Deep within the hollows of the Great Oak of Yggdramor lay a palace of living wood. Ivy vines snaked around the oval windows, covered by lattice patterns of intricately wrought wood. The ceiling was adorned with countless glowing carvings, each depicting the legendary tales of the greatest fae of eld. Butterflies with brightly shining wings fluttered about the palace, casting ethereal patterns of shifting light. The room's focal point was the white throne, crafted from the heartwood of the Great Oak and adorned with an array of flowers and vines. Upon the throne sat a figure that appeared human, with pointed ears, long, straight brown hair, and a stern face. His armour resembled a black form-fitting suit covered by plates that resembled large dark green leaves with delicate gilded trim. Affixed to his armour's chest was a great seed that glowed softly like a star. In his hand, he held a bladed spear with a glowing tip and a white haft entwined with vines. Atop his brow rested a crown of wood, gnarled and regal.
He was Orion mac Cumhaill, the King in the Woods.
The throne was flanked on the left by a tree that walked upon its roots as if they were legs, and it had far-reaching gnarled branches for arms. Its trunk bore a kindly face, although its glowing hollow eyes were grossly asymmetrical, adding to its enigmatic charm. To the throne's right stood a fae resembling a woman with supple yellow skin, but that's where the similarities ended. Large, brilliant magenta petals adorned her shoulders, wrists, chest, waist, and ankles, covering her extremities. Instead of hair, long tapering petals adorned her head, giving her an otherworldly allure. Her eyes and lips were shaded dark purple, and in her hands, she caressed what seemed to be an oversized berry, nearly jet black. Her face was fixed in a confident grin. Despite all of her plant-like features, her beauty was beyond recount.
Orion listened intently to the problem a white pixie was presenting. She alleged that her lack of colour was leading to bullying by her peers. Orion pensively put his hand to his chin, contemplating the gravity of her situation.
"Though you lack colour, you are a good friend to my son." said Orion, "My friends and I will look into this, but we make no guarantees. If we're understood, that will be all."
The white pixie expressed joy and relief at the king's reply. She darted out from the palace, whizzing past the heads of Binks and his compatriot, who had apparently run all the way to the palace. As the two stopped to catch their breath, a yellow pixie sped past them to Orion's side. She whispered in Orion's ear of a witch in the forest, and that Binks had vital information for him.
"Hullo, redcap." The tree spoke with a friendly voice like an old rocking chair and waved to Binks, "Grandpa Garry can see you from up here."
Orion gave Chartreuse a regal nod and looked down to Binks, "A redcap in my hall is always a welcome sight. What's wrong?"
Chartreuse gave the floor to Binks, who collapsed to his knees before Orion and cried uncontrollably.
"Belladonna." Orion gestured to the magenta-petalled fae, "A touch of your essence to settle him down, please."
"Gladly," she replied in a sultry tone. She worked her mysterious magicks upon her berry and pulled a minuscule amount of glittering essence from it. It floated like dust around her hand, and she brought it to her lips and blew it gently onto Binks. Within moments, Binks had calmed down, wiping his eyes and sniffling.
"Oh, that's better..." said Binks.
"Alright, Binks." said Orion calmly, "We know of the witch in our realm and that you and your friends encountered her..." he stopped himself and looked around, only seeing one of Binks's friends, "...Binks, where is your other friend?"
Binks and his friend told Orion everything about their encounter with Quora. There was some muffled giggling from Orion's court when Binks spoke of giving Quora the flower. When Binks got to the grisly end of his story, the giggling was cut short by gasps of fear. The court went eerily silent. The tightening of Orion's armour broke the silence as he clenched his fists.
"I allow the faerie rings for the mortal races, and this is how they repay us?" Orion brooded. He raised his head and called, "Great Owl!"
From a shadowed hollow high within the Oak, an owl the size of a man silently swooped down and landed near the throne. Its feathers were brown, it wore a scholar's mortarboard on its head, and oversized round spectacles partly obscured its eyes. Its talons lightly scratched the floor as it came before Orion.
"My good friend, please make accommodations for Binks and his within the Oak." said Orion to the owl, "They will be safe here."
The owl nodded and replied with a lilting voice, "Of course." With a great wing, he led Binks and his friend away. Orion stood up and touched his hand to the seed on his chest. Green motes of energy flooded out from the seed, some obscuring him and others coalescing nearby. The energies took shape, covering Orion's head in a green and antlered helmet that turned his face into a dark T-slit, his eyes glowing white beneath. Next to him, a large ghostly stag wrought from the green light had appeared, its eyes also glowing white. Orion and the stag looked at each other with knowing eyes before Orion hoisted himself onto the stag's back. He hefted the spear aloft, its tip glowing green. He reached beneath a fold in his armour and produced a horn of black wood. From its power, he felt the demand for a name.
"Chartreuse, I would know the name of our murderer," Orion said. The yellow pixie fluttered to him and whispered in his ear before quickly darting away.
"A lovely name, Quora. It is a shame she must die." Orion declared, "Belladonna, Garry, with me!"
Orion spurred his stag and charged out of the Oak. Belladonna melted into the tree's floor in a mess of roots and vines while Grandpa Garry awkwardly followed Orion with long steps, careful not to step on anyone as he went.
Outside, the stag bounded through the trees and over the brush. Where the trees were too thick, they would make way for their lord. As his kingdom whizzed past him, Orion uttered, "Let the hunt begin."
He brought the horn to his lips.
----------------------------------------
"Tell me where to find him."
Quora's eyes were ablaze as she menaced the Clique Chromatique, who had made the mistake of finding her in a large grove, "Or else."
"Just you wait!" said Scarlet defiantly, "There's three of us and only one of you! That's enough for judge, jury, and, uh..."
Quora leaned toward Scarlet and glared widely, baring her teeth, "Executioner?"
Scarlet gasped and fluttered back, hands over her mouth with shock. Quora bopped her over the head with her finger, "And how do you figure that will go, hmm?"
Scarlet rubbed her head, "Oww..."
Viridian tried to calm things down, "Let's take it easy, okay? If we give her what she wants, she'll leave us alone...right?"
"But taking outsiders to the palace is against the rules!" Cerulean said, "Orion'll make us eat bugs for a month!"
The three pixies gasped and then went back to bickering. Quora had no time for this. She started to advance on them, the three giving ground as she approached. "Take me to him, or you will see just how much trouble I can put you three in."
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"No way!" Scarlet shouted, "How about you just leave instead, huh?"
Quora eyed each pixie. Scarlet and Viridian were defiant, but she detected the faintest touch of fear on Cerulean's face - Quora grabbed the pixie. Caught in her fist, Cerulean's wings disappeared. The pixie called to her friends as she tried to free herself.
"I hear pixie blood tastes sweet as nectar." Quora menaced as she brought the struggling pixie to her lips, "Delightful."
"Help!" Cerulean cried, "She's gonna eat me!"
Viridian waved her arms in a calming motion, "Whoa, whoa! We're fine with eating bugs; just put her down, and we'll get you to the palace..."
"Of course. I'll put her down." Quora affirmed. Quora let the screaming Cerulean fall upside down and held her over her face by the ankle, "Hmm...You pixies like fun, don't you? Come to think of it, live prey is always fun. For me. What do you think, head first?"
"Knock it off!" Scarlet demanded, "We promise to take you to the palace! Let Cerulean go!"
Quora shrugged, "Perhaps I should eat her anyway. You two need a lesson on giving your betters what they demand without question-"
The peal of a low wolf's howl rang out through the trees. The blue haze in the distance turned black, and all the multicoloured motes of light took on a red hue. Suddenly, Yggdramor felt very isolated.
"It's Orion!" shouted Cerulean, "Orion's coming to-!"
Quora dropped Cerulean and caught her in her fist, the pixie's protestations becoming muffled. Quora felt something approaching, and fast. Suddenly, a thicket of trees parted, revealing a spear-toting warrior on a glowing stag.
"Unhand her!"
Quora had no time to take in the warrior's appearance before she was caught on the stag's antlers and thrown into the nearby bushes. Scarlet and Viridian fled high into the trees.
"I know not why you have come to my lands." shouted the warrior, "But if it is death you bring, it is death you shall have. I, Orion mac Cumhaill, and my best friends shall see to it."
Quora rose from the bushes and came before Orion with a wicked grin. Cerulean was gone.
"Where is Cerulean?" Orion demanded.
Quora threw her head back and swallowed. She traced her finger down her throat, laughing darkly.
Orion's eyes widened, "Degenerate fiend!"
He lowered his spear and charged. Quora felt vines snaking around her ankles, and she heard the approaching stomping of something huge. She tried to move, but the vines held her fast. She conjured a large orange blade of raw magic and knocked Orion's spear aside as he passed. Quora yanked her feet free of the vines, but more came to tie her in place. From the ground, Belladonna arose; her usually confident expression was replaced by one of vengeance. She raised her hands and called up a torrent of roots and vines, keeping Quora beyond arm's reach. Quora slashed the vines and fired rays of pure flame from her hand to free herself. Finally, the fae responsible for the loud stomping entered the grove.
"Here comes Grandpa Garry!" the tree-man triumphantly announced. He bore down on Quora and caught her in his broad, branch-like hands. "Aha! Grandpa's got you!"
Garry's grip tightened, and Quora was held completely fast. Orion strode before Quora, his eyes burning with verdant fury. Belladonna came face to face with Quora. She raised a petalled hand, and two small vines snaked out from her wrist. They forced their way into Quora's mouth and down her throat. She struggled and grunted as she felt the vines pry about inside her gut until they found what they sought. Quora gagged and coughed as Cerulean was brought back up from her stomach and out of her mouth. The wet and filthy pixie coughed and cried while Scarlet and Viridian flew to retrieve her. They took their friend and fled the scene.
"Excellent work, Belladonna." said Orion, "I think we ought to take our time with this one, however. You know what to do."
Belladonna grinned. She pulled a dark essence from her berry and cupped it into her hand. She leaned in close to Quora and blew the essence in her face. The effect of the essence was nearly immediate, and Quora's world began to spin and darken.
----------------------------------------
Quora had entered a world of nightmare. The sky turned blood red, a black aurora playing across the sky as if the world had been plunged into the belly of some enormous beast. The trees turned blackened and dead, and the skittering of nameless things rattled Quora's senses. Beside her, Moonfang stood in her human shape, a blank expression on her face.
"...Muunfareng?"
Before her, two shadows coalesced. They took the form of two humanoids, pitch black with eyes shining white. One wore a tiara on its brow, and the other had a hood over its head. Something purple glinted at the hooded shadow's hip.
"No more." Moonfang chanted, "No more."
The crowned shadow approached Quora and seized her by the throat. She could not escape its grasp as it tightened and thrashed.
"No more."
Quora croaked, "Muun...fareng...help me!"
Moonfang produced a dagger and slit her own throat with it. She crumpled to the ground and stared at Quora with dead eyes, her chanting continuing even as her essence leaked away.
"The end," Moonfang whispered.
"The end." The shadows whispered.
"The end."
"The End!"
"THE END!"
"No!" Quora thrashed against her attacker, her heart filling with rage, "I will not die like this!"
----------------------------------------
Quora's thrashing became too much for Garry to handle. Her human shape slipped, and she grew into such a powerfully muscled being that Garry could no longer hold her. Still blinded by the toxin Belladonna had forced upon her, Quora swung her arms wildly, her claws biting into Garry's bark and Orion's stag, the blow causing it to disappear and Orion to fall to the ground. Belladonna's vines were nothing to the beast Quora had become. When some clarity returned to Quora's sight, she saw Garry looming over her. Heat welled up in her throat, and she blasted a ray of pure flame directly into Garry's face.
"Augh!" Garry stumbled back and fell on his behind, raking his hands across his face to put the fire out, "Fire! Grandpa's on fire!"
Orion rose to his feet and charged Quora with his spear in both hands. She had become a scaled brute with burning embers for eyes and a wide, fanged maw. She swung a thick arm at Orion, and he deftly sidestepped the attack and plunged his spear into Quora's leg. She roared in pain and swatted Orion, sending him flying to the ground. She yanked the spear out and tossed it aside. Quora lumbered over to Orion and smashed down with her fists. Orion rolled out of the way, and when Quora smashed down with a single fist, Orion caught it in his hands. He pushed back against Quora, back on his feet. The seed on his chest was shining brightly.
"The Everseed grants me the world's strength!" shouted Orion, "More than enough to match you!"
Quora brought her free claw to bear, only for Orion to catch that arm by the wrist. As Quora and Orion clashed, Quora saw red and green flashes from the corner of her eye. Bolts of red and green light rained from above, pounding on Quora's head. They were harmless - but distracting enough for Orion to press an advantage. He shoved Quora back and smashed his fist across her face, sending broken teeth clattering to the forest floor.
"Yeah! Get 'er, Orion!" Scarlet and Viridian cheered from above.
The moment of reprieve was all Belladonna needed to get Orion's spear back in his hand. Orion landed a kick in Quora's calf, sending her toppling to one knee.
The King in the Woods took his spear in both hands and impaled Quora through the chest. The dragoness let out a quiet hiss and fell to the ground, reverting to her human shape.
----------------------------------------
"The day is ours, monster," Orion said, his breath heaving. He brought up his spear, "Fae-sting has dispelling properties. Transmutation, enchantment; all magicks break with its touch."
Orion looked at Garry and rushed to his side, "Are you alright, my friend?"
Garry had managed to put the fire out, but his face was left a burned-out hollow, "Is that you, Orion? Grandpa can't see no more..."
Orion dropped Fae-sting and embraced his friend, "I'm so sorry. We'll find a way to help you."
"Grandpa's glad to have friends like you," affirmed Garry.
Meanwhile, Scarlet and Viridian stood on Quora's belly, stomping her with their little feet and kicking the spangles on her clothes.
"That's for trying to eat our friend!" Scarlet said with a mighty kick to a spangle.
"And this is for having a nicer chest than me!" Viridian said with a great stomp.
Belladonna loomed over Quora's body and decided to join in on the humiliation. She spat a glob of black phlegm on her, "My beauty will not be outdone by an outsider."
Quora's eyes snapped open. They shined like two suns. Her face twisted into a maniacal smile.
"Orion, she's-!" Belladonna shouted, cutting herself off to kneel and grab Scarlet and Viridian before Quora could. Orion came running with his spear, and Quora had risen to her feet.
"It breaks all magicks, does it?" Quora darkly laughed. Her body began to jerk and shake. She fell to her hands and knees and was enveloped by a white light. Quora began to grow—more massive than ever before.
"Everyone, run!" Orion commanded his friends. He pressed his hand to the Everseed, and the green motes of light coalesced into a darner spirit several times the size of a man. Orion mounted on his eagle and spurred his steed to take flight, Quora's size reaching higher and higher in the trees still.
Her body became massive and bulky, and her head split into five at the neck. Her scales were dark green, nearly black, and her eyes blazed like fire. Orange sails crawled down all five of her necks, and two thick horns crowned all five of her heads. As Orion soared upon his mount, Quora's heads arose and unravelled, nearly reaching Yggdramor's canopy and making Orion and his mount look like mice in comparison. She threw her heads back, and a horrific howl from all of her throats at once shook the boughs of Yggdramor. Orion's heart filled with dread as Qorrametz the Beast relived the world again.
"Nature deliver me..." Orion breathed, "Petrel, my son...please be safe."