Ratta

Ratta was a fiery young red haired apprentice when the Potluck broke apart almost twenty years ago. Always non conforming, and perceived as a trouble maker, she was barely tolerated by all but Aubergine and Mamie Verde, her mistress. In the eyes of the other girls, Ratta was never more than a servant whose indenture was never completely fulfilled, for all know she has been a kitchen maid in Mamie's household in the days before all were called to the Potluck. Girls like Winter Wheat would burn holes in Ratta's sleeves with her staff whenever Ratta claimed she could read Mamie's mind. The other girls just laughed and hissed "kitchen wench" to her as she passed in the hallways.

After the circle sundered, Mamie yearned to retire to her farmhouse in the southern village of Coventry. Ratta jumped at the chance to abandon the Potluck, for behind Mamie's sprawling house sat her own neglected backwoods cabin. Wasting little time, Ratta packed their belongings, loaded Mamie and her chair into a buckboard wagon and left the Potluck without a backward glance. She has been caring for the senile old dyer ever since. Because they have been together like soul mates these past twenty years, Ratta and Mamie have a unique kind of magic now, based on their ability to communicate without words and a reverence for the old ways. Like Mamie, Ratta strictly adheres to the ancient lore, that others might scoff at or discredit. She believes the Guardians are real, put in this world to save folk from themselves and help balance nature. Ratta can recount legends of the Crystal Caves that even Aubergine no longer remembers. Mamie knows much more for she has a secret undisclosed, and Ratta is the only one of the twelve who can understand her or help her use her powers.

In the past, others in the circle snubbed Ratta because she was a servant in Mamie's household but now they are curious to know what knowledge of the days of old that she has gleaned from Mamie. Having never practiced the ancient ways or seen the inside of the Crystal Caves, Ratta may have good reason to be afraid of herself, for she does not realize her power. Not knowing she holds the key to the survival of the world as all know it, Ratta she has never tested the crystalline Glacier waters.