Elbereth

A Message In A Bottle


The sun is beginning to rise above the bay, bathing the surrounding flora in gold. Dragonflies are buzzing about in the cattail clusters. Water striders are stirring the otherwise calm surface of the glass-like water. Elbereth is out early, wandering the grassy shore, smelling the flowers and enjoying the singing of the birds and the humming of the bees.

A new bright reflection hits her right in the eye, causing her to stop her routine and inspect the mysterious object... Leaning against the edge of the shore is a teardrop-shaped glass bottle. Clear flower-like engravings line the outside. Looks like it once held a matching glass lid, but in its place now sits a shielding cork. And even though she senses a small tinge of familiarity, she abandons the thought and gives in to her curiosities.


Plop!


As the cork falls to the ground, a scent from her childhood hits her in the face. Hyacinth… The preserved flower was tied to the paper scroll with an iridescent purple ribbon. Some larkspur petals lie at the bottom of the bottle, all elements elegantly put together to form a pleasant memory of the past. As she unfolds the roll of paper, she sees that the writing is that of her own sister Varda. Written in a magical elixir of indigo, it is most definitely distinctive.

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"Precious sister.

I hope and pray to the deities, that this by some miracle reaches the right dragon I so love and miss. I regret parting ways with you... You have been my other half ever since we hatched together. I wanted to gift this part of our old home to you. Remember this cloth? It was your favorite when we were mere hatchlings. I wanted you to have this my dear, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, have this small piece of home and fare well on the rest of your journey.

Warm regards,

Varda

P.S the scroll can be used again!"

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With tears in her eyes, Elbereth takes one last good sniff of the glass bottle's contents before she puts it all back in order and brings it back to her own lair. Fond memories come to her as she sleeps soundly among her flowers under the shining moon.

When she awoke, she remembers the post scriptum Varda had left. The scroll can be used again... Is this another of her silly pranks? Elbereth knew about the indigo elixir and its ability to hide writing on parchment. But what use could this scrap of paper have to her? Right as she was having these thoughts the scroll glistened shades of blue and revealed its true self. It was an old genetic spell relic!

Amazed, Elbereth took a step back, admiring the magical scroll from a safe distance. In all of her time alive she had only heard of these relics in stories of legend... And here one lay, in her own lair, right in front of her feet. She smiles and mutters, "I see you still have your secrets, sister..." And with that she picks up the scroll...

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Lore by Hjaldr