Eluned's Solace: A Tale of an Olvi's
Devotion
by Tyrathia Myneran'Ra
I have always held a fascination with water. Anything to do with it, storms, rain, streams, ponds, the sea, if it had water, I was there, staring at it or playing in it. My parents always kept a close eye on me from a very young age, because I was prone to taking no heed to the danger such things present.
However, by the time I was taken in apprenticeship to be an empath, I had gained some sense of responsibility, and no small skill with a tiny boat my parents had gifted me with. They had taught me its use, and in what little spare time I had I badgered the fishermen for lessons.
By the time I was twelve, my parents had enough confidence in my ability as a sailor, amateur to be sure, and they allowed me the odd afternoon alone with my boat and the sea as long as the weather was calm.
These times alone always brought me peace, made me feel safe in a way that nothing else ever did, and probably never will. Though I am very much a people person--I sacrifice my own health and wellbeing for that of others--I cherish my solitude, and these times alone keep me centered.
Two days before my thirteenth birthday, my parents gave me such an afternoon off. The sky had a few puffy white clouds in the sky, the ocean was calm, and there was a nice, gentle breeze to bring relief from the sun. I packed my lunch, and a supper in case I should be caught too far from shore to make it home, and drifted out in my little boat.
The weather that day was good, and there was no warning whatsoever of the squall that boiled up from nowhere, as if Drogor himself had found my peacetime a personal insult. Black clouds covered the sky, the waves whipped into a frenzy by a bitter wind. Swells reached far over my head and I knew it would take a small miracle to get me safely back to shore.
Still, I was not one, even then, to beg succor from the gods, and I fought with all my hard-won skill and strength, both in my guild and with my boat. The only small mercy I was granted was the storm kicked up magic so that the bruises, cuts and scratches I endured could be easily healed as I struggled to keep the boat from capsizing.
Only the knowledge that I was fighting for my life kept me from surrendering to my exhaustion, and even that could not keep my muscles from complaining about the strain--I had not learned enough in my guild to recover my breath, and the magic itself would have sapped my strength. Eventually I gave in, knelt beside the rudder and tried to hang on for the ride.
For several long minutes--I don't know how long, it could have been hours, I was that tired--I drifted between swells, over them, none of them managing to spill me into the unforgiving sea. Then I heard a roar behind me, over the screaming wind and needling rain that drenched me from head to foot.
My boat lifted up and up and up on the rising wave, white froth curling over my head and leaving bits of flotsam in my torn clothing. I took a deep breath, feeling the air freeze my lungs, certain it would be the last. It seemed fitting to me, at that moment--the water I took such pleasure in would lead me to my final sleep, and be my burial ground.
Wanting a last look over the churning ocean I had loved so much and so long, I knelt forward, leaning to one side. In that instant, a large dolphin poked its head out of the water, nearly far enough to fall into the boat. I have always believed its presence and support kept my little boat from tipping over just then.
I did not have the strength left to react, and it leaned over and rubbed its beak against my temple. Desperation gave me a surge of strength from somewhere, and I sent a wordless thanks to the goddess of the sea, Eluned. Clasping the dolphin tightly by the fin, I was dragged bodily into the water moments before the wave roared down over my head and smashed the boat into splinters.
I know not what happened after that. I fell unconscious, or was frozen numb, or some act of the goddess herself erased all knowledge. But I awoke the next morning on the beach, the sun shining overhead, to find a grizzled old fisherman shaking my shoulder.
My body ached everywhere; even with my meager skills as an apprentice empath, I could not relieve the pain. Indeed, I could not even concentrate enough to cast a single spell, and the fisherman had to help me even in the act of sitting up.
The terror of the day before swamped me then, and as I fought back tears and the wail of a child who wants her mother, I looked back out over the ocean. Not a sign of the storm remained, save the driftwood and kelp thrown up on the beach.
And a lone Halfling child.
With what little strength I had before the fisherman scooped me up, I sent up a prayer and my thanks once more to Eluned for my life and the return of my source of peace, and as the old man carried me off to his shack to call on the Empath's guild, I saw a single, graceful dolphin leap high out of the waves in the distance.
From that moment on, I have worshipped my goddess, Eluned, with everything
that I am, knowing every breath I take, all the wounds I soothe, all of my thoughts
and deeds from now until the day I die have been a gift from her and her alone.
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