<<NRPG: Bio - probably should read this before the pre-post which follows
below .. >>

Name: Pua

Age: 17 (April 21)
Race: Horse Nomad
Tribe/Diety: Krayel, The Animal Tamer: Those touched by this god (and
therefore honored as 'dain Krayel') seem to have a special power over
animals. Their herds tend to be the largest, strongest and most docile, and
are highly sought after in trade. They tend to stay far down in the south of
Nomadlands.
Sex: Female
Appearance: 5'0", 100 lbs, petite, Very common Nomad appearance - Long, dark
black hair, nearly black almond shaped eyes, Golden brown skin.

Family: Born the second daughter of a well respected warrior of the first
tribe of Krayel, The Animal Tamer.  She has 3 older half-siblings (the
eldest being 22), and 7 younger siblings (the youngest being only 4). She
was married to Ariek of the second tribe of Krayel, and has one son, Garien,
nearly 3 months old  as spring comes to the lands.

Tribal Background: Krayel's tribe was at one time a single unit, with one
Chief. However the ever prosperous followers of Krayel with their unique
abilities in animal handling soon grew to a number beyond what one unit
could successfully maintain without destroying the land they moved about.
The Great Chief Nuiki dain Krayel, in the twilight of his years, made the
choice to divide the tribe, and his amble herds between his twin sons,
Kinsal and Nusal. The brothers swore a pact to each other, that they would
be supportive of the other .. both in good and in bad times. Every spring,
when the rivers were wide, the two would join together for a five day
gathering to celebrate their God, to barter supplies, and to find new mates.

History: It was at such a gathering that Pua's father received a very
handsome bride price for his second daughter, from an old friend whose first
wife had died earlier in the year.  So it was that Pua left the first tribe
of Krayel to join the second tribe of Krayel as the wife of Ariek, more the
20 years her senior. His eldest son, was 3 years older then Pua, and there
were 6 other sons and daughters, for a total of 7 children, ages ranging
from 19-8)

Having been well trained from birth as to what her role would be when she
became a wife,  16-year old Pua settled in happily and did her duty
maintaining their family. Nine moon cycles after becoming his wife, she bore
him a strong, healthy son, his sixth.  She took to motherhood easily having
helped her own mother with her siblings.


Pua
***
<< A day or so ago ..  >>

Pua's first sight of a wraith was as she was returning to the camp, after
gathering berries by the river. She'd lagged behind the other women to pick
Rika's share of berries, now that she was so close to delivering her child,
and unable to make the trip herself. She heard the screams of horror and
pain, and could smell the unfamiliar foul scent even before she reached the
edge of the outcropping that marked the  edge of camp.

Garien, strapped securely to her chest, began to kick his legs and swing his
arms as something disturbed the very air around them. Her eyes widened as
misty gray clouds of smoke seemed to  cause bodies to convulse and
disintegrate into nothing before her very eyes. She slipped back at the
sight, pressing against the rocks around her. She could hardly breath as the
terror overwhelmed her and she began to move slowly away from the gore she
had witnessed. She did not stop until she could no longer smell the evil
things, or hear .. or see .. or barely even feel .. then she collapsed
passing out into blackness.

She awoke at the screams echoing in her ears .. screams that at first sent
terror streaking through her, but then as her senses began to take over, she
realized it was only the unhappy, and very hungry cry of her infant. Her
concern for the baby drove away the fears as she pushed the front flap of
her shift out of the way, exposing her milk-full breast to the infant's
eager mouth.

As she sat, feeding her child, the horrible sights came back to her and she
began to weep, unable to imagine what could have brought down this plague
upon them. By time the baby was sated and changed and sleeping comfortably
once again against her chest, Pua had resolved to return to camp to find out
if she had been dreaming .. or if it had really happened.

But even before she reached camp, she knew that it had, for the smell of
death was around her. She would have turned and run again were it not for
the fact that there was silence in the camp. Before the screams would have
driven her away, but now there were no more .. whatever had struck was now
gone, and she forced herself to walk .. to see what was left of her tribe.

She could not believe her eyes. There was almost nothing to show that the
tribe had even been there, other then bloodstained earth, and some remnants
.. tools and the like laying scattered in disarray.

 Laying amongst the debris she saw the brightly painted stone beads which
the wives wore to decorate themselves, most blood covered and broken .. the
beads scattered as they had fallen. The clay pots they used to cook ..
dropped and shattered. The tools used for skinning and tanning .. uselessly
laying as they had proved no defense against the thing attacking them.

It wasn't long before the realization flooded through her that these smoky
things had devoured her tribe as though simply a basket of ripe sweet
berries. No soul .. no remorse .. no mercy .. Even the herds were gone. The
horses  .. the hide tents .. everything that had come from man or beast ..
it was all gone ..

***

There was only one thing for her to do. She had to find the first tribe. She
had to find the others and tell them of this horrible evil.  She had no idea
how long it might take to reach them, nor even if she could locate them, she
only knew that it was nearly time for the gathering, so they would be
drawing close .. but how close was difficult to tell. They would be
somewhere north of the river, so that's the direction she headed, sending
silent prayers to the gentle spirit of Krayel to spare their lives.

A sense of well-being came over her, and her spirit lifted, and she was sure
it was the hand of Krayel himself comforting her. She gave thanks, as she
realized they had already been spared. When all the others .. her family ..
her tribe .. when they all were destroyed, she and Garien lived.  For some
reason, Krayel had spared the two of them. Perhaps to be sure the first
tribe was warned .. perhaps for some other purpose unknown to her.

So keeping the setting sun to her left, she moved north .. intent on finding
her father and the rest of the first tribe.

***

She had walked an entire day, and she knew she had not gotten far. She'd had
to stop to pick more berries and roots, and to feed and care for Garien. And
then there was that smell .. the smell of the evil things. Whether it was in
her head, or real, she could smell them, and whenever she did, she would
hide, burying herself against rock faces, and in tiny crevices, praying to
Krayel to continue to watch over them.

She moved north past the river, where the berry bushes, grew scarcer and the
water dried up. She tried not to despair, and kept going .. despite her
exhaustion and growing hunger. Eventually she was moving on pure will alone
..

By the time she saw the huge, creatures flying across the sky she was near
dropping. But the sight of those creatures both stunned her and exhilarated
her. She'd heard tell of the great dragons far to the North. Some tribes
hated them, some feared them, some befriended them and their dragonridah's.
Surely they were beasts straight from Krayel himself! And now that she saw
them herself, with dragonridah's upon their backs, just as though they were
mere horses! Surely they could only be servants of Krayel sent to help her.

She waved with all her strength, and shouted to them ..

.. still they moved on ..

They did not stop. They did not help .. She dropped to her knees and sobbed.
Tears of fear .. of frustration .. of exhaustion, coursed down her face.
"What is to become of us .." she wept, and soon cried herself into and
exhausted and uneasy sleep ..

***

The smell woke her. It was strong .. they were close .. Suddenly she was
wide awake, her heart pounding in terror. Had she slept long? Her body
protested as she rose to her feet. Garien stirred slightly, but only enough
to remind her that he was there, before settling back to sleep. He had
always been a good baby. Never crying as much as other babies and always
sleeping easily and longer .. and she had never appreciated it as much as
she did right now.

She looked around her for some place to hide .. and saw none ..

The sight of the gray spector-like beings approaching her at an amazing
speed, sent her feet to running ..

<< continued in Barb's post >>

Regards,
Pua

------------------------------------
Kristen & Scott Gant
http://members.home.net/sgant/gant.htm


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