It’s been five nights since my life took a huge and unexpected turn. In fact, I’ve decided to start writing a diary to keep a record of everything that happens from now on. For the first time in forever, I want to leave a mark in this world, no matter how small.
It all began because of a storm. For more than two weeks, the forest I call home had been at the mercy of some of the heaviest rains I’ve seen in decades. I was glad to have such a cosy home to protect myself from the constant downpours, but having a good shelter didn’t mean I’ve had it easy. I still needed to go out and gather food and resources from the forest to survive.
I’ve always been comfortable with the night. It’s under the cover of darkness that I have an easy time gathering resources without exposing myself to humans. Truth be told, it has become a habit of mine to invade their campsites in search of those useful tools, books, and delicious snacks they bring into the forest. I also play a few pranks on them from time to time. Done properly, they will always blame the local wildlife.
Humans... I don’t like them, but I have to admit their presence has added some flavour to my life. It has been tough living on my own, not because I’m not capable, but because I missed the company. After all, it had been centuries since I last saw another dræll. I truly thought I was the last member of my race.
I’m getting ahead of myself...
Going back to that night, I had been patrolling a new area in search of anything I could use or eat. You could say that gathering is all I do whenever I go out of my hideout, but those few nights were particularly challenging. The heavy rains made the terrain difficult to traverse, which ruined many of my usual sources of food. That included the humans, who refused to show up due to the terrible conditions. Not that I could blame them. No one likes bad weather.
The lack of resources forced me to step out of my comfort zone and explore areas I had intentionally avoided. I was walking through one such place when the storm made itself present once more. It didn’t take long for it to reach full strength, making it difficult for me to see. It was thanks to the occasional lightning that I could continue moving.
Making my way back home, I heard a loud noise and screams coming from above. As I looked up, I spotted a car tumbling down the hill. It was coming my way, so I stepped away from its path and observed it roll some more before it came to a stop. I stood frozen whilst staring at the scene in front of me. A flash of light revealed the motionless body of a woman a few metres away from the car. No point checking on her. Her skull had been crushed from the impact with a tree.
I averted my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself. I barely took a few steps away from the scene when I heard a faint groan. I looked behind me, and as the sky brightened once more, I saw a child crawling her way out of the wreckage before it all went dark again. I remember a putrid smell reaching my nose at some point, but I never identified the source.
When the next bolt of light fell, I could see her reaching out to me, silently begging for help as her consciousness faded. She was badly injured.
I felt tempted to leave. She was human, after all. It was her kind that ruined my life. And yet, my own conscience did not let me abandon her. If I did, I would have been the same as them.
I tried casting a basic healing spell on her, but she reacted violently to it. That was a first for me. Even though I lacked proper training, my healing hadn’t failed since I was a child. No, it wasn’t a failure. Her wounds had visibly decreased, so I could tell it worked. The reaction was simply unexpected.
I was reluctant to try again, yet I feared that if I didn’t, she wasn’t going to make it. I continued to heal her wounds, regardless of her incessant squirming and complaining. Once her breathing was stable, I hid my basket within the hollow of a tree and lifted the girl on my back to take her home with me. I would come back for my things the next night. I just hoped a bear didn’t find them first.
Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.
When I made it inside my den, I placed the child on my bed and noticed something odd about her. For starters, her hair had fallen off at some point, and the pale tone of her once tan skin made me worry. Hoping that she wasn’t gravely sick, I decided to ignore her appearance and resumed my healing until I made sure she was safe. There was no point in trying to cure her illness if she died from her injuries.
My fears suddenly turned into hope as I worked on the spell. At the same time she healed, her skin kept changing in colour, her ears elongated, and new strands of white hair grew from the top of her head. I didn’t want to stop, but I had to. It made her suffer too much, and she was no longer in danger.
A couple of nights went by. The rains had finally receded, and I was able to recover my belongings, as well as some of the girl’s clothes. I also had time to gather and dry some wood to craft a small bed for her. Thanks to the returning humans, I even managed to steal enough materials to make a mattress. Collecting blankets for her was rather fun, as well. I almost got caught once, though.
The girl kept changing during that time. It was slower, and I could tell it still made her uncomfortable, but it made me glad to see the result. I still couldn’t believe my own eyes. What I thought was a young human girl turned out to be a dræll!
Was it a disguise?
My parents never told me about the existence of shape-shifting magic of this magnitude, nor was it mentioned in any of the books they left me. Still, that’s the only explanation I can come up with. Someone must have discovered it and used it to disguise themselves and their family with it.
The remaining question is: What broke the spell?
I assumed the accident was the cause at first, but when I returned to the crash site, the bodies of both parents remained the same. Was it a safety measure to prevent humans from finding out even after death? If so, it didn’t make sense for the girl to change. If there’s something worse than a human finding a dead dræll, it would be a living one. I know that very well.
If it wasn’t the accident, the only possibility I can think of is that I was the trigger. Whether it was contact with an undisguised dræll, a reaction to my own magic, or perhaps both, it was enough to revert the change.
There is one more thing I forgot to mention until now. That is her uncanny resemblance to my older sister. I only got to meet her twice since she lived with her mysterious husband and children close to the human border in Solæs, the Elven Kingdom. Why they chose to live there was beyond me. Although, no one could’ve expected what was about to happen back then.
Fortunately, I have a portrait of her from when she was around the same age as this girl. Even now, it hangs on the wall over the young one’s bed. It’s thanks to it that I remember her appearance after all this time.
This girl… is it merely a coincidence? I’m not sure if that’s the case, but I want to think that my sister, or at least one of her children, survived and secretly lived among the humans. If this child is her descendant, it would explain why she looks so much like her, even when her parents didn’t. I believe humans call this Atavism? I could be wrong.
The only way to find out the truth was by asking her directly. Unfortunately for me, that’s when another problem made itself known. When she finally awoke the night before this one, she couldn’t remember anything about herself nor her past.
I’ve read about amnesia before. A condition where the person forgets fragments of information or is unable to learn new things. There can be many causes, although the wounds from the accident and the loss of her parents seem to be the culprits here. Psychic magic may be able to fix it, but it’s too risky to try without proper knowledge. I can only hope that she recovers with time.
Despite her condition, the girl is able to identify most objects and speak the human common tongue easily. Oddly enough, when it comes to magic or speaking Geilspræn, she has no clue at all. She even thinks of them as fantastical, just like a modern human would. Was it also because of amnesia? Or maybe her parents raised her as a human? If so, why? She was bound to find out, given the difference in our lifespans.
No matter. There’s nothing that can be done about it now. I can’t help but think this is fate. It’s unfortunate that her parents died before we could meet, but I will do my best to raise her as if she were my own in their honour.
That said, I needed a name for her. I went back to the car, hoping to find one of those identification cards humans love so much; however, my search turned unsuccessful. If it existed, there’s a chance I accidentally burned it along with the bodies of her parents. A pity, but they deserved a proper funeral. I did find a picture of her family, though. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it when her memories come back. If they do.
Not having a clue about the girl’s identity, I decided to name her after my sister, Nyggry. A fitting name, not only because of her looks, but the meaning behind it.
My very own daughter.
My New Dawn.