Once upon a time... Common Name: Nirjana - "solitary" in Bengali
Tianxia Name: Shiyong - "practical"
House: North
Rank: Ranger
Personality: She is a bit of a pessimist. As such, she tends to try to be prepared for every possibility. This is partly why she is most comfortable being a ranger. it allows her to roam outside of the usual social circles, giving her a solitary environment that allows her more control. This preparedness makes her good at her job, though it means she is a bit gruff and less good with social situations. She'd rather be crawling about in the roguelands with her goat pelt than dressed in finery and traipsing demurely with the other maidens.
The Story: The Magic MoneybagOne day not very long ago, a young couple and their single daughter lived alone in the rogue lands. Though they were very poor, the parents had an insatiable desire to become rich and well regarded by the prides they attempted to trade with. To this end, they hunted twice as much as they needed to. Each time they went to hunt, they brought back two carcasses. One they would eat, and the other they would leave outside the den in the cool evening air. In this way, they would accumulate enough meat and hides to take to a nearby pride to trade for the baubles they wanted so much.
Thus far, the most the couple had accrued for themselves were a few paltry wooden beads and a two lengths of leather. Since this wasn't nearly the wealth they desired, nor the kind of wealth that would raise them in the eyes of their neighbors, the couple decided it was high time their young daughter came to help them hunt. They would bring back three preybeasts from now on, one to eat and two for trading. Their little daughter was just barely beyond cubhood, but they pressed her into whatever they felt she should be capable of doing. Little though she was, it didn't seem right to her that she should have to hunt with them just yet, nor did it seem right to take three times as much prey as they needed. They hushed her protests and forced her along.
That night the daughter was exhausted, but the parents were busy gloating. Two chilly carcasses waited outside their den for them to trade with their neighbors for pretty things. Surely now they would acquire more esteem and respect! Imagine their dismay when, in the morning, the two carcasses were gone! This happened four times in a row, and the parents were growing furious. They had nothing to trade for ornaments! This simply had to stop!
It is forgotten now who first suggested it, but it didn't take long for both of them to be agreed. Their little daughter must hide in one of the carcasses in order to discover what was happening to them. Little did they think of their young one's safety, but only of the profit they were losing and the hard work they'd put into catching and killing that prey! So they stuffed their daughter into the empty chest of one large wildebeast and went to bed.
The daughter fell asleep in her odd den, and was awakened sometime in then ight by the carcass being shifted and carried. Shaking with fear, she waited until all was still again before she crept out, fur matted with blood. How baffled she was when she found only an old vulture perched upon the back of the other carcass! The vulture was equally startled, and leaned his long, unfeathered neck towards her, tipping first one rheumy eye, then the other at her. "Now who be you?" he croaked.
"My parents wish to know why you are stealing the kills from in front of our den each night," she replied bravely. The vulture cackled, though she wasn't sure if it was laughter or disgruntlement.
"I have watched your parents hunt since before you were born," he told her. "They would work hard and use their kills wisely. But soon they took more than they needed. And now they are taking even more!" He clacked his beak in clear disapproval. "This is not good for the herds that live nearby!"
She explained to the strange bird how her parents craved beautiful ornaments to wear, and thus were hunting more in order to barter the meat and hides for pretty things. She told him of the few wooden beads and two leather thongs that they had but were not content with. If a vulture could frown, he certainly would have, but as it was, he merely shook his tattered tailfeathers and clacked his beak. "This won't do, it won't do at all!" he croaked.
After much muttering to himself, the vulture gave her a bag. It was very strange, feeling almost alive in her paws, completely covered in amazingly thin and tiny scales. She stared at it in amazement,t he moonlight catching the scales and scattering light like water on waves. "Tell them to put one thong in this bag each night. In the morning, they will find one gold bead on the leather thong. That should give them the beautiful things they want, and they can leave the herds alone."
The young daughter nodded, clutching the bag to her chest. "But be wary," the bird croaked. "Your parents must still hunt for themselves. No hunting at all is nearly as bad as too much hunting. They must still feed themselves, or they will regret it." The juvenile promised to give them this warning, and went home. Her parents were delighted at first, and kept the beads on one thong, using the other to put into the bag each night. The wooden beads they discarded, tossing them to their daughter to play with.
It was not enough for the greedy couple, however. It wasn't long before they were trading the golden beads for services, favors, and other things. In their greed, they began to make promises of payment to others, and began to allow others do their hunting for them, until before long, they simply were buying their meat on credit. They had pelts and feathers and beads and cuffs and necklaces, and were growing impatient with the slow, single golden bead per night. That night, they put both thongs in, and immediately took them out again. Two golden beads, one on each thong, glimmered brightly before their delighted eyes. And again, they put them in and drew out two more beads. Thrilled with this increase, they tugged a leather cord from another necklace, and put three in. This time, nothing came out.
From that day on, not another bead emerged from the bag. Folks they had promised payment to came calling, and piece by piece, their finery was used to pay off debts. Before long, they were back as poor as they had begun. Their daughter, though, was now older and wiser. She listened as they began plotting to try hunting extra again to attempt to barter some of those golden beads back. Shaking her head, she told them that she was leaving, never to return, and that they could keep their foolish ways, that she would work honestly for her gain, and not seek after what she was not meant to have.
That was the day she left and began her journey to the Tianxia.
((Ooooooh dear, I'm so sorry it was so long!))
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Center House Token – there are 
North House Token – there are 
South House Token – there are 
West House Token – there are 
East House Token – there are 