Essilte Longsight-Verric

Thoran Barrett (adopted father)

Isabella Barrett (sister, adopted)

Hunter Barrett (brother, adopted)

A tall, coltish young Kaldorei girl, Essilte Longsight-Verric is a longtime friend of Alaine Harmon, paid intern of Scheine Brightwarden, and ally of Caerseren. Despite her youth she is a businesswoman; she owns and operates Merric Wines and Spirits, specializing in apple brandy and wine made from a surviving strain of Hillsbrad grapes.

## Early Life

Born and raised on a small, mist-shrouded island just off the coast of Darkshore, for the first eight years of her life young Essilte knew only her grandparents, her village, and that she could Do Things. Little things, like turn a cup of water to ice. She also knew she had to keep this a secret, because her grandfather said, “It’s not druid magic, or Elune magic. The others won’t understand.”

She knew she lived with her grandparents because her min’da was dead, and her an’da was gone “walking the world,” whatever that meant. She thought that might mean he was dead too, and never really expected him to show up...until one day he did. He was handsome and kind, and he had a beautiful pet lion named Dusty who was a lot of fun to play with, and she could tell he was trying hard to be a good father…but…he wasn’t very smart.

“He means well,” Grandfather said.

“He’s still really just a boy himself,” Grandmother said.

Essilte wondered at that, how someone could clearly be smart about some things–like, he could tell her everything about hunting and trapping and how to survive in places where everything from the surroundings to the inhabitants tried to kill you–and yet he could be so silly about other things, like letting anger or fear or jealousy get the better of him when dealing with people. The most pathetic thing of all, she decided, was he kept making “friends” and seemed to be looking for them to like him when he really needed to like himself.

Still, there was much to be said for him. He took up a job with the Servitors of Lothar, a special operations unit based out of Aerie Peak in the Hinterlands and moved Essilte and her grandparents into a small but comfortable home in Ironforge. He worked hard and took good care of them all, even when Grandfather started having spells where he forgot who he was or what he was doing. Papa comforted Essilte when Grandfather couldn't remember who she was; when she finally showed him she could do magic, he didn't act disgusted or try to discourage her. Instead, he found a teacher and encouraged Essilte to learn to control and use the magic within.

Then one day Papa brought home a new “friend,” one he seemed very keen on. And this one, Essilte liked immediately. She had a good feeling about him, even if he was human and awkward and shy. He was also a member of the Servitors of Lothar, even though he didn't strike Essilte as very soldiery.

Meriwether Verric was from a place called Keel Harbor in Gilneas, and he had the magic in him, too. He was no master though. Like her, he had much to learn. Like her, he had an experimental bent, although his experiments were most often of the culinary kind.

Like her, he loved Papa desperately, yet also could get totally exasperated with him.

It was through Meri that Essilte's fascination with Gilneas and Gilnean culture began. She and Meri spent long and happy hours in the kitchen together, baking and brewing, sharing recipes and inventing more; Meri's aunt had been a harvest witch in Gilneas, and he shared with Essilte all his aunt's recipes for tonics, simples, and potions. When Papa and Meri bought a house near the lake, and they discovered that it came with an apple orchard, a vineyard, and distilling equipment, Essilte and Meri began cleaning and repairing the still. Essilte already knew she wanted to name her business "Merric", after Meri's nickname, and their logo would be a red Gilnean rose in the curve of a silver crescent moon. One of the happiest days of Essilte's life was the day Papa and Meri told her that Papa had filed legal papers with Darnassus to make Meri her twofather, so if anything ever happened to Papa, nobody could take her away from Meri.

That night they celebrated by hanging lanterns all around the arbor and sat outside talking and looking at the stars, while eating ice cream.

The next night, Meri was dead, killed in action on his final mission with the Servitors of Lothar.

## Recent Years

Essilte’s next few years saw her acting out in ways beyond normal teenage rebellion, as she struggled with grief, rage, and loss. She suffered wild mood swings, fantasized about revenge against the Horde who’d killed Meri, and alternately loved, needed, hated, and blamed her father Etharion. She got into legal trouble at Aerie Peak, getting herself exiled for an extended time from Wildhammer Keep for an offense that is now under seal, since she was still underage when she committed it.

It was her friendship with Alaine Harmon, the young ward of Etharion’s commander, Mena Asteris, that helped pull her through. In Alaine she had a confidant who understood grief and loss, who had the same quick temper and knew the struggle to control it, and perhaps most importantly, they could just be young girls together--being silly and getting into scrapes, seeing what they could get away with, sharing dreams and confidences and learning to grow up.

She found adult mentors other than her father, who was trying his best to meet her needs but, truly, was barely keeping himself together and lacked the wisdom that comes with experience to help her deal with loss.

One of them was the human druid Aerin Clawfoot, a stoic, guarded man, as closed-mouthed as Etharion was garrulous, who provided a different example of an adult male role model, and--when he was in a mood to talk--taught her to see things from a new perspective. Aerin later revealed himself to be Meri's elder brother, and Essilte gladly embraced him as Uncle (once she got over her initial explosion).

Another mentor, and now a major influence in her life, is Magistrix Ivarial Moonwarder, an ancient Highborne mage who took Essilte on as a student, but now is truly surrogate family, having moved into the household and taken up a role as elder matron. She has Essilte for a hundred-years-trial, after which she and Essilte will decide if they move on to a formal master and apprentice arrangement.

Finally, there is another man in Essilte's life she can call her twofather: a Gilnean soldier named Thoran Barrett. He and Etharion met several years after Meri's death, after Etharion and Essilte had learned how to live with grief and were starting to move on with their lives. Essilte liked the big-hearted, loudly jovial Gilnean warrior right away; when he joined the household, he brought a certain liveliness back into the home, with his booming laugh and spontaneity. Not long after Thoran became part of the family, he and Etharion began a search in earnest for Thoran's young neice and nephew, who had been lost in the chaos of evacuation. Against the odds, they located little Isabella and Hunter and brought them home, and overnight Essilte became a big sister--something she'd always wanted, but thought would never happen. With the support of her family (especially Thoran and his excellent bookkeeping skills), Essilte pursued her dream of Merric Wines and Spirits, building it into a small but successful business.

## Recent Events

Ivarial has deemed Essilte proficient enough in her magecraft basics to go on a year-and-a-day "walkabout," in which Essilte has been sent into the world to test herself and her skills, and experience life beyond what she has seen so far. Despite their worries, Etharion and Thoran know better than to gainsay Ivarial in this matter; the magistrix makes few demands, but when she does, she has good reason. The three of them have prepared her as best they can. Essilte has her own chopper, which she built with Thoran's help and maintains by her own skill. She has learned everything Etharion taught her about survival, and from the both of them she has self-defense skills in hand-to-hand and dagger. Most importantly she has her training from Ivarial, who would not send her out into the world unprepared. Finally, she has an emergency exit: a pendant, crafted by Thoran and magicked by Ivarial, to immediately teleport her to safety while alerting Ivarial to her location, should she activate it.

Etharion and Thoran have taken over the day-to-day operations of Merric, a fortunate turn for Etharion as the injuries he endured as a Servitor have started to catch up with him, and his health is not what it was. While his mind is keen and his aim still sharp most of the time, he has nerve damage from a cyanide attack that manifests itself in sudden spasms--usually in the extremities, but sometimes full-body. He also suffered concussions over the course of different missions, and some retina damage lingering from an extended deployment in the Firelands, leaving him vulnerable to eyestrain and occasional blurred vision. He still supplements the family income with his leatherwork, but it's not as elaborate as it used to be, and any mercenary work is right out of the question.

While visiting Stormwind to complete some business regarding Merric, and to advise her contacts that they would be dealing with her twofathers in the immediate future, Essilte ran into Alaine Harmon and the girls spent a delighted afternoon catching up. When she found out Alaine hoped to be part of a Gilnean rresettlement effort, Essilte knew she wanted to help too. Alaine later introduced her to Lord (soon-to-be Duke) Ashland Whiteraven, and Essilte had a good feeling about him, similar to the immediate liking she'd taken to Meri, Alaine, Thoran, Aerin, and Ivarial. She's learned to trust her feelings, the way Meri once advised her to.

Having earned a paid internship with Scheine Brightwarden, Essilte is currently sending reports of her observations and experiments in the Dragon Isles, but she hopes to visit Caerseren on a regular basis, perhaps to purchase a small bit of property for her own, and she definitely has thoughts of expanding Merric Wines and Spirits--perhaps expanding the product line to include Caerseren pears. She also hopes to pay a sort of pilgrimage to Keel Harbor and see the place where Meri grew up.