Chapter 6: A Faery Tale
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Reggie kept a tight grip on the dragonfly. After a while, his inquisitive nature bolstered his courage, and he loosened his hold a little. He watched while Hammie and his dragonfly danced aerobatic circles around Ryssa and she laughed with pure enjoyment.
Aurelius urged his mount closer to Ryssa. There were no reins to steer the creatures, so Reggie tried to puzzle out how to direct his dragonfly to where he wanted it to go. First, he scrunched up his face and tried “thinking” toward it, willing the creature to turn right. He opened an eye to see the results. Nothing. He watched Aurelius point to Ryssa’s knee, and then to his own, as though explaining something to her. Reggie thought he understood. The plains Indians used to guide their horses, bareback, with the pressure of their knees.
Reggie decided to give it a try. He pressed his left knee firmly into the soft shell of his dragonfly’s body. His grip grew knuckle white as the creature took a sharp right turn and started flying in a tight circle. It went so fast Reggie thought he would be sick until he remembered to let loose the pressure of his knee. The dragonfly stopped its circular path and flew straight again, but it was now moving away from the others, back the way they had come.
When his stomach settled, which he found difficult with the constant motion of the ground rushing by below, he tried again. More gently this time, he pressed his left knee into the creature. The dragonfly turned away from the pressure, its flight path making a long wide bank to the right. Reggie smiled. He was getting the hang of it. He worked his way back to the others, making clumsy adjustments to compensate for applying pressure too hard or too light.
Aurelius nodded to Reggie when he pulled up to the side opposite of Ryssa.
“Nice of you to join us, Reginald.”
“It’s Reggie.” His face flushed with annoyance. Ryssa smirked and he scowled at her.
“Why—?” Aurelius shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Reggie it is.” He looked at the girl next to him, the question left to hang in the air. “And Maryssa?”
“Ryssa.”
“Reggie and Ryssa. Not very regal sounding.” Aurelius looked pained. “Well, perhaps you’ll grow into your proper names.”
“Not likely,” Reggie mumbled.
“Maybe, maybe not,” Ryssa snapped. She hated to be reminded that she was still a child.
Reggie watched the world pass by below them, trying to quell the uneasiness of his stomach from the constant rush of motion. The ground rose and fell beneath him like a roller coaster. Roller coasters had always made him sick. He tried to focus on the lush foliage of tropical trees spread out across the foothills of the distant mountains looming in the west. The beauty of the greenery was marred in places by random spots of brown decay. Aurelius followed the boy’s curious look and nodded knowingly.
“That’s the Wilt.”
Ryssa peered downward, trying to see what they were talking about. Her face screwed up in an expression of distaste.
“It looks like the trees are dying.”
“They are. But it’s not just the trees—it’s all of New Faery and beyond.”
“How?”
“Why?” Reggie asked at the same time as his twin.
Aurelius released a sigh and was silent for a time, watching the trees below with a sad expression. When Reggie was about to ask his question again, his uncle spoke.
“How much have you been told about Faery?”
Reggie and Ryssa highlighted what Mary had already told them.
“Not as much as I had hoped.” Aurelius nodded absently. “And I want to be careful about what I do say—but it is obvious that you need more information than what you currently possess.”
“Why careful?” Reggie’s suspicious nature was taking over. Trust no one.
Aurelius seemed to be waging an inner war of words. It was a while again before he spoke, which heightened Reggie’s level of mistrust.
“Your safety wasn’t the only reason to send you away from Faery these past years. And it wasn’t only you and your sister who were sent away. It was also other members of the Starborn family—Moira and Jet, for example.”
“And Hammie?” Ryssa looked over where the boy was dive-bombing some songbirds with his dragonfly.
“And Hammie.”
“You said the Starborn family.” Reggie said. “So Moira, Jet, Hammie—they’re what? Cousins?”
“In a sense.” Aurelius had a considering look on his face. “In Faery, being of the same family—the same House—does not necessarily mean that you are of the same blood. It has more to do with the inherent magic surrounding an individual at birth.”
“Okay,” Reggie said slowly, not sure he understood.
“So what was the other reason for sending us away?” Ryssa asked.
“Before I tell you,” Aurelius looked uncomfortable, “I want to give you a little more background information so my answer will make more sense.”
“Fair enough,” said Reggie. “So where do you want to start?”
“Well, let’s start where that woman—Mary—left off.
“The place where those who chose to remain Earth-linked, as we originally called ourselves, was an island off the main coast of human civilization, such as it was, called Eire. Today, that island is split by mortal kingdoms, and the place where Faery kept their primary residence is called Ireland. There was another island just off the coast of Eire, holding strong concentrations of magic that made it almost invisible to the human eye, which the Earth-linked inhabited as well. That island was called Tir Nan Og or The Tir, which meant Isle of the Young. It was appropriate, because those of us who remain Earth-linked never seem to age—or at least it appears that way to mortals.
“When mortal man began expanding their control of technology and increasing their numbers, they also moved toward conquering more and more lands. Some of those who were no longer Earth-linked, but were still good at heart and intent for communing with the earth, came to live side by side with the Earth-linked on Eire.
“Interaction with these mortals was sporadic at first.” Aurelius had a faraway look. “The Earth-linked primarily kept watch from a distance to make sure respect was maintained for the land. Those who saw us called us fairies, which in their language meant little people. Because they only saw glimpses of us and often at a distance, they thought us to be, well, little.”
Aurelius seemed slightly disgruntled. Reggie and Ryssa both smiled, finding amusement in the thought of this tall, slender man being considered a little person.
“Later—” Aurelius shot a dark look at the twins to stifle their chuckles. “When they did have contact with us, they considered us a bit, well, I guess to them we seemed odd, since we shunned technology and did things they couldn’t understand. So they actually changed the name slightly to Faery, which meant People of the Fey. They considered us to be crazy, or out of touch with reality.”
“Now there’s a big surprise,” Reggie commented, but without real malice.
“There was a big argument going on at Tir Nan Og regarding the decision of whether we should interact with these humans or not. It split Faery into two factions that later became known as the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.
“Those of the Seelie Court held to strict beliefs in honor, duty, and tradition. They really wanted no interaction with the mortal race of man. Although they did feel it was appropriate to keep tabs on them and alter the courses they chose with a tweak here and there to better suit the needs of Faery.
“The ones who eventually became the Unseelie Court believed that change was good and that traditions were meant to be kept up with the times, although time really had no meaning for us. They also believe that honor is a lie, a shield to hide behind that sometimes prevents you from doing what is needed, passion is more important than duty, and that it is important to look out for self before others.”
“You know, they sound sort of the same, but the Unseelie are more open and realistic about it,” Ryssa
mused out loud.
Aurelius looked startled. “Do you really think so?”
“I don’t know enough about it. I was just making an observation.”
“It’s funny.” Aurelius had a wistful smile. “That’s what your mother used to say.”
“Really?” Ryssa asked shyly, a pleased look on her face.
“As the Ard Ri, she treated the factions of Faery as though they were two sets of foreign children who didn’t understand they were speaking the same language.” He turned his smile to Ryssa. “She was the interpreter to help them understand.
“Anyway—where was I? Oh, yes. The split among Faery led to some great conflicts—even wars. Each faction sent a group from Tir Nan Og to Eire to deal with the mortals in the way they saw fit. The unfortunate mortals were often caught in the middle of these struggles, giving reason to mistrust any dealing with those of Faery at all.
“To stop the continual destruction amongst the Faery—which some thought might lead us back down the path of technology like before—it was decided that a single ruler, or Ard Ri, was needed to have ultimate authority over both sides, but to be answerable to both as well.
“One of the greatest magical treasures created by Faery was the Lia Fial, or the Stone of Destiny. Its connection with the Earth, being created into solid form directly from the essence of the Earth’s magic, is so powerful that it holds the answers to the future in every fiber of its existence. Both sides agreed to use the Lia Fial to choose the Ard Ri.
“A woman of great beauty and power, Dana, was chosen. Because of the wisdom she used to rule the Faery, some actually began calling us the Tuatha de Danan, or the Children of Dana. She is the one, quite literally, who made Faery what it is today.
“Faery prospered under Dana’s rule, but the magical division within the Courts created a problem. When the Faery Courts were at war with each other and magic cast all around, some residual essences of the magic were left lingering about. These essences took on two distinct forms, depending upon the magic being cast. One of these are the Sprites, like Darkwind, which, when captured and harnessed by the Faery, can be used to enhance our innate abilities. The other form we call Shadows.
“We have not been able to harness the Shadows,” Aurelius said, his expression serious. “In fact, the Shadows try to capture those of the Fey. When a Shadow does manage to catch one, it sucks the magical essence from the individual, severing their Earth-link and leaving them drained. We have places for them where they are taken care of because they can no longer care for themselves. Unfortunately, although they are drained and their Earth-link is severed, they still do not lose their immortality. For one of the Faery, being disconnected from magic is a fate worse than death. It causes severe depression and hopelessness. Some go into a catatonic state, while others it drives insane.”
“How horrible!” Ryssa was appalled.
“I don’t get it.” Reggie shook his head, clearly confused. “I thought the immortality of the Faery was a direct result of their link to the Earth and its magic.”
“Yes, that is true.”
“Then how can these people remain immortal if their link to the magic is severed?”
“If you could find the answer to that question,” Aurelius sighed, “you will have solved one of the greatest mysteries of Faery.”
Reggie nodded thoughtfully to himself.
“After a time, the Milesians, also called the sons of Mil, came to conquer Eire.” Aurelius brought them back to the events he had been outlining. “The Milesians were Celts, under a single chief, Mil. He had at his side a human sorcerer who had managed to find a connection to the land and use its magic.
“A battle was fought between Faery and the Milesians, and Faery lost. The sorcerer had called on the darkest destructive forces of the Earth and temporarily blocked their connection to the magic. Without the Earth-link, Faery could not stand up to the warrior might of the Celts. As they regained strength, they were able to engage in a little magical terrorism, ruining crops, altering the weather and some other minor things, which were not so minor to the mortals.
“The Ard Ri, Dana, saw that because of the sorcerer’s curse against the people of Faery, the link to the magic had weakened and would never be the same again. The use of dark magic was seen to be the cause, so the use of dark magic was forbidden from that day forward. At that point, Dana did two things.
“The first was to strike an agreement with the Milesians that allowed her people to depart from Eire without any further harm, either to return to Tir Nan Og or to find another land to sustain them. In return, she demanded that the sorcerer be delivered to the Faery so his magic could never again cause such destruction. The sorcerer agreed, since he wanted to learn more about magic.
“The second was that in a last attempt to return strength to the Fey, she offered herself and her entire essence to the Earth to help restore that which had been lost. The Earth accepted,” he said the last quietly. “Though still not as strong as before, Faery had its full Earth-link back.”
“What happened to the sorcerer?”
“He went first to Tir Nan Og, and then eventually left with one of the groups that went in search of new lands.” He swept his arm out in front of him, pointing to indicate the island below. “Our group came here, established New Faery, and we have been here ever since.”
“Wow,” Ryssa said. “So you’re like really old then? What? A couple hundred years?”
“Several hundred.” Aurelius frowned, thinking about it. “Or maybe more—I’m really not quite sure.”
“What about the Wilt?” Reggie asked.
“Ah, the Wilt,” Aurelius sighed. “It’s not that complicated, actually. When Dana gave herself to the Earth, she did gain back the Earth-link for Faery. But her sacrifice could only be that powerful because as Ard Ri, she was completely and totally tied to the land in the first place.
“You see, in order to become Ard Ri and wield any kind of power over the factions of Faery at all, she had to bind herself to the magic. When she gave herself to the Earth, she brought something back to Faery, but also took something away from it. It is only through the Ard Ri that the Earth can fully connect to the people of Faery, because it was intentionally set up that way.
“After Dana’s sacrifice, since time has no meaning to the Fey, there was no urgency in finding a New Ard Ri. We didn’t stop to consider what repercussions it might have. The Wilt came, creating spots I can only explain as being dead magic. The land began dying away because with the creation of the first Ard Ri, a flow was created from the magic to Faery. When she was lost to us, that flow was interrupted. It was some time before the Wilt was discovered, and it was even more time before we got around to figuring out the cause. All in all, it was almost two hundred years before we chose a new Ard Ri to restore the proper flow of the magic.”
“Wow.” Ryssa was amazed. “And my foster mom thinks I procrastinate.”
“Yes, well.” Aurelius cleared his throat. “Your birth mother, Delzia, was the first Ard Ri chosen since Dana. The Wilt hadn’t even been completely pushed back before we lost her, too. Now the Wilt is returning in full force. It is not only affecting New Faery, but we have heard reports that it is starting to show up in Tir Nan Og as well.”
“So that’s what the competition thing Mary mentioned is all about?” Reggie asked. “The choosing of a new Ard Ri?”
“Among other things, yes.”
“And what was the other thing?” Ryssa frowned, trying to remember. “You said there was a second reason why you sent us away other than the obvious, trying to keep us from getting killed part.”
“We’ll get into that a little later.” Aurelius looked down below to where Hammie was already leading his dragonfly to descend. He pointed, drawing the twins’ attention. “We’ve arrived at New Faery City.”