Profile of Wisteria

"I’ll take thee away into a land of enchantment"

A woman that can have many faces depending on whom is in her company, for a veil can easily be laced over one's features. A heart for nature, fae and the moon rather than those of her own kind; that is not to say she does not have empathy for those around her, if anything her heart bleeds for them all the more. Willing to share her own life's thread to keep another's thread from snapping or equally offer them a sweet departure from the thralls of the world.

"The time's come to play here in my garden of shadows"

The Angel of Death

The product of two scholar's desire for their legacy to carry on. Wisteria was one of two children to be born out of scientific discovery rather than love, expected to inherit the family library and continue their research. That lack of love would isolate their two dear children in the heart of the Red Wood where biases and scripture dictated their young lives, rarely able to play or be their age as studies were far more important. The College always a looming figure in their day to day lives, for fear of disappointment always lingered, leaving them with a single route for their future.

With age came exploration, finally free to dive into the world and it crashed like a chaotic yet beautiful wave in the young girls head. She took regular visits to the guilds with her mother Lilith, granting her freedom to meet other wolves and learn more about herself rather than simply staying a shell of their desires. This lead to rather unusual encounters with others her own age, making her question who she was even more and if following paw steps was really what she wanted to do.

A fascination with outlanders and other cultures started to blossom.

Her first birthday made her nervous as she took to the College, her heart in her throat as she entered it's courses and was offered mentors that would help her to carry on family traditions. She didn't take to any of the ones suggested to her that were mostly Mainlanders, rather an old Highlander by the name of Aneurin became the subject that brought her the most interest as he greeted her with a peculiar set of words, a philosophy that was so different from the others. Look at everything from the eyes of a newborn, free oneself from outside biases and learn everything as if you are seeing it for the first time. That is the only true way you can learn. A philosophy she would live by, little did she know, as he slowly cracked her shell and allowed a bud of its own to form; her stoic and shrewd disposition deteriorating the more she spent time with him and swerved between his footsteps. Herbs, medicine, toxicology; they were her true calling and despite her parent's disapproval he was more than happy to teach her alongside keeping a scholar's crux to appease them to a point.

Her studies often lead her to other parts of Rionnach that she had never been to before, learning from more than just Aneurin but locals and occasionally the stray Outlander. They were just as much a part of her studies as the flora, mesmerized by how different they were yet how distinctively they were the same as she watched with a naïve lens rather than the preconceived notions pushed upon her as a pup. It slowly became an obsession, especially when she met Chandresh, a nomad from a distant land. A little older and a scholar in his own right, they were enamored with sharing their views and knowledge, and admittedly bickered often only to laugh it off. He also introduced her to crystal healing, something within his own culture that was taught more than that of herbs, which she found utterly fascinating.

After some time, the idea of taking a spiritual journey became more and more alluring to her, something her mentor had mentioned countless times and Chandresh also encouraged. Against her parent's wishes, she would leave with Chandresh and his caravan to the Outlands, stripping her of the material world to find herself within lands of freedom from hierarchy and growing closer to nature itself. An open space and an open mind.

Days turned into months away from The Crownlands and with it change was constant, feelings blossomed and for the first time in her life she felt love. Soon her belly was ripe with life but it wasn't as happy a time as it could have been. The caravan was ambushed by a nearby army after settling for the night and for the first time her teeth found purchase on the flesh of another, landing a killing blow; shock followed by guilt washing over. She didn't have time to process it for the ambush left many of their numbers battered and broken, many too critical to heal. All she could do in many cases was offer comfort from pain till their passing but as one shrill voice asked her to finish the job, her gaze blackened. She was healer; she saved lives not took them. Yet she found herself grabbing a mouthful of herbs, ones for pain and numbing of the senses but also poison, setting both before the man. Her gaze glazed over as he thanked her and she left, only to come back the next day to see the poisons had been his choice. This might have been the first but it was not the last. Among the caravan and outlanders she became known as the Angel of Death, with a kiss to heal or take away one's last breath. The thing that bothered her more, however, was the fact it gave her a sense of release; pleasure as she witnessed those last breathes taken for those that did not wait for her departure...remorse wasn't there for their souls would be released to the fae and the moon while their bodies nurtured the earth.

It was not long after that three beautiful autumn colored children graced her world and a happy family was formed, briefly overtaking her darker days with joy. They were organisms not science experiments, that was one thing Wisteria made sure remained true so they may have a childhood that she didn't. Chandresh started to become more absent however, claiming he was off doing research of where they were headed next to avoid such a calamity as they had just survived months earlier. Then one day, when she woke up not only was he gone but so was their son, Abayomi. At first she didn't think much of it but as days, to weeks passed her demeanor started to change as her daughters constantly asked where their father was and no one within the caravan knew where he was...well claimed not to know. Eventually one would finally come forward and tell her the truth after her mental state started to decline, the truth her mate was only after a healthy son and now that he had one he went back to his homeland. He was never truly part of the caravan. Every new thing she learned broke her further and further, to the point neglecting her children was an unconscious normal till she vanished entirely for a couple weeks. There were many speculations on what she had been doing during that time; searching for Chandresh or perhaps a solo journey, whatever the case she came back different. Changed.

Once her daughters were old enough to travel longer distances, they would start to head back to Rionnach, a long journey that would take a season at best to achieve. There was minor hesitation in her decision with how bonds were forever in her birth culture but it was nothing she couldn't lie about, just a simple fling, a single mother. Nothing more. There was one thing that would weigh on her mind forever when Maple fell ill half way home, body riddled with infection that lead into septic shock. No amount of herbs, moon water or crystals were improving the child's condition, quickly declining in health by each passing day; thus she made a painful decision to put her to rest. She did not offer the girl a choice like she had the others. Her suffering would end painlessly in her sleep with a soft song to lead her to the moon goddess's embrace so she could dance with the fae.

It took a little while for her and Safiya to return to their travels alone, such would not be a kind voyage. The last stretch tested them so. Words that both needed to be said but shouldn't be said were passed between mother and child, cutting deeper than any physical injury could. Wisteria would be left to watch the back of her last child turn from her and leave back toward the way they came. Motionless was time.

Love had felt like an illusion.