Zalinka Pendah, She had always been a wandering mystic. She didn't seem to find a place she belonged at all even her own family had cast her out after her choice of wind of magic she had chosen. The winds of Necromancy and death had always been something she had been adept at sensing and had always interested the woman from a young age, preferring to spend her time with a nose in her books learning about the gods of death and how their powers can be channelled to be put to good use.<br/><br/>So she did what she did best and walked till she found something that interested her and walked some more to the next. She was still young but also at the age where mothers would start asking their daughters about marriage and grand children, most of her friends had married long before that and it had always confused her as to why they would weaken themselves by submitting to a man in such a way. The ebony skinned woman also scoffed at the thought of allowing a parasite to grow inside her womb and sucking away her youth and her power in the process.<br/><br/>Zalinka, Zali as she liked to be called, nursed her simple wooden goblet in one hand and sipped at it idly as  she overheard the locals speaking of an interesting tale that had piked her curiosity. There had been a magical Forest not too far from where she was currently that was slowly dying, the forest had been a place to collect leaves and herbs for potions and for divination but because of the state it was in nothing of the sort was growing. Sadly, no one knew what was causing such a phenomenon. There was no sign of physical abuse of the sort and even other 'powerful' Mystics, witches and even exorcists had attempted to enter the Forest to see for themselves what was causing such a problem but because of the odd nature of the magic nothing could be pinned down only a general aura could be felt.<br/><br/>The locals had been unaware of the nymph that lurked in the treetops had also fallen into the same category as the others. She too had been unable to figure out what had been causing the death of her beloved Forest till now.<br/><br/>Zalinka threw a small handful of golden coins onto the bench, smiled at the inn-keeper softly and guzzled down the last of her wine as she gathered up her thick shawl and pulled it around her broad shoulders tightly and adjusted her headband. Standing to her full height and threw her head up into the air sending her dreads bouncing as she walked across the squeaky wooden planks of the inn. No one had noticed her leave and she preferred it that way, from time to time people would give her slack for the jewellery she wore and the bone fragments she had woven into her hair. But for once she had managed to keep to herself and avoid a confrontation with the locals.<br/><br/>She had a vague idea of what direction she should be heading in and when that trail ran cold she could always sense what odd auras were rolling off the wooded area.<br/><br/>Her blue dress swayed from side to side and swirled in the soft breeze as she walked along the cobbled road. The sun slipped away behind the rolling hills that curled around the small Forest she had her eyes firmly locked on. With every step closer to the dying copse she could feel the negative energy curling on the winds and the life-force of the nature that had once stood tall and proud slowly die off. Usually, death was her deal but not like this, not when others depended on the herbs and plants that grew beneath it's canopy. Like what had been said in the tales there didn't seem to be an origin of the energy she was sensing on the wind, it just seemed to drip from every leaf, tree, animal and whatever dwelt in the woods. This stuck odd with the Mystic; She had always been able to figure things out when others were stumped. But this only pushed Zalinka further.<br/><br/>A cool breeze whipped through the area rustling the leaves and throwing handfuls up into the air, her brown eyes narrowed and a grin pulled at the corners of her lips as she had been looking for a challenge like this for a long while. Most of the rumours she had gone chasing after had just been common charlatans trying to pull the wool over simple villagers eyes but it seemed this story she had stumbled upon was the real deal. Excitement swelled in her chest as she drew out her dagger and started to cut away at the dying vines that blocked her entrance to her grand adventure. She was ready to see what evil or dark source could be explored and possibly retained for future use. But she had to get in and look around and get a feel for what she was up against.<br/><br/><br/>