The fairy fluttered her butterfly wings as fast as she could in place, repeatedly stretching her arms and legs.
“Faster! You need to get warm before it starts!”
“Never take your eyes off the ceiling; it will try to hit you with falling rocks!”
“Watch the ground too! Some will try to impale you with stone spikes!”
“Better stop, or you’ll be tired by the time the portal opens.”
“Nonsense! The potion ensures she doesn’t get tired for a week. Otherwise, none of us would survive.”
“Have you packed your backpack yet? Remember, there’s no going back!”
Selvara’s wings had barely begun to glow before a dense crowd of fairies gathered around her, bombarding her with advice. Ignoring their suggestions, she focused on her warm-up exercises. The fluttering of so many wings caused the countless flowers in the sunlit meadow to sway, stirring up a light mist of pollen. Butterflies up to the knees of the tiny fairies took flight, surprised by the unusual activity.
A fairy with wings hanging more limply, moving slowly and deliberately, pushed her way through the crowd. As soon as the other fairies recognized her, they hurriedly made way.
“Selvara…” One word was enough, and Selvara stopped her exercises, fluttering down to the ground. She bowed silently.
“Selvara, turn around and spread your wings.” Selvara obeyed. Like all her siblings, her wings were shiny black, interwoven with a confusing pattern of golden double lines. However, her lines had begun to glow. The old fairy inspected them for a while, then nodded. “The lines have almost reached their full luminosity. The portal will open in a few minutes. You’ve warmed up enough. Start stretching now.”
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Selvara eagerly followed the older fairy’s instructions while she shooed the others away. “Stand back! Not so close, you excited fireflies. Do you want to be sucked in?”
As Selvara systematically stretched her arms and legs, the elder fairy gave her final instructions. “I know we’ve discussed this countless times, but let an old fairy have her quirks. Here’s the deal: When you fly through the portal, start evasive maneuvers immediately. Don’t wait until you see an attack coming. Its instinct is to defend its territory, so it will either attack you immediately or wait until you stop to present an easier target. Don’t do that! Keep moving. Vary your trajectory. It has no memory, but it’s not stupid. It retains all the instincts from its previous life, those of a murderous psychopath. It still has a rudimentary memory of language and basic concepts. It will understand you if you speak slowly and use simple sentences. Don’t rush. You have about a week before the potion stops working. By then, you must have made a pact. It will take months before it can form its first simple sentences. Be patient. Teaching it to speak again is one of your most important tasks. Only when you’ve established a level of communication can you begin to teach it the basics of its skills.”
“What happens if I can’t persuade it to make a pact?”
The old fairy didn’t sugarcoat anything. “You know the answer as well as I do. Then you get tired and sit down. It kills you, sucks up your magic, and tries to cope on its own, at which it will fail miserably. The surrounding heroes won’t get a chance to improve their skills and will have a much harder time completing their quests. Many quests will remain unfinished, and the region will sink deeper into chaos.”
Selvara’s wings glowed brightly, illuminating her body from behind and casting a multitude of strange shadows. Then the glow faded, and a tiny golden dot appeared in the air a few steps in front of her. As soon as it was visible, it expanded into a one-step-long line that spun once around its center, leaving a light-framed hole in the air.
The old fairy pressed a glass vial containing a purple glowing liquid into Selvara’s hand. Selvara removed the cork and downed the bitter concoction in one gulp. The potion swept away the last remnants of tiredness. Warmth and energy flowed through every muscle. The old fairy fastened a small backpack between her wings, pulled it tight, patted Selvara encouragingly on the back, and then scooped her forward.
Selvara took a deep breath, took off, and flew through the portal towards her destiny.