Eurwyn

Sornieth is home to a vast array of creatures of every alignment, stature, and intent. No creature is so mysterious as the wood spirit, however. There are hundreds of them residing in every location overflowing with various flora and fauna. Each one is unique in their purpose and the role they diligently serve for the betterment of their environment. Some are shy, some are blunt, and a rare few… well, you wouldn’t even know of their true nature because they conceal it so fully. They can take many forms and have many different abilities depending on their innate task in the world.

This information brings our story to Eurwyn, a young ridgeback dragon born deep in the Starfall Isles during a surge of cosmic energy. On the night of her hatching, her mother was so bedazzled with the sights through her telescope that she barely noticed the egg begin to crack as the tiny dragon prodded her way out. When the mother dragon did finally notice, she was elated. Certain the time of her daughter’s birth was significant. Certain that Eurwyn would be destined for amazing things.

While she was correct, these expectations led to an unhealthy amount of pressure. Despite her mother and father loving her very clearly, their expectations for her were so elevated that Eurwyn became terrified of letting them down. As a result, she spent every second of her free time away from home in the crystal-lined forests outside her village. Her parents did not seem to notice the escapism and continued to train her and teach her how to be the very best she could possibly be. (Read: How to be flawless at everything.)

Eurwyn, during this time, learned to pretend well enough. She pretended the weight of her parents dreams was not too heavy a burden, and she pretended she was perfectly able to handle all the classes, the lessons, every moment of their attention. The praise was overwhelming, but she did not ever speak on it. How could she? At the risk of letting her family down. But with every passing day, Eurwyn found herself more and more lost in the world.

Eventually, she was called to perform a spell for the elders of the village. A spell where she would transmute one thing into another. Eurwyn was petrified. This was the first time she was expected to use magic in front of an audience, albeit a small one.

“Of course you’ll do wonderful,” her mother gave her a reassuring nudge.

Eurwyn swallowed and staggered into the center of the council hall. If she could show them a perfect transmutation spell, she’d be accepted into the inner mages’ circle. The highest honor such a young dragon could ever recieve.

She worked up a bit of arcane magic into her talons and pointed shakily at the book lying on the ground in front of her. She poured incredible focus into memorizing every crack in its leather cover and every visible stain on its yellowed pages. For several minutes, she was silent, staring at that book. Then, in her mind, she worked up the incredibly detailed image of a simple teacup. Chipped porcelain and faded paint.

In a flash of magic, she let the bolt loose at the book. When the smoke cleared, Eurwyn held her breath to see if she’d done it. Her heart dropped when she saw the book lying there, singed pages and charred cover.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to her mother as she bolted from the room and toward the edge of the village, into the crystal forest. The sun had just set, and a heavy darkness had fallen over the village. While the stars were as beautiful as ever, they were obscured by thick black clouds. Eurwyn could hardly see where she was going in the night.

“Eurwyn!” The older female called to her, but Eurwyn was already gone.

By now, one must be wondering how this tale relates to wood spirits. Fret not, it’s simple to explain. After having spent so much time in this forest, believing that when she vented her frustrations, she was talking only to trees, a friendly wood spirit had been watching her. They heard her pain and her sorrows and her fear of not meeting high standards, and they’d developed a plan to show Eurwyn that fear was unfounded.

As Eurwyn dropped to the ground, sobbing, her head perked right back up at louder, more distressed sobbing.

She peeked her head over a rock to see a small clearing, in which knelt a tiny nocturne dragon. A child, at most. They had their face buried in their wings, shivering and shaking. Eurwyn cocked her head, curious, and approached.

“Hello?”

The little nocturne’s head snapped up. “Who’re you?” They managed through their sniffles.

“My name is Eurwyn. What’s wrong, little one?”

“I’m lost,” came the tiny answer.

“Oh, well…” Eurwyn looked around in the dark. “Maybe I can help you. Where are you trying to go?”

“The ancient oak at the mouth of the river…”

“That’s quite a long walk from here,” Eurwyn said thoughtfully. “Follow me,” she lit a few of the lanterns she carried in her bag and strung them across her wings so the tiny nocturne could see her. “I know you nocturnes have wonderful night vision, but we could all use a little light in the dark sometimes, right?”

A nod.

Eurwyn smiled and led the nocturne to the tree. No sooner had they arrived than the baby disappeared. Vanished, as if they’d never been there at all. Eurwyn looked around for several minutes before a kind voice sounded off in her head.

“Thank you. You have a pure heart.”

“Whose voice is that?” She asked aloud.

“Oh, just a friend,” the voice assured her. “I’ve been observing you since you were a child… I know you fear your achievements are not satisfactory, but you just pushed aside your own great sorrow to heal that of a stranger. As long as you serve as a guide for others, showing them the way, I can assure you, it will be enough.”

And with that, the voice fell silent and did not speak again no matter the numerous times Eurwyn addressed it. After recovering from the shock of the incident, the young ridgeback reflected on what she’d been told. It was advice she took. Over the next few years, Eurwyn left her old village behind with a fond but firm goodbye to her family and founded a new one. A new home where she took in those who needed her leadership and her guidance.

She became a light in the dark for every dragon who feared the night, and she cared for each and every one of them. As her small village grew and expanded, so did the variety of individuals she cared for. Eurwyn now serves as the matriarch to the village, and she has never been more certain. She is enough. She always has been.