Saraswati

Saraswati came from a village on the coast. With the sea on one side and the desert on the other, the villagers had to rely on the sea for food etc. Their main export was pearls and Saraswati grew up as a pearl diver who was nearly unmatched in time underwater and the depth she could reach. Nearly unmatched, as her best friend and dive partner, Vidya, was the only one able to match her. The two friends would spend a lot of time underwater, working and playing.

Naturally they were very close and one day, Vidya hinted that she wanted to get even closer. Saraswati was rather shy at the time so she was rather taken aback and unsure how to respond when Vidya confessed that she wanted to be more than just friends. A rather confused Saraswati ran off leaving Vidya feeling rejected.

Saraswati spent most of that night lying awake and talking to the moon (her personification of the Goddess Mazalel). She finally slept on the idea but, before she had a chance to tell Vidya she wanted to accept being her lover, a bunch of Ajit slave traders attacked. Saraswati was chased by one and, while frantically looking for an escape route, she heard a voice in her head telling her to head for the water and dive deep. She did, but some of the Ajit were determined to get to her by waiting in boats for her to surface. Fearing what they would do if they caught her, Saraswati forced herself to stay underwater, even if it meant she drowned. She was sure she was going to at one point when she went unconscious but, somehow she was able to regain consciousness after they left, probably thinking she had drowned.

When she surfaced, and swam to shore, she discovered the village was in ruins. Bodies laid scattered about, both Akosh and Ajit – including her father. There was no sign of Vidya, nor any other survivors. Not knowing what else to do, she gathered up what supplies she could find and set off after the Ajit slave train – into the desert.

This was probably a stupid thing to do, and after a while of plodding over sand dunes, she was beginning to regret this decision. Fortunately she was picked up by another Ajit caravan train, this one of standard merchants, who were going roughly in the same direction. For some reason, the camels didn't seem to like her much .. but then it was assumed that was because she was Akosh, not Ajit, and camels can be rather onary anyway.

On the way, she dreamed. She dreamed of fae, fae who gathered around her and taught her things, things that she found she could do when she woke up, as if it was by instinct. She learnt about Nature, the Healing Arts, and the Ways of the Fae Witches. Most of her tutors were water fae or nixies so it seemed natural that she was learning the more water aspects of Nature.

Also on the way, the caravan was delayed by a sandstorm. Saraswati fretted about the delay but there was no choice for the caravan to hunker down and wait it out. She helped out where she could and found that she was able to use her fae given knowledges to help with injuries .. and even to help them find water. That left the tribe regarding her with a sense of awe ….. and fear … with some of the more superstitious making wards against the Evil Eye when ever she was near. Dogs didn't seem to like her much either. Cats on the other hand seemed attracted to her, which made some even more suspicious.

By the time they reached the trading town, Saraswati discovered her worst fears had been realised. The new slaves had been sold and had been sent all over the place. So she concentrated on finding Vidya and after some persuasion, bribery, and even resorting to weaponry (she discovered she was rather handy with a spear) and magic (illusions, and druid orisons), she managed to discover Vidya had been sold to a sheik, probably as a concubine.

So she headed off in that direction, getting rides where she could, trading her skills and knowledge as a 'wise woman'. Sure, she was useful, but again there was a lot of fear and mistrust.

After a few months of this, the trail had gone cold again as Vidya had been traded between owners, presumably as a gift. Plus the fae had led her to a spot that several oasis within a short distance of each other and it was there she set up as a 'guardian of the waters', in the hope that passing travellers could give her news. Sure, she got visitors, and she also was sent for by the local tribes to help them with their problems but, many regarded her with fear and suspicion. Some warned their children to be good or “the witch will catch you”. Of course, when things went wrong, guess who got blamed. No matter how much good Saraswati did, there were always those who would accuse her of anything 'supernatural' that happened.

It came to a head one day when a plague swept through the tribes. Saraswati did what she could but there were many deaths and a lot of people refused her help. She was in her hut when a bunch of tribesmen arrived, grabbed her, tied her up, and threw her into the nearby oasis to drown. They then burnt her hut and contents to the ground and left, confident that they had finally defeated the 'wicked demon-witch' that had caused the problem in the first place.

Underwater, Saraswati struggled to get free while holding her breath. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she again saw her fae mentors that gave her knowledges on how to escape. Back in the real world, she managed to swim to the surface, grab some more air, then squirmed underwater to get herself free – finding it surprisingly easy. When she finally swam to shore, everything was gone, her hut, her possessions, everything – including any hope she had of finding Vidya. But there was one thing she remembered, the city of Tel Vinrae, and the possibility that the slavers may have a base there. She decided to go there and find out.

So she travelled again, this time, keeping her abilities secret in order to prevent a repetition. But she could feel the presence of the fae, comforting her, keeping her safe. Maybe she might not be able to find Vidya but, maybe in Tel Vinrae, she could start a new life, away from the superstitious that would do her harm.

So, here she is, currently living alone in a sea cave, but with a few friends, and determined to protect the local waters from those that would exploit and do it harm. But there is this nagging thought, is she human or is she fae? And why are they so interested in her anyway? Some questions, they just refuse to answer.