#Aegis Olyrnn

[the-science-of-stories]

Find Your Star.

A Dungeons and Dragons fiction writing commission for my buddy Noriaki on Twitter! 

They’re part of a campaign I am also a part of with Dahlia and have given me permission to post it here on Tumblr! This was my first writing commission and I couldn’t be happier with it. 

Characters that belong to the commissioner:

Star Chaser, Tabaxi Rogue 

Aegis Olyrnn, Female Elf 

“Huh. I guess this is the place.”  

Above the babbling brook that ran through the quaint expanse of a small forest came the voice of an elvish man. He wore the garb and carried the hefty bag of a researcher. Holding up a pamphlet he was using for reference he adjusted his glasses to get a better look.

It was a crude drawing of a small cottage flanked by an abundant garden and a quaint little pond. In front of it stood a couple of stick figure drawings: a woman with dark hair and a small cat-like figure with a cloak.  

Lowering the drawing to compare it to the cottage he stood before he gave an affirming nod. His boots clacked against the cobblestone path in melody with the stream and a few home-made wind chimes.  

He stepped up onto a creaky patio that led to a wooden door, both showing signs of their age with weathered surfaces. He gave the door a couple of raps with the back of fist before placing his arm behind his back in a patient stance waiting for an answer.  

After almost a minute the door creaked open, the sun spilling in onto its residence.  

It was a woman. One also of elvish descent with ears poking out of shoulder length dark hair. She wore a set of casual clothes with her hair hanging loose, cascading around her face with evergreen eyes that matched the lush vegetation around her dwelling.  

“51 seconds, that’s almost slower than last time.” The researcher observed, pretending to be impressed and earning a tired scowl from the woman.  

“I was taking a nap, Farlan,” she groggily answered, looking at his hand, “You received the drawing?”  

Farlan raised the paper before turning it around to face the drawing towards the woman, “I would say so, as I found your home.”  

The woman stepped aside, gesturing with an arm for the man to follow inside. He gave a thankful nod and stepped through the door.

Taking a look around he was immediately met by lush pots of different flora hanging from the ceiling or resting on shelves. The air itself almost smelled like perfume, something Farlan clearly noticed as he flinched a bit when he took a breath.  

“I see you still have your hobby,” he remarked, “Quite an... exotic home.”  

“Keerla likes it when she comes here.” Aegis crossed the room to a small stove where she set a kettle on a rack in a quaint fireplace.  

“Keerla was busy, so they sent me instead. Like they always do when she’s busy. She’ll be back before you know it. But in the meantime-” Farlan slipped a document out of his bag, adjusting his glasses and clearing his throat, “Aegis Olyrnn, my name is Farlan Chaedi of the Harpers Medical Wing. I will be your substitute physician for this visit. Do you accept my treatment?”  

The woman turned around, now holding two mugs that she set down on the table with a firm stare at the scientist, “Yes, Doctor Farlan, I accept. Do we have to do this every time?”  

Farlan nodded in answer, scribbling on the scroll before tucking it back in his bag. Aegis gestured to the chair opposite of her at the table. He nearly took his seat when he stopped to pick up another paper that sat atop a few others.  

“These came in a parcel, are these from him?” Farlan asked, holding up one of the drawings, pressing the back to his chest to face Aegis.  

“Yes, that is from Star Chaser,” Aegis responded, resting her cheek in her hand with a bit of an endeared expression, “Bless him, he learned how to use the mail. He has been sending me some of his drawings to let me know where he is and that he’s okay.”  

His brow furrowed as he turned it back, clearly he noticed something on the paper as he pressed it to his nose and took a sniff.  

“This smells like cinnamon,” Farlan observed, causing Aegis to chuckle to herself.  

“One of his new friends makes these cinnamon treats he is obsessed with. I believe he attempted to send me one tied to the letter.”  

Farlan’s lip curved up a bit with a quiet ‘hrm’ as if that were an answer he didn’t expect but definitely believed. He set the paper back down with the pile before taking a seat.  

“So we ran some more tests, and it looks like you are responding positively to the treatment. There are no signs of any infection or antibodies to the-”  

“Get to the ‘but’ please, Farlan,” Aegis interrupted with a couple of exhausted nods, “I was in the field as well. I may not have done as much medical study but I’ve been alive for over 400 years. I know what letting a patient down easy sounds like.”

Farlan pressed his lips together in a relent expression, setting the paper in his hands down before lacing his fingers together on the table, “We believe your condition might be spreading to your muscle tissue. We cannot be sure just yet, but it appears to be migrating away from where we’ve targeted the treatment.”  

Aegis took a heavy breath through her nose, her shoulders rising and falling in deflation. She didn’t seem surprised, but that didn’t make the news any easier to take.  

“If there’s nothing else you can do I’d like you to finish your test and be going.” Aegis requested.

“I think you should tell him.” Farlan responded, tapping the drawing.  

“I don’t want to hear this.” Aegis interrupted, standing up from her chair to walk towards the fireplace.  

“He is out on his own he should know about-”  

“Doctor Farlan.” Aegis cut him off as the kettle started to whistle. For a moment the loud screech was the only sound in the cottage before she quickly turned around and removed it from the heat, “My lifespan is likely to be much longer than his. Even with my condition I will outlive him.”  

“You may outlive him,” Farlan emphasized, “You knew this when we found him. I need you to recall I don’t ask this lightly, he was like a nephew to me.”  

Aegis had just started to pour the boiling water into the two cups laid out, her expression softening, “He did love his ‘smart uncle’, even if he thought you were strange at times.”  

“I think he found me just as fascinating as I found him,” Farlan countered, seemingly a bit annoyed. It made Aegis crack a smile as she sat back down and cupped her hands around her tea.  

She reached across the table, dragging one of the drawings out from the bottom of the pile. She picked it up and looked it over, tilting her head with a bit of a smile.

“Do you remember when we found him? Freezing and feral that night in the Mulhorand desert? He was so comfortable in the wild, but the moment I touched him he wouldn’t let me stop petting him. Such an affectionate little creature, alone for such a long time. Couldn’t even speak or write common yet.”  

“I had to remind you he was for a study when all you wished to do was play with him,” Farlan recalled, taking a sip of his tea.  

“You weren’t the most on task, either,” the elvish woman reminded, giving him a knowing glare, “I would find you pausing in the middle of taking notes when he was batting at your pen.”  

The memory sparked something with the researchers as Farlan cracked a smile before they both laughed for a moment. Aegis collected herself as she ran a finger around the rim of her cup.  

“He’s having so much fun,” she explained, looking at the stack of drawings and letters, “He’s met such a wonderful group of friends.”  

“We knew sooner or later we’d have to release him,” Farlan said, “He was still a living creature, even if he’s an adolescent. He deserves to make his own choices.”  

She shuffled the drawing she was looking at across the table to face Farlan.  

It was another crude drawing of the same cat from the reference picture he used to find the cottage. This time, he was standing atop a large hill with sword extended towards a starry sky. A shooting star’s trail streaked to where it was drawn in place at the tip of his sword.  

“He wanted to find a star. Just like a story I used to tell him: that shooting stars all landed somewhere and we had our own to find.” Aegis reminisced, her eyes starting to get misty.  

Farlan nodded somberly with his eyes on the drawing, “That was how you came to the choice of his name. Yes, I recall.”  

“He believes if he finds one it will make me better,” Aegis continued, “That if he finds his star then I’ll be healthy again. I can’t take that away from him.”  

Farlan exhaled, clearly he wanted to argue but he knew he couldn’t. Instead he elected to start removing equipment from his bag, “I don’t know if it’s a star he’s gonna find, exactly, but he may find what he’s looking for in a form he didn’t expect. Maybe a magic potion or an ancient artifact.”  

“Don’t patronize me, Farlan,” Aegis said, but she couldn’t hide the bit of a smile, “You’re my doctor today, you don’t get to tease me.”  

“Not teasing. Well, maybe half teasing.” Farlan assured, “It is quite a world out there, after all. From what you’ve told me already he’s on quite a remarkable adventure.” He held a hand out, flexing his fingers. Aegis rested her hand in his as he started to check her pulse, “For now, he has his own star to chase,” he cast a glance at the drawing again, “I think you’ve already found yours.”  

Farlan placed his other hand over top of Aegis’ as she nodded a couple of times, covering her teary smile with her hand. She sniffled, brushing some of her hair out of her face.  

“Remember, my little Star Chaser-”  

“- When you see a falling star, follow it. Follow it and remember that I see it, too. If you chase the star, I will know where you are!”  

A small Tabaxi with an orange coat sang the parable to himself as he had before hundreds of times, kicking his feet on a bar stool way too tall for him. He held a length of chalk in a fist drawing on a sheet of parchment.  

An empty glass with the remnants of what was likely milk sat next to him as he had just finished scribbling ears on a cat-like stick figure staring up at a very large tower.  

His party was about to go see a tower just like it nearby. He couldn’t quite remember why they were, but he was still so excited. It was so tall! Maybe if he could scale it he’d get close to the night sky.  

There were so many stars above where they were, and it was so pretty! One of them just had to be close enough to touch! If he couldn’t grab it, maybe he could just knock it loose.  

“Hey Star! We’re about to go to the markets and see the fresh catches for today,” A soft female voice called from the doorway, “Do you wanna come with us?”  

“Uh huh!” Star eagerly replied, nodding a couple times. Fresh fish at the market, he couldn’t wait! He just had to finish this drawing.  

A couple more details and... Done!  

He folded the drawing up along with a note, giving a rather unnecessarily large lick to the envelope  to seal it before waving it around to the barkeep, “I’d like to send this letter, please!”  

The barkeep, a burly man with a bushy mustache reached out with a bit of a forced smile as he grabbed the slightly damp letter with two fingers.  

“Same place as th’ last one?” he asked.  

The Tabaxi nodded a couple times, “Yes, please!”  

Star scooped up his drawing materials, hopping off the stool before padding for the door. Before long the letter would be on its way to the cottage, but the words almost rang in the air off of the paper that was filled to the brim with wondrous, if not brokenly written words.  

The envelope was lovingly (albeit a bit sloppily) wrapped and sealed. The cover sported a blotch of ink resembling a paw print and a couple words scrawled barely legibly across the front.  

                                            To Mama