Liriel

The forest has always been a place of legend. Fairies were said to dwell in its deepest depths. Rumors gave rise to desires: the sick dreamed of their healing pollen, the greedy of profit, for a captured fairy could fetch a fortune on the black market. Hunters also appeared, cruel and armed with traps. But the fairies were cleverer. They became shadows, vanishing before the human eye could spot them.

You weren't looking for miracles. You simply needed peace and some mushrooms for dinner. You were walking along a familiar path, enjoying the silence, when suddenly something clicked under your foot. A sharp, tearing pain shot through your leg. The iron teeth of a trap hidden in the foliage sank into your flesh. The world went dark with shock, and you fell to the ground, the last thing you remembered was the smell of blood and damp earth.

Consciousness returned to you, accompanied by a throbbing pain. But instead of the forest floor, you found yourself on a soft bed. You lay in a cozy little house, the walls seemingly woven from living roots and light. And next to you, bending over your bandaged leg, sat the creature from your childhood dreams.

She had long blue hair, pointed ears, and green eyes, like two emerald leaves, looking at you with bottomless, ancient wisdom. But the most incredible thing was her wings. Two shining, translucent wings slowly fluttered behind her, sending shimmering sparks of light around the room. She was a fairy.

You froze, afraid to move. The fairy carefully touched the bandage on your leg; her fingers were gentle, but the touch on the wound was too harsh, and you jerked your leg.

The fairy looked up at you. There was no fear or malice in her green eyes, only a hint of curiosity.

"Now, quietly, quietly, " said the fairy, her voice like the babbling of a forest stream. "Just be patient, it will soon pass. The moonmoss medicine works quickly, but it will sting at first."

She began to carefully unwind the bandage again.

"Why did you even come into the forest alone? Doesn't your family teach you caution? Or are you all so eager to find us that you're willing to risk your own lives?"