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Even among Clan Vanguard, Desertscorch is somewhat of an outcast. She is kind enough in her interactions with others, yet nobody seems to know what to make of her -- not since she came to them after traveling alone for months through the desert wastes. Upon her arrival, the loner brought an urgent warning that there was going to be a plague among the local ecosystem; one which would spread from herd animals to the Clan, potentially causing many deaths.
As it happened, Clan Vanguard had just suffered through such an illness, and only in the previous week had the healers successfully cured those who were sick. Neighboring groups were still afflicted, but the Clan was lucky enough to have several cats trained in medicine. So with disaster already behind them, Desertscorch's message carried more questions than answers. Who was this stranger, and how was it that she decided to warn the Clan about this past event, which she believed was yet to occur?
Everyone was curious, and rumors spread like wildfire, but sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Desertscorch told the monarch that she had an unusual ability -- a gift, perhaps, which had come to her during her travels. The specifics were unclear to her, but occasionally she would have a vision; she could see an event that was either going to happen at some unspecified time in the future, or one which had already happened, sometimes generations into the past. Based on the vision alone, she often had no idea whether it was based in the past or future. But she'd been dreaming of the plague for weeks now, and based on all the information she was able to uncover, Desertscorch believed it was an omen of a future event, and she knew who would be affected. She was close this time; just a bit too late.
Seeing as she had no home and this unique skill of hers was highly intriguing, Shadewhisper invited Desertscorch to stay as part of the Clan. Perhaps the Clan's spiritual advisors could work with her and learn more about what, exactly, was going on.
As soon as the news spread, Desertscorch became the subject of much debate and controversy. The Clan already had a prophet: first Ravenwish, then her daughter Crowspirit. Now, in her old age, Crowspirit was teaching her offspring about the family's spiritual gift, hoping that they had inherited the same power. Prophecy was in their bloodline. And Desertscorch was still a stranger, not trusted with their secrets just yet.
Desertscorch wanted to stay with Clan Vanguard. Everyone always thought she was a little crazy when she told them about her gift, but the Clan at least had given her a home. She wasn't sure about their prophets, but it seemed to her that they were rather different, working with spirits and divining events that were yet to come. What she did -- it was less interacting with ghosts, and more... connecting with a place, perhaps. The land itself told her a story; whispered like a secret, just for her. She had seen historic droughts and floods and migrations, observed massive battles that were the stuff of legends... once, she heard a noise like thunder, and watched the world become consumed by the dense black smoke of a volcanic eruption. Desertscorch found that exact mountain one day on her travels; its peak was still intact, not yet having become a volcano. Who would believe her if she told them that one day, the very ground under their paws would dramatically change?
There is so much she doesn't know, but Desertscorch holds countless puzzle pieces, uncertain whether they are even meant to create a single image. She only hopes that Clan Vanguard might help make things a little bit clearer.
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