Wyrennon the Silken

To live with the Rhythm in one's heart is to share a profound connection with the Mistwood and its inhabitants. It links those bonded to it in natural harmony, leading the Sylvan to form a profound understanding with and of one another. Should a Sylvan leave the Mistwood, this bond will fade and the Rhythm that reverberated through their bones is replaced with deafening silence, a fate only those of iron will can face. As such, ambassadors, Sylvan willing to travel the world with little or no access to the Rhythm, are a rare kind. Wyrennon was warned of the pain and loneliness that were synonymous with an ambassador’s duty, but the Elf’s fascination with the outside world was too great to be swayed. She studied the cultures of the world and was trained in the arts of Rhythmless communication. Without the Rhythm to comprehend their peers, non-Sylvan relied on facial expressions and tones of voice to display their emotions, and showing the wrong smile could cause insult to races the world over. The benefit of non-Sylvan not having an instant and transparent understanding of one another’s sentiments, however, was that they were easy to deceive, and Wyrennon’s training included espionage and manipulation. It went beyond that also, for an ambassador has to be self-reliant in all ways, and so she learned martial arts and healing magics. Such was her skill with words, and her physical grace, she earned her moniker of the 'Silken'. When her training was complete, Wyrennon’s tutors presented her with a two-pronged staff, a symbol of an ambassador’s dualities; a peace keeper and a spy, a dealer of truths and lies, a Sylvan with and without the Rhythm. Lastly, she was given a final tool for her duty, the wind-whisperer’s helm. Carved from the golden palms that grow deep within the Mistwood, the helm maintains a weak connection to the Rhythm anywhere in the world, and amplifies the wearer’s senses, allowing them to hear distant or muffled sounds in sharp detail and see through matter such as walls and locked doors. Wyrennon’s first missions were to the Kingdom of Yakai, to strengthen the ties between the Sylvan and the Shadowkin. The further she traveled from the Mistwood, the weaker the Rhythm sounded in her heart. When she reached the Shadowkin’s capital of Kumoshiro, Wyrennon’s connection to the Rhythm finally severed and an empty depression smothered her mind. This overwhelming apathy sapped almost all her passion for her mission and threatened to crush her spirit. Had it not been for the slightest whisper of a song coming from her helm, she might not have found the will to speak with her hosts. The helm became a precious link to her home, but the more the Shadowkin showed her of their lands, the more she ate of their food, danced to their music, and listened to their stories, the happier she became. The world outside the Mistwood was a place of its own beauty. Wyrennon’s desire to learn of the world’s cultures bloomed again. The people of Yakai possessed beliefs and virtues worthy of defending yet her investigations and eavesdropping revealed that cities were rife with backstabbing and in-fighting. A few Shadowkin even whispered of expanding their territory into the Mistwood. It was clear to Wyrennon that her duty to the world was to cure it of division. The Rhythm could unite divided nations, allow cultures to flourish, and diminish threats to her home. On future missions, Wyrennon departed the Mistwood with flowers and offered them as gifts to her hosts. In time, those flowers grew and hummed the Rhythm’s harmonies even away from the Mistwood. Not only would it make travel around the world easier to bear for Sylvan, through the Rhythm Wyrennon could establish connections with local insects and arachnids to use as spies. Soon, she would have eyes all over the world.