Jinpa is an aspiring salve-maker who hails from a village of Veena that boast extraordinary craftsmanship; those known as salve-makers have a number of sacred and ceremonial responsibilities, though the greatest of all is keeping their secluded home hidden. Full-fledged salve-makers create dust from the tail plumes of an elusive creature, which only reveals itself every seven years; this dust is mind-altering to all but Viera, by scattering it they ensure that their village cannot be found by outsiders. 

 

Hunting this elusive creature serves as the salve-maker's rite of passage, and Jinpa dedicated the whole of her life preparing to surpass it - only to have the opportunity of undertaking the rite stripped from her just as she was ready to embark on it.

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Jinpa's sister, Thun, who ever since encountering Dalmascans at the Wood's edge, had been questioning the wisdom of rejecting change while in the midst of an otherwise developing star. Rather than discard the Wood and village by simply leaving, Thun sought to forcibly bring change to it, believing that best for everyone. She stole away with an ancient relic of her peoples, the Milling Stone, an enchanted gift said to be from the boughs themselves. The Milling Stone was imbued with an energy that awakened a number of dormant properties in a great many ingredients, the mind-altering dust being the most important of all. Without the the stone, the salve-makers would not be able to prepare the dust.

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The village immediately congregated at its center to meditate on the issue. It was proposed, that as an alternative to the rite of catching the plume-tail, if Jinpa would catch her sister and retrieve the Milling Stone, this would suffice as an alternative. Jinpa was quick to agree to the task.

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A day had not passed since the stone was first discovered missing. Jinpa believed that if the Wood carried her quickly enough she may be able to catch Thun before she could leave their sacred lands. Following the Wood's direction to her, Jinpa came to a halt where the forest floor met with the white sand of the Burn. She saw Thun growing smaller in the distance. Jinpa hesitated only briefly before letting her long strides carry her out into the desert in her sister's wake, the Wood's encouragement at her back growing quieter and quieter.

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Unwilling to return without the stone, she has sought Thun ever since.

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