While at the river by herself, washing clothing and linen for the geisha bardic school, she had her first period. This did not surprise her as her mother had already educated her regarding puberty changes. What her mother did not tell her was that you would start to hear voices in your head.
<"Do you want to live in this place your whole life or would you like to see the world, child?">
"Who's there? Stop hiding and come where I can see you." Starigati told whoever just spoke to her.
<"You want to see me, child? Are you sure?">
"Yes"
<"As you wish, child. Look at your reflection in the water and you will see me.">
A bit confused at how someone under the surface of the water could be speaking so clearly, Starigati, looked at the water and saw her reflection, and then saw the face of a dragon emerging from her own face, until her face was no longer visible, "Now that you have seen me, answer my question, child. Would you like to see the world or do you want to spend your life on this island?"
Seeing the dragon's mouth move as it talked, the voice was much deeper than it was before. <"My friend Dobu plans to travel to Absolom to become a Pathfinder."> Her own voice sounded different. <"Why does my voice sound different?">
The reflection of the dragon, her reflection...spoke again, "We have a bond, child, and while you host me others cannot see or hear me, and when we swap places, others can see me but not see or hear you. Would you like to travel with your friend?"
Still not fully comprehending what exactly was happening, Starigati answered the question truthfully, <"It would be fun to accompany Dobu, but I do not have any interest in becoming a Pathfinder. He would be studying at their Grand Lodge for years. What would I do while he is enrolled at the Pathfinder school?">
"Finding hidden treasures."
<"We would need a treaure map for that.">
"No we do not. For I was the one who buried the treasure."
<"This is the Shackles. Chances are any treasure you buried here might have been discovered by a pirate already.">
"The first treasure we would be digging up is not in The Shackles. It is in Iblydos. So, I ask again, child. Do you want to spend your life here or become a treasure hunter?"
Starigati ponders the question for a few minutes, <"Becoming a treasure hunter could be fun, but if Dobi needs my help or wants me to accompany him, for his travel to Absalom and his travels from there after his time training at the Grand Lodge, I would want that to take precedent over finding your treasure. Is that okay?>
The dragon smiles, "Those are acceptable terms, Starigati. Do you want to secure our pact?"
<"Not yet. I want Dobi to benefit from the magic items from your treasure as well.">
"That is acceptable, Starigati. Any other terms you want to add?"
<"Would we need more than you and me to uncover your treasure?>
"We should not for the treasure I hid in Iblydos. For some of the other treasures I hid, we might need to ally ourselves with a few others to retrive my treasures."
<"Then in addition to Dobi, any allies that help us should each get an item from each of the buried treasures they help us retrieve.">
"There are certain items that are to remain mine, as well as certain items you are to take posession of. As for the rest, I can wait another century or two before reacquiring them after your friend and our future allies have benefitted from having them during their lifetimes. Are you satisfied with the terms, Starigati?"
<"Yes.">
Starigati sees the reflection of the dragon lift its right front leg from the water and bring its claw to its face and start to rend into its scales below its right eye, Starigati can feel the pain of the flesh under her right eye being shredded, "We are now bonded. It is time to start your magic lessons. The first lesson is to heal the pain of our pact wound, though the scar will remain. This scar is more than just a symbol of our pact. In time it will gain the power to mend any other wounds you...I...we gain."
Starigati watches as the reflection of the dragon recedes, as her own face seems to emerge out of the dragon's head, though unlike the dragon's head, the size of her head never changes in size as the dragon's size gets smaller until it vanishes within Starigati's own reflection.
The dragon instructs Starigati how to cast the Soothe spell, and the pain goes away, but the scars below her right eye remain.
<"Would you like to suprise your friend Dobi that you are now a spellcaster too?">
Starigati smiles.
