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A life in the winter

is fraught with peril

Tsubaki was born Tsuga Kokeshi, the first son to his parents, and part of a line of woodworkers who specialized in making wooden toys for children. Tsuga was was raised as well as a single father could manage, his mother passing in the ordeal of childbirth. Tsuga's town was unfortunately not free from the grasp of the wild, and his inquisitiveness was always pitted against the need for caution to survive. It wasn't uncommon for young children who wandered off to disappear for good, or even for parties of men who raided the forest for wares to come back a member short. What drew his attention, was the presence of those who called themselves Hunters and Huntresses. Armed with their wits, weapons, and the presence of magic, these heroes would, at least from the perspective of Tsuga, slay the beasts for nothing but fame.[break][break]

Perhaps it was a stroke of ill fate, or maybe some form of divine prank on the universe, but Tsuga had just begun to place his trust in the Hunters when the long days fell. Up north, days become short, and nights can last for seeming eternities. Without the blessings of the sun, there were all sorts of problems. Although normally both Tsuga and his father would leave the town for the winter, the harvest had been cruel this year, and they could not both leave. Tsuga was dragged, broken in both heart and spirit, to the nearest wall. He was 14, and come the spring, there was nothing left. The Hunters had seen no profit in a town with no gold, and its inhabitants had been left there. Broken in his grief at the news, Tsuga lashed out at his surroundings, picking fights, and getting in to trouble while bouncing from job to job. The noise that echoed in his head was resounding, enraged, and most importantly, disappointed.[break][break]

Tsuga became an isolationist, pushing his work further and further from the city center until he found himself performing grunt labor for an apothecary by the name of Astrid. Undeterred by Tsuga's cynicism and negative attitude, Astrid acted as a mother to the grieving child, and gained his trust eventually. All the while, the voice in the back of his head was prodding, poking, and edging him towards something greater.[break][break]

Tsuga was preparing another batch of base for some advanced potion that Astrid was attempting to refine. It was work he was used to, but it was something that still required care. Tsuga, however, was on the 6th batch of the day, and attempted one step a little too early, causing the bubbling liquid to send sprays of hot goop into the air, burning his forearms. Impatient as ever, Tsuga downeda vial of what he believed to be the right potion without reading the label. His vision swam suddenly, a searing pain suddenly spreading through his entire body, shadows seeming to grip and contort his limbs before he blacked out. The long, sorrowful cry of a wolf was the last thing he heard before he let the blackness embrace him.[break][break]

Tsuga awoke with a soft groan, almost immediately receiving a well timed bop from Astrid. His body felt, strange, and it was almost impossible to pay attention to what Astrid was telling him with the constant howling coursing through his head. The fool had consumed a polymorphic potion instead of a restorative. Not only were the burns now scars, but Tsuga had become a woman as a result. The howling dimmed as Astrid delivered her verdict. Tsuga could make the money herself to pay back the ingredients, but that could take years with Tsuga's current level of skill, and her inability to hold a job. Her other option was to work for Astrid for a year as her pupil, and to take up the trade of Alchemy. With a better understanding of the trade, Tsubaki would be able to have a place to live, as well as a life skill to turn into profit.[break][break]

Tsuga struggled to adjust, but had taken the name Tsubaki in an form of halfhearted resignation, attempting to at least feel comfortable in her new body. The extra self care, the need to wear additional undergarments, and even the changes to simple things like her height and musculature, all proved difficult adjustments for the former man. What had happened, however, was a cessation of the mystic outbursts that had plagued her. The voice in her head had grown seemingly quieter in recent weeks too. Perhaps it was a side effect of the potion, or maybe it was something greater. Her answer came one night, stargazing out her window. A voice she'd only ever heard in distant echoes and howling gales spoke to her. It was calm, serene, and warm. It offered her assurance, but beyond that it offered her something more: its name, and a chance to become something beyond a terrified child. The voice spoke of the pains of her childhood, stirring her convictions. In that night, she formed a pact with the voice, vowing to succeed where the Hunters before her had failed.