Untitled Part I

Jaran was seventeen years of age. She had the white-blonde hair and the slightly slanted purple eyes of the elven. The rest of her features were human; her mum had veen an elf, her father was human. She was coveted by men of both races, though she was barely of marriageable age.

Serlei, her mentor since childhood, was fully elven. Slanted black eyes contrasted beautifully with the pale skin. And though he was ancient by human standards, he was middle-aged to the elves. At seven feet tall, forty stones (roughly 120 pounds), he was dashing, even if he was 323 years of age.

And this dashing elven male had just entered Jaran’s sleeping quarters, holding a plate of fruit and toasted bread. Jaran couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten a proper meal and eagerly wolfed down the offered food.

After eating, she looked up at Serlei to thank him, and found him grinning. "Hello, child? What brings you to my part of the woods?"

She smile, despite her recent horrors. "Father sent me to borrow flour from you." Her stomach rumbled unpleasantly - something she’d eated was not mixing well with her body. She inwardly shrugged it off as eating too fast.

"Ah, I see," said Serlei, his eyes twinkling. "And that is why you were running - so as to not disappoint your father? What a considerate daughter he has."

Jaran, ignoring the joking words, felt the old fear rushing back into her veins. Before she knew what she was saying, she relayed the entire story to her waiting friend and mentor. Throughout the sotry, her head grew lighter and lighter, as if she were about to faint. Her face began to feel flushed, her limbs were growing heavy. She didn’t yet know it, but this person whom she so dearly loved and trusted had just poisoned her with heckleberry. Had she been more aware, Jaran would’ve realized what she’d been eating and would’ve thrown it out.

From the Dictionary of Diseases and Poisons, 5th Edition

Heckleberry - A common berry in the Trefallian Region. The most gruesome effect about heckleberry poison is that, once it enters one’s stomach, it seeps into one’s bloodstream and remains there for up to a week. Weaker people, mostly humans, die soon after ingesting this fruit. Elves tend to sleep throught the week and allow their immune systems to fight the effects of the poison. If one is both elven and human, the following ailments will occur: Fevered dreams, hallucinations, and constant vomiting. Dehydration is eminent, so drinking fluids is vital.

After relaying the story to Serlei, she laid back against her pillow, as if to sleep some more. She didn’t notice the small beads of sweat that were already gathering on her brow. She closed her eyes and lost consciousness, the poison finally overtaking her strong-willed body.

Fortunately for her, Jaran slept through most of the week, while her elven immune system purged itself. She dreamt of her mother. She dreamt that her mother was the one who was caring for her, cooling her fever. She dreamt of her father, sitting in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace, just staring into the flames, mourning his losses. She dreamt of Serlei, but he looked unlike himself. His face was covered with blood and was so badly disfigured that he was hardly recognizable. This frightened Jaran so much that she tried to run away and ended up falling off her bed. Serlei, the real one, gently picked her up and replace her in her bed.