Sinann Dunnaeg
An Autobiographical Glimpse
It was a time also of superstition, as superstition oft accompanies times of magical knowledge. It was not with ill will but 'twas my Mother's wish to avoid social castigation that led her after my birth to leave me alone. I was a strange creature, you see, there were none of my kind to be found in Eire in those days. I am meaning no ill upon her by telling this, truely it was not my death she sought for me. Indeed, 'twas more understanding, magically inclined, different and more spiritually fit parents she sought for me and her actions show great thought was given to the task. She placed me under the ash tree just inside a sacred grove where the sidhee watched me until I was found. It happened that I was found then by Ailinn the Druidess and her mate Fergus the Bard. True as anything told, my mother's decision was a wise one for all involved and for this I told the sidhee to thank her in some way for me.
Here I learned to sing and play the harp, weave a good story and began my journey into the magic arts. In matters of healing, I was a dedicated and adept pupil, my mind and indeed my entire being quickly devoured the knowledge with such great ease it was obvious that I was born to be a healer. As for the other areas of study, I was a much less talented apprentice and my lessons were oft punctuated by lapses as I was much given to wandering.
It wasn't for dislike of my family or that I was ungreatful for what it is I was being taught that my feet ached to wander. Instead it was for the constant plague in my soul created by a poignant loneliness and an unavoidable sense that the path destined for me lay elsewhere. The fact that I would outlive my human fosterparents was not considered until their deaths brought an end to my studies. While I miss them greatly, I also found the freedom to wander unhindered by familial ties and to learn as I saw fit. Many have taught me, but until recently my skills in the art of magic were mostly untested.
I sought a remedy from my loneliness by searching for more of my kind, which was a futile endeavor, and by taking and training a familiar to accompany me in my wanderings. I named my raven Shadowwinds and taught him a few things as ravens are intelligent birds. He is an apt companion for me, though not the same as another of my kind, but I am resigned that perhaps it was not in my destiny to find other centaurs. Surely such a one as myself does not need a mate anyway, as such ties would once again bind me to a peice of geography. For my sense of destiny there has been no remedy aside from my travels which became a way of life for me.
One day, after wandering far into the south of Eire, I stopped to rest amid an abandoned circle of standing stones. Their magical history gave me a sense of the familiar which I still craved when I was weary. With Shadowwinds perched upon my shoulder I sought the blissful comfort of a deep and healing sleep which came so well and thoroughly that I cannot account for what happened next.
I awoke under a tree in a totally different world, and Shadowwinds had gone missing. My my first thought was to believe I was in the land of the fae, as it had often been said that the standing stones were portals into the eternal world. But when I got an eyefull of this land I realised this was not the case a'tal.
My first experiences here were profound and I realised I had uncovered a part of my destiny. I first set about locating Shadowwinds, as he never left my side. I feared something terrible may have befallen him. Before the gods returned him to me, I met my future companions who were as strange a set of beings to me as I was to them. But I found them to be honourable and fit travelmates, whose wanderlust matches my own and whose loyalty to each other is unquestioned. Eventually I became accustomed to waking amidst a group containing dragons, elvish creatures and deaemonach (which I confess were more strange to me than any of the rest), and I have discovered that I have skills in the art of combat which had remained undeveloped my entire life. While I do not seek it, it often finds me and I welcome it as part of the eternal plan for me. My ability to use my magical and healing skills has improved greatly while traveling with this party, and Shadowwinds is becoming adept in combat as well.
Please visit my companions and learn of them, and perhaps we will tell you how I came to have a set of wings, a healing horn and a baby fire dragon as a new companion. Over a jug of ale, or in some cases, bloodwine, you never know what tales you will hear.