At a glance

Temari is a stylishly clad, friendly grey elf. She readily forms superficial bonds of friendship with shorter-lived races, but is somewhat reserved about deeper commitments -- having experienced some of the heartaches accompanying the lengthy live of the Elven race. Her open manner belies her insecurity about finding a place for herself in this world.

Appearance

Temari is a tall elf, her pale golden hair (held back by a silver circlet) accentuates her violet eyes. In civilised areas, she usually wears a stylishly red shirt and skirt with a silver belt, which accentuates her body. When travelling / adventuring, she usually wears a sturdy light blue blouse over a black skirt. Usually, a large, sleek dark cat accompanies her.

Religion

Much of Temari's early lessons were devoted to understanding of oneness with nature and time. Like most other young elves, some of it clicked immediately in her mind, and most of it went blatantly disregarded. Tales of how the world was created by the Gods for her remained mostly that: tales. She does not actively believe nor disbelieve any god. She considers Corellon more a saint than a god: the most important elf ever lived, forever changing the Elf way of live, touched by holiness, and after shedding his mortal coil still a positive influence for Elves everywhere. Temari understands that such a being could very well be called a god -- then again, she doesn't care for precise labelling of such things.

Biography

One of the first memories of Temari is the sense of eternity radiated by the vast trees of her home village, Dioka. She used to love to play there with Qabykatt -- a small kitten she got from her parents when she was very young. Hours of fun were to be had, just climbing through the village.

After a couple of years, she thought her parents had bestowed Qabykatt on her to teach her responsibility. She was partly right. The shock when Qabykatt died was horrific. The reactions from the other elves equally so. She couldn't care less that this was a lesson to deal with loss and the progression of time and that this was natural and whatnot!

It took her some time to deal with this loss, but time means little for elves. Eventually the sadness of Qabykatt's passing was mitigated by the fondness with which she remembered the countless hours of fun they had had. It was then that she began to fully appreciate the enormity of this first lesson of her parents: not only to teach her responsibility, not just to come to grips with the shorter life span of lesser races, but also not to let this limit her dealings with them. The ache of loss was accompanied by a vivacity of live which was quaint to the Elven way of life.

And, indeed, she found other cats and enjoyed their companionship almost as much as she remembered Qabykatt's -- notwithstanding their eventual demise. Her parents seemed to have been waiting for this development. She was encouraged to take residence in the nearby village of Quisqa, and there to learn a vocation. Temari felt, that she had yet much to learn from Sarutobi, Dioka's resident and flamboyant chief sorcerer. However, as Sarutobi also had indicated, a certain amount of exposure to outside influences was necessary for progression. Therefore, she packed her bags and left.

Her years in Quisqa were instructive. Due to her natural charm, she was quickly accepted into the local society. She started by simple entertainment -- in the beginning mostly using her magical prowess, but slowly learning bits and parts of the manual skills which could duplicate such effects. It was not long, however, before the wizard Seable contacted her. He seemed to think that her magical powers could aid him in either his research or his on-demand production work. Temari accepted this new position, which would still leave her enough time for her entertainment activities, in order to acquire more funds. A travelling merchant had passed through Quisqa, and amongst his wares were a pair of beautiful silk white gloves, which almost seemed to radiate with a pearly white light. They had been specifically enchanted to ease the manual trickery which was the basis of her act.

Seable started by letting Temari gather spell-components. He pointed out imperfections in the gathered material, and when prompted by her, explained why this mattered. Soon, Temari had a new teacher, one whose style differed radically from Sarutobi's. It was by Seable's attention to details, that she began to understand more about the nature of magic. By the time the merchant revisited Quisqa, she bought the gloves, even though she now considered herself more to be in the employ of the wizard rather then an entertainer.

After several years in this pleasant routine of occasional entertainment for the locals and work for the wizard, Temari ascended one day to Seable's tower (which he had found necessary as a sort of advertisement), to find Sarutobi there. She realised that his appearance meant, that her peaceful life in the village of Quisqa was over. Seable also seemed to have derived the implications of this visit. After exchanging greetings, Sarutobi asked Temari her plans for the future. After all, she was nearing the closure of her first century of life.

This prompted a smile from Temari. She hadn't realised it, but her old mentor was right. Her one hundred birthday would be approaching, and with it the Ritual. Although Temari hadn't made any definite decisions, she felt that she would like to experience life in a less sheltered environment than that provided by either Quisqa or Dioka. These thoughts seemed to make some other things in her mind click, and some of this must have shown on her face. Sarutobi nodded wisely; Seable also seemed to notice this, but of course he knew little of Elf traditions concerning this. Still, he asked when in a tone that indicates he was not referring to a birthday party. To her own surprise, Temari seemed anxious to begin this new chapter in her life -- even though she was somewhat reluctant to say goodbye to the town which had been her home for more than seventy years.

Sarutobi returned to Dioka in preparation of the festivities. A week later, a small group travelled to Dioka as well. Her dear friends had come forth and travelled with her. Most of them had an inkling that something more was afoot than merely a grand celebration. They found little trouble, and arrived late in the afternoon in the forest. When the sun began to set, they crossed the boundary between Dioka and the rest of the forest. Temari's human friends all noticed the change, and were excitingly talking this "invisible border" over with each other. Although expected, she still found it strange that they had not seen the signs marking the border as clearly as any signpost.

Dioka was as beautiful, as grand and as interwoven with nature as she remembered it. It felt like coming home, and though she would soon be leaving, she felt warmed by this feeling. After seeing to lodgings for her guests from Quisqa, Temari spent the next day meeting with various old friends. The Quisqavians spent the day drinking in the sight of Dioka, which is evidence of a bonding with nature which transcends the understanding of most mortals.

Come evening, by the light of the setting sun, a light was barely visible in the darker part of the sky. Instinctively, Temari knew that the source of this light was not the moon or a star, and her heart skipped a beat. Could it be the Harbinger of Wonders? What else could it be? And what if it was? She remembered the tales of the three times the Ritual had been invoked when the comet lighted the sky. The first elf to undergo the Ritual in such a fashion became encased in a golden light (instead of the usual white). When he contacted Dioka again, he had prospered in an unprecedented way.

Naturally, the second time there was much excitement, but apparently the Elf undergoing the ritual at the time seemed not distracted by it. She was encompassed in a bright green light. She was never seen again, although it was divined that she still lived and was in no immediate danger or need.

The third account, the most recent, still chilled Temari to the bone when she recalled it. After the second experience, some began to believe that the Elf had wasted the opportunity granted to her by the Harbinger. This feeling grew, and for the third time the appearance of the Harbinger coincided with the Ritual, the candidate was convinced that it had been so (even though this had happened long before his birth). He had become exuberant with excitement, and seemed to take his imminent prosperity as a certainty. He vainly went with no specific items into the Ritual, where he was entombed in a red light.

His desecrated, headless body was found a couple of miles in the wood.

Temari distinctly remembered Sarutobi's feelings on this subject: "Many great elven philosophists have let their thoughts dwell on the subject, but in the end they all came to the conclusion that there was no indication whatsoever of whether the influence of the Harbinger would be benign or malign. Bollocks, I say. I believe it simply strengthens the effects of the Ritual. Yes, I believe the ritual will still set you on your path - however!"

"However! I think that the principal shall receive what is deserved, what is desired, and what is required." Easy for him to say...
Temari looked up one final time. The light had become more pronounced, and although it was still indeterminable, the look was enough to convince her. She would not be amongst the Elves who still stood in the circle when the light receded, holding their hands out while the light coalesced into an object. Her experience would also differ from "Lucky" Jira's.

A involuntary smile came upon her. Who would have believed it, being teleported 40 meters away, into the bedroom of a fair Elven maiden who had come to visit? Jira was so ashamed of it, he stayed hidden until well into the night and then snuck out. But Saruche (the Elf maiden) had heard him, and followed him... from then on it had become hard to separate truth from fiction, but in the end the two were married. Sarutobi loved the story, partly on account of the implicit lesson (small things leads to big changes), but Temari suspected that deep down Sarutobi was an incurable romantic.

Temari suddenly felt a drop of rain and heaved a sigh of relief. At least the clouds would hide the Harbinger -- well, that is, until the ritual. She felt a hand on her shoulder and felt Sarutobi's presence. "Humans like your mentor, Seable, are rare, Temari. Not only did he also notice it, but he seems to have derived some of the implications. I've got a feeling that that youngster is far wiser then he lets on."

Then, nothing more was said as each realised how hollow phrases like "it will be alright" or "you'll do fine" or "what should I do?" would be. Temari was strengthened by the old Elf's presence, and also by Seable's perceptiveness. The rain let up, and they turned around. Both felt rejuvenated, and neither was surprised to find Seable behind them. They both hugged him, and all felt the moment they had shared resounding through their beings. Then, feeling awkward at speaking, the old wizard asked "I lack the words to proclaim my thoughts, feelings or emotions; but if you would allow me..."

Sarutobi and Temari nodded, and Seable's hands moved with a delicate grace unexpected of a human. Suddenly, the three of them shared their thoughts and their feelings. Temari keenly felt the care both man and Elf felt towards her, and the hint of anxiety of the coming Ritual. She was surprised to find that all three of them contributed equally to the link, but poured her feelings and emotions into them.

How long they stood there, none of them could tell, but when the link ended, all three felt they had grown. Temari looked with profound respect upon Seable. She had had a glimpse into the inner workings of his mind, and was amazed at the depths which she had never fully understood of this man. The same held true Sarutobi. Both of them gazed smilingly upon each other and then congratulated each other on having a part in the training of such a fine pupil.

By evening, a patch of sky over the village had cleared -- as was expected. The Quisqavians were somewhat surprised by this, but realised that the Elves of Dioka had seen this coming. The banquet was swiftly set, and the festivities commenced!

It was a joyous party - officially a farewell party, and although it hadn't been that drastic the last few Rituals, Elves live long enough to realise that this time it could be different. So Temari drank in all the sights of her friends, their joy, her home town, the magnificent trees, everything. It wasn't long before a tune was played and people began to dance. She felt especially fond about Gerard, who, after two glasses of wine, had gotten enough courage in him to ask one of the Elven girls for a dance. It made a funny sight, a graceful Elf besides Gerard, whose awkwardness seemed even more pronounced in the beginning. But soon he was merrily dancing, as were all of her friends.

The height of the evening was signalled by the appearance of the full moon over the patch in the sky. It was a time for speeches, toasts words of praise. Customary to Elven tradition, there were a gifts for the initiate -- carefully selected to celebrate the century of life and to be useful in or after the Ritual.

Her Quisqavian friends had bought her a beautiful, stylish belt (which Temari had been considering buying the last five times the merchant had visited Quisqa, only to be put of by its price).The belt was enchanted so as to present the wearer on her best.
Seable bestowed a elegant silver circlet on her. The circlet's magic increased the wearer's magic potential.
Sarutobi presented a special green glove to her, on which Ehlonna's unicorn was embroidered. The glove, explained Sarutobi, would allow her to heal wounds several times per day. She remembered the last time the Harbinger was in the sky during the Ritual, and derived some ease of rest from having the glove hang from her belt.

The time had come. All the Elves took up the ritualistic, hauntingly beautiful chant. Their combined voices seemed to drive away the clouds, expanding the clear patch of sky. Suddenly both suns became visible in the dark night sky. The Quisqavians let out an audible gasp, as the suns did not light up the night sky, but only cast their lights on the forest floor. Temari stepped forward, eyes no longer on the heavens, towards the lighted space and the Tree of Age. She expected the hiatus in the chant as the hole in the clouds had expanded enough to bring the Harbinger into view.

Events from there seemed to go swift and at a crawl at the same time. Before she knew it, the light from the two suns and the moon had focused on the Tree, which seemed to be pulsating with it. The Tree grew brighter and brighter, when suddenly a rainbow of colours struck it. The Harbinger, she thought, feeling eager anticipation (the light seemed red), somewhat afraid (now it seemed white), confident (golden it turned), and some apprehension (green). The myriad of colours almost dazzled her. She instinctively put a hand on her abdomen and felt the reassuring touch of the green glove. This calmed her (the whirling light seemed to settle towards a greenish teint).

The chant suddenly struck up, the intensity of the light increased and Temari felt the magic tingling through her body, as though each particle of her was examined. She felt on top of the world, she felt great, she felt... she felt she noticed that the light was turning red. She felt dismay (more red), then frustration (redder still). As the light became blinding, she felt the years past and a sliver of a possibility of what might lie ahead, and she accepted. Let the light shine red! She would do her best, come what may!

The blood-colored light coalesced, and Temari felt herself being drawn into... somewhere. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash of blue, she vanished.

She found herself standing in the evening shade at the edge of a wild jungle. Temari was amazed to find she was holding a healthy piece of raw beef and several other odds and ends, until she realised that together these were the items used to find an animal companion. Only the beef seemed out of place...

Temari began her preparations and soon had to use magic to light the area. The sounds from the jungle slowly faded, as the night began to fall in this strange land. Temari was curious what animal would venture forth from the jungle. Perhaps a snake, or a small ape. She was pretty sure that there no cats in the jungle -- well, no small ones.

A sudden growl at dawn put her on her alert. She suddenly saw one possible use for the beef: it could be used to distract any big cats attempting to interrupt this. The jungle around her fell quiet, almost into an expectant hush. Temari felt, more than saw, a sleek shadow stalking the perimeter of her magical circle from the undergrowth.

To prepare to ward of this beast, Temari dropped the beef and withdrew her wand. The low growl changed in tone, from a hungry, mean snarl to an excited grumble. Suddenly a black shape darted from the bushes to her side to her. Before she had time to react, the beast was upon her... or more accurately, before her, both paws on the beef, eating contently away.

The beast was a living contradiction. Too large to be a cat, too small to be a jungle cat. Too black to be anything but a panther, but his eyes portrayed an intelligence and a sweetness beyond that of any cat she had ever seen. Before she she realised it, the cat had stood up on its hind legs, put its front paws on her and started licking her face.

"Oh Tasurn!", she exclaimed as she hugged him. Looking into his eyes, she knew she had found her animal companion. High above, a bright blue light overshone the early rays of the suns.