Narziss
Clan Dancer
she/her

"It flows in me."


It is as simple as this: either one must dance, or dance is simply an option. I have known since I could first move that, if I did not wish to chain my soul, then I had no option. I must dance, as sure as I must breathe.

In my small village, I was soon considered a wondrous dancer, but that was not enough for me. I travelled to attend the biggest dance school in the Windswept Plateau. This prestigious school was attended by the best dancers from all over the world. Where I had once been exceptional, now I was, well, acceptable. Maybe, at times, good. And this was where I thrived. Seeing how much I had yet to learn - how much I could still grow - was invigorating and enlivening.

I did indeed grow very much as a dancer. Pushing myself to reach a new height was a thrill each time. Who knows where I would be if things continued in that way? However, an unfortunate accident changed the course of events. Travelling to a festival, my friends and I were attacked by raiders. We fought them off, thankfully, but I was left with a permanently injured foot. My career was over. There was nothing more the school could do for me. I would never perform before kings and queens, as I had dreamed.

Dance has never been optional for me. When I believed that I could not continue with it, I was thrown into a despair that consumed me and leeched the essence out of life. I struggled to find any joy, although I tried. I kept myself away from all music, so as not to remind me of what I had lost.

And then, one day, as I was flying home from an outing, I listened to the sounds around me - trees rustling in the wind, cicadas singing, and birds calling out to one another. I began to hear music in the world around me. There was beauty in it. And inspired by that beauty, I felt myself move in such a way as to express my appreciation. I found a rhythm and flow in my movements, and let myself find the graceful flow that fit with the body I now had. This was my dance. I would never grace the most famous stages. But I would still be me. I would be a dancer.

Now I travel, teaching dance to children. I teach them the moves that I can do, and the moves that I cannot do. But most of all, I teach them to listen to dance with love. Each time I dance, it is as if my soul is expanding, coming more into being. It is never completed, always ongoing, and absolutely joyful.