You know, I find it kind of funny that when strangers come down to the village, one of the first things they ask is if Jing is a witch, to which all the villagers would indignantly respond, 'NO! She is an Enchantress!'
It's not hard to understand why the villagers love her once you have met her. They say that she was here when the village's eldest grandparents were alive, but if you look at her, she looks as if she's barely in her twenties. She stands slightly over six feet tall, and her skin is as dark as the night. Her face has distinct oriental features, but she also has the longest elven ears, bright aquamarine eyes, and teeth so white they could melt ice caps when she smiles. What stands out even more are her three companions that go everywhere with her.
There's Ma, the whitest Snow Leopard you've ever seen. She has pyrite-golden eyes, a tranquil personality, is well-versed in all herbs and spices, an excellent cook, and all the children in the village are drawn to her. Then there's Pa, a fierce-looking Bengal Tiger with ruby-red eyes. Besides being very powerful, he's quite the craftsman, helping the village men build their homes. He's the one who crafted Jing's ship. He also crafted all the musical instruments that the villagers use and is a wonderful singer himself.
This brings me to Jing's third companion, who many say is the love of her life. Rumor has it that long ago, Jing met a smooth-talking Italian artist and was quickly enamored by him. This artist would tell Jing tales of the many places around the world that he had seen and experienced. He would also describe to her the many people he had met—artists more famous than himself, actors and actresses, musicians that were world-renowned, great politicians, and even greater holy men. Jing was so moved by these stories that she wanted to leave the village and travel with him, but he convinced her to stay, saying he had so little time left here and all he wanted was to spend it with her in peace and solitude. So it's said that Jing enchanted the artist, and now he is known as Gino, the silver-tongued parrot. Often, you'll see him soaring high up in the sky, flying off to God knows where and later coming back in the evening, painting pictures in everyone's mind of the things he saw and did.
Lastly, this is the story of Jing. Oh boy, there was one more thing I meant to mention. Jing was renowned for being a great fisherman. Often, she would go out in her ship with Ma, Pa, and Gino and sail the wide oceans, coming home with all different types of fish and seafood so that the village never had a need to go hungry. So, if someday you're out and about on some ocean or lake and you see two water spouts carrying a ship with a tall woman with two cats on it and being guided by a very colorful parrot, know for a fact that you have seen Jing the Enchantress!
____Mystikos Samaritan_____
