[Official NPC]

Niana straightened and pushed her fists into the small of her back to work out the kinks. She didn't look a day over 35 but she was beginning to feel her age. Fifty years of bending over to peer at tiny, hand-Shaped beads so she could fashion them together in an appealing manner would take its toll sooner or later. Her mother had told her that when she was still a novice but Niana had been adamant. Now her mother was gone and Niana was trying to teach her granddaughters things they didn't want to hear. Such was the circle of life.

An odd sound drew her attention skyward. Quessenar was a small commune at the heart of the Chandric Forest, where few Nymphs dared to tread, so she always kept one eye on her surroundings. Alarms were frequent but the Sigil were quick to respond to threats so her gaze was drawn from curiosity more than from fear. The branches overhead parted to grant her a better view of the cloudless spring sky as Marina, her eldest daughter, moved to her side.

"Mother. Is that a dragon?"

"Too small," came Niana's reply, her gaze still fixed on the strange form circling the commune. At first, she had assumed it to be a cloud, but it moved too quickly and deliberately. It might have been an Ayad's work, but from within the shroud came flashes of colourful light, again too deliberate to be lightning.

The vapour cleared a little at the front to reveal a vibrant orange snout. It was reptilian in nature, like a dragon's but smoother, softer in form. "I've never seen a dragon like that."

"Nor have I." It really was too small to be a dragon. Niana was sure of that. She had seen 'Vari riding the majestic beasts while on her Rite of Passage decades ago. Even the smallest were at least twice the size of this creature. Anything else made no sense, either. It moved in a clear pattern, like a squadron of Anyeli scouts on reconnaisance. "It's not a dragon."

"Well, it's leaving now." The creature within the shroud of mist pulled away from the commune and set south across the forest. "I'll tell the Sigil. If it comes back, I'd be very curious to see what's inside that cloud."

Niana's shoulders tensed and her hand dropped to Marina's shoulder. "Be cautious, daughter. If it does come back, let the Sigil do their work."

"Of course, Mother." Marina's smile was patient. She patted Niana's hand where it lay on her shoulder for a moment before pulling away in the direction of the Sigil's hut. Niana watched her go, then turned her gaze back to the sky. Curiosity had been overshadowed by concern.