Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a lovely day, not too breezy but also not too warm. Rowan was enjoying a brief respite from her endless studies. Ostensibly, she was meant to be gathering some sort of shell that she would later have to grind down into a very fine powder. Aunt Corwen had not yet revealed to Rowan what the properties of the shells were, though Rowan had her suspicions. They could be used as binders to hold together pills, or even to glue on a plaster. Or perhaps there was some sort of healing quality within the shells themselves. To ease bowel cramps perhaps, or reduce fever. Whatever their purpose, Rowan would not find it out until after she returned and had completed the work of grinding them down. She understood the value of hard work, and she actually quite enjoyed it. But there was something oddly distracting about today, which was strange. Rowan was not an easily distractable girl.

A little ways away from the water's edge were some steep cliffs with all sorts of exciting looking nooks and crannies in them, and Rowan felt sure that there would be more shells over there. As she approached, she could swear she saw something glimmer in the light before disappearing. Intrigued, the young Oblivionite increased her pace and made her way to the cliffs. Yes, it must have gone in there. A small, dark little opening. But Rowan knew she could fit inside. Oh yes, she certainly could. And who knew... perhaps whatever it was that had shimmered so interestingly held value. It was, at the very least, worth looking into. At least that was what Rowan told herself as she slithered into the tunnel.

The tunnel grew tighter and Rowan was forced to her hands and her knees. She paused, considering whether or not to go forward at the expense of her dress. But she had come this far, it would make no sense to try and turn back now. The hard floor was peppered with sharp little stones that dug into the tender flesh of her hands and knees. While it was irritating, the discomfort kept her mindful enough of her surroundings that she stopped short when the floor of the tunnel dropped steeply away.

Approaching the edge cautiously, Rowan peered down through the hole. She appeared to be above a large cavern, lit from some source that she could not quite locate from so high up. Perhaps... yes! It appeared the small trees that were growing unexpectedly within the cave had broken things up enough for light to come through. Directly below her, there was a pond and in the middle, a tiny little island. So small that Rowan questioned whether or not she could really consider it an island at all. But it was covered with... junk. Rowan found herself grinning with anticipation. Who knew what sort of treasures might be in the trash heap below.

Taking a deep breath and throwing her shoulders back (as well as she could in a small, cramped little tunnel), Rowan decided that the only thing to do was to try and make her way down into the cavern. Removing her boots, she dropped them down the hole ahead of her, then cautiously climbed her way down into the main cavern room.

The sharp rocks going back up were even worse than the ones going down, and Rowan finally had to just give up on any hope of preserving her outfit. She would look like a downright ragamuffin once she got out of this tunnel. But the reward was worth the price. She had, after all, dozens of dresses. But these were her first dragon orbs - the first things she had collected all by herself. And there was pride with that knowledge. She was certain that somehow these orbs could contribute towards the cause of the Sodur women. And even if they couldn't, they would at least prove to her aunt Corwen that she was capable of more than the most menial of duties.

The sun was still shining as Rowan made her way back onto the beach, though it's light was dimming. Her adventure had taken her longer than she had realized. Retrieving the bag of shells from where she had left them outside of the cave entrance, Rowan began the walk home.

She understood the necessity of learning the fundamentals of what was to be her craft. Yet at the same time, Rowan longed to be trusted with the deeper knowledge and the family secrets. She did not want to wait until her apprenticeship was over to begin working on what she considered the important stuff. She was eager to dive into some real work and, perhaps, ease some of the aching loneliness she felt every time she thought of the family she had once had. If nothing else, working on the panacea would make her feel almost like her mother was there with her. And these orbs could be her start down that accelerated path.