“Do not speak a word, or my Sin shall bury your desires themselves.” The second Fae Lord said to me coldly.
I nodded in agreement, and bowed to her as well. “She is the Fae Lord of Lust, and is one of the Fae Lords not fond of humans. Be careful when dealing with her, as she is likely looking for a reason to harm you” Selene said to me, and I did not react by trying to pretend nothing was happening to the Fae Lord’s eyes.
“Humans are a race full of the most hideous desires among the races of this world. You bow to us and act nice, but you secretly desire to use us for your own selfish desires. Why should we allow you to stay here, human?”
“You’re casting your hatred of humans onto me, when I have done nothing to harm you, or the Fae. I will do the best I can to respect your race, and your Realm, but is it not right for you to treat me like this, my lord” I responded back to her coldly. Two can play this game, your highness.
“Insolent child, who are you to decide what is fair or not when you were too weak to defend your home and parents from invaders?”
My anger flared up in an instant, and I could feel the desire to attack the Fae Lord. This is her power, stimulating the desires of her target. I calmed my anger down, and said, “You must be the Fae Lord of Lust, my lord”.
The Fae Lord of Lust looked surprised I resisted her power, “Yes, and so what if I am? You failed to answer the question!”.
“Yes, my lord. I was too weak to defend the people I cared about. One of the reasons I am here in the Fae Realm is to work with a Fae professor named Sylas to research an abyssal power inside my body that Selene believes to be similar to an Inheritance Sigil. I possess no filter to ambient mana, and will form a mana core able to wield every element” and the Fae Lords and the crowd went silent.
“Y-You possess an abyssal power in your body similar to a Fae Inheritance Sigil, and know for a fact that your body will form a mana core capable of wielding all elements?” The Fae Lord of Lust asked shakily, and I was confused as to why, and said, “Yes. Selene and I are hoping to work with Sylas to find a solution to my body being unable to handle the core formation, otherwise Selene plans to burn her mana to safely form the core at the cost of her life. I WILL find another way that doesn’t result in her life being the cost”.
“Show us proof of your elemental ability” She demanded, and I held my fingers up and showed the same mana flames of different elements that I originally showed the Sun and Moon Squad, and looked at the flames sadly in remembrance. Owen.. Alex.. I will avenge you all one day..
“By the Sins… You pass the Trial of Lust!” She quickly said, and following the similar gesture of the Fae Lord of Wrath, she opened the floor to the next Fae Lord, who before I could even get a good look at them said, “You pass the Trial of Greed!” and my annoyance started to rise up as each Fae Lord claimed I passed their Sin Trials.
When the last Fae Lord claimed I had passed his Sin Trial, I looked at the Fae Lord of Wrath with my annoyance clear in my gaze. He laughed more subdued than before and said, “Don’t look at me like that, Luce. There’s a reason! Of course, there’s a reason!” And I continued to gaze at him, my annoyance going up even more.
“Would you be willing to explain to me, my lord?” I ask, words dripping with my displeasure. “I am here trying to do my best to respect your customs and traditions I am unfamiliar with, and I feel like I am being made the punchline of a joke that nobody will tell me. Please explain it to me at least”.
The Fae Lords all snapped their fingers and the Fae left the room, leaving just them with Selene and me in the throne room. “Now, Luce. You understand that the Fae are immortal beings, and we have lived here a LONG time. We have a lot of secrets, and we are going to tell you one of them. Let it be known that it is specifically because of your status that we can tell you this. Our Sins would not allow it otherwise” The fiery Fae Lord of Wrath said to me. I am going to call them by their Sins for annoying me with that bullshit ceremony for nothing.
“The Fae Realm is a mostly secluded nation. We have visitors from time to time, and we do leave at times for explorations, events, and so on. One of the reasons we do not worry so much about forging strong diplomatic bonds with other nations is because the Fae possess what are known as Oracles, Fae with a gift for prophecy”.
I really do NOT like where this is going..
“One of the oldest prophecies we have is of someone being born with the ability to wield magic as if he was part of it. A mage with no filter, and naturally able to wield the elements that talented mages could train for a century and not come close to wielding. But beyond that, you appear to possess the makings of a second prophecy as well. The abyssal power is similar to a Fae Inheritance magic, but in one not of the Fae. This is a grand taboo in our kind, but we do not suspect it was of your doing”.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
The Fae Oracles have.. Predicted me being sent to this world? “Any idea what is going on, Selene?” I asked her, hoping she had some insider information for me. She did not respond, and instead seemed to be preparing to protect me if necessary. Is it that bad?
“What do the two prophecies say about… Me if I am this person in them?” I asked Wrath, to which he answered with, “Salvation and Calamity”. Oh, so nothing major to worry about or anything.
I moved into a defensive position besides Selene, and asked, “Do I need to be worried about my life, my lord?” and the Fae Lords looked to each other, and then back to me, and started laughing in unison. “If we thought you were a threat, Luce. You would have been eviscerated by us the second you revealed secrets of yours you shouldn’t have. If you hadn’t been smart and given us a fake name, some of us might have been enticed to… Forcefully absorb you into our factions.”
“You could have very well unintentionally caused a Calamity to our nation by the feud between us Lords over possession of you, child!” One of the other Lords spoke, I believe she was… Envy?
Greed spoke next, true to their Sin, “There is still time. Join my faction, Luce and I guarantee the resources to grow into the most powerful mage this world has ever known. I will personally make sure of any information on the people responsible for your hometown and family’s destruction and allow you to deliver the justice you crave”.
Greed’s appearance was hard to say. It looked like they were constantly changing a different aspect of their body. Nose, ears, eyes, and other parts constantly morph into a different version of itself.
“I would be lying if I said that wasn’t a tempting offer, my lord. I must refuse you, as I am unaware of the details of what is going on. A good business decision involves being aware of all the facts regarding the deal, after all” I said to Greed with a sly wink. Greed looked disappointed by the answer, but amused by the attitude.
“Back to the matter at hand, Luce. These two prophecies in particular are part of the oldest dating back to the first generation of Fae Oracle. For you to represent both of them is a colossal matter. Not even us Lords know all the details of the prophecies, and only the Oracles can explain it in detail. Be that as it may, it is our honor to welcome you as a Friend of the Fae, and we hope you take no offense to our expediting the ceremony with no warning”.
Wrath has been forthcoming and honest as far as I can tell, and I can feel they do not mean harm to me at the moment. Yet.. Something is telling me at least some of them are faking it. I have dealt with politicians, corrupt holy leaders, and other wolves in sheep's clothing to notice that much at least.
I looked at Lust's face, and making direct eye contact regardless of the risks, I asked, “I understand that you do not have a fondness for my kind. Your past is unknown to me, and I have no way to be anything besides a human to you. Please heed my words carefully, Fae Lord of Lust” and the other Fae Lords look in anticipation to my words.
“I am kind to my friends, and merciless to my enemies. Decide quickly which you want to be. I am happy to make friends, but eliminating a snake waiting to strike is fine by me too” I infused my bloodlust, hatred, and anger I felt watching my city be burned into these words. They needed to know I was not taking chances on threats anymore.
“HAHAHA! You hear that Lust? You better decide quickly! I for one, do not wish to anger that little ball of Wrath. You are always welcome in my faction as well, Luce. You seem the type smart enough to avoid political intrigue if you can, however, and that is fine with me”.
Selene coldly spoke in all of our minds at once. “Someone explain what needs to be done so we can find out what fate has been foretold about my partner..” and it felt like a cold bucket of water splashed onto our face.
“Well, that was sobering as hell” The Fae Lord of Sloth spoke for the first time, even earlier all he gave was a hand wave to show he approved. “Luce seems to have a lot of Pride in himself, as well. Very well! You shall be allowed the honor of joining my faction. No need to thank me!” And I could tell the Fae Lord of Pride was going to get on my nerves. Best avoid him when possible.
“Thank you for the invitation, my lord. I once again must decline to join any factions for the time being”. Pride looked offended by this, but stopped speaking when the other Fae Lords looked at him.
“How’s your appetite, Luce?” This time it was the Fae Lord of Gluttony who spoke, and another irrelevant question. “Bottomless. Meat is my favorite. Wrath, can you please answer Selene’s question before we all suffer for it?”
Wrath nervously looked at Selene, and then nodded quickly and started explaining. “Yes, the details of the two prophecies are not well known to us Lords, but the Oracles will happily invite you to discuss them. All we know is that just one of them concerns the fate of the world, and you so happen to be the person with two of them. The Oracles will be able to examine and confirm this, however”.
“Are we clear to return to my housing here for the time being so Luce can get some well deserved rest, and then can meet with your Oracles afterwards?” Selene asked, but it sounded like more of a demand.
Wrath was more than happy to tell Selene, “Of course! Luce is a guest of the highest status currently, and is open to experience any of our Realm’s offerings. If there is anything he needs, please do not hesitate to ask and we will see what we can do!”
“Thank you all for your kindness, and allowing me to stay. I will try to uh.. Not cause calamity?” and nervously laughed as Selene nodded and opened a portal and pulled us both through.
The experience of going through the portal was disorienting, but not as terrible as one might expect. I expected to feel sick or vomit. The Divine had a magic similar that when used, would cause legions of troops to violenting get ill and delay proceedings.
Looking around, we are now in a grand looking room, made of similar marble-like stone as the throne room, with large windows overlooking a fascinating city scape that put Seastrand to shame by a long stretch. We appeared to be in a tall tower in a wealthy looking area, other big houses outfitted with expensive looking tapestries, flags, and emblems of what I assume are the different Sins, Wrath being a bright red flame symbol for example.
Selene looked at me seriously and said, “Child, you may have shown off too much. I knew of the Fae Oracles, but had no idea there was not one, but two prophecies that can be directly pointed to you. You now have the interest of the entire Fae race, including both the Lords and Oracles. The Oracles are a neutral faction, but even that may change now that your existence is known. You need to rest, but we best prepare afterwards.”
“Prepare for what, Selene?” I asked cautiously.
“The price of being a desirable political target in the Fae Realm”.