The Rowan would be one of the judges.
Some argued against it. Others argued for it. Nobody would accuse the Rowan of being prejudiced against a particular group, she was too impartial and aloof in her everyday manner to make that sort of charge stick. Many who didn't like the idea of their thoughts being read or possibly even altered really had trouble with the concept of a telepath as powerful as the Rowan being involved.
It spread more slowly amongst the Earth peoples, as well as the idea of how powerful a telepath the Rowan actually was.
Some were daunted enough to turn their tickets in. Others might have been frightened or intimidated, but merely viewed it as one more hurdle to overcome.
The simple fact was that the Rowan was indeed as powerful a telepath as it was possible to be. It was entirely likely that she would end up what had been termed a "Psion Uncarnate" - a being of pure mind freed from corporate existence. Her mental powers were such that with some minor effort she could pierce a large number of magical protections. It was also well known that she disliked crowds, the mental mutter of thousands of voices causing her discomfort.
So, visiting Earth with its teeming throngs was a measure of last resort.
Instead, she turned her attention first to the candidates put forward by the various factions of her kingdom. She'd start with the one she was most familiar with.
Her name was Xarra and she was a cleric of Eilistraee. Her story was similar to many of those drow who had ended up in Ranma's kingdom. She had spent her first century of life growing up in a hostile land where treachery was expected, cruelty encouraged, and just plain viciousness rewarded.
Others, like herself, had been caught up within the inter-House warfare and (again like herself) had simply had their fill. Those remaining behind called them weak among other things. Xarra had considered that, and rejected it. One of the major tenets of the Spider-Queen's rule was that all the intrigue and cruelty was necessary - that Lolth was the only true god and destined to devour all others. That the constant hatred and ambition made one stronger and that only the strong survived.
The problem was that she could see more clearly than some of her fellows that this was not the case, she had not been as blinded by the overwhelming hatred most drow carried in their hearts like some proud banner. She had wanted out, preferably before someone slipped a knife into her back or placed her still beating heart on an altar, and so one day had simply packed up and left.
It had been while captured by a surface elf patrol that a priestess of Eilistraee recruited her. At first she had been more than a little skeptical, the faith being completely at odds with what she had expected. To be able to trust people? A god that rewarded faith and respect, not promoted fear and hatred?
Her conversion to the faith had been slow at first, as it always was, but once past the hurdles it became enthusiastic and then past the early fanaticism to the calm acceptance that lay beyond it.
She had even died once for her faith, making the same invitation she herself had once been given. The opportunity had been misused, a surface elf had left herself open, and by the time things had run their course she had taken a sword through her chest.
She still bore the scar, a white crescent like a ragged moon, slightly below and to the right of one breast.
Since she was Raised, she had been a little quieter. A little more thoughtful. A little less enthusiastic.
In human terms she'd be in her early twenties, though she was actually well past her first century of life. She had been a fighter long before becoming a priestess, and her slender build hid a wiry strength that was only surpassed by her elfin grace. The longsword she'd once bore and that had been stolen by her killer had been replaced in time by a slender rapier.
Xarra had spent years watching the young boy grow up at the castle. She had been his first arms instructor, as well as the healer who had bound the inevitable wounds and scrapes he'd gotten for himself. Though she had scolded him for being such a scamp at many times, there had always been affection for the young prince. Gratitude for the opportunity he afforded her people of course, but a personal affection as well.
Then had come the time when the prince had been seen as old enough, and the idea had begun circulating about the prince wedding.
Xarra had begun examining various women of the court and had found reasons that all were unsuitable. When one of the superiors among the faithful had pointed out that her own heart was not clear on the matter, she'd automatically denied it. Then she'd examined her own heart on the very matter and found something she'd not expected.
It wasn't a case of being in love with the prince or wanting to drag him off to the nearest marriage-couch and wildly couple with him. She liked and respected him, despite frequently being exasperated with him, and she genuinely wanted him to be happy. She had examined her own feelings in depth and determined that she could easily fall for the prince in the human manner or in drow affection. In which case dragging him bodily off to the nearest marriage-couch and teaching him entirely new lessons was a definite possibility.
Eilistraee did not forbid drow joining with members of other races. She didn't encourage them either. The followers of her faith often formed long lasting partnerships, most often with other dark elves, and overwhelmingly often with large families resulting.
There being more than one way to spread the numbers of faithful, so to speak.
That said, there were dark-light elf joinings as well as the proof of the occasional dusky skinned half-elf to prove that drow remained a fertile race and that many drow turning away from the Spider-Queen went through an experimental stage.
Xarra joining the number of candidates was therefore seen in a number of lights, depending on who was doing the viewing. The most common outside the faith was that Xarra was simply seeking to protect the prince, much as she'd always done as one of his guards and teachers. The most common view among those who worshipped Eilistraee was that Xarra had finally "loosened up" some and was showing an interest for the first time in pairing off with a male.
Ranma was a little put off in that the girl who had been like a big sister and so grown up and old when he was younger, but due to elven aging was now closer to his own age and apparently now a bridal candidate.
Rowan considered Xarra, her motives and feelings, and turned her gaze elsewhere the moment the drow began to notice her presence. Next she decided to inspect:
(Posted Wed, 12 May 2004 09:33)
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