Firki wandered through the woods looking for the special herb, that Syletha had asked for. Firki was a young elf mage. He had run from the city before the divine had locked him away for having magic, and had stumbled upon a clan of wandering elves. He had been terrified when the leader Verimil had found him in the bushes. Verimil however had looked on him kindly; accepting him into their clan. Firki had been sent to study under the clan’s herbalist Syletha. Syletha was the smartest most powerful mage he had come to know. She was kind, but very stern in her lessons.
His most recent mistake, was why he was in the woods. Syletha had tasked him with mixing a healing elixer, for an injured baby dragon. The poor thing had wandered from it’s nesting area, stumbling upon and scaring a human. Luckily the human did not know what they were doing and only injured the dragon out of fear. Firki had weaved his magic, and mixed the herbs until an elixer had been made. Feeling confident in his abilities, he had taken it to Syletha, who after taking a small whiff almost fainted. She then scolded him, for his elixer came out as an aid for a special plant that grew in the far north country and, with his luck, very poisonous to any other living being.
Syletha, had taken his elixer for safe keeping and told him to try again. Once again he weaved his magic and mixed the herbs until an elixer formed. Once again he confidently took it to Syletha, who again scolded him for again, the elixer he had made was not for healing wounds on a dragon, but was for temporarily boosting a hunters ability to use stealth, and see in the dark. So once again, he was told to go try again. A simple elixer to heal wounds, should not be so hard. Firki had tried until he ran out of herbs, none of his attempts to create this elixer being successful, though a couple had turned out to be useful for other situations.
So now Firki was out in the woods looking for the herbs to make the elixer for the dragon. He kept thinking about the actions and mixes he had done to try and make the elixer. Syletha had said it was a simple elixer, but all the movements and timing had always been so difficult for Firki. He wondered if there was an elixer to help with using magic. Once he had all the herbs he collected he went back to the camp.
Syletha took the herbs, telling Firki to watch her closely. She would make the elixer and he would mimic her. Firki weaved his magic and mixed the herbs exactly as Syletha. Not one wrong movement, missed timing, or miss addition of the herbs, it had all been perfect, but when they were finished their elixers did not look the same. Syletha just sighed. That just seemed to be how Firki’s magic worked. No rhyme or reason, he could do everything correctly and still not achieve success. It was troubling. The only silver lining was that his elixer was one that was used to cure stomach sickness, which a mother had come asking for earlier that afternoon.
Syletha took the elixers and used them as they were needed, her elixer gently applied to the young dragon’s wounds, which healed instantly, and Firki’s elixer given to the mother, to cure her daughter’s stomach sickness. Firki just retired to his tent shamefully. Elixers were a big part of being an herbalist apprentice. If he couldn’t get them right, then maybe he would never be asset to the clan who so generously took him in. He lay down on his bed of ferns with a heavy heart, saying a prayer to the creators before drinking one of Syletha’s elixers to fall into a deep sleep. “Tomorrow will be better,” he thought to himself as the elixer pulled him off into the depths of a peaceful sleep.
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