The Herbalist

- Kaelith- Humans... disgusting puny humans... How I loathed them with every fiber of my being. Those vile curs defiled our Mother Earth with their putrid pollution, heedless waste, and relentless assault upon the sacred forests. A plague they were, a pestilence upon the land. Were it within my power, I would scourge them all from existence, these verminous creatures who desecrated all they touched. Those scums were harming our mother Earth with all their pollution, waste and their obsession with harming our forest. Humans were simply disgusting. They strode through their miserable lives, blind to the world beyond their petty concerns, oblivious to the existence of beings far older and far greater than themselves. Arrogant, selfish fools, they plundered the earth’s bounty with no thought for the devastation left in their wake. They drained the land, choked the rivers, and poisoned the air, all to satisfy their insatiable greed. And yet they strutted about, unaware of their true insignificance, unbothered by the harm they wrought. My contempt for their kind burned fiercely, so much so that I withdrew from their presence entirely. Let them wallow in their filth and folly. I had no use for them. My time was far better spent tending to the wreckage they left behind, mending what little I could. I was a lot older than most supernaturals, older than the petty kingdoms and empires that rose and fell among humankind. I have borne witness to the depths of their depravity, their insatiable hunger for destruction. Dangerous they were, not by their strength, nor their wit, but by their sheer numbers. Like locusts, they multiplied endlessly, consuming all in their path. Together, they achieved much, but always ruin. I remembered well their witch hunts, a time of fire and terror when their ignorance and fear led to unspeakable cruelty. They killed them in the most painful way: Fire. What madness it was to burn living beings alive! How twisted and vile must their hearts be to conceive such horrors? I saw the flames, heard the screams, and felt the earth itself recoil from their cruelty. Even before the Witch Cull, my hatred for humanity had deep roots, for their crimes against my kind were far older. They repulsed me. Even before the great Witch Cull, I hated humans. This deep hatred was rooted from my origins. I was only part Elf, the most noble race in the supernaturals, because they robbed me of my pure breed. Humans used other magical creatures against the Elven Kingdom. It was long before the time I was born. When majestic beasts were still roaming amongst us, when the human population was still a small community of hunter-gatherers. Long ago, when the Elven Kingdom stood in splendor, humans betrayed us in our moment of weakness. The Elven King and Queen were the protectors of Nature and forests around the world. The Elven King fell to a mysterious plague, and one by one, our kin followed. With our defenses crumbled, the humans rallied. Their crude weapons and brutish strength tore through our people, their victory marked by c*****e and devastation. Since that time, the whole supernatural community learned to fear them. Not on an individual basis, but their ability to reproduce so fast and grow their population quickly gave them the number advantage. It was said that the Elven Queen fled to the wilds, bearing a secret child—a daughter whose identity was hidden among the Fae. She lived with them for a long time, and then, amongst them, she met her destined. The elves were noble, but our greatest strength was also our greatest curse. We could only bear children with our destined, and only once bound by soul and oath. Long-lived as we were, such unions were rare, and our numbers dwindled. I was spared this burden, for my Fae blood marked me as a half-breed. But it left me unmoored, a creature of two worlds, belonging fully to neither. Sould bound meant to remained pure and only saving yourself for your destined. Considering Elves could live a very long time, maybe over a couple of millennia... saving yourself for your destined could be rather challenging. At least being the noblest supernatural, Elves were not prone to rut and heat as the rest of mammals, humans and supernatural included. I was unsure about myself... having Fae blood made me not pure breed, hence the rules who applied to Elf might not apply to me. I was born during the Witch Cull, on the last year of another human war. The Witch Trials, as mankind named it, just another s*******r that lasted seventy years, bathed my childhood. The images of the gruesome m******e of the witches were permanently engraved in my memory. My mother vanished during those dark times, leaving no trace, not even for her destined, my father. Raised among the Fae, I watched as they aged and passed while I remained untouched by time. By the tender age of one hundred and twenty-four, a mere breath after I crossed the threshold of puberty, I had buried my father, his mortal life extinguished as all Fae lives were, in just over a century and a half. Grief consumed me, for we could not even hold a proper farewell, fearing the superstitious eyes of the humans in the year 2000. Their madness knew no bounds, even then. It was in the shadows and solitude that I found my purpose. The earth’s magic called to me, granting me the power to heal forests and mend ecosystems scarred by human greed. After my father's passing, I left our community and traveled far, aiding Fae, nymphs, and gnomes in their struggles to survive the relentless human trail of destruction. Yet my Elven heritage remained elusive, its magic locked beyond my reach without my mother’s guidance. And every time I thought of my limitations, it came back to my resentment and hatred towards those vile creatures who just wanted to destroy everything with their greed. Our world was over populated by this vermine and they had no regards towards natural resources or other ecosystem they would destroy. They dug soil for their black oil, they polluted air, soil and sea with all their machines... My travels brought me to the heart of the rainforest, a stark contrast to my familiar birthplace Scandinavian woods. Here, I joined a Fae community struggling against the scourge of deforestation. Fae's couldn't live outside the woods for very long. Our souls were connected to the forest and we were living in symbiosis with it. We needed the forest as much as it needed us. Among the ancient trees, I discovered pixies, long thought extinct. Delicate winged creatures, they worked in harmony with the forest, crafting healing remedies and nurturing the land. They were sought after by the faes because they could help with healing remedies for our kind. They clashed with the gnomes—sturdy, earthy beings who served as the forest’s caretakers—but necessity bound them together. We all shared a common enemy: the humans. Gnomes possessed ground magic, where they could disappear underground, and communicate through it. They could also sense things miles away and where excellent scouts for faes. Although we had our differences, all the species living in the forest got along and managed a peaceful life in harmony. The camaraderie was great and many time people came together to face the common enemy humans. Due to my heritage, I never really felt like I belonged to the faes, and watching them live and die was a testament of my difference. I never really had friends since the ones I made during childhood were all dead or very elderly by now... while I looked like a young adult. I befriended a pixie called Aeden when I rescued her from a net in a trap human made. She had proven to be useful to assist with some local injuries with the Ikpeng Fae community. But some weird humans who seemed different than most and seamed to live better in the rainforest, the Yanomami tribe also had casualties from the other humans with the big machines... I would never understand humans... destroying everything, even their own... Greedy species... I was pulled out of my thoughts by the loud ruckus of men. The humans in this region wielded their machines with reckless abandon, scarring the land for their greed. I took great pleasure in thwarting their efforts, blending into the shadows of the forest to sabotage their monstrous vehicles. This day was no different. I crept to the edge of the woods, my cloak concealing my white hair, and dismantled their machines with precise malice. When the men returned to find their truck ruined, their curses were music to my ears. Stupid beasts, they would fell no trees today. As I was returning to inform the local fae community of my findings, Caioverde, a young fae, son of the local beast tamer hurried to meet me. "Kaelith, here you are, please come to me to the camp, Iaraelyn is looking for you, she had a message from a small community in Europe who need your help!" “In Europe?” I replied with a sigh. “Do not tell me it is the Jura Mountains again.” “I fear so, Kael,” he said, hesitating. “What now?” “They report… a disturbance in the forest’s magic. Something… unnatural.” “Out with it!” “… Dark magic, and shifters.” “Wonderful,” I muttered, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just what I need.” Shifters and dark magic—a volatile combination. Shifters were reckless at best, living among humans and playing their games of power and wealth. Shifters were the worst supernatural kind to stay quiet in front of humans... Us supernaturals didn't have many rules... but staying hidden from mankind was the most important and sacred one. And those horndogs shifters were really bad at it. If they had dabbled in forbidden magic, the situation was grave indeed. But Faes and Shifters rarely meddled together, too different and shifters were too clsoe to humans for my liking. I ought to pay the Swiss community a visit and just that thought was enough to sour my mood. With a heavy heart, I prepared for the journey, dreading the encounter with the Swiss Fae and their infamous debauchery. The Swiss faes were notorious for their indecent orgies and despite multiple pestering and coercing for me to join them, I've always managed to refuse.Whatever awaited me in the Jura Mountains, it reeked of trouble.