After the birth of Nole, it was settled that Silverymoon was to be the Duer's permanent home. No more traveling would be done by Jen, who after years of helping others and having many children, had enough of putting herself and them in danger.
She decreed she would only teach the next generation of druids at Arrowmoor Keep in the warming seasons, and would council with the High Mage in the cold ones. Weylyn was still adamant about training Atticus and Olly, and soon Nole from his growing powers just like his siblings. Jen agreed, knowing she had plenty of help around the house with Brienne, Kirwin, and Mari with her at the villa.
When Olly was out training with her father, life was like that of the Ranger, quiet when not facing battle, lonesome when the nights were dark, and exquisite when you got to behold the wonders of the world. Life back home though in Silverymoon was very different. Everyone knew who you were when you walked around, people would stop and want to talk to you, just to say they had. For the blessed children of the Duer's it was even more strange, people talking about the family that had not one, but three Aasimar's. Three! It was almost unheard of, which is why when Olly found herself in the marketplace, people wanted to speak to her and her siblings.
For years it was the same, Weylym would take Olly, Atti, and Nole out for a spring and summer, showing them the ways of the world and how they themselves could be Monster Hunters, then return home in the fall and winter.
Some years though, Weylyn knew the trio had to face the harshness of the world, for it was all not lush like the warming seasons. Staggering the years between his children, he would only take one of them out for a winter and fall season, showing them how to survive in the worst environments and face the toughest beasts that would come for them in the dark.
Sometimes Olly would fear for her brothers those seasons, watching the winds howl outside with snow and wondering if Nole had chopped enough wood for him and father, or if Atticus was separated from father in the darkness. The relief that washed over her when they would walk into the gates of Arrowmoor was nothing to the embrace she would receive from them upon their return. But like all young men, Atticus would soon not return from his travels, going his own way in the world.
It was one year when Olly had turned sixteen, that Atticus had left Arrowmoor Keep, leaving a letter for them that the High Mage of the Council had sent him on a mission of utmost importance, but could not tell them anything else. He had left in the middle of the night, stealing away in the darkness before Olly or the rest of her family knew he was gone.
Her father had grown angry that the High Mage had not consulted him first, fearing that although Atticus was a young man of twenty-four, he still should not be going out on a mission from the High Mage alone. Weylyn had left Arrowmoor Keep, telling his family that he was going to go find Atticus, help him if he could, and then bring him home. But when her father returned, he was missing his left leg and Atticus had disappeared. Olly remembered them wheeling her father in on a wooden cart, the dried blood still caked on the cloth that wrapped around his leg. She had felt sick to her stomach, and had realized it was the first time she had seen her father severely wounded.
It had taken weeks for her father to recover, his world going in and out to manage the pain. When Olly's mother finally got to question him about what had happened, her mother returned to the children and explained that their father would not speak of what happened to them, and that Atticus was gone.
Olly could not comprehend her brother just being "gone", and as much as she tried to press her mother, there was no other information given to her than that. She dared not ask her father, the man now changed as he adjusted to life with only one leg, taking more time to train at the academy, his life of traveling the world now cut short from his injury. She would sometimes catch him just staring into the training grounds of the keep, his eyes filled with emotion, although Olly could not tell if it was anger or more sadness. She had asked him if they would find a wizard or artificer to give him a new leg, but shame plagued her father, along with regret. He refused help, refused a warforged leg, and held whatever happened with Atticus only with himself.
But Olly did not stop trying to live the life of a Ranger, at seventeen she was actively helping train recruits at Arrowmoor and doing tasks for local villages that sprouted around Silverymoon. She gained a name for herself along with her siblings, doing her best to train Nole as she was trained.
Her father did his best with his youngest son, teaching him as he could despite his leg, while letting Olly handle the training seasons alone with her brother. Weylyn knew his daughter was smart, too much like him out of all his children, he knew Olly would train Nole to the point of perfection just as she was. Olly enjoyed those moments, Nole being eager to learn from her just as she had been with Atticus. The topic of their older brother only came up in those moments alone out in the wilderness, nobody at home would speak about their oldest brother openly, as if he were dead to them.
"Even dead people get talked about" Olly had said to her brother one night "But they all act as if he was never even there."
Nole did his best for his sister, knowing that she had been pushed into training him alone. She was not perfect by any means, often growing frustrated when Nole would complain, or jumping down his throat when real danger was present and he wasn't actively listening to her. Olly could not help it, she feared of losing another brother, and wanted Nole to be better than her when he grew up. She had grown up with the absence of her oldest brother as most children do when responsibility is thrust upon them.
Life though, soon took a turn a few years later, Olly being around the Keep more often, her training growing stagnant as she tried to find something to do with her life besides thinking of her brother and father. Days were spent wandering the woods of Silverymoon, riding horseback and climbing the local mountains in search of something, anything that would fill the emptiness that Olly felt. It was like a voice was calling her, but she didn't know from where, the wind always changing directions of the sound. Her mother did her best for Olly, Jen trying to teach her more druid ways, but Olly found them tedious. She longed for the sting of steel and the breath of fresh air just from a fight. She needed that thumping from her heart and the rush of blood to feel something besides the gentle breeze of the woods that surrounded her world.
It was only when Olly was eighteen and the Midsummer festival was starting that night, a grand ball was to be held at the High Mage's gardens, and the Duer's of course had been invited.
Brienne and Mari were thrilled at the idea, finding the best gowns to wear and excited about the possibilities of the night. Olly had been less than thrilled, wanting to go across the Moonbridge into the forests and feast with the halflings and gnomes who were drinking fine ale and listening to lively music. She did not care for the stuffiness of the nobility, or the standards that came with them, though she did love dressing in those beautiful ball gowns, the only enticing thing about the night her sisters could tempt her with.
Caving to her sister's pleas, Olly dressed up for the Midsummer ball, her long hair swept back in a bun with large curled tresses down her backside. Her gown had been a light maube, picked by Mari of course, but Olly had hardly gotten to dance in it when they arrived at the ball. It was uncomfortably elegant, the smell of lilly's and roses in the air, everyone bowing and almost silent as they talked quietly in groups. It felt stagnant, as did much lately.
The High Mage's gardens were lovely to behold, large bushes courted it off in sections, pools of water housed colorful flowers, their sweet aroma giving the air a hazy feel. Beautiful arches rounded along the garden paths, dancing fairy lights hanging from their rafters to illuminate the way. A crowd had gathered in the largest part of the gardens that surrounded a illuminated fountain, where water dryads sung to the party goers, their bubbling voices heard above the music of the orchestra on a small platform. It was magical, and also very apparent to Olly this was not where she wanted to be.
There suitors had gawked at the Duer girls, their beauty holding up to the rumors as they sashayed into the gardens, Olly having to stop herself from laughing at some young noblemen that watched Brienne in almost fear of how lovely she was.
But, the men of course grew bolder as the night progressed, coming up to each Duer girl and asking for a dance around the gardens. Olly had been asked, but had declined. It was different with Mari and Brienne, when men looked at them, they saw beauty, status, and charm. When they looked at Allana Duer, they saw the differences. They way her hair wasn't as blue as her sisters, more of a gray blue that made you think of a sea right before a storm. It was the way her eyes glowed, the white orbs that saw through the uncomfortable way the men tried not to stare, the way they shifted as they tried to look at anything else, ask about anything else. It was exhausting, and Olly did not have the strength to feel the underlying rejection each young man made her feel, knowing she was being compared, examined, and then settled for since they could not have her sisters.
So she watched from the side, her sisters dancing with young men, the music making everyone light hearted and laughing. In her chest though, Olly felt loneliness, a hollowed out feeling that made her bittersweet to the lovely evening.
How long had it been like this? How long had she been feeling this sinking feeling, this lonesome rejection? Her life was going so well, she was well liked in the city, her name was famous in nearly every household along the Sword Coast, she was the best at what she did, and could face any challenges. In yet though, she was unhappy.
It wasn't until a young elf had silently stood up beside her that her thoughts became interrupted. Olly remembered the way he had looked the first time she saw him. His hair had been short, cropped almost, but still black as night with hints of blue when it hit the light just right. His pointed chin and sharp nose was pleasing to look at, and he hadn't said anything to her as the party still continued. He hadn't fidgeted nor seemed phased at all by her presence, and for the first time Olly had felt genuinely off guarded.
"You look like your just as miserable as I feel" he had joked to her, his gaze still on the crowd and only turning to her for a quick second. Olly liked his smile, his teeth almost pointy in a way that made you realize he wasn't human. His eyes were a piercing blue, a sign of being a noble high elf rather than the forest wood elces she had grown up with.
Olly had shook her head at him, "It would be a lot better if there was ale."
"Well, what do you say we ditch this and go find some?" he had said nudging her. Olly didn't know who this elf was, but he had talked her language and she had agreed. She had followed him out of the party, leaving her sister's to their fancy as she went for the real party in the forest's of Silverymoon.
The elf had introduced himself as Peren Xiolescent, a sorcerer from Neverwinter. He had been living in Silverymoon for a few years, a scholar at one of the temples to learn new magic and techniques as most travelers did. They had drank most of the night, talking about themselves, Peren mostly wanting to know more about her. It had been genuine, or at least she thought it had, his conversation engaging and more interesting than most. Peren asked if he could see her again after that night, and Olly taking an unknown risk, had agreed.
Olly found him charming at first, his wit and humor matching hers. He appealed to her through his magic, showing and teaching her new things that Rangers were not thought of to do. She could will magic using her divine light inside of her, and could cast more than just a simple cantrip or two.
Peren saw the potential in the girl, and soon found himself courting her. Olly had never been in love before she had met the elf, although there had been many boys that she had been infatuated with. She always found herself too shy or to open with her feelings for anything to come to fruition though.
Peren on the other hand, had talked of love with her so fervently that soon she thought that she was in love with him, it just wasn't like the stories her father and mother had told her. There had been no lighting strike, no absolute feeling that Peren was her one and only. Olly had chalked it up to just being a story for children, and when Peren asked Allana to travel with him, she agreed.
Olly's mother and father seemed weary of their young daughter suddenly going off to travel and adventure with a high elf, but Peren had used his charm to win them over, promising them he would protect Olly no matter what.
Olly had felt pride in herself that she had chosen such a smart companion, one that could smooth talk and fight with such fury it made her weak in the knees. But as time pressed on, Peren began to change, and soon Olly's companion turned to a stranger. When they started traveling, Peren was open to helping others the way Olly had been taught, but soon their charitable adventures began looking like a business opportunity for the elf, now charging villages and towns for Olly's services.
The more Olly and Peren helped people, the more the price of gold for that help went up. Olly had tried to argue with the elf about the pay of coin, but the elf had shut her up quick with the warm touch of his hand.
Olly hated how Peren had come to make her feel. She would try and hold her own against him, but his words would cut her deep, his hand even deeper, and his love would then try to smooth over the wound like it never happened... Olly felt herself become more like a tool to be used and then forgotten about once the elf had what he wanted.
But none the less, she continued to travel with him, feeling shameful if she returned home without him, thinking that maybe under all the spite that came from him, he still loved her. Elves did not feel things strongly, at least that was the excuse she held on to. Olly would resist as much as she could to control her feeling, but her emotions where what made her real, made her whole. The more she became involved with Peren, the more those emotions were dulled, put aside and forgotten.
She dreamed of such a different life for so long, laying awake in the elf's arms at night, dreaming of a life where she didn't feel like an animal in a cage.
She just didn't know it was going to happen in the face of an angry troll.