Backstory

I remember the flames. Huge and golden red they licked between the branches of the tree that the wall of our home was built around. The beautiful oak that soared above and gave me dreams of spring afternoons where the sun shone down on my parents and I. I was young....only 6. I could hear my a father yelling for my mother but he never got a response. Looking back I believe the fire got to their room first and since my father was in the hearth room he knew he could get me out and then go back for my mother. He pushed me out the door as I looked up at the burning leaves....and I heard him say he was going to get her next. At that moment the world around me shimmered......I saw my mother walking toward me. She palmed my cheek as she leaned over and whispered words I did not understand into my ear. At my back I could feel the heat of the fire but my face was cool when she touched me. I saw in my mind a great temple. I felt pulled towards it as if I belonged there, and a wave of excitement rippled through me. I saw a beautiful woman staring into water and when she looked up our eyes met. Then it was gone. All around me ashes swirled and flames glowed....I backed away from the house and waited. My parent never emerged. Later on I would be told they were found with my father wrapped over my mother in an attempt to thwart the flames, to no avail.
 
For 2 years I stayed with an aunt. During this time I began studying herbs and plants. I learned to recognize those that could be a salve to a burn, or others that when mixed helped wounds heal faster. I became obsessed with helping those around me who were injured. Trying to find a cure for every illness or mixture for each cut or scrape that would increase the healing time. As I worked on people I began to notice I could hear them in my head. What they were thinking......about how stupid they were for not ducking under that branch. Or how they felt......as if their insides were twisting in loops when they had a stomach illness. I was but a child, and did not understand these voices were indeed their thoughts and feeling so I told no one.
 
Until one day a visit from a temple representative looking for people who showed abilities of healing. My aunt presented me and away I went! When I met the receiving priestess at the temple she looked at me strangely, and then took me to a patio where a beautiful woman sat looking into a swirling pool of crystal blue water. As she looked up at me it was as if she knew me and she said my mothers name. I recognized her from my vision during the fire. After a discussion of my history she told the priestess that she would be taking over my training herself. Little did I know this would be the beginning of learning to master my psionic skills, as well as becoming a master healer. Priestess Akusaa, which meant healing, had known my mother, and knew she was psionic. Her last psionic moment had been to show me the temple before her death. She had sent that same vision to Akusaa, who had been waiting for me ever since.
 
For the next 10 years I lived in the Temple of the Mother. Learning all I could of healing and psionics sat the same time. I became a master healer, and devoted my time to learning of different methods around the temple. During this time another girl who was 4 years my senior, Gararai, came to be my friend.
 
As we came up together I saw that she had strong psionic powers. She could hear others thoughts and send them visions to make them do things. I was enraptured with her and she quickly became my confidant and best friend.
 
At the age of 18 I decided I wanted to travel. I believed that outside of Cedonia there must be many different cultures that had healing techniques of their own and I longed to learn and combine my knowledge into new ways to heal. For a few years I travelled and honed my skills. But when I got word from the temple that Gararai had gone missing while on a journey to find psionics in other part of the land, I knew that my mission had changed. Knowing that I was equipped to fight and could barter my healing skills I left not long after.
 
The Temple bid me safe journey and requested I keep them informed whenever possible of what I had learned. Gararai was not the on,y one missing and they worried that the psionic skills had put their people in danger while traveling. They encouraged me to keep my abilities somewhat secret so as not to draw too much attention to myself.