"What is a human doing in this place? Why is my lady Calisto hanging out with a disgusting human?" – The looks did not stop nailing me, such sharp arrows that hurt my emotions. After having a brief conversation about why I was in the middle of the lake, Callisto kindly offered to escort me to her home in the Medea forest.
"I can't take you like this, the satyrs won't leave you alone even if you're a cow" - Callisto's hurtful words as she gave me a cloak to cover me weren't as bad as they sounded. Her relaxed and carefree attitude seemed most natural to me, as if she were talking to a friend who tends to get annoying with another because they've known each other for a long time.
Such a feeling of familiarity made the hostile whispers directed at me by the creatures of the forest more bearable. Satyrs, goblins and arcane elves did not stop looking me up and down without hiding their discontent. Callisto had told me that the Medea Forest was a place where humans were not welcome, as countless fairies had been captured by poachers over the years to be sold on the black market. The wings of the fairies are raw material that sorcerers often use to create rejuvenation elixirs, being sold at high prices to noble ladies who wished to preserve their beauty, even if this was at the cost of the suffering of these beings.
The luckiest fairies were thrown out of the forest, with their wings clipped they walked again until they found refuge in their old home. The less graceful ones used to be slit to extract their blood and create aphrodisiacs.
The blood business that the humans had established with the Medea forest was cruel and ruthless, not for nothing the inhabitants of that place were reluctant to receive me as soon as I had set foot in their domains.
"My lady, I will not be able to question your leadership. But I can't stand that a human garbage is here any longer" – The rumbling of hooves similar to the footsteps of a horse made me turn to my right with great surprise. A wonderful centaur with horns similar to that of a fighting bull posed imposingly before my presence.
His bloodshot eyes seemed to want to destroy me with every second he watched me, the snort of his breath was so angry that there was no doubt that some damage had been done to him by humans in the past.
"If you are not going to question me, it would be better for you to remove your bad temper when Virgilio is in my presence. I am your mistress and she is a guest of mine. Isn't that simple fact enough for you to keep your composure?" – With a severe tone, Calisto raised his hand pointing to Virgilio, who had no choice but to bend his knees to kneel and apologize to his president. However, his look of contempt did not stop directing my person, although in his words he seemed to be equanimous with his lady's mandate.
"We have arrived, young lady" – With an attitude worthy of a monarch, Callisto extended her hand pointing me in the direction of a cave illuminated by mana stones. Each step I took as I entered her quarters made my body feel more relaxed as I approached her bedroom.
"Take a seat, I'll be with you in a moment" - The furniture in his room was of regular size. As if they were typical of a being the size of a human. What my eyes saw was so dissonant that I couldn't believe it was his room given its small size.
"Okay, I'm back. Get rid of that surprised face, it's not as if my being had changed" – I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. A voluptuous woman with hair as burnished as gold, eyes like sapphires that could compete with the blue of the sea, and a dignified walk that left no doubt of her lineage.
Callisto was the one who was now before me, with a human form that for a second made me think that something bad could happen if the inhabitants of the forest saw her.
"I know what you're thinking, but nothing bad will happen about it. They know of this appearance. Otherwise it would be difficult to live with them with a secret. Don't you think so dear guest?" – During the course of the night Calisto told me her story and why she had acquired her human form.
During her childhood, like all fairies, she used to fly playing through the forest with her sisters and friends, distributing pollen among the flowers. The greenery of the forest and its leafy beauty was a responsibility of the fairies, in fact, each being fulfilled a specific mission for the maintenance of that place.
Satyrs tended to the fertility of the beasts with the blast of their horn each dawn, and arcane elves maintained the magical vitality of the lake. But the most important job of all was that of the guardian centaurs.
At that time, Virgilio was just a young centaur under his father's tutelage, in favor of becoming the next guardian of the forest along with his brothers. Everything was peaceful with their eventual disappearances of inexperienced fairies that used to venture outside the protection limit of the centaur guard. Except for that tragic day, in which the life of all the inhabitants of the forest changed drastically forever.
As if it were a melody coming from a siren's song, a man in a green robe entered the edge of the forest playing his flute. The sound that emanated from the warm notes seemed to have a captivating effect on the fairies, who unnoticed began to fly in the direction of the source. Between them, Callisto and her sisters could not control their movements and like moths to fire, they flew directly towards their captors.
The cries of despair from the beams reached the centaurs of the forest guard, who at full gallop began to ram the hunters who offered strong resistance to the edge of the sword. Virgilio, even as a child, contemplated with admiration how his father gave everything with his great mallet, destroying the armor of the humans who tried to face him in vain.
It was then that the mysterious man with the flute began to play another tune, but this time the effect on the centaurs was extreme fatigue and drowsiness. Which the hunters took advantage of to deal fatal blows on the unfortunate warriors. On the verge of falling victim to the sword of one of them, Virgilio could see with his eyes almost narrowed by sleep, how his father was mercilessly pierced over and over again. Blood completely bathed Virgilio's face, who , in the midst of shock and weakness, fell to the ground, being considered dead by his enemies.
Callisto could clearly remember the vicious faces of the hunters, between the stale breath of the beer and their hands rough to the touch due to calluses from the use of weapons. Some fairies were slaughtered on the spot inside the cart, being the scenes that remained most recorded for the poor creature, when contemplating her two sisters die in front of her eyes amid cries of begging.
When it was time to experience his terrible end, the voice of the green-robed man was heard in the carriage. Giving the order not to take his life for being of great interest for his experiments.
He could never forget those amber eyes like the sunset sun, so cold and distant from all empathy that they made him tremble to the depths of his being. That color was not common among human beings, so it was unmistakable that his captor was one of the royal families.
As she told me her story, Calisto kept clenching her helpless fists against her thighs. His anguished look seemed to relive every second of that terrible story that he was now telling me with a frankness that could not be explained. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and stupidly tried to take my hands to hers to comfort her, but she instinctively slapped me, which she apologized for once she came to her senses.
Continuing with his story, he told me that arriving at a kind of cabin, the mysterious man got out of the carriage while the hunters unpacked their victims to take them inside that place.
The fairies had lost the desire to live, reflecting on their faces a complete abandonment before their inevitable ordeal. Instead, for Callisto, rage seized her as soon as one of the hunters tried to touch her again, casting an ice spell against her right eye, causing her to drop dead on the spot.
"Ignis novirus reflectum" – An ancient chant was evoked by the amber-eyed man, who caused several fairies to burst into flames amidst screams of agony. With a macabre smile, he waved his finger in disapproval against Callisto. Who , upon seeing the magnitude of that power, could only fall to her knees while she saw her friends dying.
The days passed between cries of despair and wailing from the fairies inside a cellar where the sunlight did not reach. The reflection of the oil lamps made the walls draw macabre silhouettes while the sorcerer practiced his experiments and tortures.
When it came time for Callisto, like a fragile immovable doll, she offered no resistance as she was held upside down on a cold experiment tray. He never knew when it happened, but as soon as he wanted to close his eyes, an immense pain ran through his back as if his life was being torn from him. One by one her wings were cut by the cold edge of a razor, giving screams of pain that could no longer be heard by anyone but the sorcerer and her.
The sensation of a finger bathed in blood entering her mouth made her sick, making her vomit, that soulless animal enjoyed the torture it was giving its victim without giving her time to rest. When he finally finished cutting his wings, he said he felt a cold liquor-scented liquid falling on his body, the burning he felt was such that it made him lose consciousness.
Shortly after regaining consciousness, the throbbing pain in his back made him scream in the silence of that laboratory. The days passed between the edge of the knife and constant concoctions that made his mouth bitter and made his stomach burn.
Everything seemed like a repetitive ordeal for her until one night with a full moon, the sorcerer brought with him a fragment of a blue mana crystal. This was a piece of mana core from the heart of a member of the founding families. The experiment was commissioned by Duke Eclette, who had prematurely lost his only daughter to a congenital disease resulting from crossing bloodlines.
The nobles were cruel beings who had no qualms about playing gods, hiring sorcerers to fulfill their darkest whims. Those men and women did not have the slightest shred of decency or humanity when it came to doing experiments.
Callisto was taken once more by force and taken to the plank, tied hand and foot, the knife plunged into her small chest making her cough up blood. Little by little his eyes closed from the loss of blood and his consciousness began to dilute.
By the time he finished that operation, he opened his eyes once more and looking around him he saw a room with objects he had never seen in his life. Fine fabrics and gold decorations on the furniture gave the impression that this was a nobleman's room.
Looking at her hands, she realized that her body had changed considerably and she was no longer a tiny fairy. Giving clumsy steps due to lethargy, he approached a mirror and contemplated his silhouette in it. The image before her was that of a human, although her face remained the same, her body contrasted with her memories.
Taking her hands to the height of the ribbon of her nightgown, she was able to contemplate the scar that had remained from that savage experiment. The days passed and the maidens were diligently preparing her for the etiquette conditions that the nobles had to observe. Many times he tried to escape, but it was always impossible for him due to the guards and a spell that had been placed on his heart.
If he disobeyed Duke Eclette's orders, a curse caused him to fall into immense pain to the point that many times he felt like he was losing his life. Resigned to her confinement, little by little she became a living doll that responded to her master's wishes.
Dances and tea parties, as if it were a game. Little by little, Calisto began to forget her essence and behaved more like a human. From time to time on full moon nights as she gazed at the garden through her bedroom window, the memories of her happy days in the forest with her sisters made her cry silently.
Years passed and Duke Eclette betrothed Callisto to the eldest son of the Avante family, some vassals under the orders of the Eclette dukedom, who would deliver the firstborn that Calisto engendered.
Just an incubator, that was the purpose for which Callisto's life continued in this world at the hands of the cruel duke. At the end of two months, the marriage ceremony took place without a hitch and Calisto was handed over to Raúl Avante, head of the knights of the Alberon imperial family.
When Raúl saw Calisto for the first time, he fell madly in love with her singular beauty. But a feeling of uncertainty filled his heart as he gazed into those beautiful blue eyes filled with a nostalgic emptiness.
On their wedding night, while Calisto was taking off her clothes to get into bed, she was stopped on the spot by a gentle Raúl. Who whispered in her ear that she would never take her unless it was her heart's sincere desire.
For the first time in a long time, Calisto felt a warmth in her heart that she had forgotten, causing her to overflow in a sea of tears as she was comforted in Raúl's lap. Who silently cursed Duke Eclette when contemplating the wounds on the delicate maiden's body.
Little by little, Calisto's heart and feelings opened sincerely towards Raúl, who diligently listened to all the stories of the forest that the poor fairy told with longing. From the harp playing of the arcane elves over the lake to the countless parade of fairies resting on the flowers, one by one the stories she told captivated Raul, deepening his love for her.
It seemed that all the torment that had happened in the course of the previous years had been left behind, Calisto felt fully in the company of that man who had shown her the sincerity of his love for her. But one night while walking through the corridors of the mansion, he could hear how Raúl hit the desk in his study while he cursed Duke Eclette.
"I will never do something that causes Callisto any harm, damned old man without a soul" - The insults of the worthy gentleman were something new for the sweet fairy, who felt a little afraid when she remembered the mistreatment she was subjected to by the duke. .
Waiting for Raúl to come out of his study, Calisto went inside to review the contents of the documents on the desk, looking for the reason for Raúl's behavior.
Among the papers that were there, the letterhead that caught his attention the most was that of the Eclette dukedom. In the letter, the written content was a forceful order for Raúl, who was threatened by the infamous duke to lose his rank as a knight and his family executed if he did not comply with the signed agreement.
For two years Raúl was patient with the duke's claims, trying to avoid giving him sufficient reasons to corner him and force him to behave in a way he did not want. But recently an incident involving the imperial family put him in a disadvantageous position and the duke took advantage of his misfortune to make the empress lay her eyes on him.
Calisto loved Raúl deeply and knew that this order was a clear threat from the duke. No one knew better than her how cruel she could be to fulfill her selfish ambitions.
Going deep into the mansion's garden, Callisto sang a fertility song over her under the moonlight. Sprinkling rose nectar on his lips, this became a powerful aphrodisiac that just by touching it would cause anyone to fall for its charm.
When Raúl was about to enter his room to share a bed with his wife, a subtle aroma captivated his senses and as if he were possessed, he opened the door and headed for the threshold.
Before his eyes, a singular beauty that shone with the brilliance of the moon gave herself fully to him with the nakedness of her body. Without giving him time to react, Calisto firmly held her husband's neck while she melted her lips with his in a kiss that went from tenderness to passion.
As if his body didn't respond to him, Raúl was prey to his deepest low passions and took Calisto to bed. The night the two lovers melted their bodies amid moans and the freshness of sweat, Raúl deposited his seed in her until dawn came.
"I never thought you could be so passionate" – With a gentle smile, Raúl caressed his wife's hair, who looked at him lying next to him on the bed while they held each other tightly.
That moment could have been perfect, but it would soon become a torment for Raúl when he heard the words that should never have been said by Callisto: "You no longer have to fear for what Duke Eclette wants"
Getting up from the bed as if he had witnessed something unpleasant, Raúl put his hand to his head as he contained his anger.
"Why, if I asked you to be the product of your heart, would you stab me for the desire of that damn man" - Calisto, realizing her mistake, tried to take Raúl's hand, who violently withdrew it making Callisto collapsed on the bed.
"Forgive me, but I need time to attend to some matters" - When the door of the room closed, Calisto cried bitterly when she saw that her actions had destroyed that love that she carefully tried to protect.
As the days passed, Raúl did not arrive at the mansion. Feeling betrayed, he did not want to see Callisto's face; shutting himself up almost all the time, among a sea of papers inside the offices of the imperial palace.
The months passed and Callisto's belly grew, the flowers in the garden that once had an immense brilliance, were now withered to the gardener's surprise. The fairy's silent crying was of deep sorrow, the guilt that was eating her was transferred to the vegetation of the garden and little by little the servants began to think of her as a witch.
The day the time came to give birth, Calisto found herself bedridden delirious, begging loudly for Raúl's name. Without even knowing why, none of the servants he asked about his love knew how to answer.
Meanwhile, in the palace, when Raúl, who never stopped watching what was happening with his wife from a distance, was arrested as soon as he crossed the door of his office by order of the empress.
"Raúl Avante, for conspiring against the imperial family with the Van Hallen family, you are arrested and stripped of your title" – Completely angry, Raúl offered resistance to the empress's guards. Not caring if at some point they had been his subordinates, he took his sword and fought against them while yelling for them to let him go with Calisto.
In the heat of battle, the edge of the sword pierced his chest, one by one the guards stabbed him until both the sparkle in his eyes and the vigor in his hands was completely lost.
At that moment, in the Avante mansion, the crying of a beautiful baby with blonde hair and amber eyes completely filled the place. When Calisto contemplated her daughter's eyes, she couldn't help but remember the sinister look of the sorcerer who had confined her in that basement.
The servants, without knowing the reason for their actions, believed that the mother did not love her daughter and took her from the room.
"Where are they taking my daughter? Give it back to me" – Callisto's pleas were not heard by any of the servants. Instead, Duke Eclette who was waiting in the hall, was holding his granddaughter with a smirk. Giving the order to his guards to arrest Calisto under the sentence imposed on the Avante family. Proceeding to execute one by one on the spot the servants of the mansion.
When the sea of pleas and cries of pain ceased on the other side of the gate, the guards entered and forcibly seized Callisto as they dragged her to the carriage. Throwing it violently, they closed the door and began their march up Mount Dragulos. The empress's order was for Raúl's wife to have a terrible end, to deliver her head in the cell before executing him. But he did not count on the faithful knight to reveal himself and fight.
During the course of the walk, a familiar scent of musk reached his nose. It was near the Medea forest, there was no doubt about it. Nostalgia seized his heart and he suddenly sang a song that evoked his happy childhood in the company of his sisters.
"What's that? Is he a centaur? Don't let your guard down, attack" – The sound of creaking metal resounded in the silence of the forest, the voices of the guards faded one by one until no one else was left. Only a scream at the blow of a horn arose at the end of the battle, the reveille call of the centaurs.
Opening the carriage door, a familiar-looking figure was beheld by Callisto's eyes. It was Virgilio, who had already grown over the years. The little centaur boy had become an adult, who couldn't believe who was in front of him.
"Callisto? Is it you?" – Embracing her effusively, Virgilio did not let go of the young fairy until he took her to the depths of the forest. With mixed feelings, the brave centaur could not control his animosity at the form that his childhood friend had before him.
Thinking that it must be a black magic spell, he quickly took her to the lake that was guarded by the arcane elves. Who, like Virgilio, recognized Callisto, but did not believe what their eyes observed.
Just a few seconds after putting her in the water, Callisto writhed in pain, almost in the same way that Amelia's body reacted to using the shapeshifter pearl. Finally, when everything ceased, Calisto had recovered her original body. But on his chest had appeared a stigma in the shape of a snake.
"Human Transmutation" – Completely surprised, one of the arcane elves plummeted to the ground, furiously pounding the grass. Within the world of Pandora, in addition to the sorcerers and ancestral beings, there was a third group of practitioners of mana-manipulating magic: the alchemists.
Considered a taboo magical art, fiercely condemned by all races, alchemy was a forbidden technique reserved only for the supreme goddess, the original mother of the ancient dragons: Artemis.
Transmuting one species into another was a clear challenge to the creative force of life, and to the elves human transmutation was something they considered even more abominable. As beings of a lineage considered pure so close to the goddess, fairies were revered by the creatures of the forest.
Just daring to consider killing them was already a mortal sin, but using them in transmutation experiments was even worse. Trying to flap her wings, Callisto began to move more freely as the hours passed. But at the end of the period of half a day, he returned to his human form, the symbol of the snake disappearing from his chest. Not before making him cough up blood to the point of almost passing out.
Seeking to understand what was happening with Callisto, Virgil embarked on a journey to Mount Dragulos to consult with the elemental dragons. If anyone knew about the occult arts of this world, it was without a doubt the Clan of Dark Vengeance Dragons.
Five moons passed without word from Virgil, causing Callisto's condition to worsen with worry. The elves used their healing magic on her to no avail, to the point that they couldn't control the pain she felt.
On the sixth day, when the sun was breaking dawn, Virgil had reached the Medea forest once more. The look on his face looked shaken by lack of sleep, but even more so with the news that the dragons had given him regarding Callisto's condition.
Arriving at the fairy queen's chambers, Virgilio knelt down and opened a vial of elixir to make Callisto drink. That elixir was dragon blood concentrate, a panacea that could cure any disease. But in her case, it could only suppress the side effects of ailments brought about by human transmutation.
What Virgilio did not know at the time of bathing his wife in the lake water, is that a human transmutation resulting from the manipulation of the heart by the use of a corrupt mana nucleus, would cause a rejection of it in the body. Causing the victim to enter regression cycle phases.
Each regression shortened the individual's life expectancy, each time causing the core embedded in the heart to consume the vitality of the heart until it was completely dry. Dark destiny had brought Virgilio on his lady, that even in ignorance, the centaur felt so guilty that he swore an oath of bond of life.
Thanks to this oath, the power over the vassal allowed the lord to obtain vitality from his subject in case he was injured. And if he died, both would share the same ending.
Calisto, upon learning of this, slapped Virgilio, reminding him of his duty to the creatures of the forest. But just looking into his eyes, the fairy queen comforted him as she cried next to him.
"As you can see my young lady, the history that the members of this forest keep is not exactly an idyllic memory. So do not blame them for being averse to your presence, I consider you my guest of honor and I will allow you to be here as long as you need" - Holding my hands tightly and with a firm conviction in her gaze, Calisto gave me full confidence as if it were a friend. To which I tried to smile in the most sincere way as a sign of my appreciation for your noble heart.
Just when I was about to leave the room to return to her people, Calisto stopped at the door waiting for me to ask the question that was already in my mouth ready to come out. – " Why have I received you as a guest being a human being? Certainly men are loathsome creatures full of ambition and with a dark heart. But I would be lying to you if I told you that they all are. Maybe it's because of him, that I allow you to be with me"
Observing with a candid gaze into the void, Callisto looked as dignified as if evoking the memory of a distant past. The grimace on her lips was the sure sign that she was thinking of her deceased husband. The first and last human he could ever love.
Sleep is starting to take its toll on my weakened body and my eyes are beginning to slowly close. The aroma of the incense given off by the branches of the trees in the Medea forest makes my body fall into a deep lethargy. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but after seeing Callisto's fortress, I don't even have the right to give up.