One Week Later

Ulrika’s family servant and teacher, Vanessa, keeps me company as we roam the new family estate while Ulrika spends time with some of her brothers and their mothers.

“You’re a swordsman, yes?” Vanessa asks. “Is that the only weapon you know how to use?”

“I’ve trained to use multiple weapons. My mother made sure of that,” I say.

“Your elven mother, right?”

“Mhm,” I nod. “She made sure I understood nearly every tool for my trade.”

“I’m glad Ulrika chose a man like you. You’re perfect.” I glance up at the ceiling, picturing the sky and the gods smiling down at me.

“Thanks,” I chuckle.

“Kaioson,” Evelina shouts down the hallway from behind me. Her voice echoes from the lack of furniture and open space.

“Yes?”

“My daughter wants to see you!”

“We’ll finish our conversation another time,” Vanessa says quietly in my ear. Vanessa continues down the hallway while I go to Evelina.

“So, Kaioson,” Evelina says, nearly laughing between her words. “It’s been a few months since you married my daughter.”

“You want grandchildren,” I guess.

“Children?” She gasps with her hand over her mouth. “I was thinking of one, not two.”

“I promised her daughters.”

“D-daughters?!” Her voice somewhat echoes in the room. “My Ulri wants two girls?”

“Yes,” Ulrika says, leaning over the second-floor railing. “Hello, darling. Is my mother bothering you?”

“No,” I chuckle. “Your mother says you want me.”

“Come here.” She uses her wind magic to create an upward thrust to bring me up to her. The perfect manipulation of the air makes the trip smooth. Not once do I become unbalanced.

“I could have just used the stairs.” We greet each other with a single kiss and a tight hug.

“I couldn’t resist.”

“Ulri, no magic in the house. You’ll knock things over,” Evelina scolds.

“Yes, mother. It won’t happen again.” Evelina points her finger at her as she walks away down a different hallway out of our sight. “Oh, Kaio,” she sighs with her head down. “It pains me to say this, but I’m ready to leave.”

“But,” I say, checking out her regular clothing. “You don’t look ready.”

“So do you,” she says, nudging her elbow into my arm. None of us look ready to leave. We’re out of our gear. Our weapons are locked up in the armory. Nothing is packed for the road ahead, plus I can see in her eyes she’s not keen on departing.

“We’ll leave soon. Spend more time with your family.”

“With all that time I spend, I can’t help but think about yours, Kaio.” Her delicate voice makes me more alert to what she might say next. “We should go visit your mother.”

“Right now?”

“Why not? We can find a mage to teleport us to Kromagia.”

The idea doesn’t feel bad. I do miss my mother. But the problem I’m facing is the lack of a want to go. If I go, there might be a high chance I’ll never want to leave. The peace there is protected by high walls with guardians at each gate. I don’t think Nite will dare attack that land again. The Shemoreites have to fight every day to keep Nite from gaining ground. Even though the fight is hundreds of miles away, the entire kingdom is under constant worry.

“Another time,” I say.

“Excuse me?” She says with sass and repugnance. “Are you okay?”

“Ulrika, If I go back, I’ll never want to leave.”

“Oh...”

“Do you understand what I mean?”

“Mhm,” she nods. “That place made me feel safe.” She snuggles close with an arm around my waist. “Hey, do you recall the reason why we got involved?” It has been so long since our original purpose of stopping Nite from reviving Zadione that it makes me wonder if we failed in our attempts.

“It was to prevent Zadione from coming back.”

“Do you think we’re already lost, and she’s here?”

“Gods, I hope not.”

If Zadione is powerful as we are believed to know, that means Ivaran or the Paragons will be the biggest challenges this continent will ever see. I wish the gods could help us. Their divine law will get us all fucked if someone doesn’t step in. We will need a miracle to fight those who are beyond our comprehension.

“Hey, don’t look so sad,” Ulrika says, boosting my confidence with a back rub and a kiss on my cheek. “You know I’ll mirror your emotions.”

“If I’m sad then you’re sad,” I say, trying to smile and seem optimistic. “What a time to be alive, right?” My mood is beginning to sour. I can’t force my smile to make myself look happy anymore. Suddenly out of nowhere, she asks me to go to a place she hates going to. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” she confirms, walking away.

----------------------------------------

“I need to come here more often,” Ulrika says with her eyes closed, taking in the magical comforts of the bubbling water. She submerges under the water quickly to get her head wet. “Ah! What was I thinking, not coming here?”

We are in our own private circular pool, far away from anyone. There are not a lot of people here. She thinks it might be because most people are out doing jobs since Nite declared war on our world.

“Does that mean you’ll come here more often?” I ask.

“No,” she says, giving me a quick stern finger.

“Damn. I guess I’ll be coming here alone,” I say to initiate a negative reaction.

“Excuse me?” She swims over to my side to get in my face. “You will certainly not come here alone.”

“I jest,” I chuckle, pulling her into my lap. “I jest.”

“Kaio, I’m kidding,” she lightly giggles. “I don’t care if you come here.”

“Really?”

“Uh, yeah.” Her eyes look to the left before making that statement.

“You jest.” She grins widely with her mouth closed. I can’t get a read on what I’m looking at. Does she care or not? “Your smile is confusing me, my love.”

“I’m not jesting, Kaio. You can come here anytime you want,” she says before leaning to my right to whisper a warning. “Just keep your eyes off the women and she-elves.”

“Okay,” I laugh with her. Lyra surprises us while we’re still laughing about the rule I have to follow. She’s dripping wet like she just got out of the pool from somewhere. “Where did you come from?”

“The deep pools,” Lyra says, pointing to the far right side of the room with her thumb. “I have something important to discuss with the both of you,” Lyra says. “Mind if I join you two?”

“Uh,” I pause to look at Ulrika. She slightly nods to give it the go-ahead to allow Lyra in. “We don’t mind.” I sit on a bench underneath the water to make more room.

“Great.” Lyra steps in feet and legs first before dipping into our pool. “First things first.” She lightly backhands my chest before asking us a question. “How are you guys doing?”

“We’re doing okay.”

“You’re souring our moment,” Ulrika says to Lyra with arms crossed. “What do you want?”

“I come in peace, Ulrika,” Lyra says. Ulrika crosses her arms, giving me the impression that she’s not happy in any shape or form. “Gods, Ulrika. You’ve gotten bigger.”

“Lyra...”

“Right! Are you guys still heading north from Thubet’s kingdom?”

“Um,” I say, inspecting Ulrika’s neutral expression to gauge if she’s ready to go soon or not. I know she’s agitated by Lyra’s sudden presence. She might be even madder since we’re talking about our task. “We are, in a sense.”

“Haleema wanted me to warn you about tensions brewing within the fairies in Mightview province.”

“Like what?” Ulrika asks, tightning her arms.

“Riots, protests that turn violet, and a spike in crime.”

“What’s going on over there?” I ask.

Lyra informs us of an uprising of a new radical government in support of Nite. It’s gaining a lot of support, and Haleema thinks they’re overthrowing the current ruling power in the city of Dasovia.

“We have a champion in that city,” Ulrika says in a whisper. “Thanks for the information, Lyra.”

“My pleasure,” Lyra says with a joyous smile. “If you two need anything else, you know where to find me.” I watch her calmly climb out of the pool. Ulrika stands in front of me to block my view using her stomach. I stare into her eyes until Lyra is completely out of my sight.

“So...” She sits on my lap with her face snuggling against my neck. “Are you ready for this?”

“No,” she chuckles. “But,” she stops to look me in the eyes. “I will be ready eventually. When do we leave?”

“In two days.”

Two days later, I am right back at the Paladin headquarters, awaiting Ulrika’s arrival. Farewells are hard on her. There are so many family members here that she has to leave. I can’t imagine trying to tell all of my loved ones I might not see them again. Her family’s worry has to be beyond anything I can comprehend.

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Sometime later, I see Ulrika walking through the busy streets towards me. I head down the steps to meet her on the street. We hug for a long time, embracing in silence in the middle of a busy, walking crowd.

“Okay,” Ulrika signs in a quiet voice. “Do you have the ring?” I show her the portal ring.

“Lyra said Haleem will be joining us.”

“What is her purpose?” She says, walking towards an open space in the road

“I have no idea,” I say, walking up a couple of steps before activating the portal ring. On the other side is a colorful forest, congested with flying critters and birds.

“Oh, heavens no.”

“Come on, Ulrika. We have to.”

“Take us somewhere where there are no bugs, Kaio!” I have to force her into the portal by pushing her in. “Ew, ew, ew!” The bugs are bothersome. There is an unnatural swarm of them. They keep flying into my face. “Kaio, can you do something?”

“I can help with that,” Haleema says. I look up to find her sitting on a thick tree branch. A blue force field surrounds Ulrika and me. The bugs vanish as if they suddenly disappear. I can hear them buzz around but I can’t feel them hitting me. “How’s that?”

“So much better. Thank you!” Further up the canopy is Glysith gazing at something in the distance. She’s wearing full-body lightweight protection. So is Haleema. I guess I can safely assume we won’t be in heavy combat.

“Hey, Gly! It’s time to move,” Haleema says.

“Coming,” Glysith says.

“Did you see anything?”

“I saw,” she stops speaking when she lands on the ground, “nothing.” She bows her head to me before giving Ulrika a bow. “So, are you guys looking for someone like me?”

“That’s correct,” I answer.

“What’s the name of this unlucky soul?”

“Drake Roland,” Ulrika says. Haleema’s ears perk up. “Do any of you know how to navigate this forest?” Glysith and Haleema nod their heads. “Wow, that’s great! Please, lead the way.”

“After you,” Haleema says to Glysith, pointing her hand in the direction where she needs to go.

I’m not well informed about how fairies live. Most of my learning comes from Thyrna’s fantasy stories about them. I know they live within nature. Their buildings and structures are supposed to be giant trees. So far, that’s all I’m seeing, but nothing can tell me something might be living in them.

“So,” I say to invite anyone for some casual conversation.

“Yes?” Ulrika responds, being the first one to lend their attention.

“Does anyone know what the fairies look like?” Haleema and Glysith tell me to be quiet at the same time. We all freeze in our tracks. Ulrika squats down to grab her dagger. I reach for mine too. Glysith and Haleea scan the treetops and surrounding area, but they aren’t reaching for their weapons.

“What’s happening?” I whisper softly enough to make their ears flex in my direction.

“Someone is watching us,” Haleema says, finally drawing her sword.

“There’s more than one,” Glysith adds as she brings out her sword. Ulrika is the next person to arm herself. I’m not on edge like them, but I have my hand tightly on the handle of my sword.

“Haleema? Glysith?” I say with caution and quietness to not distract them from listening.

“Kaio,” Ulrika says also keeping her voice down. I look at her checking something in the distance. A Nite archer slowly emerges out between two trees ready to take aim. I throw my sword using a conjure, slaying the archer and another hidden person behind the other tree.

“Over there!” Haleema says. She points to another archer who fires their bow, narrowly missing her.

“I got him! Glysith says. She uses her telekinetic magic to throw the archer high into the air before I can react. Haleema puts a transparent bubble shield around us to block all incoming arrows. “Keep that up, Halee!” One by one, every hiding archer is thrown into the sky. The last one lands on top of Haleema’s shield, barely alive. Haleema opens a small hole to make his body fall inside the bubble, so she can safely interrogate him.

“Before we start,” Haleema says with her hands over his face. “You won’t get out of this easily, cultist.” She enchants a spell that dislodges all dark magical forces from his body. A black-like fog mist flows out of his body and crawls outside the bubble. “Suicide is out of the option. Talk, and I’ll make your suffering go away.”

“I’ll never—”

“Excuse me,” Glysith interjects, forcing the archer’s mouth shut with her magic. “Don’t make this difficult, okay? She will hurt you in unimaginable ways.” The archer looks at me as if he’s asking me if she’s telling the truth. Glysith turns his head to make him look at Haleema. “Talk.”

“What do you want?” He says with grunts.

“What are you doing this far out?” Haleema asks, squatting over his stomach with a dagger under his neck.

“Keeping everyone out.”

“Why?” He hesitates to answer her question. “Talk,” she says with a raised voice after punching his stomach. He groans, coughs, then promises Ivaran will slaughter us.

“Do you know where he is?”

“Dasovia,” he smirks

“He’s there?!”

“That must be why there’s an uproar within the fairy government,” Glysith says.

“Why is he there? What is his plan?!”

“Ivaran,” the archer chuckles, “wants the fairies to erupt from within.”

“Erupt?”

Damn! This is not good!

“Haleema, war could erupt,” I warn.

“Shit,” Haleema says under her breath. “It’s time to go.” She casts the same spell she used when we invaded the Nite outpost in Tawaragata. Everyone lines up behind her without moving on their own. Our feet hover off the ground. “Everyone ready?” I look over my shoulder to see if Ulrika and Glysith are ready. Ulrika gives me two thumbs up while Glysith nods her head.

“We’re good, but what about him?”

“Gly?” Glysith sticks her hand out to him. I see a tether attach to his chest and retract into her hand.

“There’s no need. He’s dead, Haleema,” Glysith says.

“Good riddance,” Haleema says. She makes us take off at high speed in a single-file line. An invisible force plows through anything it touches, giving us a clear pathway as we move inside it. We go around thick trees and smash smaller ones in our way.

“You’re in a rush,” I say. She doesn’t respond to my observation. “What is your purpose here, Haleema?”

“I’m here for your champion,” she answers when she turns around. Our speed doesn’t slow down, nor does it stop evading big trees.

“Huh?” Ulrika blurts out. “What do you want with him?”

“He’s one of the oligarchs seeking Paladin asylum.” The speed of our flight suddenly doubles. Instead of zipping around every tree, we plow through everything.

“By the gods, woman! Are you in a rush?”

“Yes!”

Haleema skids to stop. Straight ahead of us is a thick white tree with white bark and cobalt leaves. It sits alone atop a cliff looking over a gigantic void within the Earth. It’s covered in a fog-shaped cloud that rotates counterclockwise.

“We’re here,” Haleema says.

“So this is Mightview?” Glysith says, stepping over the cliff to look down. “Is it under that?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Ulrika says. She taps Haleema’s shoulder to grab her attention. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Disguises.”

“Disguises? What disguises?” Ulrika says as she looks at everyone. “You didn’t bring anything.”

“Oh, but I did.” With a flick of her index finger, she turns Ulrika into a fairy. Wring springs out from her back in a shower of star dust-like particles. Her hair grows longer in the front but remains shorter in the back. The disguise also enlarges her breasts to roughly the size of Haleema’s.

“That’s perfect,” Haleema says, tugging on Ulrika’s vibrant mini skirt. Her shirt is made of rainbow-like patterns. “Let me slim you down a bit.” She reduces Ulrika’s muscular mass and height to be more on the feminine side. I can’t comprehend what I’m seeing. It is like I’m looking at a completely different woman.

“Holy cow,” Ulrika shouts, laughing as she touches everything on her body. “Kaio! Look at me!”

“You look so different,” I say still in shock.

“And you’re so tall now!” She accidentally bumps her breast into me when she stands close. “Gods, this illusion feels so real.” Haleema transforms everyone, including herself, into fairies. Their ears are rounded like humans. We all have different colored wings, but mine seems to be the more vibrant one. There’s more blue, green, and red on my wings.

“So, how do we use these?”

“Hopefully, we won’t,” Haleema says while she twirls her hands. “They’re just for show.”

We hover back to a single line and make our descent into the fog. The moment I touch it, I can feel the warmth of demonic energy. The fog is only about a foot thick. When I look back at it, it isn’t there.

“A one-way illusion?” I say. “Did you guys feel that?” Everyone sounds off and acknowledges the presence of the forbidden magic.

“Whoever made that could be down there, Halee,” Glysith says. “We need to be careful.”

Haleema increases the speed of our travel. Mightview comes into clear view the closer to get. It’s cities sitting on top of a gigantic circular landmass surrounded by a tributary. Two rivers flow from the east and north then exit south of the land. On the eastern side, there’s a lot of smoke building up. The closer we get, the more I can tell it’s a blockage.

“Dasovia, is in the center of Mightview,” Haleema says, pointing at a massive building we’re heading to. There’s a gathering in the streets of rowdy fairies.

“What do we have here?” Glysith says.

“Riot, possibly,” Ulrika says. “Or protesting. They seem tamed for the moment.”

“Tamed?” I scoff. “Can’t you hear them?”

“Look closely. They’re not acting physically.”

“Yet,” I say under my breath.

Haleema lands and breaks our formation in front of a granite structure amid an angry crowd. The building has one single wide entrance between six columns on each side. A golden statue of a male fairy is on top of the building, holding a horn near its mouth with a butterfly in its right hand. He has six wings that expand several feet from his body.

Four people come from behind the golden statue to try and topple it over. They manage to budge it forward, but armed guards smite two of them and arrest the other two.

“Gods,” I say, then look at Ulrika. “This place is going to hell.”

“Agreed,” Ulrika sides. “I do not want to tarry in this place for too long.” I look at her waist to reach for the scroll but notice it isn’t there. Then I realize her weapons are not around her body. My stomach sinks when I grab my chest to feel for my sword strap and it isn’t there.

“Haleema, where are our weapons?” Haleema reaches over my shoulder and wiggles my sword. “How the..?”

“All of our weapons are there. Just grab it as you normally would.” Ulrika reaches down her leg for her dagger. The dagger slowly reveals the more she pulls it out. The same goes for her sword.

“Ulrika, check to see if you have the scroll.”

“Um,” Ulrika says, fumbling around her hips before finding it. “I feel it.” She quickly reads it and puts it away.

“Haleema, where is the Paladin asylum building?” Glysith says.

“It’s in the east,” Haleema says.

“Drake is in the west,” Ulrika says.

“Shit,” she says through her teeth. “Change of plans. You two find Drake and bring him to the asylum. The disguise will wear off at sundown.”

“Good luck to you both,” Glysith says then runs off with Haleema. I head the opposite way with Ulrika jogging next to me.

“Hey, check Drake’s location,” I say. “I don’t want to wonder around in this mess.”

“My gods,” Ulrika says while checking out her breasts. “These things are bouncy.”

“Ulrika!” I shout.

“Oh, sorry! I was distracted. Do you need something?”

“Drake’s location.”

“Right,” she says, then hums as she reads what’s on the scroll. “He’s right... in front of us?” There are too many people ahead of us. No one sticks out as a champion like the previous two. Everone looks simular. “Kaio.”

“Yes?”

“Drake isn’t moving.” We look around to find someone standing still, but there isn’t anyone doing that. To my right are two conjoined wooden buildings. On the left, it says it’s a library. On the right side is a potion store. She moves towards the potion store with her eyes fixated on the paper. “Nope. The other one.” I head inside the library. A fairy immediately greets me with such hyper enthusiasm that it startles me. “Settle down whoever you are.”

“Forgive me, miss,” the fairy says, flying over the counter. “I didn’t mean to startle a beautiful woman.” He steadies himself in the air as he takes Ulrika’s right hand up to his lips. “What can I do for you?” Before she can say something, he lightly kisses the back of her hand. “Milady?”

“Okay,” Ulrika chuckles, retracting her hand to wipe his spit on her skirt. “Is your name Drake by any chance?”

“Indeed. I am Drake Roland, the sorcerer librarian,” he says with his arms stretched out as he looks up at the ceiling. For an odd pose, I’m almost on the brink of laughing. When Ulrika looks at me, she bites down on her lower lip to prevent herself from smiling. “How may I assist you, milady?”

“Do you act like this with all the ladies?”

“Of course,” he says in a pitched voice. I’m not buying it for one single second. He’s giving me the sense of one of those flirtation types. This is my first time seeing someone act this way toward my wife. I wonder if it’s because of the way she looks right now. I doubt he’ll keep this attitude once he sees the real beauty she possesses.

“Kaio.”

“Mhmm?” I say, trying my best not to smile.

“You mind if I do all the talking?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Drake, do you mind if I call you Drakey?”

“Not at all,” Drake happily says, pitching his voice again.

While Ulrika reels Drake into our cause in the most flirtatious way possible, I look around. His library doesn’t have the typical books I know. These books are not for casual readers of fiction, nonfiction, or history records. They’re magical books for sorcerers, witches, mages, and warlocks. There are some for beginners too, and I know a few of them.

“Introduction to High Magic of Fire,” I say as I touch the book’s spine where the words are. This is the book that gave me some of the abilities I have.

I wonder if Thyrna came to the same fairy for this book?

“Kaio,” Ulrika whispers, gently taking me out of my thoughts. “He’s down.”

“Really?” I question. “Just like that?”

“Come,” she says, curling her finger inward to make me closer to her face. She whispers, “I didn’t get to talk about who he would be up against or what abilities he has. He just said yes.”

“That’s... odd.”

“Also,” she pauses, getting right in my ear. “That guy seems to be really into me. Did Haleema put a spell on me or something?”

“Maybe,” I chuckle at the possibility of Ulrika not knowing how beautiful she looks right now.

“Hmph. It feels weird.”

“How come?”

She gets right up to my ear to whisper, “His attitude is reminding me of the dumb stuff I did before I met you.”

“Let’s keep his mind focused on the task.”

“Hey, Drake!” She says out loud.

“Yes, milady?” Drake says.

Before Ulrika can get a word out, the front door creeps open. No one immediately steps in. All I see is their hand gripping the edge of the door. There is a silver ring on the index finger. Their hand goes behind the door then it opens further. The door slowly reveals the man behind it like a dirty sheet being pulled off something that should not be displayed.

Ulrika grabs my wrist for dear life. I freeze with my hand on top of hers as I stare down at the man who is a threat to our world.

“Hello, sir!” Drake greets Ivaran with a hand to shake. “Welcome to my library. Is there something you’re looking for?”

“There is,” Ivaran says, looking at Ulrika and me.