The Catalyst

Isilmé Duskmere - The Fated Night

Isilmé pressed her back to the tree in the forest outside of Silverymoon. Her heart raced, but her breathing was deceptively calm. The soft brown suede of her gear, mixed with the forest green helped to hide her, the gold of her hair and her fair skin being the only things making her stand out.

Moving slowly, she decided to peek around the corner. Her footfalls were nearly silent in the vast forest, feet nudging the dirt gently.

Something pointed pressed into her back, causing the young woman to freeze.

"Found you." A melodious voice said, the owner of what was pressed into her back.

Isilmé turned, faced with an Elven woman who didn't seem too much older than her. A smile broke out across her face as she regarded the elegant woman. "I doubt I stood much chance against you, O'Si." She replied playfully.

Elenwe Duskmere laughed, lowering the longbow she'd used on her daughter.

"You did well, Isilmé, you're getting better." She said. Her own appearance almost mirrored her daughter: dressed in suedes and greens, her golden hair was bound in an elegant bun with shorter locks framing her beautiful face.

"Maybe you can learn some of the ways of a druid, when you're not in the library with Zlatho." She teased her youngest child.

"Perhaps one day, O'Si. I have plenty of time to learn herbs, and medicine. For now, I'm drawn to the forests and—"

"—And to dragons. I know. You have been the same every year of your life thus far, daughter. I'm sure one day you'll find a satisfactory reason as to the mark on your shoulder, however, if Zlatho hasn't been able to tell you after over 80 years, I doubt he knows the reason either."

"I know." The young Elven woman sighed, reaching towards her shoulder. Though covered, a birthmark of a dragon's head rested on the soft skin.

"So long as you know that answers are not likely to come soon. You have many years to learn about such things." Her mother paused for a moment before continuing, "We have had our hunt, and returned the beast to the butcher, and have had our fun. Now come; help me to find some herbs to sell to the Apothecary." Elenwe finished, moving away from the tree, trusting that her daughter would finish.

"I did not ask, but tell me how your day was yesterday? You did not return from the library until late." She asked, bright blue eyes scanning for the right herbs among the foliage of the forest floor.

"It was pleasant, as it always is when I visit. We traded stories, and he told me a story of a Silver dragon falling in love with an Elf. And he gave me a glass of wine as a birthday gift."

"It must have been quite a vintage then, to be equal to a birthday gift."

"It was exquisite. Until the final notes, at which point the taste became... metallic." She grimaced at the memory. "It tasted of chocolate and cherries along with spices otherwise."

Elenwe shot her a quizzical look "Metallic? I am unsure I have heard of wine which fades to a metallic taste." She said, kneeling beside a patch of herbs. Pulling a simple dirk from her bag, she began to cut and uproot a plant, having found what she was searching for. "I have learned long ago that Zlatho has his reasons for his behavior. Though he is different, he is wise."

Isilmé nodded in agreement with her mother, procuring a bag for the cut herbs to be packed into.

The sun had begun its descent when the pair finally finished. "We should get these to Lyssa at the Apothecary. If you'd like, can we get a cup of strawberries and cream before we return home?" Elenwe offered, a playful smile on her lips, fully aware that it was her daughter's favorite treat.