Winnie was giddy with excitement. The portal to the mortal realm was not open very often and even rarer were insignificant pixies like herself given permission to visit. Her wings fluttered in anticipation as she stood at the entrance to the portal, pass in hand, to be inspected and sent through. 

“Name, and purpose for visiting the mortal realm?” Asked the bored gnome sitting at the walnut desk, whittling at a figurine while he peered over round spectacles at the scroll that denoted permissions to pass through the portal. 

“Winnie Gedoch, special permissions for an owned family name, Tacit.” 

“Ooh, family name,” the gnome nodded in mild interest. “Heirloom?” 

“Only two hundred years,” Winnie blushed. “But the first of my clan, so we’re rather fond of it.” 

“Good, good. You’ll enjoy the mortal realm, dearie. Do you have your glamor ready?” 

“Yes, sir.” Winnie nodded as the gnome pointed down the hallway. 

At the end of the hallway waited a brownie, tall and a little bit intimidating in his leather vest. He stooped and offered Winnie a hand, which she took as he opened the door and ushered her through. When she passed through she was standing alone atop a hill, a hole beneath her with a pole rising up out of it to wave a flag. A shout sounded in the distance and Winnie barely ducked out of the way in time for a small white ball to come flying towards her. 

Shaking herself in disdain, Winnie made her way to a small cluster of trees and set herself down on a branch so she could take in her surroundings. As she looked around she saw a group of humans clustered together who were taking turns at placing a ball on the ground and smacking it with a club to make it fly over the field. She realized that it must not have been an intentional assault as the activity seemed more like a game. 

Satisfied that she was more or less safe at her perch on the tree, Winnie pulled open her knapsack and rummaged around for her finding stone. The smooth stone was polished and the name Tacit was neatly carved into it. A drop of the Tacit ancestor’s blood was infused in the stone and glowed dimly as it searched for the family descendant. 

Winnie was excited to finally meet the human whose family name had become a possession of her own family. They had never been the kind of pixies to collect names, but this family had become special friends of her grandmother and had willingly given their name to the Gedoch pixies as a sign of friendship. In exchange, Winnie’s grandmother had promised to keep an eye on their family and ensure their well-being. That was why Winnie was here now, to keep the promise between the Gedoch pixies and the Tacit family. 

As she brought the stone around to her left, it flashed for a moment and Winnie knew she had her heading. She fluttered nervously for a moment, excited to begin her journey into the human realm.