Chapter I: It Begins

Nature Faeries

It was the dawn of a new morning in the kingdom of Barithae. And even though the Queen Laetha and her son, Prince Mat, did not know it yet, this would be the morning that would change the fate of the Land itself.

***

Prince Mat  was wondering about the castletown when he stopped in a small store. The glint of a certain pair of wisp-like wings had caught his attention. He knew who they belonged to, and this particular faery he hadn't seen in a long time, so it was important he talk to her.

"Elsie!" Mat called when he could see the butterfly faery clearly. The girl faery turned in his direction and waved him over.

"Where have you been all this time, Elsie?" He asked when he joined her at a small table.

"Oh, you know, here and there and everywhere, Mo." The faery teased. Mo was Mat's nickname on account of his moth-like wings. "A Butterfly's duty is never done. You know that, Prince."

Indeed, Mat did know this. The Butterflies were a kind of oracles since they had been around the longest. Though since faeries aged very slowly, Elsie didn't look older than a human at twenty-five. It was known that each element; Nature, Air, Water, and Fire, had a Butterfly of their own. There used to be more, long ago, but the Great Fire of Alos wiped the majority of them out.

"Well, it's great that you're back," Mat said, "Mother will be dancing with Luna once she hears of your presence." 

The Butterfly went eerily silent for a moment before she spoke. "That may change when she hears my  news."

***

It was early-afternoon when Butterfly Elsie, the Queen, and Prince Mat gathered in the queen's quarters. Elsie had been strangely silent for some time now, which was unusual for her. This led the Queen and her Son to believe that what they were about to hear would be life changing. 

"My Fair Queen Laetha, it brings me great sorrow, and delight, to deliver this news to you." The Butterfly began. "Delight, because if the Others join forces with the Hero, the great sorrow can be lessened, if not stopped altogether. But if not..." The Butterfly began to cry. "We may seize to exist, as will all faery kind."

Laetha was silent for a minute. "But, Butterfly Elsie, do you know who this Hero is that can stop the sorrow?" 

Elsie picked her head up, and smiled. "Yes! She is coming here the morn after next!" Elsie seemed to return to her natural self. "She will be weak, and she will need help, but she is our only hope My Queen!"

"She?" Mat suddenly interjected. "The Hero who is supposed to save us is a girl? And if she's supposed to be so great, why is she weak?" 

"Prince, she may not seem like much at first glance, but she bears the Path of Faerionn." Elsie rebutted.

Mat shook his head and stormed out of the room. Faerionn was a kind of god to the nature faeries. He had delivered the killing shot to Overlord Barkarae in the Evernight Wars. To have a she-faery follow in his path, Mat couldn't imagine a greater insult. But, the Butterfies' word was final.

 

 

Air Faeries

"Your daughter is marvelously gifted, My Beautiful Queen Danelia." 

"Why, thank you Butterfly Aeya." Danelia said. 

The Queen and the Butterfly, along with the queen's second daughter, and every citizen of the kingdom of Missitus had gathered in the Grand Hall of Castle Cumoulo to listen to the elegant floutistry of Princess Maena. Zeena, the second, but older daughter of the queen, was a lightning faery and she wasn't particularly fond of her twin sister's talent. That was why she was silently working to conjure up a small thunder storm in the Hall. 

"Why do I always agree to these things?" Maena thought as she continued to play for the crowd that had formed in the Grand Hall. "I know I'm gifted, but why can't I have some fun like all the other faery girls my age? Or Zeena for that matter."

As Maena finished her song and the roaring applause started, she took notice of something that everyone else had seemed to have mised. The dark cloud that had formed near the ceiling of the Hall.

"Zeena!" Maena heard her mother yell. "Stop that! Just because you may be jealous of your sister does not give you the go ahead to make storms in the castle!"

Zeena tried to throw a lightning bolt at her, but Danelia stopped it and removed the storm her daughter had made with a strong gust of wind. 

"To your quarters, Zeena!" She yelled with a thundering volume. Zeena left reluctantly and the people of Missitus who had come to see Maena play were escorted out of the castle.

Maena started to flutter back to her quarters as well when the Butterfly Faery, Aeya, gently stopped her. 

"Maena," she started. "As you know I've been here watching you grow up since the day you were born." 

Maena nodded.

"Well, I believe it's time you know why you're so gifted with music. Particularly with the Flute."

Maena followed the Butterfly back to her grand chamber and listened as she told her the story of the Lute Player Barodae. Barodae had been gifted with music as Maena was, and he was able to persuade any creature or soften any hard heart with the tune of his Lute. He had also been an air faery, and he helped the Heroes from the Evernight Wars to defeat Anool and the former ruler, Thundairius.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Maena asked when the Butterfly had finished.

"Well, only everything!" The Butterfly exclaimed. It was very unlike Aeya to get excited, as she was normally very calm and collected. "Don't you see, Maena? Your gift with the Flute... You're destined to Barodae's path!"

It was at that moment that the Queen entered the chamber and explained to Maena the prophecy that was given to her the day of Maena's birth. The prophecy that if Maena did not find the three other hero faeries, as  Barodae had in his day, faery kind would seize to exist.

 

 

Water Faeries

It was a favorite past time of all the faeries who lived in the kingdom of Drillypania to race Water Skippers across the rivers and ponds of the land to see who could get from one end to the other without falling off, and Princess Shae was no exception. In fact, she was already in a race with four sprites and the local racing team. Shae had a knack for racing though, and the bond between she and her Skipper was somewhat of a legend. Though, what Shae should have been doing at the time she was racing was practicing her spells, as she would come to know later on that it would serve her much more than racing a Water Skipper would. For now though, Shae was enjoying herself.

***

"Just try and catch me, Jola!" Shae called back to her friend.

Jola was one of the few boys still in Drillypania as most of them had gone out on missions already. Though Jola had been excused from the recruiting because he was the captain of the Lilly Jumpers, castletown Fallequa's own Water Skipper team. His father had not been so lucky, and he had been sent off the morning before.

 "You'll regret challenging me, Princess!" He called back.

Jola and Shae had been friends since they were spritelings, baby faeries, and they were always trying to best one another. Shae had a stronger control over water and ice, but Jola had speed and technique, which made them perfect competitors.

 Currently Shae and Jola were leading the pack. The rest of the Lilly Jumpers and the sprites playing on the water could harldy keep up, and eventually Shae and Jola were on their own. They both knew the bodies of water by heart, so they wouldn't get lost, but sometimes their competitive spirits got the best of them. Jola took a risky move when he veered off to take a shortcut through a nearby swampy area, while Shae stayed on the path. Luckily, Jola came out the other side, just ahead of Shae though, and she countered his advancement by throwing up a wave in front of his Skipper. Though, the advantage didn't last long, since Shae was pulled off the racing route and into what she knew was the Butterfly's Spring.

"Queyna... I can't do this right now." Shae complained. 

"Hush my Princess." The Butterfly said in a melodic tone. "Today, you learn the truth about your powers."

"What are you talking about, Queyna?"

The Butterfly materialized before her, sitting atop a bubble as she typically did. "Shae, close your eyes." 

"Is this another test?" Shae asked, a little annoyed that the Butterfly had interrrupted her race for this.

"No... However, using your skills that you have practiced, if you are indeed what I am told you are by the Spirits of the Falls, you should be able to bring the item up from its resting place."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shae mumbled. "But okay."

Shae half-heartedly started doing what Queyna called the "Healer's Summons Dance", but as she got into it she found that she was working harder and harder, as if trying to pull something from a long hidden place. And sure enough, as the dance neared the end, Shae had brought up an item entwined by ribbons of water. Shae recognized it as a sort of staff, like the Old Mage Soroa had used.

"Queyna, what is this?" Shae asked as she gingerly took hold of the staff.

"It is proof." The Butterfly said. "Proof, that you are indeed the New Hero."

"Hero.... Like Soroa was in the Old Tale?"

"Yes. And there are three others. Just like Soroa was accompanied by three gifted fighters, you too, will be accompanied by three elegant warriors."

 

 

Fire Faeries

Vynna was in the yard again, practicing her sword dances because once again the supposed ruler of Castle Enfirar, Queen Laevia, had upset her with the choice she had made in the court.

" 'The Just Queen'... Ha!" Vynna sliced at one of the dummies again and ash came pouring out of the wound. "If I were Queen..." She cut off a dummy's head and fell to the ground, exhausted. She had been going at this for hours. About fifteen minutes later Vynna heard muffled footsteps coming her way. She looked over from the place where she lay on the ground and recognized the ash coated feet of her closest friend, Rei.

"Hey there, Slicey." He teased.

"Hi, Rei." Vynna moaned. As much as she loved him, sometimes he was the last person she wanted to see.

"You've been out here a while." Rei said in his voice that Vynna knew meant 'You should come back to my place'.

"I know, Rei. It just annoys me. The Queen."

Then Rei looked at her in the same way he had every time she brought up something he already knew was hurting her, and with that look he picked her up off the ground and carried her back to his small house. At the house he sat Vynna in a small chair and ripped a few cloths and wiped her arms and face clean of soot. 

"Wow," He said when he saw one of the cuts on her arm. "That's bad." Vynna pulled her arm away self-conciously. For a moment Rei looked at her in a way he had before but that she never quite understood, it was a caring look, almost brotherly. "Well, I spoke to Butterfly Kiya today."

"What did she say?" Vynna asked, her curiosity piqued.

"She said... Well, you know how odd she can be, but she said you were destined to follow in Vaen's Path."

"Vaen is the Swordsman from the Old Tale... So, I....."

"I guess so." Rei said solemnly. Then he stood up, pulling Vynna up with him, and kissed her.

Reviews

[Cole Hayley]

Great work so far! Looking forward to part 2!