Kethri Thornbriar

It had been a lovely day for traveling. Which was good, because that was exactly what the youngest born of the wealthy Elvish merchant family of the Silver Vale was doing. Packed up in a very comfortable carriage, they and their personal servant and friend were on their way to one of the far away ocean cities to set up a new place of business and extend the family influence all the farther. However, without notice, the caravan was attacked. One by one, the guards fell. In a panic, the servant grabbed their charge and tried to get them to safety. But it was too late, and a spell dropped them dead. The young elf ran for their life now. Still too new to the world to be calm like their elders. Never trained in real combat, just fancy swordplay and footwork. And certainly not magic! What they did have was elvish speed and agility, and no one could take that away from them! Their heart pounded with every thud of their boots on the forest floor. They were coming up to a river. It was wide, but they could jump it. They knew they could! However, just as their back foot left the ground, a pain shot through their shoulder, and before they could even cry out, the river had them...and the river was not kind. There had been a heavy rain some days before that had swelled the river and sped its flow to dangerous levels. Add to that the injury, and the elf was easily swept away by the quick current. For better or worse, at least it had stopped their pursuers. Eventually the river took pity, however, and eased just enough to allow the elf to keep their head above water until, at last, their energy was depleted. Thoughts of this being their end bubbled up in their exhausted mind. Too far gone to even realize that they had stopped moving, caught by the branches of a fallen tree near the river bank of a much smoother, more calm part of the water. But they were too spent, and soon, everything went dark...and quiet.... "What the ever loving frost giants is that?" Keth asked himself as he saw something strange in the river near the edge of the field he had been tending. He shielded his eyes to get a better look, but whatever it was was snagged and half hidden by the tree they hadn't gotten moved yet since the last big rain. He put his tools down and brushed his hands on his pants before walking with heavy steps toward the river bank. He was just near the upturned roots of the large tree when he saw what it was...a body! "Fucking hell?!" he grunted and quickly found his way out to the near dead person, honey-gold eyes going wide in his handsome yet rugged face as he looked down at..."An elf?" he asked no one but the wind around them. His brows furrowed and he pulled the elf out of the water, not stopping to lay them down but keeping them held against his chest with strong arms as he began to run back to the main house. Luckily he was used to running all over their farm, and it was NOT a small farm! It took many minutes, but eventually his boots slammed onto the wooden back porch of the family house. He kicked at the base of the door and simply pushed in when his youngest sister opened it, a chorus of gasps as his mother, other sister, and little nieces and nephews saw him carrying...something. "What is it?!" Brenna, the youngest sister, asked, eyes wide as she stared at the wet bundle. Keth grunted at his sister and made his way to the dining room, the others all following him with excited curiosity. "Did a calf fall into the river?" his mother asked with concern. "No Ma...it's...it's an elf..." he answered, laying the limp, unconscious body on the solid oak table. And everyone gasped again. "An elf? Out here?" the other sister with a baby in her arms asked, just as surprised and curious as their younger sister and the two other children clinging to their mother's skirts were. Keth gave another grunt and a shrug of his broad, strong shoulders. "No idea...found 'em at the edge of the west field caught up in that big tree that went down last storm..." he answered. His mother snapped out of the awed daze first and rushed to fetch dry towels and a well-used first aid kit that was kept in a large tackle box. "They don't look right..." Yara, the motherly middle sister, said with concern, shooing her children out of the dining room and whispering to them to go outside and help Papa feed the birds, which the children happily went to do. Looking down at the now supine body on their dining table, it was clear something had happened, because the fabric that had been over their shoulder was charred and almost melted away from their skin, exposing an angry wound of oily blackness that moved under the skin. "What...is that?" Brenna asked, moving to stand by Yara. "Looks like a curse," Ma said with a huff, handing Keth the fresh towels and setting the heavy-duty first aid kit on the table. "Brenna...out...Yara...you're in charge of the rest," Ma said with efficiency. Keth took the towels and set them in a pulled out chair, working to first remove the elf's boots and other clothes, too concerned to notice much other than the sex of their new...guest. His green cheeks flushed ever so slightly, but just like his mother, he was efficient, grabbing the towels up to begin drying them off and wrapping them up while Ma checked over the rest of their body. "Hmm...never seen an elf so eaten up before..." she grimaced, shaking her head with a sigh. Keth looked up. "You've seen elves before?" Curious...and maybe a little disbelieving. Ma pursed her lips and shot her eldest a glare that could melt wax. "Shush...Now...help me figure out what to do about this shoulder..." Keth huffed soft amusement, the adrenaline finally ebbing ever so slightly as he fell into his mother's rhythm and did as told. There wasn't much they could do but apply some salves and ointments and wrap it up, both of them unnerved by how the curse moved beneath the skin like the blackness was alive within them.