Oberon and Tatiana only had twelve “children” in the human sense of the word, these were known as the Royal Fae. Each Royal Fae was born in the likeness of some creature of the world. The first born was born a Lion, the second a Stag, the third a Wolf, all the way to their last child, who was born in the likeness of a great Serpent. These are the true children of Oberon and Tatiana, capable of someday inheriting their power.

But they are not the only living creations of the two rulers. Inspired by the likeness of the humans, who were in most ways the very base of sapient life, Oberon and Tatiana created the courts of the Fae, and what would later be called the Greater Fae.

These new Fae had the long lives and the magic of their brethren, the Royal Fae, but they were not the same.

The Greater Fae owed allegiance to the very blood of the Royal Fae, an allegiance not easily broken or overlooked.

But Oberon and Tatiana understood the importance of free will, and so they chose to give their creations the right to choose, no matter what consequences that may someday bring them.

The Fae can only be enslaved, even by their own blood, only if they choose to be.

***

“When my mother was killed, I wasn’t sure who I could trust. Someone on the side of the free Fae must have betrayed her, for her to have been caught by that human mage. So I ran. With a seed of hatred and grief in my heart, I ran.” Elira paused, her eyes starting to physically brighten with an inner fire as she lost herself in thought. “As soon as I felt powerful enough, I looked for revenge.” Her eyes stared into mine, “I killed the mage, and I killed his family as they tried to protect him. They call me The Devil Fae, because when I walked out of that burning building, I was a devil, not a member of the Fae.”

I stood up, then walked over to the small fairy. Using my threads of magic, I activated her transformation, turning her into a human-sized Fae.

She looked into my eyes, sorrow at what she’d done evident in her face.

Gently, as if I was dealing with glass that could easily break, I pulled her in and held her to me. She didn’t cry, or show any outward signs of emotion, but her body relaxed ever so slightly as I held her.

“The free Fae couldn’t accept me back after what I’d done, not with how fragile the peace still was.” She said into my chest. “The humans came after me, and each time they did, I became more of a Devil to kill them.”

“Did your mother ever talk about who your father was?” I asked, letting go of her as she gently pushed me away.

She looked at me questioningly as she responded “She was… secretive about him. I don’t know much.”

“I don’t know very much either, I only met him once.” I said, glancing at Leila who watched the both of us with rapt attention. “I can tell you this, the man wasn’t a member of the Fae. He was the direct descendent of a spirit.”

“What does that have to do with what I did?” Elira sat down next to Leila, keeping her human form.

“There are spirits that gain power through letting their inner demons out. Berserkers in other words.” I said, moving to my bed and lying down. “I suspect that your father may be someone like that. If you ever wish to seek him out, I may be able to point you in the right direction… if things haven’t changed too much since I last heard of his whereabouts.”

“Thank you.” Elira said, looking at me as if she was considering me for the first time.

“Ask and it shall be done.” I said, closing my eyes. “Now, it’s been some two hundred years since my last nap. If you don’t mind, I have some sleep to catch up on.”

“Goodnight Saron.” Elira said, as the lamp was blown out by a string of magic.

“Goodnight.”

***

The next morning, there was a decision to be made; should we travel to the lands of the free Fae? Or, should we travel to the capital of the kingdom we were in, the port city of Androl.

There were benefits to each, but I was curious to see what life had become for the enslaved Fae. The war may be over for these people, but just because it was over didn’t mean that I should stop fighting for what I believed to be right.

The war was no longer being fought through armies and magic, but in the hearts and minds of the enslaved people. They could only be free when they accepted their freedom, and I wanted to see how close they were to accepting that freedom.

Plus, I suspected that Leila knew people in the city that she wished to see. She was too shy to say anything, but I could see a look in her eyes that told me there was something in the city for her.

Elira chose to follow us, more out of curiosity than anything else. I suspected that she thought I would be starting a revolution the moment I stepped foot in the city.

That wasn’t part of my plan, probably. I worried that the Fae had begun to accept their slavery, and I knew that I couldn’t fight the humans on my own. In my heart, I always was someone that enjoyed just observing, and I don’t think I was ready to start anything so grandiose without some information.

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I cast an illusion spell on us, masking our Fae traits, and we started our journey to the port city, only three days away on foot.

The capital city was a sight to behold, farm land stretched out for miles around before reaching the walls of the city. The city itself was a sprawling mess that stretched out alongside the ocean, before stopping at a rather impressive castle, which no doubt housed the royalty of this country. I noticed with some interest, that there seemed to be a second wall, separating the lower class from the nobility and the wealthy. In most human cities that I’d seen, the segregation wasn’t quite so obvious.

As we approached the gates to enter the city, I could see a small amount of restlessness among the guards, which piqued my interest.

“Excuse me,” I said to a guardsmen who looked to be in charge. I’d paused us right at the entrance through the gate, there was still plenty of room for the foot traffic to pass us by, so I wasn’t too worried. “Is there something wrong? The nervousness of your fellows is making me worried for me and my… students.” I glanced at Elira, who smirked at the idea of being my student.

“Begging your pardon, I didn’t realize we were being so obvious about it. It’s nothing to worry about, I assure you.” The guardsmen kept his voice polite, but he watched the three of us with a keen eye.

“It certainly seems like something I should be worrying about.” I responded, moving out of the way as a messenger hurried his horse past us and through the gate.

“I am sorry sir, who did you say you were?” The guard asked, giving me his full attention as he looked me up and down.

That’s the fun thing about societies with an oppressive ruling class. You can’t afford to be rude to someone just because you don’t know who they are. My clothes said “commoner”, but I made sure that my bearing and speech said “powerful man”.

“My first name is Saron. I’m a mage traveling with my students. And your name is?” It’s been two hundred years, but the title of mage should still hold some kind of sway here.

Elira snickered from behind me as the Guardsman’s attitude suddenly changed. He gave me a deep bow, “I’m sorry Lord Saron, I didn’t realize who you were. Forgive me for any rudeness I may have shown.”

I paused only for a second, taken aback, before I responded, “You were just doing your duty. Now would you please explain why the other guards seem so nervous?”

“You must not have heard of the attacks Lord Saron. A group of nobles were passing through these very gates when a group of rebels set some kind of spell on them.”

“I see. Thank you.” I said to the guard, who bowed again before walking off.

I watched him walk away with curiosity.

“What’s so funny Elira?” I said, continuing our journey through the gate. She was behind me, doing her best to hold back her laughter.

“I’m a mage traveling with my students.” she repeated. “You had no idea what that meant did you?”

“I don’t understand.” I said, turning to look at her.

“It is a much more important position than you remember Saron. Being a mage these days is no small thing.” She said, not elaborating any further.

I shrugged. I was sure that I would understand what she meant soon enough.

We walked into the city, and I found myself looking at every little thing. Things were so familiar, yet there were also obvious differences. The last time I’d come through here, this city had been a small town, maybe three hundred people large. Now it was a bustling city, with paved streets instead of dirt roads.

Humans of all sizes walked the streets. Farmers driving wagons of food, messengers on horseback hurrying to their destinations, merchants selling their wares and minstrels playing on street corners.

It was a beautiful city.

Except for the Fae. They were truly slaves now. Every one of them held a collar around their neck, similar to the one Leila wore. Their eyes were to the ground as they bowed respectfully to the humans.

It was a surreal sight to see. Fae of all tribes and of all courts brought into a true slavery. It was as bad as I’d feared it would be. I had hoped that the protection of the greater Fae would stop the humans from debasing us in such a way. Where were my brothers and sisters? Where were the greater Fae who had sworn to protect our kind?

My pace slowed as I watched human and Fae alike pass us by on the street.

“How did this happen?” I asked quietly, not expecting any kind of answer.

“The Greater Fae do not see it.” Elira said from beside me, watching me carefully as I gazed at a Fae child following a human through the street. The Fae’s gaze never left the human’s shoes. “They are given food, wine, and books in cozy rooms. They don’t see the way that our people are being treated.”

I closed my eyes, sorrow flowing through me. After a moment, I opened them, calmly looking at Elira “Please, find us a good inn for the night Elira. In the morning I wish for you to lead me to them; the greater Fae.” I felt a small amount of my power leaking through my voice, showing how my feelings weren’t as in control as I pretended.

Elira paused at my gaze, before nodding her head in respect. “Of course Saron.”

My mind cleared, surprised at Elira addressing me so politely. I smirked at her, “Are your many years finally getting to you? You almost sounded like you were talking to royalty of some kind.”

“Are you back to your flippant self?” Elira asked, exaggerating her curiosity. She walked in front of us, presumably leading us to an inn of some sort.

“I don’t have a good comeback to that.” I said as I focused in on her, ignoring the Fae in the street as best I could. “But if I did, you would be laughing super hard right now.”

Leila chuckled at my joke, startling me. I’d forgotten that she was walking next to us, she’d been so quiet.

We walked in silence, thanks to me getting lost in my own thoughts.

I glanced at Leila, looking at the spot where a collar had rested on her neck less than a week ago. There would be a price to pay for the oversight of the Royal and Greater Fae, and it would not be cheap. The suffering of others should not be so easily overlooked.

“That reminds me. You are my students now. I should probably do some teaching at some point.” I said as we entered the inn. “You should have seen the strings of power Leila was using when we first met.”

Elira chuckled at me in response as we entered the building.

A small crowd of humans were gathered around a table, cheering as dice were thrown. The rest of the inn was fairly empty as it was still early in the day. After a moment, Elira caught the eye of the innkeeper and moved off to negotiate our rooms.

Leila and I moved over to an empty table as we waited.

I watched the dice being thrown by the humans with some interest. It was a nasty habit of mine, gambling that is.

A slight movement from Leila caught my attention. She looked at me, slightly embarrassed as she asked, “what are strings of power?”

My mouth opened slightly, floored by her question. Had no one even taught her the basics? How did she even cast her magic if she wasn’t taught?

I cleared my throat, trying to cover my surprise. “What do you know about Fae magic?”