Occupation: Sparrow's banditing past is (mostly) behind her. When not doing work for das Spiegelbild, Sparrow, Sparrow-by-day, anyway, runs a small curio shop in the village near the twins' mansion, which gives her the chance to gather information from the locals, chat people up, and so on. She's the sort that always has to be doing something, and it keeps her busy. Running the shop also gives gives her the chance to handle lots of nice, old jewelry, as the local ladies like to bring their pieces in for repair. She's also useful as an all-purpose recorder.

Likes:

Food: Sure, everyone likes food. Sparrow's love for it, however, comes close to foodie status. Thanks to the nature of her previous profession, she occasionally got to try more exotic foods, like fruits from the south and unusual cheeses and the like. This fostered in her a wide palate at an early age, one which she likes to nurture when the opportunity presents itself. Sparrow's always the first one in line if there's something new and interesting (or old and delicious) to be eaten. And of course, there were lean times in the marshes, when merchants weren't coming through and food was hard to come by, which made it that much more delicious when they actually got some.

Jewelry and Other Shinies: Getting to loot and plunder on a regular basis, and thus being occasionally exposed to it, fostered a deep love in her for the glittery and the sparkly. They were unusual and different, especially when you compared their glint and color to the dull greys and greens of the marshes, and when she was allowed to handle them, she was a happy girl. A good way to get on her good side is to give her some pretty things to play with. Her love for all that glitters, and the desire to have it all, has resulted in her sometimes being reluctant to return fixed jewelry pieces to their owners, and behavior that occasionally borders on kleptomania. As a result, she typically needs a keeper whenever she's going into a situation, such as an open market, where there are lots of pretty things within easy grabbing reach.

The Marshes: Sparrow has a deep affinity for the marshes, and not just because she turns into a frog creature on a regular basis. She knows the marshes, she knows how to work them and the perils contained therein, but to her, they're also a source of comfort, a way to reconnect to her life and her family from way back when. Even the swampy smell typically associated with marshes is a welcomed comfort. She finds them very peaceful, and as a result, has a thing for the pond in the courtyard of the twins' estate. In both forms (though much, much more often in her frog form), Sparrow can be found sitting in the pond, communing with the fish and the lotus flowers (which are a particular favorite of hers). She does her best thinking sitting there.

Nighttime: Once upon a time, 'nighttime' would have fallen under dislikes for Sparrow. Now, however, with her more sporadic changing schedule, the night is, at least partially, open to her. She loves going out and experiencing night where she can go where she wants without worrying over who sees her. She can go to a TAVERN AT NIGHT. To her, this is a huge thing. The world seems to change completely at night, and she wants to get out there and experience it. If it's a clear night with a full moon, you can bet Sparrow is going to want to go out and do things, preferably with other people.

Practical Jokes: Some of the bandits weren't the most cerebral of folks, and, between them and her somewhat violent tendency, a love of practical jokes, especially ones with a physical aspect, was fostered. That's not to say she can't get more intelligent jokes, but slip on a banana peel and fall in the mud? Sparrow will be rolling on the floor laughing. She'll be laughing as she helps you out, even if you've hurt yourself. It's not necessarily meant to be mean spirited--it's just so damn funny. Her enjoyment of physical humor doesn't just extend to others though--if she's the one that fell in the mud, and assuming she didn't hurt herself, she'll be laughing hysterically with everyone else. She tries to avoid cackling when someone's really hurt themselves, or it would really just be bad form, but it's hard to do. She'll be practically bursting with the need to laugh at the fact that "Ha ha someone put a whoopee cushion on your seat you LOSE."

Challenges: If you say to Sparrow, "You can't do this, you're not able to", that is a throw-down-the-gauntlet CHALLENGE to her, and she will so take you on over it. She loves to overtake the bar on something, to prove both to herself and to others that nothing's out of reach for her, even if it takes her a while to accomplish it. This like is also fostered by the fact that many things come easily to Sparrow, seeing as they only require memorization to get right. However, if something requires skill and practice, then it becomes 100% more interesting for her, and she will throw herself into doing it, as there's that possibility that she might not be able to do it.

Hair: Of the head variety. Sparrow has a thing for hair, and loves everything about it--the look, the feel, the smell. It's just so nice and soft and it can be really silky, and she loves to run her fingers through it. If she likes you at all, then she'll be interested in playing with your hair. You can gain serious brownie points with her if you let her, especially if it's long enough to weave into braids and such. She takes meticulous care of hers, when she has it anyway, washing it rather regularly and keeping it healthy and working scented things into it and the like.

Dislikes:

The Dark: To a certain extent, this goes without saying. Thanks to her enchantment, Sparrow equates the dark with confinement, seclusion, and the coming out of her frog form, which she isn't particularly enthused about. Darkness makes her irritable and paranoid, and therefore, she avoids being in the dark whenever possible. One of the first things she asked for when she joined das Spiegelbild was a magical nightlight for her room.

Hats: Despite the fact that they serve not only as a way to obscure her face, as well as her distinctive elf ears (although the wings are still a dead giveaway), Sparrow isn't particularly fond of hats. They are cumbersome, they get in the way, they blow off, and she can't see what's above her (who knows? There could be a giant hawk coming to take her away and eat her the moment she goes into frog form). She'll wear hats if she has to, but if given the choice? Hell no. She'll go bare-headed, thank you.

Crowds: Primarily a necessity-based dislike. Despite the fact that Sparrow can make her wings go away visually, that doesn't change the fact that they're still there, and can be touched or otherwise felt. When she's in a crowd, it becomes that much harder to avoid people getting close enough to her back to feel them. When crowds are imminent, Sparrow has a tendency to stay on the outskirts, a wallflower to the end out of anxiety that unknown people could get too close to her. If it's definitely unavoidable, she prefers to have someone she knows behind her, to help provide a buffer. People finding out you have wings when you look like you shouldn't is a bad thing.

Horses: There are a lot of reasons Sparrow is skittish around horses. For starters, they're big. The fact that she isn't the tallest person out there makes them seem only bigger. They're not only big, but they're strong, capable of kicking your head off and using it for a soccer ball. That in and of itself wouldn't be such a big deal if they weren't so unpredictable. Sparrow gets very worried about how she's acting when around one, afraid the wrong movement or noise will cause it to rise up and trample her to death. The fact that horses were somewhat impractical in the marshes, and subsequently being unexposed to them for most of her early years, hasn't helped matters either. As a result, Sparrow shies away from them, and when she does have to get near them, or, heaven forbid, has to ride one? She may as well be trying to do the fox trot over lava. Thanks, but she'll walk.

Smoke: Sparrow possesses a sensitivity to smoke that causes her to be unable to tolerate smoke levels higher than those put out by a small campfire. She coughs, her eyes get watery and red, and it gets very hard for her to breathe very fast. The symptoms only get worse when she's in frog form. Needless to say, she avoids the more technologically advanced cities, with their much more liberal presence of smoke, like the plague. As far as she can tell, nothing can come of technology that puts out smoke in such quantities, particularly when it does horrible things to her lungs. Of course, Sorrel and Fennel approve of this view.

Hobbies:

Jewelry Making/Repair: A hobby that started out of her banditing lifestyle, Sparrow not only enjoys playing with jewelry, but making it as well. She's quite handy with pliers and other such tools, and has a good sense for what stones go well together, what sort of metal to use for a piece, and whatnot. You can tell by looking at the piece in what form Sparrow created it--bold, large pieces with lots of large stones are usually a sign of her day persona, while delicate, intricate works that require much more patience are done by her night persona. She also has an eye for refurbishing and repairing old jewelry, which draws much of the business to her shop. Of course, the people that come in usually end up buying something while they're there, which is gravy on top for her.

Drumming: Music soothes the savage beast, even moreso if the beast can make the music while liberally beating something. When Sparrow really got impossible to deal with as a child, her parents would hand her over to one of the bandits--an old fellow from somewhere to the east that had retired from true banditry, but still hung around to do odd jobs and whatnot. He also played the drum when everyone was in a celebratory mood, and began to teach Sparrow the same, as a way not only to keep her occupied, but also to give her a way to manage her anger. Even today, when Sparrow is particularly frustrated or fuming, it's best to let her go off for a while and beat the bejeezus out of her drum. It's also not a good idea to try to enter her room if the door's shut when she's playing it, particularly if there's shouting to the beat involved. That's not to say that she just beats on it randomly, though. She's experienced to the point where she can put out some pretty good rhythms, and on a good day is willing to collaborate with Zaak in some music making. The old bandit had taught her how to handle a mridangam. Since such drums are little hard to come by, Sparrow started learning the bodhran shortly after her release, saving her hard-acquired mridangam for special occasions and when she really, *really* needs to let loose.

Pottery/Working with Clay: Who doesn't like getting their hands all muddy? Sparrow loves the cool feel of clay, even moreso if she can shape it into something interesting. She enjoys going out and gathering clay for the making of pots and other pieces, which are occasionally given out as gifts, though are more often added to the shelves of her shop. It's actually a rather peaceful pastime for her, though more often utilized in her frog form, considering the meditative nature of it.

Magic: Between her connection to a mirror and her half-elf heritage, Sparrow has a fair bit of magical potential. As a result, she's started learning magic from the twins. Seeing as learning it isn't just rote memorization, it turns out to be a challenge for her, and she loves it. She finds it very gratifying when she masters a new spell, and spends slow days at the shop poring over books the twins have loaned her. Sparrow's learned a fair number of the simple charms, primarily geared towards keeping the shop in order, spiffing up items for sale, and repairing broken tools(though she has made a point of learning some for getting into places she isn't meant to be). She has shown a knack for transmutation, though, most likely an off-shoot of her enchantment. Most commonly, Sparrow uses it to make snacks for herself and other folks at the shop. She's just now started learning how to conjure, primarily to make trinkets for the shop, and hopefully to make metal for jewelry. Secretly, she hopes to get experienced enough to create lotus flowers and other living things.

Aspirations:

The big one, obviously, is to find a way to stop changing all the bloody time. So far, the only way that seems to work is to find someone that will love both halves of her, but that's already happened once, and Sparrow doubts lightning will strike the same place twice, so she's hoping another method will be found. And obviously, she shares das Spiegelbild's goal of stopping the development of technology, seeing as the smoke coming from it makes her want to hack up a lung or two.

Friends and Family:

Mesi Dive: Sparrow's mother. Mesi lived the first several years of her life as the princess of a kingdom to the south of the Nine Kingdoms, and was quite happy and comfortable. All that changed, however, when her jealous sister trapped her in the Sixth Kingdom. She would have died there, had Crane not come along and rescued her. Her life after that was harsher than her life as a princess, but happy, as she had Crane, and Sparrow, despite her enchanted nature, and the Lotus Wraiths, which were a little like one big happy family. That enjoyed raiding merchant caravans. She spent her days mostly doing things around the camp, helping to keep things running. Tragically, her life was cut short by illness. Mesi was a very kind, gentle woman, patient and loving, who laughed quietly, but frequently. She was very striking, even when she was in her homeland, with a graceful build, a dark ocher complexion, vivid green eyes, and long, soft, jet black hair.

Crane Dive: Sparrow's father. Crane was born the third son and eighth child of elvish traders who specialized in the import of stones and gems. Coming from such a huge family, he was frequently lost in the crowd, and didn't really have much in the way of inheritance, as he had two brothers before him, who were much better at running the business anyway. Crane's specialty, on the other hand, was getting into places he shouldn't and finding ways around the rules to get what he wanted. He got a lot of practice too, with seven older siblings to terrorize (he was a master of getting into their things). When he was old enough to realize that his role in the family, ultimately, was going to be squat, he decided to strike out on his own. Eventually, he landed in the pre-Sixth Kingdom, which he saw as stuffy and prim, but prosperous. After trying honest work, he eventually fell in with a group of bandits that made its camp in the marshes. He took to banditing like a fish to water, and quickly worked his way up the ranks, taking his place as leader of the band, which called itself the Lotus Wraiths, when the former head was caught and jailed. Proclaiming himself the Marsh King, Crane elevated the rag tag group to one of the most notorious bands in the area. He was killed during a raid on their hideout.

Crane was a very laid back, casual sort of person, hiding an iron will underneath, which allowed him to turn an unsavory crew into a group that had some semblance of unity and loyalty. While he disregarded traditional rules, and enjoyed relieving people of their belongings (especially if he felt they had it coming), Crane had an undying sense of loyalty and dedication, not only to his band, but to Mesi as well. He had typical elvish features, including a delicate build and the trademark ears. He had a pale complexion, sandy blond hair, and dark blue eyes.

Rehema: Sparrow's aunt. A driven, intelligent woman, Rehema knew what she wanted, and wouldn't stop at nothing to get it. She had a fair bit of brains, one which allowed her to eventually train to be and subsequently become a rather powerful sorceress. While shrewd and thoughtful, Rehema had something of a cruel edge, one which eventually drove her to attempt sororicide for the sake of a man. Believing she succeeded, Rehema married her sister's husband and became queen of the kingdom, but her rather contented life was upturned again when her niece, a half-breed of all things, showed up on her doorstep. Of course, she had to be taken out of the picture, and thus Rehema imprisoned her with the goal of eventually marrying her off someplace far away. The fact that Sparrow managed to escape imprisonment in the palace shook Rehema up quite a bit, causing her to develop a paranoid streak--where had Sparrow gone? Would she seek revenge? Rehema eventually withdrew from almost all of society, and died still looking over her back. While a pretty woman, she wasn't quite as striking as Mesi, with dark brown hair, a dark ocher complexion, a more stocky build than Mesi's, and dark brown eyes.

Edan Kesterson: Sparrow's favorite punching bag-turned-lover. Born into the 'trade', Edan was a competent bandit, but possessing a gentle, kind, affectionate quality that led him to have a few more morals than the average thief. He had no trouble with relieving people of their possessions, but when it came to killing, or even injuring, he wavered, the act haunting him for several weeks afterwards, even if he wasn't the one that committed it. His more gentle nature led him to be a favorite target for Sparrow's tauntings, which he managed to weather reasonably well, enough that he eventually fell in love with both of her halves, and her with him. After taking an arrow in the back during the raid on the Lotus Wraiths' camp, he died from complications. He was somewhat tall, possessing a slim build, with soft brown hair and gentle brown eyes.

Conaloch: The spirit of the marshes the Lotus Wraiths called home. He's a powerful being, having ruled over the marshes for who knows how long. Despite his position of significant power, he is generally a friendly spirit, especially if the people who come through show some respect. That doesn't mean he's completely benign, though, as indicated by the fact that the marshes will still claim the lives of people who don't know what they're doing. The Lotus Wraiths became a subject of particular interest to him, an atypical group of inhabitants in his realm. Since they didn't particularly harm the marshes, he let them be, watching their activities, sharing in their victories and losses. They were kind of like his own personal soap opera. He eventually even showed himself to some of the bandits, occasionally speaking with them, and taking on a sort of godfather-like status to Sparrow. He is old, extremely old, even for nature spirits. As a result, his mind isn't quite what it used to be. He can be rather forgetful and absent-minded, and while powerful, he doesn't always remember how his spells go. In general, though, he's kind of like your sweet old granddad. When appearing to people, he typically takes the form of a white-haired old man, with gentle eyes, a long, white beard, and wrinkled skin, usually materializing as a face in the water of the marshes. He's still around, though older than ever. The enchantment over the Sixth Kingdom didn't make him sleep completely, though he takes a lot more naps than usual.

History:

Okay, settle in, folks. This is gonna be a long one.

In a kingdom far to the south of what would become the Nine Kingdoms, there was once two sisters, Mesi and Rehema, the princesses of the land. Both had fallen in love with a handsome, brave man, and vyed for his affections. The elder girl, Mesi, was mild, kind, and loving, and ultimately won his love because of it (the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous helped too). They were eventually married.

Of course, Rehema didn't like this turn of events. And so, driven by jealousy, she executed a scheme to unravel it. She had spent many long years training to be a sorceress (the fact that she wasn't around nearly enough was probably part of the reason why Mesi's new husband wasn't interested in her), and began putting it to use, first cursing Mesi with infertility. Mesi, of course, despaired at the fact that she couldn't have children, and in desperation, went to her magic-using sister, because surely she would be able to help! Rehema petted and consoled her sister, and told her of a flower that grew in marshes to the far north that could help, and offered to help Mesi get there (as this flower was only effective when eaten shortly after picking). Mesi, of course, agreed. And so, the two journeyed to the land that would eventually be known as the Sixth Kingdom.

Rehema led Mesi deep into the marshes, to the point where Mesi couldn't tell which way they had come. It was then that Rehema showed her true colors, and while Mesi was distracted with picking a flower that Rehema had pointed out, attacked her, binding her to a large, gnarled tree. After laughing that Mesi would be eaten by the crows and that she would marry Mesi's husband after telling him the tragic tale of her demise, she used an enchanted cup to escape the marshes.

It was entirely possible that Mesi would have died there, had not a group of bandits, the Lotus Wraiths, on their way home from a raid, come across her. By the time they found her, she was dehydrated and horribly weak, but not so much so that she couldn't make a cry for help when they passed by. They were going to kill her at first, but their leader, intrigued by her unusual appearance and how she managed to rather randomly get tied up in the middle of the swamp, insisted on cutting her down and taking her back to their hideout deep in the marsh (it made an excellent hiding place for a group of unsavory characters such as themselves, due to the marsh's treacherous and impenetrable nature to those who don't know their way around it).

Over time, the Lotus Wraiths' leader, an elf by the name of Crane, nursed Mesi back to health, and out of the depression that she had fallen into in light of her sister single-handedly ruining her life. While he would have allowed her to leave, Mesi felt the need to stick around to repay him and his compatriots for saving her. And so she was soon integrated into the bandits' world. She found herself growing closer to Crane too, who reciprocated her feelings, and they soon had themselves a tidy little relationship, one that eventually resulted in Mesi falling pregnant (the infertility curse that Rehema had used on Mesi required upkeep. Since she thought Mesi was dead, she didn't feel the need to maintain it, and it had lapsed). The imminent baby was celebrated by much of the camp, and the couple's child-to-be was blessed by Conaloch, the spirit of the marsh who, being unconcerned with material things and who they belong to, rather liked the pack of bandits.

Mesi's baby girl was delivered early one morning, and everyone knew about it--not only because Crane was mighty excited and had to run and tell everyone, but because their daughter's first breath was a scream. So was the second one. And the third. In fact, she only really stopped screaming when she was fed (but then picked back up again when she was done). While everyone agreed that she was a beautiful baby, it was marred by her general ill-temperedness, unwilling to settle down. She soon was dubbed Sparrow, a poetic attempt at softening the blow that was her impossibly difficult (and loud) nature.

Mesi and Crane were convinced that this was simply how Sparrow was, and that they weren't going to be getting much sleep for a while. Which is why they were a little concerned when her wailing stopped shortly after the sun went down. Checking on where Sparrow slept, Crane was horrified to find in her place an ugly, slimy, generally disquieting creature that looked like it would be more at home somewhere in the marsh rather than in a cradle. Convinced it had crawled in and eaten his daughter, he was inches from killing it when he noticed its eyes--sad, gentle, and the same green as Mesi's. It was soon determined that this was Sparrow, now a strange, ugly, tadpole-like being. When Sparrow reverted back to her pretty, yet ill-tempered self in the morning, Mesi and Crane went looking for the marsh spirit that had blessed Sparrow before she was born.

As it turned out, Conaloch, while well-meaning, was a little absent-minded and had botched the blessing. He had intended for it to help her find love when she was older. Instead, it became a challenge--by day she would be a half-human, half-elf beauty with nasty, violent mannerisms, by night a frog-creature, ugly and horrifying, but quiet and kind. If someone could love both sides of her, and she could return that love in both forms, then the enchantment would be broken. With the spirit unable to reverse the enchantment, Sparrow was stuck as she was.

And so, life went on. Sparrow-by-day grew lovely physically, but was a horrid, awful person, tempestuous, cruel, and violent. Sparrow-by-night evolved from a strange little tadpole creature to a strange little frog creature, gentle, thoughtful, and kind. While Sparrow-by-day's mannerisms were less than delicate, she did make an excellent bandit (as long as someone went along with her to make sure she didn't engage in any unnecessary violence). At night she wasn't really suited to the looting and plundering lifestyle, but Crane found ways to integrate her into raids. When they were attacking a particularly well-guarded or otherwise sturdy target, Sparrow would be sent in ahead of time to hover on the outskirts of the encampment, enough to be sighted and convince the guards that they were being haunted by a malevolent spirit. It would put them off enough that it would give the bandits an edge. And considering that the only folks that knew the true nature of the 'spirit' were Crane's inner circle (Sparrow was kept isolated at night otherwise), many of the bandits believed they had a spirit on their side too, and gave them a little morale boost. It also meant there was less of a chance of one of their fellows blabbing the truth. Actually, aside from the terrible mood swings and the need to stay in her parents' home at night, life was pretty much okay for Sparrow. Not that it didn't have the occasional tragedy, however. In particular, the year Sparrow turned twelve had a very harsh winter, causing Mesi to fall deathly ill. She managed to linger for a few weeks before passing away, much to the anguish of both Crane and Sparrow, who actually ended up showing grief during the day, a rare occurrence.

It should be noted that Sparrow wasn't the only person born at the camp. A few years before she was born, a boy named Edan came into the world. He was a favorite target for torment of Sparrow's in later years, aggravated by the fact that he never fought back. All that changed, however, when Sparrow was fifteen. Edan accidentally stumbled upon Sparrow hiding away one night, and realized that this sad, kind frog creature and the one who agonized him daily were one in the same. They got to talking, and soon he was secretly visiting her nightly. He soon got it into his head to start being actively kind to Sparrow-by-day, even if she continued to torment her. He did little favors for her, tried to be nice to her, and so on. It was slow-going, but it eventually paid off as she softened towards him. While Sparrow-by-night had said she loved him a while ago, it wasn't until Sparrow-by-day had nearly died during a raid gone bad and was quite certain she'd never see him again that she was able to say so during the daytime. It was then that he responded in kind, and the enchantment was broken, the transformations stopped and her life now balanced during both the night and the day.

And that should've been the happily ever after, right? WRONG. Sparrow had about three months with her new-found lover before things went downhill. It was then that one of the members of the band got a little overenthusiastic during a raid and was captured by the authorities. They tortured the location of the Lotus Wraiths' marsh hideout out of him, and staged an attack, designed to disband them once and for all. Edan and Sparrow escaped only at the insistence of Crane, who managed to hold off their attackers long enough to let them get away. Considering the forces they were up against, Sparrow was certain her father was as good as dead. Edan and Sparrow nearly managed to get off scot free, except for the fact that Edan took an arrow to the back. There were a few other escapees, but for all intents and purposes, the attack was a successful one, scattering the members that weren't killed/captured.

Sparrow did her best to care for Edan's wound, but unable to get to a healer without getting recognized and arrested, there was only so much she could do. Eventually, Edan died from infection of the area. With all those dearest to her gone, Sparrow wept in the marsh, unsure what to do and unable to leave the swamp for fear of getting caught. Eventually, Conaloch heard her, and offered to help, providing her with a means of escape. He gave her an enchanted stork feather that would take her on one trip to anywhere she could think of. Remembering her mother's stories of her homeland, and hoping she might find family there, Sparrow closed her eyes and focused on what Mesi told her, remembering every detail of the courtyard where she and her sister played as girls. When she opened them again, she was far to the south of the Nine Kingdoms, in the exact same palace her mother called home once upon a time.

She was eventually found, and taken before the Queen--Rehema, now married to Mesi's old husband. She recognized her sister's daughter, and was just a wee bit peeved to find her sitting on her doorstep, particularly since if her husband found out, she'd have a lot of nasty explaining to do. And so, she put Sparrow up in a room (with guards at the door), and set about finding a way to get rid of her. She struck a deal with a nobleman some distance away that was looking for a wife for his son. If Rehema gave Sparrow to his son, then the nobleman would allocate more metal from his land into her kingdom. Needless to say, when Sparrow heard of this plan, she was livid. Betrayed by her own blood, trapped in a land she really didn't know, she was desperate for some sort of escape.

It came in the form of a visiting dignitary (who also happened to be Queen Kriemhild). Well, sorta. She offered Sparrow a way to get out of the kingdom, and she accepted. Queen Kriemhild never said anything about how she'd be doing it while trapped in a mirror. But that's the way things go.

Personality:

The one-word summary for Sparrow's personality: erratic. Now that that's out of the way, to delve into it a bit more. The period of time Sparrow spent in the mirror gave her body plenty of time to remember the enchantment it had been stuck in for most of her life. As a result, when she was released, her body had reassumed her enchanted state, albeit slightly warped. Her body and mood shift with the amount of light coming from the sun or moon, thus meaning she can be in her frog state during the day if it's overcast, or she can be in her normal state at night if there's a full moon out. The extremes to which she swings are also somewhat muted now, resulting in a Sparrow whose personality borders bipolar, rather than something more like full-out multiple personality.

Those who experience Sparrow in her 'day' state get to see a woman who is rather bold and forward, unafraid to speak her mind, even if it's not the best thing to say at the moment, and express what it is she's feeling. She's rather gregarious towards most people, a trait fostered from her work in the curio shop. She laughs loudly and easily, almos to the point of being boisterous. When Sparrow's in the room, you know it. Luckily, her penchant for violence has abated somewhat, and no longer revels in doing things like attempting to inflict as much pain and draw as much blood as possible from an opponent. It has, however, left her with a stronger stomach than the average person, able to handle things that a more delicate, refined lady might have issues with. She hardly bats an eye at excessive blood, and can handle some tasks that would make other people's stomachs turn. Her banditing days has also given her an edge when it comes to dealing with unsavory people, knowing how to detect them and how they behave.

One way her boldness comes forth is in her tendency to take charge. Not necessarily in that she tries to usurp power, but if a leader is needed, Sparrow is the first one to step up. She's quite convinced she knows what's what, and it gives her an air of confidence that gives her the ability to persuade people to do as she orders. While she acts like a good leader, and can certainly inspire followers, it doesn't always mean that she is. Her forward, go-getting, let's do everything NOW! nature leads her to not always think things through, and weigh all the potential consequences of a choice in relation to a plan. The better way to go, as a result, is to plan out what you want her to do, and then to designate her as team leader for the actual implementation. She's pretty good at taking orders and then being left alone to handle actually doing it. Sparrow is a fairly independent individual, capable of working and thinking on her own as well as in a group. However, she is also big on equality, and doesn't take well to being mothered or coddled by others. Maybe she doesn't know how to perform a task, but she can figure it out, darn it! She doesn't mind being a subordinate as long as you don't specifically treat her as such. She is her own person, and not your tool, and she's only following your orders because she feels they're worthwhile. While Sparrow is nowhere near as violent as she used to be, that doesn't mean she can't get angry, and oh boy can she get angry. If you've done something she didn't like, she will LET YOU KNOW. While her fuse is longer than it used to be, that doesn't stop her from expressing irritation quicker than most, usually by getting progressively grumpy before she outright gets mad. Mad Sparrow is not a pleasant thing to behold--she yells a lot, vents her anger on others, and may throw a couple blows if driven far enough.

In general, Sparrow can be very hardheaded when she wants to be. When she gets it into her head that she's going to do something, then by golly she's going to do it, come hell or high water. Woe be to they who stand in her way, as they risk getting run over in her persistence. And that big sign that says "NO"? Well, she'll find a way around it, even if it's less than savory. When it comes to high moral standards, well, Sparrow is a bit lacking. She'll do some dirty things to accomplish what she needs to accomplish, like thievery, trespassing, threatening death, a little hostage-taking, and the occasional betrayal. She doesn't kill indiscriminately or take things from people that need them unless she really, strongly feels that she needs it herself, but she's not afraid to relieve you of your gold pocketwatch when you're not looking either. The girl grew up with bandits as her family, after all.

Which also means when it comes to people she considers to be family, Sparrow is fiercely loyal. Outside of her family circle, you can expect her to be capable of the immoral acts listed above. Inside is a different story. She's endlessly devoted, and will stand by one of her family members if it's needed. Furthermore, if you hurt one of them, you've definitely earned her wrath, and will be hearing about it from her. Nobody hurts her family and gets away with it. After all, having lived on the outside of the law, she's learned that the only people you can really count on are the people that are in the same boat with you, and so it's important to keep them close. Folks in her inner circle also have the benefit of experiencing a Sparrow who doesn't swing quite so drastically when she changes. It should be noted that at the moment, das Spiegelbild, particularly the other Mirrored members, are serving as her family circle.

Sparrow can also be a rather talkative sort. She has no issues with holding a conversation with someone, even if she doesn't know them (though she has a tendency to be a bit distrustful of unfamiliar people, and so guards herself a little), and can get quite chatty if you get her on the right subject. She does have a bit of a tendency to dominate a conversation, though, particularly if her companion is the quiet sort. She's also been noted for talking to herself sometimes when working on something or is otherwise occupied.

This is a stark contrast to Sparrow-by-night. Unlike her daytime counterpart, Sparrow in this state is much quieter and introverted, preferring to stay in the background than stand out in the open. She could almost be called shy, avoiding most people while in this state. She's incredibly self-consicous of herself, willingly allowing only the other Mirroreds to see her. Guests at the house who happen to notice the sad frog creature hiding in the fish pond are not told she has any connection to her daytime counterpart. She also has a bit more sensibility, being more polite and sensitive to the feelings of others, as opposed to emotionally tromping about without looking where she's going. Some might even say she's sweet, being thoughtful and sometimes presenting others with little gifts. In general, Sparrow-by-night is much easier to deal with.

Sparrow-by-night is also a much more passive version of herself, reluctant to step up and take action on her own. That's not to say she won't participate when asked to, but she's not going to be in the first in line. She prefers to hang to the back and watch what others do before making a decision on her own (assuming she does make a decision. More often than not she takes a "Whatever you want to do" stance). Her reluctance to take action immediately also makes her a much more observant person, not to mention an excellent listener. She'll sit and listen to you talk about whatever's on your mind--the weather, the next plan, the irritations of the day, the meaning of life, and so on. She's great as an ear.

While not only passive, Sparrow is also quite philosophical in this state, and is prone to Thinking Deep Thoughts, particularly whilst sitting in the pond. She's incredibly introspective, thinking a lot about things she's seen and wondering why things are the way they are. On occasion she'll start talking rather poetically, her words sometimes coming out as sheer riddles. Considering how much time she spends thinking and observing, she's sometimes hard to roust, getting her attention being something of a challenge, particularly if she's been pond-sitting for a while. Sometimes, it's just easier to wait until she changes back.

It should be noted that Sparrow has an eidetic memory--a.k.a. photographic memory, courtesy of her time trapped in the mirror. Her first few moments after her release were a little nightmarish as she suddenly found herself remembering everything that had ever happened to her ever. If she saw it, then she's going to remember it. Her attention to detail is particularly impressive, being able to remember things like who was in the painting behind that person and how many coins were on the table at the meeting and what denomination they were. Having memory of this caliber is both a blessing and a curse for her. The good things about it are that she never 'loses' things per se. She can lose her umbrella if it falls down a well, but she can't misplace it. It also means she remembers exchanges and the like with the precision of a tape recorder, which is handy for Sorrel and Fennel during sensitive interactions.

It does mean, however, that she gets bored easily, since once she's committed something to memory, it's there for good, so she's constantly on the lookout for new stimulation, partially resulting in her talkative behavior as Sparrow-by-day. There's also the trouble that because Sparrow remembers things so vividly, she doesn't forget anything, including the things she'd rather forget. The day of the attack in the marsh is as vivid in her mind as if it were yesterday, and it bothers her greatly. She can't resort to amnesia or other unconscious methods of defending herself from traumatizing events. Once it's there, it's stuck with her. Her memory also means that she can hold one hell of a grudge. If you've wronged her, and it's been several years since you last saw her, she's going to remember and boy is she going to make sure you remember her. Folks who have wronged Sparrrow are not easily forgiven. It should also be noted that while Sparrow remembers everything, it doesn't mean that she knows everything. If she sees something, and has nothing to put it into context in, then it's not going to mean much. For example, if she sees a bolt of silk cloth, and doesn't know the difference between it and other materials, she's just going to remember it as 'green'. The observation part's easy. It's interpreting it that's hard.

The main reason why Sparrow is sticking around with das Spiegelbild is due to a desperate need to belong. She's always felt like she never quite fit in anywhere thanks in part to her heritage (which, by the way, she hates having brought up), and partially due to her enchantment, which makes her erratic. Not to mention not everyone likes frogs. The closest she's ever been to full acceptance was after her enchantment was dispelled but before the attack on the Lotus Wraiths' camp, and after that, she felt horribly, horribly alone. Even without her enchantment, she wasn't completely accepted by either elves or humans, and her aunt's betrayal was only another knife turn. While the return of her enchantment is quite distressing, she's now amongst people she can relate to to a certain extent, seeing as all of the Mirroreds are transplants from the past. As such, they've become her surrogate family, and she plans to stick around as long as they'll let her.

Since it's probably a little confusing about which attributes belong to which version of Sparrow, and which are found in both, the summary's gonna be divided up.

Sparrow-by-day:
Strengths: Bold, proactive, confident, good leader, stubborn, shrewd, gregarious
Weaknesses: Doesn't think things through, stubborn, morally lax, talkative, tempestuous

Sparrow-by-night:
Strengths: Kind, gentle, giving, thoughtful, observant, excellent listener
Weaknesses: Passive, disconnected, spacey, shy

Both:
Strengths: Independent, excellent memory, loyal
Weaknesses: Unforgiving, independent, easily bored

Appearance:

We'll start with Sparrow-by-day. A blend of her father and mother, Sparrow is a rather striking person. Well, not height-wise, anyway. Sparrow stands at about 5'3", with smooth, medium ocher skin, and a slender, curvy figure, complete with wide-ish hips and medium breasts. She has some muscle, but she's no bodybuilder. She's not emaciated either, possessing a little bit of fat on her bones. Her legs are strong and slender, and long without being gangly in proportion to her size. In general, there's a somewhat delicate look to her person, thanks to her elvish heritage, though not as delicate as the average elf. She sports medium-sized wings, three slender pairs on her back, taking a somewhat butterfly shape. The outermost ends extend and curl outward, the lower pair in particular having a swallowtail-like extension. Closest to her back, her wings are a deep purple, and blend into blue as they extend outwards, finally changing green at the outermost part. Iridescent patches of skin can be found on her outer thighs, extending more towards the back than the front, on the top of her left foot, above her belly button and reaching up between her breasts, at her wrists, and as two lines on her neck, mapping the major arteries. Sparrow has a tendency to move gracefully, almost floating from one place to another.

Sparrow's face is oval in shape, with high cheekbones, the standard elvish ears, and dark rosy lips. Her facial features are delicate, and are framed by jet black hair sparked with the occasional strand of light brown. Her hair is thick with just the slightest wave, and thanks to a certain fondness of it, due to magically losing it regularly, is kept long, reaching down to just past her thighs. She much prefers to keep it loose and flowing, although when needed, she pulls it into a series of knots and twists, simply having too much to put it into the more fashionable styles of the day. Her eyes are perhaps one of her best features, beguilingly almond-shaped and deep, watery green in color. Her voice is a light alto, smooth and sweet. Sparrow enjoys embellishment in her clothing, embroidery and the like, and likes articles that feature something a little out of the ordinary. While she typically wears pants for utility purposes, she occasionally indulges in wearing dresses, rich, jewel-toned ones that hug her curves. She always wears at least one piece of jewelry. However, an echo from her banditing days reveals itself in that she's never without her trusty dagger, whether out in the open or concealed under her clothing.

Sparrow-by-night, well, she ain't so purty. She shrinks to about 4'0", with a hunched stature and a general frog-like shape. Her skin is a slimy, forest green with rusty red spots all on her backside. Her iridescent patches are still there, though much duller, and her wings hang dark and limp on her back, as if someone attached seaweed there. She has no hair, and her head is more frog-like, with a wider mouth and no nose. Her eyes retain their green color, about the only feature that she keeps. Her arms are long, with much longer, slender fingers, and legs that bow at a funny, more frog-like angle, causing her to hobble more than walk. They do, however, make her an excellent swimmer and climber. Her voice is deep and croaking, and she has a much gentler, peaceful demeanor. If she isn't expecting to be in an area where she might suddenly change back in front of people, and because she finds them so restricting to her body type, she prefers to go without clothes (particularly since she doesn't exactly have the standard human naughty-bits, being more amphibian than mammal). Otherwise, she wears a simple shift, something that doesn't restrict movement a whole lot.

Spells:

The Pain of Memory: Sparrow has the ability to give other people a taste of what life is like for her, where you can remember every moment, every joy and every sorrow (although generally, if she's using this defensively, it has a tendency to emphasize the 'sorrow' part). A person under the influence of this ability will find themselves suddenly able to remember everything that has happened in their life--that time they cut their finger when they were ten, their first kiss, their first word, and so on. To someone not used to it, the sudden onslaught of memories can be overwhelming, possibly to the point of brief catatonia as the mind attempts to adjust. This ability also has the ability to dredge up repressed, traumatic memories, which have a tendency to linger after the effects of the ability have faded, and can have later repercussions. She can invoke this ability at a distance, but it only lasts a few moments, having more of a brief stunning effect than actual memory reorientation. It's much more effective if Sparrow makes physical contact with her target. The longer she can maintain contact, the longer this sudden memory expansion will last.

Psychometry: Psychometry refers to the act of gleaning information about a person or an event from objects that were used or present. In other words, Sparrow can tap into an object's 'memory' to find out things about a person, what may have happened where an object was present, or other such handy info. Typically, the older an object is, the less information she can glean from it. Objects that were present at something a few moments ago have a strong memory, to the point where she can see and hear what happened from the object's point of view. That amount of vividness drops off as time passes, though, images becoming fuzzy, then only detecting snippets of sound, then feelings, then only strong feelings (for example, an axe used in a murder would give her strong feelings of violence), eventually until she won't get anything at all from it. Sparrow has to touch the object and concentrate on it in order to access its memory.

Memory Trigger: Based off of the idea that certain sights, scents, smells, etc can trigger memories, Sparrow has the ability to enchant an object with a certain 'theme': love, sorrow, humor, fear, and so on. A person who handles that object will suddenly find themselves being reminded of old memories associated with that theme, usually connected with that object. For example, a fork enchanted with the 'love' theme might cause a person to remember that time they went on a picnic with someone they loved, or to remember the ball they went to where they met their husband/wife, and so on. Essentially, Sparrow provides the theme, and the person fills in the blanks based on their own memories. This ability has its uses--if there's something she doesn't want to somebody to have or to stay away from, she can enchant it with feelings of pain or fear. More often, though, she utilizes it in the curio shop to make items much more enticing. Most people don't leave without buying at least one trinket. Unscrupulous? Yeah, but that's how she rolls. Items she's made herself have a tendency to take the enchantment better. The enchantment lasts about a week or so before fading.

Momentos: Kind of like magical post-its. Instead of enchanting an object with a theme, Sparrow can enchant an object with a specific thought, like, "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave", or, "The secret code is 12345". When the object is handled, the person holding it will essentially be mentally 'told' what that thought was. It's really handy if you're always forgetting to buy milk at the store, or if you have forgetful minions. However, there are limits to this particular ability. The thoughts can't be too complicated (think simple sentences), or they'll come out garbled and nonsensical. Furthermore, an object can be enchanted with only one thought at a time. In order to put a different thought into an object, Sparrow has to remove the previous enchantment. Finally, the larger the object, the more difficult it is for her to enchant it. Therefore, this power is best suited for small things, like rings, coins, bits of string, and so on. As with the memory trigger ability, items she's made herself have a tendency to take the enchantment better.

Some of the more significant spells in Sparrow's repertoire:

Glamour: A spell taught to Sparrow by the twins. While ultimately, she couldn't care less about what other people think of her heritage, there is a stigma associated with half-elves that not only makes some people look at her with disdain (she gets awfully prickly in return), but is also bad for business. Furthermore, Sparrow is striking as is without wings and ears adding more to her appearance, and subsequently would be much more easily remembered on Das Spiegelbild missions. So, she uses her glamour spells to appear all-human when she has to go out and about. While she may look human, all her parts are still present, and if you walk too close, you'll brush against her wings, even if it appears there's nothing there. As a result, she has a tendency to get very nervous and on-edge if anyone unaware of her heritage gets too close to her back.

Weather Forecast: Another spell taught to Sparrow by the twins. Kind of like her own personal weather station, Sparrow can get a sense for what the weather will be like that day, and to a certain extent, over the next couple of days. However, like any weather-predicting method, it's not completely accurate, and the further out she goes, the less sure she will be of whether it will rain or be sunny. However, it's usually fairly reliable for the day, at least. This spell is particularly useful to her, considering the weather can be a huge factor in whether or not she's able to go on a mission (suddenly turning into a frog in the middle of a fancy dress ball can be a real downer, after all).

Levitate: Really handy when you're short. Sparrow can raise herself into the air, which is incredibly useful when trying to get things off of high shelves. Saves on ladder costs too. She can't do any actual flying (yet. She's trying to learn how), but if she gives herself a running start, she is able to use it to jump higher and further than naturally possible, allowing for things like jumping between buildings and the like.

Weapons Summon: A defensive transmutation. Much to her chagrin, Sparrow is unable to transmute metal. However, she can transmute a leg of mutton into, say, a wooden club or a pointed stick. Unfortunately, she has yet to learn the art of performing this spell in a hurry, and so really is only useful when she has a few moments to complete it. Nevertheless, given certain circumstances, this spell has been proven useful.

Mirror:

Satis: Sparrow's mirror is large and oval, about six feet by three feet. It is typically kept on its stand, allowing one to see that the mirror is in fact two-sided. Its border is composed of various marsh plants, with a few animals, frogs, turtles, a heron flying overhead, etc intersperced throughout. A sun is found at the top of one side, with a moon mirroring it on the other. It's curving and sinuous, made up of colored glass, allowing the vividness and trueness of the colors to come through.

Anuket: The small compact mirror Sparrow carries around with her. While not directly involved with her magical abilities, she needs to have it on her in order to do anything with it. Like her full-size mirror, it contains a double-sided mirror, and can be opened from either side. The casing is made of colored glass, depicting a lotus flower on either side.