoyed being
called that.

By 19, she was strong-willed and independent, often leaving her home for
weeks at a time, and was allowed to do so. She almost joined a company of
friendly individuals who cherished the forests and hated the cities. After a
coincidental meeting in a nearby cave, she followed one to their camp,
listening to the leader's talk, and was spellbound by his words.
His bright, fiery eyes, his aggressive gestures, and his knowledge and
presence were inspiring. She went so far as to pledge herself to the Tree
itself, forsaking civilization entirely, in a grand gesture meant to convince
herself of her decisiveness. But just hours later, when the fires had died,
and the talk was still, and the trees swayed in the breeze, she thought on
her actions and regretted them and realized she had been foolish, and not
wise at all.

For she sought not just knowledge, but wisdom, and no matter how she turned
the issue in her mind this way and that, she could not justify destroying
those who sought only to create, maintain, and live fairly happy lives. After
all, while her family was not perfect, they lived in a civilized village,
were not part of these wilds, and had no hand in trying to destroy it. The
problem was not in the wilds versus civilization, but what was in everyone's
hearts.

To create or encourage, rather than destroy or smother, that was the key to
happiness. That was the key to awakening true change in Thera, and it lay in
many creatures' hearts and minds, if only they could relax and think.

An epiphany. Ryxa determined to seek out Lord Whiysdan as well as the
Heralds, and dedicate herself to being a fundamental part of this change.

She had briefly traveled with a Paladin called Thontin, who asked her what
the most important thing in the world was, and asked if she would hire a
scribe to send a missive to himself and Lord Whiysdan. She did. She then
sought out Lord Whiysdan himself, and they drank, and laughed, and talked of
many things.

How different than the conversations with the charismatic, yet deeply flawed
men and women she had shared a campfire with in the past. There was true
wisdom and passion here, and Ryxa instantly knew her courage and independence
belonged in this fold.

Ryxa continued to explore the lands, traveling alone mostly, and was happy.
She sent a missive to her Lord detailing her Thirteen favorite things to do,
and she joined the family of Heralds. No longer was her true last name of
such import to her. In fact, in addition to dropping the beginning of her
first name, she began telling others her last name was literally, "None."

Role

Chapter 3

Gjeryxa was never sure why. She suspected, clever girl that she was, that
some sort of transaction was taking place for harboring herself and the other
children, but the motives remained a mystery. One thing which bothered her,
and was the cause of many sleepless nights, staring at the ceiling and
contemplating, was the fact that she had an extra toe on each foot, and an
extra finger on her left hand.

The Lady would sing to her, "Ten on the hand, ten on the toe, one more above,
and two more below," since she could remember, and while she wanted to ask
about the rhyme, she feared doing so, because something in the Lady's eyes
told her that to do so would be to invite more questions rather than answers.

Furthermore, Gjeryxa seemed to be elevated above the other children, treated
like a special gift, and while she had seen some of her brothers and sisters
sent off when they came of age, no one had ever asked her to leave. She
feared that were she to ask about her extra appendages, perhaps she, too,
would be married off, or sent away, and she did not want this. Gjeryxa was
content to explore the hidden places, to observe from afar or interact when
something or someone presented itself, and to continue living her current
life.

Role

Chapter 2

Ten years passed in the small village of South Dairein, and Gjeryxa grew
quickly, sprouting almost a foot between her ninth and tenth birthdays.Her
arms and legs were gangly, giving her the look of a knobby marionette, until
the rest of her body caught up and she gained a few pounds of muscle. Still,
she was taller at six feet than most other girls, and while she enjoyed
exploring the "forbidden" places during her forays into the nearby forests,
boys did not have much interest in tall, free-thinking girls. Socially, she
was stunted. The woods, the caverns, the secret trails became her best
friends.

Schooled by the Lady in the arts of cooking, cleaning, music, articulation,
formal graces, and singing, Gjeryxa had many advantages, as the Lady was wise
and clever, and her teachings allowed Gjeryxa to engage her mind and
flourish. Despite the Lady's kindness and what Gjeryxa believed to be love,
she never called the Lady "Mother" but once. Not because she did not want to,
but because the Lady refused to accept the term. A few years earlier, when
Gjeryxa could first form sentences, she had called the Lady "Mummy," and the
Lady had gently, but firmly, rebuked her.

"Incorrect, little Miss. You did not come from my womb, but rather from our
doorstep, and although I love you as my own, we will not use that word in
this house."

The Man drank and indulged in debaucheries which did not seem to bother the
Lady, and therefore did not bother Gjeryxa. For the Lady had always taught
her that free will was of the utmost import, as long as it did not affect the
happiness of others. As the Lady certainly did not seem to mind these
choices, and the Man never physically or verbally harmed her, they did not
adversely affect Gjeryxa or the other children.

Gjeryxa had four sisters and seven brothers, and the house was quite filled
with varying amounts of glee, tantrums, horseplay, and work at any given
time. A wizened man would come to the house once a year, on the first day,
and give the Man a bag bulging with coin.

Role

Chapter 1

The baby screamed, its tiny fists clenched and futilely punching the air. It
screamed again, shrieking with such ferocity that the lady covered her ears.

"Hush now, hush little one," the lady cooed. She finished tying off the soft
cloth.

The child opened its tiny fists and looked around quizzically, legs kicking
like it was pedaling a bicycle, confused and reeling. It - she - drew in
another great breath, and let forth a spectacular cry of anguish, her large
grey eyes and milky, soft flesh wet with tears. Her head turned left and
right as though she was plotting escape.

"Now dear," the lady whispered. "We fixed things right now, didn't we? All is
well, all is clean."

"Quiet that noise, woman, or I shall come and quiet that abomination for
you!" shouted a slurred, drunken voice from the parlor.

The lady gently stroked the child's gossamer hair and looked about
conspiratorially. "He doesnt understand you. He doesnt realize what we've
given him, does he, Miss pet?" she asked softly.

The baby gurgled, spit bubbling from her pursed lips.

"That bloody thing needs to be put down, is what!" shouted the gruff voice.
"I'm of a mind to see to it myself, once the tithe be paid!"

The lady whispered, "Don't you fret, Ryxa. You pay him no mind, you're a
beautiful girl, you are."

Ryxa flailed her hands and feet about in agreement. Her tiny left hand had
six fingers. Well, six fingers if one counted a coarse, spindly appendage
stuck smack dab in between her thumb and forefinger a finger. And her feet
had six toes each, all of equal length and agility. Ryxa could and would grip
toys with these toes and throw them into the air, then catch them, like a
juggling trick. The lady was quite proud of this, although these displays
always frightened her husband, who was prone to calling them "those bloody
talons."

"Ten on the hand, ten on the toe, one more above, and two more below," the
lady sang to Ryxa. The baby giggled with delight, her six toes clenching and
unclenching while her left finger flexed and extended in time to the song.
The lady had sung the rhyme many times, and this would not be the last. Where
she had heard it, she could not quite recall.

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